Music:

Music is my first love--be it making music or just listening to it. In general I've always had fairly eclectic taste. Here are some of the stuff that you'd find in my CD player or mp3 player:

Orchestral music from 19th Century and on - I've very fond of composers like Debussy, Ravel, Mahler, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Barber, etc. I like some classical too, but in general I find orchestral works in the later centuries more compelling and satisfying becaus they are less rigid in structure and contain a wider range of musical language.

Film/TV Scores - I love music that tells a story or expresses moods. Some of my favorites are composers like Haneda Kentaro, Sakamoto Ryuichi, Basil Poledouris, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Kanno Yoko, Hisaishi Joe, John Powell, John Barry, Two Steps From Hell (Thomas Bergersen/Nick Phoenix), etc.

Game Scores - I tend to think more in terms of game titles as opposed to composers. How the music contributed to the way I felt while playing the game is a significant part of whether it makes an impression or not. Some that really stood out for me were Half-Life series, Unreal Tournament series, Hitman: Contracts, Anachronox, Nightmare Creatures, Quake III, Metal Gear Solid series, Silent Hill series, The Longest Journey, System Shock 2, Crysis 2, etc.

Electronic - I grew up loving the piano, then synthesizers, resulting in my first instrument being the Roland D-10 synthesizer (I later fell in love with guitar, drums, then pretty much all kinds of instruments as I became more experience at composing and arranging). Now these days, my favorite form of electronic music is probably the more progressive/intelligent movements. Some of the electronic stuff I'm fond of are Kraftwerk, Yello, Art of Noise, 808 State, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Orbital, Sasha & Digweed, Amin Bhatia, Metropolis Music Engineer, John Tejada, Zircon, LFO (not that boy band with the same name), etc.

Here's a playlist of some of my favorite electronic music:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwThiM_5P5CbhQx2eFw41dNn_bUtGVhej

Audio Product Demo Music - This is probably a very odd thing for most people that are not musicians, but I love demo music from audio product manufacturers--for example demo music for synthesizers, various sample libraries, software workstations, etc. Not only do they demonstrate the capabilities of the products, but they are often very well composed/arranged as well. Some of my favorite demo clips have come from companies and individuals like Korg, Ugo, Waldorf, Propellerhead, Spectrasonics, Vienna Symphonic Instruments, Line 6, Vir2, Heavylocity, Native Instruments, EastWest/Quantum Leap, XLN Audio, etc.

Other People's Music - This is what I call music in my collection that come from everyday people who aren't necessarily professional composers, famous musical artists, or belong in famous bands. These people are just as passionate about making music as their more successful counterparts (and often are just as talented and musically accomplished), but for various reasons cannot or choose not to make music a career. Some do not wish to mix business with their one true love in life, and some simply haven't had the lucky break to be able to make music a career. Whatever you do, don't call it a hobby to their faces. The word hobby might sound like an insult to them. For many of them, making music is far more than merely a hobby--it is a passion they live for, regardless of what their day jobs might be. I usually find music by them in various musician's forums like KVR, V.I. Control, Studio-Central, or music communities like Soundclick, Myspace Music, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc.

Jazz/Fusion/Bossa Nova-  First of all, Kenny G is not jazz (read what Pat Metheny said about Kenny G to understand why the mere mention of name invites controversy and scorn). The kind of jazz I'm fond of are Miles Davis, Bill Evans, George Gershwin, Masahiko Satoh, Toots Thielemans, Billie Holiday, Blossom Dearie., etc. I also like some of the more contemporary hybrids like fusion (not really the same as smooth jazz. Fusion to me is Herbie Hancock, and bands like Casiopea, Dirty Loops, Snarky Puppy, Owane ) and acid jazz (Mondo Grosso, Soulstice, etc). Bossa Nova is another jazz-subgenre that I love, some notable artists I like are Antonio Carlos Jobim, Lisa Ekdahl's "Lisa Ekdahl Sings Salvadore Poe," Sonia Rosa, and Sakamoto Ryuichi's collaboration with Morelenbaum 2 on the albums "Casa" and "A Day In New York."

Industrial - I've always been a fan of industrial music since my teenage years (enough so to have played in an industrial band). But the thing with industrial music is that there are far more crap than good stuff (it's like that with electronic music too), and for every ten industrial bands I come across, there might be only one that I like. Some industrial bands I like are: Bigod 20, Raymond Watts/PIG (including side projects like Schaft and Schwein), Front 242, Consolidated, Meat Beat Manifesto, Machines of Loving Grace, Skinny Puppy, and Nine Inch Nails.

Trip-Hop - It's a shame that the trip-hop movement has pretty much died out. I really like some of the trip-hop bands, and my favorites are Massive Attack, Lamb, Hooverphonic, Halou, etc.

Progressive Rock/Metal - Some of the prog I like are King Crimson and various side-projects or solo works from members of these bands, like Liquid Tension Experiment, Trey Gunn, Robert Fripp, etc. The newer generation of prog/math rock/metal I like are ones like Plini, Arch Echo, Chon, Animals As Leaders, Intervals, Inlayer, Sithu Aye, Polyphia, Periphery, and Thrailkill.

Metal - I listen to all different sub-genres of metal. I prefer metal with a wider range of musical expressions (progressive, experimental, and melodic leanings), as opposed to strictly macho posturing and the mindless pissing contest of how fast and heavy one can sound, or how many odd meter changes is incorporated into a song, or how dark and violent the lyrics and the band's image is (but of course, metal has to be aggressive or else it's no longer metal). I prefer bands where each song actually sounds different with a dynamic range instead of the jackharmmering of the monotonous and homogenized cliches of the genre (neckbreaking speed, endless ear-bleed shredding, monotonous death growl/screams)--that kind of metal to me gets boring really fast and is musically very narrow in range or expressiveness. Devin Townsend's various projects typifies the kind of progressive, melodic, dynamic, and imaginative metal I prefer (including his wild sense of humor), where diverse range of musical influences are hybridized. When metal bands experiment and incorporate other musical influences is when I find them the most interesting. But, metal is a narrow genre in terms of the general mood and attitude compared to some genres, and fans of metal are into it mainly because it is a very aggressive sounding genre, and when I want something heavy, I turn to metal (and industrial).

I prefer the modern metal sound and have little to no interest in classic heavy metal from the 70's or the first half of the 80's, as they sound very dated to me now and lack the visceral power and gravity of the more modern generations of metal. Here are some of my favorite metal bands/artists: King810, Dimmu Borgir, Reflections, Spiritbox, While She Sleeps, Darko US, Gojira, Bring Me the Horizon, Eskimo Callboy, Twelve Foot Ninja, and Rob Zombie .

Darkwave/goth -  I like some darker stuff like Cranes, the newer Gary Numan albums (from Exile and on), Bleak, etc.

Modern Rock/Alternative/Indie- In my teenage years I often listened to San Franciso's KITS Live 105 radio station, and they basically played what was called modern rock, although Live 105's playlists encompassed anything from new wave, industrial, goth, grunge, trip-hop, techno, progressive house, synth pop, to the more commercial alternative artists. Over the years the station settled into the commercial side of alternative, and I stopped listening completely, however, what they introduced to me in my teens opened doors for me to explore the more interesting artists and genres of music. And today, that continues in the form of indie bands and musical artists. Some of the artists and bands I really like are Frazier Chorus, Ivy, The Smiths/Morrissey, Jeff Buckley, John Mayer, Lisahall, New Order, Violent Femmes, Curve, Depeche Mode, Cocteau Twins, Cure, frente!, The Sundays, Camouflage, Oingo Boingo, Sixpence None the Richer, Primus, U2, Tears For Fears, Secession, Stone Roses, Pet Shop Boys, A Perfect Circle, Rialto, Roisin Murphy, Goldfrapp, Mindless Self Indugence, Cathy Davey, Marit Larsen, The Bird and the Bee, White Shoes & The Couplse Company, Passion Pit, etc (I didn't list the electronic, industria/goth, and trip-hop artists since I already mentioned them in previous sections).

Japanese rock/indie - Some of my favorites are Boowy, Psy-S, Barbee Boys, Yellow Magic Orchestra (and all associated artists and side projects), Rebecca, B'z, Buck-Tick, Olivia Lufkin (also her sister, Caroline Lufkin), Southern All Stars, and Anzen Chitai/Tamaki Koji, YUI, Hitomitoi, Sotaisei Riron.

Japanese pop - I have a soft spot for 80's J-Pop because I grew up on it, and being a fan of anime in my youth pretty much sealed that fate. I think J-Pop took a turn for the worse in the early 90's with the flood of soulless Euro-dance wannabe club hits produced by Komuro Tetsuya, where sophisticated melody, arrangement, and poetic lyrics disappeared to make way for mindless trendy tunes with the sole purpose of making people dance. The J-Pop world never fully recovered from that. Some of the J-Pop I like from the 80's and 90's are: Morikawa Miho, Kawai Sonoko (only her more mature albums starting with Rouge et Bleu), Hirose Kohmi, Nakamori Akina, Onuki Taeko, Harada Tomoyo, Yagami Junko, and some I like are limited to specific songs only--for example: Oginome Yoko, Nakayama Miho, Hayami Yu, Matsuda Seiko, Iijima Mari, Wink, Karie Kahimi, Morning Musume, Goto Maki, etc.

If you are curious about 80's/90's Japanese pop/rock, you can take a listen to this Youtube playlist I created:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwThiM_5P5CZVFdbblVV8iBOTqb2eIeAM

Another related playlist is City Pop, a specific genre within J-Pop, and one of my favorite genres in music. It's gotten more attention in the mid-2010's due to a revival:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwThiM_5P5CaNji6jEdF6Nz94qIfxLkXA

Side note about City Pop: Having grown up on anime, manga, J-pop/rock, and J-dramas/movies in the 80’s, City Pop is deeply ingrained as part of my musical DNA. If you ever listened to “Plastic Love” by Mariya Takeuchi due to YouTube’s recommendation algorithm, then you have some idea what it is. But back then in the 80’s we didn’t call it that–it was just part of the Japanese pop landscape. It’s only decades later that someone coined the term City Pop to describe that specific sound those groups of artists and songs shared–namely a blend of jazz fusion, funk, soul, disco, and synthpop.

