1. Pamela Anderson.

Her contribution alone to PETA is enough to inspire me. But it’s what she does inadvertently and unknowingly is what inspires me. She walks the line of controversy, breaks down stereotypes, and proves to the world that gorgeous porn/nude/super/celebrity stars can and are doing good in this world inside erotica and out.

2. David Lynch.

He makes art with film. Fine art. Not film art. Fine art. His movies and stories are written so it’s left up to interpretation. Again, he breaks down stereotypes and questions everything we’ve ever known to be true. Some call him nuts…I call him god. Haven’t the smartest people on the planet in the history of man been labeled crazy for their controversial and sometimes dangerous ways of thinking? After all, dangerous thinking is what got us to the moon.

3. Morgan Spurlock.

In many ways he made the “documentary” cool to watch. (I know this isn’t necessarily true for some people, but he certainly got me into wanting to watch more of them.) He presents his information and research in a way that truly captivates the audience and lets them decide what their stance on the issue is. He poses questions rather than taking a stance. Never really truly taking one side or the other. And in that regard I think he is truly inspirational for the kind of philosophy I am trying to instill into my own life.

4. Sam Kieth.

The thing that I like about Sam the most is that, he draws in a crowd of people who would normally never read a book with intellectual stimulation with pictures of action and characters without seemingly any intellectual drive but by the end of the story consciously or not he has revealed to you something about society and yourself you were probably not aware of yet. He is highly underestimated as one of the truly great American novelists/artists of our time. For as popular as he is among cult fans, he is truly an influential underdog, that deserves a place among the Jung’s, King’s, Pollack’s, Warhol’s, Kirby’s and Freud’s.

5. Jon Stewart.

I remember being very confused in the days that followed September 11th 2001. Confused because, I literally had no idea what the difference between an Arab and Muslim were, I had no idea what kind of history we had with Afghanistan’s people, I had no idea why people hated us. I was clueless. He intentionally or not made current events hip. (I know that sounds so fucking dumb) But,…it’s absolutely true! I don’t know if ‘hip’ is the right word to use here, but he certainly educated a demographic that was once clueless. And if he wasn’t around at the time there’s no telling how much worse things could’ve ended up. He spoke to the people in a way that he knew how he could truly reach them; through comedy.

6. Morgan Freeman.

To find inspiration in someone who pretends to be other people for a living is difficult. But when he is in character you realize why he chose that character. He plays the roles of people who are wise beyond their years but they always learn something new and profound. He always chooses roles that will portray meaning in human existence. Also, he doesn’t follow the common Hollywood lifestyle, which in and of itself is enough to truly be inspired by him.

7. Scarlet Spider.

He’s written to represent hope. He has experienced more pain than any character I have ever read about. But the writers always turned that pain into happiness. And the difference between Spiderman and Scarlet Spider is that Spiderman is written to make the same mistakes. Scarlet Spider realizes what he has to live for, and he’s never needed a woman to realize it. He exemplifies what every major multi national comic character cannot, strength with independence. Spiderman will always have to make the same mistakes to attract new audiences and sell out. Scarlet Spider being a clone of Spiderman can get away with all the bureaucratic red tape Spiderman must endure with fame and focus on the important aspects of life, such as evolving his thoughts and being part of new and fresh storylines.

8. Oingo Boingo.

Danny Elfman and the rest of his crew, made me want to push away the mouse for a little while and tap some ivory. Upon falling in love with nearly every song I’ve ever heard by them I immediately wanted to sit down and learn keyboard. Even though great keys isn’t what they’re ‘known’ for, it’s their sound (combined with Coldplay and The Faint) is what inspires me; and keyboard just so happens to be my instrument of choice. Additionally, (I want to bring back the guitar keyboard), just as a side note. And if Danny Elfman and his crew have a greatest hits album, and Elfman himself has hundreds of musical scores under his belt, it leads me to think he’s not only an inspiration to me, he MUST be an inspiration to many, which says a lot about a man’s character and the people he surrounds himself with.