The Sheila Variations

I just turned it on. What did I miss???

"Stunning lady"
"A stunning lady"
"A great lady."

hahahaha

I love the fact that you're liveblogging this.

Other people live-blog the state of the union address. I live-blog this.

What did he say about the climbing? Why did he just start laughing like a hyena? I missed it! Shazam!

God those cheebones. I'd kill for em. KILL, I say.

Is he gay? He has a little bit of a swish.

If a guy made me eat chocolate and just stared at me on the first date, I'd be pissed.

Was that a date or was that after they got engaged?

But yeah. Either case, Katie deserved a good meal.

Oh, just realized something we can be happy about: she's not an anorexic, unhealthy looking waif.

I'm trying to find some good. I'm reaching.

Wow. That was so fascinating.

I'm still trying to figure out what kind of crazy he is. Manic, maybe?

Maybe ADHD or something. But when he needs to focus, he is able to focus ... so I have no idea.

And also ... just being the biggest star in the world. That's gotta be its own brand of crazy that nobody even really studies.

Tom is laughing too hard.. again..

I went back to read the interview by Neil Strauss, Sheila... and picked out this part about TLTH..

"And now, here it comes: the famous Tom Cruise laugh. It comes on just fine, a regular laugh by any standards. You will be laughing too. But then, when the humour subsides, you will stop laughing. At this point, however, Cruise's laugh will just be reaching a crescendo, and he will be making eye contact with you. Ha ha HA HA heh heh."

He actually handled himself very well, all in all, pete. He thought the waiting Justice backstage was hysterical, he was calm and open about getting water squirted in the face: "The guy was like a bully at school ... we've all known bullies like that ... whatever. It's not worth worrying about." And he promoted his movie like a pro.

It's just that he's in a cult.

I feel bad. I wish he could break free.

He does the professional interview very well, Sheila, when he's focused on promoting the film.

And I'd like to see him get out of the Cult too.. but, meanwhile, he's promoting it and, seemingly, actively participating in the recruitment of others.. and that somewhat tempers my sympathy for him.

Well, the dude is brainwashed, though. Of course he's promoting it. He has no critical reasoning when it comes to scientology - because that's what a cult can do to you.

I don't blame people who are trapped. I blame the upper echelons of the organization who go about cynically trapping them.

Cruise is just a dupe, they are using him.

And if the rumors I hear are true - then Cruise tried to get out. Years ago. When he learned the bait-and-switch nature of the organization, when he learned about the aliens (they hide that from you until you are OT3) ... he just snapped. He was shattered and he wanted to leave the "religion" immediately. And the head of the cult - that David Muscavige guy - and a bunch of other higher-ups locked Cruise in a room for 3 days, and set about with the programming. Cruise was shattered, and saying, "I have to get out of here ... I have to get out of this thing ..." And they would not let him leave. He is their breadwinner, he is their most famous adherent. When those 3 days were done, Cruise re-committed to the cult, but something in him had snapped - some part of his logical brain had been killed.

Again - just a rumor, but I have read it on all of the sites I visit. An ex-Scientology staff member told the story.

Cruise is to be pitied, if this story is true. It's the ones who control him who should be hated.

"Cruise is to be pitied, if this story is true. It's the ones who control him who should be hated."

Agreed.. he is being used.. and I didn't mean to imply that I hate him.. I have difficulty absolving him completely though.. pity would be closest to how I feel about him at the moment.

There was another quote in the Strauss interview that I thought was very pertinent.. from Cruise's mother.. she was talking, while at a Cult centre, about his tree-climbing as a child and she said "I would bite my tongue".

There seems to have been a lot of people biting their tongues about Cruise for a long time.. for various reasons.. and they deserve a share of the blame, as well as those controlling the Cult.

That quote to me referred to having a wild kid who climbed to the top of trees, and was a daredevil. Any mother can relate to that. Tom Cruise loves to take risks, and ride motorcycles fast, and fly planes, and climb mountains and not use stunt doubles, etc. etc. To me, that's where that quote came from.

If you know anyone who has been brainwashed by any type of religion (I always reference my born-again friend who changed her entire personality, and was lost to me forever - I didn't know her anymore - she was also lost to her entire family who were now, according to her, "not saved, and going to hell" as an example) - then you have to be patient, and realize that they know not what they do. You still may lose them, and not be able to get them back if you don't succumb to their cult-like ways ... but blame the organization whose job it is to take away someone's reasoning, not the person who succumbs.

Doesn't mean I don't fully enjoy it when he goes nuts like on Oprah.

If you start digging into all the scientology dirt, and you realize how they hook the celebs in (which was one of the main goals of the religion - Hubbard was clear on that) ... and then blackmail them, and extort money from them, and force them into marriages ... it's a deep pool, man. Deep. Cruise found scientology at a weak moment (or - they found him - thanks to his ex-ex-wife Mimi Rogers), and they have completely taken advantage of him.

He tried to get out, and they would not let him, because this is an organization that has ruined people's lives. He knows the power they wield.

It makes me mad.

The quote was indeed about his dare-devil nature, Sheila.. but I thought the writer placed it in a context where it implied that he thought Cruise's mother was trying to be patient now.. while being horrified by what was happening.

I don't know any close friends who have been brainwashed in that way, fortunately.. and I do blame the organisation.

