methodwriter85

Matt is making me cringe with his desperation, and willingness to accept what he's even deeming as crumbs. Dude, just move on. Seriously. Let yourself grow up and if it's meant to be, it'll happen. Are break-ups between gay men really this dramatic? I mean, the drama between Brad and Robbie made sense because Brad is pretty messed up, but I thought Wade would've kept this on a low, even-keel. Then again, maybe this is what passes for a low-key, somewhat drawn out break-up in CAP World- no property has been destroyed yet, in any event.

Chapter 7 -When Wade and Matt talk, and make plans to see each other makes plans for their lives in Boston and Chicago, respectively. "Here Is Gone" by the Goo-Goo Dolls

In this episode of Teens React, we see kids react to Nirvana, the seminal 1990's band that defined a generation. I love seeing kids appreciating old music from another era. I grew up listening to Motown oldies station, and it's an annoying when people automatically reject something because it's old, and I love that these kids were able to get into this music. Think about it- not one of these kids were alive or even in utero when Kurt Cobain existed. It's great to see that young people today can still find themselves relating to their music. It is mind-boggling to think that Nirvana only released 3 albums, and they've persisted and endured long enough that people are playing their music on classic rock stations.

Cool to know. I know that historically though, as Private Tim once put it, L.A. was the proud anti-city, while San Francisco was the dense Euro-style city, hence why SF has the more iconic skyline. Los Angeles has been defined by being an never-ending sprawl of suburban housing. I remember reading this interesting book, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, which traced the development of Los Angeles's suburban identity through the rise of McDonald's. Here's another article I found though about Los Angeles's changing identity, that asks the question, "What is the new identity for a city whose entire life has been marked by its ability and desire to endlessly expand?" No More Play: Los Angeles on the verge of a new era I wonder if there will come a time when they'll start tearing down the single family homes in places like the Valley and turning them into mid-rise or high-rise apartment/condo buildings. That could be interesting. How NIMBY are people in Los Angeles? (Houston seems like they'll allow anything, while San Francisco seems farrrrr more NIMBY.)

Now that's just hilarious. One Direction is so much better than Justin Bieber, anyway.

The latter is Broderick Tower, which has been renovated and brought back to life, but the former is Book Tower, which is still abandoned.

So, Generation X (generally defined as the people born from 1965 to 1980, but some definitions include people born in the first half of the 60's) is getting ready to move towards middle age. Derided as a generation of Latch-key slackers in their youth, how does this generation handle their entry into mid-life? This Salon.com article ponders as such: Generation X gets really old: How do slackers have a mid-life crisis? I feel like we've been bombarded by the media and in the arts about the Baby Boomers and their entry into middle-age (American Beauty seems like the defining mid-life crisis movie for that generation), so I'm looking forward to seeing another perspective as the vanguard of Gen X turns 40. (With the older members crossing into 50-something territory.) I do think they've got a lot interesting things going on- they were a generation that hasn't been defined by a war, an assassination, or major social upheaval. I like their argument that it was the divorces of the 1970's as well as the recession of the early 1990's and then, of course, The Great Recession that really defined who Gen Xers are as a people. I've always kind of looked up to Generation Xers as like the cool older brothers and sisters in their flannels and techno speak, so it's going to be cool to see how they define middle-age as opposed to their Boomer counterparts.

2002 in general though was kind of a quiet year- there was the bombing in Bali, the D.C. snipers, and the corporation collapses, but it wasn't insane like 2001 was, or 2003-2005. As for redemption...Mark redeemed a child molester. Seriously, a child molester. Seriously, there is close to nothing in CAP that can't be forgiven if the person actually wants redemption and works at getting it. These people in general don't hold grudges they never let go of as opposed to how real-life people can be. I always kind of wondered what a marriage between two Alpha former frat guys would be like. I kind of figured it'd be a bit like the friendship/relationship between Matt and Andy of Cross-Currents, where they alternate between tender and loving and then getting into massive blow-out fights. LOL. According to Reddit a lot of bro-types are settling down into gay marriages and families, so that's an interesting image to have.

Let's just be glad that they're not heading to Bali in October.

Not a bad idea; however the song isn't period.

Chapter 6 -When Matt sees Wade, and feels happy and hopeful for their future together. "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling -When Wade makes it clear to Matt that he doesn't want to be with him and they are not getting back together. "Foolish" by Ashanti -When Matt mopes about Wade's firm and final "No", and makes a resolution to get over him and start over. "New Slang" by The Shins

If you had told me back when Poor Man's Son came out that we'd have a chapter where the family genuinely celebrates Zach's 17th birthday, I wouldn't have believed you. So it seems like Matt has FINALLY gotten that's it over.

Los Angeles NightFall Also: Southern California's Road Back Los Angeles's population is still growing, so you can't call it a rust-belt, but I wonder if it will ever hit the point where it can't grow anymore and begins to stagnate. If L.A. stays a pro-low density city, it seems inevitable that they'll hit a wall. Suburbs can't expand indefinitely.

Well, I'm sure we'll get some cameos from Wade, especially once school starts.

Wicked. Right. It's basically the Boston equivalent of "hella."

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