#34: So, how about that Clay Aiken?

[annabear]

Did y'all see this?

From CV

Drew Lachey and Stephen Collins replacements in Spamalot

No offense to Mr. Lachey or Mr. Collins - I wish them luck - but I'm glad I saw Spamalot when I did. Just as Clay was Sir Robin, I absolutely loved David Hibbard as Patsy (he is such a sweetie!) and Jonathan Hadary as King Arthur. I hope they're moving on to more great roles!

[Couch Tomato]

Did y'all see this?

From CV

Drew Lachey and Stephen Collins replacements in Spamalot

I think Stephen Collins will be ok in the part but Drew Lachey? Thank goodness I didn't have to sit through him..I'm one of the few in America that didn't like him on Dancing with the stars. Wait a minute..wasn't he in another broadway show just recently? I thought I remember passing by a stage door "crowd" for him while I was in NYC.

[djs111]

So, I finally called ATT about my crappy wireless conncection and they told me to

a. move my vases

b. move my phone base

c. make sure my modem/router isn't on the carpet.

d. don't get too close to the microwave

Gee, that's so techie.

On topic. I love Clay Aiken. heee.

Couchie - if you have a cordless phone, and your router is sending signals on the same channel as your phone, it will disconnect every time the phone rings at worst, slow up your connection at best. At least that is what happened with our FIOS and before that, DSL

[Cotton]

I think Stephen Collins will be a good King Arthur. i wasn't that enamored of Hadary.

But - maybe Drew will surprise people like Clay did.

I just can't see anyone doing Patsy as well as David. He just exuded such LOVE from his character!

I so glad I was lucky enough to see Clay and all the wonderful cast in SPAM!

[HeidiHo]

My goodness we are certainly claiming a lot of rights for ourselves, aren't we? Up to and including the infringement of Clay's right to privacy concerning a child that may or may not be his.

Heh. I think you, Ansa, KAndre, djs and I might have to join some polygamist thing where we can all marry each other. <g>

OMG, was that Frank Sinatra? Was it Russell Crowe? Will Clay be sued for assault? You can bet you'll see that again, and often. And .... it does make me go Yeah!

Hot. Very hot. I must have him. I’m pretty sure I can take Jaymes. <g>

You know, part of me says “let them take their nasty shots at Clay” because Clay is more than up to the task AND the uglier they get, the more people they will turn off. Seriously.

Looking for information ABOUT this TMZ place, and who holds their pursestrings, I ran across the following which spares no adjective in describing Harvey Levin's suffocating sleazebagginess. Interesting to read that he is backed by AOL/Time Warner. I know there is no good reason to ever underestimate the appetite for corporate greed, but this AOL/TW connection explains why CNN/LKL have attempted to legitimize him. This won't end until people stop tuning in, stop buying the trash rags, stop clicking the websites, and maybe picket and protest on the streets of New York and LA outside some of the studios that produce the garbage. The direct action of people is the truest way to affect change -- apply pressure and dry up the cashflow. Protest to CNN. Protest to FOX-TV. We should use our voices --- and NOT in defense of Clay Aiken, but in defense of our principles and our sense of fair play. There has been celebrity gossip all my life and before, but what's being peddled and exploited now is way beyond that. I notice that the conservatives I know tend to call this "the liberal media" and what it is is unregulated unfettered capitalism that rewards making a buck no matter how vicious the method. You make a lot of money, you must be a BIG SUCCESS, no matter the means by which you "earned" it. That's today's definition.

Protest CNN and Fox, sure, but really hit them where it hurts – write their advertisers, particularly if you are a customer. I did that when Conan equated homosexuality with pedophilia, which is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard on TV, Clay connection or no.

The liberal media idea was killed quite effectively 8 years ago (and before), but they still spout that party line and people actually believe it. I fight that one on a near daily basis also. All you have to do is start listing things about the Bush administration that HAVEN’T been shown on MSM and you make your point easily.

