BIENESTAR, the Latino HIV/AIDS and social services organization, is collecting life-saving medications to be sent to earthquake-devastated Haiti. This collection will take place February 1st. through February 5th at all BIENESTAR centers.
The medications can be donated and dropped off at a BIENESTAR center near you (see the list below). These medications should be unexpired, not require refrigeration and preferably sealed.
Medications needed more urgently: Antiretrovirals, Medications to treat Opportunistic Infections, Antifungals, Antivirals, Antibiotics, Antiparasite drugs, Antiallergics and Pediatrics.
Monetary donations can be made through AIDS Healthcare Foundation – click on DONATIONS, and in honor of HAITI. Please click inside to see the drop-off locations and more ways to donate.
I’ve known Kevin Koffler for ages. I wrote for him when he was the West Coast Editor of OUT magazine and when he twice ran the now defunct Genre Magazine as Editor-in-Chief. It was under Kevin that I went “undercover” at an ex-gay ministry and helped the late AIDS activist Michael Callen pen his farewell to the community. Kevin is now a psychotherapist working on his PhD in Psychology at Saybrook University. He co-authored the book The New Breed: Actors Coming Of Age (Holt) and has written for the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, People and the Hollywood Reporter. Herecently started a new blog – The Art of Being Post Fabulous from which this is cross-posted with permission. Here’s the opening of his essay; please click inside to read the rest.
Being my own role model
By Kevin Koffler
Many months ago, I attended a men’s group of sorts and the facilitator of that group asked the participants to rate themselves on a scale of 1-10 (one being the lowest and ten being the highest) of how they felt they were living life as the man they want to be.
He said that the criteria, rationale, characteristics and requirements of how each participant would be left up to the participant but wanted each group member to share what that statement meant to them, as well as how they would rate themselves…..
I just had to turn Twitter off. I cannot read one more Prop 8 tweet. Maybe I can read something on Facebook or I will check later today with all the updates. It has just become too hard for me to watch and listen.
There is thunder and lighting and rain outside. The dogs are out in back with me, playing around, making it seem as if nothing is wrong if I stay out in my office and turn off the world.
What the hell kind of activist am I to do this? Hiding in my backyard away from the rest of the world is not something I usually seek out. I finally figured it out this past weekend while driving to Oregon. The Prop 8 election severely wounded my soul.
Please click inside to read the rest of Gloria’s insightful personal essay.
Okay, time out. It’s understandable that we’re all getting a little overwhelmed here: the federal Prop 8 trial; a conservative Republican winning Teddy Kennedy’s Massachusetts senate seat; the horror in Haiti; torrential rains in SoCal hitting the fire-areas hard; and for good measure – the Yes on 8 folks are absurdly suing the Courage Campaign over their farcical Prop8TrialTracker logo – which Calitics just dubbed “Logogate.”
But one of the stories we’re missing in this constant barrage of news is this one: a scientific model based on transmission of HIV among men in San Francisco predicts a coming surge of drug-resistant strains of HIV over the next five years, according to NewScientist.com.
What can you do? Well, a group called Artists Give Back is hosting a screening of the haunting Oscar-winning film Philadelphia Thursday night, with screenwriter Ron Nyswaner planning on being in attendance. If you’re an old ACT UPer, you might remember that Michael Callen and the Flirtations sang in the film and one of Tom Hanks’ friends was David Drake of “The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me.” If you are young and have NO IDEA what the big deal is/was about HIV/AIDS – this is a pre-drug cocktail mainstream version of a real-life incident. Or if you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen or Neil Young, you might remember how these straight men captured so profoundly the grief of being a gay dead man walking, clinging to a life wasting away. And you might understand why we promised never to forget. Click inside for more info on the event, on the UCLA study and a concern about ADAP funding cuts to jails.
On Friday, December 4 at 9:30 a.m. ET, (6:30 a.m. PST) the Kaiser Family Foundation is hosting a live webcast of a town hall-style discussion with Ambassador Eric Goosby, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
Webcast viewers may submit questions for Ambassador Goosby anytime before 5 p.m. ET (2:00pm PST) TODAY to ask@kff.org. Please click inside to read how Goosby may hold the key to stopping the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda.
On the eve of World AIDS Day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, and other officials discuss the progress the Obama Administration has made in combating HIV/AIDS at home and abroad. November 30, 2009.
Click inside to read a transcript of Secretary Clinton’s remarks, concluding with the announcement that the International AIDS Society will hold the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C..
During the past month-plus, I’ve traversed America, touring the twentieth anniversary production of intimacies, a solo performance piece that ostensibly tells bygone stories about HIV/AIDS. While my mission is to entertain and enlighten through the artistic experience, the impact of the ongoing tour encompasses much more; merging the past with the present is tricky, inevitably leading to back-and-forth emotions that both comfort and disturb. Click inside for more of Michael’s essay on his tour and his World AIDS Day performances.
