claytonic

I prefer the spelling of your daughter's name, i.e. Charisse, it looks prettier! "Charice" is actually a contraction of Charmaine Clarice. So she has become known by a name that isn't really her birth name at all. HAHA gotta laugh, guess what, her fans are now known as people with "Charismatic" disorder or they are Pempengcoholics!. ClayNation has started a trend!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RgL2MKfWTo Bulgarian Idol audition. The song is Ken Lee, (also known as Mariah Carey's WITHOUT YOU), It is sung in English, but if you have a problem with English, there are subtitles to help you! Oh, and check out the Pawler Abdool clone judge!

His interview with The Insider... wow how sizzling HAWT does he look? :hubbahubba: (To think at one point...Simon called him.. er... ugly?? )

IIU???? translation? Thanks for telling me ONE Of them. Well, that's ONE down. If It's Unknown? OK... if IIF = If It's True Would/could it naturally follow that IIU = If It's Untrue ?? Someone please say yay or nay so that I can update the acronym Glossary in one fell swoop :lmaosmiley-1: p.s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuVEQBlFKhs...feature=related Look at Charice now with David Foster... she's that kid I've been raving about for the last 2-3 years to anyone who would listen .... her talent was discovered on YouTube where a friend kept uploading her Karaoke and singing competition performances. She is just amazing, she turned 16 just 3 weeks ago. She's been on Ellen, Oprah.... Close your eyes and you'd think you were listening to a black diva, not a little asian girl. (I didn't know David Foster produced the original Dreamgirls album, with Jennifer Holliday. He says so in this YT vid) ETA to update her age from 15 to 16. Her year of birth on her biography has been changed from 1993 to 1992. Whatever the case, I think I might still have some bottles of shampoo older than that...

HAHA no kidding! Clay's food choices make me shudder! I was interested at first in trying the recipes at the back of LTS, until I read the ingredients!!

Although I love comedy and consider it essential to see the humor in most things, I have a real problem with those who think they are licensed to stoop to any level for a laugh. If it hurts someone deeply, it's not at all funny. I've always had reservations about Kimmel, i.e. from the time I first heard of him, BECAUSE of Clay. Before Clay, never heard of Jimmy Kimmel. claytonic... Kathy Griffin was on Larry King Live, not Jimmy Kimmel. Jimmy has not been nasty to Clay since the first time they worked together. Not sure I understand what you were saying. Kathy Griffin is a famewhore of the highest order and deludes herself if she thinks Clay thinks she's funny when she makes nasty remarks about him. She's an idiot of the highest order! Hm, how interesting that I read LKL as Kimmel since I certainly have known who Larry King is for a long time, and same goes for Kathy Griffin. I tend to blame the show's host for allowing something like that and I automatically thought of "thought" of Kimmel. (See my sig... goes to prove...?!?). I also associate Kimmel with his GF who I also find over the top. I always felt that Kimmel uses Clay, but that's from my perspective and I am willing to concede I am wrong because I certainly want to be, since Clay seems to be so friendly with him now.

Although I love comedy and consider it essential to see the humor in most things, I have a real problem with those who think they are licensed to stoop to any level for a laugh. If it hurts someone deeply, it's not at all funny. I've always had reservations about Kimmel, i.e. from the time I first heard of him, BECAUSE of Clay. Before Clay, never heard of Jimmy Kimmel.

How long ago was this? In any case, Oprah is not infallible, and she knows it. She's very human, and that's a major part of her appeal to me. Oh I totally agree on this. I felt the cringe factor too, and the hosts of other high-rating shows made the most of it. But looking at the big picture... has Oprah done more good than not? For me, it's yes for SURE. Most of all, she's an inspiration to those who may think they have no chance in life because of their race and/or physical appearance and/or economic disadvantage. She transcended all that and more (e.g. childhood trauma and abuse), and that's her biggest gift to us all. There is no argument here. It's not about having someone else pick the President, it's about someone getting you to look at something you may not have known much about. I have a friend who, as a child, was taken by her mother to political rallies for the opposing "team". Her mother said... "We already know what our party is doing, we need to know what the other one is doing". The OTHER party is the one that will point out the weaknesses in your own party. The two parties - liberal and conservative - they are not so extreme left and right as they used to be, they HAVE to be more flexible to keep in step with changing social attitudes and values. It takes a lot of discipline to venture to the other side to hear them out, and I say that knowing that I, myself, am almost always guilty of wanting to remain in my comfort-zone.. But I try my best because as the saying goes, the people deserve the government they voted for, and I don't ever want to be part of a majority that is so complacent or ignorant as to passively allow another situation like Hitler's Germany.

Me too, and we're not alone. Well, first let me say that I am not impressed by rich people. I am impressed by caring people and people with integrity, and that is what I see in Oprah. I didn't see any of her really early shows, but did see the ones that were really much like The Phil Donahue Show. I found them entertaining but nothing to write home about, since I am not into sensationalism for the sake of TV ratings. I did admire Oprah's poise and confidence. It was only in the last few years when Oprah changed the content of her shows that I became a real fan. She has empowered the every-day-woman in a way no one else (I can think of) has done on a massive scale. She's a liberal to the core, and so a kindred spirit. She wants to liberate all women, especially the ones who live in cultures that denigrate the value of a female child, and the female adult. I have cried when watching her shows and if you avoid her shows, that would mean you've missed some extraordinary educational stories, such as the work done at the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia by its founder, Dr. Catherine Hamlin. Dr Hamlin's hospital couldn't continue without financial support, and Oprah directed the western world to the stark tragedy of young girls shunned by their families because of a horrific condition that resulted from under-aged pregnancies. This is just one of numerous causes Oprah has raised awareness for. Hillary was hated by some because all powerful people are absolutely hated by some and absolutely loved by some. It comes with the territory if you have a public profile and a powerful role. No matter what she does, she will have people deem her a failure because they will find SOMETHING that didn't work out for her and pin that on her. I was shocked that she agreed with the plan to attack Iraq. OK, it's now been explained what really happened but I still feel disappointment in that regard. However, I still admire her hugely and hope somehow she and Obama can be partners in the presidency but I don't know how it will work out. I really think Hillary needs to be by Obama's side to strengthen the Democrat bid for the White House Well, I don't see it that way at all. You don't like Bush, and he's not black. So I don't see you as a racist at all, you just have your own thoughts and beliefs on what's best for the citizens of your country and no doubt for the citizens of the world as well. It is really unfortunate that people are labeled racist just because they don't support someone of a different race. I don't like OJ Simpson. Anyone who calls me racist... well, their credibility is in the toilet. Anyone who labels Hillary a loser is surely low on credibility. Clay didn't win American Idol ... does that make HIM a loser? Oh he's a loser by the standards of some people but for those people, I do my doggie act. (If you can't eat it or hump it, p*ss on it and walk away). People need to be judgemental because it makes them feel like they stand for something. And cowards choose easy targets. Oprah is way more than an entertainer. Through the guests she hand-picks for her shows, I have learned a great deal. Again, is Clay just an entertainer? Should we pay attention when he talks about inclusion for children who aren't typical; do we say, oh, forget it, he's just an entertainer. He uses his celebrity platform opportunistically, but with intelligence and integrity. Just like Oprah. No one is one-dimensional. If Oprah recommends a book, I might look at the blurb, but her Book Club does not dictate my reading list, I'd probably pay more attention to a book YOU might recommend. Why? Because you're more like me than Oprah is. I always listen to Oprah, but she doesn't do my thinking for me. She is controlling on a grand scale, and she admits it. But she has used her money - and the power that comes with it - for the common-good. Yeah, I was the one who made that remark about Maya Angelou's endorsement of Hillary. Unfortunately, it appeared flippant. Sometimes I don't think before I the hit Send Reply button, which is why I like this forum. I'd like to think I can be forgiven for not expressing myself properly. If it appeared as an insult to Maya Angelou. WOW insult Maya Angelou? That's unthinkable. The main point I wanted to make was that it is possible for two people to love and admire each other, but still have a different view. It blows me away that Arnold Schwarzenegger is evidently happily married to someone from the most famous Democrat family in history. It's a great combination.... the only way to get balance and progress is when there is genuine dialogue between opposing sides. You may disagree, but I understand how you feel. I felt angry and defeated over Iraq, and the fact that my country's Prime Minister, who insisted on being joined at the hip with Bush on the Iraq matter, was humiliated at the recent Federal Elections is small comfort, because it doesn't reverse the Iraq situation. The damage is done and future generations will suffer the consequences. Of course you count, all thinking people COUNT in terms of the leader we choose to take care of our life. Hillary, with or without the VP role, is NOT DEAD YET!! And I don't have the Bush black/white attitude of "you're either with us or against us". Just because someone is WITH Obama, it does not automatically mean they are against Hillary. Most of all, I disagree with the fact that you see entertainers as nothing more than ... entertainers. More people know the names and 'accomplishments' of entertainers than the names and accomplishments of politicians who are working in the background towards changing legislation that will affect their lives. Look at the number of celebrities who first got public attention as entertainers, and moved into political life. Obvious example, Reagan. In fact, Oprah has lost a lot of fans over her endorsement of Obama and "A New Earth". I am interested in that book, but I haven't rushed out to get it, so that hopefully indicates that while I am always, always interested in what Oprah has to say, she's not my "Pastor". No one is. I was raised by a father whose philosophy was firmly based on conservative values; yet I'm a Democrat. At least my father taught me to think for myself. A lot of people I know don't like getting involved in politics or political discussions because of its divisive nature. However, I feel that everyone counts because everyone influences someone on some level. I've never learned anything from anyone who agrees with me on everything.

I've been puzzled about the Obama hate too. I'd never heard of him until recently and originally I would have voted for Hillary (if I was in a position to vote) simply because of her enormous experience and intelligence. But when Oprah endorsed Obama, I kinda took notice. Yeah, it's sad I know but when Oprah speaks I listen. Well, I can't vote even if I wanted to, but I hope Obama wins the Presidency because I can't feel good about another Republican in the most powerful job in the world.

WOW 52 states? I thought there were only 50! Has there been a change that I don't know about? How can this be!

But those are labels we put on that situation. I bet that woman doesn't see herself as a co-dependent. I had another employee who worked for me who was a battered wife. We actually had to sneak her out of the building a few times because the police couldn't get there in time to enforce him staying away from her. And yet when you talked to her about it (while looking at her black eyes and puffy lip) she would declare her love for him and that he just needed (fill in the blank) and he wouldn't do this anymore! ETA: I would agree with JMH that the definition of unconditional love might be questionable. I guess the reason I'm applying it to the situation I described is that no matter what this asshole did to this woman she would go back to him, make excuses for him, defend him, not press charges against him even though she was in danger of losing her job because of absences, etc. It had more to do with her self-worth than love, but she thought she loved him. Women who say they love their abusive husband do believe they do. And if she finally has enough and leaves him, she will often replace him the same kind of man. . There are a lot of women like that. It is a very complex situation and she's the enabler until she gets the therapy she needs to break loose from her "comfort-zone".. When my female friends whine about unconditional love, I tell them to get a dog. Now, THAT's true unconditional love. They love you no matter what.!!!

You see, I don't see women who stick with an abusive man as unconditional love, I see it as co-dependency or a personal agenda.

Honestly, I don't believe unconditional love exists except between mother and child. Sometimes between father and child but never between a man and a woman, friends and family outside the mother and child bond. Think about it. Relationships are always conditional.

I so totally agree. That story about the 5 month old... makes my blood boil!! It is enough grounds to force the parents into sterilization. Most children born into special circumstances like Clay and Jaymes are loved and have a happy childhood. At the end of the day, it's not about anything or anyone else but the child. That is all that matters. ETA Luckiest, LOVE that pic of your kitties.

Probably because she isn’t 50. Her name isn’t Eileen Foster either, as that asshole Friedman reports but hey, its tabloid media. Her name is Colleen Jaymes Foster and she wasn’t named after her father whose name isn’t James. Source: http://mjsbigblog.com/idol-headlines-for-60208.htm :cryingwlaughter:

Hmmm.....you mention a "series" but I only see one; are there more I'm not seeing? http://www.youtube.com/results?uploaded=d&...uery=Clay+Aiken You will see the others from that link. There are 5 YT videos called Claymates: Chapter (1 through to 5)

There is a series of YouTube vids all about Claymates. Just uploaded today. I wonder if some of you are in it....

Imagine the furore when the baby is born. Some in the fandom will not agree to the baby's chosen name, some will be upset if the baby doesn't have the same color eyes as Clay, and may speculate that it isn't Clay's baby and Jaymes will be accused for having an artificial insemination affair with another man. Some will insist that a DNA test is taken, and that Clay blogs the results. Some will insist that Clay takes the baby away from LA/Hollywood and raise his child in Raleigh. Others will insist his two dogs be given away in case they are jealous of the baby. I shudder already.

:cryingwlaughter: (Dammit I almost choked on my dinner. That'll teach me a lesson for looking at my computer monitor while I am eating instead of sitting at the dining table like a civilized person!!! ).

I first received this one years ago, and it remains one of my favourites because it has such a happy ending. Happy ever after!! She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases. On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candle-light, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring-water. When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls. Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about one tenth of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork. A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home......... And to spite the ex-wife, they even took the curtain rods!!!!!! Don't you just LOVE a happy ending?

Well, I was a huge fan of Hillary, I always felt that she and Bill were a dynamic team, Hillary wasn't just a First Lady, she was way more than that and I believed she would one day be the first woman President. However, when I heard that she gave the "thumbs up" for the war on Iraq, I was shocked, disappointed and devastated in a way I had never felt towards a politician. I felt 'sold out'. I realize I can't possibly know much about the politics in the USA but I try to keep informed because what happens in the USA affects my country hugely. I've never forgotten Vietnam, and I will never forget Iraq. However, politicians make mistakes, and we have to live with that.

Although this may sound a little contradictory because of some comments about progress in another thread, the sad truth is that the only thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't learn from history.

No doubt he has been canonized by some but for many others, his name is still synonymous with Chappaquiddick. You know, when he was 12, his oldest brother was killed in a plane crash, then JFK was murdered in in 1963, then Robert was murdered in 1968. Throughout all this tragedy, his father was frail, confined to a wheelchair as a result of a stroke a couple of years before JFK's assassination. Chappaquiddick happened in 1969, and his father died later that year. That's ALL the male members of his family gone. Teddy made a terrible, terrible mistake and not for one minute do I excuse him for it. But when you take in the big picture of the tragic circumstances of his life, I cannot help but feel compassion for this man. Then he had to deal with cancer striking 2 of his 3 children. I know there are still people who feel that his jail sentence suspension was due to the fact that he was a Kennedy and that was unfair, but you know, he really paid a higher price than many people who did go to jail. I don't have any illusions about the Kennedys, but to nail Teddy forever for Chappaquiddick would be like dismissing everything about Bill Clinton because of Monica. He got caught and had to suffer the humiliation. JFK died a saint in every way possible and even to this day I understand Caroline refuses to believe her dad cheated on her mom. (This was apparently a huge conflict between herself and JFK Jr)

I've been Googling around ... this post from Jaymes is almost 2 years old, but I am reading it with new eyes, given the current situation. Source: http://aikenforums.com/index.php?showtopic=444077