The Rules of The CAP Saga

[mmike1969]

well of course the conversation was coherent... Everyone was stoned and on the same page.

[methodwriter85]

I was speaking more about his mentality towards his sport. One can play football for the fun of it, and I'd not consider them a jock. But someone who is totally dedicated to their sport, who lives and breathes it, then yeah, I'd consider them a jokc, even if they played something like golf.

 

True, but I just can't see him knocking back Natty light at ragers with the Malibu High football team. He has the mentality towards the sport, but nothing else really "jocky" about his behavior.

[Mark Arbour]

21. They will get high on a balcony or deck, and still have coherent conversations and not raid the kitchen.

 

...what?

 

You make an excellent point. Look for more munchies in the future when they get high.

 

"You were awesome last night," Brad said to Robbie as he took a drag off the joint. "I've never seen a guy take two dicks and a dildo at the same time."

 

"I told you I could do it," Robbie said as he grinned and blushed at the same time. "Pass the Doritos."

 

[methodwriter85]

There's gotta be more munchies, especially considering that we're back to the perspective of teenage boys. If I remember correctly, you are a human garbage disposal when you're a teenaged boy.

 

As for the skater/punk guy, what do you think Will is? He may not skate, yet, but it's coming.

 

So I'm right then- if Will's a skater punk, he's not going to touch Abercrombie and Fitch. I've never met skater punks who'd wear that kind of stuff.

 

Brands were really huge at the start of that decade- what you wore said a lot about who you were, or at least were trying to be. The guys who were anti-A&F tended to be the skater/punk guys, for the most part.

Edited April 21, 2011 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

22. Every lead protagonist needs to have a fling with a hot foreigner at least once. (Stefan and Marcel, are of course exempt from this trope.) Now this is a trope I can really get behind. I can't think of anything that would be more fun than a summer romance with a hot Italian guy. And of course, it makes sense that for the amount of traveling they do and the great looks they have, the characters would have cute foreign guys falling all over them.

Edited July 6, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

22. Every lead protagonist needs to have a fling with a hot foreigner at least once. (Stefan and Marcel, are of course exempt from this trope.) Now this is a trope I can really get behind. I can't think of anything that would be more fun than a summer romance with a hot Italian guy. And of course, it makes sense that for the amount of traveling they do and the great looks they have, the characters would have cute foreign guys falling all over them.

 

I think this should be a rule for all American males in real life. I think they should all have sex with a hot foreign guy. Just once. Think of how that would change our world.

[centexhairysub]

I think this should be a rule for all American males in real life. I think they should all have sex with a hot foreign guy. Just once. Think of how that would change our world.

 

 

I am going to preface my comments here by advising that I am a slut... Okay, I was more of a slut from 17 to 30 years of age but still. I completely agree with the idea that in real life every gay man should sleep with a man from another country. Unless you leave in New York City, D.C., Los Angeles, or a city with a large university that has a lot of foreign students or you travel this may not always be easy but it is well worth the time and whatever else it takes... It doesn't count if the person has lived in the US longer than ten years or is second generation; something happens to those men and they seem to lose that uniqueness of where they are from.

 

If you have to limit yourself to the men from one or two countries; I suggest you go for either Irish, Italians, Greeks, Lebanese, or New Zealanders... In the days preceeding my 30th birthday, I tried to become a one man United Nations welcoming committee. I slept with at least three different men from 19 countries, two different from 16 countries, and one each from almost two dozen others... See, I told you I was a slut... LOL... Now, a lot of these was in the eighties so I don't know the exact ethnic or nationalistic breakdown from the ones from Czechoslovakia, Yougoslavia, or the old U.S.S.R.; so that country count is probably not accurate any longer but I did my research on as many as I could... I hit every continent and cast as wide a net as I could.

 

I really believe that you gain a certain perspective by being that intimate with someone from another culture. You are able to connect on a level and in a way that helps you to understand the person not just your idea of who they are based on their home country. Many of the men I slept with were from communist countries prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall and it was interesting how different they were from the idea that I had in my head of who they would be based on the propoganda we grow up with. It is harder to look at someone's culture or country in a negative light after you have gotten to know them on an intimate level. It makes you realize how much of what we hear about others is from a viewpoint that often is without experience or any sense of a one on one contact to help form that viewpoint.

 

Now, I am not saying to do what I did; I look back now and go " OMG " I must have been crazy and by the luck of God came through relatively unscathed. I have never had any type of veneral disease and only twice in my life did I end up with crabs, and both of those times, it was actually from guys here in the US...

