Just Laugh - About Us: 20 Questions with the Contributors... -- Matt Danielsson

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The Making of
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Get to Know the Editors...

20 Questions with the Contributors...

Name: Matt Danielsson
Hometown: Weed, CA
(yes, that's the actual town name. "Weed - the Natural state" is the motto)
Website: Demokrazy

Started with Just Laugh: April 2001

Favorite Food: Italian
Favorite TV Show: South Park
Favorite Comedian: Dan Quayle
Favorite Movie: Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
Favorite Book: Anything by Dave Barry
Favorite Type of Music: Metal, Techno, anything goes except R&B
Favorite Quotation:

"What the world need is more humble geniouses. There's so few of us left."

Hobbies: Keeping the damn rabbits from devouring my lawn
Inspiration: Dubya for the brainpower, Cheney for the ethics, CA gov. Gray Davis for sheer brilliance.
Biggest Waste of an Hour: Saturday Night Live
What would happen if you didn't have a TV? I'd play more Warcraft III
Who would win in a fight between a T-Rex and the Queen of England? My money would be on the T-Rex, unless Don King was involved.
Pet Peeves: Personal income tax
Turn-Ons: A skantily clad Jennifer Lopez
Morning Dove or Night Owl (time frame - not the actual bird!): Nite owl
Five Things on a Deserted Island:

Jennifer Lopez
sunblock
beach chair
sunglasses
60-foot yacht

Current CDs in Stereo:

Korn: Untouchables
System of a Down: Toxicity
a very interesting set of techno remixes of classical music (Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven etc.) from various European DJs. Audiogalaxy sure was great while it lasted!

How did you get started in the business?

I was always doodling in school specializing in mockery of pompous authority figures, to the delight of my peers and endless annoyance of my teachers. Then I spent some time in the Army and REALLY caught a dislikance for stupid authority figures. Nowadays I guess I've upgraded to the biggest buffoons of all, politicians. However, this is more of a labor-of-love thing than being 'in the biz.' Ironically, I'm an editor and write for a living, but judging from my articles about SAP R/3 Enterprise SRM Optimization and the like you'd think I was a total tech geek instead of the fabulously funny stud I am. And not to mention humble and realistic.

Why do you do what you do?

I get to channel my frustration with stupid politics into mocking them, kind of how Scott Adams got rich by mocking the Pointy-Haired Bosses that plagued him.

What's your inspiration?

San Francisco mayor "Slick" Willie Brown and California governor Gray Davis.

What are your "forbidden" topics? (what won't you write about)

I try to steer clear of blatant sexist, racist or gross-out jokes, except in the case of mocking single, desperate, homely white males. For some reason the rules dictate that middle aged white guys can be mocked in ways that would get you sued and have your legs personally broken by Al Sharpton if you tried to joke about other ethnic groups. I never quite figured that one out myself, but that's how it is. Likewise, some topics are just not funny, such as animal cruelty and hardcore drug use.
The closest call I've had with "forbidden" topics was a couple of strips I did about Omar the Former Terrorist who held a workshop for the Senators. I did it two years before the Sept. 11-attacks, and I decided to keep them on the site though I'll probably make a point to avoid any inflammatory references to terrorism in the future.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hanging out in the back yard of Northern California home with my two kids (the first one is in the works as I write this -- my wife spends most of her time sleeping or hugging the porcelain.) That's what really matters. In addition to that, I hope to get syndicated (in which case I'll celebrate by taking a ride in the space shuttle I'll never have either.) I also hope I'll have published at least one humor book.

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