Dan Savage, Tim and Eric, and Crispin Glover. Image by me.
Maybe it’s because I just turned thirty, but I’ve been thinking recently about the people who I’ve admired and learned from most over the years. I listed them below, with the exception of my parents (a given).
- Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, whose collective sense of humor skewers everything inauthentic and cheesy about the world
- Dan Savage, the unfiltered sex advice columnist/podcaster and civil rights activist
- Stephen King, who introduced me both to writing and nightmares
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, for championing free speech in the guise of hilarious shows and movies
- Penn Jillette, for calling bullshit on things that too many people accept
- Dave Barry, for making me laugh until I cry
- Trent Reznor, the soundtrack to my life since fifth grade and a crusader for musicians
- Crispin Glover, who is weird enough to own a castle in Prague and release videos like this, yet mainstream enough to play George McFly in “Back to the Future”
- Allie Brosh of Hyperbole and a Half, Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal, and Nicholas Gurewitch of Perry Bible Fellowship for the best comics and writing on the Internet
- David Lynch, for making me think about movies and TV the way English class made me think about books
- Anne Rice, for introducing me to alternative universes
- RuPaul Charles, for making creative identity expression accepted (and cool)
- John Kricfalusi, for refusing to compromise with Nickelodeon on Ren & Stimpy and showing me at an early age that sticking to your vision matters
#personalheroes #inspiration