methodwriter85

Marcel, on paper, should've been a really interesting, crazy character considering his pedigree. But I think character-wise, he was too opaque to really work as a lead.

Billy Schluter- Brad's adopted father, and JP's cousin who was roughly JP's age. Died April 10, 1963 in a submarine accident. Billy Crampton- Brad's adopted brother, and Ace's half-brother, who was the son of Jeff Hayes and Isidore. Died in a car accident during the 1980 World Series just shy of his 16th birthday. Mouse- Brad's friend from high school, who was rescued from an abusive family. Contracted AIDS in 1984-1985, wound up dating JP, and died sometime before the summer of 1991, when A Summer Love began. Lou- The little kid who Stefan gave money to in France, wound getting involved with the Claremont clan in 1985 during Man In Motion. Looks like Matthew Bomer. (*I* think he should look like Matthew Bomer, in any event.) Became a T.V. news guy, currently with Marcel. His last notable storyline was him making out with Matt in Bloodlines at his parent's country club to piss them off. Marcel- Jeff's long-lost son, who was born in 1969 in France. Discovered by Mouse in 1985, who freaked out because Mouse had feelings for Billy and Marcel looked exactly like Billy. Had sex with Brad, who thought he was Robbie. Wound up following the Schluters and Hayes to America during Man In Motion, or perhaps after. Had a romantic fling with J.P. Crampton in the summer of 1991, when he was 22. Marcel wound up inheriting money from Greg, Stefan's partner, and had a scary O'D on heroin in 1995. He hasn't really been a notable player since. Max- Brad's fling from college when he was broken up with Robbie. Eventually became a professor at UCLA, and is currently with Father Tim. Cody- We met Cody in 1995 at the J-Bar in Chicago. Eventually set up with a job with Jackie the Hollywood agent. He's basically slept with almost every single gay/bisexual male CAP family member...the only reason he hasn't slept with Will is because Will's 15. (JJ will probably be the only one who doesn't sleep with Cody. He'd find Cody too slutty, and Cody would rightfully find JJ a stuck up bitch.) Wade- We met Wade in 1998, as Matt Carrswold's hockey teammate. They began a relationship, and eventually bonded through traumatizing events such as Wade's molestation from his dad, and Matt's coma. His family has slowly turned into a core family of CAP, and he has a 1-year old son named Riley, whom Matt basically considers his step-son. Sam- We met Sam in 1968, as a bellhop at a California hotel. He began a relationship with JP Crampton, and the two lived together until 1980. They broke up as Sam became disillusioned by Stanford not giving him tenure, and Sam started trolling his step-son's friends for sex. Sam died of AIDS in 1985, when his son Tony was 3. Roger- We met Roger in 1973, as he owned a small winery that was slated to be developed in Alameda County. Stefan, sensing an opportunity, decided to build the housing development around the winery, knowing that it would boost property values. Roger ended up with JP after JP broke up with Sam in 1980, and died of AIDS in 1985. Greg- Movie producer that we met in 1973. Became Stefan's romantic partner, who settled with him in Malibu. (That is where Malibu came from in the story.) They were a couple until 1995, when Greg died of a heart attack. As for the help, interestingly enough, with the exception of the body guards, no one in recent years has played much of role. We know JP was friends with Black Sam, his housekeeper Vella's son, but as far as I've seen, none of the current CAP youth have been friends with the kids of the help. I have no experience with this, but aren't you less likely to see live-in help now? It'd make sense that they're not as close, unless we're talking about the body guards.

Right. That's why I wondered what JJ's horrified reaction would be to the outlet shops they just opened up at Claremont Mills, and why I said the only kind of mall I could ever see him at would be a really high-end one, like the King Of Prussia Mall. King of Prussia, yes. Mall of America or Lakewood Center, no. But I agree, for the most part he'd be into 5th Avenue, reinforcing my belief that JJ's destined to become a New Yorker. (If he doesn't wind up an ex-pat and move to Paris or something.)

There's this cute gay short I found called L.T.R. It's from 2003, and watching it, I thought about the titular couple reminded me about how people dressed circa 2002-2003, after the late 90's Tommy Hilfiger era but before the 2003-2004 80's revival era. The picture's grainy, but you can make out the outfits: The subdued color tones, the ringer t-shirts, spiky hair, cartilage piercings, track jackets (which didn't hit Delaware until 2004 but I'm not shocked it was a look circa 2002-2003 in first-world states like California), cargo shorts, and my favorite look- the long-sleeved shirt layered with a short-sleeved shirt. (Which stayed popular throughout the entire decade, if I'm remembering correctly.) I'm also pretty sure I saw dark denim jackets, which were popular circa 2000-2002. The turtleneck sweaters were more of a 90's holdover, and tended to be worn with black leather jackets. Although this is probably more like how Will would dress. I definitely think it captures how teen/college-aged people dressed in this transition late 90's/early 00's era, though.

