Scarlett

If you were in the office at 11:25 pm and you had a conference call at 3am would you still go home and come back or just stay here? *sigh*

Hope the debate went well!

Any pictures of the striped socks and sandals yet?

ETA:

*very sweetly* Oh, KAndre! -- I have a different set of fortune cookies for those!

Good luck, aikim and LOL on the porkchop story!

Cotton, I sent you hugs last night but forgot to add this reminder: please try not to matchmake anytime soon. As a recently divorced person, I've had friends set up "let's get together" lunches or dinners and they always end up bringing/introducing someone (accidentally) who's single and/or been recently divorced... While I appreciate their concern and thoughtfulness in arranging all these, it's not easy because when you're polite and nice you frequently end up sending wrong signals -- especially in Asian situations where no one says anything because no one should "lose face". I can sympathize with Clay this past few years when he must have had lots of situations where "niceness" was misinterpreted. Need to find a more sneaky way to say it -- I'm even thinking of pre-loading fortune cookies with messages like "Ignore all new acqaintances. Your true one will find you later. Much later."

Just wishing everyone a quick good morning...

:nature-smiley-014:

Speaking of teeth.... :thbighug-1: to aikim for scheduling the appointment on Friday.

Are you sure you won't be doing the groceries? When I had my wisdom teeth pulled in the morning, I went straight to work that afternoon.

FromClaygary, I'll do my best to coerce convince haul Solo and PerusingOne to brunch -- you're not starting too early are you?

Crazy work stuff - I scheduled a retaliatory 3 am meeting today but was thwarted when our building's power went on the blink over the weekend and so we couldn't get in because of the "security issue". Still, the others should be happy that I sent the cancellation e-mail last night instead of at 3am.

Have a great day everyone!

:nature-smiley-014:

I have one knitter lined up to try to take a sock-in-progress to the stage door at the end of October but the Yarn Harlot Challenge allows multiples (yes, they're like us). Are there any other knitters planning a Spam trip anytime soon? If you knit but don't knit socks because it's too difficult let me know and maybe we can get a speedy online tutorial going.

luckiest1, wasn't it at Clio where he said that if every single person in the audience had a sign that said Touch, he still wouldn't do it?

I think he should sing every song ever written regardless of lyrics.

...don't we deserve the best?

There was a Meet & Greet last year where he said that he didn't care for music that was too "electronic" (not sure if that's the way he put it) and some people interpreted that as the reason why he didn't like Touch -- I wasn't there but maybe someone else can remember the exact words. It was the M&G at one of the Florida DCAT shows.

Catching up to everyone and wishing belated HBD to liney!

:bday:

and welcome to crazycoffin

and for anna's Mamabear

and {{{Muski&family}}}

I love the stage door pictures and I wonder if any knitters might be interested in trying to get a picture of Clay with a sock-in-progress for the Yarn Harlot's Challenge -- if anyone a knitter gets a picture of a major politician or celebrity or cool person (and I think Clay qualifies), then the Yarn Harlot and other knitters will send donations to MSF / KWB. But you mustn't tell him it's for a good cause, just say "could you please hold this sock while I take a picture"? Someone already got a picture of Barak Obama holding a sock-in-progress and they got one of Greg Kinnear the other night. I want them to have one of Clay too! It'll also give him a lot of visibility in the knitting world. (for equal coverage, if anyone gets a picture of McCain holding a sock-in-progress we'll post a link too, and if it helps any, Yarn Harlot is Canadian but is well loved everywhere)

Oh, and of course we hope it's a striped sock-in-progress...

ETA: Correction - The person who hands him the s-in-p should be a kniiter.

It was a perfect blog, said everything that needed to be said in the right way, with the right tone and words. I'm so proud of him!

at the same time reading the words "I have endeavored' made me cry. it's stupid and it probably doesn't mean anything to anyone but i'm hoping that when we get back to normal routines that it includes going back to personal blogs. after the way people kept digging up every word he said in the last 5 years and put them under a microscope, i definitely don't blame him. i edit a lot too because complete strangers have told me they read what i say on the boards and sometimes my fingers fly faster than the wise side of my braing. i'm not finding fault, just expressing my hope that being a family is part of the routine.

I think I must be even more tired than I thought... Clay in a thong? Well, I guess this is appropriate then?

:lmaosmiley-1:

Long day. Been on the go since 5:30 this morning when I had to leave to drive out to the boonies to some middle school to do our annual volunteer vision screenings. I usually take a school with the younger kids 'cause they're cute and not mouthy. Was a bit concerned about dealing with the 7th graders this year, but they were actually all really good. But it's been a long day and my eyes are crossing, so I think I'm going to call it an early night.

My body clock's still off and my contacts are burning holes in my eyes so I'm off to bed too!

Thanks, jazzgirl & gibby! and thanks too to the folks who said "thong" as I was heading off to sleep...

Thanks to everyone for the advice on getting even for my 6am fiasco yesterday -- I slept in today (yay!), will have a long lunch and will leave at 4. Hah!

Have a great day y'all!

:nature-smiley-014:

Cotton, I meant a picture of the cast write-up inside, please? Thanks!

to all!!!

Off to watch the season premiere of Pushing Daisies - love that show!

:nature-smiley-013: Me, too! Clay needs to be on this show. :nature-smiley-014:

Scarlett, I found my Godspell Playbill from London!

Wyndham's Theatre. But it's in a frame and I can't see the date. Had to be between '69 and '72, though. DS has my record. I need to get that thing transferred to a CD somehow.

Oh my! Jeremy Irons and David Essex?!!! *swoons* Please, please could you take a picture? And if you find it difficult to convert the record to an mp3 maybe I can help on that too!

For a diversion, here's some "musical theater", from "La Cage aux Folles" (*I would not put odds on Clay ever singing it, but in a way he did*):

OTOH, I'm not in a very charitable mood this morning. Some "people" asked me to make a presentation at 6 am this morning!!! -- and they didn't show up!!! Now people like THOSE truly deserve the nth circle of hell! Nevertheless, this is for the rest of you who don't make people get up at the crack of dawn and then forget about it:

:nature-smiley-014:

Welcome, Georgiesmybaby!

{{{couchie}}} I want to protect him from hatred too. It hurts and it's scary to think of people who want to harm him, hurt him, destroy him. I'm scared of making horrible people shut up or go away because they keep coming back, even worse than before. It doesn't keep him safe from harm. It would be great to form a cocoon of love around him and let him live there forever, and maybe Parker and Jaymes have formed that for him. I think the way to make him safe is to make the rest of the world accept him too -- maybe it's too optimistic. But I hear you on being hurt every time someone says something vile about him. And it feels worse when the hatred seems to grow louder because of something he allowed. I think his way is the way that he'll be better protected in the long run but I have to keep reminding myself of that because like you, I love and cry for him too.

ETA:

I hope he doesn't enable them.

Just curious...and I've had this dialog with myself too...but what if he does? Reading Jaymes' rant of a few days ago, with her talking about him caring an awful lot about what the fans think makes me wonder. At this point, I want him to stay true to himself (as he has shown us so much in the past week), but it will be interesting if he does address this. He's really damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, in so many ways.

I think we're all worried about the same thing. I trust in his judgement, though, because I believe that meeting hatred with hatred destroys everyone involved. It's scary because not hating makes it seem like we're allowing evil to grow stronger. But that's the strange thing about evil -- we enable it by letting fear and hatred grow inside us.

The OT god was vengeful, jealous, and blood-thirsty. In the New Testament, God is Love.

couchie, I see where it seemed like I was suggesting "don't post unless you can be nice" but that's not what I meant. I want to post over there and I will. I understand that many can't stomach it and that's completely understandable. I was saying that I think Clay was smart to do this and applaud those who continue to try, however fruitless it seems.

wanda, oh i haven't moved over to say that what those posters are writing is ok. their thinking is wrong and silly. i'm trying to understand where they're coming from because that's the best way to find a way to reach people and move them to your side. the end goal is still for people to understand and accept Clay and anyone else regardless of orientation. I wish I could find a dozen more articles like the Letter to Louise you posted last night.

ansa, I think you've hit the nail on the head. (need to find and add your quote!)

pokes Scarlett with a stick over her "experiment"...

on the science experiment!

and btw we can do superscript here --- 2ⁿ -1

Maybe I'm just optimistic, but I do hope that this experience will help fans become more tolerant. It may not happen right away. But if you love someone enough (and I do think many of those who struggle still really do love Clay), it can happen.

ETA: Found it! [tm: our favorite knight]

(((play)))

Yes this has been difficult for all. I know you are struggling and believe me...there are a lot of your friends that care about that. I know that a lot of members here are coming in and ranting about the OFC thread. Some are being defiant and saying who needs these fans...and some are trying to move on and use humor and fun. BUT it has been tough to watch these reactions because even for those that didn't have a problem with what Clay revealed now has to work through what this revealed about the fandom. Has to try and understand not just Clay but those that are having a problem with it. For the most part I think most of the rantings and ravings are now about the most OTT people out there.

I am glad Clay had that thread open. What that open policy did was let people put their guard down and people are posting from the heart. Right now...Clay has a choice of reading it or not so I am not worried about him. I'm sure he expected the hate...that is precisely why it took him so long to come out. The people that are being the most ugly and intolerant are just hurting themselves at this point. They have shown an ugly side of their personality and I doubt if their fandom can ever be repaired. They probably will go once the thread is closed and for them I will not be sorry.

At this point I think what made this revelation so difficult for some is that we have been made to be defensive about his sexuality for so long. That is not Clay's fault nor is it ours...its the fault of the asshats that think its ok to make fun of an effeminate man...its the fault of those asshats that felt it was their duty to drag Clay out of the closet before he was ready...it was the fault of all those people that suggest we are crazy to go nuts about a gay man... That is what made a lot of fans hold on to every scrap of evidence that he is straight. Lots of fans held on to this trust like a talisman against all the proof or clues of his sexuality. When they were proven to be wrong against all these asshats...it shook them to the core...it tested their perception of their judgement. I believe for these fans...we need to be patient and understanding. I hope they will be able to resolve this conflict and continue to enjoy Clay...

For those that prove themselves to be homophobic...I hope they eventually leave...

so another busy day ahead... :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I hate the OFC, I see so much jumping on people in both directions without giving anyone an ounce of doubt - no - it is instant reaction and retaliation. I think that is not civilized, but I find when I go there it is hard not to do that and carry it to other places and it plays with your mind. Most of what I do at the OFC is now in PM, you would be shocked at the number of people who have small issues and want to talk but don't want to be attacked and trashed and held in contempt and get the bitchy PMs I get from other people. And then there are the "helpful" people who come in the thread that was separated out and supposed to be only for people with issues and those with support and then poroceed to rip everyone there a new one. I try and get those removed as soon as possible, but apparently the mods don't wast to delete the lesser offensive ones. Yes, there are crazies in that thread, but guess what, there are crazies in the other threads and here too and on every board in the fandom. But there are some good people with real issues they are trying to work out (hidden between the crazies, and everytime someone resolves their issues, there is a resounding cheer for them. It is sad that there are so many people voyuering there and only taking back the crazy and pretending the normal does not exist. I know people from a lot of different boards and a few of them are there,is it wrong to be there for them? Of course, there is someone who comes in and prays for the people there everyday, a nice person, but not my kind of thing. What is keeping me sad now is the fact that just about the only person who understands and has compassion is Clay, there is far too much jumping to conclusions and smacking back and forth, drives me nuts and makes me want to run screaming to the amazing race boards where people are less "possessive" of being right. The only right is inside each person and they have to determine what it is, not have it forced upon them or be judged for their personal opinions.

Wow,. I am still floored. Oh well, I have to get up in an 1/2 hour might as well go to bed. But I repaired my washing machine and have clean clothes at least.

Play, I'm glad you came back to post.

Yes, there is a lot of instant reaction and retaliation at OFC. I haven't posted over there because my natural tendency is to go defend what I believe is right especially when Clay's in the picture. No, I have that backwards. When someone says something nasty about him it's not easy to react calmly. And I don't want to post from the "of course we're superior" viewpoint we have here because I can see how the same "I'm sticking to my side and defending it to the death" kills dialogue. I know that today we all have the benefit of decades of progress. It's now accepted as the way "smart" people think so it's not easy to imagine what it was like years and years ago when you were the only one in a sea of people who thought differently.

In a way, my little "science experiment / sociological clinic" a couple of months ago helped me to understand -- remember when I did some things that made people go *shudder! shudder! shudder!* People close to me were PM'ing each other, "WTF is Scarlett thinking?!!" Some directly called me to ask, "What are you up to?!!!" It's a feeling that's universal -- someone you like or love is doing something that seems so outrageous to you. How do you react? How sure are you that you would defend this if you were literally the only person in the whole world who believed in it? Those exact feelings are what those "un-enlighened" people are feeling too -- someone in their community, someone they love and trust is doing something completely against their way of life.

I'm glad for only a few things -- that people who do feel ready to post, post with either understanding or if that's too difficult, with humor instead of anger. Being too extreme in the support of a great idea just hinders its general acceptance. Different people react in different ways and banning free speech is not the answer. I still think Clay is smart to do this because those people posting contrary opinions won't disappear off the earth in 2 weeks. All his life he won't know if he'll encounter someone like that whenever he turns a corner. We can't stand it for even just a few days and we'd like shut them out, or pretend to shut them out because we really can't. People will continue to try to post in insiduous ways even if the rules are changed. I'd like to think of that thread as a reminder that it's not over and we need to continually stand up for what we believe in every single day and that hatred of any kind even if directed towards hatred, is simply that.

Thanks for all the super-hot pictures!!!

Did anyone else find it strange to see so many new members come in between 1 am and 5 am today?

Ohhh Page 1!!! And yes, he's still the one!!!

He did the stage door and took pics with a few people.

When OFC takes renewals I'll ask to change my id to "stage door"...

wanda, how about posting A Letter to Louise in-line instead of as a link?

*give merrieeee a virtual backrub*

Because it's about 10 pages long!!!

Do you think I SHOULD??

Why not? If we have to slog through those pages and pages of quoted stuff...

I tried. It's 100,000 characters too long. LOL.

Awwww -- and I was just getting ready to up my OFC post count by quoting it!!! LOL!

I only hope that he understands that the OFC message board has never been representative of the fandom as a whole. The level of discord and viciousness is at a completely different level than other board. Something about it (not sure if it's the moderating or what) has made it one of the most toxic and least enjoyable places to be, and it has been from the day it was started. And it's such a shame, because it's the one board we knows he reads.

I have no worries about that. I'm sure Clay doesn't base his view of his fans solely on OFC.

The Disney thing vaguely reminds me of the campaign by the Christian Coalition or the Moral Majority or one of those Ralph Reed / Jerry Falwell oufits to have certain scenes removed from Lion King and Aladdin -- the smoke spelling out S-E-X and stuff like that. I don't remember the details, but there were Baptist boycotts and such nonsense over it that I think Disney Corp. finally said, SCREW YOU, we'll have GAY DAY now.

Oooh, I have a copy of the Aladdin tape with the original lyrics to "Arabian Nights":

Where they cut off your ear

If they don't like your face

It's barbaric, but hey, it's home

-- does that remind anyone of someplace?

wanda, how about posting A Letter to Louise in-line instead of as a link?

*give merrieeee a virtual backrub*

Because it's about 10 pages long!!!

Do you think I SHOULD??

Why not? If we have to slog through those pages and pages of quoted stuff...

wanda, how about posting A Letter to Louise in-line instead of as a link?

*give merrieeee a virtual backrub*

I just went and read about 25 pages of the OFC and for some reason I'm not bothered by having to read the posts of some seriously misguided people, although there were many times when I was sorely tempted to start posting something along the lines of "God the Almighty and All-knowing has misplaced a cup?" *seriously, the way some posters are second-quessing God is just hilarious!* However, if these people exist in the world, I want to know who they are, how many they are and how they think. Also, reading their posts tells me that I'm in the real world and not some pretty picture drawn by a great publicist. I'm both happy and sad to hear the news about Cindi -- I know that she's great for Clay and will take good care of him; at the same time I'm sad that he needs one because learning about her also gave me an "oh, I can see things clearly now" feeling.

When something happens and I see everyone uniformly swooning over something or other, a part of me will wonder how much was real and how much was spin. I guess posters I know and trust who offer varying viewpoints help me know that this fandom is grounded. (Trolls, I still feel the same way about them as I did the other day except that I think they should be roasted before being boiled in hot oil)

Also, I got my reward for being patient through those 25 pages -- wanda's ROTFL post!!

Why is everyone up so early? I need to be at work at 7 and I've been battling with my alarm clocks.... oh, ok, *grumbles* I'll get going...

Have a nice day y'all! (see, I can spell!)

:nature-smiley-014:

ETA: Eeeep, it's already 7. I guess I'll just have to dial in from here.

Ahhhhhhhhh, don't get me started on the "I knew it all along" thing. Can't stand it because to me, anyone saying it is being ridiculous. You can't "know" that about someone else, it's impossible, unless they told you.

Hey. You are me. I've already tried shipping him with Tom Deckman, but decided that would be too manic a pairing. I settled on Chris Siebert (even though he is in a committed relationship.) I always really liked the on-stage chemistry between them.

Does anyone know if David Hibbard is available?

My vote goes to David simply because he's so nice!

I don't think about people's orientations unless they say or do something specific. Tthere is such a wide range of experiences in people that so-called "indicators" don't work, eg. my ex-MIL and SIL used to live close to Church street in Toronto. My ex-SIL still does.