Carolina Clay

AnAmeraikenInTX of Clayversity won a M&G for Houston! I think she used up all the EEEEEEEEE's in the English language. WOOHOO for AAIT!

ETA: AllyKat also won a M&G for Houston.

Caro

Cindy, that is an amazing morph! I just may have to RIGHT-CLICK and SAVE. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

All the best to everyone on the M&G's. I didn't sign up because, at that time, I didn't know if I would be able to attend. Not very smart, but I'll cheer for everyone else. Clique does seem to be cutting it close. Some fans have already left for Texas.

:TourExcite:

Welcome home, Maddy! Sweet dreams, all!

Caro

Playbiller -- lots of hugs to you! On the one hand, the news is very good. On the other, I think you are right about HMO's. Hope you solve the mystery soon.

Caro

Great symphony info, Jenna and Gibby!

My concert is not until August, so I'm taking good notes on these packing lists.

Awesome morphs, Cindy! You are right; no matter what, he's still ... Clay.

Well, guess who forgot her 3:30 student was coming at 9:30. Teaching attire today was very comfortable. :eusa_whistle:

Yay for new Clack! :Tour3:

Caro

Caro, I have an orchestra question that maybe you could answer. If you had to ballpark it, how much would you think each member of the orchestra is getting paid for the performance? I assume it involves at least the afternoon practice with Jesse and partly with Clay, along with each evening's performance. I'm just nosy, and am curious about the cost. Forty-two musicians plus maybe the conductor plus the local guitar and bass players = what? Ten Grand? I have no clue...

Here's the stab in the dark. I can ask a symphony player what the going rate is these days. My BIL is a minister of music, and musicians get paid by "services" -- a rehearsal and a performance are both called a service. Whether they symphony pays more for a performance than a rehearsal, I don't know. I have played in various orchestras, and it makes a difference if the symphony is union, too.

The going rate around here for church jobs is $60 for a rehearsal and $60 for one church service. Two Sunday morning services = two performances. Hope this helps.

Treenuts, that is awesome and a great way to have fireworks.

Caro

Happy to all our Canadians, and greetings to all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Welcome to crimsonice! You are ahead of me on the list.

BOD and HEART retired from blogging for now, and the Carolina site got back on the Clay Aiken tour trail today. :TourExcite:

Brightstar posted this at CV today, and I asked if I could use it in the blog. I think it sums up the CA fandom's sentiments on July 1:

Happy Sunday!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy first day of July!

Happy beginning of concert month!

Happy beginning of cellcert month!

Happy anticipation!

Happy planning!

Happy packing!

Happy (and safe) travels!

Happy meeting new friends!

Happy reunions with old friends!

Happy pre-parties!

Happy concerts!

Happy cellcerts!

Happy bus lines!

Happy clack sharing!

Happy post-parties!

Happy concert reports!

Happy afterglows!

Happy travels to the next one!

I will try to put some thought into "the list."

Have a great evening and a super week, all! New Clack any day now!

Caro

Oops, sorry I missed this earlier and hope you've had a very special day ...

Happy Birthday, Totally!

Goldarngirl and MyZiggy!

Congratulations, YSRN! :Tour3:

The Houston pod cast sounds awesome! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro

Good Morning, FCA!

You know, I was just looking at the avatars on this page---each one shows a different, unique aspect of the man...he's infinitely fascinating, isn't he?

Amen, sistah! That man has blown my water heater a thousand times over. Isn't it the coolest thing that we'll never ever totally figure him and all of it....out.

Muski and Karen -- I think most Clay fans could have written these posts. I know I could, so DITTO!

Love Clay's blog! I had finished putting up my groceries (HINT: Don't go to the store at 2 o'clock on such a hot and humid day!) and signed back in, refreshed my blog, and realized Clay was in the list. I immediately looked at the assembly below, which was very light for his having just posted.

Of course, by the time I checked here and CV, the alert had been sounded. LOL, then came the invasion. It's amazing how much activity his blogs inspire. Nope, we're not excited at all.

The iPhone does look very kewl, though the price tag is a little much. I have TODAY on, and others -- Microsoft -- are working on mucho competition.

Enjoyed Kayla's avatars, Rcknrllmom!

