Me You and Everyone We Know

Back in the day when everyone was on Myspace, not Facebook, the profile form presented you with a question: Who would you like to meet?

I'm not sure I would want to meet the people I consider my 'heroes' for fear they wouldn't live up to the respect I have for what they have achieved. But here, in no particular order are the people I wish I could be half as awesome as

Christina Lamb: Foreign correspondent and author who spends her time in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, writes amazingly well and with a sort of human compassion that makes it obvious she genuinely cares about her subject rather than what a badass secret agent her actions make her. I read her autobiography 'Small Wars Pending' sitting on the floor of a train to Hamburg, it was captivating.

Leonard Cohen: I grew up listening to his music, as my Mum is a fan. My Dad considered it too dark to listen to more than a few songs. But I didn't really appreciate it until he happened to be playing in Montreux and I decided to go, but tickets were sold out. I started relistening to his albums, and luckily he came to New Zealand. His show was a magical experience, his voice and genuine gratefulness at the response he received was incredible. Plus he skipped offstage.

Miranda July: Being creative is hard. I came across Miranda July last year, and keep on coming across her in different genres. She is a performance artist, author, has work at the Venice Biennale and wrote, directed and starred in her first feature film, 'Me, You and Everyone we Know' which I watched today. That one person can be successful at all that is just awesome

http://mirandajuly.com/