Stephen Hillenburg - NYTimes.com Stephen Hillenburg is a former marine biology teacher and the creator of "SpongeBob SquarePants," the most-watched animated series on television for the past 12 years. A worldwide cultural phenomenon, SpongeBob has had a tulip named after him in the Netherlands, and his bright yellow image is printed on hijabs in Egypt. READING I am reading "This Is How You Lose Her," by Junot Díaz. It's about people and how flawed they are in their relationships. I don't think it's as amazing as his first book, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." And I also recently read this book called "The Wave," by Susan Casey. It cross-cuts between the science of giant waves - the kind that make ships just disappear - and this surfer named Laird Hamilton and other big-wave riders who ride incredibly enormous waves that are incredibly dangerous. There are some pretty harrowing stories. LISTENING I am a big fan of the Australian band Tame Impala. They are these young guys reinvestigating psychedelic rock, and it does not seem ironic. To me, the singer sounds a lot like John Lennon. I'm also listening to the new release by Unknown Mortal Orchestra called "II." I guess I'd call them an art band. The guitar tones and the singer have a very distinctive sound. At home I've been jamming with my 14-year-old son. He plays drums and I play guitar - horribly. It's a great way to bond with each other. WATCHING Here in Southern California, I'm watching the birds that pass through our yard. There is this one bird that I've observed here that has a crest like Alfalfa from "The Little Rascals." I'd never seen it before and it turns out that it's a red-whiskered bulbul. They are actually from Asia and somehow they've established themselves here. Someone recently sent me a link to a video of Russian soldiers singing the SpongeBob theme song while marching around. It wasn't just one group either. It was a bunch of them. It was shocking. I think it's humorous for them ... I'm hoping. PAINTING I paint surreal seascapes. Sometimes they are based on something that's happened, like when I was camping on the coast in Baja on a surf trip awhile ago. In the middle of the night I saw this glow outside the tent. There was a full moon over the water and it was shining into this fog bank. It created a complete rainbow - only it was a moonbow. So for one of the paintings I painted a moonbow over the water. I haven't sold any of my paintings. There's something personal about it. I'm holding on to them right now. Maybe I'll have a show one of these days. EATING Dandelion salad at Canelé in Los Angeles. I read it's one of the most nutritious greens you can eat. And fish tacos at Norma's Tacos in Pasadena. They make their own tortillas but the tacos are small. I would recommend you get three if you stop there.