bottlecap

I'll chime in about the pictures - Whooo HOOO!! I have to think with all the money floating around the Clay Nation, and the organizational skills the fandom has demonstrated, we could afford to support a group of photographers and videographers full-time. What do you think? Skatejoy, I know it would be a burden for you to have to spend all that time with Jerome, maybe even sharing a bus with him, but I have confidence that you're up to the task. So, I was a little late in turning over my calender to August. Why didn't somebody remind me that the picture was Tux in the Grass? Yowsa! Since Clay has finally figured out I won't come to him, and that he needs to come to me for this tour, I'll be seeing him for the first time two weeks from today at the Toledo Zoo. It's almost unbearably exciting! The local news had a twenty second piece about Hootie and the Blowfish playing there last night, so I hope Clay will get some coverage, too.

So, after spending all weekend with Clay, I cheated on him just a little. I threw U2's Joshua Tree into my CD player for my evening walk yesterday. As much as you love the hawt new boyfriend, sometimes you just need need to check in with those old friends you've known since high school. Of course, as I'm listening, I'm thinking of Clay's version of "Where the Streets Have No Name", and saying a little prayer about the possibility of him ever singing "With or Without You", or "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". I am thinking about trying to incorporate the La Vida Loca windmill arms and crouch into my workout routine. If I added hand weights, I bet they would be great for toning the upper arms. So, I have watched the Buffalo GBB a few time now. Maureen the new keyboard chick is bopping along all cool like, but I see where's she's looking. Yes, Maureen, I think your boss has a nice butt, too.

Couchie, after I got through the first big rush of downloading, I have decided to hold off doing much more for the time being. I see there is potential for first row, whole concert Clack for Darien Lake. [PleasePleasePlease let this get uploaded somewhere] If I can get a good set of videos for a whole concert, I'll be very happy for the time being. What I'm really looking forward to are the montages for the entire concert that get done after the tour. tsunamimommy did a terrific set for NAT, which by the way, are great Clayversion material.

Alas, HeidiHo, no I don't belong to the CH, and so have no key (sounds of gentle weeping here). I mostly use ATCA, as that works best with my download manager. Which reminds me, I need to Paypal a contribution over there to keep that bandwidth available. Couchie, I just checked out your Toms River page - very cool! What a great format to have as an online scrapbook for each venue.

Man, I'm glad for all the new Clack, but this downloading is exhausting! It's sort of like a scavenger hunt, isn't it - which site has the most videos up, what format is it in, can the download manager handle one more clip, and on and on. And then there's the whole organizing it into some kind of order for burning. I'm spent! [by the way, thanks for the GMA yousendits, HeidiHo.] I actually had to take a break from the computer, and do a little house cleaning. I think the vacuum cleaner and I won the battle against the spiders for now, but I suspect they are regrouping. Geesh, you don't dust for a week (or three), and the spiders think they own the place!

The Store is open at OFC..... t-shirts, tour book, poster, key rings. Good thing today is payday!

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE! YOU SHAKE MY NERVES AND YOU RATTLE MY BRAIN! Sorry for shouting, but I just looked at the picture of Clay standing on top of the piano [from the Clackhouse]. No need for any caffeine for me this morning! I wasn't digging some of the pictures from the tour book, but that single photo makes up for all that.

Per CV, no sightings of Jerome - only Nick and Mary. Don't know if that's good or bad.

Wheee!!!! That was a lot of fun, but it was exhausting keeping up with three boards at once. Can't wait to hear the Clack and see the pictures! From mcguffey5 at CV: The 50's Medley Twistin' the Night Away Johnny be Good Rockin' Robin The Great Pretender Only You I'll Be Blue Mr. Postman Mr. Sandman That'll Be The Day Rockin' Roll Is Here To Stay Let’s go to the Hop Great Balls of Fire --------------------------------------------------------- Unchained Melody --- FULL SONG --------------------------------------------------------- Elvis Medley Love Me Tender Hound Dog Blue Swade Shoes Don't Be Cruel Rock Around The Clock Heartbreak Hotel Jail House Rock I Can't Help Falling In Love With You Suspicious Minds --------------------------------------------------------- The 60's Medley Daydream Believer Downtown Can't Buy Me Love Sugar Sugar Happy Together -------------------------------------------------------- Solitaire --- FULL SONG -------------------------------------------------------- Mowtown Medley Where Did Our Love Go? --- Angela Midnight Train To Georgia --- Quiana My Girl Tears of a Clown Rescue Me --- Angela/Quiana Heard It theought The Grapevine I'll be There Freedom Ain't No Mountain High Enough --- Clay/Angela -------------------------------------------------------- INTERMISSION --- 20 MINUTES -------------------------------------------------------- The 70's Medley Car Wash Oh What A Night September Nights On Broadway To Much Heaven I Feel The Earth Move --- Angela -------------------------------------------------------- Mandy --- FULL SONG -------------------------------------------------------- Bridge Over Troubled Water --- FULL SONG -------------------------------------------------------- When Doves Cry --- FULL SONG -------------------------------------------------------- The 80's Medley All Night Long Never Gonna Give You Up Alone Rock With You --- Jacob ------------------------------------------------------- Sailing --- FULL SONG ------------------------------------------------------- The 90's Medley Can't Touch This --- Introduction Black Velvet End Of The Road --- Clay/Jacob Iris Livin' La Vida Loca I Can't Make You Love Me Turn Down The Lights I Will Always Love You --- Quiana -------------------------------------------------------- The 00's Medley (MOAM Songs) I Will Carry You The Way When You Say You Love Me -------------------------------------------------------- 2 New Songs Song 1 - Back For More --- UPTEMPO -- First one has a strong back beat. I can't hear the words. Fast song. High notes. Good dance tune. A brand new sound for him! Brand new!!!!!! Cool song. One lyric is "I can't breathe." Song 2 - Just You --- BALLAD -- Slower song. Some high notes. I love it!!! Brand new sound again. Like nothing we've ever heard him sing. Can't catch the words. Wailing at one point. Good rock sound to it. Shows off his voice beautifully. This is a brand new sound. Invisible

Literally?

Per CV, cameras everywhere and no Clackdown in sight!!!!!

According to CV, video is being taken. Please let it get posted somewhere. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!

This will give my computer a real test - how many windows can I have open, and how fast can I refresh them all.

I wonder if the Pittsburgh Post column was based on one of those beginning of the tour conference calls with a ton of journalists where the same quotes get spun about 12 different ways, or if it was a one-on-one interview. I guess we will find out as the tour progresses.

According to weather.com, the evening forecast for Toms River, NJ is for temperatures in the mid-70's, with a 30% chance of showers, and a 100% probability of excessive EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEing. Can't wait to follow along with "Name that Tune" - I hope I don't wear out the Refresh icon, because I'm sure I'll be hitting it frequently.

Skatejoy, if all you need to fulfill birthday requests for nekkid, high-kickin', grape-peeling Clay is enough lead time, I'll let you know right now that my birthday is in February. That should give you plenty of time to work out the logistics. So, when I was buying tickets in the pre-sale for my concert venue, I panicked, and bought the first set that came up. They were good, but I kept peeking at Ticketmaster. A couple of hours into the regular sale, I had to jump on a set of fourth row tickets when they came up. As a result, I am not only taking my teen-aged niece, I am taking my two older sisters, none of whom really have much of a clue what Clay’s all about. Since the concert is coming up next month, I decided I better start clueing them into what they should expect. Sunday lunches at Mom’s house generally feature more cross-talk then an Aaron Sorkin episode of “The West Wing”, I have to struggle to get my sisters to pay attention. After getting everyone sorted out on the date and the venue, I thought I better bring up the pre-concert fan picnic at the site that I had signed us up for. This is easily accepted once I spin it as allowing us to park close, avoid some of the crowds, and, you know, eat. (Always a popular activity with my family.) I manage not to spit my Diet Dr. Pepper when Sis 1 asks if Clay will be there. I casually mention the prospect of games and raffles. However, I did not quite feel ready to bring up the prospect of pin trading. I am looking at the envelopes of pins scattered around my living room, and wondering how to explain them to people who are completely unfamiliar with the Clay Nation. Some of the pins are easy to understand, like the Ohio Fans pin, since I actually live here, or the pins for websites I visit. Some of the other location pins might be harder to justify, so I have been working on explanations: District of Clay - It’s patriotic!; California Clay Fans - It’s animated!; Maple Leaf Clay, Eh? - Come on, that’s funny! The Lucky Cluppy pins are just cute, and the fact they’re based on a diary written by a fan from Clay’s dog’s perspective isn’t too odd, is it? Although the Clay Dawgs are not related to Raleigh, the concept of a male fan group is pretty straightforward. Why I felt the need to order pins from that group is another matter. Some of the pins based on iconic images in the fandom might be a little difficult. “No, he’s not clutching at his abdomen because he has appendicitis.” “Yes, the boots in that picture are big and shiny.” “I am aware there is probably a medication that could help Clay deal with the obsessive need to line up his milk bottles.” “The line in the song is actually about the ‘Kingdom of Doing’, which got twisted into ‘Do Me’ somewhere along the line. Trust me, it‘s funny to the fans” And then there’s Tsathy and the infamous DO.NOT.TOUCH.BRIDE. directive. How to even begin to explain the origins of that mythological being, and why he thinks of Clay as his bride might be beyond my capabilities. [Tsathy aside: Do you think the demon toad god has been in contact with Tom C. about turning his intended bride into a doe-eyed, compliant zombie? Tsathy might be able to pick up some useful information there. ]

