Time travel, the '80's, and rock music = yes. Mustard, pickles, mushrooms, and wasabi = no. Bottom line is: I know who/what is important to me. Everyone else can puke on it.
People who hate people. People who are afraid of technology. People who keep to themselves. People who get their news solely from The Daily Show, and Conan monologues. People who want to be met. People who don't waste too much time trying to find out the secret of life, since life isn't long enough to find that out.
Rock. Blues-based rock. Free. Humble Pie. The Black Crowes. The Allman Brothers (esp. when they were actually 2 brothers before one of 'em died). Beatles. Everything late 60's/early 70's. Love Jones. Harry Connick, Jr's She and Star Turtle albums. Hookah Brown. Just too many to mention. Stuff that's played with heart, and not the soulless, lifeless, emotionless garbage being spoonfed to kids today. And "old-school" rap. "Old-school" meaning Run-DMC and the cats preceding and following them. Not "old-school" meaning P. Diddy from a year ago. And rhythm & blues, funk, and soul music- meaning your James Brown, your Sly & the Family Stone, your Temptations. NOT the bullshit being passed off as "R&B" today, which is most of could, at best, be classified as "urban pop music", and certainly ain't funky. Although, Alicia Keys seems to be doing it right. And blues itself, of course- the basis for ALL music (not counting, like, African tribal drum stuff and Gregorian chants). The bottom line: anything that moves me, regardless of chart position, record label, or year of recording.
BACK TO THE FUTURE is one of my personal faves. However, I always say, if you only have one favorite movie, or anything, then you just haven't seen enough movies, or heard enough bands. How can you possibly choose just one, when there are countless great ones? The 80's is just the overall most satisfying decade for me, though. I grew up in it, and the movies hold up (and the overall lack of CGI, and the abundance of puppets, models, and matte paintings help the longevity of the stuff). The post-Star Wars sci-fi fantasies, the comedies, the slashers... It was the last time that everything seemed to be firing on all cylinders, and creativity wasn't totally stifled, test-marketed, and quashed (squashed?). Give me The Last Starfighter, Tron, Willow, Cloak & Dagger, Poltergeist, ET, Oliver & Company, The Black Cauldron, The Toxic Avenger, Three O' Clock High, Indiana Jones, Flight of the Navigator, Better Off Dead, Clue, Teen Wolf, (and every damn flick from 1985- 2nd best year of cinema next to 1939, I say). Aside from stuff like Swingers and Made, and most Kevin Smith flicks, and the occasional charming oddity like Napoleon Dynamite, comedies from Dumb and Dumber on have largely sucked. Today's "comedy" makes John Hughes films seem like Shakespeare. And P.S. Titanic was actually awful, and had the worst script of an "Oscar winner" I've ever known of (but probably the largest body count for a PG-13, and well, Leo DID croak in it).2 best recent flicks I've seen: Interstate 60 and Match Point.
Sitcoms, the dying art. Again, the '80's was the last time it was going full force (spilling over into the early '90's). Seinfeld's departure left a big, gaping hole that will never be filled. Random nuggets of gold: Arrested Development, Scrubs, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Three's Company (Ritter rules), What's Happening (the black Seinfeld), Ned & Stacey (fuck Will & Grace), Hill St. Blues (best cop drama ever), NYPD Blue (esp. w/David Caruso), King of Queens (actually still funny), That 70's Show (also still funny), Boston Legal (shockingly good), Commander In Chief (surprisingly good), Thundercats (still holds up), Greatest American Hero (great cheese), 24 (addictive, i.e. crack). Too many to mention. Just come over and look at the collection.
Love to read, haven't actually read tons of books, but my vocabulary is still better than most. My "favorite" book is Replay, by Ken Grimwood, with its time travel-ish premise. This the only book I've read numerous times. He only wrote 5 books, and died 2 years ago (which I found by accident looking for info on Replay). I'm still waiting for the film version, which no doubt will be shitty, and have a terrible cast.
Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. Marty McFly. Kevin Arnold. Bruce Willis. Bill Clinton. Bill Hicks, George Carlin: modern philosophers (aka comedians). Superman and Batman. Plastic Man, not so much.