If you're going down I-95, make a pit stop at the Christiana Mall in Delaware. You can get Apple products for no sales tax. That's only if you care about shopping, though. Rehoboth Beach in Delaware is pretty cool...the town is much slower now that summer is over, but it'd be a nice, quiet, gay-friendly place to explore. If you're in Philadelphia, the National Constitution Center was pretty cool.

Preachers, Terrorism, and War: Rhetorical Analysis of Sermons Responding to 9/11 by Mark Gring Church attendance spiked from 42 percent to 47 percent post-9/11, however the 5 percent spike only lasted until mid-November. As the October 2001 population of the United States was estimated at 285, 690,000, that'd translate to roughly about 14, 284, 500 people who went to church that month, who wouldn't have in August 2001 and would have stopped by December 2001.

1. There was this huge fat DJ who did an 80's show at my favorite bar in college. He'd always play "God Bless the U.S.A." at one point as he was a vet, although it wasn't exactly a dance tune. I do think it really hits at the mindset of post-9/11 America. Churches were packed for awhile. 2. It's amazing how much the past rhymes. It just makes me so angry and sad whenever I look at the pictures of the Iraq War, and thinking about how many lives were lost and ruined for it, and for what? 3. Thanks. This was kind of different kind of choice, but there's something about using a pretty love ballad against such a sad moment. I remember it being used on Quantum Leap many moons ago. More recently, it was used on an episode of Quantum Leap. 4. I have that picked out.

Which Bush had to renege on because of the Grunge Era Recession. I'm also not sure how exactly the 1990's Clinton Boom was a continuation of the 1980's Reagan Boom. Anyway... It's going to really interesting to see how JP reacts as the Bush/Cheney adminstration develops. The rhetoric against them probably peaked in nastiness at the time of the 2004 election. I remember reading an article once that layed out how W. was like Hitler. I wonder if any of the new generation will wind up political. Gathan seemed more along the line of a provincial politican, not too worried about anything beyond his borders. I can see Will getting up in arms about gay marriage legalization, but I think that might be the extent of his political involvement. Darius and JJ will probably be apathethic. Especially JJ. He'll probably shy away from politics altogether. God, can't you just imagine JJ's reaction to the Claremont Shopping Outlets? LOL. Or is it the Shoppes at the Mill or something? I could see JJ liking the Cherry Hill Mall. Of course, that's more South Jersey. He'd probably LOVE King Of Prussia Mall- I think that place would beckon to any serious shopper, as there's a Bloomingdales, a Nordstrom, AND a Neiman Marcus. I told this guy from Minnesota about KOP once and he immediatley wanted to start planning a trip. LOL. KOP definitely has to be one of the best malls in the United States.

And Mark's started his venting at his personal frustration with the Bush II administration. It's going to be a long 7 more years, JP. You don't even know about the on-coming housing bubble yet. It's just interesting to watch the shift, because CAP has been since If It Fits set in the world of 90's Clinton Economic Boom America, when optimism was flying high after the early 1990's recession that toppled Bush I. That world of budget surpluses and no wars is completely done.

Chapter 47 -When JP muses over the patriotic fervor of the USA. "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood -And as JP weighs the negatives of the nationalistic feelings going on, and his ominious feelings about President George W. Bush. "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield I will never, for the rest of my life, forget how incredibly nasty the election of 2004 was. Between the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, and the comparisons of Bush to Hitler, to the Republican National Convention protests, to Farenheight 9/11 being a hit film that summer...it was just incredible. So jarring to how 1996 and 2000 were relatively quiet ones, even with the dangling chads of the latter. I don't even think 2008 or 2012 reached the level of nastiness that 2004 had. That's the U.S.A. that our intrepid CAP crew is heading into, once the post-9/11 niceness wears off. - When JP and Brad talk, and JP asks Brad to replay his entire relationship with Robbie, and ask himself if he regrets having him in his life. "This Guy's In Love With You" by Herb Alpert - When Wade and the Danfield learn that they want to inter Jeff Danfield into the Arlington National Cementary, and learn about the details of his burial. "Hymn to the Fallen" from Saving Private Ryan

Mark's never mentioned a birthday for either Tony or his sister...similiar to how Jeff doesn't have one, either. Tony and Jeff are roughly Darius's age, so they were born in either late 1981 or in the first half of 1982. Cody doesn't have a birthday, either- we just know that he was 25 in 1995, so he was likely born in either 1969 or 1970. When it came to characters like Gathan, Ella, and Zach, we worked out birthdays so that we could have an idea of what grades they were in...we also wanted Gathan to turn 18 during the summer of the Poor Man's Son, so that's why we worked out one for him. And Mark was originally going to have Ella be 14, but we bumped her age up to 16 nearly 17 so she'd be a more appropriate love interest for Darius. Heck, even Robbie never had a specific birthday- we just know that he turned 18 in March 1981, meaning he was born in March 1963. It's so much easier with the people who were born "on page", so to speak, like JJ, Will, Marie, and Courtney were. Those birthdates are set in stone.

