Ansamcw

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE cindilu just made this great UNICEF banner!!!

in honor of Clay in Mexico....what a guy!!!!

thanks cindi!!!

Hey RIFAN welcome to main...and I always loved Clark Kent too more than superman....

oh thanks for reminding me...Gotta dowload scarlets widescreen version...going to watch it again cos I only got to watch it ...ONCE....I know bad fan...hee

I'm entertaining myself by finding cool pics and animations and bringing them over here to share with my friends. I hope ya'll don't mind that I'm posthoing.

From this summer's LA show - a veritable feast for tongue lovers:

EEEEEEEEEE I saw this in person and sitting in the best seat I ever had...thanks to the eHP...

Oh I forgot to give all those under the weather a big hug....

(((to all that need it))))

Its actually amazing that I am feeling ok this season...I usually end up with a flu sot I hope I don't jinx myself. Right now...there seem to be several kids with mono in my girls schools....we are hoping we do not get affected but I just found out that my eldest girl often share water bottles with friends...eeeewwwww

love the pictures perma...you are so good with those filters...its like art.

ok...haven;t ventured out of FCA but is the back flap really a big deal or are you guys just being funny...cos that is really one of the most ridiculous things I ever heard!!!

It is more than that though, I would think a lot of people come from farmland. Although I consider myself raised in teh suburbs and not to far from Newark, we hada dairy farm in the neighborhood and we picked berries from by the railroad tracks for dinner. I don't think many would be doingthat today as apartments filled in the open land and the dairy farm became a subdivision. I laugh when people describe Clay as country, you have to be pretty far off the beaten path to be country to me, especially in our internet connected area, where all our local farms have websites listing their in season crops.

I think this whole Clay has gained weight thing has something to do with him looking like a boy. I thought when he was heavier, he looked older and more manly, in the sense that he looked like his age and filled out and more CEO like. The loss of weight took years off his looks which was kind of sad for me, it made him look more boy again.

I really think that for some fans Clay is their way to recapture their youth. They want to keep Clay a boy so they can feel like a teen again going after a teen idol I also think that they want Clay to be a rockstah so they can feel cool and in the same demographic as their kids...Is all about how their fandom makes them look...but Clay ain't cooperating...

I have been reading around ever since the HOI special was on. I do not understand the constant criticism. I knew before it aired about the ruffness in his voice on DSIAFCD. So what! Everyone who watched anything prior to this knew. Why go over and over it after it was aired. I had to really listen closely to pick it up, and doubt anyone who just watched it for the entertainment factor picked it up at all. Clay did look a little heavier, we knew that to. He has lost weight in the last seven weeks since this was filmed. I look at him when he was really thin, and hope he never goes back there. He looks great now. Those pictures from Mexico are great. I find the constant reminding people that they were not happy with his looks, sound, or the flap very unnecessary. I guess I am easy, as I like about 99% of what he does.

This is what I can;t understand too....we all have seen the fan videos, we know how he sang and how he looked...the only question was...how was the editing gogin to look. As far as I know...it was very pro Clay. I also thought the audio for TV made Clay sound so much better than the fan videos. its so sad that so many fans were not able to appreciate what a gift that whole special was.

I honestly think with every "wrong" move Clay makes, choses, has foisted upon him, or fumbles away due to the stupidity of his team - many feel the window is closing on his opportunity to be a superstar. We want bragging rights, and proof that we were right. Never mind that he still has a career after all these years.

Bingo.

The other thing that makes me laugh is when fans say he is keeping it safe and not taking risks....I think he is one of the bravest artist out there, who dares to stay true to himself and not give himself up to the image makers of the labels. I think it was a great risk to do Christmas shows instead of keeping himself open to prmote himself to death. I think its a great risk for him to keep following his heart and spending time with UNICEF and BAF

There are so many artist out there that ends up losing themselves because they want to make it to the top....I admire Clay for wanting to do it his way and is ready to risk his career to keep true to himself.

I'd love to create DVD using Scarlett's wonderful xvid .avi files as they are great quality...but I'm using Sonic My DVD and the message I'm getting is "The software that's used to decode the media is not available on this system. Installing the correct decoders for the files you are working with may help to correct the problem"

Help? Anyone know what I need?

TIA!!

do you have Vista? xvid avi files usually need a codec. Just google xvid codec. If you have vista you need to find codec for vista. Just dl these then install.

