methodwriter85

Chapter 11 http://nifty.nisusne.../on-the-mark-11 -When Mark sits in class in September 1980, bitches about community college, and then tells us about how culture has changed since his 70's high school days. "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSJ27TgBvJE -When Mark sneaks out of his computer class, and stumbles into his first cruising encounter with a redhead. "Whip It" by Devo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEVqFB4WUo -When Mark tells us about his life as a Cruise Boy develops over the next couple of weeks. "Mirror in the Bathroom" by The English Beat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTNpaaPHENE -When Mark hooks up with a hunky blond boy, aka a Crusing Jack Pot. "The Kid Is Hot Tonight" by Loverboy http://www.youtube.c...h?v=6kaGeApfo9s *** Alright guys, that's the last of "On the Mark", since Mark has decided not to continue telling the rest of his story. It's been a blast, guys, and I hope you've enjoyed listening to my music selections as much as I have.

He's not quite old enough to be your "Daddy", so eh. I'd say go for it. He's also in college, so there's more of an equal footing between the two of you. For me, I tend to draw the line at 30 years older. But 15 seems fine.

Absolutely hilarious. Even better if you've seen "American Pyscho".

Hey, Amazon is selling the first season (1987-1988) of the cult tv show about a group of whiny yet immensely interesting yuppies living life in late '80's Philadelphia suburbia. Here's where it's selling at. Thirtysomething was a pretty great show in my opinion- I loved the use of music and introspection on the show, which wasn't like anything on tv at the time. For me, I just saw it as a glimpse into the future- what being in my 30's would be like. And Ken Olin was a hunk. LOL. Here's the theme song to celebrate! Thirtysomething Theme Song Great, great show. Someday when I have 40 bucks to drop on DVD, I'll get it. And the bonus is that the music rights all cleared, so we'll get the music moments as we remembered them. (I LOVED the scene where they're in the diner and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" play.) Ah, back in the days when I watched tv shows that I was way too young for. LOL.

The eastern world it is explodin', violence flarin', bullets loadin', you're old enough to kill but not for votin', you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin', and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin', but you tell me over and over and over again my friend, ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction. Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say? Can't you see the fears that I'm feeling today? If the button is pushed, there's no running away, There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave, take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy, and you tell me over and over and over again my friend, ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction. Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin', I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin', I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation, handful of Senators don't pass legislation, and marches alone can't bring integration, when human respect is disintegratin', this whole crazy world is just too frustratin', and you tell me over and over and over again my friend, ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction. Think of all the hate there is in Red China Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama! Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space, but when you return, it's the same old place, the poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace, you can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace, hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace, and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction. no no you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

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) **** I convinced Mark to name the story Man in Motion, because really, I think that this song describes exactly where Brad was at in 1985.

Chapter 10 http://nifty.nisusne.../on-the-mark-10 -When Van comes back for the summer, and Mark realizes that their friendship will never be as close as it once was. "We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard http://www.youtube.c...h?v=lr1yBMjx64s -When Mark and Jeremy play "we're asleep yet we're touching each other!" before they hook up in the bathroom. "Does Your Mother Know?" by Abba http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ndCTp5z5TyY -When Mark and Jeremy have sex while Jeremy's frat brothers are away. "Off the Wall" by Michael Jackson http://www.youtube.c...h?v=PebMKukdyqo -When Mark talks about his increasing infatuation with Matt. "Sometimes A Fantasy" by Billy Joel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb4G8Ad8GTU

Thanks! I've been influenced a lot by Quantum Leap, The Wonder Years, and Cold Case- in the belief that music is great at setting the mood of a time period.

My state required a Hep B vaccine for 7th graders in 1999, so I already got that. Anyway, I'm good. Very lucky, and good. This happened two and a half years ago...if I had gonorea, I would already know about it. LOL. In my state, they actually tore down the public restrooms at one of the parks that were known for cruising. Pretty interesting. People are really cracking down hard on it.

