My Positivelite.com editor Brian Finch tipped me off that there was interest from 3rd parties in reproducing a previous blog post of mine entitled ‘Are We All Criminals’ about my experiences with HIV-criminalization and disclosure. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted directly by Matt Mills, an editor of Xtra and a fierce supporter of ending HIV-Criminalization. Matt found the piece ‘courageous’ and valued its potential for creating an honest dialogue around the complexities of HIV-crim

Tackling the misconception that being HIV+ means not having a future, the Magnet Party passed out fortune cookies, employed a palm reader, and hosted a table of petitions and campaign materials about making our future as positive gay men a brighter, less discriminator one.   Despite the rain, ACO’s second quarter annual party for pos guys and the guys who love them pulled out a respectable amount of people thanks to strong word of mouth and a real need on the part of HIV+ guys to conne

In the wake of the suicides of Tyler Clementi, Raymond Chase, Seth Walsh , Justin Aaberg, Asher Brown, and Billy Lucas, white, male, hiv-negative, privileged Dan Savage has given North American the viral hit ‘It Gets Better’ Campaign to address queer bullying in schools. Offering only a bandage, the campaign fails to hold others accountable, silences youth, and doesn’t offer any adequate solutions. Look at what it’s telling our youth in crisis. It will get better once we don't subject

It fails to get medicines to people in developing countries that need them. Despite 80% of Canadians being in favor of Bill C-393 being adapted to streamline CAMR and make the process more effective, brand name pharmaceutical companies are using their considerable wealth to lead their own campaign of misinformation to derail the bill, and protect their own self interests, at the cost of human lives. Do you want to get involved and support Bill C-393 getting passed? Visit http://www.aidslaw.c

10 reasons’ to oppose HIV criminalization (Paraphrased and/or taken from Ten Reasons to Oppose the Criminalization of HIV Exposure or Transmission, co-produced by the Open Society Institute) 1. Applying criminal law to HIV exposure or transmission does not reduce the spread of HIV. 2. Criminalization of HIV dilutes public health messages that practicing safer sex is everyone’s responsibility. 3. Criminalization of HIV creates distrust between HIV-positive people and their health care provi

Swizzles 3rd Annual Get Naked Benefit is in support of the Courage Campaign, a fundraiser for the Ottawa General Cancer Wing Expansion Project! Hosted on the Ottawa River in conjunction with Swizzles annual Pride boat cruise, join us on Thursday, August the 26th at 10pm for live music, the Rockalily Burlesque troupe, and amatuer strip tease performances from some of Ottawa's most visible community members! Tickets are $25 in advance and available @ Swizzles, 1 in 10, and After Stonewall. THE G

David McLay and RonniLyn Pustil of Positive Side Magazine asked me to contribute to their regular column Chatty Catie for their upcoming fall issue on the subject of gratitude. I chose to write about being grateful for my Mother, and the many others who have influenced my activism and fundraising. While the final version won’t be available for some time, I wanted to share with my readers this sneak peak from the photo shoot I did with my Mother to accompany the piece over the weekend. My tha

Jer's Vision: Canada's Youth Diversity Initiative (www.jersvision.org) has selected me to be their Visionary of the Week. An award selected by Jer's Vision Board Members, their Youth Committee, and by their participants and volunteers. Given to people who are trying to make the world a better place, Jer’s Vision is seeking to motivate community involvement from readers of their new blog (www.jersvision.blogspot.com) and annual newsletter. Below is my full interview with Jer’s Vision’s Ca

We broke the bed and then we slept on it. A perfect metaphor for our brief relationship. "Ryan" was a tall, handsome, red headed emergency room nurse who had transferred from the Toronto Hospital to the Ottawa General in hopes of a fresh start, and I quickly looked to him to be my new beginning. On account of his huge penis, and sexy fire crotch, I was willing to over look his general immaturity till New Years, when his coked out behavior embarrassed me in front of my friends, earning Rya

After months of speculation, it appears Wonder Woman writer Gail Simone may have finally tipped her hand and answered the prayers of her lonely, reborn hero Achilles and gifted him a companion in the form of handsome real estate agent Patrick Cleese (aka Patroclus!) For months message boards have been aflutter about the possible sexuality of the reborn Iliad hero. King of an island populated only by men, Achilles, aka Warkiller, has shown open disinterest in sleeping with women, and has even