Saturday, March 31, 2001
Sunday at 2 a.m. we lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of sunlight - but how does this play out in Indiana, our country's very own twighlight zone?
From USA Today:
Indiana lies along the westernmost border of the line that separates Eastern Time and Central Time zones. Of Indiana's 92 counties, 10 lie on the western side of this boundary line and are in the Central Time zone -- the same time as western Kentucky and Chicago. They practice daylight-saving time.
The remaining 82 counties lie in the Eastern Time zone, and of these, 77 remain on Eastern Time all year. They do not change their clocks. But five counties adjacent to Louisville and Cincinnati voluntarily adopt daylight-saving time, which creates the third Indiana time-keeping zone.
Confused? Even some Hoosiers are.
From USA Today:
Indiana lies along the westernmost border of the line that separates Eastern Time and Central Time zones. Of Indiana's 92 counties, 10 lie on the western side of this boundary line and are in the Central Time zone -- the same time as western Kentucky and Chicago. They practice daylight-saving time.
The remaining 82 counties lie in the Eastern Time zone, and of these, 77 remain on Eastern Time all year. They do not change their clocks. But five counties adjacent to Louisville and Cincinnati voluntarily adopt daylight-saving time, which creates the third Indiana time-keeping zone.
Confused? Even some Hoosiers are.
Tuesday, March 27, 2001
[Short and sweet]
A year ago, one of the coolest, most intriguing, interesting, clever, adorable and genuinely nice people I've ever known entered my life ... in a typically digital way.
Ben IMed me March 27, 2000 while I was trying to repackage a Targum story for my news writing and reporting class. I spent most of my time that night talking to him because he was so incredibly ... odd.
At that point I'd had vignette.org for almost a year and my journal for a year and a half, but Ben had only come across the site during the end of March, when I transitioned the main page to a blog. Thankfully, what he read was interesting enough to prompt him to IM me. And I'm so grateful he did, because from some idle chit chat on a weekday afternoon, while I was at a college newspaper office in New Jersey and he was in a basement/office in Michigan, grew the most rewarding, fulfilling friendship of my life. And the most mature romantic relationship I've had so far.
Since that first day, when he made an appearance in my blog as treeb jen [he would also be tree bjen, jenks and jenkiebaby], he has become a confidant and a best friend. During the past year we've been through stressful work environments, a job hunt, a cross-country move, four San Francisco trips, one East coast journey and countless hours of sharing ourselves. I've never been so close to someone and so eager to find out more. I've never been so comfortable.
My words can do no justice to the absolute joy I've felt because of his kind and generous heart. His words come closest to expressing the intense happiness associated with not just that delightfully insane night in Chico, but all of the past year as well.
[I should mention that tomorrow marks three months from when I landed in San Francisco International Airport for the New Year's trip that changed everything.]
A year ago, one of the coolest, most intriguing, interesting, clever, adorable and genuinely nice people I've ever known entered my life ... in a typically digital way.
Ben IMed me March 27, 2000 while I was trying to repackage a Targum story for my news writing and reporting class. I spent most of my time that night talking to him because he was so incredibly ... odd.
At that point I'd had vignette.org for almost a year and my journal for a year and a half, but Ben had only come across the site during the end of March, when I transitioned the main page to a blog. Thankfully, what he read was interesting enough to prompt him to IM me. And I'm so grateful he did, because from some idle chit chat on a weekday afternoon, while I was at a college newspaper office in New Jersey and he was in a basement/office in Michigan, grew the most rewarding, fulfilling friendship of my life. And the most mature romantic relationship I've had so far.
Since that first day, when he made an appearance in my blog as treeb jen [he would also be tree bjen, jenks and jenkiebaby], he has become a confidant and a best friend. During the past year we've been through stressful work environments, a job hunt, a cross-country move, four San Francisco trips, one East coast journey and countless hours of sharing ourselves. I've never been so close to someone and so eager to find out more. I've never been so comfortable.
My words can do no justice to the absolute joy I've felt because of his kind and generous heart. His words come closest to expressing the intense happiness associated with not just that delightfully insane night in Chico, but all of the past year as well.
[I should mention that tomorrow marks three months from when I landed in San Francisco International Airport for the New Year's trip that changed everything.]
Monday, March 26, 2001
(From NBC's PR department)
Oscar nominees Stockard Channing ("Six Degrees of Separation," NBC's "The West Wing") and Sam Waterston ("The Killing Fields," NBC's "Law & Order") will portray the parents of hate-crime victim, Matthew Shepard, in a biographical NBC world premiere movie to be executive-produced by Oscar-winner Goldie Hawn ("Cactus Flower") with Alliance Atlantis' Peter Sussman and Ed Gernon ("Life with Judy Garland: Me & My Shadows," "Joan of Arc," "Nuremberg"), and directed by Roger Spottiswoode ("And the Band Played On…"). "The Matthew Shepard Story" concerns the true-life story of a young Laramie, Wyoming man who was murdered for being gay, and how his parents found the courage to forgive his attackers and end the cycle of hate. Production begins this spring for telecast in the Fall of 2001.