City Pop went out of style in the 90’s (and maybe not coincidentally, J-pop took a nosedive in quality around that time and never truly recovered). Before the term of City Pop was coined, I used to refer to songs with that specific vibe as “vacation pop,” because the imagery I see in my head while listening is driving down the street with the shimmering beach and crisp blue sky on one side, and gleaming skyscrapers on the other, on a summer day, or through the night streets with the neon lights scrolling past. For many years I mourned the death of City Pop and 80’s J-pop/rock, because that magical sound of the era was never captured again by subsequent eras in Japanese music. It was only when I discovered K-pop that some of that magic was recaptured, as 80’s J-pop is one of K-pop’s influences.

Flash forward to the modern era, when music fans of the younger generation are discovering classic City Pop from the 70’s and 80’s on YouTube and marveling at how amazing this music from their parents’ generation is, and lamenting how today’s pop music simply cannot compare. And often, the comments section are filled with posts about how the music makes them feel nostalgic for a time before they were born, and a place they’ve never been to, while listening to a language they do not know. This indescribable magic, is City Pop.

If you had told me in my youth that one day in the future, decades after City Pop had died out, it would enjoy a revival and get adopted by the younger generation who grew up on the Internet, I would have been extremely skeptical. But here we are, and I’m so thankful it has become a reality. And I couldn’t be happier that the revival has resulted in younger musical artists picking up the torch from the previous generation and making City Pop music in the 21st century.

Currently, my favorite City Pop artist is probably Yukika, who's a Japanese singer releasing City Pop albums in South Korea and singing in Korean. She's grew up with City Pop because of her mom, and her songs contain both very period authentic soudning City Pop (but with more modern production techniques) as well as ones leaning a bit more towards K-pop/indie. This concept album (complete with BGM, voice acting/dialogues) is one of the best City Pop albums ever produced. Here's a playlist of some of her songs:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwThiM_5P5CZyADxj4bFgpw058uN6RCzq

And here's a playlist of Korean City Pop (and tangentally related genres that could almost pass as City Pop):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwThiM_5P5CaogfXiaqRgAT2Mx9twcrIB

Out of the Korean City Pop artists, Kim Areum is currently my favorite.

Japanese Animation Soundtracks - I grew up a fan of anime/manga, so it's no surprise some of my favorite music are from anime soundtracks. For me, since Japanese composers tend to favor blending different musical styles, my growing up with anime soundtracks was actually quite educational musically. I was more or less introduced to the major musical styles through various anime soundtracks. Some of my favorite anime soundtracks are Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise, Yotoden, Kujaku-Oh (1987 OAV), Bubble Gum Crisis series, Megazone 23 part 1 & 2, Cowboy Bebop, Jin Roh, Kimagure Orange Road, Black Magic M-66, Lupin III, etc.

Korean pop/indie - Japanese pop fizzled out stylistically for me in the early 90's, but the Koreans got right in there and picked up where J-Pop left off. I'd say the Koreans have some of the best pop composers in the world right now. I started listening to to K-Pop around 2001, and it's been amazing to see how K-Pop gained global popularity over the years. I tend to favor musical artists who are creatively involved in their music (composing, lyrics, producing, playing instruments), but I also enjoy the fun poppy idol stuff too.

IU is one of my current favorites, with excellent songwriting chops, a very expressive voice, and lovely personality. I'm a big fan of Baek Yerin, whose work is some of the most beautifully soulful R&B I've ever heard (and this is coming from someone who wasn't really a fan of R&B, and she kind of converted me). Akdong Musician (AKMU) is a brother and sister duo that I really like too. The brother is an excellent songwriter and the sister's one of my favorite vocalists in K-Pop.

I don't listen to male idols/groups much, and currently the only male K-Pop group I really like is BTS. I became a fan because of the awesome rapping of its three rappers in the group, but overall the group just puts out quality music. Unfortunately, I haven't liked anything they put out starting with the DNA era, and "Singularity" is the only song from the recent era that I like.

For the indie side of Korean music, I really enjoy these musical artists: Fanny Fink, Casker, Nell, Puer Kim, Oohyo, Primary, Risso, Taru, Hummin Urban Stereo, Azin, Seo Taiji, Yukari, Juniel, Eyedi, Yukika .

Although a lot of mainstream K-Pop can often feel like a guilty pleasure, the composers, arrangers, and producers behind the scenes are some of the best in the pop world. They know how to create very catchy tunes that are both satisfying for a mainstream audience as well as musically impressive for serious music fans. The ones I'm a fan of are Uhm Jung Hwa, S.E.S, Fin.K.L, Baby Vox, Cleo, Girl's Generation, Kara, Sistar, Girl's Day, Crayon Pop, Rainbow, AOA, Secret, Stellar, Nine Muses, Oh My Girl, I.O.I., Loona, Cosmic Girls, Pristin, Red Velvet, fromis_9, Weeekly.

