ldyjocelyn

Oh sure, rub it in.

Listen, I'm down to my final 14. For me, this is a major accomplishment to be this far along before the deadline. I just hope I can make a final decision -- when it gets to this point, it gets really, really hard for me to make a decision!

I'm very disappointed in the Clay Nation at the moment -- I was expecting the clack to be here already....

Eva indicated it would be hosted around 9:00 this evening.

Cool! Thanks! I should probably just cancel my DVRing then, because I'm not going to get this until tomorrow evening live for me.

And duh! It took me FOREVER to figure out what AIR was! *g*

heee and for me it's listen to IWTKWLI 100 times day. Thank god I love this song. No way am I getting sporked!

ok this is so not worhy of top of the page curse honors.

Hee! I'm down to one more venue, and then whittling down from my top 15 or so. I'm pretty sure what one of my top BYLM will be, just for sentimental reasons (I think I had it pegged before I even began the project), but there have been some other fantastic ones too. I'm not getting sporked, I don't think...or I hope. Hopefully will have the time to finish the project tomorrow night....

Back from the zoo, and then the playground. I was with my husband, my niece, and her three children (ages 8, 5, and 16 months). What a great age to go to the zoo, especially a fairly small zoo. It took us 2 hours to tour the entire place. They were enthralled, stopping at every exhibit...but 2 hours was also their limit. Then McDonald's for lunch (Filet of Fish for me, plus I didn't eat all my fries -- YAY me!), and then the playground. This is where I got into trouble -- I was walking on a balance beam, doing a pretty good job, when a gust of wind got me, and I ended up jumping down about a foot. Bad idea -- it hurt my knee, one that I have trouble on and off with. So, now I'm home, with my laptop, and some ice on my knee.

I'm very disappointed in the Clay Nation at the moment -- I was expecting the clack to be here already....

It sounds like this is gonna be fun. I didn't watch the early auditions either (I really don't like the audition process of any of these types of shows, period), so hearing Clay talk over them should be fun.

