methodwriter85

Here's a pretty interesting map that shows what sport each state would play were they restricted to one sport. My home state, Delaware, got the Punkin Chunkin. It's basically this competition where people try and see how far they can launch a pumpkin. It's apparenty spreading to other states now, which is cool. Other states that I've lived in were assigned to these sports: Louisiana- Bass fishing (I haven't been there since 1989 so I can't vouch for the veracity.) New Jersey- Youth soccer (I can see that.) Texas- High school football. (No-brainer.) Maryland- Lacrosse. (Again, a big "Duh.") Pennsylvania - Field hockey. Kinda weird to me, but okay. So for you Americans out there, what sport did your state get, and did you agree?

I think Darius and Will generally want to fit in...not in a high school clique way, but in that they recognize that not every single person they meet is going to be from the same ultra-rich bubble they come from, and since both of them are social animals, they get that flaunting your wealth at every turn makes it harder for them to fit in with "normal" people. I think when it comes to JJ, he's very much okay with staying in his bubble, and since skating is a relatively affluent sport (the sport is NOT cheap, from what I understand), it's probably not hard for him to avoid mingling with poor people. Doesn't he also get away with not going to Claremont, too? That's why I'm kind of sad that JJ dropped out of HW, because I think the school's volunteer policy would've opened his eyes, at least a little bit. I would've loved a storyline where Will and JJ wind up volunteering for Habitat for Humanity or something involving the homeless as part of their volunteer requirements. (We got a bit of that with Will and the teen homeless center, but I'm not sure Will really "got" it, as Tim pointed out.He mainly seemed to see them as hot guys that could provide fake ID's and roofies.) That could still happen with Will, Marie, and John, as Menlo also has volunteer hour requirements. Of course, JJ's snobbery is setting himself for a fall at some point. The story behind his paternity is pretty much a ticking time bomb waiting to go off at some point(Can't you just hear Johnny Weir calling JJ the Incest Crackwhore Baby?), and unless Mark re-writes history 2006 and 2010 are going to hand JJ some pretty huge disapointments. JJ genuinely believes that he's going to be on the cover of a Wheaties box when he's 20...what happens to the guy when that doesn't pan out? I think it's a by-product of growing up in a family where people don't really hold back much. (Understatement or what?) Will puts himself out there so much, and is so transparent about the things that he does, and as a result, he's opened himself up to commentators all the time about what he's doing and thinking. I think JJ sees that, and decides to go the opposite way, to try and maintain privacy in a family for whom very, very few things are kept private.

My peers are hitting 30. This kind of scares me. Happy birthday though!

I don't think Brad is as youth-obsessed as Robbie is. Brad doesn't mind dating or fooling around with 20-year olds like Robbie, but the difference is that he doesn't actually WANT to be 20 again. (Although Brad's mindset at times can be pretty close to being like a 23-year old, especially when it came to Robbie.) I don't see Brad as the 39-year old guy who hits on college boys while wearing head-to-toe Abercrombie and Fitch and trying to speak like a 20-year old. That's more Lark's scene. Can't you just picture Lark wearing the Abercrombie polos and the distressed jeans and the puka shells and flips-flops while hitting on college boys and girls at college bars? What I think is interesting about JJ is that he's so self-absorbed, yet he's also pretty insightful at times. I think it's because, in contrast to the craziness of his family, his job is to kind of just sit back and observe, since he can't really partake in anything. I figure that when JJ's 25, his main function at family events will be to sit back, get blasted, and make bitchy yet very true comments about his family members. LOL.

Brad could've had that with Max, quite easily, but I think on some level he didn't want that. He wanted the challenge. Of course, now that Brad is nearly 39 instead of 23, he might think differently.

I can't see him as a co-narrator until he's at least 17 or 18, but I do like these glimpses we're getting into him. I'm kind of scared shitless about what Mark might put JJ through if he was a narrator. Dear god, just look at what he's done with Will! LOL.

