This is funny to read, I've recently started giving up on ORM's, but I felt really guilty about it. Like I have to really justify myself. Like you, I use it in a hybrid manner, simple queries I still use it... but for complex selects, I have yet to meet an ORM that can dish it out as good as I can.
This is where I really think scripted languages can shine... I find that using SQL in JS you really don't need an ORM, except maybe to shape your response for the purpose of an API interface... even then it's still better than the boilerplate that ORMs bring into the mix more often than not.
