jmh123

Since Claytonic asked, here is my post and Clay's response (hope I don't get edited for posting official OFC content, LOL!)

Was this when people were saying that Spamalot was the worst possible career move he could make?

Iseeme, that photo is hot! Was Sacramento the night he did a little bit of a strip tease?? The photo also reminds me of the short, hawt clip we have of him doing air drums while standing in that spot.

Hey, no one said the Broads' next video challenge is up. Current link: http://lbfca.diaryland.com/. This is a tough one for a different reason, as neither of these is a favorite of mine. The first is AI, Buttercup. He's in fine voice and he looks real fine--I think my indifference might have something to do with pretty much hating the song back when it was an original. The other choice is OMWH from Kimmel. By contrast with BMUB, his voice was a bit weak, and it wasn't my favorite "look" of OMWH promo appearances, but what I do love about this performance is the "look" of the whole. In contrast to the bare stage and cheesy backdrop of AI, on Kimmel he had a large group of musicians with him, the background was pretty, the crowd was engaged, and the lights playing over the crowd add to the feeling of them being under his spell. Best of all is the shot towards the end of the guy singing along, knowing all the words, and totally into it. Love that. So OMWH gets my vote.

Incidentally, IIRC, Buttercup is a favorite of KAndre's. (But we are both madly appreciative of Everlasting Love.) There's a website called whatnottosing.com that has been running some interesting evaluations of AI performances, based on published comments and non-partisan internet posts, compiled via a formula only they understand. They have Buttercup as Clay's best performance of all, and it is tied with some others as one of the 4th best performances of the show, ever! I think it's also Clay's highest on EW's greatest Idol performances ever list. So I'm definitely nearly alone in not loving this one.

In case you're curious, Clay's other performances in the top 40 are #11 (tie) Solitaire, #16 (tie) DLTSGDOM, and TLS, #35 (tie).

I checked the Listening Party thread - I can't believe I didn't edit ALAWH.

So here it is. I think it's right per the CD.

.....

I LOVE . . .

"My-y-y Ha-a-ands"!!

Me too

I hope you are putting your edited lyrics in the lyrics thread.

I wanna go to Hong Kong too.

Back when my mother was really old, but not yet so feeble that people were checking on her daily to see if she needed anything, she had a jar of pickles she couldn't open. She got out her walker, put the jar in the basket, and went down the street (which gets a lot of foot traffic due to the big university near by) till she found some stranger walking by to open the jar for her. I thought that was amazingly resourceful of her. (She prizes her independence.)

I'm all proud of myself and stuff today because I just learned how to replace a doorknob. Stop laughing at me! I've never had to do this kind of stuff before....I thought it required a penis and a special screwdriver and knowing the right cuss words. I think I deserve a cookie.

BWAH!! And, ahhhhh, you bring back so many memories of being a grown person learning to do all those things that people didn't teach girls how to do way back when.

Alright, Clay's shirt on the ET thingie has been nagging at me for some reason.

I finally had time to hit up my photobucket for historical comparisons. I think the dude must have the same plaid western-style shirt in multiple colors.

And, yes, I am semi-embarrassed I spent part of my holiday afternoon on this question...

I love you for doing this!!!

Bombs should not be tossed in the the PM messenger.

Oh Lordy, this made me think of Brother Maynard!

Oh Lord, bless this thou holy PM that with it thou mayest blow thine enemies to tiny bits in thy mercy. Then the Lord spake saying first shalt thou type up the holy PM then shall thou count to three. Three being the number which thou shalt count, then thou shalt click 'send', lobbying the holy PM towards thy foe who have been naughty in my sight shall snuff it.

BWAH!!!

And . . . somebody says she deserves a cookie.

I brought enough for everybody!

YUM!!!

Beauty, laughter, and treats! My favorites!!

Someone, I'm sorry I don't remember who, suggested that we renominate this one, since it came in a very close second last time. Seems appropro:

FCA - An anarco-syndicalist commune of cyclically in sync nomadic omnivores

AWWWW, chacha, I'm sorry you didn't finish, but I hope you have fun at the event. The car is going to be gorgeous when it's finished!!

My thoughts on As Long as We're Here.

I love the opening with a single held tone, and the rest of the instrumental intro. Love the "let's stop now," which then leads into the first verse.

