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30 days - 30 people from the giraffe
10 days of silver screen people
 8.5 Day 01 - Your favorite actor  I grew up enjoying Sellers in the Pink Panther films (thanks Dad!), but his work with Kubrick earned my utmost respect for his ability. The first time I watched Dr. Strangelove I didn't even realize he was playing the titular character until it ended, and the fact that he could play 3 different roles in the same film speaks volumes. Few actors today come close to inhabiting the characters they play to the point you forget who's on screen, which is too bad. Sellers did it in every film of his I've seen, and that's what ranks him above the rest. the giraffe's rating:
 
7.2 Day 02 - Your favorite actress  That was my introduction to her (as Venus in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen), and between it and Pulp Fiction I've not only found her visually appealing but a great actress in her own right. She may not always make the best choices in films (The Avengers, Batman & Robin), but even when the film sucks she's great in it. the giraffe's rating:
 
8.3 Day 03 - Your favorite director  Technically not my favorite (that'd be QT), but he's a close second. Admittedly PT Anderson hasn't made many films in his career so far, but all of his films have highly impressed me (Magnolia ranks as my second favorite film of all-time). I could also have said: the Coen Brothers, Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and several others. the giraffe's rating:
5.7 Day 05 - An actor/actress you haven't seen enough movies from  An underrated character actor whom you probably recognize from the first 2 Godfather and/or Rocky films. The above is from Maniac which he wrote and played the main character in, and after seeing it I've realized I need to check out more of his films. the giraffe's rating:
 
8.5 Day 06 - A favorite classic actor  Maybe not a versatile actor, but Groucho always makes me laugh. the giraffe's rating:
6.7 Day 08 - An overrated actor/actress As far as I can tell from the films I've seen her in she's merely OK. Why she's such a big star I've never been able to figure out. the giraffe's rating:
 
6.4 Day 09 - An actor/actress who can be great but rarely is  Too bad his dramatic roles never rack up huge profits like his comedies, or else maybe he'd do more of them. His best films are easily Punch-Drunk Love, Reign Over Me and Spanglish (and in that order), and in each he turns out a great performance. the giraffe's rating:
 
