methodwriter85

Yeah. I imagine the porn industry has taken a big hit from the availability of free internet porn and all the independent webcams that have been set up, as well as the collapse of video rental stores. Anyway, you make great points. The thing is that East Coast/Rustbelt cities made over industrial sites that were no longer in use, in industries that were dying off and/or being moved overseas. In this case, it's an industry that is very much in demand. From the same guy and on a related topic...check out this video exploring Los Angeles State Historic Park, which has been built on the site of the old railroad depot: It'll be interesting to see what the park looks like when it's re-opened and the trees are there. These are the plans of what they're supposed to look like.

Nah, he's totally cute. I'm pretty sure he's married, though. Note the ring.

I think that's the thing about post-World War II suburbs- they're all basically alike, save for variations in income level, topography, and weather. It's a weird thing to have grown up in the suburbs, but of course my experience was tempered by the fact that I went to an urban performing arts high school instead of some suburban school. Although in my state, most of the northern suburban high schools have gotten taken over by gangs and anyone who is at least solid middle class has their kid in private school or charters. Anyway, Blue...this one's for you. Should Piggyback Yard be turned into a park, or should it continue as it is? Or could there be some kind of compromise? Of course we gotta consider that the guy narrating this pretty much has an obvious slant towards it and he's making absolutely no bones about it. I love hipsters.

That's a great way to put it. This is hot: But when you go full-on Duck Dynasty...no.

Three brothers with an apparently great sense of humor (and parents who held on to A LOT from their childhood) decided to recreate their childhood photos, and this was the result. I figured anyone who's either had the experience of being a parent, or being someone who grew up with siblings and remembers their silly childhood photos, would appreciate this. The attention to detail was fantastic, and I loved that you can tell that these brothers are very close to each other. I also thought it was funny that the youngest brother basically grew up like a head taller than his other brothers. This has been done before, but I really liked how these particular set of siblings pulled it off with the facial expressions. Also I find the middle brother very cute in a former-funny-frat-boy way. LOL. I would so want to do this, but we moved around too much as kids, and there's very little left from our childhood. Also, my childhood was honestly pretty shitty and traumatizing. Still, it's cool to see people who obviously had very loving and nice childhoods deciding to celebrate their parents for giving that gift to them.

I studied that song in a class I took on the 1960's in college. Mainly about the conformity and status symbols of the suburbs. I didn't know that was specifically supposed to be about the Valley. Someone's making "Baby Boomer" tributes to the Valley... Has anyone ever seen the movie "Foxes"? It's kind of how I imagine what growing up in Late 1970's San Fernando Valley must have been like. It starred Jodie Foster as a teenaged girl with divorced parents who lives fast times with her friends. It's a great little gem that really feels like it's capturing a time and place.

I'm going to admit I have this weird fascination with The Valley. I think it's because it's kind of the ultimate, definitive suburb of the 20th century, and the bulk of my life has been spent in suburbia. Delaware is basically one big suburb for Philly and D.C./Baltimore, and New Jersey in the early 90's was pretty much the height of the suburban mall era. Plus, I love the 1980's, and the whole Valley Girl thing. I also think it's fascinating how distinct the dialect was, at least according to Moon Unit Zappa. I'm not sure I see any of these characters going to the Valley, though. Still, I wish I could've seen Sherman Oaks Galleria back in its glorious 80's hey-day.

These tunes are basically what I'd consider the core of my heart. They're tunes I can't ever get sick of. Check 'em out. "Heart Songs" 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. (1997 live version) 6. " 7. 8. 9. 10. The mass bulk of these songs are from the 1990's. Shocker. LOL I've never come across a song that depicts youth in it's pure, beautiful form better than "1979" does. God, I can't tell you how much I love that song.

I really think Mary Ellen imagines herself as Lady Granger, with a life of glamor and endless balls and parties and everyone swooning at her feet. I think she's in for a rude awakening when she learns what her place actually is, and it's some major schadenfreude coming her way. Mary Ellen is in for a pretty stifling and oppressive existence. We're already getting hints of it- who and what Mary Ellen is in no way impresses Alex or his crowd, and for someone who's considered the Republican equivalent of the Kennedy's, that's going to grate on her pretty badly. I really don't mind this storyline for those reasons. I'm also glad that the lovey-dovey threesome JJ imagined isn't happening. Thank god. He deserves better. I hope JJ eventually gets with classy Alexis Bledel and Nicholas Hoult types.

#BecauseIDied is trending on Twitter. The Dad is fucking hot.

The Dad in this commercial illustrates that "scruffy" look that is so popular right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd1qCi5nSKw

I've noticed the beard thing since about 2011, but it really kicked up over the last 2 years or so. It also has ranges. There's the Duck Dynasty look, but then there's also this: I've seen this one a lot. As well as that fucking haircut.

I thought I could see them doing this route: They're lucky that in about eight years, the Downton Abbey Craze is about to hit BIG. Manor house tours have apparently exploded as a result.

Beards have been a thing for at least four or five years now. I don't mind them as long as they're nicely trimmed. The rabbi ones are just weird, though. The beard thing started with hipsters, but now they've moved over to jocky/formerly preppy types.

DNA testing.

They were pretty clear that Matt hasn't had sex with MaryEllen since June, and she's only a month a long. I really don't think MaryEllen is lying about this being Alex's, because it'll be pretty easy to prove if she is, and there would be massive financial and social consequences if she did. She's not enough of an idiot to think she could get away with passing off someone else's baby as Alex's in the 21st century.

I'm looking forward to seeing JJ get his bitch-on.

JJ would think along the lines of, "I have a ten million dollar trust and I'm going to win the Gold Medal at the Olympics in 2006. I'll be raking in sponsorship deals when I'm 20, and I have some very promising shares of Google. Why the hell would I need something as plebeian and banal as a job?" I really do think he's destined for the jet-set party trust fund kid lifestyle once skating is done. I like that while JJ may like women, he's also totally able to get his bitch on the way most women can and most guys can't. (I grew up with 3 sisters and I went to a high school that was 70 percent female- believe me, I know female bitchiness. LOL.) It'll be fun to see how he fights back against MaryEllen.) He's going to get back at MaryEllen in a totally covert, bitchy way and it's going to be funny to watch. And I liked that even though JJ was infatuated with Mary Ellen, he still pretty much had her number as being a horrible person, but it was okay, because she's a great lay and she wasn't horrible to him. Until she was, and then JJ was over it like that. JJ tends to have better instincts about people, as opposed to Poor Man's Son Will, who tended to be an optimist about everyone and will often give people second or third chances. I've always liked that contrast with Matt- that's he's basically a big musclebound blue-collar cornfed Mid-Western jock, but through fate grew up with the manners and airs of an aristocratic family. Meanwhile Wade looks the part, much more than Matt does.

I can sooooo see him doing Mad Men-inspired clothing. That mid-century modern look just feels so JJ.

Very good point. Male fashion models aren't really treated like stars, and the female supermodel era seems over. And it really does seem like absurdly hard work and a cattle herd. And by current standards, for him to get into modeling at mid/late 20's seems a bit off. If he's going to do something with fashion, I see him making a fashion line. But then again, as Mark explained to me once, JJ doesn't really care about getting other people to dress better, like Claire or Stefan do. So I'm not sure how that works. Maybe JJ will just doing the New York City socialite thing for a few years after he gets out of skating. Lord knows he really doesn't have to worry about working for a living. I can totally see him just coasting for awhile and enjoying a fun, jet-set life of a trust-fund kid.

Yeah. 5'6" is just not going to cut it as a male model. It's barely possible for a female model to be that short. As for his looks, it's been funny to see JJ become aware of his looks. He's good-looking, but always in a little kid way. People finally seem to be responding to him as a good-looking young man, rather than as a cute little kid. Which means he probably no longer looks 12. Yet another neat contrast as compared to Will, who's been treated as a fully-grown hottie since he was 13. I kind of figure JJ will go into acting. I think it would suit him. He's apparently a decent singer, which can only help. He probably would be a great dancer, as well. And oh look, he has access to a TriBeCa loft house. He can have one hell of a fun life in New York City. I could also see him branching into fashion. I can sooooo see him getting into that mid-Century modern look that Mad Men makes popular again circa 2007-2008. In any event, I can't see JJ in some 9 to 5 job. I also really can't see him coaching. Because it's been made abundantly clear that JJ can't stand kids. Aside from the height problem, modeling requires you to be very, very comfortable with your body, and people constantly appraising your body and face. I don't think JJ would be comfortable with that kind of attention. Also, his scars from cutting would probably make it problematic.

Well, Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek are both basically retired, but Jeremy Abbott is still kicking it. Still, at 29 it's hard to see JJ still competing, especially given that we're writing JJ as a figure skater known for his quad jumps. That would put a pretty big toll on his body. I wouldn't be surprised if JJ has hip surgery before he's 30. I think Jeremy Abbott's longevity can be attributed to him taking awhile to find his footing and really get elite, but with JJ we're following the Johnny Weir path of someone who rose to elite in an insanely short amount of time. My guess is that JJ's career will be over by 2010. It's strange to think of a retired 29-year old, but that's what JJ likely would be. I can totally see JJ trying to go the "Dancing with the Stars" famewhore route that Evan took.

Good point. JJ is very much a jet-set guy, and I can totally see him spending a lot of time in Britain from April to August. I still don't think this was set up as something with any kind of longevity; however a non-monogamous long-distance relationship could actually work pretty well. Still, I gotta agree with Blue's "Alex is the starter boyfriend" bit.

Chapter 40 -When JJ loses his girl-virginity to MaryEllen. "Night Moves" by Bob Seger

Well, that, and Matt's sexuality isn't the easiest to pin down, either. He's basically gay because his physical and emotional attractions point towards men, but he also clearly has a physical attraction to women or else he wouldn't have kept having sex with them after he came out. I'm really disappointed that MaryEllen got JJ's girl-virginity. I wanted someone better for him, and for it to be someone that he was in love with. Then again, losing your virginity is rarely like it was for Joey Potter. I'm glad he enjoyed it, though. I don't think a Dawson's Creek kind of lost virginity storyline would've worked for JJ, anyway. He's way too damaged to fall in love with a sweet girl-next-door and have a sweet high school relationship. Still, I kind of wanted that for him and I'm a bit disappointed that he didn't get that. Another person pointed out that he didn't wear a condom. Good catch. MaryEllen might be pregnant, but JJ strikes me as someone who would be absolutely paranoid about getting an STD. Has he even been tested yet? Then again, he's just getting used to being sexually active after being relatively chaste as compared to his family members. Alex and JJ have a pretty clear expiration stamp on them. You think Alex will stick around Boston after he finishes grad school? No way. Alex clearly can't stand America. JJ could follow him when he goes back to London, but then he'd have to go through the headache of trying to become a figure skater for the British, and basically starting over when the Olympics are 1-2 years away. I'd be shocked if they were still together by 2004/2005 in any event. As for Brad, I kind of want Darius to blow his plans. This isn't 1972, when guys were forced to fight. Darius should be allowed to make his own decisions and live his own life as a 20-year old man.