lilyshine

One thing I am really enjoying recently is the way there are lots of new adjectives proceeding Clay's name. Singer, Recording Star, Broadway Actor and lots more. He seems to have finally lost the AI alum as a prime identification in the media.

One of my favorite line from "Hitchhiker" was the instruction on how to fly. Just throw yourself at the ground and miss. One of my cars was called "Fred, the Flying Brick" because it flew through the air just the way bricks don't.

A little bit OT. I recently saw a Congressional hearing on C-Span where they were interviewing the new Secretary of Education. He's very articulate and passionate about education and seems to have has a wealth of experience. Anyway, the interesting part was that he was talking about some of the education stimulus money being used to create curriculum and train teachers in all classrooms to work with children with disabilities as well as typical children. He was stressing how the money would only be available for a short time, so they needed to train teachers because the training would last. He also said that all teachers should be trained to work with any child in the school system. It all made me think of Clay & TBAF.

Thanks for the compliments. I've really had fun making them.

I haven't been following along on the auction information, but here are two books I've chosen for possible donation. The smaller one has an 1864 engraving as the frontispiece. Let me know if you think these are interesting enough to add to the auction. Thanks. ETA. For anyone who didn't see the posts on main, these are blank books that I make. They are made in a traditional manner by sewing the signature over linen tapes and casing in. It's my fun hobby, not a profession!

Quite OT, but many thanks and a :thbighug-1: to whomever it was that suggested Google Chrome as a browser. I was having issues with IE and I just was not happy with Mozilla I think Chrome is going to be my default from now on.

OK, you talked me into it. Do you think they should have Clay illustrations or just be normal books?

To do it properly - yes - it does need a lot of equipment. However, a pile of bricks can be substituted for a bookpress and you don't really need a sewing frame and other adaptations can be made. The one essential is a paper cutter strong enough to cut binders' board and it must be able to cut absolutely square corners. I make books in the traditional way - folded signatures sewn over linen tapes and bound in in cloth/paper covered boards. There are lots of places around the country that give workshops. I first learned at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and have recently taken classes at the Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. There are lots of places that teach "quick & dirty" ways of putting pages together that are fun and useful if you don't want to get too involved. I teach a class and the universal response is, "I didn't think it would be so complicated."

I don't make my own paper. I use a light (50-70lb.) drawing paper for the text and decorative papers for the endpapers and covers. I'd be happy to donate one to TBAF if you think there would be any interest. Here are some I made last month. The last one has paper I marbled on the cover. Some have old engravings as frontispieces. No, I didn't destory any books - the books had already lost their covers and parts of the text blocks.

I'm a little late, as usual, to the party but I'm really happy that there are so many book lovers here. My hobby is bookbinding and I love taking old beatup books and rebinding them. I also am known for hauling all of my Clay friends all over New York looking for interesting papers to use in making blank books and journals.

Does it count as a "score" if it's only a near miss and you don't tell anyone? Last night, just before I went to bed, I went to the OFC on a whim to check Clay's blog. This is something I never, ever do unless I see the magic words, "He blogged". I think I missed the blog by less than 15 minutes! Do I get a second prescience award??????

I think it was a rerun, but Clay was a question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" The question was what was the headline on the Peolpe cover with Clay Aiken? Answer: Yes, I'm gay. He really is a household name. The young woman answered with no hesitation at all. It's amazing how quickly I notice Clay's name on programs that I'll not really even listening to. All of a sudden "Clay Aiken" and my ears perk up just like a dog's.

All right, I confess. For years I have dreamed about Clay doing small, and I mean tiny, venues. Interacting with an audience of 300-500, not a bad seat in the house. With low ticket prices so even I could afford it. Kinda like the galas but in a more acoustic setting. Well, it's either that or my living room. He can choose. It's not that I don't think he should be a major star and all that, it's just that my ideal concert is not being packed into a concrete floored arena with thousands of screaming fans. I really like intimate clubs.

I'm having trouble with IE also and have to use Mozilla most of the time so it may not be your computer but a larger problem. The plant in the snow looks a lot like mint. If you crush the leaves does it smell good? Does it have a square stem? Those are two tests. If it's not mint, it may be ajuga - grows everywhere and has pretty small blue flowers.

I'm a cheapskate too!! I love my tote from last year but have no use for a mug or a lanyard --- even a Clay Aiken one -- so this year I get to save some $$$$ and still read his blogs.

Last night I happened on C-Span while they were televising the Congressional Hearings on the merger of Ticketmater and Live Nation. Interesting stuff. The head of TM (I've forgotten his name already) absolutley refused to say how much the "fees" TM added to the ticket price were. Of course, he didn't come right out and say he refused, but waffled all over the place - it varies, I'd have to look it up, they are competitive, etc. etc. The committee seemed to be against the merger, but it's hard to say. They were asking some very tough questions. Here's a link to a Rolling Stone article on the hearing.

One of the biggest problems with re-branding any organization is confusion about whether the "first" org died or was taken over or exactly what happened. I also think there will be a problem if Clay relies on the word "inclusion" as the keystone for the new name. I don't think the general public is very familiar with the term as an educational concept. It's much easier if you have the name of a disease or something to work around - The Cancer Foundation, AIDS United or similar names. Frankly, I use "inclusion" to mean bits of foreign materials that are added in the paper-making process far more frequently than in the sense Clay uses it, but I'm weird that way. I'm sure they'll come up with something, but it's not easy to rename organizations. Our little Arts Center has been fighting over renaming our gallery for over a year now!

For those seeking hidden messages ... how about fifty2thirty?? Jaymes is fifty, Clay is thirty and -obviously - the 2 is two children.

May I remind everyone just WHO had a dream about a CD yesterday morning? The title and date were off, but dreams aren't meant to be literal. signed, The Queen Psychic I think that should qualify me for an instant pass on the test. I'm obviously in tune with Clay's recording aura. :2:

In the for what it's worth department. Last night I had a very vivid dream in which part of my house was whirled away by the wind - just like in the Wizard of Oz. It was so realistic, the first thing I did when I got up was to check that all of the house was still there. Anyway, at the end of the dream, an announcement was made, "Clay Aiken announces the release of his next CD entitled 'Everything but Mongolian Polkas' on June 15, 2009." Very strange for me to have anything Clay in my dreams. They are usually very pedestrian and can be linked to something directly in my RL.

I'm slow, but I just noticed the reflections in Clay's eyes in the banner - face on the right, four dots. Does anyone have that picture clear enough to blow it up to see what the four dots are? The reason I ask is that I have a great picture of my Granddaughter that, when I use as my desktop, is large enough that you can see her parents (who were taking the picture) reflected in her eyes. It is a great picture. ETA. I expect they are just flashes or lights, but maybe not.

About John D., it might explain why Clay tolerated his acting..... About the windows, yes, I always get that -- a real pain.

I just saw that Arts funding had been returned to the stimulus package! Yeah for Congress and Robert Redford. Here's a link to New York Times article on it.

OT Post For those of you who support community arts organizations, you may know that all arts funding was cut from the stimulus package. I guess artists don't need to work or pay rent, like real folks. Non-profit community arts centers were lumped with casinos, golf clubs and stadiums as not needing support. I live in a poor, rural area and our local arts center works very hard on a shoestring to provide workshops, concerts & exhibits to a population that otherwise would not experience any art not on the TV screen. The elimination of this funding is going to be very hard on us and others like us. If you agree and are inclined to help, here's a link to a website with info about contacting Congress. Arts Advocacy Clay content: Clay said to support local arts groups!

I'll add my vote for watching "The Rabbit-Proof Fence". It's a very good movie as well as a history lesson. There's also a fascinating commentary on the making of the movie and the history of the young actress who played the lead character. IIRC it was on the same DVD as the movie which I rented from Netflix.