tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53113132012-02-01T08:56:20.924-05:00Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.comBlogger15231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-31399326960607741112011-06-22T13:30:00.003-04:002011-06-22T13:36:27.087-04:00

Mint.com Personal Finances

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-33400180829118806632011-03-10T13:17:00.000-05:002011-03-10T13:18:28.994-05:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-7757606650616732762011-02-17T00:41:00.002-05:002011-02-17T00:45:11.393-05:00

AS THE HEALTHCARE WAR CONTINUES to rage in Washington, the Callen-Lorde Community Health center in Chelsea continues to do its part as New York’s largest healthcare facility dedicated to LGBT communities and those living with HIV—providing sensitive, quality healthcare and related services regardless of ability to pay. “LGBT people know they can see a medical provider, dentist or therapist at

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-35900555243744505552011-02-09T13:05:00.002-05:002011-02-09T13:09:56.955-05:00

Nothing will get your legislation passed faster than making up an outrageous, scientifically implausible, stigmatizing lie about HIV+ prisoners.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-59777285922081165212011-02-08T10:45:00.001-05:002011-02-08T10:49:22.243-05:00

Russia puts out an effective (and hot) PSA advocating that a condom will get you in to a bed with an aggressive security setting. Nicely done.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-78147487118337529112011-02-07T00:34:00.003-05:002011-02-07T00:42:31.313-05:00

Meth to the Madness :: The Return of the Drug Culture - via Edge New Englandby Shaun KnittelAs our conversation veers towards the timeline of his use it becomes very clear that AJ has not only accepted that he abuses crystal, but has no intention of living a life without speed. We go over the checklist of "Are You’s?" that I’ve brought."Are you HIV positive?" I ask."Don’t know," he shrugs

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-27419668517481547912011-01-19T00:40:00.003-05:002011-01-19T00:49:13.892-05:00

By Larry Kramer, Special to CNNJanuary 14, 2011New York City (CNN) -- I want this article to break your heart. But it deals with a subject that has had a tough time of it in the break-everyone's-heart department. I'll bet that a number of you will be more angry at me than sympathetic by the time you finish reading it. If indeed you finish reading it.From its very beginning, most people have not

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-34397134453106053442010-12-22T20:06:00.003-05:002010-12-22T20:09:50.689-05:00

Actually, it's just the latest issue of Patient 2 Patient. The newsletter I edit and contribute to for the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. You can view the PDF here.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-35106501773883074142010-12-13T12:27:00.003-05:002010-12-13T12:56:13.233-05:00

Lux Living is a blog written by and for the residents of nearby Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. It is a WWII era housing complex that up until a few years ago, was run as if it were a private gated community in the middle of Manhattan. The residents, many of whom were born in the complex and have lived there for decades, have been spoiled rotten by years of over-indulgent amenities

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-279824790354961462010-11-26T10:06:00.003-05:002010-11-26T10:08:34.074-05:00

Make A Wish!

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-85454857430928676642010-11-05T00:35:00.003-04:002010-11-05T14:09:53.956-04:00

A couple of pics from the Rally to Restore Sanity. I made a quick trip down to D.C. followed by an excruciating long trip back up to NYC. Was stuck on a bus in several traffic jams between there and here. Proof if you ask me that travelling by car is woefully inefficient, given the amount of cars forced to use an aging infrastructure. In short, I think there are far too many cars on the road, and

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-37175699032888733442010-10-27T13:44:00.002-04:002010-10-27T13:52:54.605-04:00

Willam Belli of Ticked Off Trannies With Knives and Nip/Tuck re-works the "Billionaire" song, imagining what life will be like after the old *snip* and tuck. You can follow Willam's cheeky humor and in-your-face exploits on the blog we've been following forever, here: as long as there's sidewalks, I'll have a job.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-28821035796605086632010-10-25T01:04:00.002-04:002010-10-25T01:05:46.975-04:00

Much more here.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-30175612538690606532010-10-22T13:46:00.003-04:002010-10-23T12:09:35.160-04:00

After unexpectedly getting a night off due to anemic ticket sales, I suddenly realized I would have an opportunity to check out what turned out to be a controversial entry in to last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Ticked Off Trannies With Knives, after initially receiving some positive support from more "mainstream" gay media groups like GLAAD, suddenly found itself the focus of a lot of negative

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-49466323123323728472010-10-09T09:22:00.003-04:002010-10-09T11:25:43.233-04:00

