methodwriter85

I don't know how likely this is, but man, how cool would it be if Mark could incorporate the 2001 MTV Music Video Awards into CAP, which took place on September 6th? I mean, we did have Beyonce show up. I remember when 9/11 happened, people were talking about how much fun the week before 9/11 had been in NYC, and this was the last major awards ceremony held in New York before 9/11. For me, I remember the '01 ceremony being a big deal because one of the kids at my school was a back-up dancer for a Jay Z song.

Stanford is on a quarter system, so the 2001-2002 school year doesn't start until after 9/11. Check out the 2001-2002 Stanford academic calendar. According to the calendar, the 2001 Autumn quarter at Stanford started on Monday, September 24th, 2001. Wade and Matt's graduation should take place on Sunday, June 16th, 2002. I checked out info on UCLA for fall 2001, and they're also apparently on the quarter system- Darius's school year doesn't start until Tuesday, September 25th. So Darius could totally be in New York City visiting Ella on September 11th. Aside from that, the 2001 MTV Music Awards took place on September 6th, and I could easily see Darius getting tickets via Robbie's connections for that, and taking a week or two in New York trying to reconcile with Ella. That would be just the type of thing I could see two college kids wanting to do, especially if Ella is interested in seeing rockstar fashion. Plus, Britney Spears was there(that was the snake performance of Slave 4 U) and Ella's in her demographic. We're getting close enough to current times that it's easier looking up internet archived info, thank god.

I'm so damned excited- November 22nd, 2013 can't come soon enough! It really looks like they upped the production values of the film, as well as the design/costume values of the film. It looks consistent with the visuals of the first film, but with an enhanced flair. I love that we're getting more of the Districts rebelling instead of just getting the hints about them, and I love the political intrigue scenes with President Snow and Plutarch. I was a little disapointed that we didn't see Finnick O'Dair and Johanna Mason, but still...I cannot wait for this to come out!

I am SHOCKED, shocked I tell you, that you know where to find a mall with a Neiman Marcus at one end and a Sak's 5th Avenue at the other.

Well, unfortunately for you, Nelly was pretty big from 2001 to about 2004-ish, so...I can't really avoid his music.

Maybe it's not the same thing, but Will clearly set precedent for having sex with people that were in relationships in the previous story, and this story feels like a logical progression from that.

It's actually consistent from the previous story- Will slept with Tony who had a girlfriend, and he messed around with Gathan despite knowing that he was back with Kristin. The latter really bothered me, because Will is supposed to be good friends with Kristin, but I think this is the philosophy that Mark has in regards to his own life and that he's had Will articulate- that it's not your job to make sure other people live up to their committments. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I think Mark's developed that as a pretty strong part of Will's viewpoint, and it remains consistent with Will's "live and let live" (unless you try to get in my way) attitude.

Chapter 1 -When Will and Wade ride on their horses, and discuss their plans for the summer of 2001. What a great summer song. -When Wade tells Will about his beloved horse. "Wildfire" by Michael Martin Murphey -When Will gets his ass kicked for sleeping with Kyle. -When Will decides to cut Kyle off because the drama just isn't worth it.

National Geographic is airing a 3-part documentary mini-series starting tonight that follows the cultural, racial, and political trends of the 1980's. As a nice touch, it's being narrated by Rob Lowe, former 80's hearthrob. National Geographic's The 80's- The Decade That Defined Us I'm so excited. I just simply adore that decade. The bright colors, the fun music, the outrageous fashions, and the then-impressive explosion of high-tech. The 80's just look like they would have been so much fun to have grown up in. Since the late '90's I've been into 80's nostalgia, and I think at this point- with the 80's being three decades ago, we should start getting some interesting perspectives on them since the 80's are no longer recent history. More time for research and proper reflection, I think. Here's the commercial: I loved I Love the 80's on VH1, so I'm so down for this.

I like the idea of there being more than one or two points of view. That's what defined 9.11 for me- it was such a human story, with many different points of view that everyone can remember where they were when it happened.

