Video From Umlaut Tribute to Bryce
April 29, 2011
Here’s a few clips of a few of the moments referenced in the previous blog entry…
Andy Deane, ChaCha Stowers and Conley Jones performing “Evensong” by Bella Morte
Then I said a few words, shared a funny moment I had with Bryce, and told people to grab some condoms.
Then Jdavyd Williams played a moving cover of Bryce’s favorite Placebo song, “Special Needs”. An unforgettable night. Hope everyone has a great weekend ahead of them.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Yesterday Was a Good Day
April 27, 2011
Yesterday started with a coffee date with friends, then I picked up an old pal from the airport and took him to his mom’s house, where I had dinner with another childhood pal as well as my own loving mother. A vicious rainstorm broke out on the journey, which scared Gwenn since we had a 20 mile drive ahead of us, but it cleared up pretty quickly… amazing how nature can switch so quickly from violence to clear-skied beauty.
After the reunion with old friends in the early evening, it was off to the local goth/industrial night, Umlaut, for the Remembrance Night for Bryce Liddle (DJ Belway). His friend, Conley Jones and ChaCha Stowers of The Modern Prometheus played Bella Morte’s “Evensong” with Andy Deane (of Bella Morte) singing. Then I said a few words, basically what I had written in my blog post from last week with a shout out to the local goth/industrial community for being so charitable and kind, followed by JDavyd Williams (of Oh So) singing a moving cover of one of Bryce’s favorite Placebo songs. All night long, Bryce’s friends and DJs were spinning the music he loved.
It was wonderful.
There was plenty of dancing, laughing and people just enjoying themselves. It was a very healthy turnout, and Umlaut raised about $1000 for Bryce’s funeral expenses. All in all, it was more than a good day, it was great. And last night was as good of a send off as our little, loving music scene could muster.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Mocha Moments & Happy Easter
April 24, 2011
Recorded this gem on Friday afternoon, even though I was pretty tired from the travel to Wisconsin. Thing is, Mocha Moments with Shawn Decker has become wildly popular, registering over 50 views in just one week since it’s debut. At this rate, in 12 years time I may become more famous for Mocha Moments than I am for having AIDS.
Happy Easter, all you love bunnies.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Meeting a Favorite Positoid, Losing Another…
April 22, 2011
Big thanks to the Student Global AIDS Campaign for inviting me and Gwenn to speak at the University of Wisconsin Madison this week. We spoke in the Memorial Union, in the middle of a bar… was the first time a contact said, “If you want to grab a beer before the talk go ahead!” At the moment, I had an iced mocha so I was all good.
The talk was unique because there was more than a bit of background noise and I thought- as Gwenn introduced herself and confidently spoke- that doing this for so long was really going to come in handy here. We both stayed focused, delivered our message as best we could even though there were several tables there to drink beer… I thought how surprised I would be if I were a college student and my drinking time were interrupted by a couple of sex educators. But everyone was pretty respectful, and there were quite a few people listening intently. Plus, I kinda liked the idea of getting information to some folks who wouldn’t normally seek it out, it was a challenge that I believe we passed.
It helped having one of my positoid heroes in attendance- Bob Bowers. AKA One Tough Pirate. I named Bob my 2010 Person of the Year, because his spirit and energy as someone living proudly and loudly with HIV inspires me, and has for quite some time. Bob has been really under the weather recently, but he and his lovely wife Teresa made it to the talk, and it was so great to finally meet them in person and share a non-cyber hug and chat. One of the highlights of doing this work is getting to meet the people who give you the encouragement to keep at it. No one sends more of that energy my way these days than Bob.
Thanks, buddy, I really appreciate it!
Check out Bob’s incredible work at OneToughPirate.comWhat I didn’t know until the next day was, as Gwenn and I were speaking in Memorial Union, one of my positoid pals back home was fighting for his life. After a long morning and afternoon of travel back home, I got the news that Bryce had fallen ill and passed to spirit. Over the last few years, I knew Bryce vaguely from the local music scene; it wasn’t until after he had tested positive about a year ago- which I heard about via mutual friends because Charlottesville is such a small community and all- that we were introduced to one another.
We had coffee together a couple of times, and I learned very quickly that Bryce had such a great attitude about his diagnosis. His spirit was unshaken- he was so far ahead of the natural process that many newly diagnosed people have to go through. We laughed a lot during that first encounter, when I was really expecting to go in as more of a counselor but instead was greeted as a new friend. A musician and a DJ himself, we joked about forming an all positoid dance project and scaring the audience with fake blood. He had a sense of humor about it all, and I knew that would be crucial for him going forward. After that day, I loved running into him afterward and seeing that smile that told me he was dealing with everything just fine.
Bryce, I wish we could have met under different circumstances. But we met- and I’m very thankful for that even if our friendship was all too brief.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
———-
Attention Charlottesville Area Friends: Umlaut (at the R2 space at Rapture on the downtown mall) is doing a fundraiser for Bryce’s funeral costs and to honor his memory. Here’s the Facebook event page which will be this Tuesday, April 26, from 10 pm until 2 am. Hope to see you there.
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New Vlog Series and Gwenn’s One-Year Blogiversary
April 19, 2011
Had a big World Hemophilia Day weekend with no bleeds whatsoever. I tried to get as much out of my friends as possible, with one pausing me to ask, “How many holidays does one guy get?” See, I pull similar stunts around World AIDS Day and my birthday.
Anyway, I suffered another indignity at dinner with friends when I was making a humble toast. “Thanks for sharing this meal with me in honor of World Hemophilia Day,” I began. “Although you do not know my trials, and you live in ignorance of what a privilege it is to have a proper amount of clotting factor…” I wasn’t even rolling yet when I was interrupted with an exasperated, “Yadda… yadda… yadda….” Can you believe that? Well, with all the excitement leading up to World Hemophilia Day last week, I kind of made a social blunder of my own… I missed Gwenn’s one-year anniversary of her blog, A Latte Style. For a few weeks, I’ve been conspiring to launch a new web series/vlog for Decker’s Daily entitled “Mocha Moments”, so to make peace I figured I better address my oversight with Gwenn for the first published episode.
But before you watch this, be sure to visit Gwenn’s blog, where she eloquently explains why starting a coffee fashion blog has been a good escape from the HIV/AIDS work we do together. Read her words yet? Okay, now you can watch my goofy video. The staple of Mocha Moments with Shawn Decker is going to be the lack of an outro and my awkward style; it’s hard to focus on a guest when there’s a tall glass of iced mocha right in front of ya. My goal is to be the least dynamic host with HIV since Magic Johnson’s Magic Hour back in the late 1990′s.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out
the lovely Gwenn’s
Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!
SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.
World Hemophilia Day: New Rules by Me
April 15, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011. World Hemophilia Day. It’s a day when we reign down gifts and love upon the greatest gift God ever gave to this world- people with bleeding disorders… or, as I call us, “thinbloods”.
We are undoubtedly the world’s chosen people. Why? Because we are a loving breed. We kind of have to be, because not having a proper amount of clotting factor makes one a very kind person by default. You don’t see thinbloods starting fights in bars, and we only antagonize others up to a certain point, for fear of our own physical well-being. And speaking of which, I can’t think of a better time to lay down some guidelines to make the world a better place for thinbloods than now.
So here’s some New Rules, Bill Maher-style.
by Shawn Decker
New Rule: If you high five with enough force to blast through four sheets of drywall, then you are doing it too hard. I don’t give a fuck if your favorite team just scored a soccer goal (watch a sport where scoring happens more often) or if you lost your virginity last night. Either situation doesn’t justify you ripping my arm from it’s socket.
Packaging
New Rule: No more “super-packaging”. I shouldn’t have to use a pair of scissors to open a plastic container hell-bent on slicing and dicing my hand. I’m trying to get to a set of new headphones, and there shouldn’t be the lingering danger of an emergency room visit hanging over my head.
Bloody Mary Drinks
New Rule: Call them “Clot-Deficiency Mary”.
Alcohol
New Rule: Alcohol thins the blood. This is not fair. Would it kill blood companies to make the world’s first beer that actually “thickens” the blood? I think thinbloods have paid enough money for blood products over the years to get this product on the fast track.
New Rule: No matter who’s birthday it is, or whatever the occasion may be, the thinblood always gets the blindfold and stick.
——————–
Whether you are a thinblood or a thickblood, I hope you have a great and safe weekend ahead of you.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!
SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.
Stephen Colbert Talks Planned Parenthood
April 14, 2011
Last week in the world of politics, it was all about the threat to shutdown the government, a potentially lethal job-killing move by Republicans to get sugar-coating on some of the behind-the-scenes dealmaking that commoners like us aren’t privy to. What is known is that funding of Planned Parenthood was a major sticking point for Republicans.
Last week Senator John Kyl made an outrageous claim that 90% of Planned Parenthood’s funds go towards providing abortions. This false claim drew the attention of a lot of folks, including Stephen Colbert, who broke character when trying to make sense of the remarks of Kyl. Thankfully, the threat to shut down the government was just a bunch of posturing, too. I can not understand, though, how opponents of abortion can be opponents of Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides information on sexual health and contraceptives to young women all across the country… thus preventing abortions.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out
the lovely Gwenn’s
Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!
SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.
About Last Week (Chapel Hill, NC and Springfield, MA)
April 12, 2011
Last week was a busy one- Gwenn and I spoke at UNC Chapel Hill and also at an HIV/AIDS conference in Springfield, MA. It’s always an honor to be invited to speak, but what made the Chapel Hill visit unique from any other college talks is how it happened.
The person who invited us discovered our program through Gwenn’s coffee blog, A Latte Style. Pretty nifty- I never thought vanilla lattes and Anthropology outfits would help me raise awareness about HIV and sexual health! The HIV/AIDS conference was a wonderful opportunity to discuss a lot of issues with my fellow positoids in the AIDS community. I really enjoy speaking with people who really get this experience of living with HIV, it’s just a different feeling in the room. There’s a bond of just surviving this shit, the health issues and the personal issues that the stigma of HIV can exploit. Most times, the general theme of our discussions is prevention, but I always try to emphasis that a healthy relationship is possible after a diagnosis with a lifelong sexually transmitted infection, whether it’s HPV, herpes or HIV. This was especially emphasized in Springfield.
Of all things I do in my little corner of the universe, there’s little I love more than reminding positoids about how much we truly have to offer in a relationship.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!
SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.
LIFE IN PHOTOS
Shit got whack at da coffee shop today.
One of my #Halo friends is a vicious monster who will attack the moment you turn your back to him. Every Team Slayer match is basically 3 on 5 with him involved. The game should have trials for war crimes as a game mode.
Yesterday the neighbor's cat paid us a visit. His name is Hobbes, and it was our first meeting. He is very friendly.
I know what you all want, and it isn't pasty European Heavyweight champions... it's me drinking iced mochas. Behold.
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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