#35: You mean, it’s not all dressing up and dancing at FCA?

[laljeterfan]

Just a quick note to say that at the Canandaigua M&G, where Clay told us that he didn't like BFM, he also told us that he DID like Tears Run Dry, and that it could possibly still show up. Obviously, with the passing of time and the change in direction of the new CD, that didn't happen. But, wasn't he asked in a fairly recent interview whether any of the songs from the album that was planned before the ATDW mandate could be revisited? And he was kind of surprised by the question, but seemed to indicate that it could happen? Or am I just confused? Wouldn't be the first time!

Crap, gotta go get ready for work. I need a vacation- but I'm still hoarding all of my vacation time for a tour. (please, please, please......)

[FearofH2O]

Hope you have a great week at work luckiest.

I'm one who never lets others see me sweat. Grudges, I hold more of them than anyone else in the world. But this week I blew my stack at another board after a most righteous poster ran off a litaney of the most disgusting adjectives under the guise of describing what "others" think of Clay. Amazingly I wasn't trouted for my rant. And then she had the gall to say that she loved Justin Timberlake, who I guess would never be mistaken for a closeted gay man. So I guess a proud and self proclaimed drug taking, womanizer is a much more upstanding citizen compared to a humanitarian who won't talk about his private life.

Oy, now I'm sweating. Okay, I'm over it.

Hope everyone has a great day. I have the feeling we will hear from Clay real soon, assuming he is already on his UNICEF trip. If not I can wait a couple of months.

[gbmifan]

Will be in and out all day. Was sceduled to work 12 hours today, but got called at 5am and our censes was down and to many RN's sceduled so I am at home and on call for the next 10 hours. I am going to try and finish my laundry, clean a few bathrooms, and thinking I may treat myself to a french pedicure. I usually do it myself but feel like being pampered. Husband left for a week out of town for work, so I think some shopping is in order. I really am not a shopper, I usually know what I want and run in. I need to find some kind of PJ's that can be worn at night at the campsite, that do not look like pj's when I am running to the restroom in the middle of the night.

Working the Buick Open this week should be interesting. Tiger not coming, and this am the local news reported that on Pro-Am day on Wednesday that Kid Rock is playing. I wonder how many of his fans will come out and watch him?

[aikim]

This is our Cinnamon...I woke up at 2:30 this morning to sound of a crash from my bathroom...she jumped up on the bathroom window ledge and knocked over a music box I had up there...fell in the garbage. I love roses and this had a rose on top of the box...it is now in two pieces, the rose broke off...but it was a clean break, so I think we should be able to repair it.

So sad to hear the news about George Carlin...we have lost a lot of good ones lately.

Kim

[ldyjocelyn]

Sad to wake up to the news of George Carlin dying. My wish is that every TV and radio station, in his honor, says "the 7 words you can't say on TV." *g*

OTOH, nice to wake up to several great posts, and like luckiest, I'm glad that there are people here who are slowly coming to terms with their fandom at this juncture. :F_05BL17blowkiss: to all!

I'll reply more later (after I approve the payroll from hell at work today), but I wanted to add this:

SONG OF THE DAY: On My Way Here

[Cotton]

Good Morning!

I'm posting the lyrics - hope they're right - gotta run - we are going to get the last of our stuff from SC - in the storage unit, there. Rent a Uhaul and bring it to the new backyard barn. So finally all my junk will be in one place!

Should probably get rid of most of it!

Anyway - I'll be back later to see what folks have to say about the title track.

For now -

On My Way Here – Ryan Tedder

I took my first step

On the black and white kitchen floor

I sometimes wonder if that house

Is even there, anymore

I had my first glimpse

of love when I was five

I watched two people split apart

But still the three of us survived

I’ve seen the best

I’ve seen the worst

I wouldn’t change what I’ve been through

I’ve touched the sky

I hit the wall

But I did what I had to

Ooooohhhh

CHORUS:

On my way here

Where I am now

I’ve learned to fly

I have to want to leave the ground

I’ve fallen hard

But I’ve been loved

And in the end it all works out

Faith has conquered fear

On my way here.

My address has changed

Almost every year

I've found that standing still

Can quickly make a lifetime disappear

I'd rather try and fail

A thousand times denied

At least, whenever you feel pain

It lets you know that you’re alive

I’ve been a fool

I’ve been afraid

I’ve been loved

I've been lied to

I've been wrong

I've been right

I stood up when I had to

On my way here

Where I am now

I’ve learned to fly

I have to want to leave the ground

I’ve fallen hard

But I’ve been loved

And in the end it all works out

Faith has conquered fear

On my way here.

