Writing, travel, great food, music, art (especially Gothic, Dutch School, and Art Nouveau), laughing, crying, dancing, nia, architecture, late-night walks, sand (on the beach, not in my bed), thunderstorms, sparking mineral water, chandeliers, hydrangeas, produce (organic, not the waxy-on-the-outside, tastes-like-cardboard-on-the-inside variety), orchestras, inspiring others to live their passion, tofu, and all things beautiful (even if they're disguised as tragic). I'm into philosophy, sociology, psychology, spirituality, and quantum physics. I also really like shoes, airports, and doors.
Wes Anderson (who will not add me to his MySpace page and has thus made me seriously consider deleting him from this section); Beethoven; Bono; Coco Chanel; Deepak Chopra; Leonardo DaVinci; Elié Ducommun; Wayne Dyer; Albert Einstein; Sigmund Freud; Mahatma Gandhi; James Hillman; Carl Jung; Martin Luther King, Jr.; John Lennon; Abraham Lincoln; Thomas Moore; Nick Rhodes; David Sedaris; Chief Seattle; and Sting. So basically, if you're dead, scrawny, inspirational, or an 80s pop icon, I'd like to meet you....[Addendum: I have since met David Sedaris. It was all that and a bag of wasabi peas.]
Anything from Britain, ca. 1978 - 1988, especially Duran Duran, Elton John (pre-Disneyfication), and The Police; Coldplay; German techno and trance; Grant Lee Buffalo/Grant-Lee Phillips; and U2. Lately, I've been listening to Kaiser Chiefs and good stuff in languages I don't quite understand. When I am depressed, I listen to Radiohead in the bathtub. Songs I'll never bathe by: Black and White Town by Doves, Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears, Mr. Brightside by The Killers, Rock the Casbah by The Clash, Right Back Where We Started From (don't ask) by Maxine Nightengale, or Tenderness by General Public.
80s: The Breakfast Club, Can't Buy Me Love, European Vacation, and Sixteen Candles. Chick: Fried Green Tomatoes, Love Actually, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Steel Magnolias. Documentary: Imagine: John Lennon; The Powers of 10; Vernon, Florida; How to Know God; and What the Bleep Do We Know!? (except the weird dancing blobs). Love: Brokeback Mountain, Immortal Beloved, Legends of the Fall, Titanic (I know, I know...), and Walk the Line. Sad: Schindler's List and Stand by Me. Misc.: Amélie, Amores Perros, Billy Elliot, Lost in Translation, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mostly Martha, Namesake, Punch Drunk Love, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Red Violin, and The Shawshank Redemption.
If you're not yet a fan of THE KITCHENS OF BIRÓ on PBS, you should be! This Emmy® Award-winning series combines the unrehearsed spontaneity of a reality series with the comprehensive culinary instruction of a traditional cooking show. We'll be back with a second season this fall, and in the meanwhile, you can order DVDs at CustomFlix.com. CBS Sunday Morning rocks.
I'm the co-author of three cookbooks: BIRÓ: EUROPEAN-INSPIRED CUISINE, winner of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Award; JOHNSONVILLE BIG TASTE OF SAUSAGE COOKBOOK: MORE THAN 125 RECIPES FOR ON AND OFF THE GRILL FROM AMERICA'S #1 SAUSAGE MAKER; and the forthcoming THE KITCHENS OF BIRÓ: SIMPLE SPANASIAN CUISINE. I'm also co-author of the just-released SISTER SALTY, SISTER SWEET: A MEMOIR OF SIBLING RIVALRY, which I wrote with my sister, Natalie. This hilarious, unpredictable, and moving memoir is told in the alternating voices of two very different sisters and reveals the unexpected life lessons born of sisterhood. It was a Book Sense Notable Title for May. My books can be purchased from online booksellers, local bookstores, and national chains.Books that I did not write but wish I had: Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, Naked by David Sedaris, There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Wayne Dyer, The Soul's Code by James Hillman, and Out of My Life and Thought by Albert Schweitzer. I also wish I had written The DaVinci Code and the Harry Potter series, but just for the royalties.
Anyone who dares to follow his or her dreams, those who persevere, and those who are firmly rooted in their truth (which are often one in the same). And the late, great Joop, my fearless dog who left this world far too soon and who taught me to always make time to connect with Mother Earth, to have patience, to express love unconditionally, and to eat whatever the hell I please.