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weezer in hong kong

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 11:20PM / Standard Entry

believe me, i hate using facebook for this, but got no other choice.

click here if you live in hong kong and want to see weezer come play over here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=71782569946

if we can get a few thousand people to join this group ... i'm pretty sure i can convince one of the concert promoters to bring them over.

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some thoughts for artists from a non-artist

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 11:10PM / Standard Entry

I realize I am not an artist, but maybe my outside view will be helpful for some folks.

My idea is pretty simple:

1) If you are an artist, you're basically your own company. You're the CEO and entrepreneur. You're also the brand. Don't expect other people to run your company for you. And if you do, don't complain if they aren't doing a good job. Remember: no one cares about your company (ie. you) more than you do. Learn to rely on yourself. If things aren't going well for you, don't blame others. Just work harder.

2) Product. If you aren't getting work (and even if you are), continue to optimize your product -- improve your skills, increase your knowledge, know the lay of the land, etc. For example, for a martial arts actor ... this would be not just training more in martial arts, but also acting, languages (spoken and written), studying film, knowing who the actors/producers/directors are, going to film festivals, etc.

3) Marketing. Remember that the work you produce, the interviews you give, the way you treat people, the way you dress, the way you behave, etc are all part of your brand image. A good brand image can be the difference between $1,000 bags at Louis Vuitton and $10 ones at Payless.

4) Packaging. If you're in front of the camera, focus also on your physical image and take care of your body, watch your diet, and work out to keep in shape.

5) Networking and Sales. I talk about that here: http://www.alivenotdead.com/rottendoubt/suggestion-for-aspiring-artists-profile-394333.html

Hope my analogy makes sense! Actually, I think this holds true for anyone (they are their own brand), but it's especially true for artists.

What might be useful (and I haven't tried this) is to even study some books on business and try applying them to yourself (thinking of yourself as a company). Might be useful.

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asian rapper

Monday, Apr 13, 2009 9:18PM / Standard Entry

they should have an asian rapper and call him "kanye east".

and he could do "weird al" versions of kanye's song. like instead of "stronger", he could do "weaker".

ok, that's horribly cheesy. i wonder if someone's done that before...

just google'd it:

From Urban Dictionary - KANYE EAST: Kanye West's white twin brother, separated from birth & lives on the east side

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i am legend

Saturday, Apr 11, 2009 7:38PM / Standard Entry

or more like, I AM (a guy that saw john) LEGEND (play last night)! the man is amazing. extremely talented and a great performer.

he even came to the afterparty! what's even cooler was he dropped by our area for a bit (we have a mutual friend that brought him over). unfortunately, he was majorly mobbed after he came over so he had to run back to his own area pretty soon after. ah well, i guess it's understandable given that it was the afterparty for his concert (but if everyone "played it cool" he probably would have stayed longer). but it was still pretty cool -- thanks esther!!

here's a nice group shot of a lot of the alivenotdead.com family hanging out at the afterparty (photo courtesy of gloria).

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daniel wu interview in timeout hong kong

Wednesday, Apr 8, 2009 4:25PM / Standard Entry

check it out!

http://www.timeout.com.hk/film/features/21698/leader-of-the-pack-daniel-wu.html

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rottendoubt

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born in la, moved to maryland when i was 5, then back to california to go to college. joined one of my best friend's company in xiamen and ended up moving to china...
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born in la, moved to maryland when i was 5, then back to california to go to college. joined one of my best friend's company in xiamen and ended up moving to china. now working on a new project with boys from alive (alivenotdead.com) and spending most of my time in hong kong. lots of changes in my outlook on life, the universe, and everything over the past few years. abc, but my chinese ain't that hot. super high metabolism, though it's slowed down a lot recently. look young, feel old. while driving, the guy in your rearview mirror singing at the top of his lungs to himself. highly optimistic, except when it comes to girls. tend to only like the ones that wouldn't like me back. believe strongly in karma and the golden rule. agnostic. not interested in politics. tend to assume the best in people. oblivious to sarcasm and jokes. feel that life is too short; felt that way for as long as i can remember. if you're not happy where you are, do something about it. take the road less traveled. afraid of heights, speed, and the supernatural. wish i could fly like superman. left handed. obsessive compulsive. very neat. drink socially, but don't smoke or do drugs; i don't trust my willpower if i start. poor willpower, but strong ideals - which unfortunately can result in hypocrisy. pick things up quickly, but also quickly lose interest in things. bad at keeping in touch. lazy, but ambitious. overpowering conscience. can't cheat or tell lies at all. introspective. care too much about what other people think. shy and aloof with strangers. yet if i'm in a club and a song i like comes on, i will be the first one on the dance floor. want to be popular. want to be in a band, be in a movie, write a book, create a game, and more -- if only there was enough time to do it all! try to push people to reach their potential. nerd leader. want to be the nice guy that doesn't finish last.

Professional Bio
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Patrick Lee is the CEO of alivenotdead.com, an online community for artists and their fans, with over 1,470 artists and 500,000 registered users. Patrick was also the Executive Producer of "The Heavenly Kings", directed by Daniel Wu (Best New Director, 2007 Hong Kong Film Awards). Prior to alivenotdead.com, Mr. Lee co-founded and served as CEO of Rotten Tomatoes (rottentomatoes.com), a leading entertainment website focused on movie reviews and news and one of the top 1,000 most trafficked sites in the world (according to Alexa). Rotten Tomatoes was sold to IGN Entertainment in 2004; and IGN was subsequently sold to News Corp in 2005. Mr. Lee also co-founded and served as CEO for Design Reactor (designreactor.com), a leading Internet marketing firm focused on the entertainment industry. Design Reactor’s portfolio of clients under Patrick's tenure included Disney, ABC, Warner Bros., and Artisan Entertainment, among others. Patrick holds a BA in Cognitive Science from the University of California at Berkeley.
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Age: 35
Gender: Male
Total visits: 432,493