More Show Photos
February 16, 2009
I gotta mention that I got something wrong in a previous blog. It was Troy, Michigan that banned the mall condom display, not Troy, New York.
It has been corrected, my apologies to Troy, New York!
Hope everyone is having a great President’s Day. I still find myself smiling goofily in regard to Saturday night’s show. If you want to see more, check out Chad Van Pelt’s Flickr page. He always beats TMZ to the punch.
OK, it’s off to find an Abraham Lincoln costume to spice things up here on President’s Day. Wish me luck.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
V-Day 2009: Good Turnouts!
February 15, 2009
It’s not usually a manufactured holiday I choose to indulge in, but I have to say that this year’s Valentine’s Day was highly enjoyable. Perhaps that’s because it wasn’t spent alone, and there were two events that could have been, well, lonely. And they weren’t.
The first being the “Boy, Girl, Virus” program that Gwenn and I did at Hiram College in Ohio.
That’s Gwenn before the program, smiling kindly for the camera.
This is at the end of the program… can you find me? I’m thinking of doing a “Where’s Waldo?” picture at all future talks, though I’ll hide better next time. What’s cool is that there were about 60 students at the 9 pm event in the student center- and it wasn’t a mandatory program.
“This is the best turnout we’ve ever had!” One of the organizers beamed. I beamed, too.
What’s funny is that, as students were hearing about the program leading up to Thursday, some wondered if it was a play: two people would be acting out the parts of someone with HIV and someone else who is in a relationship with them. Made me think about altering it- “Gwenn, you be the positoid tonight, OK?”
Afterward a student thanked us for being real and laid back in our delivery. For us, it’s important to be ourselves- this really is such a rare opportunity educate by giving that room of people a glimpse into our lives, and the role HIV has played. I’d get nervous if I thought about this aspect every time we spoke, but we really only get one chance, and I’m honored anytime we are invited to a school, and someone sets aside an hour of their time to come listen to us and ask questions.
Another cool thing was that I met two people who had thinblooded friends! And there was a bake sale and raffle for the event, so delicious cupcakes were on hand before and after the talk. And I got some candy hearts, too. (The traditional kind, not the ones pictured here.)
Perfect.
Speaking of another good turnout, last night’s show with Synthetic Division went very well too! Lots of folks came out to see Bella Morte’s acoustic set, and my promotional video must have done some damage, too, as I saw lots of smiling and familiar faces… over a hundred people turned out, on Valentine’s Night!
My bandmate, Marshall, was a real trooper. He came down with the flu just before I left for Ohio. Before the talk at Hiram, I sent him a “Get Well” message, of sorts:
“Hey, I’m supposed to be the “sick guy” in Synthetic Division. You are damaging our brand and confusing our legions of fans.”
Actually, one thing that confused fans was the arrival of a guitar onstage during our set. Being an actual musician who knows how to play instruments- unlike me!- Marshall played guitar during two songs, “Back to Sleep” and “Did I Ever Tell You”. I hope to get these versions recorded and online soon.
So from Cleveland with my mom-in-law, to the students of Hiram and back to Gravity Lounge with Bella Morte in Charlottesville, I shared my Valentine’s Day with lots of folks. Of course, my true Valentine is Gwenn, even though we don’t celebrate the holiday… what’s cool, though, is that this year the holiday we celebrated at the beginning of our relationship (1999 and 2000, respectively) is back on the calendar.
President’s Day!
Oh, crap: it’s tomorrow… but hey, that’s the good thing about celebrating President’s Day. You never need to make a reservation.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
PS… here’s a picture of Bella Morte rocking the house, and me and Bella’s keyman, Micah, mourning the end of the beautiful night of music.
Speaking Tonight
February 12, 2009
I made a big mistake. Turns out the Lauretta Braden email was a scam. Not only am I not rich, but I have many valuable relationships to rebuild.
Fortunately, I’ve already won back one loved one: my mother-in-law, who has welcomed me back into the family with open arms. But it was easier to charm her, since I was able to do so in person. See, Gwenn and I are speaking at Hiram College tonight, which is conveniently located near Cleveland where Bev (Gwenn’s mom) lives. We’ll see how everyone back home responds to my brush with riches on Saturday, when I play a Valentines show with Bella Morte.
I’m looking forward to speaking this evening, it feels like it’s been forever since we last spoke in December. Which makes me think- if I really hit the lottery, I’d like to think that I’d still educate. In fact, I’d probably speak more, as I’d be able to go to all the schools that don’t have the funds to fly us out to their school.
Anyway, speaking of Valentine’s Day and sexual health education: did you hear about the Armani Exchange store in Troy, MI? They had a display featuring condoms that were shaped as a heart, to promote HIV/AIDS awareness during the libidinous Valentines season. Well, mall authorities shut that down… Why?
To protect parents from the following interaction with their children?
“Mommy, what are those?!”
“Oh, honey… they are…. suckers….”
“I WANT SUCKERS! MOMMY, MOMMY, PLEASE!!!!!”
Positively Yours,
Shawn
I Have Been Touched… By Money!
February 11, 2009
Times are a little tighter these days for most people, and a better person than I would not take this opportunity to rub good fortune in the faces of others… but I got the following email today, and I think it’s a real game changer.
————————-
Received at 4:43 pm 2/11/09
Subject: I Have Been Touched
My name is Mrs Lauretta Braden,
I have decided to donate what I have to you. I have been touched to donate from what I have inherited from my late husband to you for the good work of charity organisation, I decided to WILL/donate the sum of $10,000,000:00USD to you.
Contact my Physican Dr Steve Elliott with this specified email–
************@gmail.com.
Regards,
Mrs Lauretta Braden.
