PrivateTim

Actually it doesn't explain JJ's attitude "somewhat", it fits all the classic signs of molestation; dropping grades, a personality change, mood swings, clinging to an authority figure (be it a parent, coach, minister, etc), The files would copy to Will's computer (the original one) the way they were on the memory card of the digital cam and they were far in advance of memory sticks that came later for computers. Jeff when he uploaded the files would have assumed any permissions to load the hidden file were system files and until the new computer asked for permission Will wouldn't have noticed them since he had his hidden files hidden.

Pffft, ya call that drama? I am glad Robbie came back. That is the start of his realization where he is and where reality lies. Of course in hindsight JJ's symptoms are classic; wild mood swings, a change in personality, falling grades and so on.

Oh more research than I ever wanted or ever dreamed possible. I've never had to hire an expert witness to dispute gravity or argue against Avogadro's law. I'll stick with "unpopular positions in psychology have a hard, if not impossible, time getting published".

Chemistry is a science, a real science. So is biology, so is physics. Psychology likes to cloak itself in the respectability of "science" and pretend that they are finding "objective" truth, but there is no agreement on many, many subject. There are no laws of motion or thermodynamics in psychology. Peer review is just another word for echo chamber or peer pressure. Those who attempt to stray off the reservation are swiftly beaten into submission. In controlling who gets to peer review a study the publisher controls the results. In real sciences experiments are replicable without having to rely on interpretation. As to Brad, Wade, Matt, Will et al screwing whom they want, it is their business and I don't look for unconcious motivation, attraction is based on a great many things.

As Sheldon Cooper would tell you, psychology isn't a science. Without being flippant, I think a lot of researchers find the answers they are looking for.

Yes, it would do him a world of good. He certainly would last a week. I had a cousin who was headed to a life in the CA penal system if he contined on the path he was on (escalating troubles). Instead he went away to a military school, straightened out, got a college baseball scholarship and is now a police officer and solid citizen. Thank you Cbad.

As much as I like Tom Brady, Bill Belichik makes it hard to root for NE.

I think there is a wide gulf between a well placed swat on a child's bottom when they are four years old and acting up and "smacking around" or having "the living shit beat out" of a child. Swats from the PE teacher in middle school sure served to straighten out a lot of miscreants. A parent or teacher acting on impulse or out of immediate anger and backhanding, slapping around etc is wrong, not sure that the well thought out spanking or paddle swat did anything to increase violence from those kids. We seem to have a lot of kids who were never spanked, paddled or backhanded being violent.

I think JJ needs more focus on him from his parents and less on what he does, be it school or skating. I think the permissiveness isn't as much a philosophy as it is laziness. It was the same issue with Will. It was too easy to let others do the heavy lifting and them to try and come in for the low hanging fruit. As to the review issues, that sounds like a potential ISP problem, maybe a bad handshake on the sites. And are we ever going to hear from or about Pat again? Lastly, I do think Brad & Robbie can survive this and Matt & Wade, but just surviving, is it enough? Has Brad being so good created a dissatisfaction from Wade for Matt? That is one of the big dangers of open relationships. You thought you were eating Hagen Dazs and then you find out you've been eating Safeway's house brand all along. And I know you had 91 or so chapters at editing, there can't be too many left in Paternity since we have already had the babies born, etc so it has me wondering who can narrate next to keep us up with Will & Wade? I really like their dual narration and I can't think who else would interest me at this point? Back to Brad? Maybe, that is one of the few possibilities, maybe Matt, not Gathan... another long lost Hayes, Crampton or Schluter??? I dunno.

I am sooooooooooo disappointed that no one made a grab for the Garrett Diamonds...... when I read the line "“I see you’re wearing the Garrett diamonds,” I said with a grin. They were worth a small fortune.“ The theme from the literally began to play in my head. Interesting development with Wade. This is one reason I've never believed in open relationships and do believe in the importance of fidelity.

Some times I just need a Sloe Comfortable Screw Against the Wall. But if I am out to dinner at a nicer place I'll usually start with a nice single malt Scotch, Talisker or Lagavulin. Then I have a white wine with dinner usually, and usually a Chardonnay or champagne and I top off the meal with a Baily rocks and a coffee. But I drink beer, Bourbon and Rum, Sake if I am in a Japanese restaurant and Tequila if I am in a Mexican restaurant. My current crush is Flanders red ales, sour ales. Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge to be specific. The first time I tried it I thought it was a joke, it tasted like sour gummie bears, but after the initial shock, it had an amazing after taste. Now I am hooked. I drink Guinness when I watch soccer unless I am in a German tavern, then I go German, microbrews at the baseball stadium and champagne at the opera.

JJ has just about the right maturity for a 9th grader early in his high school career. He isn't even on the "big" campus yet, that alone will help to mature him. Lysacek didn't start his dietary regimen until the 2002 or 2003 season and then is was a quasi eating disorder.

Sorry to hear of his passing, but I assumed he had passed away years ago since you just never heard from him or saw him.

Hmmm someone's career just came to a grinding halt.

Oh yeah, I have no doubt you like woodies in college at UCSB......

I like Round Table too, but there just ain't any in the Bu. People forget how isolated the Colony is. The Colony is popular with the glitterati precisely because it is isolated. Oh and despite the fact that I do like Round Table (King Arthur Supreme WITH anchovies) I'd never choose it over Johnny's..... but maybe over D'Amore's.

Exactly.

D'Amore's Pizza..... or Johnny's NY Pizza and screw the pizza at Johnny's, just send me 10 orders of garlic knots.

The "bare minimum" to get into the US Naval Academy would be 3.4 or thereabouts, The Naval Academy or any academy isn't like a regular college that lets in marginal academic students, the curriculum is so heavily science and math based they can’t afford the marginal students. The kids that drop out of the academies are not dropping out because of the academic load usually but the military routine and discipline is too much. Trust me, when you are a US skater and you are involved at the national level and you travel on national teams, a dominating presence like Michelle Kwan would be who all the younger US skaters looked up to. JJ might have admired the Russian skaters, but when you are wrapped in the cacoon of USFSA it is flag waving and "USA, USA". Johnny Weir tried to buck the organization and it bit him in the ass a couple of times.

Interesting chapter. A couple of chapters ago I would have thought Robbie would have startet to the corner by now, but with everything piling up (JJ's bad grade, fights with Brad, the board meeting, etc) he still seems clueless. It seems a little out of character for him that he hasn't come to his senses yet, but I am willing to be patient and see where it leads. This book has been about Will and Wade so we've only seen Brad and Robbie as side characters in the story, but if had been more of Brad & Robbie, what would we have seen? Brad's more bicoastal than ever so he is gone more than when he was doing the short hauls to the Bay Area, Robbie has workered hard to keep things on track at Hayes-Anders, they may have had troubles coming anyway. And JJ is heading to a rocky time, but I do think H-W would have been more proactive with JJ when his work wasn't getting done and his grades were failing, H-W is pretty good about early identification on problems. I really don't Robbie's enabling of JJ to get bad grades. Robbie understands the value of education and that even if JJ were to get to the pinnacle of skating, your career is done by 30 tops, and you need something else in your life. I guess we just have to trust Mark in where he is taking the story.

I think you've done a pretty good job actually at showing how academically oriented Will is, even when he was running away he made sure his school work was done. I also think Brad and Robbie were pretty serious students too. You didn't get into the schools they did unless you were a serious student. It wasn't the early 60's and before when family connections could get you in a bit easier at a Princeton or Yale. By the time B&R went off to college, it was more merit based or AA based. Just because we haven't seen a lot of talk about their college or alumni lives in CAP doesn't mean that Robbie and Brad are not still connected. LA has very strong alumni groups from all the Ivy colleges. The mere fact that the boys went to H-W over the other elite prep schools like Crossroads or Brentwood says that Brad and Robbie take the academics seriously. It would have been much easier to send them to the closer, more "progressive" schools over traditionalist H-W, but they didn't. They also live in the virtual shadow of Pepperdine University ( http://goo.gl/maps/BkbEy ) and it would be hard to ignore the university and its heavy influence in that area, especially as close as they are. Darius had the grades to get into a service academy and dummies don't get in there and Santa Clara is no slouch university either so obviously he did some studying along the way too. As to JJ, there is a lot of down time at skating competitions and a lot of the younger skaters used that time to study. Michelle Kwan, who was the queen of JJ's era was very academically oriented and that kind of atmosphere filters down and sets the tone.

but a 13th place finish there doesn't seem to showcase a future tip-of-the-top contender, now does it? It does when it is an international competition of younger competitors. Just being selected to the US team speaks of the promise he shows.

I still don't like Tony. Like Nana a lot. Noah even more.

Hey Matt, sorry I missed the actual day, I didn't get a chance to sign in yesterday. Hope the day and dinner were great, looks like you had teppanyaki? Hope it was a blast! Vegas awaits.

The chapter is good as it moves the story forward and lays the ground work for some nice future plotlines. I tend to fast forward through the sex scenes, but that isn't why I read Mark Arbour stories, I read for the incredible character development, the attention to detail, the believability and more. If sex was what I was my prime interest in stories I'd have never found GA as I'd still be at Nifty reading bad stories with none of the above attributes. I have hope that Will seems to be clued in on Tony and that he has already relegated him to FB status.