methodwriter85

Which is nice, but not right for the Hayes.

Man, he's hot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs4joQj_sz8 Bit of trivia for you CAP Fans- Kellan Lutz was almost the physical model for the character of Matt Carrswold. That's why I'm posting this vid here. I thought Kellan definitely fit the Hayes mold- tall, dirty blond hair that would be curly if it grew out, beefy and muscular, with a very uniquely handsome face. Mark didn't like the receding hairline, though, and then I remembered a model I had seen, Evan Wadle. Evan Wadle fit Mark's vision of Matt, and so the decision was made. Kellan could prolly still play one of Matt's as-of-yet-unmet white trash cousins, however. LOL. I get the feeling that Matt didn't have cousins growing up- his parents felt like only children. The remark about how Matt thought the Carrswolds adopted him as a last-ditch effort to continue the family line would point to the idea that Edward and Amanda didn't have siblings.

That he does. So, we're currently in summer 1999 for CAP. That means Darius is a rising senior, and looking at colleges. What college do you think he will go to? Will he go to Brad's alma matter, Yale, or will he go to Robbie's alma matter, Princeton? Or might he end up going to Stanford? What do you guys think? For me, I don't really picture Darius staying in California. I can really see him going to an East Coast college. I think it'd be too funny if Brad and Robbie get a little pushy about trying to convince Darius to go their respective colleges- that's a pretty common parental emotion. It would be really funny if Darius wound up going to UC Berkely, though. So what's your guess as to where Darius will go to college? One things for sure, though- Darius is definitely going to go for a weekend visit with Matt at Stanford to "get a feel for the academics of the college". And possibly some sorority girl's boobs.

Jeff's birthday is November 12th, 1945. So just after the war ended. That might be why the Hayes were known as having six brothers- one died in World War II, and one was born soon after, keeping the number at six. Until Sam euthanized Jeff in 1968. So...Five brothers. With Frank as the youngest surviving son. I wonder if any other the other four are worth knowning. Notice how nice and lovely the Hayes family seems to be. Man.

Actually, with the exception of the guys who dress thug, the super-baggy jeans look is falling out of favor, and guys are actually trying to wear jeans that fit now. Hipsters especially wear pretty tight, skinny jeans. Unfortunately, hipsters and emo kids tend to not have asses that you actually want to see in tight jeans. Jocky, preppy guys wear jeans that actually kinda fit these days, but it's still a long cry from the super-tight jeans that were so popular with Mark Arbour's generation. It's actually pretty amazing how long baggy jeans have persisted in American male fashion- it's been a common look since about the mid-90's.

The late 90's, though- I think that fashion has aged well. I looked at an episode of Boy Meets World from 1999, and everything they're wearing wouldn't look out of place in 2010. I think in 20 years, we'll be much more likely to cringe at the stuff we wore in the 2000's than the stuff we wore in the mid/late 90's. I mean. Uggs with leggings. Why do we think that's a good look? LOL.

I really wish Adam P. was around to read this one, Mark. Anyways, I voted for Brad. He and Stefan were neck-in-neck, but I think his artistic, masculine nature won me over. I liked his big...hands. And I'm a sucker for guys with dark hair and light eyes. They can, but longevity like that tends to genetic, and we've never gotten any sort of indication that the Schluters/Cramptons have the sort of consitution that allows them to become centenarians. They all tend to live into their 70's or 80's- which is normal and something I'd be satisfied with. Mark didn't really kill off Tonto- she just died of old age somewhere in her late 80's, which is how all of us should want to go. You can criticize Mark for killing off Jeff, but criticizing Mark for having a character around the age of 90 years old die doesn't sit well with me. People die of old age. It's natural. Remember, the average life span for a human being is about 80 years old, give or take. Mark let Tonto die an old woman, warm in her bed. What more do you expect from the guy?

I prolly take this to an extreme, but nostalgia is really not an uncommon characteristic of my generation. Nostalgia is generally supposed to take about 20 years (see Gen Xers and the 80's revival of the 2000's), but for whatever reason, my generation has jumped the gun on it. Here's a New York Times article about this:Harry Potter Is Their Peter Pan Man. I definitely feel a lot less alone after reading that article, and realizing that I'm actually normal for longing for the days of Blink 182, the Backstreet Boys, Discmans, and when teen blond girls singing coyly about their budding sexualities ruled the charts. I thought this was an interesting analogy: Neil Howe, an author of several books on what he calls the Millennials (another term for Gen Y), draws a parallel between this nostalgic wave and the one boomers embraced with the film "American Graffiti" in 1973. That movie depicted the recent past, the early '60s, which seemed to have vanished forever. "It's instant nostalgia before a huge change in the nation's mood," Mr. Howe said. " `American Graffiti' was nostalgia for the boomers for a world before everything changed after J.F.K.'s assassination. "Millennials see the world before Sept. 11 as a period of innocence. Our biggest worry was the Y2K bug. That all seems a world away now." I think that's a good insight. It does feel like the mid/late 1990's stand as halcyon days- good employment, boom times, a federal surplus, Clinton in office- and the United States had yet to embarrass itself with the quagmire of the Iraq War. The things I associate with that time- Britney Spears, Blink 182, tv shows like All That and Clarissa Explains It All- do make me feel a sense of comfort because it harkens back to an earlier, more secure era. I look at people Adam Phillips's age- about 5 to 10 years older- and they really don't engage in the nostalgia for their own past as much as mine does, even though logic would say that because people's Adam's age are further away from their childhood years than my cohorts are, they should be more nostalgic. I wonder why that it is- maybe it's an outgrowth of the narcissism that Adam has described when talking about my peers. Like we think we're the shit, and therefore we believe the shows and toys and music we associate with our 90's childhood should be treated with reverence by everyone. What do you guys think? I do notice that when I bring up Classic Nickelodeon to people in their 20's, they get that I'm referring to shows like All That and Are You Afraid of the Dark, but I get total blank stares from people that are older. It's an interesting thing to ponder about my generation, I think- because I agree that, in a general sense, most of us engage in nostalgia even though we aren't 30 years old yet. (Arbour, keep this article in mind when you move to writing about Will/JJ's generation.)

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.