methodwriter85

I was just giving you crap because I was shocked you didn't disagree with my vision for JJ's life at 25, since you like disagreeing with me so much. I do think the kid's NOT going to live suburban married life. That would be so out of character for him. I do think married suburban life would fit Darius pretty well; maybe Will when he's ready to settle down in his late 20's. San Franscisco would work fine, but I really do see someone like JJ really loving a place like Chicago or New York City. Or a place like London or Paris. I'm leaning mostly towards NYC, though- I can see JJ falling in love with Times Square/Broadway and of course, 5th Avenue. Not to mention ice-skating at the Rockefeller Plaza during Christmas. I hate driving, so I could never live in a place like Los Angeles. I actually read "Fast Food Nation", and L.A. basically invented what we consider the modern suburb. I'm leaning more towards living in a city like Portland, a place with plenty of public transport and walkable areas.

*Laughs hysterically* You think we're progressing slowly? How about me? I remember thinking we were getting to 9/11 after Mark got done with Bloodlines. But nooooo. He fit not just one, not just two, but THREE stories that took place in 1999. Now we've got two stories that are spanning 2000. I'm forced to repeat music because I've exhausted most of the music from about 1997 to 1999. If I have to use "1979" again I'll scream. At this point the CAP characters have been aging at the almost the same rate we've been. The first year Mark was writing CAP, we saw the characters go from 1962 in CAP to 1998 in Bloodlines. Then Mark slowed the story way down. In real-time, we've gone from September 2009 to March 2011, a period of 18 months. In CAP time, we've gone from January 1998 to July 2000, a period of 2 years and 7 months. The CAP timeline is now progressing almost as slowly as real time. One good thing about this is that Mark will likely get to the 9/11 story right around the late summer/early fall, hitting the 10-year anniversary. So that'll be cool. Still, if Mark doesn't skip over to 2003 after 9/11, I don't know what I'll do. :( (Just kidding Mark. You know I love you. But it really would be nice to have full-year time jumps again.) Oh, and Mark, Tim just brought up another slang word for you to incorporate into the story. Dank- High quality weed, or someone or something that is incredibly cool. I remember dank getting thrown around a little bit during the early '00s. It's defnitely a word I can see being in the vernacular of a Crampton/Schluter.

I'm not seeing where my error was, Tim. I said John would be 13 and in 8th grade for fall 2000. That would directly support John being 14 and in 9th grade for fall 2001.

He'll be thirteen when he starts 8th grade. Let's work this backward. 1999-2000 was his 7th grade year, and he was 12. 1998-1999 was his 6th grade year, and he was 11. 1997-1998 to was his fifth grade year, and he was 10. 1996-1997 was his fourth grade year, and he was 9. 1995-1996 was his third grade year, and he was 8. 1994-1995 was his second grade year, and he was seven. 1993-1994 was his first grade year, and he was six. He started kindergarten for the 1992-1993 school year, and he was five. It all works out to John being in the class of 2005, and graduating at seventeen. He's on the younger side for his grade because he was born in the summer. The same goes for Will, who graduates high school at seventeen. The California cut-off date for grades is December 2nd. That means the class of 2004 is anyone born from December 3, 1985 to December 2nd, 1986. That encompasses JJ, Marie, and Will. The class of 2005 is anyone born from December 3, 1986 to December 2nd, 1987. That leaves John by himself in the class of '05.

John's close to turning 13- he'll be thirteen on July 21st. Which makes it a little weird that Will seems to think they're not the same age, but whatever. In Will's mind he's clearly already fourteen. To update people on ages and grades... Darius is 18 and starting his freshmen year of college. Gathan will turn 18 on July 25th, and is starting his freshman year of college. Ella is turning seventeen on August 17th, and is entering 12th grade. Zach is 15, and in the 10th grade. JJ is 14, and in 9th grade. Marie is 14, and in 9th grade. Will is 13(turning fourteen in September), and in 9th grade. John is 12(turning 13 on July 21st) and in 8th grade. Courtney is four(turning 5 on September 4th), and getting ready to start kindergarten. Ace is going to be a total mess when his little princess starts school. I can see it now.

