#37: Whenever he's ready, I'm ready for whatever he's ready for.

[luckiest1]

Oh, you are probably right, I know. Just an interesting date.

[keepingfaith]

I always watch GMA.

This morning, they were going on and on about Christie Brinkley's divorce.

Since when has this stuff been News??

I mean a mention - but a whole news segment?

I was thinking about Clay and Somalia and this News story before the Field Notes were posted. About how much time is spent on celebrities personal stuff instead of - actual News! I switched to Today.

Then they started with the "heartwarming" cover of 17 yr old Spears like that's News!

I swear. I worry about our country.

Gotta get ready for work!

'Bye!

IMO it's deliberate distraction. If people are lulled into thinking that sensational crimes or celebrity gossip are the most important things going on, will they care that the 4th Amendment is being systematically dismantled, and that the FISA vote today is a big part of that process? Or that we were lied into a war with devastating consequences? If the "news" can keep the "news" confined to distractions, then all manner of things will occur under the radar, and only those who read the foreign press, or look for "truthiness" in the nooks and crannies have a sense of what's happening. Freedom of the press has always been a battle, but we have been gizmoed, gadgeted and gossiped into submission. People want to sing God Bless America, but have no interest in demanding that the Constitution be preserved. Too many people have no idea these things are on the line because they are voluntarily bombarded with who's pregnant, who's getting a divorce, and who OD'd. I keep thinking people are going to wake up in time, but it's close.

[claytonic]

Nice horsey . . .

Is that really Clay's body? Looks like a fake pic to me. But how would I know? :cryingwlaughter:

[annabear]

Love the killer rabbit!!! I admit to buying the puppet at Spamalot... told my sister that I can too be 12 if I want to!! He's sitting over a water bottle on my computer table at work... heh. A nice little reminder of my trip to NYC! Makes me smile every time I look at it.

Not caught up from the overnight chattiness & off to a meeting in a few, but had to respond to this! I wanted the slippers, but could NOT justify spending $45 for a giant pair of what would surely end up as cat toys! I caved and decided I had to have a bunny when I went back for finale weekend. I ended up buying a clip-on one - you squeeze his bum and his mouth opens, very much like the GIF I posted. He's currently chomping on the lamp on my computer table!

Off for a laaaaarrrge cup of coffee & then to a 2 hour meeting....

ETA: Forgot - loverly banner, cindilu2! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[muskifest]

you squeeze his bum and his mouth opens

I just bet it does...

[Iseeme]

Good morning!

First of all, check my avatar, I am an expert on Clay's hands.....and his thumb hasn't been that short since he was at most 11 years old. Just saying. But we DO know he sits a horse well. And I believe that headshot is from some steps in Brooklyn or Manhattan!

kf - WORD to your entire paragraph! I've been saying for a long time now that the Fourth Estate is in the toilet. There's no honor or integrity anymore in printing the truth about anything unless it sells newspapers or increases web hits or viewership. It's all a big show! Does anybody really care about Christie Brinkley other than her immediate family? And what, pray tell, do you think BabySisSpears is raking in for letting OK photograph her and the baby? Talk about parlaying no talent into a fortune.......sheesh!

But, Ijust read a book about WWII written by Jeff Shaara called The Rising Tide where Eisenhower and Churchill and TPTB in the Allied troops totally and completely manipulated the press to keep the Americans and the British in the dark about what was really happening in Europe. So - maybe it's always been that way and we didn't realize it. Very scarey.

Clay did sound disheartened in his field notes....."where's the outrage" is very telling. But did anyone else think they were kind of sparce? He was alot more effusive after his other trips. Maybe we need the pictures....

No other Clay content - just a pretty picture this morning.

[ldyjocelyn]

claytonic, I'm sure it's a photoshop, but it's a pretty good one (and I generally don't like photoshops). What threw me was that the "picture" showed up at the exact same time as the Field Notes blog, and since I hadn't had enough coffee, I was scouring the unicef site for that damn picture.

Don't mind me, I'm just losing my mind.

That blog was heartbreaking. It's astounding to me that there's only 350 doctors in that country.

Thank you Clay, for making me aware of these kinds of atrocities.

cindilu, I love the banner.

[luckiest1]

Pictures are up!

http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org/2008/07/wh...age_1.html#more

And a final, more hopeful sentence:

At least we know something can be done. Help UNICEF save and improve the lives of children in Somalia. Donate online, right now.

[muskifest]

Where's the outrage, indeed.

Shallow me absolutely adores the field pictures of Mr. Ambassador, though. He looks wonderful, all scruffy and greasy and whatnot. Looks like while there he let the stubble do what it wanted to, with a little guidance from a razor. And the sunglasses on the head is always a good look, imo.

One thing I notice about the Somalia pics. The people there dress so colorfully! I love that.

Now where's my worn out credit card. Mr. Ambassador and deserving children get me every time.

[Couch Tomato]

Pictures are up!

http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org/2008/07/wh...age_1.html#more

And a final, more hopeful sentence:

At least we know something can be done. Help UNICEF save and improve the lives of children in Somalia. Donate online, right now.

should have come with a clay with baby warning...

[aikim]

Pictures are up!

http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org/2008/07/wh...age_1.html#more

And a final, more hopeful sentence:

At least we know something can be done. Help UNICEF save and improve the lives of children in Somalia. Donate online, right now.

should have come with a clay with baby warning...

Such a beautiful man!

Kim

[luckiest1]

should have come with a clay with baby warning...

I know! OMG GAH on both the baby pic and the smiley pic!

[Iseeme]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the first picture - after reading those notes this morning it was good to see a picture of him smiling! He looks great. Love the hair color. (okay, I'm shallow, too!) And is it just my imagination or is it only Clay that always gets photographed holding a baby on these trips! I agree Couchie - hmmmm....maybe we need a WARNING Clay with Baby emotie! I'm guessing that shirt and those white pants are both linen - cooler than regular cotton - and notice how he's all buttoned up so as not to get sunburned. Glasses on head ALWAYS a good look for him.

I hope there is more publicity for this trip than just the field notes on the UNICEF website. Not sure how many people see that! Would love to see that first picture in People, US, OK, and any other mag that's pandered to TMZ's diarrheal mumblings.

Can you imagine a place where the average life expectancy is 45? Many of us here would be dead and gone by now.

[cagney1950]

should have come with a clay with baby warning...

I know! OMG GAH on both the baby pic and the smiley pic!

couchie, you are sooo right.

My oh my oh my....

And that pic with the smiling children....what joy he brings to them...and them to him. He just exudes love and compassion.

He looks really, really, really good while exuding all that good stuff.

[luckiest1]

I hope there is more publicity for this trip than just the field notes on the UNICEF website. Not sure how many people see that! Would love to see that first picture in People, US, OK, and any other mag that's pandered to TMZ's diarrheal mumblings.

Can you imagine a place where the average life expectancy is 45? Many of us here would be dead and gone by now.

I would imagine that if anything gets picked up by the mags, it'll be the baby pic. And that's ok with me, cuz it does something funny to my tummy when I look at it. Look at the look on Clay's face. Love the other one too, because I love to see him smile! And those kids look like they are having fun, too.

That short life expectancy really caught me, too. I'm 45. Yikes.

[djs111]

So - maybe it's always been that way and we didn't realize it. Very scarey.

Yes, I believe it has always been that way. Media is a quantum leap more accessible now, tho, not so much dependence on print and TV, so there is a scramble to both dumb things down and use the "look! There's a kitty!" approach.

Clay did sound disheartened in his field notes....."where's the outrage" is very telling. But did anyone else think they were kind of sparse? He was alot more effusive after his other trips. Maybe we need the pictures....

I am thinking he did not find anything to be effusive about, sounds like he is still shocked.

Kinda ironic that Black Hawk Down, which may be responsible for what looks to be some public perception that Somalia does not deserve help, has netted about $80 million dollars so far. (Cost about $90m to make, has grossed about $174 million worldwide, very rough estimates, but still in the ball park).

All this historical boobage talk just reminded me of my flights to and from the Atlantic City JBT. Flight up, sat next a woman who was on her way to the big tennis tournament in NYC. She talked a bit about how she was agonising over submitting her rarely-used condo somewhere in the south for possible use by Katrina refugees, but had decided not. On the way home, I sat next to a guy who had been a disc jockey, and was returning from a job running a meet and greet for Big and Rich. He said those things can be real hard to run sometimes, depending on talent, fans, venue. I did not mention Clay until he asked me why I had been to New jersey. He said all Clay needs for another radio hit is another Invisible. Also said no one actually cares if Clay is gay, it is just something interesting to talk about.

Funny thing to me is I agree that Clay needs another Invisible, but think that Invisible was not really a Clay-like song. And if ya have to use a metronome to gauge the beat, it prolly ain't peppy enough. The beat should be apparent. Also, Invisible had that instantly recognisable upbeat start. More of a hook. I think this is why Clay said he does not expect radio.

For better or worse, something this fandom has taught me is that unless I really know someone, I need to consider agenda before I even think of considering anything else. I have come to believe that almost everything is spin and P.R., not usually in a good way.

And come to think of it, I guess my friends are my friends because our own agendas mesh for the most part. I don't want to spend much time in RL disagreeing with anyone.

[Iseeme]

This is curious - or my memory has failed me yet again....

When doing the online donation with UNICEF, one of the required fields was "donor country!" I honestly don't remember having to fill that in before. But it makes sense.

Anyone?

[Iseeme]

Removing pictures as ldyj posted at the same time!

I agree - they needed to be posted here.

When you read or hear the statistics as to what ONE DOLLAR can do for a child - there is no such thing as a measly amount of money to donate. But like Clay has always said, if you can't donate money there are other ways to support a cause. One is by getting information out to other people. I didn't know much about UNICEF until Clay.....and it's certainly opened my eyes to what's going on in the rest of the world. It always seems to be the children that suffer the most because they have had no one to speak up for them. In so many countries, life is expendable. I have no words.....

[luckiest1]

I think that's always been there. Can't donate until tonight but I hope it works for Canadians this time. I've had trouble in the past with it accepting Canadian CCs.

[ldyjocelyn]

Personally, I think the pictures should be posted here!

WARNING: ADORABLE BABY AND ADORABLE CLAY PICTURES AHEAD!!!

I think People magazine has picked up pictures of all his UNICEF trips, so I'm expecting them to do the same with this one.

IMO, People mag has been quite good to Clay. While there may be some dispute because of their reporting of the baby news as truth, I have to say the articles they've written have all been fairly respectful to me.

Back to thinking about the Somalia thing. Yeah, I'm 46. That's scary that I would be dead there. I wish my measly amounts of money can help do SOMETHING.

Of course, Iseeme, scoops me with the pictures. I'm leaving them anyway...

[Iseeme]

ldyj - :F_05BL17blowkiss:

All fixed!

Heh! Heh! I kind of "borrowed" an avatar from someplace else......being technically challenged and not knowing how to make my own. I do think this is one of the best pictures evah!!!!

[claytonic]

But, Ijust read a book about WWII written by Jeff Shaara called The Rising Tide where Eisenhower and Churchill and TPTB in the Allied troops totally and completely manipulated the press to keep the Americans and the British in the dark about what was really happening in Europe. So - maybe it's always been that way and we didn't realize it. Very scarey.

That reminds me….I know someone who was in the Military during the Vietnam years, working in Communications. They told the media what they wanted the public to know, and it was always a far cry from the facts. I also know someone who was a child during Hitler’s Germany, and he said they really didn’t have a clue.

Do we know how Clay feels about Iraq? How I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he's talking freely to people he trusts, about how he really feels about the atrocities heaped on innocent people, all in the name of power begetting more power. I hope a lot of people read his reports, and read between the lines.

[rohdy]

Oh my....love the pictures!!

A little off topic....but I wanted to share the info I just received from my contact from the book drive...

My post from the OFC:

Thought you might like to see the latest update that I just received from my contact at Kalamazoo Communities in Schools, the recipient of all the books collected in honor of Clay's birthday.

Quote:

I wanted to let you know that the rest of the wonderful books donated

by Clay Aiken's fans in honor of his birthday last November are to be

distributed this week.

Kalamazoo Public Schools has about 800 children in summer school,

working hard at being able to move to the next grade level in the

fall. The majority of these children are eligible for free or reduced

lunch and are of Afro-American or Hispanic descent.

Tomorrow morning 112 Kindergartners, 201 1st graders and 167 2nd

graders will get to choose a book from the ones donated by all of you.

They will then pair up with a community volunteer (or in some cases,

with so many children, there may be small reading groups) for some one

on one time with an adult. Then the child gets to keep the book - and

every book has a book plate that says:

On November 30, 2007 fans donated over 1,220 books and $690 to

promote literacy in Kalamazoo in honor of the birthday of pop singer

Clay Aiken.

In this spirit, Kalamazoo Communities In Schools and the members of

Clay Nation wish to present this book to:

_____________________________________________

On Friday, over 100 3rd graders, 100 4th graders, 88 5th graders and

30 6th graders will participate in the program.

Thanks to the many generous Barnes and Noble gift cards donated, I was

able to purchase over 60 Hispanic books so we could offer books to

some of the children in their native language. Although the original

bill came to $560, Barnes and Noble wanted to support the generosity

of all of you and gave us some excellent discounts so I paid only

$430. The clerk even paid some of the bill from her own pocket:-)

Again, thanks from all of us at Kalamazoo Communities In Schools, and

the children in KPS, for supporting literacy and the Kalamazoo

Promise.

It has been my pleasure to work with you!

Bolding mine, just to make it stand out a bit more.

Pictures she included....

I love seeing what a group can do...with very little effort!

Thanks again for all the help I received here!

Rohdy

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[00lsee]

someone at CH made the pictures

a little

bigger

I am so happy to see him again! These are among the most beautiful photos of Clay I have ever seen. His reports are always so articulate...I could feel his question (where is the outrage) in his words. In all his UNICEF reports, he seems to realize that the areas he is seeing, where UNICEF is actually able to make an impact, are probably far better than those areas he is not able to see. That's got to be distressing to witness in person.

My Clayfan kid said, "Awww, he's going to be such an awesome dad...and...I like his new hair."

Heh

[justclay12]

I always watch GMA.

This morning, they were going on and on about Christie Brinkley's divorce.

Since when has this stuff been News??

I mean a mention - but a whole news segment?

I was thinking about Clay and Somalia and this News story before the Field Notes were posted. About how much time is spent on celebrities personal stuff instead of - actual News! I switched to Today.

Then they started with the "heartwarming" cover of 17 yr old Spears like that's News!

I swear. I worry about our country.

Gotta get ready for work!

'Bye!

IMO it's deliberate distraction. If people are lulled into thinking that sensational crimes or celebrity gossip are the most important things going on, will they care that the 4th Amendment is being systematically dismantled, and that the FISA vote today is a big part of that process? Or that we were lied into a war with devastating consequences? If the "news" can keep the "news" confined to distractions, then all manner of things will occur under the radar, and only those who read the foreign press, or look for "truthiness" in the nooks and crannies have a sense of what's happening. Freedom of the press has always been a battle, but we have been gizmoed, gadgeted and gossiped into submission. People want to sing God Bless America, but have no interest in demanding that the Constitution be preserved. Too many people have no idea these things are on the line because they are voluntarily bombarded with who's pregnant, who's getting a divorce, and who OD'd. I keep thinking people are going to wake up in time, but it's close.

Haven't finished catching up yet but kf, I want to kiss you right now. This is exactly how I feel about the way things are today and for the past 7+ years. What is discouraging is that the media has been going right along with that plan instead of fighting against it. Where are the people of Watergate and all the actual investigative reporting? Instead the only investigating is of entertainers private lives or which congressman has been picking up hookers, not that I'm opposed to that since they are usually the ones who are the biggest hypocrits, but they are hardly the most important news stories out there. Lord, let it all be over soon.

And I was able to see 2 pics of Clay on the Unicef site and he looked beautiful and I'm off to donate soon.