UPDATE: Bernie Tarver has a comprehensive list of bloggers posting today
I don't usually look forward to World AIDS Day. Although it's a worthy and important day, I often feel that too little is done about the pandemic. Many will feel as if they're doing something important...
Wait, that's how I started off last year's observance of the day. For me it's about fatigue. I haven't done much about the problem lately. Years past I was a big observer and people came to me (or more likely, I went to them whether they asked or not, needed or not) for advice on testing and orgs that could those living with the disease.
Links are pretty much it for me:
World AIDS Day - The "official" website
Following Rosa Parks Lead in the Fight Against AIDS
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ declaration that enough is enough, we also note that today, on the 18th commemoration of World AIDS Day, Black women still face a world in need of change.
World AIDS Day - Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.
On 1 December, UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot met with the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia H.E. Yusuf Kalla in Jakarta. Both took part in special World AIDS Day activities. In his World AIDS Day message, Dr Piot stressed that with increased investments in HIV prevention, treatment and care each and every country can reverse the spread of AIDS.
People of Color in Crisis - I see no commemoration of WAD
The Balm In Gilead - Stalwarts in the fight for PLA and for education of everyone, offers some facts. Here are some:
— Of the estimated 40,000 new HIV infections each year, more than 50 percent occur among African Americans.
— In 1998, African American women constituted 64 percent of new female AIDS cases, African American men accounted for 50 percent of new AIDS cases among men.
— AIDS is the number one cause of death for Black adults aged 25 to 44, before heart disease, cancer and homicide.
— One in 50 Black men is HIV-positive. One in 160 Black women is HIV-positive.
— Black senior citizens represent more than 50 percent of HIV cases among persons over age 55.
— In 1998, men of color who have sex with men represented 52 percent of total AIDS cases. By comparison, in 1989 men of color who have sex with men represented 31 percent of total AIDS cases.
— Although only 15 percent of the adolescent population in the United stated is Black, over 60 percent of AIDS cases reported in 1999 among 13-19 year olds were among Blacks.
— Black children represent almost two-thirds (62 percent) of all reported pediatric AIDS cases.
GAPIMNY, Gay Asian Pacific Island Men-New York, has several links to orgs (not all HIV/AIDS related).
I'll post more time permitting.
William Shatner during an appearance of "Entertainment Tonight" talking about "Star Trek" co-star George Takei (about his recent coming out):
"We all knew he was gay when he set his phaser on 'fabulous'!"
I am pleased and overjoyed with the announcement of a friend (and former colleague) R. Gregory Christie's studio opening:
Welcome to Gregarious Art Statements, the official website of R. Gregory Christie. I was all of twelve when I started painting in earnest. I began with watercolors; then worked my way through every kind of medium I could get my hands on, capping the first part of my journey with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The School of Visual Arts in New York City.
I have forged my own style without living in total isolation, cut off from the work of my contemporaries. Of course, I am also indebted to those who have gone before me. Prominent among these are David Hockney, Edward Hopper, Ben Shahn, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Romare Bearden. Their work, along with the work of others too numerous to mention, constitutes a treasure trove of inspiration. The same holds true for my apprenticeship with an abstract painter, classes with a realist painter, and study of age-old techniques in handmade book-making.
His studio will open next weekend with signings, artwork for sale and much merriment. Congrats Greg!
Richard Pryor, the groundbreaking comedian whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars, died of a heart attack Saturday. He was 65.
From the Asian American Film Newsletter
"The Grace Lee Project," the hilarious and award-winning documentary by Korean American filmmaker Grace Lee, opens at the Film Forum in Manhattan on Wednesday, December 14. New Yorkers, don’t miss it! And non-New Yorkers, tell your New York friends! Director Grace Lee will appear in person at multiple screenings, including the 8 pm show Wednesday and Friday nights and the 6 pm show Saturday night.
Buy your tickets online now: http://www.filmforum.org/films/gracelee.html
Read the AAF interview with Grace Lee: http://www.asianamericanfilm.com/archives/001035.html
That's how long since I last had broadband a big fuck you to AT&T!!!. I was hoping to establish a cable modem. They're faster, more reliable and easier to port. At this point however, I'm just glad to finally have access to the 'net besides very early in the morning or extremely late at nite. Really, I almost never download anything and I rarely chat.
