methodwriter85

Which is interesting, because nowadays it's almost rare to see a buffed up jocky guy who DOESN'T have a tattoo somewhere. Tattoos seem to have become very much a part of jock/fratty bro culture. And then they grow up and enter the white collar workforce, further destigmatizing them. I'm thinking Tony would have a celtic cross on his shoulder. John would get a lacrosse stick on his calf. Will- hmm...maybe a small shark or something Ocean-related on his lower back? Darius would probably get one of those trendy tribal tattoos on his upper bicep, especially if he does wind up in the military. I don't think JJ would get a tattoo, though.

The 70's can be summed as this- really good music, really good movies, really good television, and a crappy everything else. Although I kind of envy people who grew up during Mark Arbour's generation- in the 1970's, people were so much less uptight about teenaged/college drinking, sex, and drug experimentation. The 1970's were a much more relaxed time, where people could get away with more. I mean, when I was in high school, people were so obsessed with political correctness and the like. Now as I understand it, high school kids can't even have bake sales anymore!

I was curious to see if Tim would actually try to make a more accurate percentage. He went through the trouble of calculating the percentage after I called myself a half-80s/half 90s kid. I mean, really, I'm just justifying my massive 80's nostalgia. I definitely experienced 80's culture.

No, that's my suggestion for Mary Ellen, not John's girlfriend. I'm kinda not really seeing how skimpy that outfit is- you can see her cleavage, but I wouldn't call it slutty. You guys clearly don't remember the outfits they had 17-year old Mischa Barton wearing on the O.C. Trevor Donovan from 90210 as Cody? He's got that whole bleached blond 30-ish gym rat hunk look that I picture Cody having.

I find accents to be pretty interesting. I've been checking out some videos that showcase my regional dialect, which is the Mid-Atlantic Accent. (Basically, Philadelphia/Baltimore/South New Jersey/Northern Delaware.) The young guy's accent there was so Jersey Shore stoner there...I loved it. I'm guilty of the elongated "o" sound. Although there were times when I listened and thought, "Wait, where's the accent?", which kind of scared me. LOL. He's got a great point, too- you really don't see much representation of an accurate Philly accent- people just have them talk like they're from New York ala Rocky. It's fun- you don't have the stereotypical Yankee accent, but you don't have the Southern accent, either. Anyone else love learning about and understanding accents?

I bet you can do a better calculation than that, Tim. Calculate how many days there were between December 7, 1985 to December 31, 1989. Then calculate how many days there were between January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1999. You'll get a more accurate percentage there.

You haven't seen her as Liam Neeson's "17"-year old daughter in Taken? She had brown hair for that, but her hair is usually colored blond. That's why I thought of her. Plus, if you've seen Lost, Maggie Grace can very well look the part of the rich self-centered bitch.

Yeah, but in any event, the grunge era ended the 1980's pop boom/hairband boom and the like. Pop stayed around, but in terms of dance music like EMF's Unbelieveable and Real McCoy's Another Night. We didn't get back to full-blown pop until the release of The Spice Girl's cd in late 1996. That what separated the 80's from the 90's- the mood of music changed overnight with the entry of grunge/alternative rock. (REM was having a boom in popularity in the early 90's, and they were kind of the alternative to grunge.) In any event...it's kind of funny. There's this Youtube comment war on videos about 90's kid nostalgia, over whether or not people born in 1995 and upwards can actually call themselves a 90's kid. I kind of say they can, as I consider myself a mix of an 80's kid and 90's kid.

I think Max and Tom are my favorites. I like that the Wanted seem like rougher-edged guys, not quite as polished. They get to act more like actual twenty-something guys since they're not in the tween zone as much as BTR or 1D are. They're like a boyband for older people. Nice.

It really is amazing the amount of ink that this generation gets, changing the stigma around having tattoos. I used to work in a dining hall by the gym, so I'd see fratty bros in skimpy gym clothes all the time, and it amazed me how many guys had tattoos. It's really not the provenance of bikers, gang members, or soldiers anymore. Prepsters and future leaders of America are getting them, too. Although I don't think John would go all Madden-Twins-from-Good-Charlotte on us- it'd be just a small lacrosse tattoo on his calf. The tribal tattoos get really popular during the late '90's/early '00s, as well as the Celtic cross tattoos. I'm positive Tony would get the Celtic cross one- he's practically screaming that. I think it's been said that JJ is a bright kid, but his focus is all on figure skating. It's not so much that I don't think JJ could do the work- I just think if push comes to shove, he'd chose figure skating over academics. Speaking of Will as most likely to succeed, I wonder when we're going to see what kind of extracurriculars he gets into. He's volunteering at the Mission, but I think Will would be in at least one other activity. "Most Likely to Succeed" types are usually in, at a minimum, 2 different activities atop of school. I think surf club and environmental club would fit well. Although I guess volunteering at the figure skating competition would look good on his college apps, for sure

Well, you got to remember that culturally, it was still the 1980's until Nirvana's Nevermind album was released in 1991.

