methodwriter85

Yeah. I do think Mark has, through Bloodlines, Millenium, Poor Man's Son, and Paternity, created a pretty good portrait of pre-9/11 America- a booming economy, a budget surplus, bubbly pop music in the air, optimism abounding everywhere(well, except the dot-com bomb that just exploded), a generation of kids who have only really known economic prosperity and peace...it'll be interesting to see what it's like when Will's switching from worrying about the final details of his 15th birthday on Friday to suddenly worrying about whether or not the terrorists are going to try and attack Los Angeles, too. It just kind of feels the United States was at a peak in the waning days of the Clinton Administration, and things were just never that good again. As much as I've whined about Mark fitting in 3 stories in 2000 instead of doing some time jumps, I gotta admit it's been interesting exploring in depth America's last year of innocence before everything changed.

Thanks. Wade was talking about events from 1995, so I wanted to use something that came out close to that era. It was a toss up between either "Ordinary World" or "The World I Know" by Collective Soul. Glad to know I made the right choice.

Day 16, February 14th I continued working on Box 5. I found a couple of pamplets that discussed gas warfare, as well as trench warefare. Those were the two big hallmarks of the Great War, because they were such new ways to fight in a way that still believed in the Romantic Napoleonic way of fighting. I wonder what it must have been like for the soldiers who read these pamplets to get a sense of what they were going to face. I looked up the online orbituary of Colonel Richard W. Watson, the man behind the collection. http://post141indian...p?id=2&number=2 He was born in October 1878, and died in February 1961- living for 82 years. He was in the National Pennsylvania Guard starting with the Spanish American War. Richard Watson had been a laywer, but it looks like after he got discharged he never engaged in an active bar association. His passion had been for military and the American Legion, apparently, which definitely showed. He got married and had his son pretty late in life, which was pretty interesting for the era. In general, Richard Watson came from a lawyer family(law is pretty big because of the county courthouse), and lived a life where he was concerned with civic affairs and the life. Not a big showy life, but that's what I love about public history- learning about hte people who DON'T make the history textbooks, and the stories they tell. 82 years. I could not imagine what it would be like to have been alive for 82 years; the kinds of things you must have seen in such a long life. I guess, fate willing, I'll be able to answer the question Day 17, February 15th I read a letter that Richard Watson had sent to his father from France, dated November 24th, 1918. The copy wasn't that good, so one of the volunteers created a better copy by lightening it up so that you could read the text easier. The letter was fascinating to me. It was written because they had been told that they should write letters to their dads for Christmas.The war was officially over, but they weren't in any way getting sent home- Watson explained to his father that they were still much left to do, such as making sure that the treaty got enforced. When I thought of Armistice Day, I kind of figured that all of the soldiers involved pretty much just got to go home at once. It was surpring to learn that these guys still had a job to do. I could not imagine going to war, seeing an Armistice signed, and still having to stay around to help clean up for weeks or even months afterward. Here's a quote from the letter: "The war is practically over, but peace has not been signed and the conquered territories must be policed and garrisoned for many months in order to enforce our terms, and you may be sure the 28th will do its share of the work. Our hopes ran high for a few days and visions of home, turkey, pumpkin pie and Christmas trees, with all the comforts of civilization, fairly dazzled us and I fear caused many a pang of homesickness throughout the A.E.F.. But our dreams were rudely shattered by actualities and we are resigned to the inevitable." People back then...when they wrote letters, it's amazing the amount of passion they had.

You know, it would have been cool if John and Jeremy Lin had gone to high school together, but of course you insisted that these kids are going to be sent to private school... I'm just giving you shit. Where I live, it's rare anyone actually goes to a public school actually located in their school district. You either go private, choice into a better school, go to a charter, or a magnet. The high school application process was like a mini-version of the college. Getting my acceptance letter into my magnet school was one of the best experiences of my life. Did we ever specify where Jack and Claire live? I wonder if they're actually in the Gunn High School district, or if they live in the Palo Alto. Not that it matters. Mark's sending Marie and John to Menlo.(Not sure about where Ella's going to school.Would it be easy for someone to transfer into Menlo as a senior? I checked HW, and they don't seem that enthused by taking in people past the 10th grade. I'm sure it varies.)

Does anyone else feel like Mark's starting to foreshadow 9/11? There were the New York City trips in Millenium and Poor Man's Son, and then the mention of a Middle Eastern conflict in 1995. We've got eleven months, one week, four days left in pre-9/11 America. God, I'm excited to see how 9/11 is going to hit everyone. So I guess everyone's going to the Southwest Regionals then? Hmm. Should be interesting.

Chapter 18 -When Wade has his date with Sean...that pretty much ends up in the hotel room. "Bohemian Like You" by The Dandy Warhols -When Matt and Wade have a nice quiet moment with the baby. -When Matt learns about Wade's uncle, who was killed in 1995.

He'd probably pick up dance quickly if he tried. I think I have JJ taking dance for his gym requirement.

John Hobart would have been 13 in 2001 until he turns 14 in July, so yes. Mark was vague about exactly how old John is until Poor Man's Son, because he had lee-way with John's age. JJ, Marie, Will, and Courtney were all born "on page", so to speak, so those ages were iron-clad, but John was born between Man In Motion and A Summer Love so there was lee-way. Remember when there used to be multi-year time jumps in CAP, and there could be 5-year old kids showing up that had been born to the characters in the off-time? I miss that. Edited to add: Checked; according to Wiki, there's about a 13-month age different between Jeremy Lin and John Hobart, who we have as having a July 1987 birthday. Jeremy Lin should be the class of 2006, I believe.

Well, I didn't say that JJ wouldn't get into drugs and a downward spiral. I just said he'd look much, much better going through it. Actor Wes Bentley was a heroin addict for much of the past decade and if you look at the films he was in during the time, he still looked damn good. I think if JJ became a drug addict, he'd be one of the kinds that still looked beautiful and functional. JJ does have a family that loves him, even if they don't pay that much attention to him, but he also has a pretty big diva personality, and those kinds of personalities tend to have pretty big high's and low's. I don't think JJ's breakdown will be the last one to happen, especially when he gets further into his career and the pressure starts mounting to make the 2006 Olympics.

And to go on a completely different side here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnrcOzdtp7o This documentary looks interesting as hell. It follows four actors as they try to make it during the late '90s/early '00s. I want to see it. It has Wes Bentley from American Beauty in it...I had such a crush on that guy back in '00. It's a shame that addiction derailed what had been a pretty promising career. It might be cool for Mark to explore the Hollywood Actor scene again to see how it's changed from the 1970's, but I can't really see any of Brad and Robbie's kids encountering an Armand situation. I could see JJ acting, but it'd be stage acting and in New York. He'd be really suited to that, I think. Anyone have any insignt into what the NYC stage acting scene is like as compared to the Los Angeles film one? Anyway, it's kind of interesting to have the American Beauty connection, since that's the big 1999 film that Robbie turned down being part of as part of Carson and Brian's EVIL PLAN.

Matthew Bomer as Lou? (I thought Ian Somerhalder, but it was decided that Ian fit Jack better. LOL.)

Perfect. Daisy liked the Disneyland idea, too. Imagine a 20-year old JJ strolling along Disneyland holding his 10-year old cousin Courtney's hand, having fun on rides and the like. Too cute for words, right? It'd be smart for him to pull an Evan Lysacek and cultivate a "sweetheart image" instead of JW's bitchy diva one. I really wish I could find the video where he tours a cookie factory.

Exactly. Tim was making a joke like it was only some Delaware trend, yet as that picture would suggest, guys in California were doing it as well. Maybe not at the particular frat house that he worked for, but it was definitely happening. There's way too much photographic evidence left behind to act like the trend never happened. And Tim, you may be a coach to water polo players, and you may have been an advisor, but how often were you going off to parties with these guys, or hanging out with them in a casual setting? It would have been inappropriate, right? And the fact that you mentioned that they would have been derided for doing the look suggests that these guys were aware of the look, and decided that it was a dumb trend like Blue did. Here's the thing. I'm 26 years old. I have a lot of friends that are 18, 19-years old. They pick up on some trends that I don't pick up on, because I'm older and walking around in neon sneakers and skinny jeans just doesn't work for me. I wouldn't presume to know what all the current trends are for people in their high school/early college years, because despite the fact that I'm around these kids a lot, I'm not one of them. Just like the fact that you may have been around a lot of 18-year olds in 2004, you yourself were 27, and your perception of teenaged trends would be colored by the fact that you weren't 18 years old anymore. I'm talking about trends that hit 18 year olds, when I was 18 years old. If we were talking about 1995 trends that were popular with college freshmen, we'd definitely consult you Tim, but we're talking about 2004 trends that were popular with college freshmen instead. Mainly because we have characters that will be college freshmen in 2004. Next up Tim is going to tell me that little kids in the mid-1990's never played with Pogs, and didn't watch Boy Meets World.;-) (I actually made a pog with a magazine photo of the cast of Boy Meets World. A friend had a pog maker.) Then I'll tell Tim that seven-year olds in 1983-1984 didn't know anybody who had a Cabbage Patch doll or My Little Pony...etc etc....

