methodwriter85

So...Fall '03/Winter '04 Burberry: I absolutely loved the outfits with the plaid at the beginning...not so sure about the rain slickers, though. It's kind of funny to look at this haute couture stuff, and pick out the stuff that eventually made its way over to the mainstream...the hoodies over coat look was HUGE by about 2005. The main thing I've noticed, while studying this stuff, is that there was a strong emphasis on deconstruction...clothes were often very loose-fitting, especially the pants and blazers/coats.

I always thought the Hayes guys ranged from blond, dark blond, to light brown. Hmm. If you want him with dark hair, though...

Let's celebrate by sharing our favorite tunes by Canadians!

Happy birthday!

Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect) as Claire? Claire is described as looking very youthful for her age, and Elizabeth is one damn youthful forty. If she's gotten any work it's been incredibly good. She's also got that Ivy League, WASP-vibe down pat.

Again, see: Billy Crampton. Also, I'm pretty sure Jeff Hayes celebrated his birthday in the original CAP story. Dear god, I hope the Hayes curse is finally over. LOL. Anyway, did anyone else catch that Lou is reporting in Iraq? That's pretty cool. I guess he's going to become a hunky version of Anderson Cooper. LOL. I also liked the bit about China- China's economic boom was in full-throttle in 2003, wasn't it? If the 80's were Japan's decade, it feels like the 2000's was China's. I kind of thought we missed an opportunity for JJ to note that he has a massive following in China. That would have been hilarious. I feel like he should have gone there at least once- for sure he's been to Japan. There are a lot of international skating events in Japan. Anyway, I just realized something bugging me- Darius, JJ, and Will calling Robbie "Robbie", and not "Pop". I thought he was Pop to them? Damn, I wish I had caught that earlier. Oh, well.

Billy got a birthdate (October 27, 1964) and Mark still killed him off. Just about a week shy of his 16th birthday, no less. I don't think Ricky got an actual birthdate, did he? Fully disclosure: My middle name is Richard. I have on occasion told people to call me Ricky or Rick when I didn't feel like giving them my first name. My family also calls me J.R. It's a really funny parallel to JJ. I still think R.C. would be a cool nickname for Bobby but we'll see on that. LOL. Anyway, the thing is, like in real life- people aren't really that gung-ho about birthdays once they get past the age of 21, with the exception of landmark birthdays like 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, etc. They stop really having much meaning. And when Mark introduces people, sometimes it's hard to know whether or not they'll be a long-term character or not. Max was originally intended to be a much bigger character than he wound up being, while Wade was originally just going to be a teammate that Matt messed around with. (And now his family has basically become a core CAP family.) Given the sheer volume of characters that Mark introduces, it would be silly to give every single one a birthdate and a full back-story...usually an approximate age will suffice. Of course, if the age has a plot point, we see them born or celebrating a birthdate, or they're narrating...then yeah, of course they can get a birthdate.

It's right, though. Beau was 15 in 1998...it's now 2003, so he should be 20, or getting ready to turn it. Robbie's birthday was never actually specified until the last story. There was just a reference in Be Rad that Robbie's 18th birthday was going to be March, 1981. I actually went through stories and found that March is a month that usually doesn't see a lot of action in CAP-world- the only two stories that did have a lot happen in March were If It Fits and Millennium. Anyway, I bitched to Mark that I thought Bobby was a really old-fashioned name for a little boy in the 2000's, but he swears its not. I don't know though- my one sister had kids and has ton of friends with kids- and they were running around with names like Aiden, Jayden, Avery, etc etc. Then again it's supposed to be a tribute to Robbie, so it's okay. I still get such a kick out of how much JJ can't stand kids. LOL. I like that JJ's going the Marcel route. Leave the breeding for this generation to Darius and Will. Although that could actually be for an interesting story down the road- what happens if JJ's with a partner who wants to raise a family, and realizes that JJ would be rather be dragged through a mud pit set in the middle of a Wal-Mart while wearing polyester clothing than become a father? That is actually a deal-breaker for most people, it seems like. I mean, it's different with Alex because Alex isn't really asking him to become a father figure to the kid, and it's doubtful that Alex is really going to be a gung-ho, active parent. It's just not the way those kids are brought up.

I think it's been said that she's about a year younger than Wade. Beau was specifically described as being 15 in Bloodlines, which would make him 20 now, as 5 years have passed since Bloodlines. But sure... JP- 67 Stefan- 58 on July 14th Brad- 40 Ace- 40 Jack- 39 or 40 Claire- 38 Marcel and Lou- 34 Cody- 33 Tiffany- 27 Matt- 23 Wade- 23 Alex- About 23 MaryEllen- About 22 Darius- 21 Beau- 20 Zach- 18 JJ- 17 Ethan- 17 Marie- 17 Will- 16 John- Turning 16 on July 21st Courtney- 7 Maddy- 34 months Riley- 34 months Bobby- Newborn Ricky- Newborn I think it's kind of funny we still have no clue how old Elizabeth Danfield is, or even really what she looks like. She's just ageless and timeless.

I don't think Alex has a specific age...just somewhere in his early/mid-20's. I would probably guess about 23. We usually don't get a real specific age unless somebody celebrates a birthday, or we see them born onscreen. Tiffany and Cody's birthdays, for example, haven't been specified, but we went with the idea that Tiffany was 22 when we first met her in Bloodlines, and Mark made a reference to Cody being 25 in If It Fits, which was set in 1995, therefore Cody was born in either 1969 or 1970. And sometimes ages are completely vague- I don't think Mark ever described how old Wade's parents are. I don't think they're as old as Matt's (late 50's), but I don't think they would be as young as the Be Rad Generation. Well, Elizabeth, anyway, as Jeff is no longer aging. I don't really consider them relevant characters anymore, but Gathan and Tony should be 21, while Ella should be 20.

Corrected. I swear to god, I feel like I've been stuck watching Thirteen on Endless Repeat because of all the underaged sexploits with the Will generation. Thank god they're inching towards legality now. Darius is 21 now...god, that was a crazy/fun/awful age. Although in Darius's case, it doesn't really mean much because like Will, he probably had a great fake. (We were the last generation that could really do fakes, just before scanning became a thing. I feel sorry for the 20-year olds born in 1994/1995 who have to try and get fakes now.. Although again...not like that really matters for rich and famous kids.) I do think it's funny that JJ's 17 and he couldn't care less about getting a license. Honestly, if I could afford it, I'd get a driver, too.

Alright...I'll do what I always do and update the ages of the characters at the start of a new story....character ages as of July 12th, 2003: JP- 67 Stefan- 58 on July 14th Brad- 40 Ace- 40 Jack- 39 or 40 Claire- 38 Marcel and Lou- 34 Cody- 33 Tiffany- 27 Matt- 23 Wade- 23 MaryEllen- About 22 Darius- 21 Beau- 20 Zach- 18 JJ- 17 Ethan- 17 Marie- 17 Will- 16 John- Turning 16 on July 21st Courtney- 7 Maddy- 34 months Riley- 34 months Bobby- Newborn Ricky- Newborn The core teenaged group is all at least 16 now. Good. Now I can stop feeling weird about all the sex scenes. (16-year olds having sex doesn't bother me as much as when it's 14/15-year olds. I guess because they can drive?) I think JJ is the ONLY one in that group who stayed a virgin until he was 16. LOL The next baby born needs to be a girl. There's a gender imbalance with this new age cohort Mark is building. I guess MaryEllen and Alex can have Irish twins as baby-making is pretty much all MaryEllen is expected to do now. When they have their daughter circa September 2004, I'm voting for the name Isabella. Mainly because in about four years, it's going to be a very hot name. Also, poor Courtney...too young for Will's age cohort, too old for Riley's cohort.

Prologue -When Zach drives Will through the warm California summer sun. "Boys of Summer" by the Ataris I absolutely love this song. "Out on the road, I saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac...a little voice inside said 'You can never look back, you can never look back...;'" One of those few covers that is just as good as the original. -When Zach and Will have The Talk. Joseph Arthur- Honey And The Moon I had originally picked "All Kinds of Time" by Fountains of Wayne, but I feel like this fits more. Anyway, you're probably going to hear a ton more music that came out from the O.C. That show really did have the best fucking soundtrack.(Well, save for the Wonder Years.) -When JJ stands up to MaryEllen. "It's My Life" by No Doubt - At Brad's little love nest with Marc. "Everywhere" by Michelle Branch Can one of the mods please change the title to Black Widow- Music Recs? Thanks.

Hey, Blue, was "slapping the bag" popular when you were in college? For those of you who don't know what that is, it's when you take the boxed wine bag out of the box, slap the bag, and then chug directly from the nozzle. It seems to have become increasingly popular in the last few years with bro-types on the East Coast, but I found a reference to it on Urban Dictionary from 2005. I don't remember seeing it during my college years of 2005 to 2010, but I wonder if people who went to colleges in other areas heard of it. I first encountered it in 2012 at the first Firefly.

Ha, I figured Patrick Manfind would show up again!

That is pretty damn cool. What incredible timing for the video that the city just happened to have workers weld the doors shut.

