jmh123

Can anyone tell me, I forgot, can you change the order that blogs appear in on the list on the top of google, by clicking and viewing them or do you have to click an advertiser or leave a comment?

I don't think anyone knows the complete answer to that. Google is understandably guarded about it, as they don't want people to know how to manipulate results. They change the "spider" formula frequently to prevent this. Coding is a factor--codes that are inserted into the blogs themseves. Hits are a factor. That's all I know.

Smokin' Joe Robinson, the 16 year old winner of Australia's Got Talent 2008.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rdGrzyIxiHA

He's an unbelievable acoustic guitarist... whether or not you play a musical instrument, I'd be surprised if you are not amazed at the skill and talent of this young guy.

He was my pick as the winner, I just couldn't see anyone else with any hope in beating him. (His performance at the Grand Finale was even better, but that hasn't been uploaded on YouTube yet as it was only screened in the last half hour.)

ETA In case the judges faces look vaguely familiar, they are:

Tom Burlinson - who played the lead in the movie The Man From Snowy River.

Dannii Minogue - Kylie's little sister... who as a regular on a children's talent show, was more famous than Kylie at that time*, more than 25 years ago.

Red Symons - member of a successful 70s Australian band called Skyhooks.

EATA: * I mentioned this for a reason ... the power of television. I am waiting for the day we hear that Clay has his own TV show, it's the ultimate classroom, and still more powerful than the internet in terms of reaching the scores of people who watch shows together and then discuss what they saw/heard at the watercooler etc

Here is the Grand Finale performance:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=K-witogjxjI

Thanks for sharing that. Talented kid indeed. I knew the song sounded familiar, and out of the depths of my memory came the name. I did some searching on YouTube, and this guy,

Here is a recreation of a Classical Gas video that was introduced on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. (Talk about the power of TV--even back then, the use of the music on TV made the song a huge seller.) The whole story of the video is on the uploader's comments so I won't repeat it all here.

I want Clay to have his own show too. It would be ideal in so many ways.

After some thought I'm just going to keep on believing that my experiences are the norm, cuz it's all about me I don't believe that everybody only hears weird stories about Clay and they don't hear about Unicef, or Spamalot, his voice, his charity, or that he's singing for presidents, is one of Idols more successful alums, or any other number of fluff items out there about Clay in People. I don't believe that Clay's own appearances don't make people smile or laugh or that they remember footgate but have forgotten the water cooler AI5 moment. Hell, I don't even understand why silly little incidents like footgate have been elevated to weird status or odd or notorious or that people keep them in their brain 3 years later. They were minor little things that he answered with flair. And things like Sewell, I bet most non fans wouldn't know what you were talking about if you handed them a happy meal and pantomined him snatching a big check.

While I understand people have had different experiences I am more determined than ever to not focus on the lowest common denominator of trashy tabloids and gossip or let my joy be snatched away by them. This obsessive need to see anything with Clay's name in it, no matter how trivial, just in my mind reinforces this notion that there is a constant pile on when it comes to Clay. Is there something in our brain that focuses more on these items and dismisses the good mentions? I am fortunate that the people in my life like Clay and when they talk to me about him they do so respectfully or inquiringly, but never rudely, never to degrade him or make me feel bad. If I'm living in some kind of bubble then Yay. I like it in here. Maybe we can move the party over here.

As for Clay's career? He has one. Still. In a world when the average career lasts a minute, it's five years later and he's still here. I have a beautiful album done the way he wanted it done and if he doesn't sell another, it will still be a great album. I have several other Clay albums to love and I have hundreds of songs thanks to the fact that the man likes to go on the road. And guess what, I just feel confident that no matter what happens Clay will be here 5 years from now. Maybe he won't be doing commercials or selling out arenas but do YOU need that to enjoy what he does give YOU.

Ah, couchie, thank you. You have written my post for me!!

and to me, you guys seem a bit ruffled, too---just from the other side of the fence.

Heeee......not ruffled at all - and I honestly don't see a fence, either. I am not all that interested in Clay fan factions any more. A self-proclaimed downer post just invites conversation, as is usual and expected.

<snip>

Disagreement is not the same as being ruffled, at all.

Not ruffled either. After muskifest's post, I will admit that I am annoyed, though. My post that was singled out was a short paragraph expressing sympathy but stating that my experience is different; the response was a tome. What's up with that? Look, there's nothing WRONG with either of you, but what's with all the CAPITALIZATION FOR EMPHASIS? It comes off as angry. There are certain posts that are designed to stir up controversy, that state unpopular or controversial opinions, and are written with a lot of emotion. If you post a post like that, you have to expect the responses you're going to get. I thought kf and I were very gentle, and did not deserve a dressing down.

The biggest problem in the fandom is that the career the fans want for Clay may not necessarily be the career Clay wants for himself and I think a lot of people have trouble accepting that. I think there is this sense of entitlement...we supported Clay after Idol, bought his CD's, attended his concerts; supported his charities, so now he needs to do something for us...sing the songs we want; put out the single we think is the best...in short...take our career advice and have the kind of career that we can be proud of and brag about and prove to people that we were right all along and that Clay should have won.

But Clay; how dare he, has other ideas and doesn't want to be stuffed in the "pop singer" box and that doesn't sit well with some because they know better...even though they don't know crap about the music industry, haven't sat in on any meeting with Clay, RCA, etc.; and because it really is all about them and their needs and wants.

I have a real problem with that kind of self-centeredness in the fandom...I think we all have a choice, either accept Clay for who he is, what he stands for and his life choices or move on..never have seen the point in bitching about something you have no control over.

Well said. And I would add to this, that if we can't keep up a positive attitude without Clay's continual presence, that isn't Clay's problem, that's ours. If the fandom goes into downer mode every time he takes a break, that's the fans' problem, not his. Fortunately, that's not FCA's way, and I like it like that.

And just because I haven't used this one yet, :013085001176249046:

From the link posted above, here's a really nice picture of Ruben's wedding party.

I want to travel the world with Scarlett!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Unfortunately, the majority of people who have heard of Clay know nothing about his music! They don't know about what albums he has released since Idol. They couldn't name a Clay song - other than MAYBE "Invisible" - if you paid them. They couldn't tell you he was ever on Broadway. However, I would bet they could tell you that he supposedly is gay and trolls the internet to pick up guys. I bet they could tell you he supposedly impregnated his 50-year old producer - and not the old fashioned way. I bet they could tell you he was mean to little children at his Christmas concert a few years back. I bet they could tell you he's a known diva.

You live in a different world than I do. Most people I know don't follow celebrity gossip and have no interest in it. If they do hear a tidbit here and there, they don't believe it. If this is what being a Negative Nelly is all about, then you are one--you are emphasizing the absolute worst of his situation. Get some sleep, and if you're worrying about Clay, just don't. It's not your problem, there's not a damn thing you can do about it, you've already admitted that your fandom is top secret from everyone you know so you're safe there, so just go on with your life and enjoy whatever aspect of your fandom pleases you. If it's stuff in your RL bugging you, then hugs.

Congratulations on the new job, Iseeme. I'm jealous.

I'm loving all the pretty pictures today. MUAH!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

People will always ask when you are available, so you can just state up front that it's early September. Some people might not like that, but I haven't found anyone that seems to be in a hurry to hire these days. (Why hire new people when you can just overwork the old ones, eh ldyj?) Some of the jobs I'd applied for last year still haven't been filled. It won't hurt to get a little bit of a start in July, just to get a feel for where the market is right now, and how you're going to approach your search. It hasn't been that long since you were looking before, so you probably don't have a lot to learn, but if you're going to try new sources, positions, whatever, then the sooner the better.

I gotta look for those - I mainly remember him singing it straight - and most of the hamming during the JT stuff and as I might have mentioned once or twice (or a couple of million times), I freakin' love Miami WINY. And I coulda swore that was IT, but I'll check. I thought NAT was just James Taylor and that occasionally so hammy I could hear them oink.

You're correct. WINY was part of the acoustic set for the IT. And only the IT.

Ldyj, I saw this ad on Craig's list just now. Given your post this morning, it's kind of interesting in terms of how another institution is dealing with the same issues:

Private college in the Southeast is searching for a librarian to transform campus culture. This college is committed to making its library the center of campus life and equipping its graduates with the information/literacy and collaboration skills employers fervently desire.

The college is currently engaged in a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion project to modernize the current library. Additionally, the library staff will be merged with the IT staff. Information and information technology must seamless mesh in the service of education.

It will be the mission of the new librarian to reconnect students and faculty to the library and make it a proactive force in campus life. Students must come to see the library as a compelling resource in the development of their personal and professional lives.

Required skills:

1. A person who is comfortable with and schooled in the complete spectrum of library services.

2. An individual of exceptional technical expertise in the information technology arena.

3. One who possesses a dynamic, creative and entrepreneurial spirit and who wants to put a new heartbeat in a traditional institution.

4. The ability to lead, build consensus and develop supportive relationships with students, faculty, staff and administration.

Position Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Library Science

• Demonstrated experience at integrating information technology into a library and creating a learning culture.

• Ability to work harmoniously with various interest groups in creating a culture change.

Staff position (faculty status and rank negotiable for right person)

Non-teaching position

Compensation: $70,000 - $90,000 with full employee benefits package

This is at a non-profit organization.

The AOL thing. I've been kind of surprised that AOL hasn't been eliminating clicks from the same IP. They'd have to do that, or else anyone--a record company, an artist, a group of fans, could influence the rankings, as Clay fans have in this case. They clearly do this when they publish the charts: http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/hotweb/aol_music.jsp. As you can see, Clay is not in the top 10 for audio or video. Maybe it's just too difficult to keep the on-going online stats free of spamming, or maybe they just leave Clay's music out of the published charts without trying to figure out how many discrete hits the songs/videos get. On the other hand, the spamming does provide some visibility on the AOL site that the music might otherwise not get. The average person doesn't see the charts, but folks in the industry do, and some of them probably hear about the fans spamming AOL. Is it a pro or a con? Probably some of both.

I don't know why Clay's songs don't get downloaded that much at iTunes. It's a mystery. It isn't as if everything that sells there is Top 40 or "cool". It's probably true that the big sellers, those that sell in the hundreds of thousands and more, are Top 40, though. Dunno.

I don't know if it's that simple as wanting to trade. I still remember well being in a job I hated. It's just not good to be in a job or in a work atmosphere that is unhealthy. When I had the job I hated, the ethic there was that you work til you drop or you are not doing your job right. Every year someone in their 50s died. We're talking out of ~150 employees. Not good. Not normal. So I'm glad to be away from there, and I'm glad to be back home in NC, but I really was clueless about how difficult it was going to be to get another job. I've been unemployed now for two years, have applied for hundreds of jobs. The couple of times I've gotten interviews, I didn't even get the courtesy of a call back to tell me I didn't get the job. I think the fragility of the economy is affecting lots of people/companies in negative ways. It's a bad time to be looking for a job. So it's a conundrum.

There seem to be quite a few FCA women who share the Cancer zodiac sign....

Wonder what that means?

That we are a bunch of crabs?

OMG Scarlett (sweetie!) Wainwright's version of Hallelujah is one of my very favoritest non-Clay songs. :F_05BL17blowkiss: You listen to that song and think Leonard Cohen and then you listen to Song for Bernadette and you wonder what Cohen was thinking.......what a songwriter. The man is a genius.

He is indeed. Don't forget Suzanne, made famous by Judy Collins--great song.

Happy birthday, FearofH2O

:bday:

Yoo hoo, couchie, YSRN...from CH public access:

Hello,

Popping in to post links to a couple of montages I made to Falling and Everything I Don't Need.

I used favorite characters from General Hospital. Thought I would bring them over in case anyone is on a soap board or knows someone who is on one that could post them there. Would be a great way to make those fans aware of these songs. Here are the links:

Falling

ETIDN

I had so many quotes it was a mile long. I'll just all the people I agree with.

Hellllllooooo everyone!

Helllllooooo and welcome gothedistance.

And welcome to TayforClay and CG's lurker buddy. And hello again to my friend LonelyNoMore. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Heh, my BIG break from the boards was Hockey Gate. If I could survive that, I figure I can outlast everyone else.

Mine too. And a shorter one around ATDW release time (and I was moving).

This board isn't perfect--there are days, but we mostly just want to have fun. Look at pretty pictures. Talk about some interesting stuff. Admire Clay Aiken and his .... talent.

Hi to PoisonIvy too. And Jaycee (for delurking). Am I missing anybody???

Welcome TayforClay and PoisonIvy. Both of you have familiar sn's. Hope you like it here.

Hey, I'll take one of those slushys...might as well since I'm sitting on my butt watching YouTube all night! I'm enjoying this immensely.

This one is particularly relevant this week:

It's In Every One Of Us

Apologies if this was already posted.

I love this one. Great pictures, Clay with children all over the world, Clay's singing, the song is perfect for the subject--what more could you ask?

Wow! I'd buy one too.

OT. Is anyone else watching "classic albums" The Doors on VH1 Classic? Really, really interesting program. Not just another rehash of anything about that era. This is a really intelligent analysis. With great footage. On VH1. And it was made in 2008. Tonight might well be a rerun; it's VH1 after all.

"Magic comes through you. You don't own it." (member of the band whose name I didn't catch)

Just ended. Keepingfaith, go find lightmyfire and ask her what she thinks. I'll have to watch this again and actually watch (instead of doing 5 other things at the same time I was "watching"). Rolling Stone had a long article that I read in the drs. office one time about Morrison's last days. I never quite got the cult of Morrison anymore than I get Kurt Cobain or Amy Winehouse, but I understand it a little better now. But what was really interesting was taking us through this album in such detail, how each song came to be, how the band came to be and developed.

Just got back about an hour ago from 2 1/2 hours of dental surgery. Whoopee!!

I know these cycles. My life has BEEN these cycles. I WANT to get my ass in gear again---literally and figuratively---but I haven't found the 'switch' yet. There's always been a 'switch' that seemed to click and then...I was ready to effect change for myself.

This is me too. I can so relate to this. For me, the biggest fear in my life has always been having to take care of my mother, so I had to start living my worst fear. Or I thought that was my worst fear, and now I think it's that I will become my mother. I think I'm better at the first these days, don't have a handle at all on the second. My mother has literally spent the last 20, 25 years of her life in a funk, sitting in her chair all day worrying and feeling sorry for herself. It's like she never found that switch the last time.

Thanks for the key info--it was I who asked. Here's what I have so far, and if there are other posts with more info, I missed them, so sorry.

OMWH: Eb major

Ashes: f minor

The Real Me: E major

LAA: Eb major

As Long As We're Here - c# minor

Here are a couple more:

Falling: f minor

Forget I Ever Knew You: G major; ends in A major

It's In Every One of Us: G major

Thank you!

jmh, was it you that asked about the keys of the songs on OMWH? I didn't comment on LAA and OMWH, but I can at least tell you that LAA and OMWH are both in the key of Eb major.

gbmifan, I'm sooooo happy for your test results!!! YAY!!!!! :clap:

I'll be having an MRI of my lumbar spine on Thursday evening after working all day. Maybe that will be good - I'll be too tired to fidget after being at work all day! Anyway, I don't think they'll find much on the MRI. I think the cause of my sciatica is piriformis syndrome rather than a lumbar spine issue. Piriformis syndrome is an impingement of the sciatic nerve by a tight or scarred piriformis muscle. I'm working with a physical therapist and doing some stretching exercises to see if we can reduce my pain level.

I've had sciatica and mine was caused by a tight muscle on the nerve. Eventually a combination of massage and medication got it straightened out, but it lasted years. Good luck with your test!

YAY for good results for gbmifan!!!

Thanks for the key info--it was I who asked. Here's what I have so far, and if there are other posts with more info, I missed them, so sorry.

OMWH: Eb major

Ashes: f minor

The Real Me: E major

LAA: Eb major

As Long As We're Here - c# minor

Welcome, drmchaser and

Welcome grammarian and anyone I've inadvertently missed. Glad to have all the newbies!!

Welcome lizzybutts!! If you like to look at pretty pictures, laugh a lot, and be happy most of the time you are in the right place.