methodwriter85

Follow Me by Uncle Kracka. That song still makes me shudder.

My gut reaction is no, because I'm similiar enough to JJ that I can see how he'd react if he ever found out. JJ would be very hurt becase it's his father and Matt is the new older brother that he's gotten pretty close to in a shorrt time. I think JJ has Matt on a bit of a pedestal, and finding out Matt slept with his dad would devastate him for quite some time.

And while we wait...more future music recomendations from me, ranging from silly pop to angst... "Flavor of the Weak" by American Hi-Fi (2000) "Outside" by Staind (2001) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW0hHjLzABU "Just Like A Pill" by Pink (2002) "Milkshake" by Kelis (2003) This is basically Matt Carrswold's theme. LOL. "California" by Phantom Planet (2003) The O.C. Man. It's the only experience I've had where EVERYONE I knew was watching the same show as I was. It was huge, if only briefly. "Where Is the Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas (2003) I agree with Mark that the Iraq War is going to drive JP INSANE. "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand (2004) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=los6obvBbqU "Float On" by Modest Mouse (2004) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWvh85Qd8us "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani (2005) "When You Were Young" by the Killers (2006) "Glamorous" by Fergie (2007) This is going to be like the perfect theme song for the Cramptons/Schluters. LOL.

It's not so much that I'm really old, per se; I'm just no longer a fresh-faced, spring chicken anymore. 24 is somewhat young, but it's not the same league as being 18-21. 21's the perfect age- you're old enough to drink, but you're still young enough that everything seems open and full of possibilities because your whole life still feels ahead of you. For me, the rule would come out to 19- which seems about right. I don't think I'd go younger than 19.

Okay, early 2012.

I figure there's probably about three or four stories left, which will take us up to present-day and therefore end-time for the CAP saga. Three or four stories...I figure that will take Mark about another year, and then we say good-bye to the Cramptons/Schluters/Hayes for good! Although Mark could concieveably do a story set in ever yeary of this past decade, but I doubt he's going to do that. I mean, there were some really boring years in the 2000's, like 2002 and 2007.

I wouldn't worry too much about that, Rjo. Mark knows that if he killed off Robbie, fellow GA author Adam Phillips would come after him with a machete.

I think there's at least three or four more stories left. I don't think CAP will match current time(which is end time for the saga) 'til like late 2011.

That is an incredibly interesting theory, and one I've never really thought about. When Mark did the Robbie/Matt reunion, there was literally no ill will there- Matt lucked out into this aristrocratic family that are the scions of Shaker Heights. Matt got a far, far better upbrginging than he would have had as the son of two teenage parents. But it would be true to the Hayes form if Robbie still felt a lot of guilt about not being there for Laura and Matt, and knowing that she likely kept the pregnancy secret from him because he got caught being raped by his cousins. I do think the Hayes curse was broken by Marcel and Matt, and was further smashed to pieces by it turning out Aaron Hayes had never actually died, but...you never know.

Matt and Marcel are likely safe from the Hayes curse because they weren't raised as Hayes.

I grew up in north Delaware, which is part of the larger Philadelphia area. What do you expect from a suburban Philly boy, Blue?

That was an awesome post, Tid. I've been thinking a lot lately about getting old- I graduated from college, and I'm hitting the milestone age of 25 pretty soon. On one hand, I'm freaked about getting old, and I can believe how fast my youth went by...it feels like just yesterday I was 19 years old and going to my first college party. It seems crazy that I'll be 25 years old soon- that sounds so grown up and old to me. I miss a good deal of stuff about being young- being able to plow through food like there's no tommorrow, feeling okay about getting rip-roaring drunk, and just the lack of knowledge I had about life when I was 20 that allowed me to go out there and really try things out and see what happened. But...I like being 24 as well and having some good mileage on me now. I know what my limits are, I have a much clearer sense of who I am now than I did at 20, and I don't feel nearly as much of the need to impress people because I wanted them to be my friends. Sometimes I'd give anything to be 19 again. But a lot the times, I'm glad I've had my experiences, and it's worth letting go of my youth to embrace the kind of man I want to be as I get older.

Sometimes it can work, but most of the time, you've got two people in two different life stages, and it doesn't work. Twenty seems reasonable, but forty or fifty years....man...