Well, you do see guys put up their cell numbers on the walls of the bathroom stalls in the cruising places. You also see guys who put up their emails. I wound up having unprotected sex with one of the guys I cruised, because I was a virgin and he claimed to be a virgin at gay sex. Of course, these days I know better and I would never do that again, but god, I realize how lucky I was that I didn't contract HIV. What was funny is this one guy- Mark's called them trolls- he must have been at least in his 60's, but he tried to look younger by covering up his balding grey head with a baseball cap and wearing sneakers. And he's ALWAYS there. I learned you really can tell if a guy is young by the way his hands look- that never fails.

Across the Universe by Fiona Apple I far prefer this cover to the original. This one has a serene beauty to it that I think the original doesn't have. And then here are three 80's pop hits that I think are better than their 60's orginals. I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany Hazy Shade of Winter by the Bangles

For the most part, yes. Especially for the younger guys. I did cruising from late 2006 to late 2007- so about a year. The university library bathroom is known as a cruise spot. Most of the guys I saw there were pretty old- I think I ran into maybe four guys that were actually young. Most of the younger guys are doing the CL thing, pretty much. I hit the "jackpot" early on- I was able to hookup with this really cute, tall, slender guy with abs and pretty blue eyes. It was because of it that I kept going back, thinking I'd get another guy like that. Never really did, so but the excitement of, "Maybe I'll get another really hot guy!" kept me going. These days, though, I don't do it. I refuse to end up on the sex offender's list just for some really bad, cheap sex in a public bathroom.

Chapter 9 http://nifty.nisusne...k/on-the-mark-9 -When Mark is excited on his plane fight, naieve about what the future holds for him. "What A Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jIbUp2IAFc -When Mark meets Matt, a homophobic Alpha male that he's in lust with at first sight. "Denis" by Blondie http://www.youtube.c...h?v=DL6hNSPaJrY -When the chemistry between Mark and Matt becomes pretty apparent in a baseball game and some pool wrestling. "Electricity" by OMD http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ZB1J57LGQfY -When Mark becomes morose, aimless, and depressed for most of his senior year of high school, spending most of his time just driving around the valley and thinking about life. "New Dawn Fades" by Joy Division -When Matt tries to rag on the City, and California Boy Mark gets very animated in his defense of his city. "California Uber-Alles" by the Dead Kennedys -When Matt and Mark run into an emaciated and VERY femme Darryl in the City. "Sad Eyes" by Robert John -When Mark gets "one" thrust with a girl named Claudia in his car for senior prom night, and gets his ass saved by the fact that she's connected to the police. "Sentimental Lady" by Bob Welch http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jE9CW-QHoUo (What a perfect prom song, right?) **** I have a couple of comments about this one... Matt was SOOOOOOO obviously a closetcase homophobe, or at least very curious, and definitely would have gone for Mark had this not been 1980 and a very homophobic time. Also, it seems like Matt and Van have the same sort of body type that seems to drive Mark wild- really big guys with broad shoulders and a soft coating of fat over the muscles so they don't have that ripped look. I'm kinda curious about Darryl- why did he turn into a make-up wearing leather twink? That's pretty interesting. I would figure he prolly would have ended up a hooker, but I thought that he would have been more appealing in short-shorts and a tank top. Anyway, the Darryl moment was orginally going to be "Broken-Hearted Me", but eh. I figure "Sad Eyes" works better there, with "Broken-Hearted Me" working better for when Mark says good-bye to to Van. Finally, leave it to Mark to almost get busted for "lewdness", but be with a girl who just happens to be the daughter of a man the cop respects.

The vibe I've been getting so far seems to be history programs are a little more relaxed than say, psychology or English masters programs, and it seems to be focusing more on the history GPA than the accumulative GPA. So yeah, what I'm aiming for is a 1000+ GRE, a 2.8 acculmulative, and a 3.0+ history GPA. We'll see how that goes.

That's what I'm planning on.

Okay. So I'm looking out over my senior year, and I came to a realization. If I want any chance of getting into grad school, I've GOT to get my grades up. My grades have been slowly going in the right direction- from an absolutely abbysmal 2.134 GPA for fall 2007(depression sucks), my accumulative GPA is now standing at a 2.42 after spring 2009 and summer 2009, thanks to a 2.867 and a 2.6something for those semesters. Still mediocre, but at least going in the right direction. My major GPA is better- standing at a 2.875, I'm almost at a 3. When I get my major GPA to a 3.0, I'll have a much better chance of getting into grad school. I won't be getting into William and Mary, but I'll live. Right now, there is exactly one school that I know would take me- Millersville University in Pennsylvania. They require a 2.75 history gpa, so I could make it in now. There's another school that I can get into if I get my acculmulative GPA up to a 2.75- it's called Shippensburg University, also in P.A., and it actually seems like a program that could be good for me- applied history masters. It's a broader program, and would allow me a bit of flexibility in what I want to do. Getting my history GPA to a 3.0, I'd also be able to get into Salisbury University, which has a concentrated history program that I like, as well as Delaware State University, which has a museum program that I think I'd be interested in. So, the goal right now is to just keep bringing the grades up, especially when it comes to my history courses. I need to get at least an A or two in history. I'm planning on taking winter session. My goal is, by the end of winter semester, to have a 2.8 acculmulative GPA, and a 3.0+ GPA in history. If I get there, I'll be much more comfortable about beginning to apply to graduate schools. (Of course, there's also the GRE's, which I plan to take in Feburary.) But there's another option- take another semester and graduate in fall 2010 instead of spring 2010, so I could just work on getting the GPA up, as well as maybe do some independent study with one of the history professors. That's another option- but there's a bit of a caveat. I only have four more history classes I need to take- two more 300 level history classes, 1 400 level, and Western Civ 2. That's it. After that, I could take history classes, but they'd just be for show and wouldn't actually count for credit. So if I do that, I'd prolly have to get a minor. It's all pretty confusing. I'm thinking about sitting down with my history adivisor and see what he thinks. I mean, if I went to undergrad during the 2010-2011 school year, it'd be a sixth year in the chronological sense, but because of the fact that I took a year off in 2008, I would only be a 5th year senior, meaning I'd still be covered by finanicial aid. (It looks like they'll cover up to a 5th year of undergrad.) What do you guys think?

Yeah, it would. LOL. It's a pretty interesting, complicated case. We'll see how it unfolds. I do think my friend is being unrealistic though- if I got supended for a year for the "incident" which I'm not going to go into, I have a hard time believing that UD isn't going to expel him. The press isn't good for the school. She thinks they might just suspend him for a semester, or something, but I really think UD will expel him. I mean, if he's found guilty, he will never be able to be a nuse, so...yeah. My friend Cherie...god, I feel for her. I just don't know what she'll do.

Mark, here are some good ones- "Head over Heels" Literal Version "Never Gonna Give You Up" Literal Version "Under the Bridge" Literal Version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILhJs8BLcTQ And this is the one that started it all... "Take On Me" Literal Version http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1832838 "You know you like it that I'm flirting with you..." So, so true. LOL.

I talked to his girlfriend, who is my good friend, and she's deciding to stick by him until she gets some concrete proof that he's guilty. Me? I don't know. I'm still leaning towards him being guilty, but I'm going to try and give him the benefit of the doubt. Still, I have a hard time believing that the cops wouldn't have arrested him unless they had some really good proof, which they can't release to the public. I just feel bad for his girlfriend, who's struggling through a final exam today with this on her mind. And his family, who have to deal with this. Imagine the amount of money they spent sending him to college, and there's a good chance he's going to be expelled. Either way, he can't be a nurse- you can't be a nurse and have a criminal record.

From Myspace to Rape Charges Man. I know Nick. Nick is the boyfriend of my friend, who's a pretty sweet girl and absolutely doesn't deserve this. It's absolutely creepy to think that just after the weekend I hung out with him and his girlfriend, he got arrested for having sex with a 12-year old girl. I mean, I played beer pong with him two weeks ago! *shudders* It's crazy. Something about the guy always creeped me out, although I could never quite articulate it, and now I know why. Man. He's a perfect case of why you need to trust your own instincts when it comes to people, even when they seem like a cool party guy. I just don't get why he had to do this- he has a girlfriend his own age, and he seemed to be good at getting girls interested in him. I don't get why this happened. It's so strange that I now can say I've met and hung out with a pedophile. Ugh. Eww. And Uck.