Oscar nominees Stockard Channing ("Six Degrees of Separation," NBC's "The West Wing") and Sam Waterston ("The Killing Fields," NBC's "Law & Order") will portray the parents of hate-crime victim, Matthew Shepard, in a biographical NBC world premiere movie to be executive-produced by Oscar-winner Goldie Hawn ("Cactus Flower") with Alliance Atlantis' Peter Sussman and Ed Gernon ("Life with Judy Garland: Me & My Shadows," "Joan of Arc," "Nuremberg"), and directed by Roger Spottiswoode ("And the Band Played On…"). "The Matthew Shepard Story" concerns the true-life story of a young Laramie, Wyoming man who was murdered for being gay, and how his parents found the courage to forgive his attackers and end the cycle of hate. Production begins this spring for telecast in the Fall of 2001.
Oh! Favorite Julia comment: "This is quite pretty," referring to the Oscar. If she weren't so articulate, you'd have thought she was retarded.
Another funny quote: "Ellen did something not many actresses are willing to do: She made herself look 30 pounds heavier...and Russell Crowe still hit on her."
And I loved the wisecrack about movie ticket prices in NYC rising to $10 - thanks to Julie Roberts. The look on her face was priceless.
Another funny quote: "Ellen did something not many actresses are willing to do: She made herself look 30 pounds heavier...and Russell Crowe still hit on her."
And I loved the wisecrack about movie ticket prices in NYC rising to $10 - thanks to Julie Roberts. The look on her face was priceless.
Just wrote an Oscars story for work, so I'm reliving the glory.
How much do I adore Julia Roberts? She actually squealed. But I think my favorite moment was the ridiculous choir singing "Love Don't Cost a Thing" as J.Lo walked on stage. My eyes bugged out.
How much do I adore Julia Roberts? She actually squealed. But I think my favorite moment was the ridiculous choir singing "Love Don't Cost a Thing" as J.Lo walked on stage. My eyes bugged out.
Sunday, March 25, 2001
More gold from ironminds.com: "Which, in a roundabout fashion, is how I explain why Spears’ 'Oops ... I Did It Again' made my Top Ten singles last year and why the Dave Matthews Band ain’t ever gonna make any list of mine. Ever."
The benefits (?) of online media: instant email feedback. One editor faces almost daily reminders of his "ineptitude" by a disgruntled reader (I've gotten a few insane reader-feedback emails as well, my favorite coming from a man in Singapore who thought that since I wrote a story with a gay theme, I should be reminded that 'the gay' like the 'arsehole' and I'm an evil man going to hell because of my writing - and my editor must be a 'dyke' for letting me write such blasphemous pieces).
My favorite diss (from ironminds):
Leitch, you turd:
The most difficult thing about telling you how painfully bad you are in the discharge of your duties is that I am effectively barred the use of superlatives. I could tell you on Monday that your latest update is without fail the worst few hundred words I’ve ever had to suffer through, but you would most likely succeed Monday’s low water-mark by week’s end.
Via mediabistro.com, one of my new favorite websites.
My favorite diss (from ironminds):
Leitch, you turd:
The most difficult thing about telling you how painfully bad you are in the discharge of your duties is that I am effectively barred the use of superlatives. I could tell you on Monday that your latest update is without fail the worst few hundred words I’ve ever had to suffer through, but you would most likely succeed Monday’s low water-mark by week’s end.
Via mediabistro.com, one of my new favorite websites.
Saturday, March 24, 2001
Friday, March 23, 2001
Thursday, March 22, 2001
The saddest thing about omnipresent school violence is that it's become almost normal and uninteresting. It's like moving to New York City, where sooner or later the siren don't cause you to turn your head and look anymore.
As an aside, did you know violence in schools has actually gone down in recent years?
As an aside, did you know violence in schools has actually gone down in recent years?
Recently I discovered the joys of Diet 7Up. I do believe that Diet 7Up is perhaps the least offensive diet pop I've ever tasted. Of course it's not quite perfect, but it is a) without caffiene b) doesn't taste like crap, like diet Coke, Dr. Pepper and others. Unfortunately, earlier today I grabbed a can of diet Mountain Dew by mistake. I will not drink it.
