Gibby

Thanks so much for the Starbucks tip, Lucky! I'll give that a try.

No no, no!!!!!!! Not Angela's mic!! I'm sure my karma must be better than that.

Has this beautiful pic been posted yet? What gorgeous eyes! As Clay's future mic, I'll get to stare at his face all of the time. I've had so much practice, I'll slip right into the routine quite easily.

Nope, I noticed Clay's name on the mic, too. It's his special mic. He doesn't want anyone else to caress it. Maybe I want a career change as a mic, instead. Choices, choices!!

That's a really cute picture! They both look like they're having a great time. Lucky, lucky Angela. Is it too late for a career change as a backup singer???

Hey, lucky, good to see you over here!

Do you aim for 1250 - 1300 calories a day to loose weight, or for maintenance? I eat about 1200 calories a day if I'm trying to lose weight. My trainer said that the average sedentary woman gains weight on only 1400 calories a day!

I keep track of my calories and exercise on my treo. It's a great little cell phone/PDA/video & mp3 player. Anyway, the program I use on the treo gives me an easy way to calculate calories, protein, carbs, etc. It also rewards me for exercising by letting me eat a few more calories a day!

I love chai lattes at Starbucks, too. Yum! I have them with soy, and a tall size is 180 calories. I indulge sometimes, as long as I have enough calories left!

Bringing over part of a post from lulu at CV:

BTW, the church told me there are 500 gold circle seats, that they are near the stage & center. I was also told all the seats in the church were good & that it it wider than it is deep.

They also told me that 250 of the gold circle would be available today for the presale & the church would sell the remaining 250 at the public sale on the 6th.

Hey, is there going to be a preparty in Wichita? If not, I'd love it if we could get together either ahead of time or after the concert to meet!

ETA: More info - the Gold Circle seats are in sections 2 & 3 (floor center) and the first row of sections 1 and 4. Not bad!

Wheeeee! I got two tickets for Wichita, too, in the Gold Circle. They don't tell you exactly which seat you get until they mail the tickets later. Ah, well, hopefully the Gold Circle isn't huge.

Happy Birthday, merrieeee!!

:7252:

Yup, I got two tickets in Gold Circle, too. Pretty painless ticket buying situation, except that you don't find out until later where the tickets are. Since the Gold Tickets are a bit more expensive you woud assume that they're good!

Hopefully the info I read was wrong, Book. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

The password is up at the OFC.

Meesa , I'm afraid you're wasting your time with Clay, then. At least from my casual perusal of various pictures and videos of Clay, I've concluded that he is of the 'cropped' group....

Casual?? Nope, not by a long shot. I'm not buying that bull, Muski!

Fan club - I'm definitely going to join again, for the blogs, the presales, and the chance to win a meet & greet. Never won yet, but who knows, I just might in the next few years. So I'll keep joining. The club package is fun to get, but I haven't really used anything from it. The t shirt's too big and boxy, and the rest of the stuff is in my box of Clay stuff. If anybody wants the t shirt, just let me know. I'll be happy to share.

I listened to the recorded, itunes version of LAA yesterday, and couldn't stop. It's just sooooo gorgeous. I'd been listening to the live version recently, but once I heard the recorded version again, I was mesermized. I like both versions for different reasons. It's so impressive that Clay can sing LAA live. It's really hard to sing a slow song well and pull it off, and Clay does it. The accompanment is rather sparse for LAA, which leaves Clay's voice out there exposed; any vocal mistakes would be obvious. But that's no problem for Clay! I love how relaxed and beautiful his voice is on this song when he sings it live. I especially LURVE his vibrato - it's almost a sensuous experience to hear it, especially with good headphones!

But the recorded version has beautiful moments for different reasons. I find the production absolutely gorgeous. The instruments and Clay's voice are well-balanced. The guitar part and the ethereal electronics effects add so much. The strings are all in-tune, which isn't always the case in the live version (likely due to the heat, as Caro pointed out). The timing and harmonies are tight, creating some beautiful overtones in several places. I also like it that the tempo is just a hair faster in the recorded version; sometimes it seemed to drag just a bit in the live version. Clay's voice is gorgeous in the recording, but a bit more controlled. I really like how he gets so impassioned at the end of the last chorus on 'as hard as love can be, it's harder it still it seems.'