What I find really interesting about JJ is that he, geneticially and upbringing-wise, should be a major slut like the rest of his family. I mean, he was the result of an uncle banging his crackwhore niece. But the combination of delayed puberty and being in a sport that mandates a Disney-friendly image kept him pretty innocent, until he was forced to be sexual with his coach. And then despite what happened with his coach, he's still pretty much expected to keep his mouth shut about what happened and still go on to be very much the clean-cut, Disney-friendly figure skater who would never admit to even having straight pre-marital sex, let alone the kind of sex that was illegal in Texas until 2003. I think at 15 and with him lagging behind it'll be okay, but at 17/18 when he's finally in full-gear puberty wise, it's going to be difficult. I love that JJ stands in contrast to Will, who's very much that guy who started having an active sex life in junior high because he had the body of a guy several years older- I hope we can keep that going for the time being. It's incredibly realistic and very true to life with guys who were in the 12 to 16 age rage- the guys like Andy in Cross-Currents who were basically built like adult men by age 14 and thus got plenty of play, and the guys like JJ who were ignored by their peers because they still looked 11. Anyway, I'll be interested in seeing what characters eventually find themselves in Iraq. I don't think Matt or Wade would go, but I could see Gathan, maybe Darius. Historically, Claremont fits the profile of the kind of town that sends off a lot of their young to war, so I'm assuming there will be a fair amount of Claremonters in The War on Terror/Operation Enduring Iraqi Freedom.

Australia really is the land of beautiful men, isn't it?

I can't picture Flacco as being gay. No self-respecting gay man would ever let his unibrow get that bad. Aaron doesn't ping, either. I'd love it if Tim Tebow finally came out as gay, but I suspect that man will stay in deep denial for a long, long time. I wonder if it'll be any quarterbacks.

The problem with Will finding his "forever" soulmate at 14 is that Mark clearly wants to use Will for more stories, and while monogamy is nice, it's not very good for a soap. Note that Brad/Robbie and Matt/Wade weren't allowed to have another story until they came close to breaking up.

Nah, not until he grows up and matures a bit. I also can't really see him being a narrator in the near future because being narrator means you've got to engage in a lot of sex, and I think he's going to be largely traumatized and asexual for awhile. Finally, could you try to cut JJ at least a little slack? He's a 15 year old boy who essentially lost his mother, was abused by the only strong male model in his life, and didn't tell anyone because he desperately wants to hit the top of his sport. It's not like he was just another spoiled brat rich bitch. There were reasons behind it.

I'm going to admit, I always thought you were an American Ex-pat and therefore didn't actually live in England during Thatcher's rule. I agree with Sharon. She may not be my cup of tea, but you can't deny she got things done.

This is wayyyy ahead, but damn, I really want Riley and Madison to end up childhood sweethearts when they're 12 years old in 2013, since they're not going to be raised as brother and sister. It'd be so classic soap, with an updated 21st century twist. Could you imagine the heart attack that La Danfield would have if her precious first-born grandson was dating the daughter of a crazy lesbian Jersey chick and an aging gay circuit boi from a nobody Mid-Western family? Meanwhile, 26-year old Will and 27-year old JJ can chuckle about the hormonal exploits of their pubescent half-sister, while JJ teases Will about his own mishaps at that age, such as stripping in an Italian club. Then Will shoots back at JJ about his current exploits and unwillingess to settle down, before the two go back into the dinner that Will and his husband are throwing. I kinda see Will at his mid-20's being largely settled down and thoroughly domesticated, because he sowed his wilds seeds so much in his teen years. Conversely, I see JJ as being someone compensating for the fact that he sacrificed his childhood for the Olympic dream, so he basically treats his mid/late 20's as the adolescence he never really had, with lots of partying and flings. Darius and his wife (I don't think it will be Ella) would probably be on at least his 3rd child by 2013 with a 4th on the way, and living comfortably in a Los Angeles suburb. He and Will dogpile quite frequently on Jeremy for not being settled down the way they are, but in a loving, brotherly way.

I kind of modeled him after a hybrid of a frat boy, and a hipster.

Damn, I'm excited. The second video is the video intro that they're going to play before the Jurors come in, so it looks like us 12 were just in the jury box before coming into the deliberation room. Pretty cool, right? (Although they really need to photoshop over the Delaware state seal, as this is supposed to be in New York.) This has probably been the most intense theater experience I've ever had so far...but in a really good way. From having every line and movement scrutinized to having our director throw a fit and buy a new water cooler because some of the actors refused to drink from the old water cooler, it's been one great learning experience. It's been such a stark contrast to the student one-act play showcase I was in last year. I'm used to the experience of being able to say a line, and then leave the stage when I'm not in a scene. With 12 Angry Jurors, you have to stay in the scene the whole time, even when you don't have lines. I had the Guard part back in a 2006 college production, so I pretty much had a few lines and wasn't on stage much. This time around, I'm Juror 12, so it's been a completely different experience. I'm forced to stay into character during the length of the entire play, which has been pretty stimulating as an actor. Anyway, we open for a preview on Thursday, so wow...this is going to be a pretty exciting week for me.