Well, in any event, as long as Darius gets into combat, I'm happy. Someone's gotta join the War on Terror. As Blue pointed out, Darius seems the best candidate. Or he could go to law school at Tulane, and then get into Hurricane Katrina. Either one would work for me. I'm thinking though that Will's more likely to experience the effects of Hurricane Katrina, when he goes down there to work with a marine science lab as part of his summer '06 internship. As for Florida, I think swamps have a beauty to them, but then again I'm used to wetlands. I'm not that big a fan of hills, and all the sunshine, palm trees, and white sand had me really liking Florida. And the orange groves were beautiful, and even the cities didn't have the big smog problem L.A. has. One thing seems certain- JJ will live in a city in a multi-million dollar condo set close to a major shopping district, and near the best clubs. He'll leave settled family surburban life to his siblings. I'm kinda rooting for Paris, or London. New York City and Chicago would be good as well. I see JJ as a guy who really likes chic European fashions, and being attracted to a Euro lifestyle of walking everywhere to chic boutiques, bistros, and corner grocery stores. *Waits for PrivateTim to insist on the merits of JJ being able to have a Euro-style life in Los Angeles because there's just that much to the city*

John's birthdate has been revised to July 21st, 1987. I still think it's weird for Will to act like they're not the same age with only a 10-month difference, but whatever. It's Mark's call here. I also pushed back Gathan and Ella's birthdate by a few weeks.

I like the contrast- Brad was immature for his age when he was a teenager(and let's face it, a 37-year old), while Will is incredibly mature for a 13-year old. It'll be interesting following a guy who doesn't fly off the handle at everything as opposed to Brad. And not to nitpick, but John's in 8th grade, not 6th. (Remembers when I was in 10th grade and someone thought I was in 8th, and how much that bothered me.) The Gen 4 dynamic is really shaping up to be completely different from the Be Rad dynamic, which I'm happy about. Although Zach is dangerously close to acting like Billy, no one else really comes off the same way.

Honestly, no. Bitch waters run deep, and JJ would gouge his eyes out before he slept with Gathan.

I don't see Gathan self-destructing. He's messed up, but he's got a strong sense of self that Jeff never had.

You totally started this topic because of Will Schluter going online in chapter 4 of Poor Man's Son, didn't you? Anyway, my family had computers around 1993, but we didn't get online until the spring of 1999. I remember that's when I started reading the Nifty Archive- I was a 13-year old boy reading such thrilling stories about young men who go to N'Sync or Backstreet Boys concerts, and then they wind up falling in love with JC Chasvez or Nick Carter. I was also involved with MightybigTV, Fanforum, and this website called I Hate Jen. The earliest I remember being online was about 1996- I was in third grade, and we went online to see some county site about Cecil County in Maryland or something like that.

If anything, Zach will wind up like Billy, but a Billy that got a chance to grow up and maybe become a better guy. He doesn't come off sociopathic, just a user. As for John, he's 12. (13 if we had gone with the original birthdate I picked out for him.) I really don't expect a 12-year old kid in 8th grade to know about the right way to treat someone in a relationship. And with a face as adorable as this, how long could you possibly stay mad at the guy? I mean, the greenish blue eyes alone...if they went all puppy-dog on me like that, I'd be gone...