At any rate, I'm really glad I don't have to choose between the live and recorded versions. They are both gorgeous for different reasons. I'm looking forward to finding out which concert and recording jmh will be recommending!

GAH! Look at these hands:

ETA: Crap Wooohoooo!! I'm on the top.

Hey, I have a question for those who have gotten tickets at this venue before - is it true that you don't find out what seat you're getting when you order either on the website or online? I read at the OFC that you don't find out about your seats until you get the tickets in the mail.

Excuse my stupidity, but how in the world was Clay taking Scarlett's camera "mocking" RCA?? I guess I'm thick.

She sounds charming - not.

Canooky, I don't think you're stupid at all. The mocking RCA part is what's stupid.

I've decided that I'm not gonna feel :Tour4: until tomorrow morning when I'm trying for tickets. Nope, not gonna stress about tickets today at all. I have two teenaged daughters, and they are quite enough stress for me today.

Here's what I'd rather feel:

An another note - :Tour4:

GOOD LUCK to all trying for Wichita tickets tomorrow morning! Only 85 days and counting until another Christmas tour is here!

I say we sit in the section marked stage.

Excellent idea!!!! I'll sit there, too. Right between Angela and Clay.

No, never, Couchie.

BWAH! :lies:

So, what did you do?

S&M? BWAH, play!

Welcome, ToldForThis, Windstar2, songinmysoul, and Janiepain!!

Of course, waaaaaay back on one of the first pages I read to catch up, I saw this from YSRN:

I never saw a "rocket"

and now fear that she has been viewing the same files of CLACK that Gibby has. I mean, she's never seen the rocket? Ever? YSRN, do you have ANY pictures of Clay downloaded, sweetie? Any at all?

Yeah, right, Muski. :lies: :whatutterclaptrap:

BWAH!! :lmaosmiley-1:

Up and until February of 2006, I would have agreed with you, Couchie. But...my sentiment in respect to Clay's fanbase has changed. I believe that sadly this fandom has factions that are invasive and dishonest. And I honestly find their actions define the love for themselves, not a love for Clay. And I don't believe that Clay needs those fans regardless if they purchase a ton of CDs or a ton of concert tickets.

I am not perfect, Clay's not perfect..but I am expressing my true feelings. And I sense that I am not alone..

I find your posts refreshingly honest, lightmyfire! I wish you would post more often. BTW, who is in your avie?

If I ran the fandom:

I would want the haters to stop loving Clay so much that they want to destroy him. Yes, I do believe the haters love Clay and I believe they don't want to and that is the rub. Love/hate relationships are always sad. Some people live their lives that way. I wish them lives and I wonder how their families put up with them - families, you ask? Yes some of these haters have young children. shudder

I would have some fans acknowledge that there is a reason that they are not making the big bucks in the music business and to realize that Clay is not going to hire them. I wish this so they could have some peace of mind and not have to worry how they can fix everything that the people getting paid screw up. I wish them more success in their fields of endeavor that needs their expertise. note this s not about speculation, but the people who know the TRUTH and how Clay is not being served by Team Clay.

For the fans who want to be the center of all attention all the time, I wish them a skill that brings them the fame they so desire so that they can do not feel the need to bask in the shadow of the Clay.

For the fans who want Clay to lead us on the righteous and moral path, I would have them actually hear what Clay says - he has already led us to the path, his message was live your own life and be tolerant of others.

Naw, no one is ever going to vote for me to run the fandom, it would probably be boring anyway.

Yeah, that!!

Ooooh, Couchie, I would have loved to have heard Clay rap those lyrics!

I don't know exactly what Clay was doing here, but sure is a yummy picture. He looks really hunky, and it looks like Ms. Mic Stand is even luckier than usual!

AWESOME post, Scarlett! Whew, those screencaps are HAWT!! He was giving you the look - the 4th and 5th pics are especially hawt.

And I love your perspective. I agree that there's so much to look forward to right now. Clay has some great plans in the works!

Hey Gibby, good for you with your dedication to a healthy way of life. I do hate you for only needing to lose 5 lbs. Such a bitch babe!!

I also have asthma, mostly a problem when the grass pollen is high or someone gives me a cold. Other than those times, it doesn't usually bother my workouts but if I feel short of breath a quick shot of the rescue inhaler usually fixes the problem.

Did you notice that your asthma was better when you started the exercise? My ability to breath deeply improved by leaps and bounds because of the elipitical. Do you remember the first time you got on that machine? 5 minutes just about killed me but it doesn't take long to push that time up. I usually split 40 or 45 minutes between the elipitical and treadmill. I also just started a new weight program to push it up a notch. The trainer says you have to switch your program every few months. It's working because my shoulders are sore and today is the day to do weights. Ugh! Yeah!

How did you lose the 30 lbs? I'm finding that although the last 15 lbs are not easy to get rid of it's o.k. for now because the fat is falling off.

As for the chocolate....don't get carried away now! Dark chocolate, which happens to be my favorite, is said to be healthy. For we asthmatics, the caffeine is a good thing. Just love it when I can justify my two favorite vices, coffee and dark chocolate.

Well, this is how little I'm able to resist chocolate - as soon as I saw you mention it in this post, I had to go to the cupboard to get some! Heeeee. I only eat a little at a time, and I eat the darkest dark chocolate I can find. Yummmm!

I lost 30 pounds the old-fashioned way - exercise and diet. Eight years ago my daughters were little, and I didn't want to leave them to go to the gym. So I got up really early, before I went to work, and worked out to exercise videos. I followed a pretty strict food plan. It took a long time - maybe about a year - but during that time I adjusted to being at a smaller weight and to eating differently.

I wish my asthma was only bad during pollen season or when I have a cold. I'm actually on meds 365 days a year for asthma, and if I didn't take that medicine, I'd probably be in the emergency room a lot. The exercise is really good for my lungs, and does help my lung capacity. But I'm also concerned about my bones, because the inhaled steriods I have to use for the asthma can thin bones. I'm trying to counter that with things that help bone density, such as weight-bearing exercise and strong muscles.

Anyway, I'm impressed with your dedication to exercise. Do you change up your Clay videos, so that you have different things to watch while you're on the elliptical or the treadmill? Do you have favorites? A few videos I haven't ever taken off my treo are: AI2 Mack the Knife & Unchained Melody, AI5 DLTSGDOM, a couple of the Kimmel interviews, and Kimmel ATDW. I NEVER get tired of watching them. I rotate my favorite concert videos so that I have some variety. I also put some of my favorite montages on my treo, too. Some of them are really hawt, though, and I have to be careful not to moan out loud while I'm in the gym! LOL!

BTW, my treo uses mpeg4s, just like the ipod. I have a conversion program, and can convert any type of video to an mpeg4. Just let me know if you want me to convert something for you, and I'll upload it for you!

Couchie - I'm sorry that you have diabetes. It takes a lot of dedication to manage diabetes. I'm sure you know that exercise really helps. The hardest part of exercise is getting started, and developing the habit. Once you do that, it gets much easier. Honest!

I do agree that, for better or worse, Clay has not been a passive participant in his career. While he may not have had total control of every aspect, especially early on, I think that he bears some responsibility for where he is now-which IMHO-is NOT a bad place. He may not be all over the radio, selling out arenas, but he's still touring, still getting TV bookings, and perhaps most importantly, he's still sane and apparently happy. If he had focused on his music more than his philanthropic endeavors, if he had sung songs that got radio play but that he didn't enjoy singing, if he had made decisions solely to make himself rich and popular, he might have been on the top of the charts, but he might also be sitting in rehab somewhere.

Clay may not be a superstar, but I think he's in a decent position with a lot of potential to go further.

Yep, I totally agree with this. The pace of Clay's career in the last few years has been a much more sustainable pace than what he had right out of AI2. To me, the panic attacks are an indication that he NEEDED to slow down. I don't know that he would have stayed sane at that initial pace, and he may have just burned out. I'd much rather see a long, long career (there ya go, Muski - I handed that one to you!) than an out-of-control trajectory to the stars. I do hope for fantastic success in the future, but I'm glad that Clay seems more grounded now, and can probably handle it. He has a place he feels at home in Raleigh, and he can feel that he's making a difference through his philanthropic works. I think these things contribute soooo much to his happiness and ability to be grounded.

I first and foremost agree with every post regarding Clay having the career he wants, one he’s comfortable with and that allows a full rich life of service. I just happen to think and feel that he’s on the verge of blowing up huge.

I don’t think anybody, including Clay, had any idea how big his two minutes on AI5 would turn out to be. Oh, I do think Clay was determined to maximize the appearance and differentiate himself from his impersonator as much as possible. Nobody could predict the pure magic that happened onstage. Electricity, confusion, elation, purely perfect resolution, and all manner of heightened emotions were at play. It was lovely. It was elegant. It was hot. It was big news. It was the buzz.

If Clay, at that time, had been sitting on a finished recording of hot material, and I do stress HOT because I’m not convinced any “phantom” album either existed, or would have been hot, then such an album would have been poised for huge success. But that album never existed. I think that just as soon as Team Clay and RCA realized that ATDW was now between them and the contemporary album, they decided to complete and release it in 90 days and immediately begin work on the new vision, the big market. It wouldn’t surprise me if a large group of the music industry and media didn’t know this too, since there are probably few secrets in Hollywood. None of the inside music scene people seemed to like the record, but mostly panned it only because it was covers, and many critics openly requested better material for Clay. I think they knew that something was simmering just beneath the surface.

Clay has received a kindly press response, and has been a TV presence, since AI5. The Insider actively promotes him. His made-for-TV, little nothing scandals like Kelly Ripa and Toegate were blown up beyond recognition, going beyond tabloid to news. There’s something going on out there.

Oh yeah, the most important thing of all is that Clay looks immensely happy. He well may have been feeling a downturn when AI5 hit. Or maybe the sly fox knew exactly what he was doing and everything has played right into his hands. Whatever his state of mind, I think circumstances have played into his hands. When he began talking about a new album in the spring, he and Jaymes were looking for a single producer. He thought this album needed a single guiding hand unified sound. I take the leap of faith that Clay and Jaymes and RCA were already sitting on all the songs when Clay and Jaymes went off in search of a producer. Clay said that at the end of the tour they would sit down and listen to what the new producer had done before signing a contract or releasing his name. So ….. the last weekend of the tour Clay tells a M&G that Jaymes called that day to say that the label had approved two songs. I think this process is moving along at a nice clip. I do know that if this record is everything they want it to be, that it will have a big roll-out. Maybe that’s why Clay saved his money on ATDW. I think, in so many ways, that ATDW was a great big open-mouthed kiss from Clay to his fans. I’ll always love it so much, and I can’t imagine that I’ll ever stop listening to it.

I also see something in his eyes when I watch his last banter and BYLM at Orlando. There’s a retrospective quality to it. I think he’s knows he’s about to be off on a new adventure.

I'm hoping right along with you, faith! I don't know if this year or next year or the next year will be the year that Clay 'blows up huge' (heh), but I think he will get there at some point. And I'm thrilled to be along for the ride.

Oh, and Claygasm - you did a fantastic job photoshopping that pic!

Hey, Claygasm! One of your photoshopped B&W pics is being used as the background at Ideal Idol. Someone over at CV was asking whether the original had ever been posted, because she wants it (you can find the post in the focus thread if you want to answer her). Congrats on having people recognize your great picture!

I can't remember - did someone post about the 'hot pants' montage already? Oh, well, even if it's been posted - here's a link - it's hawt!

Some purdy closeups:

Newbie question... how do you change font color? Thanks!

The color chart is in kind of a weird place - on top of the banner, but it's there, and it works. Here's how to find it while in the reply box: Click on the A (between the 'strikeout' and 'web link' icons). Highlight the text you want in color. Scroll up to the top of the screen, and you'll see a color chart. Click on the desired color.

Voila! Text in color!!

Gibby, I can see how the sections are numbered and how the rows are lettered, what I'm trying to figure out is how the seats are numbered. From the center out? Or left to right? I've looked all over the internet and can't find a clear seating chart. Gee, I guess people going to church on Sunday morning don't really pay too much attention to what seats provide optimim viewing, er....pleasure.

It looks like to me that the seat numbers go from right to left. In other words, the smaller numbers are on the right, and the larger numbers are on the left. At least that's how it looks in section 8. However, in most places the writing gets really pixelated as you enlarge the diagram, so I can't be sure.

Here's the diagram. If you save it, you can use the 'enlarge' tool on your picture viewer if needed to see it better: