methodwriter85

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.

Gas finally hit 1.99 in Delaware. It was awesome. I haven't seen gas that low since like 2004.

Yeah, if JJ and Alex were still together by the start of 2004, I'd call bullshit on this, but Alex really does make sense as JJ's starter love interest. We got to keep in mind here that JJ doesn't really relate to people his age because of his lifestyle, and said lifestyle tends to make it hard to actually hold a serious relationship. Alex is hot, doesn't mind JJ's crazy schedule, and he is interested in JJ's career and treats him like a princess. It totally works. (For now.)

I gotta agree with Tim here. If you were sexually interested in women, and you're 16 years old, you're telling me you wouldn't rail the shit out of a woman who looked like THIS even if you knew that she was a shitty person? I mean, I think Brody Jenner is a vapid tool, but I sure as hell would jump in bed with him if I had the chance. (Any gossip on him by the way, Private Tim? Brody's always struck me as a guy who wouldn't be opposed to messing around with a guy or two. Like in the frat boy "Oh, I was SO drunk!" kind of way.)

I actually think JJ would go along with it, as long as Alex constantly assured him that he was Alex's favorite. I really didn't expect this kind of reaction to the storyline when I first read it. Hmm. Mainly because I thought it actually makes a lot of sense- Alex being willing to marry for money, setting up a "real" partner as opposed to his legal wife, and JJ being okay with it, because he's that infatuated with Alex and he can convince himself that Mary Ellen means nothing to Alex and he's still his favorite. Remember, he's 17. (Well, nearly.) JJ is a lonely kid in a lonely sport without that many opportunities to have relationships. He's willing to do what it takes to keep Alex. Will it work in the long run? Probably not, but I've never gotten the feeling we're supposed to see Alex as JJ's forever love.

I live near a college town, which is the perpetual land of 20-year olds, and I'm at Firefly Music Festival every year, which is also the land of perpetual 20-year olds (who come from all over, not just Delaware), and I've seen this look a lot. I do think the hat he's wearing in the picture is more 2007-2009, but other than that I'd say he's largely reflective of a lot of trends I've seen going around this decade. Especially the striped tank top, rolled up tight jean shorts, and the tattoos. It's not a frat boy look, but more of that "I'm hip and cool and different although a lot of other people dress this way" look. He'd probably have a fixed gear bicycle somewhere. I get the point about the O.C., although it's kind of shame. You missed a lot of great music. The O.C. had one of the greatest music soundtracks, and luckily, it came out right when t.v. shows started negotiating for DVD music rights, so the soundtrack hasn't been gutted like the previous teen greats, Dawson's Creek and Beverly Hills 90210 (Private Tim's generation!) were.

I hope you're right. Something tells me that Mary Ellen isn't used to bedding guys that can also be a total diva-bitch.

Yeah, I do remember hearing that places like Anaheim were much more racially diverse and off-beat cool instead of the whole Nouveau Riche Stepford Whites only view that The O.C., Laguna Beach, the Real Housewives of Orange County were showing. I remember the show got criticized for not having any black characters, but people pointed out that Newport Beach really doesn't have many black people there. It's crazy to think though that Newport Beach, at the time of the show, really was 90 percent white. That's just crazy to me- people joke about how Delaware is some backwards swamp, but we're a pretty diverse state because we're so close to Philly and Baltimore/D.C. I had an experience of a town like that when I went to IUP, as the surrounding town was 88 percent white or something, but there were a fair amount of minority students at IUP to make up for that.

You don't seem like you hang around hipsters, though.

Several years ago, when Mark and I were debating about JJ's sexuality and how it might turn out, we got input from a female figure skater that it would actually be easier for JJ to mess around with other men even if he's also into women, because his female figure skaters peers are under serious scrutiny at all times, and he's going to be around guys much more anyway. It doesn't seem like dance where the girls and a few guys are with each other at all times. It makes total sense he got to men first given where he's grown up and the sport that he's in. I like how nuanced JJ's sexuality is. It's not really black and white. I wonder if he'll be like a bi friend I have, who tells me that his sexuality tends to ebb and flow between "gay" and "straight". If MaryEllen wasn't a raging bitch and JJ wasn't an immature nearly-17-year old, I could see this working. But I can't see this turning into another Wade/Matt/Tiffany deal. JJ is also no Matt, and he really, really can't stand children. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to get a vasectomy. It might be better for him to do that anyway given that he's a biological Crampton and those people spawn illegitimate children like crazy. I am kinda disappointed that it looks like we're not going to get a JJ/MaryEllen bitchfest like I was expecting here. I also expected JJ's first female love interest to be a classy Natalie Portman or Alexis Bledel type.

Joe Paterno's wins are restored to Penn State. Is this fair, or not? I will say, I lived in Western P.A. when the Jerry Sandusky scandal happened, and I was shocked at the riots and everything that went on at Penn State when this happened.