"An exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago Avenue, April 6 - July 7, 2002""There are drugs now that can prolong and improve the lives of people with HIV, but they are very expensive. Very few people around the world can afford them. Why should only a few people be allowed to but their good health when there are millions of people around the world who are dying of AIDS?""No end in sight""40 million with HIV worldwide""Global treatment now. HIV prevention""Panel discussion Tuesday, May 7, 6 pm HIV treatment access forum Gregg Bordowitz leads a discussion with Chicago community leaders about access to AIDS drugs and treatments." "Video screenings Friday, April 12, 8 pm Habit Chicago premier to benefit AIDS Legal Council of Chicago. Followed by a dialogue between Bordowitz and critic Douglas Crimp. For information, call 312.397.4010. Saturday, April 12 2:30 pm: Fast Trip, Long Drop 4 pm: Habit Sunday, April 28 2:30 pm: Fast Trip. Long Drop 4 pm: Habit Tuesday, April 30 6 pm: Fast Trip. Long Drop 7:30 pm: Habit All introduced by artist Gregg Bordowitz. Free with MCA admission"Verso:"The effort to survive AIDS considered from the point of a race-car driverAll racers need more horsepower. Unfortunately, there aren't many things that entry-level racers can do to get more power out of their engines without spending thousands and thousands of dollars. To get the horsepower you need, you might have to break the rules, your budget, or both.Bear in mind that the driving conditions imagined by the original engine manufacturer differ wildly from those you subject your engine to while racing. Fuel requirements, emission standards, and normal life-span projections determine standard tune-up recommendations. There are some things you can do simply by returning to the manufacturer's settings, assuming you have a stock engine that remains in basically sound condition. Begin by following basic rules of car ownership, such as using the right fuel and getting regular tune-ups and oil changes. Rookie racers should consider these hints: Rejet your carburetor to make it significantly richer. Increase the amount of air that your engine pumps by blocking off the heat riser in your intake manifold. Always use fresh plugs.Of course, there are things to consider other than the engine. (If your engine is making strange sounds or is vibrating badly, it is probably a waste of time and money to try to improve its performance with a simple tweak here and there. You need help.) An important factor is the final drive ration. Look at your numbers just before you lift going into the turns. If they're not consistent with your engine's safe operating speed, you need more gear. Determining what kind of gear you need requires a fair amount of diagnostic work.Loads. Back off the factory-recommended measures and establish a new baseline with repeat testing. The CD4 count, the CD4-CD8 ratio, and, most importantly, the viral load are all significant indicators of how the system is running. These tests are expensive and most racers need sponsorship to get them. Many who can't find the big money sponsors refuse to consider taking these vital tests, since the information you'll get will probably just slow you down if you don't have the gear to improve your numbers.Transmissions. Getting infected with the racing bug remains a central concern for everyone, on and off the field. The race gets increasingly difficult to run with more and more cars on the track. The less infections, the better, obviously. The growing number of racers in spite of years of safety campaigns is a testament to the limits of driver education. (Most campaigns have been flawed, underfunded, and compromised.)Even seasoned drivers should be concerned with transmission, both to protect others' safety and their own. Exposure to all kinds of elements can diminish your drive. The need for speed is a common desire. Most of us balance our safety with our desires, each determining our own behaviors according to what makes life worthwhile.Switching your gear repeatedly can bee hazardous. Carrying the latest gear will often keep you running at a decent speed, but the best gear wears out fast, requiring changes mid-race. Use of gear combinations often brings a mixed bag of unforeseen and unintended snags and snarls that foul up weight, speed, emissions, fuel intake, appearance, and any number of other things important to the racer. It's best to keep yourself out of the race. Though it may look exciting from the stands, it's terrifying on the track.I've been driving a long time and I'd be lying if I said that I am not as concerned with winning as I am with finishing. (The likelihood of either seems to be receding into the distance.) Still, I am lucky. By the graces of chance, I've got sponsors, an excellent crew chief, and a well-organized team. There are plenty out there who, for reasons of greed mostly, can't find a sponsor. Imagine being a driver without a ride. That's hell. Every racer deserves a ride. Forget the track, forget the sport, and forget the win -- if you need to run you've been cursed with something beyond your control. Call it bad luck, call it whatever you want, you didn't ask for it, and even if you feel that you did, as many of us do, no one deserves it.Multitudes. Racing is among the fastest growing sports. All around the world, there are drivers looking for sponsors and a team that will lead them to glory. Many places in the world offer neither a decent track to run on, nor the proper equipment to drive. The latest gear is only available in a few shops around the world.That's not going to stop drivers from racing. Every driver needs to drive. Without drivers, there is no sport. If the drivers get organized, we can make the rules. We're more powerful than the sponsors. They depend on us for their livelihood. Collectively, we're more powerful than the global governing bodies that make the rules of the sport. Their leadership isn't democratically selected. That's the problem. Ideally, they should hold office to serve the sport, not the sponsors.Some say the great diversity among races is a big problem for the sport. This is not a problem for drivers. Yes, the tracks and the vehicles differ from situation to situation. Licensed or outlaw, it's all racing to us: stock cars, Formula 1, spring cars, carts and funny cars. Even the soap box derby. It's all about the drive. The two most important problems for the drivers are: How do we capture the common purpose among drivers around the globe? How can we build solidarity on a massive scale among drivers and fans? Racers without borders, that's the ideal.With all the new technology in the sport, a small number of drivers with major sponsors are having longer careers. That's good news, but it often eclipses the harsh fact that all of us, old-timers and rookies alike, share the same fate. Today, a fatal crash is the inevitable end of every driver. Even those of us with access to every privilege a driver can imagine fall to the sport.So, what does it mean to win? As it is now, we're pitted against each other, competing for the sponsors' interests. Yet, we don't race for the sponsors. All drivers race out of necessity, certainly not by choice, and most of the drivers in the world can't find sponsorship. Inequity in racing ruins integrity in the sport. Sure, there are trophies and prize money, merchandise and commercial endorsements. These rewards are fleeting and illusory. You're always facing the next car race. It's always a hellish return to the same. We drive, some of us get famous, sponsors get rich, and spectators continue to fill the stands.-- Gregg Bordowitz, 2002"
