methodwriter85

Well, Los Angeles seems to lean more towards commercial modeling as opposed to high-fashion modeling like New York City, so I would guess Ella might become a teen actress, being in L.A. That could be cool. I'm really interested in seeing how these Claremont kids and California kids interact with each other, as well.

That sounds awesome, James.

Gee, Mark, I can't help but notice that Wally Hayes has a football playin' son who is about the same age of JJ and Will.... Kidding. Actually, it might be good for them to have a Hayes kid in their midst, one who grew up in the blue-collar environment. JJ and his Louis Vuitton handbags might benefit from knowing a rough n tumble football player.

Although this Zach Hayes is 14 and a football player, damn it. Oh, well. At least he's not a kicker.... LOL, j/k, Mark, j/k. In all seriousness, I like Wally and Clara's brood. I like that she doesn't come off as a small-minded woman despite being from a small town, AND that she isn't in the dark about what happened to Robbie in high school. It makes sense that Wally, while not rich or anything, seems to have carved out a decent life for himself. I guess the love of a good woman will do that for a guy from a troubled family.

Chapter 55 -When the gang arrives at the country club, and Brad gives Gathan tips on how to pass muster. "Moon River" piano instrumental Whenever I've been inside a fancy resturant, they always have some guy playing standards on the piano. Maybe some 60's and 70's pop tunes as well. -When the gang discusses the hopes of getting the legislation passed, the plans for Claremont, and the current state of the extended family. "Everybody Knows" by Concrete Blonde -When we meet Wally and Clara, and their big clan of bio and adopted children. "Our House" by Madness

Yeah, I have Van pictured as the jocky blond boy-next-door with a long, Dutch-like face. Chad Faust has that about him. He's good-looking, but not cookie-cutter good-looking, which is also how I picture Van.

I'd say he's more of a contemporary with Matt and Darius, not so much with JJ and Will. This is totally arbitrary, but I see my peers as people born from about 1984 to 1988. I think '82-born people have more in common with people born in 1979 than they would with someone born in 1985/1986. (Somewhere, I know Adam Phillips just punched a hole in the wall. ) Ivy, I had the same reaction, but then I remembered that Robbie and his cousins are all supposed to be really close in age- they all went to high school together. Since Robbie was on the young side to have Matt, I'm assuming it would have been unlikely for his cousin to have a kid in his 20's. Although, whew...he's still too old for Will. Thank god. (Drew was too old for Will as well, but that's water under the bridge.)

I guess that's true, but silbing rivalry isn't always necessarily mean-spirited. Maybe not so much "conflict", but one-upping each other or that kind of thing. He can't really do that with JJ and Will because they're too young, Darius is too laidback and lazy, but I'm thinking it could be funny to watch them compete against each other.

Yeah. I mean, I love callbacks and homages, but I don't want to read Be Rad- The Sequel. I do trust Mark not to repeat himself off, but it's like if he's going to have a Hayes pop up, I like it when the Hayes boy does things we haven't already seen before. That's what I really liked about Matt- Matt being a Hayes in genetics only, he didn't have the baggage of being from a poor, homophobic, effed up family, and there was no obligatory shopping spree trip because Matt was a total rich kid. Don't get me wrong- I do love the Hayes family- but the whole "Crampton/Schluter Kid Falls for the Troubled Hayes Boy" has been done many times over at this point. This isn't bashing the Hayes or Mark's writing at all. I'm totally down for this Gathan character, and I'm hopeful he's going to be representative of a new, different sort of mood to this family, and we'll see these characters exploring roads that haven't already been explored.

Isn't that kinda true for life in general? People come and go in a person's life, sometimes without warning.

The great site where GLBT people shared their stories(inlcuding myself) now has video entries, which are being posted on Youtube. Here's one I really liked: I wish I could have had a retort like that when I was 14/15 years old. That was such a great burn! It really is a great site- I love learning about the varying ways people deal with being GLBT. Which poses a question- I'm curious to know. What age were you when you finally became comfortable with your sexuality, and was there any singular moment where that happened? Or was it a series of long events? For me, it was when I was 17. I had been dealing in varying degrees with my sexuality since coming out to various people at 14 and 15, but I was still at some unease with my sexuality. At the time, there was this popular TV show called Queer As Folk. To me, it seemed to paint a portrait that being gay meant becoming a tweaking circuit boi who had lots of random sex with random strangers, and having to live in some secluded urban gayborhood with the Meat Locker as our hang out. It didn't really appeal to me at all. Then in the winter of '03, I saw a community theater production of the Laramie Project. It was a pretty touching play. Then I walked over to Peace of Pizza on Mainstreet, which was this hippie-themed pizza place. As I was eating, I noticed these two cute college guys. One was this preppy blond wearing a grey turtleneck sweater and a black leather jacket. The other was a skater boy dressed in black. I noticed that on the black knit cap of the skater boy, there was a rainbow mushroom. I got pretty excited because I knew that meant he had to be gay. When those two men leaned over and kissed each other simply on the mouths...god. I had never seen anything like that in my life- all the gay guys I had run into in real life were either circuit bois or screaming queens that starred in the school musicals. Essentially, they were either oversexed like Brian on Queer as Folk or sexless like Jack on Will and Grace. Here were two normal-looking college guys, on a simple pizza date like any other normal, cash-strapped college couple. Gay guys could date. They could be open about being who they were in places other than the Castro District in San Francisco. They didn't have to become tweaking circuit bois if they didn't want to. They didn't have to seclude themselves in gayborhoods- they could be a part of mainstream society, and no one would bat an eye. When I realized that, I realized that I didn't have lose anything or become something I didn't want to be in order to be a gay guy. I've been coming to the realization lately that 17 was on the young side for coming to terms with one's alternative sexuality, and for that which I'm extremely grateful. So anybody want to share a story?

