djs111

I love the hair - to shamelessly steal someone else's description of it, it looks fingered and blown about, and quite just like a guy, Clay looks more substantial and less posed.

Last word on the subject: Yes, I do what is right for me - and I reserve venomous hatred for way more important stuff than a TV show - I dislike AI, and I really really don't give a rat's patootie how Clay might feel about that; he has nothing to do with any of this. And ignoring one charity out of hundreds or thousands does not make me a bad person. When someone says But think of the support the chirrun are missing because you won't pick up the phone, they are attempting to make me feel like a bad person, and nope, that doesn't work. AI and Fox have a ridculous number of millions they could easily give and never miss - the vote thing is for publicity for themselves. And a corporation who feels the best use of their money is to spend a million or a half million on a 30-second spot to sell soda pop can afford to give without my phone call, too. I was not throwing around the bad person or venomous hatred cards - that is a gross exaggeration, and unwarranted. Too simplistic, really, to say if one doesn't like something, or won't contribute to something, that one hates it. I also do not love the terrorists just because I disagree with the current administration. I do admit to being cynical as hell, and I feel that is completely warranted on almost all occasions. Muski, looks like you have the situation with your daughter well in hand. What I remember from raising my son is that all I had to do in order to make him become immoderately attached to something was to denounce it, or even just express mild dislike. He would immediately leap to the defense and declare his undying love. I am gonna try and make end runs around that while I am helping to raise my grandson; it is like walking on eggs sometimes. Dang - I wake up to find that I have to wrestle Faye, and then artquest, in order to get that Grease jacket. Okay! Worth it! My recollection of that night is mostly of what I (prolly delusionally) saw in Clay's face - small helpings of nervousness, pride, determination, and a bit of a grin because he KNEW he looked good. Faye also does look good in that jacket, I guess she really should have it, after all!

Muski, I don't know any of the players here, or much of the circumstances - but I find the fact that he used a beer bottle a bit crude or disrespectful, just for starters!

So, you are dialing for the children only because you don't need to give money yourself - if I am understanding you correctly? I give to other charities that existed long before AI decided to do this, so I don't think I am leaving any child in the lurch solely because I don't do the IGB thing. to carry that out any farther would be to say that many children would be better off if you gave to charity for them instead of for animals, or that many animals would be better off if people stopped helping children and donated more to animals. It is not quantifiable like that, IMO. I have no idea what you mean by a rule, I really don't! I don't feel pressured or guilty or anything, just saying how I feel about it. And, here is the thing - I don't want to support AI. That bloated show pulls in half a billion dollars in revenue a season, and that money comes from increased prices on goods and services, we all pay for it. They don't need for me to call in just to donate their own money, they can surely do that out of the kindness of their hearts. They want to crow about the votes, IMO. Supporting AI is different than supporting a charity. I will not support AI's grandiosity by dialing. This is not the only charity that helps children. It does seem to be the biggest and splashiest one. I get a couple of solicitations each week from charities. I just happen to think that some of those need a lot more of my help, is all! If Clay is on I won't miss a thing, there will be clack. And last time I looked, I was not dissing the charity, I was dissing A.I. Two completely seperate entities. And I would rather donate actual money than vote. Has nothing to do with Clay, either. Not one teensy bit. Watching those particular multi-millionaires ask for money just is not my idea of entertainment, is all. I will be real curious as to whether Ryan announces each artist's current project. I do hope IGB gathers lots and lots of money, ya know, I just am sure they can do it without me. And yes I absolutely do think that some don't donate to UNICEF because they don't like Clay. That's life. Hopefully they donate somewhere else.

oooh - I love my zombie tshirt too.....!!!!!!!!!

Great question - I LOVE my "Life is Just a Bowl of Vincents" and my "PROC rules" tshirts! I might actually hurt someone who tried to take them.

Muski said: I live near Tampa, but can only join you for a drinkie if you have a layover here on your flight to Miami! Tell you what - I will drink a toast at 6 pm on the 15th, 16th, and 17th, in your honor. Claygasm said: Here's the thing, for me - there is, as you say, a difference between "worthy cause" and "near and dear to my heart" - BAF happens to be both a worthy cause AND near and dear to my heart because my grandson is outside the mainstream due to ADHD and partial deafness. And I can't afford to give just because Ryan and Simon et. al. ask me to. And the charities that matter most to me involve children, victims of domestic abuse, and diabetes research - not animals. (Hey, animals have Simon - he said that he looks at a baby and feels feh!, but puppies and such make his heart warm.) IGB will be just fine without me, if I don't donate. And since I don't have a Neilsen box, it won't matter if I don't watch. If Clay is on, I will watch - at the precise point that someone posts EEEEE!!!11!!! Clay is on!!!!!

I will prolly contribute something, but I have no desire to see IGB this week - Ryan and Simon preening kinda nauseate me. And the only contestant I like now is Phil, (now that Gina is gone) and it gets tiresome listening to the judges come up with ways to diss him, last week notwithstanding. Heh, I actually believe the judges were happy to put Phil in a Country box so they can get on with the pop Idol quest. I don't think that it is necessary (or logical, really) in the least little bit to equate praising the show with giving to a good cause. I also don't really care one way or the other about Clay's participation in IGB - he does so much on his own. Besides, if he appears and does not promote his concert tour or ATDW, there would likely be piles of conspiracy and poddie dreck to wade through, and that has gotten old. Plus the appearance would likely be attributed, like every damn thing else, to some PR person, and not Clay's own self. Kind of bizarre sometimes to see everything Clay does or says in life attributed to PR machinations. And if I ever truly believed that, that would be my burnt puppies. And, these are just random thoughts (oops! shudder!) - it is a beautiful day in Florida! Even though I will spend the afternoon learning how to set up DSL networks!

c.c.t. - your pictures are beautiful! As is everything else people post here - I don't say thank you enough, I know!

Discussion elsewhere on why the flow of snark stopped - and really, IMO, no one has topped the early days, especially Gregoire - the gospel according to Clay or whatever, it was on Sucks. My opinion why the snark stopped being funny and/or appreciated? The early stuff poked fun at the fans. Gentle fun was made of Clay - and what was funny was peoples' PERCEPTION of Clay, not Clay himself. And Clay's family and friends did not suffer slings and arrows. Anyway, here is an old skit of mine - beware the Snark! "Aaaaand now....next up on Dr. Phil.....a ClayMate with a problem!" A 30-ish (shut up!) woman strolls out nonchalantly from backstage, holding a large vodka tonic in one hand, and shielding her face with the Clay Aiken fan in her other hand (no, a paper fan, silly, she is by herself! If I, um SHE, wanted to use an actual body, she would get one from the OFC). Dr. Phil starts to give her the obligatory welcoming hug. She smacks him sharply in the forehead with her fan, and says "Keep your hands to yourself! and I TOLD you not to have me introduced as a Claymate!!" Phil staggers back to his seat, and says, warily, "Welcome to the show! I understand you are appearing on condition of anonymity - how should I address you?" Anon. Clay fan: djs222. Phil: djs222? Is there some meaning to that? djs222: No, it is just a clever pseudonym. They'll never guess who I am! Especially if I don't bold it! Phil: Why do you need to hide your real name? djs222: Well, I am hoping to not have a tour of my home (with dismissive comments on the decor) posted on the internet, or have my tax returns faxed to a radio station in Raleigh. Phil: Goodness, are you sure your problem is not just simple paranoia? djs222: Haha!! Ten minutes after your booking agent told your assistant's cousin's best friend's dentist that a Clay fan was going to appear on your show, a tour of your home and office were up on the 'net.....with suggestions on how to make your decor more "you", along with a list of people deemed more suitable to be in your immediate family and circle of friends. And floorplans. And Bill & Sherri are discussing the questionability of some of your tax deductions, on the air, even as we speak. And Perez Hilton says you are his secret squeeze. And someone bought your underwear on eBay. And your dish ran away with the spoon. Phil: But, but, but....how could complete strangers know what decor is "me"? And I LOVE the family I have! And that was my favorite dish! I don't understand!!! djs222: Heeee. That'll teach you to write a book! Phil: Okaaay.....now, if you will just sit still we will try and keep that blue circle superimposed over the picture seen at home...oh, okay, just freshen up that drink...... A loud ringtone interrupts...(Broken Wings)...djs222 says "excuse me a moment", and answers her cell..."Yes, this is the closest seat I could get to Dr. Phil - pretty good, eh? No, I can't do a cell cert from up here! That would bend the laws of time and space or something! What? The blue doesn't look right? Try green?" she gestures to the technicians, who obligingly use green. "Oh, wait....orange? no, red? can someone set up a poll?" The viewers at home are treated to a cross between a light show and a Wonder Bread wrapper ....the results are in! Blue it is! Phil: Does this much obsessive (smack!), er, nit-picky (sharp rap!), um, creative and enthusiastic (good boy!) attention get bestowed on everything? Surely not! djs222 (in her best Jeremy Irons impression): You have NO idea! Phil: So! What is the specific thing that is troubling you, and brings you here today, djs222? djs222: Skits. Phil: Skits? You mean a short, usually comic dramatic performance or work? djs222: Yep! Phil:. What is the problem? djs222: Well, I am not sure what to do....all the skits used to be really funny, and we poked fun at ourselves a lot! Fractured Fairy Tales! stuff like that. There were even sexy, overbearing, manipulative cows! Who always ended up with Prince Clay! BITCH!!! Phil: What has changed? (A banner starts to scroll across the bottom of the screen - IMO YMMV *g* IMO YMMV *g* IMO YMMV *g* IMO YMMV *g* IMO YMMV *g* IMO YMMV *g* IMO YMMV *g* ) djs222: Well, some of the skits now seem - to me - to be a bit insulting towards some people and that really ruins the fun, for me; or some skits seem to really be more like complaints, and kind of bitter. Or are just thinly disguised 'shipping. Phil: Like this skit?" djs222: Exactly!!!!!!!!! Phil: Well, just don't read them! or just read the ones you like! djs222: Haha! Easy for you to say! Phil: Well, then, just don't comment on them! djs222: Haha! Easy for you to say! Phil: But, what if you are too uncomfortable with or disagree with the material in a skit? Or, (gasp!) have no content? djs222: Haha! That is why I'm here! YOU tell ME what to do! .......a dead silence ensues......... Phil: Say, can I have one of those drinks? djs222: Sure! Hey, wanna see the American Idol Numa Numa Dance? And the camera cuts away, as djs222 and Dr. Phil huddle over a laptop, drinking and laughing and making jazz hands. JMO and all that! Heeee! And everybody should read Gregoire's Books of Clay over at the posterity section of the CH - too too funny! In fact, there is a lot of the old funny stuff in that section.

