ldyjocelyn

I always like to watch the departure times at the beginning of each episode -- see what the time lags are between contestants. Already an hour behind.....geez. Jen -- "I'm a little lippy." Gee, ya think? It's fun to watch these people mangle this place name! I feel bad for Ron....I think. Hernia's can't be fun....

Bookwhore -- glad you're here! See you again in 10 minutes!

kf, that just shows the differences in musical tastes and listening back in the 70's....because Barry was all OVER my radio at that time. I just went to his article in Wikipedia (yeah jmh, sue me for that, my apologies), and it says that he had five albums on the best selling record charts simulatenously at one point. Not many reach that point. Yeah, I've got some Barry Manilow albums. I loved his live album, specifically his commericial medley. Don't forget TAR watchers -- show is on in just over 15 minutes! I'll be in the thread!! So, we're at one year for the UNICEF lighting? That means that we're also at almost one year for the AMA's (and I see bottlecap has that covered *mouths "thank you"*), but that also means....we're almost at the anniversary for this.... And this....

No, it really isn't "just you." I don't like the bad auditions either, because it does feel to me that people are laughing at them. However, I also totally agree with KAndre that the bad auditions seem to be what much of America LOVES about AI, as witnessed by the ratings. Besides....I sometimes feel a twinge of regret that I was one of the now-devoted who totally missed "Take," because of my reasons. In any event, I'll still watch next week, but I'll have the mute button ready at a moment's notice. I'm sure Clay will still be narrating, and for me, that does count for something. One other thing I'm remembering, and I'm not sure if it was something Clay said or something that a fanfic writer made up. Was Keith very near Clay in line on the streets of Atlanta? If I'm remembering this correctly, we may get Clay's take on Keith, which could be very interesting. If I'm not remembering this correctly...well, that fanfic writer did a damn good job. Now it's time to watch my download.... Oh yeah, word to jamar too. Top of page 69? Does that count for anything?

:hb2: kareneh!!!! You sly person you. Have fun today -- you eHP people keep her out of trouble, OK? Yeah, right! rohdy, it sounds like you're doing a FINE job with the book donations! The whole "rolling the books on stage" thing sounds wrong to me too; I like the idea of having an announcement during the intermission. cindilu2 -- Regarding the GMA thing this morning....see, I think Clay knew in his heart-of-hearts that he was onto something with his medley. Maybe just a little before the curve, but still. Have a great day everyone! AHHHHH! I'm on top!!!! And I think I'm falling......help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

{{{{{{{jumpingjacks}}}}}}}} You're entitled to whine any damn time you want to, IMO. I'd suggest this kind of wine too... ...but you probably can't have that, I'm sure.

Wow, I think couchie is having a FANTASTIC day. She gets to tell a stupid asshole off, and for a reward, she gets a laptop! WOOHOO!!!!! Yay for AIW on iTunes! No more driving to 5 area WalMarts in the freezing rain to buy oodles of copies for my friends! And sure, I'll buy a copy on iTunes. I'm whipped.

Nothing really much to add except.... {{{{{{{muski}}}}}}}} :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Welcome christel! Thank you YSRN for posting the link to dreamlarge’s latest. Good guh, that was great. I started composing a post with quotes, and then figured out that there was just so much ding-danged stuff I wanted to quote, I decided it would just be too much. I mostly agree with CG in the marketing dilemma that Simon saw in Clay (sadly, I think she’s really right about the shallowness of the popular music scene in 2003, and I think it’s still like that today), and ITA with almost everyone else here regarding this latest clip from AI Rewind. It’s not like complaining about Simon and Randy making fun of Clay’s picture is going to change the final outcome of the show -- unless by complaining it makes me a new castmember of “Heroes,” able to change outcomes of reality shows. And in this instance….I probably wouldn’t use that anyway. (I would on a few episodes of Amazing Race though…heh.) Clay seems to be fine without the title. I did want to repost one thing though, simply because it cracked me up…. Thank you KAndre.

Back from another all day meeting. Librarians seem to have TONS of meetings, for some reason.... play, Cotton and merrieeee, I loved all your stories. gbmifan, good luck tomorrow.... farouche!!! Cool! I know the name, glad to get to know you better. soulsistah -- I think sleep helps a GREAT DEAL when my mood is bad. Glad you're feeling better. {{{{{wandacleo}}}}} I'm glad I'm not the only one. I mean, I really can't come up with any funny stories with my family. We were dull, dull, dull. *shrug* Yeah, I think it could be very fascinating to see how he tailors each show to the particular stories. We'll just have to see, won't we? Thread title? I don't have it memorized, but I'm pretty familiar with it. I used to work at a library that was an hour from my house, one way. I listened to the audiobook version several times in the year and a half I had to do that drive. I was actually thinking of seeing if I can buy an mp3 version of it for my new iPod. OK, I think it's bedtime already. 5 hours of driving makes me snoozy!