Art Center College of Design will commemorate a historic mural created by artist Keith Haring on the 20th anniversary of his visit to the College and in recognition of World AIDS Day on November 30, said Art Center President, Lorne Buchman.
In 1989, the prolific artist and social activist Keith Haring visited Art Center College of Design and painted an interior mural, which still hangs in the Colleges’ landmark building. Haring passed away two months later from AIDS-related complications in February 1990.
The Keith Haring tribute reception will take place Monday, November 30 at 6:00 p.m. at Art Center’s James Lemont Fogg Memorial Library, located at 1700 Lida Street in Pasadena, California. The event is free and open to the public. Click inside for more on Keith Haring and the tribute.
In the Meantime Men’s Group Presents a Town Hall Forum at Jewel’s Catch One Disco on the impact of budget cuts, and the future of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care in Los Angeles County. Confirmed panelist: Mario J. Perez, Director of the Los Angeles County Office of AIDS Programs and Policy, Stephen D. Simon, AIDS Coordinator for the City of Los Angeles. Click inside for details
BIENESTAR cordially invites you to join us for one of the most important events in the HIV/AIDS movement- World AIDS Day on December 1st. For the past 17-years, BIENESTAR has been commemorating this special day with “UNIDOS EN ESPERANZA”, an event that is family and spiritual focus where we remember those that we have lost to the epidemic. In addition, the event will include musical performances, messages from religious and public/elected leaders, and moving testimonials from community member. (Click inside for their press release with details.)
When Freddie Mercury – the openly gay flamboyant frontman for the rock band Queen – died from AIDS Nov. 24, 1991, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh snickered and played the hit Queen song “Another one bites the dust.” When Limbaugh dies, the opening paragraph of his obituary will note his millions of “Ditto-head” listeners, his Oxycontin and weight troubles and his pressure-threats to Republican politicians. But he will probably not leave a legacy anywhere near as huge as that of Freddie Mercury such as this tribute from the Muppets singing one of Mercury’s all-time hits, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Click inside to see a shirtless Freddie Mercury wearing tight white shorts sing “We are the Champions” – a song the LGBT community might want to embrace these days.
Los Angeles County HIV/AIDS service providers and HIV Commissioners at Wednesday’s Joint Public Policy Commission meeting were beating back a slow-boiling panic, given news from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office that California faces a projected $20.7 billion deficit over the next 19 months. During last summer’s drastic budget cuts, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger saved the AIDS Drug Assistance Program from his line-item veto pen – but now, HIV/AIDS activists fear, the critical program that provides life-and-death HIV medications may well be on the chopping block. Longtime HIV/AIDS activist Miki Jackson, who attended the meeting on behalf of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, sent in this missive for LGBT POV. Click inside to read her report.
Startling and sad news: longtime HIV/AIDS, youth, disability and social services activist and all-around good guy Howard Jacobs died from liver cancer this morning. He was 45, with a birthday coming up. Please click inside for an interview with his former boss West Hollywood City Councilmember Jeff Prang on the circumstances surrounding Howard’s unexpected death and the legacy Howard leaves. UPDATE: A MEMORIAL FOR HOWARD JACOBS WILL BE HELD ON SUNDAY, NOV. 15, AT 1:30PM AT CONGREGATION KOL AMI, 1200 N. LA BREA AVE., WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA 90038.
More than three decades ago, in my mid-20s, I took my first oath of office as a member of the Los Angeles City Council. Today, I’m 60, and one of our county’s longest-serving elected officials. I’d like to think that constituents have given me the privilege of serving them on the council and the Board of Supervisors because they know I’ve consistently put their needs first.
The LA Gay & Lesbian Center gala Saturday night had its fun and truly inspirational moments – especially from gay youth from China and LGBT heroine Miss Coco Peru’s incredible story of how and why she became a drag queen. Click inside for the CORRECTED story and quotes and photos.
I first met Michael Kearns in 1989. After five years immersed in LA’s grief-stricken world of HIV/AIDS, I became a freelance journalist so I could document what I was witnessing. In this guise, I went to see his play “intimacies” during which Michael used only a red scarf to transition through six monologues by wildly different characters profoundly impacted by HIV/AIDS.
At some point I stopped taking notes and surrendered to the awe. I knew these people – not the details of their lives, but their marrowbone…..Michael is now taking “intimacies” on a national tour to commemorate the play’s 20th anniversary and a time when AIDS and art intersected. He is launching his tour tomorrow night (Sunday, Oct 25) at 5:00pm at Skylight Books, 1818 North Vermont, Los Feliz, 323 661 1175. Click inside to read Michael’s account of creating his characters Marilyn Monroe and Rock Hudson.