Ah, this guy was cute! Although honestly I would have been freaked out. I get freaked out by strangers saying "hi" to me. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with someone trying to hold my hand.

Maggie Grace from Taken and Lost as Mary Ellen? I know Mark described her as having brown hair, but he also said that she usually dyes it blonde. And I do not think Maggie Grace is a natural blond. She kind of fits my image as a WASPy, icey cold bitch.

I'm watching this documentary on PBS, called We Were Here. It follows people who either became infected with AIDS in 1980's San Francisco, or helped AIDS victims. Here's the PBS website about the documentary: We Were Here I thought it was a pretty good documentary. I'm always fascinated whenever I learn about the 1980's AIDS epidemic...every time I see pictures of those young, healthy men reduced into walking skeletons, god. I just can't even imagine what it must have been like to have been a young man suddenly faced with having to go to funeral after funeral. I think the story that got me the most was a guy who talked about having to try and comfort a father who actually said that it wasn't as hard to hear that his son was dying as it was to hear that his son was a fag. Man. It's a tragic story, but what really impresses me about the stories featured was just how so many people didn't just take this lying down- they banded together to do what they could to help the victims, whether it came down to delivering food to victims or petitioning the government for more research funding. According to the website, Ronald Reagan didn't mention AIDS until 1987. It's unbelievable that Ronald Reagan didn't say even say the word "AIDS" until 1987. The story of the AIDS epidemic is an important one, I think- part cautionary tale, part example about what people who band together to help are capable of doing.

I was four, actually. I consider myself an half 80's/half 90's kid.

It's going to be fun to watch to watch Brad and JP deal with the beginning of the Dubya era. I can't imagine they'd have anything but utter contempt and hatred for Dubya. Although it's kind of sad- they're at the end of the Golden Era of the 2nd Clinton Administration, and they can't fully appreciate that. Bill Clinton really was one of the best presidents we ever had. I'm kind of surprised that we haven't seen much of Gathan. Wouldn't Gathan be basically glued to Wade's side, wanting to learn all there is to know about politics in the wake of the 2000 election? Maybe it'll turn out that Gathan's ambitions really just don't go much further than being the mayor of a small city in the Mid-West. Although I would have figured that Gathan's initially provincial viewpoint in terms of the election would have changed by now, after a few months at Stanford.

Well, I was right about Will having sex with Raine in a fun way, and Will having sex with Ryan with Ryan freaking out. Although Ryan got over it. Next prediction: JJ drops out of Harvard-Westlake because figure skating takes up too much of his time for him to be able to do well there. Also, I think John will get a lacrosse stick tattoo on his calf when he's 16, 17. You ever notice how many lacrosse guys get those? I think Claire might not be thrilled, but Jack wouldn't care.

Chapter 45 -When Wade and Beau talk.

[media=] [/media] God, I miss the 80's.

I really like how Mark's been slowly and but steadily building up the Danfield family in CAP. A soap family like the Cramptons/Schluters needs a good rival family. The Hendricksons aren't much of a factor because they're limited to Claremont, and at this point the Hayes are pretty much intertwined with the Cramptons and Schluters. The Carmichaels are an excellent candidate as well, but we've gotten more development on the Danfield front. I also loved learning that Beau's in an interracial relationship...by this point in time, interracial relationships tended to be normal and not evoke much of a reaction from teenagers. Remember Shawn and Angela on Boy Meets World? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GID0tO46c2o&feature=related Having Beau in an interracial relationship and having it not be that much of a big deal, at least with his peers, was very reflective of late 90's/early 00's teenagers.

I honestly think Elizabeth arranged for Mary Ellen to get the shit beaten out of her in order to generate sympathy.

I always like to root for an underdog, so go L.A.!

Every boyband needs a sad ballad...it makes me think of "Back For Good" by Take That, for some reason.

What the hell is up with everyone saying swag these days?

[media=] [/media] I saw Logan Lerman in the Perks of Being A Wallflower trailer, and thought, "Alisdair." Just give him some glasses and a formal way of speaking and dressing. Physically, he's perfect.