ldyjocelyn

I leave for a half hour to take my car in for service (thankfully my car dealer has computers with internet access), and new pictures arrive?!?!? Gah! I love the first one with the baby. Wait -- I love the second one, with the hands of the kids on his. But then, that third one, with him teaching the class....*sigh* What does he have in his other hand in the third picture, though? ETA: Nevermind....with the huge download, I can see that it's a camera. Maybe we'll get some pictures taken by Clay soon? He's such a good dude.

New thread title poll! See the top of the page for choices and voting! {{{{{{{{{Those involved in the Virginia Tech shootings}}}}}}}}}}}}

Man, they got me with this episode. I really loved the scene with Juliet standing up to Sawyer and Sayid -- it couldn't get more perfect than that. And yes, I fell for her being a good person, only to be shown as (possibly) a bad guy. I agree with most of you though that I think she'll come around again. Awww, Sawyer actually melted my heart a bit when Kate showed up. They're gonna make me like him yet, aren't they? Looks like Locke is coming back -- that should be good. Plus, I'm guessing that Jin and Juliet have a connection.... Hey couchie -- I'm going to be watching ER on my DVR soon! Ready to talk about it?

Mornin' all! I would say "Good mornin'" except that it seems a few of you aren't having such a good morning! playbiller, I hope your flooding problem works out. CG, I hope your back feels better soon. My husband has been suffering for about a week now with a foot problem -- it hurts on the ball of his one foot, and he can't figure out exactly what is wrong. He may end up at the doctor's office later this week. I didn't even think to look at the FCA site with IE -- I'm so used to using Mozilla at home. If I was at work though -- and I use IE on the laptop all the time now. I'm an equal opportunity browser! Ansa has asked me to put together the next title thread poll, so if you have any suggestions, please put them here before 2:00 p.m. ET. That's when I'll put the final poll up. The suggestions so far: I really look forward to hearing Clay bring a sexy Moon River backAll this talk of Moon River has made pour a nice glass of red wine, curl up on my sofa with WaldoIt makes your girl parts vibrateThe board of easy womenIt's just that Clay's world is so much more than us. So much more than fans and concert dates and venue choices and juvenile exchanges on his fan site. He's just so much more.He's just so much more.He's a man of a 1000 faces and all of them are great to look at.They have not fallen down on their knees and kissed his lily white ass!

And I did too. *sigh* Liking the BQ's, which I thought would never happen. Still love the Cha Cha's, they are having so much fun...although this money thing could be a major problem. Bad planning dudes. I'll say it again -- Charla and Mirna may be annoying as hell, but they do play the game. There's a difference between them and season three winner Flo -- Flo kept giving up. Charla and Mirna have not given up yet! And Eric and Dani? I don't know what it is, because they play the game too....but they really bug me. They whine. They claim that others are acting unfair. They just grate on my nerves. So, who's gonna get Yielded next week? I'm really afraid....

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:

Morning all! 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!

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

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

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

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*

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. 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!

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.