#18: He has always had the VOICE! But, boy has he ever learned to use his instrument!

[merrieeee]

How many times can a normal, reasonable, intelligent woman watch a 4-second clip of a man walking into an auditorium in slow-motion and still be considered normal, reasonable and intelligent?

If you have to ask.......well then it's too late! There is no hope!

I just love being on top!!!

Hey Permaswooned joined us! Yay!!!!! Welcome!

[PermaSwooned]

Uncle!!!!!

I kept telling myself that I need another Clay message board to post at like a hole in the head.

I told myself that it was enough that I had found the message board and with it some of my favorite cyber-friends that I thought didn't post anymore.

I told myself it was enought to just read and laugh. Yup. That's what I said.

But then.....

Someone quoted Inigo Montoya (from The Princess Bride)

Someone else actually knows who Christine Lavin is!!!

Then someone else noted that they are following the same crazy CITH pattern that I am....Waukegan, Kalamazoo, D.C.

I give up. I don't post enough to worry about one more board anyway.

So....a few thoughts....

Scarlett & merrieeee, you definitely need to keep an eye out to see if Christine Lavin makes it to Houston. She invites attendees to join her for a knitting circle either before or after her concerts. She used to have quite a big concert segment on the plight of the planet Pluto. That's before it was de-planetized. I'm not sure how she dealt with that. Also, how many folk singers conclude their set with baton twirling? I mean, really.

I am SO empathizing with Clay's body type problem. I spent most of my youth as an emaciated twig. Stop laughing, y'all. I entered high school at 5'5" and 79 lbs., and no, I did not have an eating disorder. My adult height is 5'7", and spent most of my twenties at 107 lbs., and even at that weight I still had a double chin. When I finally reached 118 lbs., I got the poochy tummy. Most people asked if I were pregnant. It was a total shock when my metabolism died in my 40s. I still can't seem to master the whole diet/exercise thingy. My 1st husband, his Dad, and my son all have the same body type. Of course we're not in the public eye where we're being figuratively weighed and measured by fans and the media on a constant basis. Thank God for that!!! {{{Clay}}}

Love the pic of Clay on the 5th Grader set. I was there that day, but was behind and to the side when that shot was taken. Those kids just swarmed around him...talking over each other and showing off. Beyond adorable. Can't wait to see the whole show.

In order to try and win myself a welcome, I thought I would drop off a present. In honor of all the eHP members here, it's from the Houston DCAT.

Any stubble fans here???

...nervously hits submit....

[duckyvee]

I haven't been able to lurk at work for almost 3 years. You get used to it. You learn that it's still all there waiting for you when you get home.

True, but it's easier when you can space it out. Actually, I read so little anymore that it doesn't really take up much of my time.

We have a Network administrator, but our network (multiple hospitals) is huge, so I'm counting on the fact the he/she/they are too busy to care about anything that's not blatantly illegal.

[Scarlett]

Need to reposted this on a new page...

Thanks for the link, FromClaygary!

Awwwwwwwwwww, isn't he just adorable! Loving all the "new" pictures. He always looks great with kids.

No time to ship. I'll just sit here, staring... Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!< unicorns, puppies, bunnies, rainbows! >

*waves madly at Permaswooned!* :nature-smiley-014: :nature-smiley-013: :laola0:

[playbiller]

Internet scroll -

Work with network administrators - not every place has one. It has to be a large enough place to make it worth thier while to track employees. It is mostly used by large corporations that don't know what a good worked does. Even with a network administrator, I got around it all by being the weird person in the company (just following a life long pattern of being the odd person out). Since I had legacy projects and the company was bought/merged several times and sold off parts, I ended up getting my internet services though another company that could not care less about how I wasted my time. I also had an office, where I swapped the computer around, so I faced the door - no surprises - I told my boss it was because I was jumpy and got so intense I did not hear the door open, In reality, it allowed me to close screens when he walked in. Add to this mix being my bosses delegate me as the boring meeting attendee and almost all of these were cross country and done via phone and "net meeting" - I surfed a ton forthe last 2 years I worked there. Before that, it was a glance at lunch, because I really had to do actual physical work, not silly management charts that did nothing for the project, copying figures from one spread sheet and putting them in others.

OK, done.

Almost time for heroes! Then back to cleaning out the pantry - unbelievable the amount of stuff I had in there - my house is bursting - and it is all in the basement in my new cabinets down there.

[FromClaygary]

Just bringing this over from CV via Rainlover....

iTunes has up "Groban, Aiken and Buble - A Beautiful Christmas Mix". 22 Songs - $21.78

12 Clay Songs

9 Groban Songs

1 Buble Song

I don't have access to American Itunes...can someone have a look and tell us what it's all about?

Reruns or new ones (and I'm NOT talking Groban's )

ETA: Oh, for heaven's sakes..... this followed.....sorry to get everyone all excited!

It's a user generated imix. It's not an official record. It's essentially a recommendation list by itunes users. The only restriction is that the songs have to be songs that can be purchased at itunes (nothing uploaded from your PC to itunes).

[Couch Tomato]

any ding dang times you want and still be considered normal, reasonable and intelligent.... I refuse to accept that any other answer is possible... there simply can't be any other answer, could there? No, of course not. I didn't think so... really.

No, really.

I totally agree. heh.

Not going on during the day is VERY hard for me but I'm making myself do it. But does not going on a Clay site help me out any....no because suddenly find myself playing spider solitaire . I need a distraction at work so I don't go nuts. And I don't walk around chatting, talking on the phone. I don't even take my breaks normally and I eat lunch at my desk while working at least 3 days a week. It all evens out as far as I'm concerned. I'm actually doing this kinda to prove to myself that Im not completely obsessed

Cousins...people seem to feel strongly one way or the other on this one. For me I guess "kissin' cousins" came from somewhere. On my dad's side of the family, all of my first cousins are girls until I was like 25 years old and then everybody since has had boys. My brother was a very lonely boy at family gatherings because it was just a bunch of girls. I saw my mom's family once every blue moon at a family reunion as they all lived on east coast. I don't get squicked out by folks getting together who are related due to marriage. And I keep forgetting how Jamie fits in.

any other subjects dujour... to pooch or not too pooch? Clay's gained weight...no doubt about that one. IT's good to know he's just like the rest of us. heh. He actually looks bigger in photos to me than when I see him in person. He was always SOOOOO thin for his frame...bound to happen.

[bottlecap]

EYELASH SHADOWS!

[Couch Tomato]

Uncle!!!!!

I kept telling myself that I need another Clay message board to post at like a hole in the head.

I told myself that it was enough that I had found the message board and with it some of my favorite cyber-friends that I thought didn't post anymore.

I told myself it was enought to just read and laugh. Yup. That's what I said.

But then.....

Someone quoted Inigo Montoya (from The Princess Bride)

Someone else actually knows who Christine Lavin is!!!

Then someone else noted that they are following the same crazy CITH pattern that I am....Waukegan, Kalamazoo, D.C.

I give up. I don't post enough to worry about one more board anyway.

So....a few thoughts....

ahhh..hey Perma..the first crazy Clay fan I ever met right outside the Hard Rock Cafe for the Sacramento AI2 pre party. I saw you across the room at Fifth Grader and did a "I love him so much" sign... heee ... I think you understood exactly what I was saying. Anyway, welcome -- I wasn't going to nag you out of lurkdom but am so happy to see you. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[playbiller]

Work administrators don't care about what you do, but it is their job to produce reports of internet usage and hand it out to various managers. The individual managers can decide if they want to use the information or niot,. If they love you, they will toss it. If they are looking for something to use against you, they willuse it. Sometimes the reports go to your bosses boss, basically it all depends on them and you.

As a side issue, one company I was a working as a consultant, and during lunch, I was planning the 50th anniversaery party for my parents, making phone calls. The manager called me into his office and asked why I spent an hour a day on the phone, since I rarely took personal calls when a consultant (heh, things change when you become an employee!). I explained that I was eating lunch at my desk and charging calls to my home phone. Aparently there were problems with their phone system and they were being charged 10 times as much as I was, so I was racking up hundreds of dollars of calls. I gave them my home phone bill and they were happy and went off to attack their phone company, I never heard anymore about it. Internet usage is a lot like that, If the companyh depends on people to be able to access thier information for clients though the same bandwidth that you are streaming, there is an issue, especially when multiplied by thousands.

I did use my report of internet usage of my employees to explain to them about the best and safest way to surf and not get fired by limiting it to so much a day and staying off questionable sites. I had one problem with a woman who shopped for about 5 hours a day. I told her to cut it to lunch hour and I would not bug her anymore, it was a deal she kept.

[muskifest]

ETA: just noticed that he still has on the ring that the fans gave him during DCAT. How cool is that? (at least I assume it's the same ring)

Ah, but I also noticed that he was ring-less at Ruben's concert! Now...let's just start extrapolating, shall we?