{{{{{{wandacleo}}}}}}. I'd love to know what to tell you to get through this time in your life, but sometimes words are hard to come by. I guess I'd say -- try to remember the good times (including what seems to be that feisty spirit in her), and just come by here if you need to talk.

I'm in too -- would love to see what you've said.... CG, does it surprise you that, as a Christian, I can totally understand and relate to your hating the commericalization of Christmas? Like KF, I feel the holiday season should be reserved for the few days leading up to Christmas, and I try to do that as much as possible. (BTW, did you realize that the "12 Days of Christmas" actually STARTS on Christmas day? Before that time in the Christian calendar, it's Advent -- an anticipation of things to come.) Am I successful with this? Unfortunately, no. It's incredibly hard NOT to get caught up, especially when you're bombarded with it constantly. But I think for me -- well, Ansa said it pretty darn good.... I'm one with rose colored glasses that believes there CAN be an emotional heart to Christmas, and I want to hope that people will try to find it. Even if you don't believe, there's a LOT of good that can come out of the spirit of the season, you just need to know where to look for it. I think Clay is trying to help people realize it too. BWAH!!! And I missed you YSRN! That's the way I feel too.... I totally agree with this whole thing. He TRIES. And I love that about it, even if I might dislike the whole concept later. I had a thought regarding the stories -- I think maybe some feel about these stories that Clay's trying the way some feel about the "planned spontaneous" moments during concerts. For some, trying to recreate magic in that way feels totally forced; for others, it's the spirit of the thing, even if the whole thing falls apart. I guess I've never cared much either way, and that's why I'm going to wait and see regarding the stories. {{{FromClaygary}}}}}} And that's the crux of this whole deal for me: Are the storytellers going to see themselves and their stories (heartfelt or sappy or blatantly manufactured or whatever) eviscerated on the boards? It seems to be heading in that direction already in some quarters and I find that to be very troubling. Me too. Man, that makes me sad. I honestly think there will be some stories that will touch my heart, or make me laugh, or get me into the spirit of Christmas. There will be some stories that make me simply roll my eyes. But I will not disparage someone who has opened their hearts in this way -- even if it could be simply for a famewhore moment. Why? Because I really don't KNOW these people who are writing the stories. Sure, I "know" many of you on this board, and I can probably predict motivations for why you wrote your stories. But do I know for certain? Nope. Therefore, I try not to judge any fan in that way. One of the things I've learned in the past five years. I've reread LTS more than a few times, but not in about a year or so. I'm in!

Heyhowareya to ashleysgram! If you met the FCAers in Vegas and liked them...yeah, you'll fit in but good. *g* Hope to see you on the main board.

I'm pretty much with Ansa on this whole "renewed faith" thing. According to dictionary.com, the first definition of "faith" is "confidence or trust in a person or thing." Sure, the concept of faith is frequently attached to religions, but it does not have to be. As far as if he would feel pity on you CG -- yeah, he might. He might not. My opinion is that he wants people to share the joy he feels at Christmas -- a sharing. Clay Aiken fans want to share Clay, because we think he's important, and we want the world to know. Democrats and Republicans alike feel the same way about their political beliefs, they want to share. People want to share things they are passionate about. In this instance....this is Clay's sharing. JMO. {{{{{soulsistah}}}}} YAY for rohdy getting the book thing set up. Off to buy a book or two!

That is what I'm hoping for with watching Rewind this season too. I think I got so Clay-centric during the show that I sometimes totally blew off some of the performers, or some of the greater performances during the run of the show originally. I'm hoping that I, along with many others in the fandom, will be surprised and pleased in hindsight watching a few of these performances. Or at least appreciate them with a new set of eyes. Or at least be less quick to judge. *crosses fingers* That Rosie charity thing looks cool, but the bid is already at $1000. Sure that's 4 tickets and a M&G, but still -- out of my price range. Bad enough that I'm splurging for a hotel room connected to the theater at Merrillville, and am looking to upgrade my seats for that show anyway.... Besides, I'm crossing my fingers that I get a M&G for St. Louis. Speaking of St. Louis -- two weeks from today!!!! EEEEEEEEEE! And there's going to be a cool multi-board party at the Hard Rock Cafe beforehand!

KAndre, while the clothes on disco night really did nothing for me (I still think he needed to unbutton the shirt to his navel and add some chains *g*), the song got me but good. That song is one that personifies disco to me....and I think I fell off my couch that night when he hit that note and held it and held it and held it and held it and held it. So, I'm eyeing suspiciously some of these people too. I think I'm at the point in my fandom where I honestly can't pinpoint when certain feelings toward Clay hit. I think I always saw the cute (remember, I'm one who loved the personality way before I fell for the voice), but when did I find the hawt? I really don't know anymore. Was it BMUB? Was it the RS cover? Was it the first Invisible? I don't know... And I've never honestly cared about the makeup. I guess I always thought it was my bad (at the time) TV. *g* WORD to Perma above about Quiana; and at the new picture....*sigh*

I think this is what I was trying to say earlier (but very, very badly). I do think that Simon thought there would be women who would be attracted to Clay....but in his mind, those aren't the kinds of people TBTB wanted watching their show, or buying albums. But you know what? I'm just glad that America could get past "shallowness" for once and see the talent and the personality. BTW, I'm with kf and KAndre in that I thought the hawt came much later. (I could see the "cute," but that for me was much more personality than it was physical looks....) couchie and Cha Cha Trusty -- glad you had a fantastic time! Totally agree with this assessment. Yeah, I really noticed it watching last night. It's too bad too, because the tone of his voice is really pleasing to me. IT WAS?!?!?!?! Heh. I still didn't get it. I'll have to watch the episode again to see that. As someone who was only half paying attention during the Hollywood rounds, the making up a melody thing was very eye-opening for me. And yeah, the talent in the top 10 was there. (See: almost all the medley sings, something AI has never been able to accomplish since that point, IMO.) I'm just gonna follow around couchie and WORD her today. I think this is absolutely true about AI -- "fit a type, you're in." It truly is amazing that Clay made it in that respect, because he just didn't fit any mold. Really noticed that about Ruben too, although Clay (and almost all the singers that come from AI) have that problem too, at least with melisma. Clay could keep them in tune at least....but I've still wanted to say to him more than a few times, "could you just FIND a note you like and stick with it?" (See: the final note of the SSB at the Raleigh baseball game. I still can't watch that clip to this day anymore....) Perma, I really like your style around here. You stop by, write something, and then end with a pretty that we all go "GUH" over. Thank you for your pictures. And darn you, I keep wanting to change my avatar every time you post a new picture. Oh, and have fun at the wedding!

Bummer. I would have like to have gotten to know them more. Agree that they probably didn't have the physical abilities to make it far, but they look like they would have been a fun team.

Anybody got some bleach for my eyes? Dad -- Shut the Fuck up, OK?

OK, forget punching Nate for now. Can I punch Ron instead? Loosen up Daddy-O. I love the pole vaulting challenge. That's funny, and something I would do (and very likely could do as well).

play, I thought the same thing about the facial. Can I punch Nate now? I think Jason is kind of cute. Hope he turns out to be an OK kind of guy.

And I can't tie a knot to save my life. Heh. But then, I'm not good at a bicycle ride either. I would be screwed either way.

BWAH!!!!!! I like these two challenges for the detour. Very interesting with the hoist/lift thing. But then, I'm a farm girl, so moving isn't like that for me!

Nope, I'm here! OK, I really officially hate the blondes. "Oh, this race has been hard on us, no manicures or facials." Barf. OTOH, the ministers? LOVE THEM. "We're spiritual, but we know God doesn't care if we win the Amazing Race." BWAH!!! Kynt and Vyxen are going to be tough to beat, I think. OK -- Dad. Take it easy. While the younger guy was a bit rude, it's not a good idea at this point in the game to tell him off. It's not attractive.

Aw, what a cool blog. It sounds like he's enjoying all the stories, so that's cool....but I think he also enjoys the work too. Good for him. BTW, I'm with merrieee in that if you've written a story for St. Louis or Merrillville and are scared silly to read it -- I'll do it! I had no good stories to write on my own, but I've been known to be a bit of a ham, or can do dramatic readings at least! Amazing Race fans -- join me in the thread (starting here); I'm in for an informal chat during the East Coast showing. 'Tis a good night of TV around here -- TAR, the finale of The Next Iron Chef, and then AI Rewind. Thank God for laptops!