Tomorrow I'll be participating in A Day With(out) Weblogs (organized by The BradLands' own Brad Graham), in observation of World AIDS Day. I also won't be here. It just happened to work out that way, really. Anyway, as such, I will leave you tonight with the following series of links designed to educate and to raise AIDS awareness.

"Rent is about being young in New York, being brave and being scared, being in love and being in trouble, viewing hope for today and faith for tomorrow." It's also about a group of friends dealing with, among other things, the devastation of AIDS, and it's one of the most powerful musicals ever to grace the Broadway stage. Plus it just plain rocks.

Speaking of Broadway, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids is one of my pet charities. If you live in or around NYC, you're probably already aware of their various annual fund-raising events, such as Broadway Bares and the Broadway Flea Market. If, like me, you have no way of attending such events, you might appreciate their online catalogue, which is chock-full of unique Broadway merchandising goodness, the proceeds of which all go to the cause.

On the local front, for anyone living in or around Tulsa, Oklahoma, check out the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa's AIDS info site, which has info on local efforts to raise both awareness and funds for finding a cure.

AIDS/HIV on About.com contains all kinds of info on the disease and treatment options, and also provides a support community through a related forum and chat room.

Of course, it just wouldn't be Ritalin Junkie if I didn't throw in some requisite geek links ...

"Green Lantern" scribe and former Real World castmember (the one with Puck ... you know, back when the show was still interesting) Judd Winick has created a graphic novel, "Pedro and Me," about his friendship with his Real World cast-mate, the late Pedro Zamora. Read about it in Pedro and Us: How the friendship of Pedro Zamora and Judd Winick continues to teach us all....

Lastly, go read Cory Doctorow's tribute to the sci-fi greats who have succumbed to the illness, Aids in Science Fiction. It's a couple of years old, but it still packs a punch. You might be surprised at some of the names on the list. I know I was.

That's it for me for this week. Tomorrow I'll be out at a staff meeting (and even if I wasn't I wouldn't be blogging), Saturday I'm going to see Show Boat, and Sunday I'll probably hang out and do laundry but won't be inclined to log on and blog about it. So, I guess I'll talk at you again on Monday. Have a good weekend.