Life and death. Virtuosos on any instrument (except bagpipes, one has to draw the line somewhere!)
Anybody with imagination, compassion and a dose of cool, including angel-voiced Kate Bush, Jaco Pastorius in my dreams--I wish those Florida hooligans hadn't, Annie Lennox, the Heart sisters, Yoshida Brothers or any other siblings who rock (including the Brontes). Chrissie Hynde, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Nelson Mandela, James Spader, Ethan Hawke, Juliette Binoche, Gregg Araki and Gore Vidal (maybe together!), Viggo Mortensen and Buckethead (definitely together!!), a tap dancing trombonist, and you. .. .. .. ..
Sushi Cabaret Club
The incredible Arto Lindsay, I am a slave to the sounds you make. Collective Soul make me happy, PIL, jazz, reggae, ska, folk, uptown-downtown, torch singers, independent singer/songwriters like Mishal Zeera, Shawn Mullins, Marc Von Em, Ferron, Bruce Cockburn and Adam Nixon. Bix Beiderbecke. Classical and Opera. Favorite composers include Chabrier, Shostakovich, Gershwin, Toru Takemitsu, Bright Sheng, Debussy, Brahms.
Robert Bresson is my favorite director of all time (Money/ Les Dames de Bois de Boulogne). Next favorite, Ozu. Aside from that anything with a story, heart and an aesthetic sensibility not wholly informed by MTV and Saturday morning cartoons. Everything is Illuminated by Liev Shreiber. Gattaca; Go; Croupier; Europa, Europa; Collateral; Bad News Bears; Breaking Away; Planet of the Apes; Singin' in the Rain; Mysterious Skin; My Architect; Mifune; My Beautiful Laundrette. And yes, Brokeback Mountain and Ice Storm. Best film this year by far, Goya's Ghost.
For comedy, documentaries. Check out www.ADAMRAYcomedy.com, he's my favorite comedian! He does jealousy right, especially the song "Breakfast in Bed" is crazy-hilarious. And Sandwich Pals taught me how to laugh again. Thanks, Adam!Just a little reminder why I, along with thousands of other women, go gaga over Viggo:
Short stories, poetry. Recommend Holy Cow about travels of a white Australian lassie through India, Vikram Seth's ode to San Francisco, Graham Swift, Timothy Mo, TC Boyle. Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene is ab-fabulously FUNNY! The indelible Anne Sexton. Haven't had time to read these last 7 years, but that's changing. Finally getting around to Arundhati Roy and she comprises a universe unto herself.
Jacqueline K. Speier, survivor of Jonestown and state Senator in California--you will always be my Hero!