Music:
The Decemberists, The Cure, Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, Bob Dylan, Feist, Modest Mouse, Herbie Hancock, David Dondero, The Folk Implosion, Death Cab for Cutie, Vince Guaraldi Trio, The Devil Wears Prada, T.V. on the Radio, Seal, Yo La Tengo, Beloved, Bill Evens, Armor for Sleep, Underoath, Elliot Smith, Circa Survive, Cursive, The Good Life, Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Tilly and the Wall, Little Brazil, John Coltrane, Pedro the Lion, Tegan and Sara, Charlie Parker, The Postal Service, The Replacements, Copeland, Mae, Lovedrug, Art Farmer, Galaxy 500, Luna, Lullaby for the Working Class, Iron and Wine, Mike Harvat, Spoon, The Magnetic Fields, Daft Punk, Miles Davis, All-Time Quarterback!, Arcade Fire, The Shins, Dashboard Confessional, Showbread, M. Ward, The Good Life, Figurine, Two Gallants, The Cure, Guided by Voices, The Secret Handshake, The Fall of Troy, Mae, Ev Angel, Wolf Parade, Fly Over Country, Sufjan Stevens, Paper Mache, Boards of Canada, Acceptance, Emery, Further Seems Forever, Radiohead, Paul Simon, The Get Up Kids, Scatter the Ashes, U2, Poisin the Well, Chasing Victory, Sebadoh, New Grass Revival, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Hope Conspiracy, The Perfect Parodox, Curbside Motel, Thursday, Miria Taylor, Criteria, John Denver, Cadillac Blindside, Superchunk, Alexis Harte, Pullman, Ambry, Southcott, East River Pipe, Discover America, O Lovelle, American Analog Set, The GooGoo Dolls, Sigur Ros, Nat King Cole, Ugly Casanova, Umbrellas, The Blood Brothers, Brian Eno, Unearth, Norma Jean, Eisley, Muse, Eric Bachmann, Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, He Is Legend, My Bloody Valentine, Chiodos, Interpol, Mastodon, Coverage, Killing the Dream, The Knife, M83, Aesop Rock, This list is incomplete. It is also a poor reflection of where I am these days, but I'm way too lazy to update it.
Movies:
The Truman Show, K-Pax, Tommyboy, Hotel Rawanda, Capote, Walk the Line, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Matchstick Men, Fight Club, Donnie Darko, The Sixth Sense, The Prestige, The Breakfast Club, O Brother, Where art thou?, Little Miss Sunshine, To Sir with Love, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Darjiling Limited, Juno,
Television:
The Office, Lost, River City Folk, What Not to Wear, X-files, House, anything on the local access channel.
Books:
Great Gatyby, Kite Runner, 1984, The Catcher and the Rye, Old Man and the Sea, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, The Cat's Pajama's, Matchstick Men, In Cold Blood, On the Road, The Stranger, Either/or,
Heroes:
Jake Adams and basically anyone who has built something out of nothing.