methodwriter85

I mean, I'd ask Tim, but it seems relatively new, and his college days were in the 1990's. Like I said, I didn't encounter "slapping the bag" until 2012 at Firefly. Most bro-types I know didn't touch boxed wine but this seems to be a way that those guys will consume it. It must have been some fringe thing that people were doing, enough so that it made Urban Dictionary, but it didn't become mainstream until this decade. UCSB sounds like an intense party school. Way more intense than UD ever was. I mean, we've never even had a concentrated frat row. (Or if we did, it all got broken up by the time I got there.) Of course, we're located in a NIMBY state where people bitch and moan about every possible little thing, especially when it comes to the students that allows Newark, DE to look like a Disney Town U.S.A. instead of a depressed rust belt town. I mean, a 1 a.m. last call? Seriously? And no actual bars allowed on Main Street? (They have to be restaurants that can only make 40 percent of their revenue from alcohol.) It sounds like Santa Barbara just lets it be. Will's going into his senior year...I wonder if Mark will send him to a party school. I can kind of see it, and I can kinda not see it.

Two Train Lines Connecting Azusa to Santa Monica Enters Final Testing Stage That sounds cool. I've always wanted to visit Southern California but 12-lane highways terrify me. I still can't get myself to drive on I-95.

Now that's just hot.

Damn, that soundtrack brought me back. Anyway, I foresee a drunken Patrick Manfind throwing himself at Adam later. That would be funny. I think Jordan is into Adam.

You're no fun, Mark.

On another note...I found this Let's Not Meet story on Reddit, and it made me think of you, Blue, and your bit about the rape culture of UCSB: Terrorized for Two Hours The story takes place at UCSB...I thought it was interesting that she talked about how the students often put themselves in danger there because that was the culture. Anyway, University of Delaware used to be a party school, way back in the 1990's, but they slammed down hard on it- all of the big drunken outdoor music fests were banned by the time I finished in 2010, and a lot of big frats were kicked off. It doesn't seem like UCSB has changed much. I kind of get why former party schools crack down it, but I also think that if you try and shelter young adults at the time they're supposed to be learning how to be an adult and what their limits are, you really short-change them. I wonder if Will would wind up going there. Honestly, while he's social and can throw a big rager, that doesn't really seem like his life, and I'm not sure he'd fit into a party school because of that. Will really doesn't strike me as a future frat boy the way John screams it.

Well, that, and there's a curious lack of minority love interest characters. The last significant one was Kai, wasn't it? He looks like BooBoo Stewart. Tet would probably like him. I'm rooting for John to wind up marrying a black woman so we can have more interacial characters aside from Darius. Anyway, I always figured that Maryellen would be like Tanya Turner from Footballer's Wives by her mid-30's: God, I miss Footballer's Wives. Tanya Turner was like an Alexis Carrington for the 2000's. (Although she really had absolutely no soul, while Alexis really did care in her own way for her children.) * Back in the mid/late 1990's, there used to be Dynasty reruns on the FX channel. That is how I know the show even though I was only born during the sixth season of it. I kind of wish Mark would borrow more from Dynasty, but he seems more about the Original Recipe Dallas influence. (Which I didn't watch.) An Dynasty-style catfight would have been fun, though. I could see Middle-Aged Joan Collins as the Evil Bitch Mother Alexandra Carmicheal, someone that even scared Elizabeth Danfield.

I think MaryEllen's features would be sharper than that but I love the Alex here.

Anyway, kind of crazy about Sergio/Kevin. He manages to be the small percentage of guys who don't respond to the new medicines?

Chapter 2 -When the house prepares for the wedding, and when Will and Zach make love. "Crazy in Love" by Beyonce Welcome to the Beyonce domination years. She pretty much owned this decade. I got so sick of her by the end of it. LOL. -As the family watches Isidore and Frank get married. "Forever and Always" by Shania Twain Shania Twain basically disappeared after the early 2000's. I think she's tried to mount a few comebacks but she was pretty much at the end of her reign right here. -The wedding reception as the gang dance in celebration. "Come On, Eilleen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners Way ahead of this time, but "Living Room Routine!" When I was like 15 I bought this "Top Hits of 1983" cd and I used to listen to this tune on it all the time. What a great tune to dance to. God, I love the oldies!

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!