Couch Tomato

you make a good point Merrieeee. I may have a love hate relationship with TWOP but I do like one of the rules of not being able to just repeat the same thing over and over and over again ad naseum.

No one is telling you to zip it. I've never marched in step with anyone and no one is asking you to do it either. I don't mind hearing any perspective. I think with me although I have lived through many a clay nation break down this one is different for me because I'm not living it. I'm not currently a member of the fan club so didn't see any comments there about the blog. And I don't read any other board so can't match the dots like you have Aikem. Oh I can imagine alright as all I have to do is go back to why this board was created in the first place - the "dreaded" covers album and also when Clay came out to know the levels of nastiness that happens. And of course my all time favorite of let's take down Fran even if we have to destroy the foundation to do it nightmare. I also remember being out of town when Ethel got booed and Clay asked if they didn't like black people. This speaks to what Lucky is saying. When I was reading about it I had a completely different reaction than when I actually got home and watched the video. I haven't watched any gala video so don't know if all of this was captured. Even then video is different from being there although it's better than just reading about it. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if making the underground video suddenly available to all is more than a happy coincidence. I just don't know who had it, who released it or why at this time or even the apparently hot temperature of the fandom right now. I just have way too much on my plate to deal with any of it right now.

Ya'll may or may not know but the place where I live is being turned into affordable housing by the new owners. I've lived here since 2002. I just got my notice the other day to "come in and chat." I already know I do not qualify to live here ast he cut off for income is 44k for both me and my mom. So it's a foregone conclusion when I go have my meeting tomorrow I will be told I have 2 months to get out. I knew it was coming but am still not prepared for it.

t was the words he spoke leading up to the song, the references to us being there if he wasn't, the talk about career change, and especially (for me) the line about the silence.

Definitely sounds like a had to be there moment.

What a day. Our trains are on strike so I left home at 6 am and got to work at 7:45. Left work at 5:30, had to run 1 errand and got home at 9. 4 busses passed me up because they were so full. Even so I support the workers. Hope they can reach some sort of agreement soon though.

Floating around clack and didn't have a clue. Guess I'm really on the outs these days. You know what I feel like watching? Spamalot. One of my favorite things ever. I haven't seen it in awhile. I'll wait until closer to xmas to listen to xmas songs. I already want to snatch the Christmas wreath off my neighbor's door. He put it on last week and It's not even Halloween yet!!! But the funny thing is that I still listen to Good News on repeat when I'm feeling down or stressed out.

On Sunday I will be attending a memorial celebration for Muskifest's husband. He was a wonderful man and dad and he really went before his time. It's really a shocking thing to me that you can be walking around fine one week and 3 months later be gone from this earth. It's tragic and just a reminder not to spend any time on anything that doesn't make you happy. One of the things I treasure most about this ride we have all been on is the friendships. Some of them survive even when the thing that brought you together isn't the reason you remain friends.

Aikim, it's weird because I haven't seen or been a part of any of the latest bruhaha. I've heard some things but hasn't impacted me since I'm not reading daily. I think I'll continue to stay blissful in my ignorance.

LdyJ Clay was always dramatic ending his shows. As I mentioned to you, Solitaire was a particularly fun one. Man you would have thought he got up from his deathbed to deliver one last song with his very last breath. Love it. In my history of Rock N Roll class, my professor talked about James Brown's stage show = he would be near collapse from putting on a great show, with his entourage coming out putting his cape around him and helping the poor guy off the stage only to have him flip off the cape and sing one more song. He wasn't called the hardest working man in show business for nothing. I've always been impressed by concert Clay and the way he could entertain. I miss that. Seeing him live was my favorite part about all of this. I miss that.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Hugs to Luckiest and others feeling down. I think there are several things going on right now. It's kind of a perfect storm. And I admit to not following things too closely since I wasn't going to the gala but I know if he had done one song at last year's gala I would have been upset about it. So I'm not judging on that front. People support charities for many reasons.I think NIP is a wonderful wonderful cause but there are millions of wonderful causes out there. If Clay wasn't involved with NIP they would have gotten approximately zero money from me over the years. Not because I don't believe in the mission but because there are a ton of missions I believer in also. I like to support things I can touch and feel so most of what I do support is local. So as much as I realize that Jerry Aiken, Clay and other have probably had to deal with some very aggressive people I think most of the fans do care about NIP.

