Music:
Lots of S's: Super Furry Animals, Sufjan Stevens, Scott Walker, Smog, Sparklehorse, Sigur Ros. Also: Okkervil River, anything from Elephant 6, Ted Leo, The Divine Comedy, Dan the Automator, Conor Oberst, the Moonies, Magnetic Fields, Air, ELO, Animal Collective, Daniel Johnston lyrics, NMH, Mountain Goats, Xiu Xiu, Beirut, Shearwater, Grizzly Bear, Joanna Newsom, Girl TalkI can generalize and say that I like pretty much any maximalist pop or folk-influenced rock with ambitious lyrics.
Movies:
Rivers and Tides. Grizzly Man. Any movie featuring unfettered individuals indulging in solipsistic fantasies.Also I have an unexpected affinity for movies with or about guys being guys towards each other i.e. Goodfellas, Tombstone, L.A. Confidential, Deliverance
Books:
J.M. Coetzee, The Tin Drum (so far I haven't liked anything else by Gunter Grass), The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford, Oliver Sacks, John Steinbeck, Jared Diamond, and Plutarch.Cultural and National Epics. Current fave: The Kalevala
Heroes:
Sir Richard Burton. Just because I don't list others don't think he trumps any and all competition, I just couldn't think of anyone else. Um... Thomas Jefferson? Did you know Sally Hemings was only 1/4 black? Wikipedia.