Happy birthday!

You make me really glad that I'm mainly friends with straight guys. Wow. What a rigid hierarchy. Can't people just be people? Can't people just like what they like without getting a demeaning label? (Okay, I'll admit I'm a little hypocritical on that one given what I've said about how it creeps me out when 18-year olds have sex with men old enough to be their fathers.) Maybe it's just a city thing. In the suburbs and/or small towns I grew up in, people tend to be a bit more relaxed than that. I hung out with white twinks, with straight-acting guys, with big effeminate Latino types, with older gay guys, etc etc. That's kind of depressing to think of how complicated the L.A. scene is. Or is that just in terms of dating purposes, and people are fine with being friends with people they wouldn't have sex with? Anyway, you guys are making me think of this great column that Dan Savage wrote, where he responded to this letter: With this: Pretty much says it all, I think.

That's just the way I think about life. I'm already planning my 50th summer. I want to do a road trip, although since my actual 50th birthday will be in December of 2035, it'd be better for me to save it for the summer of 2036. I'm really fascinated at the thought of exploring ghost towns in the prairie. I'd also like to see the ghost town that was once Detroit. At the rate it's emptying, the population should be about the size of present-day Pittsburgh by that time.

I'll totally admit to really lusting after guys who are at least 6'1" with long, muscular legs, as my height got frozen at 5'5". I stopped growing in 8th grade. Although luckily my broad shoulders made up for that and kept me from looking like a shrimp. I think the "let's get married and have babies" mindset is part of the really conservative mindset that a lot of Asians have. They're similiar in regards to Latinos about having families. I stand out because I have no intention of having one. I think in general though, Northern people are much more reluctant to have kids and start families. I have friends from high school who have kids, but the bulk of my mid/late-20something friends don't, even those that are married. I think if this was the North twenty years ago, or if I was living in Texas, it'd be a lot different. This comedian made a joke once about how, in the South, you're an old maid if you're not married with kids by 28. Meanwhile, in the North, if a woman gets pregnant at 28, they'll go, "But she had such a bright future." LOL. To bring it back to CAP...I think Will and Darius will probably have families by the time they're in their mid-20's, which for Darius will be circa 2007, and Will in circa 2011. JJ, I figure, won't settle down until his 30's, if he ever does. I kinda figure he'll be a jet-setting traveler type, never getting serious or putting down roots with anybody.

I'll admit being Asian and not really being attracted to other Asian guys. Although it's funny...because I'm filipino, more often than not people think I'm Mexican or something (as Carlos Mencia once joked about Filipinos, we're natives that got banged by Spainards)...I don't automatically register as "Asian" to people like Chinese or Korean guys do. For me, I think it's more because I'm not into the small, delicate builds that most Asian guys have. I also think it's because, being that I've grown up mostly around white people, it's what I grew up being attracted to. If I had grown up in California, which has some very huge Asian populations, I might have a different view. Craiglist is interesting to read though in this regard...I've noticed that black men get dissed waaaayyyy more than Asian/Latino guys, especially in the South. (I read Craigslist to check out free, unvirused porn, okay? Don't judge.) I can't tell you how many times I've seen "White male for white male only". I personally don't find it offensive...you're attracted to what you're attracted to. I have a white friend who loves white/black guys like Corbin Bleu. I know black people that I've only see with white people. I've known black people who would NEVER date white person. I've been with guys who clearly had a fetish for Asian guys. I knew a short, fat, effeminate Latino guy with long hair who was dating a popular football player in high school. It's all what turns your crank. However, if we're talking about people that are going to treat other people like pariahs for being fat, old, Asian, black, latino...basically for being anything but a young white Abercrombie and Fitch type...they're shitty people not worth your time. *cough* Zac Efron *cough* In all seriousness, I think for now, when JJ's 15/nearly 16 and not very developed, he'll be okay with following the rules. Given the glimpses of what we've seen from JJ, he's interested in sex, but it's not a prevailing thought in his head like it is in Will's, or in Matt's. That'll probably change by the time he's 17/18, and it'll be interesting to see how he deals with that.