So, I've been re-watching Saturday Night Fever on Netflix (seriously, the R-rated version is soooo much better than the one that ran on TV), and I've been in the mood for some good disco. Here's my playlist: 1. 2. 3. You Should Be Dancing - The BeeGees 4. 5. 6. Night Fever- The BeeGees 7. 8. I Feel Love- Donna Summer 9. 10. 11. (Disco didn't die in Europe 'til like '84, apparently.) 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

See this French film called Little White Lies. I got the song choice because of that movie.

Happy birthday!

Chapter 45 -When the teacher admits the real reason for how he treated Will, and Will forgives him. "Everybody Hurts" by REM -When Will and Brad talk while walking around in New Jersey, and Brad bitches about how angry he is at Robbie. "Kozmic Blues" by Janis Joplin -When the funeral gets started. "Amazing Grace" -When JJ gets hit over with happy memories of his memories of his mother, reinforced by a slideshow. "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King -When the boys start to fight, then relax with a few jokes. "The Weight" by The Band

I don't think it'll work to take JJ off to Hawaii. November through January are going to be pretty busy months for him. We have a timeline that we've worked out for JJ's career, so that we know when JJ and therefore Tiffany can't be in a chapter, and the figure skating season is probably at its busiest from about October through January. I don't think we're planning on him to be at Worlds or Four Continents, though, so his spring is probably pretty open. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading JJ's voice. You're doing a hell of a job of differentiating him from Will. He comes off as pretty spoiled, immature, and rather childish for a guy who's almost 16 years old, but he also has these flashes of insight that make his general obtuse manner all the more frustrating. His bit about how both Matt and Will are complete suckers for any handsome guy who flirts with them was pretty funny, and very true. More true was JJ's earlier bit about the price you have to pay for Brad's love, which Robbie and Will knew all too well. I loved how you're writing Darius, basically bossing a dragging and kicking JJ into doing things his way, while it takes Will to get him to back off. That's very true to life about what happens when you have at least 3 siblings. And I loved how all the tension got resolved with JJ's Blair Warner snob act. My general belief with JJ is that he's fine with his Diva act, or faking emotions for the camera/judges. It's real emotion that he can't handle. It's why I can really see him becoming an actor once his skating days are done.

I think Matt and Wade would be too old for Lark. He reminds me of Matthew McConaughey's character from Dazed and Confused: "That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age." I think it would have been creepy and wrong, but I remember Adam Phillips was really into the idea...and I could kinda see why it could've been hot. Although if it happens now, it'd have this major tinge of sadness to it- like they'd be having sex in order to both feel closer to Robbie.

I remember thinking that Brad and Matt might wind up happening, but Sharon and Mark shut me down pretty quick on that one.

You're right. For some reason I thought he was born in March 1962 instead of March 1963. Ace and Robbie were born during the same month and year, although Robbie's birthday was never specified. There was a snafu with Claire and Billy's age, though in the end Mark decided to shrug it off, so we're sticking with Claire's birthdate being October 27, 1964. That actually would have put her in Jack's grade in California, but that's not something we stuck to...we were a little more loose about details like that when Mark was writing the story in 2008/2009. (For those of you who weren't reading them, Mark's pace was even faster than it is now.) When it came to Will's generation, we were much more tight with details like that. It was interesting- for example, JJ and Will wouldn't have ordinarily been in the same grade in most states- JJ would have been with the class of 2004, and Will would have been with the class of 2005 (John's grade), because the typical range for that class would have been people born between September 1, 1986 to August 31, 1987. I thought about asking Mark if JJ possibly could've been held back (like I was) so that Will and JJ could've been in the same class. That could've even been a good contention point for Bitty in her custody battle with Brad and Robbie. (Which wound up...not happening.) However, California's cut-off date was until recently December 2nd, which means that the California high school class of 2004's range would be anybody born between December 3, 1985 to December 2, 1986, so we were able to have JJ, Marie, and Will all in the same grade. However, it also means that we're not getting John and Will in the same grade...which could've been interesting. My general belief with this is that if there were a past/current character that Brad could've really ended up with were it not for Robbie, it would have been obvious, like it was with JP and Stefan. I'm leaning towards Brad finding someone totally new.