No guarantees

I believed that I would find

An open door or a light

To lead me to the other side

I guess that is why

On my way here

Where I am now

I’ve learned to fly

I have to want to leave the ground

I’ve fallen hard

But I‘ve been loved

And in the end it all works out

Where I am now

I’ve learned to fly

I have to want to leave the ground

I’ve fallen hard

But I‘ve been loved

And in the end it all works out

Faith has conquered fear

On my way here.

[luckiest1]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents about cats (does anyone else hear Patsy in their head when they say that word? )

About 15 years ago, we got two cats from separate litters, on the same day. A male and a female, named Fonzi and Pinky. Yep, big Happy Days fans back in the day! Anyways, we lived near a wooded area, and our cats went outside quite a bit. Unfortunately, Pinky disappeared (we suspected coyotes) and we replaced her with another female, Squiggy. She eventually had to be put down. We attempted to bring a male kitten in after that, but after a week we decided it was never going to work, and we gave him away to another home. After that, Fonzi was on his own until he, too, had to be put down at 10 years old. But I think the ideal situation for having multiple cats is to get them together. However, bringing an opposite sex kitty into an already established cat's home seems to work pretty well, too. Currently we have the two males, brothers from the same litter, named Kirby & Sebastian. When Sebastian was at the vet's overnight recently, Kirby seemed lost without him. But when he returned, smelling of vet, Kirby hissed at him for a couple of weeks. I felt so sorry for him. Thankfully they have settled down into their old routines again and are as lovey dovey as usual.

[aikim]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTyzTJTNhNk...feature=related

Videos of George Carlin...he really was one funny guy...I could spend all day watching.

Kim

[djs111]

I can still hear George Carlin as the hippy-dippy weatherman, and also giving out sports scores - 2-3, 5-0, 1-0 - but no names of teams, on the Smothers Brothers show. Which was a brilliant show.

Tonight will be dark, followed by light tomorrow! Hope it went down just that way for him!

I sometimes feel some of the boards have morphed away from being Clay-centered, and more into a group of people who talk about Clay amongst other things. And some have teeny-tiny attention spans, some feel entitled to Clay's personal life, whatever. Some almost seem like Santeria priests, sifting through every word and grimace, looking for clues to fit the desired result - who knew that when Clay, as a person who has pretty much always worked with CHILDREN, as a TEACHER, was prolly thinking of Jaymes & Co. when he answered questions about TEACHING CHILDREN in great depth at Christmas M&Gs. No matter what the current state of Clay news is, I would bet he was happy to expound on something near and dear to his heart, and not the usual questions about CDs and tours and such. Or rather I would not bother to assign momentous meaning.

I can see that perhaps some people who have fallen out of the fandom need closure or whatever, but it looks to me like some folks are taking years to get there. Who knew? Talking trash or taking swipes at Clay Inc. is more fun and a better use of time than being fangirly over another entertainer!

[annabear]

Good morning! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

It's going to be a looooong week... something possessed me to work "summer hours" this week, which means 4 - 10 hr. days so I can take Fri. off without having to count it as vacation time. I can barely get through an 8 hr. day!! But, yep, as luckiest said, things could be worse - at least I have a job! Btw, good luck with the big boss being in town.

R.I.P. George Carlin.

Bringing over a post from just last week in the Family Matters-Laughter the Best Medicine forum:

Some "words of wisdom" from George Carlin

Always do whatever's next.

Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

Dusting is a good example of the futility of trying to put things right. As soon as you dust, the fact of your next dusting has already been established.

Electricity is really just organized lightning.

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it.

I'm not concerned about all hell breaking loose, but that a PART of hell will break loose... it'll be much harder to detect.

If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.

Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.

May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.

Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did.

One can never know for sure what a deserted area looks like.

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.

People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don't care what people think.

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.

Standing ovations have become far too commonplace. What we need are ovations where the audience members all punch and kick one another.

* Note to self: watch out next time CA tours...

The reason I talk to myself is that I'm the only one whose answers I accept.

The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.

There's no present. There's only the immediate future and the recent past.

When someone is impatient and says, "I haven't got all day," I always wonder, How can that be? How can you not have all day?

[keepingfaith]

Wanted to make a correction to one of the thread title choices:

FCA - An anarco-syndicalist commune of cyclically in sync nomadic omnivores.

The term is actually "anarcho-cynicalist" -- and it's one of those things I know for no good reason.

Scarlett, the Xvid was delicious! Thank you for everything you do.

00lsee, hope you have a fantastic vacation and I'm looking forward to some of your photographs. Your NY pictures were incredibly good. (Scarlett, what time does the party start and will there be a male stripper?)

