top five

In the spirit of High Fidelity, I’m going to start a “Top Five” feature where I will post my picks for my five favorite things/people in any category that strikes my interest. Today’s Top Five was inspired by reading Bill Bryson’s African Diary. I started thinking about notable (famous, living) people who inspire me because of the talents they have, the kind of person they are, and the lives they lead. I admire many different people for many different things, so making the top five was no cake-walk. I listed the top five, and wrote a few sentences about why I chose them.

1. Bill Bryson. Bill is the world’s best travel writer. He is interested in absolutely everything and describes the details of his journeys masterfully. He’s also hilarious. He has travel books about Europe, America, England, and Australia. He wrote a book that details the origins of the universe in a way that conveys the immense wonder and amazement of it all, while still making you laugh. He wrote a beautiful memoir, a tribute to the wonderful lost days of post-war America. He visited Africa with CARE and wrote a diary of his experiences – donating all royalties to CARE. He was given an honorary Order of the British Empire for his contribution to literature. Oh yeah, he’s also a loving husband and devoted father.

2. Garrison Keillor. To me, Garrison Keillor is the world’s best story teller. I grew up listening to him on Prairie Home Companion, and to this day his voice still sooths me. I respect all that he has accomplished – on the radio, as a writer, in cinema. He is one of a very small handful of people keeping the glory of radio still alive. I love his taste for and appreciation of poetry. His books of selected poems are beautiful. He’s a literary hero that no one from our generation can match.

3. Ben Folds. Not only is Ben Folds an original, talented, and fun musician, he is also a stand-up chap. Who else would not only make friends a cab driver who shuttled his band around East Lansing, but invite the cab driver on stage that evening to play harmonica and jam with the band? I work with someone who met Ben at an airport and gave him his cd, and Ben called later and asked him to tour with his band, and was nothing but wonderful the entire tour. Ben’s talent and humor are also inspiring. I don’t know any other artist who can write songs about love and his children and have them be incredible and sincere without being cheesy. Only Ben.

4. Kurt Vonnegut. Kurt is hard to do justice to in words. He is such an outstanding author. His writing is meaningful, funny, accessible, and relevant. He is a pacifist. I love that he is also interested in art and graphic design. He’s just an unbelievably cool, larger than life guy. There’s so much to say about Kurt Vonnegut, but I can’t do him justice.

5. Johnny Depp. I love how devoted Johnny is to his family. I respect his hatred for paparazzi and his decision to live in France to have a normal life with his girlfriend and children. I love his choice in movies. I love that he likes to play the oddball. He’s made amazing film choices, and is an incredible actor.

I’ll continue this feature semi-regularly. It’s just for fun. I encourage anyone else to comment with picks for their own top five, or to start their own top five on their vox.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)