If you are curious about K-Pop/K-Indie, you can take a listen to this Youtube playlist I created:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwThiM_5P5Cahzhqao8-SWEuKI-WOHn3p

I also have a twitter account dedicated to Korean music (K-Pop + K-Indie): https://twitter.com/LoonatiqueRob

Chinese rock/pop - For many years the Chinese music scene was boring compared to Japan and Korea, due to the overwhelming emphasis on love ballads, and how few and far between the interesting stuff showed up. There was also the tendency to mimick Japan, Korea, and the U.S., without much originality. But things have gotten better and there are number of excellent musical artists. Among them, some of my favorites are (from Taiwan) Cheer Chen, Dou Dou, Kay Huang, F.I.R., David Huang, Mavis Fan, Sandee Chan, Peggie Hsu, (from Hong Kong) Ivana Wong, Beyond, (from China) Dou Wei, Faye Wong, Isabelle Huang.

Here's a playlist of some of the Chinese rock/pop I love:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwThiM_5P5CZs-Pwv0x59iy_pYUxbg2IT

Musicians - As a multi-instrumentalist musician, I definitely have my heroes for each of the instruments I play. I admire them for different reasons--whether it's technical skill, expressiveness, stylistic choices, ingenuity, or the sense of joy they convey on their instruments. Among them are:

Guitar: Eric Johnson, Johnny Marr, Hotei Tomoyasu, John Squire, Brian Setzer, Robin Guthrie, Edge, John Mayer, Eddie Van Halen, Devin Townsend, Larry Carlton, Ronny Jordan, Larry Coryell, Alex Hutchings, Plini.

Bass: Goto Tsugutoshi, Jaco Pastorious, James Jamerson, Les Claypool, Henrik Linder,

Piano/Keyboard: Satoh Masahiko, Bill Evans, Peter Nordahl, Glen Gould, Sakamoto Ryuichi, Joachim Kuhn, Haneda Kentaro, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek

Chromatic harmonica: Toots Thielemens

Drums/Percussion: Yaz-Kaz, Jinbo Akira, Tim "Herb" Alexander, Clyde Stubblefield, John "Jabo" Starks, Mel Gaynor, Jojo Mayer

Artist worthy of special mention

Sakamoto Ryuichi - If there is one musical artist that embodied the spirit in which I think is the most admirable in a musician (or a human being), it's Sakamoto Ryuichi. His mastery in a wide range of musical styles--from classical, electronic, jazz, world music, avant-garde, film scores, traditional ethnic, pop, etc is simply astounding and most unique. When he jumps from one genre to another, he does it with a sense of authenticity and authority, and he brings something uniquely his own to the genre. Sakamoto is also very fond of collaborating with other musicians, having worked with artists like David Sylvian, Thomas Dolby, Iggy Pop, David Byne, and too many others to mention.

Outside of music, Sakamoto is a passionate activist and have fought against forces that are hurting the environment and human rights. In fact he's probably the number one enemy of Japanese corporations because he has lead battles against giant corporations that are trying to pass bills that will change the law in their favor, but hurtful to the people and the environment (and won against these corporation). Some of his musical projects have been for the sake of raising awareness for the causes he believes in, such as anti-war efforts. Sakamoto is also an avid early adopter of technology, often jumping head-first into new technology years before anyone else has even heard of them. He was one of the very first people to advocate a new download/streaming system for music via the internet, before the mainstream ever discussed such issues.

It's hard not to respect and admire a man like Sakamoto.

Notable works:

Cinemage - The best of Sakamoto's film scores.

Casa - This bossa nova album is a tribute to the late Antonia Carlos Jobim, made with Jaques Morelenbaum on cello and vocals by Paula Morlenbaum. It was recorded at Jobim's home in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, with Sakamto playing on Jobim's piano.

Beauty - One of his best known solo albums--a tapestry of world music influences.

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Sakamoto, along with Harumi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, were known as Yellow Magic Orchestra, an electronic band that changed the face of music with other famous electronic acts in the 70's and 80's such as Kraftwerk, Yello, Tangerine Dream, Art of Noise, Briano Eno, and various others. YMO was very satirical, political, and subversive, and remains a respected influence in the electronic music scene. Notable albums are BGM, Technodelic, and the 10-year reunion album Technodon.

B-2 Unit - An experimental electronic album that's still relevent today in its approach to electronic composition.

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - He acted in this film (playing opposite of David Bowie), and composed the score, which won the British Academy Award. The solo piano version of the main theme is one of Sakamoto's most famous piano pieces. The vocal version sung by long time collaborator and friend David Sylvian (especially the version in the album Cinemage) is just stunning.

Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise - Sakamoto and his peers composed the score for this groundbreaking arthouse epic feature animation, telling the story of mankind's first trip to space in an alternate world, admist political struggle and war. It's one of my favorite scores and very unique and innovative.

The Last Emperor - This film score won him an Academy Award for Best Film Score. He also played a minor role. The cue titled "Rain (I want A Divorce)" is one of my favorite cues ever.

BTTB - His piano solo album. BTTB stands for "Back to the Basics."

Books:

旅途 / Journey (雲菁 原著 / By Yun Ching, Chinese only) -  A novel of profound emotional depth about the choices we make in life, our aspirations, the things we desire, and the heavy sacrifices we make in order to fulfill them--just to find out we've chosen the wrong path, and what we've lost along the way could never be recovered.

The Road (By Cormac McCarthy) - McCarthy's unique writing style can be hard to get accustomed to for some (he doesn't use conventional punctuations other than the comma and period, and doesn't use dialog tags either), but he's an amazing writer who can draws you into the story with the power of his prose. The Road is a poignant portrayal of a father's selfless love for his child, set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world when civilization has been completely obliterated. It was adapted into a feature film, and the film's a fairly faithful adaptation, except the ending was "Disney-fied" a bit.

Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov) - Nabokov's use of language is one of the most compelling in literature, and in Humbert, he's created a fascinating character who's simultaneously an erudite and charming man with exceptional wit, a hopeless romantic with a history of mental illness, and a vile monster with insatiable sexual appetite that preys on an under-aged girl. His self-loathing and paranoia clashes against his uncontrollable obsession and lust, and the chess-game of sexual politics between him and Lolita carried out while traveling across America, makes the book a compelling mixture of a portrait study of a deeply damaged man with a reprehensible obession, and a unique road-trip story. Despite his morally-corrupt actions, there's a deep melancholy and tenderness in his love/obsession for Lolita that is quite touching, especially when he finally realizes how much damage he's done and how much he regrets his actions.

The Catcher In the Rye (By J.D. Salinger) - Alienation, angst, distrust of the adult world, and mourning the loss of innocence--this book really resonated with me when I was a teenager.

Ex Libris (By Anne Fadiman) - A collection of essays written by, and for those who love books and words. Anne shares her life-long love affair with books and words in a charming and delightful manner. Reading the book feels like curling up with a good friend in front of a cozy fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and talking late into the night.

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (by Neal Stephenson) - Neal is one of the fathers of cyberpunk, and while Snowcrash is his most famous book (an insane amount of fun and highly imaginative)--the one that put him on the map as one of the leaders in the cyberpunk movement, I prefer The Diamond Age because it resonated with me more emotionally. I loved the premise and the concept of "ractors" performing as interactive storytellers, and how a carefully designed "illustrated primer" could shape a child's development, railroading her into the role she was designed to play in the socio-political landscape, and in turn, history.

我們正年輕 / We Are Young (李曉蘋 原著 / By Lee Xiaoping, Chinese only) - The debut novel written during the author's middle-school and high school years. It had an extraordinary level of maturity in both storytelling and insight for such a young author, and delves into the emotional and psychological landscape of a group of young people transitioning from high school to college, and then to adulthood. It's sort of like the movie St. Elmo's Fire, but with younger characters living in Taiwan, has more emphasis on friendship than sex and love, and published a couple of years before the movie was made. I first read it when I was still in middle school, and fell in love with the characters and their relationship with each other.

彩雲飛 / Colorful Clouds Fly (瓊瑤 原著 / By Chiung Yao, Chinese only) - I usually don't care much for her maudlin brand of romance, with the main leads always acting like love-crazed modern day Romeo and Juiet. Many of her novels were made into movies and TV series, and collectively, her idealization of love shaped a whole generation's unrealistic expectation of what romance should be like. You couldn't get any more mainstream and melodramatic than her books. This book, while contains similar characteristics as her other books, had specific elements that really resonated with me. There's a protagonist who's a starving young artist that defies the wishes of his parents and struggled in the pursuit of his dream of becoming an artist. There's a terminally frail girl who's innocent and naive, having been sheltered her whole life, but finds in love her inner strength and hope for the future. And there's girl who's a talented singer that makes a meager living singing at a night club to an unappreciative audience that would rather see her shake her assets than pay attention to her soulful voice full of emotions. She swallows that indignation because she has to take care of her alcoholic father who's lost his wife and failed in his music career. These elements really spoke to me, because of my own struggles as a starving artist and musician against the wishes of my parents.

Wizard's First Rule (By Terry Goodkind) - Engrossing epic fantasy novel full of vivid characters, colorful details of a fantastic world, and entertaining from the first page to the last. It's morally simplistic and not what you'd call sophisticated literature, but it's fun in all the ways entertaining genre fiction can be.

Arsen Lupin series (By Maurice LeBlanc) - This series was my first love as a child. I started reading the translated (in Chinese) Arsen Lupin series  when I was around six or seven years old, and the vivid imagery and mood from the series are still lush and alive in my mind to this day. Written in 1905 and on by french author Maurice LeBlanc, Arsen Lupin is the ultimate gentleman master criminal turned detective.  He is Sherlock Holmes meets James Bond, with the heart of Robin Hood. He has gone up against Sherlock Holmes in a couple of the books, and always defeated him. Lupin is an extrodinary character, one that I'm surprised is almost completely obscure in the U.S.. He is passionate, intelligent, noble, moral, romantic, creative, and athletic. His mastery of disguise is unchallenged, and his courage is unmatched.

Video games:

I was a fan of mainly PC games, but slowly I warmed up to the console. My all-time favorites games are:

The Last of Us - This is as close as a game has ever gotten to what I consider a "true work of art" in terms of storytelling in video games. It is a profound exploration of human nature, and considering it's AAA budget and mainstream target audience, it's almost a miracle that the game exists. But because Neal Druckmann (creative director) was able to deliver a game that was entertaining enough as a mainstream AAA title, while still maintain the integrity of the story, Naughty Dog pulled off something that is unprecedented. This game raised the bar so high that I haven't been able to enjoy any other games since, because they all seemed meaningless and a waste of time in comparison.

Half-Life - This is the game that turned me into a true gamer. Prior to playing Half-Life, I was just a casual gamer, but this game stunned me with its brilliant design, captivating and immersive story, intense atmosphere, awesome implementation of sound and music, and very smart AI enemies. A true classic, and a masterpiece.

Half-Life 2 - Everything the first game was, but amped up several notches. It's to date the greatest accomplishment in game history.

System Shock 2 - The most atmospheric, immersive, and horrifying game, with excellent design of hybridizing genres in gameplay and UI. The use of recorded logs to tell the story was brilliant (and have been emulated by many games since), and the horror element is very intense. The first time I was being chased by the zombies, I literally had to take a break because I thought my heart was going to explode.

BioShock - This spiritual successor to System Shock 2 pushed things even further and I its unique premise remains one of the most unique and compelling in gaming history. The storytelling, the more streamlined gameplay mechanics, and the immersive graphics--it became an instant classic and rightfully so.

Portal - A complete surprise and one of the most original, entertaining, humorous, yet simple games ever made.

Counter-Strike - I was addicted to CS for a good few years, starting with beta 5.0, and never really got tired of it. I have converted many people into hardcore CS players, and at one point, I got the entire studio I worked at addicted to it--everyone jumping into the daily office-wide bloodbath as soon as the clock hit 6pm. It was the thinking man's FPS, and it made Rougue Spear look very boring, and Quake 3 very unsophisticated.

Team Fortress Classic/Team Fortress 2 - Love the different classes--so much variety. Also love how this game promotes team work. I really miss the grenades from the classic version of the game though.

Unreal Tournament/UT 2003/2004/UT3 - Another great FPS. Raised the watermark for multi-player FPS with its variety of weapons and gameplay. As soon as it was released, I stopped caring about anything to do with Quake 3 .

The Longest Journey - It is rare that a game can completely transport me to another world, and make me care about its inhabitants with such affection. This excellent adventure game's got it all: beautiful visuals, gorgeous music, intriguing story, interesting characters, and most of all, a lovable heroine. I wish there would be more games like this. (Unfortunately, the sequel, Dreamfall, didn't quite live up to expectations.)

Alien VS Predator 2 - The Marine campaign of this game was one of the most terrifying gaming experiences I've ever had, but the other two campaigns weren't as impressive. The multiplayer of this game was awesome as well, allowing you to play as all three species. Being the alien really rocked, as you could climb walls and ceilings, and also move with such speed and grace.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - I'm not even a Star Wars fan, but this game was just so well written, with such interesting characters, and with very intuitive and fun gameplay that was more strategic than I could have imagined for a RPG.

Mass Effect series - One of Bioware's best, and perhaps their very best work alongside (Knights of the Old Republic). They did such a good job with the lore and the vivid cast of characters, relationships. moral dilemmas, etc. The second one is my favorite, but the other two were excellent as well.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - Tons of fun and better than the first game. Nice story, polished presentation, and just the right level of difficulty.

Alan Wake - For someone who loves stories like me, this horror game hits all the spots for me. Cutting-edge graphics for its time, immersive story, and fun game mechanics. And it's no coincidence that it's from the same developer of the Max Paynes series.

Far Cry - One of the best FPS ever made, with an engaging story, insane amount of fun, and technological breakthrough in graphics in terms of open terrain. The one silly thing that bugged me was the fact that the main character didn't have the common sense to get out of his red and white hawaiian shirt and slip into a camouflage or green shirt instead. The game was engaging before the sci-fi element kicked in, but once the sci-fi element crept into the game, it became amazing.

Dead Space - I was surprised by how much I liked this game. I thought it would be a derivative mess--another EA disaster, but it turned out to be one of the most polished games i've played in a long time, and strangely enough, the first game I've ever actually finished on a console (prior to this game, I have never actually played any console games all the way to the end). Dead Space is definitely derivative, but in a good way--it takes the best qualities of past similar games like System Shock 2, Half-Life 2, Doom 3, Resident Evil 4, etc and combined them, and then also added a few innovative touches of its own, such as the way the UI intergrates into the game world seamlessly and completely, and the emphasis on shooting off the limps as opposed to going for the head or center mass. There were some genuinely terrifying moments in the game, and the difficulty is just about right for me (on medium level).

Artists:

Here are my favorite artists, ranging from fine art painters, commercial illustrators, concept artists, animators, to comic book artists:

Richard Schmid - This man possesses impeccable mastery of alla prima painting, and a generous heart that shares all of his knowledge with us. His books and DVD's are a must for any serious artist. For me, he strikes the perfect balance between spontaneity and precision, with expressive brushwork that never seem sloppy as we so often see in alla prima painters.

John Singer Sargent - Amazing impressionism-influenced realist. Most know him as a master of the portrait, but he was far more than that--his landscapes, impressionistic experiments, watercolors, and figure sketches are all first rate.

Anders Zorn - Often called "The Swedish Sargent," which is in some ways, a very fitting way to describe Zorn, but at the same time, it's a little bit unfair. Why not call Sargent "The American Zorn?" I like Zorn's watercolors more than I do Sargent's.

Joaquin Sorolla - Another artist often compared to Sargent, and like Zorn, is often described as "The Spanish Sargent." Needless to say, I find that also somewhat unfair. I do feel that most of his portraits aren't as good as Sargent's, but I love the sun-drenched scenes he painted.

John William Waterhouse - Of all the Victorian era painters that loved to focus on feminine beauty, he's the best of the bunch. He is often categorized as a Pre-Raphaelite, but he was really a Neoclassicist.
 
Pino - Pino was mostly known for his romance novel covers, but later on pursued his fine art career. Amazing painter with a lot of spontaneity and a colorful palette. How he conducted the business/commercial side of his career is a bit distasteful to me (some of his practices reeked of mass-production and doing things only for the sake of money).

Jeremy Lipking - He started out like a younger Richard Schmid, but eventually found his own voice.

Daniel Gerhartz - Another artist influenced by Richard Schmid. Colorful palette and endearing subject matters.

Scott Burdick/Susan Lyon - Husband and wife, and very similar styles (you can't always tell them apart). Beautiful colors and spontaneous brushwork.

Zhaoming Wu - Among all the oil painters that left China and came to the west, he's probably my favorite. There's always a strong sense of visual design in his work.

Gil Elvgren - No one paints pin-ups with more imagination and fun.

Haddon Sundblom -  He's Elvgren's mentor, and you can see his influence clearly in Elvgren's work. Sundblom's subject matters are much wider though, as he didn't concentrate on the pinup genre.

Justin Sweet - He's got a very distinct style that's all his own. I like the restraint he displays when using colors, yet his paintings are never dull. There's a painterly quality to his work that you don't see often in fantasy/sci-fi illustrations.

Robh Ruppel - One of my favorite fantasy painters. Great classical technique with modern sensibilities.

Michael Whelan - His dedication and meticulous work ethic influenced me greatly as a teenager. He reads every book he illustrates, and gives 100% of himself in each piece, doing dozens of sketches, color studies, etc to explore the various ways to capture the essence of a book or main character before finalizing the composition. The efforts he put into those studies and explorations are sometimes more fascinating than the finished work. Whelan paints in a highly finished and detailed style that can sometimes kill the life of the piece. I personally prefer a more painterly style, but he'll always be one of the most important inspirations early on in my life.

Craig Mullins - It is widely agreed that he's the first master of digital illustration/concept art. The man is not only extremely hard-working and talented, but also very wise, friendly, nurturing, and classy. The years he was active in the Sijun Forums influenced me greatly, not just as an artist, but also as a person.

Xiaoye "Wassup" Chen - His style and subjects are very similar to Craig Mullins, but with idiosycrasies of his own.

Jaime Jones - Another artist whose style is from the same school of impressionistic realism as Mullins.

Jason Chan - His work combines his anime/manga influence with western classical art training, and the result is an interesting blend. He also has a strong sensitivity for visual storytelling, which gives his work a stronger emotional resonance than the works of his peers.

Jon J Muth - The best fine artsy comic book artist I've seen. I especially love the romanticism and mystery in his work.

Dave McKean - An artist's artist that is so rare. He's not only immensely skilled, but also very cerebral and experimental, using mixed mediums in a way that has become a style that others mimic.

Chen Shu-Fen & Common - I love the idealized beauty of their work.

Adam Hughes - One of the best comic book artists of his generation. Fun, sexy, expressive.

UmetsuYasuomi -  I've been into his work since "Megazone 23 partII." Too bad he doesn't do much work outside of animation. In the early days, I was drawn to the more realistic character designs, and at that time(mid 80's to early 90's), Umetsu and Ohnda were the two guys that designed in that style. I paid more attention to their work than other character designers at the time.

Ohnda Naoyuki - His character designs for the "Ma ryu senki" and "Sol Bianca" series influenced me quite a bit when I was younger. I loved his idealized realism style.

Ronnie Del Carmen - Love his cartoony style. He's got a strong grasp on the human figure and expressions, and the way he simplifies things is just pure eye-candy.

Iain McCaig - I was fascinated by Fighting Fantasy books while growing up, and Iain's illustrations were absolutely the best out of the entire series. Now, he's better known as the guy that designed Darth Maul and Queen Amidila's Dress.

Mike Mignola - Mike's got a very distinct, graphical style that combines simplicity and elegance with a strong visual impact. I really enjoyed the first few years of Hellboy before it blew up into this big franchise.

Ashley Wood - Unique style and lots of energy. When I was working on my Enchanted series in the 90's, Ashley was supposed to color the first three issues of it, but then Sirius Entertainment (my publisher at the time) decided that we would do the first three issues in black and white, so it never happened. When the series did go full-color, I ended up painting it myself.

James Jean - If I had to name one artist whose work I think has the most stunnng display of natural-born talent (both technique and creativity), it would probably be James Jean. All the artists I love are immensely talented and worked hard to get to where they are, but James is special even among the greats. He's the kind of artist that makes other great artists want to hang up their gloves, because his work just drips and explodes with raw talent and an incredibly interesting sense of style. He's probably the most talented artist of his generation, regardless of style or medium, and likely the most consistently amazing, with nary any known pieces of published work that is substandard.

Glen Keane - Amazing animator. I have some sketches of his from Rapunzel Unbraided that's never been published that are just stunning in their simplicity and expressiveness.

Takada Akemi - In my younger days, I loved her "Kimagure Orange Road" illustrations. Madoka Ayukawa is one of my favorite anime characters.

Yamashita Ikuto - He started out doing a cyberpunk comicbook titled "Dark Whisper," and then became the mechanical designer of the hit anime series "Neo Genesis Evangelion." This guy's flair for design and style rivals that of the legendary Syd Mead.

Syd Mead - One of the most influential concept designers of all time. A true visionary.

Mikimoto Haruhiko - He's one of my earliest influences when I was a teenager, and his character design work in the 80's--particularly on the Macross series and feature film (and his comic book series Marionette Generation) was something I admired for many years. Later on in his career his style evolved into something less appealing, taking stylization to more extremes than I like.

Comic book creators:

On top of being excellent artists, these talented folks are also excellent writers:

Jaime Hernandez - One of the brothers that created the underground masterpiece Love and Rockets. I learned a lot about simplicity and spoting black from this guy. I also love the endearing characters in his stories about love, loss, and finding your way in life, one stumble at a time.

Shirow Masamune - If it wasn't for his Appleseed manga series, which was a revelation to me at age fourteen, I probably wouldn't have gotten into the comicbook industry. It's kind of disappointing that Shirow's turning into a parody of himself these past years; ridiculously gratuitous sex and skimpy clothes in everything he does, including serious works like Ghost In the Shell 2 manga just cheapens his work a bit.

Nishi Keiko - I love the ethereal, bittersweet stories she tells, and as an artist, her charming style is one of the most unique I've seen among the shoujo artists.

Kitagawa Sho - One of the few male manga creators that can pull off sensitive drama. I especially love his pen & ink work in Complex.

David Mack - His intimate style of visual storytelling combines the introspection and emotional resonance of a diary with the excitement and mysteries of shadow conspiracies and secret assassins.

Bill Waterson - How can you not love this guy? A wonderful storyteller, artist, and a man of admirable integrity (he refused to sell out and never allowed any of his characters to appear in stationaries, TV commercials, or anything else that had nothing to do with the comic strips). Long live Calvin and Hobbes!

Photographers:

Jeanloup Sieff - A compelling blend of artistic and fashionable, sensitive and edgy. When you look through the body of work by a lot of photographers, you might see an inconsistency in quality, and only a small percentage of the work really grabs you, but flipping through a giant monograph on Sieff, almost every single photo is compelling.

James White - There's a certain quality in his photographs of celebrities that makes it stand out more than the other photographers. His vision is deliberate, without being overly contrived like many of his peers.

There are other photographers by the same name who are not nearly as good, so it gets confusing when you do a search for him. The James White I'm talking about is represented by these links:

http://artmixcreative.com/photo-gallery/james-white/entertainment

http://www.docartist.com/?act=genere&id=11&id_artista=56&sezione=artists&tipologia=76&sezione=artists

Nonami Hiroshi - A rare photographer that combines fairytale fantasy and fashion--using traditional photography techniques. Elegant and dreamy.

Wing Shya - Moody and sensual, and probably one of the best photographers shooting Chinese celebrities. His work is head and shoulders above those of his Chinese peers.

Japanese glamour/fashion photography (also known as "gravure"- I'm a big fan of the Japanese style. They favor a certain look that I describe as "cozy and warm, filled with light and elegance." It is a very unique look that I love.

Sculptors:

Gian Lorenzo Bernini - One of the most talented sculptor/architect of the Baroque, or any period.

Michelangelo Buonarroti - One of the most famous artist in human history, and rightly so. The Pieta is one of the most stunning achievements in art history.

Nirasawa Yasushi - This guy is the God of techno goth freak fest. One of the most imaginative sculptor/designer I've ever seen.

Chieri - Take one look at his "Belldandy with Hollybell" and your jaw will be on the floor. I've never seen angel wings sculpted so beautifully.

Architect:

Antonio Gaudi -  My favorite architect of the art nouveau, or any period. Highly imaginative and original designs.