Wednesday, March 21, 2001
Picture it:
A Rutgers bus passes a George Street stop because no one wants to get off there and no one waiting there waives. A young man with a bike sees the bus go by, looks extremely ticked off, and mouths, "Fuck you!" at the bus driver. The driver, a black women with a lot of sass, says, "Excuse me. I didn't know you wanted to get on, so F you, too!" Then she lets out a seriously sinister, evil cackle, "Ha. Ha. Ha. Hahahahaha." At the next light the rider catches up and screams at the bus as the driver continues laughing. He gives her the finger as the bus departs. As your faithful reporter stands up to get off at the next stop (careful to say thank you to the crazy woman), the driver says, "Look, and here he comes." The bicyclist storms down George Street, passing the bus and cutting in front of it as the bus merges back onto the road. The man, trying to be cute, rides slowly in front of the bus, making it impossible for the bus to pass him ... until the insane driver gets way too close, honks the loud horn for at least 30 seconds straight and he finally gives way.
And my thought during this whole ordeal was: Dude, you have a bike and the Douglass campus is a half mile away, tops. Just move the fuck on.
A Rutgers bus passes a George Street stop because no one wants to get off there and no one waiting there waives. A young man with a bike sees the bus go by, looks extremely ticked off, and mouths, "Fuck you!" at the bus driver. The driver, a black women with a lot of sass, says, "Excuse me. I didn't know you wanted to get on, so F you, too!" Then she lets out a seriously sinister, evil cackle, "Ha. Ha. Ha. Hahahahaha." At the next light the rider catches up and screams at the bus as the driver continues laughing. He gives her the finger as the bus departs. As your faithful reporter stands up to get off at the next stop (careful to say thank you to the crazy woman), the driver says, "Look, and here he comes." The bicyclist storms down George Street, passing the bus and cutting in front of it as the bus merges back onto the road. The man, trying to be cute, rides slowly in front of the bus, making it impossible for the bus to pass him ... until the insane driver gets way too close, honks the loud horn for at least 30 seconds straight and he finally gives way.
And my thought during this whole ordeal was: Dude, you have a bike and the Douglass campus is a half mile away, tops. Just move the fuck on.
Tuesday, March 20, 2001
Monday, March 19, 2001
By Me.[Don't steal]
Take a British TV series that drummed up impressive ratings, add a young, beautiful cast, throw in some steamy sex scenes and you have a recipe for success sure to attract the major networks, right?
Wrong, if the show centers around a group of sexualized gays and lesbians.
Despite the controversial subject, Showtime’s decision to Americanize the original “Queer As Folk” has proved golden as the debut episode drew in the best rating for a Showtime series premiere in three years.
With 1.2 million to 1.6 million viewers each week- making it the most watched series on Showtime – the network wasted no time ordering an additional 20 episodes for next year, when “Queer As Folk” will join the returning Latino-themed show “Resurrection Blvd” and the African-American drama “Soul Food.”
The future of “Queer As Folk” is top secret, but Peter Paige, who plays Emmett, said viewers could see characters of color next season.
The show, which has no minority or transgendered characters, is trying to represent as many facets of the diverse gay community as possible, said Daniel Lipman, co-creator and writer.
“We’re just one show,” he said. “There’s a lot of responsibility, but we just try to do the best we can.”
For Showtime executives, “Queer As Folk’s” best is enough. Developing television’s most homocentric show was an easy decision, Stephanie Gibbons, vice president of advertising at Showtime, said at a panel discussion with the cast and creators of “Queer As Folk” at this weekend’s Gay and Lesbian Business Expo in New York City.
“Simply, this is a show whose time has come,” she said.
Showtime went all out in its advertising campaign, taking the gay-themed show past traditional gay media and into mainstream publications.
The $10 million campaign permeated the United States during the six months leading up to the series’ December debut.
Showtime bombarded potential viewers with direct-mail brochures, promotional items and a Web site. The network drew coverage from media outlets ranging from Time Magazine to TV Guide.
Prime Access, a New York City-based ad agency that coordinated the campaign, also generated interest by making “Queer As Folk” a presence at community events such as the Millennium March.
Gibbons said she also relied on one of the gay community’s most powerful advertising tools: word of mouth.
After letting the buzz from the British series pervade the gay community, Gibbons used ads and articles “to say that there’s going to be something huge coming out for the gay audience, so get ready. Just the phrase ‘Queer As Folk’ is very powerful.”
The cast began a long series of interviews about three weeks before the debut, “putting a face to the hype,” Gibbons said.
Popular and critically acclaimed series such as “Ellen,” “Will & Grace” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” brought gay characters to the screen, but “Queer As Folk” is taking them a step further, co-creator and writer Daniel Lipman said.
The show, which HBO courted as a film project, is the first American television series to present gay and lesbian characters as sexual beings and as flawed individuals, said Stuart Elliott, a columnist for the New York Times who moderated the discussion.
“It’s important for us to see our lives sexualized,” said Ron Cowen, the show’s co-creator and writer. “Male sex is a joyful thing we can talk about, not a shameful thing.”
Hollywood doesn’t share that belief, though. Rounding up the cast, which features Emmy-winner Sharon Gless of “Cagney and Lacey” fame, and “Talk Soup” alumnus Hal Sparks, was a long, frustrating task, Lipman said.
“We got everyone we wanted, all the first choices, but it was very hard getting major agencies in Los Angeles to send out clients,” he said. “The three biggest agencies sent one actor.”
Hollywood remains fearful of the “Is he or isn’t he?” rumor mill, but the cast of “Queer As Folk” is more concerned with show’s universal themes than the sexuality of their characters or their fellow cast members, said Paige.
“[Sexuality] hasn’t really ever come up in any way,” he said. “As a gay actor, I’ve played straight roles and I intend to again.”
Casting Debbie, the mother of Sparks’ character, Michael, was particularly difficult, Lipman said.
But for Gless, whose role in the 1980s police drama “Cagney and Lacey” broke barriers for women, deciding to take the part was easy, she said. “I thought, ‘I smell trouble and I love trouble,’ ”
To the surprise of the cast and network executives, the show has received minimal backlash, although not everyone has warmed up to “Queer As Folk.”
“I’m sure there are many people who feel outraged about it, but great television promotes controversy and dialogue,” Gibbons said.
The coming-out process of Justin, a 17-year-old new to Pittsburgh’s gay scene, has helped teens and their families understand the difficulties of coming out, said Randy Harrison, who plays Justin.
“I’ve gotten a lot of great reaction from gay teenagers,” he said. “I definitely believe seeing Justin on TV … is helpful.”
Michelle Clunie, who plays Melanie, a lesbian whose partner gave birth to a baby during the first episode, said she has received many letters thanking the show for its depiction of a lesbian family.
“We received a letter from a fan and a picture of her 9-year-old kid. She said, ‘Thanks for making the world a little bit better for our son’s life,’ ” Clunie said. “That makes everything so worth it.”
Take a British TV series that drummed up impressive ratings, add a young, beautiful cast, throw in some steamy sex scenes and you have a recipe for success sure to attract the major networks, right?
Wrong, if the show centers around a group of sexualized gays and lesbians.
Despite the controversial subject, Showtime’s decision to Americanize the original “Queer As Folk” has proved golden as the debut episode drew in the best rating for a Showtime series premiere in three years.
With 1.2 million to 1.6 million viewers each week- making it the most watched series on Showtime – the network wasted no time ordering an additional 20 episodes for next year, when “Queer As Folk” will join the returning Latino-themed show “Resurrection Blvd” and the African-American drama “Soul Food.”
The future of “Queer As Folk” is top secret, but Peter Paige, who plays Emmett, said viewers could see characters of color next season.
The show, which has no minority or transgendered characters, is trying to represent as many facets of the diverse gay community as possible, said Daniel Lipman, co-creator and writer.
“We’re just one show,” he said. “There’s a lot of responsibility, but we just try to do the best we can.”
For Showtime executives, “Queer As Folk’s” best is enough. Developing television’s most homocentric show was an easy decision, Stephanie Gibbons, vice president of advertising at Showtime, said at a panel discussion with the cast and creators of “Queer As Folk” at this weekend’s Gay and Lesbian Business Expo in New York City.
“Simply, this is a show whose time has come,” she said.
Showtime went all out in its advertising campaign, taking the gay-themed show past traditional gay media and into mainstream publications.
The $10 million campaign permeated the United States during the six months leading up to the series’ December debut.
Showtime bombarded potential viewers with direct-mail brochures, promotional items and a Web site. The network drew coverage from media outlets ranging from Time Magazine to TV Guide.
Prime Access, a New York City-based ad agency that coordinated the campaign, also generated interest by making “Queer As Folk” a presence at community events such as the Millennium March.
Gibbons said she also relied on one of the gay community’s most powerful advertising tools: word of mouth.
After letting the buzz from the British series pervade the gay community, Gibbons used ads and articles “to say that there’s going to be something huge coming out for the gay audience, so get ready. Just the phrase ‘Queer As Folk’ is very powerful.”
The cast began a long series of interviews about three weeks before the debut, “putting a face to the hype,” Gibbons said.
Popular and critically acclaimed series such as “Ellen,” “Will & Grace” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” brought gay characters to the screen, but “Queer As Folk” is taking them a step further, co-creator and writer Daniel Lipman said.
The show, which HBO courted as a film project, is the first American television series to present gay and lesbian characters as sexual beings and as flawed individuals, said Stuart Elliott, a columnist for the New York Times who moderated the discussion.
“It’s important for us to see our lives sexualized,” said Ron Cowen, the show’s co-creator and writer. “Male sex is a joyful thing we can talk about, not a shameful thing.”
Hollywood doesn’t share that belief, though. Rounding up the cast, which features Emmy-winner Sharon Gless of “Cagney and Lacey” fame, and “Talk Soup” alumnus Hal Sparks, was a long, frustrating task, Lipman said.
“We got everyone we wanted, all the first choices, but it was very hard getting major agencies in Los Angeles to send out clients,” he said. “The three biggest agencies sent one actor.”
Hollywood remains fearful of the “Is he or isn’t he?” rumor mill, but the cast of “Queer As Folk” is more concerned with show’s universal themes than the sexuality of their characters or their fellow cast members, said Paige.
“[Sexuality] hasn’t really ever come up in any way,” he said. “As a gay actor, I’ve played straight roles and I intend to again.”
Casting Debbie, the mother of Sparks’ character, Michael, was particularly difficult, Lipman said.
But for Gless, whose role in the 1980s police drama “Cagney and Lacey” broke barriers for women, deciding to take the part was easy, she said. “I thought, ‘I smell trouble and I love trouble,’ ”
To the surprise of the cast and network executives, the show has received minimal backlash, although not everyone has warmed up to “Queer As Folk.”
“I’m sure there are many people who feel outraged about it, but great television promotes controversy and dialogue,” Gibbons said.
The coming-out process of Justin, a 17-year-old new to Pittsburgh’s gay scene, has helped teens and their families understand the difficulties of coming out, said Randy Harrison, who plays Justin.
“I’ve gotten a lot of great reaction from gay teenagers,” he said. “I definitely believe seeing Justin on TV … is helpful.”
Michelle Clunie, who plays Melanie, a lesbian whose partner gave birth to a baby during the first episode, said she has received many letters thanking the show for its depiction of a lesbian family.
“We received a letter from a fan and a picture of her 9-year-old kid. She said, ‘Thanks for making the world a little bit better for our son’s life,’ ” Clunie said. “That makes everything so worth it.”
Check out some of the *really* low quality photos I took at the "Queer As Folk" panel discussion with NY Times writer Stuart Elliott. I totally forgot to bust the resolution up to the highest setting.
(There's also a bonus photo of a coworker doing the unthinkable!)
(There's also a bonus photo of a coworker doing the unthinkable!)
Ever wonder what breakfast at your typical Tokyo household is like? Well, this won't help you out, but it is hysterically funny for the first few minutes - as long as you're not totally P.C.
Sunday, March 18, 2001
You know, I have a really busy week at work ahead of me, a media law midterm Tuesday, a Spanish midterm Thursday and a term paper to writer this week - and I'm about to embark upon this very-unlike-me journey, which is scary and exciting all at once - but I don't feel stressed. I just feel really happy.
[Thank you...and I think so, too.]
[Thank you...and I think so, too.]
Friday, March 16, 2001
"Phase Two" begins for the Starbucks Empire.
As evil is they are, I can't help craving a Chai Latte every once in a while.
As evil is they are, I can't help craving a Chai Latte every once in a while.
Thursday, March 15, 2001
Who decides that these things are good ideas? I mean, really, like the web community needs any more help being anti-social.
From the Candice files:
Another case of a man looking like a lesbian. There's some serious gender ambiguity with the person in the background of this photo on the College Board page
Another case of a man looking like a lesbian. There's some serious gender ambiguity with the person in the background of this photo on the College Board page
Monday, March 12, 2001
Saturday, March 10, 2001
Wednesday, March 7, 2001
Imagine driving down your local highway and spotting one of those ridiculous "adopt a highway" signs, but this one is sponsored by "your neighborhood Ku Klux Klan." For residents in the St. Louis area, it's a reality.
"The Klan requested a half-mile stretch of Interstate 55, one of the routes used to bus black students to county schools as part of court-ordered desegregation efforts in the St. Louis area."
"The Klan requested a half-mile stretch of Interstate 55, one of the routes used to bus black students to county schools as part of court-ordered desegregation efforts in the St. Louis area."
Tuesday, March 6, 2001
Nothing ever lives up to the hype.
The "Blizzard of '01" is another example, at least for everyone in Central Jersey. The whole thing is so typical - the university cancels classes on the day I have work and remains open the day I have four classes.
A lot of students were banking on a day off. Everything can be summed up by a line from an email I received this morning from Candice: "It's kind of funny how emad, rube and nancy were watching movies all carefree n' shit and now they have to go take their exams today."
The "Blizzard of '01" is another example, at least for everyone in Central Jersey. The whole thing is so typical - the university cancels classes on the day I have work and remains open the day I have four classes.
A lot of students were banking on a day off. Everything can be summed up by a line from an email I received this morning from Candice: "It's kind of funny how emad, rube and nancy were watching movies all carefree n' shit and now they have to go take their exams today."
Monday, March 5, 2001
Sunday, March 4, 2001
It's coming...
I didn't realize how bad this latest snowstorm was supposed to be until I was driving around yesterday and heard a meteorologist throw around the word "blizzard." Then I saw a newspaper article using the term "worst storm since 1962." Not cool.
As I was walking back from a brunch date with Priti this morning, the wind was whipping up around me, trash flying around. I got a message from Barbara saying the office probably would close tomorrow, so she wanted to talk about some work the edit team could do at home.
I don't mind snow, really. But it's March. So, I'll put it with it and, in return, I only ask for two things: that the University closes Tuesday and that I don't lose power. The last thing I need is to have to sit around in the dark with no TV or Internet. I'm a child of the 80s for God's sake. I don't do well without the idiot boxes.
I didn't realize how bad this latest snowstorm was supposed to be until I was driving around yesterday and heard a meteorologist throw around the word "blizzard." Then I saw a newspaper article using the term "worst storm since 1962." Not cool.
As I was walking back from a brunch date with Priti this morning, the wind was whipping up around me, trash flying around. I got a message from Barbara saying the office probably would close tomorrow, so she wanted to talk about some work the edit team could do at home.
I don't mind snow, really. But it's March. So, I'll put it with it and, in return, I only ask for two things: that the University closes Tuesday and that I don't lose power. The last thing I need is to have to sit around in the dark with no TV or Internet. I'm a child of the 80s for God's sake. I don't do well without the idiot boxes.
Friday, March 2, 2001
My Adv. Reporting class was one of three lucky enough to hit down with Pultizer Prize winner Laurie Garrett for a discussion about AIDS and a journalist's responsibility to cover the issue. I realized a few minutes into it that it would make a great story for one of our sites at work, so i took down some notes. Here's what I came up with:
Increased access to AIDS drug cocktails, additional funding for research, and decreasing infection rates among certain populations have created a false sense of safety, but the current state of the disease calls for urgent action, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Laurie Garrett.
"We are facing the largest catastrophic epidemic in the history of humanity," Garrett said today during a discussion at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. "Who's in charge? Nobody. Who's got a plan? Nobody."
By the end of 2000, 36.1 million men, women and children were infected with HIV and 21.8 million had died from AIDS-related illnesses, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The same year saw more than 5 million new infections and 3 million deaths, a record number.
In 14 countries, more than 10 percent of adults have the virus. In eight countries, one in every three adults has HIV, said Garrett, who has reported on AIDS since 1981.
In the United States, one in 10 gay or bisexual men ages 23 to 29 have HIV, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of more than 2,400 gay and bisexual men in six U.S. cities.
The study, released last month, found that gay and bisexual minorities face higher infection rates, with 30 percent of African Americans and 15 percent of Latinos infected. About 7 percent of gay and bisexual white men had HIV.
In addition, only 29 percent of the 293 HIV-positive men in the study knew they were infected.
Policy makers are just beginning to realize that the “lack of strategic approach [to fighting AIDS] is shameful, embarrassing and there’s a sense of urgency,” Garrett said.
AIDS was potentially containable in the early 1980s, but the global governmental denial and lack of financial support made way for the disease to reach ever-increasing pandemic proportions, she said.
Garrett, who studied bacteriology and immunology at the University of California at Berkeley, estimates that even if researchers find a vaccine for HIV in 10 years - an unlikely occurrence - the world-wide infection rate will reach at least 150 million. A cure is even less likely, she said.
The virus hides in DNA, making it difficult and dangerous to manipulate it. "This is the first time we've tried to tackle a disease that does that," Garrett said.
Part of the blame for the growth of the virus falls on the government, Garrett said. Africa, where countries such as Botswana have a 36 percent infection rate among adults, has not received nearly as much international response as North-American or European AIDS cases, she said.
"If one in every three white French walking around Paris had AIDS, you bet the reaction would be different," she said.
Expensive drug cocktails - which can cost about $20,000 a year – can help, especially is people in third-world countries can obtain it at decreased costs, but there are dangerous side effects, Garrett said.
Fat redistribution cause women's breasts to shrink down while their stomachs enlarge. Men find themselves with a ring of fat around their waist just as their legs and arms become skinny, Garrett said.
The most detrimental effect, though, is the false sense of safety the medication creates in patients and in anyone who is sexually active, she said.
Garrett is the only journalist to win the field’s top three prizes. She took home the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the Ebola virus, the George Polk Award for her general health coverage in Newsday, and the George Foster Peabody Award for her PBS documentary, "Great Minds of Medicine."
(I adored her. She's really great. She also likened the creation of crack to a marketing campaign to increase profits in the inner city - whose residents couldn't afford powder cocaine - and she talked about how AIDS has become a billion-ollar industry. Think about it. There are people whose whole careers are based upon the existence of AIDS.)
Increased access to AIDS drug cocktails, additional funding for research, and decreasing infection rates among certain populations have created a false sense of safety, but the current state of the disease calls for urgent action, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Laurie Garrett.
"We are facing the largest catastrophic epidemic in the history of humanity," Garrett said today during a discussion at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. "Who's in charge? Nobody. Who's got a plan? Nobody."
By the end of 2000, 36.1 million men, women and children were infected with HIV and 21.8 million had died from AIDS-related illnesses, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The same year saw more than 5 million new infections and 3 million deaths, a record number.
In 14 countries, more than 10 percent of adults have the virus. In eight countries, one in every three adults has HIV, said Garrett, who has reported on AIDS since 1981.
In the United States, one in 10 gay or bisexual men ages 23 to 29 have HIV, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of more than 2,400 gay and bisexual men in six U.S. cities.
The study, released last month, found that gay and bisexual minorities face higher infection rates, with 30 percent of African Americans and 15 percent of Latinos infected. About 7 percent of gay and bisexual white men had HIV.
In addition, only 29 percent of the 293 HIV-positive men in the study knew they were infected.
Policy makers are just beginning to realize that the “lack of strategic approach [to fighting AIDS] is shameful, embarrassing and there’s a sense of urgency,” Garrett said.
AIDS was potentially containable in the early 1980s, but the global governmental denial and lack of financial support made way for the disease to reach ever-increasing pandemic proportions, she said.
Garrett, who studied bacteriology and immunology at the University of California at Berkeley, estimates that even if researchers find a vaccine for HIV in 10 years - an unlikely occurrence - the world-wide infection rate will reach at least 150 million. A cure is even less likely, she said.
The virus hides in DNA, making it difficult and dangerous to manipulate it. "This is the first time we've tried to tackle a disease that does that," Garrett said.
Part of the blame for the growth of the virus falls on the government, Garrett said. Africa, where countries such as Botswana have a 36 percent infection rate among adults, has not received nearly as much international response as North-American or European AIDS cases, she said.
"If one in every three white French walking around Paris had AIDS, you bet the reaction would be different," she said.
Expensive drug cocktails - which can cost about $20,000 a year – can help, especially is people in third-world countries can obtain it at decreased costs, but there are dangerous side effects, Garrett said.
Fat redistribution cause women's breasts to shrink down while their stomachs enlarge. Men find themselves with a ring of fat around their waist just as their legs and arms become skinny, Garrett said.
The most detrimental effect, though, is the false sense of safety the medication creates in patients and in anyone who is sexually active, she said.
Garrett is the only journalist to win the field’s top three prizes. She took home the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the Ebola virus, the George Polk Award for her general health coverage in Newsday, and the George Foster Peabody Award for her PBS documentary, "Great Minds of Medicine."
(I adored her. She's really great. She also likened the creation of crack to a marketing campaign to increase profits in the inner city - whose residents couldn't afford powder cocaine - and she talked about how AIDS has become a billion-ollar industry. Think about it. There are people whose whole careers are based upon the existence of AIDS.)
Timmy?
Yeah, Easter also = TJ's 21st birthday.
That's right folks, I'll be legally hitting the bars for the first time on one of our most sacred holidays.
"Another round! To Jesus!"
"Teejaymas" - the name I created for my birthday last year - takes on a whole new meaning.
Yeah, Easter also = TJ's 21st birthday.
That's right folks, I'll be legally hitting the bars for the first time on one of our most sacred holidays.
"Another round! To Jesus!"
"Teejaymas" - the name I created for my birthday last year - takes on a whole new meaning.
Thursday, March 1, 2001
I just finished my essay for the Cap and Skull Honor Society - a Rutgers College tradition created in 1900 and modeled after the group at Yale. Being a part of a group with members such as Paul Robeson is intense. The essay question was general - about what contributions I could make, but I found it surprisingly essay to finish...
*****
My last story for DiversityInc.com was about a diversity-training and consulting company that urges corporate America to open its eyes to the non-traditional forms of diversity within its employees. They say that by looking beyond race, gender and sexual orientation and, instead, thinking about diversity of thought and experience, companies can foster greater productivity, creativity and profitability. A lot of their ideas and "ities" relate solely to the business world, but I was amazed by the universality of many of their concepts.
Rutgers is a deeply segmented university where many students feel excluded from groups more than included in a campus-wide community. From the five different campuses to the countless cultural organizations, the segregation is omnipresent. The trick, in my opinion, is minimizing the negative consequences of this situation while maximizing the benefits of the diversity.
Cap & Skull prides itself on uniting leaders with diverse opinions in order to improve the Rutgers experience for all students. While I could list achievements and rack my brain trying to come up with spectacular reasons why I should be a part of the 100-year tradition, I think the most important reason is the most obvious: I am simply me. I’m a 20-year-old Rutgers College junior who’s interacted with a lot of students from different backgrounds and has concrete opinions about why Rutgers is a great university and why groups such as Cap & Skull must do more to improve it.
At the school’s newspaper I had the unique opportunity to try to reach out to more than 40,000 students with my words. As an editor I was a liaison between the editorial board and the community. I spoke to student leaders from different campuses, interacted with administrators such as the seemingly student-phobic Francis Lawrence and, most importantly, observed people from various walks of life. So many Rutgers students shut themselves off to other campuses and groups of people. The word apathy is overused, but it has become a buzzword for a legitimate reason. I can look back and say I’ve risen above some of that.
Nevertheless, I have regrets. But that’s not an overwhelmingly bad thing because I think our regrets become our biggest motivators. As I stress and grow increasingly anxious about entering my last year at Rutgers, I see how many of my goals remain unfulfilled. Looking back on my year as campus editor, I feel like my primary focus should have been to serve as the eyes and ears of the community for the paper. Unfortunately, I let myself succumb to the Targum trap, remaining in the office writing news stories and relying on the phone for most of my communication with student leaders. My visits to the governing associations and campus events seemed like chores at times, especially when my head was flooded with thoughts of deadlines and pending stories, but those trips were the most rewarding part of my term. Even though they were less frequent than I would have liked, they were educational – informing me about my fellow students, whose ideas and desires were often very different than my own.
As a member of Cap & Skull, my greatest attributes would be simple ones: a unique perspective and a desire to make my last year on the banks as fulfilling and productive as possible. A group of 18 students who are passionate about celebrating the history of this institution while changing its future in a positive way is a powerful concept. As cliched as it sounds, I just hope I can be a part of that.
*****
My last story for DiversityInc.com was about a diversity-training and consulting company that urges corporate America to open its eyes to the non-traditional forms of diversity within its employees. They say that by looking beyond race, gender and sexual orientation and, instead, thinking about diversity of thought and experience, companies can foster greater productivity, creativity and profitability. A lot of their ideas and "ities" relate solely to the business world, but I was amazed by the universality of many of their concepts.
Rutgers is a deeply segmented university where many students feel excluded from groups more than included in a campus-wide community. From the five different campuses to the countless cultural organizations, the segregation is omnipresent. The trick, in my opinion, is minimizing the negative consequences of this situation while maximizing the benefits of the diversity.
Cap & Skull prides itself on uniting leaders with diverse opinions in order to improve the Rutgers experience for all students. While I could list achievements and rack my brain trying to come up with spectacular reasons why I should be a part of the 100-year tradition, I think the most important reason is the most obvious: I am simply me. I’m a 20-year-old Rutgers College junior who’s interacted with a lot of students from different backgrounds and has concrete opinions about why Rutgers is a great university and why groups such as Cap & Skull must do more to improve it.
At the school’s newspaper I had the unique opportunity to try to reach out to more than 40,000 students with my words. As an editor I was a liaison between the editorial board and the community. I spoke to student leaders from different campuses, interacted with administrators such as the seemingly student-phobic Francis Lawrence and, most importantly, observed people from various walks of life. So many Rutgers students shut themselves off to other campuses and groups of people. The word apathy is overused, but it has become a buzzword for a legitimate reason. I can look back and say I’ve risen above some of that.
Nevertheless, I have regrets. But that’s not an overwhelmingly bad thing because I think our regrets become our biggest motivators. As I stress and grow increasingly anxious about entering my last year at Rutgers, I see how many of my goals remain unfulfilled. Looking back on my year as campus editor, I feel like my primary focus should have been to serve as the eyes and ears of the community for the paper. Unfortunately, I let myself succumb to the Targum trap, remaining in the office writing news stories and relying on the phone for most of my communication with student leaders. My visits to the governing associations and campus events seemed like chores at times, especially when my head was flooded with thoughts of deadlines and pending stories, but those trips were the most rewarding part of my term. Even though they were less frequent than I would have liked, they were educational – informing me about my fellow students, whose ideas and desires were often very different than my own.
As a member of Cap & Skull, my greatest attributes would be simple ones: a unique perspective and a desire to make my last year on the banks as fulfilling and productive as possible. A group of 18 students who are passionate about celebrating the history of this institution while changing its future in a positive way is a powerful concept. As cliched as it sounds, I just hope I can be a part of that.
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