Happy Birthday, GeorgiaClay! :fest09:

Safe travels to all taking off this weekend. Maddy is in Maryland this week and, per her email, had to leave extra early to drive through flooded areas to get to the Dallas airport. That was a couple of days ago.

Y'all have a great day!

Caro

Good Morning, FCA! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

MANY THNX for the outpouring of good vibes, healing prayers, and love through the blogs, message boards, candles, email, PMs, et al. Though overwhelmed, BOD and HEART are kicking around a recap. Meanwhile, know that your many kind expressions are greatly appreciated.

I have much catching up to do, but I wanted you to know the above first thing. I skimmed through the pages late last night but was too worn out from lying around all day to post.

Beautiful calendar, Cindilu2!

Tour countdown in single digits! :Tour3:

Have a great day, FCA!

Caro

Cindy, I lurve "Clay Out of the Frame!" Also in ...

Yay for the Waukegan addition to the holiday tour! Hopefully, "Ticket News" will add it to the list. :eusa_whistle:

Caro

Caro, it's probably weird to have your blog lifted and quoted like that, but at least it was in a good cause and the resulting article was complimentary. My fisrt reaction when I read the article was that someone had access to the fan sites.

You can rest easy -- "Ticket News" read the entry on Blogspot. This was not a big deal. I was just reporting on the newest holiday concerts. I'm glad to help get the word out.

Speaking of which, what I was trying to post earlier but finally gave up because Rich Text was throwing me so many curves ...

As you know, I will go into the hospital Tuesday for a cath procedure/possible stent intervention. I let my BOD and HEART tell the story in the second half of the blog. The dialogue starts like this:

BOD: Listen up, HEART, this is the BRAIN speaking for the rest of Caro. We are assembled because we want you to know we are tired of spending our annual "vacation" at the hospital. This will be the third consecutive year we have had to go to this cath lab convention. Do you have a crush on the doctor or something?

HEART: Hey, guys, it's not my fault. The docs can't even figure it out. We know people who would kill for her cholesterol readings; the last LDL was 73. Do you know how amazing that is?!? She reads labels, watches sodium and cholesterol intake, doesn't touch fried foods, rarely eats red meat. She never has used much salt and should own stock in Mrs. Dash. Now that you mention it, that surgeon is kind of cute though.

Cindilu2 just happened to get in the middle of this tale when I was writing it. Thank you for all the good vibes, FCA!

The blog is at the OFC and at Carolina On My Mind.

Playbiller, hope all goes well for you and that you enjoy the beach. Sending you lots of hugs!

CV is changing servers and moving files today. I think they hope to be back up around 1 p.m. We'll see!

Laughn -- love the new skit!

Y'all have a wonderful week! Won't be long! :Tour3:

Caro

I figured it out. I was set on Rich Text from the spell-check talk the other day. WOOHOO, I'm back to normal -- whatever that is!

Caro

Greetings, DCA ... er FCA! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Beautiful banner, Cindilu2!

No time right now to post a lot, but I saw this one on the CH this morning (full text in the Fast Forward News section):

Clay Aiken Adds Dates to Magical Holiday Tour 2007

Clay Aiken has proven he's a popular concert artist and with the summer tour opener just 10 days away, November and December dates for the Magical Holiday Tour 2007 are already surfacing on orchestra websites.

This is just too funny. I first saw this story at Clayversity before the board shut down until this afternoon. Lolocat had posted the link and the first couple of graphs. I started reading and suddenly it struck me, "Hey, that's my lead!!!" Sure enough, "Ticket News" copied the top of my current blog all the way down to the list of holiday concerts. Anything for the cause!

There is more to my post, but I can't figure out why I can't make paragraphs and links. Is anything different or has Retrograde Mercury hit me real hard today?

Caro

Caro Here is a new sendspace link for you....

I Run For Life

Thnx, Rcknrllmom -- I am downloading now.

Thnx for all the good vibes. Today was just lab work, chest x-ray, nitty gritty preliminaries for the main event, which is 2 p.m. Tuesday. Glad to be home in the A/C.

Sending some good vibes to Claygasm.

Caro

Caro...good luck, hope all goes well!

Every time I watch I Run For Life.....I always smile when the pic of your mom and your daughter goes by!

Thnx, Rcknrllmom. I may have to hit you up for that Sendspace. I would love to restore that montage to my hard drive. No rush though.

Thnx for the good wishes, all.

Cindy, I like Clay's eyes just the way they are; and I meant ALL the pictures posted. Better work on my word skills, not to mention my proofreading technique!

Jamar, I do remember that baseball is your game. I've just never been into it. Now basketball -- that's another story. :eusa_whistle:

Caro

Good Morning, FCA! :00000441:

I notice we have no birthdays at FCA today, but this would have been my mother's 96th. Thnx to her longevity genes, she lived to age 93. I recently wrote about Mama Mac in my Mother's Day blog, and she briefly slipped into a paragraph in my current entry.

I am a basketball enthusiast (nut, fanatic, etc.) who discovered a love for baseball during the College World Series three years ago. Carolina is in the finals again this year, so I have had to dust off my cheerleading skills. A couple of Nebraska Claymates have kept me posted from the Omaha games.

Clay connection? When the Tar Heels arrived in Omaha, they commented that the ball park smelled like Krispy Kreme doughnuts. :eusa_whistle:

IMO, as Jaymes once said, Clay knows exactly who he is musically. And I can't wait to see what's next! :Tour3:

JaMar, I'm with you -- this man if full of surprises, and I look forward to what's around the corner. I realize this fandom survives on extrapolation, and most of the time there's nothing wrong with that. I tend to scroll on by with one eye open. This is Clay's life and his career. I'm just happy to be along for the ride and to celebrate his successes!

vjm -- glad to have you at FCA in the "newbie" car, too!

I look at something like that and wonder why anybody ever messes with his eyes in photos. They are exquisite just as they are. Ever changing, ever mesmerizing. GAHHHHH! Perfection!

ETA: You know, I think if I were ever on the receiving end of that look 'for real', I'd honest to god swoon.

Strolling through, I must agree these were awesome cold-shower photos, Cindilu2. Please don't stop! GAH!!! :medium-smiley-070:

Couch Tomato, I enjoyed reading about jazzersize. You just may inspire me to make a move ... toward the stationary bike or something.

Every year that I have a cath procedure -- and Tuesday marks the third in a row -- we are under a Mercury Retrograde. Crossing my fingers, there will be no problems. The results determine a possible trip to the Knoxville concert.

Y'all have a wonderful day! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro

I'm home. She had every test underneath the sun and they found nothing. She's back to her old self. We have one follow up with a neurologist on Thursday but things look fine. Now back to catch up. Thanks for the good vibrations.

Couch Tomato, this is really great news. Hope all goes well with the follow-up.

treenuts -- glad to have you here!

Love the pictorial walk down memory lane. My picture folders were royally dismissed when I had to send my laptop to a repair shop in March. Fortunately, everything I have ever posted is still in my P/B account; but many gems were erased.

Though not "ancient," these OPRAH clickables by Liandra are among the oldest in my P/B account:

Have a great day, all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro

Just for accuracy's (and due credit) sake, t'was ldyjocelyn who discovered how to colourize stuff around here. I just asked the question!

Oops, my bad! Thank you, Cindy, for asking and, Idyjocelyn, for the solution!

LOL, YSRN, I have done the quote thing you described. What's wild is to go to another thread or forum and out pop those quotes from the first location. Happens to me all the time in CV's PSP Forum.

Love the Houston pictures and finally got one to work in my blog -- but not before trying to wrap it as a clickable, losing the photo altogether, and making the type clickable instead. Now that was a funny-looking paragraph for five minutes or so!

Love all the emoticons!

Later ... :eusa_whistle:

Caro

Ansa!

How does one change the color of letters here? Usually I highlight, then click on the color function and choose a color. But when I try to click on the A to change color, nothing happens.

Is it done differently on this board?

Maddy, it's a little different. You click on the "A" and scroll up to view the same color choices of other Invision boards. I think Cindy discovered it about a week or so ago.

Hey, thnx for the awesome Houton pix! I'm trying to figure a place to add one or both to my blog, which is already loaded with tour art.

Go, Tar Heels!!! Carolina is currently playing Louisville in the College World Series.

Have a great day, all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I can't say how much that email to the Houston venue pisses me off. NOT for the info, but for the fact of it's existence. I wish fans could just let things happen instead of always having to ferret things out. Maybe Clay told us exactly what he wanted us to know in his blog? Maybe he'd like to, oh, unveil his show himself??? GRRR (JMO and YMMV and all that) And yes, I already griped about it on the CB. Clearly, the email is in answer to questions(I doubt they came up with 'up-tempo on their own).

Cindilu, I'm too tired to do more than WORD this, but I so agree! As you say, too bad Clay can't unveil his own show ... and not have to explain about his hundreds of "managers." <---- all Clay's extra "keepers,"

Btw, the Houston Symphony website has wonderful info about Clay here.

Laughn, I'm with you -- just watching the man breathe sounds good to me.

miramachi gal! Glad to have you on board.

Hi, Maddy!

See y'all tomorrow ... later today! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro

Good Morning, FCA!

Couch Tomato!

Hope your day is very special!

To everyone -- have a great week! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro

Thanks to everyone for the compliments on the montage - I'm glad you liked it!

Glad you like the pic Claygasm - it's one of those that had gone through several transformations even before I found it on the Clayboard. KarenEh's tag was already removed before I snagged the pic. I am really careful to never remove tags when I work with pics - I have way too much respect for the photographers to ever do that.

PuddinsJoy, I totally agree with you about photographer-graphic artist credits and have written blogs/posts on the subject at the OFC. Clayversity passed around the link for your wonderful montage, and Irishbookgal provided the original:

Clickable

Awesome montage, btw. I left you a comment at YouTube.

Hello, Karen -- awesome pix!

Thanks for the youtube link to the AI5 finale. What a week that was. Clay's going to be on the finale- No, it's just a rumor - Nigel said no - There are pictures of the finale rehearsal on this radio station's website. If that guy in the sweatshirt Clay? No, I think it's a crew member. Then the OFC finally posted a confirmation that Clay would be on late in the afternoon. <snip> Good times!

Great memories, Bottlecap and Laughn! There was also another aspect that I learned via Sally's sister, who heard Nigel Lythgoe interviewed on KTLA. I posted this in my blog in a 2006 recap of the AI5 Finale, as well as this year's anniversary look back:

Lythgoe Reveals Secrecy Plan

In a local interview on KTLA-TV's Morning News Show one year ago Thursday, Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed that details of Clay's appearance and performance were kept secret from almost everyone, the judges and Ryan included. Clay arrived at an obscure entrance in an SUV with tinted windows.

Sporting a new look and attracting no attention whatsoever, he walked in unnoticed with wardrobe personnel and the garments they were transporting and secretly watched the show in a nearby building before being escorted to the stage just in time for his grand entrance.

Also from Bottlecap:

My Dad died 14 years ago this month, and I still miss him very much. :F_05BL17blowkiss: For you, Dad.

The graphic you used in your post is a quote attributed to Anne Geddes -- "Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a Dad" -- and is the way I opened my Father's Day blog at the OFC and Carolina On My Mind in which I honored three Dads: my own, my FIL, and my daughter's father.

Thnx to all who have shared experiences and memories of your fathers in the comments.

Have a wonderful Dad's Day, all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro

Ansa and Idy, below is a story about Connie that Sally emailed me. Amazingly, she told no one at school of her success, and teachers and students only learned about the performance when the show was televised.

Connie

On Saturday night, viewers and the trio of panellists will vote to decide if Connie makes it through to the following evening's studio final for the chance to sing in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety Show and win £100,000.

"This girl is just special," Cowell told the Mail last night. "I have never felt such a powerful silence in my life as when Connie sang. It was pure magic.

This should prove interesting!

Caro

I love that he's telling us about the 'little things'...the retirement party, playing with the dogs, etc. I also love even more that he keeps talking about the music.

(The man just wanted another stamp on his passport, didn't he?)

Somehow, I sense another of your skits in the works, Laughn.

Caro

WOOHOO -- new thread for discussion of the globe-trotting Clay Aiken ... or what Bottlecap said!

While Clay has been celebrating his teacher's retirement, chilling, and flying to London in search of a producer, I received a link from a musician friend of an amazing performance on "Britain's Got Talent":

Here is another: Six-Year-Old Makes Them Cry. (This video ends with Eva Cassidy softly singing the same song.)

Have a great day, all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro