Blog Posts + Articles + Happenings
Pageants and Wrestlemania
After the DC trip last week I judged a pageant, in which not one but two girls were crowned. It was the last preliminary before Miss Virginia, and contestants had to have been a runner-up in a previous pageant to qualify. High stakes! As a thinblooded judge, the...
Sean Strub, Cable Positive and OMG Rachel Maddow
Back in November, I wrote about how President Obama should appoint Poz founder, Sean Strub, as the new White House AIDS Czar because an intelligent and thoughtful positoid in that position would be incredible. Well, the administration didn't follow my...
Pedro & Sean & Me
I am so relieved- MTV's "Pedro" was a good movie. I got teary-eyed, it hit all the right notes and it was interesting to see the details portrayed in Judd Winick's graphic novel, Pedro & Me, come to life in this film.It didn't hurt matters that the...
My April Fool’s Day Joke 2009
The general public seems none-too-impressed with this year's joke of screaming, "I'm cured! I'm cured!" Then saying. "No, I'm just kidding- I still have AIDS. April Fool's Day!" Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
A Night with Puck (Pedro on MTV tonight)
Pedro Zamora Appreciation Week on this blog continues in anticipation of tonight's movie, Pedro, on MTV, tonight at 8 pm (EST). In terms of the Real World portion of Pedro's life, who can forget the huge rivalry with Puck, the snot-loving bike messenger? The...
Must Watch TV: Pedro on MTV
MTV to Air Biopic on Pedro Zamora I was excited to read in Poz Magazine about a made-for-TV movie about Pedro Zamora, entitled "Pedro", which will air at 8 pm this Wednesday. In case you're not familiar, Pedro was the HIV-positive young man who appeared on MTV's...
MyPetVirus.com Relaunch… Questions?
So I had a cold for about a week, which blew. But from that agony (it wasn't that bad) good things happened- I missed a terrible movie that I didn't want to see in The Knowing, and ate a lot of soup.I was trapped inside my home, body and mind. Which meant...
Hemo2Homo Connection: The Knowing Review
Homo: Hemo, I hear you're home sick. Hemo: Pesky little cold. Sorry I couldn't make it to a movie this weekend. But I did make this killer movie poster... Homo: Nice work!And that's OK- I'll entertain you by telling you about what I saw. ...
Catching Up With Color Theory
I don't spend too much time on MySpace these days. Seems to be either a haven for call girls or bad bands. But recently I got an Add Request from the very cool synth project of Brian Hazard, who goes by Color Theory. There's an interesting tie-in to my...
Shawn’s Tool Academy: The Pope
Last month I debuted a new feature on my blog, Shawn's Tool Academy, in which I honor those I deem tools. Who could forget the first dishonoree, Mr. I-Want-Babies-To-Get-AIDS, Dave Schultheis (T)?There was mild concern that the term "tool" was too light for...
Miss Virginia… Shaves Head?
No, this isn't a Britney Spears head-shaving incident: Tara Wheeler (Miss Virginia) is literally putting her hair on the line. If she raises $500,000 before April 11, the lovely locks go bye-bye for a great cause.It's all for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a...
It’s Official: Erin Weed Joins My Gang
Everyone thought I was kidding with the whole Swatchmen thing. That the idea of starting a gang the day after they discover a cure for hemophilia was merely another flight of fancy on a blog that's been plagued by flights of fancy- or, even better- fantasy. Well, I'm...
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
"Don't even THINK about pinching me, sucka."Happy St. Patrick's Day!Love,Shawn and GwennClick here to hear an interview we did on a local radio station yesterday! Share the Blog. Not the Virus.
Facebook AIDS Lawsuit
A high school student is suing fellow classmates and Facebook for $3 million for defamation of character after falsely being accused of having AIDS, being sexually promiscuous and engaging in bestiality. You can read the story here.It got me thinking: what would be...
HIV Co-Discoverer Fighting for Cure
The co-discoverer of HIV is locked in some legal wrangling over a potential cure for HIV, one that uses "a process that would pinpoint illnesses by their electromagnetic signature and potentially block or neutralize them with an opposing signal..."You can read the...
… Still No Cures?
It's been about four days since the ban on embryonic stem cells was lifted and I'm still living with hemophilia and HIV... not to mention a dormant hepatitis C virus that I just mentioned. What gives?I had big weekend plans with the Swatchmen, too. Perhaps...
Stem Cell Ban Lifted
Obama has lifted the ban on stem cells, leading the way for scientists who are eager to cure me of all my ills. A life without hemophilia? What would I do? I would be a cutter! At least for a weekend, just because I could. Life without...
Hemo2Homo Connection: The Watchmen Review
HEMO2HOMO REVIEWS WATCHMEN Hemo: You know, Homo, I was worried when you said you wanted to review a film called Watch Men... thought we were moving into the realm of gay porn. Homo: You know what's funny, Hemo, is that all my straight friends made this same joke....
Coming Attraction…
"You know, Steve, when you told me you wanted to review Watch Men, I thought you just wanted to watch a gay porn." - Hemo (Shawn)Decker. Schalchlin. Hemo. Homo. Back together again as the most dynamic movie reviewing duo living with AIDS. ...
Beer Pong Herpes VS. Wrestling Herpes
Just saw a story on "Beer Pong Herpes" on the Colbert Report- just after reading a story on "Wrestling Herpes" several weeks ago... so, what are they, and which is real? I'll start with the what. First up... "Wrestling Herpes". This is the spread of herpes among...
Went to a Play
I fulfilled my duties as an uncle last week when I went to see my niece in her school's rendition of Cinderella: she was the wicked stepmother. And she stole the show... Until the Fairy Godmother came out. A little 9 year old boy dressed in drag. Well, better for...
Depeche Mode “Wrong”
Yes, I'm still a big mark for Depeche Mode, and their new song, "Wrong", is oh-so-right. Here's the music video: Sample lyrics: "I was born with the wrong sign... I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time.. the wrong mix, in the wrong genes..." Love it. Positively...
Shawn’s Tool Academy Welcomes…
I love VH1's reality show, Tool Academy, which began with a great swerve. A group of guys thought they were competing on a TV show to discover "America's Top Alpha Male- AKA- Mr. Awesome", but they'd really been nominated by their girlfriends for the Tool Academy....
15 years of AIDS at the Oscars
There's a great article on Poz.com, written by the talented Mr. Bob Ickes. It examines AIDS impact at the Oscars. Check it out! Also, in my post-Oscar wrap blog, I mentioned that Heath Ledger wasn't in this year's "Death Montage" segment. That's because he was there...
Song from “Acoustic” Show
YouTube finally accepted this video- it's a song I wrote about one of my favorite things: sleep. "Back to Sleep" is the title, this is me and my band mate Marshall performing it on Valentine's Day. Enjoy! Below is a vid I stumbled upon after I posted/edited the above....
British Report on Tainted Blood Scandal
The Associated Press ran a story yesterday about a report on the tainted blood scandal in Britain, which you can read here. In Britain, 5,000 hemophiliacs were infected with HIV and hepatitis C, a third of whom have died as a result. The House of Lords (not a trip-hop...
Oscar Results
FAIL. The Hemo2Homo Connection couldn't have been more wrong in their predictions. Steve called it for Best Actor with Sean Penn, and the winner even gave the Connection a shout out from stage, saying "Homo" in his acceptance speech. Don't believe me? Check it out at...
Hemo2Homo… Oscar Special!
Tonight is the Oscars. It's always a chance for me and Steve- The Hemo2Homo Connection- to match wits and predict winners. I'll post the results tomorrow and will try not to gloat too much when I win. Oh, and I forgot to wear my suit to this blog entry, so I'm going...
My Column in New Issue of Poz
I have a new column in the latest issue of Poz Magazine, you can read it here: "Week On, Week Off". It's about the ups and one big down of my last seven years on my Structured Treatment Interruption. Hope you enjoy reading it- I am especially proud of all of the...
Bugs in the Bedroom
Tomorrow Gwenn and I are heading out again, only this time we are going to be doing an HIV education program called "Bugs in the Bedroom". It differs from "A Boy, A Girl, A Virus" in that it also focuses on general STIs and involves a lot of props and role playing...