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.

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,Yanno Yoko, Hisaishi Joe, John Powell, John Barry...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, Lineage II, Metal Gear Solid series, Silent Hill series, The Longest Journey, and System Shock 2.

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, Metropolis Music Engineer, LFO (not that boy band with the same name). ..etc.

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...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 or famous musical artists or belonged in a famous band. 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 reason 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 full-time 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...etc.

Jazz -  First of all, Kenny G is not jazz. Read what Pat Metheny said about Kenny G to understand why many people dislike him both as a person and as a musician. The kind of jazz I'm fond of are Miles Davis, George Gershwin, Billie Holiday, Blossom Dearie, Lisa Ekdahl...etc. I also like some of the more contemporary hybrids like fusion (not the same as that commercial smooth jazz stuff. Fusion to me is Herbie Hancock, and bands like T-Square and Casiopea) and acid jazz (Mondo Grosso, Soulstice..etc).

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, Pig (including side projects like Schaft and Schwein), Front 242, Consolidated, Meat Beat Manifesto, Machines of Loving Grace..etc.

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 - Some of the stuff 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.

Metal - I listen to some metal from time to time. I like some of Devin Townsend's stuff (and side projects Strapping Young Lad, Ocean Machine), and goth metal like Therion, Sins of Thy Beloved, Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania..etc.

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

Modern Rock/Alternative - 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. Some of the artists in that group I really like are Frazier Chorus, Ivy, The Smiths/Morrissey, Jeff Buckley, 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, Inxs, Secession, Stone Roses, Pet Shop Boys, A Perfect Circle, ...etc (I didn't list the electronic, industria/goth, and trip-hop artists since I already mentioned them in previous sections).

Japanese rock/alternative - 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, and Anzen Chitai/Tamaki Koji.

Japanese pop - I have a soft spot for Japanese pop--I grew up on it, and being a fan of anime has pretty much sealed that fate. Mind you though, I have no interest in the current J-Pop scene (except for a few rare exceptions). I think J-Pop took a turn for the worse in the early 90's with the flood of Komuro produced abominations like Namie Amuro--where melody and arrangement disappeared to make way for souless sped-up dance club fodders. Some of the J-Pop I dig are: Morikawa Miho, Kawai Sonoko, Nakamori Akina, Wink, and some I like are limited to specific songs only--for example: Oginome Yoko, Nakayama Miho, Hayami Yu, Matsuda Seiko, Iijima Mari, Karie Kahimi.

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..etc.

Korean Pop - Japanese pop fizzled out stylistically for me in the early 90's, but the Koreans got right in there and continued the tradition. I'd say the Koreans have some of the best pop songwriters in the world right now. They tend to be too obsessed with hip-hop and R&B for my taste, but inbetween those are some real gems. Lee Soo Young is currently my favorite, because she's unpretentious and relies on talent instead of looks (the fact that she's quite cute but never used her looks to advertise herself is something I really respect. Although as she got more famous, she became more comfortable with photoshoots and dressing up).

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:

Journey (By Yun Ching) -  A  novel about the choices we make in life, the things we desire, and the heavy sacrifices we make in order to fulfill those desires--just to find out we've chosen the wrong path, and what we've lost along the way could never be recovered. Profound, complex, and moving.

Smilla's Sense of Snow (By Peter Hoeg) -  This is the book that showed me you can be as intimate, profound, and expressive as you want, regardless of the genre you are writing.

Wizard's First Rule (By Terry Goodkind) - Brilliant epic fantasy novel. Full of vivid characters, colorful details of a fantastic world, and mastery of storytelling.

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. I havn't been able to find the series in English. If you have seen it, please email me.

Video games:

I'm a fan of mainly PC games, but play some console games from time to time. My favorites are:

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 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 original was, but better in almost every way. The greatest accomplishment in game history, until the next one, that is. The only things I didn't like too much were the vehicle rides.

System Shock 2- The most atmospheric, immersive, and horrifying game, with excellent design of hybrid genre in gameplay and UI. The use of recorded logs to tell the story is brilliant, 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.

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

Counter-Strike - The most addictive multi-player FPS MOD ever. I have been playing it since beta 5.0, and never got tired of it. I have converted many people into hardcore CS players. This is the thinking man's FPS. It makes Rougue Spear look very boring, and Quake 3 very unsophisticated.

Team Fortress Classic - Another Half-Life MOD that I'll never stop playing. The team work aspect of this game is what I love the most. There's nothing like pulling off an infiltration as a spy, then laugh maniacally as you cut the throats of your enemies one by one--in their own base.

Unreal Tournament/UT 2003/2004 - Another great FPS. Raised the watermark for multi-player FPS with its variety of weapons and game play. Who needs Quake 3 when you have UT?

The Longest Journey - It is rare that a game can completely transport me to another world, and make me care about its inhabitants. 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.

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

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - This is quite a feat, since I'm not even a Star Wars fan. Excellent combat system, great story, and nice graphics. Probably the only RPG I was interested in enough to finish to the end.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne- This one is actually better than the original. Nice story, good presentation, and it wasn't as insanely difficult as the first one towards the end.

Far Cry - Although I had a few complaints about the game, it is really one of the best FPS games ever. Highly immersive and insanely fun, with technological breakthrough in graphics in terms of open terrain. The thing that bugged me the most 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.

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.

John Singer Sargent - Amazing painter with one of the widest range. Most know him as a master of the portrait, but this man is far more than that--his landscapes, impressionistic experiments, watercolors, and figure sketches are all first rate.

John William Waterhouse - One of the best Victorian painters. He is often categorized as a Pre-Raphaelite, but he really wasn't part of that movement.
 
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.

Tom Browning - A great teacher and painter. His book, Timless Techniques For Better Oil Paintings is one of the best instructional books on painting I've ever seen.

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

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

Gil Elvgren - No one paints pin-ups with more imagination and fun. Elvgren was a big fan of Sargent, and he himself became a master painter in his own right. For all those that say Alberto Vargas was better, I say, "HUH?"

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 110% of himself in each piece, doing dozens of sketches, color studies..etc before the actual painting, and he effort he puts into those 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. The man is not only extremely talented, but also very wise, friendly, nurturing, and classy.

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

Jon J Muth - The best fine artsy comic book artist I've seen. His watercolors, oils, and other works are just breath-taking. I especially love the romanticism and mystery in his work.

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

Adam Hughes - One of the best comic book artists of this generation. Depicts hot nubile chicks like no other.

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" series influenced me quite a bit. 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.

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

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 - Like Ashley, James has a very unique style and an amazing sense of design. his life drawings and candid sketches are especially interesting.

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 - Love her "Kimagure Orange Road" illustrations. Madoka Ayukawa, is one of my favorite fictional 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.

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--something like a parody of himself.

Comic book creators:

Jaime Hernandez - One of the talented brothers that created the underground masterpiece "Love and Rockets." I learned a lot about simplicity and spoting black from this guy.

Shirow Masamune - If it wasn't for the 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 a little 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 - She is an incredible storyteller, and as an artist, her charming style is one of the most unique I've seen.

Kitagawa Sho - One of the few male manga creators that can pull off sensitive drama. On top of that, he kicks ass as an artist, especially his pen/ink work in "Complex."

Kamijo Atsushi - "She" is actually two girls as a team. I really like their "Sex" series (although there was no sex at all in the story). I wish they would do more books.

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:

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 is another photographer by the same name who is not nearly as good, but he's the one that comes up when you do a search on the internet. It's impossible to find the James White I'm talking about without having the direct link--which is http://www.artmixtheagency.com

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 - 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.