#36: It ain't my life, just my passion!

[Bella19]

Woo! Hoo! At least we know where he is or was. Yes, thanks for bringing this over!!!

I know Italy has a boot! And doesn't Oklahoma or somewhere have a Panhandle? This is all so confusing.

Okay, go to Google and the maps option on the top left. At that page, type in "London, Ontario" and when you get the map, magnifiy to see the whole province of Ontario.

Once you do that, you'll see the outline of the elephant, surrounded by the Great Lakes - Barrie, Ontario is in the back leg and London is in near the "head". I think Toronto is somewhere in the nether regions...

ETA: or what my friend Claymatron just said!

[bottlecap]

I think Clay taking trips like this always has a profound effect on him. I mean it's such a long way from the not just celebrity life but life in the US. Food and schools. I complain about the cost of food but looking at me you know i haven't gone hungry a day in my life. Hopefully he will help put their plight back on the map.

Amen.

*gets credit card ready to send in a donation to UNICEF as soon as Clay asks*

What? I can't help it, I'm easy.

Amen, sistahs.

Some things are just more important in life than pop superstardom and total media domination, you know?

ETA: From the UNICEF USA homepage:

The Survival Project: One Child at a Time

Tune in to CNN on Sunday, July 6 at 8 and 11 pm, when CNN will shine a spotlight on the preventable deaths of nearly 10 million children every year, and on UNICEF's unique approach to saving children's lives.

[Iseeme]

CM - you're assuming I can find a map of Southern Ontario, aren't you! ETA: Thanks Bella. Toronto is in the "nether regions?" Hee!

*gets credit card ready to send in a donation to UNICEF as soon as Clay asks*

Yup, mine is right here by the computer.....

It must be so difficult to go from his lifestyle here in the US to see such abject poverty and need elsewhere. At least he knows he's making some difference - even if he can't build a school and give food to everyone. I honestly never knew so much about UNICEF before Clay became an ambassador. Other than the Trick or Treat and Christmas card activities. Oh my God, can you imagine the money they would make if they put Clay on a Christmas card?

[Claymatron]

Oh my God, can you imagine the money they would make if they put Clay on a Christmas card?

Hee, and can you imagine the number of us who would all be displaying the same cards we received from our Clay friends?

I'm trying to find a map of south-western Ontario so I can illustrate the elephant....but somehow Clay in Somalia, or anywhere else for that matter, is a whole lot more important.

:7:

[Iseeme]

Off to teach a class this morning. (maybe I should sign up for a geography class ....hee!)

Have a nice day.

[muskifest]

COCPOTTM or pronounced cocpotem

Or if you're not goldarngirl and are muskifest, instead, it's pronounced 'cocktotempole'

Ah...Ambassador Aiken puts it all in perspective again! While fans are angsting over whom Clay REALLY loves and HOW he loves her/them and WHAT he's going to do about this or that....

He's actually DOING something about 'this or that's" that really matter....

What a wonderful, fulfilling life he's leading!

(muski hurries to look up Somalia on a map and read up on it, once again humbled by how much more world-aware this 29-year-old Southern man is than she is....)

[luckiest1]

So does that not make you all Clay's Ontario Elephant Posse?

How about Clay's Ontario Clack Posse Open To Traveling Members

COCPOTTM or pronounced cocpotem

Hee, I was going to say "now that's just dirty" but I see muski beat me to it.

That CNN special on July 6th looks cool. Now I just need to figure out if CNN is in one of the cable packages I cancelled to save money last month....with my luck, it probably is.

[goldarngirl]

COCPOTTM or pronounced cocpotem

Or if you're not goldarngirl and are muskifest, instead, it's pronounced 'cocktotempole'

Well that was in the back of my mind, but I'm Claynadian, eh? I'm trying to be restrained. Of course IIU IIU I were to see a COCPOTTM that belonged to a certain singerguy I might have to be restrained.

[Belle6827]

Belle - my neighbor and I talked about volunteering at the local animal shelter but decided we'd end up with a menagerie at our houses. I couldn't bear to see an animal scheduled to die the next day if not adopted. I like the idea of a "no kill" shelter but, unfortunately, our county doesn't do that. Good for you though......

Iseeme I hear you about bringing dogs home. While I love all the dogs, there are of course, some at the shelter who for one reason or another become favorites. I would love to just foster one at a time until they get adopted but already having a huge dog, it wouldn't work out. I tried that last year when someone was looking for a home for a young shepherd. We brought her home but my Belle was terrified because the younger dog was so frisky. My dog suffers anxiety at times and thus needs to remain an only dog. Admittedly, there are many times that I cry all the way home because I would love to see all the dogs find loving homes. There are two or three that most likely will live out their days at the shelter. However, they still have a better life there than at the places where they came from. That's what I like about this "no-kill" shelter. There are groups of people who come twice a day to let the dogs out, play with them and walk them weather permitting

but even in light rain, they still get walked.

Clay content -- I love The Real Me. I'm not sure to whom Clay is referring in the song because he's kind of changed his tune when talking about it but I suspect that's what he wants -- for us to interpret as we all see fit.

Probably one of my other favorites is "As Long As We're Here". I love the melody and instrumentation and of course, Clay's voice. There are some lyrics in that song which I interpret as he could be singing about Vernon i.e. building up walls etc.

Again, thanks for the welcome.

[playbiller]

Hee, I think the London group needs an acronym or something. I had suggested Famous Ontario Posse before, but it doesn't really have a great ring to it....FOP.

Hmm, I was going to suggest the Notorious Ontario Personal Experience or nOpe.

How come Clay always goes to places whre people get killed allthe time. I know they said he was in a stable part, but who ants to bet he traveled outside that area.

Well, since this is thursday, maybe he can make Ruben's wedding after all.

[FromClaygary]

Waves to FromClaygary See you at the gala?

Sure hope so, Sandy, if I can get a ticket!!

So does that not make you all Clay's Ontario Elephant Posse?

Oh, I like that! Say it out loud.....it's what we do!

Clay in Somalia? OMG, I'm so proud of him!!!

[wandacleo]

Hi everyone,

I'm back from St. Louis and am finally getting over my 6-day computer withdrawal. It wasn't pretty.

I see that Clay will have a talk show and a lemonade stand after he returns from Somalia.

I just got an appeal from UNICEF and put it aside thinking, "Clay will be asking for money soon."

It's great to be back among friends.

[annabear]

I see that Clay will have a talk show and a lemonade stand after he returns from Somalia.

So that's the big business plan Faye couldn't talk about on the cruise!

Welcome back, wanda! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[Couch Tomato]

6 days without the internet. Don't think I could do it. I woud probably have physical withdrawal symptoms of some sort. The last time I was even close to this was during my cruise and their outrageous connection prices...but for some reason my company needed me to stay in touch so they paid for them all. WHOO HOOO.

Welcome back Wandacleo!!

[Ansamcw]

May I add my 2 cents about TRM? First of all, I'm a lyrics person, so it doesn't matter to me how great a song's melody is if I can't relate to the lyrics. This song, as I confessed to my friend, Bella19, started off almost invasive to me. Like I was eavesdropping at a confessional...and it disturbed me. I felt ashamed to be a fan who would inflict that kind of pain on someone because I was taking it completely from Clay's perspective and thinking he was referring to the fans when he had to put on a mask. The plaintive sound of his vocals at the beginning of the song were breaking my heart. Then I realized as the song progresses, it was really more about hope and growth and when he sings about "loosening my grasp" I realized he was, as he puts it... letting go, and letting God.

It took me awhile, but now I hear it entirely differently, but I still love EIDN (which I play over and over), SUA and ALAWH the best.

Yeah if we take the lyrics and apply it all to Clay it can be very heart wrenching. But I do think everyone has negatives in their lives...or that we feel we are not perfect and need to put a mask...so it truly has universal appeal. I also don't think this song was meant to be static...it could be different people at different parts of his life. Whats important is that he has found this acceptance and security with someone.

For 12-year-old, Ubah Mohamed, her wants were simpler.

"I understand he is famous. I hope he will give us food and build a school for us," she said, near to a refugee camp.

Awwww! Kind of puts things into persective!