This will make you madder.. there's a Bill going through the UK parliament at the minute which will make incitement to religious hatred a criminal offence.. there been a lot of debate about the implications.. and there was a fantastic discussion between Stephen Fry and Chris Hitchens.. I can hunt down the online link if you're interested?.. it's about an hour an a half long.. but one of the things about the Bill is that no religion, or group-belief, will be exempted from its scope - Scientology was specifically mentioned in a discussion about it last night.

Then that might have been the author of that piece (which I thought was very good) using quotes out of context to make his point about Cruise and the people around him. A natural thing to do, if you're a writer ... but take it with a grain of salt.

If you've got a kid who climbs to the tops of trees, and you don't want to cramp his style - then a lot of mothering is going to be holding your tongue about it.

I heard about the Fry - Hitchens thing - yeah, if you can find it that would be great.

Here's the link, Sheila.. from the Hay Literary festival.. Blasphemy debate

It should start automatically when the page opens.

YOU.

LIVE.

BLOGGED.

TOM.

CRUISE.

ON.

LETTERMAN.

I love you, Sheila. No really. If any fucking snobtwit comes in here and DARES to try and criticize you for not live blogging hearings at the UN on dwarf tossing instead or whatever People of Greater Intelligence are watching these days, I am going to KICK THEIR ASS.

hahahahaha

Tom with Matt Lauer

When Lauer mentioned Cruise's earlier criticism of Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants, Cruise told the "Today" show co-host he didn't know what he was talking about.

"You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do," Cruise said.

The interview became more heated when Lauer, who said he knew people who had been helped by the attention-deficit disorder drug Ritalin, asked Cruise about the effects of the drug.

"Matt, Matt, you don't even you're glib," Cruise responded. "You don't even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK. That's what I've done."

How the hell does Tom know what Matt does and does not understand? He's probably only read what Scientology wants him to on the subject of psychiatry.

I know, Emily - wow. I watched that whole thing this morning and just ... WOW. Especially smirky little Katie sitting offscreen, smiling in this glazed-eyed weird way. (Yes, it was early, but still. She looked kind of retarded.)

The change in Tom's face and demeanor when he starts talking about Ritalin and psychiatry is alarming. It's like a switch goes off. IT'S CRAZY.

I thought Matt Lauer did a great job maintaining his cool through it all. Unbelievable.

It all goes back to the whole Scientology mantra:

anyone who ever criticizes us must be attacked. There is no reasoning there, he could not even comprehend that psychiatry might work for some people.

Meanwhile: the "history" he's talking about is totally incorrect.

When I saw the Matt Lauer/Tom Cruise interview this morning all I could think was "Hey, Tom, the rest of us got over being so arrogantly sure we had ALL the answers about the time we hit our twenties. But maybe being a star surrounded by sycophants keeps you an adolescent. My advice: grow up."

Susan - I don't think it has to do with him not growing up. I think it has to do with (sorry for the broken record) being involved in a mind-controlling cult who has him in its grip.

Anyone who has ever encountered any fanatic from any religion (and I include evangelical proselytizing born agains) knows that the one thing they all have in common is CERTAINTY. Black and white certainty. Arrogance. Unquestioning belief that they are right. Their way is the right way. Everyone else is doomed.

This ain't a matter of immaturity. This is a matter of complete indoctrination.

You cannot have a rational discussion with an evangelical born-again Christian about other "sides" of any issue that they consider life or death. No. If you try to say, "But what about ..." then you come across to them as a limb of Satan.

Matt Lauer, in defending Brooke Sheilds ... was suddenly on the "suppressed" side, and to Scientologists, suppressers must be CRUSHED. Mercilessly.

Tom Cruise's entire face changed when he started talking about psychiatry ... He's open and funny and powerful when he talks about his movies. I like that side of him a lot. But woah - let's just watch the switch get flipped!

I watched that interview..weird how the first half he was just your normal guy promoting his film, but when Matt Lauer (who I was completely impressed with during this interview) had the nerve to think open mindedly about how different people are and that what may work for one might not work for another he was practically attacked by Cruise. "YOu don't know what I know" i think he said..or something like that. Its just bizarre how these people think and try and intimidate others for having their own thoughts.

The whole transcript is here.

Tom Cruise is in a cult?

I just re-lived the icky feeling i had this morning by reading that transcript. He is one scary man.

Call me a heartless bastard, but I'm a little less inclined towards pity regarding the brainwashing story (assuming it's even true).

When John McCain was held in Hanoi, it wasn't long before word got out that his father was an Admiral in the Pacific fleet. Understanding the propaganda value of having the son of an Admiral released while the regular servicemen languished in prison, his jailors offered him immediate release as long as he made a public statement that he wished to be freed first.

He refused. First man in, first man out - that was the rule for POWs. The offer remained on the table for the entire duration of his imprisonment, enduring pain I doubt Tom Cruise can even comprehend.

Maybe I'm being too hard on him, but I can't accept the brainwashing story. If the communists couldn't break McCain (or Stockdale, or any of the others who survived even longer) with five years of torture, I don't have much pity for Tom Cruise being unable to endure three days with the Scientologists.

"MATT LAUER: Do you want more people to understand Scientology? Is that-- would that be a goal of yours?

TOM CRUISE: You know what? I-- absolutely. Of course, you know. And people--"

Articulate he ain't.

George - well, John McCain was obviously made of sterner stuff than Tom Cruise. He was a soldier. Cults prey on the weak, and those who are insecure, and looking for an answer. Tom Cruise was looking for an answer, and they GOT him.

Totally different situation.

Laura - hahahahaha Exactly! Unless he's parroting the party-line like a robot (and nobody argues with him), he starts to fall apart. Like certain politicians I can think of.