Jackson Pace (Homeland) as a 13-year old Riley Danfield?

Okay. Since I'm the "keeper of ages" here, I'll mention the ages of all our current CAP players. JP and Frank- Both should be about 65...weren't they in the same grade together? Stefan- 56 (although he'd shoot me for saying that in public) Ace- 39 Brad - 38 (turning 39 in October) Jack- about 37 (I believe he's the class of 1982, while Brad was '81 and Claire was '83.) Claire- 36 (turning 37 in October) Cody- About 31 (he was mentioned as being 25 in If It Fits, which was set in 1995.) John Carullo- 22-ish Matt- 21 (born April 1980) Wade- 21 (born May 1980) Tony- 19/20 (born either in late 1981 or early 1982) Darius - 19 (born January 1982) Jeff- 19 (born in 1982) Gathan- 19 (born July 1982) Kristin- 18 (born 1983) Ella- 18 (born August 1983) Kai- 17 (which means he was born either in late 1983 or early 1984) JJ - 15 (will turn 16 in December) Marie- 15 (born April 18, 1986) Will- 15 (born September 14, 1986) John- 14 (born July 21, 1987) Courtney- 6 (born September 1995) Maddy- 1 (born September 13, 2000) Riley- 1 (born September 14, 2000) *Riley and Maddy are DESTINED, I'm telling you. DESTINED. I'm going to call them Raddy. Wade's lawyer is probably in his early 30's...28 at the youngest. I think that's pretty true. I'm 27, nearly 28, and I'm REALLY into crushing on guys in their mid/late thirties right now. Think Michael Fassbender, Bradley Cooper, and Alexander Skarsguard. I think there's something pretty sexy about a man who has some miles on him, but who's still pretty spry and the like. Every time I see a handsome 35-ish guy at the mall or something, dressed in sperries, yachting shorts, and a nice button-down, I just can't help but start drooling. I do kind of wonder how Darius will react if Brad brings home a guy who's his age. I mean, I know Darius probably isn't blind to the fact that both Brad and Robbie have fooled around with guys that are his contemporaries, but never anything serious.

Chapter 44 -When Brad levels with Will about what was going on between him and Robbie. "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys She was so good for her first two albums, and then I felt like Alicia Keys just got lazy. "No One" and "That Girl is On Fire"? Bah. Pales to this, "A Woman's Work", and "If I Ain't Got You." -When Will completely looses it on his teacher. "Bodies" by Drowning Pool

I think that's part of the reason why Brad feels often like he's emotionally about 23 years old- like he never fully grew up. He and Robbie were still relating to each other like the post-adolescent guys they were in Man In Motion. I think it's inevitable Brad will wind up dating a college-aged guy because of that, though hopefully because of his experiences he'll finally grow up. I honestly think Will has more maturity to him than Brad does.

As soon as I read that scene, I knew that your reaction would be along these lines. To be honest, I kind of had a hard time believing that a teacher would have been that callous, but..eh. Device and all. It really is incredible when you think about what Will's gone through during his tenure as narrator from July 2000 to September 2001. Only in a soap can someone go through what Will's gone through and not lose it.

