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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 2, 2008 4:55:12 GMT
Read his biography my friend. Demented stoats. Is all I'm saying... Xo
though... only Tom sounds so classy when he swears.
In fact, only Tom can say perfectly sensless things in a perfectly monotonous robo-voice a-la tombakersays.com and still sound dead impressive while doing so.
For Tom's voice spoke into the darkness and said "let there be much fannish love in the land"
and there was
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 2, 2008 5:10:56 GMT
I can't GET his autobiography anywhere!  I live in the wild-rice capital of the Nation, and I don't have a credit card. |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 2, 2008 5:12:02 GMT
it's all on the intrawebs, seek and you shall find...
and probabl immediately wish you hadnt Xo
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 2, 2008 5:16:22 GMT
Yeah... I have a pretty infamous record for getting knee-deep in all varieties of sh*t I probably shouldn't have. Ah well. *puts on goggles and dives into the web* |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 2, 2008 5:25:52 GMT
excerpt: www.geocities.com/hollywood/hills/3086/tom2.htmlbut don't say I didn't warn you! I love Tom's writing style though, creepy as the content may be (though some of it's pretty damn funny) he's got style... you can just hear him reading it... which is part of what makes it all so... uncomfortable... |
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 2, 2008 5:34:04 GMT
The man has charisma on his side, I'll give him that.  I know from being a performer that you can be the ugliest person in the whole of existence, but if you have stage presence, people will hardly take notice. Not to say I'm ugly or anything. My no. At least... no mirrors have shattered when I smile into them... yet. |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 2, 2008 5:44:02 GMT
Ah, Aldy *pats* you lovable mirror-shattering imp you
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 2, 2008 6:01:56 GMT
Hey, I'm on a roll, Clocket. Only two this week. Come to think of it... I didn't even LOOK into the last mirror I broke. Steven and I blame the ghost in his attic. *shivers* That was truly disturbing. I spent the night at my friend Steven's house one weekend, and we were up in his room playing gamecube, when we heard this odd sound coming from upstairs. Like footsteps. Soft ones, but still footsteps. Steven rolled his eyes and said "Oh, it's probably that stupid cat again." So we grab a booklight, (All his flashlights were either out of batteries or really really tiny.) and we head upstairs into his attic. He's shining the light around, but we can't see worth a crap no matter what he does. we're both starting to get a little creeped out, so we begin to go back downstairs, when we see this... thing... I don't think it was the cat, but it could've been, I dunno. It was too dark to see much of anything really, but the windows let in JUST enough light to make out a shape. Steven and I tried to get closer to it, but when we get over to it, it's not there anymore. Then, on the opposite end of the room, a full-length mirror falls over, and we can hear it shatter. We check it out, and it's too broken and dark to do anything, so we decide to let it be till morning. Neither of us could really sleep because we were so freaked out. But here's the really surreal part. The next day, we go back up to the attic to clean up all the broken glass and... the mirror is fine. Not a scratch on it. I couldn't sleep for days.  I don't think I've been so disturbed since I was molested with a flavor-blasted goldfish cracker... but I shan't get into that tonight. |
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Post by magnusgreel on Oct 2, 2008 17:14:32 GMT
Yikes, Aldebaran. All my life I've thought, well, if ghosts existed, we'd hear about them in everyday life from credible people. (I know you didn't mention ghosts.) But we do hear about them, and the moment anyone does say anything, he becomes "not credible" automatically, so one way or another, we're safely insulated from ever finding out they're real, if they are, if we're skeptics. Which of course I am, but not religiously....
I may dip my toe into the shark-infested waters of Tom's head later, thanks for the link...
I liked your Tom speculation, Aldebaran. If it were just the BBC I'd feel differently, but Chris Boucher, a great TV and DW and B7 writer speaks of having been on the receiving end of Tom tantrums, and could he have deserved it? Then again, in Face of Evil, Tom did have to make the script less cynically violent. I respect both of them.
My take on it is that sometimes he's right (Tom), sometimes he's wrong, his heart's in the right place, he probably over-reacts too. I think it takes a formidable ego to play that character, and he was bound to go ape a little once in awhile. Some of us (in this world) would probably be a bit more interesting if we did. And you're right, there are also pressures we don't know about.
As for psychology, you can never take that too seriously, it's meant to be applied to life. Psychology classes, that's different....! The end product should be having your own thoughts on people not repeating things memorized in school (which is what most students do), and you seem on the right track there, as far as I can tell.
