methodwriter85

Yeah, like I said, on an intellectual level I get it. But I don't understand it emotionally, because I've never been at that place. It's not that I don't feel bad for Tony, but a part of me thinks that he shouldn't be taking that long, and a part of me really takes Tim's viewpoint on this. I get that I shouldn't find Tony's journey annoying, but...I don't know. The classic tortured closet case angst story has been done sooooo many times, and I'm just more interested in Will's journey as the new vanguard of that first generation of gay guys who really could say they were never in a closet, because I relate to that more. I've been out since I was 14, I've only lost a friend or two for being gay, and the general reaction I've gotten from people for being gay is "It's whatever". I'm not saying that Tony's story isn't important and I get why it's there, but I'm just not particularly enamored by yet another tale of the tortured closet case who sleeps with men on the side while maintaining a straight facade to people. That was edgy and groundbreaking on Melrose Place back in 1994; not quite so much anymore. At the same time, I think it's good for Mark to explore such a storyline, as I'm sure there are people who can relate to it.

Happy 44th birthday, Greg! If I were just 15 years older...

Yeah. Even though Tony blames his dad being gay for his death from AIDS, it's 2000 and he should realize by this point that being gay doesn't automatically equal AIDS. Sam's family seemed remarkably progressive for an Italian-Catholic family in the 1960's and 1970's(he still had a relationship with them rather than being cut-off), and the interaction with Tony's mother basically suggests that Tony's mother hasn't raised Tony with a homophobic attitude. St. Louis isn't exactly Mayberry, so it's not like Tony grew up in some narrow-minded small town like Claremont, either. So it's all because of Tony's outdated view of the AIDS epidemic that's causing all this internalized homophobia. I can understand being closeted in a place like an all-boys Catholic school like Tony seemed to go to, but the fact that he's got almost an entire semester of college down where there's no doubt he's met openly gay people and he's still in deep denial is pretty annoying. I wouldn't have patience for that, and I have such a hard time understanding why someone would try so hard to be straight when they're not, to the point where they're hurting people. Well, techically, if JJ continues in this vein, he'll be a lonely never-was, because he'll never win an Olympic medal. There's a trainwreck aspect in watching someone basically sacrifice everything for something you know will never work out. I do like the idea that Robbie's attaching himself to JJ because in the back of his mind, he's remembering Billy. It's going to be an interesting conflict for JJ growing up- how does he maintain a Disney-fied, wholesome image considering the kind of family he comes from? I mean, the dude won't even be able to smoke pot with Brad when he's 17 like Brad did with Darius. JJ's going to be subjected to random drug testing, which means that the only kind of drugs he'd experiment with are likely the ones that race through your body quick, like amphetamines. Pot takes too long to clear out, so I can't see JJ ever touching it.

Every year, there's an alumni luncheon at my old high school. It was fun as it always is- I get free Bobbie subs from Capriotti's and such. One thing that was absolutely hysterical was this holiday show performance called the "12 Joys of Cab", which makes fun of the teachers at the school. This year, one guy was singled out as the hot young teacher that girls won't stop drooling over- I mean, they absolutely ripped into him. The funny thing was that this guy was none other than "Dave K", a guy who was two years ahead of me and graduated in 2003. He was what amounted to the high school alpha male jock at my school, only he was the leader of the popular punk artist straight-edge crowd. Dave K was in high school, as he apparently is again, the "hot guy" that everyone was drooling over, and as a consequence he was really egotistical and full of himself. First week of freshman year, he and his crowd decided to target me, and I was mocked pretty mercilessly by them as being fat, ugly, and annoying. Dave got the ball rolling, and his cronies JT and Dan ran with it. It was really bad freshman year, and their teasing didn't end until they finally graduated when I was a sophomore. People joined in because he was what amounted to the alpha male jock, and upperclassmen didn't even know what my actual name was because they called me by the "clever" mean nickname that he came up with for me. It wasn't until I was a junior and they were gone that high school really started becoming fun for me, and I finally felt free of that baggage. My last two years of high school, despite some angst, were so much better and those were the years when I finally started developing some self-worth about myself. And I realized that the more self-worth I had, the less it mattered what the conceited assholes thought about me. By my last semester in high school, *I* was the one comforting a freshman boy who was getting picked on by an upperclassmen with an overblown ego, and it was full circle moment. It was funny to see this guy back at Cab as this high school teacher- a hot teacher apparently that jailbait is jumping on- but just a regular adult regardless instead of the "star" who could do no wrong that he was back then. Your bullies in middle and high school can seem larger than life because of the power they held over you, and then when you're no longer in the middle of that- you see how really ordinary and insignficiant they are. In the ten years since those days, I've made some great relationships, graduated from college and grad school, and have partaken in some pretty great memories. I'm a far cry from the 9th grader who used to cry in the bathroom at lunch because of the bullying. So you see, kids, things really do get better. Seeing one of my old high school bullies really reminded me of that.

