methodwriter85

Chapter 18 -When Brad takes in the views, and realizes that Will is right. "Return to Innocence" by Enigma

So on Day 5 of volunteering, I finished going through my box and started on another one. On Day 6, which was this past Tuesday, I started on a new box- in this case, a good chunk of what I saw in the box was actually pretty new, like posters from the 2009 parade and the like, as well as a DVD rip. Which was interesting, because on one hand, it's good to have them, but on the other hand, it doesn't really feel like history. In main news...Newark, Delaware flooded out. Not like, Mississipppi River flooding or anything, but I've never seen flooding like this on Main Street before: Flooding is usually mitigated by the significant amount of creeks around the Newark area, so it's rare you see flooding like this in the downtown area. Pretty crazy.

To be honest, in terms of having your characters act out of character for the sake of plot, I really didn't think that for Isidore's reaction. She's never been that strongly developed of a character (definitely not like Tonto) despite being in the story for "38" years, so she's a bit of an enigma. It's been strongly hinted that Isidore grew up in a strongly upper-class French family, so I don't have a problem with her having a very strong feeling on etiquette. Mark's actually set the seeds for that when JJ was 9 or so, in If It Fits. Stefan observed that while Darius and Will were seemingly good and talented at everything they picked up like surfing and art, JJ was a cheerful kid but wasn't really that good at anything. Matt in Bloodlines noted the same thing, wondering if JJ would ever find something he was good at, and that's where skating came in. Doing what JJ is shooting for doesn't really leave much in terms of having a lot of friends or activities, so it makes sense he doesn't have much of a life outside of figure skating. That's just the sacrifice of being in a highly competitive sport when you're 15. It remains to be seen if JJ will wind up regretting that choice. I'm not sure I see him going the Brian route, but it does feel like there's a ticking time bomb of JJ's paternity, vs. the fact that he's in a very public sport that demands a very pristine, wholesome image. Born to a crackwhore being fucked by her uncle just doesn't really jibe with that, and if JJ's famous enough by the time of the 2006 Olympics, tabloids are going to jump all over it. I do see JJ having a period somewhere in his early/mid-20's when he tries to make up for all the time he lost in terms of social interactions with his peers. Child stars have talked at length about that kind of thing, and I'm thinking JJ will go through something similiar. I can also see JJ, like Robbie, trying to "buy" friendship/relationships...I'm betting 23-year old JJ is going to be picking up a lot of bar tabs for his "friends." Which will put him in stark contrast to Will, who at 14 seems to have fine-tuned his b.s. meter for who's a friend and who's just trying to take advantage.

The thing is that I have a really good memory for faces (not really names, but faces), and I watch and consume a lot of pop culture, meaning I see and remember a lot of faces of models, actors, TV personalities, Web personalities, etc etc. My two favorite "Faces for CAP" moments were Liam Hemsworth for Zach Hayes and Colton Haynes for John Hobart. Both are so, so hot, and I knew I nailed it with Mark on those. Especially the Zach Hayes pick. Liam Hemsworth really does look like he could be a Hayes, especially with that flat nose and baby blues. (I think he'd be cushier like his oldest brother Luke if Hollywood standards didn't demand a perfect six-pack for leading men.)

I think the thing about JJ is that Will's rebellion of summer and fall 2000 really did take up so much attention and concern of the family that no one really noticed the son who wasn't visibily causing waves. They assumed because JJ was part of a tightly-controlled environment like figure skating he'd be fine, and it wasn't until Will settled down and Brad found out that JJ was flunking out of school that they started really noticing that things were not okay with him. I thought that was incredibly true to family dynamics- the loud and in-your-face sibling gets the notice, while the one who generally obeys the rules doesn't. Jeanine in many ways reminded me of the classic stage mother- because Jeanine never really did anything for herself, her identity became consumed into being the Star's Mother, and if she had any suspicions about JJ's coach, she probably buried them subconciously because Jeanine convinced herself that this guy was going to get JJ to Torino in 2006, just like JJ convinced himself that the coach really did have his best interest at heart. I'm not sure I think JJ sees himself as a total outsider to the family- I don't think it's Cal in East of Eden. I think he's simply more of a typical teenager in that he's way more interested in his friends and activities than he is with his family. But it has been set up that Darius and Will were always the favored ones by JP, Stefan, Brad, and Robbie, and JJ was the afterthought. (Except for with Jeanine, and later on Tiffany and Matt.) It would then make sense for JJ to seek out a surrogate family where he's the center star, i.e. figure skating.

I like what we're learning about John. He could an interesting future protagonist, especially if we're going with his sexuality being "straightish" instead of just straight. (Plus, he looks like Colton Haynes. Man, that guy is hot.) I really do love how JJ was dragged kicking and screaming into the family function. Pitch-perfect for a 15-year old who is more interested in his surrogate figure skating family than he is with the actual one.

