- Jack White: Of course he's the first on my list. Besides making the best music of this generation, Jack is always evolving. He makes him music imperfectly perfect (See everything from "This Protector" to "Want and Able" to see what I mean). His style, especially with Third Man is old timey...the man has a serious obsession with turn tables and color patterns. All this just makes him more of an admirable genius.
- Tina Fey: I have wanted to grow up to be like Tina since I was 16 years old. She is a proud nerd, but not just a nerd. She is legitimately intelligent and funny with her fast-paced writing. And she gives a modern female voice like no other.
- Chuck Palahniuk: This guy's writing is so quirky. That was obvious from the first read of the zany "Fight Club" and "Choke." Then, I read "Damned" and knew this guy uses dark humor to bring out the best of societal flaws. He has this extremist voice that is oddly endearing. And he writes in what I call an "ADHD" voice, meaning he jumps a lot from place to place and it's so fast-paced, but that's just another reason I like it so much. Each time you read it, you find more to love in his work.
- Louis CK: Everyone loves this guy, and it's no wonder. He's the "everyman" who is unafraid to point out societal flaws. He's really honest. And like everyone else on the list, he's incredibly hard-working. For his show, he does it all from the writing and acting to the editing.
- Matt Stone & Trey Parker: These two are way braver than I could ever be. They have received death threats for their humor. Yet, they are unapologetic about their edginess. I like how their humor can be infantile and playful while remaining intelligent and topical. Just brilliant!
- Stanley Kubrick: You have to admire any perfectionist, and this man is the text book definition of that. He may have been demanding and bossy, but that is how he made such well-rounded work. His films truly can be considered art. And it's amazing how he did every genre from horror (See "The Shining") to comedy (See "Lolita") to Sci-fi (See "2001 Space Odyssey") to a brilliant combo of genres (See "A Clockwork Orange" AKA his best work!).
- Rod Serling: By this point, you faithful readers also know of my "Twilight Zone" obsession. Mr. Serling is the classy man who put the whole thing into motion and revolutionized TV and the sci-fi genre in the process. Plus, he wrote some other really amazing works, all of which are timeless.
- Other artistic mavericks that I would be remiss not to mention include:
- George Carlin
- Judd Apatow
- Zooey Deschanel
- Bo Burnham
- Stephen King
- John Stewart
- Judge Judy
- Dimitri Martin
So who ado you admire? Maybe I can add them to the list!
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