#25: TONIGHT'S THE KNIGHT! Knock 'em not-quite dead!

[muskifest]

JUst checked out a couple of reports from people who went to the shows.

I swear, I can't stop getting all teary hearing about how he seems to be improving and becoming more comfortable and accomplished with each performance. I'm sooo proud of him and happy for him, I'm bursting.

I love that man.

[luckiest1]

From CH:

Be still, my heart! I may pass out! Those pigs are still flying by!

Variety re-posted the article Friday about Broadway box-office grosses--it appears that the first one, with the picture of Clay, is still online, so this is the second posting in a week of the same info. But check out the NEW HEADLINE!!!

Spamalot's Feat of Clay

It's the SAME article - reposted online - with a new headline that specifically highlights Clay's contribution to Spamalot's increased box office last week. In Variety.

DAMN. What a week this has been for Clay. I'd sure like to know what the critics are saying... but I'm thinking that TPTB over at Spamalot are VERY happy right now with what they're seeing and hearing.

eta... riversend22 recap from CB:

Well I was at the show again tonight and once again, it was fabulous. Clay was amazing and I just love how he keeps getting better and better. His solo tonight was flawless. And I could swear that he was staring me down again during the piano part..but maybe I was just imagining that..LOL.

Nothing truly out of the ordinary happened..but since I was so close..I did overhear Clay ad lib something which was hilarious. During the Camelot scene while the girls are dancing after they pop out of the baby carriages..while Clay was looking at the one I heard him say "come to daddy baby!" and I just started CRACKING UP! It was sooo funny. I sorta wish more people could have heard it..but I gotta be honest and say that I loved it..LOL.

Ok, so skipping to stage door...Clay came out really quickly..probably about 10 minutes after the show ended. He was signing playbills and stuff and then he gets to me. As he took my playbill he looked at me and smiled and said "we were making fun of you (or he said laughing can't remember) so badly at you tonight." and I replied, "me? why?" ( cuz I was shocked, lol) and he said with this cute look on his face, and the tone that he used on mike and juliet..he said "cuz you're loud!" haha. So then I said, "yeah I know" and he replied, "but we loved it," with a huge smile on his face. Then as he went to go sign my second playbill I jumped in and said "you don't have to sign that one," and he looked at me and then looked at the playbill confused and he said "oh I already did!" haha, smiled and then he carried on. It was wonderful. I was just shocked that he actually initiated the convo...very cool.

I did get some nice pictures, so here they are. I hope you enjoy them. If anything else happens this weekend I'll be sure to let you know..HAHA

... and some stage door pictures HERE!

[aikim]

Good Morning Everyone,

99 Days until The Closing Night of Spamalot!

101 or 108 Days until The New CD (depending on the release day; assuming it is still in May...keeping fingers and toes crossed! )

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[claytonic]

Here's a neat video at YT .. song is "Boy From New York City", appropriately sung by Manhattan Transfer!

Of course it is all about OUR boy!

[claytonic]

Have a look ... his socks don't match? >>>

I found a post at TWoP that said his socks don't match.

[ROFL.. gosh, so it's not only the members here who scrutinise every detail of his body..... ]

Of course, I couldn't see his socks... then I read another post that said if you ENLARGE the pic and then look at the socks.... and lo and behold, they don't match!

Now, how this information is going to solve the problems of the world, I don't know... but I just had to post it. It's too hilarious for words, I can't believe the poor guy cannot get away with ANYTHING!

[Ansamcw]

Hee...the mismatch socks is something he does regularly...he even mentioned it on an interview once...just one of the many interesting quirky trivia about Clay....

[keepingfaith]

I think by now the mismatched striped socks must be an official trademark of Clay Aiken. I knew I'd lost it when I started buying striped socks to wear in the winter.

ETA: I just remembered something I saw and was curious about: I saw Ringo Starr for a few minutes on LKL last night just as Larry was asking him about the controversy between him and Regis & Kelly. Ringo said that the problem had nothing to do with Regis and he still loved Regis. I had to leave at that point, but anybody know what happened? He sure didn't say he loved Kelly and Gelman!

[claytonic]

HAHA goes to show I wouldn't pass a trivia test about Clay Aiken! I didn't know about the mismatched socks, but the part I found REALLY funny was the instructions on zooming in and taking another look!!

[Bookwhore]

kf here's the article about Ringo:

Ring Starr Walks Off Regis & Kelly

by Colleen on January 23rd, 2008

Here’s some much needed NON Heath Ledger news. Former Beatle Ringo Starr walked off Live with Regis and Kelly yesterday morning after being told that he’d have to cut his songs down to 2 and a half minutes or less. Due to a miscommunication, Starr didn’t know he needed to do that until he arrived to record on Tuesday morning. Producers for the TV show say that the time requirement for the song has been expressed numerous times since Starr was booked to appear in November.

Starr left the studio saying, “Good bless and goodbye. We still love Regis.”

No love for Kelly? And Gellman really couldn’t make an exception for Ringo-freaking-Starr?!

I wonder why he said "We still love Regis?" and conspicuously didn't express the same sentiment for Kelly? You have me curious now. I'll have to do some searching. Instead of working.

More.

Ringo Starr bolts from 'Regis' gig

By RICHARD HUFF

DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR

Wednesday, January 23rd 2008, 4:00 AM

Russell/AP

Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr broke a date to play for Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa Tuesday because his song was too long.

Less than an hour before he was to perform on "Live With Regis & Kelly," Starr walked off when he and producers couldn't agree on the length of his performance.

The program has a rule that songs not go longer than 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

A show spokeswoman said Ringo's camp was advised of the time constraint when he was booked in November.

But when he did a run-through yesterday morning, the song took nearly five minutes. "Live" producer Michael Gelman was willing to go 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Starr's camp said it couldn't be cut, and he was gone.

"They refused to keep the performance and the interview commitment," said the spokeswoman.

James Brown is the only other performer to walk off after being unable to meet the "Live" time limit. In that incident, 12 years ago, Brown arrived with a full-scale performance that had not been agreed to beforehand.

"We offered to cut back our chat time and asked them to fade or go to commercial," Starr's spokeswoman told The Associated Press. "They were not willing to do that and Ringo was not willing to cut it further, so without a compromise we were not able to stay. Ringo left saying, 'God bless and goodbye. We still love Regis.'"

I can totally understand why they didn't want him to sing the whole song. The more attention the guests get, the less face-time Kelly gets for showig the world how cute and funny and witty and fascinating she is. I mean, after all...we know who the real 'star' is, don't we?

[liney23]

Bookwhore... I read somewhere that during the interview part with Ringo the subject got onto the size of Ripacrit's butt. I'm figuring Ringo didn't care for her hogging his time, especially when they insisted he cut his song time. So, my read is that her need to be the center of attention during his time pissed him off just a little.

[bottlecap]

The Legend of the Stripey Socks:

First spotted in the fall of 2005 when Clay was participating in The Insider's coverage of the Emmys.

Became a trademark during the Christmas Tour of 2005 when Clay was dressed in all white.

The mismatched sock thing started early in 2006 when Clay posted some pictures from a fitting that showed his feet in mismatched stripey socks. Now it's a "Thing" that the fans come to expect.

[keepingfaith]

I googled some of the stories this morning and found this part of the story from MSNBC to be quite funny. This regards Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) who was performing with Ringo:

However, Stewart had plenty of criticism for the show, calling it “disrespectful treatment of us as artists.”

“Four minutes (3 minutes and 40 seconds, actually) seemed like an appropriate amount of time for a former Beatle. Mr. Gelman apparently felt Ringo’s musical legacy should take a back seat to additional banter about the size of Ms. (Kelly) Ripa’s derriere,” he said in a statement.

So they wanted to cut Ringo's song down to two and a half minutes for more time to talk about Kelly Ripa's ass?

Bottle, thanks for that historical pictorial -- I didn't know any of that!

[Bookwhore]

I googled some of the stories this morning and found this part of the story from MSNBC to be quite funny. This regards Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) who was performing with Ringo:

However, Stewart had plenty of criticism for the show, calling it “disrespectful treatment of us as artists.”

“Four minutes (3 minutes and 40 seconds, actually) seemed like an appropriate amount of time for a former Beatle. Mr. Gelman apparently felt Ringo’s musical legacy should take a back seat to additional banter about the size of Ms. (Kelly) Ripa’s derriere,” he said in a statement.

So they wanted to cut Ringo's song down to two and a half minutes for more time to talk about Kelly Ripa's ass?

Butt...butt....it's a famous ass. It's a cute ass. It's an iconic ass in showbusiness. And the camera must.be.on.kelly at all times, even the backside. Because she's known around the world for her almost-40-year-contribution to the entertainment industry.

Ok, I'll stop now. I just don't like her. I'm not a huge Ringo fan, either, but you gotta admit...who's the legacy here?

[Ansamcw]

I googled some of the stories this morning and found this part of the story from MSNBC to be quite funny. This regards Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) who was performing with Ringo:

However, Stewart had plenty of criticism for the show, calling it “disrespectful treatment of us as artists.”

