On Sunday Whitney Huston died.
Like many celebrities before her that have used drugs, her life and death was further pried apart and analyzed ad nauseum.
To paraphrase Smokey Robinson, we don’t give a fuck if an “average” person does drugs, but a celebrity – how dare she! A celebrity dies of an overdose, and the discussions on how BAD drugs are for you, begin again in earnest.
The question is, are drugs really bad for us, or …

This was the first World AIDS Day I chose to ignore. The first World AIDS Day that I tried to boycott.
Every year since I got into this business, December 1st has been a significant day. Now, I struggle to recall why.
In India, World AIDS day for us was about awareness and education. It was the day that the rest of world danced to the beat of our drum. Workplaces opened up to us, schools and …

As I write this, friends and people I have worked with, are living in fear.
In truth, since Saturday before last (10th September) when Rivira published their exposé on condoms and lubricating gels being distributed to men who have sex with men, and the community based organization involved in the process, tensions have been high for the gay community. In the 10th September article, the organization was identified by name, their detailed address was also offered …

Last Monday we were in Busan, Korea. We had just finished presenting on how the People Living with HIV Stigma Index had helped empower a local community that is marginalized and often forgotten in the global and national response in Sri Lanka. People living with HIV in a low prevalence country like ours do not matter really. Those who come forward are often poor; from rural communities that no longer want them (especially if their …

So Amy Winehouse joins the 27 Club: Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, all dead in their 27th year. All assured of posterity. All the more cooler for dying at 27…?
Sex, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll! Ya, baby!  How is that not cool?!
Some feel that they have set the movement (of people who use drugs) back decades with their high profile addictions. That with Winehouse’s death, ANTI-drug slogans will be unearthed, dusted off, repainted, and …

So I met this white South African last night and he doesn’t find black women attractive.
I had to ask.
The last white South African I met was similarly wired. This time however I had the opportunity to dig a little deeper than just throwing Beyonce, Halle Berry and Naomi Campbell (my go to hot black women names) at him. He associates black women with maids, or whores on the street and how can he be expected …

I am not violent. I tend to avoid physical confrontation. It solves nothing, and a beer bottle scar on the left side of my head is a reminder that it doesn’t feel too great either.
In the last 16 years I can count on one hand the number of people I have hit: 3
Up until last Friday night it was 2.
‘He Comes From Jaffna’ cast party at what masqueraded for a garden restaurant called the Bunker, in …

Have you watched the Modern Family Season 2 trailer on Star World?
Ever watched an episode of Family Guy? Here’s a trailer on FOX to give you an idea what you’re missing.
What about this Kit Kat sponsored Planet Bollywood programme on Rani Mukherji’s hot new avatar?
Now juxtapose these with the discussions on our conservative culture in the region.
What is really conservative about us? What does conservative even mean to us?
Most often, especially in the business of …

Recently there was a High Level Meeting at the UN on HIV & AIDS.
Our very own Milinda was present and if you are part of our facebook community you would have received regular updates from him on the talking business that impacts the doing business. You would have also noticed that statements and declarations and resolutions continue to emerge in its aftermath underpinning the power of the spoken… recorded word. Friday’s historic resolution on sexual orientation and gender …

You know that funny-peculiar feeling as opposed to funny-ha ha… well these last two weeks this funny peculiar feeling has surfaced and is poking around my insides… discomforting. Disrupting.
The sources for this feeling are multiple… or should that read Legion? Perhaps funny-peculiar feelings have always been called demons.
These demons nonetheless assemble neatly under the umbrella question – are we doing enough?
Are we doing enough to give people living with HIV in Sri Lanka the tools …