Last week I received a bill from Verizon which I assumed to be a final bill after discontinuing what was, especially the last year, truly horrible DSL service. I finally opened it at the end of last week and found that it was a bill for internet service. For this month. And to add insult to injury, the bill was $5.00 more than I had ever paid for internet service, which had been slowly increased

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-16682449224186761552010-10-08T00:25:00.000-04:002010-10-08T02:09:19.091-04:00

I was about to write a post about something that happened at work this weekend when it occurred to me that I haven't posted about work in a long long time. Looking back on the old posts, it appears I haven't written a work piece since the spring. Surprising, considering that "work" is one of the most-used categories for post labels I have. And believe me, I thought that spoke volumes about my

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-24267406968666796282010-09-27T16:47:00.005-04:002010-09-27T17:05:19.285-04:00

Today is National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness day. While I have always maintained that HIV is not a "Gay disease" and I don't believe that sex or sexuality really should have much to do with HIV awareness, the facts as they are today force me to acknowledge that HIV/AIDS is and continues to be a cause for concern among American men who have sex with men.The most important tool we have in the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-47852427107847224342010-09-24T15:40:00.005-04:002010-09-27T09:25:15.240-04:00

I'm leaving in just a few minutes to join thousands of NY and NJ area gays for an evening of dancing, eating and mass consumerism, with roller coasters, as we descend on Six Flags Great Adventure theme park. Group outings still make me very nervous, which is why I'm going. This is mitigated by the fact that I'm riding up and down on a luxury coach bus with members of SIN. So it's not just a group

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-70620260374887741352010-09-20T23:35:00.004-04:002010-09-21T01:25:07.824-04:00

I had a very "I'm an alcoholic" day. I'm not one of those drunks who lives and breathes AA. I don't go to a meeting every day, but I do notice when I have skipped quite a few days in a row. And it's not always enough to just go. It's helpful if I participate. Talk when it's time. Stay after and talk with other AA's. It's even better when I do some service. Meet someone for coffee or do some

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-41125332395405076372010-09-14T21:27:00.002-04:002010-09-14T21:56:57.109-04:00

I spent the last two afternoons in a conference room talking about HIV. In my volunteer role as a member of the Community Advisory Board for the local health center, we had a two day "retreat" with a rep from HRSA. He had been sent down to work with us to make sure that the CAB was organized, proactive and functioning at a level that will meet the requirements that many of the federal programs

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-35815442155747234832010-09-11T12:52:00.002-04:002010-09-11T12:53:17.458-04:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-25154001865745921482010-09-10T00:20:00.002-04:002010-09-10T00:20:00.190-04:00

Sent this photo from a shoot last year off to the printer and got back a gorgeous 24X36 print that I framed for the bedroom. I bought a poster sized frame from Bed Bath & Beyonce that felt kind of flimsy, so I broke down, crossed the boycott line and bought a sturdier frame at Target. I know. We're not supposed to be shopping there. I try to be politically correct, although I loathe knee-jerk

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-69317659714008970362010-09-09T01:10:00.003-04:002010-09-09T02:03:14.590-04:00

I'm nothing if not loyal. I've been getting my Internets access through Verizon DSL ever since 2003. For the most part it's been a glorious marriage, but sometime last year we hit a very rocky patch. My download speed would slow down to the point that I couldn't even get a page to load. But it would happen gradually, until I would suddenly notice that I was sitting in front of the PC screen

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-74709458382438595422010-09-01T15:18:00.005-04:002010-09-02T13:29:08.835-04:00

For the past couple of years, I have been a member of the Community Advisory Board at the LGBT Community Health Center in Chelsea. It's where I go for all my health care, including periodic counseling and all of my dental work. My work on the CAB, aside from being rewarding on it's own, is my way of paying back all of the wonderful care I have received over the years, before and after I was

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-68010497916595690192010-08-31T00:51:00.001-04:002010-08-31T23:52:25.156-04:00

I'm thinking I should probably update you as to the recovery from my eye surgery. As you undoubtedly don't recall, when last we spoke of it, I had been about 2 or 3 weeks into my recovery from PRK laser surgery. My vision was obviously so much improved from where it started. I don't know what my exact prescription was in corrective terms, but "blind as a bat" works fairly well. I rarely even

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-24794622223046771482010-08-30T00:12:00.003-04:002010-08-31T00:41:17.708-04:00

A month without blogging. It wasn't my intent. I admit, I had been getting tired of keeping up on the blog. Plus, I discovered the magic that is Facebook and that seemed to satisfy one of the main reasons that I kept up blogging, long after I felt as if my original reasons for creating and maintaining From The Ashes had run it's course. I said that I wanted to give people a glimpse in to the life

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-15735077621061699972010-07-26T16:13:00.000-04:002010-07-26T16:20:04.601-04:00

My Verizon DSL line is down and whatever is wrong is beyond my ability to figure out. It's also beyond the dubious skills of the Verizon tech support by phone. So I await a repairman for tomorrow morning. I hold out no expectations that they will be able to fix the problem I've been having for over two years.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-65166418044146943602010-07-21T23:41:00.002-04:002010-07-21T23:51:57.931-04:00

Annie has been spotted and photographed many times sporting her "HIV POSITIVE" T-Shirt. At the opening day of the 2010 AIDS conference in Vienna, Ms. Lennox gives the straight poop on why and what the shirt actually means. I was cleaning out my closet the other day, and watching this video made me run out to the hallway and rifle through the bag of clothes I was preparing to throw away. In it was

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-50806441910820597322010-07-21T02:53:00.001-04:002010-07-21T02:54:36.073-04:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-20882539312321643212010-07-12T18:56:00.002-04:002010-07-12T18:59:11.972-04:00

Actually, I just returned. Was visiting family and friends back in Buffalo and the surrounding Indian-inspired named towns. I have plenty of stories to blog about and will get to it ASAP, but for now the fridge is empty and I need to hug and kiss my dog.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-34888380769644946272010-07-06T12:51:00.002-04:002010-07-06T12:51:52.423-04:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-8442003400187514452010-07-05T21:02:00.001-04:002010-07-05T21:04:43.996-04:00

"OTTAWA — A 29-year-old man accused of failing to disclose his HIV-positive status to sexual partners has had his charges upgraded to include attempted murder.The four counts of attempted murder were laid against Steven Paul Boone in relation to four of his alleged victims. Boone has also been charged with four counts of administering a noxious substance — HIV — to the four men.It now brings the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-35361430374928556512010-07-01T23:48:00.003-04:002010-07-02T00:13:32.481-04:00

"The weak economy is crippling the government program that provides life-sustaining antiretroviral drugs to people with H.I.V. or AIDS who cannot afford them. Nearly 1,800 have been relegated to rapidly expanding waiting lists that less than three years ago had dwindled to zero.Eleven states have closed enrollment in the federal program, most recently Florida>, which has the nation’s

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-75070655084365548092010-06-30T22:14:00.003-04:002010-06-30T22:17:21.118-04:00

This was our section leader. I would have followed him off a bridge.Spectator that caught my eye.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-54424157366533885482010-06-29T14:16:00.004-04:002010-06-30T12:49:01.339-04:00

I almost jerked off right there on the street when I saw this one...Stair Bears

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-32739394670224220232010-06-28T12:58:00.002-04:002010-06-28T13:12:24.353-04:00

Chicken ordering ... chicken.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-86727278924017110152010-06-28T01:36:00.003-04:002010-06-28T01:49:33.124-04:00

I've taken about 150 or so photos of the parade and the Pride festival. Some of them are for the new issue of the newsletter I'm putting together for Callen-Lorde. A few of them I've edited and sent out to a couple of on-line publications in the hope I'll get another photo credit under my belt. Some of them suck and won't be seeing the light of day anywhere. And because you, my tens of readers,

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-83548522361303722612010-06-27T19:38:00.004-04:002010-06-28T13:18:44.829-04:00

Just got back from a hot (in more ways than one), humid Gay Pride parade. I joined the group marching from Callen-Lorde at around 11:30 this morning and we were penned in to our holding area until we joined the parade close to 2 hours later. I snapped some pictures of the parade as it moved past our barricaded side street, and the police, who couldn't have been nicer, offered to let me move in to

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-44376925850468722292010-06-24T23:24:00.004-04:002010-06-24T23:29:56.106-04:00

Went to an "interactive" screening of Mommie Dearest in honor of Gay Pride week. Interactive meaning the film was cut with sound effects (farting), boring exposition scenes were fast forwarded, and all the fighting and classic lines, the good stuff, was re-wound and repeated for maximum camp. Two slaps became 10, and the living room fight scene came with ringside commentary. It was a blast. There

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-64986167126087167242010-06-18T19:49:00.002-04:002010-06-18T20:42:50.769-04:00

It's been a week since I posted about it and a full week since my eye surgery. In case you've just dropped by, I had decided to have LASIK (laser) eye surgery after thinking about it for over 20 years and secretly saving for it for months. But at the last moment, two days before my surgery, my pre-operative appointment revealed a scar on my cornea. My eye surgeon claimed that LASIK was not a good

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-18007505862674495082010-06-18T12:06:00.001-04:002010-06-18T12:08:00.977-04:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-7802246227412711652010-06-17T01:39:00.004-04:002010-06-17T01:49:53.944-04:00

Interesting article and great pictures from a property nearby on 14st. For years the top floors had been vacant while the bottom housed a grimy check-cashing joint. Several years ago the space was gutted and re-done. The street level facade was interesting and mysterious. I always wondered what was behind it. Turns out it was a ridiculously cool brownstone project where the entire second floor

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-83089775363074199672010-06-16T13:51:00.001-04:002010-06-16T13:52:49.169-04:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-8309118160835419942010-06-15T09:35:00.001-04:002010-06-15T09:37:27.485-04:00

An HIV positive Denver man has been preliminarily charged with attempted second-degree assault with a deadly weapon by the Denver district attorney’s office for allegedly spitting on another man during a dispute. A spokesperson for the DA’s office said staffers are currently examining the case to determine whether the charge is appropriate. Read moreNo, it is not.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-24379188703649167762010-06-12T16:56:00.002-04:002010-06-12T17:07:17.753-04:00

I had my laser eye surgery yesterday afternoon. Every indication is that it was a success, but it will be at least another day or two before I have a follow-up and know for sure.I ended up having to have another procedure rather than LASIK, basically am older version known as PRK. This was due to the discovery of a scar on the cornea of my right eye. How it got there is a mystery.Although I'm

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-54540855641115624482010-06-07T12:52:00.002-04:002010-06-07T13:00:16.000-04:00

For eight years, new infections have been stuck in the mid-300s in the state’s gay community. That’s one every day.Why? It’s partly lousy sex education, and public health policy that’s still unaccountably squeamish about condoms.It’s partly that younger gay men didn’t see the most horrific stage of the epidemic, when legions died awful, visible deaths that scared others into better protecting

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-78899950465991808402010-06-06T02:41:00.003-04:002010-06-06T13:21:07.238-04:00

It's something I've been thinking about for years. Almost as long as when they first announced the procedure. For the longest time I was too invested in my drinking career to give it any serious thought. Then I was always too broke. But,as they say, a whole new world has opened up to me with sobriety. And with it, comes new opportunities to do some things I always wanted to do. Like fix my eyes.I

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-33376398815878808712010-06-01T13:56:00.001-04:002010-06-01T13:58:44.918-04:00

Weight: 163Liver, blood sugar, blood pressure: checkCholesterol: 167Viral Load: UndetectableT-Cell count: 999This unit is functioning within acceptable parameters.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-18605217681063002302010-05-30T12:31:00.000-04:002010-05-30T12:33:03.174-04:00

Let's all take a moment to thank our men "in" uniform.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-74205241550092680502010-05-25T23:21:00.003-04:002010-05-25T23:54:49.094-04:00

So I decided to try and cross a few things off my bucket list, and I've always wanted to be on a game show. But not just any game show. I have no interest in any show where I have to jump up and down, mindlessly applaud myself or fall on the floor when I'm offered a car. I want to be a contestant and hopefully win some money, but escape with my dignity, or the illusion that I have some, intact.So

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-3339392901015875852010-05-24T03:11:00.002-04:002010-05-24T03:12:55.620-04:00

I'm not hungry I'll just have a taste ...