[ldyjocelyn]

I too think Stephen Collins will be good as King Arthur, but I also had a soft spot for Jonathan Hadary. He was the glue that held that show together, IMO. As for Patsy -- I would be willing to give Drew Lachey a chance, as I did like him on DWTS *blows raspberries at couchie* but David Hibbard captured my heart.

I've been doing a lot of thinking today, actually for the past few days. I'm not sure if much of this will make sense, but I'm writing it anyway. Sue me. (Oh, and I'll be talking in generalities too. Sue me again.)

IMO, one of the hallmarks of this fandom is the ability to find ANYTHING that mentions "Clay Aiken." Early on, this was an amazing skill to have, because the fandom was so hungry for information on him. After a while though, especially when the "mess" occurred, this ability really became more of a hindrance. It became a "need" to know, not a "want" to know. As Iseeme said, the defense was "to be prepared." Prepared for what? Anyway...it seems to me that this "need" to know is coming on strong again with this alleged story. Every single mention of Clay, derogatory or not, is posted on some of the boards. What happens? IMO, many times it's simply angst. It's hard to read the slams on Clay on a minute-by-minute basis, and yet, the behavior continues. Why? Why go to the sites that are known for not treating Clay well? IMO it's time to break this addiction. (Knowing full well that I'm a total hypocrite in this regard, for I will probably buy People magazine this week....Sue. me. thrice.)

The other thing I'll mention with this, because I know others have mentioned it before, but I come at it from a different viewpoint. I unsubscribed to the Google BLOG alerts for Clay, but I still do get the news alerts for him. The way they come to me, I can easily and quickly read the first sentence and decide whether they are important or not. IMO, it keeps my critical thinking skills working.

My other point is that this fandom is not a patient fandom. Waiting for clack anymore is killer. Waiting for news is worse. "We' want to know what songs are going to be on Clay's album a year before the album is released. A year? Seriously? OK, I'm exaggerating, but it sure felt that way to me. Waiting for something that may never happen, as in a press release over this situation -- I see it driving some of the fandom mad. It makes me sad to watch this phenomenon.

OK, I'm done now. Maybe. A nap would be good though.

[justclay12]

I'm glad that I saw Spamalot when I did too. I loved the cast in January although I loved Clay's performances better towards the end. And I wasn't really into Jonathan Hadary until I saw the young guy who did his part when he was out and it really made me appreciate him so much more. Maybe with all these people leaving the cast there many be hope for them all to make a movie. I think its only Rick and Tom (both awesome) who are going to be left. They'd definitely have to be in a movie if it gets made though because they were amazing.

[canfly172]

Did y'all see this?

From CV

Drew Lachey and Stephen Collins replacements in Spamalot

Awwwwwwwwwwwww... David Hibbard is so wonderful as Patsy.

[Iseeme]

Is Stephen Collins comedic? I think I've only seen him in dramatic roles. This will sound silly but I did like Jonathan Hadary - just thought he was too short! Hee! (Okay, please. All you short people....don't jump on me for that remark. I'm pretty thin-skinned today.) But I cant imagine Drew Lachey as Patsy. But then I guess there were people who couldn't imagine Clay Aiken as Sir Robin. I saw David H-P on Paula Deen's party show last night and was having trouble imagining HIM as Sir Robin.

ldyj - you're right about people in the fandom being impatient. I was watching the LAToday interview again this morning and Clay was talking about walking down a NY street with his UNICEF rep and her saying she's walked down the street with alot of important celebrities that were just ignored - unlike him where he's approached. Juliana (erf!) made some comments about how people "knew" Clay from AI, etc. and he responded with "they only know the roles the others play!" I'm paraphrasing but that's the gist of it. And I think that's why most are fearful of going months on end without a sighting or knowing what's going on in his life. We've known pretty much what's going on (well, except for THAT!) since he was on the show. It's been kind of a part of our daily lives. It does breed expectations and proprietary feelings toward him. Now we've just come off a period of time where we knew where he was almost every single night, got pictures and reports almost every single night. A new CD comes out and we're all happy that he'll be out on tour again and we'll know where he is and what he's doing. Then...............this! It's not computing for some....even though many are happy for him if it's true.