RIP, George Carlin. Now, if ever there was an anarcho-cynicalist .....

[luckiest1]

But, yep, as luckiest said, things could be worse - at least I have a job! Btw, good luck with the big boss being in town.

Thanks. Based on the way the day has already started, I'm going to need it.

[ivy]

While I believe there are people who are sincerely troubled and sympathize, I feel there are also people who are just around to stir the turd - in the name of snark. When bitter foul insults became snark, I missed it. Guess that is why I am just not funny. There are people who hide their issues under some form of humor and there are people who feel the need to control the fandom, I think there are some who do not buy a single album and haven't for years. I have never heard them say a nice thing about a concert or a song - Did you know that some artists are better than Clay? Gasp!

There is one fan I know who finally realized that her issues with Clay had to do with her ex-husband. To her credit, she admitted it on the boards but it was hard to read her comments over the years. Another fan, a person I used to admire, was gone for several months (don't know why), but returned bitter. The tone of her posts changed from fun and up beat to not liking much if anything about what Clay does. She doesn't just state her opinion once or twice but posts repeatedly her dislike of certain things. If someone posts something positive about a song this person hates, she pops up shortly thereafter with a negative comment. These are only two examples of why I agree with your comments. People often seem to be hiding their own issues or have become obsessed with the negative. Some don't hesitate to say that they aren't buying the product. What a slap in the face to the rest of us. I would not mind them not buying something but it is often repeated and it is the repetition that seems so in your face. I'm trying to ignore those posts but sometimes they are excessive.

Talking trash or taking swipes at Clay Inc. is more fun and a better use of time than being fangirly over another entertainer!

Apparently.

I'm going to try to look past them and to continue to enjoy this fine entertainer. Hooray for #1 on AOL.

[annabear]

But, yep, as luckiest said, things could be worse - at least I have a job! Btw, good luck with the big boss being in town.

Thanks. Based on the way the day has already started, I'm going to need it.

Uh oh! :chair:

While I believe there are people who are sincerely troubled and sympathize, I feel there are also people who are just around to stir the turd - in the name of snark. When bitter foul insults became snark, I missed it. Guess that is why I am just not funny. There are people who hide their issues under some form of humor and there are people who feel the need to control the fandom, I think there are some who do not buy a single album and haven't for years. I have never heard them say a nice thing about a concert or a song - Did you know that some artists are better than Clay? Gasp!

There is one fan I know who finally realized that her issues with Clay had to do with her ex-husband. To her credit, she admitted it on the boards but it was hard to read her comments over the years. Another fan, a person I used to admire, was gone for several months (don't know why), but returned bitter. The tone of her posts changed from fun and up beat to not liking much if anything about what Clay does. She doesn't just state her opinion once or twice but posts repeatedly her dislike of certain things. If someone posts something positive about a song this person hates, she pops up shortly thereafter with a negative comment. These are only two examples of why I agree with your comments. People often seem to be hiding their own issues or have become obsessed with the negative. Some don't hesitate to say that they aren't buying the product. What a slap in the face to the rest of us. I would not mind them not buying something but it is often repeated and it is the repetition that seems so in your face. I'm trying to ignore those posts but sometimes they are excessive.

Talking trash or taking swipes at Clay Inc. is more fun and a better use of time than being fangirly over another entertainer!

Apparently.

I'm going to try to look past them and to continue to enjoy this fine entertainer. Hooray for #1 on AOL.

I too have seen this happening, especially lately. Word, word, word to your last statement, ivy. That's all we can do as individuals.

OMWH - - > I think it can! I think it can!! I think it can!!!

ETA: Good grief! I keep forgetting - Thank you, Scarlett, for all the goodies! YUM!!!

[djs111]

I'm going to try to look past them and to continue to enjoy this fine entertainer. Hooray for #1 on AOL.

ivy, they are so predictable, I read them pretty much for grins now. Every entertainer has hangers-on like that.

Yes, hoooray! for #1!!!!!!

Maybe it is just me, but I am now hoping Ashes NEVER is a single, I am tired of reading aout it. Pretty sad (actually stupid) that some question why OMWH is #1 instead of Ashes.

[gbmifan]

I was reading in another place that several people stated that the reason he has lost 3/4 of his fan base is because he has not progressed as a artist. What the hell do they want. I love this CD, maybe I am easy, but his voice is the best I have ever heard him. I like uptempo sounds but I do not need rocker Clay. I just need him to sing great songs and well, which he does.

Another reason they stated is that he changed since A1 and has become rude and a big diva. My thought is that he is five years older, and some change will occur. He stills has the same values he had then, and I am sorry but I do not see the Diva. His behavior as far as I see is always appropriate to the event. If he gets testy once in awhile maybe there is a reason.

If people want to leave that is their option, but to continue to spout over and over how he has disappointed them gets very tiring. End of my Rant.

[liney23]

Ohhh, oh... #1 and Ashes is #4... how did that happen? Fantastic!!! Last time I looked they were both off the charts. Way to go, ClayNation! Actually, I don't like listening to OMWH (but I do anyway) cause of how aol messed up the recording of the song. Weird! Maybe people like it that way...

I'm hoping that Where I Draw the Line is the second single. I think it is a middle step between ballad OMWH and uptempo Ashes or Falling. Baby steps for the very touchy radio peeps... I mean we don't want the accepting that Clay can sing a fast song be toooo tramatic for them!

[annabear]

Wanted to make a correction to one of the thread title choices:

FCA - An anarco-syndicalist commune of cyclically in sync nomadic omnivores.

The term is actually "anarcho-cynicalist" -- and it's one of those things I know for no good reason.

This is funny because I've heard & seen it both ways and both make sense. Although "cynicalist" seems to be the term used most often with reference to the Holy Grail, while "syndicalist" seems to be used mostly when not necessarily related to Python. From Wikipedia:

Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement.[1] Syndicalisme is a French word meaning "trade unionism" – hence, the "syndicalism" qualification. Anarcho-syndicalists view labour unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the State with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system, regarding it as "wage slavery," and state or private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions.

Just something to fill my time this morning! Maybe we can change "cyclically" to "cynically"!

[KAndre]

I'M ALIVE!

I was doing some electronic updates this weekend - changed to a new receiver with THREE HDMI outputs, hooked up my graphics card and of course I can't hear jack shit! Have ordered a DVI to component cable and then will be rocking and rolling.

LAA? Haven't really discussed it because I still haven't had my epiphany. I see it speaks to a lot of people - I just ain't one of them. It's just so...whiny to me. I don't understand horror of being "alone" - not beinging in a "couple". Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my relationships tremendously, but when they are over? I enjoy being independent - in fact, there's something in me that really needs non-relationship time - and guys who have approached me in the LAA mindset, I run screaming from. Lyrics are simply in general not that important to me - and it has nothing to do with feelings. I guess in my heart of hearts, I really believe talk is cheap. (and sex without a deep emotional commitment can fun. Just sayin'. Not for everyone - but some people really do)

Like Clay. In general, don't care about his fans. Have never really cared about anybody else's fans. Most of 'em are grown-ass women, and if they can't see that the bitterness frankly just makes them ugly (honestly - you come across some random bitter person, you don't care why they're bitter - you just want to avoid them. So I do.) I like Clay Aiken's music, and I find what I've paid for from Clay totally worth it, and hell, the entertainment I've gotten for free has been pretty damn good. Outside of the FCA? I have no interest in dealing with the segment of borderline strange and unhappy people of any fandom. Life is too short for self-inflicted misery, and to me, any and all stress about Clay Aiken (unless your are a member of his family or have a financial stake in his career) is totally voluntary. It is NOT something beyond your control.

I love my cats (not enough to call them "furbabies", a phrase that will never cross my lips). Though the funniest thing about them is how Solo finally noticed one was really, REALLY chunky.

OMWH? Liked it from the getgo. It's catchy - it's nice and poppy - he sings it really, really well.

Thinks real hard about the FCA organization:

I think it should be:

FCA - An cynically anarco-syndicalist commune of cyclically in sync nomadic omnivores.

Yeah. I think that covers it.

[PermaSwooned]

I can't believe that no one notified me that we were sharing pet pictures!!

Do I have to turn in my FCA card if I don't have any cats? I used to be very allergic to cats. It doesn't seem as bad now, although it may just be that I'm not around them that much. In my family, we are all dog people. I personally love slavish devotion in a pet. I can find plenty of PEOPLE who can take me or leave me in RL. At home I want creatures who are beside themselves with joy to see me.

Here's our babies:

This is Phoebe, along with her favorite squeaky toy. She will run to fetch this thing until she drops, and if you flag in tossing it for her she will tap you on the leg with it quite forcefully!

This is Wagatha. I was working alone in the office one weekend making up some work and needed to get a new print cartridge. The shopping center where I went to get the cartridge was having dog adoptions that day. The rest is history. When we got her she didn't know how to eat or drink out of a bowl or how to climb stairs. I'm not sure how she survived on the streets long enough to get to us, but we're sure glad she did. She appears to be part Italian Greyhound and part terrier (maybe Jack Russell) and we think is quite possibly the greatest dog EVAH!!!

