Dancing With TINA - exclusive excerpt on LifeLube

Exclusive advance excerpt from the forthcoming
Dancing With TINA
by Terry Oldes
Only on LifeLube

As you’ve figured out, people on TINA sometimes do odd things. The biggest pain to me was that sometimes they couldn’t focus on sex. Once when I was online I got an email from a guy who was interested in me. Tall and handsome, he was aggressive about wanting to meet me, which is always a plus point.

I went over to his place, and he wanted to slam, politely asking me if that was okay or if it would bother me. I said I was fine with it and of course he had to make the comment, “I only do it once a month.” How many times did I hear that over the course of a year? I still had no desire to ingest TINA this way. Eric and I had both made a pact we wouldn’t try it, even though the curiosity was there. After watching Hunter’s inability to find a vein on an arm that looked like a road map, I was simply too nervous to try.

I smoked some TINA from the pipe while he prepared his slam. He put a tourniquet on, and unlike Hunter who took forever to do it, he was in with the needle, out with it and the tourniquet was removed, all in just a short time. He twirled his arm around in a circle to get the circulation going, then there was the sudden light that would show up in a slammer’s eyes and bam they were all animal aggression.

He was fun in the bed department, but after forty-five minutes he suddenly stopped, jumped up and said, “Do you like Strawberry Shortcake?” “Well, yes ...” I replied, not really expecting to talk baking recipes right at that very moment.

“Good! I’m going to make you some!” and he headed for the kitchen. 1:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning and he had an apron on going to town. I’m not talking store bought shortcake and frozen strawberries, he baked the shortcake from scratch and chopped the strawberries. It took well over an hour, and I have to admit it was the best I had ever tasted.

After he put his plate down, he looked at me and said, “That was about the sketchiest thing I have ever done. I can’t believe I did that.”

“Well, yeah, nobody’s ever done this for me before, but thanks, it was delicious. I’ll expect baked Alaska next time.”

Bio

Terry Oldes is a writer living in Chicago, Illinois. His diverse and curious adventures in life have taken him from Des Moines, Iowa, where he grew up the adopted son of a rural family, to New York City, where he graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and on to Nashville, TN as a singer/songwriter. A former Mr. Gay Iowa, he has lived in Chicago since 1996. He's passionate about American History, hiking the National Parks, Westerns, Bel Canto Opera, Motown, MGM and Ethel Mertz. He has recently finished his second book, A Barrel Full of Monkeys -or- (More Baggage Than Ann Miller Brought on the Love Boat) and is currently working on his third, a work of fiction entitled On Such A Night As This.

Dancing With TINA is set to be released Septmeber 30, 2007. Click here to pre-order.

Washing after sex may increase HIV risk, study suggests

Implications for anal intercourse unclear

by Brent Creelman / Xtra.ca

Uncircumcised men who wash their penis less than 10 minutes after vaginal sex may increase their risk of acquiring HIV, suggests a study released at an International AIDS Society conference on Jul 25.

But it's unclear whether gay men should stop washing their cock after play, suggests Jim Pickett, an HIV activist and writer.

The study, led by a team from the Makere University Institute Of Public Health in Uganda, examined 2,552 uncircumcised Ugandan men. The survey focused only on vaginal intercourse, and did not examine whether the results apply to anal intercourse as well.

"Sometimes, these studies are kind of like the latest fad. We all run around like 'we should stop washing our penises,' and 'oh my god, syphilis is back,'" says Pickett.

The findings of the Ugandan survey suggest:

• post-intercourse penile washing does not protect uncircumcised men from acquiring HIV


• HIV-incidence is significantly lower if washing was delayed more than 10 minutes after sexual intercourse


• washing is associated with a "borderline significant trend" of increasing risk of acquiring HIV

Researchers offered a few possible explanations: the acidity of vaginal secretions may impair HIV survival. The research also suggests that the use of water with soap may facilitate survival of the virus. But the researchers admitted the survey's limitations — it did not ask for details about how the washing was done or what kind of soap was used. Pickett says he questions whether the increased HIV rates were really just because the men were "washing their dicks off."

Read the rest.

Discrimination, Violence Against MSM, WSW in Uganda Hindering HIV Prevention, Treatment Efforts, Human Rights Watch Says

[via Kaiser's Daily HIV/AIDS Report]


Human Rights Watch on Thursday in a statement said that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's promotion of homophobia and violence against men who have sex with men, as well as women who have sex with women, is hindering the country's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports.

HRW urged Museveni to repeal a law against sodomy and to end his "long record of harassing" lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (Cawthorne, Reuters, 8/24). In addition, HRW called on the government to integrate sexual orientation and gender identity issues into Uganda's HIV prevention and treatment programs (HRW statement, 8/23).

Juliana Cano Nieto, a researcher in HRW's LGBT program, said that the government's promotion of homophobia is "undermining Uganda's efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS." HRW said that the government harasses gay organizations, promotes discrimination and raids the homes of advocates, according to Reuters (Reuters, 8/24). Scott Long, director of HRW's LGBT program, in a letter sent to Museveni on Thursday said that the government's actions against MSM and WSW place the "health of all Ugandans" at risk "amid the HIV/AIDS pandemic." Long added that the government's "determination to silence any discussion of sexual orientation" is "devastating" to the fight against HIV/AIDS (Letter text, 8/23).

HRW's announcement came one week after Sexual Minorities Uganda, a coalition of four LGBT organizations, launched a campaign titled "Let us Live in Peace." The group at a press conference in Kampala, Uganda, condemned discrimination and violence against MSM and WSW, as well as the "life-threatening silence about their sexualities in HIV/AIDS prevention programs."

