nick sylvester = maker upper

Hi Conrad,

I was talking to a writer who was working on a now-controversial
story in this week's Village Voice about The Game. Part of it had
to do with a blogger named Dolly who had read the book and caught a
pickup artist using the lines in a bar. Later that night, she made
out with him nonetheless.

So it made me think: I've received hundreds of emails from guys
fretting that if the book or the community get too well-known, the
game won't work anymore.

So I did some thinking about that.

First of all, everyone knows how to diet, but not everyone does it.
Most of the people who read about these ideas and techniques won't actually put them into action. (Instead, they'll procrastinate by writing letters worrying about too many people finding out about the techniques.)

The fact is, the game will always work. It's just that some of the
wording to the scripts may have to change -- and that's only for
those who use the scripts for "training."

For example:

What's one of the most cliché pickup lines in the world?

The corniest, cheesiest one?

That's right: It's "What's your sign?"

If you walk up to a girl and say, "What's your sign?" she'll know
you're delivering a rehearsed pickup line from some bad 70's TV show.

But guess what? "What's Your Sign" is almost exactly like the
openers and DHVs (demonstrations of higher value) in The Game.

There was a point when "What's your sign" was not a corny way to
start a conversation. It was a non-sexual opener: a means of breaking the ice with strangers without hitting on them. It was a current topic, exciting and interesting. (As Mystery once put it, the best subjects for conversations are relationships and the unknown.) Furthermore, it was a way of demonstrating value. Instead of saying "let's ball" (or whatever the lingo was at the time), you were showing that you were spiritual and had interesting knowledge to offer.

In the parlance of the seduction community, it was a neutral entertaining opener with DHV spikes built in.

And, sure, we all know it's outdated and cheesy. But isn't it
extraordinary how a few minutes into seventy percent of all conversations with women, a discussion of astrology ensues? She'll
probably ask you, "What sign are you?" And if you know a lot about
astrology, it's actually a demonstration of higher value.

(Note to logical, empirical, factual men: Don't say, "I don't
believe in that bullshit." Cynicism and negativity are two traits
to avoid when meeting a woman, even if you think they make you seem
"cool.")

When I was researching the book, I spent hours in Miami with a PUA
named Maddash, who gave me a long tutorial on astrology. He taught
me what all the signs meant, what the twelve houses were all about,
how to identify astrological trends in people's lives, and how to
determine sign compatibility.

Whether or not I believed in astrology was immaterial: I now knew a
lot about it. And it made for great conversation, connection, and
value when I was meeting people.

So the epiphany I had was: "What's your sign" STILL WORKS. It will
always work.

Everything will always work. If people find out about it, all you
have to do is change the way you say it and perhaps when you say it.

For example, if saying, "Hey guys, I need a quick opinion on
something" telegraphs that you're delivering a pickup line because
the women read about it in a magazine, no worries. Just change it
to: "I need some quick help settling a debate." If opinion openers
don't work anymore, save the question for later in the
conversation. I already have three other types of openers I've come
up with that I'm waiting for the right time to release. And if I
can come up with alternatives, I've got a feeling YOU can too.

In the bigger picture, the thing that's important to remember is:
There is no such thing as a pickup line. The language and wording
don't matter. What's important is the intent behind them. The
Jealous Girlfriend opener works not because it's the Jealous
Girlfriend opener, but because it's a way to start an animated
conversation with a group of people without hitting on anyone. So
as long as you can always do that, you've got nothing to worry about.

Knowledge will not change the fundamentals of how women and men are
attracted to each other. To make a bad comparison: Guys who like big
breasts tend to be into women with fake breasts; it doesn't
even matter to them that they're NOT REAL. They still flip the same
attraction switches that natural ones do.

In the world of mating, perception is reality. And attraction, in
the words of David DeAngelo, is not a choice.

Yours,
Neil

PS Coming up next time: C-shaped smiles versus U-shaped smiles
EXPLAINED. Yes, I've been reading your letters!

Now, they usually come clean about the fakes the next week, and they're hardcore about keeping the real stories real ... but at least Nick's got one possible reason to remain on staff there. He's a smart kid with instinctual reporting skills who got carried away ...

I don't know the history of this story, but I wouldn't be surprised if this didn't reflect growing pains arising from the merger.

Apologies for being so off-topic.

like that's something you should have to make a special effort to do

"we'll run half real news and half The Onion, you guess which is which"

great idea

how many "music critic/satirists" are there out there? I didn't realize this was a whole category. i know of a lot of rock crits who'll let their sense humor show in what they write but Nick is one of the only ones who seemed to be operating on the premise that The Onion doesn't do enough indie rock gags.

Also I am totally using the argument that I was "fatiqued" next time I just make shit up for a paper.

This shit is getting really fucking huge, man. Despit all the snark on this page, I'm sincerely hoping Nick's OK.

This is the first lie I've read on this thread that bothers me.

this is just foul if they're trying to making a joke in that headline. Regardless of where you stand on the defending him/schadenfreude divide, dude is going through a lot right now.

Soon it will be like NME where any music review over 6 words is just too long.

how far away is "sincerity" and "bringing it back" from the hallowed tenets of rockism, anyway?

seconded. I stopped reading that shit when they were all "hey I wonder if the Halloween rapist is at a lunch meeting right now, maybe he'll get a book deal, har har har"

Wilonsky does music and movies in equal doses, Dominique. Does a lot of the old-man rock coverage, ie, when Lou Reed rolls through town. But rest assured, he's a very, very good music critic (Once upon a time, he was also music editor at the ol New Times LA).

its unreal how revolting the majority of this thread and "whats on nick's playist" are. i understand some of you dont like him/his writing, but lets have some fucking class.

something's amiss here. i find it hard to believe a hardvard grad who's been writing for the village voice,pitchfork, etc as long as he has(and who is an associate editor at the voice), would all of a sudden succumb to some sort of "pressure" from higher up.

what he did was wrong, but i dont buy the official narrative as to why.

From what I've heard, they've already got one in development.

From what I've heard, they've already got one in development.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetu...), March 4th, 2006 12:19 AM.

blog under development, heh, that's rich.

(=probbly my favourite nme piece)

the lydon stuff must be on ilm somewhere geoff, though i forget where (haha or what my line was!)

http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/warlocks/surgery.shtml

http://tuningforkmedia.blogspot.com/2005/09/nick-sylvester-unleashes-fuckin-fury.html

in the end the Voice is just another cheezy tabloid these days

WOMEN IN SEEING THROUGH MEN'S LAME SEDUCTION STRATEGIES SHOCKER

But people don't just dislike Nick's writing. They take great offense to the flippancy he displays, not only toward his subject matter, but for writing in general. He's that one "funny" guy (with the painfully unfunny column) at your local college rag with a press pass and an expense account: not merely a bad comedian, but an honest-to-God asshole who is just begging for a comeuppance.

WOMEN IN SEEING THROUGH MEN'S LAME SEDUCTION STRATEGIES SHOCKER

BUT IT WAS GOING TO WORK THIS TIME I MIGHT HAVE ACTUALLY LEFT MY BASEMENT.