methodwriter85

Hey, Mark....I think there's something you need to do over at Adam's group.... To be honest, I don't think it's THAT out of question for there to be an asshole in water polo. There's always a bad guy in every sport, right? I was in cross-country, which couldn't be more "laidback, chill people" if they tried, and there were a couple of jerky guys on there, too. Just have the suggestion that Carter's behavior is more of a exception the rule, he's two-faced with the coach, and I think it would work. Speaking of California culture, though...here's an audition of a band called Emblem 3 for the show X-Factor. It's 2012, so it's more contemporary, but I thought I'd post this because these guys encapsulate a lot of current trends I see on teenaged/college-aged guys right now. And they're from Huntington Beach, so that makes them prime SoCal specimens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXiczowhdB8 I mean, these guys would be more Courtney's generation than Will's, but given that you like to introduce new protagonists, I wouldn't be shocked if there were future protagonist who would have been born somewhere around the early/mid-90's like these guys were. Noted the gauged ears, their sneakers, the skinny jeans that still somehow managed to be baggy, the tank tops, the flannel, and the hairstyles on the two brunets. It'd be funny if Stefan went on a rant in a circa 2010 story about all the young cute guys ruining their looks with gauged ears like Dan Savage did. LOL. Seriously though, there are a LOT of guys in the under 25 group going crazy on the tattoos and piercings right now, and not just punk/biker types. Frat boys are looking this now, too. It should have interesting ramifications on the white collar workplace.

It was a great show, Tim. Nice and wholesome clean 80's childhood fun, except every episode came with a lesson about things such as child prostitution, child pornography, teen suicide, eating disorders, being used as a tax shelter for your daddy,.etc etc. What do you think of my Maman and Brenda, Mark?

So, there's this film coming out in February that's an adaption of a book I really enjoyed, called Warm Bodies. Warm Bodies is the story of R, a young man going through an existential crisis- he's dead, and it's stuck him in a major rut. When R consumes the brain of one of the remaining humans, he finds himself falling for the guy's girlfriend, Julie. He saves her from a zombie attack, and the two form a friendship as they struggle to survive. This then leads to all sorts of complications, as one would imagine. The trailer came out: I like the sardonic comedy/satire edge to it. I'm a little wary about this being rated PG-13, because I think the source material really called for an R, but meh. Nicholas Hoult is a pretty damn good actor. You need someone in this part that can act without saying anything, and Hoult's great at that. Also, his voiceover/narration work here has just the right kind of wry sense of humor for this to not turn into Twilight: Zombie Edition. I'm pretty hopeful that this won't be anything like that. It's definitely a different kind of take on the zombie genre, in any event.

I see present-day Lisa Whelchel (The Facts of Life) and think, "Brenda Hayes." Man, did she age well or what? I guess being a bat-shit crazy clean-living Christian fundie can really pay off sometimes.

wrong thread, please delete this post

Nah, part of the fun in what Mark does is the attention that goes into recreating the mindset of an actual time and place. The Harvard-Westlake research was so much fun. Anyway, since we're talking Will's homeroom, I thought I'd share Will's academic schedule. It's as close to his HW schedule as I could get it, but I had to change some things according to the differences in curriculum at Menlo. *English 1 *World Religions (Will could make some comment about having to be forced to take a class about religion, but I'm not sure if he's as atheist as Brad is) *Honors Analytic Geometry and Algebra (we know Will's strong in math) *Physics (that'll be a big difference from taking Honors Bio, but he should be fine) *Art (Will could also take moviemaking, which I could see him being interested in) *French II(I think that was what Will was already taking at HW) There's also this really cool program, called the Knight School , where the academic schedule is suspended for one week each year so that students can take part in a week-long intensive hands-on learning in an area of their choice. There's even a service trip to Botswanna, which could be really cool for Will and open his eyes up about what actual poverty looks like. But my guess would be that's an upperclassman trip, but I could be wrong. How cool would it be for Will to travel to Africa? I think that's one place that we've never seen in CAP. *Okay, so the reason why I set up a schedule for Will is that I'm a stickler for continuity, and also- does anyone remember the show Gilmore Girls? People bitched so much about how they were never consistant about what classes Rory was taking at Chilton.So I thought it would be fun, and helpful to Mark, if we had that all settled out with a little research work.

Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises, Midnight in Paris) as Young Marie Crampton/Maman

Honestly, Will does strike me as someone that would get his GED and then go to college early. But Mark chose to send Will off to Menlo, so eh. I don't think you can test for a GED until you're at least 15, so that would mean Will would have to at least stay in high school until sophomore year. Of course, Mark might hold off on using Will as a protagonist again until Will's in college circa 2004, but I wouldn't count on that. I'm getting the strong feeling we're going to see the bulk of this generation's high school years(as opposed to only seeing Brad's and Matt's senior year of high school), unless there are some time jumps/other protagonists in the works here.

Hey, over in the CA Culture thread, we're discussing whether or not Mark is getting the social environment of Menlo School right. I thought Tim made some interesting points: You got any thoughts about this, Mark? As for Carter, maybe it's more of what he's like when he's drunk, as opposed to what he's like when he's actually leading the team. People can be pretty two-faced, especially in high school. I've met people who can be so nice and then flip at the turn of a dime into a total asshole. There was this feel of "Mean Boys" that didn't seem to jibe with what I've read and heard about the school- there are cliques like there are at every school, but downright nastiness doesn't seem to be a characteristic at the real Menlo. They base their curriculum around small, group-based discussions like a college seminar, which means that it's a lot harder to hide nasty, bullying behavior than it would be at a normal public school. But then again, we haven't actually hit the Menlo part of the story, just met a few kids who go there that might not be necessarily what the school is actually like. We had a group of bitchy junior girls at my school that were basically like the Plastics, but in general my school was pretty laidback. As for sports, the school that I played for didn't have water polo...we had lacrosse players, who generally tended to be the snobs. Football players were actually the nicest guys I knew; baseball and wrestlers were just weird, and the soccer/track/cross-country people tended to be the laidback, chill guys.

Thanks for the feedback. I would assume that Carter's more of an undercover ass You got any thoughts about this, Mark? As for Carter, maybe it's more of what he's like when he's drunk, as opposed to what he's like when he's actually leading the team. People can be pretty two-faced, especially in high school. I've met people who can be so nice and then flip at the turn of a dime into a total asshole. There was this feel of "Mean Boys" that didn't seem to jibe with what I've read and heard about the school- there are cliques like there are at every school, but downright nastiness doesn't seem to be a characteristic at the real Menlo. They base their curriculum around small, group-based discussions like a college seminar, which means that it's a lot harder to hide nasty, bullying behavior than it would be at a normal public school. But we haven't actually hit the Menlo part of the story, just met a few kids who go there that might not be necessarily what the school is actually like.

Thanks for the videos, Tim. Mark really does listen to your input, as well as other people who are familiar with the CA prep school scene. The initial Harvard-Westlake chapter of Poor Man's Son had a much bigger emphasis on Will standing up to the bullies for JJ, until Mark realized that he was playing the school more like a public school where the bullies can run amock, and not like a private school that has such a strong committment to fostering a sense of civic committment in their students. (I went to public school, but it was small and the teachers knew all of us, making bullying less of a concern there.) Mark made some changes and with that we got Alisdair telling Will and the bullies about HW's zero tolerance rule, which was awesome. I was kind of surprised with the character of Carter, as written, being this homophobic racist, because Menlo doesn't seem like the kind of school that would foster those kind of values. I've seen vids- it's not like an all-white Catholic school or something, so that bit was surprising. Then again, there's always an outlier when it comes to school.

I became a beta reader for Mark in August of 2008, and it's been a blast ever since.

