Andrew's Upstanding US Citizen Homepage

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.

How I feel about art is probably not what everyone else feels. I see art as an extension of the artist's ego. Its a mix of talent, concept, and scope. For example, I see high concept minimalistic art as extremely egotistical. Note the disparity between the thinking required to understand it and the effort it takes to produce it. Meanwhile, still life drawings are quite humble. They are exactly how they look to be.

If you're ever in the market for a refrigerator, you should definitely check out a 2-mile stretch of Broadway that cuts through Bushwick here in Brooklyn, NY. While you're at it, stop by my place - I live right in the middle! There are so many refrigerator stores in my neighborhood, you'd expect there to be colorful lighted banners draped across the street declaring it the "Refrigerator District" kinda like they do with Little Italy. They don't. In fact, you get the idea that despite their abundance, these stores would rather not be visited.