8.3 Day 10 - Your favorite screenwriter  I could listen to QT's dialogue all day, and all of his films take fresh spins on pre-existing story ideas. Even when he doesn't direct his scripts are still great in my book (see True Romance, From Dusk Till Dawn and - to a lesser degree since it was altered before filming began - Natural Born Killers for proof). the giraffe's rating:
10 days of musicians
7 Day 11 - Music artist you relate to the most  From the moment I started listening to NIN back in 1992, I kept hearing lyrics that I swore were plucked from my head (despite Trent Reznor being about 10 years older than me). I can't even count how many NIN songs have reflected what's going on in my world and/or head at any given moment, but my relating to NIN doesn't stop there. Trent Reznor and I often have similar music tastes, as reflected by his choices of opening acts over the years and the bands he's mentioned that he listens to in interviews. Also, Trent has said that the presidency of George W. Bush changed his attitude toward politics from one of apathy to a genuine concern for it, and I could say the same. the giraffe's rating:
Day 12 - Your favorite band/artist from wherever you live Austin, TX  And they've been one of my favorite bands since long before I moved here. the giraffe's rating:
6.5 Day 13 - An underrated band Also my favorite current band. They've released 5 albums so far and count Trent Reznor and the members of Radiohead among their fans. And yet their headlining shows are still mostly played in small clubs. Sigh. the giraffe's rating:
6.8 Day 14 - A band you miss the most  I miss them because their music always made me happy. I miss them because their live shows were some of the most fun I ever attended. I miss them because I saw them so many times that we wound up becoming friends. And I miss them because the death of guitarist Wes Berggren forced them to break up long before their creativity ran out. the giraffe's rating:
8 Day 15 - A band you wish you'd seen live  Preferably on one of the nights Jim wasn't too drunk/high to perform. the giraffe's rating:
7.7 Day 16 - An artist that sums up what great music should be  Genre-hopping, expectations-defying, intelligent, humorous, sincere, and challenging all describe Zappa's musical output. Zappa's work is both widely respected and influential, yet he never achieved any level of mainstream success...nor did he want to. Between his time with the Mothers of Invention and his solo career Zappa incorporated many genres into his music, and carved out his own sound that listeners either love or hate. Those of us who have taken the time to truly listen to his music and appreciate it are consistently rewarded for doing so, while those who can't find their way in probably don't deserve to. All of these things I respect about Zappa, and seek out in the other bands I listen to. the giraffe's rating:
8.4 Day 17 - Favorite dead musician  Best guitarist ever, sure, but also an underrated lyricist (see "If 6 Was 9" and "Stone Free"). the giraffe's rating:
8.3 Day 18 - Favorite lyricist  Sample lyrics: "Hopeless" the giraffe's rating:
7.3 Day 19 - Best lyricist  Sample lyrics: "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side" the giraffe's rating:
8.4 Day 20 - A band you wish people would get over already  Don't get me wrong, I like The Beatles too and they made some great music (most of it while on drugs). I understand why so many people love them. But in the 41 years since they broke up there have been plenty of other bands that have made music that's vastly more interesting and worth listening to for the rest of your life. When someone tells me The Beatles are his/her favorite band, I assume that he/she is stuck in the past and has boring, middle-of-the-road taste in music. You may as well tell me you enjoy breathing or tasty food. Venture out a little, expand your horizons...I'm here to tell you it's worth the time & trouble. the giraffe's rating:
5 days of literary people
7.5 Day 21 - Favorite author - fiction  I've read every book he's written and they're all brilliant. He tells a great story, makes me think, and makes me laugh all in the course of each of his novels. For that he's earned my utmost respect. "The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion, and the tyranny of the dull mind forever threatens -- but our lives are not as limited as we think they are, all things are possible, laughter is holier than piety, freedom is sweeter than fame, and in the end it's love and love alone that really matters." "If a person leads an ‘active’ life, as Wiggs had, if a person has goals, ideals, a cause to fight for, then that person is distracted, temporarily, from paying a whole lot of attention to the heavy scimitar that hangs by a mouse hair just about his or her head. We, each of us, have a ticket to ride, and if the trip be interesting (if it’s dull, we have only ourselves to blame), then we relish the landscape (how quickly it whizzes by!), interact with our fellow travelers, pay frequent visits to the washrooms and concession stands, and hardly ever hold up the ticket to the light where we can read its plainly stated destination: The Abyss. the giraffe's rating:
8.4 Day 22 - Favorite author - non-fiction  For the same reasons as Tom Robbins, plus the fact that he makes all other journalism pale by comparison. "Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio." the giraffe's rating:
7.6 Day 23 - Favorite poet  I came across Saul Williams when he toured with The Mars Volta performing his poetry. After that I started searching for his books. Then I found out he'd recorded an album and I tracked it down (he's now recorded 4). And all along my love for his poetry has grown. Every time I meet someone I think would appreciate it, I give them my copy of his book/poem , Said the Shotgun to the Head. And then I go out and buy another copy of it. From the song "Surrender (A Second to Think)": the giraffe's rating:
8.8 Day 24 - Favorite comic book/strip artist  One among many many brilliant strips he produced. I also respect him for his persistent defense of his art, which (sadly) eventually led to his early retirement because (awesomely) he didn't want to give in to the limitations that newspapers insisted on. the giraffe's rating:
8.3 Day 25 - Author you need to read more books from  I've read Slaughterhouse Five and several of his short stories, but that's it. The fact that most of his books are sitting on my woman's bookshelves suggests I need to check out more of his work. 5 days of fictional people
7.7 Day 26 - Movie character you relate to the most Joel Barrish from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind  Decided to go with Joel this time instead of Rob Gordon again. His journal entries/thoughts seem to have been taken from my head. the giraffe's rating:
7.3 Day 27 - TV character you relate to the most Nate Fisher Jr. from Six Feet Under  I related to Nate from the start because he'd gone off trying to get away from following in his father's footsteps, but couldn't completely avoid it after all. He doesn't want to be surrounded by death and sadness, and wants to do something meaningful with his life but can't see how that fits into his father's expectations of him. Plus, as pictured above, he has a daughter (as do I). 
9 Day 28 - Fictional character (literary) you relate to the most Dough Lunt from Tender as Hellfire  Dough is an 11-year-old boy who has been moved from his former hometown (which he loved) to a trailer park surrounded by rednecks. When I was 12, my parents moved us from Springfield, IL, (which I loved) back to Dallas, TX, where I was surrounded by suburbanite kids and some rednecks too. Our similarities run even deeper than that, but to go into them would require wandering into spoiler territory. Go read this book, then come back and ask me for more details. ;) the giraffe's rating:
8.6 Day 29 - Favorite fictional villain (any area) So many villains come to mind, so I've decided to look to comic books for this one... Gary "The Smiler" Callahan from Transmetropolitan  Evil personified. The Smiler is a presidential candidate who proves to be solely out for power. He kills off his campaign manager to gain election votes, he takes a personal interest in the series' protagonist Spider Jerusalem and does everything in his power to cripple Spider physically and career-wise, and he's not above sacrificing innocent lives to get what he wants. Every election year I worry that one of the final candidates will turn out to be just like him. (Those interested in my favorite comics supervillains should check out Pumpkinate's list.) the giraffe's rating:
5.3 Day 30 - Favorite fictional character (any area) (Again, I could choose from many.) John Galt from Atlas Shrugged  Galt is shrouded in mystery for most of the book, which only makes him more compelling as a character. Then when he finally emerges, he delivers a speech unlike anything I've ever heard or read before. Anyone who can read his words and not be affected I worry about. He may not be a well-rounded character, but he ranks very highly for me anyway. From wikipedia: As the plot unfolds, Galt is acknowledged to be a creator, philosopher, and inventor who symbolizes the power and glory of the human mind. He serves as an idealistic counterpoint to the social and economic structure depicted in the novel. The depiction portrays a society based on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries and a culture that embraces stifling mediocrity and egalitarianism, which the novel associates with socialistic idealism. In the novel's ideology, the industrialists of America were a metaphorical Atlas of Greek mythology, holding up the Earth, whom Galt persuades to "shrug," by refusing to lend their productive genius to the regime any longer. See also: The Flagship's review the giraffe's rating:
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My Rock & Roll epiphany came watching Live Aid -
it was like "Oh, Wow - so this is why people like this music so much" - I became an instant fan of every group who was there and a couple who weren't like Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen.
I agree completely about Julia Roberts, never got why she is so popular - her best movie was Pretty Woman and even that was just OK - Adam Sandler is hit or miss for me - he is either really good or really bad.
@phillydude - I'm fine with the Beatles being ONE of someone's favorite bands, it's just when people insist they're better than ALL other bands and nobody else compares or that every band that followed couldn't possibly have existed without their influence that I start to get annoyed. That's probably due to most of my music tastes being formed in the late 80s on throughout the first half of the 90s, long after the Beatles were done and gone. So...I like the Beatles, and love some of their songs/albums. But I love a lot of other bands more.
Great call on the Doors, Sage Francis, Rockwell, Roberts, Watterson, and many others. If I ever do one of these lists you do know that I'm gonna have to blatantly rip-off your format!!
Again, love the insight into your person that your lists provide. Well done!