The 1970's 1979: "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles. The Iranian Hostage Crisis begins. Three Mile Island. A "Disco Sucks" rally is held where thousands of disco records are burned. 1978: "Heart of Glass" by Blondie. "Halloween" is a hit movie. "Dallas" premieres. 1977: "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac. Elvis dies. Jimmy Carter takes over the presidency. Studio 54 opens in New York City. 1976: "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Peter Frampton. The American Bicentennial. Nadia Comaneci scores the "perfect 10" at the Montreal Olympics. "Taxi" is a hit movie. 1975: "At Seventeen" by Janis Ian. "Jaws" becomes a major summer blockbuster. Pet rocks are a major fad. "Stepford Wives" is a thriller movie. Khmer Rouge Cambodia. 1974: "The Locomotion" by Grand Funk Railroad. Richard Nixon resigns from the presidency. The Broad Street Bullies win the Stanley Cup. "Earthquake" is a hit disaster movie. Streaking is a college campus fad. 1973: "Your Song" by Elton John. The Watergate Scandal heats up. The Oil Embargo crisis begins. The Vietnam War ends.The World Trade Center in New York City is completed. The Battle of the Sexes- Billie Jean King wins. 1972: "Bang A Gong" by T-Rex. Richard Nixon vs. George McGovern. The Watergate break-in. The '72 Olympics in Munich terrorist attack. 1971: "Baba O'Riley" by The Who. "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is a hit film. Apollo 13. 1970: "Four Dead in Ohio" by Crosby, Nash, and Stills. "Love Story" is a hit film. The Kent State Massacre. The 1960's 1969: "I Shall Be Released" by Joe Cocker. "Midnight Cowboy" is a hit film. The Moon Landing. Woodstock. 1968: "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat. The Chicago student riots. Bobby Kennedy and MLK are assassinated. The Tet Offensive. 1967: "Different Drum" by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. The Summer of Love in San Francisco. Alright. I'm stumped now. I can't think of a single thing about 1966, and not much about 1967. That is how far I can go back. Fun playing this!

So, to kinda "test" my off-the-top-of-my-head knowledge about modern history and pop culture, I thought it'd be fun to work back and see what events, songs, general popular culture I can remember off-hand from every year, and see how far I can go back without any kind of googling. (I won't try to add EVERYTHING, just a few things.) The year that stumps me and I can't recall anything about it, is the end of this nerd-out. The 2010's 2013: The Navy Yard shooting. "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. The Colorado forest fires. Gay marriage becomes legal in my home state, Delaware. The Ravens win the 2012 Super Bowl. 2012: The Hunger Games craze. The Colorado movie theater massacre. "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons.The 2012 Summer Olympics in London- Micheal Phelps proves that he's still got some power left in him, and the Fab Five American Gymnasts steal our hearts. Hurricane Sandy. Obama gets re-elected. Sandy Hook massacre. The New York Giants win the 2011 Super Bowl. 2011: "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry. Occupy Wall Street. The unrest in Egypt. Hurricane Irene is a overhyped hurricane. The East Coast has a 5.0 Earthquake and FREAKS. The Packers win the 2010 Super Bowl. 2010: "California Girls" by Katy Perry. The Tea Party wins big on Election Day. Christine McDonnell's "I Am Not A Witch" campaign. The Gulf Coast Oil Spill. The Winter Olympics in Vancouver- curling becomes a wonderfully mockable sport. The Saints win the 2009 Super Bowl. The 2000's 2009: "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. (I think it was released in late '08, but Lady Gaga really picks up steam in '09.) Obama gets innaugurated. "The Hangover" is a popular movie. The Steelers win the 2008 Super Bowl, and I was rooting for them because the Cardinals knocked the Eagles out of the Playoffs. I thought Kurt Warner was kind of a DILF, though. 2008: "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. Tina Fey shoots to fame mocking Sarah Palin. Obama gets elected. The housing/financial crisis starts. Federal bail-outs begin- "too big to fail" becomes a catchphrase. Summer Olympics in China- Michael Phelps breaks Mark Spitz's record for most gold medals in swimming. The Eagles knock the Cowgirls out of the 2008 playoffs with a 44-6 win. I wanna say...December 28th, 2008? The Phillies win the World Series in October, leading to riots around the city. The Twilight Craze. 2007: "The Way I Are" by Timbaland. Virginia Tech massacre. "Knocked Up" is a popular movie. 2006: "Where'd You Go" by Fort Minor. The Republicans get smacked on Election Day, and the Democrats gain control of both the senate and the house. "Heroes" becomes a popular show, but flames out a year later- "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World." Winter Olympics at Torino in Italy- Johnny Weir "he's here, he's Weir." 2005: "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day. The Eagles lose the 2004 Super Bowl to the Patriots by 3 points. Hurricane Katrina. "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is a popular movie. YouTube is founded. 2004: "Somebody Told Me" by the Killers. John Kerry vs. Dubya- "The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." The Asian Tsunami. Gay marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts. New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevy- "My truth is that I am a Gay American." The Red Sox break their curse and finally win the World Series. 2003: "Stacey's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne. The Iraq War begins- "Mission Accomplished." The O.C. premieres in August. Lost premieres that year as well, and becomes a cult T.V. show. Facebook gets founded. The Columbia explosion. 2002: "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes". Avril Lavigne becomes the anti-Britney Spears. The D.C. shooting sniper. The Winter Olympics in St. Lake City- Sarah Hughes wins the Gold Medal. 2001: "Here's to the Night" by Eve 6. The Dubya Years begin. 9/11. Anthrax attacks. The media frenzy with Chandra Levy. Aliyah dies. The rise of Destiny's Child. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings craze. 2000: "The Graduation Song" by Vitamin C. Y2K worries are put to rest. Gore vs. Dubya- hanging chads in Florida. The sinking of the USS Cole. Survivor becomes a phenonmeon, while Beverly Hills 90210 ends it 10 year run. The tech crash. The 90's 1999: "Millenium" by Robbie Williams. The Columbine Shooting. Kosovo. The Seattle World Trade Organization protests. (This might be 1998, but I'm leaning towards 1999.) Melrose Place ends it's 7 year run. Y2K survivalist fears. 1998: "Closing Time" by Semisonic. Bill Clinton- "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky." Seinfield goes off the air to the tune of "Time of Your Life" by Green Day. Well-loved comedian Phil Hartman is murdered by his wife. 1997: "Quit Playing Games with My Heart" by The Backstreet Boys. A sheep is cloned. The Princess of Wales dies. The stock market begins a historic bull run. Titanic becomes a phenonmeon. 1996: "The Macarena" by Los Del Rios. The 1996 Election between Bob Dole and Bill Clinton. The Atlanta Summer Olympics- Keri Strug, and the bombing. "Independence Day" launches Will Smith into the stratosphere. TWA Flight 800 explodes over Long Island. 1995: "Gangsta's Paradise". The Oklahoma City bombing. Selena is killed. "Clueless" is a hit movie, and ushers in preppier fashion again. OJ is acquitted. 1994: "The Sign" by Ace of Base. Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding, and Oksana Baul takes the Olympic Gold medal. The white Bronco car chase with OJ Simpson. Kurt Cobain dies. Los Angeles has a big earthquake. 1993: "Dreams" by The Cranberries. "Jurassic Park" is a huge hit movie. Lorena Bobbitt. The World Trade Center in New York City gets bombed. 1992: "What's Up" by 4-Non Blondes. George H.W. Bush loses election to Bill Clinton- "It's the economy, stupid." Also, "Don't Stop Thinking About Tommorrow" is the Bill Clinton Campaign Song. "Batman Returns" is a popular film. Hurricane Andrew. 1991: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Grunge becomes huge. The Persian Gulf War- yellow ribbons. Anita Hill. The Soviet Union dissolves. 1990: "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor. "Ghost" is a huge hit. The D.C. mayor is smoking crack. (I could be wrong about this one.) Vanilla Ice becomes a rather hilarious one-hit wonder. Julia Roberts becomes a huge star because of "Pretty Woman". The 1980's 1989: "Like A Prayer" by Madonna. The World Series Earthquake. "Batman" is a hit movie. (It's actually the first movie I remember seeing in the theater.) The Berlin Wall is torn down. Hurricane Hugo. Ronald Reagan leaves office. 1988: "Under the Milky Way" by The Church. H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukaksis- "Read My Lips, No New Taxes!" Murphy Brown premieres, and Dan Quayle becomes her foe. Major Pan Am terrorist attack in the skies leads to hundreds dead. 1987: "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House. The Iran Contra Affair. The 1987 Stock Market Crash. "Fatal Attraction", "Wall Street", and "Dirty Dancing" are hit movies. Ryan White becomes a cause de celebre. (I could be so wrong about this one.) I also wanna say...Tammy Faye Baker? 1986: "Manic Monday" by The Bangles. "Top Gun" is a hit movie. "Baby On Board" becomes a popular car sign. The Super-Bowl Shuffle from the 1985 Chicago Bears. The Challenger explosion. 1985: "Man In Motion" by John Parr. "Dynasty" becomes the Number 1 Show, beating Dallas and using a fictional masscre to do it. Glasnost begins - "Mr. Gorbachev- tear down these walls!" "Back to the Future" is a huge hit movie. Live Aid. The Halle Bop comet. New Coke vs. Classic Coke. 1984: "Like A Virgin" by Madonna. Ronald Regan vs. Walter Mondale- Reagan wins re-election. Geraldine Ferraro is the first female vice presidential candidate. Mass shooting in a California McDonald's. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" sparks a trend in celebrities trying to raise money for charities. "Footloose" is a hit movie. Mary Lou Rhetton wins the gold at the '84 Olympics in Los Angeles. 1983: "Karma Chamelon" by the Culture Club. U.S. recession ends. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson sells 25 million albums. "Trading Places" and "Flashdance" are hit movies. The Star Wars triology comes to an end. The series finale of "Mash" becomes the most-watched television event ever. Cabbage Patch dolls are a huge fad. Beiruit. 1982: "Valley Girl" by Frank and Moon Unit Zappa. Poltergiest is a hit movie. Prince William is born. 1981: "Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes. Recession begins. Reagan is almost assassinated by John Hinckley Junior, who's obsessed with Jody Foster. Natalie Wood dies in a drowning accident off the coast of Catalina. AIDS is first noticed. (It's called GRID at first.) Brooke Shields is named "The Face of the 80's" by Time. 1980: "Call Me" by Blondie. The Phillies win the '80 World Series. "American Gigolo" launches Richard Gere. Ronald Reagan campaigns with "Morning in American" and wins the presidency. "Private Benjamin" is a popular movie. Jimmy Carter blunders by forcing the U.S. to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in the USSR. The U.S. hockey team wins against the USSR at the '80 Winter Olympics- "Miracle on Ice". Okay, I'm not stumped yet, but this is hellaciously long so I'll stop here and try a part 2. 1980 is a good place to stop. 1982 came REALLY close to stumping me, though- I couldn't remember much about that year.

