First of all: Family - always and forever big hugs and shout out to the v talented Sharna aka sshh...and Penguins (her kewl collaboration with Z) ............... and then .............. Life = creative expression, intelligent communication, spirit awareness, travelling, reading, writing, photography, music, sculpture (check myspace/ministry_of_random_events), interactivity, film, sex (its the scorpio in me *s*), energy, healing, intuition, intellect, inspiration, dry humour, laughter, friends, strangers, watching the Random element at play in life, pursuit and fulfilment of potential....
Anyone articulate and/or creative who believes in communication as dialogue, stillness in spirit, the fulfilment of potential...and anyone who knows that in life there is always MORE...
No particular order: Penguins, Holy Fuck, Warren Suicide, Paul Kelly, Tim Fite, Simon & Garfunkel, Gray Kid, The Follow, Cog, Shihad, Jesse Malin, Keren Ann, Bowie, James Brown, The Doors, Underworld, Prince, The Sleepy Jackson, U2, Marvin, Otis, Aretha, Al Green, Bobby Womack, Andy Clockwise, Stones, Beatles, Parliament, Sinatra, Springsteen, Fela Kuti, Massive Attack, 2 Pac, Avalanches, Garbage, U Roy, NWA, Jeff (& Tim) Buckley, Jurassic 5, Kasey Chambers, Gram Parsons, K&D, Wyclef, Alicia Keys, Ben Harper, Miles, Zeppelin, Sabres, Chandra, Sinead, Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads, Gorillaz, Guru, Massive Attack, Spearhead, Stars Of Track And Field, The Streets, Elvis (Presley & Costello), Dylan, Hendrix, Lennon, Robyn Hitchcock, The Silencers, The Music, The The, Jah Stitch, Max Romeo etc
Harold and Maude, Diva, Time Bandits, Betty Blue, Lord Of The Rings, Run Lola Run, Lock Stock, The Matrix, Amerikan History X, Traffic, The Secretary, no horror but lots of foreign/art house/intelligent films as well as ones that make me laugh out loud.....
Only watch the shows that set the standards - The Prisoner (UK 60's show), Twin Peaks, The Sopranos, Oz, West Wing, Six Feet Under, Entourage, Trailer Park Boys, The Simpsons, The Daily Show, The News....and (the only decent thing he's done) Colbert hammering Bush @ The White House Correspondants Dinner last year...
Read a lot of biographies as people and their stories always fascinate - truth is often stranger than fiction. Wordsmiths: William Gibson; Irvine Welsh; Steinbeck etc Cartoons: Maus; Frank Miller etc. Picture makers: LaChappelle; Eugene Smith; Cartier-Bresson; Beaton; Corbijn; Helmut Newton etc
To quote Stephen Soderberg when he accepted the Oscar for Traffic: "I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating. I don't care if it's a book, a film, a painting, a dance, a piece of theater, a piece of music - anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us. I think this world would be unlivable without art." Also: Mandela (political commitment), Lee Miller (what a life), Eugene Smith (eye for humanity), LaChappelle (imagination overload), Bill Hicks (telling it how it is), Mother Theresa (human being), Gandhi (Peace), Lennon (attitude), Bono (for being way more than just a bloated rock star), Stephen Soderberg (above quote), Caty Cat (overcoming adversity) and anyone who works as a nurse or teacher as their jobs are valuable for society.