Good to know that, Mark. I don't know that many middle-class or better kids who didn't have either an X-Box or PS2. I was in the bar tonight, with a band that likes to cover a lot of songs from my youth, and it made of think of songs that I'm pretty much incredibly likely to use, since JJ and Will's growing up soundtrack is bascially the same as mine. Here's a portion of future music recomendations from me, as we see the CAP family navigate the '00s. Runs the gamut of silly pop tunes to serious angst stuff...If you guys have like an hour to kill, give it a listen. LOL. "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park(2000) "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus(2001) "Lose Yourself" by Eminem (2002) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgg04EekxIc "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes(2003) "Stacey's Mom" by Fountains of Waynes (2003) "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers (2004) "Run" by Snow Patrol (2004) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP5j_Q9CZ3w&feature=related "Rain" by Breaking Benajmin (2005) "Where'd You Go" by Fort Minor (2006) "Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn, & John (2006/7) "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (2008) "Circus" by Britney (2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ytM0rl_uU God, "Circus" is going to be SOOOOO perfect for a Crampton gathering. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz (2009) I listen to a really wide range of music. To say the least. LOL. That's going to help me a lot as I'm doing music for this story.

Chapter 16 -When Brad and Tim talk about God. "Counting Blue Cars" by Dishwalla http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AVSF4npeJ8 -When Brad walks in on Will and Drew having oral sex. "Soda Pop" by Britney Spears -When Brad and Will talk about his homosexuality. "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPBlgmEeS1Q -When Brad is too disgusted with Robbie to comfort him over Carson, and wonders if he even wants Robbie back. "Walk On By" by Dionne Warwick

I have to admit, while the "comedy of errors" that lead JP into having sex with Matt was funny, I was also pretty disgusted that a guy in his 60's would have sex with a teenager. Even without knowing that Matt was his grandson, I still think it's gross for an 18-year old to have sex with a 62-year old, even if that 62-year old only looks like he's in his late 40's.

Really? I thought the inherent deal about trophy boyfriends was that they were young, like in their 20's or 30's. I figured the male cougars wouldn't be interested in guys who were 40, because they're too old at that point.

I don't think the Cramptons/Schluters are on the same level as the Bush family, but we are talking an in-state school. Maybe I'm just jealous of how much eaiser it seemed for Darius because it's 1999 and he's only aiming for a UC. Does anyone else remember the line from On The Mark where Mark contemplates going to a state school, and he says "No 'effin' way!" LOL. I do maintain that the college application process gets harder, especially if you're considering a status school. Here's a 2008 article that talks about it: College Admissions Get Tougher Will and JJ are good on the activities, since they're dedicated to a sport and that generally trumps being in a ton of activites, but they'll have to start doing volunteer work, and find activities that put them into leadership roles. And maybe Will can spend summer 2004 building houses for Habitat for Humanity or working with the group that Isidore works with, Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

I don't think Lark is a bad guy...I just think he's a guy who got so used to everything being handed to him that he just refused to grow up and become a functioning adult.

I'm assuming Lark will be the boyfriend of any rich dude or lady who will pay his way. Although with him getting closer to 40, I'm guessing Lark's days of being a boy toy are coming to a close and he's trying to figure out a way to secure money for him to live on.

So you're basically saying that the California state admissions process is much, much easier if you're only aiming for a UC or a Cal State? Hmm. That's pretty interesting. I guess Darius's laidback attitude makes sense after all! Startling contrast compared to the nerve-wracking East Coast admissions process, which is pretty cutt-throat. The thing is though, I'm guessing Darius's grades aren't around a 3.5 to 3.6, but more like a 2.9 to 3.1...remember, Darius grimaced a little when talking about his grades. But I guess the good SAT should get him through to some good schools. My guess with Darius is that he's going to end up in law, maybe go to a UC or a Cal State, and then maybe go to Tulane University or something for law school As for Will...hmm. I think it all depends on what Will is interested in besides surfing. I do think he's got to have the Ivy League potentional like his father, and it would seem weird that in this generation the only Ivy League-ish person was Matt. It would feel weird if there wasn't at least one academic among Brad and Robbie's kids, considering both were Ivy League. I would assume that Will would probably sacrifice a surfing club/sport if it meant going to Yale or something. We don't know yet what Will is into besides surfing, which is understandable since we're talking a 7th grader. I do think it would be some kind of science- possibly environmental science or bio. JJ is the one that seems destined to leave California....most likely end up in a school in Colorado, the mid-West, or the East Coast. That's where the best college figure skating programs are.

