Blog Posts + Articles + Happenings
A Nice Fit For National Condom Week
A recent, small study at the University of Kentucky examined why some don't enjoy condoms- the main reason? They don't fit right. That's according to the 400 young men who'd recently used (or attempted to use) condoms for penile-vaginal intercourse.Read...
Back Home
Gwenn and I managed to avoid Snowpacolypse and get to everywhere we needed to last week, flying from Virginia to California, St. Louis and then Boston before getting back home today. We really lucked out, avoiding snow that came before and after we left home and...
California State University San Marcos
Remember how I got sick and had to miss our World AIDS Day talk last December? It's okay if you don't. Well, on Tuesday night we made up that failed date, speaking at Cal State University San Marcos to recognize National Condom Day. We got out of...
SnOMG Super Black AIDS Bowl Weekend
The weekend was so packed with snow and events that I didn't have time to load the rest of my iMovie trailers from seven odd years ago. So you'll have to wait for Alien Pen and Rusty the Vampire Deer Hunter...One thing I didn't have to wait long on was for the...
Snowsquatch is Coming…
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...
Decker’s Daily Band of the Month: a’tris
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...
Shawn’s Sicks Days
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...
She Won! Positoids Rejoice!
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...
Miss(ing) America
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...
The Pregnancy Pact
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...
Helping Positoids in Haiti
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....
Who Is HIV Hoax… Guy?
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...
HIV Hoax Lady’s Viral Video
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...
Ethan Zohn Home
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...
How I Ended 2009 In The Hospital
2009 wasn't the best year for me health wise, as illustrated by my multi-part series about World AIDS Week in December a few weeks ago. Since then, I've figured that I spent at least 1/6 of the year at less than 100%, due to two coughing episodes that lasted a...
Uganda’s Proposed “Gay Death Panels”
Been hearing bits and pieces of this story for the last month, and the proposed anti-gay laws in Uganda in which it would be punishable by law to not report someone whom you suspected of being a homosexual. In addition, the language of the law made it...
My Avatar: Interplanetary Traveler (by Lauren Hoffman)
One of the best things about 2009 was having iced mochas with Gwenn and our friend, Lauren Hoffman. Her daughter, Evelyn (I call her "Evie") joins in on most of these occasions, stealing foam from the top of Gwenn and Lauren's drinks. The highlight of 2009...
My 2009 Person of the Year: Ethan Zohn
When the mood strikes, I like to get in on the Person of the Year honors the same way that Time Magazine does. In the past, honorees have included Steve Carrell (2001) and last year's upset kid of 2008, Mike the Miz from the world of professional wrestling. But this...
Merry Christmas To You
Merry Christmas! Just a little blog from me wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday. Lots of love from this positoid (and his favorite negatoid) to you.Positively Yours,Shawn Shawn on: ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn's Poz...
December 2-5: Ramapo, Central Florida and VA Tech
December 2-5: After factoring up and getting some rest, I was ready to roll for the rest of the week. Our first stop was Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. They have an incredible Women's Center on campus, and we met most of the staff who keep...
An Unforgettable World AIDS Day
December 1, 2009: Waking up at home on World AIDS Day was strange- it's the first time that's happened since Gwenn and I started speaking as a couple... last time was in 1999, if I'm not mistaken. I wasn't quite sure if I was out of the bleeding woods, so I...
Happy Holidays from Shawn and Gwenn
I interrupt the regularly scheduled AIDS Week programming to wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season, from the bottom of my thinblooded heart and monkey-footed pajamas.Positively Yours,Shawn Shawn on: ShawnandGwenn.com Shawn's...
World AIDS Week 2009: World AIDS Day Eve
Monday November 30: World AIDS Day Eve in Jacksonville, FLDespite the lack of sleep, I woke up feeling alright, though I warned Gwenn that she may have to carry me for the day's work, which is the best thing about being a tandem. If one of us is off, the other...
World AIDS Week 2009: One Week Ago…
The blog has been dormant, but for the past week things have been pretty hectic. And since I'm going to be lounging around the next four or five days recovering, I figured it would be fun to do what I didn't have the time or energy to do one week ago... which...
World AIDS Day 2009: What To Do?
World AIDS Day is upon us once again. This Tuesday will mark the 23rd year of its observance. For the last ten years I've traveled with Gwenn to educate about HIV/AIDS- this is by far the busiest time of the year for us.So, I'm going out to talk about how...
Carson Raymond Foundation
Gwenn and I watch a lot of poker on TV, usually before we go to bed. It's oddly hypnotizing- the sound of the chips, the chatter at the table, Ali Nejad's wonderful Poker After Dark commentary. I also enjoy playing Texas Hold 'Em... my gambling...
(b)Lab Results and Killer Books
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,...
Hemo2Homo Connection: The Butt For You Review
No, the Hemo2Homo Connection movie review team has not ventured into the realm of adult entertainment. Some months back, both Steve Schalchlin- my erstwhile movie review partner- and I were approached by a padded underwear company to give their Butt For You...
Veteran’s Day: The Truth About Gays in the Military?
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...
Reform Passes House, V Fails
The Bill for health care/insurance reform passed the House, up next is a vote in the Senate. I'm sure you don't come to Shawn's Blog for all of your political news, but this has captured my attention as of late and I'd feel kind of toolish if I didn't write about...