“Four minutes (3 minutes and 40 seconds, actually) seemed like an appropriate amount of time for a former Beatle. Mr. Gelman apparently felt Ringo’s musical legacy should take a back seat to additional banter about the size of Ms. (Kelly) Ripa’s derriere,” he said in a statement.

So they wanted to cut Ringo's song down to two and a half minutes for more time to talk about Kelly Ripa's ass?

Well I used to be a regular viewer and now...can;t stand that woman. I really used to like her but the incident with Clay just showed me an ugly side of her. I would feel like this if she did that to any other artist BTW. It was just Diva, ego driven moment. I bet that attitude is really hurting her cos I bet this is how she usually is now...

but I still love Regis.

[muskifest]

claytonic...that IS a hoot about the mismatched socks pic and when I multi-enlarged it , I also noticed that Clay must really love those shoes/boots. The sole is coming loose on one of them!

Of course, he tears my soul up mucho times, too.

[claytonic]

Bottlecap THANKS.

I didn't even know about his striped socks trademark!

Do fans turn up at concerts in striped mismatched socks? It could be a good trend to continue... then when you lose a sock, you don't have to throw it away... just find another odd one to 'match' it.

[ivy]

I'm disappointed in these day-time talk shows. They spend more time on the hosts and small segments. Do you think it is because the producers buy into the theory that the young generation can't handle the longer segments because they have short attention spans? So they run interviews that last 5 min or less and bring on ph because of the hits on his web site. Yuck! I'm thinking there is a real opportunity for a new format that allows for longer interviews and less focus on the chit-chat of the hosts which I often find boring. What also happens to me is that I tend to turn the channel more frequently away from those shows. It gives me the chance to find something else to watch or to pop in a DVD.

I was wondering why the interview portions of these shows was so short. Now I think I understand the reasons behind it and I don't buy it.

ETA: I love stripped socks and have worn them for years. I have one really cute pair with frogs on the top. A young guy in our office (much too young for me btw), thought the socks were great. I think he thought it was cool that an older professional would do something so different. One day while shopping, he saw a pair of stripped socks, thought of me and bought them for me. He left the firm recently. I wore the socks on his last day to say goodbye. To tell you the truth, some of the other people in my area are rude to others. I think he did it as a gesture of appreciation because I gave him guidance and let him handle his problems, didn't jump down his throat if he did something that didn't work but made light of it and directed him towards the right solution.

[muskifest]

From someone's report posted on CH. Please note the bolded parts and then go ahead and slide off your chair...

Nothing truly out of the ordinary happened..but since I was so close..I did overhear Clay ad lib something which was hilarious. During the Camelot scene while the girls are dancing after they pop out of the baby carriages..while Clay was looking at the one I heard him say "come to daddy baby!" and I just started CRACKING UP! It was sooo funny. I sorta wish more people could have heard it..but I gotta be honest and say that I loved it..LOL.

ohmy .

[Ansamcw]

Bottlecap THANKS.

I didn't even know about his striped socks trademark!

Do fans turn up at concerts in striped mismatched socks? It could be a good trend to continue... then when you lose a sock, you don't have to throw it away... just find another odd one to 'match' it.

oh this trend is alive and well in my house. My two daughters do not bother pairing socks anymore.They say its just more pactical

I'm disappointed in these day-time talk shows. They spend more time on the hosts and small segments. Do you think it is because the producers buy into the theory that the young generation can't handle the longer segments because they have short attention spans? So they run interviews that last 5 min or less and bring on ph because of the hits on his web site. Yuck! I'm thinking there is a real opportunity for a new format that allows for longer interviews and less focus on the chit-chat of the hosts which I often find boring. What also happens to me is that I tend to turn the channel more frequently away from those shows. It gives me the chance to find something else to watch or to pop in a DVD.

I was wondering why the interview portions of these shows was so short. Now I think I understand the reasons behind it and I don't buy it.

ETA: I love stripped socks and have worn them for years. I have one really cute pair with frogs on the top. A young guy in our office (much too young for me btw), thought the socks were great. I think he thought it was cool that an older professional would do something so different. One day while shopping, he saw a pair of stripped socks, thought of me and bought them for me. He left the firm recently. I wore the socks on his last day to say goodbye. To tell you the truth, some of the other people in my area are rude to others. I think he did it as a gesture of appreciation because I gave him guidance and let him handle his problems, didn't jump down his throat if he did something that didn't work but made light of it and directed him towards the right solution.

