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

[aikim]

Topic de jour....After 5 years in this fandom; I am still trying to figure out how to write something without pissing someone off...interpretation...that is always the bottom line...can't tell you how many times I have written something intending it to be snarky and gotten told I was being sarcastic. Sometimes you just write something without even thinking that someone may take it the wrong way or interpret it in a way you didn't intend. I find that I have really pulled back from posting because it gets tiring constantly defending your posts.

That is the problem with having lots of guidelines...those guidelines are open to interpretation and frankly I am not a mind reader and and it is no fun to post when you have to try and figure out how an admin is going to interpret something.

One of the reasons I like FCA is that we can post, disagree and move on and I don't have to feel like there is an admin sitting on my shoulder at all times...I may not post a lot here either, but I enjoy reading and the conversations are always interesting without all the drama and teeth-gnashing that goes on elsewhere.

You really do have to have a thick skin to post on message boards and learn not to take things personally and sometimes just agree to disagree...but it is good to have varying opinions because it makes you think.

Kim

[jmh123]

My thoughts on As Long as We're Here.

I love the opening with a single held tone, and the rest of the instrumental intro. Love the "let's stop now," which then leads into the first verse.

My favorite lines:

some people live their lives holding their fears inside them

afraid to build windows to let the light of the world in

they hide in the darkness of self-imposed walls

if they could just tear them down, they'd have it all

I love the Celtic sound of the electronic viola at the end of each "let's make the most of our time as long as we're here." Seems like the second time it's more longer and a more elaborate melody than the first, which adds interest to the song, for me.

I love that little diddly sound from a guitar, and there's also a warbling, bird-like sound I love--not sure what instrument it comes from.

I love the bridge - "you are my need, right now love me". He really "sells" that line.

It's cool how the vocals end so softly, fading away rather than building up to a crescendo.

I love instruments at the very end. There's kind of an electronic, chaotic feel to the sound that really appeals to me.

This is one of my favorite songs in terms of the instrumentation. It's similar to ETIDN in that respect, to me, and is an example of what I'd call Kipper's sonic signature on the album.

[Iseeme]

Cotton - what an interesting post. When you started describing what you were imagining I immediately thought of the scene in Out of Africa where the Robert Redford character takes the Meryl Streep character up in his plane for the first time and they're flying over this absolutely beautiful country. I have no clue where that came to mind.

For you nature lovers ------ 3 does and 5 little tiny Bambis in the yard this morning. I have my son's Lab with me (also known as the Big Yellow Dog) and she was standing at the door with her legs crossed having to go out so badly - but I didn't dare let her out. For a city dog, chasing deer is one of life's greatest pleasures! Another funny thing - the Flower Farm has voles. I think that's how its spelled. They're little animals that look like chubby mice, but they aren't mice. They are all over the place. So you're standing talking to a customer or watering plants and these things run over your feet. We also have to keep the birds from nesting in our hanging baskets. The baskets are about 4 feet in circumference and have alot of colorful flowers - they kind of remind me of the baskets lining the streets of Victoria, B.C. Anyway, you have to stick your hand in them to see if the birds have started a nest. I'm not that tall so some of my "hand-sticking" is blind. I keep expecting to get chomped by a mama bird. It's on our "to-do" list every day so they never actually get a chance to lay their eggs - which is a good thing! They can go somewhere else where the eggs will be safe! We also have signs all over the place warning customers to watch out for Rattlesnakes. I'm told no one has ever seen a rattlesnake on the premises but the owners felt they needed to caution customers. I am morbidly afraid of snakes - even worms scare me (they're just snake wannabes) - so any snake sighting is going to be heart attack city! And, I have a Bullock's Oriole visiting my goldfinch feeder. They're really rare in these parts and you're considered to be very lucky if they chose to spread birdseed all over your deck. The finch feeders are kind of small and then this 747-sized bird lands and the seed flies everywhere. But they're a beautiful orangey-apricot color with black wings and head and white stripes.