I do think if any place can compete with L.A. on that score, it's Dallas, Texas. Seriously, I don't get why it seems like so many hunky guys come from that area. Maybe it's just because jock culture is king there? I mean, there's a reason why Abercrombie and Fitch is based there. Texans do seem similar to Californians in liking their outdoor, active lifestyles and tans, so maybe that's it?

Alanis Morissette, who had spent the late 80's and early 90's as a Canadian pop star, shocked the world when she released her album, Jagged Little Pill, on this day in 1995. A searing and brutally honest album, it struck a chord with audiences and has sold over 33 million albums since its release twenty years ago today. Here's a retrospective from people who talk about what the album meant to them: Revisiting Jagged Little Pill Twenty Years Later On a personal note, my sisters were older so I got to listen to a lot of their music, and I remember just being astounded by listening to this as a 10/11-year old. There was such a great outpouring of wonderful female-centered music during the mid/late 1990's- Alanis Morisette, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan,Melissa Etheridge, Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crowe, Paula Cole, Shawn Colvin, etc etc. I'm glad I had teenaged sisters to introduce me to it. Anyway, to celebrate, here are my favorite tracks from that album, aside from the obvious. 1.) "Hand In My Pocket" This does such a great job of describing that twentysomething angst. I relate to this so much more now as opposed to when I was 10 years old. 2.) "Perfect" Brutally honest tune. I didn't have parents like that (one was too busy gambling, the other was too busy drinking like a fish), but it still struck a chord in me for some reason. Later on, when I got to high school and saw the immense pressure a lot of my peers were under to perform, I really understood it. 3.) "Mary Jane" I think it's a great tune to listen when you're depressed and need a pick-me-up. What a great "you just need to hold on" tune. 4.) "You Learn" I always found this to be a great philosophy to live by. All the shit you go through- try and learn from it. Her stuff still really holds up well. It's crazy when you think she was 21 when she pulled off such an epic music album

Kellan Lutz (Emmett from Twilight) as Brent Hayes? I always thought Kellan had a very Hayes look to him. I recommended him for Matt way back in the day but Mark kind of went "I can see where you're going but not quite." I can see this guy as the friendly, not-too-bright-but-gentle-giant kind of former high school jock that Brent is supposed to be. His hair and the texture/color of it is basically EXACTLY how I picture the typical Hayes hair type, as well.

I knew because I basically researched 2001-2002 music...I soundtracked like three stories set in those years.

Mark, do you know this tune? It was from 1985. I heard it in the movie Two Night Stand with Analeigh Tipton and Miles Teller...I totally wish I had remembered this tune when I was doing recs for Man In Motion: "Anything, Anything" by Dramarama It's a great tune. There's an epic scene of Analeigh Tipton dancing to this tune in the movie. It's better known for being in the soundtrack for Nightmare on Elm Street 4, which I watched a lot as a little kid. Seeing this tune again in a (relatively) new movie was pretty cool

Those are actually more like 2001-2002, not 2003-2004.

Not so much clothes, but LOVED the mall rat culture. It's a shame malls are dying out. My local mall is actually doing pretty damn well but mall rats are discouraged. But yeah, I learned about an 80's pop star named Tiffany on VH1's Behind the Music who actually performed in malls and just LOVED her: She was kind of like the second-rate Debbie Gibson, who I do remember because my sisters owned Electric Youth perfume. I think I recommended this for a Will scene circa Poor Man's Son and Blue immediately responded by hating on it...but come on, it's 80's cheese at its best!

If I re-lived the 1980's, I would try to do these things: 1.) Shop at the Sherman Oaks Galleria circa 1983... 2.) Going clubbing in Los Angeles circa 1986 3.) Hit up Gritty 1980's Times Square....maybe buy up some property. Also, of course, spend some time at the World Trade Center 4.) I would also buy up property in Center City Philadelphia....lol. Except for anything to do with the Galleria at Market East 5.) Try to bang early 1980's Harrison Ford... 6.) Spend a trashy summer at 1980's Jersey Shore, as well as hang out in circa 1989 Monmouth Mall...god the fashions. The fashions! 7.) Watch the fall of the Berlin Wall 8.) Live Aid at Philadelphia in July 1985...that must have been incredible! 9.) See circa 1987 U2 in concert. 10.) Coke. Lots of Coke. (Just kidding.) I do think the 1980's were a fun decade. I think people were past the hangover that was the 1970's, and they just really seemed to want to have fun. Also, that early/mid-80's preppy look was MAD flattering on guys, in my opinion. I bet 22-year old Mark Arbour looked hot as hell in that gear. But then again, fashion got really, really hideous by the end of the decade: Neon has made a big comeback, but thankfully nothing like that.