In honor of the anniversary of the birth of the lovely, talented, bling-covered, and not-at-all-cruel-to-her-minions KAndre, I plan to be extremely unproductive at work today. And that has nothing to do with my complusive need to keep up with the tumult of Clay news that is rolling in. Well, maybe it does just a little.

Is the hunt for the identities of all the women in the OFC vacation pictures giving anybody else flashbacks to another search a couple of years ago that turned up the Mezghan photo?

So, I've been thinking lately about how to describe myself as a Clay fan. I don't care for the term "Claymate'. I've always sort of been happy to consider myself as a member of the "ClayNation". Now I've decided, based on the amount of money I've spent on tickets and will spend on merchandise, that I am going to think of myself as a "Tour Sponsor". I figure I spent enough to a least feed a roadie for a couple of days. Think that contribution will be acknowledged in the tour book?

New music, and a new tour book with purty pictures - Awhoo Hooo! I remember paging through the first scans of the NAT Tour book, and actually losing my ability to breathe when I saw the Tux in the Grass picture. Based on the quality of what we've already seen on the OFC, I'm not sure sure if any of the Colorado pictures, which I'm assuming would be used in the Jukebox Tour Book, are likely to elict the same response. Here's hoping, though!

So, this weekend, I have been doing the stuff I feel like I need to do to get ready for the next month's worth of concerts: -Cleaning up the hard drive, except for the essential stuff needed for easy access, like the AI performances, some montages, and a couple of WDCs. Gee, its hard to delete stuff off the hard drive even when I've burned duplicates. -Stocking up on CD-Rs (Can I whine here about how long it took me to figure out the combination of software and disks I needed to actually be able to burn stuff I could watch on my DVD player?) -Checking the cost of upgrading my DSL service so stuff downloads even faster. -Waiting for an update to a certain blog, even though I doubt it would get done on a weekend. -Looking at ads for digital cameras [waves at Skatejoy], even though I've always been a "Stand still and say Cheese", "I hope I don't cut all the heads off" type of photographer. And my venues rules say "No cameras". -Making a tracking list of my pin orders - received and pending. -Compulsively checking my concert tickets to make sure they haven't somehow evaporated. -Running some cash flow scenarios to determine when I will actually run out of money, and have to tap into my home equity line. [What. I know I'm not the only accountant on this board. BANKERZ RULE!!] I am so ready for the Jukebox Tour. BRING ON THE CONSTANT STATE OF CELEBRATION INDEED!

Yeahhhh! I got my FCA pins in the mail today! Big smoochies to couchie and company! Booo!!! The credit card bill with all the Paypal transactions also came in the mail today. Not so good. eta: I love this post from the LBFCA that ties some of the earlier pins with the original photographs. Also, at some point I hope the official merchandiser gets on board with the pin thing. The CD covers would make great little lapel pins.

Great post, Ansamcw, particularly the last part: That is something I have to work on myself. I get wrapped up in worrying about what the responses will be to something like the TV Guide article, instead of formulating my own opinion, or just enjoying the new pictures. None of that stuff should really affect me personally, and it won't unless I let it. Thanks for the reminder.

So, have scans for the TV Guide black & white cover with the microphone popped up anywhere yet, or is maybe going to be on newstands only?

Will wonders never cease? There is actually an update with today's date on clayaiken.com. Did y'all know there's an Official Fan Club that's up and running? Ya did? Thought so. Why am I still visiting clayaiken.com, you ask? I'm looking for new stuff to buy, that's why!