Murder doesn't seem like Elizabeth's style- blackmail and the threat of ruination is more how she controls people. I thought ABC was supposed to be a contrast to Elizabeth in Millenium- both are evil, but Alexandra was on a level of evil that even Elizabeth wouldn't go to. I'd doubt that Alexandra would think twice about killing either of her two sons if she thought it would serve as a means to an end. Elizabeth is a narcissist, while I would imagine Alexandra is a sociopath. Some points that Mark's made in reviews: It's like the Gone With the Wind deal, where Scarlett's dad tells her that the land is a part of her and she is a part of a land. It's not something Wade can ever really escape- that Virginia soil runs deep in his veins. There's been a parallel to that with JP and Stefan's plans to save Claremont- even though both really have no reason to ever come back, they can't really stay away from the place forever because that town and the heritage the town represents is a huge part of who they are. Same goes with Gathan Hayes. Not so sure yet about the others in Will's generation, although if JJ's smart he could totally play up the humble Ohio roots in his Olympic profile to appeal to Middle America. I was a military brat who was then raised in the souless suburbs of "Corporations Rule!" Delaware, so that's pretty cool to me- land here is pretty much only sacred until someone decides it's time to build the latest shopping center or cookie-cutter housing development. Agreed. I kind of like that about Will and Jeff- they're friends with benefits who just have fun, sans the major teen angst that Will really indulged in during PMS. Kids are a lot of work, and although there's three parents, two of those parents are in college. Plus, both Matt and Wade came from the kind of background where fathers didn't do things like change diapers- I'd be shocked if Matt didn't have a nanny where he was a kid, too. I think Tiffany would have a more modern, involved view of parenthood, but right now she's just trying to get Riley through his first year. I also think that because it's been heavily hinted that Tiffany has her own money and isn't dependent like Jeanine was, it won't be so easy to bulldoze over her and treat her like glorfied help the way Brad did to Jeanine. So I'm sure Tiffany will eventually lay down the law with Matt and Wade in regards to her expectations for them as fathers; now's just not the time to do that.

Interesting to know that. East Coast private schools always tend to have unifroms, although the non-parochial ones tend to lean towards the khaki pants-and-polo variety. Hey, Tim, I haven't really said this before, but I really do admire the enthusiasm and expertise of California culture that you bring to the table in our discussions here on Mark Arbour's board. You have a very unique and experienced viewpoint, and I'm honored by your willingess to share so much of what you've observed and learned over your 35 years of being a Californian. You never fail to offer your insight about a myriad of aspects pertaining to life in the Golden State, and for that I'm eternally grateful.This infinite Californian wisdom of yours has been quite an asset to Mark and myself in understanding cultures that are foreign to us- in Mark's case because he's lived in the mid-West since the 1980's, and in my case because I've never been west of Texas in my entire life. Plus, you've got about a decade's worth of life experiences and insight on me, which you've used on more than one occasion to illuminate me on a subject or opnion in which I was wrong about. So thank you, Tim, for adding so much to the discussion here over the years.

I wish that Tonto could have caught Darius during one of his mirror pep talks. You know for damn sure that Darius's viewpoint that he can get into any kind of trouble that he wants and his family would bail him out would NOT sit well with her. I'm hoping that was mainly just teenage bravado and he doesn't really think like that, but damn- it doesn't seem like the Crampton/Schluter mode of social responsibility and noblesse oblige has resonated with Darius yet. You could make the argument that with Anapolis stuff, but as Tim said, I think that was more to do with wanting to stay around with Ella than actual generousity. As for the Danfield stuff, I really enjoyed getting to know his creepy Southern Gothic family. I'm hoping we'll meet Beau's black girlfriend and see all the barely veiled racist comments she'll get from the lovely Aunt Emmeline. And, of course, Nana= Doris Duke. I kind of figure that the Danfields are supposed to be a stand-in for the Duke's. It'd be funny if there was a "Danfield University" somewhere in CAP-world, where the hijinks of their lacrosse players get the school into trouble regularly. I can't see Beau ever having that much of a significance because he's been written as being totally straight (and therefore not lilkely to end up with a male member of CAP), but you never know with Travis and Trevor. I figure at the very least Will is probably going to hook up with Travis and Trevor because we all know how our little piece of jailbait likes his inapropriately-aged mancandy. As for Beau, his main function seems to be serving as the Golden Son that somehow manages to stay out of the evil doings of his family because he's like a docile golden retriever. I think it works well, and it kind of reminds me of what my sister said about how you need to have at least 3 children- because one sibling will always function as the peacekeeper whenever the other two siblings are warring with each other. Beau serves as the peacekeeper between Wade and MaryEllen. In any event, I like the rise of the Danfields in CAP- because a good soap opera always needs a rival family. The Hendricksons don't exactly work anymore because they're generally stuck in Ohio and the profiles of the Cramptons/Schluters have raised so much that they need a continential, hugely powerful rival. The Danfields serve that function well.