Martin Ssempa -- pastor of Makerere Community Church, which has received funding from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- on Aug. 21 organized a rally to protest the press conference, during which he called for continued action against MSM and WSW (HRW statement, 8/23). Ugandan officials were not available for comment, according to Reuters (Reuters, 8/24).

fallen saints

fallen saints

by lorenzo herrera y lozano

there is no kind farewell
for the forsaken soul
no way to forgive the sin
of fighting for the life
trapped within our being

there is no way of choking
the faggot out of our throats
no way of flooding the drought
of a life thought without
spiritual meaning

there is no god for us
the fallen saints
virgins of tainted veins
martyrs of humane faith
prophets of our survival

no key to heaven’s gate
no amazing grace
no rising the third day
no hope for revival
no more love for us
the sacredly slain

Excerpt from the upcoming collection of poetry God Don’t Live Here Anymore by lorenzo herrera y lozano. For more on lorenzo, visit jotopower.com / myspace.com/jotopower.

MICHAEL MOORE'S "SICKO"— BROAD REACH AND IMPACT EVEN WITHOUT THE POPCORN?

NEWS RELEASE from the Kaiser Family Foundation

Monday, August 27, 2007

Few Have Seen the Movie But Nearly Half of the Public is Familiar with It


"Sicko" Gets Many Talking About Health Care Issues, Reinforcing Views of Some and Encouraging Others (Even Some Conservatives) To Re-Think the Need for Reform


Menlo Park, CA — If the potential impact of Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko" were dependent solely on those who have actually seen the film, the result might be a passionate but narrow conversation among the 4% of adults who said they watched it in a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

But, with a big free media bounce reaching beyond the movie reviews to the news and talk shows, the new poll finds that almost half (46%) had seen the movie or heard or read something about it a little over a month after its national release. This is not much less than the share of adults (61%) who were aware of "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary on climate change featuring former Vice President Al Gore released in May 2006.

Among those familiar with "Sicko," 45% said they had a discussion with friends, co-workers, or family about the U.S. health system as a result of the movie; 43% said they were more likely to think there is a need to reform the health system; 37% were more likely to think other countries have a better approach to health care; and 27% said they were paying more attention to the positions of presidential candidates on health care. About equal numbers of those aware of the movie thought it accurately represents problems in the U.S. health system (36%) versus overstating them (33%), and positive impressions of "Sicko" outweighed negative ones 48% to 33%.

"Our poll shows how the combination of good timing, a controversial director, and lots of free media attention can generate real impact for a film that very few people have actually seen," said Kaiser President and CEO Drew E. Altman, Ph.D. "Sicko is not a commercial juggernaut like Transformers or Harry Potter, and we're not likely to find Michael Moore action figures at fast food restaurants any time soon. But we are starting to see how films about social issues that capitalize on free media rather than traditional marketing can become social phenomena too."

The movie has been much more likely to resonate with those already inclined to support its point of view. For example, 43% of self-identified liberals who are familiar with the film had a very positive impression of it, compared to 9% of conservatives.

But its impact is not entirely predictable - while 56% of liberals familiar with the documentary report that they are more likely to believe there is a need for reform of the U.S. health care system as a result, a smaller but still substantial share of conservatives aware of "Sicko" (29%) also said so, as did 23% of Republicans. And, 37% of conservatives said they had a discussion with friends, co-workers, or family about the health system following the movie, while 18% said they were paying more attention to what the presidential candidates are saying about health care. Results were similar by party identification.

Still, "Sicko" has not altered what have long been the fundamental factors shaping the public's views on health care. When asked what has had the biggest impact on their opinions about the issue of health care recently, just 2% of the group aware of "Sicko" cited the film; 62% pointed to their personal health care experiences, and 9% said it's what they've heard or read about proposals from presidential candidates.

The film’s main targets - health insurers and HMOs - were viewed unfavorably by about half the public overall (51% and 46%, respectively), which is similar to perceptions of drug companies (52% unfavorable) and a larger share than viewed defense contractors unfavorably (41%). By contrast, hospitals and doctors were viewed largely favorably by the public.

Methodology

Kaiser Family Foundation poll about the movie "Sicko" was conducted as a part of the Kaiser Health Tracking Survey: Election 2008 from August 2 to August 8 among a nationally representative telephone sample of 1,500 adults, including 748 adults who reported having seen the movie or heard or read anything about it. The margin of sampling error for the full survey is plus or minus three percentage points, and for results based on respondents familiar with the movie "Sicko", the margin of sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points. For results based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error is higher. Full results, including question wording, are available here.

"Safe Sex Poster Boys come on down!"

New Zealand's gay and bisexual men of all shapes and sizes have until September 30 to step forward as potential models for a new team of safe sex poster boys for Gay Men’s Health. Entries are now being accepted online at www.safesexposterboy.co.nz in the first phase of a three-month competition involving events around the country.

Contestants can enter themselves in one of six categories: Party Boy, Bear/Cub/Leather, Boy Next Door/Regular Guy, Sportsman, Businessman/Professional, and Alternative (for those who don’t like to be labelled!)

“One gay or bisexual man is being diagnosed with HIV every five days, and we all need to work together to stop it,” says Matt Creamer, Team Co-ordinator for Gay Men’s Health. “These infections could have been prevented by using condoms for anal sex, which most gay and bisexual men do. This competition is going to be a positive reinforcement of that.”

There are a number of conditions for entry, says Douglas Jenkin, National Campaigns Co-ordinator. “You have to be over 18, you must self-identify as either gay or bisexual, and you must consistently use condoms for anal sex - this is what safe sex for gay and bisexual men is all about.”

Read the rest.

In Living Color - Men on Fitness

Monday deserves a giggle fit...