Influences - A Taking of Inventory

Every once in a while I like to think through my list of influences and take a moment to remember them. It's like taking an inventory of my creative constitution. Perhaps it's a way of touching base and preparing myself for new personal efforts.

I find inspiration in several mediums, across many genres. A switch might get flipped for me while I'm reading a passage or watching a film or listening to a song or studying an image or just hearing someone speak. So, basically I'm inspired in the same ways other people are inspired, but of course I find inspiration in things which appeal to my individual tastes and eccentricities. The device is the same but the effects of its use differ.

Here's the list, as I can recall it at this time. There are probably more than what I've listed here, and this also includes things I simply find to be cool. If I dig something it will probably end up working its way into my creative mind at some point.

-Robert E. Howard - writer
-Theodore Sturgeon - writer
-Philip K. Dick - writer
-Kurt Vonnegut - writer
-Isaac Asimov - writer
-Ray Bradbury - writer
-J.R.R. Tolkien - writer
-C.S. Lewis - writer
-Michael Chabon - writer
-Douglas Adams - writer
-Terry Pratchett - writer
-Frank Herbert - writer
-Harlan Ellison - writer
-Hunter S. Thompson - writer
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - writer
-H.G. Wells - writer
-Edgar Allen Poe - writer
-H.P. Lovecraft - writer
-Edgar Rice Burroughs - writer
-F. Scott Fitzgerald - writer
-Sinclair Lewis - writer
-Ernest Hemingway - writer
-Mark Twain - writer
-Dashiell Hammett - writer
-Philip Marlowe - writer
-Brian Jacques - writer
-Lloyd Alexander - writer
-James Joyce - writer
-Arthur Machen - writer
-Lord Dunsany - writer
-Algernon Blackwood - writer
-Charles Dickens - writer
-William Shakespeare - writer/poet/playwright
-Christopher Marlowe - writer/playwright
-John Donne - poet
-Seamus Heaney - poet
-Jean "Moebius" Giraud - artist
-Max Andersson - artist
-Bob Burden - artist
-Craig Thompson - artist
-Mike Allred - artist
-Mike Mignola - artist
-Jason - artist
-Eddie Campbell - artist
-Carlos Ezquerra - artist
-Jaime Hernandez - artist
-Gilbert Hernandez - artist
-Chris Wisnia - artist
-Simon Bisley - artist
-Jack Kirby - artist
-John Romita - artist
-Steve Ditko - artist
-Joy Division - music group
-Jonathan Richman - musician
-Jonathan Coulton - musician
-Tom Waits - musician
-Nick Cave - musician
-Beirut - music group
-The Modern Lovers - music group
-Isao Tomita - musician
-The Pixies - music group
-The Smiths - music group
-Gene Roddenberry - writer/producer/philosopher
-Star Trek - television and film series
-Blade Runner - film
-The Lord of the Rings - novel series and film series
-Star Wars IV-VI - film trilogy
-2001 A Space Odyssey - film
-Gattaca - film
-Bicentennial Man - film
-AI - film
-Minority Report - film
-Conan the Barbarian 2011 - film
-Legend - film
-Indiana Jones - film series
-Silent Running - film
-Les Maîtres du Temps - film
-The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) - television series
-Night Gallery - television series