luckiest1

Barbecue is a noun alright. It's that big ol' metal thing on my back porch. If I were to tell someone I was having BBQ, they'd ask, "BBQ what?".

Hee, exactly! That thing on my back porch that I rarely use until the weather gets up into the 80s. Used to cook hamburgers and hotdogs so I don't dirty a pot or pan in the kitchen.

We're back to discussing the teeth again?????? I still don't see a difference. Can't get past the rest of the face, I guess.

Well, I managed to pull 5 singles yesterday, in the bloodbath known as the Cary presale. I count myself among the lucky! And that should be it for my dealings with Ticketmonster this time around. Now I just have figure out who is sitting where, and who owes who for all these seats! Time for another spreadsheet.....is it July yet? :Tour3: :Tour4: :Tour3:

I'm back - and I am pretty good and ready to do the good battle with Cary tomorrow - although I am waiting to find out what seats were in the hole last year. Not that I expect to get anything but lawn. - but they have jumbotrons - so it's OK. I had a lot of fun last year waiting on line all afternoon talking to new people who were not all on the boards.

Well as far as I know, row 2 is definitely in the "hole". What it boiled down to was that the security people did not stop anyone from walking up to the gap in between the front row and the barricades, to take pictures or just stand there and block everyone else's view. That gap is elevated. So there I was in the 2nd row, dodging heads, trying to see through them because I sure as hell couldn't see over them. Everyone in the front row of course stood up and also stood on the elevated area, because otherwise they wouldn't have been able to see, either.

Maybe things will be different this year and they won't allow it. I don't know, but I'm not counting on it.

Thanks for the KLo/Ruben clip! I love them both, but especially KLo, and am going to see her on June 1st in Dayton. My daughter brought home her new CD the other day so I am anxious to get it ripped to my iPod and have a listen.

Y'all are mistaken. Don't you know that despite the newspaper articles, the website articles, and the TV and radio spots that have come up prior to this, all mentioning ATDW, we have NO idea what Clay's going to sing on this tour. NONE. Do not delude yourselves. These people are just extrapolating, they have no real information. The tour will be made up of nothing but songs from the new album, the one that Clay's going to announce on Kimmel next week. The orchestras are just going to be there on tour as set decoration. They aren't actually going to play. Clay will be performing rock songs with his rocking band. There will be No Covers. I know The Truth. I have Insider Connections. (I read all the hater blogs.) It's Spring. Clay said so. Trust me.

You totally CMSU. Are you sure you aren't really a poddie?

Personally, I think Spring (notice that it is always capitalized) is the perfect time to roll down the windows and blast ATDW while you are driving.

Wanna get the cold shoulder? Just post this around the boards and see how much non-reaction you get.

From the CB:

Cary Concert Ad Heard on WRAL-FM

Just heard that sweet sounding voice and the lady advertising "An Evening with Clay Aiken and the NC Symphony". Started out with him singing Invisible and then went into "Without You", then "When I See You Smile" and advertised the album ATDW with "A Thousand Days" playing in background. Ended it with MOAM playing. Really good ad IMHO.

:Tour3: :Tour4: :Tour3:

Kimmel!!! squeee!!! He must be on Kimmel to introduce his new album cause it's spring and last time Kimmel said you don't even have an album out so now he must have one now or he wouldn't be back on Kimmel. squeeee!!!! Cause you know he isn't going to sing that boring old ATDW with the symphonies on his tour, on account of it didn't sell but half a million copies. So there must be a new album. squeeee!!!!!!!!! And it must be with a new record company, and it's, like a surprise album, which isn't the same as having NO promotion, not-at-all. [/snark]

Clay Aiken on a stage, cracking me up and singing his heart out, and did I say cracking me up? The voice and the wit, that's what does it for me. That's what's sexy about him too..to answer the question from the other day. I'm proud of him for being a man that walks his talk as well.

