A beauty of an essay by Andrew Sullivan on AIDS in 2002. Astonishingly, only 15,000 people died from the disease last year. And the whole new class of drugs unveiled in Barcelona have exceeded their discoverers' expectations. But here's a kooky thing: HIV seroconversion rates among younger gay men in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are at the highest they've ever been. As Sullivan points out, this is in part due perhaps to a relaxed attitude towards becoming infected with HIV. However, I think that the prevalence of crystal meth in the gay community also is playing a part. Perhaps my experience is skewed by my work (the hammer sees nail heads everywhere), but tina is everywhere. It's unbelievable. And the preferred means of drug delivery--among network television producers, photographers, personal trainers, commodities brokers, chefs, and the like--is slamming. Mainlining. Intravenous injection. No lie. There I am on a date talking somebody through safer injection, just like at work. It's so bananas.

Anyway, it's great to read commentary on AIDS that's free of cant.