methodwriter85

It's not that I don't like Cody. I just can see why someone wouldn't like him, because Cody is pretty one-dimensional. And Max and Tim do make sense. I keep forgetting that Max is only 34 or 35, meaning he's still plenty young enough to start a family. I picture the two living in some nice house in the suburbs, raising a family. I think if Stefan and Greg had been about a decade or two younger, the thought would have crossed their mind to have kids, but that wasn't really something gay guys in that generation considered as an option. My bet is that when Wade and Matt hit their 30's and if they're still together, they'll totally have kids. I can see Matt and Wade being good fathers when they grow up, I think. That's probably something we should see in CAP world- the rise of gay men raising children together without the sort of arrangement that JP had with Isidore or Brad had with Jeanine.

Right, but you've got to admit Mark, you're done a better job with periphereal characters. Brad was a pretty compellling character even as a child, and you've shaped Will and JJ into pretty compelling characters without giving them more storytime than they should have. The same goes for Lou and to some extent, Max. I think the problem with Cody is that we already know what he's going to do when he shows up in the story- he's going to offer advice to (insert whoever is the lead protagonist), he's going to sleep with them, and then they become fun buddies with some deep affection. That pattern has held true through three stories- If It Fits, Bloodlines, and now Millenium. I'm not saying we should suddenly get a lot of Cody so you can explore his pysche, but it'd be nice if Cody did something that we didn't expect. Right now I totally expect him to sleep with Matt when we go back to Matt, and then later on sleep with Will when he's 18 in 2004. He's basically like a sex toy that gets passed around by the protagonists. I know that's harsh and sounds judgemental as hell, but is it honestly an unfair impression?

Why don't you like Cody? I'm kinda curious. I gotta admit, I feel like Cody is a cipher character, and doesn't really have a purpose except to offer encouragement and hot sex to whoever is the lead protagonist of the moment. I'd be shocked if Cody doesn't wind up sleeping with Will when he's 18 and a lead character, because that's how predictable Cody is. I wouldn't say I dislike the character, but I can see why a person wouldn't like him. Cody started off as kind of a cool character, with his "seer" stuff, but that's tapered off and he's become a pretty stagnant character since about "Bloodlines".

There's a minor goof in this chapter- Brad refers to JJ as being 13, but it's actually his fourteenth birthday. Although that could be a goof reflecting on Brad. I remember my own 14th birthday- I threw a hissyfit because my sister got me a Tommy Hilfiger starter jacket. I could not stand Tommy Hilfiger clothing, at all, because I associated them with the wannabe gangster thugs at my middle school who were total jerks. That's the last big birthday hissyfit I remember having over gifts. I'm in the same class as them- class of 2005. Using that as a rule of thumb, I'd say JJ and Will go through stuff like seeing Uggs, trucker hats, the rise of Hollister, Birkenstocks, early use of Ipods and camera phones around 11th grade, the Emo kids, the Livestrong bracelets. And of course they'll remember big events like 9/11, which hits during 9th grade, gay marriage in Mass coming in during 11th grade, as well as the Asian tsunami, which hits during senior year. And they'll be using the internet much more than even Matt did- LiveJournal and Friendster were the big things before Myspace and Facebook hit. Personal-wise, JJ is going to be chasing Olympic Gold. He could try for the '02 Olympics in Salt Lake City, although it's unlikely because he's only 16 and prime Olympic male figure skaters tend to be more around 21-ish. So '06 is probably the year for JJ to hit the Winter Olympics. I'm positive that when the '06 Olympics are done, JJ is going to go absolutely wild in Italy. One thing that will be interesting is that, Claire and Brad and the Be Rad generation were so extremely preppy. This generation generally isn't- preppy stuff like Hollister or AF is still pretty laidback compared to the kind of preppy that Claire and Brad dressed in. I can already see Claire cringing at the kind of clothes that Will dresses in.

Chapter 31 -When Brad and Cody confide in each other after Brad's latest fight with Robbie, who is off seeking some space to cool down. "Get It Together" by 702 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvEAaRILIU0 -When Jeanine and Brad talk, and she reveals that she's with Tiffany now. "She Has A Girlfriend Now" by Reel Big Fish -When Jeanine tells Brad that they're considering pulling JJ out of school so he can train for the Olympics. Practice Footage of Gold Medalist Ilia Kulik at the 1998 Nagano Olympics JJ has about two years to get to this level if he wants to be at the '02 Olympics. We'll see if that happens. Although it's generally rare to be 16 and at the Olympic Level for men's figure skating, apparently. '06 is more likely.

