People Living with HIV Demand a Moratorium on Molecular HIV Surveillance

Today is World AIDS Day. Please join me and activists across the US in demanding a moratorium on molecular HIV surveillance. -DR

People Living with HIV Need Comprehensive Education, Consent and Safeguards on Our Data

HIV surveillance is widely recognized as a public good. Public health leaders often say that they count on surveillance data to guide their interventions. However, for people and communities affected by HIV, surveillance may act as a double-edged sword, especially when it participates in stigmatizing and even criminalizing them.

This call addresses the stigmatizing and criminalizing potential of HIV surveillance, focusing on a concerning set of techniques and practices that have become more commonplace in recent years: molecular HIV surveillance (MHS), or cluster detection and response.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, state and local health departments and researchers are re-using medical data collected from people living with HIV for epidemiological surveillance, prevention, and “disease intervention” efforts. MHS data is collected and analyzed without consent from people living with HIV, lacks data protection assurances, and its use is becoming increasingly widespread.

We, the below signed organizations and individuals, demand the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issue an immediate moratorium on the use of MHS as a pillar of the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) until adequate safeguards protecting the privacy and autonomy of people living with HIV are implemented.

FULL DETAILS AND SIGN ON LETTER HERE:

Open Letter to the CDC: Networks of People Living with HIV Demand a Moratorium on Molecular HIV Surveillance

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/open-letter-to-the-cdc-we-demand-a-moratorium-on-molecular-hiv-surveillance/

Only Six Of These Left In The Entire World

Get yours while you can! Photographer Jim James is offering this beautiful limited edition black-and-white print of a San Fracisco icon… but only six remain!

Photojimsf!!!

SOLD!

“Tom Bowers San Francisco 1984” by Your’s Truly, Jim James Aka Photojimsf

This was edition number four of ten, so there’s only six more available. It went to my esteemed Brooklyn collector Ricardo Walton (Instagram: @ricardowalton2).

The Model

Tom Bowers was that gorgeous carpenter who paraded around The Castro wearing cowboy, indian, and leather outfits like the Village People. He threw house parties in the grand SF tradition; costumed, with tambourines, stimulants, pot brownies. Entire and often multiple relationships were initiated, consummated, and then broken at these affairs.

Here he is in the attic with his old Ducati motorcycle. Tom loved this picture so much. After he saw it, he always referred to me as “my photographer”.

Some History

It’s first public appearance was at Fred’s Cafe, the legendary but now defunct cafe with the killer view at the San Francisco Art Institute. 1985.

The most recent showing…

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Vamp Until Ready is on pre-sale NOW!

I can’t wait to get my hands on James Magruder’s forthcoming novel Vamp Until Ready.

Publishing in September, Vamp Until Ready is available for pre-order NOW from Rattling Good Yarns Press.

“A precise, affectionate collection of linked stories follows the lives of several “townies” in Ithaca, New York, from 1980 through 1992. It’s a tour de force performance, charming and unstrained…”

—Kirkus, starred review

I have admired James Magruder‘s enviable body of work for nearly 30 years now. He has had the career that I dreamed I might have, once upon a time. He is a masterful writer in many forms (stage plays and musicals, translations, novels, memoir, essays, and more), intellectual, multilingual, teacher and mentor, and proud gay man (with a handsome, intelligent, and charming husband, no less).

Since I moved back to Baltimore in the mid-00s, I’ve been privileged to get to know James personally and join his circle of friends. (We both have been a little surprised by how frequently our circles overlapped.) I’ve also had the chance to learn about his many other good qualities: he is warm, kind, and generous; he has a great sense of humor and a sharp wit; he is the consummate dinner party host and guest; and he can cook a mean pot roast.

“James Magruder’s warm-hearted, hair-raising, and hilarious new novel, Vamp Until Ready, is a cross between Winesburg, Ohio and a backstage musical—a panorama of small-town American life over a dozen years, but a dozen particular years during the era of Reagan-Bush, the global AIDS crisis, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. ” —John Weir, author of Your Nostalgia is Killing Me

But what I admire most about Jim is that he is an intrepid and deeply committed writer. In the relatively few years that we have been acquainted, he published his first novel (Sugarless), his second novel (Love Slaves of Helen Hadley Hall), and now his third novel (Vamp Until Ready) is forthcoming.

In his off hours(!) during the last decade or so, James has also published a series of stories in a fictionalized memoir (Let Me See It), which describes life events so much like my own that it gave me chills. Oh! And he also co-wrote the blank verse book for Head Over Heels, a Broadway musical based on a 16th century play and incorporating the song catalog of the 1980s girl-band, The Go-Gos. When he wasn’t busy picking up awards and nominations for his work, he also squeezed in some teaching at Swarthmore College.

A few days ago, I was delighted to learn that Rattling Good Yarns Press will publish Vamp Until Ready on September 28. Most importantly, it is available for pre-sale RIGHT NOW! Of course I placed my order immediately, as should you. I have no doubt that this new work will be as brilliant as the others. And goodness knows, in the face of COVID-19 and other world crises today, I could use a good laugh or two. I bet you could, too. Now we just have to place our orders and be patient until the book arrives. Vamp, vamp, vamp.

-DR

Christian William Miller by George Platt Lynes

So many beautiful photos of Christian Miller by George Platt Lynes. Love these! – DR
#photography #malebeauty

A journey through male beauty

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UPDATE: Doug gets a new man…

Ted Randler‘s “Of Flowers and Flesh” at Gallery Blue Door is irresistible

Doug with his new man, the “Prince of Paper Birds” by Ted Randler

HAPPY PRIDE TO ME! As promised, I made my way back to Gallery Blue Door last week to choose a nice Pride gift for myself. So of course I got myself a new man. Pictured with me above, my “Prince of Paper Birds” is the man of my dreams: handsome and creative, no complaints, no arguments, and very low-maintenance. I can’t wait to bring him home!

Did you get a Pride gift for you (and/or a loved one) yet? If you hope to add one of these beautiful works to your collection you’d better move quickly, or you chance will be gone!

PLEASE NOTE: This show is not strictly paintings and drawings of beautiful men. There are also some exquisite images of lovely women frolicking in the foliage and sweet pictures of fauna mingling with flora. Below are some of my favorites.

THE SHOW CLOSES NEXT SATURDAY, JUNE 26.

(Left to right) “Bloom” acrylic, 16″ x 12″ 2020 | “Japanese Red Maple on Embassy Row” acrylic, 30″ x 24″ 2020 | “Last Night He Dreamt of Rousseau in the Moonlight” acrylic, 24″ x 18″ 2019 All work by Ted Randler

(Left) “The Hibiscus Thieves” acrylic, 18″ x 24″ 2020 | (Right) “If You Look Into His Eyes He Will Steal Your Soul” acrylic, 24″ x 30″ 2019 Both by Ted Randler

CLOSES SATURDAY, JUNE 26
TED RANDLER: “OF FLOWERS AND FLESH”
Paintings and Drawings
Gallery Blue Door, 833 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201
Telephone: 410-802-6665
GalleryBlueDoor.com
Email: gallerybluedoor@gmail.com

Ted Randler: Of Flowers and Flesh

Paintings and Drawings at Gallery Blue Door, May 29-June 26, 2021

While gallery hopping in Mt. Vernon on Saturday, I dropped in to see the LGBTQ+ Pride month exhibition of Ted Randler‘s gorgeous paintings and drawings at my friend Scott Philip Goergens’ Gallery Blue Door. In “Of Flowers & Flesh” Randler’s use exotic, erotic, and often charming imagery of human bodies framed by and immersed in thick tangles of lush floral prints. The show also includes a number of spectacular landscapes, some with gentle wild animals lounging or frolicking in dense flora or nibbling on sweet vegetation

Randler’s style of applying paint is reminiscent of pointillists like Georges Seurat; Randler’s bright sensual colors make one think of Paul Gauguin; and Randler’s floral patterns are inspired by wall papers, much like Henri Matisse’s work. The combination of works, including drawings with powerful black markings on white media and painted canvases rich with saturated colors, could inspire a full re-thinking of our beautiful rainbow flag.  The work is truly breath-taking.

I just couldn’t decide which one(s?) I should take home during my brief visit, so I’m going back there again this week. Located at 833 Park Avenue in Baltimore, Gallery Blue Door is open on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and by appointment. The show will be up until June 26. For information and details, visit GalleryBlueDoor.com

-DR

Gallery Blue Door, 833 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201
Telephone: 410-802-6665
Email: gallerybluedoor@gmail.com

Beautiful Dancer Print Release – Jim James @photojimsf

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A post shared by 🎨 Artist Seeks Muse 🦄 (@photojimsf)

My friend Jim James (@photojimsf) is offering a limited edition of this beautiful new giclée print for sale. For additional details, click above to visit Jim’s Instagram site, or visit his website here: https://photojimsf.com/2021/05/01/beautiful-dancer-print-release/
– DR

Literary arts journal | Exquisite Pandemic | United States

Source: Literary arts journal | Exquisite Pandemic | United States

I am loving Rick Whitaker’s monthly online journal of art and literature called Exquisite Pandemic. The March 2021 issue features photographs by Jonathan Dawe,  plus these exquisite writers:  Steven Fraccaro     Gregg Shapiro     Ellen Zaroff     Jessica Gould      Sayeeda Copeland     Minc     Michael Hickins         Francesco di Benedetto     Walter Holland     Ilka Scobie     Tim Shaner     Zachary Pace      Naomi Bess Leimsider    Giuseppe Gullo     Michael Carroll     Mark Svenvold     Sean Singer    Norman Fischer    Daniel Edward Moore     Anna Monardo     Edmund White    Richard Howard      Kinton Ford

Check it out!
– Doug Rose

How Craft Became an Art Market Force – Artsy

“…Artists who have long specialized in materials like textiles, ceramics, and glass—many of whom, not coincidentally, are women—have been getting recent recognition for their contributions to contemporary art, receiving representation from important galleries and support from tastemaking collectors. This includes revered textile artists like Lenore Tawney and Sheila Hicks; ceramicists like Arlene Schechet, Klara Kristalova, Betty Woodman, and Ken Price; and glass sculptors like Joyce J. Scott and Josiah McElheny. “

From: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-craft-art-market-force

War Woman II, 2014

Joyce J. Scott
African sculpture, fused and painted mosaic glass, glass/plastic beads, wire, thread, metal keys and cast glass guns
25 × 18 × 18 in63.5 × 45.7 × 45.7 cm

So nice to see Baltimore’s own Joyce J. Scott get some well-deserved attention in this article from Artsy. I love her work. – dr

Chorus Line

From Lemanshots–Fine Pictures and Digital Art

Designed and created by Josephine R. Unglaub.

Perhaps a candidate for the Cadbury Easter Bunny Tryouts? 🙂
– Doug Rose