methodwriter85

Happy birthday!

Yeah, Blue, that was really good analysis of the characters. I'm impressed. It shows why, even with the similarities to Brad, Will is still pretty different from him.

Well, now we now who we can turn to if we have any computer tech questions. Computers do go into light year leaps during this decade.

I don't think the concept of "trade-offs" and "opportunity costs" and "personal sacrifice" really come through with a guy who grew up in a billionaire family. He, for the most part, does what he wants to do when he wants to do it, because barring emotional stuff, there's not a lot of consequences for him because of his money. It's not like Will had to get a job when he got emancipated like most emancipated minors. As for sports, Will had the talent, but not the drive to really push himself in it. Could you honestly see Will doing the kind of work that pro surfers probably do to get themselves there?

This weekend at Firefly, I saw several guys wearing Native American headdresses. So apparently it's not just a Coachella thing. Ugh.

Yes. It's something that I came to accept right around Paternity, and I realized I couldn't push my version of morality, as a kid from the working class, on these people. (Although to be honest, the values I was taught was more on the "survivor side" of using people when you need them and ditching them when you don't than the middle class kind of value side. I just learned those by watching episodes of Full House and Growing Pains.) These are not normal kids, and we can't really apply the same rules here. A really good illustration of this I saw...there was a mild uproar of pic of a 13-year old Willow Smith hanging out with her 20-year old friend on a bed, with him being shirtless. There were pearls clutched, but Will and Jada really had no problem with it. Because again, the rich are different, and they have completely different mindsets. (Though to be honest, I didn't really see a problem with it. It's not like she was naked in bed with him.) He's rich. He'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Even most middle-class white kids do. The only way someone would do serious time for it would be if they had a distribution network going, and even though, if you're rich and powerful enough, you can still get away with a slap on the wrist. See: Thomas Ravenel, the former South Carolina state treasurer who embezzled money to involve himself in cocaine ring and served maybe 8 months in a low-security prison where he, in his own words, picked up playing bocce ball. University of Delaware kids were big on smoking pot so I knew a good amount of kids who got busted. As long as you had the money for a decent lawyer, you were fine.

Well, the thing about being a twink is that it relies on you having this youthful, feminine/andro beauty- skinny, perfect skin, etc etc.That doesn't really age well. You can't maintain it. For me, I LOVE it when a twink goes from this: To THIS: I still cannot get over how much hotter I find James Maslow now than I did when he was 18/19 at the start of Big Time Rush and the typical pretty boy twink. He was adorable as a twink, but these days? Damn. Milk sure did that body good. He's a good illustration of that "filling out" stage that often happens with guys in their late teens/early 20's, albeit aided with an obvious fanatic lifting routine. Most guys will find their shoulders broaden and such when they're in their early 20's. When I was 22, I got fitted for a suit, and I told the guy, "I should be a 40 chest", based on my prom tux three years ago. He said, "No, you're at least a 44" and he was right. BTW, has anyone else noticed that guys seem to be cutting off that long, mid/late 2000's Zach Efron Circa High School Musical kind of hair these days? Shorter hair is coming back, or you're seeing the undercut look with really short sides and long on the top.

In honor of Blue's L.A. River picture posting, I thought I'd post this: New Riverwalk Opening From Studio City to Sherman Oaks I think murals are pretty great ways of brightening up a space and avoid graffiti (which can be art but can be just total crap), so I really think putting a mosaic is a great idea.

BTW, seriously...shop at H&M. They're cheap, and the bulk of what they make are styles that would look good on skinny people. I'm pretty sure Los Angeles has to have an H&M. I googled it, and here's what Askmen had to say about dressing your body type: Pros And Cons Of Dressing A Skinny Body A slim frame is significantly easier to dress than a large one simply because clothes hang better on thinner bodies. Another benefit of having a slender physique is that it’s easy for you to be in style because trendy clothing not only looks good on you, it’s made readily available to you by the fashion industry. And, if you’re into high-end apparel, your size is more frequently available in stores because your body shape is what designers prefer to dress (for both aesthetic and sample/pattern size reasons). While there are obvious benefits to dressing a skinny body type, there remain, however, a few challenges. Notably, wearing ill-fitting clothes will result in coming off as a boy playing grown-up. A further and rather vexing problem this body type faces is finding clothes that fit at budget-friendly mass retailers, which — in America — frequently size up (offering sizes up to 3XL). To solve this problem, become a fan of European imports like Zara, H&M, and Topman, which are skinny-body type- and budget- friendly. Dress Your Body Type: The Guide Fit No matter what your body type, proper-fitting clothes are vital to being a well-dressed man. Though a frequent mistake made by men with skinny body types is wearing oversize clothing in an effort to bulk up visually, skinny men actually benefit from having their clothes tailored more than any other body type. Hunting down a reputable tailor and taking all recent purchases to him will ensure you're showing off your frame to its best advantage. When deciding what to buy in the first place, favor body-skimming dress shirts and tees that permit some movement in the fabric (look for “Slim Fit” models at your mass retailer). Check the label on your tops too, avoiding anything that contains elastic as these garments tend to stick too closely to your body rather than gliding over it. For a similar reason, skinny jeans should also be banished from your closet as they will either make you look malnourished or like you're wearing leggings — neither of which is attractive in the least. When it comes to denim, stick with straight-leg or slim-fit boot cut jeans instead. Colors And Patterns If you're on the slim side, there are a few tricks you can use to play up your assets and minimize the things you don’t like about your body. First off, you should know that recent research has revealed that vertical stripes actually make people look larger, which flies in the face of conventional fashion wisdom. Opt, therefore, for dress shirts, T-shirts, blazers, and suit pants with a vertically striped pattern. For suits and dress pants, pinstripes are a classic, flattering choice. For patterned tops, such as plaid or windowpane, midsize patterns are much more flattering than smaller ones. Where color coordination is concerned, wearing all of one or, more specifically, dark colors like black from head to toe will emphasize your skinny body frame, so take advantage of breaking up your outfit when you can with lighter hues here and there such as white, light-gray and pale-blue. Hair In addition to the fit, color and pattern of the garments in your wardrobe, there are additional points to consider when dressing a skinny body type. To begin with, impeccable grooming is a surefire way to enhance any man's appearance, be he thin or not. As skinny men tend to have slimmer, angular faces, use this fact to your advantage by asking your barber to give you a great haircut that will show off your prominent cheekbones and jawline. Fashion Trends Additionally, much like with their hairstyles, men with slender physiques can pull off an impressive array of fashion trends. Because designers prefer to dress this body type, many clothing lines are designed with your body type in mind, and you can use this knowledge to your advantage by regularly incorporating one or two trendy pieces into your wardrobe each season. If you're not into following fashion, at least consider slipping into some trendy footwear. Building Your Wardrobe With regards to the particular pieces slim men should have hanging in their closets, single-button and two-button jackets are a good choice for smart-casual occasions, while double-breasted blazers is this body type's best friend for dressier events. In terms of outerwear, toppers that cover your rear should feature more heavily in your wardrobe than cropped jackets. Crew necks are a better choice than V-necks, and in cold weather, feel free to add turtlenecks into your winter wardrobe as they're warm — and your body type is one of the few (if only) that can get away with wearing them and still look good. Thin men can also enjoy the benefits of layering — namely, that you stay warmer but look cooler. Lastly, skinny men can have lots of fun experimenting with fabrics as they can get away with wearing a wider variety compared to other body types — heavy tweeds, corduroys and anything with a chunky-knit texture are good examples that look fantastic on a slender frame, but would overpower other body types. Checklist: Your Wardrobe Staples Double-breasted blazers Heavy-knit sweaters Pinstripe suits Trendy footwear (say, a pair of combat boots) Crew-neck tees Straight-leg or slim boot cut jeans Flat-front trousers A pair of corduroy pants Single or double-button blazers Vertically striped dress shirts Military-style jackets A tailor **** Now that it's summer, you could just go classic summer prep and rock a pair of flat-front pastel shorts, an oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of boat shoes. That seems to be a flattering look on any guy. I'm not sure I'd recommend those funky pattern/colored ringer tank tops that all the guys seem to be wearing, though.

