methodwriter85

Great start. I think your biggest strength is the realism of your dialogue- they sound like what actual college kids talk like. I was surprised to learn that you went to Old Dominion. I was University of Delaware-we play you guys in football. There's a "Beat Old Dominion" pin at the Five and Dime.

JJ probably gets the hypocrisy, but he also gets that if you put on a show and pretend to be what they want you to be, you'll be rewarded like Evan Lysacek. If you don't, you'll end up like Tiffany. And in the real world example, Johnny Weir getting banned from Stars on Ice for not being "family-friendly" enough.That's what interesting about it- how does a guy from a such a slutty family maintain a pristine, Disney-friendly image? It's easy now, because JJ's not as sexual as Will is yet, but when JJ gets to about 17-18 and puberty's really kicking in, it won't be. In any event, I don't think JJ is like Will in the fact that he'll stand up for what's right and fight against injustice and hypocrisy at every turn. That's just not who he is- more than anything JJ will go along with the flow than try to fight it. I could see your theory- it would make sense that JJ would be flattered by it and would have encouraged the interest, but then completely deny, deny, and deny that it ever happened.

Here's a 2003 fluff piece with Evan Lysacek, at the Junior Worlds. I thought Daisy would get a kick out of this. This is obviously before they taught him to act straight out of a response to Johnny Weir's flamboyant manner. LOL.

Over in Reviews: See, this I can't agree with. JJ's brand of bitch is very much like Blair Warner on the Facts of Life- he's prissy, blithely self-involved and truly believes he's the best thing around, but at the same time there's a heart beneath all of it. Matt and Tiffany wouldn't genuninely love him if it wasn't there. Mary Ellen's brand of bitch is like s- a non-violent sociopath who really doesn't care about anyone, and likes to tear people down just for the fun of it. There isn't any kind of heart there. And I don't think JJ is apathetic- he just wants the whole thing to go away and pretend it never happened, because to admit this happened he would have to admit that he masturbates, and good little figure skaters wouldn't even think of sex, even with themselves.

This week marks the 4th anniversary of when Mark started posting CAP. I was but a wee lad of 22, and the whole historical soap opera deal, along with the period music recs, pretty much captured me from the get-go. Congrats on four years, Mark! This one's for you... "Never Ending Story" by Limahl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vf2sDgeu7k God, I would love to back to 1984...what a great year.

American figure skaters can't even appear like they think about sex, let alone engage in sexual activities. If it got out that JJ was photographed masturbating, his career would be over. It doesn't matter that it was in private- JJ's got this pristine image to protect and that would kill it.

See, something nagged me about Will filing for emancipation. I wasn't entirely sure why. Then it kind of hit on me. Usually, someone files for emancipation because they've either been subjected to long and continuous abuse and neglect from their parents, or because they've got acting careers and it makes it easier for them to pursue. In Will's case, he comes off more like an overreacting little boy who isn't actually going to take care of himself, considering that he's going to live at Grand's and live off his trust fund, which doesn't exactly scream "adult status needed" to me. Emancipated minors usually, you know, have jobs and take care of themselves. It's kind of funny though- Brad and Robbie are basically empty-nesters now. Darius is gone, Will is about to go, and JJ doesn't even really live in their house. He's being raised by his coaches more than anything else. That might be an interesting idea to explore for a future story- how Brad and Robbie relate to each now that they're finished raising kids. Over in reviews: I don't think so, either. JJ's brand of bitch is generally all self-involved bark and no real bite, like Blair Warner on the Facts of Life. Somewhere, behind his levels of self-involved bitchiness, there's a heart there, like there was with Blair. Mary Ellen's brand of bitch is more about destroying people just for the fun of it, like Kathryn Meteuil in Cruel Intenions. There is no heart there at all. I think that's something you've set up as an established character trait with JJ- he tends to stick his fingers in his ears and go "La la la la la" when it comes to things happening that he doesn't like. He was in total denial about his mother's illness until he couldn't ignore it anymore. And here, it makes sense- what's the point in getting angry and trying to get justice? If it got out that he was photographed masturbating, his career would be done. Absolutely done. "Getting photographed masturbating" doesn't exactly scream "Disney-Friendly Figure Skater", does it? All JJ can do is just shrug his shoulders and try to pretend it didn't happen, and be more careful that no one can see him when he's doing sexual stuff so he can protect his pristine image.

You've got a very nice set of eyes on you, Robbie. Very nice. Are they green or blue? I can't quite tell.

I just like that body hair on him. Hairy forearms turn me on. Ipsen's blond hair constrasted against McCrory's dark. God.