Perhaps the ring carried too many memories of Tyra and his many rendezvous with her and he just couldn't bear to wear it when with his new wom...er, his not-so-new cousin. Wonder what Jamie thought of his clandestine lunch at Jean Georges with Ms. Banks....

Great pic with the AYSTAFG gang! And Gibby, a COMB?!?~? I'd go with my fingers first and then perhaps my lips or tongue.

Couldn't get Shadow to the vet today...no appts. available and he calmed down some today. I swear, I think he heard me calling the vet! So Mr. Muski's gonna take him in tomorrow. Thanks for all the good wishes, folks! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

And welcome to PermaSwooned and SecretlyLovesClay---photographer and videographer extraordinnaire!

And can someone among you all explain to me WHY I always get an extension to file income taxes, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE DUE A REFUND, and then STILL risk getting a speeding ticket on the way to make the last pickup/postmark for the final due date?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

I'm having a good ole' time imagining Clay having a fun, happy, and....fulfilling personal life, yes I am.... :image008:

[merrieeee]

I look at this pic and all I can think is.........lucky women sitting behind him!

[jamar1700]

It has to be a large enough place to make it worth thier while to track employees. It is mostly used by large corporations that don't know what a good worked does.

Welp, in this neck of the woods anyway, it is also used by taxpayer supported entities to protect themselves. Schools, Libraries, State Offices, Counties, et al. usually want to make sure that nothing untoward is happening on their watch. A worker might not always be made aware of what type of information is collected but that doesn't mean the information isn't in someone's file somewhere.

---

And can someone among you all explain to me WHY I always get an extension to file income taxes, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE DUE A REFUND, and then STILL risk getting a speeding ticket on the way to make the last pickup/postmark for the final due date?

Well I have no idea but maybe my X-husband could clue you in. *g*

[liney23]

Agreed about the resemblance to Marie Osmond! And as far as shipping Clay & Jamie - I think the two of them and a few close friends or relatives are the only ones who know the true nature of their relationship. And that's how it should be. Clay's entitled to a private life. I think it's equally possible that (1) she's a good friend and that (2) they are romantically involved. If they are romantically involved, what better cover for Clay to call her his cousin (even if it's not by blood, and it's an extremely remote cousin)? That way, no one hounds her, and they aren't in the tabloids. But, on the other hand, he likes having women friends, and it she could be just that - a good friend. Whatever way it is, I'm glad Clay has found someone to hang around with!

Gibby... you said what I was going to say... especially the bolded (mine) part. :14:

Permaswooned... WELCOME to posting!!! You give good :5: I have enjoyed so many of your pictures over the years... Thanks!!!

Now that I have found FCA, I have almost given up the other boards I belong to. This one is soooo satisfying on so many levels. :thsign27:

[Claygasm]

Um, Clay's pot belly is getting bigger!! If he doesn't watch it, he and Ruben may be able to exchange clothes!!! :o

In that second picture, doesn't it look like his zipper is down.....

Clay needs to learn that horizontal stripes flatter only the skinniest. They may work for socks, but not for tops.

Horizontal stripes must have worked for him all these years so he probably was just going with the familiar. He wasn't performing; he was in the audience, a member of the paying public. He could gone in a ratty old tank top with lots of holes and we needn't have cared..................

Hang on, yes we would've cared!!!

I'd like to see him imitate Ruben sometime...

ps. I think it was payback for all those times he made Quiana and Angela wear white! LOL!

BWAH!!! So true!!!

So, I was thinking about the alleged pooch while I was taking my lunchtime walk. ['Cause, yeah, I have my own pooch issues that need attention... ]

If the pooch goes, does the butt go, too? Because that would be kinda sad...

Based on the pocket style, those are the same jeans we've been seeing him wear for a year or more, so I'm thinking any apparent weight gain over the period ain't really all that much...

Geez, I think we need some REAL news to discuss! :lmaosmiley-1:

Or, maybe he just has pairs of the same style jean in various sizes to accommodate his ever increasing belly!!

I don't believe its as big as in the picture where he looks pregnant, but I don't believe its an illusion either. The belly bothers me because its not healthy and if he doesn't do something about it now, it will only be more difficult to get rid of later. (I should know....)

Plus, like it or not, he is in a business where appearance matters. Maybe it matters too much, but it matters. He is still hot, but if he lets that belly get much bigger.....

As a friend said to me, how can you lust after a man whose belly sticks out further than his.... um, his Waldo!

yup I don't think the gain was all that much either...but thats the kind of weight gain that is hard to lose...not just diet but real exercise with weights. I am actually getting quite used to the way he looks now. He's looking more like a successful business man or happy family man.

Or he looks like a guy who hangs out at a bar drinking beer every night!

I know there's no point in shipping Clay with anybody because there's just no telling with that boy. He is a tease you know. But discounting her because she's Clay's step-father's aunt's granddaughter is pretty weird to me. That's no blood relation at all, and there's nothing to indicate that they grew up together or had established a cousins identity with each other growing up. She didn't get a mention in his book when he was naming everybody but the dogs. He mentioned Nanny McGhee's grandchildren, and all his cousins from Ray's side, but no Jamie. Just saying, she apparently lives with him, travels with him, and goes out socially with him --- no matter what, she's way more than a distant, no-relation cousin. But even if she's just a hairdresser/companion, and Clay is helping her through a bad time in her life, or whatever, they always look great together, and happy. Am I the only one that sees her strong resemblance to Marie Osmond?

The thing is...he keeps saying, "This is my cousin." A cousin, to me, is not a distant relationship in any shape or form - it's very intimate. Almost sibling-like but not quite. You can flirt with/have crushes on/battle with cousins and it means nothing besides, "That's my cousin". I had a cousin whom I hadn't spoken to in a couple of years (wasn't angry, just hadn't spoken to him) get up in the middle of the night, drive to where I was living out in the woods and 8 months pregnant because I thought I heard something. I just hang out with cousins. That's what cousins are for. You don't even have to be especially nice to them - just their mamas. I have one that I will call "Jamie" until the day I die - his wife used to try and correct us. You might see him as a attractive, dignified man - I see my cousin "Jamie" who informed me that all McDonald's hamburgers were made of earthworms.

I guess it's just nothing I've ever seen in their interactions (what little I've seen) falls out of treating her like a cousin. Hell, I've sat on cousin's knees. They're cousins - it's one of their jobs!

EXACTLY!! Its how HE perceives her and apparently he thinks of her as his cousin. Otherwise why would he always introduce her that way? What did we know of Jamie? He could have just introduced her as the girl who did his hair. But he CHOSE to introduce her as his cousin. That says to me that is how he thinks of her. It doesn't matter what their legal relationship is or whether or not they grew up together. It only matter how he thinks of her. If I introduce someone as my cousin, I am implying a familiar relationship which, to me, eliminates a romantic relationship.

Oh there were kids in the picture......I'd better go back and look. Nah! don't see any kids

Kids? What kids????

Welcome PermaSwooned! Your pictures are always breathtaking.

[KAndre]

One of the few joys of my job is that I have to live on the 'net - and often look up all kinds of weird stuff (the movie clips I had to download for closing dinners - I am so sick of the 3 stooges - caddyshack - wall street - AAAAHHHHH). But in general I go where I want - they just block the sites they want us to avoid.

I was watching Dancing With the Stars and they did Iris - and man, if I hadn't heard Clay sing it, I would not be interested in hearing it again...but Clay sings it so hotly!

[Cotton]

I look at this pic and all I can think is.........lucky women sitting behind him!

Anybody besides me think he looks like Dustin Hoffman in that picture???

[Claygasm]

Ok, just saw this and the quote from that church in Wichita almost made me want to puke! Talk about making him into something he's not!

Every few months, it seems that the sexuality of Lycos 50 favorite Clay Aiken (#10) is called into question. Clay jumped in interest this week after the National Enquirer reported that Wichita Central Christian Church was "under attack" for hosting an upcoming Christmas concert by Aiken due in part to questions surrounding his sexual orientation. The church countered that this rumor is absolutely false, and released a letter touting Clay's devout Christianity. The letter said, "Clay has always spoken openly about his Christian beliefs. He doesn't drink, smoke, swear or womanize. He won't sing about sex or use lyrics with innuendo. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine in July 2003, Aiken clearly stated that he is not gay." As long as Clay is still not gay by Christmas, he will still be scheduled to perform.

Lycos.com

Yeah, the man has never used sexual innuendo!! Have these assholes ever been to one of his concerts? Ok, probably not, but honestly! He has said he doesn't "drink" in the sense of his drinking excessively, but has been seen with a glass of wine. As for the swearing - he's said CRAP! And I would bet money he has said a whole lot worse! He is not a fucking angel!!!!

But perhaps the part that angers me the most is the statement that as long as he's not gay by Christmas he'll still perform. That CLEARLY implies that if he were gay, he would not be welcomed. The church may not have been quoted on that, but I feel quite sure that is the truth of the matter.

How can Clay go to a venue you like this???? How can Jesse???? How can anyone - Clay, the fans, anyone - support in any way a venue which is so intolerant and bigoted????

And they call themselves "christians".....

[Cotton]

Trouble is - didn't this

He doesn't drink, smoke, swear or womanize. He won't sing about sex or use lyrics with innuendo.

come from Clay himself in the RS article?

When he was a lot younger and more naive.

[Couch Tomato]

I don't think he said all that in RS..but it's been years since I read it.

It's an interesting dilemma Claygasm. You clearly wouldn't go but I've seen pretty good explanations from people who are going. I'd go to support Clay and Jesse if I could. There is more than one way to deal with this issue. They don't know Clay very well and it will be intersting to see if he says anything about any of this.... officially or during the concert. And maybe he won't address it directly but indirectly though what he does say. I'll be listening that's for sure.

ETA: Jamar, yep after reading that lycos link..it's way too many layers of junk to filter the truth. If it does get cancelled I'll go Clay Aiken fan on somebody though.

[Bookwhore]

But perhaps the part that angers me the most is the statement that as long as he's not gay by Christmas he'll still perform. That CLEARLY implies that if he were gay, he would not be welcomed. The church may not have been quoted on that, but I feel quite sure that is the truth of the matter.

How can Clay go to a venue you like this???? How can Jesse???? How can anyone - Clay, the fans, anyone - support in any way a venue which is so intolerant and bigoted????

And they call themselves "christians".....

Gosh, CG, I don't think there's anything clear about it at all. It doesn't say a thing about what their beliefs are, it only states what Clay says his are. In no was is it implied by the church that he would not be welcome, and I don't see the intolerance or bigotry. And how can you be quite sure of what the church meant if that quote wasn't from them in the first place? Who said that, anyway - the part about 'if he's still not gay by Christmas'? Sounds like somebody's poor attempt at humor, to me.

I think Clay will feel quite comfortable going there...it's a church, after all. He grew up in the church, it's his God's house. He's probably as comfortable there as he is in his mother's living room.

[playbiller]

Lycos in general has been very nice to Clay in ignoring what it can. I cannot say that this was a slam at him. I go with the flow - we know this is the same old same old that has been circulating from the pig to various "fan" blogs. Lycos does not do any more research than any news organization. It is the internet, we do not know what to believe.

Why can't I get into running up and down the stairs lugging things? I have it out of the pantry and on the floor, I just need to move it to the cellar.

[jazzgirl]

In other words, he looks like an average 28-year-old guy who doesn't live at the gym, used to be excessively skinny but age is catching up with him.

I saw someone I hadn't seen in a few years yesterday who had lost weight and was surprised at myself for thinking that she looked much better before the weight loss. This person needed an extra 10-15 pounds so she would not look so thin in the face. I once heard an actress say that as a woman ages, she either has a good face or a good butt, meaning that if you have a good butt, you lose the fat padding in your face, and if you have a good face with a little fullness, your butt suffers.

I think Clay looks so much better than his seemingly anorexic AI days, but he does need to watch for an increasingly sluggish metabolism. The medications effects he really can't do anything about if the medications are helping him.

Wonder what Jamie thought of his clandestine lunch at Jean Georges with Ms. Banks....

That moves one marker from the shipping column. Tyra did seem quite happy to mention his name. Maybe we should move two markers.

As long as Clay is still not gay by Christmas, he will still be scheduled to perform.

I thought that line was funny. I viewed it more globally as stating that he is not gay and by Christmas he will still not be gay, in the same way that he won't turn Martian by Christmas. As for not drinking, smoking, swearing, or womanizing, Clay may still not do these things, depending on how strictly or liberally someone construes those terms.

[jamar1700]

Trouble is - didn't this

He doesn't drink, smoke, swear or womanize. He won't sing about sex or use lyrics with innuendo.

come from Clay himself in the RS article?

When he was a lot younger and more naive.

Actually Clay did say a lot of that in LTS, RS and other places. So he was younger and maybe he was more naive. So was I at that age but I didn't change my core values. If anything people tend to get more conservative as they age. Clay seems to be pretty solid in his foundation in Christianity. I don't think it's something he will "outgrow." JMO tho.

I think the last line was outside of quotation marks for a reason.

Does anyone know for a fact that Jesse has a problem with a venue having a problem with his lifestyle? Maybe Jesse doesn't give a rip.

[spikesmom]

As long as Clay is still not gay by Christmas, he will still be scheduled to perform.

I took this to be one of those stoopid comments by the Lycos author of the paragraph in a half assed attempt at humor.

ETA: I do have to add that I really do appreciate reading everyone's take on different things... interesting all the different perspectives...