by the time you get to this sentence, regardless of whether you are actually reading it or just skimming, you would have already formed an impression of this website.  a recent study by the association for psychological science concludes that it only takes one tenth of a second to form that impression, much less than the three seconds they use to tell you had for job interviews.

are you still reading?  before i completely lose your attention, let me just get to the point.  first impressions are often misleading.  take a look at the picture above.  that’s me with the funny ears.  hi!  my name’s hoi.  your first impression might be, “that’s  a silly picture,” “he looks stupid!,” or “what the hell is that?”  those are all valid impressions and each truthful in its own right.  but that’s what impressions are by definition; they are your initial thoughts and perceptions.  based on those alone, you would never know i was a war baby from a third world country, that i would to love to call myself a writer, or that i love to go dance and have fun with my friends.  impressions do not provide you with the supportive details necessary to draw informed conclusions.

as a gay man in san francisco, it seems as if our culture is even more prone to quickly judge by appearances than others.  rarely do we give a particular situation, a television show, a movie, or even a person, a second chance to redeem that first impression should it not sustain our interest.  if i’ve learned anything as i turn 35 this year, it’s don’t be so quick to judge and dismiss something that may not initially catch your fancy.  you could be pleasantly surprised.

as you read through my rants, reviews, and writings, you will definitely learn a lot about me.  hopefully, however, you’ll learn something about yourself.  something will resonate and you’ll discover an interest, an appreciation, or even a perspective that you didn’t have before.  please feel free to leave comments in any of the sections or by sending me an e-mail if you prefer.  welcome to HOI’s NOISE and thanks for stopping by.  there’ll be weekly updates so do come back.  and of course, happy 2011!

hoi
1/1/11

email: hoi@hoisnoise.com