Trixie360 Interviews Tom Sawyer PhD

Published September 24, 2008

He's an cceanographer in Virginia who would rather study eels than eat them and is completely obsessed with Neil Peart. Meet Tom Sawyer PhD.

trixie360: Tell the kids about your Gamertag.

Tom Sawyer PhD: I'm a huge Rush fan. Someone already had "Tom Sawyer" so I just added my credentials.

trixie360: Where do you live?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Gloucester, Virginia.

trixie360: What do you do for a living?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Marine scientist (biological oceanography, marine ecology).

trixie360: What's the worst or weirdest job you've ever had?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Waiting tables at a retirement home.

trixie360: Please pass the stewed prunes. How long have you been on Xbox LIVE®?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Since 2004.

trixie360: Do you have an archenemy on Xbox LIVE?

Tom Sawyer PhD: That co-host on the Major Nelson podcast, e. Just kidding, e.

trixie360: What's your Xbox setup like?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Xbox 360® Elite with a Sony 46-inch Bravia XBR2 LCD 1080p, and 5.1 Surround sound.

trixie360: What's the best feature of Xbox LIVE?

Tom Sawyer PhD: The sense of a true community every time I sign in, plus all of the new content that is updated frequently. And of course, Major Nelson!

trixie360: Yeah, yeah, yeah … What do you think is the best game of all time?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Halo® 3.

trixie360: What's the funniest thing you've ever heard on Xbox LIVE?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Some guy said Rush sucks. That's hilarious because it's so not true!

trixie360: Hysterical. What is your greatest Xbox LIVE moment?

Tom Sawyer PhD: I no-scoped/head shot ElamiteWarrior (MLG pro from the team Str8 Rippin) during a match of lone wolves over XBL. See Halo 3 file share. He still won the match. Damn you, Elamite!

trixie360: Who is your inner rock star?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Neil Peart.

trixie360: If they made a movie about your life, who should play you?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Neil Peart.

trixie360: What cartoon character do you think is most like you?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Eric Cartman.

trixie360: What superpower would you like to have?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Jedi mind tricks.

trixie360: *These are not the sea turtles you're looking for.* If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Neil Peart.

trixie360: Sigh. What celebrity would be the worst roommate?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Posh Spice, she would be vomiting every minute.

trixie360: I'd hide Becks under my bed while she was purging. Steal her shoes too! Hot celeb you'd like to be stranded on a desert island with?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Olivia Munn (it's OK, my wife thinks she's hot, too).

trixie360: If you could be any video game character, who would it be?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Niko Bellic.

trixie360: What's the worst food you've ever eaten?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Eel.

trixie360: Uh, waiter, hold the Dragon Roll. What's the last book you read?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project by Spencer Wells.

trixie360: I totally read that in the bathtub last week. Between Cosmo and War and Peace. If you could go on tour with any band, which would it be?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Rush.

trixie360: I had a feeling you were going to say that. What do you predict will be the "next big thing" in gaming?

Tom Sawyer PhD: A new wave of user-created content.

trixie360: What do you think is the best thing about Xbox 360?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Xbox LIVE.

trixie360: What is the Xbox 360 achievement that was hardest to get?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Mongoose Mowdown in Halo 3. Still can't get it!

trixie360: What would you like to be doing in ten years?

Tom Sawyer PhD: Showing my son (who will be ten in ten years) how to measure a nesting leatherback sea turtle on the beaches of Costa Rica.

Interview by trixie360