jmh123

Another Payne Stewart fan here. It was so sad when he died, and I was watching on CNN that day hoping for some kind of miracle to save them, but of course it was impossible. I also love Nick Faldo, who's a commentator now, and I love to watch Tiger play because he's a frickin golf genius.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. Mom's still in the early stages of whatever, so some of those things we don't need yet--but others we definitely do. I bought some of those pads to protect the chair she sits in, a couple of kinds of diapers, and a few other things. I had a talk with her a couple of weeks ago, told her it was like when I started my period and she helped me, and it was just part of life. She was pretty receptive, so we'll see how it goes. I didn't see any evidence of more accidents last week, but until the whole house is cleaned it'll be hard to tell for sure (there's a lingering smell). Should look into the bibs as well, and some of that stuff that cancels out smells on upholstery and carpet. I bought her a bath bench already, and we installed a bar, but I'll also get some of those dry-wash cloth thingies--maybe she'll use them herself to sponge off.

I got an agreement from my brother (although he was a bit of a jerk about some things) and mother on the aide, but then my mother backed out again before I could do anything. My sister has some problems in her own life right now, so can't deal--so things are on hold for the moment. My emotional state is better though, now that I have some information, and have some ideas of things we can do now and in the future as they are needed. I think everyone but me is still in denial, but I just have to be patient.

I have been looking for clothes for my mother for a long time without success (she's very picky about what she will wear as a lot of things irritate her skin) and finally found a dress that I knew she'd like last week. She took a bath voluntarily, put the dress on, added some jewelry, and we went out to dinner. She also wanted to get her nails done first, so I took her to the nail salon. You could tell as she looked at herself in the mirror and the way she carried herself that she had pride in her appearance that she hasn't had for a long time. Apparently she's been wearing the dress every day since, which wasn't exactly the plan, but I'll try to wrest it away from her and wash and dry it tomorrow.

I also did some mending of some of her favorite clothes to go out in, because she didn't have a single thing that wasn't torn or the hem half out or something. She doesn't go out often, and she usually wears a robe or nightgown all day, and I've realized that I need to get dark colors from now on because of staining. I've bought her a few, but only the dark housedress still looks decent now. She's always insisting that these things don't matter to her, but it's obvious that they do, so I'm just going to ignore her protests from now on and keep working on this. Also am going to urge again that she get a professional cleaning service in again, because I don't think it'll get done otherwise.

Getting her to the doctor is the next plan, without upsetting my sister. That's been her contribution to mom's care, keeping up with prescriptions, appointments, and so forth, and I don't want her to get mad and dump all that on me--LOL. But someone needs to go into the consultation with her and explain her issues, and see if there's medication that will help. She does go to a geriatric specialist, so I would hope he's informed about these things.

That's good news, luckiest! Back when I read CV everyday I saw a number of posts similar to yours. Everyone seems to dread the IEP meeting. Vent away when you need to! I think it's fantastic that the school systems now accommodate kids with different learning styles, or try to, but it sure sounds like the parents need to advocate strongly for the children before things actually happen. The last college that I taught at had an excellent program for the students, but we didn't get any specific instruction on how best to teach students with particular needs. It was left up to the students to tell us what they needed, but most never did. They'd just bring us a letter that said they needed extra time for an exam or a quiet room, and that was about it. I had one student who was a sweety, who loved to talk but had a lot of difficulty making his thoughts clear, they were all a jumble, and I just had to wing it with him. What I did a lot was repeat back what I thought he was trying to say, to see if I had it right and simultaneously convey what he'd said to the others. There were days when I didn't have the time or energy though, and I'd just say OK and move on. I wonder if regular K-12 classroom teachers these days get any kind of training in their degree programs, or is it just the resource teachers who are trained?

Can you imagine a Clay fan PR person having to rep for any other idol or singer?

Oh, but this person would be Clay's full-time publicist! They would be telling Clay what to do, guiding Clay's career, setting his schedule, choosing his songs and producers, arranging his personal, philanthropic, and family life, dictating wardrobe and hairstyle placing Clay mentions and arranging appearances all the time!

Not to mention, posting on fan message boards in all her ample spare time.

And I found out last night there are now two blogs out there exposing other fans. BWAH. Please lord, don't let me get this in my google alerts. What a bunch of loons. I'm trying to figure out where Clay fits in all this. Some of these people need to apply to be a CIA operative. Or get a life... one or the other.