I've never watched The Biggest Loser but my mom wants to watch because of Ruben. And even worse is that my cousin has been coming over and watching On Demand because her cable is out. And now she has my mom hooked on Scandal and Grey's Anatomy. I told myself I'd never watch another episode of a Shonda show so we'll be butting heads in the very near future.

I mentioned this on facebook but there was a girl on The Voice last night that for some reason reminded me so much of Quiana. I hope she lasts awhile.

Hugs to everyone here at FCA.

Keeping Faith I had no clue that you had a stroke. Well your brain is still function on top speed! My mom has had a couple of strokes and sometimes she still searches for a word and I have to help her along. You did the right thing to help yourself. I lol though when you said politics doesn't bring out the anxiety in you. Never change girl! It's time like these that I'm glad I don't really travel around the boards. I have no idea what's going on out there. I can imagine though. I just go back to when he came out and if it's anything like that then I understand what's going on.

Luckiest I appreciate your feelings. They are thoughtful IMO. And it's nice to have thoughts from people I know and trust.

I was surprised he sang only one solo song and I think I would have felt exactly the same way if I had flown across the country. Times are hard and to scrape up to go to the gala I wish you had gotten more.

Clay ended most of his concerts that way. I just don't get it. And Jeez, if Clay does want to go into another direction, is it really the end of the world? I feel like I have enough songs to keep me satisfied forever when it comes to his recordings and concerts. We are so lucky to have had so much output from Clay. There are a lot of fans of artist who don't have half as much. And I mean it could be because the artists are huge stars and tour every 5 or 6 years or because they never made it big enough to sustain a tour. We are lucky. It's his life. I'll deal with whatever. I feel like I have years worth of stuff to watch and listen to. I understand melancholy or being sad because he is a talent that should be heard. I guess I don't get the depths of the despair.

Hey Keeping Faith!!

I don't watch that show but I definitely will when Clay's on. Clay looks great. Hope he plays a villain.

Congrats on the job shortyjill. I'm looking for a new one as well...

If my mom didn't live with me I'd get rid of the landline and cable. As it is I had to cut all extras last month - so bye bye HBO, Stars, Encore. I have UVERSE so it's my telephone, internet and tv but still when that starts climbing over 200 a month it's time to cut back. I got it down to 129. Usually when you call to cancel you get some sort of new deal that will last at least a little while. I quit my second job effective the end of October and all the little things that I don't need will be going. I love finding free things to do now. One of my favorite sites is funcheap.com.

Anybody else interested in seeing captain Phillips. The ads have really drawn me in and I saw a preview when I went to see Despicable Me 2. Been awhile since I've been excited for a Tom Hanks film.

Anybody watch the Blacklist? I'm taping tonight and will try to go watch last week's show somewhere. Top Chef starts this week. And I've been following Blair Underwood's career since he was Bobby Blue on One Life to Live as a teen. But I have to admit that if he wasn't in Ironside I wouldn't even be giving it a shot. The commercials for it really don't look that great.

I remember back in the early days of the internet there was this thing going around about the lifespan of a fandom. There's just no way you can stay in that hyper stage forever. Doesn't mean I don't still get a rush when I'm sitting in an audience and he's singing. But I'm long past the stage where everything is some fresh agony. It's almost comical the things that used to worry me. He's rich. He's famous. He doesn't need me to worry about him and that includes his house selling for over a million dollars. I need to move soon and I haven't even started saving the 2 or 3 k that I will need to do that. His problems just don't seem that great compared to mine. And you know I realize they probably are just that great and that rich and famous have their own set of issues that I can't even begin to understand (crazy stalkers, people using you, etc). I've never been a home owner so can't really relate to what he's going through. I guess there are reasons why he doesn't want to wait out the sale. But it's his business. The things I used to fret over is funny to me now. OMG he only sold 100K this week LOL. Geeze Louise.

