Stephen Mejias

Me: We're gonna go see Brokeback Mountain tonight.
Elizabeth: [Gasp of horror!]
Me: What? What's with the gasp of horror?
Elizabeth: Steel yourself.
Me: Why? Am I gonna cry? I'm not afraid of crying. I cry all the time, anyway.
Elizabeth: No, I don't think you're going to cry. But you might wince. A lot.
Me: Oh.

If you haven't seen the quote unquote gay cowboy movie yet, I strongly recommended that you hop on your horse and gallop into your nearest cinema. Like, pronto, Tonto. Giddie-up. Faster than a single-ended amp on Red Bull.

Elizabeth was right: I did wince. A lot. But the wincing wasn't caused by watching two tough guys getting it on in a tent; it was actually due to all the violence. Not that the violence was gratuitous; we later agreed that it wasn't, but instead all quite necessary in showing the extent of the characters' heartache. Part of it is that the film's deep beauty — gorgeous and memorable shots of endless skies and long, deep silences swaying around Gustavo Santaolalla's slowly-plucked guitar lines and lush waves of strings — is so poignantly juxtaposed by sudden outbursts of chaos and violence: a perfect morning eclipsed by a heavy thunderstorm, an August night covered in snow, a gentle caress transformed into a deep and bloody slash into the flesh. And, while the movie is a love story of sorts, it tells mostly of urgencies, frustrations, unfulfilled desires, dead-ends and desperations. In short, Brokeback Mountain is painful. Nevertheless, it's wonderful.

Beforehand, we visited the skylit home of Scull Communications, where we shared drinks, music, and conversation with Jonathan Scull and Kathleen Benveniste.

The couple sat before us, below a white canvas striped with glowing yellow light bulbs, effusing comfort and togetherness. And the system sounded as amazing as ever; huge, with great detail and lifelike images.

The Moscode amp arrived last Friday, so I sent J-10 an e-mail with thanks and questions:

I'm wondering, now with all this extra power and stuff, should I look into some sort of power-line accessory? Or am I cool to continue just plugging stuff into a cheap powerstrip?

I don't wanna blow up. I don't want my apartment to burn down.

Please let me know what you think.
Thank you very much.
Stephen

Knowing that J-10 also represents Furutech, manufacturer of AC gizmos and whatchmacallits, I must admit: I had an idea of how he'd reply.

You absolutely should be using more than a power strip for safety and for best sound. If you want to visit, I have a Furutech power distributor here I can lend you while I contact them to send you a fresh one from their California warehouse.

I smiled my sinister smile.