I think the thing to keep in mind about JJ is that he's pretty much been raised in a world that has a lot of conservative values, or at least tries to come off as very family-friendly, Disney-image values. JJ's being told by the world he inhabits that it's not okay to use drugs, that it's not okay to have pre-marital sex, and that he must be a sexless, vice-free Disney on Ice character. It's pretty contrary to the world that the CAP family inhabits, where it's okay to sleep with anybody who breathes as long as you stay safe, use drugs on a regular basis, have little-to-no filter, and occasionally whack someone off if they're a threat to the family. I think it's the reason why, if you've noticed, JJ really hasn't been that eager for his family to show up to his competitions. I think JJ prefers to keep those two worlds separate, which I think played into why JJ got so unhinged during the 2000 Norway Junior Grand Prix. Will really embarrassed him. Right now it seems like the word "retarded" is slowly but steadily becoming a word we can't say. I remember "That's retarded" being a pretty common phrase up to the mid-2000's, and during the late 2000's and early 2010's, I noticed that the word started to get bleeped out on TV shows. I even remember seeing a protest about the word on campus at UD once. "Handicapped" isn't even politically correct anymore...I think we have to say "differently-abled." I think that's fine if that's where he wants to go, but Cody should not in any way consider himself a father if he basically treats Madison like she's his niece that he visits every once in awhile. Parenting is not a part-time job that you slip into doing when it's convenient. Way too many kids have been fucked up by "parents" who only deign to interact with them when it's good for their schedule. That Cody doesn't really intend to change his lifestyle all that much or do much more than weekend visits pretty much says it all, don't you think? If he wants to claim Maddy as his daughter, he needs to actually be a father and not just an uncle who shows up for weekend visits to play with her and give her toys. You're either all in or you're not in at all. Unless what you're trying to convey here is that Cody wants to get his feet wet first, by showing up in Maddy's life to get her used to him and vice versa, and not just suddenly setting up a bedroom for her to live at his house. Like he's dipping a toe in the water before jumping in.

Names like Hayden or Braeden or Brice or Riley or Peyton and the like. Kinda effeminate, unisex names. I think it's the idea that every Italian-American guy we've met here have been masculine as fuck. I've met effeminate Italian guys, too. LOL. I actually used to hate my name for a long time. I tried to get people to call me Remy, but it never quite took off. There was also a time where I wanted my name to be Jasper. Every once in awhile I'll go by J.R., but I try to avoid telling people my middle name is Richard, as they almost inevitably make a "Dick" joke. Funny theory I heard once about my name- back in the late 1960's, there was a show called Here Come The Brides, which starred teen idol Bobby Sherman. The show had characters named Jason, Jeremy, Joshua, and Aaron- all names that exploded in popularity during the 1970's and 1980's, when the teenyboppers watching that show would have entered their childbearing years. Coincidence, or not? Kinda makes me think about how there were suddenly all these little girls named Addison running around after Kate Walsh's character on Grey's Anatomy, or how Aiden gained popularity for boys after Sex and The City. Or if I see a thirtysomething woman who's named her son Dylan...I figure she's gotta be a former 90210 fan.

Italian-American men have stereotypical masculine names like Tony, Joey, and Johnny.

This chapter made me think about how much I really want to see Matt's perspective. This guy has lost a father in Robbie, and one of his oldest and dearest friends has lost the love of his life. I'm hoping we see Matt's take at some point. Maybe at Robbie's funeral? I feel like he's the logical choice to narrate that one. Cody's bit was interesting, because for him to take on being a father, he's really going to have to stop with the drugs and the wild Hollywood party lifestyle. He can probably do it, but it does force him to change his life a lot. I've had people tell me that in the New York/North New Jersey area, they were pretty lax about fake I.D.'s until recently, so I bought Will being able to get served at the bar. I did really like the exchange with Carullo...if he wasn't 22 and someone I figure is pretty attached to living the New York City area, I could've seen him as a legitimate Will love interest. But the idea of them offering comfort to them in the form of physical intimacy is still pretty sweet.

Chapter 46 -When Will calls out his grandfather for his racism. "Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone -When Will is at the funeral for Joey Martinelli, the firefighter he locked eyes with. "Fragile" by Sting (Live Performance in Italy on September 11, 2001) -When Will, Wade, and Matt walk out of the funeral to support Carullo, and Will has a talk with Tony's mother, who makes it clear that she knows Tony is gay. "This Land Is Your Land" by Peter, Paul, and Mary -When Will and Tony hang out together, and engage in some sexual healing with each other. "New York State of Mind" by Billy Joel

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.