I believe Fox rakes in about one-half billion a year on advertising on AI. It is reported that Fox charged $1.3 MILLION for a 30-second ad during the finale. Imagine all that money used for charity........

Well, is there room for another opinion? I think AI is a huge money-grubbing fame-ho machine (which is just good business) and I will contribute to IGB - but they are giving off a fame-ho vibe, and I find it icky - AND it has nothing to do with Clay. Not one little bit. Nada. To me, it is all "Look how fabulous and caring WE are!!!!!". I really can keep that opinion of mine seperate from my decision to donate. Really, I can. And if I had to vote to contribute, I would not contribute, I would just donate more to Clay. I don't agree with all the vitriol in other places, but if it is required to suddenly get all misty-eyed about A.I., I can't do it. Like I said, I will contribute, but I have no intention of watching. Or feeling kindly. And Simon has said too many nasty little things about too many people over the years for a cute lil puppy to suddenly make him endearing. I am not so sure that all the ill-will is based on Clay, I really think that is too simplistic. Yeah, some of the posts are putting down the cause, but most are putting down AI - which is totally different, IMO. I actually think AI has been v. good to Clay, and I am enjoying the hysterically funny: "He must distance himself from AI!!!!!!" "Oh Noooo.....Clay must be on AI for the children!!!!!! But distantly!!!!!" "Those bastards!!!!! They didn't ask him!!!! So he could turn them down, from afar!!!!!" (Goes off to open a bottle of Merlot and sip, defiantly. And alone. Heh, and I won't have to share!)

I think the person who brought that to our attention should be praised for bringing it to our attention, because I believe that helped a great deal. I am quite the "out of sight, out of mind" person, so I enjoyed the reminders and keeping tabs very much. That being said, you are perfectly correct that RaleighTravelor is the person who should get credit for the whole shebang. And especially credit for writing something that garnered so much attention for BAF!!!!!! and Clay!!!!!!

Oh, but muski, you didn't know EXACTLY when he was there, or EXACTLY what he is doing/posting/whatever all the time (or any of the time, really) - there is a word for that, it rhymes with Gawker. And anyone who thinks this is sour grapes is waaaaaay wrong, sorry!

Heeeee......I find the idea that Faye talks too much just because she told a friend at church that Clay told her to watch Diane Sawyer contrasts hilariously with the fact that evidently "in-the-know" Gawker-type people were communicating that Clay was indeed in Afghanistan to each other - um, THAT is the stuff that sinks ships. I also have found that I don't really care to know sekrit Clay stuff from supposed insiders - it really is the same damned thing as what the idiot that Kimmel interviewed on LKL does - spread gossip. Same exact thing. O/T PSA - I have been looking for a new job, and really was not getting much action on my Monster resume, and a headhunter called two weeks ago and asked so many odd questions that I finally aksed if he had, you know, read my resume. He said there are only three lines of stuff on Monster - good lines, but no complete resume. Yikes! So I quickly uploaded another resume, phone rang off the hook, I now start a fabulous job on Monday that pays really well and is the type of stuff I really love to do. Well, I would rather start sitting in my quaint little house near the beach on Monday, without a care in the world, but this is a pretty good second choice. Anyways, people who use Monster should check their resume once in a while, you never know if all your info is still out there!

Here is a quite serious question - what is the big deal about being "an insider" who knows that Clay was in Afghanistan? Is there some kind of creepy stalking game and people get points or something? Oh, wait.

Um, are you guys saying that this trip to Afghanistan was not set up by a personal PR person for the express purpose of holding a press conference so Clay could tell us about his new label and CD??????? That when he talks about Afghanistan in the SPRING it is actually because he is in Afghanistan in the SPRING? Good golly!

Well, someone has gotta drive, you know! I really do see this as a big family crowd, and I hope it is really true! O/T - saw Are We Done Yet today, should have seen Blades of Glory again. V. blah movie - although it makes me laugh to think of Ice Cube as now pigeon-holed in the friendly family pic genre.

THIS is why I am a minion. The true fan crap is, well, crap. No one is saying anything about true fans here, that I can see. Word to Clayzorback, too.

Just want to mention that (like someone has, on another board) that I am a sports fan, and don't get drunk at games. I kind of like the idea of Clay winning over a big happy crowd - but yeah, it doesn't seem like a symphonic setting. I already have my Houston ticket, have not booked a flight, and will wait to see what Playbiller is gonna do....4th of July does sound like fun! I cannot even imagine how this could be gathered into the Conspiracy Theory, but then I am a proponent of Occam's Razor, not the Gilette 5 blade extravaganza!

Fan fatigue? not my Clay fandom, I still love to watch and listen to him, but I have realised that I am pretty tired of some of the fandom stuff. I would never hang around, in real life, with people who so assiduously snuffle and root around to find something to be negative about - it is draining, and a waste of life. I also find it a bit creepy, almost, to see how intent some people are about his sexuality (not his sexiness, but his own personal sexuality) - I would not sit around and discuss an acquaintance's sexuality in such detail, much less a total stranger's. And as far as that part of his life is concerned, he should be a total stranger, unless HE wants something different. Then again I am firmly in the camp of "nothing is anyone else's business unless it concerns them directly", and no, just because someone wants to know or feels (bizarrely) that their need to understand is more important than someone else's need for privacy - that does not trump anything whatsoever. I'm not saying some stuff is not interesting, it just amazes and appalls me that so many harsh judgemental venom is spewed about Clay, his family, his friends - all based on what can only be interpretation and extrapolation. And I am talking about FANS. I can remember when any new event or sighting was so much fun for everybody on the boards - now when I watch him, I almost trudge to some boards, I anticipate the anger, the criticism, the endless interpretation to suit agendas, the complete evaporation of any afterglow whatsoever; sometimes whatever the actual event was is completely ignored because it was seen as just a meaningless stepping-stone or "filler" (WTF???!!!) because it was not what was predicted or desired (again, due to agendas). Used to be I would have been referring to KCE, there! I still want to go to as many concerts as I can possibly (and sometimes ill-advisedly) manage - I don't feel that reading all the boards afterwards is even a good idea any more. Except here, of course! I can only think that for some people, being a fan of Clay has morphed into being a fan of what they think about Clay, and when he doesn't do what they want, or loudly predicted, they feel disappointment or anger. Which mystifies me, because this isn't even hater crap - if being a fan of a singer means one loves to hear him sing - why hang around and snipe if that changes? It seems so pointless. But I have learned to scroll and skip. And thank God for blogs, because those are way easier to skip! A long time ago I was dating the brother-in-law of one of my best friends, and we were sitting around talking about his faults. His mother said well, that all may certainly be true - but if you find so much of what makes him be himself something to complain about, you should leave him to find someone you like better, and then he may find someone who appreciates him more! She was right. So, Clay fandom - quite intact and impervious to outside influence, fandom or other. And you would be quite, um, amazed at my clack collection. Like some, I no longer buy every magazine with a mention, but somehow I still accumulate stuff. Board fandom - that has changed, because so many boards are not so much really about Clay and what he does, anymore, they are about, well, the board itself. My enthusiasm for Clay has not wavered, waned, or suffered any setbacks whatsoever - my capacity to read crapola about him has completely dried up. Feh. Waste of my time. And I do find myself just skipping a board, any board, for a day or so when I encounter cheap shots about Clay or his family/career/friends, or spiritual beliefs. Not an angelwinger, just not into the mean-spirited stuff. Although I guess my dislike for some of the more pretentious or negative fandom is undergoing a sea change, becoss some of it is so predictable it is hilarious. Roseviolet, that is so interesting that independent artists contact you - do you demand payola or airily announce that you will play them when they are more mainstream? haha! Just kidding - I think that is wonderful, that you have created something so positive that may indeed give some artists a boost, outside of the current obnoxiously money-driven system. Like, say, politics.

Yes, lying - and I saw a bit of confusion because methinks she is used to getting treated waaaaaay better because of her "cuteness".

Yeah, Jimmy skewered her, and it mostly went whizzing over her stupid vacuous shallow banal birdbrain. BUT, she did smirk, rightfully so, at the fact that even Jimmy READS it. And if someone did get hurt or worse by a stalker, she would show that too - and get millions of hits. I don't think Clay needs to distance himself from AI, which seems to be an anthem in some parts. AI has gained some cred, people will see his new look on the cover of his mad rockin' CD and when he appears on forty-eleven TV shows, hawking said CD. And really, he got a planet-sized load of publicity when he appeared last time! Anyway, all he can do is not talk about it, he can't keep folks from asking, and most of the opinions I read are that he shoulda won. It is not like anyone can just stamp their little foot and make people stop asking. I really hope he does perform a new single (brokenwingsbrokenwingsbrokenwings) on AI. I am loving all the pictures, thankewverymuch! (O/T - I am madly in love with The Wedding Bells!)

Even if your domain expires, it now has to go into a holding place until you ransom it - this happened to me - so no one else can just snap it up the day it expires. I'm kinda done with the radio stuff - if it happens, it happens. I don't see conspiracy, I just don't see a really catchy song, and I doubt that pouring jillions of dollars into getting play is a good investment. Just an ego thing any more, for some. It is a crapshoot anyway - like Mario Vasquez, great radio play, poor sales.

I bow down to y'all's insightful posts! The only other thing that occurs to me is that so much of the marketing/musical direction/label talk is not based on anything Clay has announced at all - it is just what someone thinks he SHOULD want. Then they go rocketing off basing everything that they think is happening with what they think Clay wants - the whole exercise get real meaningless, real quick, except I guess it shows what those people would do if THEY were a "hot pop rock star" or somehow became in charge of one. But picking apart, criticising, and running everything through a series of filters and sekrit decoder rings - and pronouncing his career wobbly (if not over) if what has been opined is not what really happens - that stuff is no longer about Clay. "Distancing himself from A.I." - no all he said was that it is addictive, he is not watching - and this keeps the interview about Clay, not other A.I. folks. He didn't say he wouldn't appear on it. I think it silly, given where he came from and the extreme popularity and pervasiveness of the show, to think there is any clever spinny thingy that will distance him from A.I.