Yellow Submarine [1968]: My Shrek 2 (i.e. the movie I watched on repeat ad infinitum as a toddler).
The Prince of Egypt [1998]: for the soundtrack, especially the reminder to "look at your life through heaven's eyes!"
The Family Man [2000]: for Nick Cage being Nick Cage in the most mundane environment imaginable.
Stranger Than Fiction [2006]: for Will Ferrell playing something semi-serious.
Superbad [2007]: a bildungsroman for the ages. Also Jonah Hill's best movie.
TRON Legacy [2010]: for the soundtrack, and for the dialectic between Buddhism and Christianity.
MUSIC
Classical
BMV 582 (Bach, Passacaglia and Fugue)
Adagio from K 622 (Mozart, Clarinet Concerto)
Beethoven, Op. 57 (Piano Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata") 3rd Movement
1st Movement "Molto moderato e Cantabile" from D 894 (Schubert, Piano Sonata in G Major "Fantasie")
Chopin Op. 23 (Ballade in G Minor)
Overture from Saint-Saens' Samson and Delila
Liszt S 514 (Mephisto Waltz No. 1)
Debussy, Nocturne in D flat major (1892)
Holst Op. 32, 4th Movement ("Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from The Planets)
Gershwin, Prelude No. 1
Contemporary
Prince, "Act of God"
Madonna, "Crazy for You"
The Offspring, "She's Got Issues"
Young MC, "Roll With the Punches"
Cake, "Strangers in the Night"
Muse, "Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)"
NIN, "Right Where It Belongs"
Death, "Voice of the Soul"
Pennywise, "Fuck Authority"
My Chemical Romance, "Bulletproof Heart" (never forget.)
Justice, "Alakazam!"
Anamanaguchi, "Endless Fantasy"
Green Day, "Welcome to Paradise" (IHTFP?)
Queen, "These Are the Days of Our Lives"
ABBA, "Thank You For the Music"
LITERARY CHARACTERS & AUTHORS
Classical
King Gil (the quote on my homepage comes from a version of the Epic).
Ptahhotep ("Take counsel with the ignorant and the wise.").
Santideva, for reminding me to be patient.
Archimedes, for demonstrating that the light of rationality is unbounded in power.
Asclepius (see "Do No Harm" on the "material" page).
Ovid, for making me feel a little less insane (cf. Eminem).
Plutarch ("Want to take advantage of your enemies? The secret is to be a good person.").
Contemporary
Pierre Tielhard de Chardin, for showing that you can have your cake and eat it too.
Thomas Mann, for illustrating to me that perfect health is a useful fiction.
E. W. Dijkstra, for all the laughs (favorite EWD: 980).
G. Spencer-Brown, for giving me the ultimate hint.
Eric Berne MD, for turbo-charging Jung's model.
Haruki Murakami, for showing me that everyone has a storm within them.
Daniel Kahneman, for teaching me about cognitive ease.
Rupert Spira, for stating it clearly.
ONLINE WRITING
If you're wondering where I learned how to write, I don't have a short answer to that question. But these are some of the pieces that really entertained me as my voice developed.