Gay Secrets

In writing this blog, I often capitalize on the fact that it can be intriguing for some folks to read about the life of a gay man.

Secrets Revealed
One of the biggest secrets in the gay world today isn't intriguing, it's frightening.

There is a new epidemic that is killing gay men, and like the last one, no one seems to want to talk about it. More and more gay men are "experimenting" with crystal meth, and the effects are proving to be as addictive and deadly as folks who try crack or heroin.

For those that don't know, crystal meth is one form of the drug, methamphetamine hydrochloride, which comes in clear, chunky crystals, and is usually inhaled or smoked. It is also called "ice," "crystal," "glass" and "tina."

It produces an extremely high level of euphoria, and it is used as a sex-enhancing drug by many men in the gay community. Unprotected sex is often associated with the use of crystal meth, and along with the addiction, many gay men are converting to seropositive HIV status. Although, with current HIV treatment drugs, most of the men are dying of their addiction before AIDS can take them.

While some of the more self-righteous folks might say that it's their own damn fault for doing drugs, I believe this problem clearly stems from the constant barrage of negative self-image messages gay men hear (both consciously and unconsciously) throughout their lives.

There is an excellent article by Patrick Moore in The Village Voice which folks should read that most closely reflects my feeling about this issue.

Other Weekend Fiber Activity
It's hard to segue from that to fiber, so I won't. I was able to get in some spinning this weekend.



I should be able to finish up with this color if I get in some quality spinning time this coming weekend. I'm not sure what color I plan on going to next. Probably some navy blue.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Carol S. mentions that she got no mention for not being at the knit-get-together this past weekend.

She's right, I forgot to mention that she wasn't there. We missed her dreadfully. Other than the carrot cake and IK review, we sat around and bemoaned her absence. In her place, we put Bi-Polar Betty as a substitute. While Betty was mildly amusing, she was no substitute for the sharp wit and stunning beauty of Carol S.

Jon asked what kind of icing was on the carrot cake.

It was a pretty standard cream cheese icing. I also like carrot cake cold, and it was refrigerated before serving. The local Mennonite market (like an Amish market in case you're more familiar with one of those) sells desserts that spare no fat or sugar, and this cake was no exception. If they hadn't run out of cocunut cakes, I would have served that instead. Maybe next time.