Targeting Gay Men in Russia; HIV PSAS

The trouble the campaign is facing is within the wording or the implied intent. For example, ” In the first spot, a ‘hockey helmet’ metaphor is used, suggesting it would be wise to use protection. In the second, a man approaches another man on a bed and a security alarm goes off with each approach, until the man on the bed reaches for a condom in his pocket, suggesting that HIV (or the threat of it) is a weapon ( towleroad.com)”. I say HIV is a weapon and our community still hasn’t grabbed it by the reins and got a hold of it. Inappropriate behavior and disrespect of self prevails. So, I say try any angle you can to metaphorically beat it into the gays that WE STILL NEED TO BE SAFE. DUH!

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/02/watch-russia-launches-hiv-prevention-psas-aimed-at-gay-men.html#ixzz1DKdTr3v4

 

 

Russia Launches HIV Prevention PSAs Aimed at Gay Men

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/02/watch-russia-launches-hiv-prevention-psas-aimed-at-gay-men.html#ixzz1DKbP7f72

SF Kaiser half-marathon runner dies near finish

Dr. Honey Bear

A few years back an article caught my attention about HOW BAD training for a marathon is, let alone the race itself. The strain , wear and tear on the body is comparable to a heart attack or mild stroke. Apparently running marathons isn’t such a good idea.

 

 

 

VIA www.sfgate.com

A runner collapsed near the finish line of the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon in Golden Gate Park on Sunday and died despite efforts of bystanders and race participants to revive him, witnesses said.

A Fire Department dispatcher confirmed the death of an adult male at the race, but additional information about the man was not immediately available.

Witnesses described a slow and confused response by race officials when the man first collapsed on an unseasonably warm day that hit 80 degrees. Two witnesses said it took about 20 minutes from that point before paramedics arrived.

The San Francisco medical examiner could not be reached, and calls and e-mails on Sunday to Kaiser Permanente and RhodyCo Productions, the company that produced the race, were not immediately returned.

“In an event that size with that staff, it’s ridiculous to take that long to have paramedics arrive,” said Neil Fraser, head coach and co-owner of a triathlon and sports training company who was at the finish line waiting for some of his athletes when the man collapsed.

Sunday’s race marked the 28th running of the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon and 5K Fun Run, and the event was sold out with 10,000 participants, the race website said.

When the runner collapsed, someone pointed it out to the announcer at the finish line, who called over the loudspeaker for medical staff, witnesses said. But it took repeated calls before any staff arrived, and ultimately runners and spectators began performing CPR, witnesses said.

“Finally a woman came up and started yelling at (the announcer), ‘You need to start pleading for anyone to help. We need a doctor,’ ” said Kwesi Graves, 29, of Noe Valley, who had been at the finish line waiting for his wife. “You would think with a half marathon and a sunny day, they would have some medical staff there, but there just was no one around.”

Just moments after the man collapsed at the finish line near the western edge of the park, Graves said, the announcer also called for medical help for two other runners farther up the course, which ran through Golden Gate Park and along the Great Highway.

Fraser, 41, said it was baffling that it was “a medically supported sporting event, and they didn’t even have a doctor on staff” at the finish.

“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, but even at the small events there’s an ambulance at the finish line,” Fraser said. “I don’t know where they were (today).”

Race producer RhodyCo says on its website that is has produced more than 390 major events with 1.4 million participants in its first 27 years.

Once paramedics were called, Fraser said, the crew drove by, then returned later. A fire dispatcher said they were alternately given three different locations for the incident.

“You want to give someone a fair chance to live,” Graves said. “Who knows? If there was medical staff right there at the finish line …”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/06/BAOM1HJLKG.DTL#ixzz1DJcJRJ7r

Apparently running marathons isn’t such a good idea <READ ARTICLE>

Scuba dub dub , 3 Men in a Tub. Death by Bath Salts!

Ok, do I have your attention? Man, I’m totally jonesing for some green tea, lavendar rose hip-tree bark bath salt, Im ithcing, I need Bad

Drug Alert: Fancy Bath Salts Might be the New Meth

A new drug is hitting the streets from the Deep South to California and it’s got some pretty terrifying side effects. According to the New York Daily News, some of those fancy bath salts you use for aromatic, tub-based relaxation may contain the stimulants mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MPDV) and reportedly give an even more psychotic meth-like high when snorted, injected or smoked.

The home spa supplies make for a readily available drug with relaxing-sounding street names like “Bliss”, “White Lightning” and “Vanilla Sky“. Don’t be fooled though, when used in a manner not intended by the manufacturer (meaning: putting them up your nose instead of in your tub) they cause the opposite of relaxation: suicidal tendencies, intense hallucinations and paranoia. One prolific drug users who had tried “every drug from heroin to crack” got so high on the bath salts that he attempted to slit his face with a skinning knife. Other users and witnesses have reported psychotic episodes lasting for three days after use.

Although this is the first we’re hearing of the impending Bath Salt epidemic, California Poison Control System has responded to “a handful of calls” about the substances since last October. In Louisiana, where the state poison control center got over 125 calls in the last few months of 2010, the state has already outlawed the sale of the substances by way of emergency order.

[NY Daily News] via [Gawker]

 

 

 

Related Articles

• Drug Alert: Fancy Bath Salts Might be the New Meth (sfist.com)

Baby-Swinging Yoga Is Real: Meet the Children Who Survived It

Shit, my mother most of been way ahead of her time. Growing up with 4 brothers, daily one of us were on the brink of choking to death. My mother with a Kool cigarette hanging from her lip and a can beer in one hand would use her free hand to swoop the choking brother up by his feet and shake him upside down until whatever was lodged into our throat came free. Thanks mom, I credit you for my love of yoga. Who knew?

Thanks GAWKER.COM

Lena Fokina, the hardbodied Russian viral video star seen swinging babies here andhere, is real. She teaches baby yoga for a living and raised two (seemingly) healthy daughters that way. And she just gave her first American interview!

Lena has a website where she advertises herself as a childrearing expert based in Dahab, Egypt. We tracked her down through her Russian booking agent, but were unable to interview her because of the language barrier. Enter Nathan Thornburgh: He’s a daddy blogger and who writes about Russia for Time magazine. He interviewedLena in her native Russian, and got her to explain her “extreme developmental gymnastics” techniques.

I’ve never heard of anything like this Baby Yoga. Is this traditional or did you invent it?

Life invented it; it was conveyed to us by the teacher and author of all these ideas, Igor Borisovich Charkovsky. […] Over the last 30 years, Charkovsky’s system has lived in Russia and has spread from there. Not everyone accepts it.

The first thing everybody here thought when they saw your baby-swinging video was “Holy shit!” Then they thought, is it real or fake? So: Is it real? If so, who is the baby?

The child was born in the Black Sea region. Her name is Platona, and she was two weeks old when we took that video. We have a lot of children like her here. They are early readers, singers, talkers, swimmers. You haven’t seen anything like it anywhere!! And there’s swimming with dolphins, scuba diving with them… Come to Dahab!

READ MORE CLICK

Related Articles

• Baby-Swinging Yoga Mystery Deepens: New Video, More Babies [Video] (gawker.com)
• The mystery of the Russian baby swinging video (salon.com)

FDA Approves One-Minute HIV Test

Spare a minute? Yes , is the only right answer! Be smart and get your dip stick checked.

The FDA has approved an HIV test that provides results in one minute.

“We believe the speed, accuracy, and unique technology of our 60-second HIV test will make the testing and early treatment of HIV/AIDS more efficient in all patient settings, including hospital emergency rooms and public health clinics,” said bioLytical Laboratories president Philip Bligh in a press release. “Additionally, our high-volume, automated manufacturing capability makes INSTI one of the most cost-effective solutions available for providers of HIV rapid testing.”

Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV In ‘Berlin Patient’

Doc Honey Bear Has FANTASTIC NEWS:

On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure. [HuffPost]

“Listen up Gays”, says Dr Honey Bear

Honey Bear, ” Just saying…!”

San Francisco Monthly STD Report

 

 

 

 

Data for September, 2010

Report prepared October 29, 2010

www.sfcityclinic.org

Syphilis Rates in San Francisco Continue to Rise

After a year of decline, early syphilis rates in San Francisco are rebounding.  Between January and September of 2010, 460 early sy-

philis cases have been reported, a 21.7% increase over the same period in 2009.  Over 90% of syphilis cases are among men who have

sex with men (MSM) and over one-third of cases have had a previous diagnosis of syphilis.  Consistent with previous years, 58% of the

early syphilis cases are white, 20% Hispanic, 10% African-American, and 6% Asian/Pacific Islander; over half of the cases are over the

age of 40 and 60% of all reported cases are HIV infected.  Nearly one-third of early syphilis cases reported methamphetamine use and

over a quarter reported using erectile dysfunction medication in the prior year.  Nearly half of reported early syphilis cases had met sex

partners online.  The San Francisco Department of Public Health continues to recommend that MSM be screened for syphilis every 3-6

months.  For more information about syphilis, including information for providers, visit sfcityclinic.org.  Expert clinical consultation in

syphilis management is available through City Clinic at (415) 487-5595.  KB

San Francisco Monthly STD Report

Provider STD Reporting: 415-487-5555, 415-431-4628 (fax)

Honey Bears Health Corner

So, it gets dark hella ( shout out to CA) early, it’s cold, it’s rainy, X-mas parties amuck, stress about holidays and seeing family( how drunk and inappropriate will uncle Bill be this year), you have the sniffles, X-mas cookies left at your door, your haircutter has bowls of candy on counter ( to make up fo so-so over  priced haircut) and your couch has never felt more comfy ( thanks to over priced cute pillow with an emroidered pork chop on it)! All that equals unhealthy mentally and physically. You can keep your rub a dub dub cute spare tire AND be healthy!

I’m not going to suggest you squeeze into ice skates and humiliate your self in public, but I am going encourage you to :

If the thought of getting outside to exercise makes you dive under the covers, instead choose one of the many indoor workout options. Below are just a few of the many choices. 

• Walk at an indoor location, like a mall. If you need extra motivation to get yourself to the mall, join a gay bear walking group that ends with a film with Movie Bears. This will help you stay accountable to someone other than yourself.
• Join a health club ( this doesn’t mean cruising the steam room). This will allow you a large variety of physical activities to choose from every week.
• Create a home gym. This doesn’t have to be expensive ( Do bench press off your couch using frozen hams). You can easily set-up a great workout routine with just a set of dumbbells, an exercise ball and a jump rope. Get all of this for around $50 ( better yet, do a thrift store run in Mission and you’ll find everything for dirt cheap).
• If you have stairs where you live or close by, spend as little as 20 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout.
• Get wet ( no, not golden showers, save that for social hour). Find a local indoor pool you can use. Try swimming, water aerobics, or even just walking or running laps in the water.
• Visit a library ( no foot tapping on the john). Usually local libraries offer exercise videos you can check-out for free. Pick-up a new one to try out every time you return the previous video.

Random Tips:

-Hit the sack! Be like our bear friends and give in to the dark nights. Don’t push yourself to stay up late. Turn off those lights and sleep with the television off (if you can)

-Add warming natural spices like cayenne, garlic and ginger to your foods.

-Drink warm herbal teas to get your water quota. You can even try an immune-stimulating tea like “Echinacea Special Formula” from Yogi Tea.

-Try a hot water bottle. Yes, it sounds a little 1800s, but it works like a charm. You can get a hot water bottle at any drugstore. Toss it into your bed to warm up your sheets, or use it on an achy, crampy belly. If a hot water bottle isn’t your forte, try an electric heating pad.

Honey Bear says, ” Be well, it’s possible! “