YUP...it sure does. It also tells us that we only know a small bit of his life, all this whining about where he is...I guess he was doing important work.

[justclay12]

I guess I must be egocentric or something because for most of these songs, I'm thinking more about how they apply to me and I can relate to many of them. Now for SL, I do keep thinking about if anyone did that to him and how I'd want to rip their eyeballs out if they hurt him. And I do wonder about LAA and hope he has found his lover now because he sounds so sad and lonely when he sings it and I hate that. Sometimes I think about how how the lyrics affected him, but when he sings them, it touches me and my life.

And I'm so glad there is actually some Clay news that we actually know is real. Hopefully we will be hearing from the man himself soon and I have my credit card ready too.

[Desertrose]

When I listen to TRM, I always apply all the lyrics to Clay and what has happened to him throughout his life. That is always heart wrenching, and it usually makes me cry. I do not hear it as saying "pity poor little me" at all. I just hear someone examining the way that one is living one's life whether by choice or by circumstance. How the person that other people see is not the real person inside but is whoever that person is allowing us to see, "living a charade, always on display." What a mess I've made of my existence." Those lyrics are applicable to most of us at some point or another. How many of us really know the "real me" of most people. We only know what they allow us to see. That song puts me in a pensive mood, and I can relate to it in many ways. I do get that only God sees the real me vibe in the song. It really makes me think. I am definitely a lyrics person. It is not one of my favorites on the CD, but I do like it, and will usually stop whatever I am doing to listen to it.

There are a lot of songs on this CD that I dance to while doing stuff around the house, but not TRM or LAA (both too sad). I have read that this cd music is not danceable, and I disagree. I go dancing a lot and there is a waltz beat, a two step beat, and some whip (southwest swing in Calif.) music. Also a lot of the songs can be danced with a lot of hip movement. Admittedly not like Shakira's Hips Don't Lie, which I love, but that one is kind of frantic. I am talking about sexy, smooth hip action. I am Latina so I should know hip movement! Hee Hee

I can definitely see some of these songs working real well on DWTS with the type of dancing they do on the show, especially SL. (Sexy)

[Desertrose]

Justclay2,

I guess I am egocentric too because I do the same thing. Glad that I am not alone. Most of the songs I like are the ones that I can apply to myself. They "speak to me." I agree with your thoughts on LAA also. The way he sings most songs also touches me and my life.

[lilyshine]

I guess I was being selfish, but I was really hoping Clay was going to go to Ethiopia. There's the beginning a a massive famine there in the southern area - very unusual since it's usually the north that suffers with drought. The south has much more stable crops that grow on a five-year cycle, but the drought has gone on so long it is beginning to affect them.

At least he was next door and may have even flown in to Addis.

Somalia is one of the most desolate countries I've ever been in, and that was in good times. No trees except acacias, almost no water, very little grass. Driving through it made me wonder how anyone could survive there. Parts of it look more like a moonscape than planet Earth.

In such marginal areas, it only takes a little bad luck, bad weather or political unrest to push most of the population over the brink of disaster. To put it into perspective, during famine times people actually steal food from ant colonies - one grain at a time.

[liney23]

I want to thank everyone for their good thoughts for me. It worked! My MRI came back normal, and I do not have to have another mammagram for a year.

gmb... Whew!!!

Hello

I found this board quite by accident recently and started to lurk. Some of you may know me by the same screen name at the Clayboard. As I was skimming through the thread this evening, I saw a mention of something and I thought I would respond to it.

The link about " American Idol - Clay's Revenge" and folks were wondering what it was. The small town where the auditions are being held is very close to where I live. On the evening that Clay

was at the Snowflake Lighting, I attened a dinner theater at a local fire company. The evening I attended the play was a "who dunnit" type of production and the theme was based on the Judge Judy Show on television. When I read my playbill/program, I saw a listing of dinner shows to be held in the future. One of those was "AI - Clay's Revenge". It was listed for a date in the coming spring. When spring arrived, I never saw that particular show advertised anywhere. I believe this recent announcement of auditions is the very same production company that presented the "Judge Judy" show I attended. I just think they are now getting around to preparing for the "AI Clay's Revenge" show which I saw advertised a while back. Hope this helps clear it up. Gee, I have some acting experience. Perhaps I should audition and then I can get the scoop on the whole story line.

Other than that, sorry I barged into the discussion at hand.

Belle... Thanks for the info on a Clay's Revenge possibility!

I'll be having an MRI of my lumbar spine on Thursday evening after working all day. Maybe that will be good - I'll be too tired to fidget after being at work all day! Anyway, I don't think they'll find much on the MRI. I think the cause of my sciatica is piriformis syndrome rather than a lumbar spine issue. Piriformis syndrome is an impingement of the sciatic nerve by a tight or scarred piriformis muscle. I'm working with a physical therapist and doing some stretching exercises to see if we can reduce my pain level.

Gibby... I had sciatica for a long time. My Chiro has it manageble now, so if you can find a good one, I'd try it.

Same with those with Carpal Tunnel. I go every 2 weeks for maintenance and he works on my wrist everytime and has ever since I started working on a computer. It's the mouse that causes the problems for me... I cannot use the scroll wheel or I get pain. I have to use the down arrows only.

I think Clay taking trips like this always has a profound effect on him. I mean it's such a long way from the not just celebrity life but life in the US. Food and schools. I complain about the cost of food but looking at me you know i haven't gone hungry a day in my life. Hopefully he will help put their plight back on the map.

Amen.

*gets credit card ready to send in a donation to UNICEF as soon as Clay asks*

What? I can't help it, I'm easy.

ldyj... bolding mine... I've just been waiting for him to ask, too!

Hi everyone,

I'm back from St. Louis and am finally getting over my 6-day computer withdrawal. It wasn't pretty.

I see that Clay will have a talk show and a lemonade stand after he returns from Somalia.

I just got an appeal from UNICEF and put it aside thinking, "Clay will be asking for money soon."

It's great to be back among friends.

wanda.... WELCOME BACK... I missed you!!!

While it is absolutely wonderful to have more newbies, this board is talking more than ever and it's taking longer and longer to catch up, dang it!!! I'm taking a night class that actually has the nerve to have homework, so if you don't see me around much, it's not something you said... honest! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I sure hope this UNICEF visit gives many of the boards something else to focus on. This should lead to some appearances on our tv again.... I hope! I bet he does an interview with Linda Loveland at the very least. People mag, too, I hope.

lilyshine... thanks for more info on Somalia. I include all of Africa in my prayers... there just seems to be such disregard for human life there in too many countries.

[muskifest]

Welcome back, Wanda!

I was thinking how very much of LIFE Clay is living and how he must be so very aware of how his audition on AI has made that possible for him. He's living a dream---he SAID that the reason he wanted to become a celebrity was to use the influence and he wasn't talking out of his cute little butt, either!

How amazing it must be for him to travel to these countries that he most likely never would've visited had he been a teacher in North Carolina and to be able to touch people's lives in such a way. Hopefully, these trips renew his desire to continue having that influence, and re-titanium (you gonna challenge me about this verb?) his ability to deal with the shitty parts of that celebrity.

I really believe these trips are like a 'sabbatical' in some ways for him as a singer/entertainer...while I'm sure what he experiences in these places makes him feel sorrow and despair, he's said himself that ironically he also leaves them with hope after seeing the resilience of the human spirit...These trips are 'grounding' times for him, I think.

I'm so happy about his UNICEF role, so glad he's doing this.

[annabear]

Awww, muski, I think I love you. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[Cotton]

*gets credit card ready to send in a donation to UNICEF as soon as Clay asks*

What? I can't help it, I'm easy.

Yup.

Me, too.

If you want to know the truth, I'd rather spend $20 on this than buy the musicpass thingy.

I have the CD, many times over. I hear no difference in the CD quality and my iTunes download when I play them on my CD player, so why do I need a Musicpass? I'm hoping LOTS of NJU will be buygin the MP!!!

[luckiest1]

Wow, reading up on Somalia and the situation there.....it's a dangerous place to be. Clay continues to amaze me. I look forward to hearing his reports about his trip and participating in any fundraising challenges he puts forth.

[Cotton]

EEE !!

My DVR recorded Kenny's Scrubs episode!!!

I'm watching now!