JJ is going to be a helluva lot better looking that Macaulay Culkin, that's for sure. Although I do see him sampling the NYC party scene.

I'm sure if he's alive by his mid-20's, he'll grow up into a pretty cool person. Especially if he goes off and moves to a different city from his siblings, and sets up a social circle where people have never even heard of his brothers. I actually think that'd be good for him...I picture Will and JJ having weekly skype sessions to stay in touch.

An article I read about him said he graduated from UCSB in 2006, so that'd only put him a year behind you. (You were the class of 2005, right? We just missed being in college at the same time.) That would make sense. Dude looks like suuuucccchhhh the stereotypical 2000's frat boy in that photo. He'd only need a hemp anklet or choker to complete the look.

Your circle, I'm assuming, also consisted of people that weren't in high school and college and were in more of a professional environment circa 2003-2004. You were in your late 20's during the mid-2000's, not 18, and past the frat party stage in your life. And did you not read Blue, who is from California as well, asserting that this trend was in, to the point that he had to send someone home because they refused to put their collar down? I must be imagining this trend happened, because "popped collar" only gets 367,000 hits on Google Images. And this picture of David Geffen's UCSB alum boy toy boyfriend Jeremy Lingvall MUST be photoshopped: Your social circle might not have done it, but clearly given the amount of embarrassing photos left behind, it was a big national trend during Will and JJ's late high school/early college years.

Yeah. The resurgence was, as Blue put it, starting around 2003 and lasting through the mid-2000's. A lot of guys were doing it- some girls as well. This is pretty funny, and spot-on for the times. The only thing missing is a Puka shell necklace or a hemp choker. The Livestrong bracelet and the many knockoffs. You STILL see those around occasionally. What do you think of the boho chic look, Mark? Do you think Claire would embrace it, or cringe in horror at her daughter dressing in peasant skirts?

Hey, someone brought something interesting up. Billy died at 15 years old. JJ's almost 15. If you did kill off JJ at the same age that Billy was when he died..I wonder if it would make Brad think of Billy.

Right. I'm just saying I don't really see Claire cringing at John popping his collar. And it'd be a familiar trend to her. How do you think Claire will react to the boho Siena Miller trend? I'm thinking Marie would probably get into it. That's another big look for the mid-2000's. I can't see Claire rocking the boho chic look, but I could see Marie doing it. There's a mild version of the look that A LOT of girls dressed in, which basically just consisted of a peasant skirt worn with a tank top: A lot of girls starting around 2003 rocked the above look. Mark, was it funny for you when you started seeing trends from your youth coming back in- like puka shell necklaces, popped collars, and feathered hair on guys? It'd be funny for Brad to comment on the resurgence of puka shell necklaces sometime. Mainly because of the line in Be Rad, where Brad chuckled about how a couple of years ago, he would have been wearing Puka shell necklaces and was glad that ridiculous trend was over. That's one thing I really loved about Be Rad- the constant references to clothing trends and the like.

Day 15, Feburary 10th I continued working on Box 5. One interesting find was a pamplet on what soldiers should do if they find a Boche gun, aka a German machine gun. I suppose that must have been quite a boon for Allied soldiers, as the pamplet seemed to suggest that finding a German machine gun was something desirable. I wonder if that means that they were state-of-the-art at the time. Someone from a local newspaper came in today to take pictures of the clothing and items from a 1960's Girl Scout collection. They were doing it because of the 100th anniversary of the Girls Scouts is coming out this year. It was great to see the different uses that people can have for the archives.

