Andrew's Upstanding US Citizen Homepage

I have been working on a new blog: http://monkeyexhibit.blogspot.com/

I understand that we have the 2nd amendment. I understand the term "slippery slope." I understand freedom. Believe me, the less the government meddles with our personal lives, the better. My question is just... why guns? Why does it seem that guns are the fulcrum of personal freedom debate? Why is the gun lobby so much more vocal than the gay lobby or the sex lobby or the abortion lobby or the drug lobby? The government has their hands in all of these things that are far less volatile, and is smothering them. Yet we have the gun argument, which is louder and more influential.

If you've ever tried to create something and wanted a lot of people to pay attention to it, you're probably thinking about HOW you can get that audience. Marketing is one way to get an audience, but marketing only gets people to look. Your content is what gets people to really pay attention and enjoy. No matter what you want to create, it has to be worthwhile for people to give their attention to. I'd like to help you understand how to do that.

My weekend began on Friday evening with the frustrating realization that I can no longer enter my apartment bulding by pushing on the door that says "Pull" on the outside. They put a stopper on it, ensuring that I will look like half an idiot for the next two weeks as I try to get used to this change of routine. Never the less, I woke up on Saturday morning with my laundry half-done, I was prepared to do something charitable. My buddy Jordan needed my help to prepare a building that his girlfriend had interited somehow for October 1st rentals.

Finding a good job is tough these days! I'm sure it varies from industry to industry, but I've been having a hell of a time! The economy sucks, companies aren't hiring, and there are tons of people out there all looking to cram into the same seat. I've been submitting my resume every morning to every job posting I can find that matches my skills. This all, for the last 2 months. Before that, I was only casually seeking a new job, only submitting my resume to friends and the odd posting that I found when I felt like looking. Still, in all this time, I have only managed to land 1 interview. I await the results of that interview, to be delivered in the middle of next week.

The internet proves that we want to be controlled. We've chosen to believe that technology has helped us ascend beyond the grasp of the mass media, but the trends in internet technology keep bringing us back to the speaker/listener model. Despite all of the freedom that the internet allows us, we still organize ourselves in easily controllable structures, electing a few to disseminate information to the many.

I knew something was going to happen, and that's why I showed up. The cover of Time Out New York said, "Water Gun Fight in Union Square." The organizer's site said, "Canceled." I made it a point to be there on time because whatever was going to happen was going to happen fast. Leaving my apartment with 25 minutes to go, my wife and I arrived in 18. It took a minute to spot the people with the squirt guns and water balloons, and it was clear that there was no fun going on.

I have a big, big problem - I don't have a college degree. Not a Master's, not a Bachelor's, not even an Associate's. I've been to college, sure, but I've never gotten very far. It wasn't that it was too tough for me, but rather my brain just doesn't work that way. In a world that values tangibles, it seems I've come up a little short. You certainly wouldn't know it without meeting me, but I'm a rather smart individual. I can put a few words together, if you know what I mean. Not to mention the already knowing what the problem is before you've finished explaining.

As someone who identifies himself as a writer, I don't do much of it. I'm quite picky when it comes to the mood, environment and inspiration under which I perform. I could refer to it as writers' block, but I like to be different. I have plenty of ideas, but my concern for doing them justice keeps me from acting on them before I'm ready. Ok, I'm a perfectionist who stifles himself by expecting too much out of his first draft. There are plenty of things that I am passionate about; enough to write about. The problem is simply presenting them in words that people will want to read.

The story of how World of Warcraft became such a huge presence in my life is not something I'm proud of. In fact, I'd ordinarily opt to not even talk about it, but writing about my issues has become therapeutic. WoW is to lethargy as all-you-can-eat buffets are to obesity. I grew up as the real life incarnation of Lethargic Lad and it usually required medication to snap me out of it. Since I have quit taking medication, every day is a battle with my wilted will power and dire lack of discipline. It is this weak spot in my psyche that WoW attacks with its complex simplicity.