methodwriter85

If Jeanine DOES take JJ to NJ, he could train at University of Delaware and butt heads with Johnny Weir. I think that'd be one hell of a rivalry. And if you've looking for a place for a guy to train relatively incognitio, Delaware's a pretty good choice. It's not like the figure skating program there is some rube- they have some pretty impressive credentials. Tara Lipinski and Kimmie Meissner are other alums of the UD program. And when the suburban college town life drives JJ crazy, he can always go shopping at NYC on weekends. Then come back for practice wearing more designer clothes and Louis Vuitton purses than pre-fame Johnny Weir could ever possibly afford, pissing JW off even more. We've actually talking about that, my figure skating consultant and I. She believes that JJ would defnitely not skate under the name Schluter, and he'd keep tight-lipped about who his family is. Maybe just skate as "Jeremy James", and tell people he's an orphan who was adopted by his uncle, who would prefer to remain anonmynous. It's a version of the truth that would be more palatable to the "family-friendly" world of figure skating. We were also thinking about the fluff pieces that JJ could do for the media leading up to the '06 Olympics. It'd be cute if he took Courtney(I think she'd be 10 at that point) to Disneyland. It'd make him look adorable and cutely innocent to do so. I was also thinking maybe he could do a speech at a high school under Students Against Drunk Driving, with his grandmother Isidore. Possibly, to promote the renassiance of Claremont, JJ could do a shift at an ice cream shop(let's say Coldstone Creamery) opening up at the Shoppes at Claremont Factory. Here's what the fluff pieces look like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAo3KaeK8gQ Okay, after watching Evan, I can hear JJ going, "You know, when I was born dangerously premature and abandoned by my parents, my uncle worried that I might not even live. Who would have ever imagined that I would get a shot at the Olympics? I thank God every day for having such a special plan for me, an orphan that wasn't even expected to make it through his first night." Off to the sides, I can imagine Darius and Will rolling their eyes and making little violin fingers. LOL. Daisy, you wanna weigh in on this?

I remember Queer As Folk did an episode that addressed how gay men are tossed out of the club scene when they're 30. I wonder if that's still true now.

Duchess, with that face, you should really think about trying drag. You totally have the bone structure. At my high school, we had one drag queen named Pedro aka Patrice, but he lacked the proper bone structure to look good in drag. You totally have the right facial structure, though.

Would it really be a big deal, though? Maybe in 1999 at the time of Cruel Intentions, but would it really be impossible for a hot gay guy to be popular at a private school?

Since it's now a contender, I thought I'd look up some Harvard-Westlake videos. It's from 2006, so it's close to the 2000-2004 era for JJ and Will. What I like about this is that it's a bunch of goofy kids having fun, and the fashions don't look all that different from what was going on in the East Cost in the mid-00's. Mark, note how every single kid is wearing baggy pants, even the white kid in the polo. I think I also spyed someone wearing a green trucker hat, which came into fashion around 2002-2003 courtesy of Ashton Kutcher always wearing one on Punked. They would remain in fashion through the mid-2000's, but generally disapeared by the time we got to 2007. I was worried that Harvard-Westlake would be some snobby school like on Gossip Girl or the homophobically oppressive University School, but it doesn't look like that at all. They look like regular kids- just extremely rich. LOL. I could easily see Will dancing around with those guys, trying to do some breakdance moves. Maybe even crump. This video gives you a sense of what the school looks like. Tommy's right, it DOES look like a college campus. I like the courtyard a lot.

I had someone very familiar with figure skating weigh in on this. Here's what she said: I think JJ definitely has to have a pristine image - the media may not care too much yet about someone who is still at the junior level (but that's definitely going to change once he's a senior), but the pessure from the USFSA would already be enormous. Skaters don't go to parties, raves, or anything like that. Skaters go to school, practice, and church. And I agree, he wouldn't do much sexually either, even behind closed doors, because he really does need to focus on school and practice, and both is very time consuming. There's not much time he could spend on socializing. So yeah, no raves and clubs for JJ. At least, not yet. He can't do the kinds of things that John and Will are doing because of the pressure he's getting from the USFSA. Which is refreshing, because I'm finding that I'm having to bare-knuckle my way through reading about 13-year olds having sex and experimenting with drugs. LOL.

Can we say, "Mid-Life crisis?"

If Brad in Millenium is what you are like during a break-up or severe relationship setback, I'm pretty sure someone's car would have ended up keyed and possibly destroyed with a jackhammer. LOL.

Here's what I think would have happened for the Schluter brothers. I think Will, when he was about 11, asked the 15-year old Darius how to masturbate because he was curious about doing it. I think Darius would have gone online(this was 1997 so free online porn was likely around), and then demonstrated how he jacks off. Will then used his own computer to look up online porn, and realized when he came across the Nifty Archive and liked reading stories about Nick Carter having tushie sex that he was more "gay" than "straight". I don't think Darius would have actually jacked Will off, or Will jacked Darius off, because of the four-year age difference. I don't think Will and JJ would have ever messed around with each other. Mainly because JJ's a total priss, and I'm not even sure he has pubes or can orgasm yet. With the Hayes brothers, I'm sure it was just one big incestuous orgy. The scene where Matt jokingly hits on Robbie after learning about Roger and Aaron having sex pretty much says it all. LOL.

As Mark once said, he's not interested in re-creating Brad and Robbie. If you do something right to the first time around, is there really a point in doing it again? The point of this new generation is to take the story in ways that haven't already been done yet, and so far Mark's doing a bang-up job of doing that. Will doesn't need to find his "Robbie". Let the kid just have fun and new experiences.

Chapter 25 -When Gathan and Kristen talk at her parent's house. "I Don't Care" by No Question -When Will and Berton confirm that they're into each other. Holy shit. I had no clue that guy was JC Chasez. All these years later and I find out that it's the guy from N'Sync. I guess it serves as a great example of how being a white kid who imitated the black style was really, really popular in the late '90's/early '00s.

With me, you seem convinced that I'm a bottom.

Nah, I think the worst that would happen to Darius is that he'll lose a leg or something. If Mark killed off Darius, that would essentially send Robbie into a deep state of grief and mourning that I don't think he could survive. Which would really, really piss off the very vocal Robbie fans. Anyway Blue, wasn't it your idea to have Darius be the one going off to war and joining the army? I'm just running with it. It does feel like a distinct possibility. But I agree with your assessment that Gathan or one of his brothers would be the more likely people to go. I think Gathan's friend Chord SCREAMS "Future Iraq War vet".

Alright, since it looks like Will's considering going to Harvard-Westlake, I thought I'd ask the same questions I asked about Malibu High. So, if you're familiar with Harvard-Westlake, I'd like some feedback. Thank you. 1. Could a guy be openly gay at HW without it being a big deal? Like, if a guy took his male date to the prom, would there be a big reaction, or no? 2. What kind of cars did the rich kids drive? Was it mainly SUV type stuff, like Hummers? 3. How preppy is the school? Did kids there dress really preppy, or was it a lot more laidback? What were the popular clothing brands? 4. What is the socioeconomic/racial mix of the school like? Lots of rich white kids, or is it more diverse than that? 5. What were the popular slang terms? 6. What were the popular hang-outs? 7. What was the academic environment like? Was it high-pressure where kids were chained to their homework, or could you still have a social life? 8. What was the social life like? 9. How many class periods were there? What would you be expected to take as a college-bound freshman vs. a college-bound senior? 10. Is there anything about Harvard-Westlake's culture that sticks out in your mind? *** See, when I think private schools, I think of Catholic schools or the school on Gossip Girl, so I know I'm out of my depth here. Thanks again.

Are you hinting that you're going to let Darius experiment with a guy when he's overseas in Iraq?

It depends. A slutty phase in a person's life can be a lot of fun, but if you're only hooking up with people you barely know or care about, it can be pretty dehumazing. Being a slut has worked out well for Stefan and Cody, but then again they're fictional. LOL. The girl who wrote the Duck University F*ck List...did you notice that she tended to rate the guys higher who were actually nice and friendly to her and didn't treat her like a whore? I'm sure that wasn't a coincidence. Sluttiness can be fun, but when you lack any real connection beyond the physical, it can make you feel pretty bad about yourself.

Seriously, what is it with Canadian people and their total lack of aging? I mean, Rachel McAdams and Cory Montieth both look a good decade younger than their actual ages. And then there's Kelly Rowan, who just looks fantastic.

22. Every lead protagonist needs to have a fling with a hot foreigner at least once. (Stefan and Marcel, are of course exempt from this trope.) Now this is a trope I can really get behind. I can't think of anything that would be more fun than a summer romance with a hot Italian guy. And of course, it makes sense that for the amount of traveling they do and the great looks they have, the characters would have cute foreign guys falling all over them.

Daddy, I'm assuming that the story will hit somewhere around 50 chapters...with the final arc being set around the Election of 2000. Bush's inauguration on January 20th, 2001 feels like a logical endpoint for this story.

Chapter 24 -When the gang arrives in Italy, with Will determined to have a better time than he did in France. Disney Radio circa 2000. Gotta love it. -When Gathan gets a new car for his birthday. -When Will gets advice from Stefan on how to get Berto. Bring It On. Hands down, the best movie from 2000, in my opinion. "I'm. Still. Big. Red."

The impression I got was that, at the height of the boom, people were using some incredibly creative financing.

It's not shit-disturbing, Mark. I'm merely posting about a subject that Tim has previously expressed a strong passion about, in hopes of engaging one of the lively discussions that he's become known for. It does seem like for you guys to really recover, there's got to be a handle put on the housing costs so that the middle class can actually afford houses there. Right now, it looks like Texas is kinda poised to take over, with it's low-cost of living, thriving job sector, and great public school system.

Good point. Either way, they'd make one hell of a power couple. Claremont needs one, badly.

Footage of the 1994 Vancouver riot. I feel like playing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" right now.

Damn, this stuff makes the '08 World Series riot in Philly look tame in comparison. I would not have wanted to be wearing a Bruins jersey in Vacouver.