Just sign me,

Still Bewildered

[annabear]

And now for a completely different take on the story.... From our dear YSRN over at GCA:

Ya gotta laugh at the ineptitude of America sometimes.

From the blogosphere:

Clay Aiken to Have a son

June 2nd, 2008

image

Looks like Clay Aiken will be our newest Hollywood daddy. But from my understandings he didn’t even have to do the deed. The mother-to-be is Faye Parker, former American Idol.

[Ansamcw]

I too think Stephen Collins will be good as King Arthur, but I also had a soft spot for Jonathan Hadary. He was the glue that held that show together, IMO. As for Patsy -- I would be willing to give Drew Lachey a chance, as I did like him on DWTS *blows raspberries at couchie* but David Hibbard captured my heart.

I've been doing a lot of thinking today, actually for the past few days. I'm not sure if much of this will make sense, but I'm writing it anyway. Sue me. (Oh, and I'll be talking in generalities too. Sue me again.)

IMO, one of the hallmarks of this fandom is the ability to find ANYTHING that mentions "Clay Aiken." Early on, this was an amazing skill to have, because the fandom was so hungry for information on him. After a while though, especially when the "mess" occurred, this ability really became more of a hindrance. It became a "need" to know, not a "want" to know. As Iseeme said, the defense was "to be prepared." Prepared for what? Anyway...it seems to me that this "need" to know is coming on strong again with this alleged story. Every single mention of Clay, derogatory or not, is posted on some of the boards. What happens? IMO, many times it's simply angst. It's hard to read the slams on Clay on a minute-by-minute basis, and yet, the behavior continues. Why? Why go to the sites that are known for not treating Clay well? IMO it's time to break this addiction. (Knowing full well that I'm a total hypocrite in this regard, for I will probably buy People magazine this week....Sue. me. thrice.)

The other thing I'll mention with this, because I know others have mentioned it before, but I come at it from a different viewpoint. I unsubscribed to the Google BLOG alerts for Clay, but I still do get the news alerts for him. The way they come to me, I can easily and quickly read the first sentence and decide whether they are important or not. IMO, it keeps my critical thinking skills working.

My other point is that this fandom is not a patient fandom. Waiting for clack anymore is killer. Waiting for news is worse. "We' want to know what songs are going to be on Clay's album a year before the album is released. A year? Seriously? OK, I'm exaggerating, but it sure felt that way to me. Waiting for something that may never happen, as in a press release over this situation -- I see it driving some of the fandom mad. It makes me sad to watch this phenomenon.

OK, I'm done now. Maybe. A nap would be good though.

I totally agree with this. I think it really gives the fans a distorted view of reality too. I only read stuff that we get here and no longer go to other boards. I find I am enjoying my fandom more.

[Ansamcw]

And now for a completely different take on the story.... From our dear YSRN over at GCA:

Ya gotta laugh at the ineptitude of America sometimes.

From the blogosphere:

Clay Aiken to Have a son

June 2nd, 2008

image

Looks like Clay Aiken will be our newest Hollywood daddy. But from my understandings he didn’t even have to do the deed. The mother-to-be is Faye Parker, former American Idol.

THIS IS PRICELESS...BWAH!!!

[Iseeme]

OMG - that is hysterical!

[Scarlett]

So many nice posts today... could I just quote them all?!!! (sorry if it looks like a mini-thread)

And even if by some credible stretch of the imagination, you did spend enough to support him, it wasn't a gift out of the kindness of your heart - you either got CDs or a concert or a Broadway show or what the hell ever.

