Drawing, painting, designing monsters and demons (friendly ones though, nothing malevolent here). Watching cartoons and movies by myself or with my kid. Rock n' Roll, live or loud with the headphones on. Reading--comics, history (usually of the unusual, conspiratorial or forbidden type). Hanging out with my kid, enjoying the comfort I seem to provide him, experiencing the growing bond and respect between us. Checking my email every 15 minutes to see if something new on the art opportunity horizon has come up for me. Going out for breakfast or lunch and snagging a crossword puzzle without paying for the whole newspaper. Driving around just to listen to tunes. Meditation. Ridin' my bike. Oh yeah, duh...ART. My art, my friends art, your art, blah blah blah. Going to LA to see my very best friends. Spending time here in P-Town with my buddies as well. Toys, especially Gargamel vinyl from Japan.
Nice people who don't waste my time and energy. Rock and Metal bands that want my art for flyers, shirts, etc. Headbangers.
Mostly hard stuff, you are what you eat, but I think I'm more varied than people think. High on Fire, Mastodon, The Sword, New York Dolls, early Bowie (pretty much everything up until Never Let Me Down), Black Sabbath, Melvins, Witch, Clutch, Pentagram, AC/DC, Johnny Thunders, Ramones, Richard Hell, Misfits, Brian Eno, early Clash, Television, Big Business, Gits, Nebula, Fu Manchu, Acid King, Sleep, Orange Goblin, Devo, Celtic Frost, Motorhead, Tool, Kepone, Totimoshi, Isis, The Kills, The Gossip, Karp, Danzig, Germs, Stooges, Lunachicks, Electric Wizard, Pink Floyd, Bongzilla, Husker Du, some 80's metal (the leather and spike stuff, not the power-ballad wussy shit), some old classic rock, orchestral music when all this noise gets to be too much, a little bluegrass here and there. There's too many bands to mention and no way for me to figure out who I like more than another. It starts with Black Sabbath and everything is second to that.
Anything I can watch ad nauseum, anything that makes me laugh, anything I feel has had an impact on me creatively. Little Big Man, The Jerk, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Iron Monkey, Star Wars O.G. Trilogy, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pink Panther series, Metropolis, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Caddyshack, The Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre, Excalibur, Forbidden Zone, Rushmore, My Bodyguard, Kenny & Company, Phantom of the Paradise, Death Race 2000, Batman Begins, Demon Seed, all of Hayao Miyazaki's work, Samurai classics, B-movies of the 70's, lots of Sci-Fi, lots of flicks about fathers and sons. Superhero and Kaiju flicks. Daimajin, Gamera, Godzilla. War of the Gargantuans. Lots of documentaries too. There's hundreds of movies I've never seen, and I'm actively working my way down the list. Basically, I'm Movie Madness's best friend.
Mostly animation, which is what TV was meant for in my opinion. Having a 6 year old going on 7 means a lot of videos and DVDs (I cut the cable off, so I really don't watch anything at all anymore, unless I rent it). Batman Animated (the Bruce Timm classic, not the current WB show), Superman Animated, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, Samurai Jack, Bobobo Bo Bo-bobo, Simpsons, Devilman, Futurama, Family Guy, Rocky and Bullwinkle, George of the Jungle, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, and I just got into Naruto which kicks major ass...yeah, lots of cartoons. Look folks, you don't go to TV for broadening your mental horizons, okay? SCTV, Mr. Show, Ultraman, Devilman, Akumaizer 3, Inazuman, Kure Kure Takora, Gotchaman/Battle of the Planets, Mazinger. LOST. And the Sopranos. I need to join Netflix.
Lone Wolf and Cub, the entire manga series. Books about suppressed knowledge and history, both true and speculative and just plain out there. Comics: Snarf, Chris Ware, Moebius, Jim Woodring, Dave Cooper, Charles Burns, Frank Miller, Blab, Underworld, Krazy Kat, Popeye, Greg Irons, Wayno, Kim Deitch, James Kolchaka, anything by my cartoonist friends like Craig Thompson, Aaron Renier, Marc Bell. HP Lovecraft despite his flaws as a human being. American Splendor. John Fante novels, Bukowski poetry. Buddhist stuff when I need an explanation for things that confuse me. This list is a work in progress.
All of my friends but especially Bwana Spoons, JP, Trixy and Nancy. Helen Hill. My son Felix. George Herriman, Jim Flora, Alejandro Jodorowsky. Heroes are hard to define. Tony Iommi. Batman...yes, Batman. Lori from Acid King. Buzz and Dale from the Melvins. Anyone who has their shit together, or can play it off like they do anyway. Matt Pike from High On Fire--if I could make art as intense as that dude plays guitar, I'd rule the world!