Whitechapel - What Made You Weird?

Whitechapel - What Made You Weird? Wed, 22 May 2013 13:28:58 -0700 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/ Lussumo Vanilla 1.1.4 & Feed Publisher What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2646#Comment_2646 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2646#Comment_2646 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:19:08 -0800 Vespers
What made you guys weird? Don't worry, I'll start; I couldn't think of it when they asked on Coilhouse, but I think I know now. Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling. Brilliant. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2650#Comment_2650 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2650#Comment_2650 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:26:07 -0800 graphicartistx What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2652#Comment_2652 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2652#Comment_2652 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:28:10 -0800 Adam Violent
Also the book Maniac McGee and constant Calvin & Hobbes influx. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2657#Comment_2657 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2657#Comment_2657 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:38:01 -0800 MonkeyBusiness What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2662#Comment_2662 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2662#Comment_2662 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:47:04 -0800 Redwynd
1 precocious ten-year-old
0 adults giving satisfactory answers
5 hours a day of an open internet connection(this was in 1995, before time wasters like MMOs and the Facebook/Myspace ilk)
10^10 times too much curiosity

I've been warped ever since, but at least I never lost that sense of wonder with the weird and wonderful I find puttering about the tubes! ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2663#Comment_2663 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2663#Comment_2663 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:50:27 -0800 titivil
The bigger head-scratcher for me is, "Why didn't everyone become weird?" ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2665#Comment_2665 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2665#Comment_2665 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:53:00 -0800 Gypsy What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2667#Comment_2667 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2667#Comment_2667 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:54:41 -0800 Swift Benjamin
For more recent influences, growing up in a small town and thinking I was an insane lefty, going to college, meeting insane lefty's and coming to believe I was a conservative, hanging out with a lot of conservatives and discovering that my beliefs don't fit into any existing political ideology that I've found so far as well as giving me a taste for conflict that has grown into an appetite.

Like Pixies say "politics go so good with beer." ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2668#Comment_2668 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2668#Comment_2668 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:55:30 -0800 Vespers Oh, yeah; I'm not saying that one thing instantly made me weird, just that it opened a whole new area in my head. The thing that was the catalyst, say, more than the one lone thing.

And of course that's a question I ask myself. When I see the sheer number of mundanes in the world my brain goes like 'wha? why would they do that?' ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2670#Comment_2670 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2670#Comment_2670 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:56:18 -0800 babymole
Because of the pretty high level of anonimity here, I'll also tell you all that finding polaroids of my parents fucking when I was 12 is what probably tipped me over the edge. That and doing speed with my dad by age 14.

I'm still weird now, but I'm better at not showing it. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2674#Comment_2674 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2674#Comment_2674 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:01:19 -0800 JaredRules I was what...8 or 9 when it first aired?
That probably warped me pretty good. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2683#Comment_2683 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2683#Comment_2683 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:20:57 -0800 dmclaney What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2686#Comment_2686 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2686#Comment_2686 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:29:05 -0800 titivil
Well, then, Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol

Before that, Buckaroo Banzai and APA-5. But Doom Patrol pretty much led to the rest of my life. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2687#Comment_2687 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2687#Comment_2687 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:31:38 -0800 Alexis
Also I used to look like the Bumblebee girl from the Blind Melon video "No Rain." ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2690#Comment_2690 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2690#Comment_2690 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:34:31 -0800 dswood What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2692#Comment_2692 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2692#Comment_2692 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:38:10 -0800 rrmonroe Batman Returns soundtrack for Christmas. I was nine-years old when the movie came out. Unlike the soundtrack for the '89 Batman movie, which was filled with mediocre Prince songs, the Batman Returns soundtrack was made up of Danny Elfman's dark, creepy score and a particularly sensual Siouxsie and the Banshees track. I became obsessed with the soundtrack, playing it non-stop for hours on end. After that I had a great fondness for things a bit "darker" or unusual. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2695#Comment_2695 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2695#Comment_2695 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:46:47 -0800 Doc Ocassi What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2700#Comment_2700 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2700#Comment_2700 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:55:16 -0800 Redwynd
"Why (the hell not)?" doesn't make you weird, it makes you interesting. Every boring person I ever met has looked at me weird as soon as I ask them that question, about anything. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2703#Comment_2703 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2703#Comment_2703 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:13:42 -0800 C.c. What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2705#Comment_2705 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2705#Comment_2705 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:16:47 -0800 Doc Ocassi What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2708#Comment_2708 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2708#Comment_2708 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:23:53 -0800 Mogki What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2712#Comment_2712 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2712#Comment_2712 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:40:05 -0800 Derekshepard What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2719#Comment_2719 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2719#Comment_2719 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:50:19 -0800 Cat Vincent "1 precocious ten-year-old
0 adults giving satisfactory answers"

Except in my case instead of the Net, I had a very understanding local library which gave me adult tickets before I was ten - and closed-shelf access not long after.
(I should point out that I am an old fart of 43 living in the UK. I shudder to think what would happen to an American librarian today offering such largesse.)

Here's a big question - do you think 'being weird' is nature, nurture or some unholy mix of both?

For me it was both. I was certainly something of a mutant (overly-smart, highly imaginative child in lower-working-class 1970's England) and I believe the free access to new ideas let me stay alive (as in not suiciding) and sane until adulthood.

I'd also put some blame onto Robert Anton Wilson - for all his flaws, his writings (I read Illuminatus/Cosmic Trigger in my early teens) introduced me to the multi-model approach, which gave me a framework to deal with my oddness and my sense of disconnect from the 'real' world I was born into. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2720#Comment_2720 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2720#Comment_2720 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:51:51 -0800 C.c. What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2724#Comment_2724 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2724#Comment_2724 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:01:50 -0800 Redwynd @Doc;

The whole weird VS. interesting debate is one I've gone over a number of times with my weird (and very interesting) friends. I think the crux of it is, and this is just subjective, you can be weird without being interesting, but you can't be interesting without being at least a little weird.

Lets take the stereotypical "cat lady". She's seventy. She lives with 14 cats. She actually happened to be my neighbor a couple of years ago, and I sat down to talk to her. You know what she told me? Everything I never wanted to know about how Mittens was fighting with Fluffy. Now that lady was weird, but she was not the slightest bit interesting.

Flip that over, lets take the interesting girl. Always reading, always thinking, turning ideas over in her head. If you can sit down with her and she's willing to hash out some of what she's thinking about with you, sooner or later she's going to try to express a very interesting idea that's only half formed, and it's going to sound weird as all hell. Talk to her a day or two later, and that idea is going to make perfect sense, but you'll always be left with that impression of the moment you turned to her and thought, "What the fuck did you just say?"

Now obviously I'm pulling a few over-simplified examples here, but you can see what I'm getting at?

@Cat Vincent,

I'm with you for the "both". The ability has to be there, of course, but someone has to point you in the right direction. Or, in my case, shove you away in the right direction. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2729#Comment_2729 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2729#Comment_2729 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:04:13 -0800 Brandon Seifert
I fell on my head when I was an infant and cracked my skull. I fell 10 feet and landed on my face on cement when I was 3. I was on a plane that was struck by lightning when I was 6.

But probably just genetics. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2733#Comment_2733 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2733#Comment_2733 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:06:31 -0800 Wooleybooley What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2734#Comment_2734 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2734#Comment_2734 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:08:23 -0800 oldhat
I'm going to think more on this. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2750#Comment_2750 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2750#Comment_2750 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:29:59 -0800 Doc Ocassi What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2752#Comment_2752 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2752#Comment_2752 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:33:22 -0800 Vespers

I'm going to think more on this.

My Work Here Is Done. Or at least started. As for seeing what it'd be like if the villain won; I love the Elric of Melnibone books. Best antihero ever.

@Cat Vincent
I also got access to adult books etc at 9 or 10. This was only about 10 years ago. So librarians could get away with it at least then. And Weirdness is certainly both nature and nurture. Mundanes can see all we do and it just slides off, without that basic drive to be interesting. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2761#Comment_2761 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2761#Comment_2761 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:46:25 -0800 Redwynd I'm Changing my bit, now that I think a little more, because there is a third force. Where is choice in all this? Yeah, genetics is going to set us up, and someone will give the "push". But like murder, like rape, like invention and art, something along the line has to spring from a choice.