I think they need to have Clay's attorneys issue a cease and desist order. What they are doing is criminal in my opinion and I think the fans being targeted should press charges.

I'm not sure his attorneys could do this, and even if they could, I'm not sure they should. It would associate him with this madness directly and bring more publicity to it.

I agree that it crosses a line and is completely wack. I wish fans had never gotten involved in defending Clay from JP, but it's way too late now. It's become part of what this fandom is, and not an attractive part.

Well it's obvious. Roger made him do it.

Kewl. Hope that means we'll get to see him some too, visiting with his buddy Ruben.

http://wfmz.com/view/?id=155460

More crazy fans!

It's mah Posse. Camp Clay. Well, one member. (Plus another PA group representing.) The rest were to show up later in the day. Hee!

Hey everybody. Just saying hello. Been busy with a job application and with that other thing I do. All I've got to say is Tom Cruise owes me one. Wish I could collect, then I wouldn't need a job.

EEP - forgot the main thing I was going to say!! I've been watching all the board changes off and on all day, and it's shaping up really nicely!! Thanks couchie and ansa!!!

Related topic - gossip and insiders. The quest by fans for personal information about Clay's life and business and the need to claim some kind of inside connection that others don't have.

Okay...you're killing me here. Who is jmh? Other than jmh? And who is spikesmom? Is anyone who we think they are? stop lookin' at me like that!

Exactly. It used to drive me nuts not knowing who a few people here were on other boards, and then after awhile I thought, why do I care since I know them here? But if you pm me I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

I love me some sylvie! WELCOME to FCA. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

His voice has more character... that's it, more character!

Good word. And I accidentally deleted it, but yes, those vocal runs during the ATDW tour were amazing. Seems like he was still "playing" a lot and not taking it seriously, but you could hear the potential that's there.

Clay's stamina in singing has improved, as well. It's really tough for a singer to do a whole show like Clay does, without experiencing vocal fatigue. I don't think he could have done that right out of AI. But he's a pro at it now!

It amazes me how his voice just gets better and better as a tour goes on, and four nights in a row--better each night. It's fascinating to me that he can do that.

OK, final question for the evening:

How do you feel Clay's voice has evolved over the past 4 years?

He could always belt it out, but now he can sing softly with more control than on AI. I think his range has increased. His falsetto is more developed. He had some bad habits that I think he's worked on, going for schmaltz instead of a more sophisticated interpretation. Sometimes he still falls back on this, but when he's good at subtle, he's really, really good.

Working with orchestras--a whole new world for him and one he has clearly embraced. He has a wider range of sounds, seems like, when he's singing with an orchestra.

On AI it seemed to me sometimes that he was rhythmically challenged, but he's certainly found his inner beat. I think he's more versatile now.

To me, he had the most amazing voice I'd ever heard--not in the sense of trained talent, but in the sense of being uniquely himself. He had from the first time I heard him sing the ability to grab my attention and really "reach" me with his music. He still has this, and, IMO, that's what makes him special. The rest is just bonus extras.

QUESTION TWO:

Should Clay be a "superstar?" A "pop star"? An "entertainer?" Or all of the above? Does he really have to choose?

Unless he particularly wants to be a superstar, I wouldn't vote for it. For one thing, you attract a lot of negative attention such as we've just been discussing. It's hard to continue to be a regular person, and it can be very distorting to the psyche. So no, not unless he chooses.

It appears to me that he's chosen to be an entertainer, someone with career longevity. He's expressed interest in TV, a talk show, but I'm guessing he's turned down a lot of offers. It appears to me that he's pretty discerning about what he will do and won't do in the way of show biz. It seems he's focussed on a lifetime of decent success instead of a meteoric rise and then, a few years later, "Who?" and that works for me too. I do think he'd like to continue in show business in some form. I don't worry like some do about whether his career will end if ___________, or __________ (like if the next album doesn't kill or he doesn't change record companies or whatever). I have a lot of confidence in his business sense and decision making, in the people he hires and their ability to take him where he wants to go. I do think there are many fans that want something more for him, more PR, more stardom, but I don't think he wants it. Whatever is the case, I prefer to leave these decisions to him and just enjoy whatever he does. I'm easy that way.

I think the other thing to remember with this is that Clay's NOT the only celebrity out there. I think almost EVERY celebrity gets crap from the tabloids -- it's just we don't pay attention because it's not Clay. This is really one instance where we need to ignore, even if it is Clay.

JMO.

This one's easy isn't it? I'm with everyone else. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Stay out of the "celebrity" limelight, don't court the paparazzi. He's handled it well, I think. And yes, you are so right, ldyj. People forget that lots of people get shit from the tabloids.

What would you considered a "blowtorched puppy" -- in other words, what could Clay do that would make you stop being a fan?

Stop singing completely. That's about it.

You know, and you can kill me for this, but even that wouldn't do it for me. I enjoy his humor too much. Sure, I love the voice, but his ability to make me laugh would still keep me around even if he never sang another note.

Oh, good point. I take it back.

Shipping? I don't like it. I think it's squicky, but I'm not much of a romantic in RL. People can be together or not, whatever. I'm very happily single myself.

What would you considered a "blowtorched puppy" -- in other words, what could Clay do that would make you stop being a fan?

Stop singing completely. That's about it.

Real quick--

Your part in the fandom: how has it evolved?

I think it's pretty much the same.

Do you consider it a hobby or an addiction?

Some of both - it's an addiction in that I spend too much time on the boards, and am looking for a "fix" sometimes, not getting the satisfaction but still trying. FCA has been a godsend.

How much time do you spend on your fandom?

Too much.

I would do him head to toe

I would do him nice and slow

I would do him with my feet

I would do him in the heat

In the heat nice and slow

With my feet, oh oh oh.

I would do him in a tree

I would do him, yes, with glee!

I would do him, it's contagious

I would do him, it's outrageous

With glee, yes, in a tree

I would do Clay, wanna see?

Happy birthday SUN!!!

:7254:

I would do him fast or slow

dontcha know?

Thanks for putting this all together. You left out a "word" in mine. ^^^

I hate the term "Claymate". HATE! I have never liked it. Clay fan is ok or Clay whore - but NOT Claymate!!

I prefer "ClayBitch" myself.

At GMA one year we had a sign (drawn on a paper towel) "Aiken's Bitches". I like that.

Poetry night, I see. My silly contribution:

I would do him just for fun

I would do him on the run

I would do him on a bench

I would do him like the French

Just for fun while on the run

On a bench just like the French

I would do him fast or slow

dontcha know?

Interesting - There is 3 hours of news on OJ on CNN - and there were the 7 soldiers who wrote a NYT editorial about the media portraying the news from Iraq not like it really is, it is much, much worse. A few weeks later and 2 are dead. 2 on a rollover car accident not involing and fire or bombs, just an SUV that rolled.

No coverage anywhere - Ted Turner, why did you sell your network?

Sergeant Omar Mora and Staff Sergeant Yance Gray, whose “The War as We Saw It,” written with five other soldiers and published last month in the New York Times, were among nine killed when their truck veered off an elevated highway and fell about 30 feet.

I'm really not interested in OJ or Britney or Paris. Or Anna Nicole. Or Clay in that media environment. God bless him for shunning it. I'm not happy that CNN and TMZ.com are hooked up, and that tabloid-style reporting seems to happen more and more in the mainstream media. I used to watch CNN all day long, and now I seldom watch it. I don't go to the movies. I read and do Clay.

I saw Ted Turner talking about what had happened to CNN, in an interview on CNN, a few years ago. If you'd told me a decade ago that Ted Turner was going to end up being the model for sophisticated television journalism, I wouldn't have believed that either. Someone please tell me the pendulum will swing the other way soon.

Is it okay to "quote" a photo, or should I put it in my photobucket first. I know nada about posting of photos etiquette. But, oh my, I could just not resist posting this again! Where was this taken. He is absolutely stunning in this photo.

"Quoting" a photo is perfectly fine.

Like this.....

Tomorrow morning will be the first anniversary of THIS ....

Yum!

You don't sound whiney at all to me--I think you should go if you want to go! Like luckiest said, if you book a flight out early on the 7th, you should be able to make it back home on the 8th. There will be lots of FCAers there to hang out with if you go alone. But if it's going to end up causing more domestic disharmony than it's worth, I can certainly understand. :F_05BL17blowkiss: