#41: Clay Aiken Makes His Triumphant Return!

[txflwrgrl]

BWAH Bottle! That was perfect and I loved it! :lmaosmiley-1:

.....also agree that that fish looked baaaaaddddd!

[aikim]

Couchie at counting down the end of free speech at the OFC!

I really am trying to understand that people have religious issues with regards to homosexuality, but believing it is a choice just seems to illogical to me.

Why would anyone choose a lifestyle with all its inherent societal ramifications...I mean, people have been killed for being gay.

This is just something that has been baffling me and I hope I haven't offended anyone by asking the question.

Kim

[ldyjocelyn]

Pretty sure blueberries and fish were NOT ever meant to go together. Talk about an abomination. BLEYUCK!!

OMG. Do you think maybe, just maybe, Clay LIED when he said he thought that was good?

*sigh*

I guess that's it for me then.

*g*

[aikim]

I am a Food Network junkie and actually liked Paula when she first came on the scene; but now she has become such a caricature of herself that I find I can't watch her anymore. She actually wasn't too bad with Clay, but once he was done, I lost interest.

Rachael Ray...I can only take her in small doses...way too perky for me.

Kim

[wandacleo]

Bottle

While you couldn't pay me to eat fish with blueberries, it was all worth it just to see Clay rubbing his meat.

And.... to watch the dirty thoughts flit across his face while he was trying to refrain from making a smartass remark.

[HeidiHo]

Couchie at counting down the end of free speech at the OFC!

I really am trying to understand that people have religious issues with regards to homosexuality, but believing it is a choice just seems to illogical to me.

Why would anyone choose a lifestyle with all its inherent societal ramifications...I mean, people have been killed for being gay.

This is just something that has been baffling me and I hope I haven't offended anyone by asking the question.

No, it's a good question, I think. I think you're absolutely right - and I remember having this conversation with someone a while ago, but can't remember who. And they said the same thing - who the hell would CHOOSE this situation??

As I said in my post, trolls - by every definition I've ever heard - are not actually fans, but are ONLY there to cause trouble. So, by that definition I don't think any regulars here are actual trolls. I thought that was clear from what I said. But I do think that there are probably trolls at the OFC and possibly elsewhere. They may even be long time members. There are some twisted people out there who really get off on causing trouble.

[Couch Tomato]

Hee! bottle, you scared the crap out of me woman. *smack*

Paula seems like she would definitely be an aquired taste - but dang, I love her hair. LOLOL! Pretty sure blueberries and fish were NOT ever meant to go together. Talk about an abomination. BLEYUCK!! But I gotta tell you - when she wiped his mouth for him - I think I peed a little.

BWAH X 3

[luckiest1]

cagney1950, I enjoyed your post. Very interesting.

Not a big Paula fan myself, but I loved Clay's episode. Wouldn't watch her show without him on it, though.

Sideburns? LOVE!

My mom, my daughter, and the puppy have left. It was nice to have them here for the weekend. Now it's back to same old, same old, laundry, cooking, work tomorrow. Blech. Two more 5 day work weeks.....but then, it's Canadian Thanksgiving, and right on the heels of that, gala time. Wheeeeee!

[Couch Tomato]

Pretty sure blueberries and fish were NOT ever meant to go together. Talk about an abomination. BLEYUCK!!

OMG. Do you think maybe, just maybe, Clay LIED when he said he thought that was good?

yeah he lied and he is so going to hell! But I look at it like this... he's an even better actor than I thought cuz he actually looked like he enjoyed it....hell maybe he did..IT WAS FRIED. Some things never change.

hee.

[luckiest1]

WTF is the matter with you people? Have you no sense of adventure? I would love to try that blueberry & fish dish that Clay rubbed cooked!

[wandacleo]

I remember my first trip to the South. I kept saying, "Jesus Christ!!! Is there nothing these people don't fry???"

[djs111]

Yeah, Paula has become a cartoon - but I do love her hair, too!

Anyways, here is a picture of what I am talking about, squid-wise....

ika meshi

I never did try it, it was quite common to see huge piles of these for sale in food courts, but I did love squid sashimi. Yum!

Here is a small example of stuff available in a department store food market - they have EVERYTHING!!!!

food court takashimaya tokyo

Topic - most likely, I bet if a camera crew followed Clay around a Japanese food court, and filmed his reactions, it would be absolutely hysterical!

I remember my first trip to the South. I kept saying, "Jesus Christ!!! Is there nothing these people don't fry???"

Bwah!!! That's how I felt about vegetables when I moved from Philly to central Illinois - every damned veggie was battered or crumbed, and fried.

Oh, and I would like to recommend the movie Unconditional Love - FABULOUS cast, and deals with the same subject that some are struggling with today. Kathy Bates is her usual brilliant self, everyone in the cast is superb. It is funny and makes ya cry, too! Jonathan Pryce plays a very popular singer who stayed in the closet his entire life.

[Scarlett]

Very quick catch up post... have to bring in all the plants I got (ansa, I found some sampaguita and ilang-ilang!)

There's a very fast train from the airport to several major stops in Tokyo. I stayed at the Shinjuku Prince and spent a lot of time in the Shinjuku area because it contains something of everything -- several good museums, a beautiful park that in April is covered with cherry blossoms, the setting where "Lost in Translation" was shot and the rather large area east of the subway station that is equivalent to our Montrose but much much bigger and livelier. The Shinjuku Prince hotel room was small but had all your basic needs and more -- the water closet is like the one in Morimoto's in NYC, ask Solo and PerusingOne for details & No, they can't prove that I pressed all the buttons.

Jackie, Kristen and Jess have never been anything but nice to me, just like Ethel and a few other famous fans. There have been occasions when they've been excited (Ethel has cut in front of me on two occassions and I was annoyed but on both times she quickly moved away when she realized what she had done; I've never had the same experience with Jackie's group but maybe others have), but I've never seen anything that would warrant the level of dislike that some fans have for them. I think they're fun to be with and I love how they love Clay.

Yes, I will eat fish with blueberries or anything else he's touched.

[Couch Tomato]

Yes, I will eat fish with blueberries or anything else he's touched.

thread title?

[djs111]

oooh oooh - got a question for people who have been to Japan - I was lucky enough to get invited to a couple of private homes. The toilets had little water pipes in the top that water flows out of, into the tank. What is that for?

Heeeee.....I loved the toilets at some stores that played flushing sounds when you sit, and KAndre - be sure to take some kind of wipes with you, because not all toilets have toilet paper, some you have to buy the paper before you go in. And be aware that a tradition Japanese toilet looks exactly like a urinal that has sunk into the ground. When I was there, some of the ladies' rooms had little pictures or signs if they had regular-type toilets; some shrines and parks only have the traditional.

Let's just say I would hate to have to use them if I had bad knees.

The women I worked with all had little quilted or whatever bags they carried, with basic toiletry supplies.

[bottlecap]

Clay did the stagedoor at today's matinee, so yeah! I hope that's an indication that things are settling down, even if it's into a slightly different definition of normal. And I hope Clay gets the opportunity to fly home and see Parker on his day off, if Parker and Jaymes are still in Raleigh.

[muskifest]

Yes, I will eat fish with blueberries or anything else he's touched.

Oh, Scarlett...this is too easy...

ahem.....

Me, too. Especially that rubbed meat.

[bottlecap]

Expect some stiff competition over that.

[FromClaygary]

Paula seems like she would definitely be an aquired taste - but dang, I love her hair. LOLOL! Pretty sure blueberries and fish were NOT ever meant to go together. Talk about an abomination. BLEYUCK!! But I gotta tell you - when she wiped his mouth for him - I think I peed a little.

#1....and I'm SO with you on the blueberries and fish. BLECH!!! What an insult to blueberries...and I don't even LIKE blueberries.

Pretty sure blueberries and fish were NOT ever meant to go together. Talk about an abomination. BLEYUCK!!

OMG. Do you think maybe, just maybe, Clay LIED when he said he thought that was good?

yeah he lied and he is so going to hell! But I look at it like this... he's an even better actor than I thought cuz he actually looked like he enjoyed it....hell maybe he did..IT WAS FRIED. Some things never change.

hee.

#2....you're so right....AND it was cooked by someone that was NOT him. A bonus I can empathize with.

The women I worked with all had little quilted or whatever bags they carried, with basic toiletry supplies.

Well, the things ya don't learn at FCA! I'm a quilter and have seen about a million of those little bags and never had clue #1 WTH they used them for! They were clearly not purses....who woulda thunk? :lmaosmiley-1:

Have I mentioned lately..... :013085001176249046:

[Scarlett]

I have witnessed KAndre survive a squat toilet experience!!!

I am not worried about hotels in Japan -- they will be clean and safe though somewhat small. If the Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku is close to the subway station it could a nice deal It may not "look" like a hotel from the outside, though, so make sure you have the exact location and a phone number. The lobby may be on the 2nd floor of a shopping mall or uh, well, something else -- that area is now the primary red light district, just sayin'. But the place is safe -- you shouldn't run into anything you don't want (or haven't paid for *g*).

All my recent Japanese toilets were the musical/push button for warm water then push the other button for warm air type, and they were very clean. djs, I don't remember the pipes at all.

K, if you have more than a week, I'd take the shinkansen to Osaka or Kyoto since those are more interesting cities than Tokyo.

[wandacleo]

Since we're on the subject of toilets (a welcome relief), I must share my Japanese toilet story. I had been in China for a month before going to Japan and got serious uh...diarrhea...which persisted. So, I was out sight-seeing and the urge (you KNOW how that is) came upon me so I went to the closest building looking for a bathroom. I think it was an office building but some guy let me in. He couldn't understand when I tried to say "toilet" (toyureturoo...or something like that), so I resorted to "benjo," which I believe roughly translates into "shithouse," as he about shit HIMSELF trying to hide his laughter behind his hands. Anyhow, he led me to the toilet--which happened to be one of those squat-and-do-it-in-the-floor things. So, there I am, squatting, shitting, and holding onto the wall for dear life when the door opens and the guy bows and with a big smile, turns the light on for me, and backs out again--watching as long as possible. All I could think to say was "arigato" as I had no idea how to say "get the fuck out of here!" in Japanese.

It was one of the lowest points in my life--one of those moments where you say to God, "If I'm going to die anytime in the near future, just KILL ME NOW!!"

[FromClaygary]

Since we're on the subject of toilets (a welcome relief), I must share my Japanese toilet story. I had been in China for a month before going to Japan and got serious uh...diarrhea...which persisted. So, I was out sight-seeing and the urge (you KNOW how that is) came upon me so I went to the closest building looking for a bathroom. I think it was an office building but some guy let me in. He couldn't understand when I tried to say "toilet" (toyureturoo...or something like that), so I resorted to "benjo," which I believe roughly translates into "shithouse," as he about shit HIMSELF trying to hide his laughter behind his hands. Anyhow, he led me to the toilet--which happened to be one of those squat-and-do-it-in-the-floor things. So, there I am, squatting, shitting, and holding onto the wall for dear life when the door opens and the guy bows and with a big smile, turns the light on for me, and backs out again--watching as long as possible. All I could think to say was "arigato" as I had no idea how to say "get the fuck out of here!" in Japanese.

It was one of the lowest points in my life--one of those moments where you say to God, "If I'm going to die anytime in the near future, just KILL ME NOW!!"

*scratches visit to Japan off next year's agenda....must write note to Clay to not tour there*

[merrieeee]

Wanda you are the best!

I was in the Dardanelles in Turkey and had to go to the loo. There was is usual two footprints and a hole. Beside the hole is this wooden stick. Well I asked someone what the stick was for and was told very straight faced it was in case you missed. I could have died with embarrasment. I still have the brass souvenir toilet that I bought that day 44 years ago.

[annabear]

Oh my word, wanda! Is it bad that I wish you would post that at the OFC just to see if it would get some people to stop and think about something else for a few, brief moments?

[Gibby]

BWAH!! Those toilet stories are hilarious. Especially yours, Wanda!!

EEEEEEEE, I sure did enjoy those stage door videos! Clay looks so happy, and it's great to see him interacting with fans in such a lighthearted way.

I just had a long lunch with a local Clay fan. It's so good to talk in person with somebody about all of this stuff! She's going to Spamalot in a couple of weeks, and I'm jellllllusss!!!