I'm not thinking all that hard on this one, but...Carter, the racist Menlo bully? Of course, this guy is 25, but I've been desensitized to 25-year old men playing 16-year old boys. (Hello, Cory Montieth and Mark Salling!) He's got the asshole WASP look in spades. And the actor got his bachelor's from Princeton and a MFA from USC, so he's definitely got the right kind of pedigree.

Nothing bothered me more when I was a kid than the thought of school uniforms. I was an intensely individual kid who marched to the beat of his own drum(I still like to think I do), and school uniforms were such an anathema to that. I even have this 7th grade essay I wrote somewhere where I rant about school uniforms...I just never believed the optmistic "it'll make kids nicer to each other and stop fights!" deals that people started touting in the 1990's. But back to NorCal culture...Mark, I might suggest adding in references to people wearing NorthFace fleece jackets. I spotted Menlo kids wearing them in the videos I've looked up. It's a decade off, but I'm betting NorCal kids were wearing them in the early 2000's as well like their East Coast counterparts. I think NorthFace jackets have become like the standby wardrobe piece of the affluent teenager who live in places with incremental weather.

Delaware dodged a major bullet. The Jersey Shore wasn't quite so lucky.

I think my favorite cliche stereotype in Nifty has to be the "evil" jock villain, who will do everything possible to keep Studly Jock Hero from having a happy ending with Shy But Hot Nerd, including having sex with said Shy But Hot Nerd for some weird reason. I mean, it's a fantasy, but really- jocks pretty much only end up with other jocks. If you're an artsy nerd who doesn't have any interest in sports, you're really not going to have much to say with the studly jock hero in real life. I absolutely loved Yankee by the Zot for completely upending the "nerdy outcast and studly jock" trope. It's a great story- I know it's on here. Although in my case, I'm more interested in 20-something/30-something angst stories as opposed to high school/college stuff.

I'm just purging old demons with that line. I got introduced to Nifty at 13 and I fully believed in it until I was about 21/22. Every time I would hang out with a cute drunk straight guy in early college I kept wondering why it didn't end up with us having sex like it always did in those Nifty stories. I got over it for the most part but I still walk past frat houses and wonder how much secret gay sex happens in them. LOL. I think my favorites were the one when an average guy went to a N'Sync, BSB, or 98 Degrees concert and then embarks on a wild romance with JC Chasvez or something

I believe love at first sight happens when you're a shy yet hot nerd who bumps into the studly seemingly straight college jock on the campus quad.

You kinda wonder if the whole "this is illicit" deal comes to play in terms of Will and Tony's arrangment, and if they'd actually work as a day-to-day real couple. Although really, that can't happen until about 2004, if that happens at all. Part of what drives the heat between them, I think, is the fact that they only see each other sporadically. It'll be interesting to see what happens if Will tries to hang out with Tony more, and if Tony would try to work Will more into his life at Stanford. I'm not sure he would, though. It's harder to do that when we're talking a freshman as opposed to someone in 11th or 12th grade. As for Ella and her Social Queen deal...you can kinda see where it'd all go to her head to suddenly be popular and rich at a school where no one knows that she's the garbage man daughter, but adult perspective would say, "You're a senior. You're graduating in about six months. None of these people are going to give a rip about you once the graduation keggars are done, and you're thowing over actual relationships with life-long potential for them? Seriously?" But of course, most people don't know that at 17. In any event, I do appreciate that Darius wasn't given some perfect, Mary Sue girlfriend. I like Ella being flawed so much better than when Ella seemed like this bland sweetheart.