To the above-mentioned voice and wit that make the Clay man sexy, I would like to add ---no, not that--- that he's just plain unique. The man marches to his own drummer, the critics and naysayers and gnats and proclaimers of all things 'cool' be ding-danged!

Great quotes, both of these! ITA with all of it. Initially, I admit, the VOX drew me in, as it did probably 99% of fans. But I'm one of those cliches - came for the VOX, stayed for the man. If it was only the VOX, I'd still have him on my iPod, but I sure as hell wouldn't be following him all over the US of A this summer. He just stands for so much of what I personally believe in, and he is constantly surprising and delighting me with something new. I feel so lucky to have discovered him in my lifetime, and to have had the opportunity to follow his career and his personal growth from the beginning. I am definitely here for the long haul!

:Tour3: :TourExcite: :Tour3:

Thanks, merrieeee! I think he looks wonderful, but ITA with ldyjocelyn so it's no wonder. If that makes me an angelwinger, then so be it.

I am so proud of him for this award, and he is just beaming in the posed pic.

I gotta disagree........I sure hope no one was there trying to take pictures. I really dislike the intrusive picture taking in private settings. I mean, it's one thing at a public event like yesterday's Women's Show in Raleigh, but another entirely, IMO, at the airport security counter or a restaurant where Clay is having dinner with friends, no matter if those friends are celebrities or unknowns.

Thing is, I get the impression that some fans want these things to be made public to prove that Clay is out with women (and by that, I do not mean anyone here!) Most others just think it would be cute, and I am sure it would be (and I'm not hypocritical enough to say I wouldn't right-click-and-save because I would), but if Clay wants to get pictures out to the tabloids that show him with women, he has ways and means to do that. I wish fans could just draw a line between being enthusiastic and being intrusive.

And I don't care if she's a blood cousin or not, if you grow up thinking of someone as your cousin, its would just be weird to think of them in a romantic way! Ewww! I am sure she is just there to support or Aunt Faye - or to do her hair!

Hee, yeah, I don't ship them at all. I can't imagine him introducing her as his cousin on stage (Word of the Day in Merrillville) if they are involved. Heck, I'm adopted, so no one in my family is blood related to me, but the thought of a romantic relationship with any of my "cousins" is just.......wrong.

I'm so happy that he's out and about and doing things, like the award the other night, and now this. As much as I like seeing the pics, sometimes I wish people would just let him fly under the radar, though.

Heh, I never got off today - I guess that is a problem when you have endless time - you have no deadlines - when it started to get dark, I knew it was too late to leave for the beach. Must.get.off.early.tomorrow.

Where the hell is muski? I can't believe she hasn't touched that smut.

So I wasted some time ranting at the OFC - what the heck, I paid for it and I never go. The people who believe will like it, the people who don't will hate me - cest la vie.

I went over and checked it out, and was tempted to jump into the conversation, WORD you, and put in my own $0.02 but I restrained myself. It's pretty pointless to argue the respect issue with someone who has publicly stated that they don't respect "Aiken".....

I guess, since it looks to be another slow day on the boards, that I should get my butt in gear and go out and cut my back lawn. Hey, at least the sun is shining for a change! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

You all are seriously cracking me up!!

OMG, me too. BWAH HA HA! They say laughter is the best medicine, right? Because I sure needed some today!

I am so proud of him! What an honour. And yeah, how many of us were saying "we just don't know what's going on behind the scenes" in relation to the IGB show and whether or not he was invited or would appear or had prior commitments.

Yesterday was such a great day in the fandom! Pfffffft to the people who are complaining that we weren't given advance notice. Sometimes, it's nice to be surprised. And given the fact that Clay was very diligent in downplaying any questions about his musical career, and kept both the NPR and Today Show interviews on topic, about the needs and challenges of the Afghani people, I doubt he needed a bunch of screaming, enthusiastic fans following him around NYC.

Congrats to everyone who was successful in yesterday's presales, and good luck to everyone trying today! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Got Knoxville tix today. Guess I"m still going to Cary and Definitely ASheville. Thinking of flying down to Raleigh the day before the show , riding with my buds to the other shows and flying out of Knoxville back home. What does one do in Cary all day without a car? And how does one get to the airport from Raleigh to Cary as it is about half an hour away? Any helpful suggestions are welcome.

Cary/Raleigh....in my experience they really are one and the same....at least they run into each other. We took a taxi from the airport to the place we were staying in Cary. Wasn't all that bad, but it's been a few years, so I don't really remember how much.

I finally got a chance to watch the Today show clack. Wheeeeeee! Love the bangs! And having just finished reading Three Cups Of Tea, I was sooooo thrilled to hear Clay talk about the importance of keeping the kids out of the madrassas, and getting them into real educational facilities. God I love that man.

Despite the obsession some people have in being convinced he has a new publicist - I see Clay as doing UNICEF work and representing that organization - and he has been doing it for a long period of time now! He is not doing Clay promotion or album promotion or any of that crap - he is legitimately representing an international organization in an important statement about their work in a dangerous area. So he may look young, but he is being very grown up.

Very well said, and I believe, quite true. I loved the NPR interview (listened to it live on streaming) and I'm excited to watch the cap of the Today show when I get home tonight. I had ok ticket karma this morning - 10th row centre for Knoxville, 12th & 13th row on the side for Sterling Heights. I can't BELIEVE the whining and snivelling that's going on at the OFC in the Tour forums, though. It's almost as though people are attending completely different pre-sales than I am! I've done 3 now, and have come up with decent seats each time. Of course, I guess everyone's definition of "decent" is different, but I just see red when people are crying that they got "SQUAT" when there are clearly tickets in rows 16 - 20 still available. Sure, we all want front row, but logically, can we all get it? How is Clay supposed to sell venues out when no one wants to sit even 16 rows from the stage? Some people just need to grow the fuck up. :angry22: Disclaimer: Purely my own opinion and not directed at anyone here, just at some whiny OFCers.

I'm missing most of my workouts this week, due to scheduling. And I can say that I miss them -- I always feel better after sweating for a while, for some reason.

Hee, I know what you mean. I have been walking 30 minutes, every lunch hour. Today it was overcast but not raining, so I grabbed the umbrella as a safety measure and set out. I got across the train tracks and did a lap around the block, and sure enough, didn't the skies open up and a big old freight train come rolling down the tracks? Got stuck walking around on the other side. Needless to say, everything except my head is drenched. But I feel good.

Overall, I enjoyed IGB, although I was getting pretty upset when I thought Jordin was going to get booted off - I'm not as sharp as those of you who figured it all out ahead of time. Jordin looked pretty upset herself, and I thought the whole rue was cruel to her.

Not getting the Annie Lennox love though. Maybe I didn't listen to enough of her performance and it got much, much better? The beginning was so awful to my ears that I fast-forwarded. I'm not familiar with her, so I was judging just on vocals without any love stored up for her.

Yep, I agree with this assessment. My kids and I had figured out that they weren't going to kick anyone off, but I thought it was definitely a cruel thing to do to Jordin. I didn't enjoy many of the performances, but that's par for the course for me....that's one reason I rarely watch Idol anymore! I did think Carrie's song and video with the kids was touching...and I laughed at Jack Black and the Stayin' Alive video and the Simpson's.....and I was quite impressed with Randy Jackson. The rest of the zero trio and Ryan....bleh....same old same old. But I think the show in general raised a lot of awareness for some very important causes, and lots of $$, so that's all good in my book. The one WTF moment for me (other than the suggestion that people could go to iTunes and download the Celine/Elvis duet...um, why not just watch the original '68 comeback special footage?) was the Annie Lennox BOTW. I mean, come on....there was an orchestra, there was a children's choir, it could have been perfect .....it was impossible for me to watch and enjoy, because nothing can compare to the Aiken version.