I think JJ looked to his brothers and saw that they were so caught up in family loyalty, so he didn't really have to be. The thing is, JJ's essentially's Jeanine's child, while Will was Brad's. I don't think Jeanine was ever really that caught up in the grandeur of the Schluter/Crampton family tradition, whereas Brad probably did install that within Will. (Only Will is much more fervent about it.) I think he became much more loyal to the figure skating world than he did with his family, to a fault. I think JJ is probably bonded closer to his family now than he was before the molestation reveal, but I don't think family is life or death to him the way it is for Will. If JJ ever had a falling out with his family to the level that Will had when he ran away to Hawaii, he'd simply move towards making close friends in whatever city he settled in and create a new surrogate family like he did with the figure skating world. (Likely Chicago, New York City, possibly London.) Will would never be able to live without repairing his familial relationships, but JJ probably would be fine.

You know, someone's been saying for at least two years that they'd try and catch up with the story...lol.

Chapter 17 -When Will tells Brad he bought a house, and Brad blows up. "Everbody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears That song is such a great power anthem for Brad, as well as the mindset of Mark's 1980's Yuppie Generation. 1985 was such a great time for music. -When J.P. recounts the smashing success of the Bastille Day. "Pop!" by N'Sync I thought it was funny that the song asks when pop is going to fade out...and then it pretty much imploded in 2002. I think largely because after 9/11, people were not in the mood for happy pop tunes. Happy pop didn't really die out in the U.K. like it did in the U.S. -At the family, where Brad eventually blows up at Isidore, not just for Will, but for the way she played favorites with her children back in 1980. "Canon In D" (Ordinary People) I was absolutely obsessed with that movie when I was 16, 17. I was in total awe of Timothy Hutton in that movie. Conrad would be my dream role. (Alright, I'm probably too old for that now.) I never get to play vulnerable roles like that. I'm always put in cocky, smarmy roles

So the second year of Firefly came and went. It was a pretty good experience, despite how bad my feet are aching right now from all that working. I wasn't a volunteer this year, so I wound up camping with my friend Mike and his buddy Freddy. It was an entirely different feeling than last year, because the crowd was twice the size that last year had. It took a really long time to get to our campground, and we wound up parked at a spot pretty far away from the festival, which was a shock from last year, as the volunteers get camping pretty close. I had a somewhat downer of a Saturday when I thought my wallet was stolen, but it turned out to have been lost in the Home Depot where I used the bathroom, by a friend of a friend of my sister's. Only in Delaware. In terms of humor, apparently my friend Mike got lost while tripping on a hash cookie that he took in full. We also had a rather funny conversation Sunday night with an 18-year old guy who was tripping on acid, and took an incredibly round-about way time of telling us about how his life was over because his girlfriend thinks he hit on her friend. I've always found people who were tripping pretty funny. It was also a reminder of just how shitty being 18 can be- everything is soooo life and death when you're that age. It made me glad that I have some years on me now. Overall, the event was pretty awesome. I saw Wild Belle, The Avett Brothers, Calvin Harris, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Alabama Shakes, Edward Sharpe and the Maginficent Zeroes, MGMT, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Matt and Kim, Dispatch, Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, and Foster the People. I'd say I enjoyed RHCP, The Alabama Shakes, Matt and Kim, and Foster the People most.

I feel like re-living the 80's right now...some songs to get me started... 1. You Can Call Me Al- Paul Simon 8. Just Like Heaven - The Cure It kind of pisses me off to think that such a great song was denied being number 1 by that horrid George Michael tune, "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me." Ugh. On the other hand, this song has remained far more relevant than the latter, so yay!

I loved that JJ basically didn't want to go but got forced into it anyway. When I was 15, I had to be dragged to family functions, too. Although it's surprising JJ isn't a N'Sync fan- I'm betting he's probably a BSBer all the way through.

I loved the mentions of N'Sync, the Harry Potter movie cast, and Josh Hartnett. Josh Hartnett was soooo hyped in '01, same as Jude Law. Jude Law didn't really deliver though he's worked steadily, while Josh seemingly dropped off the face of the earth after 2002. I kind of thought that buying an entire house for a single teenaged guy was a bit ridiculous, but then again, the rich are different from you and me. It's not like Will's going to piss away his trust fund on stupid stuff- two million for even an unfinished house in Hawaii with a view seems ridiculously cheap. According to good ol' Wiki, Maui got hit with a big housing boom until about 2007, so the home value will probably double or triple in a rather short time. As for the other stuff, I loved the thought that 15-year old JJ had to be verbally dragged kicking and screaming into going to the Bastille Day party. That's my boy. LOL. I'm kind of shocked though that JJ isn't a big N'Sync fan- maybe he's more Backstreet Boys? (I once got slammed into a locker by a senior boy for saying N'Sync sucks. LOL.) He grew up around too many girls in skating for him not to have picked up on the boyband thing.

Chapter 16 -When J.P. describes the excess that Stefan's going to in order to make Bastille Day a success. " Moulin Rouge was hands-down my favorite movie of 2001. -When Will is clued in about the party by Darius and JJ, and cackles over the fact that Marie is going to miss seeing N'Sync perform at Escorial. -When Will decides to invest in real estate. Cent, I'm sory, but 2000-2001 was a pretty huge period for Destiny's Child. I really can't ignore that. LOL. I once remember this Communist e-friend going on a rant about this song. I think I actually joined the Young Communist League email list for a bit. LMAO.

