#22: Which brings us to Clay Aiken, as most good conversations should

[Cotton]

So TOTALLY OT . . .

Check out my foggy morning!

Fog on the Bog

[zena]

Good morning everyone!

Today was supposed to be the last day for me to travel to Winnipeg (about an hour away) and finish my Christmas shopping. Alas, I woke up to a nice friendly raging Manitoba blizzard and they have closed all the major highways. Maybe I'll be baking cookies instead......

Although I'll admit I'm feeling rather sad about missing the massage I had booked mid afternoon.

It actually is really quite beautiful outside.

K'Andre, Scarlett, Couch Tomato, as you anticipate Minneapolis, just repeat this little mantra; Snow is beautiful, snow is beautiful, snow is beautiful.......

Incidently, K'Andre, if you start giving me a hard time about my beloved tundra, I'll have to challenge you to a duel. I've been polishing up my Dollarama sword; make sure you're in top sporking form.

In the past few days, I've reconnected with some local fans after a longish period of silence between us. My roommate at the Hilton and I talked for a hour about Clay yesterday and it was just fun. Other than the boards, I hadn't done that for a long time. It was somewhat reassuring to me to rememeber that there are more fans of Clay out there who actually don't care to run Clay's life, who just want to enjoy him and all that he so generously offers us.

It seems to me that the ridiculous, the inappropriate, and the extreme so often generate popular attention; subsequently morphing into pages and pages of round and round the mulberry bush.

This tendency can and does overshadow the quieter joys and the long awaited thrill of others exeriencing the opportunity ( as in this latest fiasco) to meet Clay and talk with him. I often wonder what changes between the elation of before: " OMG, I just won a Meet and Greet" and after: Clay was "bossy" "demanding" or "insulting".

If only perception would not overshadow reality so often and so persistently!

The words we use to communicate with one another are all read and understood through our own personal filters. I heartily applaud the back and forth dialogue here that attempts to clarify ( but not necessarily justify) the words we understand differently than others. This, I believe, does help us to move toward meaningful communication without the nastiness of polarization.

I guess I could not pass up the opportunity to win a Meet and Greet just because Clay might turn out to be a real human being. I admit, I am very fond of my "fantasies" but I much prefer real people with all their assorted foibles. I am a very human type person myself, and honesty is my

best worst fault.

This is pretty cool, posting in the daytime. I feel so alert!!11!

I'm not going to "WORD" anyone in particular for all the wise words I've been reading cuz I :F_05BL17blowkiss: every last one of you!!!!

Safe travels to all the concert goers!

[muskifest]

By the time I caught up, others had already highlighted quotes that I was going to:

Fear's list of things Clay would do if he were truly evil! BWAH!

KAndre's definition of 'pissy'--RIGHT ON!

Much, but not all of Play's rant! :14: (I can't get upset over the word 'pissy' and don't see anything wrong with asking about him wearing tights. I would, however, have been quite 'pissed' if the woman had actually SAID, "I'd like to ask about your penis, Clay...will we be seeing it and its two friends lovingly and prominently displayed in some very revealing tights when you're on stage?"

However, since she didn't and since Clay has a freakin' bawdy sense of humor that he often bandies about in all kinds of company, and he already KNOWS that we enjoy looking for Waldo and in fact has teased us in public at a concert about not aiming the binoculars below his waist, I really don't think he would get his tights in a twist at the question about tights. )

I'm with the crowd that thinks that much of all this bullshit on the boards now is about the fans' themselves and not Clay. Hey! People have written miles of posts about how much they'd LOVE to just sit around and talk with Clay, just shoot the shit, etc. Well. Guess what? That's what he's doing in M&G--as much as he can, given that he doesn't really KNOW you and has about five minutes to spend with YOU YOU YOU! And guess what else? He's himself! OMG! Imagine that! He IS a sarcastic little shit and I haven't heard ANYthing yet from people's reports that surprise me, really. He's said himself on stage that he sometimes engages his mouth before letting the neurons fire in his brain and he continually does just that--in real life and on stage.

WHAT THE FUCK EVER. We all do.

And his doing that is Clay being Clay. The idea that he can so easily say and do things that are CLAY with these few strangerswhoinsistthattheyknowhim in a nightly 20-minute "hihowareyawhat'syournamewhereareyoufromdon'ttakenotesnobunnyearpicturesetc" setting blows my mind, actually. He's letting us IN, people! This is the man. You wanted to just sit around and shoot the shit? Alrighty then, why are you so surprised/upset/angry when the :hitsfanrs5: You asked for it--you got it.( if only )

He has a sharp tongue (slurp) and sometimes goes a bit too far, most likely, but I imagine he'd be happy if somebody sparred with him instead of going crying to MommyBoard and tattling on him. Put ME in that room with him---I'll shoot him some oneliners! Let him tell ME to stop writing!

I will.

Because he's being so fucking gracious about letting me hang out with him when he doesn't have to and he doesn't know me from squat. What the hell am I doing writing when we're chatting, anyway? I don't take notes when I'm sitting around shooting the shit with a friend...

WTF?

Ah, another day. Got some worries of my own, but you know what?

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

ETA: Oh, and by the way, Gibby....don't think I don't know WHY that particular picture inspires you.....heh. Yeah...I KNEW I loved you for a good reason...

[luckiest1]

Scarlett, I hope you can get to your show. Hugs and safe travels to everyone travelling today and this weekend for a show. Special good thoughts to FromClaygary who is supposed to be leaving Ontario tomorrow for Williamsport and then heading on to Erie. Make sure you let us know that you got there safely! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[bottlecap]

So TOTALLY OT . . .

Check out my foggy morning!

Fog on the Bog

Lovely pics! I'm looking at fog outside my window too, but I bet it's warmer than 33 where you are. :15:

[KAndre]

KAndre eyes Zena standing tall on the tundra with the sword the eHP picked out for her...and figures out she's probably standing tall because her butt is frozen in place...it's hard to spork frozen butt, people!

Weather.com is listing Mich the freakin' frozen tundra Minneapolis as having a HIGH of TWENTY-FOUR DEGREEES for the 19th!

That has got to be against the law somewhere!

Yeah, snow is beautiful....just like that Siberian Tiger just before he eats you!

[YSRN]

As for the bunny ears. To me, this is similar to the people who wanted their picture taken with him with his hand over their mouth after Ripagate. He seemed to think that was hysterically funny and didn't seem to mind. So I can kind of see how the girl would have asked him if she could do that, based on history, without expecting him to object strongly. It seems with Clay, you never know what you're going to get, which is why he's so endlessly fascinating. Someone can go in with a totally innocuous question, never knowing if they're going to get a positive or negative response.

Exactly. Thanks bookwhore. I was typing something similar, yet way more bitchy... heh, so I'm glad you saved me.

This poor girl is being treated like a demanding troll. She was practically flogged on CV last night... I can't stand it. I'd love to have another M&G, but I know now that I would never post about it. I doubt I'll ever post a recap of anything again. You can't even trust people you've been posting with for four+ years. That girl has had nothing but nice things to say about Clay forever... she was disappointed and she trusted her "friends" to help her with that and instead was trashed to hell and back.

Why do disappointed fans get so much shit from the fandom?

Why can't someone just understand that awww, she's disappointed instead of bitching her ass out for how demanding she must have been.

Horrors! She asked for bunny ears. WTF? Is that really so fucking demanding?

Fine, the kid wanted a bicycle for Xmas and got a deck of playing cards... I hate that the world tries to squash feelings of disappointment with guilt trips. They're genuine feelings.

This kind of shit really bothers me about human beings. There are always "sides". I hate "sides". Argh. I'm gonna go make friends with that girl.

[cindilu2]

As long as people remember that it's the fandom giving her grief, not Clay. That's what's bugging me in all this, is that people are flogging him over it - and I'd be willing to bet he had no idea he was (apparently) hurting this girl's feelings. He didn't say - 'are you fucking nuts? BUNNY EARS??? Imagine the fun some people would have with that photo!!!' He said, no, you get what everybody else gets. I still can't imagine leaving the fandom over it (which is what she said in her initial recap, before any shit hit any fan), but then, I don't have to - she is quite free to feel however she feels.

[Couch Tomato]

ahhh YSRN and Bunny ears girl :F_05BL17blowkiss: Oh and while I'm at it why don't I give Ethel a hug too LOL since I saw some crap about her yesterday as well. I always say your posting history should account for something. Yesterday I was reacting to the reaction..I truly don't understand how things get so heated, so out of control around Clay Nation. I'm glad I stay in my corner. Not saying we're better than anywhere else but sometimes it's more overwhelming when you see posts from here, then there, then over there. THe cumulative effect can make you damn tired of the whole thing.

To all the travelers... in the words of Phil Esterhouse..let's be careful out there.

[jmh123]

It seems to me that the ridiculous, the inappropriate, and the extreme so often generate popular attention; subsequently morphing into pages and pages of round and round the mulberry bush.

This tendency can and does overshadow the quieter joys and the long awaited thrill of others exeriencing the opportunity ( as in this latest fiasco) to meet Clay and talk with him. I often wonder what changes between the elation of before: " OMG, I just won a Meet and Greet" and after: Clay was "bossy" "demanding" or "insulting".

<snip>

I guess I could not pass up the opportunity to win a Meet and Greet just because Clay might turn out to be a real human being. I admit, I am very fond of my "fantasies" but I much prefer real people with all their assorted foibles. I am a very human type person myself, and honesty is my best worst fault.

I like people real myself, and I like Clay just as he is. Hey, his foibles are well known by now. Your first point is an excellent one that bears repeating. I read two very moving stories from that night, from a reader about her experience and from a reader's sister, and these got completely overshadowed by the angst and bickering.

This poor girl is being treated like a demanding troll. She was practically flogged on CV last night... I can't stand it. I'd love to have another M&G, but I know now that I would never post about it. I doubt I'll ever post a recap of anything again. You can't even trust people you've been posting with for four+ years. That girl has had nothing but nice things to say about Clay forever... she was disappointed and she trusted her "friends" to help her with that and instead was trashed to hell and back.

In fairness to CV, her first post there was to tell her story--it wasn't exactly like they were life-long friends before. I don't think it's realistic to write a controversial first post at a board and expect a different reaction than she got. Whatever she said, some of it immediately got green inked, and I can't imagine that helped. I can see complaining on your home board, but not taking the argument to new boards. (Yes, she was a member already, but I doubt she'd lurked there often. She's a frequent poster at the OFC and doesn't seem like the quiet lurker type.) Why in the world would she do that?

She got lots of awwwww, and so sorry you were disappointed posts at the OFC. Yes, she was jumped on, but she was also supported, at the OFC and elsewhere. Hey, she got posters on boards all over the fandom declaring Clay an immature, rude, heartless creep for being mean to her.

[playbiller]

As for the bunny ears. To me, this is similar to the people who wanted their picture taken with him with his hand over their mouth after Ripagate. He seemed to think that was hysterically funny and didn't seem to mind. So I can kind of see how the girl would have asked him if she could do that, based on history, without expecting him to object strongly. It seems with Clay, you never know what you're going to get, which is why he's so endlessly fascinating. Someone can go in with a totally innocuous question, never knowing if they're going to get a positive or negative response.

Exactly. Thanks bookwhore. I was typing something similar, yet way more bitchy... heh, so I'm glad you saved me.

This poor girl is being treated like a demanding troll. She was practically flogged on CV last night... I can't stand it. I'd love to have another M&G, but I know now that I would never post about it. I doubt I'll ever post a recap of anything again. You can't even trust people you've been posting with for four+ years. That girl has had nothing but nice things to say about Clay forever... she was disappointed and she trusted her "friends" to help her with that and instead was trashed to hell and back.

Why do disappointed fans get so much shit from the fandom?

I don't think it is that she was disappointed (that is fine) but that she wrote Clay has lost another fan over his rudeness and that his refusal had her in tears. Now, anyone can leave the fandom anytime they want, but why bother to stop and post about it 50 or so times?

[YSRN]

In fairness to CV, her first post there was to tell her story--it wasn't exactly like they were life-long friends before. I don't think it's realistic to write a controversial first post at a board and expect a different reaction than she got. Whatever she said, some of it immediately got green inked, and I can't imagine that helped. I can see complaining on your home board, but not taking the argument to new boards. (Yes, she was a member already, but I doubt she'd lurked there often. She's a frequent poster at the OFC and doesn't seem like the quiet lurker type.) Why in the world would she do that?

The same reason if I was being talked about somewhere I'd try to go explain myself if I wasn't wiser than that.

Hey, she got posters on boards all over the fandom declaring Clay an immature, rude, heartless creep for being mean to her.

Oh yeah, that was her goal I'm sure. Why the hell would I hold her accountable for other fans being assholes.

but why bother to stop and post about it 50 or so times?

Because she feels hurt.

Whatever. I feel for her... I'm done with it.

[KAndre]

I hate that the world tries to squash feelings of disappointment with guilt trips.

Well, I tend to think that the world isn't so much trying to squash the 'feelings' so much as some of the expressions of them. Having them is cool. Occasionally, to be truthful, sharing them isn't always the best thing. Depends on the the sharer, the sharee and the situation. In general, people don't actually dance on people's graves - and in a fandom, a lot of people just don't want to hear bad things. I don't really think fandoms in general are set up to treat happiness with the object of the fandom and disappointment with the object of the fandom with equal weight - being a fandom predisposes a favoritism to the happiness side.

Sides happen. Choosing to make friends with the girls has chosen a side. C'est la vie.

[cindilu2]

Dumb question to which I now know the answer. nebbermind *g*

[luckiest1]

I read on CH that Clay has arrived in Morristown, and the venue thinks the show will go on as planned. Apparently some businesses and schools in the area are closed today because of the weather.

[Couch Tomato]

uh oh...dang it's that bad there. I hope the show can go on.

I'm a cold turkey kind of person. When I'm ready to cut something out of my life I just do it and shut out everything having to do with it until I'm free. If and when (HA) I ever get tired of Clay there won't be any preamble. I'll just disappear into my regular life. I've kinda done that with the fandom already. I used to read any and everywhere, daily. Now, not so much.

so hello sport fans... anybody else ready for the Mitchel Report?

[luckiest1]

Another article, this one from the Daily Item, Sunbury, PA.

Clay Aiken to bring sounds of Christmas to the area (click to read more)

WILLIAMSPORT -- One of the most joyous and beautiful parts of the holiday season is the music that celebrates this special time of year. From "White Christmas" to "Hark the Herald angels Sing," each note has the ability to evoke a cherished memory from a Christmas of long ago.

On Saturday, the sounds of the holiday season will fill the Community Arts Center when Clay Aiken, along with the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, deck the halls with holiday sounds with "Christmas in the Heartland."

"Each one of us has a special memory of the holiday season. That is one of the aspects that make this time of year so great. For me it was going to my grandparent's house on Christmas and be-ing with all my family," said the popular recording artist and "American Idol" runner-up in a recent phone interview.

[playbiller]

The weather out side is frightful .... and I am skeered!

[lilyshine]

I just have to inject this.

Anyone remember, or better have a copy of, the magazine picture where Clay, Ruben and some AI types are lined up with some dogs? Clay is doing the bunny ears thing to the person next to him. Might have been Ruben.

I'll have to try to track that down!

[djs111]

That was Vanity Fair, and he was doing that to Simon.

[cha cha trusty]

Must get to work, but I just wanted to drop this off.

I do love a great big Clay smile to start my day!!

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed some purty pictures on this page!!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Love this one CG - thanks for posting!!

[cindilu2]

I just have to inject this.

Anyone remember, or better have a copy of, the magazine picture where Clay, Ruben and some AI types are lined up with some dogs? Clay is doing the bunny ears thing to the person next to him. Might have been Ruben.

I'll have to try to track that down!

Yep, I remember that. I'm betting Simon agreed to it before hand though ;-)

[muskifest]

KAndre said:

Occasionally, to be truthful, sharing them isn't always the best thing. Depends on the the sharer, the sharee and the situation.

Oh, how right this is! And how is it that after my many (many, many) years on this planet I still share inappropriately (or with unfortunate effects) more times than I can count?

Ooops! That crying emoticon was an expressed, shared feeling, wasn't it?

Ooops! So was that laughing emoticon...I'm hopeless.

[bottlecap]

The weather out side is frightful .... and I am skeered!

:F_05BL17blowkiss: Don't risk your necks for a concert! If the roads are too skeery, stay home.

[KAndre]

Don't worry, muski - you are now our official bad example!