From CH

ETA a couple of screencaps from the AI2 Season Opener thanks to our generous Anonymous donor:

~~~heh, I wanted to see them.... /suparsekritmod weee!

We need these on the new page.

*digs a hole with front paws and buries them for later pickup*

I set the DVR last night for AI Rewind, although around here, baseball games will very likely postpone each and every instance of it shows *waves at AIKim*. I really don't know why I set the DVR though -- might as well just wait for the vault. I'll have to try and remember to watch, though....but I'm going to the zoo today, so this might be a moot point.

i remember the jinx thing as a kid..and if you said it last you couldn't talk until somebody said your name LOL.

Looking forward to it.

I'd never heard of "jinx" until I got on the Clay boards. The one that always keeps popping back on to me was "you owe me a Coke."

I was over "reading" the NewClayAiken blog. The pictures tell the story: US trip to see Clay entitled, I'm not sure why because I can't read a word, "Without Clay"

Seriously cute. I also loved their tour of Hollywood, with the footprints of Johnny Depp and the picture of Godzilla's star on the Walk of Fame.

Anyway, found this there on the current blog page. I love to look at the photos they choose. Is this not the most amazing photo of the most amazing face?

I wondered where you got your new avatar. He's so beautiful...

That first one is cute but to me, he looks about 12 yrs. old in it. Makes me feel a wee bit strange.

No reason.............

Ah, but dontcha know he'll turn around and look 30 in just a second? Besides, I'm 12 anyway.

Exactly! He looks his age, and then he doesn't, and then he does again. It's amazing, and thrilling, to watch those transformations.

This cracked me up! I recognize myself in that reaction, keepingfaith. How funny is it to be excited because Clay will be saying things we haven't heard before? It's like a new song, almost! I love to hear Clay talk, and almost don't care what he's talking about. I suppose he will be following a script, so I don't know how much of 'Clay' we'll get, but his personality always shines through. I can't wait!

This is me too, duckyvee! No matter what he says, scripted or not, Clay is speaking, and that's pretty darn good by me.

As I said, off to the zoo today, with my niece and her three kids. We only have a small zoo here, so I might not be gone the entire day.....

According to Fountaindawg, this is a cropped do not crop or post on the OFC picture. Anyone know if this is just a cap instead?

Compared to this picture (uncropped), it looks to be the same....

As for "boards and blogs that must not be named" -- I understand a need to vent about that kind of stuff here. And yet, in a way, I think by talking about it here...hard to explain....but it just adds on to the whole component, you know? The best thing to do, and what Clay has suggested many times, is to just ignore. I know that can be difficult, especially when it arrives in our mailboxes every day, or a friend "helpfully" sends you the latest rumors. But it really is all we can do, and part of that, for me, is going to try my best not to talk about those boards any more. Frankly, they're not worth the effort. (Will I succeed? Probably not. But I sure as hell can try...)

jumpingjacks, I can understand the whole "almost driven out of the fandom" thing too. I will never ever leave being a fan of Clay -- but there are so many things inside the fandom that I just don't understand, they make me pull my hair out. And these things were infiltrating every.single.board practically, which made it really hard to ignore. But eventually, I found my place in this fandom, one that is smart, funny, and simply fun. Oh, and LOVES Clay Aiken a whole damn lot.

Favorite tour moment -- you can ask YSRN. She'll tell you. Oh, OK -- I'll post the link as well....

Second favorite tour moment -- whenever he laughs. OK, that's cheating I know, but it works for me.

Speaking of CU, there are a couple of posters over at the OFC in The Man, in a thread called "How can I get my Clack up on ClackUnlimited?", who have clack from the DCAT but don't know how to get it to the vault. Can anyone here help them?

There's a link at the bottom of the Clack Unlimited main page (www.clackunlimited.com) saying "Are we missing anything? Email Us" and the "email us" is a link. They should probably use that to inquire further.

*waves at bottlecap*

*asks, "has anyone seen georgiaclay lately?"*

Scarlett!

It's really all about perspective, isn't it? Also, that is a fantastic idea of "us" thinking about the future for Clay in that way. He truly is working on being around for a good long while, simply by doing what he needs to do (working on albums, touring, and his charity work), and ignoring the crap. I really think his method will work, too, in keeping himself around.

JBT -- I loved it! JNT2005 -- I loved it! JNT 2006 -- I loved it! DCAT -- I loved it! You can "Shift-F2" for the rest of the concerts as well from me, and I'm positive I'll be like that for every tour Clay does in the next 20 years!

AI Rewind -- I can't imagine them NOT asking Clay either. And I think it says a LOT that he is doing something for it -- if he truly didn't want to be associated with the show, he would have simply said "no thank you" to this request, IMO. Unless he's really hurting for money. (Yeah, right....) I think he sees this as a good way to refresh people's brains about who he was/is, and also a bit like his high school reunion. "Memories...light the corners of my mind...."

:F_05BL17blowkiss: zena! I'm glad you're posting around here....and I hope you stay a long while....

Have we seen this yet?

Chickensoup.com

American Idol is the number one television show in the world with almost 60 million viewers per week. In just six seasons, it has become a part of the American landscape and a passion to its viewers; a show that has bridged cultural lines, crossed generation gaps, united families and rekindled the American dream—all in a few short hours during each Idol season.

Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul tells the stories that television cameras will never see—true, uplifting and entertaining stories told with humor and candor that will leave readers laughing, crying and feeling moved and inspired.