Since they were both rescues, we call them The Doggie of Destiny and the Fido of Fate.

RIP George Carlin

My DS absolutely loves him. Last year I got tickets for my son to see him here at the Gibson Amphitheater as part of my ticket package for the Greek Theatre. He had such a great time and absolutely loved the show. DS is in Japan now & I imagine has not heard the news. I am so, so happy I got those tickets for him and that he was able to see him LIVE at least once. You just never know.

I've been spending the majority of my time on this board of late. I have always HATED the gerbil wheel or endless "round table" discussions, which mainly seemed to me to be protracted attempts by people of strong opinions to try to annihilate each other until a mod finally stepped in. I am angst-phobic, so I have been very, very grateful that people here wanted to talk about Clay and his MUSIC and gorge themselves on YouTube.

THANK YOU ALL!!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[annabear]

I'M ALIVE!

Glad to hear it.

Thinks real hard about the FCA organization:

I think it should be:

FCA - An cynically anarco-syndicalist commune of cyclically in sync nomadic omnivores.

Yeah. I think that covers it.

There we go!

[Iseeme]

Good morning.

Interesting posts, as usual! But I love this George Carlin comment:

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.

Kind of sums up some of the boards in a way, doesn't it?

OMG - this just bears discussing:

I was reading in another place that several people stated that the reason he has lost 3/4 of his fan base is because he has not progressed as a artist

This is the stuff that pisses me off. The out and out arrogance of anyone who makes this statement! Progressed as an artist? You mean like Barry Manilow? Or Josh Groban? Or fill in the blank with any rapper's name! Or anybody else that's been singing the same damn stuff since genesis? (And I didn't mean Genesis the group) If someone truly does not think Clay has progressed from MOAM to OMWH.....even the musically challenged and untrained Iseeme can recognize the change!!!! Bubble-gummish pop songs (don't jump on me - I loved MOAM) to mature, beautiful lyrics and renditions....

OMWH - at first I loved it. Then I got tired of it and listened to the other songs on the CD. Now I'm back to loving it again. It has an ear worm. But I also really like the orchestration. Can't give you the fancy analysis with all the right words, but there is something different - the song is even played a teensy bit louder than the rest. I do think it was the perfect song for the first single! I think when he finally sings this in concert it will be awesome. And I also love the way he says "flieeeeee!"

p.s. I got the impression people were leaving the fandom not because of his music but of his possible impending fatherhood! Did I misinterpret?

[djs111]

I was reading in another place that several people stated that the reason he has lost 3/4 of his fan base is because he has not progressed as a artist

heh - this always reads to me as "he has not sung the kind of songs he needs to sing so that he can become the rock star I want him to be and that my kids will like so that I will therefore become cool by association".

[Couch Tomato]

Welcome back K! You have been missed!

I do think he has progressed tremendously as an artist. I think there are incredibly high epectations of Clay and I just don't think he's going in the direction some want. There is a disconnect there... I know we all have OUR Clay but there's no way he could mean, for instance, that I'm doing this sexyback medley to prove that I can sing anything and am being held back AND yes people I can sing these songs but this just ain't me. Somebody is WRONG.

Welp it's Monday again. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I guess I should go get dressed!

I love OMWH..... Love it! hmm I listened to it a lot yesterday..yep I must have tipped those scales. I haven't been very good at streaming .. I was just about to put the album in my laptop when cindilu told me to go stream instead and she gave me the link. I need that kind of constant reminder!

[cindilu2]

I have been slowly weaning myself from the boards for quite a while now, because I realized (finally) that the only behaviour I can (or should want to) change is my own. I do scan thread titles for news, but I know I can't discuss Clay in the same way that most can. And it's just not in my nature to ignore, so that doesn't leave a whole lot of in between for me.

My feelings on people 'leaving' the fandom? Regardless of the reason, I feel that whatever else, Clay has given me five years of entertainment and (IMO of course) wonderful music. He owes me nothing beyond the CD's I paid for and the concerts/events I've attended. I've never been disappointed for even one second over a note of that music or a second of that time. If I'm making up a balance sheet, I'd say I owe him a whole lot more than I could ever put down on paper or could ever be repaid. So if people feel the need to leave the fandom, then I feel the very least they owe him is to leave quietly. He deserves more respect then he's being shown. He earned that. But then it really isn't about Clay, is it?

As long as he's singing, or talking, (or dressin' up and dancin') I will be here until, I believe couchie said it best, until he personally tells me to go away.