—————–
Now, I know what you are thinking: Shawn, why would you not post the email of the kind woman’s physician? Well, it’s tough times, and I can’t have someone else swoop in on old Dr. Elliott and Mrs. Braden’s money, squeezing me out of the action. Especially since she has obviously read or seen something here that inspired her to donate $10 million dollars to me. It could have been the latest Synthetic Division music video or maybe she came upon a copy of My Pet Virus.
I don’t know, and I don’t care. Either way, I’m not about to lose this opportunity.
I’ve seen a lot of specials on lottery winners, how their lives are ruined by large sums of money, usually because family members and friends feel entitled to a piece of the pie. Well, I definitely want to avoid those pitfalls, which is why I shot off a mass email to everyone I know.
————————
Sent: 5:14 pm, 2/11/09
Subject: ‘Bout Damn Time
Dear Friends and Family,
It has just come to my attention that I am going to be rich beyond my wildest imagination. Do not reply to this email- I am changing the address immediately after sending this. Do not stop by my house, I am staying in a hotel until I locate a mansion. And no, you can’t have any. Hence the change of email address and demeanor in general. Looks like you’ll have to find another AIDS monkey to make you laugh, because this one is about to be giggling himself to sleep in a big ol’ barrel of bananas.
Positively Nobodys,
Shawn
———
Will I continue to blog for Poz? Well, it depends on how they take the email. I think I have enough money to start my own AIDS magazine now: POZ-itoid. I got enough money to hire a lawyer who can win that gimmick infringement case, too! And I bet Dr. Steve Elliott knows just the guy.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
February 7, 2009
Is today. Check out blackaidsday.org to learn more. Also check out Poz’s interview with Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Should there be a “Black” AIDS Day in addition to the December 1st observation of World AIDS Day? Hell, yes. You can never have too many AIDS Days as far as I’m concerned, and with February being Black History Month, I’m all for setting aside one day to insure that this issue- and it’s devastation in the black community- becomes, well, history itself.
Sooner rather than later.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Two Great Videos for Valentine’s
February 6, 2009
I couldn’t resist.
By the way, the video posted below is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. It’s a clip courtesy of “The Love Doctor”, who kindly visited Fox to expound upon the purity of the new president’s love for his first lady. It quickly takes a turn for the worse. This is like a Valentine’s Day present from the Gods, enjoy!
I couldn’t resist.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Your Bloody Valentine?
February 5, 2009
Once again Synthetic Division is teaming up with Bella Morte. They said it would never happen. They said the egos were too big for Charlottesville to handle… they were right. But, for the fans, we have all agreed to share the stage again.
In the spirit of love we are playing a special late-night, acoustic Valentine’s show at Gravity Lounge here in Charlottesville. Last time I played there, Synthetic Division was fully loaded with dance goodness. But this time the set is going to be stripped down a little bit- not full-on acoustic like Bella Morte- for us, “acoustic” means a few less “bleeps” and “bloops”. And replacing a robot’s voice on the iPod with a piano sound.
It’s kind of nice to fill the writing void that was left when I sent off the book with an artistic endeavor. One of my buddies in Bella Morte, Micah “The World’s Most Dangerous Keytar Player” Consylman, helped set up a recording system on my computer, which will make it easier to get new songs done. And Marshall, the keyman of Synthetic Division, and I actually having regular band practices leading up to the show. In doing so, I discovered a shocking fact that almost brought Synthetic Division down to its knees- Marshall knows how to play… guitar.
I’ll try to post some videos of the show after the fact. In the meantime, here’s a popular Synthetic Division video.
If you’re around the area, I would love to see you at the show!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Hemo2Homo Labworks
February 4, 2009
So guess whose lab results come up on my “My Pet Virus” Google Alert? None other than Steve Schalchlin, the Ebert to my Roper. Here’s what he posted on Monday, in no way colluding with me…
“Also went to see the doc… My highest t-cell count to date: 525. And a great percentage: 21%. So, I don’t know that I’d say my immune system is strengthening since these numbers go up and down all the time, but it’s clear that my health is holding its own.”
Too cool, even in t-cells Steve shows me who the boss is, besting my latest lab results by two measly t-cells! Well, he may have two more, but mine are wittier as a whole.
Since the last post kind featured the dark side of humanity, and the randomness of opening that book to the one page (of about 400 pages total) that had the word “AIDS”, I have to acknowledge the great coincidence of our Monday blogs.
When I met Steve in 1996, he was losing his battle against his pet virus. Well, his body was at least. His sense of humor was so effervescent, I had no idea how close I was to losing my new pal.
At the time, too, I didn’t know I was 3 years away from an AIDS diagnosis. I felt kind of indestructible at the time, really, realizing just how cool it was that I’d outlived that initial prognosis. I was never able to take it in before I spoke out about HIV, because I had a deep-seeded fear that the virus would take me some day.
When I did get sick in 1999, Steve was one of the few people who knew just how dire my health was, combined with my “rebel without a cure” attitude. Unlike me at the time, he’d seen friends die before. “If you don’t take these drugs, you will DIE!”, he emailed me.
Some would say that us two oddballs defied the odds to live to meet one another. Maybe. All I know for sure is that we are here now, blogging about record high t-cell counts. We’re both doing well, and that’s the good news… the bad news? Looks like his hometown of Hollywood is going to have to deal with the Hemo2Homo Connection for many more years to come.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
life in photos
I am frightened by ceilings. A terrible phobia to have.
Today's assortment of treats: tea for Gwenn, a mocha for me and a cookie to share.
My buddy Sharanya preparing my mocha with just an extra dash of love.
Hanging on wall in our guest bedroom. Couldn't agree more!
Speaking About Sexual Health
Since 2000, Shawn and Gwenn have been speaking about sexual health together, sharing their personal story and empowering others to be safe. If you are interested in having them speak at your event, fill out the Contact Us form.
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