Willie Garson stars as Mozzie in USA Network's original series WHITE COLLAR, which returns for an exciting third season on Tuesdays at 9/8c on USA.

1. Soup Dumplings. If you have never had a Shanghai soup dumpling, then you are missing out on a truly magical, life-affirming experience. Served in a dim-sum steamer, you place the dumpling on your spoon, tear it open with a nibble, and slurp the soup out of the INSIDE of the dumpling, and then eat the dumpling itself. My son Nathen and I eat all of them that we can (partial to the pork and crab ones of course). Din Tai Fung has the best near Los Angeles and Nathen is addicted to the ones at Shanghai Gourmet on Mott Street in Chinatown in NY.

2. Elvis Costello. If you spent your time listening to nobody else, you could hear all you needed to from this absolute treasure of an artist. Never comfortable to sit back and relax, he has produced music in an unbelievable number of genres with equal mastery--from punk, to pop, to classical, to jazz, to country, to blues, and on and and on and on. Add to that his amazingly informative, too-short-lived musical journey TV show Spectacle, his work after Hurricane Katrina or with Doctors Without Borders, and his too-rare acting appearances, and you have a walking renaissance. I am honored to call him one of my best friends, but even if that was not the case, he is wonderful and available to all.

3. Central Park. Seriously, I have had so many moments of breathtaking beauty and magic here, they never seem to end. From my childhood memory of seeing Simon and Garfunkel on the Great Lawn, to making out by the lake, to watching Nathen catch his first fish at the Northern Pond followed by chasing fireflies...it all never ceases to amaze me.

4. New Orleans. Talk about Character Approved...is there anyplace else in America screaming with character like this proud and unique city? I have been going there since I was 16, and I never plan to stop...the pulse of food, music, a LIFE lived...it's all there.

5. Summer Camp. I guess it's more of an East Coast thing, but summer camp should be mandatory. Most of the valuable things I learned in life came from my 10 years as a camper and counselor at a camp in Maine: independence, tolerance, confidence, true friendship, and a love of nature. One of my charities, Camp Joslin in Massachusetts, for kids with diabetes, even lets me come now and be a counselor when I can for a week. I love to take Nathen with me (except he now goes to his own camp in Maine, creating a lifetime base that I am blessed to provide him with).

6. Elizabeth Taylor. Besides being a truly great actress and providing audiences with a lifetime of memories and emotions, let's not forget that she left SIX HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS to amfAR--one of my other charities--to go towards AIDS research, after having raised countless millions more in her lifetime. Love her acting or hate it (I happen to love it), she is an inspiration to us all.

7. Kids. Pure, open, loving, free, malleable, FUN, full of laughter and knowledge. And there are many who for one reason or another are not being taken care of by a parent. I adopted Nathen with the help of the Alliance for Children's Rights in LA, who I try to help all I can. Every kid deserves a chance, and one look, a REAL look into a kid's eyes, will tell you all you need to know about life.

8. Poker. The best and clearest insight into people, in a tense and highly social atmosphere. I have probably learned more sitting at a poker table than I did during my entire time at college.

9. Vintage Photographs. The best. Perfectly capturing a moment in time, an essence of an entire era. My personal favorites are Helen Levitt, Berenice Abbott, the great Weegee, and going all the way back to Jacob Riis, whose photographs of tenement life on the lower east side of NY actually helped changed us into the compassionate country we eventually became.

10. Live Music. I can't get enough of it. Someone willing to bare their soul on stage with some chords and a voice, it's an amazing thing to watch. I can't imagine a world without Bruce Springsteen, U2, Ron Sexsmith, Michael Franti, Al Green, Adele, and of course the aforementioned Mr. Costello, and on and on...They have the power to inspire, excite, and heal, all within a three-minute song. What an amazing gift.

[Images: Elvis Costello, New Orleans Online, Wikipedia, Din Tai Fung]