'Cause I don't know about the rest of you, but I refuse to be predetermined by Daddy's dick or Mum's Mommy Issues. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2766#Comment_2766 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2766#Comment_2766 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:54:02 -0800 Vespers I just include that choice to be weird in the 'nature' part. By nature I don't mean genetics or whatever, I just think of it as, well, who you are. And part of who you are is obviously that choice to accept the weird and wonderful parts of the world and not let them slide off like far too many people do. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2770#Comment_2770 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2770#Comment_2770 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:05:40 -0800 Redwynd
Going to curve-ball this a little, but the question of choice is going to be the litmus test of A.I., and of citizenship in highly over-populated nations. They have what they are born with (programmed), what they have learned (data input), but they aren't truly "intelligent" until they learn to synthesize the data they have collected and be able to produce original thoughts. And the same goes for people; it has long been my contention that so-called "people" are really just sub-par pretenders. If they are purely reactionary, without at least trying to think their own thoughts, can they really be considered a "person"?

And then there's the question of how to design the test, but that's an implementation issue. Implementation is always flawed. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2772#Comment_2772 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2772#Comment_2772 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:07:53 -0800 Fauxhammer What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2773#Comment_2773 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2773#Comment_2773 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:08:17 -0800 Miss Apparently it was my favourite.
And various things. Like discovering that teachers do not like being corrected by a five-year-old. And opting to work in a mortuary as a holiday job when fourteen. Listening to Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast non-stop for a week at age seven. Lots of self-imposed isolation. No television until I was about eight, which was just dandy. Being kicked out of Brownies on my first day (my first personal experience of an overtly fascist regime). Paralytic fear of E.T. that still exists. Reading lots. Being constantly shunted between a neurotic writer and a depressed mathematical genius. And so on. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2776#Comment_2776 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2776#Comment_2776 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:13:33 -0800 John Smith What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2778#Comment_2778 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2778#Comment_2778 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:15:21 -0800 Vespers As you're talking to me and I started the thread, it's all my fault if it curves anyway.

And. yes. Once one thinks about it, one would give choice it's own category. I agree, there are things in my nature also that I'm trying damned hard to eradicate, and things that I'm trying damned hard to integrate into my nature. So perhaps choice is a necessary, herm, say, not exactly a third category, but a control mechanism on one's nature?

Which fits with that A.I. thing. If one hasn't got control over one's nature, if it's all external input... is one really alive? Nah.

Edit: @ John Smith: Isn't it sad that having the intelligence to learn new things and caring to use it is seen as weird now? ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2780#Comment_2780 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2780#Comment_2780 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:16:11 -0800 tmofee What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2786#Comment_2786 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2786#Comment_2786 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:25:28 -0800 turing What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2790#Comment_2790 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2790#Comment_2790 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:33:31 -0800 Toga
Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles
Magic Bus/Someone's Coming by The Who
Gitarzan/Bagpipes by Ray Stevens

He would put on the Jesus Christ Superstar album for me and I would like on our basement floor imaging the whole production.

Genetics.

I'm dyslexic. I learned to read because of comics.

My favorite toy was a Mego Spiderman.

My father was an alcoholic and my mother was the oddest co-dependent.

I spent seventeen years in Catholic school.

