methodwriter85

I kind of feel like drugs are unavoidable anywhere you live. I remember when X was big in Philly. I also remember when Newark, Delaware was considered a major hub for trafficking Heroin on the East Coast because of its proximity to I-95. At my high school, a lot of my friends smoked pot and the like. At college, crushing up Adderall and snorting it was pretty common. So was abusing Oxy and the like. I never had any interest in the Queer as Folk circuit scene because I heard and read too many stories about people who were destroyed in it. I'm kinda glad that nowadays, the image of the circuit boi isn't the only prevailing gay image now- now we've got the 20-something guys that want to get married and settle down and the like.

I really loved this chapter, because it underscored the dark side of Will's physical maturity. Yeah, it's cool that older guys want to hang out with him because he has the body of a hot 18-year old, but when you live faster, you deal with adult issues earlier than if you stay a little boy for a bit longer. I had 15-year old friends that were into going to raves and the like which sounded fun, but I was in no ready to be around that kind of stuff.

Mark wore me out by having three stories set in 2000 and three stories set in 1999. And it was kind of a dry era for music, anyway. I really loved this quote from Tim. I was never part of the circuit boi scene, but when I was 14/15, I knew of it, and the stories I heard made me really want to do my best to stay away from it. Mark was really hitting dead-on what the early 2000's scene was like- you weren't hearing about 20-something guys trying to get married and setting up homes like you do now. You were hearing about circuit bois in their wifebeaters living for their next trick. It was like when all the AIDS activists of the 1980's either died off or moved on as AIDS in Western Civilization became a not-death sentence, the rising generation just threw themselves with abandon into the party scene unencumbered by a fear of AIDS.

Chapter 48 -When we learn about what can happen to kids on the street who don't have 50k to lug around.

I loved the Pat reveal. Seriously, seriously loved it. Because it's so CAP for Will to want to come in and fix his problems, but the reality is, sometimes people are too far gone to be saved. And sometimes you see people the way you want to see them, not how they actually are. Will saw Pat as this hot, beautiful guy who was pretty nice, and as such he didn't really want to think that Pat could be into bad stuff. But the reality was, Will didn't know all that much about Pat's life, and the pretty package was covering one big mess. That has happened more than once in my life, where I met someone who seemed cool and together initially, and only later on did I realize that they had a lot of crazy things going on that I knew nothing about because I was too busy seeing them the way I wanted to see them instead of how they actually were. Plus, this was the early 2000's, and meth combined with circuit parties really had some devastating effects. This was after gay men stopped worrying about AIDS as a death sentence, and a lot of risky behaviors re-emerged.

Interestingly, it's a cover of a 1982 hit song by Kim Wilde, who was from the UK or Australian or something like that. For me, they're "adorable gay twinks that I want to hang with" cute. In terms of people I actually want to bang...that'd be Max George from the Wanted. Holy hell that guy looks like he'd be good in the sack.

Back to the females for a second... I am convinced Mark had Gail O'Grady(best known for NYPD Blue and American Dreams) in mind when he described Claire:

That is weird.

This would explain why you only ever suggest Twinky-looking guys for CAP characters, even if they're characters that are supposed to have a little more meat on their bones, like Darius.

The Four Bullies Are Suspended For One Year They're being "suspended" for a year, and forced to attend alternative school for a year. Although really, since they're supposed to be in 8th grade next year, unless this is some kind of school where 9th grade is combined with the middle school, aren't they basically never coming back to the school? The suspension works, but really- if I were the parents I'd probably just have my kid choice into another school district, or put them in Catholic school for a year. The community service with elderly folks seems like the better, more fitting punishment.

Yeah, like I said, I had a problem with the scenario, but Mark's explanation of it, which kind of goes along with what you're saying, makes sense. It's not like I think Mark's setting up HW is the kind of school where kids can get away with murder while the administration looks the other way because of Daddy's money. I knew kids who went to schools like that, as private schools are really big in Delaware because our lax taxing system=really horrible public schools. St. Mark's had kids who would roll joints in class and the teachers ignored it. And I don't think Mark is trying to paint HW as that kind of school. Despite my criticism, I do think Mark's done a good job of reflecting what the school is like going by what alumni have said, which is great. In any event, it'll be interesting to see what happens with JJ and school, because he doesn't seem like he's all that into school. Of course, since we are getting to know JJ more on this Norway trip, I imagine we'll know more about the situation.

I loved how that one guy, Kostas, was so chill and was like, "Yeah, they're catchy and fun and I like them. So what?"

It's got Emma Stone, though. Emma freakin' Stone. She's one of the best young actresses to come along in awhile.

Trust me, I argued really hard with Mark on this one because it didn't jibe with the vibe I've gotten of the school, and I also didn't think that Will would get any kind of leeway for awhile after he got back. I'm going to go with the idea that the principal is going to be lenient, one time, because he is a good student and he does admire JP, but I don't think Will's going to be continually pushing his luck there. He seems to realize what a get out of jail free card he got, and I imagine the rest of his time at HW he'll be pretty good about following rules. Well, except for Senior Skip Day. Across the board, from people who went there or knew of the school, HW is a strict school that takes the building of character through academic vigor and public service commitment pretty seriously, and a Dubya kind of kid who continually caused problems wouldn't last there. I think Mark has reflected that, for the most par(considering Ryan's friend Mike left because he couldn't hack it), except with the whole principal going easy on Will. But I'm assuming, again, that it's just that one time, and if Will ever becomes an actual problem he'll be booted out. But Will's not a stupid kid, and I don't think that will happen. Of course, if I'm wrong and HW is totally the kind of school that will look the other way at a kid's bad grades and/or behavior because of who their daddy is, by all means, correct me.*looks at Tim, Matt, Tommy, and Julian.* Well, these are junior skaters, so David could be as old as 18, 19.

The impression that I get from what I've heard from Julian is that it's not the kind of private school that lets kids who can't handle the work stay in because Daddy donated a new library or something; they might let some things slide but a Dubya kind of kid doesn't seem likely to stay in. HW has 9th grade examinations in January, so if Mark covers January 2001 that might make the JJ education question clearer. Mark's been pretty vague about what JJ is like academically, but if we're going to go through the bother of getting to know JJ more through the Norway trip, that seems like a pretty important issue that needs to be covered. He could be a straight A guy like Will, or he could be someone that doesn't quite pass muster at HW. I really hope that Mark clears that up a bit as we're getting to know more about JJ. Tiffany does seem to think JJ is a pretty smart guy, but it doesn't seem like that's something everyone else thinks. My guess is for JJ to decide that he doesn't need HW, and he drops out and gets his GED at 15. Not because I think JJ couldn't handle the work, but because he simply puts all of his effort into skating and he's just not as dedicated about school like Will.

Aaron Rodgers is pretty hot, I think. I'd also want a night in the sack with Gronkowski, purely because of his awesome Tebow comment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=jrjCXWAAVIU&feature=endscreen LMAO.

They do get paid- in the form of complimentary education that would have cost them up to 200k otherwise.

Tim Tebow Ranked Second on Extramarital Wishlist So yeah, apparently Tim Tebow ranks 2nd on the list of sportsmen that women would want to cheat on their husbands with. I wonder where Tim Tebow lies on the list of sportsmen that straight guys would go gay for... He looks damn good in pink. Man. I can't be the only one with "The Girl With No Gaydar" running in my head, right?

Also, in 1981, people did not on average have 20k in student loan debt to pay off. College tuition and costs have far outpaced normal inflation rates over the past couple of decades, to the point where even in-state tuition at a state college rises well above the 10k cost. I talked to a guy who went to my undergrad in the late 1980's, when the tuition and board was once $2,700. Now it's $11,000, before you even get into on-campus living costs. Even taking inflation into account, that's a pretty sharp rise. Welcome to the unpaid internship. I've done 3. I might have to resort to another one just to keep my skillset current.

Jeff is probably also somewhat of a hustler, a guy who knows how to work people to get what he needs to survive. That's how he was able to survive on the streets before getting to the Mission. He's not an idiot- anyone with half a brain can see that the Schluters shower people they like with extravagant gifts, and people they don't like tend to wind up scorched in some way. (If not dead.) As long as Jeff keeps Will happy and doesn't rock the boat, he's golden and probably set for life. My guess with Michael was that he grew up in a doting middle-class household, with parents who constantly puffed up how wonderful and amazing he is, and Michael became delusional enough to believe that. He got through school by kissing ass and saying the right things to the right teachers, but when the real world hit, instead of becoming some FBI agent or something, he didn't cut the mustard and now he's stuck as some body guard to some of the richest brats in the United States. His ambitions unrealized, he's become a bitter person who can play the nice guy in front of the right people, but he's just not smart enough to realize that he can't play war with Will because of his overinflated view of himself. So Michael's going to try and strike back without realizing how out of his league he is.

I've been kind of wallowing in my Gen Yer angst about the lack of entry-level jobs, but it was an interesting to come across an article that pointed out that it's the Generation Xers(people about Private Tim's age up to about Gregory A's age) that are really getting screwed here. http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/06/21/Gen-X-Disproportionally-Affected-by-the-Recession.aspx#page1 It's like they got screwed by the recession of the late 80's/early 90's when they were my age and looking for entry-level jobs, and then got screwed again when they were ready to start moving into higher levels of management, only this time they had built up families and mortgages and couldn't just live on ramen in a studio apartment to ride it out. Right now the Gen Xers should be moving into positions being vacated by the Baby Boomers, but of course, that's not happening. It'll be interesting to see what long-term consequences this might have on the Gen Xer psyche.

He's not conventionally handsome, but Andrew has this magnetism to him that's pretty sexy. He was awesome in the Social Network. Plus, he's got a great head of hair, and that goes a long way with me.

Green eyes are pretty awesome. If you like green eyes, Mark decided on John Hobart as looking like Colton Haynes from Teen Wolf...his eyes are kind of a greenish blue color. In any event, the face doesn't have to look exactly like the character- modifications can be made. The biggest one is basically that JP is described as looking like Ricky Nelson, but if Ricky Nelson had blond hair and a short, skinny body. If Mark's taking any requests...Brant Daugherty from Pretty Little Liars as...someone. Maybe some hot Stanford jock that Wade can get into. What a hunk. He also looks like someone that would be fun to cuddle with, so I can see Mark rolling with that kind of look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjqiszDGA5s I love their energy here...neat cover, and you can just see how much fun they're having with it.

I'm not from Texas, but from what I gather about Houston, they're similiar to Los Angeles in the whole "let's bulldoze everything not built after 1980" deal so it's not surprising.