I am cleaning up my room and going through things preparing for a move that I know is coming and I look at some of the things I have and wonder what on earth was I thinking. In fact, I have some things I want to give away to anyone who wants them. Maybe I'll find a thread somewhere and list them as I come across them. Maybe it will fill in your collection if you're missing something.

I too think he enjoys performing and will continue to do that on some level. That's why I'm not worried or concerned. If he decides he's had enough then I'll live with it.

I've been taking an online history of rock class. It's fun. Every week after each video I go online and listen to all the music he talked about. It's a lot of fun. This week was the British Invasion. I guess I was sorta around when they were big but I was little black church girl so what little I did sneak and listen to was more of the Motown groove which was happening simultaneously. I did know more about them than the Stones who I have always loved. It was fun to learn about their beginnings. I think it was the blues influences in their music that drew me to them. Fun class.

Have a great week everyone.

Not sorry to be missing all the action. I didn't think the blog was that gloomy. It was thoughtful. You know, sometimes in life you make changes that you feel will make you happy. And we all do that or we die. I think people venting is just how they enjoy their fandom. Hopefully not many will be cancelling the gala. We seem to get to this point every few years where the end of Clay's career is "imminent."

I agree that the organization needs to stand on its own and not be subject to the whims of folks who may be more a fan of him than of the organization. I admit that while I love what he is doing I don't know that it would be on my radar without him. But I think people support groups because of 1. someone they love has been touched or affected 2. someone they support is a spokesman. When I look at the groups I support it's for these reasons.

Went shopping today at Goodwill. Thanks LdyJ for the advice about shopping there instead of paying a lot of money for clothes that I won't be able to fit in a few months. It was actually fun and I bought 3 pairs of jeans and 3 tops for 26. I am now officially size 16 (I was up to 2x or size 22). It will be nice to have clothes that fit.

ooh let's talk tv shows for a minute. What new shows are you watching. I love Sleepy Hollow and Brooklyn 99. I watched a bunch of other stuff and taped some things I didn't watch yet. I didn't think Robin William's show was that good Probably won't watch again but I have to say that the best part about the premier was Kelly Clarkson. And with the powerhouse that is Robin Williams and pro that is Buffy that was surprising to me. Too bad she isn't a regular.

The only other fandom I had as long was my life long One Life To Live obsession. But it was pretty much a solo affair until the internet and wow it's amazing how sharing the experience with others changes your own. All the emotions that you see invested in Clay are the same ones that were invested in these soap characters. Soap writers equal RCA. Before the internet I don't know if I'd say the intensity wasn't there because I did spend money on the soap mags and energy taping and watching but it was an entirely different experience when the internet came along. I met a group of folks that I'm still friends with. We all met in New York and got studio tours. And I had my own soap column and got to interview some of the actors. The internet really just changes everything about our hobbies. Now I'm obsessed with dieting food blogs and forums. It makes you feel like you're not doing it all alone.

I understand people being worried -- I used to be a worrier myself. However, most of my worry anymore is about my own life, not the life of a singer that I think is cute and funny.

Yeah I wish I had the time and energy to worry about Clay. That would mean everything is great in my own life. He's on his own LOL.

Hey was that our first thread title. My memory is shaky.

Ha ha..first post from July 2005. Man that was a long time ago.

QUOTE

To be a Clay fan is to be in a constant state of celebration!

You mean THIS Gregory Porter who was at the jazz fest yesterday?

http://www.russianri...gregory-porter/

ha ha.

You know, I am still the same fan of Clay that I always was but the of intensity of it left a long time - when A Thousand Different Ways came out and this fandom lost its collective mind. As you all may recall that's when I was living in the hospital because my mom was very ill. It put things in perspective and helped me set priorities. But I still get the same feeling when I'm listening to Clay perform. I also am so grateful for friends I've made and the fandom too. They allow me to be a part of things even when I can't attend. I noticed even this week Merrieeee and others still offering to make DVD's for people that wanted one. That's a special thing. I still have my first CD that someone sent me with Clay's pre AI songs titled Clay sings for Angela LOL. I just can't get rid of it.

I also feel that facebook has helped me keep up with the real yous, not just that person behind the "Clay" name. I know some of us have had their online monikers before Clay came along (got mine from the very lovely Luca character on ER) but even with the over the topness (and most fandoms are this way) I'm glad I was apart of it. I'm looking forward to what he does next. As I told LadyJ I just hope that 1. we get more than 1 month's notice and 2. it lasts more than a month. With my current state of affairs I need time to plan. I really hope he does something in NYC because that's a place I really want to visit again. Maybe next year I can do another gala. I really enjoyed it last year.

Jamar - I remember the first time I met you in San Diego. It was an instant click! Congrats on all the good things happening with you. I read I read!

I wonder if the people worry about Clay are just worry warts about everything. I read the blog and I just have no idea what's coming so can't worry about it in advance. It didn't sound like he was giving up anything to me but what do I know. If he was giving up performing why would anyone need to travel. Maybe I'm mixing things up but just can't get all riled up about things.

I went to a jazz fest yesterday and got to hear Jeffrey Osborne for the first time live although he's been a favorite of mine since I was a teen. The man can still sing. His voice was as strong as ever. People who can sing better than the records are a rare gift. The man hasn't had a major hit since 1990 but he's still out there and touring and having people dance in the aisles or on the rocks! I knew almost every song he did and related to Clay of course he sang the classic On the Wings of Love. Great voices will always find an audience.

Shouldn't everyone just be happy that something is in the works. Or is more worry that's going on.

Lady J - hope you had a great great day and actually birthday week!

I think of all of the items I would love to have that jukebox. Unless I win the lotto, it ain't happening though.

I pretty much feel the same way although I'll be sad if I have to miss yet another thing. Other than the gala last year I haven't done much Clay related travel in a few years and definitely won't be able to do anything this year at all. Hopefully whatever he is doing is singing related even if I can't attend. If it's not and he's happy I'm fine with it (and I'll be less sad because I'm not missing anything ha ha). Because it is all about me of course.

Hey it only took 6 years to stop hating Ruben and Celeb Apprentice was not that important in comparison so I'll put a dollar in the pool and say, give it two years.

Wish me luck. Tomorrow my mom tries the adult day care program. Hope she likes it.

Downloading now!! So happy I'll have a chance to see this.

I watched it because my mom wanted to. But it just seems so stale and corny like Leno and Letterman for that matter. I haven't really liked a traditional talk show since George Lopez. I used to love his show.

I just cooked my first meal since Memorial Day. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow! I actually steamed some green beans. That was a first LOL.

I've missed a couple of birthdays. Happy birthday shortyjill and merrieeee. Hope it was fantastic.

A vacation is riding the back 50 miles a day? ha ha. Only in my dreams.

3 day weekend went by so fast. Don't have another day off until Thanksgiving.

Nice to see you cha cha trusty!

Loved catching up on all the play chatter. Sorry I missed it. First time ever that I'm really jealous. But what are you gonna do. Whole bunch of new Clay associates that I have no clue who they are. The whole Clay following fans on twitter is cracking me up. I broke down a few months ago and added twitter to my phone but honestly I just don't get it. I decided it's just not for me.

Anyway, not doing much this weekend. Lazed around today and did a bit of work on job #2 - that I quit effective end of October. Tomorrow A's game. And who knows on Monday. I'll probably do some safety cleaning around the house. My mom keeps falling down. I just need to make sure that there are no hazards around. I looked for a movie to go see but absolutely nothing captured my interest. One week until I start incorporating real food back into my diet. I've lost 40 lbs. I started yoga this week and I got a bike - a nice foldable one that somehow ended up in my lap. Never could have afforded to buy anything like it.

Hope you all have a nice day off and rest of the weekend.

Loved the recap Merrieeee. LOL

You go girl with your bad self.

I so wish I could see the show. I know he's just fantastic. I have a lot of faith in his acting ability. He's darn good.

Anyway, I can't feel regret because the reason I'm not there is my weight management program. I started week 14 tonight. I've lost 34.5 lbs. And in 3 weeks I start transitioning back to food. Not even scared about it like some in the class. I think I'm ready to eat sensibly!

Looks like I missed a couple of birthdays. Happy birthday gbmifan and Kandre. Hope you had wonderful days and celebrations.

Wish I could see this show but everyone please have fun. Praying for clack.