I went from classic piano to the Dead Kennedys, the Sex Pistols, Violent Femmes, Black Flag, the Circle Jerks and Joy Division. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2792#Comment_2792 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2792#Comment_2792 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:35:43 -0800 Agitpunkt What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2793#Comment_2793 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2793#Comment_2793 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:36:37 -0800 John Smith What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2801#Comment_2801 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2801#Comment_2801 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:46:44 -0800 Cat Vincent
For me, it never felt like there was a choice. Bluntly, I felt 'drafted' into being what I was. I won't bore you all with the combination of religious studies and magical practices and research that got me to feeling that though the choice of being weird/odd/magical was not really mine, I had finally shaped myself into who I am and want to be. I'm content with this end result.
But others do find my a bit weird... ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2803#Comment_2803 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2803#Comment_2803 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:49:12 -0800 Corey Waits
I don't know, I think I had such a boringly normal upbringing that I rebelled against it by becoming slightly strange.
It's weird when there's something that helps you realise how strange you are. For example, I just can NOT listen to commercial radio. For one thing the music is terrible, but the radio ads just make me want to kill.
It's odd when there's been a massive hit on the radio, and by the time everyone else has gotten sick of hearing it, I still haven't even heard it. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2806#Comment_2806 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2806#Comment_2806 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:50:36 -0800 branjo definitely musical theater. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2808#Comment_2808 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2808#Comment_2808 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:57:24 -0800 Vespers But as you just said, you had to shape yourself. So that there's an element of choice. You may not feel like you had a choice in how you ended up, but it didn't just happen. You worked for it. Yes? ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2813#Comment_2813 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2813#Comment_2813 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:04:33 -0800 Cat Vincent An element of choice in how to deal with being weird, yes. Of being weird, not really. YMMV. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2814#Comment_2814 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2814#Comment_2814 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:08:11 -0800 irenekaoru What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2832#Comment_2832 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2832#Comment_2832 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:36:24 -0800 warrenellis What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2836#Comment_2836 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2836#Comment_2836 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:41:44 -0800 Cat Vincent What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2842#Comment_2842 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2842#Comment_2842 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:06:52 -0800 dswood What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2853#Comment_2853 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2853#Comment_2853 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:23:08 -0800 Sarpedon generally I'd say, like so many others, reading a lot when I was a kid and forever being more interested in books, reading, ideas, and imagination than almost anything right in front of my face.

It seems like most of the people here got a hold of a book or something that knocked your idea of what was possible up a notch. I'm close to getting the right image, that's not quite it. It's like hopping over onto a different track, taking the 'road less traveled' to paraphrase Frost.

The distinction between weird and interesting is a very important one. I think Interesting people tend to be thoughtful and communicative in addition to spending their time with things most people don't pay attention to. There are days when I just want to walk up to people who have a dull look in their eyes, grab them and shake them and say "DAMN IT, CAN'T YOU SEE ALL OF THIS?! There's so much going on just when you walk down the street to buy some milk that no one even thinks about that if they stopped for just a moment and noticed how leaves skittered across the dry pavement on a fall day or how people try so hard to communicate and just end up skimming the top layer of knowning what the other's thinking or talking about. This is sort of off topic now, but it's so hard to look at people and know that you can't know much of what they're thinking unless you spend most of your time with them. I'm sure you know what I'm getting at, since we're all a little weird here. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2910#Comment_2910 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2910#Comment_2910 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:36:12 -0800 Brand What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2919#Comment_2919 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2919#Comment_2919 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:56:04 -0800 JaredRules Like how somone was talking about how they had to play with all their old toys equally lest one gets jealuos? I totally know what you mean!
Or I still, to this day, end up playing the "don't step on a crack" game, or like "I can only step on each square once" sorta stuff. Sometimes I end up looking goofy, but I've gotten pretty good at making it look natural. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2922#Comment_2922 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2922#Comment_2922 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:02:20 -0800 jigsawjones
I can say with perfect certainty that TV made me weird. My father died very suddenly when I was a baby, and he had been the sole provider. My family had to struggle during my childhood, so the TV was my primary caregiver. My earliest memory is actually a nightmare about Sesame Street I had when I was 2 or 3.

But really, where the weirdness really comes in, is when I think back to the young times, formative moments, I remember very clearly that we had a tiny TV that only received a few channels. And on one of those channels, there were syndicated shows in the morning. And my schedule worked out so that I was able to watch THE MUPPET SHOW, immediately followed by MORK & MINDY.

And I thought that those were normal TV shows. I thought the adult world was comprised of news and soap operas, but that the rest of the world was Muppets and cocaine-addled Robin Williams (I naturally didn't know about the coke until later).