I know, right? Talk about a hunk! The actor is best known for playing Aqua Man on Smallville, but he's also on this Spike TV show called Blue MountainState. He plays this crazy football player- he's actually pretty funny on it. Now for some On the Mark casting... Chad Faust for Van, Mark's best friend?

Hey, it's okay. If I can handle turning 25, you can handle middle age!

Good chapter. I think Gathan could be an interesting character. As long he's not moving to California to fall in love with Will after getting kicked off the football team for being gay, I'm game.

As long as he doesn't move to California so he can fall in love with Will, I'm okay with it. If he winds up going to California so he can have a rivalry with Matt Carrswold, that would actually be cool.

Chapter 54 -When Brad and Robbie try out the new Love Den... "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSbeN5iN-Ew -When the guys get over to Claremont for the town meeting, where Reverend White fills the crowd full of hate. "Hateful Hate" by Natalie Merchant -When we meet Gathan Hayes, who decides to give his prodigal cousin a piece of his mind. "Break Stuff" by Limp Bizkit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i1Hxg_kYVA

Happy birthday.

I'm really excited for you. There are not enough good parents in this world, and I know you'll be one of them.

Model Blake Kneisley for Armand? Or Lou, I think, would work as well. I was thinking Ian Somerhalder for Lou as well, but it seems most people think he'd make a better Jack. After thinking about it, I gotta agree, Ian looks too all-American to pull off being French. I could, however, buy him as a guy from a WASP American family. Ian does make a much better Jack than he would Lou. Armand and Lou should look like gaunt French models. Jack should look like he could have modeled for Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren.

I had bouts with suicidal thoughts all throughout my adolescence. I've always just had this nagging sense that I didn't mean much in terms of the world, and if I killed myself, nobody but maybe my family would miss me.Then when I was 21, I told my RA I was having suicidal thoughts, and I got put into psychiatric in-house. I had reached a point where I felt like life was no longer worth living, because I had killed my future because of this stupid mistake I had made, and since my future self was dead I might as well make my present self dead as well. I had some pretty intense therapy throughout the winter and spring of 2008, and it helped me get to a place where I never thought about it again. Watching the 4th of July fireworks, I just kept thinking, "If I had killed myself, I wouldn't be here to see these beautiful fireworks." That snapped the whole thing in perspective. Also that summer, I told my story to a bunch of people in my class. After the class, an older student came up to me, tears in his eyes, and told me about all of the struggles he's had with depression throughout his adult life, and thanked me for having the courage to talk about it. I was pretty touched, and I like knowing that sharing my story helped someone deal with his own pain. A year later, I had a friend commit suicide. He wasn't a best friend, like what Adam's young friend lost, but he was a friend. I'm still not over it.

Chapter 53 -When Brad confides in Stefan, and confirms their bond to one another. "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick & Friends -When Stefan unveils the Love Den to Brad and Robbie. "What's Your Fantasy?" by Ludacris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_sfny5nqjg

Why would it be? I'm about virginal as you can get without actually being one.

Dragon, I hope you realize I didn't mean to offend you, either. I was just noting that having Brad looking like Aaron Eckhart would be funny, as in a funny situation, because they've met in the story. It'd be like the Patty Duke Show or something. And agreed about Aaron Eckhart there, Sharon. Great-looking guy.

Kinda funny, since Brad met Aaron Eckhart at the New Year's Party.

University of Delaware lost the Division I title game last night at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. We gave up a second-half 19 point lead for Eastern Washington to come back with 20 points. I'm pretty bummed. It would have been great to see UD get a championship. On the bright side, it was great to see the Blue Hens there, and it WAS a great season for UD. But since our quarterback is a senior, it looks like next year's going to be a rebuilding year.