 

I just think if we took the time and effort to step out of our comfort zones and experienced more of the world in this manner, or any other for that matter; we would be better people individually and a better nation collectively. It amazes me how insular the US has always been and continues to be.

 

Each guy is different and just because they are from the same country they don't have the same moves and ideas of what makes great sex but some countries seem to be better at it then others; althought there are always exceptions... I found the guys from East Germany were better than those from West Germany, remember this was the 80's, so they are split still... I also found that guys from rural areas tended to be better, at least from my point of view, than those in the cities. You can have a guy from a country be great and then anyone else you experience from there be lousy or vice versa. I found for me that the exceptions usually proved the axiom. If I had to list the five best guys I ever slept with by country; and I will for the purpose of this discussion... Number one was a guy from Sweden, but the other Swedes I slept with were rather cold fishes; number two was Irish, and every Irishman I ever slept with was excellent; number three was Lebanese, and all I can say is WOW; number four was Greek, and damn they must have been practicing solid for thousands of years; and number five was Italian. oh such passion.

 

Now, what each person likes when it comes to sex can be so different from everyone else; so what I liked about someone or some country, you may go damn...I can't believe they just did that... Find out what you like, and find someone that likes it too.....

 

P.S. Since I turned 40, and number of years ago, I have been with only seven guys and the same one for the last couple of years. Yes, he knows my past and while he doesn't exactly approve of it; he does enjoy the benefits of my youthful explorations...

[Mark Arbour]

I am going to preface my comments here by advising that I am a slut... Okay, I was more of a slut from 17 to 30 years of age but still. I completely agree with the idea that in real life every gay man should sleep with a man from another country. Unless you leave in New York City, D.C., Los Angeles, or a city with a large university that has a lot of foreign students or you travel this may not always be easy but it is well worth the time and whatever else it takes... It doesn't count if the person has lived in the US longer than ten years or is second generation; something happens to those men and they seem to lose that uniqueness of where they are from.

 

If you have to limit yourself to the men from one or two countries; I suggest you go for either Irish, Italians, Greeks, Lebanese, or New Zealanders... In the days preceeding my 30th birthday, I tried to become a one man United Nations welcoming committee. I slept with at least three different men from 19 countries, two different from 16 countries, and one each from almost two dozen others... See, I told you I was a slut... LOL... Now, a lot of these was in the eighties so I don't know the exact ethnic or nationalistic breakdown from the ones from Czechoslovakia, Yougoslavia, or the old U.S.S.R.; so that country count is probably not accurate any longer but I did my research on as many as I could... I hit every continent and cast as wide a net as I could.

 

I really believe that you gain a certain perspective by being that intimate with someone from another culture. You are able to connect on a level and in a way that helps you to understand the person not just your idea of who they are based on their home country. Many of the men I slept with were from communist countries prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall and it was interesting how different they were from the idea that I had in my head of who they would be based on the propoganda we grow up with. It is harder to look at someone's culture or country in a negative light after you have gotten to know them on an intimate level. It makes you realize how much of what we hear about others is from a viewpoint that often is without experience or any sense of a one on one contact to help form that viewpoint.

 

Now, I am not saying to do what I did; I look back now and go " OMG " I must have been crazy and by the luck of God came through relatively unscathed. I have never had any type of veneral disease and only twice in my life did I end up with crabs, and both of those times, it was actually from guys here in the US...

 

I just think if we took the time and effort to step out of our comfort zones and experienced more of the world in this manner, or any other for that matter; we would be better people individually and a better nation collectively. It amazes me how insular the US has always been and continues to be.

 

Each guy is different and just because they are from the same country they don't have the same moves and ideas of what makes great sex but some countries seem to be better at it then others; althought there are always exceptions... I found the guys from East Germany were better than those from West Germany, remember this was the 80's, so they are split still... I also found that guys from rural areas tended to be better, at least from my point of view, than those in the cities. You can have a guy from a country be great and then anyone else you experience from there be lousy or vice versa. I found for me that the exceptions usually proved the axiom. If I had to list the five best guys I ever slept with by country; and I will for the purpose of this discussion... Number one was a guy from Sweden, but the other Swedes I slept with were rather cold fishes; number two was Irish, and every Irishman I ever slept with was excellent; number three was Lebanese, and all I can say is WOW; number four was Greek, and damn they must have been practicing solid for thousands of years; and number five was Italian. oh such passion.

 

Now, what each person likes when it comes to sex can be so different from everyone else; so what I liked about someone or some country, you may go damn...I can't believe they just did that... Find out what you like, and find someone that likes it too.....

 

P.S. Since I turned 40, and number of years ago, I have been with only seven guys and the same one for the last couple of years. Yes, he knows my past and while he doesn't exactly approve of it; he does enjoy the benefits of my youthful explorations...

 

 

That was a fascinating post! One clarification: I didn't say all GAY men, I said all men. I think straight guys could use a foreign guy experience. Just one. It will be good for them.

 

The slutty issue..well...maybe I'll address that in another thread.

 

 

[methodwriter85]

That was a fascinating post! One clarification: I didn't say all GAY men, I said all men. I think straight guys could use a foreign guy experience. Just one. It will be good for them.

 

Are you hinting that you're going to let Darius experiment with a guy when he's overseas in Iraq?

[B1ue]

I think putting an obviously Middle Eastern guy in the middle of a unit stationed in Iraq is a terrific way to kill said guy.

 

I am grateful and thankful for our men and women in uniform, including my own sisters. But ain't none of them, including agai my sisters, wrapped too tightly when they come back from over there.

[Mark Arbour]

Are you hinting that you're going to let Darius experiment with a guy when he's overseas in Iraq?

 

I'm saying that men, all men, need to explore their boundaries. If you never cross the border, how do you know what it's like on the other side?

 

 

I think putting an obviously Middle Eastern guy in the middle of a unit stationed in Iraq is a terrific way to kill said guy.

 

I am grateful and thankful for our men and women in uniform, including my own sisters. But ain't none of them, including agai my sisters, wrapped too tightly when they come back from over there.

 

That's very sad, and very true.

[rjo]

Just a thought: We take young men and women brake them down and teach them how to kill and then when they come back we wonder why they don't fit in. Many of them have seen things which no one should ever see. Done things no one should do, and we wonder why? If Mark sends Darius into Iraq or Afghanistan, guard him well. Remember Tonto is watching you.

Edited July 7, 2011 by rjo

[methodwriter85]

Nah, I think the worst that would happen to Darius is that he'll lose a leg or something. If Mark killed off Darius, that would essentially send Robbie into a deep state of grief and mourning that I don't think he could survive. Which would really, really piss off the very vocal Robbie fans.

 

Anyway Blue, wasn't it your idea to have Darius be the one going off to war and joining the army? I'm just running with it. It does feel like a distinct possibility. But I agree with your assessment that Gathan or one of his brothers would be the more likely people to go. I think Gathan's friend Chord SCREAMS "Future Iraq War vet".

[centexhairysub]

I do agree that with the coming years we will see a few people go off to war, and I think the odds are that some of them will not be coming back. I was sort of looking for Darius to get that appointment to one of the service academies and get to Iraq or wherever as an officer, I could really see Darius as a pilot... I agree that it would be really hard to lose Darius, Mark remember how pissed some of us are still about Jeff. The odds are that someone in the extended family or among their friends is going to lose someone to the senseless war coming up...

 

I also agree with the point made earlier that when you train a young man or woman to kill and then they are put in the situation that many of our brave men and women have been put in; the transition back to civilian life is often harder than you can imagine.

[methodwriter85]

The odds are that someone in the extended family or among their friends is going to lose someone to the senseless war coming up...

 

ESPECIALLY when Mark added in Gathan and a new generation of Hayes boys. It's in their blood. One of them, if not more, is going to want to fight in Aghanistan after 9/11 happens. There were a lot of guys who signed up for the military after 9/11 hit, including Pat Tillman, an NFL player who wound up getting killed by friendly fire which the miltiary covered up for years.

Edited August 3, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

Nah, I think the worst that would happen to Darius is that he'll lose a leg or something. If Mark killed off Darius, that would essentially send Robbie into a deep state of grief and mourning that I don't think he could survive. Which would really, really piss off the very vocal Robbie fans.

 

 

I think you're missing the real point here. The wounds these guys bring back from Afghanistan and Iraq are more likely to not be physical, but to be mental. These wars have seriously f**ked up some young minds. In my opinion, it's one of the most depressing things I've seen. Even if they haven't lost a limb, they've lost the ability to be happy.

[methodwriter85]

True. I've talked to my friend Mason. He lost a pinkie in Iraq, but most of all he just lost that happy twinkle in his eyes that he had when I knew him in high school, and he's apparently battling a drinking problem.

 

It's just weird reading CAP now. It's the start of the 2000's, and these people really have no clue how horrible the proceeding decade is going to be.

Edited August 3, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

True. I've talked to my friend Mason. He lost a pinkie in Iraq, but most of all he just lost that happy twinkle in his eyes that he had when I knew him in high school, and he's apparently battling a drinking problem.

 

It's just weird reading CAP now. It's the start of the 2000's, and these people really have no clue how horrible the proceeding decade is going to be.

 

It's going to be depressing. I'll try not to write another 1968.

[methodwriter85]

It's going to be depressing. I'll try not to write another 1968.

 

It's depressing, but I think it'll get tempered when I start using

and "Candy Shop" as music recs.

 

Nah, but seriously, there are a lot of parallels to Vietnam and Iraq, but the big difference is that we didn't have nearly as many casualties, and the all-volunteer army made it so that there was no huge anti-war movement among students. I did some protesting- it was always a few students and some Baby Boomers. That was about it. Honestly, my peers seemed more about Laguna Beach and updating their cell phones and Ipods than caring about what was going on Iraq.

 

But god, just think about it. The Dot-Com Crash. George Bush stealing the election from Al Gore. 9/11. Aghanistan. The Beltway Sniper. The Iraq War. The London Metro bombings. The Asian Tsunami. Hurricane Katrina. Virginia Tech. The Great Recession. Sarah Palin.

 

What a horrible, horribe decade.

Edited August 4, 2011 by methodwriter85

[rjo]

First I'd like to say even though I didn't like 1968 at first I have grow to love it more each time I read it. The years 2001 to 2011 and 1968 were difficult times. I was in high school in 1968 and was sheltered from the revolution which was just starting. The 60's were a massive change for America. In 1963 on Nov 22 the president was shot and that changed the country, forever. Then only a few years later in 1968 riots, assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King shocked the country to it's core. Before 1963 the people felt safe after that they didn't. After 9 11 they felt even more in danger less safe. A threat, a bomber and terrorist around every corner, hidden behind every tree and bush. Today is a far cry from the peaceful days of the 50's. But America like this family has survived and even thrived through pain and heartache, great sadness and greater joy. This is why I love this story so much, where else but America could this story happen? Rags to riches, but more than just money, these characters love each other a lot. It is a story of growth, becoming better people, helping the world become better. Thanks Mark for all that and more!!! ( Bob steps off soap box)

Edited August 4, 2011 by rjo

[methodwriter85]

Rags to riches? The only person in this story you could apply that to would be Gathan, and that's because he got a trust fund, not because he actually earned the money. There's also Robbie, but he was springboarded from a comfortably middle-class family. albeit with white trash roots. I guess you could say Frank, because he managed to do quite well from himself, but I wouldn't say he became rich- just married a rich woman. (Are they married?)

 

I'm trying to think of a character who started with nothing and built an empire based on pure hard work without getting the magical Schluter/Crampton trust fund infusion, and I'm coming up blank. I think Father Tim might come close, although it's more of a "spiritual riches" deal. Maybe Lou as well? He's got to be doing well for himself if he's on the order of an Anderson Cooper news anchor. I want to count Isidore, but I can't because that construction company was a spin-off of the Crampton Construction company.

 

And you really think America is going to recover from this economy? I'm already thinking about immigrating to Canada. LOL. The 90's really were the last decade of America's true dominence in the world.

Edited August 4, 2011 by methodwriter85

[rjo]

Stef! Poor homeless street kid to mogul. He was helped a long the way but turning 200,000 into billions does take a lot of work.

 

As for will America recover and see better times or is this the beginning of the great decline I don't know. I think the people who lived in the 30's and early 40's wondered that too. The depression went on and on only the war solved the problems to some degree. I am sure also there was a time when it seemed we could loose the war. It could have happened.

 

Over the many years only one person became president that I didn't vote for. George W. Bush. I am very unhappy about what is happening in Washington, today. In the past when the country needed leadership we got great leaders to pull us through. That seems not to be happening today. What the answer is I don't know. I was born in Wisconsin and live in Minnesota. I can say I am ashamed to what is happening in both states. The only thing that stopped it here was the democratic governor. All I am saying that it can get better but we as a people have to start working together too make it happen. In lot of countries in the world, the people don't have that power, so far we still do.

Edited August 4, 2011 by rjo

[mmike1969]

I guess you could say Frank, because he managed to do quite well from himself, but I wouldn't say he became rich- just married a rich woman. (Are they married?)

No, Frank and Isidore are not married as Isidore is already married and is probably not in her nature to get a divorce...

[Mark Arbour]

No, Frank and Isidore are not married as Isidore is already married and is probably not in her nature to get a divorce...

 

That is correct. A gold star for you!!

[methodwriter85]

I like that Will, even though he hates shopping, wants Pat to get a makeover. I'm thinking Diesel jeans and crew-neck t-shirts.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2011 by methodwriter85