No! Not the Biscuit Tin!

T.J. recoils in horror and wonders `Why` he has to face
the new Tough Cookies... And the first question from the tin is.....

What was the last thing that made you angry?

(Thinks for a long time) I haven't been angry too often,
but for my graduation, I hired a photographer to take
pictures for me to keep. But all he did was eat food
when he was supposed to be taking pictures of me.
So I got fresh and kinda angry with him. Now I know not
to hire someone.

How do you know youre in love?

I think I'm in love when I'm willing to do almost
anything for someone. When something happens to her
and it affects my day. When I think about the girl a lot,
wondering whats going on and what shes doing.

How many times have you been in love?

I think I've been in love twice. But I only had two
main girlfriends, and went out with each of them for
two years. Ive had a couple of girlfriends who I've
only seen for a couple of weeks, too. So I've only
had about four or five girlfriends, but I think I've
only been in love with two of them.

How many pairs of pants do you own?

I probably own 16. (Considers.) No, twelve pairs of
boxer shorts and 6 pairs of briefs, so I would say 18.
But I usually only travel with about six pairs of boxers
and wash them a lot. So the other six boxers dont
really get worn, except in an emergency.

If you could swap places with someone, who would it be?

I'm a really big admirer of my uncle Michael - the way
he acts, his beliefs and just the way he lives - but I
dont think I could handle all the negative media and
the pressure and everything. So I guess I would choose,
like, an innocent kid because theyre so lucky that,
they dont have any worries. Like my little cousins.
All they do is play all day, and it seems so much fun.
(Pauses.) No, can I change my answer? I think I'd swap
places with someone who lives in Spain. A 17-year-old
kid living in Spain, because its just a whole other
life and Id want to see what it was like. Id like to
go to a lot of clubs and not have the Jackson surname,
just to see what its like. Just to compare the two
lifestyles.

Are you a great kisser?

(laughs.) I'm OK. I mean, I've never kissed myself,
so I wouldnt really know. No girl has ever really
complained and not wanted to kiss me again, though.
I guess I get the job done.

Whats your favourite book?

My favourite book is called `Awaken the Giant Within`
and it was written by Anthony Robbins. The reason why
its my favourite book is that its so inspirational.
It's just a confidence builder for each and every
individual. It just makes you believe you can do
anything you want, and thats very important to everyone.
There's so much negativity in the world.

What would be the title of your life story?

I don't know really. I figure I would have to call it
`Me, myself and I` because of the fact that Im so
scattered with so many things going on. What with
school and sports and music, I have so many things
that I want to do. My life is all over the place,
but I'm still one person.

How often do you change your socks?

I change my socks every morning. I sleep with my socks
on. I like to stretch my toes and move them all around,
so the socks sort of restrain that. But if I play
basketball or take part in a sports game, I'll change
them immediately afterwards. So the answer is, at least
once a day, sometimes twice.

Do you floss?

I dont floss every day, unfortunately. When I go to
the dentist, I always get packets of floss and say
I'm going to floss every day, but I don't. I sort of
floss once every two weeks, but I brush twice a day.

[TOUGH COOKIE] Have you ever had plastic surgery?

No, I haven't. None of us have. Do people really think
that? Really? Thats amazing.

Which came first: the chicken or the egg?

The egg, because if the chicken came first, you'd see
the chicken and you wouldn't need the egg. The purpose
of the egg is to protect the chicken.
(Starts to look worried.) I dont know. (Laughs.)
Yeah, I've still got to go with the egg.

Can you answer this question without saying yes or no?

Uhh-uhh. I don't think so. I suppose so. Maybe.

[TOUGH COOKIE] Do you have a girlfriend?

No, not at the moment. Im too busy.

Are you happy with your name?

Its my dads name. Yuh, I'm happy. I like Tito Joe, and
the way you can shorten it to TJ. I like having two
names. In other countries, like in Italy, they call
me Tito Joe. But everyone in my family calls me TJ.

Have you ever broken any bones?

I broke my middle finger when I was about four.
It happened when I was bowling. I was holding the ball,
but was so scared that I let go of it. And the ball
crushed my finger and blood came out. I think my nail
came off, thats why. It was disgusting.

[TOUGH COOKIE] Tell us a deep, dark family secret...

(Pauses for a very long time.) There's nothing you dont know!
I'm trying to think of my brothers. OK, I know.
For Christmas one year, we played Pictionary.
It was my father, my brothers and I against Janet,
my grandmother and two other women. Guys against girls,
and we won! The thing was, when we all left,
my grandmother and Janet were left staring at the board,
thinking about where they went wrong. It just shows
you how competitive we all are. They didnt take it as
just a game - it was serious to them.

Do you ever wear other peoples clothes?

Yes, all the time. This is Taryll's shirt I've got
on now (blue-marl, with a jumping troll in a circle
on it, saying `Finally Seniors 96), and the boxers
I'm wearing are my friend Andrew's. Hes like my brother.
They're washed, of course! These socks are Andrew's,
too. I slept at his house last night.
I usually end up wearing someone else's shirt.

Who is your idol?

I would say my uncle Michael. Just because of
everything hes faced and how strong he is as a person.
How much he's been through and how well hes coped.
Plus, how much he loves kids and how much he does for
the world. I think thats important for anyone whos
successful in life.

Whats the best thing a fans ever given you?

I like everything. I like it when they do drawings.
A lot of fans give us shirts and clothes with cartoon
character on. One gave me a cool Daffy Duck shirt
and I wear that a lot. So thats the best thing that
a fans given me. Its a T-shirt and hes saying,
"I'm not out of control". It was an English fan.