So.... how much does "what the hell ever" go for? *upends and shakes piggy bank*

I've had plenty of friends and many wonderful experiences in my life, yet somewhere in the back of my head was a little voice saying where are my people, where are my people. I'm sure that sounds completely batshit crazy, but I've never felt that I've been around people who think like me and I've compromised and understood and been patient with the people in my life, like forever. Anyway, I found my people -- and what do you know, turns out they are Clay Aiken fans. This is something I realized before I ever met even one of you in person. It has nothing to do with traveling or going to concerts or any social thing ... I just found a group of supportive and giving and open-minded people and the glue is Clay Aiken. I needed this moment of self-disclosure. You are my people.

FINally!

KF, that was so nice. Thank you.... and I ::heart:: you even if you belong to wandacleo!

...IF this is true...I don't see this behavior as contradictory to his wanting a family and children. It actually supports it. I don't think he is a conservative that believes the only valid family is a married man, woman and children. He is surrounded by examples of single women bringing up their kids Angela and Quiana...so I don't see why he wouldn't support Jaymes if she wants to have a child. I also see how he does not need blood relation to consider people family...he has his tour family, his Broadway family...so to him the term family can have many meanings. This guy...I can see doing this. This is about love...creating a new human being that will bring joy to his parents...What is so contradictory about that. Jaymes is a beautiful woman. She certainly does not look 50 and she is exactly the type of woman that Clay would admire and respect. I can see him seeing the qualities he wants in his children in her. I also believe there is profound love between these two...whether that is platonic or romantic...it is still a very strong bond. ALL that helps me be happy and even be excited about the possibility that Clay is a dad.

...I know some people are saying that he should be considerate about his fans...well here is a radical idea....what about consideration for Clay, for Jaymes and the baby. I think in this instance his priority should be Jaymes and baby, Clay, their family and close friends, his career, then maybe his fans and then the general public. So if for whatever reason it is better for Jaymes, Clay and the baby to be quiet about this...then the fans should just understand that. If they are angry about it and wants to leave the fandom...that is their prerogative but Clay cannot be responsible for our happiness. This is really not happening in the fan's lives. Clay is a stranger. If we turn off our computers, don't listen to radio or TV gossip shows, don;t read gossip magazines...this won;t even affect us. The worse things a fan can experience are friends teasing them...so give them a finger or ignore them...but then it need not touch us. BUT this changes Clay and Jaymes life. This will follow Clay all his life so I think they need to figure out how it will be easier for them before thinking about the fans.

<snip>

...If this is true...I actually have a lot of admiration for Clay and Jaymes. They are not letting archaic conventions...the haters...the paparazzi...the fans...stop them from doing something that will bring them a lot of joy. They are taking their lives in their hands and taking risks. I think Jaymes is very brave doing this. I hope the very best for her.

THIS has made me a bigger fan of Clay...love him and so proud of him.

Nothing to add, just wanted to see this again!

I think it's really easy to say you won't take shit from anybody but it's not always acceptable either to get up in someone's face. That's how I was at dinner last night. Get up and walk out? Oh sure. That would have been very adult-like and it was a long walk home! Yell at them? Nope, that wouldn't be very adult-like either because that would give them the satisfaction of getting to me. Tell them they're wrong? Hah. Why bother. <snip>. The dinner friends.....well, all I said was "I don't make fun of the things or people you like and I would ask for the same courtesy!" Dinner was a bit tense after that. So for all of you who have the titaniums to not give a shit and not take any shit.....I applaud you. I guess I'm just not made that way.

That was a great way to handle the dinner friends. Hopefully, they'll remember this and be more considerate next time.

keeping... can I take you with me to my next family party (this Sunday)??? I will put you in my pocket, if you don't mind, to give myself courage to finally stand up for myself and not take any crap from my family. I have always been one to not make waves, but I have finally come to realize that letting them give me crap is not only teaching them it's ok to do so, but is also disrespectful of them toward me and that hurts, so I have tried to ignore it. No more! If he can have titanium, so can I!