I have really stopped watching these shows and I realize that commercials are really so long, I thing they simply try to put in so many stuff into the hour they are allotted.

[playbiller]

Didn't the striped socks start in 2005 and we started getting sock reports from each concert, but at that time they matched. We figured it was just Clay's way of distracting fans from other topics sort of like the ears comment at the begining of Ai2.

R&K - I guess they figure that their "fans" have limited attention span and would turn off the show if a song was too long. There were probably studies done and no exceptions are to be made. As to Ringo, I don't really consider him iconic, but a man who was in the right place at the right time.

Truthfully, I am tired of the 5 minutes at most philosophy that permeates TV now. I do miss long interviews, but realize that I have an attention span myself. I watched Bill Moyer yesterday and can't tell you what the subject was. I used to be far more attentive than that. I think he was talking to John Grissom about corrupt southern politics, but it could have been the show before him.

[ldyjocelyn]

I gave striped socks to many of my Clay-centric friends for Christmas in 2006. I only have one pair at this point, and need to get more. I love them. Plus, they are a fairly subtle way to be a Clay fan without screaming "I'm a Clay fan!" Hee.

ivy, try Charlie Rose on PBS. One hour, usually only one guest.

As for the state of talk shows....I think it's all just the personalities involved. Some hosts have egos bigger than themselves (hellooooooooooooo Ripa!). The View can be like that too, but I still like (most of) the ladies there -- IMO it's a good coffee clatch, with a variety of opinions. The late night shows are not much better either. Mark the time from when Leno, Letterman, even Kimmel begin their show until their bring out their first guest. It's usually about 40 minutes, including commercials. In those cases....well, their name is on the show, and egos tend to match.

Society today, as a whole, tends to be "short attention span" theater anymore. There are good sides to this, actually -- IMO it causes sometimes quicker thinking. You have to be fast to pick up some jokes and things like that. But there's a lot bad to it too.

muski, I saw that last night. I LOL'd for a half hour over that comment from him. Gotta love him.

[keepingfaith]

Maybe that's why Clay wants a talk show so badly. He's been on enough of them to see how ego-driven they are and I think he wants to change that model.

I hate talk shows now and I used to love them. When I was a kid I rushed home from school to watch Merv Griffin because he introduced me to interesting people who didn't necessarily have a new movie coming out, or a new book hitting the shelves that week -- just fascinating, funny and talented people that the audience got to know through that show. I was a kid and I loved some of the older guests, including writers and philosphers, who engaged my mind while making me laugh and usually gave me something to take away and think about. The shows now are primarily promotion, promotion, promotion. It's empty and sad. I think the marketing madness in this world totally SUCKS!

[Bookwhore]

Nothing truly out of the ordinary happened..but since I was so close..I did overhear Clay ad lib something which was hilarious. During the Camelot scene while the girls are dancing after they pop out of the baby carriages..while Clay was looking at the one I heard him say "come to daddy baby!" and I just started CRACKING UP! It was sooo funny. I sorta wish more people could have heard it..but I gotta be honest and say that I loved it..LOL.

Ok how many of you have spent the last severl minutes imagining those words said to you in that sweet southern drawl, accompanied by perhaps a glint in the eye and his jaw set just right.

**whimper** :17f71c4d:

kill me now.

[bottlecap]

Too much sock trivia in my brain! An Entertainment Tonight interview from December 2005 where Clay talks about the stripey socks with the white suit:

"It's killing me!"

gif by Belly Aiken at CV.

[playbiller]

Hmm, looks like the grants from BubelAiken are worth noting.

Grant list blog

Friday, January 25, 2008

Grant of the Week: Bubel/Aiken Foundation

The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, created by Clay Aiken of American Idol fame, "focuses on programs that help bridge the gap that exists between young people with special needs and the world around them."

While the 2007 grant cycle is closed, and the 2008 has yet to officially begin, now is a great time to start thinking about applying for the October 31, 2008 deadline!

According to the Foundation's web site, they provide "much needed funding to qualified programs serving families in need of funds to assist individuals in life skills and one-to-one social skills, but more importantly, to programs that provide social interaction with non-disabled peers. [They] will fund the development of curricula and the necessary training aimed at achieving full inclusion in the educational, employment, and recreational settings."

Check their grants pages in the future for further information: http://www.bubelaiken.org/GrantsPrograms/G...62/Default.aspx.

Posted by Grants Librarian at 2:25 PM

Labels: Clay Aiken, Disabilities, Grant of the Week, Inclusion, Special Needs