In this book, those closest to the heart of American Idol—the contestants, the producers, the behind-the-scenes crew, and the fans—share their tales of audition excitement, backstage elation and tears, and lives changed forever. Here is the stuff that dreams are made of—inspirational stories of being discovered, and for the lucky few . . . of reaching superstardom.

If you go to the website above, and click on the banner, it says "Including stories from Clay Aiken, Jordin Sparks, Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard, Blake Lewis, Melida Doolittle, and other top 10 Idols from every season." It also says that there will be podcasts with interviews from "the top Idol winners," plus a chance to win tickets to the AI8 Finale.

This is different from the "Chicken Soup for Special Needs," which benefits the BAF.

Amazon order link

Hey lilyshine! Nice to see you singular again! *g*

My take on "Clay narrating" - that means he'll be on screen. I just don't think AI is going to have artsy voice-over narratives. In fact, I think Clay and Ruben will be on screen together with Ruben smiling & chillin' and Clay talking a mile a minute, just like the post-AI interviews. I've only seen bits of AI Rewind 1, so I don't really know the format, but I think the old footage of the show was pretty sliced up with commentary.

I've only seen bits and pieces as well, but I seem to remember Dunkelman (who hosted and narrated last year) did a LOT of voice-overs as introductions. Also, I seem to remember that we never saw the interviewer once. I don't think I even HEARD the interviewer. Now, of course, that may change due to the "characters" involved this season (HA HA).

I guess I keep telling myself that it could just be Clay doing voice-overs for a reason: to keep expectations realistic. If he DOES do more than voice-overs, I'll be doing backflips with the rest of you. If it is just voice-overs though, I'll be "OK, that's cool. I like hearing Clay speak...." I have a real problem with the expectations that some fans bring to the table, and I always try to keep some realism around me.

I talked to my husband about DVRing AI Rewind; then he's going to show me how to transfer the stuff onto a DVD. Cool -- I get to learn new technology!

Rereading that blog entry a few times, it sounds to me that we'll hear more of Clay than we will see him. "Narrated by Clay." VERSUS. "Hosted by Ruben." I'm going to guess that he's going to be doing scripted stuff, as voice-overs. I personally don't expect him to be doing the "interviews" although I could be wrong. I have been before, you know.

But I still will EEEEEEEEEEEEEE for seeing this and having Clay on my TEEVEE!!!!!

I too wanna know what's causing the angst over at the OFC (without of course going over there myself...that place is skeery). I, like CG, thought the party would have been going on full blast by now, so I'm sort of surprised that a war has broken out instead. (Oh wait, this is the Clay fandom I'm talking about, otherwise known as "drama drama drama." Nevermind...)

I wonder if Clay will miss him? I would think he became a friend over the years or am I going to get stoned for saying that.

I won't stone you for that at all, because I had the same thought. It's really hard to say whether Clay and he became good friends or not, IMO, but they did have a working relationship and that sometimes turns into friendship.

Totally agree with playbiller that just because Clay's probably going to get a new publicist, it doesn't mean that Clay will automatically get someone better (or worse, for that matter). That's what always bugged me about the "he needs to jump ship from RCA" arguments too, because there really was no guarantee that things would be better at a different label. Anyway, most of this ventures into "Clay's business dealings" territory, and I just have no real interest in that. Or, I should say, I used to think it interesting, but more than a few fans ruined it for me. (Did I mention that one the other night in the chat with the question about how our fandom has changed? Because that's a biggie for me...)

Ah man, now we have to learn the names of the next group of incompetents working for RCA.

:lmaosmiley-1:

Hmmmm....let's travel back in time....say, to one year ago today....

What was Clay doing on that day? Why, signing CD's, of course! (And rather cutely, I might add...)

Jimmy decides to pay a little visit (notice Jerome hovering in the background)...

Then, for some reason, Clay needed to get his leg shaved...

And then...he sang...

OMG, he's hawt!

Yeah, I think I can like having my own gallery around here...

Heh.

All this talk about "leaving your clack" to someone got me thinking. First of all, I have a feeling that most of it will probably be destroyed in my case. Yes, sad but true.

BUT...what's got me embarrassed...is that besides all those print outs of the smutty stories (including some from an author around here ), I've got a bunch of smutty Star Trek stories too. Oh yeah -- I was really into Data (from Star Trek: the Next Generation) being fully functional, if you know what I mean. So there will be TWO things that will be probably embarrass my family as they go through my stuff after I'm gone. Heh.

Is this allergy season just a tough one? My head feels like it's ready to explode, and I honestly can't tell if it's allergies or a head cold.

Y'all read canuck's post about Clay's look earlier, right? Well, just put my name to it and you've got my feelings as well. I find him fascinating BECAUSE of the way he can change his look. I can't pull that kind of thing off, so I admire him for that. I also admire his WILLINGNESS to be that chameleon too. Some men want to stay the same in their looks; Clay doesn't seem like that kind of guy to me.

I just think he's dweemy. Period.

hellooooooooooooooooooooooo

nobody going to Minneapolis?

I may fly in a day early just so the weather can't get me. so..what's to do in minneapolis in the winter time!! Hmmm let me check out the Timberwolves schedule... please tell me the arena is in the city and not out in the burbs.

I'm not from there, but my husband is, and we visit there all the time. If I remember correctly, the arena is downtown.

If you're staying downtown, they have a train that goes back and forth from downtown to the Mall of America. I can't remember how much it costs for a trip, though. And the Mall of America is a fantastic place to get lost in....IMO. I personally like Lego World.

I really wish my schedule could clear and I could attend these shows, but both hubby and I have to work that week right before Christmas; we'll be going to Minneapolis to visit his family during Christmas week.

Today's new feature for the board: when you receive a PM, you'll now get a pop-up window with the message and the ability to link quickly to your inbox and that message. (You do have to have your pop-up blocker set to allow pop-ups for the site, though...)

Very cool, eh?

sylvie, what a cute baby!

keepingfaith -- that Eugene. Funny story in hindsight, but it probably was a bit discombubulating at the time...

*waves at laughn*

Uh....HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO new banner.............Wowza.............

The Princess Bride is one of those things where I think the book is WAY better than the movie...and I simply LURVED the movie. Now, I did read the book AFTER seeing the movie, so that may have affected the way I felt about the book, but there was so much more detail in the book, IMO.

I definitely need to check out Stardust then. My husband is reading a Neil Gaiman book right now (I don't know the name), but I'll have to request this book then.

Good morning FCA!

I only went to one high school reunion, my 20th. Small class -- 80 kids, small town Illinois. (Clayzor, you'll have to tell me where your husband is from...) The main reason I really wanted to go was that I was the kid in high school who never had a date, so I wanted to show off my new husband! Of course, he was bored silly. The other thing that was cool though was they took us on a tour of the school. It was amazing how much the place had changed in 20 years. The band room was the best -- but that was my hangout in high school too.

Salt shakers are a good thing. I do think it interesting, though, that we tend to believe what we want to believe. I think this reunion thing is fairly innocuous, and like merrieee and canuckie (BWAH on your post), I kinda WANT to believe this one, because it makes me happy to think that he could get to go to this without the fans knowing about it. But, at the same time, I did apply salt to this one as well. *shrug*

Ah yes, Wal Mart night. I know a bunch of people had a bad evening....but I sure didn't. I was the only one in the TV section. Bookwhore, I too had a cart with me -- like I was really going to buy something. Heh. But it was so nice to see Clay all over the TVs!

{{{{{{keepingfaith}}}} Hope you feel better soon!

*off to see what's up with lilyshines*

Well, I seem to be full of nothing new, so let me add this. I was under the immpression taht Clay was not unpopular in high school that he had a few groupies by then. Wasn't ti middle school that was the problem?

According to LTS, if I remember correctly, Middle School was definitely the toughest time for Clay, as well as the beginning of H.S. BUT --

By senior year, I was just as popular as anybody else. I joined the student council. I was in charge of homecoming. I headed up Winterfest. I did the announcements on the intercom. I had gone from being school bottom-feeder to being one of the most well-liked students in school. It was surreal.

My recognition had nothing to do with anything external. My mama still wouldn't buy me nice clothes. I still had big old glasses and hair that nothing could be done with, mainly because my mom cut it in the kitchen with a towel wrapped around my neck. I was still skinny and uncoordinated.

The onlly thing different about me was how I felt about myself.

Learning To Sing, pages 104-105

play, I agree -- I was nerd kid, and yet I was one of the few that moved away from home and actually found a career. But I did go to my 20 year H.S. reunion and rubbed a few noses in it. *g* (Nah, not really....but I felt like it...)

I'm glad Clay got to go to this reunion (if it is true -- I still have an aversion to "friend of a friend" sometimes...) without the fans knowing about it.

Bookwhore, somehow your avatar location got changed to a picture from something called uglyoftheday.com. If you PM me your avatar location, I can change it back for you....

ETA: I got rid of the "ugly" for you....you just need to fill in your avatar setting with your original location....

As couchie alluded to, much of the stuff working/not working seems to vary by what browser you're using. I'm lucky in that I have both Mozilla/Firefox (version 2.0.0.7) AND Internet Explorer (version 6.0.lotsofnumbers), and have been doing comparisons. The blue color, for me, seems to be only in IE; I've got green in Firefox. Quotes, for me, work in IE, while they do not in Firefox. The little pull down menu next to member names (on the left hand side) works in IE for me, doesn't in Firefox. So there are definitely some compatability issues....

Hmmmm....I see above me that this isn't always the case. Let me confer with the admins for a second....

Uh...edit again...never mind. See what couchie says below, it has to do with the "skins" (our basic overall design scheme that Ansa can change and set up.

playbiller -- I hear ya on the "Clay needing to stay on stage" during Quiana's song. I went to two early shows, and was amazed at the number of people who left during it. Made me mad too -- I personally think it's rude.

But I dearly love that clip of Clay singing along with Quiana. I also noticed that in Scarlett's WPB clack, where Quiana is on Clay's lap. He's singing along there too...and it makes me melt. *sigh*

He's so dweemy.

I actually did read your post. I just wanted to try it as well, and I figured top of the page was a good reason TO try it.

And I think that "insert acronym" thingy could make being at the top of the page VERY interesting. *g*

And it looks as if I get to try it out first! Hey!

Apparently my worst fears are true. Nobody reads my posts.

cindi -- I actually did read your post. I just wanted to try it as well, and I figured top of the page was a good reason TO try it.