Snowsquatch is Coming…
February 5, 2010
Everyone is afraid of the snow, but I’m afraid of something else.
I made this back in 2003, looks like “next winter” finally arrived. Be safe, and remember that Mother Nature is formidable, but scared humans will always be our biggest threat to survival. Outside of objects falling from outer space that we have no concept of understanding.
Yes, that’s a prelude to my next movie trailer. Since I’m snowed in I’m gonna be launching these old trailers all weekend long. Hope you stocked up on popcorn if you’re in the snow zone.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on: 
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s Sick Days in 2010: 6 Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
Decker’s Daily Band of the Month: a’tris
February 4, 2010
Today was a very busy day for Decker’s Daily Coffee. I set the alarm- something I seldomly do- to meet our fellow College Agency friends, Kelly and Becca, who were raising awareness at JMU about sexual assault. Even though Decker’s Daily is a for-profit organization, I treated Kelly and Becca for just being, well, awesome.
That, and their GPS took them to a ballet store when it should have brought them to the coffee shop. When GPS Units Attack should be a television show on Fox. I remember when Gwenn and I had our first GPS, and on our way to a talk we ended up in some dark alley by a river, led there by a single lane dirt road. “I don’t think this is the college that we are supposed to be speaking at,” I said. Travel snafus are the worst, especially at the hands of rebel GPS units.
After the morning coffee with Kelly and Becca I came home and crashed out for a couple of hours. Later in the evening, I was back at the same shop for a special Decker’s Nightly.
With the economy in shambles, my coffee sponsorships in 2010 have been few and far between. Which is totally cool, even though the mocha mooching makes me happy. But, last night, my dry spell ended: I had a very special sponsorship from a young musician named Mason Taylor, and the story of how I bummed a drink off of him is pretty cool.
Ten years ago, when Mason was in high school, he heard Gwenn and I speak. Turns out he’s friends with my cousin, Bonnie, and when I somehow came up in conversation he recognized my name and story. Which, really, is my greatest hope in dedicating a decent portion of my life to raising awareness about HIV- the hope being that these brief encounters I have with strangers will stick. When Bonnie let Mason borrow my book, he wrote a very kind blog entry about me. Check it out on Facebook here.
Here’s Mason and I cheesing out: thanks to cousin Bonnie for bringing her swank camera and snapping the photo.
After reading his blog entry/book review, in which he created a word- “unputdownable”- to describe My Pet Virus, I thought it was kind of funny that he had a link of my first Synthetic Division EP, Tainted Goods, which he’d found at Plan 9 records shortly after I spoke at his high school a decade ago. To be described as a good musician by Mason is a high honor, because after the sponsorship and cyber introduction, I got to find out what he does… which is rock. So, without further ado, I give you the first ever Decker’s Daily Band of the Month, a’tris. Here they are performing their song, “Automatic Doors”, which is, in his own word, unputdownable.
Enjoy!
Automatic Doors from AirPlay Direct on Vimeo. Buy the a’tris album, Lensing, on iTunes. Visit the band at atrishq.com and follow Mason on twitter at @atris
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s Sick Days in 2010: 6 Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
Shawn’s Sicks Days
February 2, 2010
I have a lot of links at the bottom of this page- Shawn’s book, Shawn’s music, Decker’s Daily Coffee (sublimely shameless and joyously updated)… but one thing is missing. The absolutely absurd amount of time that I spend sick.
When I was writing My Pet Virus, one of the things I had to overcome was my own sugarcoating of my health. As I recalled how terrible I felt- and how often- I really got a gauge for how I feel, and that’s it’s been worse than I’d like to admit. Coughing through Thanksgiving, World AIDS Week, and then crashing out in the hospital last year, I figured out that I’d spent at least a fifth of the year under the weather. So last Thursday, when I started coughing again due to a nasal drip, which has me still feeling a bit puny today, I figured I should document this.
So, down at the very bottom of this blog, in tiny font print, you’ll see Shawn’s Sick Days in 2010. Right now, I’m up to 5- but I gotta figure out what qualifies as a “sick day”. This is all a work in progress, you see. For instance, today I was well enough to turn up for jury duty and then- while I was out- a Decker’s Daily Coffee. Then I texted my pool league captain, got out of my Monday Night billiards duties, only to venture up the street to work on some new music at my friend’s home studio…
So maybe I’ll knock the count down to 4. That seems fair since today was way too busy to be considered a “Shawn’s Sick Day”. Tomorrow? Well, we’ll see.
Don’t worry; I won’t be blogging every time I feel sick. That would make for a bummer of a blog, both for you the valued reader and me the writer. Right now, the sickness I feel is more of a nuisance than a risk to my health. That’s usually how it is, and I’m thankful for that and maybe that’s why I’m so nonchalant about it when I am sick. I just rest and get better and get on with life.
So, will keeping tab on the sick days bum me out? No, or at least I don’t think so. If I break triple digits, I might break down. Ultimately, I’m just curious. Of course, I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure that number remains as low as possible. Which means taking my meds as I do, eating decently (not too much meat) and just being my happy, contented self.
Now, it’s off to get ready for more snowfall. Better get out early for my mocha just in case it starts to fall early.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s Sick Days in 2010: 4 Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
She Won! Positoids Rejoice!
January 31, 2010
Caressa Cameron, Miss Virginia, completely rocked the Miss America pageant tonight, winning the title of Miss America in the process. This is the first time since 1997- when Kate Shindle took the crown- that a Miss America has had HIV/AIDS as her platform issue. (In some bizarro pageant world synchronicity, Shindle’s birthday is today- Happy Birthday, Kate!)
These days, the Miss America Organization has partnered with the Children’s Miracle Network, so basically whomever wins is immediately an advocate for the CMN. Which is a great cause, nobody can argue with raising money for children’s hospitals, right? It’s a safe and much-needed thing, whereas a platform issue like HIV education is much-needed, but not so safe.
Aside from the work Miss America does with the CMN, the reigning queen does have some time to advocate for their own cause. The fact that Caressa is already a natural advocate for HIV/AIDS will only do good things for peoples’ perceptions of those living with HIV. Every little bit of acceptance and awareness helps, as does every voice that calls out for comprehensive sex education in schools, as Caressa has done in schools all throughout Virginia.
Now, her message will go beyond the Commonwealth.
Congratulations to the newly crowned Miss America! I’m sure Caressa will be a fierce and friendly ally to the community, just as she’s always been. And, if Rush Limbaugh threw a few points her way as a judge, then I guess I have to say, for once, good call, Rush. Maybe you weren’t such a bad choice for a pageant judge after all.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
Miss(ing) America
January 28, 2010
No, this isn’t a blog entry about longing for the days of President George Bush after last night’s State of the Union Address by President Obama. You’d know I have dementia if that were the case. This entry is only partially political, though mostly personal.
This weekend is the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas. Last year, Gwenn and I cheered on Miss Virginia and Miss New York, who is a Virginia native and a member of our AIDS Walk team, Supersnack. The current Miss Virginia is Caressa Cameron, who joined us in DC last October for the AIDS Walk and has been raising awareness about HIV/AIDS issues for several years now, becoming personally linked to the issue at the age of 8, when her uncle died from AIDS.
She is a friend to the positoid community. And Gwenn and I should be there cheering her on. But… a funny thing happened on the way to Las Vegas this year. The Miss America Organization invited Rush Limbaugh to be a judge. Yes, the man who infamously uttered the following statement in regard to women:
“Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.” - Rush Limbaugh
Admittedly, I just don’t like the guy. Truth be written, I think he’s a blabbering idiot and I resent my much-beloved Miss America Organization for giving me yet another thing to have in common with Rush Limbaugh. Aside from being white, now we are both officially assigned judges within the Miss America system. Well, I guess we have three things in common, as we both ended 2009 with health scares. If his heart problem had been “the big one”, I may be in Vegas right now.
No, I’m not wishing he were dead. But I don’t understand why he gets to judge Miss America… when I’ve judged several local pageants here in Virginia. That spot on the panel in Vegas was mine. I earned it. But I digress, this isn’t about me: it’s about the girls.
Why do smart, confidant women trying to earn scholarship money for college (and win, this is a competition) have to go through Rush? I don’t understand the reason for having him there, outside of the shock value, getting his vast radio audience to tune in and hoping he provides a counter to the Miss USA Perez Hilton/Prejean moment.
Okay, so I totally understand why he’s there.
I have a lot of friends in Vegas this weekend and I wish Caressa well. She’s already won preliminary talent, and I fully expect her to keep going strong. She’s tough enough to handle Limbaugh and the crazy schedule that would await her should she bring home the biggest of crowns. But I just couldn’t stomach the thought of sharing oxygen space with Rush Limbaugh- an ill representation of the male species, the classic example of being all balls and no heart.
My boycott, of course, has it’s limitations. I will be watching the pageant on television. And if you are a positoid, too, be sure to cheer for Miss Virginia. Whether she comes home with the upgraded crown or not, she has had our backs. This Saturday, even if it’s from a distance, we should have hers, too.
Go, Caressa!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Check out my Poz column from November 2008, in which I expound on my love for pageants and hatred of anti-gay bigotry.
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
The Pregnancy Pact
January 27, 2010
In June of 2008, there was an article in Time magazine that set off a media frenzy. It told the story of the unusually high rate of teenage pregnancy in one particular Gloucester, MA high school. Thus last weekend, in a longer than usual made-for-TV movie gestation period of two years- the Lifetime network gave birth to The Pregnancy Pact.
I saw an ad on TV while Gwenn and I were on the road, traveling to speak about safer sex of all things, and I was mesmerized by the promise of bad musical cues, vacant stares into the camera and over-and-under acting. After the horrors of Haiti and my own distaste for American politics (Democrats can’t even fill Ted Kennedy’s seat?), who could blame me or anyone else for wanting the brain cheese?
Yes, I got some of what I wanted and expected from the brat Pact. Just about every commercial break faded out with one maniacal teenage stare combined with a musical swell…. and… black screen… fade out to a feminine hygiene product pitch. But there were some surprisingly effective scenes that were free of camp. For instance, when abstinence-championing mom confides to her pregnant daughter that she and her father didn’t actually wait until marriage, as she had told her daughter up until that point. It was one simple scene that turned two caricatures- the reckless daughter and stick-up-the-ass mom- into human beings.
And that’s the problem.
In a Lifetime made-for-TV movie about sexual health and decision-making as it pertains to teenagers, one that (thankfully) went overboard with the dramatics, that one scene is a work of Avatar-esque fiction in a lot of households, because it simply features a mother and daughter talking. Honestly. About sex.
According to recently released data, it appears that the 2008 Gloucester “pacters” weren’t the only teenagers getting their pregnancy on: in 2006 overall teen pregnancy rates were on the rise. Incidentally, just as millions and millions of tax dollars were being spent on abstinence-only sex education. In this article, excellently written by a teenager on LA Youth’s web site, the author wonders aloud if television is the only way a young person is expected to learn about sex education in our culture. It’s a very good question.
Especially since mum seems to be the word from a lot of moms these days.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
(Thanks to Bob Bowers for sharing the LA Youth article by Meklit Gebre-Mariam through his twitter page.)
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
Helping Positoids in Haiti
January 20, 2010
Haiti has long been associated with the AIDS epidemic, due to the high numbers of people living with the virus. Poz magazine just posted an article online about this, and Poz Blogger Oriol Gutierrez just posted about the situation, providing links on how you can help.
Oriol writes: “Everyone in Haiti deserves our help, but the situation is especially dire for Haitians living with HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS, approximately 120,000 Haitians are HIV positive.”
You can still text 90999 to donate $10, and after the second earthquake we should all do what we can to help out. The relief efforts and response to this tragedy has been heartening to see, and I’m glad that the community of positoids in Haiti, often overlooked, are being considered as we all wonder what we can do to pitch in.
Hope this finds everyone safe and sound as our thoughts go out to those in need.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
Who Is HIV Hoax… Guy?
January 19, 2010
Uh, I got this video from an anonymous source. It’s really, you know, scary.
*NOTE: This only makes sense if you have seen the debunked HIV Hoax Lady YouTube vid or read my previous blog entry, HIV Hoax Lady’s Viral Video.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
HIV Hoax Lady’s Viral Video
January 18, 2010
You may or may not have seen the viral video of a young woman’s scare tactic to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS by claiming that she has the virus and intends to spread it, or did… I’m not sure, the video is so long and her delivery so annoying that I only made it through 2 minutes.
The last 9 minutes of the video is a mystery to me, but what isn’t unknown is that the video is a fake. Authorities found her, and the creator of the video admitted she doesn’t have HIV. If you want to take the challenge to endure the entire video, feel free. Here it is.
HIV Hoax Lady lives in Detroit. I read somewhere that she and her husband run a subscription based, online adult service that may or may not include her taking her clothes off. I do not judge- the economy is in the shitter and, well, she lives in Detroit. If she works in the sex field, then she has firsthand knowledge of the boner mentality she is addressing in the video, and trying to get guys to use protection or bang in a more discerning way is admirable.
What bugs me, of course, is the “AIDS Monster” theme. Every time a real-life story of someone knowingly infecting another gets out, it colors peoples’ impressions of everyone living with HIV. That we’d all want revenge on the world and take the entire ship down with us after testing positive, when the overwhelming reaction to testing positive is the feeling of being isolated. The fear of someone loving you again.
Of course, those who are that easily influenced by the media see an “AIDS Monster” story and say, “Those damn people with AIDS!”. Then go on with their lives and never discuss the issue of safe sex with their children… or friends, or anyone. As much as I don’t like HIV Hoax Lady’s methodology, at least she’s trying to talk about sex. That puts her one tiny step ahead of everyone else- from school administrators who cut sex education and ban the word “condom” to the DC lawmakers who make carrying more than one condom in your purse a liability in a dumb attempt to curb prostitution.
I must confess that there’s a jealousy factor for me here in addressing HIV Hoax Lady. How can such an obvious sham get 700,000 views on YouTube, when my greatest works- such as Micah Fights, Werewolves: Are They Real?, Shawn Steals a Dog, When Babies Save Christmas, When Babies Have Babies and the Avatar-Asskicking music video Interplanetary Traveler- don’t even break the 10,000 mark combined? I was going to spoof her and present myself as someone who is HIV negative, but the negative community already has a huge image problem to overcome, and I wouldn’t want anyone to be offended as many with HIV were when they saw the video above.
HIV Hoax Lady’s video and scratchy voice did have an impact outside of the cyberworld- it caused a larger than usual turnout for HIV testing in the Detroit area. That’s good. But in all seriousness, anytime someone makes a misguided attempt in furthering HIV prevention by throwing those who are already living with the virus under the bus, we must stand up and defend ourselves.
Happy Martin Luther King Day,
Shawn
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction….The chain reaction of evil–hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars–must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
Ethan Zohn Home
January 12, 2010
On Sunday HIV/AIDS advocate and Survivor Africa Winner went home after 20 days in the hospital, undergoing a complete stem-cell transplant to eradicate cancer.
Ethan spent the entire year of 2009 dealing with a cancer diagnosis, finally meeting his nemesis for a final showdown in a modern cocoon (the “Bubble”, family members and friends had to suit up in Leslie Nielsen “Naked Gun” condom outfits to visit his room). Even though he was at his weakest, the will to compete that inspired him to win Survivor and partake in the Eco-Challenge had not be quelled. Not only was he taunting cancer with insults, while undergoing the intensive 30-day process, he managed to set the record for most urine collected in a 24-hour period at the hospital; 13.5 liters. (Previous record was 10.4, respectively.)
He also got out ten days ahead of schedule.
Part of the stem-cell process meant rendering Ethan’s immune system obsolete- he literally welcomed New Year’s Eve with no immune system. Here’s a full article from Tonic.com which explains more about what Ethan has been through, and the fact that 2010 looks to be a much brighter, healthier year for someone who is a great guy and one of the community’s staunchest advocates.
Welcome home, Ethan!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on:
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
-
Decker's Daily Coffee
More Photos