Liney, just remember that you have another family in Texas. Anytime you're in or around here just let us know. Or else we can bring a family party to you!

wandacleo, I've been wanting to tell you this a long time ago -- I'm a lot happier when you post on every page!

liney, I can relate. Many in my family act the same way so I finally gave up and stopped being around them. I started going to a therapist years ago because of a medical condition and he's seen me through my divorce. When I told them about the way my family treated me, with the disrespect, he asked me how they were any different from my ex, and I realized that it wasn't my issue but theirs. Thanks in large part to Clay, I'm changing my life for the better, and I'm actually happy, which really threatens those who are stuck. Since I have no intent of being pulled back down, it was best for me to move on. I know, too much info, but good luck and maybe one day we can reach Wandacleo's or KAndre's status where we can scare people who try to pick on them.

That's so good to hear, justclay12. Yay for you!!!

Will smoking that peace pipe help dull my back pain? How about my knee pain?

(For the record, I'm going to the doctor tomorrow...)

{{{{{ldyjocelyn}}}}} I hope you feel better soon!!!

I'm starting to wonder -- do I look scary? I don't think I do but no one's given me any trouble yet. Especially about the preference thing. Once, my kids asked that our vacation not be a continuation of a concert trip and I understand that. But I haven't had the word 'gay' said to my face. Maybe it helps to establish a stand early on, like years before Clay. It's weird because I work in a "good ol' boy" type of company; I guess it's a good thing we're particularly sensitive to lawsuits.

Most comments to me are just regular, neither gushy nor icky:

"We saw Clay on AI5. New look, huh?"

"Clay was on 5th grader. We tried to call you."

"What were you doing in Times Square? Was that a Clay Aiken trip? Oh ok."

I think it helps that I don't expect everybody to fall in love with his music. A lot of people just enjoy things within their own genre. There are some I know who like the same type of songs so I tend to chat a lot more about a new CD with them ('course that means that in return I have to listen to a lot of their favorites, eep! because I'm not into Sunny 99.1 unless Clay's singing). And it helps me a lot to take an interest in what others like. I can chat easily about Terminator movies, football, baseball, Grand Theft Auto IV, High School Musical, SFF, wine, fishing, etc so the eHP and Clay are easy to slip in.

Muski, thanks for the Red Hat explanation. Someone once asked me about them... and I started talking about Red Hat Linux, eek!

Oh my lord...I was scanning the headlines at MSNBC.com and my eye was caught with this:

Opinions: Clay again spells curtains for Sharapova

and I swear, out of my mouth came, "oh shit, what the hell has he done now..."

then I realized it was about tennis.

Heh.

LOL! My DS loves tennis and I used to watch with him a lot more during Roland Garros/French Open time. It was just nice to hear so many random "clay" mentions. Great for "white noise" too!

ETA:

For all you know, Jaymes has decided to put down "Zeus" as the father - at least in Texas, the mother can put down what the hell she wants or nothing at all. Because no matter who the hell it is, it's nobody else's business.

Oh, no! I just hope the *cough*text-messaging-people-why text?!! if my bf had a pretty voice I'd insist on voice mail"*cough* don't move here just to be able to write "Clay Aiken" on all their forms. The eHP needs to be ready to run them out of town.

ETAA:

While the cast I see the most times of a show tends to remain v. v. dear to me, I used to belong to a Broadway fandom and we had as much fun discussing different people in different roles all the time. Kinda like the way we discuss different hairstyles or shirts or ties on Clay. I must say though that these two guys (Jonathan and David) are v. special so those shoes will be extremely hard to fill!

[Cotton]

BTW, if any of you are still feeling blue, go to wherever you find your Clack and watch the CNN Clay/Myanmar interview. (sp?)

Guaranteed to remind you why you're here!

[atinal]

And now for a completely different take on the story.... From our dear YSRN over at GCA:

Ya gotta laugh at the ineptitude of America sometimes.

From the blogosphere:

Clay Aiken to Have a son

June 2nd, 2008

image

Looks like Clay Aiken will be our newest Hollywood daddy. But from my understandings he didn’t even have to do the deed. The mother-to-be is Faye Parker, former American Idol.

THIS IS PRICELESS...BWAH!!!