YAY for NPR today! I am seriously not going to be getting any work done today, what with two freaking presales and a radio show to steam.....

Ah the sound of my dog waiting at the mail slot near the dor - just waitingto rip my mail appart - excuse me while I see if there was anything important in the mail.

Watch out for the precioussssssssssssssss ticketssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!! I found two unmarked envelopes in my mail yesterday, with pretties in side. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I watched IGB last night. I rolled my eyes a bit at Simon's reactions in Africa (he seemed more concerned for his own discomfort) and in America (duh, there are starving people here too) but overall, I didn't have a problem with the show in general. Ryan (who I normally dislike intensely) seemed fairly sincere. The contestants were pretty BLAH as usual, IMO. I am interested to see how they do with tonight's big special. I love Elvis so I hope they don't do something really tacky with his image. And I will be doing the happy dance the minute it ends, so we (and I use that in a very general way, not just this board but all boards) can MOVE ON and get back to Clay related topics. Because unless there is some sort of Clay mention tonight (and I'm still not ruling it out, but neither am I holding my breath waiting for it), I'm not really seeing the Clay relevance. I mean, we are in the midst of tour planning and ticket buying, but you wouldn't know it by doing a quick scan of most of the major boards....it's IGB, IGB, and more IGB. Ugh. Enough already. I wanna celebrate! :Tour3: :Tour3: :Tour3:

Who's in? I am! :Tour3:

So who else is going to Cary, Asheville and Knoxville besides me? Will I get to meet any one?

*raises hand* Me, me me!!!!! I can't believe I'm doing two 3fers on this tour.

Someone stop me.

*crickets*

Ooooooookay then. Enablers, all of you!

Oooh, and WORD to the wise couchie above me. I just keep reading and shaking my head and trying not to comment, because when I do I get myself in hot water.

Whoa! Two more concert dates!

July 28, Newark NJ

and

Aug. 12, Knoxville, TN

Lord, my heart can't take it....at least I KNOW I won't be going to these! :Tour4: :Tour3:

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Knoxville TN?????? The day after Asheville, and right on our way home along I-75. Hard to pass up. :Tour3: :Tour3: :Tour3:

I'll be glad when thsi whole business is over as the fandom seems to be in an uproar of the show more than ever.

Yeah, that's how I feel, too. I don't care who watches or doesn't watch or donates or doesn't donate. I really don't think the aim is at "us" anyways.....I think the aim is for people who don't already give to maybe make their first donation. I think many of "us" (Clay fans) already give to causes that are near and dear to our hearts. I still hope the show brings in mucho $$$ though and I plan to watch, just out of curiosity.

AI outfits? That's hard to choose! I watched Clay's AI performances *twice* this weekend, just for fun. I would probably have to go with the Solitaire shirt (I think it was just plain black) because that was my "moment" on AI2. You know......the one that sent me over the edge.

I hope we hear a final total from the Afghanistan appeal today. And maybe....just maybe....Clay might blog about it? please, please, please

I was also wondering if anyone remembers just how long before the start of the Jukebox Tour we found out about the theme? I know I've read elsewhere that the press release didn't go out until about 2-3 weeks prior to the start, but I remember Clay giving an interview and talking about "Americana" long before that. Anyone know?

ETA: I found the first reference to "Americana" was on March 24th, but it was a mention by Linda Loveland. By April we seemed to know about the Jukebox theme. So I'm wondering if Clay might maybe give an interview in which he mentions the tour with more specifics, soon.....once all the focus is off of the Unicef drive and IGB, of course.

Am I the only person who buys flowers to plant, the garden soil, etc. and then sets everything on the patio to 'do a little later', only to one day realize that she's let some of the flowers wither away to sad remants of their former glory?

carry on...

No...

Nope. Haven't done it yet this year, but I'll get there.

Clay memorbilia that I can't part with? The framed mosaic I won at a ATDW CD release party. My framed copy of the Rolling Stone cover (even though it isn't signed). All my concert programs and keychains. All my concert t-shirts (especially the red one from the NaT that says Raleigh NC on it). My concert tickets. My BAF programs and all my magazines, especially the ones where he is on the cover. My posters. Hee, I have a very large clack keeper under my bed. It's all precious to me.

That is just the perfect depiction for many poddies, who post the same convoluted theories over and over and over again, even when logic defies them. Thanks!

As much as I plan to watch IGB, I won't be voting (live in Canada but I probably wouldn't anyways) and I doubt I'll be giving. I have other charities that I donate to, when I can. BAF & Unicef, obviously, but I have also discovered another charity that I consider extremely worthy and tangentially related to Clay's Afghanistan mission. It all started when I read this post:

So.....read any good books lately?

Wait! I just finished one! It's the one I was reading about Greg Mortensen, the man who, after failing to reach the summit of K2, got lost and was saved by a village of Pakistani people. He got to know them and then, seeing how incredibly isolated and poverty-stricken they were (in the mountains of the K2/Everest range) and how they had no education for the kids to speak of, decided that that was what he wanted to dedicate his life to making happen.

He has and his story is absolutely amazing. So often while reading I thought of the parallels with Clay and how much they'd both love sitting down and talking together.

The name of the book is "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Another great thing abou this book is that the journalist who wrote this with Greg is an excellent writer! Know how sometimes the person who's putting together someone's story isn't so great at it? Well, I really loved this writer's style. It was truly a fantastic read, and I learned a lot about Pakistan, Afghanistan and the convoluted relationships with India, the Taliban, etc.

I picked up the book because I was curious, and I haven't been able to put it down since. Thanks, so much for the recommendation, muski!!! I wonder if Clay's read it.....if not, I bet he'd really find it enlightening. I finally finished it this morning, and went straight from the book to the computer to look up the website that has been created for the author's foundation, Central Asia Institute (CAI). I wrote a blog about it last week, but I updated it a bit this morning, if anyone is interested [hint]comments would be appreciated![/hint]

Thing is, we may never know if Clay were asked and refused and if he refused why or if he was never asked. I don't think there is any animosity between Clay and Idol as a show. He seemed happy to make his surprise appearance on the finale last year - and Idol asked him to appear on their biggest show of the season! I think the only one associated with Idol who may have been upset at all the watercooler buzz that followed was Taylor! He won and he was totally over-shadowed. I just think Clay is not always on the minds of the Idol folks, just as Idol isn't always on the mind of Clay. Doesn't mean there is no love lost. Just means they both have moved forward. To me, that's a good thing.

Personally, I hope IGB is super successful - with or without Clay. If a lot of people receive help they desperarely need, if people in this country become aware that there is need, then its all good - with or without Clay.

WORD! (bolding mine) I am so sick and tired of reading about how some people are pissed that he wasn't asked, when.....we don't have any idea what's gone on behind the scenes!

I am not watching Idol this season but I plan to watch IGB this week, because it's for a good cause, and I'm interested to see how they portray it. I haven't given up on Clay being involved in some capacity.

We had gorgeous, sunny weather yesterday! I was stuck inside for most of the day, cleaning out rooms to try and make room for my DD and her puppy who will be staying with us for a while. I did manage to grab the iPod and the pup and head out for a walk, though. Hope we get more of the same today (although I'm targetting the basement rec room this time).

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to all.

Like, welcome, Totally!

I was out all evening, but it's soooo great to come home to new video and screencaps and pictures and more video.......GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Love the coverage that ET gave him. Love the thank you video he recorded in Afghanistan. I don't for one second believe that he recorded it until he actually knew that we'd exceeded the goal, though. So I think that maybe he stayed in the country longer than we thought he did. And he talked about being there still when the VA Tech shootings happened, too.

I hear that there was some different coverage on later versions of ET. I hope we get all the different versions!