I thought there was just something really cool about popping your collar. It made me want to hold my head up higher, made me throw back my shoulders and slouch less...I LOVED the look. Actually, I think Claire would encourage it- remember, she was the epitome of 1980's prep, and the popped collar was definitely part of the look. Around 2002-2003, 1980's styles came back in, including ruffled mini-skirts for girls and popped collars for guys and girls, as well as feathered hair. (But only really on guys.) I think the O.C. had a MAJOR influence on fashion- it brought back surfer/prep styles to the mainstream after things had been tending more towards an urban look. Suddenly guys were wearing polos again like Seth Cohen. And pastels came back in a big way during 2003-2006. I remember when some guys wore these t-shirts that said, "Real Men Wear Pink". That was around 2004 or so. I have a pink polo somewhere. Mark, if you want a really good premier on how teenagers dressed during the 2002-2005 era, I'd watch the Social Network. They nailed that era.

I'm not saying at all that Brad and Robbie completely ignored JJ. I'm saying that Brad and Robbie used their limited time to each focus on one child- Brad focused on Will, Robbie focused on Darius, and they left the primary raising of JJ to Jeanine. It worked fine as they were growing up, but this is the end result- there just isn't that tight of a bond between them. JJ learned to depend on Jeanine, and eventually Tiffany, but not really depend on Brad and Robbie for much because he had his two big maternal figures. And because JJ, diva bitchiness aside, is well-behaved because he pretty much can't do anything except practice and school, Brad and Robbie didn't see any reason to pry into what was going on with JJ because they just assumed he was fine. Tiffany's the only one who got it. And like I said, it might not necessarily be a bad thing- it would just mean that when/if JJ gets a turn at narrating, it wouldn't make sense to write the kind of father/son scenes that Mark has written in the past for JP/Brad and Will/Brad. That kind of stuff would have to be with Jeanine, Tiffany, or Matt. Not everyone has a tight parental bond with their Dad, and it'd be okay for JJ not to have one with Brad or Robbie. I thought that breakdown was just a buildup of so many things. Aside from Tiffany and Jeanine being gone, Darius is away at college so he doesn't have his big protective older brother around anymore. Darius kinda seemed like the glue between the Schluter brothers, best evidenced by the road trip scene to Bakersfield in PMS, and now he's not around. Will's been struck hard by the pubescent drive for sex and fun, and is off into this world that JJ can't really follow into, and can't relate to. And he doesn't really go to either Brad or Robbie for advice. I think he likely disengaged himself from Brad and Robbie during the events of Millenium, and didn't really re-engage himself again. And the one thing he has- the only thing he has- was just the source of a major embarrassment. It just boiled all over- the pain of seeing the one parent he's close to turn into a zombie, feeling left behind by his brothers, not really feeling like he had anyone to talk to, and humilating himself at what was supposed to have been a showcase of how awesome a skater he is...it was just too much. JJ will turn fifteen in a little under ten weeks...

Yeah, but when have we ever really see Brad display those instincts for JJ? It's only ever really been for Will, and maybe Darius. I'm not saying Brad doesn't care about JJ, but I am saying that Brad only really felt that parental instinct when Will was born, and it was only really Jeanine that had it for JJ when he was born. As Darius put it, having one parent getting taken to one of the kids worked out well, but the end result is that JJ really isn't all that bonded to either Brad or Robbie. It's not necessarily a bad thing- it would just mean that if we get around to JJ's point of view, the kind of father-son scenes that we saw with JP/Brad in Be Rad or Brad/Will now just wouldn't really work for Brad/JJ. It would feel fake, because I don't think JJ would see Brad as some kind of mentor to look up to. Those kinds of scenes would have to be with Tiffany or Jeanine, or Matt. That's where JJ fits into the Paternity theme- his biological dad pretends that he doesn't exist, while his adoptive dads care about him, but they're better bonded to his brothers. He had some pretty good maternal figures in Jeanine and Tiffany, but not some much on the paternal side.

Alright. Hey, are popped collars in yet in 2000? I know they became popular in the Philly metro area circa 2003-2004, which means they're likely back in on the California coast already. I'm assuming Hollister is already in as well. I kinda see John Hobart as rocking the two-polo popped collar. Mark, "popped collar" refers to this early/mid-2000's trend of guys and girls who would take their polo shirts and flip up the edges of their collar so it would stand up, like this: I gotta admit, I LOVED popping my collar. I could never get the damn collar to stay up, though. Apparently I should have used hair spray. Every now and then, I like to pop my collar in an ironic ode to the way I used to dress when I was 18-21.