It'd be cool if JJ, Tiffany, and Riley were in Bulgaria for the Junior Grand Prix that was taking place from September 13th to 16th. I like the idea of some of these characters being out of the country.

I'm sure it does...but...doesn't it make you kind of a shitty person to take advantage of someone who's so drunk they can't stand?

I don't know though, Tony is a legacy character. You can't really count out a legacy character when it comes to a soap. I'm assuming that when 9/11 comes around, some of Gathan's cousins will sign up for the army. I can't see there not being at least a few Hayes boys ending up in the War on Terror. As for JJ, it'll be interesting to see what happens when he gears up for the 2001-2002 season. With Tiffany being his coach now, she'll have to move to Los Angeles...or she could just commute. The jet comes in handy, I suppose. I could see some mild tension with Wade over Tiffany going to Los Angeles with Riley, but I could also see that tipping UCLA Law School into favor with Wade, as Wade's entering his senior year of college and law school is just around the corner. I would like to see JJ go back to Harvard-Westlake for his 10th grade year...JP and Brad could probably pull some strings, and it'd be nice to see JJ redeem himself a little bit and prove that he can do the work. Plus, I really like Allistair and I think he'd be a good influence on JJ, so I hope we can keep HW in the story. It'd also be cool if Will made friends with a guy who was in the Straight Edge movement of the late 90's/early 00s...it ws basically teenagers who didn't believe in drinking, drugging, or having promicious sex. It'd be a nice counterbalance to Will's drinking and sex teen shenanigans.

Australian soap actor Luke Mitchell as Hot Jeff? Given where Mark went in terms of Ryan's looks, I felt like I needed a guy who had more of an narrow, triangular face paired with a totally slammin' bod. And that wicked little half-smile works for me as Hot Jeff. Both Hunter Parrish and this guy were apparently in the running for the part of Finnick in the Hunger Games, so I figured it was appropriate. LOL.

In any event, I do think the Bush II era had this certain feel and vibe to it- there was this major sense of entitlement and feeling like there were no consequences. Mark talked once about how the 80's had this immense feeling of greed to them- I think that's somewhat what happened in the '00's. Not quite in the same way, but it was the era where people bought their McMansions and Hummers and shopped at lifestyle centers while being extremely maxed out on credit, with the belief that real estate prices were going to continue to rise, until they suddenly didn't. I'd consider the 2000's as being like another Gilded Age- on the surface there was prosperity, but it was all a house of cards that came tumbling down.

I kinda figured Claire was because of Stefan's constant joking about how she dresses like the Young Republican club of Palo Alto. Ace has a personality that just reads to me as Republican, for some reason. He definitely strikes me as someone who would've supported Ronald Reagan back in the '80s. Tony also strikes me as someone I can see as a Republican...you did say he was from a pretty conservative suburb of St. Louis, his family leans towards conservative Catholic types, and if Tony were a Republican type it'd make a lot more sense that he's so deeply closeted. I also kinda figured that you can't have this entire family as Democrats, so there'd have to be at least a few Republicans in there. The Danfields can't be the lone Republicans in this story, right? It'd be boring if they were all of the same political affiliation, especially when the Republican/Democrat culture wars heat up during the insanity of the Dubya Years. The rhetoric just got nastier and nastier. It really is going to be fun to see how you have the Dubya Administration shade the feel of CAP. I did think you did a great job of capturing the optimism, boom times, and energy of the Clinton Years, so it'll be interesting to see what CAP feels like when The Dubya Years/9/11 alters the mood of the country. I can imagine Brad and JP cringing with these gems: "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." -George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 "The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur." -George W. Bush, discussing the decline of the French economy with British Prime Minister Tony Blair "I understand that the unrest in the Middle East creates unrest throughout the region." -George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002 "My trip to Asia begins here in Japan for an important reason. It begins here because for a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times. From that alliance has come an era of peace in the Pacific." -George W. Bush, who apparently forgot about a little something called World War II, Tokyo, Feb. 18, 2002 "It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency." -George W. Bush, June 14, 2001, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling.