What Chicago style pizza? Giordanos, Lous, Ginos, Unos, or somewhere else? Or none, if you don't prefer that.
I love 'em all! Partly because I'm really not that picky, and just like good food, and partly because all of those IMO are pretty darned good.
But if I had to rank them, Pizzeria Uno wins by being filling and tasty without really being heavy. I can eat a lot of Uno without going into a food coma. Each of the others are also good, but can really be too much sometimes. Giordano's is probably second. I love their sauce. Gino's would be next because they're different, and different is good. Lou's is good, but I have trouble shaking my first impression of Lou's, and to this day when I think of Lou's pizza, I picture huge thick crust covered in sauce, and not much else. That's not good enough.
What's the history behind your username?
Longtime readers have heard this a few times.
In 1989, some telemarketer talked me into a three-year subscription to Stereo Review magazine for a special price. I was into audio equipment, and while I could never afford anything advertised or reviewed in that magazine, it was fun to look at and read about all the latest gear. My first name is Robert, and they were addressed to Orbert. Someone had made a typo when they entered my name, so for three years, I received magazines addressed to Orbert. In the 90's, the Internet was catching on, and I was online playing MUDs and MUSHes. My character was always Orbert. I'm Orbert on all the message boards I'm on, and I've actually come to think of myself as Orbert. For a while, I kinda hoped someday someone would me if I was the same Orbert as from <somewhere else>, and that would be cool. But the Internet is way too big, and that has never happened.
The great epilogue to this is that I now live in the Chicago area, and there's a jazz trumpeter named Orbert Davis who's from Chicago. Once in a great while, someone
doesn't ask me to repeat my name, but instead asks "Oh, like Orbert Davis?" I think that's cool. I'd never heard of the guy before I moved here.
How did you choose your profile picture?
I created my profile picture using GifAnimator, many years ago. I love cats. I was born under the sign of the lion, in the year of the tiger. Also, I was born in Detroit, home of the Detroit Tigers. So I found a picture of a tiger somewhere, and originally he roared. But I thought it looked kinda dumb, him actually going Roar! so I changed it to Meow! and it's always been that. The profile picture used to be called your avatar, the picture which represents you. People change their avatars sometimes, some more often than others. But I'm old-school. Pick an avatar and leave it. I am Orbert, and Orbert is the tiger who says Meow.
Signature?
They're miniaturized Roger Dean paintings, mostly Yes album covers and other Yes-related artwork. There are actually five different ones, and I do change them once in a while.
Favorite Dream Theater album and why?
Images and Words. I don't think I've ever been as blown away the first time hearing a new band as I was hearing this album for the first time. I heard it and Awake, and I literally bought my own copies as soon as I had the chance. To this day, it's the one I can play all the way through without feeling like skipping anything, and since my iPod is always in Repeat mode, sometimes I'll just let it go around again.
Favorite DT song and why?
This one's tougher. Depending on my mood, either "Metropolis, Pt 1" or "A Change of Seasons". "Metropolis, Pt 1" was part of that whole blowing my mind thing the first time I heard Images and Words. I still get chills sometimes when it gets to "Before the leaves start falling..." It's a psychotic piece, though, and can be challenging. It's meant to be that way, but that doesn't make it any easier. I think "A Change of Seasons" has a much better flow to it. It goes through a lot of changes as well, but still feels like a more cohesive work.
Favorite Kevin Moore piece?
I have "Wait for Sleep" and "Learning to Live" conjoined as a single track on my iPod and on my PC. Together they are my favorite Kevin Moore piece.
Sherinian?
Similarly, I have "Hell's Kitchen" and "Lines in the Sand" together. Together, they're my favorite Sherinian.
Rudess?
"Octavarium". 'Nuff said.
What advice would you give to a beginner, venturing out to the real world?
The world is, almost by definition, more than you can imagine. It is therefore impossible to be prepared for everything. You
will get caught off guard sometimes, and you
will experience shit you had no idea could even happen. Keep your head. Know who you are, and what you're capable of, but be ready to push the limits if and when you're called upon to do so. The world owes you nothing, and doesn't give a shit about you, therefore everything you do, everything you accomplish in life is 100% up to you. You might work your ass off and still not get everything you want, but you won't get anything if you sit on your ass and expect things to be given to you. Also, it feels much better, much more satisfying knowing you've worked for it, earned it, than if someone just gave it to you or you lucked out.