Wow, you FINALLY liked a MaryEllen pick. Wooo-hoooo!!!! (Now if I can just get you to like a La Danfield one. I totally thought Madeline Stowe's Revenge character would have worked, but eh.) Amber Heard is a pretty beautiful. I figure MaryEllen has to be drop-dead gorgeous to be able to get away with all the shit she does. Anyway, we haven't met Alex Danvers yet, but I like either Ryan Devlin: Or Alex Tveit: I picture Danvers as this thin, white-bread preppy guy in his late 20's/early 30's who still has an adorable boyish air to him. Like he was the cutest nerdish boy at his prep school 15 years ago. Ryan and Aaron came to mind. (It's a shame Ryan isn't taking off, but Aaron is doing pretty gangbusters right now.)

I thought Marie's feelings getting confused for Will made a lot of sense- she's 15 and not the overly experienced sosphisticate she tries to come off as, Will is her not-biological cousin who looks like an 18-year old Abercrobie and Fitch model, and most importantly, Will being gay makes him someone safe to lust after. She took those feelings and got obsessed with a fantasy, while hating herself for it, and then when Marie actually manages to sate those feelings, she realizes that it's just a friendship that got muddled. Well-done. I guess I'm leaning on JJ to be the one who doesn't go all Flowers in the Attic on us. Everyone else in this generation has. Ella was Darius's third cousin or something, wasn't she? Because Brad mentioned something about how Jim Crampton was having sex with his niece, and since Ella's father is Rich Crampton and Rich is Jim's son while Darius is Bitty's son, that'd make them related, right? Or did they somehow escape actual incest?

Well...I picked it because I thought the singer was just a little too interested in his sister's sexual development.

Chapter 43 -When Marie and Will work out their issues. "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger