Freddie Mercury Goes To Hollywood
January 10, 2011
Of all the musicians with HIV in the history of music, our crowned jewel in the positoid community is, without a doubt, Freddie Mercury of Queen. Don’t get me wrong, there have been many other greats- Andy Bell of Erasure, Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Shawn Decker of Synthetic Division…
But Freddie beats them all. One of the greatest frontmen and singers of all-time, he put negatoids like Steven Tyler and Robert Plant to shame, tucking them in like toddlers at bed-time who were anxious to learn more from “Ready Freddie” when the next day began. Unfortunately, Freddie was taken from us very early in his journey, but his quirky music has sustained- perhaps even gotten better with age- and has influenced a lot of the mainstream acts of today.
I was first touched by his music when I went to see Revenge of the Nerds with my parents and brother. “We Are the Champions” wrapped up that all-time classic film. Later in junior high school, my brother started to listen to them more seriously. Then when I got to high school, a few years into my own silent way of dealing with my diagnosis, it was reported on MTV News that Freddie died… from AIDS.
And he was very secret about his status, to which I could relate at the time.
Now his story is about to get the Hollywood treatment, thus opening up the Queen saga to a whole new fanbase for the first time since Wayne and Garth and friends sang Bohemian Rhapsody in a drug-induced car ride in 1992, a year after Freddie passed. And who’s going to play him?
Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat and Bruno fame.
Some may balk. But I actually think Sacha is capable of playing a serious role. The greatest comedians, much like the greatest musicians, channel their pain into their craft, and I don’t think it’s such a stretch that a performer as deft as Cohen could do justice to Freddie’s life story. The one thing that I didn’t quite enjoy reading was that the movie will end with the band’s glorious set at Live Aid in 1985, which is a full six years before he passed to spirit.
I know I’m interested in aspects of his story that the general public may not be, but I want to know what those six years were like. I want to know how he dealt with the pressures of an HIV diagnosis and a huge business, which is what Queen were at the time when his health was in decline. The rise to rock stardom story has been told many times on film- but Freddie’s story is a unique opportunity to tell more than just that two dimensional ride.
Freddie Mercury is the most famous musician to die from AIDS. To overlook that aspect of his life story is a massive mistake, and demands more than just a scroll of text over the sounds of Bohemian Rhapsody in the final seconds of the movie just before the credits roll.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Favorite TV Show of 2010: Infomania
January 3, 2011
I know a lot of people like The Soup and Tosh.0, but when I want someone standing in front of a green screen delivering the funnies, I want Infomania. In my humble opinion it is the best because of it’s great cast of purveyors of wit and pop culture observations.
Here’s a segment from their year-end show, in which host Conor Knighton revisits some incredible 2010 moments that will hopefully not be repeated in 2011.
Also check out Ben Hoffman’s observation on why he feels the year 2010 sucked. I think Ben really shines on his kid’s show, Kid’s Kouch. If you are blessed with TiVo or DVR, do yourself a favor and add Infomania to your sacred list of watchables.
Hope your new year is off to a great start!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Watch Me, Myself & HIV on World AIDS Day (Weds on MTV)
November 29, 2010
One of my best cyberpals and HIV/AIDS advocate, Gilles Denizot, made me aware of an event he is participating in to commemorate World AIDS Day.
From the Facebook Event page:
“The Benson AIDS Series, founded in 1990 by Downtown Music Productions and Mimi Stern-Wolfe, has promoted the work of gifted composers, musicians and poets who are fighting HIV/AIDS, and preserved the creative legacy of those who have already died. The series was named for Eric BENSON (1946-1988), a singer, actor, musician, director and friend.“
To see the full program, click here, and click on “SEE MORE” under Event Info
If you’re in NYC, you should think about attending the Benson World AIDS Day concert this Wednesday at 8 pm. Wish I could go hear Gilles sing. Since I can’t, I’m going to support the Facebook group he founded, The Red Ribbon Army, and change my profile pic to a Red Ribbon.
Join the Army by clicking on Gilles
My good friends at MTV Staying Alive are debuting a one-off reality show on HIV/AIDS this Wednesday as well, it’s called “Me, Myself & HIV”, and follows the lives of two young people- Angelikah Demonikah and Slim Banda- as they navigate the realities of dating and being HIV positive. It’s well worth watching! Check the MTV Staying Alive Facebook page for air dates, or your local listings.
Check out the Me, Myself & HIV promo here!
Hope everyone has a great week. Let’s remember those we lost, and honor their spirits by raising awareness that HIV is preventable while living our own positoid lives with dignity and hope.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
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Happy 70th Birthday, John Lennon
October 9, 2010
Thirty years ago at age 40 the world’s most celebrated musician, John Lennon, was murdered. A social activist with a healthy sense of right and wrong was lost just before the AIDS crisis hit. It’s safe to assume that, had fate allowed him at least one more decade, he would have been a major ally in this fight.
Imagine… songs about AIDS that don’t suck. John calling out President Reagan for his silence on the topic. Advocating for clean needle exchange programs and safe sex. I think, or I hope, that he would have been at the forefront of every struggle we as people with HIV have faced along the way… because I seriously doubt that- with how hard HIV hit the art community- he wouldn’t have seen the effects of this in his social circle.