CG, it look like someone definitely got the Oedipus vibe, Good lord can TMZ be far behind?

[jmh123]

BTW, if any of you are still feeling blue, go to wherever you find your Clack and watch the CNN Clay/Myanmar interview. (sp?)

Guaranteed to remind you why you're here!

Something's missing--wrong network, wrong country, something, I think. I can't find anything like this. There was an MSNBC Myanmar interview. Is that it?

[Desertrose]

It is now on the MSM Page with a good Clay photo stating that he is having a son. Of course the source that they quote is TMZ. Nothing about him performing at the Ford Gala, of course. I have not seen any mention of his incident with the TMZ scumbag on any of the entertainment news shows either. I wouldn't mind if more people could see that he is not going to take any more of that crap.

[Ansamcw]

BANNER REQUEST!!!!

we need new banners...preferably with the Clay in tux..hee

Thanks...

[Cotton]

BTW, if any of you are still feeling blue, go to wherever you find your Clack and watch the CNN Clay/Myanmar interview. (sp?)

Guaranteed to remind you why you're here!

Something's missing--wrong network, wrong country, something, I think. I can't find anything like this. There was an MSNBC Myanmar interview. Is that it?

Oh crap!

I have it saved on my DVR so I didn't watch it via any of the Vaults!

Sorry for the misidentifying!

I think that's the one!

I don't know why I was thinking CNN!

[ldyjocelyn]

Or California Clay...

Yum.

[Iseeme]

Clay tummy.

[canfly172]

My husband just came into the sunroom to tell me that they really made fun of Clay on the TV Guide Channel. He said they were laughing about him. I stopped watching that channel after the first Close Up they did fo Clay. They are so witty. Ugh!

My husband is smart enough to run out of the room after dropping off this info. Good thing I didn't have anything nearby that was sharp.

I keep having these images in my head of Clay on Dr. Phil talking about bullying. The bullying continues. Bigger bullies. Bigger playground. He's stuck to ignoring as his method of dealing with them but at the same time I think of the song "Coward of the County" and I think that one of these days he's just gonna crack. I couldn't see much in that TZM vid. It was too dark and too fast but I guess that he shoved the camera? How much can he take? Why should he have to take this crap?

[liney23]

Oh my lord...I was scanning the headlines at MSNBC.com and my eye was caught with this:

Opinions: Clay again spells curtains for Sharapova

and I swear, out of my mouth came, "oh shit, what the hell has he done now..."

then I realized it was about tennis.

Heh.

KAndre...

And now for a completely different take on the story.... From our dear YSRN over at GCA:

Ya gotta laugh at the ineptitude of America sometimes.

From the blogosphere:

Clay Aiken to Have a son

June 2nd, 2008

image

Looks like Clay Aiken will be our newest Hollywood daddy. But from my understandings he didn’t even have to do the deed. The mother-to-be is Faye Parker, former American Idol.

anna... O.M.G.... I can't breathe... Un frickin believable!

Ladies... I have a problem... I cannot stop watching the Clannah duet! They both show so much joy in singing like that with each other. Hannah even said how much she enjoyed singing in her regular voice and Clay very seldom gets to sing a big voice song like that. They had a blast and it's a blast watching them have a blast! Pushes the thingy back to 37:27 again...

Love that picture, ldyj!

[canfly172]

BTW, if any of you are still feeling blue, go to wherever you find your Clack and watch the CNN Clay/Myanmar interview. (sp?)

Guaranteed to remind you why you're here!

Something's missing--wrong network, wrong country, something, I think. I can't find anything like this. There was an MSNBC Myanmar interview. Is that it?

Oh crap!

I have it saved on my DVR so I didn't watch it via any of the Vaults!

Sorry for the misidentifying!

I think that's the one!

I don't know why I was thinking CNN!

What dat? Where dat?

ETA,

Found it. Last thing on this MSNBC list says Myanmar.

http://clackunlimited.com/clack/TV_Appearances/MSNBC/