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-19518420874228227042010-05-23T09:51:00.002-04:002010-05-23T09:57:52.446-04:00

I had an amazing night's sleep, and this morning I had the most vivid, creative, powerful dreams I've had in a long time. Full of ghosts and characters and imagination, hidden doors and secret rooms. I loved it. As I started to wake but found myself in that twilight in between slumber and waking, I had the profoundly good manners to tell all the people and animals I had gathered in one room, "I

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-695985536473326712010-05-21T01:15:00.002-04:002010-05-21T01:17:12.498-04:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-56757324674551028782010-05-16T11:42:00.003-04:002010-05-19T10:32:08.621-04:00

No idea how it happened, but it appears I've scratched my eye. It's pretty painful, and my eye is irritated. I'm incredibly sensitive to bright light and sunlight makes my eye watery cause it burns. Last night even the PC monitor hurt if it was on a white page. It was worse last night, but it still hurts and it's making me tired. All I want to do is take a nap.No contact lenses until it heals.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-58463182293562763482010-05-12T01:35:00.002-04:002010-05-12T01:39:00.163-04:00

NEW YORK, May 11, 2010—Placing the search for a cure for HIV/AIDS firmly at the center of its research efforts, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, on Tuesday announced the first round of grants to a consortium of leading researchers to develop strategies for eradicating HIV infection.“amfAR has a long history of funding breakthrough research, and developing this consortium gives me great

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-23186279986312838222010-05-11T00:30:00.001-04:002010-05-11T00:30:00.682-04:00

Gay Men's Health Crisis co-founder Larry Kramer posts a lengthy and scathing letter regarding the impending relocation of GMHC from it's long-time home on W24th to a new location. Reportedly without some vital services many of their clients need and most certainly want. I've linked to the entire page as it also contains a companion reaction from Famous Lesbian Urvashi Vaid, as well as a call to

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-26312776311335289322010-05-10T00:59:00.003-04:002010-05-10T01:24:58.914-04:00

I confess. I am cheating on you. I have been focusing all my free writing time on my new relationship with my Facebook friends. What I intend to do is use this blog to continue to update all the significant (to me) HIV news and treatment issues that I find. I also find Facebook far too limiting when I want to post something that requires a little depth or I need space to put something down in

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-78168569743741666202010-05-04T11:18:00.001-04:002010-05-04T11:20:44.548-04:00

"But you know, what the movie triggered for me was all my early days in New York and the scene that I came up in-you know, with Andy Warhol and Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf. It was just so alive with art and politics and this wonderful spirit. So many of those people are dead now. I think that's one of the reasons I cried. In fact, the character that Richard E. Grant

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-27145736577291561232010-05-02T23:54:00.002-04:002010-05-03T00:00:40.108-04:00

Here's a photo I lifted off of Facebook that shows the recent demolition of my old elementary school. Brighton Elementary School will one day be known as Brighton Square Senior Citizen Apartments. If I really wanted to come full circle I could wait about another 15 years and move in to one of god's waiting rooms. Although the cold air I'm sure acts as a preservative, I have no desire to spend my

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-47686858019571000472010-04-29T23:54:00.001-04:002010-04-29T23:57:11.949-04:00

"The approach to prevention and treatment of HIV in the U.S. has undergone a radical and dangerous shift over the past few months. The new concept, called "Test and Treat" (TNT) or "Testing with Linkage to Care" (TLC) will dramatically increase HIV testing, identify more people with HIV and "link" them to care. Those are worthy objectives. The danger is that some policy leaders driving these

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-40884501427509165712010-04-27T20:22:00.004-04:002010-04-27T20:26:21.215-04:00

How gay is your web site? As it turns out, 8 out of 10. Very gay. But I could get gayer.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-88775290612613923602010-04-25T23:31:00.000-04:002010-04-25T23:33:23.366-04:00

The obituary for St. Vincent’s, when it is finally written, will recall that the hospital’s greatest moment—and its darkest—came in the eighties, as it found itself quite awkwardly in the thick of the global AIDS plague. The flood of patients was extreme, spilling into every available bed, then throughout the surrounding corridors, where masking tape marked off virtual rooms.For anyone familiar

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-82749023137181024272010-04-20T02:03:00.004-04:002010-04-20T02:16:21.179-04:00

I saw Kick-Ass over the weekend. I never read the comic it was based on, but being a comic book geek I was naturally thoroughly entertained. The acting was uniformly good, and they found a way to make Nick Cage's freaky delivery work, much the same way they did when he starred in Raising Arizona. The trick is to have him play a character that is so "out there" that his completely baffling line

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-34594724672233012772010-04-19T01:58:00.000-04:002010-04-20T02:02:59.332-04:00

The CDC on Thursday announced the expansion of an initiative through which more than 1.4 million Americans have been tested for HIV. During the next three years, funding for the effort will increase by approximately $31.5 million, and a total of $142.5 million will be awarded to state and local health departments in eligible jurisdictions to increase HIV testing in health care and non-health care

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-38721025596148514532010-04-16T23:06:00.003-04:002010-04-16T23:21:55.258-04:00

I wrote a couple of posts in 2008-09 regarding Act 1, the Arkansas measure that was passed barring same-sex couples from adopting or fostering children. I said at the time that it was a shameful law based solely in hate, and that it was a horrible thing to do to children in need of good homes. Turns out, in a lawsuit filed and won by the ACLU, it was also found to be unconstitutional."The ACLU

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-69427025944211530432010-04-15T00:31:00.002-04:002010-04-15T01:33:49.492-04:00

I've been working for a few months on a project in my capacity as a member of the Community Advisory Board at the LGTB health center. We are putting out a patient newsletter that will publish quarterly. I was provided copies of the previous effort and while I was appreciative of the sentiment and the work behind it, I thought it was a woefully amateurish effort, and I was determined we could do

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-37856030243706056172010-04-14T13:03:00.002-04:002010-04-14T13:05:43.932-04:00

Managers & Bartenders (Union Square)Date: 2010-04-12, 10:33PM EDTReply to: job-x828a-1689509562@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]Established american casual restaurant with 150 seats & Bar in the heart of union square is looking for:Managers-responsible person who is able to work in a fast paced restaurant, hands on, trustworthy and able to have fun.-you need to be knowledgeble in

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-43806082593020009132010-04-13T01:54:00.000-04:002010-04-13T01:55:19.663-04:00

More Gay Porn @ Our Free Gay Tube

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-89895227158902755872010-04-12T00:34:00.002-04:002010-04-12T00:48:27.954-04:00

Just wrote a check for the tax man for $933. I guess I will focus on how fortunate I am to be able to write that check and not what I would rather be doing with it.Sorry the video I posted over the weekend about NYC bike messengers got pulled. It was full of scruffy, scrappy, cute young men that spend their days defying gravity and dangerous NYC traffic.My diet went a little off the rails, as

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-22440304442825632292010-04-10T10:30:00.000-04:002010-04-10T10:31:38.795-04:00

Messengers from NFGTV on Vimeo.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-24020920737193967222010-04-07T12:42:00.002-04:002010-04-07T12:45:50.900-04:00

-via Texas Fratboy

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-47962517542403505782010-04-06T14:00:00.004-04:002010-04-07T10:43:34.532-04:00

As I strolled around Union Square before the pillow fight event, there were already hundreds of people making great use of a sunny spring Saturday.I wandered up to this group of men putting on a demonstration of the Afro-Brazilian dance Capoeira. Hot men in a circle will always get my attention. Just for the possibilities.And one more of this man because ... well ... jesus.And finally, in what

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-32038787866987526092010-04-05T22:08:00.005-04:002010-04-05T22:42:20.312-04:00

Saturday I had planned on taking a trip across town to spend the afternoon photographing from the High Line. As I was getting my camera and supplies ready the night before I came upon a link to a happening in Union Square which seemed a much better bet. They were advertising the World's Largest Pillow Fight. Over 150 cities participated this year, and the New York crowd was estimated at 5000+. If

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-13941768365727728432010-04-02T01:38:00.004-04:002010-04-02T01:51:46.001-04:00

My 2nd job, where I made some pretty good money over a week and a half, has tuned out not to be the answer to my prayers. The space is not booked for all of April. Why they found it necessary to hire me for what was in effect three shifts is kind of a mystery. And it's not to say they won't be booked quite a bit in May, June and beyond. Assuming I am available and haven't found full-time work by

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-3154917106725184782010-03-31T00:49:00.003-04:002010-03-31T01:11:01.463-04:00

Queerty.com ran a little squib about being HIV+ and open about your status on the 'Net. It was actually pretty much just a link to a larger article that ran in HIVPlusMag.com that was about HIV+ bloggers and vloggers and the various ways we are using social networks and digital communication.But I found myself compelled to respond in the comments at Queerty about my own reasons for blogging, and

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-60481451901524195152010-03-30T12:53:00.001-04:002010-03-30T12:55:07.981-04:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-52426931677086117292010-03-29T01:50:00.003-04:002010-03-29T02:06:03.186-04:00

I've decided I will not be posting any more entries expressly for the University of Central Florida HIV studies course. I had hoped that it would provide something akin to a pen pal or blogger pal relationship with at least a couple of the students. I envisioned they would be writing blog posts that dealt in a meaningful way with HIV and how it impacts and affects young people in this country. I

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-17613478307763126512010-03-28T21:04:00.002-04:002010-03-28T21:17:56.425-04:00

An HIV study highlighted in The Washington Post yields a few surprises.-14% of gay men in the District are thought to be HIV positive, a rate that is five times higher than that found in the overall adult population.-more than a third of the 500 or so sexually active gay men who participated reported not knowing the HIV status of their last sex partner.-according to this study, men over 30 are

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-59312331386203342312010-03-25T01:17:00.002-04:002010-03-25T01:20:05.033-04:00

Here's a video that the people at Photoshop Labs have posted, showing some unbelievable photo editing software that will be rolled out in a future version of the program.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-36310706993322772102010-03-23T20:55:00.002-04:002010-03-23T21:06:07.889-04:00

Today I:Went to credit card court for an account that frankly, I don't actually remember having. Which is not to say that I didn't but it was during the years before I got sober and things are a little ... vague. Anyway, the case was adjourned until June so maybe there is a way to outsmart the collection agency that I will discover in the interim.Went to the dentist for a cleaning and had to sit

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-35102792115279762982010-03-22T01:57:00.003-04:002010-03-22T02:00:06.111-04:00

I now have two, count 'em two part-time jobs. It's a bit of a juggle but money has improved dramatically already. Also, I've lost 13 lbs. since starting to diet the first week of February or thereabouts. I'm definitely going to 15, and then I'll decide about going for 20.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-81593091857050228852010-03-21T19:52:00.002-04:002010-03-21T19:59:12.484-04:00

I downloaded a bunch of pictures from my camera and was pleasantly surprised to find a few more shots from the last winter storm. Including this jaunty fellow contentedly watching the world go by from a park bench. Although judging by the way the sun is bearing down on him, his world-view seemed about to get quite a bit more fluid. After the last four or five days of sunny and unseasonably warm

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-1499442935385597172010-03-20T10:48:00.003-04:002010-03-20T11:31:49.695-04:00

That's the question I get from a lot of the Facebookians that have popped back in to my life as a result of my finally deciding to go over the cliff. Unfortunatley, many of them I haven't seen since 1980 or so, which makes trying to encapsulate three decades of "life" rather daunting. But I tried. Here's what I sent to the wife of a teacher I was very close to in High School. Pretty much sums it

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-41382797738089457022010-03-17T18:01:00.003-04:002010-03-31T01:36:37.852-04:00

Two, count 'em two job offers this week. One of which is actually quite crappy which I will decline and one of which I accepted. Although it is part time, I guess two part time jobs equals one actual job. In a roundabout way. Dunnit? I also got a call from a recruiter looking to fill two other positions. One I declined immediately as it would involve an emphasis on beer. And since I never cared

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-25078012026025543512010-03-15T13:18:00.002-04:002010-03-15T13:26:52.603-04:00

All right, so I decided to go ahead and jump in to this Facebook pool. The Kool-Aid had a little bit of a bitter "almond-y" aftertaste but besides that it was ... *gak*.Well as expected everyone I ever met is on and I spent about an hour or so adding friends and then friends of friends. More and more people that I hadn't counted on finding so quickly, most of them from Buffalo and my post High

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-51475978147404043842010-03-13T14:35:00.002-05:002010-03-13T14:39:59.002-05:00

I slept until almost 1:00 pm today. Haven't done that in probably a year or more. But it is very cold and very dark and very rainy today and I was under the comforter with the shades drawn and Riley underneath the blanket at my feet. I woke up many times to hear the cars running across the rain-slick road and just rolled over. I didn't think it was almost 1:00 however. But I have been working

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-57583945841750569892010-03-11T01:06:00.005-05:002010-03-11T01:32:16.032-05:00

Here's something new. I've decided to horrify or delight you (you pick) with some pictures that no one has seen for decades. This picture is me from a production of The Lion In Winter, where I played King Phillip. Oh, she loved her faux fur collar and big puffy sleeves. This was when I still lived in Western New York, and according to the bio in the program, I was a student at SUNYBuffalo at the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-4501175911294489932010-03-10T14:34:00.001-05:002010-03-10T14:35:44.869-05:00

I still don't have a full time job but my clothes fit very well.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-27469691321413518662010-03-08T01:06:00.003-05:002010-03-08T01:09:49.070-05:00

