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February 2, 2004 #
The Young Manhattanite Interview feature debuts on Gothamist. It is a daily interview series curated by me with New Yorkers, young or old and from any of the 5 boroughs, despite what the name implies. (Technically, I'm the "Young Manhattanite" so in theory even New Jersey residents are fair game but don't worry, I wouldn't dream of it.) The interview consists of basic "who are you" info, a few personalized questions, and the rest is templated like a NYC-centric version of the Proust Questionnaire. (Marcel Proust, 1871-1922.) It's supposed to be a fun, quick, light read. I hope you find this interesting and that its shelf-life is extended beyond the usual two weeks for things of this nature. Thanks, Andrew Krucoff ### The Story of A Young Manhattanite's Unchecked Desire For Fame, Models, and Substance Abuse. Stop right now if you don't want to read reckless self-indulgence and something meaningless to most except me because, well, that's how these things go. The idea of an "Interview with a Young Manhattanite" originated with Chris Gage on the award-nominated LasagnaFarm. When I became the YM in some of the interviews and Elizabeth Spiers linked to one on Gawker our heads blew up. Well, mine did and I saddled an obsession unseen since Art Schlichter's gambling days. The next editorial meeting of LasagnaFarm went something like this: "Dude, pass that and I don't care if it's the one year anniversary of Dave Mustaine's career ending injury but please turn off that Megadeth crap! I'm trying to talk here." "OK, so now what?" "More Interviews with a Young Manhattanite." This led to more Gawker linkage and the silly notion it actually meant something. Artificial one-day traffic spikes were nice even if they didn't translate to a loyal following. We ignored that and I started to believe our own press clips, even if "press clips" doesn't actually include clips from "the press." For example: Jessica Pressler, Philadelphia Weekly: One can spend all day reading the screeds that dissect Friendster's significance, ultimately a far more time-wasting activity than the thing itself. My favorite: an interview on www.LasagnaFarm.com headlined, "A Young Manhattanite Resigns His Friendster Membership for Reasons Known Only to Him." Sayeth the subject, "Walking up to strangers and introducing yourself is the new Friendster." Ah, another new thing. Catherine Shu, Gotham Gazette: ...take a look at Lasagna Farm, the funniest blog I’ve found about NYC culture so far. Their "Interview with a Young Manhattanite" series is amazing and, every so often, they ever-so-gently mock Gawker. Good for them! That's nice of Catherine Shu to write but surely "ever-so-gently mock Gawker" should be replaced with "ever-so-gently beg for Gawker's attention." But hey, I won't quibble over word choice and here were my contributions to building the ever-so-gentlemanly YM Series brand: Friendster Dropout The Catskills The Re-Friendster '75 Dodge Dart Of course, just like Paris Hilton, eventually it was time to leave the Farm. I returned to my eccentric lifestyle on the LES and started writing on the anonymity-inspired Krucoff.com. Since that masked my identity *too much* I was soon forced to switch to TheOtherPage.com, a name which awkwardly refers to my inept HTML skills. It took awhile to adjust to the new Choire-era Gawker and understand what gets his attention but once I found the magic formula -- anything Conde Nast and mad rants about the LES -- there was no stopping me from pursuing D-list status in a C-list world. The results: Avalon on the LES Olsen Twins Conde Nast Girls, Down and Dirty Natural Adaptation on the Lower East Side Health Code Violations on the LES Even with Elizabeth's move to "legitimate media" and New York Magazine she didn't forget about me (um, I didn't let her) so I garnered more linkage all in the good name of shameless self-promotion. Letter to Schiller's New Yorker Survey Love.com Donny Deutsch's Missing Puppy In my defense, I have honest and passionate concerns for New York culture and *some* aspects of the media. If it seems I whore and tailor my content for them it's only because of a genuine interest in these topics. Also, office work tends to be boring so it's something to pass the time. Ultimately, this was all part of my plan to launch the YM Interview and cozy up to New Yorkers who might have some Hollywood connections. I hear "fame, models, and substance abuse" are rather profitable out there. Archives "The Other Page" powered by Removable Hype. Copyright © 2003 La Otra Página, Inc. All nights observed. Feel free to email "info(at)krucoff.com" for questions, comments, stock tips, and family gossip. |