Happy birthday, JP. It's funny to think that we've seen the guy go from 26 in Chronicles of an Academic Predator, to 66 in Flux.

Maddy and Kennie. Oh my god, that's fucking cute. Mark, we HAVE to give Tiffany and Wade a daughter named Kennedy, nicknamed Kennie. It's just too cute.

Fat chance. Still...Kennedy...I like that one. Kennedy Lincoln. It would work for a boy or a girl. What do you think, Mark? Anyway, back to Blue...I always thought it was funny when skinny jeans somehow manage to be baggy.

Blue, as a guy born in the 1980's, I think it's impossible to have NOT known a Chris, Mike, Dan, or Matt at some point. Josh as well. I have an outlier experience though- I met a LOT of Steve's in my life, but the median age for Steve is mid-40's.

Ooh, Kennedy is a good one. The average age is three, but it looks like the name was rising in popularity in the early/mid-2000's, although it never became a huge top 30 name. But it's just trendy enough without being something that everybody is named, but not so obscure that it's out there. Kennedy Lincoln Van der Boss-Danfield. Elizabeth would shit a brick at her grand-daughter being named that. If we were sticking to the Irish name theme that Wade and Tiffany chose for Riley, we'd have to pick something like Liam, Connor, or Aidan. It's funny how naming goes- my sister went with "Cadence" for her daughter in 2006, which she thought was very obscure. But it's not- it's like a top 250 name or something for that age group. Not that popular, but in the 90's, it wasn't even a top 1000 name. So my niece has apparently met other little girls with that name, but I'd be shocked if she met a grown woman with that name. Meanwhile, another sister named her 3-year old daughters "Sofi" and "Sydney", so yeah, they're pretty much in line with their generation. Their upcoming son is going to be named "Evan", which is also pretty common. But another sister, who favors crazy names because she was named Jennifer in 1977 along with many, many others, named her son "Chaos" with his middle name being "Phoenix." Chaos Phoenix. And yep, my sister used to be a big-time X-Men fan back in the 90's- she had the comics, the figurines, everything. The sister who went for the "common" names for her kids pretty much thinks that Chaos is going to have to be home-schooled. You can't even just initial him- C.P.? That doesn't work. And going by Phoenix probably wouldn't help, either.

I'm just bagging on you. I still have a pair of cargo pants. LOL. You know what I miss, though? Chords. Popular circa 2001-2003, and then just seemed to disappear. Anyway, this feels apropos... How To Tell Someone's Age If You Only Know Their Names So, if Tiffany and Wade do wind up having another kid (they both seem to want another one), here are some popular names for that age group: Boys- Logan, Xavier, Tristan, Connor, Noah Girls- Hailey, Alexa, Emma, Isabelle Or they could be a couple of years ahead and name their daughter "Addison", to go along with "Madison." Seriously though, if they wind up having a daughter, I kind of like "Hailey". It reminds me of my sisters' friends who seemed to name their daughters that quite often.

I have 3-year old nieces named Sydney and Sofi.Sofi is going to be to their generation what "Ashley" and "Jessica" were to mine. The name "Heather" seems like its marching towards middle-age status...the youngest Heather I've known is 22, and it doesn't really seem like a name you hear for teenaged girls/college girls that much anymore. Most of them seem to be in their mid-30's at least. Brad also seems like an "once trendy name becoming middle-aged." I'd also say that for Bruce and Greg, which seems like names that were given mostly to guys born in the 1960's. Amy also seems like a name that you don't hear little kids getting named now. Of course, there old-standbys John, Joey, Matt, Chris, Mike, Sarah, and Kate will probably never go out of style. Everyone, no matter the age, has probably grown up with somebody who had at least one of those names. But the names that feel particular to my generation are Ashley (female, once a male name), Jessica, Brittany, Josh, and Justin.

This article tries to figure out, on average, how many living Americans have certain popular names, and what is the average age of the people with the name. I've always thought it's fascinating how names are often linked to time period trends- like Jennifer exploding in popularity during the 1970's because of the success of Love Story, or the curious surge of the names Leo and Jack once the girls who made Titanic a hit were starting families. And there are some names that are just so linked to their time period, like Doris and Betty instantly making you think of a young adult in the 1950's. Of course, as they count for, there are outliers. Heather was most popular in 1975, and it's not really a young girl name any more- it's steadily heading towards being the name of a woman in her late 30's to mid-40's- but I had a friend named Heather who's only 22. And I knew a guy named Mason in high school, who would be about 28 now. And my high school teacher remarked to this classmate named Susan how unusual that name was for a teenaged girl in the 21st century. My name is fairly close to being "right" for my age...it was most popular in 1976, which would suggest most Jeremy's were born in the 1970's, so I'm probably just a little bit younger than most guys named Jeremy. Meanwhile, I've met very few little kids with that name. Anyway, it's funny to think that someday, there will be bickering Jaydens, Aidens, and Caydens in nursing homes in place of the Bob's, Harry's, etc etc.

....those aren't skinny jeans. They're circa late 90's/early '00s cargo pants.

From Chapter 30: He pulled out a laptop and set it up on the table, so Stef and I could both see, and showed us some of his latest designs. “There is a definite hip-hop influence,” Stef noted. “But also a Bohemian flavor. This is truly unique.” “Bohemian is giving way to the hipster movement,” he said. I looked at him, confused. I’d never heard of that. Stef didn’t say anything, but it looked like he hadn’t either. “They’re a bunch of tortured young people, trying to be individuals,” he joked. I thought this was funny, because I had to explain what a hipster was to a guy who was 47 in 2013, so about close to Brad's age. He was saying I had to dress like Greenwhich Village bohemian for a part in a play he was directing, and I said, "So like a hipster?" He didn't know what that was, or that Brooklyn is now the "cool" borough. Interesting little generation gap moment there. It's going to be interesting to see how Alex affects these guys. Nice way to have a "crossover", of sorts.

Well, okay, Blue can just try to take his shirts to a tailor. Anyway, back to upcoming events, etc etc... With them in Boston, we've got the rise of the Patriots 2000's dynasty (first Super Bowl already won, two more to go), and the rise of the Boston Red Sox, who will finally win a World Series in 2004. I wonder if Wade will become a Pats fan. Boston and Pittsburgh are probably the best sports cities to live in for the 2000's. They can both claim the "City of Champions" title.

Couldn't you just take those shirts to a tailor or a friend that sews? Or learn how to sew yourself. Do you shop H&M? They seem like a pretty slim fit company.

Check out the new W Hotel they're going to build at 15th and Chestnut: I like it. It's got a cool, edgy vibe to it.

5'9" to 5'10" seems like a pretty optimal height- not short, but not too tall. You're probably great at wearing clothing being both skinny and a good height. I wonder if Will would wear skinny jeans. I'm half and half on that. I don't think it'd be a flattering look on him given that he's described as being pretty tall and muscular, rather than tall and lanky. But he might just get into the look anyway- most guys did wind up ditching their baggy jeans for more fitted stuff. If he were about Courtney's age, for sure. Most guys I see in the teenaged/early 20-something range are wearing them, unless they're a bro. Bros seem to stick to their salmon shorts and oxford button-downs with the sleeves rolled up (or a polo) no matter what the decade. JJ probably was an early adopter of the look circa 2007.

Alright, that makes sense. Nice. Although I kind of pictured Alex with more of a "refined", over-bread look to him. Also, his features don't look that pointed to me.

See, on a short, skinny guy like yourself, it's a good look. What I hate is when tall guys with big muscular legs try to fit into them. It's not a good look on them. The funny thing is that the skinny jean look had its roots in emo culture. Back around the early/mid-2000's, emo guys would wear girl jeans as part of their whole "I'm being cool and different" deal. Then at some point, skinny jeans replaced the girl-jeans.