#16 Veins flowing with personality, thighs dripping with character.

[Ansamcw]

Oddly enough, I feel badly for Kim. I imagine she was really wanted it and not just for selfish reasons. Some one was correct, it probably was when they were all together filming interviews for AI rewind and maybe Clay has learned he can't leave things open ended because the media is insane and friends can have dreams.

I would still love to see reunited as a TV special. Maybe when Clay gets that TV show he wants.

I just wish he did not have to say it so forcefully, it really made me sad.

I feel bad for her too. I don't know her and don't know if she would do this deliberately...but knowing the media..I would put the blame there. CG...I agree that we really do not want Kim bashing here. Could Clay be pissed at her? Thats between those two.

I would bet (yeah I know I lost the last one) that the idea came about when Kim sang for Ruben's benefit. I bet they were so happy to perform together...they probably called Clay up and started talking about getting together. Its possible Clay got caught up in the moment and said that would be a great idea....but on further examination...realized its not a good time for him.

I still wouldn't be surprised if it was his idea, originally, and after the fiasco the last couple of days, he changed his mind.

That really and truly would sadden me, disgust me, and come perilously close to being my burnt puppies.

I am not remotely interested in a Clay Aiken who bends to the will of some strident fans. Blargh.

If it was his idea I think he would've owned up to it. Clay is a gentleman and pretty honorable...he wouldn't say it was floated by Kim if it came from him.

I also agree that he probably only found out about this after blogging. I think that is why his blog was a bit strong...

[jumpingjacks]

I have earned the title of "gnat" over at the OFC. Isn't that lovely?

Who is that other stargazer over there...sheesh...if they hadn't locked the thread I might have had to call her a poopy-head....

[Couch Tomato]

Let's not discuss specific fans here - I know I know - a fine distinction - but one we try to follow.

But sorry Stargazer, oh ye of the pretty pictures.

[Claygasm]

Just a question. Some on other boards are screaming from the rafters that Kim engineered this whole thing to gain publicity for her upcoming Christmas CD - which isn't really a CD but just a digital download. My question is - since I don't get out much - if you were not on Clay Aiken message boards would you have even heard about this?? If you were just a normal person in the market for a Christmas CD would you be reading Billboard? Or press releases? Has this been "all over"? I haven't heard of it anywhere but the original Billboard blurb and the mention in her press release - which hardly said it was a done deal - and the one DJ mention that was brought over here. Has it been in the regular newspapers?

I am serious because sometimes I think here in Clay land we lose sight of the real world. We forget that the world does not revolve around Clay and that to most of the world, Clay isn't even on their radar. Other than Clay, Kim or Ruben fans, would anyone really care about the idea of this tour? Would the idea that Kim might be touring with Clay make any normal person interested in buying her Christmas CD? And if Kim knew it wasn't true, she had to know Clay would rebuke the article once he knew about it and that would result in PR of the unwanted kind.

So how does it make sense that Kim was using Clay? To most people Clay means nothing. How was it going to help her CD sales, or her career in any way, to float something she knew wasn't true and would be rebuked?

Makes no sense to me.

[Couch Tomato]

I don't know either Claygasm but they are on their fuckin' high horses now and the nasty stuff is now starting on her TWoP thread. ClayNation is graceless. I discovered that through the ATDW fiasco and I believe it more fully now. Yep we can get together and do some amazing things for Clay now and then but it's simply not enough to cover the crap. I just hope ya'll - cuz I'm not going out there - don't have to listen to it for the next week. Maybe Clay will don his undies and do a stripper dance on his next flight - his scandal place of choice. That might distract people.

And with that I'm going to watch a movie..something a bit more peaceul -- say The Last King of Scotland.

[ldyjocelyn]

At one time I was proud of the power that I perceived that Clay's fans had and that they wanted to use it to support him. Now I'm disappointed in the power they think they have and that they seem to want to use it to control him. I know this is a small percentage of his fans, but man they are so vocal. I'm glad that Clay is a strong man.

Bolding mine. That's what I have to keep telling myself, over and over again....in order not to let some of these people get to me. He IS a strong man -- not a boy, a man. He's pushing 30 (*swoon*), which means IMO that HE gets to make decisions. Anyway, my point is that I'm sure he probably does a better job at dealing with a few very vocal, controlling fans than I do.

Gibby, I totally agree on the litigious society we live in today.

And CG, this....

