What People Are Saying About AIDS on Twitter 2
May 20, 2013
It’s YouTube Comedy Week, and Gwenn and I found some real laughers when searching “#AIDS” on Twitter. It appears that people are still using the word “AIDS” to get across their daily frustrations.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
My Poz.Com Exclusive Article, “Adventures in Baby-Making”
April 8, 2013
I had the pleasure of talking with Mark Zatyrka about he and his wife’s decision to have children using sperm washing. (Mark’s been HIV positive since childhood, his partner, Sasha, is HIV negative.)
Read it on Poz.com here:
Adventures in Baby-Making
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Uncle Mook, Vail, Poll and My Pet Virus Screenplay
April 3, 2013
But first and foremost, I feel a public goodbye to my Uncle Mook (my dad’s little brother) is in order. He was truly a great guy, always ready to have a good laugh and always very kind to me. He’d been diagnosed with an illness that gave fair warning of the end, which is a mixed blessing of course… but I’m glad I had the chance to speak with him on the phone about a month ago, when I was being an uncle myself and watching some wrestling with my niece.
Uncle Mook, you will be missed. Thanks for all the lessons on what it means to be a loving uncle.
So, last weekend Gwenn and I went to Vail, thanks to a contest put on by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in partnership with the Vail Film Festival. It truly is stunning how scenically beautiful Vail is, and a trip out of town certainly hit the spot, too. We met a lot of wonderful folks, from Best Student Film winner, James Cox (for Grey Matter, a Stephen King story) to Tate Taylor, director of The Help. We also got to see the screening of Keep the Promise, a documentary about the March on Washington last year, directed by Jorg Fockele and Marc Smolowitz, both incredibly talented and amiable allies in raising awareness about HIV.
At the Closing Awards Ceremony, Allison Janney and Tate Taylor did a Q&A, and every film screened at the Festival was up for an award. My contest-winning, 60-second video (below) was shown to an audience of very talented filmmakers… it was quite a thrill! Especially since it got a great response. Allison said, “I loved your film!” afterwards. She and Tate were both so kind as to record PSAs for AIDS Healthcare Foundation about why HIV funding, awareness and prevention are still needed.
Allison Janney!
Gwenn with Jorg, Marc and Terri Ford of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Either way, I’m busy doing what I can to make that happen.
My good friends at the MTV Staying Alive Foundation have teamed up with the UN in creating a poll that will have very real consequences on which issues will get the most attention when it comes to policy-making on a global scale. I logged my Vote for “Better Healthcare”, because without decent healthcare I most certainly would not be here today.
Let your voice be heard here: http://bit.ly/15UNvFW
Hope this message finds you all well.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Baby Cured of HIV?
March 5, 2013
Positively Yours,
Shawn
VLOG: Have You Been Tested?
February 5, 2013
Our latest vlog is about HIV testing… check it out!
Last week’s vlog was about the difference between HIV and AIDS. You might know the difference, but a lot of folks don’t. So we figured we’d explain it.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
VLOG: “Dear Gwenn, Are You Scared?”
January 22, 2013
In our latest video, Gwenn answers a question she gets all of the time: is she scared of contracting HIV as the negative partner in a sero-diverse relationship?
Congrats to frogi1013 for winning the Giveaway from the last video.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
VLOG: What People Are Saying About AIDS on Twitter
January 8, 2013
It’s our first new video of 2013! Going to be doing one a week, posting them on Tuesdays. For this one, we went onto Twitter and clicked on the topic of AIDS, which is “#AIDS” in Twitter-speak. Came across some real gems, let me tell ya… well, I do, in the video below.
Thanks for watching and keeping up with us, and I hope that the new year is off to a great start for you!
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Don Drake: Fighting the Good Fight
January 3, 2013
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Don Drake of Victory Programs, a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to helping the homeless, those with HIV/HCV and people dealing with substance abuse issues. Don discusses his former life as pro wrestler “DC Drake”, what it was like wrestling at a time when fears about HIV transmission were rampant and also how it felt when several online wrestling websites erroneously posted the news of his death.
I found out that Don Drake is still very much alive- and that is something we should all be very thankful for because he’s fighting the good fight. Read my interview with Don here.
Find out what the incredible Victory Programs is all about and follow them on Twitter at: @VictoryPrograms.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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
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.
Check out Shawn's music and buy his book, My Pet Virus, which is now available on Kindle!
It will be the funniest book you've ever read about someone having AIDS... guaranteed!