LA DA Steve Cooley and LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich announced that they are going to start prosecuting medical marijuana dispensary operators. Click inside for the LA Times story and reaction from Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project.
When you’re on the brilliant but sunset side of 50, someone 42 seems too young to receive a lifetime achievement award. The Elections Committee of Orange County (ECCO), however, thought Equality California’s Marc Solomon had racked up enough exemplary experience to deserve it. Click inside to find out why Marc does – and get a funny story told by his friend LA City Council President Eric Garcetti.
BIENESTAR, the Latino HIV/AIDS and social services organization, is collecting life-saving medications to be sent to earthquake-devastated Haiti. This collection will take place February 1st. through February 5th at all BIENESTAR centers.
I’ve known Kevin Koffler for ages. I wrote for him when he was the West Coast Editor of OUT magazine and when he twice ran the now defunct Genre Magazine as Editor-in-Chief. It was under Kevin that I went “undercover” at an ex-gay ministry and helped the late AIDS activist Michael Callen pen his farewell to the community. Kevin is now a psychotherapist working on his PhD in Psychology at Saybrook University. He co-authored the book The New Breed: Actors Coming Of Age (Holt) and has written for the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, People and the Hollywood Reporter. He recently started a new blog – 
The California storms, the Prop 8 trial and me
Okay, time out. It’s understandable that we’re all getting a little overwhelmed here: the federal Prop 8 trial; a conservative Republican winning Teddy Kennedy’s Massachusetts senate seat; the horror in Haiti; torrential rains in SoCal hitting the fire-areas hard; and for good measure – the Yes on 8 folks are absurdly suing the Courage Campaign over their farcical Prop8TrialTracker logo – which 
On Friday, December 4 at 9:30 a.m. ET, (6:30 a.m. PST) the Kaiser Family Foundation is hosting a 
During the past month-plus, I’ve traversed America, touring the twentieth anniversary production of intimacies, a solo performance piece that ostensibly tells bygone stories about HIV/AIDS. While my mission is to entertain and enlighten through the artistic experience, the impact of the ongoing tour encompasses much more; merging the past with the present is tricky, inevitably leading to back-and-forth emotions that both comfort and disturb. Click inside for more of Michael’s essay on his tour and his World AIDS Day performances. 
Art Center College of Design will commemorate a historic mural created by artist Keith Haring on the 20th anniversary of his visit to the College and in recognition of World AIDS Day on November 30, said Art Center President, Lorne Buchman.
When Freddie Mercury – the openly gay flamboyant frontman for the rock band Queen – died from AIDS Nov. 24, 1991, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh snickered and played the hit Queen song “Another one bites the dust.” When Limbaugh dies, the opening paragraph of his obituary will note his millions of “Ditto-head” listeners, his Oxycontin and weight troubles and his pressure-threats to Republican politicians. But he will probably not leave a legacy anywhere near as huge as that of Freddie Mercury such as this tribute from the Muppets singing one of Mercury’s all-time hits, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Click inside to see a shirtless Freddie Mercury wearing tight white shorts sing “We are the Champions” – a song the LGBT community might want to embrace these days. 
Los Angeles County HIV/AIDS service providers and HIV Commissioners at Wednesday’s Joint Public Policy Commission meeting were beating back a slow-boiling panic, given 
Longtime HIV/AIDS Activist Howard Jacobs Dies
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is trying something new – he’s posting 
The LA Gay & Lesbian Center gala Saturday night had its fun and truly inspirational moments – especially from gay youth from China and LGBT heroine Miss Coco Peru’s incredible story of how and why she became a drag queen. Click inside for the CORRECTED story and quotes and photos. 
I first met Michael Kearns in 1989. After five years immersed in LA’s grief-stricken world of HIV/AIDS, I became a freelance journalist so I could document what I was witnessing. In this guise, I went to see his play “intimacies” during which Michael used only a red scarf to transition through six monologues by wildly different characters profoundly impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Elizabeth Taylor Tweets thanks to fans after surgery. Details inside. 
LA DA Steve Cooley and LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich announced that they are going to start prosecuting medical marijuana dispensary operators. Click inside for the LA Times story and reaction from Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project. 
When you’re on the brilliant but sunset side of 50, someone 42 seems too young to receive a lifetime achievement award. The Elections Committee of Orange County (ECCO), however, thought Equality California’s Marc Solomon had racked up enough exemplary experience to deserve it. Click inside to find out why Marc does – and get a funny story told by his friend LA City Council President Eric Garcetti. 
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