In honor of World AIDS Day, here are 5 movies that taught all of us about AIDS. They are all narrative (there are tons of amazing docs out there though) and are all very different. Enjoy the list and let me know if I missed any.
Also, be sure to takepart with the World AIDS Campaign
5) Before Night Falls - The story of real life Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas is one of hope and one of living your life for what you believe in. It's also a story that ends with a man dying of AIDS. Julian Schnabel's story captures the beauty of Arenas' life and thus puts meaning and emphasis on how he died - making this is a film that not only teaches us all how to live but also about AIDS. The ending is quite dark (and is after the jump)
I love snagging freebie publications whenever I visit other cities so while bouncing about Boston yesterday I grabbed a copy of the adorable Skirt! Magazine. Skirt! was born in 1994 as a monthly magazine for women in the Charleston and Columbia areas of South Carolina. Now print copies of Skirt! are available in sixteen cities and growing. I like Skirt! because it's a nice break from some of those regular lady-focused mags that only seem to discuss how to loose weight and how to gain a man (gross). Skirt! covers everything from shopping to spirituality, featuring poetry, essays, art and articles. This woman-owned business celebrates femininity and feminism and is an inspiring example of how, with hard work and hope, a small business can grow. takepart and check out the online version of Skirt! at http://skirt.com/.
Your Sunday Morning Extremely Awesome Vegetarian Post is another one I probably should have written about, oh, fifteen years ago, because it's Thom Yorke, of Radiohead. I mean...Radiohead. It's good stuff. Where to begin...where to begin...how about "How to Disappear Completely," off Kid A? It might be my favorite song of theirs, but that's kind of like picking your favorite child, or so I'm told. But the resolve of dissonance we get around the 5:15 mark wins.
I had the chance to see Radiohead live, once, about two years ago, and it's even more amazing then that clip shows. I probably don't need to go over the history of Radiohead - you know who they are, you know what they play, so let's see what else we can find to keep you interested. How about this little youtube gem: previous Awesome Vegetarian Michael Stipe singing lead on "Lucky," which comes from OK Computer (after the jump). More
One of the best ways you can support World AIDS Day is to get tested for HIV/AIDS.
According to AIDS.org testing is recommended if you: * You think you may have been exposed to the HIV. If you're not sure, take this anonymous survey.
* You are sexually active (3 or more sexual partners in the last 12 months)
* You received a blood transfusion between 1977 and 1985, or a sexual partner received a transfusion and later tested positive for HIV.
* You are uncertain about your sexual partner's risk behaviors.
* You are a male who has had sex with another male at any time since 1977.
* Any of your male sexual partners has had sex with another male since 1977.
* You have used street drugs by injection since 1977, especially when sharing needles and/or other equipment.
* You have a sexually transmitted disease (STD), including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
* You are a health care worker with direct exposure to blood on the job.
* You are pregnant. There are now treatments that can greatly reduce the risk that a pregnant woman who has HIV will give the virus to her baby.
* You are a woman who wants to make sure you are not infected with HIV before getting pregnant.
Even if none of these risk factors affect you, it's still a good idea to be tested. Getting tested can be scary, but the results may put your mind at ease. And it's never a bad idea to know more about your health.For testing location near you takepart and visit http://www.hivtest.org/
You know you're already going to be on Facebook or MySpace all day tomorrow desperately trying to create witty status updates-so while you're at it why not takepart and use your online social network to show your support for World AIDS Day and help raise awareness of HIV among your friends. Post messages of support on your profile, add take action links to your page, and create a status/quote message that lets your network know you support World AIDS day.
They're hot!!! I often look at Google Trends (which I sometimes mention here) and while the hot search trends are usually not too exciting or just plain weird, sometimes things pop up that make me really happy. Like this morning a bunch of my favorite films were hot trends.
Seems like a god enough reason to post videos from those films - not to mention it makes for a kind of wonderfully random post.
Probably because I own just about every Beatles album in one form or another, I didn't realize you aren't able to purchase any of the Beatles extrodinary musical library on iTunes. Crazy, right?! And now it seems that talks have stalled between Apple Corps, the band's representatives, and the record label EMI to allow the sale of The Beatlss' music on iTunes or any new music format. I don't know the details of the case, but it seems even sillier than when Apple Corp sued Apple Inc. over the name Apple, and related logos. Whether or not you love The Beatles, their tremendous influence over popular music is undeniable, and it's unfortunate their music isn't more accessible. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of analog recordings, but we are much more digitally oriented now, and it frightens me that kids can more easily download The Jonas Brothers' SOS, than The Beatles' Help!
Hopefully the companies will reach an agreement soon, but in the meantime here's a clip from Help! Go rent it!
takepart by supporting Creative Commons and help provide artists flexible control over their copywrighted materials.
If you're reading this on a laptop right now, you're probably well aware of how fast your battery drains as you're sitting there. And it probably bothers you when you need to make an important phone call, and your battery in your cell dies just as you're dialing. Yes, batteries most likely are the bane of your technological existence, and Newsweek wants you to know that you're not alone. In a world where everything is going more and more high-tech, battery power is lagging far behind, and has become a drain (haHA!) on the environment.
Computer chips double in speed every two years—your current BlackBerry is as powerful as your desktop computer once was—but the batteries powering those devices are improving by only about 8 percent a year.
If we're ever going to ever get around to using a large quantity of renewable and alternative energy sources, battery technology is going to have to do a lot better than that. Batteries will be essential to storing excess wind or solar power. More
A federal jury in Los Angeles issued the country’s first cyberbullying verdict Wednesday, convicting 49 year-old Lori Drew, of three misdemeanor charges of computer fraud for creating a false account on MySpace to trick 13 year-old Megan Meier who later committed suicide. Drew could face up to three years in prison and $300,000 in fines, though she has no previous criminal record. Her lawyer has asked for a new trial.
This whole situation is so sad and so sick. It terrifies me to have kids when cyber bullying is so common. Back in the day, bullying happened face to face, on bathroom walls, or in the school yard. Now, a child's reputation can be affected by the cowardly click of a keyboard. And the saddest part of all, is that we have to fear that kids will not only be bullied by other kids but by parents? Parents!? My goodness, Lori Davis makes me sick.
Pavel Enchev from Sofia, Bulgaria>> I saw the movie The cove .. and I can't believe on my own eyes that is possible. Don't know how to help but already started to talk to all my friends about this .. all they are shocked !!! Lets stop it. In Bulgaria there is 1 aquarium located in Varna city http://www.dolphinarium.festa.bg/en/index.html . Wanna check how to stop it. The dolphins belong to the sea !!
I love snagging freebie publications whenever I visit other cities so while bouncing about Boston yesterday I grabbed a copy of the adorable Skirt! Magazine. Skirt! was born in 1994 as a monthly magazine for women in the Charleston and Columbia areas of South Carolina. Now print copies of Skirt! are available in sixteen cities and growing. I like Skirt! because it's a nice break from some of those regular lady-focused mags that only seem to discuss how to loose weight and how to gain a man (gross). Skirt! covers everything from shopping to spirituality, featuring poetry, essays, art and articles. This woman-owned business celebrates femininity and feminism and is an inspiring example of how, with hard work and hope, a small business can grow. 
One of the best ways you can support World AIDS Day is to get tested for HIV/AIDS.
If you're reading this on a laptop right now, you're probably well aware of how fast your battery drains as you're sitting there. And it probably bothers you when you need to make an important phone call, and your battery in your cell dies just as you're dialing. Yes, batteries most likely are the bane of your technological existence, and 