So- that's your nature lecture from the Sierra Foothills of California for the day!!!! Everyone is very vigilant about firecrackers or fireworks tonite. The sheriff's department and Cal Fire have all personnel working and supposedly the fines for misbehavior will be severe. I sure hope so because the last two days we've had blue skies for the first time in several weeks.

Clay content:

[annabear]

So Scarlett, do you and PerusingOne have ANY damn plans yet for CA or will you play it all by ear. Definitely those in the area..we should get together at least one day!

They're "guidelines"...

I'm flying in on the night of the 17th (w/ Perusing One) and leaving early on the morning of the 22nd. The others are flying iin a day after us, I think. If annabear is arriving on the 21st, it would be great to meet up with her when she arrives. Otherwise, how about sometime on Sunday the 20th? I think we'll be in Half Moon Bay on either Friday or Saturday or both -- depending on hotel availability -- in case you prefer to meet up over there.

Plans? Guidelines? What are those? I'm going to play the clueless guard when it comes to this might/might not happen trip because I truly am clueless in this case... IIU I actually am going to be attending the training that week, I'll be flying in on Sun. the 20th. That's about all of the planning I can do at this point, but once I really do know something, I'll let y'all know!

:bday: muski!!!

[luckiest1]

Yeah, forget my musical post about ALAWH. I'll just WORD cotton and jmh123 instead! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Iseeme, it must be wonderful to have nature in your backyard like that. Sounds like heaven on earth to me, although I realize it must come with it's downside too. Heck, I have a couple of bunnies that seem to be living in the back of my little yard, where the weeds are about 4 feet tall. Occasionally I catch sight of their little white tails disappearing into the weeds in the early morning or late at night when I take the dog out to do her business. And I have a few birds nesting up in my grape vines, over the back patio. So I guess there's nature right in my backyard too!

[cha cha trusty]

Just skimming this morning, while listening to that glorious voice singing on the Mall on the 2004 stage....

Claymatron - congrats on the wine test! And thanks for explaning. I thought it was something like a drug test!!!!

Well - we are leaving for West Virginia in a little while - without the Morgan.

We hit a big snag trying to reassemble the front piece where the grill goes (called the radiator cowl).

It just won't fit. The sheet metal is misaligned, mainly on account of its being an old car and parts are bent and broken and repaired in odd ways!!

It was a crap shoot anyhow, we really should have started in December!

This is as far as we got.........

The piece with the insignia on it

is the piece that won't fit.

There are bolts that have to go thru three layers of sheet metal, and the holes just won't line up.

So...... we're going to have to take the left fender (wing) off and make adjustments.

If we had 3-4 more days......

The good news is I have LOTS of time to work on the upholstery - since the next car club event won't be for a couple of months!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[jmh123]

AWWWW, chacha, I'm sorry you didn't finish, but I hope you have fun at the event. The car is going to be gorgeous when it's finished!!

[playbiller]

OK, I'll say it - I like talking about the board on the board. Half the time that rule is used in a personally interpretted way on a board - saying aren't we posters all wonderful - isn't that talking about the board on the board as well? Yet, people can say taht , but if you have a question about something , you have to PM someone incharge and it disappears into the ether, maybe others have that same question, wouldn't it be easier to discuss it openly? The whole Fake Clay thing would have gotten nowhere if people were able to talk about the boards on the boards, but bunches of people were questioning to the mods and it never got discussed. Now, if you wanted to edit people for sayng the sme thing over and over, I am all for that - tends to get tedious and make the whole "building a fort and defending it" disappear if people could just post their opnion and then drop it.

