methodwriter85

You are really goddamn obdurate, Enric.

It's not that far-fetched at all. My sister Jennifer and our cousin Stacey were both born in 1977. And I'm about the same age as my cousin Heather. And it's something that will continue in the series- J.J. Schluter, Will Schluter, Marie Hobart, and John Hobart were all born in a span between December 1985 to March 1987. Forget a pair- the cousins are a quad, all within a year-and-half of each other. (And before you bitch about the implausibility of Marie and John Horbart being born just 11 months apart, it's been a regular enough occurence for two siblings to be born less than a year after each other that it's called the Irish Twin.) Jim's age was never really that concrete in CAP, so Mark is allowed room to clarify it through this prequel. I think it works out fine that Jim is a contemporary of Steven. While I agree that it's unusual for Jim to have waited until he was in his 30's to get married and have kids, it's certaintly not unhead-of, especially considering what a heel Jim is. I don't think he was exactly fighting off the girls in his 20's.

I just realized that Tonto is actually J.J.'s GREAT-grandmother. Man though, that J.J. has some complicated geneaology. I would pity the guy for having to do a family tree. His cousins Marie and John will have it much easier.

Chapter 3 -In the limo, when the guys chat before getting ready to read the journal. "Time in A Bottle" by Jim Croce (early 1970's) http://www.vimeo.com/8702237 -When Steven Schluter describes his 16th birthday in 1941, where his father stiffs him of a car. "When You Wish Upon A Star" by Cliff Edwards (early 1940's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ1NYFFDT8I -When Tonto calls out Barry on his affairs, and forces him to concede about the car. "All That Meat and No Potatoes" by Fats Weller (early 1940's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM_f7PzRURw -When Tonto and Steven buy the biggest, most expensive cars they can get as one big "eff" to Barry. "On the Good Ship Lollipop" by Shirley Temple (mid-1930's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yR7ONpWlIE God, how freakin' adorable was Shirley Temple? -When Steven goes to the dance with Kim Alpers, and then gets to second base with her in his car. "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller (early 1940's) -When Stefan and J.P. cuddle together, after reflecting on the two younger couples with them, and their own relationship. "More Than This' by Roxy Music (early 1980's)

Ithought this would be an interesting article to post here. It's about how a fraternity at George Washington University is fighting against the stereotype that frat boys are homophobic and sexist. A New Kind of Frat In my own experience dealing with frat kids, most didn't seem homophobic, and had a "live and let live" attitude. Except for KDR. Damn, they were jerks. But anyways, I thought it was cool to see how things are changing, even in an institution that was well-known for having homophobic overtones. I heard stories that back in the 1980's or something, it was actually a frat inititation to go to a gay bar, pick up a gay guy, and then gay-bash him! And then, in the 1990's, with John W.'s "Frat Memoirs", we see things still aren't that gay-friendly. It's great to see how things have changed since then- the story about the gay ROTC guy who had his brothers rally around him was great to read. Would anyone here like to share what their own experience was like to be either gay or bisexual in a frat? How did the brothers handle it? And do you agree that the homophobic stereotype of frat guys is a fair one? I'm very curious to hear some stories about this.

I didn't mention my mother's side of the family because they live in a foreign country, as my mother is an immigrant from the Phillipines. I have no memories of my mother's side of the family, and the last time my family set foot in the Phillipines was 1986. We don't really know anything about that side of the family, and how its changed and grown since the 1980's. As for the 11-year old cousin, I haven't seen my aunt since about 1993, so again, I've never met the guy and it's hard to think of him as family since I've never met him. My side of the family- we're the black sheep, as my father's side of the family won't have anything to do with us. I generally just tend to think of my immediate family, and my brother-in-laws, as family. I don't really have any extended family in my life. And it's long, sordid story why this is so, and I don't want to get into it. Moving on. Again, Mark, you should have J.J. hook up with Nick's drip of a son. It'd be hilarious.

Right. I mean, my dad had two siblings, and 3 kids is considered a fairly big family these days. My dad had 3 kids- my two sisters and me. My uncle had three kids- 2 girls and one boy who are all in their 30s now. Then my aunt had a daughter who is my age, and a son who would be about 11 now. So yeah, no age-appropriate male kin to get with. My family isn't very fertile- right now my two sisters and one half-sister have 2 kids between them, and they're already in their late 20s/early 30's.

Mark, did Nick ever get married and have kids? You feel like as an aspiring politician, he'd want the image of a doting husband and father to use. It would be hilarious if Nick had a son or something and he messed around with J.J. or Will and it was absolutely horrible. The cousins-fooling-around-thing seems to be a common. Well, not in my case- the only male cousin I have is in his late 30s and not cute at all.

I always loved that line from Man in Motion, where Brad tells J.P. that Jim is J.J.'s father, and J.P. goes, "So J.J.'s a Crampton?" I loved the irony of that line- J.J. is a Crampton but will be raised as a Schluter, while J.P. is a Hendrickson but was raised as a Crampton. It'll be interesting when J.J. finds out the truth, I'm assuming, when he's somewhere around 17. I know it'll be a few stories off, but I really Mark will have a great time writing J.J. He reminds me a lot of what Stefan would have been like had Stefan been given an easier upbringing.

I think that Claremont was once a booming steel town of about 30,000 to 35,000 people during the 1940's and 1950's, but fell into decline. Now it's trying desperately to create some kind of revival to stop the population bleed, so they aggressively market the Claremont Festival as a way to get people from the surrounding area, as well as former residents to come back in for a visit. I wouldn't be surprised if Nick was at the festival to give speeches about plans to try and revive Claremont and get people to move back in or visit. Ironically, Claremont's best hope would be if a bunch of gay guys moved into the old Victorian houses in the Downtown and started charming bed & breakfast inns and coffee shops. I live close to an East Coast town that was once a big factory town, but lost its industry and had to re-invent itself. Luckily, the college in that town decided that it wanted to transfrom itself from a sleepy little college of about 5,000 people to a booming big university with about 20,000 people. That's basically the only reason Newark, Delaware isn't a ghost town.

This is from the Onion: Bunch Of Phonies Mourn J.D. Salinger CORNISH, NH

Alright. Since I'm the one who keeps track of this stuff, here's how the ages in CAP break down as of July 1999: JP- 63 years old Stefan-about 54 years old Brad- 36 years old Robbie- 36 years old Claire- 34 years old Jack- 35 years old (approximately) Marcel- 30 years old Cody- 27 years old Brian- about 26 years old Matt- 19 years old Darius- 17 years old J.J.- 13 years old Marie- 13 years old Will- 12 years old John- 12 years old Courtney- 3 years old *** I gotta aggree with Mark M and Tiger....I'm not really into the idea of watching a 60-something J.P. get it on. 36 year old Brad and 19-year old Matt would be COMPLETELY different, though.

Brad isn't in his forties yet. He's only 36 in this story.

Chapter 2 -When they go through the trunk and find the military uniforms of Stefan's father, as well as his uncle Billy. "Taps" -When the gang encounters Laura, Matt's biological mother, and her two kids. "Coal Miner's Daughter" by Loretta Lynn (early 1970's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hKrbyNZDcE -At the Claremont Festival, where Matt answers his prejudiced biological grandmother's admonishments by kissing Wade. "Love Train" by The O'Jays (early 1970's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7MiG2fe8lE -When Matt buys his biological half-brother Caleb a phone. "1999 Sprint" PCS Commercial

Patrick Star, you look JUST like the Gay teen Worried He Might Be Christian.

Thanks, Mark. That really organizes it. You forgot Robbie's two older siblings, but damned if they never really made any appearance in this series. Oh, and don't forget. You need to have Marcel in there for Generation 3 as Jeff Haye's second son. It's kinda funny how complicated the family relations are. Stefan calls Brad his nephew, but they're really cousins. J.P. sees J.J. as like a grandson, but J.P. is really J.J.'s uncle. So on and so forth.

Alright, roughly...off the top of my head...I am totally blanking on the Hendricksons, so you've got to add in the blanks. Generation 1- Marie and Mr. Crampton. Had Jim Crampton together. Marie and Bill Hendrickson, had JP Crampton together. Tonto and Mr. Schluter, had Steven and William together. Generation 2- J.P. Crampton, son of Marie and Bill, married to Isidore. J.P. and Isidore, had Claire Hobart together. Isidore and Andre Clerrault, had Ace Clerrault. Isidore and Jeff Hayes, had Billy together. Steven and Whoever, had Stefan together. Brian, son of Bill Hendrickson, J.P.'s half-brother. Jim Crampton, son of Marie and Mr. Crampton. Frank Hayes, married to Brenda Hayes. Brother to Jeff Hayes. Generation 3- Stefan, son of Steven Schluter. Brad Schluter, adopted son of Billy Schluter, and and half-brother to Bitty Schluter and Nicholas Schluter. Ace Clerrault, son of Andre and Isidore. Married to Cass. Robbie Hayes, son of Fred Hayes and Brenda Hayes, committed to Brad Schluter. Billy Crampton, died single, 1980. Claire Hobart, daughter of Isidore and J.P., married 1985 to Jack Hobart. Generation 4- Matt Carrswold, b. 1980 to Robbie Hayes and Laura. Given up for adoption to the Carrswolds. Darius Schluter, b. 1982. Son of Bitty and Random Israeli Guy. J.J. Schluter, B. 1985. Son of Bitty and Jim Crampton. (I wonder if this means J.J. will want a GM.) Darius and J.J. adopted by Brad Schluter and Robbie Hayes. Marie Hobart, b. 1986. Daughter of Jack and Claire Hobart. Will Schluter, b. 1986. Son of Brad and Jeanine. John Hobart, b. 1987. Son of Jack and Claire Hobart. Courtney Clerrault, b. 1995. Daughter of Ace and Cass Clerrault. Generation 5- Does not exist as of 1999. *** It's kinda funny that Brian is about 28 years younger than Stefan, yet Brian belongs in the generation ahead of him, family-wise.