Raised by Carter/Reagan-era US media. It's a wonder I'm not locked up somewhere. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2926#Comment_2926 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2926#Comment_2926 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:08:53 -0800 Ben
Growing up with a weight problem, very few friends and nothing but the internet to interact with at home for eighteen years. Having my family blow apart and scatter to the four corners of north america after my mother coming out, then deciding that it was a good idea to spend my summers in the middle of buttfuck nowhere Alberta*no, not Grande Prairie, but damned close* planting trees with freaks. Also, helicopters introducing me to the idea that adrenaline can be FUN! ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2932#Comment_2932 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2932#Comment_2932 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:21:16 -0800 ravnos
Also, Batman/Batman Returns, my roommate and I discussed that the other day ("I know why we are so weird, we watched these a lot when we were little"). ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2941#Comment_2941 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2941#Comment_2941 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:31:16 -0800 Svetlana What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2947#Comment_2947 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2947#Comment_2947 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:41:22 -0800 johndavid What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2963#Comment_2963 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2963#Comment_2963 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:05:42 -0800 JaredRules It didn't help that my brother and I used to bring things like grappling hooks to school and scale school buildings and signs.

Dude, I would have instantly befriended you. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2969#Comment_2969 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2969#Comment_2969 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:15:39 -0800 bschory
My parents freely admit they had a lot to do with it.

I would also blame those awful tie die shirts with animals on them that I wore as a kid in the early 90s. They were obviously inspired by acid trips, and I was subjected to their awesomely trippy imagery almost daily, either by wearing one or having a friend who did. That can't have been good for my sanity.

The wonderfully fresh air and water in New Jersey.

Hell, growing up in New Jersey in general. O.o ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2980#Comment_2980 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=2980#Comment_2980 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:42:05 -0800 Spiraltwist
I was four, maybe five, and a lady came up to me while I was playing in the park and told me I was an abomination and I shouldn't even exist. She then just walked away.

I lived and breathed boks. Craved the outdoors. Refused to conform simply because everyone else was doing it. Didn't make me the most popular kid, but I had the most self-confidence. And more importantly, a mother who encouraged my curiousity, no matter how odd, as long as anything that lived and crawled stayed outside the house. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3008#Comment_3008 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3008#Comment_3008 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:59:52 -0800 Vespers I was four, maybe five, and a lady came up to me while I was playing in the park and told me I was an abomination and I shouldn't even exist. She then just walked away.
Are you being serious? Because if you are, that's the best thing in life.

and @bschory: Tie dye is one of the awesomest inventions known to man. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3045#Comment_3045 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3045#Comment_3045 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:56:40 -0800 Adam
So as a result, I live in my own imagination. But thats okay - they know me in here. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3048#Comment_3048 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3048#Comment_3048 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:01:54 -0800 Vespers What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3050#Comment_3050 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3050#Comment_3050 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:08:32 -0800 MonkeyBusiness What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3052#Comment_3052 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3052#Comment_3052 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:15:34 -0800 Elohim Eidetic memory and grown-up books before I was old enough for them to work for me
Deficit in human interaction at the formative stage.
Psychosis
Being bullied from as soon as I encountered other humans until I was 6'2.
Being a Muslim pissed off with nearly every other Muslim. Gaaar.

Could just be me. But now I'm smiley, and they don't realise I'm insane until it's too late. But I am a beneficent master... ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3085#Comment_3085 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3085#Comment_3085 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:27:12 -0800 Fredrik
I finally broke the spiral at the end of the 90:s but I still cannot be part of the mainstream, no matter how I try I'm always an outsider in every group, a black sheep with nuclear eyebeam lasers. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3088#Comment_3088 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3088#Comment_3088 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:35:57 -0800 Ferburton What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3089#Comment_3089 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3089#Comment_3089 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:38:54 -0800 Vespers they made you weird. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3101#Comment_3101 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3101#Comment_3101 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:24:21 -0800 kittydoom What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3102#Comment_3102 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3102#Comment_3102 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:28:07 -0800 Redwynd
I did, in a bar. The guy who bullied me through most of grade school would up being a thoughtful, intelligent person, who actually and sincerely apologized for all the shit he did to me. It was pretty cool.

Then we got drunk and beat the shit out of HIS grade school bully. Good times! ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3103#Comment_3103 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3103#Comment_3103 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:28:26 -0800 hemlock_martini
I think a lot of it also comes from being told repeatedly as a child that I was a genius par excellence, and spending my time in school as if it were true, breezing through classes while remaining emotionally unstable and socially stunted. Naturally, I spent most of my college years either smacking my face against academic walls or moping in my room, wondering why nobody liked me. It took me until 22 years of age to realize that I couldn't spend my entire life staying in my head all the time, and that I actually had to work hard to succeed in anything and actively not be an asshole to people.