What I wonder is if Ella is actually a lot like Zach in not really caring about other people, and she was just better at hiding that. I mean, think about it- we only really saw Ella through Gathan's eyes, and it's been established that Gathan is a really shitty people-reader. This is the post Meghan's Law Era, where if Tony got caught having sex with Will he'd become a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. Forget being a professor- Tony would be lucky to get a job bagging groceries. I do think Mark's reflected the reality of the times somewhat- when Stefan was fooling around with JP in CAP they weren't doing much to hide it...same goes for Jake and Sam in Be Rad, because this was before they started cracking down hard on minor sex. In here, both Tony and Jeff try to be pretty discreet and no one really talks about it because no one wants to see either of them end up registered sex offenders. There's a major potential flashpoint with JJ's upcoming 15th birthday on December 7th. Unless they've fixed things by then(which seems incredibly unlikely), Will's going to be faced with either not showing up for JJ's birthday dinner because Jeanine will be there, or going to his birthday and risking Jeanine's wrath. I do think for JJ, if Tiffany starts resuming her chaperone status for him, he's got some great distractions coming up with a Junior Grand Prix in Scotland in December and the US Figure Skating Nationals in Boston in January. That's going to be some good breathing room for him, I believe. I kind of feel like for Jeanine, the best thing for her might be to go back to some relatives in New Jersey and start over fresh with Maddy. I really don't get the feeling that Cody would give a shit if Jeanine bailed for the right coast with Maddy.

From reviews: I gotta disagree. Yes, JJ is a bitch- but active sabotage isn't his style. His style is more along the lines of whining to his mother to get what he wants, or passive agressive bullshit. He doesn't actively try to tear people down just for the hell of it- JJ's just incredibly self-absorbed and growing up in an environment that doesn't allow him to build close friendships the way most of his peers can. Therefore, it's just harder for JJ to emphasize with other people, because he's missed out on so much important socialization. He's pissed at Will and blames him for Jeanine's breakdown, but he wouldn't try to break up Darius's bond to Will. Deep down he loves Will but its covered under all these layers of misplaced anger and resentment. I'm going to guess that Robbie's reaction is his own way of transferring his own guilt at never working things out with his mother. Yeah, that's pretty much how I see Will. Have you ever noticed that back during Be Rad and Man In Motion, Brad was constantly mentioning the expensive brands that he was wearing and we've gotten almost none of that for Will in both Poor Man's Son and Paternity? It's just not something he cares about. I loved the end of this chapter, with Will checking himself out in the mirror and deciding that he was fine dressed the way he was. It was a nice contrast to how Brad pretty much let Claire dress him like her preppy 1980 Ken Doll, because Brad cared about the power that popularity afforded him and needed to be King of the uber-popular crowd. Will, on the other hand, rejected Ella's crowd, or at least rejected playing things on their terms.

I could see Will getting pissed off at JJ for whining about how the Junior Grand Prix season got cancelled because of 9/11, and Wade becoming pensive when his plans for Riley's 1st birthday are shot to hell because no one is in a mood to celebrate that week. The same would probably hold true for Will's 15th birthday, where he'd want to travel to somewhere cool but everyone's freaked out about traveling. I can't see any situation where Darius is going to avoid hearing racist comments post-9/11. Hell, I got racist comments from people who thought I was middle-Eastern at a track meet in early 2002, and I'm filipino. For people who actually are middle-Eastern I imagine it was a lot worse. It would be interesting if that would drive Darius to enlist as a soldier to prove himself as an American. I could also see Ace enlisting himself- there were people who walked away from easy, cushy lives out of 9/11 furor like Pat Tillman. Gathan, though, is probably going to have a lot of friends who enlist in the war, if he doesn't do it himself. But anyway...there's still 10 months to go in a pre-9/11 CAP. I kind of wonder if the reason why Mark had so many stories set in 2000 was to try and create a protrait of pre-9/11 America, and to contrast the chaos that would occurr after.