As to being edited by a mod - I have always on all boards where I can (some do not allow editing, so check spelling very carefully first), I edit if someone PMs me and I find I have offended them unintentionally. No one is perfect in grammer and what ever, so many times tone takes a life of it's own. I have PM'd people to ask what they mean when they have stated something strongly, but I personallly did not think it is what they meant topost - sometimes I am wrong, sometimes I get a whoops PM back and they edit. That is what I consider taking responsibility for what you post -

Happy 4th. I did not get out early enough yesterday, so I am debating the best time to leave today, I am thinking duringthe fireworks at 9 might bea good time to be on the road. I can't believe they moved the fireworks back by my house - they just put artificial turf in that field and now they are going to have fireworks over it? I had my hair burnt watching the fireworks there once and we ad to put the blankets on our heads. But, what can you expect from a town that uses artificial turf just as the questions of health issues is heating up.

Clay - I hope he is home for the 4th, he was not for many years, so maybe this isthe time to be there.

ETA - I remember dreaming about owning a Morgan oh, so may years ago - live your dreams !!!

[Couch Tomato]

PM, and the ignore button.

One of the things that came out after the great reveal of fake baby mama was how PMs have been used as a bludgeon over the years. So yeah, PMs are good but only if interested in working things out or asking for clarification or stating how you feel about something. Bombs should not be tossed in the the PM messenger. There should be civility there as well. Beat each up in person if it's that bad. I'm sure there will be a concert somewhere down the line real soon Everywhere else in life we kinda get to the point where we know that wow that person is not "my people <TM KF>. And we live with it without having daily explosions with all manner of tactics.

Bombs? Explosions? It must be the 4th of July!

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y M U S K I

Well, it would take a lot more than a heated discussion to chase this newbie away...

Cool..and thanks for explaining "the wine test." Definitely understand the part time job need thing, expect mine is to pay for gas and groceries But it is just nice to have a place to go and something you enjoy doing. Although my mom has pulled out of her depression (THANK GOD) I still think the majority of the issue was her feeling useless after a lifetime of having some place to go and an important job to do everyday.

Happy Capital Fourth of July with Clay Aiken Revisited on YouTube

Thank you Laughn AND Cotton

I just had to put in my two cents about the discussion du jour. One of the boards on which I posted had a mod that is a FC believer we now find out. At that time anyone who posted that they disagreed with this particular mod, who of course was in personal discussions with TC, was edited for who knows what reason. Two years later and fake clay and babymomma discovery, its okay to bash that mod. SO now I feel sorry for her What a wimp I am.

Ahhh Fear, you're a better woman than me but I do understand. One of Play and my pet peeves - that those in cahoots, perhaps only in a oooh I'm an insider and I beleive type of way - skated away with no repercussions. Not that I want anybody stoned. But was HD doing all the editing or did she have help with that. That's my issue.

I'm voting for that cute guy!!

A couple of days ago I was listening to my local AC station and I heard the dj say "i have two words for you "Artificial Insemination!" Clay Aiken is going to be a daddy using artificial insemination. Here is his new song." An they proceeded to play OMWH. I was so taken aback by the unnecessary introduction that I wrote an email to the station. The first time i have ever responded to disses I have heard or read about Clay. But this hit me. I received an email from the dj (a substitute dj who has said unkind things about Clay in the past) thanking me for my email and proceeded to inform me that it was "factual" that Clay was going to be a daddy and that it was "factual" that he used artificial insemination and that his mention of those facts was "not intended to be rude." But it was, and I let it drop.

I'd like to keep this just at this board. I shared this experience because it shows how the stories are being perceived by at least one consumer who unfortunately has a large audience.

Thanks for sharing. Yep isn't it amazing how people believe anything "in the news." And of course IIT IIU..that will only solidify that a little bit more.

oooh wordy ansa. Love it. Remember when she used to postho around here guys. How dare she let real life get in the way of the board she made me open

damn... I'm still not caught up. ya'll must be off today or something heee.

But I will say one of the reason I hate the no board on board talk rule is for days like this. Because I like to know what ya'll are thinking. The board culture is put together by the members not the mods..or at least that's what I want.

I'm all alone...so all alone. I don't even know what to do with myself... hmmm I could download my cith song, read a book, download my cith song, work a little bit, download my cith song, ..

I think I"ll finish catching up!!

[wandacleo]

Happy fourth, everyone!!

Somewhere Clay is celebrating, too.

[KAndre]

Well, if Scarlett gets her butt in gear, she's heading to my house and we will entertain ourselves.

Scarlett is also confused because the entire eHP is headed to SF on the 17th and leaving on the 22nd.

I know I tend to only half-ass edit (because frankly a lot of grammar and misspellings don't bother me that much.)

I'm gonna steal borrow legally appropriate Cotton's video vision along with Gibby's stuff. It now sounds perfect to me.

Man, I flove As Long As We're Here.

Oooo ansa! I can be sorta semi-positive most of the time! Kinda. If you squint really hard.

[Couch Tomato]

Well, if Scarlett gets her butt in gear, she's heading to my house and we will entertain ourselves.

Scarlett is also confused because the entire eHP is headed to SF on the 17th and leaving on the 22nd.

I know I tend to only half-ass edit (because frankly a lot of grammar and misspellings don't bother me that much.)

YAY,,wow I need to clean up for the eHP. Get those potholes fixed, spraypaint the sky blue, I'm so psyched.

TWoP is one of the places I post...not just Clay but varying topics over the years...and I've gotten warnings and notes from admins for 2 damn resons..talkinng about the board on the board and GRAMMAR. Bwah. I'm sorry but this stuff is supposed to be fun...half the time my fingers are way ahead of my brain. My most common problem is with homonyms. It's not that I don't know what bear and bare are but when you can type 80 words a minute sometimes the little details get past you. hee. Oh and I like to type stream of consciousness style..try doing that on twop... And I guess it works for them because in most of the areas I read and participate in there are some witty funny intelligent posters..just wish they weren't so darn anal about it. What's so wrong with the dot dot dot.

Oooo ansa! I can be sorta semi-positive most of the time! Kinda. If you squint really hard.

and that's why you are a mod and enforcer...to keep us in check

[00lsee]

luckiest1

I'm sorry if a newbie felt driven away.........but it takes two to tango. I was a participant in the conversation but I don't remember writing anything I felt sorry about afterwards. Sometimes a difference of opinion is just that.

I wasn't online when this particular kerfluffle happened, but I will say, Belle6827, that it often takes time and maybe a few false starts...to feel comfortable in a new place. You wrote:

Perhaps this board is not for me after all. When I first lurked here, I thought people were more open to opinions other than their own. Apparently, I was wrong.

Being open to opinions other than one's own is a mutual endeavor in this forum. However, if you actually felt "pushed away" (as per Scarlett, who is a sweet-sweet-sweetie), I am sorry for that. I feel kinda cheated because I missed the whole thing! heh Don't worry that you've burned your bridges by expressing doubts about fitting in. It's fine to ease back into the conversation. If you experience some turbulence upon reentry, most likely, it is NOT personal.

KAndre

Scarlett is also confused because the entire eHP is headed to SF on the 17th and leaving on the 22nd.

...well, not ENTIRELY. *sniff*

Anyway, y'all...I'm so freaking behind on this board. Y'all talked and talked and talked while I was gone. Yak yak yak yak yak...sheesh! Actually, you know I think this is a very good thing, don't you?

Love Clay's lovely UNICEF picture.

LOVE revisiting the Capitol Fourth on youtube. Yum.

Happy Birthday, muski!!!

I owe some *waves* to several folks on the board, but after all that flying, my arms are tired. LOL You know I love ya. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[ldyjocelyn]

Welcome back 00lsee! Hope you had a great vacation!

I will say, Belle6827, that it often takes time and maybe a few false starts...to feel comfortable in a new place.

Thank you for saying this, because it brings up something I wanted to mention earlier. I totally agree that it takes TIME to understand the flavor of a board, any board. I suggest to some that are lurking, and are thinking of joining, to go back through our archives, and read for a bit. Pick some assorted dates in our 3 year history and try to figure out what we're talking about, and why. You'll find that FCA has had scuffles before, and yes, some of those got rather heated too. You'll also find a whole heck of a lot of fun. I still do this from time to time, because I think it's fun to revisit a snapshot of our time here.