Of course, the last point will change. Catch me usually after 9pm on Yahoo! messenger or AIM (and possibly even on MSN messenger). You know what my handle is. Or you can ask.
Coming up in the next day (or two):
1. 40 For 40 - Goals I've set for the next 18 months, culminating on my 40th birthday on July 31st, 2007
2. Recap of 2005 - This year can kiss my ass! No, really!! I'm hopeful for 2006 and beyond.
3. BlakMac roundup - speculatin' on MacWorld SanFran 2006. The Mac mini better be updated. I put off the purchase long enough. Of course, if Intel portables are announced two weeks from today...
And more. And I need a new design. Something I'll try to work on myself. Reading and writing code and stealing checking others' designs.
Seen on several blogs, finally inspired to participate by Cecily's post
Four jobs you've had in your life: Subway Custodial Assistant (kinda), Gallery Guard at the Guggenheim, Editorial Assistant (wait till I finally write my Roman à Clef!!), Customer Service Manager.
Four movies you could watch over and over: The Color Purple, The Wiz, Ma Vie En Rose, Twelve Angry Men.
Four places you've lived: Brooklyn. And, er, if you count several summers, New Bedford, Massachusetts. And, er, er...
Four TV shows you love to watch: I don't watch anything on a regular basis. But I'm pretty much a night owl, so I'll watch these on cable or in syndication: ER, Law & Order, CSI, and lately, The West Wing.
Four places you've been on vacation: Charlotte, Baltimore, Provincetown, Old Saybrook (Conn.)
Four websites you visit daily: Since I've only recently got DSL again, I haven't really visited websites daily; I usually read The Mac Observer, Daring Fireball, Republic of T, Flickr.
Four of your favorite foods: Chicken, Chow Fun, Bacon, Heroes (I'm from Brooklyn, they're never referred to as Subs or Hoagies!!)
Four places you'd rather be: London, Paris, Dakar, Holland.
Four albums you can't live without: American Song (Andy Bey), Exodus (Bob), Rapture (Anita Baker -- I think I'm going to cry), Promise (Sade)
I thought I was brave when I questioned my high school journalism teachers. Farris Hassan is a madman. Well, make that a madboy since he's only 16. He wanted to live immersion journalism, not just read and discuss it.
Farris Hassan's not-so-excellent adventure
Destination: Baghdad
Using money his parents had given him, he bought a $900 plane ticket and took off from school a week before Christmas vacation started, skipping classes and leaving the country on Dec. 11.
His goal: Baghdad. Those privy to his plans: two high school buddies.
Given his heritage, Hassan could almost pass as Iraqi. His father's background helped him secure an entry visa, and native Arabs would see in his face Iraqi features and a familiar skin tone. His wispy beard was meant to help him blend in.
But underneath that Mideast veneer was full-blooded American teen, a born-and-bred Floridian sporting white Nike tennis shoes and trendy jeans. And as soon as the lanky, 6-foot teenager opened his mouth — he speaks no Arabic — his true nationality would have betrayed him.
Traveling on his own in a land where insurgents and jihadists have kidnapped more than 400 foreigners, killing at least 39 of them, Hassan walked straight into a death zone. On Monday, his first full day in Iraq, six vehicle bombs exploded in Baghdad, killing five people and wounding more than 40.
[ ... ]
Eight time zones
Hassan's extra-mile attitude took him east through eight time zones, from Fort Lauderdale to Kuwait City. His plan was to take a taxi across the border and ultimately to Baghdad — an unconventional, expensive and utterly dangerous route.
It was in Kuwait City that he first called his parents to tell them of his plans — and that he was now in the Middle East.
His mother, Shatha Atiya, a psychologist, said she was "shocked and terrified." She had told him she would take him to Iraq, but only after the country stabilizes.
"He thinks he can be an ambassador for democracy around the world. It’s admirable but also agony for a parent," Atiya said.
Attempting to get into Iraq, Hassan took a taxi from Kuwait City to the border 55 miles away. He spoke English at the border and was soon surrounded by about 15 men, a scene he wanted no part of. On the drive back to Kuwait City, a taxi driver almost punched him when he balked at the fee.
"In one day I probably spent like $250 on taxis," he said. "And they’re so evil too, because they ripped me off, and when I wouldn't pay the ripped-off price they started threatening me. It was bad."
MSNBC has provided excerpts from Hassan's essays.