Music

• U2 - You don't need an explanation of U2, do you?

• Ryan Adams - Former front man for Whiskytown, current alt-country anti-hero critical darling and a damn good songwriter.

• Love Syndicate - A blend of funk and singer-songwriter style that comes together in the form of four very cool guys from Philadelphia.

• Jason Mraz - Rising talent with a penchant for infectious melodies and inventive lyrics.

• Common Rotation - Fun band fronted by Eric Kufs and Adam Busch of Buffy fame.

• Bob Schneider - Known outside of Austin primarily for being Sandra Bullock's ex-boyfriend, he's a talented performer and engaging showman.

• Tori Amos - Queen of the confessional female singer-songwriters.

• Austin City Limits Music Festival - The fall answer to South by Southwest, and a very cool event in its own right.

• South by Southwest - The 800 pound gorilla of music festivals.  A great time and a great place to volunteer.

Television

• The Complete Buffy Episode Guide

• City of Angel

• Fireflyfans.net

• Sopranoland

• Kryptonsite (Smallville)

• Blackadder

• Red Dwarf

• Seinfeld

Movies

• Nicole Kidman

• Ewan McGregor

• Jude Law

• Joaquin Phoenix

• John Hannah

• Michael Rosenbaum

• Audrey Hepburn

Sports

• Dallas Mavericks

• Steve Nash

• Texas Rangers

• National Thoroughbred Racing Association

• The Ticket - Sports radio from Dallas. Check out the home page for my favorite Ticket hosts, Bob and Dan.

Various

• The University of Texas School of Law

• Austin Chronicle

• The Daily Texan - U.T.'s student newspaper.

• City of Fort Worth - Where I was born.

• City of Burleson - Where I was raised.  And no, I don't know Kelly Clarkson.

• Alpha Xi Delta - The sorority of which I am an alum.

• Renay San Miguel - My favorite CNN Headline News anchor.

• The Onion

• - I have a serious crush on the blue shirt guy in their trailer.  Blue shirt guy, if you're reading this, call me.

• Regal Cinemas - Will they ever explain the existentialist space train?

Book Recommendations

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara - Even if you're not a Civil War buff, the beautiful writing and characterizations will draw you in and haunt you long after the book is finished.

All the Names by Jose Saramago - This Nobel Prize-winning work takes thhe reader into the interior life and obsessions of a clerk who works in the Central Registry, where birth and death certificates are maintained.  Quietly surprising and haunting.

U2 at the End of the World by Bill Flanagan - Hands down, the best rock biography I've ever read.  Often referred to in the U2 fan community as "Flanagan's Bible," it provides the reader with unprecedented access to the four boys from Dublin during a turning point in their career; the making of the classic album Achtung Baby and the mounting of the larger-than-life Zoo TV tour. 

The Love Artist by Jane Alison - A beautiful work of historical fictionn that speculates on the events behind the writing of Ovid's lost masterpiece, Medea.  Alison's style is spellbinding and dreamy.  Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.

The Lighthouse at the End of the World by Stephen Marlowe - Marlowe imagines the last days of Edgar Allen Poe, weaving the story of his life with a tale told by Poe's fictional detective, Dupin.  An absorbing work that I was sad to finish.

A Thousand Orange Trees by Kathryn Harrison - A book telling the tale of two women's lives, the Spanish queen Maria Luisa and a peasant accused of practicing witchcraft during the Inquisition.  This book was also published under the title Poison.