"I found this in winter 2009 in Chicago while riding the train to work at 6 a.m. to open a cafe, depressed. I didn't have money to buy recording gear. It's so undeniably real and unafraid to be sincere. To me, that is powerful songwriting."

"This had a profound effect on me in my early twenties. A grim but sympathetic portrait of the tough lives of poor immigrant workers in the Chicago meat-packing industry, it was one of the key works that inspired me to make films about ordinary people’s lives."

"A bittersweet documentary that follows the lives of two gifted basketball players from Chicago as they work their way through the ranks of high school b-ball programs and onward. One of the best docs I can think of, and a very necessary look at sociological issues surrounding America’s beautiful game."

"I always go back to Freaks & Geeks. Every episode is so perfect. But I only really watch television in the winter because there’s nothing to do in Chicago and I get tired of going out and forcing myself to do things. But, in the summer, I’m normally out riding my bike, or getting some tacos, or running around outside. You know, living."