methodwriter85

Hey, that was a really good chapter. I really liked how you built up to JJ's breakdown in the chapter- it felt pretty realistic and true-to-life. This kid lost the only parent that he's really bonded to- I'm sure Brad and Robbie care about the guy, but they don't have that kind of parental bond to him that Wade described. I don't think either of them would take a bullet for JJ like Brad would for Will, or Robbie would for Darius and Matt. The only one who JJ had that kind of bond with was Jeanine, going all the way back here: Parenting one of the kids instead of all three worked well, but now you see the unintended consequence- Jeanine's out of commission, and JJ's not close enough to either Brad or Robbie to go to them, so he feels alone. That felt really organic and something that's been building for a very long time. Now the question is...now that it's been acknowledged, are they going going to be okay with that or would Robbie and Brad pretty much try to build a better bond with JJ?

And this is where playing favorites with your kids can really, really screw them over.

Chapter 17 -When everyone is getting amped up for the game. "All About Beats" by Junior Blanks -When JJ and the hockey players put on a show at half-time. "The Distance" by Cake -When Klip does the cantilever. -When JJ messes up the move, and Tiffany clues Will and Ryan in on just how much JJ hides behind the perfect smile. -When Will watches JJ break down about their mother. "Outside" by Staind and Fred Durst -When Will calls his dad on being a totally neglectful parent towards JJ.

It's not a fake story, though. JJ actually is an orphan being raised by his uncle, and I think he'd try to leave it at that. More scrutiny would hit when he gets to the Olympic-level(hello '06 story), but for now, I think being tight-lipped and discreet about who his family is would work fine. He wouldn't want to open himself up to people saying that he got X award because his rich daddy bribed the judges, or have people approach him trying to get money out of him. And like I said, I think not skating under the Schluter name would be a nice way of JJ to distinguish himself away from his family, and not be under his brother's scandals. He wouldn't be the first person to use a stage name professionally. And you gotta admit, Jeremy James is one hell of a stage name. It's not even a fake name, either. We'll come to the middle on this...JJ won't necessarily renounce his parentage and drive a wedge between himself and his family to maintain the image, but he won't exactly flaunt the Schluter name, either. Deal? And Tim, you STILL haven't come up with a better alternative for the Disneyland idea. Come on, I would bet you know something that'd be an even better way to show off how wholesome and family-friendly JJ is than taking his 10-year old cousin to Disneyland. It's going to be hilarious, either way, to see what Daisy talked about- the increasing control they put on the figure skaters by the mid-2000's to get them to look and act as pristine as possible. How someone from a gay pothead family will manage to pull off the wholesome image is going to be interesting.

Day 13, February 7th Today I finally finished sorting out Box 10. Finally. 111 items in that box and done. Day 14, February 8th I started on Box 5. There are a lot of manuals.

It's not actually a remake, though. It's a different story, with Gwen Stacey instead of Mary Jane Watson. And Andrew Garfield is a fine actor- I can see him as Peter Parker and really pulling that role off. I do generally agree about remakes, though.

I mean, I guess as long as JJ maintains the squeaky clean image for himself, it's fine, but I still think he'd be skating as Jeremy James. If people connect the dots, he might not scream away from it, but I don't think he'd go around flaunting the name. Especially considering that, if people get especially interested in him, they'd dig in and find out that JJ's really a Crampton, and I can't see "crack whore incest baby" being very acceptable to the USFSA. Plus, aside from the whole bribe thing that Daisy mentioned, going without the Schluter name is JJ's way of asserting his own independence, being apart from his brother. The figure skating world is his own thing, and it would make sense that he'd want a sense of himself away from his family, after being in his brothers' shadows for so long. Although it sure would be interesting to see how the USFSA deals with having a billionaire family that doesn't exactly play by their image rules. I don't think it'd be entirely smooth. It'd be interesting to see how JJ's need to look squeaky-clean and wholesome would play against the very nature of the very non-conventional Cramptons/Schluters. So what did you think of the Cali videos, Mark? Pretty interesting stuff, no?

Not good luck, good look. It's been getting said a lot on Jersey Shore, it's short for "good looking out." Say like your friend does something good for you, you say "good look, bro" as a way of thanking him. It seems to have morphed into being anything good. My Jersey friends were saying it; I liked the use of it. So like if something's bad, you can go, "Dude, not a good look." Or something.

That's why JJ is skating as Jeremy James, not as JJ Schluter. Duh. It's a plausible half-truth that helps his image remain squeaky clean. Because he wouldn't really be lying if he called himself an orphan, because his biological mother is dead and his biological father abandoned him. In steps "Uncle Brad", no mentions of Robbie, and he's golden. He'd have an easier time flying under the radar because Brad and Robbie don't really interact with him as much as they do/did with Will and Darius. So do you like the Disney idea, or is there something better that would show how wholesome and clean-cut JJ is? Presumably he'd take Courtney, as she's a cute 10-year old from a nuclear branch of his family. Knots Berry Farm seems like another good place.

This is apparently very accurate: I really wish Moon Unit Zappa could do an updated Valley Girl. It'd be hilarious. When did "totes" become such a popular California saying? It seems like it would have sprung out of "brah" fratty culture. And yet another Coachella reference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlVGZA41WLI I don't know how accurate this is, but I thought their dead-pan bitchery was hilarious. "He's not good enough to get into the NFL. Let's hook up with him" and "All the people that work in the cafeteria are definitely legal." Man. If that's insight into what the mindset is like at USC, I'm seriously thinking Zach Hayes will fit in just fine there. It sounds like Duke but without the old money.

Yeah, that seems right. After doing research through these "Shit People Say" videos, I'm scared for when "totes" makes it over to the East Coast. It may take a while, though. Los Angeles and New York City seem to be the prime places that generate national slang...is "good look" out in California yet, Tim n Blue? "Good look", I believe originated sometime in the late 2000's in New York City, then hit Jersey, then hit Delaware, and is now making it's way down the coast. I wonder if it's hit California yet.

I can't wait to see the Hunger Games and the Amazing Spider Man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87I0lds2MhM&feature=related The concept is pretty awesome, and from all accounts Jennifer Lawrence is a pretty solid actress. Plus, there's Liam Hemsworth. I mean, what more could you want? I'm seriously amped for Andrew Garfield as Spiderman. And I'm Emma Stone's bitch, so I can't wait to see her in this. I think this is going to blow the Tobey Maguire movies out of the water- I can't wait!

I mean, this is humor, but it's also some pretty biting social commentary. I think the ones I've gotten most frequently would be "You're gay, you're supposed to know these things" and "I've always wanted a gay best friend." Some other ones I've gotten that weren't listed: "So, like, how do you give a good blowjob? What's the secret?" "So you're like good at interior design, right?" What about you guys?

I definitely feel like bro should be around at this point, but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure "bromance" was used on an episode of the O.C. in 2003, but I'm not sure if that term was widespread in California in 2000 "Dawg" was for sure getting used in 2000. Same as "chill" and "beast." (You've already used it.)

-When JJ turns 15, he becomes the record holder for the longest amount of time a contemporary Crampton/Schluter family member has lived without ever smoking pot.

The environment at HW seems decidedly different from the one at Gunn High School 1980 or University School 1998. It actually kind of reminds me of what a much, much, MUCH better-funded Cab Calloway/Charter School of Wilmington would have been like. Mark, you know what this means, right? We have to include a chapter where Will and JJ get roped into filming a cheesy video for the end-of-year assembly. It's was just funny that Nightmare at North Faring video, and seeing how young those kids are, and comparing it to what's going on with Will and his love for partying, pot, and sex, and realizing that Will is supposed to be the same age as these innocent young kids. Although you never know- like I said, I knew kids in 8th grade that were having sex and doing drugs, and it's not until looking back that I realize we were way too young to get into things like that. A person's physical maturity really goes play a role into how those junior high years play out- if you're like JJ and physically immature at 14, you're playing with video games and maybe holding-hands with someone under the table at lunch. If you're like Will and look like a hot 17-year old at 14, you're generally getting into sex, experimenting with drugs, and whatnot. That's been a very true-to-life detail about JJ and Will's 9th grade year.

Shit, that was so true. Especially the drunkenly singing "Someone like you" part. I actually got nudged into singing it with some gay guys I hang out with. And in any event, since I think Mark will eventually get to the late 2000's/early 2010's(somewhere around the year 2030), it's totally relevant. Although I'm thinking Will seems like in his 20's he'd seek out more low-key gay guys instead of queens. Honestly, I think JJ would be more likely to be friends with these types of guys. Which made me think... Boi- the early 2000's gay way of writing "boy". God, that was annoying as hell. I'm glad that's over. bro- Seriously. It's to my generation, Mark, what "man" was to yours. "Bro, that weed was dank! Since Generation 4 will eventually get over to college... The dubstep stuff will be a little too contemporary for Will and JJ's college year era(mid-2000's/late 2000's), but it's still pretty spot-on, especially with the "bro" and "sick" part. And since JJ might wind up taking a looooonnnnggg time to graduate...he might still be in college by the 2010's. This is an incredbily good primer on how a 2000's preppy/sorority girl talks. The "Wait, what?" was especially accurate. (The card bit was special to Vanderbilt.)

The audio in this is absolutely horrible, but it gives you a great sense of what the middle school campus is like. Judging by the clothes, my guess is that this was filmed around 2000-2002, so these kids would be Will and JJ's "contemporaries", so to speak. Is there something about California schools that compells them to film really cheesy videos? Seriously, that's been like a pattern with Malibu High, Gunn High, and now HW. Is the communications department really prized in California or something?

Damn, that's pretty cool. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUgLMl4rcL9mMqM_2J6da3_m2Mlg?docId=4d1ab40df530485e81030138197843e3 I'm all for increasing the access to Plan B. I don't get why there's even a debate here- Plan B is not an abortion drug; it's just a high dose of the Pill that will keep fertilization from taking place. You increase the amount of people being able to take this, you get a responding decrease in the amount of abortions taking place. Everybody wins. It'd be great to launch a campaign to continue increasing access to Plan B at colleges.

I got involved with Mark's writing team when I was but a wee lad of 22, in August of 2008. Mark had posted the second chapter of CAP, and in it, JP had plans to take Peter Gordon to run from the law, and hit the Delaware beaches. The only problem was, the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 would have just passed through the area, and it completely tore up the Northeast Coast. I emailed Mark about that, he decided to incorporate the storm into the story, and it's been a blast ever since.

"1983" by Neon Trees

Mark, you obviously wrote this before you decided on turning JJ into a diva bitch. LOL. You're never more than 90 minutes away from a beach if you live in Delaware. I'm just saying. JJ doesn't even feel like much of a beach bunny anyway. And JJ. Johnny Weir. Tell me you wouldn't pay to see the fur fly at Fred Rust Ice Arena. This position seems further strengthened by the fact that JJ is still very much overshadowed by Will at HW, and he pretty much serves as an after-thought. I can see him moving to New York in his 20's and setting up a social circle where no one has even heard of his brother. In any event, I love that I did all this research and you wound up sending the kids to Harvard-Westlake. LOL. It was pretty interesting. What did you guys think about Mark sending Darius to Santa Clara? I wonder if he joined the ROTC there. It doesn't really seem like that much of a party school. I thought USC sounded like a better fit.

We're seeing that within the story. The arrival of Riley has made Wade want to mature into a better man. The arrival of Madison made Cody whoop a little bit, and then go back to his circuit boi Hollywood parties. He doesn't seem all that interested in being a father, which suits his character. If you're going through with the idea of following these characters throughout every year of the 2000's, we'll have to see more of JJ, Will, and John growing up and turning into men, and it'll be interesting to see what paths they take. My guess would be Will being like Wade and eager to become a mature, more settled person by his mid-20's; meanwhile I see JJ wanting to make up for his lost childhood by going really hard at partying when he's in his early/mid-20's. I see the dude getting dragged kicking and screaming into adulthood. LOL.

Armie Hammer looks like a Disney Prince come to life: Goddamn. The best part is that not only does he look like a Disney Prince, but he actually has a pretty cool and lively personality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=4-dInUB-bMk

Some early 2000's slang words: Beast- Something good, someone or something being awesome. "This sound system is beast." "Jason's a beast at beer pong!" Chill- The definition morphed a little bit. In the 80's, it could mean someone needing to calm down, "you need to chill." Or it could mean hanging out- "let's chill at my crib." But by the early 2000's, "chill" started to mean someone or something really cool or nice. "Ryan's totally chill once you get to know him." "Yeah, the party scene at UD is pretty chill." Or it could mean the state of being surprisingly content with or in an unfamiliar circumstance. "I'm not used to this scene, but it's mad chill." Dank- Really potent weed. "Damn, that shit was dank." Also could mean someone or something of high quality. "That party was dank." Badonkadonk- Someone with a nice, big round ass. When Jennifer Lopez was ascendent during the late 90's/early 2000's, the phrase was used more. I'm not sure how much the phrase would be used by the CAP people, because it seems like Mark writes everyone as liking small little asses, but I do think JLo influenced the trend of women wanting to have bigger asses, aka badonkadonks. I think it might be the influence of hip-hop and the beauty standards within that culture- less of an emphasis on having a big chest, and more of an emphasis on having a broader backside. I actually had an interesting conversation with my roomate about that once- how guys my age aren't so much on the big boobs, as opposed to guys that came of age in the 80's who were reared on the Pamela Anderson look. "Are You On Crack?" - Your reaction when someone says something that you just can't believe, or is totally foolish and stupid. Jeremy S. Circa 2002- "You know, I think Mari is a pretty nice girl." Jeremy T. - "Are you on crack? She's a total bitch!" "Ignorant"- Someone either stupid, or someone totally rude. "That girl be totally ignorant, yo. She don't know how to spell nothing!" "You showed my pictures from elementary school? You are so ignorant!" Someone actually said that to me back in 8th grade.