I think the one time I did Tequila was Halloween '05. Never again. I'd be safer drinking Jungle Juice.

Does this mean we'll get characters named things like Addison, Jayden, and Aiden soon? I think it's funny when similiar sounding names become popular at the same time, like the Aiden/Jayden thing, and the Madison/Addison deal.

Yeah, I gave the whole thing a little more thought, and figured that since 2000 and 2001 were still "culturally" the 90's, it's not that big of a deal to have Will still saying "the bomb", especially since he's not really supposed to be an uber-hip and edgy guy. I did hear though that some 70's slang made a comeback in the early 00's, like "clutch" and "boss". Burn=insult was also going around, likely because of That 70's Show. What are good emerging subsitutes and the like for "the bomb" for this time period? I didn't start hearing "sick" until about 2003, but I'm also from Delaware. LOL.

Yeah, University of Delaware with room and board costs a student about 25k a year...12k if you don't live on campus. (40k if you're an out-of-state student who lives on campus.) I lived at home for most of my time at UD, and when I went there, tuition was about 8k to 9k for in-state students. College tuition and board costs have wwwwaaaaayyyyy outpaced inflation.

Blue, were California teenagers still saying things were "the bomb" in 2001? I just feel like 2001 is a little late to still have Will saying things are "the bomb"...it feels more like 1995-1998 slang, not slang still being used in mid-2001. You could argue that because Will is younger his slang might not be as up to date as it would be with college kids, but he's around college kids so that doesn't work. I've heard people saying things were "bomb-ass", but "the bomb" is something I haven't heard since middle school. I just want to know if people agree with me before we start phasing out "the bomb" from CAP character slang- if that term isn't out now in mid-'01, it's gotta be gone soon. I don't remember hearing that in high school, period. Things were "beast" and the like, but no longer "the bomb."

Jackson Rathbone (Twilight) as Mouse? I do picture Mouse as having this kind of effeminate, oddball beauty to him.

Chapter 15 -When Will recounts his teenage drama with Brad, and admitting that he doesn't even know if he wants any kind of relationship with Tony. -When Will gets into a "surf" war with a native. -When Will gets into a near-fight with the guy who was actually supposed to be his driver. We're at the height of the Poppy Punk era, which was then replaced with the Emo era circa 2005. I used to think Hot Topic was soooooo cool back then. It's kind of fun to re-visit the days when I used to listen to Poppy Punk albums and wished desperately I could be cool enough to hang out at the Grange with people that were actually punks. Oh, for the days of bleach, Manic Panic, and massively baggy cargo shorts.

On Day 3, I continued going through my box of Memorial Day photos. I found a couple of pictures of Governor Tom Carper (D, 1993-2001), which made it far easier to nail down a date for that set. For Day 4 (this past Friday), the volunteer manager had myself and another volunteer go through cataloging basics. Even though I've already done cataloging, I appreciated the refresher. Plus, as I've learned, every museum does things different- a true universial standard for cataloging doesn't really exist. I really like the collection we went through yesterday- the donater had brought memorabilia pertaining to his mother's, father's, and his own days at the University of Delaware (the late 1930's/early 1940's and the 1960's, respectively). It was really cool to see the mother's dance cards from all these dances from circa 1939-1941, complete with little pencils. That was back when University of Delaware had a men's college on the North Green, with the women's college on the South Green, and back then there wasn't as much interaction between the men and the women of the school. It was also interesting to realize that this was just a few years before most of the male students would drop out of Delaware to go fight in WWII. As for the 60's, I found a 1962-1963 student code of conduct book, as well as a lot of student athletic schedules. There was also a sideline pass for a UD/Rutgers game, which was interesting, because I don't think Rutgers and UD play football against each other anymore. There was also an interesting UD magazine that talked about the plans for building Morris Library- I cannot tell you how much time I spent in that library when I was in high school and college. It made me think about how UD seems to be on a constant building spree- since the 1950's, the only period where there wasn't constant building would be the 1980's, when the number of college-aged people contracted sharply. Right now UD's on a major building mission, but it makes me wonder what'll happen when the baby bust of the late 1990's and 2000's starts to hit colleges. The memorabilia made me wish I could've gone to school in the 1960's, though- we found a booklet that listed tution for the entire academic year as being $1,120. You can't even go to community college for that anymore! LOL. All in all, it's really nice using my skills again, even if I'm not getting paid for it.

True all that. So, Mark, what do you think of my MaryEllen idea? Am I on the right track? I keep thinking, 'Needs to look like a pretty rich bitch'. As for Tiffany, I'm thinking either Kristen Bell: Or Evan Rachel Wood: Pretty blondes but with an edge, not sugary-sweet girl-next-doors.

After having friends who were good-looking, that's been my general observation as well. Good looks don't necessarily mean happiness, but they do mean eager sex partners. It doesn't really change until guys hit about 24, 25.