So, in thinking about this today, I want to wish you a Happy Birthday, John, wherever you are, just in case you are on your laptop poking around the Poz Blogs. And, if you are in Heaven and there is a God, I’m confidant that he knew full well what you meant when you wrote that line in “Imagine”.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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“No One’s Pleasure” Condoms by The Onion
September 19, 2010
Even though this article on a fictional Trojan condom was posted by The Onion in July, I just found out about it last night when Gwenn read it to me: hilarious stuff. The condom is called “No One’s Pleasure”, and it’s for embittered, resentful couples… enjoy!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Gwenn’s New Fashion Blog
August 30, 2010
In the cyberworld as in life, it can’t always be about AIDS. That’s why I want to let you know that Gwenn is contributing to a brand new fashion blog, Bon Marche by Jacyln Day. I’m proud of Gwenn, she went through an audition phase to be one a part of the Bon Marche team.
I just assisted her in being a photographer for her first review of products. Hope you will check it out!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
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T & Avatar: Piranha 3D A Bloody Good Time
August 23, 2010
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a movie with my movie-reviewing partner, Steve Schalchlin, or, as we are collectively known, the Hemo2Homo Connection. Right now, Steve (whose partner, Jim Brochu, is starring in the hilarious play, Zero Hour) is in the process of moving from Los Angeles to New York City, so I decided not to harass him into going to see Piranha 3D. Instead, I dedicate this review to my good friend as I wish him a happy relocation to the east coast.
by Shawn Decker
For the thinblooded community, I cannot recommend this movie enough. It’s got so much blood in it you may want to sneak some extra clotting factor along with that bag of smuggled candy. If you’re a clotter who isn’t scared of the sight of human plasma, then you too should crack open this pearl.
Before I begin, I must say that the previews for this movie really turned me off. Why pay extra for a 3D SyFy network-caliber movie? It wasn’t until I read a string of great reviews on Facebook that I opened my heart to the concept. The phrase “cleverly gory” pretty much sealed the deal the same way “starring Dolph Lundgren” had gotten me to The Expendables the weekend before. Also, the last 3D movie I saw on the big screen may have been Jaws in 3D, so I figured I was long overdue to dip my toes into these trippy waters and I was curious to see how far 3D technology has advanced in the last two decades.
And after seeing Piranha, I’m glad I didn’t ruin the effect by seeing Avatar… which I doubt had an extended underwater scene of two naked women swimming together… in 3D! (For my gay brothers, don’t worry, there’s more than enough beefcake in this movie to leave your sweet tooth for eye candy satisfied as well.) Outside of the neato visuals and bloodshed, the movie maintains a fun feel throughout- charmingly goofy, not too concerned with overplotting and supported by a great cast of familiar faces peppered by capable newcomers. Sure, the ticket price is upped a few more bucks for 3D, but in this case I didn’t leave the theater feeling cheated.
If you’re looking for a fun summer movie and have a soft spot in your heart for bloodthirsty monsters and scantily clad victims, then run- nay, swim- as fast as you can to the nearest theater.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Like what you’ve read? Then buy me an iced mocha or check out my new CD: Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, which is now on iTunes!
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Friday the 13th and Bad Blood
August 13, 2010
I grew up as a huge fan of horror movies, and the series of Friday the 13th movies were among my favorite. Jason Voorhees and his machete justice inspired me and my friends to purchase a plastic hockey mask and play out the movies every time the calendar reached that sacred date.
The first movie is about his mother, avenging her son’s supposed death at the hands of “distracted” (sex-obsessed) teenagers who were supposed to be watching the young Jason at Camp Crystal Lake. But Jason was really alive, surviving in the woods, likely watching his mother butcher those poor campers. Not sure if he was waiting for his roll of toilet paper to run out or for the calendar to reach April 1st before he jumped out to show his mommy was safe, but either way he waited too long- thus witnessing the last camper and the decapitation of his mother.
That, of course, set off a series of sequels in which young Jason grows up and continues the Voorhees family tradition of avenging a loved one’s death.
So how does Jason’s story relate to AIDS? Was he part of a top secret Reagan Era abstinence-enforcing unit? That sure would explain his penchant for cutting romantic encounters short. And, in writing the above, is there something in the origin of Jason’s story that tells the saga of the hemophilia community’s bloody crossroads with the AIDS epidemic? Parents of the children who were infected with HIV through blood product treatments banded together with the rage of Jason’s mother, learned the wrong-doings and failings of the institutions sworn to protect them and then sought justice and answers.
Perhaps I’m overthinking it?
Either way, there’s a new documentary out on the hemophilia community’s history with HIV and other blood-borne illnesses. It’s called Bad Blood, and it will be available on DVD on World AIDS Day, December 1st. I’ll be posting a reminder as that date nears… in the meantime, if you’re out camping and you hear something rustling around in the woods… well, my best advice is to use a condom, and hope that you are able to finish up before any uninvited guests join the party.
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
Like what you’ve read? Then buy me an iced mocha or check out my new CD:
Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, which is now on iTunes!
SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.
LIFE IN PHOTOS
"You look constipated." - @gwennbarringer in our latest #YouTube video. #vlog #HIV #AIDS #sexualhealth #funny #twitter #twidiots
Happy birthday Gwenn. :) :) :)
Dolph Ziggler is out of action in real life (for now).. but on my video game he triumphed over the Jawas! #games #wwe #starwars #dreammatches
Always share a good laugh with my doctor. Here, I say something that makes him really lose it. Will post the vid in a future Shawn & Gwenn video! http://YouTube.com/shawnandgwenn
Speaking About Sexual Health
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