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 2, 2008 18:21:51 GMT
My take on it is that sometimes he's right (Tom), sometimes he's wrong, his heart's in the right place, he probably over-reacts too. I think it takes a formidable ego to play that character, and he was bound to go ape a little once in awhile. Some of us (in this world) would probably be a bit more interesting if we did. And you're right, there are also pressures we don't know about. As for psychology, you can never take that too seriously, it's meant to be applied to life. Psychology classes, that's different....! The end product should be having your own thoughts on people not repeating things memorized in school (which is what most students do), and you seem on the right track there, as far as I can tell. And you're absolutely right, Magnusgreel. I got into psychology on my own simply because people fascinate me. (Especially characters like Tom.) In fact from an early age, I can recall taking notes on my friend's behavior and reactions to certain occurrences. (I wanted to be a neurologist at one point. I studied a lot of brain science on my own.) I really only took the class because it was either that or personal finance. I'm not in school at all anymore, because of my decision to become homeschooled. I did this for a number of reasons, but I don't want to bore you with them. I did read the snippet that Clocket gave me, and I've got to say... It's really not that big a shocker to me. I know a few pub owners that have done similar things. I think it's just the celebrity culture, the swift change from being a down-and-out to being a celebrity... and Tom's... Tomness thrown on the same fire. However... Tom's Tomness has a zest of it's own because he's got such great charisma, and that he's willing to share his life story with the world. He obviously writes for an audience, and I can understand why because I do the same thing. That's what makes him appealing. He's got a great character, a great story and a great audience. And everyone loves a good success story. Just look at Frank McCourt. |
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Post by magnusgreel on Oct 2, 2008 20:02:33 GMT
Frank McCourt... maybe I'll Google later. I did wonder how a 15-year-old would be in a psychology class... it's online I suppose. I needed to study some neurology starting a very long time ago, because of my medical situation, but my eyes and impaired memory and concentration stopped me. I might ask you questions one day if you're amenable.
Many neurologists' attitude is that all psychological phenomena are biologically-caused. If many don't say this specifically, it's a tendency in their thinking. "You don't talk to a disease"-- I've heard that one too often. I hope you'll take that idea with a tanker-truck full of salt, as you study this stuff. There are always biases that creep into any teachings, on any subject, possibly.
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 2, 2008 20:18:14 GMT
Ah, but psychology and anthropology and sociology are all taught as highschool electives now... the class is apparently called "triology" in some places... O.o Anyway, I went on my first anthro dig when I was sixteen (sorta just after I'd seen my first DW with Nine... that was a good year) Anyway, certain people and their perceptions of mental illness annoy me to no end. Smacks upside the head all around to them. And Frank McCourt is an Irishman and the author of Angela's Ashes which is the story of his childhood in Irland durring the depression. In other news, a bulldozer has dug a GIANT hole in the street in front of my house. This is weird one: I live on main street! two:  ? see above, they are digging a giant hole of random! |
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Post by jjpor on Oct 2, 2008 22:39:34 GMT
In other news, a bulldozer has dug a GIANT hole in the street in front of my house. This is weird one: I live on main street! two: ? see above, they are digging a giant hole of random! With some sinister purpose in mind, no doubt... My verdict on Tom? I think he's a genuine eccentric, one of a kind, and a national treasure, and as such you have to take the rough with the smooth. Throwing scripts at scriptwriters obviously isn't on, but while it doesn't excuse his more petulant behaviour (and I think Aldy may be on to something when he talks about the pressures of fame and Tom's difficult upbringing), if he wasn't who he was, then he probably wouldn't have inhabited the role the way he did and made such an excellent Doctor. |
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Post by Kit on Oct 2, 2008 23:49:56 GMT
Sort of jumping in after an amount of time on the Tom's autobiography note
I found the audio version of it where Tom actually reads it. And I must say, Tom's life really did rather suck. Aside from Doctor Who. And he's completely mad.
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 3, 2008 2:51:41 GMT
If anything, it would explain why he was so grateful to the fans on the "Who on Earth is Tom Baker" youtube video. The fans essentially saved his life. It makes sense. Sure, Magnusgreel. Anytime. |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 3, 2008 4:54:11 GMT
Yes, much love for Tom, mad though he is. For I am mad also. Like the Hatter in Alice in Wonderland... though, I've always had a sneaking suspicion that the hatter was sane and everyone else was mad.
My room mate (not THAT room mate) today told me that she'd made a friend who was 'refeshingly normal'. I looked at her and said "aren't I normal??"
And she burst out laughing.
I'm really not sure how to take this... O.o
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 3, 2008 4:58:58 GMT
It's a compliment. It means that you're normal. There's no such thing as normal, so by calling you normal, she's telling you that she believes you exist. A pleasant thought, really. Her new friend on the other hand... |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 3, 2008 5:03:15 GMT
but she really doesn't think i'm normal lol which is good, because i'd be rather put out if anyone were to label me normal when i've gone through a bit of trouble to not be.
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 3, 2008 5:05:45 GMT
It's no fun being normal. Think of the Doctor. Is HE normal? Isn't he FUN? See? There you are. |
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Post by jjpor on Oct 3, 2008 22:20:44 GMT
I'm really not sure how to take this... O.o As a compliment? In the vein of Who On Earth Is Tom Baker, Who On Earth wants to be "normal"?! |
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<-- C'mon people. They're free. 