Yeah, Will and JJ are my age...I was 13 in 1999 as well. I consider basically anyone born from 1984 to 1988 my contemporaries, i.e. the class of 2002 to the class of 2006. It's easy to forget that this is 1999 though- it's easy to forget that Will would be 23 and JJ would be 24 if they were in real time instead of CAP time. You know, I have an e-friend who is about the same age of Matt- I think the biggest different between people who are Matt's age and people who are JJ's age is that kids JJ's age were going online in middle school and had their first cell phones in middle school, whereas people Matt's age did so in high school. A subtle difference, but it makes a big difference, I think. I don't think they'll become computer nerds, but going online became less and less of a nerdy thing as my high school years(2001-2005) unfolded.. We talked to our school friends online, usually with AIM, used Google a lot, and I remember Live Journal being pretty popular. Tthe gaming stuff is especially big- basically most guys Will and JJ's age play video games, with Halo, Madden NFL, Grand Theft Auto, and Call of Duty standing out as the big ones. I'm not big on video games, but I especially remember the fall of 2005, when EVERY guy on my freshmen dorm was playing Halo. Or poker. That's another one- poker, especially Texas Hold 'Em, just explodes in popularity with that group of guys. And yeah, I got that Marshall Mathers thing mixed up. Oopps. I was thinking of the cd with "My Name Is" on it. Oh, well. Some other trends I forgot to mention....wifebeaters, emo kids, straight-edge kids, the urban hipsters, pucca shell necklaces, 80's Adidas throwback sneakers, hemp bracelets, and anklets, Pumas sneakers, and lots and lots of flip-flops. I also remember Birkenstocks becoming HUGE in 2004-ish...all of the preppy kids I knew were wearing Birkenstocks. Guys generally wear baggy jeans or cargo shorts that hit past the knee, which is in stark contrast to the tight jeans and short shorts that guys in Mark/Brad's generation dressed in. By about 2005, jeans started to get tighter again, but they were "tight" as in guys started wearing jeans that weren't actually about to fall off their ass. If you were a self-declared "metrosexual" or you were emo, you wore tighter jeans, which were often actually girl-cut jeans. And it's only recently that I've started to see guys in this age group wear shorts that actually go above the knee. Another trend I noticed was that the short and spiky 'do of circa 2000 seemed to give way to longer, more naturally styled hair by about 2003-ish....I remember feathered hair among guys making a comeback, especially with guys who were like surfers or lacrosse players.There was also the emo look with longer hair as well. Or guys went the other direction and completely shaved their heads ala Wentworth Miller or Channing Tatum. There seemed to be less of a middle ground, I think.

Hmm, that's a good point. But I do remember that in 2004-2005, when I was a senior in high school, it seemed almost mandatory that you had to take AP Classes, and that they were like taking honors classes. I knew a lot of kids who went to this really competitive charter school, and they were taking a lot of AP courses. I think this was just before the backlash against AP classes started happening with colleges. I knew a good amount of kids who started college as sophomores because of all the AP credit. Hell, I only took two classes, and I was able to take sophomore history and english classes my freshmen year. Will's also going to have to start doing volunteer work when he starts high school- maybe do a summer with Habitat for Humanity or something. I like the idea of Will working at the mission. He can write essays about how much working with homeless kids made him appreciate his own lot in life. And being a competitve surfer DOES make him stand out- admissions like kids who specialized in some kind of talent rather than just doing a whole bunch of extracurriculars without taking leadership roles. I think Brad is going to be shocked at how much more competitive the college admissions process is going to be for JJ and Will than it was for him. It would have been much, much harder for Brad to have gotten into Yale in 2004 as opposed to 1981, especially since Brad didn't seem to have much in the way of extracurriculars or volunteer work. There are some factors to that- there was high birtthrate in the mid/late 1980's, and more and more people are getting pushed into going into college because having a B.A. is becoming increasingly mandatory for a good job. That means there's a more applicants for a limited number of spots, and in the 2000's it seemed to get ever more fierce. Did anyone else kinda find Darius's incredibly laidback approach to getting into college kind of shocking? I mean, he doesn't have to be an Ivy Leaguer, but is a really good school still going to accept a guy who is not a sport prospect with so-so-grades, a good SAT score, but who seems to have a lack of extracurriculars and volunteer work? Were UC Berkely and UCLA really that easy to get into in 1999 that someone like Darius could have gotten in? I'm saying this as someone who went through this process in fall 2004, as opposed to fall 1999 like Darius. Did the college application process really get that much tougher in only five years?

The lesbian couple who led the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts got divorced. Sometimes I think people got to look long and hard for what they're fighting for...

Here's what I see as some of the big things that JJ and Will come of age with: Music: Blink 182, Eminem, Good Charlotte, Brand New, Linkin Park, 50 Cent, The White Stripes, Timbaland, Kanye West, The Killers, Snow Patrol, My Chemical Romance, prolly a lot more. TV: South Park, 24, Jack-Ass, the Osbournes, Family Guy, the O.C., Lost, House, The Chapelle Show, Flavor of Love and other really bad VH1 dating shows Movies: Fight Club, American Pyscho, Van Wilder, Old School, The Forty-Year Old Virgin, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Wedding Crashers, 300, Borat, Superbad, The Hangover, Inglorious Basterds Misc Trends: Razor Scooters, 80's parties and dances, pajama bottoms to school, Timbalands, Trucker hats, popped collars, Halo, Guitar Hero, Livestrong bracelets, Live Journal, Myspace, Facebook, drunken texting, YouTube, Parkour videos Lots more, I'm sure, anyone who was born in the general mid/late-1980's and went to an American high school in the early/mid-2000's, let me know if I'm missing anything.