methodwriter85

Mark, I've been asking around, and here's some pertinent feedback I got: let's see... 2002 was the run up to the iraq war - I remember a bunch of small protests everywhere in Cambridge... music - all my friends were hipsters/indie snobs, so crap like belle and sebastian, white stripes, interpol (and those other NYC bands), smog, the shins, american analog set, cat power, death cab for cutie, folk revival stuff, etc... people would go to hollywood express to rent DVDs every friday/saturday night. if you had an apple laptop, random strangers (fellow apple owners) would come up to you in coffee shops (most often at the diesel) and try to become friends with you - this also happened if you had an ipod on the T. all the cool kids were wearing those brightly colored pumas... I had a few gay friends, and we'd mostly hang out at the milky way in JP (back when it was in the space with a bowling alley). They did take me to club cafe a couple times and would threaten to leave me at ramrod. construction - there were a few projects going on downtown a bunch in east cambridge and that area between MIT and Central - but I remember Washington Street in the south end there were maybe a dozen projects going up that year... and it was just starting to get really expensive in that neighborhood. I remember meeting this rather flamboyant former ice-capader at his absolutely amazing townhouse he was renting. I also remember that was probably at the height of SCUL's popularity, and my roommate used to ride around with his laptop strapped to the front basket of his bike trying to find unsecured wifi hotspots (since wifi was still pretty new). zipcar was brand new. Gay dudes in 2002 loved Fischerspooner. To this day, no one knows why. (Me: That's apparently a band.) Axis and/or Avalon had gay nights but I really don't remember the details. I feel like Machine was more popular back then and has always skewed younger. Obviously Club Cafe. In cambridge? Man Ray perhaps. *** It totally makes sense that Boston would be crawling with hipsters. Oooh, Mark, this means that you'll have to start introducing hipsters into CAP! YIPPEEEE!!!!! *Can already picture Stefan's horrified look at Hipsters* Although 2002 hipsters were slightly different in style and look as opposed to 2009 ones- more converses and punk t-shirts with Rivers Cuomo glasses. The look didn't get truly hideous until later in the decade.

I really can't tell if you're kidding about that being your day or not.

You just made me remember my high school coach, DJ, who was from the Boston area. He was of course a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, and I remember him giving me shit about wearing a Yankees hat I found while on a run. (I wasn't a fan, but the hat looked cool.) Thanks for the illumination. I think that's interesting. What are some Boston specific (sayings, food, etc) that you can think of? I know about chowderhead. I'm waiting for the day where someone calls JJ that. LOL.

This is apropos:

Alright, New Englanders, what would be the cool hang-out spots for 20-something guys in 2002? What about 16-year olds? Sports culture had to be really ascendant at this time because Boston was embarking on a really successful decade, right? Football, hockey, baseball, and basketball all had championship titles this decade. Are Boston fans rowdy and mean like Philadelphia, or are they better behaved than that?

LOL. Sorry- like I said, I've been researching figure skating in the early/mid-2000's for almost 4 years now. Figure skaters tend to stay single when they're competing (the traveling around, the pressure for the USAFSA to look innocent and virginal, etc etc), but that's not to say a few flings can't happen before JJ finds his first true love somewhere in his 20's. LOL. I wonder if we can have JJ hook up with a crazy fan. Seriously, some fans are fucking crazy. Check this blog out: Jessica Dube Loves Scott Moir To say this blogger was unhappy about Scott and Tessa losing the gold to Charlie and Meryl would be putting it mildly. (Their rivalry apparently has done a lot to kick up ice dancing.) Anyway, I wonder if Wade is going to get with a proper Bostonian at Harvard Law. I can't wait for Wade to make fun of the Bawston accent, while having friends who make fun of his Southern accent. It's going to be fun exploring Boston culture. We're right at the start of the Patriots 2000's dynasty, right? I wonder if Wade will become a Patriots fan. (I assume he's probably a Redskins guy, but he might be willing to adopt the Patriots due to their being the most successful NFL team of the 2000's at 121 wins, plus they're not division rivals. And I think the Redskins have not been a consistently good team since the early 1990's, according to team history.)

It's an interesting idea, but Mark has described JJ as having an almost-Asperger's inability to read people and social cues, so I'm not sure he'd be a good fit for pair's figure skater- it's apparently essential to be able to communicate well and work well with others, and JJ, well he kinda doesn't, does he? That's why I think solitary sports are good for him. We're also hitting the point in figure skating history where it's now rare for people to do both pairs and singles (Kristi Yamaguchi was the last one to successfully do it) - we've never seen any indication that JJ has done pairs, 5 seasons into his skating career, and at the level he's at (where he can get invited to Senior Grand Prix and make it to Worlds), it's very unlikely he'd decide to make a switch. He's also on the short side for pairs/ice dancers- the men there to be on the taller side. I think ice dancers Davis/White started when they were 10 or 12, I believe- that seems more like the typical track for that. In a couple of years I think it'd be funny to watch JJ fall in love- I think he will have a very Robbie-like propensity to buy extravagant gifts going beyond the Schluter New Car of Friendship. I had a friend who wanted to buy this guy he had hooked up with a couple of times expensive cufflinks, and I had to talk him out of it. LOL. (Good thing I did- the guy dumped him for a girl shortly after.)

Blue, no, put the gun down! ;-) I wonder if Wade or JJ will wind up taking up with a Boston Southie blue-collar guy. I do kind of feel like, with JJ's snobbery, it's inevitable he's going to have a classic "rich boy takes it up with someone from the wrong side of the tracks" story. It's such classic soap. I always did think Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck were pretty hot.

Someone actually turned down a Schluter/Crampton wardrobe spree. I've been waiting for that. LOL. Relatively quiet chapter; I liked the call-back to Stefan and Brad's blood brothers deal. I like that Will carried that on- JJ doesn't seem like the type to do the blood brother thing. Darius, possibly, but at 20 he'd probably find it kind of lame, and it seems like he's not all that uber-close to Stefan. John might, but he doesn't seem that close to Stefan, either. Can you blame him? Will's forgiven him on a lot of crap over three stories- he probably thought he could act with impunity, flash those puppy dog brown eyes, fuck him, and all would be forgiven yet again. I think he didn't count on having sex with Will's brother as being the final straw.

Chapter 5 -When Brad has Ben fitted for a tux, who gets really uncomfortable. "How the Other Half Lives" from Thoroughly Modern Millie -When Brad muses about the Look of Insta-Chemistry. "I Turned The Corner"/"I'm Falling In Love With Someone" from Thoroughly Modern Millie -When Brad muses on the different forms of love, and remembers when he and Stefan became blood brothers. "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers

I have a master's degree in history that I'm not really doing anything paid with, though I do volunteer at a museum so I can keep my skills current. I might go back to school someday- either to get another master's degree in urban planning, so that I can create a niche for myself as a urban renewal history guy, or get a PhD in public history. I haven't really decided yet- in any event, I want to live real life for at least 5 years out of grad school- if by 31 I'm still not going anywhere in my field, I'm probably going to go back to school. Grad school's a bitch, though. I don't know if I can do it again.

Well, if they care, they're not THAT concerned since it seems like a lot of them drive SUV's. Mark's reflected the popularity of them for the early/mid-part of the decade. Anyway... I kinda figure the meltdown of 2007-2009 should figure into CAP, and Matt's a good person to be part of that lense. 2008 will be such an insane year to work with. It's interesting how people are positioned- Brad and Stefan are positioned to profit from the Iraq War. If/when Will/the kids start to have friends who became veterans of the war, will that amp up conflicts between them and JP/Will? Will seems like he's best positioned for the Proposition 8 fight- I can see him being a big part of the No H8 campaign. Also, if Will has maintained his interest in marine life, I can see him being part of the clean-up effort for the 2010 BP Oil Spill. Wade being at Harvard means he'll be there when Facebook is invented in 2004. (God, I miss old-school Facebook.) And JJ being on the East Coast puts him into the cross-hairs of the bitchy Johnny Weir/Evan Lysacek rivalry, which was really fun to read about.

Eh. I do think it's cool that Pittsburgh is becoming a popular filming location- it's a beautiful city. The scenery is just gorgeous. So do you not have an opinion on the Bode Miller custody case? Should it be decided by New York only, or does California have jurisdiction? Is it fair to say that his baby mama "shopped" for a more favorable jurisdiction by moving to New York at 7 months pregnant? You seem to me like a very pro-paternal rights guy, so I thought you'd have an opinion on it.

At gay rave clubs and in truck rest stop bathrooms.

*shrugs* He's an asshole, but what guy wasn't when they were 19? His face is still too effeminate for me. I think Austin Mahone will be much better-looking when he's 19. I think as someone said, the problem with Justin Bieber is that he tries to dress in thug wear, and it doesn't look good on a twink. He'd look so much better in Burberry and the like. As for the actual deposition, I was kinda with Justin at the end with, "Is this a deposition or an interview? I'm confused."

Annnnddddd it's a clothing ad. Still cute, but I feel kind of tainted. Still, the concept was pretty awesome and my hat's off to whoever came up with this. It was pretty innovative.

LOL. Yeah. Adam, has anyone ever told you that you're kind of quirky? I WISH the gay couple had been into it, because as the other one noted, one of them had really pretty eyes, but eh. It was interesting to see the pairings- it was funny to see the 20-something tattooed hipster getting into it with the 60-something Jill Larson. Get it, gurl. LOL.

They don't seem all that concerned with the environment, so I'm not sure I see any of these people getting a Prius. Maaaayyybbbeee Will, but that depends on whether or not he gets in with the GreenPeace crowd in college. This is still the SUV era and Mark's been reflecting that. I don't see Wade becoming the crusading lawyer type. I mean, I'm sure he'll support the effort to get DADT and Prop 8 overturned, but Wade is pretty cynical after 22 years of being raised in politics, and I think his approach to politics is more along the lines of, "change only happens when you hurt a politician's bottom line" as opposed to, "I can change hearts and minds!" He also seems more like a moderate Republican than a liberal democrat. I think the only card-carrying liberals I can see in this family are JP, Will, and probably Marie. Brad and Stefan are getting themselves into war contracting, Ace and Claire seem like staunch Republicans left over from the Reagan Era, and JJ/Darius/Matt don't seem like they'd be politically motivated. Gathan, from how he described his political views in Poor Man's Son, was a middle-of-the-road type who didn't think either side really mattered and was more focused on just the small town he wanted to govern someday. I can see him being a corporate lawyer, on retainer for whatever the hell the conglomeration of Schluter/Crampton companies are called. I can't even remember all the names and affiliations. As for Boston, I'm excited because that means that JJ and Johnny Weir have to battle each other for spots in Nationals, and apparently Johnny Weir had a boyfriend, Drew Meekins, who skated at Boston. So it's a natural, organic way to have the guy pop up and get into bitchy catfights with JJ. LOL.

I feel like Matt's slowly starting to get that things are over, but he's not 100 percent there yet. What a messy, drawn-out break-up.

Well, Adam, "Cross-Currents" is indeed high art, in my mind. That the two sex scenes between Brad and Andy is hot as hell is a nice bonus. (Interestingly enough, while the Andy/Matt scene are hot, because it's based on a deeper bond than just sex, I can't really get off on it. It's almost too intimate.)

Chapter 4 -When Matt leaves his college dorm, for good, and contemplates while leaving behind that life forever. "Forever Young" by Alphaville I danced to this song at my high school prom. It's still emblazoned in my mind- it was the tune from Napoleon Dynamite. -When Wade and Matt have some hot, rough sex. "Control" by Puddle of Mudd -When Matt and Wade talk about his plans for graduate school, and Matt realizes that it really is ending, and soon. "If You Leave" by OMD

Twenty strangers are asked to kiss. This is the result. I loved when you can tell they weren't into it at all, like the gay couple who just pecked and the blonde woman who kept leaning back while she was getting kissed, and the people you figured probably went on a date afterwards.

I was really hoping they'd do a Fault in Our Stars reaction, and they did! Woo-hoo! Good on John Green for his cameo. He's a really funny, intelligent guy. Check out his YouTube videos if you have a chance.

Yeah. I mean, they'll have a quasi-sibling bond because she's being raised by Tiffany, but it's not like anybody in this family has ever let quasi or real-incest stop them. (Thankfully, Mark hasn't gone there with JJ and Will. *whew*) Didn't Jeanine, when we met her, have kind of a punk thing going on? It'd be hilarious if Maddy was like that, amping up Mrs. Danfield's horror. Given Mark's penchant for long-lost people crawling out of the woodwork, I wonder if, once the Marie/JJ/Will generation are in their 20's, he'll introduce male teenagers to go along with Courtney's co-hort (early/mid-90's born people) or if he'll retire the teen scene. He's usually tried to maintain a teen storyline in CAP- but it might recede into the background like it did for Man In Motion and A Summer Love.

For some reason I keep thinking that Ace was born in March 1962. Alrighty then- it does look like Brad hits the big milestone first. Robbie actually had the same birth month and year that Ace had, but we never actually settled on a definite birthday for him. I don't think Mark ever gave a specific age for Jeff or Elizabeth Danfield- I kinda always assumed that they were in their mid/late 40's. I think they'd have to be older than Brad and Robbie were because people Brad's age don't usually have college-aged kids. Mid/late 40's tends to be more in line with that. And plus, for Jeff to be a senior senator like he was, he'd have to be older than 40. Early 50's might be more likely. Matt's parents, I believe, we set them up as being in their late 30's when they adopted Matt, so they should be just about 60 or 61 now. In any event, I'm glad that Marie/JJ/Ethan are 16 now, and Will's almost 16. (And will probably be referred to by other characters as 16.) I feel less squeamish about 16-year olds having sex and doing drugs than I do about 13-year olds doing it. (Well, I can't remember if Marie does drugs..we know that JJ doesn't go near it because it's coarse and his ass is subjected to random drug testing.) I wonder if we'll follow the younger ones into their teenaged years. (Like, it'll be 2026 for us but 2014 for them.) Courtney is exactly the right age- 13 in 2008- to get into Twilight mania. And I'll admit, I'll love it if Riley and Maddy wind up becoming a teenaged puppy love couple when they're 13, because Elizabeth Danfield (if she's still alive) really would hit the roof.