And then, 00lsee is right -- there will be false starts. There will be misunderstandings. If it's taken as a "learning curve," I think things work out for the best.

ALAWH: man, I love this song. I love the piano sound. I love the waltz feel. I love the pounding strings, especially during the last chorus. I love Clay's voice. I love "let's stop now." I love the lyrics jmh mentioned. I love the drums. I love the celtic fiddle. I love the bridge (and want to marry it and have its babies). I love the background vocals "la la la" during the instrumental breaks. I just love this song

[Couch Tomato]

we need more thread title suggestions..say something witty!!

[Bookwhore]

:00003653:

Happy birthday Muski! :F_05BL17blowkiss: I think in honor of the combined celebration of your birthday and Independece Day, maybe you could grace us with a little hott fanfic? Nothing too extensive...just a short story about Clay...and fireworks...and explosions and stuff? An eruption or two?

Tone. Freedom of speech. It all depends on where you're coming from in your life. For example, having grown up in an extremely sarcastic environment, I would never agree with the comment that "tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic." IMO, wit involves owning good intellectual capacity and being amusingly or ingeniously clever in conception or execution. Sarcasm is a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut, give pain or be derogatory in nature. Not the same thing in my mind at all. When someone on the board posts sarcastically, I bristle. When someone is witty is laugh my ass off. But again, it all depends on where you're coming from and on a message board we're all coming from a different place. Which is a good thing, IMO, and part of what makes it fun. Also, we as readers often time mistake the inention of someone's post. What one person meant to be witty, another might mistake as being sarcastic. I know for a fact that has happened to me.

I think it was ldyj who said she tries not to post when she angry. Very good advice.

I'm all proud of myself and stuff today because I just learned how to replace a doorknob. Stop laughing at me! I've never had to do this kind of stuff before....I thought it required a penis and a special screwdriver and knowing the right cuss words. I think I deserve a cookie.

Edited to add IMO in a couple of places. Just to be clear that I understand that not everyone holds the same opinions that I do.

[Couch Tomato]

I'm all proud of myself and stuff today because I just learned how to replace a doorknob. Stop laughing at me! I've never had to do this kind of stuff before....I thought it required a penis and a special screwdriver and knowing the right cuss words. I think I deserve a cookie.

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

peanut butter or chocolate chip!!

You know I was too stupid to understand the wit/sarcasm thing so I just kept moving Thanks for chiming in on it.

[Iseeme]

we need more thread title suggestions..say something witty!!

Something witty!

Okay! Okay! Lame attempt at humor.

Do we ever go back and look at the "also-rans" in the thread title suggestions? For example:

muchos gracias to a globe-trotting, lazy-ass, dog-loving, soft-rocking dude!

Very nice to look at...this very well put together firecracker.

)appropriate given the date!

the class clown got to be the star

Whenever he's ready, I'm ready for whatever he's ready for.

Hopefully none of these were already used before I came to FCA.

Or just "oh goody!"

[luckiest1]

One of the things that came out after the great reveal of fake baby mama was how PMs have been used as a bludgeon over the years. So yeah, PMs are good but only if interested in working things out or asking for clarification or stating how you feel about something. Bombs should not be tossed in the the PM messenger. There should be civility there as well. Beat each up in person if it's that bad. I'm sure there will be a concert somewhere down the line real soon

You do know that that was what I meant by using PM, right? To clear things up, to spare the rest of us on the board when something becomes a back and forth between two people instead of a group discussion? Hee, just checking.

I'm all alone...so all alone. I don't even know what to do with myself... hmmm I could download my cith song, read a book, download my cith song, work a little bit, download my cith song, ..

I think I"ll finish catching up!!

To quote Herbert's father.....don't make me come down there!

[wandacleo]

A little note about freedom of speech seems particularly appropriate today.

