Hey! Once again, time to meet another Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's reader is the one and only Dan Matthews... aka Dan aka Dan.
Who are you?
Dan aka Dan
What are you?
half man - half tyrannosaurus rex
Where are you?
I reside in Sunny San Diego home of the 10th San Diego Asian Film Festival...
Where are you from?
South Korea by way of my birth mothers' womb, Camarillo, California by way of where I grew up, and now San Diego, California by way of not studying hard enough on my SAT's. But now I'm happy to be here, so it doesn't matter either way.
What do you do?
I'm working for the San Diego Asian Film Festival - one of the biggest Asian Film Festivals in the country. I've been involved with this wonderful organization/non profit for about 4 years now and have enjoyed every minute of it. I've seen films, met people, and experienced some of my best memories while with the Festival - bringing people closer to film they can identify with and amazing stories. This year alone we're showing over 200 films for our 10th Annual Fest. Plus we have some of the biggest events - with a Live Comedy Night with Kollaboration, and a hip hop night with Lyrics Born and Kero One! If you haven't been yet, come out and say hello. I'll think of something nice to give you...
I'm also the emcee of hip hop/rock group, afterschoolspecial. Think Gym Class Heroes or Linkin Park or even Flo-Bots. Ultimately between the Fest and the music group, I'm incredibly blessed to be doing what I do. I have a kick-ass creative job that pays my bills which in turn allows me the flexibility to pursue music.
What are you all about?
I think the number one thing I've learned and am ALL ABOUT is the power of collaboration and community. The only reason I've gotten to where I am now is because I've been blessed to work with such supportive people- and I'm proud to say that the Asian American community has some really SUPPORTIVE folks.
As far as my music goes - it's really all about being positive and story telling. It's also all about getting out aggression (for me), and I've found it as an excellent outlet to really let loose. Finally, I'm all about being thankful to everyone whose come to a show or enjoyed one of our songs or who has ever helped me personally along the way. You too can be one of those folks by - Cheap Plug - checkin us out at afterschoolspecialmusic.com or twitter.com/danakdan.
As far as SDAFF goes I'm all about connecting people with these really amazing films. Check it out at sdaff.org to see this year's schedule! Connect yourself with it son!
What makes you angry?
Not a lot makes me angry - I'm a pretty happy person and hope that my luck stays up. However if I had to pick a few dislikes... I hate Fire Season in San Diego, lazy people, baby carrots, dark chocolate, yogurt shops on every damn corner, not owning a Nintendo Wii, and Kogi tacos (and my lack of finding Kogi tacos).