No, it definitely wasn't you. JJ seemed a little prissy to me as well. JJ is actually pretty similiar to my personality type- I'm a pretty cheerful and resillient guy, but JJ seemed a little prissier than I was at his age. I think we both have not taking school seriously in common, though. Right. Mark can't really use the angst of coming out or a first love for when he gets around to making Will a lead, because Will's already dealt with all that at the age of 13. He's gotta come up with other ways of making Will and JJ entertaining and captivating when it comes time for "Malibu High Circa 2004".

I'm getting the distinct feeling that Will and JJ aren't going to be as low-maintainance as Darius was for their teenage years.

So Sister #3 told Sister #1 that I got money from our mother. I got an extremely nasty voicemail from my sister about how I need to stop accepting money from Mom, because I'm too old to do so and I need to support myself. You would think she would have a point, except 1.) the only reason I need money from Mom at all is because my mom used my credit cards for things like keeping on the utilities- nearly everything on my card comes from that, it's why I have to pay 300 dollars a month, and that is why my mom sends me money to pay for it, and 2.) my sister who sent me that nasty voicemail was living with us for very little money when she was bouncing between jobs at the age of 24 to 26. She has no room to speak at all. Sister #3 complains about the power being cut off at the house, but that sure didn't seem to stop her from going on multiple trips to Syracuse, Washington State, and the Outerbanks while not giving any kind of rent money to Mom. And it's somehow my fault that the power got cut off at the house, because of 75 dollars my mom sent to me. Right. I am starting to think that getting away from home for grad school instead of staying close by is the best decision I've made in my life.

Chapter 30 -When Brad tries to process the way he treats Robbie and Jeanine. "Never Ever" by All Saints -When Brad goes on defensive, and they almost get into a fight. "I Do" by Lisa Loeb -When they decide to forget about the fight and have rough sex instead. "Love Song" by The Cure -When Brad ponders if soul mates really exist, admits that love might not be enough to keep them together, and Robbie sadly agrees with him. "Losing My Religion" by REM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if-UzXIQ5vw&ob=av2n

Mark's stated that Brad is the most like him, personality and emotion-wise. You're totally dissing Arbour there, Hoskins.

Apparently my sister is still bitching about the fact that I went to IUP instead of University of Delaware, because it's so expensive to go out-of-state, blah blah blah. She bitched about my low GPA is keeping me from going to UD, which would have been so much cheaper. Except not. University of Delaware eliminated in-state tuition for the graduate school program during the 2009-2010 school year. I would have been paying $24k a year for 2010-2011, and that would have been without living on-campus. Here at IUP, I'm playing 20k a year, and that's including housing and board. God, sometimes I really wish my sister would shut the hell up about my own life and focus on hers, like the fact that she's a single mother using WIC because she had unprotected sex with her cokehead boyfriend that predictably doesn't pay a lick of child support. Or the fact that she's spent ten years trying to get a BA because she got kicked out of UD her junior year in '03, and they only recently accepted her back in as a continuing ed student. I mean, I love my family, but god I am so glad I'm away from them. Exactly 1 of my 3 siblings refrain from bringing up what a lazy disapointment I am. Adam, why the hell couldn't I have gotten the Leave It To Beaver family you got? Damn it. LOL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JEWNkb18HY

I don't see marriage happening for me, either, but I do think that it should be there for the people who want to do it. Though frankly, a lot of people get married who shouldn't have gotten married.

I just ran into this song that I remember absolutely loving when I was 18.... Mark, can we get Will celebrating his 18th birthday in Amsterdam so I can use this song? Please? *hopeful puppy dog face* LOL, j/k. Actually I'm pretty sure this song is really about a guy with a girlfriend who's addicted to drugs.

I gotta admit, I really do love how Brad's high school years came back to haunt him. I mean, who hears of a guy who carries a torch so much that he plays the woman scorned 19 years later? Geez.

Former boybander Rich Cronin died yesterday of a stroke after a long battle with leukemia. He's best-known for his 1999 hit song Summer Girls with his boyband LFO. R.I.P. Rich Cronin Pretty sad. He did put in a really good fight, though. On a shallow note, in his prime...I thought he was so hot. is a cheesy pop song, yes, but it really does make me smile when I listen to it...simpler, easier times then, I think.

Thank you.

Will coming out at the age of 13 is going to make high school so much less angstier for him. He's not going to have to worry about the coming-out issues that Brad dealt with, because it's twenty years later, Malibu High is generally accepting(according to a student who goes there), and because Will never tried to play being straight. It reminds me of this article I read: Easy Out- Coming out in High School Becoming Easier That'll be interesting for Mark to do- Mark's never really had protagonists that didn't struggle with their sexuality and coming out. Even Matt, who's only six years older than Will, had to struggle a bit- that's how fast things changed, I think. For Will, his high school angst will look a lot like the high school angst of straight students- grades, college stuff, and how to ask out someone you like. JJ's angst is going to be that stuff, but also pursuing Winter Olympic Gold as well on top of that. There's A LOT of angst to be plumbed in that kind of world, not mention when JJ realizes his biographical origins. I think JJ's teen angst will likely edge out Will's. I'm really looking forward to stories with JJ and Will as the lead, I think. Although I think we need another Matt story.

Chapter 29 -When Brad tells Robbie about the other men in his life. "Are You Strong Enough To Be My Man" 1998 Live Version by Sheryl Crow and Stevie Knicks -When Robbie tells Brad that he doesn't feel needed, and Jeanine feels undermined by the way Brad takes control at the house. "One" by Aimee Mann -When Robbie argues that Brad's terms are unfair, and Brad explains why they are, and another month is added to the experiment. "Human" by The Human League http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjG-AE6tuqo&feature=channel When I first heard this song at an 80's bar, I remember thinking it really fit Brad and Robbie in "Man In Motion" well. I guess you can say this fits them during this story as well.

Mark, I guess we're trying to scratch our head and figure out where Billy went wrong, and why Ace had these rage issues for awhile. Maybe it's not all to blame with the parents, but yeah. Brad's issues seem to be basically based on his early childhood. The general point is that this current trio of brothers seem much more grounded and nicer, and not as angsty. I wonder if it's because Jeanine(with some help from Brad and Robbie) parented Darius, Will, and JJ well, or it's because they just naturally lucked out into great kids. I'm also curious to see how you're going to find dramatic tension with such laidback kids when the time comes.

Well, I do think part of the problem was that JP, Sam, and Isidore were really permissive parents who let the kids do whatever they wanted. Brad had issues that were beyond JP's control, but Ace and Billy had behavior problems as well. Sometimes when you keep giving in and letting a kid do whatever they want, they don't learn limits and they don't see themselves going over the edge until its too late. Be Rad was mostly Brad's coming-of-age story, but it was also a story about the tensions and sometimes tragic results that can come from intense sibling rivalry. I know I'm getting ahead of myself yet again, but it'll be interesting to see how Mark crafts a story with this generation because it lacks the tensions that the previous one had. I'm sure Mark will figure out how to cook up dramatic conflict for Darius, JJ, and Will- but it can't really be the same kind of conflict that was at the heart of Be Rad. First, because they're different people, but also because these kids don't really have the same kind of baggage or personality problems that the Be Rad group had.

Despite all the shit I've given Mark about how traumatized I think these kids are going to be about Brad and Robbie playing musical beds, I actually think the kids will be fine. I don't see Darius, JJ, and Will running into the same kind of problems that Brad, Ace, and Billy did. All of them come across as pretty nice kids- JJ is somewhat stuck-up when it comes to hockey players, but in general they're laidback people who don't walk around like they own the world. Will does not seem to have inherited Brad's quick temper, and Darius has Ace's joviality without Ace's uncontrollable rage issues. Will also does not have the same kind of baggage that Brad had about coming out- with Will we're seeing a symbol of a new generation of gay men who were out by early puberty and never really experienced being in the closet. That especially is going to make a big difference, I think. Also, these guys come off as really protective and close of one another- the bonds between the previous three brothers just felt so much more tenuous. I think it would take A LOT to break apart the bond between Darius/JJ/Will. I get the feeling that, before all this stuff went down, Brad and Robbie were generally good parents with Jeanine really keeping the kids grounded. Or maybe they just lucked into really good kids. In any event, I really feel glad that Mark is writing the sibling dynamic of Darius/JJ/Will completely different from the way he wrote Brad/Ace/Billy. So much of the conflict of Be Rad was about the way sibling rivalry tore at the three brothers. It was great to read, but I don't really want a repeat, you know? I trust when Mark gets around to it, he'll craft a story about these three brothers in a new, fresh way that will be interesting to read, but in a completely different way from Be Rad.

Well, it didn't make it here, and the story is news to us, and I think it's a cool one.

I got this idea from Dom Luka's board. Mark generally has models for his characters- Tony Dow is the basis for the Hayes look, for example- but I thought it might be interesting to ask how YOU picture the characters. I'll start. Actor Ryan Devlin is how I picture Mark in On the Mark. Of course, at this point he's too old to play teenaged Mark, but I think he'd be a damn good mid-20's to early 30's Mark. I've got Mark pictured as having a narrow, triangular face that's cute, very whitebread, and endearingly dorkly. So, any of you have an actor or a model that you've pictured as one of the characters in Mark's stories?

Kind of a stark contrast to Brad's fictional coming-out in 1980 Gun High, huh?