America Has Teabagged Itself
November 4, 2010
They say anything is possible in this country, and it just happened. A sexual act once thought impossible was performed on Tuesday when America successfully teabagged itself.
Earlier this week, Editor-in-Chief of Poz Magazine, Regan Hofmann, blogged about why the AIDS community should vote and care about Tuesday’s election. It’s worth the read, especially if it’s bittersweet after the election’s results. By the way, when you’re done with it, could you pass the mouthwash please?
Thanks.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
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Vote, Vote, Vote on Tuesday
October 31, 2010
On Tuesday, vote for the candidate most likely to give a shit about you.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
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Don’t Ask. Don’t Tell. Don’t Bother?
September 26, 2010
Last week another kick to my soul nuts was delivered by the Republican filibuster in regard to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Of course, many other benefits to troops were also put on hold due to the rampant homophobia of folks who’d never serve themselves (McCain and a select few aside, of course).
I say if you vote for multiple wars, you damn well should stand out of the way of capable Americans willing to put their lives on the line to fight them.
As for McCain, I wish Cindy McCain could have removed her NOH8 duct tape from her mouth and talked some humanity into her husband, who once fought so bravely to protect our country but, this year, is fighting hard to protect his job. It’s an election year, and he has a base to appeal to. Can’t get frisky on the issues, not now… not ever. I gotta think if a gay Rambo had busted in to save his ass in ‘Nam when he was a P.O.W., he wouldn’t have filibustered that.
Am I in a particularly salty mood? Yes. Because I’m beginning to realize that whether the Republicans are in control (my entire 20s were spent educating about HIV, condoms and sexual health under a federally mandated, Bush-stamped abstinence only agenda) or the Democrats, I will be upset by what’s happening in the world of politics. It’s enough to make one want to curl up and just ignore it all until someone else- or simply time itself- corrects the problem.
Do I think DADT will be repealed? Yes, especially since the majority of voters support the repeal of this discriminatory and oft-abused measure: namely the Don’t Ask part of the deal…
I know I can’t personally fight the wars: I have a bleeding disorder and, quite frankly, I’m a wuss. But when I can do is voice my disapproval. Wuss or no wuss, we should all do the same. Because the wars of ideology at home are just as important- if not more so- than the wars we fight abroad. This is for the heart of our country, and if the only casualty is ignorance then the eventual victory is definitely worth fighting for.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
A ridiculously humorous take on Gays in the Military by the Onion. Please remember that this is a spoof, it’s fake, it’s comedy.
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O’Donnell: If You Can’t Beat It… Join ‘Em?
September 22, 2010
I haven’t been blogging too much lately. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in a fetal position, pacifier in my mouth crying for a Mother Earth to explain some things to me. Like how an anti-masturbation advocate can be one election away from a Senate seat? Or how a majority of Americans can support the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, yet Republicans can still filibuster it right off the table?
Right now I’m going to focus on Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell. It’s a state election. I get it. It’s Delaware’s business whom they ultimately elect to represent them. Of course, money can come in from anywhere in elections, but the people decide who represents them with a push of the button in November. In the primary, O’Donnell’s camp claimed her Republican opponent Mike Castle was cheating on his wife with men en route to the upset win. Again, I don’t know anything about Delaware or whether that cheap shot helped or not.
Thus far the polls show that O’Donnell is trailing against her Democratic opponent, whose name escapes me because it does not inspire the rage that O’Donnell does. I don’t know if that lead will hold up, but I hope against hope that she doesn’t win or become some folk hero in defeat in the same manner that pay-for-your-own-damn-rape-kit Gov. Sarah Palin has. What’s even worse is that O’Donnell made a name for herself as an anti-masturbation activist. And now, for once, I know how the gun rights advocates feel. Charlton Heston famously said that they could pry his gun from his cold dead hands. Well, O’Donnell can pry my penis from my cold dead hands should she outlive me.
Another thing about O’Donnell that has bothered me is her claim that abstinence is the only sure-fire way to prevent the spread of HIV. Well, for single folks I call masturbation “abstinence with a smile!”, and as an educator I give it the 100% safety seal of approval. And for those in relationships, nothing eases sexual tension like rubbing one out. It’s a lot cheaper than couples therapy, too.
All jokes aside, she has also stated publicly that condoms don’t prevent the spread of HIV and told Bill O’Reilly that it is “anti-human” to promote condom use. Really? Damn, I’ve been spending the entirety of my adult life promoting condom use, and also enjoying its benefits in protecting my wife partner, Gwenn, from HIV… for ten years running! How championing the prevention of HIV, a virus that can and does kill humans, is anti-human is beyond my realm of thinking apparently.
I know that people can say just about whatever they want, and that the price is usually ridicule. That’s why, as a sex educator, it’s so baffling that Christine O’Donnell has been rewarded with a major party’s nomination for a Senate seat. If she wins, it could be the first step towards something bigger… perhaps the road to the White House?
In preparation, I’ve decided that, should she win in November and become a state senator, I really need to change my ways. No more condom talk, mocha drinkin’ and liberal views (equality for all, social security for seniors and the ability for kids with cancer to keep their health insurance) outlook. I’m going to dial all that back, get really paranoid about other things and not worry too much about a whole lot of nuthin’. In Wal-Mart I picked out a hat just in case O’Donnell wins and I have to make good on this.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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The Kings of Belmont at Fridays After Five
June 24, 2010
This Friday The Kings of Belmont are playing at Fridays After Five, Charlottesville’s weekly summer groovedown at the Pavilion on the downtown mall. I got the inside info from Catherine, one of my favorite Decker’s Daily baristas.
So, for lovers of local, homegrown bands that jam it out like nobody’s business, definitely check these guys out.
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!
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One Condoms Giving Away Free Music
June 18, 2010
My buddies over at One Condoms are celebrating their big splash in Target by giving away 1,000,000 free songs- I’m honored that Synthetic Division is among the bands whose music they will be sharing.
To get your free song, simply do one of the following things via onecondoms.com:
- Signing up for their mailing list
- Becoming a Fan of One Condoms on Facebook
- Following @onecondoms on Twitter
- Signing a Safer Sex Oath
- Filling out a Sex Survey
- Touch Shawn’s Balls
Okay, I stuck the last one in to see if you were paying attention. One Condoms can’t help you out on that last item, but do take them up on their offer for a free song. They provide lots of cool bands and musicians with free condoms that are passed out on tour (much like Synthetic Division did on the recent tour with Bella Morte). I’m sure the bands feel the same way as I do about returning the kindness of One Condoms and giving away a free song.
Enjoy, hope everyone has a good weekend!
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.
(b)Lab Results and Killer Books
November 20, 2009
A couple of weeks ago I went in for my every-four month labs to see what’s cookin’ with my pet virus. Good news: my t-cells are 511 (28%) and the viral load was less than 48 copies, which is near nothing. That’s pretty much the same as they were in June, and have been in the ballpark for the last couple of years.
As has been chronicled, I do a week on HIV meds, followed by a week off. These labs were taken after 6 days off meds. With the success I’ve had keeping my numbers stable, I broached the topic of trying one week on, two weeks off meds.. but Dr. Greg wasn’t too keen on it, thinking that two weeks would be too much time for the virus to cause trouble. He said he wasn’t too worried about the short-term effects, but was thinking that down the line it could present other problems in my body.
I relented quickly, because I respect my doctor for going along with the plan that has worked like a charm. And he’s the one who reads every boring article that comes out about the intricacies of this virus.
My reason for wanting a longer break has been absent-mindedness and lethargy. Recent articles on how HIV can affect the brain and memory haven’t set me at ease, either. I don’t write much about my worries about living with HIV, but I can say that losing my wits is right up there at the top. And it’s especially frustrating on the days when things just aren’t clicking in the old nugget; like when I wake up feeling exhausted instead of rested or, in the middle of a shower, I wonder if I’ve already washed my hair or not.
This tends to happen after a couple of days on meds. But I do wonder whether I pin everything on the medications, because laying blame on the virus is too damn scary a thought.
If I haven’t been blogging much, it’s because because my terd brain is liking the Twitter format: in and out, done in less than 140 characters. I’ve been working on my second book. Printing it out and realizing it wasn’t quite up to par has made me doubt myself and my ability to focus and tell a story that’s 70,000 words as well, another reason why the two weeks off fantasy materialized. Also, 70,000 words is a substantial amount of characters… way more than Twitter allows. If I don’t get the book where I want it, maybe I’ll just release the damn thing for free on Twitter as a 500-part series?
The inner battle to continue my writing career has been fueled by the literary (sales) success of Carrie Prejean and Sarah Palin, both of whom outsold my cult classic memoir, My Pet Virus, in a matter of minutes. Palin’s book even offed Rachel Maddow, one of my favorite TV politicos.
See, I plan to outsell both Prejean and Palin together, but it’s going to take a lot of books to do it… and that’s why I’m sticking with one week on, one week off meds schedule that has worked for me. Writing isn’t fruitful at the moment, so I’m setting the book aside until the new year. There’s World AIDS Day/Week to focus on, which is taking me and Gwenn to five different states in five days. And then there’s the holidays soon after.. but when the dust settles, I will write again.
In the meantime, I will sleep with one eye open, looking out for that damn Going Rogue book of Palin’s. If you want to live to see 2010, I’d suggest that you do the same.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on: 
ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn’s Poz columns Shawn’s book Decker’s Daily Coffee
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Veteran’s Day: The Truth About Gays in the Military?
November 11, 2009
The Onion has done it again. They’ve peeled back the rhetoric to examine- in a comedic manner- why there is a ban on gays in the military. Perhaps it’s love for, and not fear of, gays that is the culprit?
Allow the fake general to explain.
Happy Veteran’s Day. Here’s to a future veteran’s day that honors all who serve our country proudly, regardless of sexual orientation. Let everyone fight for me, because thinbloods will be the last ones allowed out on the combat fields… I ain’t complainin’, I’m more cut out for Mortal Kombat than actual combat.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Shawn on:
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life in photos
I am frightened by ceilings. A terrible phobia to have.
Today's assortment of treats: tea for Gwenn, a mocha for me and a cookie to share.
My buddy Sharanya preparing my mocha with just an extra dash of love.
Hanging on wall in our guest bedroom. Couldn't agree more!
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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