Ornoth

I just thought I’d take a sec to recall the last couple days before I left for Korea, since they were a bit notable.

Monday I went and saw the Toasters at the Middle East. The level to which they—and ska—have sunk was underscored by the fact that they were playing the upstairs, rather than the big room downstairs. And the show overall reflected it. The only person left from the Toasters at their best is Bucket, and… well, they’re not as tight by half, and the songwriting’s gone downhill. It’s great to see them carrying on, but it was also pretty melancholy to such a great band brought low.

The other thing I wanted to note was that Tuesday was a Gordon & MacPhail scotch whisky tasting at Federal Wine. Here’s the lineup:

• Benromach 6
• Bladnoch 13
• MacPhail’s 15
• Benromach Portwood 22
• Millburn 27
• Glenrothes 30
• Athol Brose liqueur

The young Benromach was surprisingly good, with a nice smokey flavor when I would have expected something really raw. The Bladnoch was another pretty characterless lowland. The MacPhail’s is an independent bottling of… I think it was Glenfarclas, and wasn’t bad. If I recall correctly (must take tasting notes at these events, even if it *is* in cramped quarters), the Glenrothes was quite a different experience. But the liqueur was just a bad case of spewage waiting to happen. That’s not one I’ll ever forget. Yaggis!

If you could only choose 1 cd to ever listen to again, what would it be?

Well, I'm torn between two. First, there's the Toasters' 1998 "Live in London" disc. It really captures the essence of their incredible and energetic live shows at the height of their skill. And, of course, it's ska, which is practically a necessity of life! Songs like "2-Tone Army" and "Weekend in L.A." are pure happiness, built to order.
 
Then there's the industrial might of KMFDM's 1995 "Nihil". Their most polished effort, "Nihil" is an angry stomp through a world of angst and misery. Songs like "Ultra", "Juke Joint Jezebel", "Flesh", "Disobedience", and "Trust" all set the tone of submission and preversion that reaches a crushing crescendo in "Brute", the most compelling song of submission I've ever heard:

Touch me — hate me
Give yourself to me and break me
Cut these eyes and I will see
Kiss these lying lips for me
Stroke this skin and I will kneel
Brutalize me; I will heal

If you could only choose 2 movies to watch ever again, what would they be?

Although I generally dislike movies, perhaps that's why I find this one easy to answer. The first and obvious answer is Richard Linklater's 2002 "Waking Life", a rotoscoped nonlinear romp through pop philosophy. It's a saturation-bombing of introspection for a slacker population who haven't yet woken up to the real questions of life, and is thus an absolute treasure trove of questions for the enquiring mind. Don't leave home without it!
 
My other selection is a little more embarassing: "Star Trek: the Wrath of Khan". People really don't seem to realize what a literary masterpiece WoK really is. From a writers' standpoint, it does an expectional job of using all the literary elements: character development and change, dramatic tension and action scenes, a believable but larger than life villain, several archetypes, incredible imagery, unexpected plot twists, and above all it manipulates the viewers' emotions with a skill that most movies fail to accomplish. And on top of it all, virtually every line of dialogue is fantastically quotable! It's an amazing piece of writing, and no matter how stupid it might sound, it really does make my list of movies that are actually worth seeing.
 

If you could only choose 3 books to read ever again, what would they be?

I suppose, as a writer, I ought to have an opinion here, but I don't. To be honest, there aren't many books that I really find very compelling. For me, books are pretty interchangeable, at least those designed to entertain. But if I really had to make a list, here's what might get considered:
 

• Tanith Lee's "Cyrion" (good atmosphere)
• Something from Terry Pratchett (good humor, but they're all interchangeable)
• Elizabeth Scarborough's "Song of Sorcery" (good "innocent" fantasy)
• Michael Shea's "The Color Out of Time" (like Lovecraft, only well-written!)
• Clark Ashton Smith's "Monster of the Prophesy" (one of the trailblazers of horror and fantasy)
• Bram Stoker's "The Jewel of Seven Stars" (even better than his "Dracula")

 

If you could only choose 4 things to eat or drink ever again, what would they be?

• Ice cream (one of the necessities of life; either chocolate chip, or Haagen-Dazs' Cookies & Cream)
• Coca-Cola (an ancient addiction)
• Some form of chicken curry (Indian food, and meat!)
• Baby carrots (fresh garden veggies steeped in butter!)

 

If you could only choose 5 people to ever be/talk/associate/whatever with ever again, who would they be?

• Inna — One of the most insightful and interesting people I know. She's helped me really come into my own as a person, and is quite the cutie!
• Ailsa — Each time she's come into my life, she's heralded major change, and always for the better. She's been my role model for successfully incorporating emotion and impulsiveness into my otherwise very staid personality. And she's a cutie!
• Rhonda — Another woman who helps me explore that part of life that I don't understand, Rhonda has an intuitive grasp of emotion. And as a fellow writer, I appreciate her intellect and skill. And she's a cutie, as well.
• Pam — Unlike the others, Pam is me in a woman's body. She seems to understand me in a way other women can't: she empathizes with my social ineptitude as well as my passion for perfection and order. She knows what it's like to be happy being alone, and things like that connect us in a rare "kindred spirit" kind of way. And being a writer, she understands what I'm about. And she's a cutie!
• Margot — Margot is also a writer, as well as an artist, and I really appreciate her intelligence and her supportiveness. And wouldn't you know it? She's a cutie, too!