While I find the opinions of some people tiresome--and I'm sure NO ONE feels that way about my opinions (LOL)--the one good thing about this place is i don't have to suffer in silence, and some bitch moderator with green ink doesn't get to decide whose opinion fits the party line or what topics are fit to discuss or what news is board-acceptable. I think the ability for people to freely express their opinions probably does drive the fringe lunatics away because they don't have impunity to spew nonsense without consequences. I consider that a bonus.

I also suppose that if people get a sense of self-worth from people agreeing with them or are very sensitive if people disagree with them, this might not be the right board for them--but there are lots of boards to choose from.

I personally think we are blessed to have this board. I love it here. I love the board family--even the ones I disagree with. I'm happy to see new names popping up and new perspectives.

And--just on general principles--I love Clay.

[Bookwhore]

Bombs should not be tossed in the the PM messenger.

Oh Lordy, this made me think of Brother Maynard!

Oh Lord, bless this thou holy PM that with it thou mayest blow thine enemies to tiny bits in thy mercy. Then the Lord spake saying first shalt thou type up the holy PM then shall thou count to three. Three being the number which thou shalt count, then thou shalt click 'send', lobbying the holy PM towards thy foe who have been naughty in my sight shall snuff it.

[wandacleo]

Bombs should not be tossed in the the PM messenger.

Oh Lordy, this made me think of Brother Maynard!

Oh Lord, bless this thou holy PM that with it thou mayest blow thine enemies to tiny bits in thy mercy. Then the Lord spake saying first shalt thou type up the holy PM then shall thou count to three. Three being the number which thou shalt count, then thou shalt click 'send', lobbying the holy PM towards thy foe who have been naughty in my sight shall snuff it.

:lmaosmiley-1:

[annabear]

[Couch Tomato]

And--just on general principles--I love Clay.

thread title...

Iseeme..great idea

[Gibby]

Cotton, thanks for asking about the softball pic. Yep, that's my Carrie--this pic was 2 years ago and she'd just struck someone out with two outs and two on base. If she hadn't, just a base hit would've eliminated them from the tournament, but instead this STRIKE 3! put them into the championship! It was so hot and she'd already pitched two games before and was really a trooper. A parent was taking pics through the fence and caught this moment after the ump yelled 'Strike 3!' and everyone whooped and Carrie jumped straight up in the air..the parent caught it while she was off the ground. There's another great shot right after this showing the catcher running toward her for a hug. I absolutely LOVE this picture. The pure JOY on her face.

Thanks for the explanation about the picture! It's a fantastic pic, and her joy is infectious when I look at the pic.

And - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

:bday: :hb2: :bday:

eta 2 ... you know the drill...edited for blahblah and blah

eta 3 ... oooo....I like my friend cagney's "assorted flubs" ... I may have to steal that.

Why yes...I am still editing. What of it?

Heeee, I edit a lot, too. I was soooooo happy when the edit counter was removed!

Also...we do not post as a gang here. There are no organized attack so pile on just happens because we have a lot of opinionated verbose women that like to post ho. Not because people want to browbeat someone. On the flip side....it is really ok not to post when the points you are going to say have been made already. I think that is why I haven't been posting too much lately...I often get on the board and have to do a lot of catch up and as I make points in my head...I see other posters have made the same points...so I just word them and move on.

oh and wish me luck....I just applied for an online job!!!! Keeping my fingers crossed...

Ansa, thanks so much for your long and articulate post about the board! It was good to read all that you said. However, the bolded part above cracks me up. It is true, but somehow it sounds unflattering, and it tickles my funny bone.

Good luck on your job application!

Congrats on passing the test, Claymatron!

And chach - so sorry the vintage car didn't come together. Looks like you made some really good progress on it, though! I love the shade of blue - very, very pretty!

I'm all proud of myself and stuff today because I just learned how to replace a doorknob. Stop laughing at me! I've never had to do this kind of stuff before....I thought it required a penis and a special screwdriver and knowing the right cuss words. I think I deserve a cookie.

BWAH!!

Here's a cookie -