methodwriter85

I guess the kids could have friends that went to Iraq. I think most of us have had at least one friend go there. If Mark's going to do the story, he needs to get at it from both sides. Although I could, as mentioned before, see Lou becoming a war correspondent for CNN in Iraq. It would be a big career boster for Lou, and I could see Lou doing somethign crazy like that. He's not much for settling down roots.

Every story has an ending- and it looks there will be at least three more stories after the Box. Maybe even four. Mark Arbour is going to milk this last decade for every cent its worth. LOL. I think one of either Brad or Claire's kids should go into Iraq. Or maybe Ace- I could see Ace being someone motivated by 9/11 to join the army and fight in Aghanistan. Mark mentioned in another thread how much JP will be frustrated with the utter lack of anti-war activism. That will be interesting to watch. I'm really, really interested in how Will and JJ develop as they get into their teen years and eventual college years. They're contemporaries for me, so I'll be keeping a close on on Mark to make sure he gets things right. Like the Adderall stuff and the like.

And what a journey it's been! Just think- CAP was going to be a standalone story until I suggested you do a sequel taking the characters to 1968.

You're now referring to yourself in 3rd person? Geez. Anyways, you're right about that. I started college in 2005, when the war was still fairly new, and I remember the bitching by the Vietnam-era professors about the lack of campus activism. There was some stuff- I took part in an Iraq war "die-in", but for the most part..it didn't materialize. My co-horts, which I suppose includes JJ, Marie, Will, and John- we were much more interested in downloading from Itunes for our Ipods or interacting on Facebook. I fully expect JP Crampton will be fully baffled by Generation Y's lack of protesting the Iraq War. The fact that there's no draft really lowered the sense of urgency about Iraq for my generation- no one was afraid of being sent there, and thus a lot of us weren't moved to protest. Just remember though- Matt and Wade are graduating from college in 2002, so they won't be around for J.P. to vent his frustrations on when the Iraq War starts in '03.

Mark will probabaly write about three more stories after the Box.

Good choice. I almost picked the Young and Restless theme for the scene in The Box where Nick tries to challenge Stefan about the contents of the trunk, but I decidedly that ultimately the Dallas theme fits better because of the power struggle that the show was about. (Not that I really watched the show- it's just what I heard. I was a Dynasty guy. I long to get into a catfight in a pond.)

In a broader sense, AIDS had two social effects in the 1980's. The first was that AIDS was held up by evangelicals as God's will and punishment for those gays leading their hedonistic society, as well as the other people who had played part in the late 1970's anything-goes disco era. It created this sort of backlash against homosexuals in society- things had begun to improve after Stonewall in 1969, but with the advent of AIDS wiping out gays like a plague, it was easy to create an overwhelming sense of hatred for gays in society during the 80's. I would say the height of homophobia in this country was really the 1980's- I mean, homosexuality was always frowned upon and gay people were bashed or sent to jail, but I think homophobia was at its most openly visceral in the 1980's because of the resurgence of conservatism and the prevailing notion that gay people were getting AIDS because they deserved it. It wasn't until we got to circa 1987 with Indiana teen Ryan White that people began to understand that it wasn't just gay people who were getting the disease. Still, even then, poor Ryan White had to deal with being called derogatory names for gay people and the like. But the other effect that AIDS had was that it galvanized the gay community to really come together and look for a cure and better treatment. It made homosexuality more out in the open than it ever had been, and with Rock Hudson's death in 1985, people were really starting to open their eyes and discuss their feelings about homosexuality. It was bad for the gay community in the short-term, but in the long-term, I think AIDS gave the gay community a common purpose to rally around- and in turn, it would set the seeds for the wave of 90's gay activism that created a lot of good things for us.

To be honest, I think 9/11 basically killed any chance there would be of commerical flying cars. It's too much of a security risk. Too many people would be worried about some crazy terrorist driving a car full of dirty bombs into a skyscraper. The Austin case demonstrated the kind of damage that can be done even with small aircraft.

