methodwriter85

"Player" probably would have been better, but I think it's okay. I'm more concerned with 14-year old boys in the year 2000 using words like "spaz", "radical", or "Space cadet." I did get Mark to use "beast", which was totally chill. Wade's date was hilarious.

Chapter 9 -When Wade has his disastrous date with Ben Solomon. -When Wade and Matt get together at the end of the chapter. Buffy and Angel for the win!

Now that we're in the closing days of 2011, I thought it'd be interesting to talk about what new stories/events gripped us this year. For me, it was the Royal Wedding, The glamor and glitz of the wedding, the continuing of tradition...man it was beautiful. I wasn't alive when Princess Diana got married, so I was glad that I got to see a big royal wedding like that on t.v. And the Pippa Middleton white bridesmaid dress brouhaha was hilarious. And the downfall of Penn State: Penn State was a big deal to me because I'm attending graduate school in Western PA, and you always see people walking around in Penn State gear. I have a couple of friends who are from State College, so it was crazy to see how this story just blew up. What about you?

Why doesn't it surprise me you were some golden boy in high school? In any event, Will doesn't have that kind of luxury because he is out, and a guy can't go, "Well, Will's straight too so what we did wasn't gay." It's a trade-off, but probably worth it that Will doesn't have to go through any kind of inner turmoil about his sexuality. There really is something cool about having a guy totally confident in what his sexuality is at 14. It took me all the way to 17 before I was completely cool with it I like that Will, although he's not an outcast, isn't Mr. Social Leader at HW the way Brad and Matt were at their respective high schools. He seems to be more along the vein of guys that were pretty much cool with everybody, and didn't hang out with a specific crowd ala Andy in Cross-Currents. Those guys were always the most fun and relaxed. I like that so far, Will seems like he's going to march to the beat of his own drum instead of being all consumed with trying to gain the power of school popularity like we saw with Brad and Matt. Will is going to meet a lot more varied and interesting people that way. He'll be the kind of guy that can hang with the jocky types, and with the emo artist types, to the theater and band geeks. That'll be cool. I mean, I'm not saying that high school teen movies are completely off, but my high school experience wasn't "jocks vs. the nerds" the way it seemed to be in movies. It was more like the punk artist kids against the diva theater/vocal types, while the band kids humped each other like bunnies as the communication kids stood off to the side and smoked pot. Bitchy dancers took the place of the bitchy cheerleaders. In the end, we were all too into our own thing to really care about what the "Golden Kids" were up to.

Nah, I don't have blow-ups like that anymore. The meds worked. Most of the time. I think the most embarrassing memory I have with this regard was the time freshmen year when I got really drunk and kept telling this guy how hot I thought he was. In front of other people we knew, including the resident director and our R.A. Yeah, dude never talked to me again. I'm hoping it's more complicated than just "Ryan's a confused closetcase." As Cross-Currents taught me, it's a lot more interesting when the guy's sexuality isn't so clear-cut, rather than the whole "closeted gay jock comes out of the closet" deal. I'm hoping Ryan's straightish, or at the most, bisexual.

Since I'm assuming that at some point we're going to meet Ryan's father, I like the idea of Paul Walker as Mr. Grafton. Basically, I have Mr. Grafton pictured as the grown-up version of Paul Walker's character from She's All That, a somewhat racist WASP who lucked into a material-rich but soulless life. I feel like Ryan's father needs to look like an aged version of the blond high school jock who made high school miserable in teen movies. Ryan's dad should be a total DILF, but a total douche. He's still hot, but god Paul Walker's pushing 40 now. Man. I feel old. Was She's All That really from almost 13 years ago?

I like that this time around, Will's firmly set in the high school crowd instead of with college boys. I liked the Tony storyline, but I'm also really liking the friendship with Ryan. It's good seeing Will have a friend that's on his level, in terms of life stage, instead of trying to hang with guys that are ahead of him. And aww, Ryan just had his first date with a guy.

I brought this quote back up because Cent over in the Paternity thread had the idea about Ryan Grafton maybe getting into modeling or t.v. acting, and this is what I came back to. Here's the interesting thing, though. HW back in the early '90's did seem to let their students act professionally- I know Tori Spelling got her GED but still attended HW and graduated in 1991 while doing Bev Hills 90210, and Danica McKellar was another alumni who acted while going to the school. My guess is that somewhere in the '90s, HW got increasingly against letting their students take time off for things like acting, and that's when they built it into their attendance codes that acting could no longer be used as an excuse for an absence. It's written in the code as "missing school to work professionally". I brought this back up because I realized that Tim referred to University of Delaware as one of the "very prestigious colleges" that figure skaters have gone to. UD! UD! Woo-hoo!!! We're no longer a party school- we're a public Ivy like UVA now! (Okay, I'm just being facetious now.) Seriously though, it would be hilarious to watch JJ and JW face off against each other at good ol' Fred Rust Ice Arena. The fur would just fly. Back to the issue of JJ and school absences, it looks like JJ would have to sign an Independent Study Contract, but it still seems like him missing so much school is going to be a big deal unless Brad negotiates a major exception to the rules. Finally, yes people conform to their surrounding, but don't you know that the Cramptons/Schluters are complete avant-garde rebels who flaunt the rules at every turn? JJ could totally rebel against his surroundings. That's just how that family rolls, being so "ahead of the curve" in all aspects of social and generational trends.*winks at Westie*

Here's basically how I view JJ's character. He gets angry at someone and will freeze them out until he stops being angry. But if they apologize, he gets over it. I don't view him as someone that holds grudges. Diva bitchiness aside, there's still that cheerful and happy kid somewhere inside of him. And I'm betting that aside from Alistair, JJ is pretty short of friends, and now that they're a few weeks in he's starting to realize that it wasn't the kids at Malibu being mean that made him so unpopular. *cough* Not that I came to a similar realization my freshmen year of high school. It's a good idea, but according to HW alumni, the school does not allow students to pursue acting professionally, and I'm assuming that would apply to modeling as well. They're apparently very strict about letting their students take time off for any reason, and missing school for modeling/acting work would fall under an "unexcused" absence. And since Grafton is a minor, Grafton wouldn't be able to sign things like modeling or acting contracts without the approval of his parents.

*shrugs* It was on this retrospective that VH1 did once called "Totally Gay" about how homoerotic and totally gay culture had gotten, back in '03 during the whole "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy" metrosexual craze. I gotta admit, I'm kinda glad that chest hair made a comeback, and guys aren't doing the drag queen eyebrows like they used to. Although facials and mani-pedis can stay around. 2003-2004 really is going to provide Mark a whole hell of lot of material, both historical and pop-culture wise, and it conveniently coincides with JJ and Will's senior year of high school.

Jackass premieres on October 1, 2000. For some reason or another, it really struck a chord with young boys, like South Park had a few years earlier. I remember a friend I had in 8th grade who used to always wear a Johnny Knoxville shirt. Apparently it also resonated with gay men who thought the situations where homoerotic, but I never picked up on that. I was 14.

Yet another East Coast knock. You know, for someone who sent two legacy characters to school on the East Coast, it seems a little weird coming from you. The East Coast does have its perks- and I'm totally seeing JJ falling in love with New York City. The minute he steps into Broadway/Times Square...dude will never want to leave. I see him skating around Rockefeller Plaza in a perfectly coordinated fur coat and hat circa 2007 before heading back to his penthouse that overlooks Central Park. But that's for the "Future of CAP" thread. In any event, it would be funny if Ryan's mother was enough of a money whore that she actively encouraged Ryan to date Will. She could kill two birds with one stone- get her son an "in" with an obscenely wealthy family, and at the same time piss off her former husband.

I saw Chris Zylka and thought, "Wow, Mark would be really into his look." You seem to really like the blond surfer types. I'm more partial to dark-haired guys with moderately hairy bodies, but like I've noted- I like playing "casting" because I grew up around actors, so I learned to think in terms of "types". I always have to play the tough guy cop because I'm stocky and have broad shoulders. It's kinda funny that I apparently read as butch to people. One of these days though, I would love to play the delicate, fragile guy going through emotional turmoil, like Timothy Hutton in "Ordinary People".

Remember The Titans. Man, talk about a total "jock boy" movie. I definitely remember having friends in high school and college who talked fondly of this movie. It wasn't quite "Field of Dreams", but most guys Will and JJ's age would definitely get the reference. Me? I remember it because I thought Kip Pardue aka Sunshine was sexy as hell, plus the kiss scene was hot. The biggest surprise was Ryan Gosling. Who would have thought that geeky country music-loving Ryan Gosling would have turned out to be the hot movie star? I remember my jaw dropping when I saw him in "Murder By Numbers"(2002) at how hot he'd become. I picture Ryan's mother as like one of those "Real Housewives of Orange County" women- fried bleached blond hair, leathery tanned skin, fake boobs, bony frame, oversized LV sunglasses, and Juicy Couture sweatsuits. It seems almost inevitable at this point that Will and Ryan are going to hook up, and then Ryan is going to freak out and not talk to Will again.

Chapter 8 -When we meet Ryan Grafton's mother. -When Ryan and Will see "Remember the Titans". Ain't No Mountain High Enough from Remember the Titans I'm kinda surprised Will wasn't that into the movie. If I remember correctly, that was a pretty popular movie with a lot of guys my age. Then again, those guys were jocks, and Will doesn't really have jock mentality. I'm sure Ryan loved it. Still, I'm kinda disappointed- we finally get a generation-appropriate reference, and it's not even that well-liked by the character. *sigh* Will's going to at least get really into Jackass, right? -When Will and Ryan get stoned, and Will decides to re-write the past year of his sex life.

Chris Zylka from the Secret Circle as Klip, the hot blond hockey player?

It's interesting to see how the current generation shares some traits with people of the previous ones. Wade has some JP traits. Matt feels like what a butch version of Stefan would be like. Darius feels very much like Ace, but without the temper problem. Will has some obvious Brad traits, but he's more laidback and not as power-hungry as Brad is. The only legacy character that doesn't really feel like anything we've experienced before would be JJ- Mark's never really covered an il divo before. And having a family member who's in an environment where he's expected to look pristine at all times should cause some interesting tension as well. Gathan also isn't that much like what we've covered before, either. Overall, Mark's given this current generation enough common traits with the previous ones that you can see how they're connected, but at the same time I don't feel like I'm reading a rip-off of Be Rad, which I was really scared about when Mark decided to put the reigns over to Will as a lead character.

I just wonder how this is going to affect JJ, because barring Matt, he really doesn't have a close male figure in his life. Jeanine was his main parent, and with her off into cuckoo land, he's basically alone. Each kid going off to be closest to one of the parents worked while they were children, but we're also seeing the consequences- Will doesn't answer to Jeanine because Brad was his main parent, and JJ isn't really close enough to either Robbie or Brad to confide in now that Jeanine is out of commission. Which could be really interesting, if/when we get to a JJ-centered story, because with teenage Brad we got all the parental scenes with JP, and with Will we've gotten all the parental scenes with Brad. That kind of a father/son bond doesn't really exist with JJ and either Robbie and Brad- I don't think they completely ignored him, as evidenced by the one scene in Millenium, but they're not really close, either. The kind of fatherly scenes you saw between Will and Brad in PMS would feel fake if Mark tried to do those same kind of scenes with JJ and Brad, at least as things stand right now. Those kind of scenes would have to be done with Jeanine, and I'm not sure about the longevity of that character. Cent, I do fully admit that my own viewpoint on this subject is shaded by the fact that a lot of my cohorts are starting to settle down, get houses, getting into careers, and setting up families. The thought of doing any of that within the next five years of my life dumbfounds me, so I'm of course projecting my own fears and anxieties about the onset of adulthood onto how I view the characters. Plus, the prevailing wisdom is that you're not supposed to buy a house unless you plan on living there for at least 5 years, hence why I would view buying a house as settling down. The other thing is, since gay marriage is only legal in a few places, I've run across gays who think that living together in a house basically equals marriage, so that viewpoint kind of rubbed off on me. Of course, I'm willing to concede that it may not be an altogether accurate viewpoint, but there you go.

Well, a house suggests that someone's planning on putting down roots, rather than condos or apartments, which suggest more of a transient experience. It would suggest he's trying to start a family. Wasn't that basically the point of Brad being given the Malibu house by Stefan in Man In Motion? Brad was going to create a home for Darius and his unborn son, and the house signaled the start of Brad creating a new family?

I was going on the fact that Wade's talking about houses and such instead of lofts and condos, which is usually the first step in domestication. Normally I'd think it was dumb for Wade to already be talking about getting a house since he doesn't even know where he's going to law school, but lord knows the guy can afford multiple houses- a house around Stanford whenever he visits the Crampton clan, and of course a nice handsome townhome in Georgetown or whatever that's close to his law school.

Yeah. I usually get told I'm crazy whenever I bitch about my youthful looks. Although the stresses of grad school have aged me up- I no longer get told I still look like a teenager; now it's up to about 22. I think I want to look about 35- it's a youthful age, but with some mileage on it. I think because I've been hanging around older people in their 30's, I feel more self-conscious about looking young. I get that a lot of people probably are the opposite and want to look younger, but I'm definitely looking forward to the time when I don't get carded. It was okay when I actually WAS in my early 20's, but now that I'm within shouting distance of my 30's, it's just not cool to get carded to see an R-rated movie. Back to the story...I can't see Wade and Matt going back to their old dynamic, either. I also can't see them becoming the domestic unit that Wade wants, either. So it's going to have to be somewhere in the middle, I think.

33. "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" by The Darkness, 2002 What a great '70's glam rock throwback. 34. "Milkshake" by Kelis, 2003 God, it's going to be fun to use this one. Methinks it'll be at some senior year party that Will and JJ throw to celebrate Will's 17th birthday.

Best wishes to everyone!

Wade's bit about not wanting to look like a college boy made me think of myself. Sometimes I try to dress up in a grown-up outfit, like a pair of chinos and a button-down shirt with the hopes that I'll look like I'm at least in my early 30's, only to get told I still look 22. I'm thinking about dying the rest of my hair grey in hopes that I can look about 35. I hate looking so young- it's annoying to get carded all the time. One time I even got carded to see an R-rated movie! I heard that you can create realistic wrinkles using latex makeup- I'm curious to try it. I would love to look at least in my mid-30's, with greyer hair and crow's feet.

Chapter 7 - Matt's ringtone theme. -When Wade goes to one of Cody's Hollywood parties. Moby got a hell of a lot of play out of that one album. Just hit after hit. He pretty much dominated the non-pop and non-rap world from about '99 to '01 because of that album.