Well, they mentioned his fiancee with a female name, so I'm assuming no. Troy Dumais gives off way more of a vibe. Nick McCrory. Hottie. Dark hair and a tan with blue eyes will get me any time.

There's being proud of your alma mater, and then there's what Tim does.... Anyway, congrats to the Germans for taking the pole vault silver and bronze. I thought Bjorn Otto was a pretty hot older dude. There's something about 35-year olds, man... they've got more experience and lines etched in their face than a 19-year old, but often they still have a youthful vigor to them that I find pretty sexy.

I would seriously love to see video of you guys meeting, and then debating the direction of Mark Arbour's CAP saga. LOL.

I don't think nothing will go wrong, because it often does- but I do think in the end things work themselves out, and you wind up where you were supposed to be. Life has a way of throwing some major curveballs at you that eventually turn out to be something you really needed.

I hate it when I'm driving 70 miles per hour in the slow lane of a 55-mph road, and people go around me, meaning they've got to be going at least 80 to 85. I mean, seriously?

People really will pick on you for anything, and it doesn't matter if you're a gorgeous or rich person. Check out Armie Hammer of The Social Network talking about his own experience with bullying in junior high: It's really amazing to think that someone like this guy, who looks like a Live-Action Disney Prince and comes from a really rich family, could have ever been bullied, but he was. Which just proves your point- if people want to pick on you, they will, and it doesn't matter if you're gorgeous or rich or really cool. Bullies get off on tearing people down, and physically changing yourself doesn't really stop them if they're targeting you. The only thing you can do is to ignore it, and not get angry, because that's what they want.

I used to be on ADD medication, but I got kicked off my mom's insurance so I have to make do. I really, really like that idea, because it ties into what was going on at the time. In 2000, the Port Authority put up the lease for the WTC. In January 2001, Silverstein, via Silverstein Properties and Westfield America, made a $3.2 billion bid for the lease to the World Trade Center. Silverstein was outbid by $50 million by Vornado Realty, with Boston Properties and Brookfield Properties also competing for the lease. However, Vornado withdrew and Silverstein's bid for the lease to the World Trade Center was accepted on July 24, 2001. Maybe Elizabeth mixed it up with Vornado Realty?

A 14-year old girl in Georgia got plastic surgery on her ears, chin, and nose in order to stave off bullies and have a better experience in high school. She used The Little Babyface Foundation, which provides free plastic surgery to children in need who have facial deformities. Bullied Teen Girl Gets Plastic Surgery This one hit at me emotionally, because when I was in 5th grade, I actually wrote a journal entry about all the plastic surgery I wanted to get, like a nose job and liposuction, because I thought that would make me less bullied because then I wouldn't look like an ugly fat gorilla. I felt for this girl, and hope that her high school experience will be a lot better, as mine was. But if Nadia is expecting the bullies to suddenly turn around and treat her like she's the Beautiful Swan, I honestly doubt that will happen. Bullies are bullies because they like to tear people down- if she's expecting some kind of validation from them, it won't happen. More likely they'll instead call her names like "Plastic Face" or something similiar. I remember I was sat down at one point by this girl, Aubrey. I was still getting teased pretty heavily in 10th grade, and she told me, "You are an amazing person and don't let anyone tell you that you're not." That's basically how you get through it- you have to come to the realization that the problem is with the person bullying you, not you. 11th and 12th grade were so much better. It wasn't because people stopped being bullies- I still got called names like "gorilla", but because *I* had taken pro-active steps in my life to gain confidence and make good friends. When I had that, the bullies didn't matter so much. By changing herself, Nadia kind of let the bullies win, in a way. Of course, I can't blame her for doing it- at 14, I would have done it, too. But what I eventually learned(and this wasn't easy and it was one long road) is that you can't make people like you and want to get to know you if they don't want to. And if they're people who decided they don't like you because of superficial things like looks, they're not someone who's worth building any kind of relationship with. You do not need the validation of someone who gets their jollies from tearing someone down, you really don't.

Maybe Elizabeth got involved in a ponzi scheme with investors, and the tech crash means people want their money, and the only way for Elizabeth to cover her ass and avoid getting sent to jail is to get control of Wade's money so she can payout her investors? It's possible that ABC forced Elizabeth to invest in her energy company as part of the blackmail, which depleted her own trust and she got involved in the ponzi scheme to restore her funds. Only the Tech Crash ruined that.

Is that his dad? Definitely looks like he was probably a cutie when he was young. I wouldn't say they have a huge resemblance, though. Though they both give off a very friendly vibe. I could see the dad smoking a J with Mark Arbour in Circa 1981 California. LOL. In any event, kudos to the dad for raising a son with a strong sense of sportmanship and class. As for other guys I like...Trey Hardee. I'm liking him because he reminds me of an older version of the pole vaulters that I lusted over in high school. Bar none, the pole vaulters/long jump guys had the best bodies of track guys.

sucks. 1D and TW are totes better. No, seriously though, I have ADD, and one of the symptoms of it is that I'll get hyperfocused on certain things at a time. It sucks, but it's something that I've had since I was a child, and the "broken record" aspect of me is something that I just have to accept about my personality. It's really not something I can help.

See, the thing is, right now I'm not that interested in what's going on with Will because he really alienated me as a character with the Hawaii stunt, and Wade is a nice guy but the whole "he's the New JP without the cold-hearted tendencies" deal also isn't that interesting with me. The last character narrator that I honestly thought could have been a really fascinating character was Gathan, but that pretty much got dropped in favor of focusing on Will's sexual adventures instead. Of course, people may disagree with me on that, but it's just my opinion. It kind of feels like, "Oh, Will's a happy kid who grew up with doting parents and a privileged background so we must mess him up to make his pain and suffering equal to Gathan", and thus all these things got thrown on him- his rebellion against Brad and eventually all of his parental units, the rape, Tony's rejection, his suddenly bad relationship with Darius, Jeanine suddenly giving Brad's mother a run for her money, etc etc etc. I constantly get told that he's just being a teenager, but then we're also supposed to think he's mature enough that he can make major life decisions already. It feels like "tell" instead of "show" when it comes to Will, and often he feels like a major Marty Stu instead of an authentic character. I think this go-around with Will has been better, but there are still a lot of contrived things when it comes to Will. (A 14-year old is going to blackmail the USAFSA? Really?) Whereas when it's come to JJ, a lot of the stuff that's happened to him(and maybe this is a by-product of being a peripheral character) has felt organic and not forced. Yeah, he's a bitch, but I was also kind of an asshole at 14(as are most people), but what JJ does and says often makes sense when you consider his character history and the relationships he has. It also helps that JJ is in a place at his life where the drama pretty much writes itself. I could apply the insight to other characters, and I have often, in the past, but right now I don't want to. Disclaimer: I actually do like the character of Will, and really, CAP is a great soap.

Mark gave JJ my first name and my birthdate. I'm sorry if that's given me an attachment to the character that you lack, but really, no one's forcing you to read these posts. By all means, if you want to add analysis to characters that you actually care about- that's great and I encourage you to do it. But to knock someone else's analysis and whining about how there's too much posting on said character- well, this board hasn't exactly been hopping in awhile, and frankly if I seem like I'm talking to myself here lately that's probably because I am. And with the Olympics, and with having a character that's chasing an Olympic dream, I thought that was fair speculation to make.

Interesting hypothesis. The big problem with doing that would be whether or not JJ would be willing to leave his coach at El Segundo, which is possible, but with JJ as a junior on the verge of making it big- it doesn't really seem like he'd just up and leave this coach. He's been with this coach since around November/December 1999, and aside from his 13th place finish in Norway, his career has been going pretty well. I think for JJ to change coaches, he needs to hit a wall with his career, or there needs to be a coach at Cal that he really wants to work with. As for Marie and needing a minion...I'm kinda hoping she's got more of a quirky personality as opposed to the Preppy Princess that Claire was(and is). John kind of fufills that Preppy Prince deal already. And we already know she's a Harry Potter fanatic from before the movies came out, which suggests she might be kinda nerdy. (I remember the Harry Potter fans pre-movie. Every one was kind of a nerd in some way who wanted to roleplay.) It'd be cool if she was that cute, pretty girl who was also kind of a nerd, like Emma Stone. We've seen Brad struggle with having a son that was so much like him; it'd be interesting for Claire to have a daughter that isn't really like her as a counter-balance to that. Anyway, I kind of figured Claire could do it because at 13 and 14, John and Marie don't need to be looked after that much, and Jack's there anyway, plus there's always Isidore. It's a little different from Tiffany, who has a baby to bring up. Even with nannies and Wade's help, I can't see her jetting off for a culmulative total of 5 to 6 weeks in order to be with JJ at every event. Maybe Isidore? I don't know. In any event, JJ needs a new guard, and he needs a new escort.

Let's hear it for the U.S. men's rowing team, who took bronze. I love how excited they are!

PSU'S Appeal I agree with the 60 million fine and the 4-year Bowl ban, but it's really unfair to all of the student-athletes who worked so hard at Penn State during the 1998 to 2011 period to have all those wins taken away from them.