Had this song come out in 1981 instead of 1982, I would have used this for Claire in Be Rad. I suppose I can use this for Claire in Man In Motion, although she had slightly matured. Still, once a mall rat, always a mall rat. Anyways...to Claire Crampton Hobart- the ultimate mall rat! Valley Girl by Frank and Moon Zappa Valley Girl She's a Valley Girl Valley Girl She's a Valley Girl Okay, fine Fer sure, fer sure She's a Valley Girl In a clothing store Okay, fine... Fer sure, fer sure She's a Valley Girl In a clothing store Like, OH MY GOD! (Valley Girl) Like - TOTALLY (Valley Girl) Encino is like SO BITCHEN (Valley Girl) There's like the Galleria (Valley Girl) And like all these like really great shoe stores I love going into like clothing stores and stuff I like buy the neatest mini-skirts and stuff It s like so BITCHEN cuz like everybody's like Super-super nice It's like so BITCHEN On Ventura, there she goes She just bought some bitchen clothes Tosses her head 'n flips her hair She got a whole bunch of nothin in there Anyway, he goes are you into S and M? I go, oh RIGHT . Could you like just picture me in like a LEATHER TEDDY Yeah right, HURT ME, HURT ME... I'm sure! NO WAY! He was like freaklng me out... He called me a BEASTIE... That's cuz like he was totally BLITZED He goes like BAG YOUR FACE! I'm sure! Valley Girl She's a Valley Girl Valley Girl She's a Valley Girl Okay, fine... Fer sure, fer sure She's a Valley Girl So sweet 'n pure Okay, fine Fer sure, fer sure She's a Valley Girl So sweet 'n pure It's really sad (Valley Girl) Like my English teacher He's like (Valley Girl) He's like Mr. BU-FU (Valley Girl) We're talking Lord God King BU-FU (Valley Girl) I am SO SURE He's like so GROSS He like sits there and like plays with all his rings And he like flirts with all the guys in the class It's like totally disgusting I'm like so sure It's like BARF ME OUT... Gag me with a spoon! Last idea to cross her mind Had something to do with where to find A pair of jeans to fit her butt And where to get her toenails cut So like I go into this like salon place, y'know And I wanted like to get my toenails done And the lady like goes, oh my God, your toenails Are like so GRODY It was like really embarassing She's like OH MY GOD, like BAG THOSE TOENAILS I'm like sure... She goes, uh, I don't know if I can handle this, y'know... I was like really embarassed.. . Valley Girl She's a Valley Girl Valley Girl She's a Valley Girl Okay, fine Fer sure, fer sure She's a Valley Girl And there is no cure Okay, fine Fer sure, fer sure She's a Valley Girl And there is no cure Like my mother is like a total space cadet (Valley Girl) She like makes me do the dishes and (Valley Girl) CLEAN the cat box (Valley Girl) I am sure That's like GROSS (Valley Girl) BARF OUT! (Valley Girl) OH MY GOD (Valley Girl Hi! Uh-huh (Valley Girl) My name? My name is Ondrya Wolfson (Valley Girl) Uh -huh That's right, Ondrya (Valley Girl) Uh -huh... I know (Valley Girl) It's like... I do not talk funny... I'm sure (Valley Girl) Whatsa matter with the way I talk? (Valley Girl) I am a VAL, I know But I live in like in a really good part of Encino so it's okay (Valley Girl) So like, I don't know I'm like freaking out totally Oh my God! Hi - I have to go to the orthodontist I'm getting my braces off, y'know But I have to wear a retainer That's going to be really like a total bummer I'm freaking out I'm SURE Like those things that like stick in your mouth They're so gross... You like get saliva all over them But like, I don't know, it's going to be cool, y'know So you can see my smile It'll be like really cool Except my like my teeth are like too small But NO BIGGIE... It's so AWESOME It's like TUBULAR, y'know Well, I'm not like really ugly or anything It's just like I don't know You know me, I'm like into like the clean stuff Like PAC-MAN and like, I don't know Like my mother like makes me do the dishes It's like so GROSS. . . Like all the stuff like sticks to the plates And its like, it's like somebody elses food, y'know It's like GRODY... GRODY TO THE MAX I'm sure It's like really nauseating Like BARF OUT GAG ME WITH A SPOON GROSS I am SURE TOTALLY

Chapter 6 -When Steven and Aaron repair their friendship. "Nobody Knows When You're Down and Out" by Bessie Smith -When Aaron gets Steven to start double-dating with him. "Let's Not Talk About Love" by Betty Hutton http://www.youtube.c...h?v=4Ocp4yO6BjY -When Steven and Aaron have sex at the cabin again. "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" by Duke Ellington

I did music for the Land Whore a while back. Here's a song that I think does a great job of summing up that early/mid-70's era: This was written with 1970's Britain in mind, but it could easily apply to what happened to America in the 1970's.

Chapter 5 -When Billy and J.P. get sloshed in New York, and Billy confides that his upcoming child isn't really his. "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=201Joshj6AQ -When J.P. decides to mess around with his cousin Billy, to comfort him for a wife who's likely pregnant with another man's child. "Let Me Entertain You" by Natalie Wood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOzrZIhIxlo -When J.P. anxiously waits around for word on whether or not he got the job at Northwestern. "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes

But she's not actually pregnant for 13 months- for the period between the miscarriage and conception of the next baby, she's not pregnant. It's impossible to be pregnant with a live baby for 13 months, although it's possible for the baby to die in utero, and then stay there for years as calcified remains.

I ate disco fries last night. Yum.

Yeah. And note that Tonto forgave JP after she caught Stefan in bed with his math tutor or whatever and realized that Stefan was no innocent.

Chapter 5 -When the gang lies out on the beach, and debate about what family Aaron belongs to. "I Want Candy" by the Strangeloves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dypR60Du16o -When Steven comforts Billy, who's worried. "God Bless The Child" by Billie Holiday http://www.youtube.c...h?v=vqaFkC0EMmQ -When Steven gets into the fight with Aaron at the party. "T'aint What You Do" by Jimmy Lunceford -When Steven and Aaron talk, but are unsure of whether or not they will ever be friends like they used to be. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland http://www.youtube.c...h?v=AKIjsWUbhVM

Again, I think Tonto was more freaked out about that fact that JP was 26 years old, while Stefan was 16. In most states, that would get a guy sent to jail. She didn't know Stefan well enough yet to know that Stefan was far from being inexperienced, and Tonto was worried that Stefan was being taken advantage of by an older man. I mean, I know that if I had a 16-year old in my care, and they were messing with a guy who was pushing 30, I would be freaked out as well.

It was originally a 12-month pregnancy- March 1962 to March 1963. Not quite as bad as the other elephant-like gestation period you've written.

I've finally found a decent link to Man in Motion by John Parr. For all you whippersnappers who weren't even a gleam in their daddy's eye in 1985, Man in Motion was the theme song to a well-known movie called St. Elmo's Fire, which followed a group of Georgetown University graduates as they struggled with the start of adulthood. It's the inspiration behind the title of Mark's story, Man in Motion. *states the obvious* Man in Motion by John Parr Growin' up, you don't see the writing on the wall Passin' by, movin' straight ahead, you knew it all But maybe sometime if you feel the pain You'll find you're all alone, everything has changed Play the game, you know you can't quit until it's won Soldier on, only you can do what must be done You know in some way you're a lot like me You're just a prisoner and you're tryin' to break free I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin' sky I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire Burning up, don't know just how far that I can go (just how far I go) Soon be home, only just a few miles down the road I can make it, I know I can You broke the boy in me, but you won't break the man I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin' sky I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire I can climb the highest mountain, cross the wildest sea I can feel St. Elmo's Fire burnin' in me, burnin' in me Just once in his life a man has his time and my time is now, I'm coming alive I can hear the music playin', I can see the banners fly Feel like you're back again, and hope ridin' high Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin' sky I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire I can climb the highest mountain, cross the wildest sea I can feel St. Elmo's Fire burnin' in me Burnin', burnin' in me, I can feel it burnin' Oooh, burnin' inside of me... (to fade) *** When Mark was telling me about the story idea he had about Brad as a senior in college in 1985, I thought that Man in Motion was a fitting song. It really does do a good job of describing where Brad was at in his life at the age of 23.

I'm not the one writing the proposed story- it would be a very sexy friend of mine who's a total DILF. He's got an idea to send a character to the Olympics. But it wouldn't be the future Olympics- prolly set at the 2006 Olympics.

So it's late teens to about 24/25? Then yeah- for someone born in 1985, their Olympic Cycles would be for the 2006 and 2010 Olympics. It's kinda funny- had this character been born in 1983 instead of 1985, he probably could have competed in '02, '06, and '10. It's amazing what a different two years can make. Thanks for the help, Daisy. You gave a lot of great insight. I have a friend who skates with the University of Delaware, which has a good (but apparently decling) figure skating club, but I'm too lazy to call her up. LOL. Daisy, do you know what other areas aside from UD are known to have really good figure skating programs? Any in California?

Thanks. You did. So it sounds like it would be possible for my friend's character to still attend regular high school while training for the Olympics, and also attend college. It doesn't sound like the crazy schedule that gymnasts have. And I guess the '06 Olympics works fine- not only do you get Apollo Ohno, but Jeremy Bloom as well. *drool* But at 24, would he still realistically be able to compete at the Olympics of 2010? And what about the Olympics of 2014, when he's 28? What's the "prime" physical age for male figure skaters? Anyone else wanna weigh in?

I do the offical music recs, but I've gotten a couple of comments from people who've wanted to post music they like that makes them think of the story. I thought this would be an unofficial thread for people to do that. There's only one rule, though- a music recomendation you make CAN'T be a song that was released after the story takes place. If you're recomending a song for Man In Motion, you can't recomend a song that came out after 1986. If you're recomending a song for That Land Whore, you can't use a song that came out after 1974. So no use of Miley Cyrus *looks pointedly at Mark M* for any of the stories so far, since we've only gotten as far as 1999 in the CAP saga. That said, if you would like to use a song that came out well BEFORE a story takes- like say, using a 1971 song like Baba O'Riley for the Who to score a scene from the 1980-1981 set Be Rad, that is perfectly okay. You just can't use Hungry Like the Wolf for a Be Rad scene, since that is a 1982 song. I'll start. Here's a song from 1986: Human by The Human League The song makes me think of Robbie and Brad's up-and-down relationship in Be Rad.

Hey, I have a friend who's thinking about having a character become a famous figure skater. So I'm curious about the world of figure skating, and have some questions. 1. What are practices like, and how long are they? Is someone who is training for the Olympics able to attend high school/college, or would they have to get a tutor because the training is all day? 2. The character was born in late 1985. That means they will be 16 years old for the 2002 Olympics- is it common for a 16-year old male to be in a figure skating competition for the Olympics? He'll also be 20 in 2006, and 24 in 2010. Would 2006 and 2010 be his main Olympic cycles, or would he have a shot at the 2014 Olympics as a 28-year old? Is 28 "over the hill" in terms of male figure skaters? 3. What is the ideal height and weight for a male figure skater? If a male figure skater suddenly went through a 3-inch growth spurt that also packed on about 15 to 20 pounds of muscle, would that completely throw him off? Are eating disorders a common enough occurence among male figure skaters? 4. What are the sorts of injuries that are common to figure skaters, and what would be the career-ending injuries? 5. Does California have any prestigious figure skating programs at the college level, or would someone serious about figure skating be more likely to move to a place like Colorado or something? Is there a state that is known to have a plethora of top-notch skating programs/ Thanks, you guys would really help.

Chapter 4 -When Steven finds Tonto having sex...with a woman! "Kiss the Boys Goodbye" by Anne Shelton -When Steven and Aaron have sex with each other during a weekend at his family's lake cabin. "Racing With the Moon" by Vaughn Monroe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6dehBW_U0k