My favorite lines:

some people live their lives holding their fears inside them

afraid to build windows to let the light of the world in

they hide in the darkness of self-imposed walls

if they could just tear them down, they'd have it all

I love the Celtic sound of the electronic viola at the end of each "let's make the most of our time as long as we're here." Seems like the second time it's more longer and a more elaborate melody than the first, which adds interest to the song, for me.

I love that little diddly sound from a guitar, and there's also a warbling, bird-like sound I love--not sure what instrument it comes from.

I love the bridge - "you are my need, right now love me". He really "sells" that line.

It's cool how the vocals end so softly, fading away rather than building up to a crescendo.

I love instruments at the very end. There's kind of an electronic, chaotic feel to the sound that really appeals to me.

This is one of my favorite songs in terms of the instrumentation. It's similar to ETIDN in that respect, to me, and is an example of what I'd call Kipper's sonic signature on the album.

Scarlett, having trouble understanding your ETA because I cast it in such different terms in my own frame of reference. In my mind I cast that whole poddie thing in terms of a big disagreement over facts and interpretations, with jumping on people a plenty to go around on both sides. Never felt like "we" were misfits or that we were ganged up on. I did find it to be an occasion when I was moved to gravitate towards those who shared my POV, cause it felt like the world had gone mad. I'll think on it and try to rearrange my frame a bit and see if I can grok what you're saying.

Muski, have a good one! :bday:

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

ETA, much later (midnight):

Like couchie said, we have strong personalities here. Whenever people come here saying, "Oh, it's so great here; it's so much better than X place," I always think, "Oh boy, rude awakening to come." People are outspoken sometimes. We fight but we try not to brawl. Colored ink is a rarity--it's up to people to work things through. Or just let it go and move on.

We would never promise you that you can post whatever you want here and get no reaction. I'm not sure where that idea came from. You just won't get inked. Some people have come here complaining about colored ink somewhere else, and not long after are going--where's the colored ink, where's the colored ink, are you going to let her SAY that?? Pretty much, yeah.

Not getting inked for what you say is a liberating thing. But you will get argued with here. Not every day is fun and light, but IMO it's what you do about it while it's happening and after it happens that's important. Couchie, ldyjocelyn, ansa, KAndre and I once received a group admonishment at another board for being argumentative (and KAndre didn't even do anything). Way long time ago I also argued with had deep discussions on the opposite "side" from every one of them. I don't think there was a single moment when I felt like they were my "enemies"--we just disagreed about something important. I learned a lot from talking it out, and now they're among my most favorite people.

(And I need to say that none of those folks is the argumentative type--they just have strong opinions and want to express them. We have that in common. I think they are the most fair-minded people I know, and easy-going, nice folks. I think this is where there's some confusion. It's good not to censor or hide dirty secrets. It's good to say what you think. It's good to hear what other people think about what you think too.)

Fess up now, quite a few of you have seen a lot of ink other places too, haven't you? I don't think arguing is a bad thing, within limitations. Such as, it's not good to make it a hobby, and people will get tired of hearing it.

So we can party now?? :013085001176249046:

Wow, they are fast! An excuse to procrasinate a little long. Hee.

No. 4: Easy for me: Audition Clay. Are we sensing a pattern here yet? HAHA. I think TITN video Clay is too mean looking. I don't see the sexy. There is one little moment I love, when the makeup people are messing with him and his eyes are closed. But I'll take the geeky guy, no contest.

No. 5: Now I'm gong to contradict myself. Orange shirted, JBT, mike stand throwing Clay is hawt, y'all. MAP TITN was one of his greatest vocal performances of that era, without a doubt, and I love how he managed to get a little touchy moment in with one of the contestants as he was coming up the catwalk. Miss America contestants love them some Clay Aiken. He looked so confident and I loved the outfit, but BFM Clay is the man!

It's Bookwhore!! YAY. *waves madly*

I've got my fingers and toes crossed for you. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I forgot - have fun on your roadtrip, cha cha! Looks like you & Mr. cha cha make a good team.

I hope we really get to hear him talk on the CNN special Sunday. And I really, really, really hope that one of these days he'll do an in-depth interview where he talks about his UNICEF & BAF experiences. *crosses fingers & toes*

With Anderson Cooper..... *prays*

Amazing man. I mean, really -- he's got allergies out the wazoo, and yet he's putting himself totally on the line here for these kids. I :::heart::: him.

Me too!!

Hi everyone! *waves*

I just wanted to say thank you so much for playing along in the video tournament over at LBFCA. I'm so glad people are enjoying the fun and I am loving reading everyone's thoughts on the videos, and especially all the memories they're bringing back.

Hey!! The pleasure is entirely ours!!

Link to rounds 2 & 3 of the LBFCA The Ultimate Clay Aiken Video Tournament: http://lbfca.diaryland.com/round1m2m3.html.

Round 2: My vote is the opposite of ldyj's, videographer of one of the greatest ISY videos ever (which I even like) and not the choice of the majority either, I'm sure. I'm pretty meh on the song, and the NAT performance of ISY. This particular vid has crappy sound, so that doesn't help. I agree that there are some fine closeups in the vid, and he does that thing with his fingers that is really hawt. He really sells it. But not to me. The best, ISY, by the way (nyah, nyah) was in Raleigh right after Vernon died, the day of his funeral. Round 2 for me goes to Santa Clay. Bad joking, flirty, dancing maniac Santa Clay. "You're going to get a switch," "Melanie is getting lots of treats because she doesn't make fun of Santa," "Santa listens to this one in his sleigh all the time," "If you go home without one of these tonight you have done yourself a great disservice," "My clothes are falling off. Mrs. Claus's cooking just isn't as good as it used to be." The vid cuts off before the dancing, which I love. The "deep" voice is hilarious, and he hangs onto it (almost) throughout.

Round 3: This pairing is cruel and unusual. LOL. How can anyone choose? Oh my oh my, this version of GN is totally hell in a handbasket material. The sound is fabulous. The vocal performance is outstanding. I love the little smiles throughout. He's really feeling this one. He's got the spirit in a completely different way. LAA: the sound is again fabulous (this is Scarlett's audio, I'll bet anything you want on that), and this one was one of the best orchestras. They're not going to make this easy for me, are they? This was early days, and one of his most vulnerable performances. Again, outstanding vocally. It's a really tough one, but LAA gets my vote.

By now someone's posted the XXL version of the UNICEF pic I'm sure.

If anyone reads the CB, this is a cute thread!

Clay, Then and Now

cha cha, very cool car!

I love this thread. Thank you so much for posting about it.

Did anyone else get a postcard from UNICEF advertising the CNN Special? It doesn't mention Clay, just Sanjay Gupta. Haven't seen anything mentioned on the boards, but this must be a really big push by UNICEF if they are going to the expense of a direct mail advertising campaign.

There's no request for donations on the card, just a "watch the show."

ETA. There is a small donate at www. blah blah, but it is not the focus.

I got a postcard too. I hope they get lots of money from this program, and that it repeats lots of times, as CNN specials sometimes do, so I can see Clay on my TV over and over.

CH posted those Tampa wavs yesterday. Thank you so much, kimiye. Here are the CH and CU links.

Concert_Clack/Soft_Rock_Hard_Place_Tour_2007/Tulsa/mime_fan folder:

FILES ADDED:

Audio clips from the Tulsa show

AVAILABLE IN:

mp3, wav

Thanks to mime_fan for this.

CH - FIND THE FILES BY CLICKING HERE AND ENTERING YOUR KEY:

Tulsa - mime_fan

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLACKUNLIMITED LINK FOR KEYLESS (use ONLY if you do not have a key):

CV KEYHOLDERS - THIS IS IN YOUR VAULT. PLEASE DOWNLOAD FROM THERE. THANK YOU

Tulsa - mime_fan

Wheeeeeeeeeeee! Y'all can thank me for getting my ass out for the first bike ride of the year, cuz that is surely what caused the Unicef article to be posted.

Question: what is female circumcision? Do I even want to know?

So it appears that Clay is maybe taking some time off in Africa? The article lists Kenya. Cool.

How to make this not too icky. I'll just spoiler it.

Sometimes the labia and clitorus are removed. Then in some areas of the world, you're sewn up tight so you won't be fooling around, but natural processes like menstruation can be impaired. When you get married, the opening is increased in size with a sharp instrument. Childbirth is not facilitated by this, infections are common, the objects used for the surgery are not always sterile. There's no anesthesia. And, of course, women do not enjoy sex.

It's not a good thing. At all. Here's a good synopsis: BBC news.

djs...I think this part of your post applies to everyone, with any opinion, depending on the point of view of the reader:

Muski - yep. Exactly! Which is why I am honestly puzzled when people take exception to being disagreed with or argued with. That is the nature of a board, or it should be.

Eggs-actly. LOL. And when you post a post with controversial content, expect controversy. I've never ever seen a whole message board (or even half of one) bow down and say, "Oh my god, you're right," in response to a controversial post, no matter how well worded, and no matter how often the same content is posted.

I had a big, beautiful wedding, and I am not ashamed.

Please don't be. Gosh. If I say I don't understand it, that doesn't mean I think there's something wrong with you for doing it. I assume the others feel the same way. We're the ones that are outside the cultural norm!! From your description, it sounds like yours did what these things are supposed to do--it was a ritual commemoration of an important life passage shared with the people closest to you both.

Sometimes it's just hard for me to grok these things. I drive a 1992 car. I'm frugal. I have to be. I've never been a girlie-girl. I haven't had on heels since I was 17. Paying $10,000 or more for a dress or hundreds of dollars for a cake is just something I have a hard time wrapping my mind around, for me. My sister got married in our bad yard. (Hee, I just googled and found out that the average price for a wedding dress is $1500. That is so comforting to me. I always thought they were tens of thousands of dollars. LOL.) Not to mention that I've never been married.

Ya'll realize that we could keep the song of the day thing going over and over and over again until you tell me to stop? Hee.

I think we should. At least one more go-round anyway.

OH I meant to comment on the latest picture of Jaymes...I know that it is just one moment ...one milisecond of time in her life...but the expression in her face...the way she was walking , just gave me the impression that she was much more guarded...tense... hope all is well with her and the baby.

I think it's just that she is not posing. If you watch people when they think no one is looking at them, they often look very solemn. They're just thinking about stuff. Plus it's just a millisecond of time. Perhaps TMZ had a whole burst of shots and picked the one that looked most unhappy.

LBFCA's "ultimate Clay Aiken video" Tournament has started. Really interesting choices. Off to watch.

link please..I always get lost over there and is it something we can do/see later?

I edited in a link in the first post so I just quoted myself. Karen Eh? posted about this earlier--It's all on their site. And yes, you can do it later. I don't know how long each video will be up. If I find out, I'll edit that in to this post. OK--every day there will be one or two videos. There are 16 pairs, 32 videos. There's a downloadable spreadsheet if you want to keep track. Kind of like the NCAA brackets. Heh. The scoop is here: http://lbfca.diaryland.com/tournament.html

Bolding mine......The videos were paired up by random drawing so the combinations are definitely going to be interesting. That was the idea...to keep the whole thing a little off beat, a little head scratching, and I think it can add a degree of difficulty in making the choices. Like, I have a favorite ATD video (Martha Stewart) and if that went up against any other ATD video then I'm going to vote for that one. But if it's up against something else like say Suspicious Minds from the JBT, what am I going to choose? I don't know. We also hoped people would talk about some of their favorites that were left out. I think, too, that the choices were limited by what could be found on You Tube. I was surprised at some of the things that are NOT. Some of us had a very enjoyable weekend going down memory lane and I have to give huge kudos to Lecherous Broad Danielle who came up with the idea and built the tournament. Should be fun!

The video tournament is such a fun idea! The first 2 entries were hard to compare, but that's part of the fun. Do I pick pretty, star-like Clay, or fun-loving, natural, ICG-inducing Clay? Both sing great! I went for the latter. The man laughing in the background - priceless.

Been sitting here watching the first two LBFCA videos. Interesting concept, kind of weird to choose between a professionally shot WY and a fan shot TV Themes, though. But fun. I voted for WY. Love that song, love the way he sings it with his entire body. And while the San Diego TV Themes was good, the speaker got in the way of seeing his feet during the Jefferson dance.

I think this is such a brilliant idea, and the "off beat, head scratching" part is great! I didn't think about the YouTube limitation. Another cool thing is that the embedded YouTubes have a row of little boxes on them that link to other Clay videos that are on line.

Since I'm not a member of the LBFCA board, I thought it was fun to talk about the videos here, and I'm really interested in hearing from other people as well.

Storybook wedding? Frankly, I find "storybook weddings" one of the stupidest inventions of the last twenty years - some girl (and it's ALWAYS some girls - this is so not a dude thing) wants to recreate some inner delusion where she is queen for a day - it brings every bad Bridezilla story to mind.

Wheeeeeeeeeee! I am not alone! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Storybook wedding? Frankly, I find "storybook weddings" one of the stupidest inventions of the last twenty years - some girl (and it's ALWAYS some girls - this is so not a dude thing) wants to recreate some inner delusion where she is queen for a day - it brings every bad Bridezilla story to mind.

Wheeeeeeeeeee! I am not alone! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Nope. Not alone at all. I just don't get the storybook wedding culture. I know it means a lot to some people, including my own niece most recently, and I can respect that, so I won't go on about it, but there are some components that are so odd to me when viewed from a distance. A marriage ceremony can be beautiful, touching, a wonderful thing to witness, but all of the scripted traditions around a 'dream wedding' - not my thing.

I'm with y'all--so we all are not alone! I think it's a incredible waste of money, for one thing. Tens of thousands of dollars or more for one day. Boggles my mind. I think some women are more interested in having the ceremony than in actually being married. The ritual value of ceremony is to give power to a commitment. Storybook weddings don't do the job, are a cultural failure in that respect, or we wouldn't have such a high divorce rate.

I believe what sets me off post-wise is when a negative post makes the calm assumption - or shrill insistance - that I must feel the same way. And that if I don't, I am willfully choosing to ignore stuff.

Or I just don't have the facts, or that I am in denial. Or I am just not smart enough to get the other person's POV. Nope. Nope. Nope. I just process things differently and have different filters.

Yup. "I know it sucks and if you were as smart (or aware) as I am, you'd know it too." Ugh.

I think "trusting Clay" is kind of a misnomer for some of us because we really don't think we would know better than he does about himself. So it is more of a casual thing. I trust everybody here to make their own decisions about their lives, I sure don't think I am qualified to do that based on what I read on the internet, same for Clay. It is kind of a misleading phrase, I think.

Very nicely said. I trust Clay to run his own life and his own business. Not my job or interest to do either, or to second guess his choices. I trust him to look out for himself. He's a grown man. I tend to "react" when I read posts that seem to infantilize Clay, or to imply that the poster could do a better job of being Clay Aiken than Clay does.

CDs from other favorite artists? No idea whatsover when new ones are released, I just look on Amazon when I think about it. I don't watch any daytime talk shows, no morning news shows, no late night talk shows unless I can't sleep or if Clay is going to be a guest. And if I can't sleep, I would rather watch a CSI Any City than watch a talk show. I do flip through, but it seems lately all I see is Jack Black slumped in a seat looking bored or stoned.

Yup again. I rarely watch those shows, and I don't read the "entertainment" magazines either. Don't listen to the radio. I don't even stroll through Walmart or Target on any kind of a regular basis. Back when there were actual music stores, I used to wander through them looking for albums that interested me. None of the usual marketing plans are going to work for me. I buy most of my music based on on-line comments these days.

LBFCA's "ultimate Clay Aiken video" Tournament has started. Really interesting choices. Off to watch. Oops, link: http://lbfca.diaryland.com/index.html.

LBFCA's "ultimate Clay Aiken video" Tournament has started. Really interesting choices. Off to watch.

link please..I always get lost over there and is it something we can do/see later?

I edited in a link in the first post so I just quoted myself. Karen Eh? posted about this earlier--It's all on their site. And yes, you can do it later. I don't know how long each video will be up. If I find out, I'll edit that in to this post. OK--every day there will be one or two videos. There are 16 pairs, 32 videos. There's a downloadable spreadsheet if you want to keep track. Kind of like the NCAA brackets. Heh. The scoop is here: http://lbfca.diaryland.com/tournament.html

I watched the first video--GMA "Without You." Not a good choice for an audiophile--the sound quality just isn't good so the various instruments don't come through distinctly--it's kind of a mush--and the back-ups either are flat or sound flat. Clay looks fantastic, and he wails at the end quite beautifully. I tried to watch it as an objective observer. It was impressive to see someone come on GMA with so many musicians. Diane's introduction was quite effusive. I think anyone watching this would think Clay is a big star. I skipped the interview part and went right to the minute marker that's mentioned. I was just watching along and enjoying it, and thinking about the crappy sound and how pretty he was in that phrase of his career, and boom, there I am, just for a second. I'd forgotten I was there. Wonderful video, crappy sound.

Off to watch the second. Really intriguing choice. I was just talking about this medley with a friend tonight. OK, I'm back from watching. This one has got my vote. What struck me for much of it was how utterly engaged he is in this as a piece of music, and how it pulls me in at that level too. He's aware of every note and every instrument, and his voice is fantastic. He's so much more relaxed than in the GMA performance, and yes, he is 100% cheestastic, but bring it on! There's a guy laughing near the camera who is so enjoying this, especially the Weezie dance. Clay felt the spirit! LOL.

The best thing about FCA is that it is never boring. The first MB I joined is boring because hardly anyone expresses an opinion that dares to disagree with what is the popular opinion at any given time. Everyone just seems to agree about everything. Everything is always peachy and nice. Not realistic to me. I love the spirited discussions here, and most of the time someone expresses my point of view much better than I could have put it into words. Funny how someone always says what I am thinking. I do not think that anyone is going to make Couchie use the green ink. She is one wise woman.

What I gather from the discussions here is that everyone supports Clay in their own way. How can one young man inspire so much passion without even trying is what I would like to know?

I do not think that anyone is going to make Couchie use the green ink. She is one wise woman.

...

What I gather from the discussions here is that everyone supports Clay in their own way. How can one young man inspire so much passion without even trying is what I would like to know?

You're pretty wise yourself. I think the thread title ended up meaning something opposite of what was originally intended. Passion we've got, and YAY for that.

LBFCA's "ultimate Clay Aiken video" Tournament has started. Really interesting choices. Off to watch. Oops, link: http://lbfca.diaryland.com/index.html.

Ok, for a little funny, I just clicked on a link that popped up in my email - something which I've never done until now - for concert tickets from a place called "Superstar Tickets . com". This is the blurb for Clay:

I don't think I'd buy tickets from those folks. They sound a bit like the people from Nigeria who want you to help them with a little banking problem.

Good! Just checking. You and I have both been in trouble at the CH for saying that if people were upset about Clinton's so-called bashing of Obama, they had a rude awakening a comin'. And here it is.

Fear, thanks for that article, and I agree with you about the stereotyping of the town, and djs111, good point about Moost's piece. Lordy, why is critical thinking so hard for so many?

Djs111, just wondering if you remember that Fear was an actively engaged campaign worker for Clinton this year. Here's her last post in this thread:

Wow I sure missed a lot by not reading this thread the last few weeks.

In my opinion the Democratic Party created a big mess this year that could ruin the chances of a Democratic nominee winning. I did a lot of work in NC for Hillary. I worked with teenagers, college students, men and women, black and white, old and young. I made one really good friend and met many wonderful people who I hope to work with again.

I knew it was an uphill fight in NC, but everyone gave 100% or more for what they believed. I felt that I would vote for Obama if Hillary lost, until I visited with the sister in law from Hell last week at their farm in PA. They have three houses in MD, PA and NY, but vote in MD. She spent four days trying to browbeat me into believing that Obama was the only perfect candidate and I would go to Hell if I didn't support him, Well maybe not that but pretty darn close. She kept insisting that all Hillary supporters were uneducated, white and racist. We were not speaking last I heard. Not that that bothers me.

I just hope I can forget this before November. Amazing how one person can hurt a candidate. I'm thinking she is the reason Hillary won by so much in PA. LOL

I sure don't want to see McCain win so I'm hoping that Obama offers her a meaningful position and I don't think V-P is it. Well I might be old and a women but my husband voted for Hillary and last I heard he was male.

I've read so many inaccuracies in the press that I don't believe anything anymore. This morning I got home from the gym at 11 and my husband said that Hillary had conceeded. He said it was an AP report. I couldn't find it anywhere and then he showed me where he had seen it at Yahoo. Well before you could say refresh it disappeared. Since this was when the polls were just opening in SD and Montana, I thought they would apologize, but no. They just replaced it with a poorly done cut and paste article saying that Hillary wants to be VP, from another anonymous source. We tried to get hold of someone at AP but were told that we could not speak to anyone. I think I've convinced my husband not to trust the news.