The thing is, we fans don't really have access to the details of his professional life. We don't know all the options that have been presented to him. We haven't seen his spreadsheets, read his contracts, or sat in his management meetings. There really is a lot we don't know. And yet fans feel free to declare with absolute authority what he should and should not have done? Boggles the mind.

WORD...and not just that...we also do not know what Clay's goals are for each project or whats his long term plan is. I remember arguing with someone in my old board who seem to take for granted that ATDW promo and marketing failed....before one can say a plan failed you should be able to compare the outcome to the goal. We do not know what TC and Clay wanted to accomplish...it seems that all they wanted to do was to market this CD to the fans. We also don;t know how well the bottom line of this project looked. It sold gold with relatively small radio budget...maybe RCA was happy with the profit they had. Just because the fans want Clay to be the next biggest rockstah with every project ...does not mean that is Clay's career strategy.

Yeah, Clay isn't perfect. But how does one define "perfect" anyway? It's not as if we could all even agree on what what the "ideal" might be.

Well Clay is perfectly imperfect to me.

I have to admit that I was concerned about Clay for a while because he was so silent for so long but after he went on LKL and said he was done and taking back his life, and when he announced to the world that he was on Paxil for his anxiety, I knew he was a tough cookie and no one was going to destroy him. It is a sign of deep strength for someone to go on national TV and talk about needing Paxil or any other medication to deal with anxiety. Basically Clay set some clear boundaries and has since followed through and is not looking back. I love his strength and his wisdom and everything else too! He's one yummy man from any angle I look at him. The dude really does have an inner strength that I seldom see.

WORD. although I wasn;t worried about the silence cos I thought it was part of a strategy to deal with the unsavory character looking for attention. I really loved how he has been setting boundaries to the fans as well through the blogs and the m&g....I think this is what pisses off some fans and I love it when he does that. as someone else said...Clay is not our friend!!! He is also not our puppet or our employee or our pet project....

Quick...before she gets home... one of us had a nice salad and water...someone else had salad, and pasta, a brownie, and clam chowder and pizza. No names. hee

love your point about perpetual victim Jenna. Some sort of compromise is involved in every job I've had..there are even aspects of some of jobs that I haven't liked...and even though I've liked all my bosses..they're still bosses. And I'm not a victim. It's just life. This weak put upon Clay being carried along in the wind is not attractive. And no matter how much it is denied, I wonder how much of this characterization was born in the back channels of Clay Nation - after all they were hearing all these horrible things from "real' Clay.

No it isn't attractive, couchie. Clay is no victim. He has choices in his career. I bet a lot of the victim stuff came from backchannel insiders.

Well I think this is why a lot of people believed this back channel inside info...they like the image of perpetual victim Clay. They like to think that he needs his savvy smart fans to run his life and career... but it ain't true folks...the guy is a strong 29 year old MAN that knows what he wants, how to get it and the means to surround himself with people that are truly qualified to help him reach his goals. The man has been in this business since 2003 and has experiences we can only dream about. The guy is way out of any fans league and the thought that these fans have any expertise to tell him how to take care of his voice, run his business or "market" himself is just laughable.

So happy to see all these newbies posting. I also kinda like the slow but steady way we grew...it helps to get to know the members better.

OMG...love...love the ET piece and all the screencaps...I wish I was as industrious as cha cha in updating FCA...but Christmas break is no break at all with two teens and a 7 year old...hopefully they will be up in the slopes tomorrow snowboarding and I can finally have a quiet day....

eta: oh darn...by the time I posted this there are tons of new posts that are really good and I want to quote...sigh. Now I need to catch up again.

Welcome RIFAN....I love LOOOONG intro's

come on and join us in Main and looking forward to your answers to your favorites.....

Heck, y'all go on and have those babies - I'll be the hot nanny taking care of daddy!

When I do, you'll need to take charge of hitting up the gullible fans with the collection for a Miata or better yet a Jaguar -- what do you mean it won't take a car seat?

BWAH!!!!

and what the heck is Organic narrative...I thought i heard all the buzz words before...

I can take MDYK...

I am waiting on scarlett clack too...I just wonder if she has some estimate on when she can put them up...no pressure...hee

We need someone to rate Mary Did you Know from CITH if anyone is interested.

oh I thought someone took that...I will if its available...

Anybody want to play a little game? I just thought it would be fun to talk about some of our Clay Favorites

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

My Answers:

1. This was hard, I'm going to say MGUCL

2. WDC from the IT and it wasn't because of the dancing for me, I just loved hearing him wail on that song

3. Jukebox tour

this is hard but fun...

recorded song....LAA...no contest, next is MDYK

Favorite live performance? Very hard to say...but maybe I will choose performances that were not expected...so I say Listen duet with Qiuana...but I love so many it really is hard to choose

favorite tour...I guess JBT too

WHAT??? scarlett's in charge of eHP!!! that is the biggest revelation of all!!! I always thought it was Kandre...silly me...

oh my...so much to be thankful for this year...and yes finally getting to go on a Claytrip...seeing 4 shows in 4 different cities...getting to really KNOW couchie and CG, muski, Jenna and YSRN...and meeting some more FCAers. I too am so thankful that y'all joined us in our little board...If I didn't have this place to go too...I probably will be out of the on line fandom right now...so thanks to y'all

with Clay...I really loved how he revealed more of himself this year...by blogs, by M&G's.

Next year...I bet will be another whirlwind. Spamalot and a new CD!!! can't wait

wow play you just posted two great gifts...a pretty good 2007 recap with a hilarious video and that blog...thats what its all about!!!

There are more videos online???

tell us more!!! what dinner?

I learned all about the difference of figure skates and hockey skates from one of my favorite feel good movies, The Cutting Edge...Hockey star can;t keep up with figure skater on skates because of the pesky toe picks...hee

What I loved about this skating show, is how the skaters and the producers treated Clay. He wasn't just background music...he was a collaborator who had an active role in creating the whole piece. I also love the fact that the skaters will continue to skate to his music for the whole skating season. This is great clayversion tools

I also thought he looked great in the show, not much difference from his fifth grader appearance. I think the problem is...we got used to CITH Clay...where he is much thinner. But with his Mexico UNICEF trip, I suspect he will continue to lose weight and will look different again come spamalot time.

CG...I don't even think an NJU would notice much of the vocal imperfections...maybe one or two notes in the end. Before I watched the show Christmas night, I knew he was a bit off on DSIAFCD from the fan videos...but watching Shaelynn skate to his beautiful voice...I really didn't hear the very very small baubles in the beginning and middle of the song. I had to go back this morning and listen closely on audio only to notice them...and really NJUs' won't watch this show that way. The notes in the end that I did notice.... really not unusual for any live performances...by any performer out there. Just remember every live award shows you have seen where all kinds of artists, from legends to newbies would sing live or almost live and almost everyone of them would have some imperfections, its jsut part of live TV. I think Clay fans should let go of the notion that Clay has to be note perfect EVERYTIME!!! he is no longer in a competition where an off note can mean losing a vote somewhere. He is an established recording star so people need to learn to chill...if an NJU will be turned off by an imperfect note...then that person would not be a potential clayvert even if he was note perfect...he cannot conquer everyone out there.

I do think what is happening is pre-spamalot jitters. The concerts are over...some are looking towards New York and they are worried about how Clay will do so everything he does or ever done is getting scrutinized. I think Half of the fandom will be holding their collective breaths until the opening night...just ready for disaster. I know I will not be venturing around the fandom at this time...

BTW...for those that are downloading the skating show...I see that scarlett has a widescreen version which is truly excellent so if you already got the other version I think it would be good to check this one too.

I'm thinking I should check in here. Even though I've been a member for a long time, I am really new to the board so hey all. I'm looking forward to checking things out when I have some time. Right now I must get some sleep.

Hey Skybar!!! nice to see you again..hope you post more often on Main...

WOW it took me a long time to catch up this evening!!!!

Great discussion....I found myself nodding at so many posters in all sides....Yes I am tired of the constant negativity but I definitely do not want a stepford board where only positive thinking are allowed. I do believe that we are all complaining about extremes here. Unfortunately...on some boards...these extreme posters do dominate and affects the mood of the board...I really think moderation is the key.

I have come to the point that laughn states...I am not letting other people's opinion affect me...I achieved that by leaving the environment that I found to be toxic to my stress level. I just find that constant negativity is like water torture. Now I do not mind the occasional drops of rain on my parade.. even the rare deluge...but the constant drip drip of negativity is just maddening. So I leave that board and find a place that suits me better. That board will go on and "enjoy" their fandom in their way...

CG...thanks for your post on FCA...I do believe its the board that it is because the members keep it that way. We all want a place where celebrating Clay and having fun is the main focus. I know that in other boards we are getting a rep of being meanies because we allow discussions about fan behaviors or talk about boards on the board...but I do think that its healthier to talk about things that bother us in the open rather than taking passive aggressive swipes at each other. I also think that if its fair game to talk about what Clay does that bothers some fans...then its just fair game to talk about what the fans does to bother us...frankly that stresses me more than anything that Clay ever does.

JJ...great news...what a special gift..will pray for a positive outcome...

I just shake my head and laugh at what stresses people...That skating show had so much great singing and great publicity for Clay..so glad he did it.

Oh...about multiples of spamalot...for me the only thing that will limit me is finances. But I can see going to two or even three ...but with ticket prices, I think if I can go to New York I may have to just see one or two.

ITA Muski....sometimes I wish I didn't notice the little vocal imperfections but I do and usually I shrug it off and think...oh he seem to have a dry throat or fighting a cold, there were a few times when I really got worried...but most of the time I keep these thoughts to myself or just tell couchie...hee she knows when to tune me out. However, I also realized that I have been taking that beautiful voice for granted cos I hear it so often. This realization came as I watched the skating show. This time I was focused on the skating and Clay;s voice was just flowing over the movements soooo beautifully that I had to stop and think...DAMN that voice is great...and it wasn;t on the big notes or the sustained notes...but on the main body of the songs that often get overlooked because of the big showy parts of the songs. This was pretty much like the great skating stars...they can't just focus on the jumps and fancy spins...they have to show grace and artistry in the connecting moves or else the performance is very unsatisfying. I thought Clay's voice and figure skating were a perfect fit. I hope he will do some other collaborations. Hoping to see him perform with Kurt Browning and Kristi Yamaguchi.

Criticisms...I think some people post some criticism because they are processing what they saw...some people simply want to share a worry or their disappointment and are looking for reassurance...I can take that. BUT, there are posters that seem to feel it is their duty to be critical,..or that their cool creds will diminish if they don;t find something to snark on...or that they simply think their taste is superior and they can tell Clay what to do...those posters, thankfully are pretty consistent so I know now not to read what they post...or I simply do not go to the boards they frequent.

Hey all! :new:

I've been around since the WC show, but not much of a poster on the boards. Heard about this one from a couple of friends & decided to check it out. Love your smileys!!

Hi annabear...welcome and Merry Christmas...hope you can join us in our main thread...

Soooo very tired...even with a lot of help from my girls I am still pooped...

Our Christmas supper was great...the turkey turned out to be so moist and flavorful and everything else was good...

but I need to just veg tomorrow.

Didn't bother trying to watch the skating show...but watched the dl and the skating was wonderful and the singing too...great appearance for Clay.

the reason for my posting..

:bday2:

JAMAR!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FCA!!!!

((((couchie and mom))))

(((CG and others having a har tie this season)))

This year is quite different for me...I decided to trust my girls with a lot of the preparation. the baking of the cookies for gifts were done by Sam...gift wrapping by Tay...decorating part of the house was done by the girls on their own and for our Christmas cookies and bars...we all made 4 different things. I'm done my part and the girls are finishing theirs. Tomorrow...Sam makes dinner rolls and mashed potatoes, Tay will do the brocolli casserole and carrots, I do the Turkey, stuffing, gravy and dessert. I find the season was not so stressful.

I do think my hubby is a bit perturbed...our tree is not as full of presents...since we gave the girls a few expensive presents, nothing much is under the tree. I think he wants to go out and buy some cheap but big stocking stuffer...hee I say good luck!!!

Josh Gorban's music is very distinctive...this pop opera fits very well into the PBS demographic and his audience is highly sought after by advertisers.

I think Clay needs another sure hit ...right now Clay is considered to have a cult following but I don't think they figure he has enough sure sales for an investment in a live DVD. It takes a lot of money to film this properly...and to distribute it.

ITA with cindilu...it will come.

Awww

we need a :garfieldodie-grouphug:

Another tour over...this will never get old for me...

it was great sharing with all of you!!!

Swaying...