Poetry by Nahshon Cook I think I may have just experienced one of the most prophetic prayers ever: men, women and ladyboy prostitutes parading down Beach Road and onto Walking Street, dancing, and singing, and carrying signs (written in both English and Thai) demanding equal access to treatment for everyone afflicted with AIDS. To which I said Amen before crossing the sour milk and piss stenched, clogged stream-like thoroughfare so that I could begin my nightly walk along the sandy seashore, where I listened to [...]

Photographer Daniel Nicoletta offers wisdom to a new generation of artists and activists by Brent Calderwood Daniel Nicoletta began his career as a freelance photographer in 1974, shortly after moving from his native New York to San Francisco. That same year, Nicoletta met Harvey Milk and Milk’s lover Scott Smith; it was a meeting that would change Nicoletta’s career, and life, forever. The couple hired the nineteen-year-old Nicoletta to work in their camera shop on Castro Street, and he soon found himself running the store. [...]

A giant red ribbon has been pinned to the Earth. On the side of Twin Peaks, looming over San Francisco, the symbol of AIDS awareness stands guard like a sentinel, shines like a beacon. It’s capable of a different kind of broadcast than the radio towers that rise above it. Assembled as part of San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s campaign to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the first reported cases of what would become known as AIDS on June 5, 1981, the red ribbon has already [...]

Actor Jason Ritter discusses his philanthropic passion, the loss of loved ones, and awakening in Africa by Dann Dulin I’m in awe of Jason Ritter. But not for the reason you might think. It’s not because he’s starring in the popular TV thriller, The Event, nor because he’s the son of Hollywood royalty (the late John Ritter was his father and Tex Ritter, his grandfather), or even because of his wholesome good looks. I’m in awe of Jason because of his compassion for others. In [...]

“Anyone can help combat this disease by educating others, by caring for the sick, by raising funds for AIDS research. Everyone should help, and most importantly, can help, no matter their circumstances. There are no excuses for doing nothing about AIDS. So what’s your excuse now?” Rhomylly B. Forbes wrote these words when reviewing Breaking the Walls of Silence for the July 1998 issue of A&U. Rhomylly had a nifty way of weaving her own AIDS advocacy into her writing. Never a detached observer, she [...]

An extended release formulation breaks through by Chael Needle Based on results from the VERxVE study, the FDA recently approved Viramune XR for use in antiretroviral combination therapy to treat HIV-1 infection in adults. “XR” stands for “extended release,” offering patients a one 400mg pill, once-daily dosing option. Until now, Boehringer Ingelheim, makers of Viramune (nevirapine), had offered an immediate-release (IR), 200mg form of the drug with a twice-daily dosing. “Development of the extended-release formulation began in 2004 to provide a once-a-day preparation that was [...]

Researchers explore the dangers of hepatitis B and HIV coinfection by Larry Buhl New research suggests people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have twice the risk of dying from liver-related diseases as people with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), including those coinfected with HIV. The research was part of the long-running Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) and presented at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in February in Boston. The study also found that the introduction of tenofovir (found in [...]

Outcast Films looks back, moves forward by Chael Needle To mark the thirtieth anniversary of the first reporting of what would come to be known as AIDS, Outcast Films has launched a grass-roots outreach campaign called HIV@30: Looking Back, Moving Forward. In conjunction with the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance, and sponsored by LOGO, Outcast Films is offering four films to organizations that want to host free public screenings. “Outcast Films is dedicated to education and activism, especially for the LGBT community,” says Vanessa Domico, the [...]

Though the history of retroviruses Is riddled with dismissiveness and flat-out denial, we have an opportunity to take a new tack. Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren OMG! An HIV-like virus that is easily transmissible,” was the e-mail I recently got from a friend. He was forwarding an alert from a friend of his who was similarly alarmed by rumors of a new virus spreading like wildfire in China. Supposedly it causes AIDS-like symptoms, but incubates as rapidly as flu. The rumors started flying last [...]

Nothing like a Sunday stroll through a cemetery. What a history lesson! Why just today, while visiting Marilyn Monroe’s crypt, I learned that the man buried above Marilyn Monroe, Richard F. Poncher, was such a fan that he requested to be turned upside down so he could face Marilyn for eternity. That much of a sycophant I ain’t. And while celebrity grave hopping, I run into another Marilyn fan. His name is Emanuel Emanuele. We got to yakking and he tells me that he has [...]