The things I'm passionate about begin with the arts. Cinema, writing, literature and music are all things that I love, crave, and can talk about to no end. I'm also an avid amateur sociologist - I love watching people. Sports are something I find infinite passion in, because there's so much to discover there about human nature. There's a lot more I love, and if you'd like to know, just ask.
Those with the brains to think for themselves, the heart to give of themselves, and the soul to stand up for their beliefs, no matter how uncommon.
I don't just like music with a beat. I like music with a heartbeat. Anything with a soul, something I can sing along to and mean it. This tends to exclude pop and mainstream hip-hop, two genres that have become pretty soulless lately. At the top of my list is rock and r&b, and includes but is not limited to: John Mayer, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Tool, Weezer, Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park, Michael Jackson (when he was black), Regina Spektor, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, so on and so forth. I could go on, but listing every band I like gets tedious. However, I'm open to recommendations.
There are two kinds of movies that I love: favorites and classics. Favorites include Ferris Bueller's Day Off, School of Rock, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and Clerks. Classics are things like Schindler's List, Goodfellas, Wait Until Dark, The Six Degrees of Separation, and Pulp Fiction. I love film, endlessly.
The gap between the haves and the have-nots in the world of television is widening daily - either a show has a tremendous amount of artistry to it, like Lost or Law & Order, or it's completely devoid of anything except insults to the intelligence of the viewer - like most of reality television. That said, you'll rarely find me watching tv for something besides the two shows already mentioned, or sports.
Most of my favorite books are something that was published some time ago, like 1984 or Catcher in the Rye. The exception is Harry Potter. This series is the best set of books I've ever read: they're funny, involving, rich, thought-provoking, and magical in every sense of the word.
First, I'd like to clarify what I believe is a common American misconception: firefighters, police officers, and military personnel are not heroes by default. They are regular people paid relatively well to do a job that requires much more risk than your average desk job. They are placed in situations that allow them to rise to a heroic standard. Some rise to that higher standard, and some don't. That said, my heroes are most of the people in my family and a few who I've never known but admire because of a consistent effort in the face of consistent oppression.