Just because I felt like it. This is music kids, and what the nice lady is doing is called singing. You know what you don't hear? That damn tinny ringing underneath from the auto-tune. Oleta don't need no friggin' auto-tune. Learn it.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-66350186516436127912010-03-06T01:19:00.004-05:002010-03-06T01:33:14.305-05:00

Two European studies presented at a recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections seem to show that recently diagnosed HIV patients, as well as those with high CD4 counts when beginning treatment, can probably expect normal to near-normal life expectancies.I'm paraphrasing wildly, and you can read the whole article here, but in essence they are claiming that people who have been

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-1667730626797519442010-03-05T00:58:00.003-05:002010-03-06T01:36:59.012-05:00

Compared to what I've been living through in January and February, my phone is ringing off the hook. I had a job interview on Monday that was horrible. The rude fucker actually took two phone calls while we were meeting and stifled a yawn right in my face while I was answering a question. I swear, the next interviewer that answers his phone after asking me something is going to get his Crackberry

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-70594863022837501272010-03-03T23:26:00.002-05:002010-03-03T23:53:52.115-05:00

Let's not sugar-coat things, in the three years since I got sober I have also got fat. I only gained about 5 lbs. after I quit smoking (8 years ago!!), but I put on a full 25lbs. (more or less) after I quit drinking. And that is why you stopped seeing my in my next-to nothing pictures, because there was soooo much more of me to see, and the internets are already chock full of pictures of flabby,

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-1459870665566269842010-02-26T00:22:00.001-05:002010-02-26T00:22:00.652-05:00

Tuesday morning doctor's appointment was a follow up to my labs. I find myself faced with a dilemma. And I don't think I will be posting or talking about my lab results any more. Unless something happens worth talking about. You see I'm about as healthy as a person can get, and I have been for some time.Everything in my blood work came back normal. Liver function, kidney function, red blood

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-4691355413170593852010-02-25T12:12:00.004-05:002010-02-26T10:21:22.418-05:00

Johnny Weir holds a press conference in Vancouver following some ugly remarks made by Quebec sportscasters calling him a "bad example" and stating that he "should pass a gender test".And then there's this:

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-22705159040144081472010-02-22T13:16:00.005-05:002010-02-22T14:35:30.383-05:00

The NY Times runs a complaint box column, basically an Op-Ed area for the masses, which typically just ends up to be a place were one New Yorker complains about the behavior of other New Yorkers, and then hundreds of other New Yorkers write in to second that complaint, take the opposing viewpoint, or point out other things that other New Yorkers do to drive them crazy.Last week the subject was

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-5886442071194027162010-02-19T00:56:00.002-05:002010-02-19T01:12:51.495-05:00

If you haven't got me a present yet I would really like one of these.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-640600274967285592010-02-16T23:30:00.004-05:002010-02-16T23:42:10.503-05:00

Well, go ahead but I have a headache from crying for the last hour. I just watched "Mine", a documentary film on PBS. Here's the plot synopsis:During the evacuation for Hurricane Katrina, people were forced to leave behind more than just their homes. Thousands of stranded pets were rescued and then adopted into new homes across the United States. As residents slowly returned to try and rebuild

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-70378627499431922702010-02-14T12:56:00.003-05:002010-02-14T13:09:15.694-05:00

I ran across this video a month or two back, but for some reason there was no option at the time to embed it (I think). I'm on record as not being a very strong proponent of gay marriage -for me- but I certainly recognize and support that many people are, and are working tirelessly to achieve it. However, this is a very sweet video and one of my favorite songs refashioned brilliantly. And it

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-42660874212269536712010-02-13T19:19:00.005-05:002010-02-13T23:19:41.490-05:00

A great idea to make a new recording and video for WATW on the 25th anniversary, and there's no denying the need in Haiti is great. Every dollar helps. But you know there's trouble brewing when Justin Bieber opens the video.Overall I didn't hate it. And I actually really loved the rap break they dropped in at the 3/4 mark. I thought it added a grittiness that counters what is a pretty saccharine

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311313.post-14864065274930756702010-02-11T13:18:00.002-05:002010-02-11T13:18:00.439-05:00

PEP411.com is a web-site with information about PEP treatment or Post Exposure Prophylaxis. It is for people that find they have had unprotected sex (including the unfortunate breaking of the condom) with someone they know to be HIV+, or who's sero-status is unknown (read: drunken bareback hookup). It's a 28 day regimen of the same antiretrovirals that HIV+ individuals already take. The

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16933438868757796632noreply@blogger.com0