I think its ok to be disappointed in choices Clay has and will make. I know I have been in the past, and am sure I will be again in the future. I think the difference lies in recognizing the fact that they are HIS choices to make - like them or not. It is HIS life and HIS career and he has to make choices based on what HE thinks is best for both. Not what I think is best - or what any other fan thinks is best. He has people in both his professional and personal life that he trusts and whose opinions he values. If he wants advise and feedback, he can go to them.

...is beautifully said. Bravo.

CG also makes a good point about the exposure of this story. I know it came in my Google News alert (I dropped the blog alerts a LONG time ago, but still keep the news alerts), and I seem to remember reading that Ken Tucker from USA Today mentioned it in his music blog. Past that -- I'd say "nada." I'm sure most AI fans aren't even aware of this story. I think you're totally right in that this was truly a blip in the radar, except to the die-hard connected fans. And I don't think it affects KLo's sales at all. Piffle.

couchie, you don't realize how sad that makes me.

Will someone please rescue me from the top of the page?!?!?!?! Heeeeeeeeeeelp....

[Ansamcw]

I don't know either Claygasm but they are on their fuckin' high horses now and the nasty stuff is now starting on her TWoP thread. ClayNation is graceless. I discovered that through the ATDW fiasco and I believe it more fully now. Yep we can get together and do some amazing things for Clay now and then but it's simply not enough to cover the crap. I just hope ya'll - cuz I'm not going out there - don't have to listen to it for the next week. Maybe Clay will don his undies and do a stripper dance on his next flight - his scandal place of choice. That might distract people.

And with that I'm going to watch a movie..something a bit more peaceul -- say The Last King of Scotland.

Know what? thats typical human nature for you..after some of the OTT fan anger and hysteria, they need to focus their anger on someone else. Some people will never admit they were wrong...they would now make Kim the villain.

[Claygasm]

I don't know either Claygasm but they are on their fuckin' high horses now and the nasty stuff is now starting on her TWoP thread. ClayNation is graceless. I discovered that through the ATDW fiasco and I believe it more fully now. Yep we can get together and do some amazing things for Clay now and then but it's simply not enough to cover the crap. I just hope ya'll - cuz I'm not going out there - don't have to listen to it for the next week. Maybe Clay will don his undies and do a stripper dance on his next flight - his scandal place of choice. That might distract people.

And with that I'm going to watch a movie..something a bit more peaceul -- say The Last King of Scotland.

Yup - and they are talking about is as FACT!!

I hate this fandom sometimes. No maybe not hate - but I sure as hell am embarrassed of this fandom. And you know what happens? It is talked about AS FACT by certain people on some boards who some believe really know what they are talking about and then those quotes are taken to other boards where it is then taken as fact and before you know it, if you don't believe it is fact, you are an idiot!

We saw it pre-ATDW. I hate that we're seeing again. Will they ever learn? We as fans know nothing unless Clay tell us - and even then we know sometimes he doen't get his facts straight!

[Couch Tomato]

so that poll is really close.. I should have put on there who is free for either. Live and learn.

[liney23]

I'm just to thankful that my love of all things Clay Aiken hasn't led me to feel any entitlement to his choices in life.

Please, Please, Please, if I should ever post that I'm disappointed in some choice he's made - just hit me over the head and send for the men in the white jackets.

All I ever want from that man is for him to continue to sing to me, entertain me, keep getting gigs on TV so I can be grinning from ear to ear, trying new things that amuse him because they will then, for sure, amuse me, wearing cutting edge jeans (tight) and gorgeous designer suits and jackets with the casual elegance he exudes.....................and once, just once before I die............perhaps front row tickets....

Bolding mine.

I, myself, "just once before I die" want a M&G SRHP Tour style.

I went and read his blog and then a few of the comments. I sure am glad I'm not Clay... some of those comments hurt me and I'm not even him, if you get my drift.

Couchie, Ansa, not mods... thank you so much for this haven of non-angstsy/non-controlling peeps!!!

[muskifest]

Oh god.

I'm still at work.

It's 8:30 here...I have now been here since 7:47 am and I am tired.

I will most likely be here another hour at least.

I need a drink.

And a good long hard fu hug...

And a nice stiff co drink...

[AnAmeraikenInTX]

Lots of great posts today. I quoted some a lot, but the list grew too long. I don't think I'm even going to venture anywhere else tonight. Prewarned and all that is a good thing. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Now, let's see, I think I wanna post some pics................ BRB.