I realized that the only "traditional" nuclear family in CAP are the Hobarts, and the Clerraults. Jack and Claire Hobart had their two biological kids, Marie and John, in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Ace and Cass Clerrault had their only child, Courtney, in 1995. Every other family branch is completely rife with same-sex partners, illegitmate children resulting from affairs, and adoptions.

Mark is revising CAP because grammatical errors, as well as some continuity errors. Anyways, doing a genealogy for CAP would be problematic, since so many of the characters did not come from a traditional nuclear family, and very few were actually raised by their biological family.

Absolutely not. The CAP Timeline is enough.

Chapter 4 -When J.P. ruminates after Peter leaves, feeling lonely after finally discovering what it's like to make love to a man. "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUXmj3Fl7x0 -When J.P. reads the letter from his French mother, who talks about Tonto's efforts to integrate Claremont High School. He then goes on a spiel about the American-made cars that their families are obligated to buy- GM for the Cramptons, Ford for the Hendricksons, and Chryslers for the Schulters. "America" from West Side Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QS7wWzwak4 I'm going to take this moment to note that Andre is supposed to look like the main guy singing here. I can see why J.P. was so hung up on him- George Chakiris was really sexy and charming in that movie. -When J.P. and Andre drive into the Heights portion of Claremont. "Little Boxes" by Pete Seeger -When J.P. goes to Dino's and has a run-in with Frank Hayes, a Tony Dow look-alike with rage issues. "Walk Don't Run" by The Ventures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysb5QsaFbWg

It's kinda funny when Frank talks about the third kid that he and Brenda are working on having, and knowing that this future baby will become the love of Brad's life, who is currently growing in someone's belly after being the result of an affair.

Okay guys. Since Mark has said this story is going to be different, I've decided to do something different with the music recomendations. Normally, I'd highlight music that is contemporary to the story, with a few exceptions. In this case, I'm going to do something different. It's going to be an any-era goes deal this time around. Hope you guys enjoy it. Chapter 1 -When Stefan learns about a curious box found at the Claremont City Museum, and makes plans to visit there. "The Letter" by The Box Tops (late 60's) -When Stefan and J.P., as well as Robbie, Brad, Matt, and Wade, board the plane, and Robbie talks about his fun experiences in 1985 France. "Dolce Vita" by Ryan Paris (early '80's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEr8jf5axss -When Stefan muses on the young lovers, Matt and Wade. "Young Love" by Janet Jackson (early '80's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znf7gvuydDw -When Wade talks to Stefan about his father, and then they land in Claremont, going towards the museum. "End of the Innocence" by Don Henley (late 80's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipP3qy-NZKE -When Nick challenges Stefan about what's in the box, and everyone's forced to stay in Claremont for a few months. "Theme" from Dallas You guys KNOW I had to put that in here somewhere. The Cramptons are like a California version of the Ewings.

I actually think that had Jeff lived, him, J.P., and Stefan would have had a three-way relationship. Back to Wade and Matt, I think Matt is a great protagonist. He really is. It's just that Wade kinda grabs at you in the sense that, given his background, he's amazing for what he's managed to overcome. Matt had a relatively easy life growing up, while Wade had to grow up very fast and very early, both because of where he grew up and what his father did to him while his mother was busy drinking like a fish. I think that makes him just come off as a much stronger and mature person than Matt.

Damn. There goes my "Butterfly effect" theory. You know, Mark, I was actually, in a roundabout way, defending your decision to kill off Jeff, because to take out Jeff's death really would have changed a lot of things about the story, and not necessarily for the better. One thing's for sure- Jeff's death, then Billy's death, really was the impetus for J.P. to become a better person. It took him 44 years, but he finally grew a soul by 1980, and I think that was partially to due with Jeff's death, and the fact that he finally dealt with it.