whiskey in the jar

After taking a swig of my single malt scotch on a rainy day in Aberdeen, I couldn't help but think that life couldn't be more perfect. I'm not usually the smug type but in spite of the cold, wet weather I nevertheless felt at peace. Fingering my whiskey on the rocks my thoughts then turned to the miraculous effects of this magical concoction. Whiskey, the staple social lubricant of the people in Ireland and Scotland. Although I was never much of a whiskey connoisseur, after my detailed tour of the Glen Garrioch distillery, I began to think of whiskey as an acquaintance I had gradually established a close friendship with.

Although my relationship with whiskey remains a friendly one, it is apparently a love-hate item to others more familiar with it. 'Why is there a lock on those things?', I asked my tour guide, pointing at three glass shapes resembling upside-down conical flasks filled with a clear liquid. 'Ah those contain the spirit we use to make whisky. It's about 82% alcohol. The lock in it is for the men - to protect them. We'd usually have a few that would make us merry, but it did occasionally make men blind.' Blind? I had to see this for myself, so after enjoying my scotch I stretched out and reached for the clear liquid form of death in a glass. 'I had 2 of those before work', the Scotsman proudly told me. Mustering the courage I downed it. At first it tasted a little sweet, then it burned, then my vision blacked out for a few seconds. Damn it had an edge. Torn between delight and fear I could now see how whiskey earned its reputation as a seductive but destructive temptress.

Whiskey you're the devil.

catholics vs. the pope - round 1

Reminiscing about my time spent at the AIDS 2010 conference, I recall one poster and a campaign in particular that caught my attention. This campaign consisted of Catholics protesting against the Pope's anti-condom protest. Being somewhat a Catholic myself I know that we, as religious peoples, are required to acknowledge the infallibility of the Pope, regardless of how outrageous and outlandish his claims and protests appear to be to the average person.

Now because we are required to believe the Pope is infallible, it creates a huge rift between what Catholics really think and what the Pope thinks. Because of the rigid tradition and the strict hierarchy that appears to reign over the Catholic faith, the majority of us remain silent and the average non-Catholic usually then tend to believe we all assume the Pope's somewhat outdated beliefs and thus occasionally come to the conclusion that the lot of us are a little 'loony'.

One of the topics in which papal and public opinion seem to clash is the use of contraceptives and condoms. A while back the Pope condemned the use of condoms and preached abstinence instead. The result of this decreased use of condoms in several African regions, which then resulted in an increased number of HIV infections. Grounds for the intolerance of condom use may be based on its hinderance in procreation and that it may promote premarital sexual activity and promiscuity. Would the non-use of condoms actually decrease premarital sexual activity/promiscuity? I personally don't think so. Do condoms dampen procreation? Well we still are having babies aren't we?

But today in the face of all the controversies the Vatican is entangled in - pedophilia, sexism etc. - more and more Catholics are letting their cries be heard. This movement claims that using condoms does not make you a bad Catholic, but rather stresses that good Catholics use condoms. This again brings back the unanswerable question of what constitutes a good Catholic? Is it exclusively based on serving the organised hierarchy installed by man? What's your opinion?

hi i'm unemployed

Now that the AIDS 2010 conference has come to a close I am left with a reignited passion for scientific research, new friends, and an infinite supply of condoms and other 'goodies'. Looking back on my experience I realised how much I learned from it. After 3 years of studying a science degree, my love as well as faith for scientific research has dwindled, but hearing the advancements researchers have made in the search for an AIDS cure has not just restored my love affair for scientific research, but upped up the ante. I won't bore you with the intimate details but read research papers on microbicides if you're interested, in particular the ones published by Dr. Fauci.

Not only did the conference appear to benefit me mentally as well as socially, but in a more basic sense, it gave me something to do and because it was for a good cause I felt pretty damn smug about it. Now mourning the loss of the smugness, condom parties and speeches about the developments on the microbicides front I have to come to terms with my newfound unemployment. Slowly sinking into a pit of eternal boredom where time seems to stand still, I have decided to take action and occupy my time with productive activities, such as blogging, drinking beer and watching the Godfather. I know these activities may not be actively helping society, but hey at least they're doing no one no harm. After all, one has to take things one step at a time.

hi i'm a volunteer

The 2010 AIDS conference attracted famous politicians, successful entrepreneurs and some of the greatest medical minds of our time to the little city of Vienna, and I of all people was given the rare opportunity to work as a volunteer for this conference. Wide-eyed and fresh-faced I stepped off the underground station into a flurry of press, delegates, protestors, free hugs and condom flies.

[Side note: A condom fly is a man dressed up in a giant fly suit advertising condoms, obviously.]

Transfixed in a state of confusion, frustration and fear I stationed myself in my assigned session room ready and willing to acquiesce to any bizarre request - from quizzing delegates as to whether they spoke Russian, to throwing a handful of condoms in the air. So warped was I by the idea of being in the same building as Bill Clinton, that it took me a good while to realise that the majority of these 'great minds' were just like the rest of us. It had taken a few days of speakers forgetting presentations, missing translations, numerically-inadequate delegates, and vuvuzela-blowing scientists for me to achieve that eureka moment - it occurred to me that potentially curing HIV aside, I had put the majority of them on a pedestal. We're all human after all, and to err is human is it not? Just because they discovered the positive impact of microbicides on minimising the virus reservoir, does not mean they don't enjoy a tranny-filled CONDOMIZE party with music blaring at a volume sure to make your ears bleed.

With that said - Bring on the CONDOMIZE PARTY.