Music:
can, blonde redhead, grandaddy, lightning bolt, at the drive in, pixies, the black heart procession, roots, shuggie otis, yo la tengo, golden, trans am, tortoise....and so on.
Movies:
down by law, sanjuro, nanook of the north, the river's edge, life aquatic, royal tenenbaums......but my all time favorite is overboard even though i was pressured to say it.
Books:
a brief history of time
Heroes:
mitch hedburg