Good point.

I think it's interesting that in Granger's view, a 15-year old boy having sex with an older man is a form of rape, but when Granger actually was 15, he was having sex with older men all the time.

I'll give you Lark, because I think Lark in "A Summer Love" didn't match at all the Lark we had gotten to know in "Be Rad". I couldn't buy what Lark had turned into- we were never given any indication in "Be Rad" that Lark was a user, and what happened to him didn't make sense. However, as early as "The Land Whore", we were given indication that Billy was a follower who didn't have a mind of his own, and throughout "Be Rad" we kept getting hints of that- that Billy was easily influenced by his asshole friends and didn't care enough about other people to stand up for them. How he treated Mouse wasn't surprising- that he had this little guy to pick on and sate his urges, and could use his physical strength to get him to do it. And what happened to Billy was sadly realistic- he rode with his friends who were driving drunk, and that is all too common with high schoolers and college kids. Billy wasn't a horrible person- he was just a shallow 15-year old boy who was given an easy life and a great bod and took it all for granted. Most of us are not our best at 15. I'm sure that if Billy had been able to grow up, he would have been fine. But he never got that chance. I actually liked that Mark incorporated MADD into the story- the 1980's really seemed to be the decade where awareness about teen drunk driving deaths really went up. It's interesting though that the Hayes are looking to pretty much fade out- Robbie didn't have a biological kid, and Marcel doesn't seem interested in having kids, either...so...it kinda makes me sad that there won't be a Gen 3 of Hayes along with the Gen 3 of the Schluters and the Cramptons. As for what's next, I like the idea of 1997. 1999 would be good, too. I just feel like there needs to be at least one more story before we stop at 9/11. One thing that I like is how Mark is developing the next generation of CAP with Darius, Will, and JJ. The custody fight storyline in "If It Fits" was a great way of letting us get to know the new kids, without letting it overtake what was going on with the story in general. Darius seems to be like Ace, but with a better control on his temper. Will is like Brad, and JJ seems to be someone who marches to the beat of his own drummer, and is never serious, and happy to try new things even if he sucks at them. That could be interesting- pitting a future Golden Boy like Will against an off-beat charmer like JJ. That could be very interesting for Mark to write. Oh, and if he does 1999, Darius's college search will be pretty fun and interesting to read, I think.

Revised Chapter 8 http://nifty.nisusne...k/on-the-mark-8 -When Mark talks about the changes that Darryl's departure has wrought, including the fact that Van will no longer experiment with him anymore. Nor will any other guys who might have been interested. "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbZhj6H9kfY -When Mark and his father work on Mark's 1968 Mustang Flashback. "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow http://www.youtube.c...h?v=B_o8F36CfHU -When Mark gives a blowjob to his manager, Ken. And it starts a series of one-sided blowjobs. "Orgasm Addict" by Buzzcocks -When Mark confronts the manager about the way he uses him for sex, and the manager goes apeshit. "What Do I Get?" by Buzzcocks -When Mark and Van spend a few days at the beach, and Mark gets lucky with a girl named Dawn, who's very sexually compatible. "Night Moves" by Bob Seeger -On the final night at the beach, when Mark and Van finally get together and have sex again. "Thicker than Water" by Andy Gibb -When Van kisses away Mark's tears and makes love to him one last time. "We've Got Tonight" by Bob Seeger http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Mj7SD9BPwcU -When Mark says goodbye to Van at the airport. "Brokenhearted Me" by Annie Murray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsnqpIXHaNE **** I was orginally going to use "Brokenhearted Me" for something else, but damn. Reading that part again, I really could not let those scenes go without having "Brokenhearted Me" scoring it. And I decided to revise a little, because I heard "We've Got Tonight" and realized it was released in 1978, so I HAD to use it for that love scene and used "Brokenhearted Me" for the good-bye scene instead. I hope I made the right choice.

Mark, 1997 is a fine idea. Lots of interesting stuff happened that year.