See though, I just don't think JJ is enough of a schemer to even think of doing that. It would be funny, but I can't see it being likely. Because if JJ's brother got arrested for having minor sex, wouldn't that reflect badly on him? You gotta remember that JJ needs to maintain a Disney-friendly image at all times to stay in the good graces of the USAFSA, and accusng his brother of being a sex offender and trying to turn it into big hullaboo just doesn't fit into that.

Well, they would've started kindergarten in 1991, which is long before any of that became common. I had an online friend who was born, I believe, around November 1985. She started her school years in California, with the class of 2003. In third grade, her parents moved to Michigan, and the Michigan public school system tried to place her in second grade because of her age, despite the fact that she had already gone through second grade in California. Her parents won, of course, but the fact that they had to fight at all was pretty ridiculous. It's funny when you think though that in most other states, JJ would be in the class of 2004 and Will would be in the class of 2005, but the Cali school system made it so that they had to be in the same grade. Which seems to be part of what's causing all of the tension between them. I think if they hadn't been in the same grade there'd be less tension and less of JJ feeling like Will steals the spotlight wherever he goes. Anyway, I liked how that scene played out, with Will realizing on some level that Alistair just isn't ready to go all the way yet. I remember that age- you did have guys like Ryan and Will who were totally sexually experienced, but that was often because they were physically mature. Guys who aren't physically mature, like Alistair and JJ, still giggled at holding the hand of their significant other. Not every 14-year old was having sex in high school, and it was nice to be reminded of that. In the 8th through 10th grade era, sooooo much of what happens to you is based on how mature you are, both physically and socially. There were kids like Ryan and Will that could easily hang(and nail) older people in late high school or college, and then there were the kids like Alistair and JJ, who were too immature to do that. The differences don't really level out until 11th grade/12th grade, when the late bloomers finally start to catch up.

<p> Hey, I really hope you don't give up the sport. If you want to change schools and play ball somewhere else that's one thing, but you should never let people deter you from playing a sport you love.</p> <p> </p> <p> Honestly, I'd just ride it out. Football season is over, and I'm sure your 15 minutes of fame is over in that regard as well.</p> <p> </p> <p> Here's <a href=" ">a pretty cool video with Brian Sims</a>. He was a football player who was openly gay with his college football team in Pennsylvania back in the early 2000's.</p><p> </p> <p> I also think you should consider reading Cross-Currents, by Adam Phillips. It's a semi-autobiographical story about a young soccer player who struggles with his emerging bisexual identity against his identity as an alpha male jock.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

You're telling a Californian attorney about CA statutory rape laws. Tread carefully there. I know our Private Tim's just a sweetheart, but even puppies can have some major bite behind the bark. Although seriously, some of these laws are just crazy. Something needs to be changed if you can put a 17-year old girl on a sex offender list for sexting pictures of her breasts to her boyfriend. Situations like that are clearly not what the laws set up protecting kids fom child pedators were made for.

Things I don't regret... 1. Having sex with a stranger in the bathroom stall of a library during winter finals 2006. He was tall, slender, dark-haired, blue-eyed...just cute as hell. Sure I could've gone for the true love waits route, but that was hot as hell. I was 21 and allowed to be stupid then. 2. The night that myself and a friend found a baggie of sage and decided to smoke it in a bowl. I'm not sure if we got high, but damned that was a fun night. 3. My 21st birthday. I passsed on the bathroom floor of a bar, then continued on to another for my night cap after passing out. 4. Walking around a neighborhood late at night while smoking a joint with my friend, Stoner Steve. Yeah, I wouldn't do it now, but at 23 it was a nice way to spend a night and bond with my friend.

Yeah, I like that Will is allowed to be different and not a total rehash of Brad's old storylines with a younger model. I absolutely detest it when t.v. shows rip off old plotlines and rehash them with younger models. Glee this season basically has set up a re-hash of Rachel, Puck, and Finn with their new characters, and it's really obvious and tacky. As for the openly gay thing...I started coming out when I was 14. By 15, I had made my gay friends. I'm able to relate to the idea of not announcing to everyone in the room that you're gay, but I can't relate to self-denial. I never had a period in my life where I tried dating girls to prove to myself that I'm not gay, because on some level I liked being gay. I liked being gay because it made me different, and I grew up in an environment that encouraged everyone to stand out and be different. As for Westie's bit...I don't know. See, wouldn't it be kind of easy for Mark to kill off the character that no one really cares about and isn't all that closely tied to the family canvas? What made Jeff's death in 1968 so stong and powerful was because of the fact that so many people cared about and loved him...Mark STILL gets hate mail over that. If you kill someone like JJ off, wouldn't that be kind of a shrug moment? It'd be more shocking and important to kill off a character who doesn't seem like they're primed for an exit, because they'e well-loved and cared for.

Thanks for that, RJo. Sometimes I feel like JJ could disapear and go away and no one would even notice because they're too busy paying attention to Golden Boy Will...I'm glad you feel like he's an important character that matters. I do think having a legacy character from a core family is always important, especially if they've got a niche that makes them unlike anybody else on the story canvas. Over in reviews: I wonder if JJ would benefit from being sent off to live with relatives not in California. CA isn't the only place with figure skating coaches, and I get the feeling that if JJ got a chance to start over new where no one knew him as the middle-child overshadowed by Will and Darius, he'd do really well. He'd be forced to learn how to socialize with people without his mother and I guess now Robbie, which would make him grow up. As it is right now, JJ's stuck being the angry middle child who doesn't get enough attention. I wonder if there are any good boarding schools on the East Coast or mid-West that are close to Olympic-level figure skating clubs... I see Tony as gay, but the kind of gay that can still get it up for a woman. Because Tony can have sex with and enjoy a woman, he can lie to himself about not being gay, but he won't be fully emotionally and physically satisfied with a woman. Unfortunately, he's the type who just can't see himself having and raising a family with a guy, which is why he won't get serious about dating a guy. I have an online friend who was a lot like that- he enjoyed women, but there was a deep physical and emotional need he had to be lying in the arms of another man in the morning after. It took him a long time to come out- he wasn't out until he was 26. I think Tony will be similiar. I wonder if he'll be like my friend and try joining the military to prove to himself that he's not gay. That is a very common and sad story. I do like the contrast- Will(and my) generation is really that first generation of guys where you could say that they didn't need to come out because they were never in a closet to begin with. I'm not saying Will has become the rule, but it's becoming much more common, and I think the fact that gay families and gay marriages have become an option and something that current twentysomethings have grown up with really has done a lot to de-stigmatize being gay. I've talked with an author here...he's from Dallas like Adam Phillips is, but he has a hard time understanding Andy's struggle with his gay side in Cross-Currents because it just wasn't that big of a deal. And this guy is only about nine years younger than Adam is, but you can kind of even see a generation gap there. Even though people complain about how slow the progress is on gay marriage...the progress in terms of how the teenagers and twentysomethings act in regards to gay people is pretty fucking astounding. I mean, in 1992, a 15-year old gay kid couldn't have even concieved that one day he could get married to a guy. Twenty years later, a 15-year old gay kid has that option in a decent amount of states, and can see himself as not missing out on all that much because he's gay. I gotta admit, I like Tony and I get why Will is so attracted to him, but I also don't really see them as a match. Even when they're 26 and 30, and Tony has finally become okay with being gay, there's something about Tony that tells me that they wouldn't be a good match. I think it's because my gut about Tony tells me that he's a guy who believes in the status quo and upholding tradition, while Will is very much about challenging the status quo and forging new traditions and modes of acting. I mean, can you honestly see Tony as he's being written now going off with Will to help save the marine life in Louisiana when the oil spill happens in '10? Tony strikes me as someone who is set for a very conventional life in a white-collar 9-to-5, even if he does wind up married to a guy. That's not to say he can't change, but that's how I'm reading Tony as a character. High School Brad, I think, would have done that. Brad as he is now basically has done stuff like that. Will wouldn't do something like that- I think that's where there's a major difference between Brad and Will. Brad, at times, will treat people like his chess pieces to move around. Will doesn't treat people like that.

Look at the end of the quote. JJ is approaching his 15th birthday, so maybe Mark will pull a "Billy" on us.

Mark Arbour used to work in the investment/banker world before he decided to follow his bliss during his mid-life crisis and become a middle-class family guy teaching business classes instead. He knows shit tons about the financial/business world and the personality types that inhabit it. Mark likes to keep at least a little bit of plausbility in the story. If Mark didn't think that Robbie as a character could have run a corporation, he wouldn't have set that story up for Robbie at the end of Man in Motion. The only person in CAP that I really couldn't see in the business world would be JJ...temperamental diva types with a theatrical personality tend not to make the best financial decisions. That kind of adds to the feeling of JJ being the odd duck in his family- I can't see JJ having a head for business the way I could see Darius and Will having it.

See, this is why I'm interested in seeing what happens to JJ in 2006 and 2010. We already know that JJ won't win the Gold- that goes to Evengi Plushenko and Evan Lysacek, respectively. As he's written now, JJ wouldn't handle that all that well, if he indeed makes it to the age of 20 and 24.

I completely disagree with that. JJ has drive. It's just that his drive is to win the the competition, whereas Will's drive is more about succeeding in every facet of his life. JJ sees his life as his sport, which is why JJ is neglectful on the "life" part of winning. Well, JJ is just about to turn 15, the age that Billy was when he died. That would be interesting if Brad lost a son at the same age that he lost a brother. As for JJ's radical personality change, good points. He was described as being sweet and cheerful throughout Bloodlines, which is two years ago in CAP World. In The Box, which is set in summer 1999, JJ's described as being more serious now than he was, but not described as being bitchy. I could've sworn Stefan had a bit where he mourned the loss of the lighthearted, sweet boy who had now become very serious about his sport. He doesn't really get described as being a bitchy diva until the end of the Millenium, when JJ starts butting heads with Gathan during Easter Break, 2000. So he's only really been a bitch, in CAP time, for about eight or so months. Then again, this IS Cap. You should expect rapid personality mood swings and such, to maximize drama. In 8-10 months, Will went from being mournful that Brad didn't ask him to be his best man at the committment ceremony to torching his wardrobe, filing for emancipation, and then basically getting to a place with his dad that you usually don't get to until you're in your 20's.

Well, you can't get divorced if you can't get married, which doesn't happen in the United States until 2004. (In Massachusetts.) I thought Mark did a nice little bit about that, in the scene where Brad tells Will about the time in 1986 when Brad and Robbie decided to commit to each other, and Will thought about how it seemed like gay couples have a hard time describing their relationship milestones. It's going to be an interesting contrast with Will's generation coming up, where you hear guys his age using terms like "enaged" and "husband" and "married" more often instead of terms like "partner" and "committment ceremony" the way guys Brad's age and even Cody's age do. Anyway, I liked Darius being brought in. I think it's realisitic how the siblings take turns being pissed at each other- first Will and JJ team up against Darius, then Will and Darius are teaming up against JJ. That's very true to life when you have at least three siblings. JJ's bitchiness isn't excusable, but damn I feel sorry that his mom isn't going to be there for his 15th birthday. To use a Mark writing term, that's "raw." It does feel like Mark realized that JJ was pretty isolated off into the corner with his mom and Tiffany in the figure skating world, and little by little he's breaking that down to try to bond him more with one of his fathers. It seems like Mark's chosen Robbie for that, which makes a lot of sense.

Damn, Mark. 2012 is going to be one crazy year for you to cover. I can't believe all the crazy stuff that happened this year.

This Candadian actor named Jesse Moss is kind of how I picture Noah... Cute in this very innocent, kind of nerdy way. (The actor was also fucking hilarious as a psycho frat guy in this cult film called Dale and Tucker Vs. Evil. I highly recomend you netflix it.)

She's a gorgeous, well-spoken woman. Why not?

Zachary McGinness - You're 17. You were born in 1995. I was 9 years old in 1995. You know how many very vivid memories I have of 1995? You got a very long time to go before 30. NotNoNever- Thanks. I'm looking forward to the next year.

Jennifer Lawrence is not considered thin, though. Jennifer Lawrence: "In Hollywood, I am obese. I am considered a fat actress." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlGo3JVFGoE I'm glad that Jennifer Lawrence is around to show young girls that they don't have to starve themselves down to a size 0 to look beautiful.

I got into One Direction because of the parodies about them. They really seem to have a good humor about themselves and don't take themselves seriously like Bieber. Bieber's "haters" comment at the AMA's seriously bugged the crap out of me. The Wanted are actually pretty cool and interesting though- they've got an edge to them that One Direction doesn't have, and they're not generic-looking. You might like them better. They have a sensibility that reminds me of Robbie Williams during his "Millenium" phase.

Last Friday, I turned 27 and officially entered the land of the late 20-something, starting off my countdown to the 30 club. If this were Logan's Run, I would be a red now. It was a pretty quiet birthday weekend- just an Olive Garden famly dinner, a drink or two with a friend and a late-night Saturday trip to Waffle House. It's gotten me into relfective mood over the age stage I've just left, my mid-20's. When I turned 24, I was a senior in college and I was convinced that my best days were behind me- that there would never be a time as a free and as crazy as being in your early 20's, and I'd never have as much fun as I did the spring/summer I was 23 when I really went for broke with the college partying. 24 was just old, man, and it was all supposed to be downhill from there. And I couldn't have been more wrong. The ages of 24, 25, 26 were pretty damn good for me. I finished college after 5 years and having some major close calls with failing/flunking out. Through some miracle, I got into grad school on the absolute minimum GPA I needed to get in. And when I decided to can my original choice of Millersville to go to this school in the middle of bumblefuck Western Pennsylvania called IUP, I wound up making one of the best choices in my life. My two years in grad school were the most difficult, but ultimately rewarding periods in my life. I had the first and only 4.0 semester I've ever had, and met some great professors. I also had two great internships- one at a natural history museum; the other at a local heritage society. I had the eye-opening experience of living in a different region with different mindsets than the one I had grown up in- I mean, really, I took it for granted that if you started shouting E-A-G-L-E-S, people would join in. That's what life is like in the Greater Philly region. It's a totally different mindset in the Greater Pittsburgh area, and I was glad to have experienced that. I had a job for two years- a crappy job, of course, but beggars can't be choosers in this economy and that was the longest time I've ever held a job. And having that job enabled me to pay for Alternative Spring Breaks in Florida (2011) and Tennessee(2012), the latter of which holds some of the best memories I've made in my life. Nothing will ever beat the feeling of standing in the Tennessee air on a beautiful mountain. (Okay, big hill.) I made some real friends at this age rather than my mainstay of just having "party buddies", and I even found my "grad school" bar- this place called Spaghetti Benders. It wasn't Deer Park Tavern but that was kind of the point- it was a quiet bar with good people from all ages and walks of life who were great people to get to know, and were very different from the typical University of Delaware kids that I grew up with. I think I was probably the most "open" and eager for new experiences than I had been since I was 19/20...at 22 and 23 I was filled with such cynicism that I really felt like I had been there, done that. These past coupe of years showed me just how wrong I was, and just how much more I have left to experience. So bring on my late 20's! My mid-20's were awesome...let's hope these next three years are just as awesome.

I think she's better looking as a brunette... This clip, and Bradley Cooper's character reactions, are pretty hilarious.

I'm not sexually oriented towards women, but I know Gay Authors has members who are. It's totally kick-ass that such an awesome actress is getting admired by straight and bi men instead of vapid talentless hacks like Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton. Jennifer Lawrence is the Most Desirable Woman of 2012 Emma Stone remains my favorite girlcrush, though. She was awesome throughout Zombieland, Easy A, and The Amazing Spiderman. I do like that Jennifer Lawrence is getting kudos for being attractive despite all the "fat" remarks she's gotten- nice reminder to young girls out there that you don't have to be a size 0 to be attractive.