I had my talk with my advisor with my proposed plan for the second year of grad school. Some things came clear. I won't be doing a thesis. I might work on some publications, but it's not really where I want to go. I also don't want to go into a PhD program, at least for a few years. Which pretty much means I really don't have a chance of working in the community college scene because the job market is so bad that PhD's are fighting over jobs in that field. I want to work in a museum, or I want to try consulting. And it might turn out that I'll get into something that I never would have thought I'd get into. Another thing that became clear is that I really won't be able to keep sleeping in until 11. I'm taking a 10 a.m. class next semester, which means I'll have to wake up at 9:30 a.m. or earlier. Ugh. I haven't had a class before 11 a.m. since fall semester of senior year. I told my professor this, and she pretty much ripped me for not wanting to wake up at 10 a.m. She had a good point, and I will take that class. It's scary to think I'm almost done. It's scary to think that I'm graduating in a dismal economy with a hefty student loan debt. And it's scary to admit that I'm 25 years old and I don't really know exactly what I want to do in my life. What I do know is that I'm interested in a lot, and I want to be a guy who can do a variety of things in a variety of fields. It's just weird. I came into grad school thinking I'd have all the questions figured out at the end, but I'm finding out that I pretty much don't know. I have no clue. Which is why I'm pulling back from trying the PhD track, because I think I need to have a better clue of what I want out of life before committing myself to 7 more years of school. Part of me thinks that I need to embrace the fact that I'm going to run out into adulthood with no clue about where I'll end up. The other part just wishes I could go back to my junior year of college where my biggest concern was whether or not I'd find a good party. I'll try and stay optimistic, but god. It's really hard to be, with this economy and with the knowledge that I'm in a field that's getting clobbered.

I gotta agree with you here. I think Will's lost interest in Gathan as a serious romantic interest. They'll be good friends(and friends who might hook-up from time to time once we get to around 2005), but I don't see them becoming some big romance. The diva act was soooo common at my high school because everyone wanted to be famous. But you would frequently find that when you got behind the diva act, the performer was a pretty nice person. I like the dual narration- you get the cute young teen story, and you get the serious one. I think the Will story works well as a B-plotline.

The Ramones pretty much cut across all generations. Punk's had an enduring value.

Chapter 4 -When Will stands up to Brad. The Theme from "Malcolm in the Middle" Glad I could incorporate Malcolm in the Middle. I used to have a crush on Justin Berfield. I'm apparently not the only one, as TrevorTime mentioned having a crush on him as well. -When the family convinces Gathan to see the family shrink. "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_wssByW7JQ -When Will mopes about John, and then they contact each other over the internet. "How Do I Feel?" by Hoku Hoku. God. You gotta love that cheesy late 90's/early 00's pre-9/11 pop. I wanted to use Hoku for Millenium, but Brad and Robbie seemed a bit old for that.

What a dame. RIP.

This was created for the second season of How I Met Your Mother in fall 2006. The premise is that their Candadian friend, Robin, was a teenage pop star in 1993. (Everything looks like 1986 because the '80s didn't come to Canada until like '93.) It's basically a parody of Alanis Morisette, who was a teenage pop star before she became the angry rocker we knew her as in the United States. They also make fun of Tiffany and Debbie Gibson. To get a fuller appreciation of just how brilliant that video is, check out what they're parodying: Alanis Morisette, "Too Hot" Tiffany, "I Think We're Alone Now" Debbie Gibson, "Shake Your Love" God. Just nailed the tone of those videos. "Let's Go to The Mall" really was a brilliant parody.

Well, I was thinking Florida so Will would have an active interest in helping out the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Katrina and then the Oil spill hits. But I guess that could happen even without Will going to college in Florida. I still think it would be a cool idea- Florida's 'effing beautiful. I'm not so sure about that. He may hate the Claremont prospects, but he seems to genuinely love the town. I think going to college in California will be good for him, but in the end I think he'll wind up coming back to Claremont and take up the reins. Someone's gotta be around in that town for long-term to implement Nick and JP's vision for that town. They need someone young, bright, and talented. John Hopkins has been named the best hospital in the United States since 1992. The school has consistently been the top school awarded grants by the National Institutes of Health. It's consistently ranked among the top three medical schools. It just makes sense for an aspiring doctor to want to go there. And Mark's already sent two characters to Stanford, so why not spread it around a bit, especially when we're talking freakin' John Hopkins? I can see Duke University or Virginia Tech not being prestigious enough to attract a Californian, but...John Hopkins? Come on, Tim. . I've never seen any hint that Darius wants to be a movie person; it looks like he's leaning towards either the law or the military. Which could be pretty cool- maybe he'll wind up in San Diego? He could be the only enlisted soldier living in a house in La Jolla. Good point. You got me there. I'm assuming your silence about JJ means you agree with me. Cool. Looks like we agreed on something here.

This NAILS it. "My friends drive up even though we're 13..." LMAO.

Why do you always speak in such a sexually suggestive way, Mark?

Alright, after reading Millenium and now PMS, here are my guesses as to what the kids are up to: 1. Gathan goes to Stanford and gets well-educated, but then goes back to Claremont with his intended life partner of whatever gender to help implement Nick's city plans. When Nick leaves the mayor office in 2010 after he's assigned a spot in county government, Gathan takes over as Mayor of revitalized Claremont. His campaign is based on expanding the education in Claremont and encouraging further development of Claremont College into a full, 4-year college. 2. Will and John have an on-again, off-again deal with one another throughout their teens and into their mid-20's. Will went to school in Florida(ba) then Hawaii(M.a.), studied marine biology, and gets involved in the Hurricane Katrina clean-up efforts during the summer of '06 to gain practical experience. He also got involved with the 2010 efforts in the Gulf Oil Spill. Meanwhile, John wants to be a doctor like his father, graduated a year early from high school, and is currently going to John Hopkins University for his doctorate in medicine. (If John goes to medical school, why not the best one in the country?) Matt and Wade have taken John on like a little brother, visiting him often. Will COULD be settled down into a family at 24, because I can see him being the type that settles down early like Brad did, but I wouldn't discount him still being single. 3. Wade and Matt are settled in D.C., getting married in late 2010 or early 2011. Wade works for a PAC, while Matt works for an consulting agency. Matt had worked with Bear-Stearns, but...well...you know how that went. Matt and Wade live in a tastefully rehabbed townhouse in a gentrifying part of D.C. They've decided to have kids of their own, and call up Tiffany for a fun weekend in the tropics with the purpose of procreating. 4. Zack Hayes is a closeted NFL football player. To make it fun, let's say that he was on the Arizona Cardinals, and had angry closetcase sex with "I Point To God" Kurt Warner. He now has angry closeted sex with Derek Anderson, who's a total top but has a habit of inappropriately laughing during sex. 5. Tiffany had a son they named Danfield Carrsworld van Den Boss-Graves(they just call him D.C.), and Jeanine had a daughter they named Gail(after Tonto) van Den Boss-Graves. The kids are currently 11 and doing well at Malibu Middle School. 6. To celebrate becoming empty-nesters in 2004, Brad and Robbie gave their Malibu house to Darius(who's married now to Ella), bought a yacht, and travel the world's best surfing spots all year long. 7. Darius attended some party school, then got into a decent law school, then passed the bar exam in 2007. He's expecting the birth of his first child with Ella in summer 2011, who acted for a bit but decided to become a teacher after realizing how brutal the acting world is. 8. JJ retired from figure skating after 2006 and 2010 didn't yield any medals. He's now going to college at Northwestern University although has yet to declare a major, is taking advantage of Stef's old condo, and more than loving the Magnificent Mile. When he's not shopping or going to class, JJ works with kids at the University of Chicago skating rink with a nationally well-known and respected coach. JJ has hook-ups with people of varying genders, but has absolutely no plans to settle down or have kids like brothers do. Now that he's 25 and out of the skating competition world, he's pretty much free to do what he wants, and likes to spend his nights partying at Chicago's best clubs and bars until 4 a.m. or later. Man. That was fun to write.

Why does JJ have three votes? I don't think JJ's dislike of Gathan is masking some secret attraction to him. Dude just straight up doesn't like Gathan. I think if someone told him that people thought he secretly wanted to get with Gathan, he'd barf at the thought and need to drop about a grand or so at Nordstrom for a silk tie to get the bad taste out of his mouth. It's like what Mark said- ice skaters and hockey players are like oil and water.

Yeah, it's a grown woman, playing a fictional Canadian teenage pop star from 1993. (The joke is that the 1980's didn't come to Canada 'til like '93.) It's from a show called How I Met Your Mother.

Rebecca Black totally ripped off Robin Sparkles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF1b1pf9DRY&playnext=1&list=PL843111ECEA2071BA I demand legal action!