Edited September 12, 2007 by AnAmeraikenInTX

[Couch Tomato]

I love orange shirt short haired Jukebox Clay

Long hair is nice too though

WOW this is a beautiful photo. Where'd it come from? Don't ask me I just RCAS and I don't do any photoshopping or nothing so it wasn't me!!

and there's a few other folks showcasing distinctly not mod behaviour so they better watch out. Every time we get three new members we need another mod..or I'd still wonder how my experiement would work if we made everybody a mod. heh..oh the mayhem, the editing, the fun!!

[YSRN]

Couchie, Ansa, not mods...

[champion124]

Lots of great posts today. I quoted some a lot, but the list grew too long. I don't think I'm even going to venture anywhere else tonight. Prewarned and all that is a good thing. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Now, let's see, I think I wanna post some pics................ BRB.

Oh yeah, more pictures. :F_05BL17blowkiss: I am really enjoying all the great photos tonight. Thanks to all. That man is a tonic, for sure!

[jmh123]

Someone accidentally linked this article to me today in an e-mail, http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/clay-ai...d-wins-1836.php. There are a lot of quotes from the Time article, and some fannish sounding stuff, but also some thoughts I found really interesting, like the Aretha comments. I was surprised how different the Time quotes sound to me now. When I think about this and the Classics banter, "So that's how you get on the radio, you sing about butts," when I compare the MTV show the other night with Clay's shows, then I see that it's really the same dilemma and there was nothing veiled about it then. Clay won. "Put some balls into it," says Clive. I can just see him saying it. And not recognizing that there's somewhere between "balls" and Manilow. This time Clay didn't win, but he still put himself into both the album and the tour, and I was impressed. I would never doubt for a minute that he could sell 100% Velveeta and enjoy doing it, but I think he also likes a challenge and likes to learn. He may not be introspective, but he is complex and a mature thinker. I don't think anyone needs to worry about him sacrificing art.

But the man loves his friends and he really doesn't want to be as big a star as some of his fans want him to be, and he does love him some cheese and glory noting and some more cheese. He was discovered on American Idol, Hometown Connection was his baby, he wrote (and I loved) the JNT05 story--this is who he is. I wish people would stop being afraid that he is who he is, and the kind of art he relates to, but give him a little credit too. I wish people would realize he is smarter and more knowledgeable about his own career than 99.5% of his fans, and just relax, get out of the management biz and settle down for a long and varied and entertaining decades long career. Sure it's fine to speculate about things, but it isn't fine to have a fricken collective existential meltdown over a piece of unverified, and, it turns out, false information.

And it isn't fine to then turn around and malign Kim Locke. No one knows what role she had in this either.

Edited September 12, 2007 by jmh123

[clay4shore]

If you have read my blog at the OFC or at Carolina On My Mind, you know I AM GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER!!!

Bear with me, as this is somewhat Clay-related, parts of which are not in the blog. :eusa_whistle:

Due to fluctuating blood pressure and protein levels last week, my daughter Jennifer was put in the hospital for complete bed rest and monitoring for the remainder of her pregnancy. Her BP stays down as long as she is on her left side. The original birth date of Oct. 10 now will probably be around the end of September.

Meanwhile, our grandson-to-be is looking good. As of last night, an ultrasound revealed his weight at 5 lbs. 7 ozs., good muscle tone (a whole lot of arm and leg exercising going on!), good diaphragm development (the doc said he's been practicing his breathing exercises). Jen said he even yawned for the camera.

If this little guy takes after our family, he will either be a musician or writing a blog at his earliest convenience. We already know he has has good rhythm.

Sorry I don't have art for this beyond the first ultrasound, but Jen said that every time the baby's picture is taken, the technician raves on and on about his manliness.

"Seriously, Mom, I have what could qualify as 10 baby porn pix," she said. This is the first one as a clickable:

Clickable

As I wrote in my blog, we appreciate the prayers, thoughtful gifts through the virtual baby showers at Amazon and Wal*Mart, as well as your kind concern while we await the birth of a guy who is certain to be a Clay Aiken fan.

Have a great week, all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Caro

Caro, Being a Grandmom is absolutely the best part of my life.

We have 2 sons and 4 Grandchildren

Step-Grandaughter 7 and Grandsons 4, 3 and 2...

They call me NaNa and my husband is PopPop

The only drawback is they live 2 hours away from us.......

I will keep your daughter in my thoughts and prayers.

You are truely entering into a wonderful stage of your life.

~~just fixin' some formatting

[jamar1700]

Oh, but it has happened, and more than once

Oh I'm aware. Which is why I half expect it. Hee.

----

Other than Clay, Kim or Ruben fans, would anyone really care about the idea of this tour? Would the idea that Kim might be touring with Clay make any normal person interested in buying her Christmas CD?

Um. Yeah. That's a big disconnect for me, too. I mean I vaguely remember acting like a normal person in my not-too-distant past and it would never have even crossed my mind.

---

---

Hey! I'm a personal manager now!

Edited September 12, 2007 by jamar1700

[playbiller]

Hmm - does anyone think that this fandom must have the messiest hair and the worst makeup in fandom - you know, because people never seem to look in mirrors, especially when assigning guilt.

Congradulatiopns Jamar post whore looks at membership for 2 years and 3000 post count - looks at Jamar's 4 months and 500 post count!

Sorry BC - I have no comeback for the uncalled for attack on my smilymen.

I do have to say, I write these long comebacks and them delete them a lot on many boards, maybe I should do it here as well. I do research and then toss it - after a day, nothing is important. This was 9/11 day and I remember standing in the street watching the towers burn, thinking that there but for.... I has a weird feeling in 2000 that my Mom was Ill, she looked fine, drove herself around and sounded fine, but I felt something was off - so when I was offered 2 jobs - One in the WTC for a nice amount of change and one in NJ for a lot less, I chose the one 20 minutes from my Mother's house. She had a stroke 3 weeks after I took the job, so the gut feeling was correct. I had given my work and home numbers to all of the neighbors and one called me in time. I stayed in the lesser paying job after Mom died some months before September. Fate is odd. Still the stench was all over Secaucus for weeks after. Such a stupid time for people to be so upset overa concert.

Edited September 12, 2007 by playbiller

[jmh123]

Bites tongue really, really hard.

Really hard.

Have I mentioned that I love you guys?

ETA: yeah that, play. I delete a lot of stuff too.

Edited September 12, 2007 by jmh123

[duckyvee]

But damn if it didn't shine a brighter light on ugly.

so true

[Thankful4Clay]

Yeah, you better keep that thought here. I've been moderated into oblivion for expressing that thought elsewhere. *shrug*

I half expect to someday be moderated elsewhere for what I say here.

Yup, someone will snitch on you.

I missed all of the angst because I can't access the boards while at work. This is one day that it worked out really well for me.

This place is sane, and believe it or not, Eayor at RHT was pretty sane too. I think the smaller boards seemed to have handled this better.

[muskifest]

I'm finally going home...

You guys soooooo Rock! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[Gibby]

Oh god.

I'm still at work.

It's 8:30 here...I have now been here since 7:47 am and I am tired.

I will most likely be here another hour at least.

Go home, Muski!! And sweet dreams when you get there.

I do have to say, I write these long comebacks and them delete them a lot on many boards, maybe I should do it here as well. I do research and then toss it - after a day, nothing is important. This was 9/11 day and I remember standing in the street watching the towers burn, thinking that there but for.... I has a weird feeling in 2000 that my Mom was Ill, she looked fine, drove herself around and sounded fine, but I felt something was off - so when I was offered 2 jobs - One in the WTC for a nice amount of change and one in NJ for a lot less, I chose the one 20 minutes from my Mother's house. She had a stroke 3 weeks after I took the job, so the gut feeling was correct. I had given my work and home numbers to all of the neighbors and one called me in time. I stayed in the lesser paying job after Mom died some months before September. Fate is odd. Still the stench was all over Secaucus for weeks after. Such a stupid time for people to be so upset overa concert.

Ah, perspective. Thank you, play, for reminding us that our little problems are just that - little in the grand scheme of things.

[ToldForThis]

I still wouldn't be surprised if it was his idea, originally, and after the fiasco the last couple of days, he changed his mind.

That really and truly would sadden me, disgust me, and come perilously close to being my burnt puppies.

I am not remotely interested in a Clay Aiken who bends to the will of some strident fans. Blargh.

AMEN! I don't believe for a moment that this was what happened. I would swear that several months ago, on one of the boards, someone quoted an interview with Kim L (not sure if it was a radio or print interview), where she said that her ideal concert experience would be with Clay and Ruben. Does anyone else remember this? That is why when the report of this "Reunion " tour came out, I truly believed that it was a possibility. While I'm not exactly heartbroken that there is no truth to it, I'm really hoping that some of the more OTT fans take the opportunity to take a step back and look at their reactions to this story. It kills me to think that Clay needed to appease all of those who were ready to denounce their fandoms because they felt he was making career decisions they didn't agree with.

there is a you tube interview that was supposedly from last April ...... floating around someplace....... It is a benefit that she did with Ruben and I believe she mentions wanting to do a tour with Clay and Ruben.