Tommy Morrison: Not a Valentine’s Tale
February 14, 2011
Came across an article thanks to a posting by Mark S. King on Facebook. It’s about Tommy Morrison, the boxer who rose to prominence in the early-to-mid 1990′s, starring in Rocky V before an HIV diagnosis ended his career prematurely.
A moment I’ll never forget is when me, my dad and brother were getting ready to watch Morrison fight on TV, and the announcers said the fight was canceled because Tommy had failed a blood test. The way they were talking made it out to be far more serious than steroids. My family and I knew what they were talking about, but none of us acknowledged the elephant in the room.
15 years later…
Morrison isn’t acknowledging that he is HIV positive, thus creating his own elephant. The article explains how he hopes to fight again for the world title because, as he claims, he doesn’t have HIV anymore. The most troubling quote in the article is from his girlfriend who says, “We have unprotected sex.” Tommy chimes in that it is “wild sex”. It’s more a story about the deterioration of the mind than it is about denial, though the latter figures in. To read the entire article click here.
It’s quite troubling and sad.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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WeekDaily Blogging and I Dream of Bieber
February 12, 2011
So I’m loving this daily blog stuff. I enjoy passing along interesting bits of news and random stories to fill in for the general lack of excitement in my own life. And really, that’s kind of what blogging and social networking has evolved into- more of a sharing of information as well as a way to express ones self which is how it started.
But, one conclusion I have come to is that I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with 7 blog posts a week. I’d rather have a WeekDaily Blog than a Weak Daily Blog. Of course, if anything urgent is happening or I have a particularly compelling dream on a Friday night that I must share, then sure, I’ll post something…
Like just this past week. One of my favorite wrestlers these days, CM Punk, had an epic unplanned nosebleed on Monday Night Raw on live television. The kind of gusher that took me back to my childhood with hemophilia. He soldiered through it during the whole bit- which involved scrapping with Randy Orton (whose clumsy lunge caused the unintentional damage). Well, that nosebleed made it into my dream, only it wasn’t CM Punk who was sporting it. I was having a talk with another wrestler, Edge, when Justin Bieber turns up- with a massive nosebleed.
Strange, huh?
OK, so maybe I won’t be posting about my dreams on the weekend.
Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great Saturday afternoon. Me? I’m about to go get an iced mocha. I know, big surprise.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
A big thank you to my weekend mocha sponsors: Joyce Anderson and Lauren Hoffman, who gave me a welcome home mocha on Friday after Gwenn and I returned from a trip to snowy Kansas City this week. Thanks, ladies!
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URGENT: Help Block Funding Cuts for Hemophilia
February 11, 2011
Hemophilia is one of the most expensive disorders out there. Many families have to file bankruptcy just to get by because the treatments, especially for severe blood-clotting deficiencies, can cost families thousands of dollars a month.
The community has been great about setting up safeguards and protecting itself as much as possible, but in today’s political climate it is very easy to see how essential funds for hemophilia and bleeding disorders are at risk. This is why I’m asking you for help.
The National Hemophilia Foundation has provided an easy way to do so. Click here to send a message to your representative. NHF has the template, all you have to do is fill out your name and where you are from so they can pass the message along to your elected official. It took me less than a minute, but I’m a dork and read their whole sample message and of course had to add my own literary flourish to it.
Hope everyone has a great weekend ahead. And I deeply thank you for taking a few moments out of your day to help a community in need.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Inside Job? 700,000 Condoms Stolen
February 10, 2011
I love the game Clue. I just pulled off a major upset in my household when I beat Gwenn a week or two ago. So I’m in the mood to solve a crime, and this one is right up my alley…
It’s the case of the 700,000 stolen condoms! For real. Check out the story on MSNBC. It all went down in Malaysia. I’ve got the suspects narrowed down to a few people. My hunch is that it was the Italian government, trying to cut corners in rough economic times. Why would they steal so many condoms? Well, the cast of Jersey Shore is headed to Venice.
If you’ve got any ideas, I’d love to hear them.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Talking About Sexuality Does Not Cause STIs
February 9, 2011
Colleges and universities in the New England area were recently spammed by conservative groups, who blamed the appearance of sex educators on campus for HIV infections rates… absolutely absurd.
“In yet another attempt to shut down access to quality sex education, South-Eastern New England conservative advocates hit the sex panic button in a multi-state, email and phone campaign to colleges all over New England last week.” -read full article here
I don’t understand this mentality, which suggests that not talking about reality is the best way to solve a problem. Or that sex is so dirty that it should only be used for procreation and not recreation, and that anyone who does so gets what they deserve. It’s never spelled out so bluntly, but make no mistake that this is the message behind the concerted effort to shut down any discussion of how people can engage in risk-free sexual contact by being aware of the importance of testing and proper condom usage.
Human sexuality comes naturally, yet the ability to discuss sexual matters does not. I believe that the suppression of potentially life-saving information- or at least info that can make peoples life’s less difficult- is subhuman. These “people” should be ashamed of themselves, for their actions are far more vulgar than any of the sexual acts that give them nightmares and boners.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Sick Kid Attends School- Thanks to Robot
February 8, 2011
I missed a lot of school after my HIV diagnosis- sometimes I was sick, sometimes I had a really sore throat… other times I wanted to stay home and play Nintendo. But I never had it as bad as Lyndon Baty, who is living with Polycystic Kidney Disease. His immune system weakened, simple things like going to school can be life-threatening. But thanks to a robot, Lyndon gets to be right there with his class learning instead of at home with a pile of papers and books.
Check out the video on Lyndon and his robot and read the whole story on the Huffington Post.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Day
February 7, 2011
Here’s a tweet that has a little more impact than my Super Bowl Blacked Eyed Peas swipe from yesterday:
The rate of HIV diagnosis among black men is eight times that of
whites, and the rate for black women is 19 times that of whites.
There are many fighting the good fight to stem the tide against HIV in the black community. One of the obstacles in the epidemic for all communities has been the way that HIV is stigmatized in the church. Click here to watch author, pastor and HIV activist Terry Angel Mason explain why, and also learn what churches can do to get beyond this deadly hurdle.
Here’s a hopeful yet realistic blog post by Dr. Kevin Fenton, who explains:
“Black communities are more mobilized than ever against HIV. Nearly 500 organizations are sponsoring or have sponsored National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day events External Web Site Icon.in the United States as well as in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. African American leaders from every walk of life – business, civil rights, entertainment, government and media – are speaking out and taking action at events across the nation, from health fairs and workshops to candlelight vigils and HIV testing events.‘
Oriol Gutierrez of Poz just posted a great blog about an article regarding HIV and how it spreads through the South. In it, he introduces us to Juanita Davis, AKA, “The AIDS Candy Lady”. Check out the video to see how she earned the name, and the ways she gets around not being able to talk about penises and vaginas in her attempts to raise awareness about HIV prevention.
You’ll never see the candy isle in the same light again!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Also check out
the lovely Gwenn’s
Fashion/Coffee Blog
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In Depth Super Bowl Analysis (via Twitter)
February 6, 2011
For more real-time musings and outbursts of anger, click on the tweet above and follow me on Twitter.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
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Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!
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LIFE IN PHOTOS
Face Time fun with my Goddaughter. She was digging our phone chat- even though we were about three feet away from one another.
Making the enemy quit out with @squirrel_munky and @vaineos :)
Closing out the Joe with @gwennbarringer this afternoon.
Caught in full Mocha Mode...
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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