Hey, guys: This conversation has been really good - I've been thoroughly enjoying it. Drugs: I've spent the last two years hepped up on Ecstasy, Crystal Meth, Coke, and various other substances here and there, thanks to my exboyfriend (and not in a bad way). I've lost 50 pounds, regained 10, lost it again, and have probably gotten ten times dumber :) However, just this month I quit drugs cold turkey. While I'm still shaking a bit, I'm getting over the withdrawal. Thank god my teeth aren't falling out. Doing $1000/week in coke doesn't do a body good. First Orb Experience: 1992, with UFOrb. I read an entry in a music catalog for Echoes, a program that played world, electronic, and other music, based in Eagle, PA. They described The Orb as "the fathers of techno". How wrong they were! And how right it was that I bought that album. I remember playing it the first time and becoming completely involved in the music. I was 14 at the time. I'd been listening to Eno, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, and other electronic stuff since I was 6. Other Ramblings: I have also cried listening to the Orb. I was fucked up on E and K and Meth, a nice cocktail of sorts, and had Adventures BLASTING. I was listening to A Huge Ever Growing... and you're right; the sequence is so peaceful and evoking... and I cried a wonderful cry. I just had a rather devastating break-up with my boy of four years, and the drugs were my crutch. To all the members of the Orb, past and present, who can read this: you guys have made the music that means so much to me. My life would not be complete without your music. I LIVE for your music - it pulls me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have dreams with your music in it; I listen to your music all the time. It has made so many problems in my life easier to cope with. I've grown up with your music, and it's a part of me. The music I write is influenced heavily by you. I admire your creativity, and your influence on me is great. To all the members on this list: I've been here for 8 or 9 years now, and never have I seen a more dynamic group of people. Thrash definitely keeps it interesting :) I have to get my Cockney -->English translator though - sometimes I can't figger out wtf you're yammering on over :D You guys are great, fun to read about, learn about, talk to, and argue with. Even though we don't agree about everything, we are a pretty darn cool group of people. Cheers to each and every one of you! -Brian