As for other influences, I blame sci-fi of all stripes, cult movies, too much late night TV from pre-cable times, Weird Al Yankovich's "Dare To Be Stupid," Ben Edlund's original black-and-white issues of "The Tick," and Rocky Horror. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3114#Comment_3114 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3114#Comment_3114 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:56:17 -0800 cmwich
I was already plenty weird by the time I discovered Warren, so I won't blame him for this one. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3119#Comment_3119 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3119#Comment_3119 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:02:39 -0800 screaming meat What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3124#Comment_3124 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3124#Comment_3124 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:06:54 -0800 Nico What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3129#Comment_3129 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3129#Comment_3129 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:10:44 -0800 Kunundrum What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3150#Comment_3150 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3150#Comment_3150 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:36:24 -0800 Sarpedon I've seen a couple of "bullied" comments....any one ever run into their grade school bullies, years later?

Last I hear the kid who used spent a couple of years just knocking me over and chasing me at recess had maybe gotten some girl pregnant and was going exactly no where in life.

I did, in a bar. The guy who bullied me through most of grade school would up being a thoughtful, intelligent person, who actually and sincerely apologized for all the shit he did to me. It was pretty cool.

Then we got drunk and beat the shit out of HIS grade school bully. Good times!

This might be the best thing ever. I got past wanting to beat up the kid who beat me up when I realized I could kick the shit out of him no problem. Knowing I can means I don't have to I guess. I'm not sure that had much to do with my character though, I just got good at taking a wide stance so he couldn't push me over at all. Frustrating that kid was always the highlight of my day. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3235#Comment_3235 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3235#Comment_3235 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:17:07 -0800 gdwessel
The biggest one? Asperger's syndrome that went undiagnosed until I was, oh, 32?

--- Geoff ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3236#Comment_3236 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3236#Comment_3236 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:17:17 -0800 helloMuller What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3255#Comment_3255 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3255#Comment_3255 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:54:28 -0800 Alexa_D What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3263#Comment_3263 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3263#Comment_3263 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:08:07 -0800 Nil
Moving from Dorset to the far north of Scotland was probably the turning point on the whole weirdness thing. Being stuck in a tiny, shitty little town where precisely everyone else in my school hated me meant that I was more or less free to do as I wanted, as there was absolutely no point trying to fit in anyway.

So, yeah. Reading anything and everything - Chomsky at 14, Crowley at 15, always lots and lots of sci-fi. Growing up with my dad's music collection - lots of Genesis and Yes. Being raised Christian may have had something to do with it as well - now a pretty dedicated atheist, but I still know my Bible better than most. Discovering lots of very strange and heavy music all at once - I somehow managed to miss out almost entirely on the whole nu-metal thing that caught most of my peers, going from Steps (I kid you not) to Linkin Park to Dimmu Borgir to Merzbow, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Sunn 0))) within about two years.

Oh, and finally making some very good friends who thought not only that being weird was OK but was in fact better than being normal probably helped. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3267#Comment_3267 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3267#Comment_3267 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:15:11 -0800 harchangel What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3276#Comment_3276 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3276#Comment_3276 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:31:59 -0800 Solario
A 30 years age gap between my parents, one of whom (my 80 year old, upper class, ex-WWII resistance, globetrotting dad) is fairly conservative (fortunately, not in the religious or xenophobic sense) and a mother who is liberal, lower middle class (or started out that way), tolerant nurse/caretaker. It's given me some fairly... interesting viewpoints and has probably schewed me more than a little growing up with people who are so very different. Of course they're both stubborn as fuck and very cultural, so I probably got that from them as well. I enjoy being the Devil's Advocate. I think it's for the better though.

Genetics from said parents.

Caring for my father who suffered a blood clog when I was 10, that paralyzed him in his right arm and partially in his left leg, along with a little damage to his language center.

