A billboard for the Healthy Penis campaign has been appearing on some San Francisco Muni buses for about a month now. Today a coworker saw the ad and said “You didn’t tell me your penis was on the bus!” 

If you live in San Francisco, keep an eye out for the Healthy Penises (left to right: Byron, Pedro and Clark)!

A few weeks ago, Mark Bogetich, a Republican "political vulnerability researcher" (best euphemism ever!) , had requested a variety of information about the "Healthy Penis" campaign. Bogetich wanted a "summary of all costs" for the campaign. When an SF Gate reporter asked Bogetich why he requested the information, he was cagey. "We don't discuss our projects," he said.

Yesterday, SF Gate posted an update to this story, detailing the cost of the campaign. It costs $122,575. A pittance in the world of government spending. But I'm sure the Republicans will use this info against Gavin Newsom in some way down the line.  Politics is so much fun!

Happy Valentine’s Day! I thought I’d take this opportunity to blog about something that’s a cousin to Valentine’s Day: Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Specifically, syphilis.

Cool. You haven’t clicked the “back” button yet.

I’m doing cartooning for a syphilis prevention advertising campaign in San Francisco. Syphilis rates have gone up 50% in San Francisco over the past year, so the goal of this campaign is to encourage people to get tested regularly. The campaign features four main cartoon characters: three penises and a syphilis sore.

The penises are Clark (Caucasian), Byron (African-American) and Pedro (Latino). The three of them are team. They’re kind of like superheroes who fight syphilis. Their nemesis is Phil, the syphilis sore.

The campaign is called Healthy Penis 2009 and the launch was yesterday. Below is the first ad.

If you’re Facebook and want to keep track of this campaign, make friends with Byron (the black penis). He’s a cool guy.

For more information, check out the official website: www.healthypenis.org

Have fun today—and be safe out there.