Blog Posts + Articles + Happenings
Facebook Group STILL Offers Cure For HIV
Last month I wrote a blog entry about the "From HIV Positive to HIV Negative" Facebook group that is claiming to cure HIV with a juice called ""Ngcolosi Magic" (UMLINGO WAMANGCOLOSI). It must work if the name is in all caps, that's gotta be the thinking there....
What I Think of the New Findings on Anti-Retroviral Treatment
I take a lot of pride in my work, which is educating college students on the proper use of condoms. I don't do this alone- my wife partner, Gwenn, speaks alongside me. She is HIV negative, and I am HIV positive. If you're reading my blog, you probably already know all...
Decker’s Daily Top Mocha Moment
There were really so many- too many to count! And I know I left a lot of precious moments off the list, including my P. Decker Fungi rendering of Andre the Giant. But you can't please everyone! For the top Mocha Moment, I have to return to the Synthetic Division tour...
Decker’s Daily Top Ten Mocha Moments of ’10 (10 through 2)
Remember Decker's Daily? That's the pictures of me drinking iced mochas everyday, begging for freebies because I have AIDS. Notice how I use "AIDS" instead of HIV when I'm begging for things like AIDS Walk donations and free drinks? Well, for about two years I kept...
Favorite TV Show of 2010: Infomania
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....
A New Year, A New Cure?
It's the new year and I'm still not cured of HIV, dammit. I ended 2010 with a good amount of t-cells intact, but still the elusive cure is far from my grasp, despite the reports on the "Berlin Patient", a man who has been seemingly cured of HIV for three years via a...
2010 Person of the Year: Bob Bowers
I really believe that my HIV status has made me a better human being. Early in life, it taught me a lot about discrimination, which shaped my views on race, misogyny and homophobia as I entered my teenage years and adulthood. At 20, which I spoke out about being HIV...
A Rocktree New Year Greeting
Earlier this year- in what many found to be a peculiar blog post- I shared the story of the legendary Rocktree Brothers, an alt-country duo from the early 1970's who have been said to influence the sound of modern day bands such as the Kings of Leon, who are rumored...
Goodbye 2010, New Year’s Resolution
It's bittersweet to say goodbye to 2010 because it was a pretty good year to me. In reflecting on the year, I realize that the health I enjoyed made it one of my faves. Why? I got to tour with one of my best friends, Josh, and play shows with my friends in Bella...
Vote Synthetic Division, Interim T-Cell Champion
Subculture Shock on 91.9 WNRN has been a long-time supporter of my synth music, AKA Synthetic Division. The radio program is doing an end-of-the-year best singles of 2010 as voted on by their listeners. A Synthetic Division song, "A Symptom of Life", has made the...
The Winner of the Third Labtest Contest…
Before I announce the results of my Labtest Contest, I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled with my decision to give away my sweet hat. I even took to my Facebook page, urging friends to vote so that- should they win- they could then turn around and hand my the hat...
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell… Repealed!
Yesterday the Senate voted to be able to vote for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which they did. It's been a confusing ride for non-politicos such as myself, but I'm happy to see that this campaign promise of Barack Obama has come to fruition. Of the 65 votes in...
Last Day to Guess T-Cells, Holiday Goodies List
This is the last day to vote on the Labtest Contest and win this awesome hat! Competition is fierce, but it's nothing compared to how fierce you'll look in this hat, which complements all seasons and sexes. If you're like me this holiday season, then you've probably...
Labtest Contest III: Guess My T-Cells, Win Hat
Last March and July, I held a "Labtest Contest", giving readers of this blog a chance to win something cool simply by guessing how many t-cells I have when I get my labs drawn. Well, it's that time again, so put on your thinking caps because the prize for the closest...
Happy Holidays from Shawn & Gwenn
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season! Love, Shawn & Gwenn YouTube, Facebook and Twitter Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn's Fashion/Coffee Blog SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.
Facebook Group Claims to Cure HIV
The Red Ribbon Army has called attention to a group on Facebook called "From HIV Positive to HIV Negative" in the hopes of having it removed from the social networking site. In order to help do so, click on the group's page, scroll down to the bottom left and click...
Post-World AIDS Day, Happy Holidays
I'm back home safely after a weeks' worth of travels for World AIDS Week. A big thank you to the following universities and colleges for inviting me and Gwenn (and HIV prevention!) to campus: Illinois State University, Kent State-Stark, University of Mount Union,...
Watch Me, Myself & HIV on World AIDS Day (Weds on MTV)
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,...
The Poz 100… Poz’s Sexiest Man Alive?
In the recent issue of Poz, the magazine listed 100 activists and educators in the HIV/AIDS community- The Poz 100. I read on twitter that ACT UP Wisconsin thought it seemed a little elitist. It's a tough call, because there are so many people out there doing...
Bad Blood: This Month’s Issue of Poz Magazine
This month's issue of Poz Magazine is now online- in it I had the pleasure of interviewing Marilyn Ness about her powerful and enlightening documentary, Bad Blood, which details the treatment history of people with hemophilia and how HIV impacted the community in the...
Talking the AIDS Talk on College Campuses
Last week, Gwenn and I were on the road speaking, and it was a leisurely trip as far as travel is concerned. We packed up our own car, forgoing airplanes and rental cars, and drove to Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. After a great program there, we went to...
Religious Leaders Doing Something About HIV
Last month I posted about my general frustration with how the church has handled HIV prevention. Well, imagine my delight when I received an email about a Brown University researcher, Amy Nunn (really her name!), who has partnered with around 100 pastors in the...
America Has Teabagged Itself
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...
Hope You Had a Happy Halloween
Hope you had a happy Halloween! From me as Shaggy, Gwenn as Scooby Doo. And our pals, Velma (Lauren), Evie (Scrappy), Micah (Fred) and Christina (Daphne). Positively Yours, Shawn Watch, Friend and Follow me on:YouTube, Facebook and Twitter Website: ShawnandGwenn.com...
Thank You, Neil Willenson
Camp Heartland (now One Heartland) founder Neil Willenson is a hero in the HIV/AIDS community because has helped thousands of children with HIV both forget about their status and learn how to accept it. By starting a summer for HIV positive children back in 1993, Neil...
Vote, Vote, Vote on Tuesday
On Tuesday, vote for the candidate most likely to give a shit about 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 SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE...
Aid For Aidan: A Halloween Story
This Halloween, a kid named Aidan is busy drawing up some scary monsters. Which makes him just like a lot of other kids around this time of year. But something that sets this 5-year old apart is that he is going through chemotherapy treatment for cancer... The good...
One Student, Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign
I referenced a speaking pal, Erin Weed, in my last post about the It Gets Better campaign. Well, this week on Wear Purple Wednesday, my good speaking buddies, Kelly and Becca, launched an ambitious campaign to provide resources for those affected by sexual assault....
Wear Purple Day
So this purple thing has caught fire- big time endorsements to wear purple have been coming in all day from notables such as Barney and the Incredible Hulk, who says, "I wear short purple pants every day in order to fight homophobia". (Thanks to @BuddhistHulk on...
It Gets Better, It Gets Worse
I blogged about the It Gets Better campaign last week in regard to the bullying of the teenage LGBT community and the recent, tragic suicides linked to institutionalized bullying. My friend, Erin Weed*, posted a great blog entry on how we all can do better than...