Being ruthlessly bullied for a good 10 years to the point of developing a stutter (which I have fortunately lost completely the last five years) and probably a good portion of mental scaring.

Comics. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3281#Comment_3281 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3281#Comment_3281 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:40:56 -0800 muse hick What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3321#Comment_3321 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3321#Comment_3321 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:32:26 -0800 hank What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3323#Comment_3323 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3323#Comment_3323 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:33:53 -0800 Stitchy What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3338#Comment_3338 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3338#Comment_3338 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:51:19 -0800 ravnos What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3341#Comment_3341 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3341#Comment_3341 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:55:03 -0800 exoskeletoncabaret Obsessed with ancient Egyptian ritual and mummification at an early age. I was allowed to wear eyeliner, ankhs, and gold lame on Halloween when I was 8.
Daughter of a childrens' librarian. Read at a college level in elementary school--got me into a lot of trouble, let me tell you. Bullied for years due to butt-length hair, big glasses, crooked teeth, tendency to read the encyclopedia in public for fun, etc.
My grandfather was part of the Manhattan Project and also invented the Renuzit air freshener. I think he rubbed off on me.

Actually, no, it's all PBS' fault. Really. I blame Mathnet. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3379#Comment_3379 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3379#Comment_3379 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:39:07 -0800 zerodemocracy What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3380#Comment_3380 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3380#Comment_3380 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:41:05 -0800 The Gooch What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3388#Comment_3388 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3388#Comment_3388 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:53:11 -0800 lazarus corporation

addiction to soap operas,

adverts (especially the current trend of adverts for air fresheners - just open the window for gawds sake!), and

obsessive interest in the lives of talentless celebrities.

Now that's weird! ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3391#Comment_3391 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3391#Comment_3391 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:55:53 -0800 ravnos Reminds me of a lot of the things I did growing up. I too was reading on a college level in elementary school. I cared more about reading than having friends, which caused some bullying. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3425#Comment_3425 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3425#Comment_3425 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:36:55 -0800 Vespers Yes. What you've said is rather like me, except I'm not sure I've actually come to realize what you did yet, at least not subconsciously.

@lazarus corporation
You have an exceedingly good point there. We're the normal ones. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3430#Comment_3430 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3430#Comment_3430 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:39:58 -0800 nietoperz My Way on Thames TV back in about 1979 or so. I must have been all of 8, and he was the coolest fucking thing I'd ever seen. That was it right there. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3467#Comment_3467 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3467#Comment_3467 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:19:19 -0800 ARES Fold out vinyl cover of my mom's copy of In The Court of the Crimson King.
First compilation tape received at 5 years old containing various Suicidal Tendencies, The Vandals, and The Jesus and Mary Chain songs.
Being born in the desert with the obligatory larger than usual cranium.
Etc. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3473#Comment_3473 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3473#Comment_3473 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:24:52 -0800 EvilNinjaPhil What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3486#Comment_3486 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3486#Comment_3486 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:38:08 -0800 Brand Actually, no, it's all PBS' fault. Really. I blame Mathnet.

OMG! Mathnet, I remember that. I used to watch it everyday. I was thinking about the other day and couldn't remember the name of the show. I tried asking people and they were like "What?! That sounds to strange to be real". I want to watch this again.

Now, when I think about it, I grew up watching a lot of educational T.V. I guess it does say a lot about my interests when, I'm watching PBS specials on ancient Egypt or Greece instead of a lot of cartoons. I also watched a lot of This Old House, but with Steve as the host, fuck Bob Villa. Even today most of the television I watch is educational. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3521#Comment_3521 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3521#Comment_3521 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:12:44 -0800 Admiral Neck What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3522#Comment_3522 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3522#Comment_3522 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:15:27 -0800 Ecksearoh What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3534#Comment_3534 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3534#Comment_3534 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:31:36 -0800 tonymoore
My mom worked a lot, and was a widow with me and my little brother, so we spent a lot of time with our Grandparents. my uncle was 19 when i was born and still lived at home with my grandparents when i was really little, and i spent a lot of time with him when i was young and in many ways he became my male role model. He was into comics, computers, model rockets, Kurt Saxon, Star Trek, and horror movies and basically everything i love today.

being young and living so far from town and on a farm, i had the time and solitude to get into things a lot of parents would be mortified by. electrical experiments, fire and explosives, and poking at dead things in the woods.

i learned about sex the same way i learned about most things, by hearing others talk about it and then looking it up in the encyclopedia when i got home.

Also, i was in the gifted students' program, and all my friends were the same kinda outcast as me. horrible at sports, and breezed through school in ways that often made others seem to resent us.

So yeah... isolation, curiosity, and time, and the general influence of a nerdy uncle.

-T ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3548#Comment_3548 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3548#Comment_3548 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:59:56 -0800 Dwight_MacPherson
-D ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3565#Comment_3565 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3565#Comment_3565 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:14:29 -0800 Brad McLoughlin
So I started watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.... Fill in the 13 year blank (or something to that effect) between that and me posting on Whitechapel, and you probably know pretty much everything about me. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3572#Comment_3572 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3572#Comment_3572 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:23:27 -0800 Steve Anderson
My real dad went to prison when I was about 1, my mom left him, and it was just me, her and my grandparents. My grandfather died of cancer when I was 9, more introversion and confusion. We lived in a pretty crappy neighborhood, so I kind of stuck to myself. I read a lot, watched a lot of movies, and skipped a lot of school as I got older. My real dad and his dad were both murdered (probably something drug-related) when I was 12. We found out about it when it came on the evening news that night. Lots of other weird incidents, always kind of antisocial, went to a few shrinks, had low self-esteem, social anxiety, blah blah. As corny as it sounds, good books and good music is what made me embrace being an oddball.

Now as an adult, I'm the opposite. I've got great people skills, I'm ambitious, and confident. I'm still weird, but I'm happier that way. I still have quite a tremendous amount of misanthropic feelings, but who doesn't today? The awkward teenage years kind of fuck with you, but if you survive those, you really outshine most of your peers. A lot of people I knew seem so miserable with their lives now. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3624#Comment_3624 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3624#Comment_3624 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:17:20 -0800 Emily Knight
That said, I was given several Carl Sagan books, quite a bit of Heinlein and Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon at the same time in Junior High and it was all downhill from there. I would never have quite the same view of logic, religion, gender and sexuality as the rest of reality seems to expect me to. I think my way is more fun. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3653#Comment_3653 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3653#Comment_3653 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:46:56 -0800 Spiraltwist Are you being serious?

Yes. I learned at a young age I define myself, not someone else's opinion. ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3654#Comment_3654 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3654#Comment_3654 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:49:08 -0800 Vespers What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3658#Comment_3658 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3658#Comment_3658 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:57:54 -0800 Spiraltwist What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3939#Comment_3939 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=3939#Comment_3939 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 07:11:43 -0800 The Skoot
As for what made me realise that I was weird? I was a social pariah until past my twentieth birthday, shunned by everyone, unable to participate in any conversation fully without people talking down to me, telling me how I'm wrong or just plain ignoring me, and just generally being thought of as weird by everybody. Finally something snapped in my head, and I figured that if people thought I was weird, then I'm going to fucking well embrace it, for god's sake. Since then I've crafted (and am still crafting - it's a very fluid process) a facade that I use in real life that allows me to be weird enough to satisfy my inner self whilst still being socially acceptable. It's not easy, and it's taken it's toll on me, but it's helped me to survive amongst humanity.

Of course, on top of that there's the constant feeling that everything around me is wrong, which I was unable to process properly until about a year or so ago, which meant that it came out of me as an intense self-hatred.

This is sort of off topic now, but it's so hard to look at people and know that you can't know much of what they're thinking unless you spend most of your time with them.

Oh god, I know exactly what you mean. There are times when I'll look at people walking past me on the street and try to realise that they're all individual human beings completely separate from me, or look out of the window and try to see that there are different lives going on in each building, and I just can't get my head around something that big. I have no idea how anyone can live in this world - truly live in it, rather than just sleepwalk through it - and not be weird for some reason or another.

EDIT: Woah, big post. I guess I had some venting to do ;). ]]> What Made You Weird? http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=4208#Comment_4208 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=104&Focus=4208#Comment_4208 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:07:58 -0800 jensen5