ldyjocelyn

I'm back ya'll! :F_05BL17blowkiss: And I am TIRED! I'm not even sure if I'm going to make it to TAR this evening.

cha cha trusty, thank you for the beautiful wallpaper, and have fun tonight!

djs -- Thank you!

That new picture of Clay and Angela together? He looks so content, and happy. This picture shows, to me, exactly what Claygasm talked about earlier, with his whole face smiling. He smiles sooooooo good. And Angela? Lucky wench, but it looks as if she's a good friend now. Thanks YSRN for bringing that over.

Did I welcome Karen Eh?? I can't remember....

East coasters, hope you are surviving. And bottlecap -- sorry to hear about the snow. My husband and I read about it last week, and we infinitely glad that we scheduled our trip when we did!

couchie and Ansa, the site looks great!

Off for some dinner, and then maybe some sleep. Fortunately, I'm off work tomorrow to decompress.

It looks as if the UNICEF page is at about 90%! Woohoo for the Claymates....uh, Clay Nation!

My niece's wedding went off without a hitch (there's a joke in there somewhere...heh) today. 85 degrees, sunny and breezy. It still looks to be in the low 40's at my home, though -- can't wait to get there. *sigh* Anyway, my husband and I have had a great trip, and now it's time to pack up and head for home tomorrow. At least we've got a direct flight tomorrow, which will be nice.

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to all my FCA friends. I haven't read much in other places these past few days (it's not like I do read these places anymore, but work with me here....), but I know that I'm just happy to be in this place. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, as Aretha sang.

Can't wait to get home, though -- just to reply to all your wonderful posts!

{{{{{{{{{{Ansa}}}}}}}}}}}

Greetings again from beautiful sunny Florida! Spent a good hour at the beach today, once we finished off Kennedy Space Center. We're having so much fun!

Anyway, I'm just popping in to say that I'm very, very impressed with the media coverage of Clay's UNICEF work, and also impressed by how much money has been raised in just over 24 hours. I'm not planning on making my donation until next week, when I get home. I want those pictures, darn it!

Thank you YSRN for the pictures! Gah, he looks sooooooo good.

Ta ta for now!

I'd like that one as "He's just so much more."

But I also really like this from keepingfaith:

He's a man of a 1000 faces and all of them are great to look at.

Morning all!

He's a man of a 1000 faces and all of them are great to look at.

As soon as I'm done with this post, I'm going to add this one to the thread title nomination thread....thank you keepingfaith!

Welcome Karen Eh?!@#$%^& *g* Love your pictures, loved your posts here so far.

Boy howdy, it sounds like I missed a big day of angst in the fandom yesterday. My thoughts: 1) Clay loves MEEEE and I like that he shares, because I did get the email from him. (Actually, I got a second one last night, so maybe I got Karen Eh's copy too.) When I get home, I'm a total sucker and will donate to get those exclusive pictures. He can totally make me do that -- I'm not mindless ya'll, I'm really not, but sometimes the spell is just too great. 2) AI, Simon, and charities -- more power to them, even if I probably won't give. I've never understood totally the pure venom that comes out over the show every year at this time. Sure, I didn't like what happened and what was said to Clay many times during his season -- but that was 4 freakin' years ago! It also wasn't the end of the world -- Clay seems to be doing real fine right now, doesn't he? And I, like more than a few here, believe that Clay would love to be on the show every year. I think that article from a few weeks ago cemented that to me; he loves the show so much he had to give it up! Hee.

I'm sure there was other stuff to comment on, but I need to get coffee. Have a good day y'all!

It's such a relief to post here with so many reasonable, smart, sane people. I wish I could quote and word you ALL. :F_05BL17blowkiss: In a way, I am sorry to see such reasonable, SMART folks as clayzorback and YSRN give up on the OFC. I hate that there is no balance there, though we still have others who fight the battle. But it's not worth the headache, is it? There are so many ways to spend one's time.

This is the way I felt about my previous home board too. I feel like after a while that I was just beating my head against the wall, and I was tired of all the Tylenol I was taking to combat the headache. *g* It made me sad, and it makes me sad that fans feel that way about the OFC board too.

You know, sleeping in hotels sometimes sucks. It's not home, so you never sleep quite as good. So...I've been thinking about this whole secret thing. (WARNING: Generalization about this board ahead -- if you disagree, say so...) IMO, it needs to be said to lurkers out there that we're not complaining about the "I know a secret and you don't" thing because we weren't in on the secret in the first place. Far from it. IMO, it's more of a power trip -- something that can be lorded over the peons later. It's a class system -- the haves and the have nots, as I believe someone said earlier. I know something like that will never go away, it happens in real life, it will happen in fandoms. But IMO, there's no reason to rub noses in it. And I think that's what's being talked about here on this board.

OK, I need breakfast now.....

Greetings from Florida!

I've only skimmed here, but it sounds like Clay done good (once again) and some of his fans are doing, uh, well, not so good (again). But this place -- it rawks, wholeheartedly rocks.

couchie, I wuv you.

I'll comment more later, but I need sleep now -- tomorrow my husband and I conquer Kennedy Space Center! BTW, the cold seems better. Thank God.

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to all of you!

bottlecap, thanks for the new pictures. Love the sweet look one.

pkmiller, thanks for that word on the Tulsa show. At this point -- I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. I might, MIGHT be crazy enough to change my flights to add the Tulsa show. Not sure how I'll get from Houston to Tulsa, though. Driving wouuld be insane -- but with some Clay buddies, it might be OK. Flying -- more cost. I'll have to think about it.

Leaving for a day of travel soon, to arrive in Florida by early evening! Unfortunately, I think I've got a cold, so that's going to make flying VERY interesting. OTOH, I'm leaving storms and possible SNOW here. Thank goodness. Everyone behave here, OK? (Sheyah, right....I know most of you guys all too well. *g*) I'll try to check in when I can. That's what laptops are for, right?

CG, I hear ya about the latest gerbil wheel. The thing that I can't understand is WHY people feel the need to take it so personally. I understand that it's the music BUSINESS, and that money has to be made. *shrug*

Ansa, I MOSTLY agree with your post. While I do agree that he may not be as totally hot as during the IT -- that's just on the face of it. We really don't know what the negotiators see in the background, and IMO he's gained a good reputation for being a touring master, one who can sell more than a few tickets pretty much by word of mouth.

But this:

If Clay wants to expand his fanbase he needs to either do it with a hit CD and radio play...or he needs to play small venues across the country...BUT the die hard fans can't imagine this...this would be a horrible way for Clay to go cos its a huge step down for him. eye roll here...

I guess I just don't see an "either/or" proposition here to expand his fan base. As a matter of fact, I think this concert tour may be a great way to expand that base. He's playing in places that require subscriptions, and many people who wouldn't give a second thought to attending a show of his will actually go to a show because of that subscription. Then, he'll win them over with his charm and talent. He's also playing places that seem to cater to families...and those families, IMO, when they find an artist they like, they do stick with them (at least until the kids turn rebellious. *g*) Again, the charm and talent will find their way to people. Just my rose-colored view of the world at the moment.

I am actually impressed that there does seem to be an effort to go to areas that haven't seen a non-Christmas concert in a while. Maybe I'm naïve, but I tend to believe that he and his people are trying for some regional representation. However, there are so many factors at play here: venues, orchestras, logistics - not to mention any other commitments he may have. Truth is, he will never please all of the fans all of the time. I prefer to be grateful for what we do get than bitter about what we don't.

Makes life a lot easier when I think that way, that's for sure. Great post Jenna!

OK...never mind the SNAFU of concert dates for a few minutes. Forget fandom angst. Let Calgon take you away from BLINDINGLY white teeth in that gorgeous mouth...

And instead....take a walk on the smutty side....

:medium-smiley-070:

WHA-?!?!?!? What a way to wake up in the morning! Thanks muski, I needed that!

Glad they added a Michigan date. Hope bottlecap gets to attend this one. But!!! To me Michigan is not midwest. Missouri, Kansas, Iowa is midwest. We need one in Kansas City. Don't 'cha think?

I agree -- Michigan is NOT Midwest. I think Missouri would be fantastic, although Kansas City, for me, is almost as far as the Michigan location. I keep hoping for St. Louis, but I've talked to a local fan there recently who said that getting a symphony in St. Louis in the summertime is next to impossible. Iowa would also be good. Of course, I can still hope for Peoria.....although I think our symphony is off for the summer too. *sigh*

I really am sorry for the problems the Nokia venue caused some fans. Honestly. I hope they can be solved. But, I really do think the park venue will get him more exposure and make him more money. In case you haven't heard me say for the 17, 856th time, I want him to be filthy rich.

While I'm still frustrated at the way this whole thing shook out (and as far as I'm concerned, it's not over yet), I'm OK. It was my mistake to buy plane tickets this early, and so I learned a lesson. Treat things as learning experiences, and it somehow makes it more palatable. Anyway, it IS sounding like this Frisco thing could be quite the experience...and one to potentially grow his fan-base to families. If he gets money from the deal and becomes filthy rich, I'm good to go with it. And it sure sounds as if the crowd certainly won't be "rednecks"....

*blows kisses to YSRN*

All I can say is I am going to have one hell of a good time in Houston! I have some great friends to party with (some of whom i've never even met) and If that's the only one I am going to get to, then I am going to make it count for all it's worth!

I WILL look at the bright side! One is better than none and I missed the JBT so I know about none!

That's right! We'll party together! Can't wait to meet you there!

YSRN...who IS fabulous -- you have the right attitude. I aim for where you are but am not quite there...almost I think. I don't think I've ever said the "true fan" thing in mixed company but have muttered a few times under my breath the phrase...can you take your bitter ass somewhere else please. heee. See I said I was working on it.

Hee. Yeah, I think this is me too -- at least I'm pretty positive I've thought that a few times. Am I working on it? Of course. But then I slip up occasionally too.

See, regarding the teeth -- well, let me tell you a story. When I was a kid, probably no more than 6, I remember watching the Miss America pageant with my family. My Mom was going on and on about a physical attribute about one of the contestants -- I don't remember what, exactly. Probably something like "that color dress looks horrible on her." What did I do? I broke into tears -- I was sure that my Mom was picking on this contestant. I know, to this day, that I can be very oversensitive toward certain people, especially when it seems TO ME that what is being said is mean. I know that's not right of me, but it IS the way I feel. Again, it's my character flaw, something I'm working on, but I hope that makes some sense, because I can get my back up against Clay over small, perceived "slights" toward him. And it's very strange, knowing that I can blow off something like the fff crap, but other things like that bug the snot out of me.

muski, I can identify with your story too -- Clay has been my escape, and I know early on in the fandom, it was a avoidance thing too. But I think for me today, with so much other stuff going on in my life, Clay is just simply a part of my life, one that makes me happy. OK, so he takes up more time at work than he should, but I'm getting better.

See, I do a lot of that "working on myself" stuff.

Don't look at me for you missing post CG. I wasn't even around.

Lesson learned: don't buy plane tickets too early. *sigh*

I'm not even going to get into the speculations on the tour dates and locations. At this point, I just know I'm going to see Clay in Houston. If that's the only show I see, fine. I'll deal. And I'll have fun in Houston too.

dreamlarge, fantastic montage!

Welcome back Jenna! How was vacation? I'm getting ready for that myself -- 4 days in Florida for my niece's wedding on Saturday. Going to Kennedy Space Center for the previous days. I will have the laptop with me, so I will probably check in at least once or twice.

diva, if you need help with the Quote thing, just let me know.

This is one of those afternoons where....I'm just going to sit back, take a deep breath, and try to relax about this whole thing. Yes, it seems to be a major screw up by someone -- the problem is we just don't know WHO. My guess? We'll never find out the whole story of what was going on in the background for this. Yes, TC and TM announced the Nokia show. Maybe they were told "everything is a go" by the venue, only for the shit to hit the fan later because the conductor of the orchestra said "whoops." Maybe TC should have waited for the dotted lines to be signed before announcing.

In a way, this whole situation is sounding like Conspiracy Theory, v. 2.0. And my reaction to that is similar to my reacton to CT 1.0 -- never assume anything (I've learned my lesson on that, thanks to wanting to buy plane tickets -- BTW, Clayzorback, I could cancel the flight in this instance, but I've already got great seats for Houston!). I don't know the behind the scenes stuff, and at this point, I'm just gonna have to patiently wait.

Deep breaths.

YSRN, I like your style, even if we disagree about the teeth. Sorry about the gophers and your flowers, though. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I'm wondering if it's because this looks to be an outdoor venue, as compared to the Nokia. WHY he wants to play an outdoor venue in the middle of summer in Texas is beyond me, though.

In the meantime, I'm gonna pout now -- I'm not happy with the way this has turned out.

And I hope that Frisco, Texas knows what hit them this morning. *g*

I think for me it is because when Clay smiles, he doesn't just smile with his mouth. He smiles with his eyes, with his face, with his soul. There are some people whose whole being light up when they smile. Clay is one of them. I guess because of that I never looked that closely at his mouth when he smiled. I still don't.

CG, you're not the only one. I never paid all that much attention to his MOUTH either when he smiled. Instead, I could almost FEEL the happiness when he smiled, even through a picture or clack. What he was doing with his teeth or his mouth was inconsequential to me.

Bottom line for me - being a Clay fan is supposed to be fun, a hobby. It is not supposed to be a chore, or your job, or your life. It should make you smile and laugh and feel all tingly from time to time, not cause angst and unhappiness. Because of the boards it was on the verge of doing the latter for me not too long ago. FCA brought the fun back into being an internet fan for me. But even if it hadn't, I would still be a fan and keep up with Clay to a degree. But the boards, when they're fun, mean you have someone to share your fandom with and for me that is more fun than being a fan alone. You just have to find the right mix or people.

AMEN!

I have to admit I was one who did buy almost everything early on, and I still do occasionally pick up a People magazine (and keep it) that has a mention or two of Clay in it. And I'm going to look for the new People with the AI connection here real soon. I also printed practically everything out from the web. That's stopped now -- too much paper!!!!

Welcome artquest!

Boring analogy ahead...scroll at will.

I've been married to my husband for almost 9 years. When we were first getting to know each other, I couldn't stop thinking about him -- how much fun it was to share time with him, looking forward to talking to him each night before bed, things like that. When we got married, it continued like that for a while -- it was still fresh and exciting, and we both had a blast. After a few years or so, though, things just simply changed. We realized that we still love each other, by far -- but we knew that, with time, we would learn that the newness wasn't as fresh anymore. However, my husband still does things that thrill me -- he'll make me laugh exactly when I need it, smile at me with his adorable smile, tell me that he loves me even if I change the channel when he was actually watching something. I'm positive I do the same thrilling things for him.

I know I've used this analogy before, but, in a way, it's the same way with Clay. As couchie said, 2003 and 2004 was a constant "getting to know him" phase, and it was consuming. But, after a while, I knew that things would settle down into a more comfortable phase, both for Clay's sake (IMO), and mine. The intensity can still be there (the gala night was a big case in point -- and I had a blast that evening, even if I wasn't there), but I now know that it doesn't need to be like that every waking moment of every waking day. I still love Clay and find myself excited when he appears somewhere, but it's just more settled.

My feelings on the fandom? Totally different animal. I found in the past year that my blood pressure would go up everytime I read anything that I saw as angst. Maybe it wasn't angst to some people, but it sure was to ME. The constant up-down cycle got incredibly tiring, and I knew I had to scale it back. Thank God for this place -- it allows me to keep up, and I have the board up in the background on my computer every day, but since we're still getting some footing around here...it's just not a constant. That doesn't make sense, I know....

One more thought -- muski, you say you asked the question because of reading posts recently that suggest their waning interesting. It seems to me that these kinds of posts have been around for a while -- I'd venture early 2005 at least (the first supposed clack drought). IMO, it's kind of the state of fandoms in general -- people's interests wax and wane. Some just give up after a while -- and in Clay's case, I have no doubt that others will take their place. Some will come back after some time away from the fandom. I'm positive that the NEXT album will be interesting for Clay -- if he continues to go the ballad route and doesn't turn into that rocker, will the fans continue to follow? At this point, I'm just interested in Clay's journey, and I love watching him.

Uchenna and Joyce took a risk with an international flight with an extremely tight connection. The risk didn't pay off in this instance -- they missed their flight, and as far as I know, they are still stuck in Europe.

I'm disappointed in Cha Cha's tonight -- the trip is getting to them.

Mirna and Schmirna -- you know, as much as they bug the CRAP out of me with their baby talk, and talking in foreign accents to everyone they meet, they seem to be playing the game smarter this go around. Annoying, sure -- but smarter.

Eric and Danielle, however -- I cannot stand them. They are whiners of the first degree. H.A.T.E.

I'm really gonna miss U & J. Such a sweet and honest couple. I wish they could have gone all they way.

Back from my Mom's today. We took her to my brother's -- discovered that getting her into my car is easier than getting her into my brother's van, but we really had to squish her wheelchair into the trunk! Hee. She is really doing quite well. While she basically needs the wheelchair to get around, she's standing frquently to help do things like get a coat on, and get get to the bathroom (with a walker) by herself. I'm happy, and she seems to be good.

Clay content? On the way back home, we stopped at a convenience mart for a restroom break. While waiting for my husband, I started looking at the energy drinks available. Guess what the key ingredient is in many of these drinks? Guarana!!! There was actually one called Guarana, but I didn't buy it. However, my husband tried the Mountain Dew High Energy Drink, which has ginsing and guarana. It was a little sweeter than regular Mountain Dew -- and this comes from someone who grew up drinking Mountain Dew!

luckiest1, thank you for the scans of the program!

ETA: muski, good questions. I'll have to think about it for a bit, and get back to you.

Happy Easter/Sunday to everyone!

That picture of Clay and Jesse should be outlawed -- too much pretty in one picture. Both men are hawt!

See ya'll later tonight!

For some reason, I felt inspired by You Were There.

I, on the other hand, am extremely shallow and am inspired by sugary treats.

And I, of course, couldn't let the day go by without celebrating -- Peeps!

Peep Research

And the librarian in me has to show off this one too....

Gosh, those Peeps are SMART!

Glad you're back KAndre. PENNY SLOTS?!?!?!

Claygasm, when cats are involved, I'm always interested in knowing how they are doing. It still makes me sad that Clay thinks cats are evil and/or are haunting him. I would really love to help him get over that phobia.

WooHoo Jimmy Kimmel! God, I remember just simply cringing at his name at the height of "The Man Show" popularity. And remember how so many Clay fans were appalled when it was announced that Clay would be appearing on his show November 2003? My, how times have changed. Jimmy rawks. That Gawker chick didn't know what hit her. Heh.

I forgot a couple of things -- YSRN, your blog pictures are beautiful. Very nice job. (This comes from someone who has the blackest thumb on the planet, even though I keep trying....) And this is from a LONG time ago -- Claygasm, thank you for the picture of Max. Such an adorable dog. How's Waldo? Did you find cat food for him?

I was having such a major brainfart. Totally could not remember about Locke's father being in the box. I don't understand why he is even interested in seeing that loser again.

I think it all goes back to a sense of having a family for Locke. Even though the guy was a first class con artist and screwed Locke over so many, many times -- in the back of Locke's mind, he's still DAD. That sense of family can run very strong. I see it the same way with a LOT of characters on this show -- why did Kate need to know why Mom turned her in? Why did Kate's Mom love her Dad, even though he beat her repeatedly? Why did Jack keep trying to get HIS Dad to get help, even though I think Jack knew his Dad would never get that help? IMO, it's all a sense of family, and it seems to be a recurring theme for this show.

I think too that this kind of thing happens in RL all the time as well.

Well, if you can have a new avi Ansa, so can I...

:medium-smiley-070: :medium-smiley-070:

But I have to admit, I'm gonna miss seeing conductor Clay under your name.....

Isthis goingto be renamed the Texas One-fer?

I'm not giving up hope yet....

In the ring video, did the auctioneer ask some lady if they needed to get a mop, or was I hearing things?

I just watched it again (thanks, I needed a reason to watch it again :medium-smiley-070: ), and yes, I hear him asking about a mop too. What is up with that?

Can I just say that I also love the auctioneer? He's funny too -- I loved him asking the one bidder for the WT shirt if she needed a loan. Cracked Clay up even. Also -- loved Clay trying to get "JOE'S" attention during the ring auction -- as if Clay couldn't say that name loud enough!

What a clack goldmine. I'm in heaven at the moment.