#48: He is...therefore I fan.

[liney23]

tribeca... I heard a rumor that muskifest loves Clay Aiken and we all know how rumors go... I think it had something to do with ribbons and blowsbows.

[muskifest]

does anyone know if Musikfest loves Clay Aiken? I do

Oh....he's aw-ight, I guess....I could take him or leave him ...

Or, more likely, I could take him and leave him breathless.

[Couch Tomato]

every little thing is reminding me of spam these days.. from the silly jack in the box commercials (someone diabolical has been doing their ads) to watching Die Hard again tonight (shut up) and when the psychiatrst is doing the whole Helsinki syndrome bit - and the reporter goes - as in Helsinki Sweden - and the psychiatrist deadpans - Finland - I cracked up.

oh geeze...and Guber's fake name when he encountered John McClain in the elevator is Bill Clay.

I think I need to go to bed

[FearofH2O]

I agree with you couchie, that Robert Downey Jr was given a gazillion chances to rehab while others are not foregiven as easily. I think he has that same huggability that Clay has. Fortunately Clay uses his for good, i.e. the auction of his clothing or rings, while RD Jr. uses his to get foregiven.

Clay doesn't appear to harbor ill thoughts of others. He gets it out of his system. Think Ripa and the JNT 06. Funniest tour ever. But he says what he thinks and moves on. This should pay off for him in the future if anyone of those losers who bashed him should remember what they did.

All this to say that I really like Eric Roberts acting style. I also like Jaymes. She has good taste in daddy material for her son.

[djs111]

My brother use to work part time at a radio station & told me requesting songs was a waste of time because they only played what was in the rotation anyway.

Yes, this seems to be the case - so I never understood why requesting Clay's songs was considered to blacklist him - I always thought that was just a way to be dismissive of Clay fans. I don't think the suits give a crap about the requesting thing, or consider that some requests are more worthy than others.

Couchie said:

I don't know about the greatest thing ever but Eric Roberts IMO is a really great actor. He did seem to have this really up and coming career and then he didn't. I don't know what happened to him but he did continue to work - a lot. He has 11 movies in post production right now according to IMDB - 10 due in 2009. So you think, not so bad. But when I clicked on them to see who was in them I could see he is relegated to B movie work - sometimes starring... in the better movies he has very small parts. I think he's better than that. He does a lot of TV work too... but mostly just gust spots. I haven't watched Heros since season 1... is he still in it? Hmmm can't remember what happened to his character.

But really, a town that gives Robert Downey Jr a million opportunities to get his act together would blackball Eric Roberts over drug use and a feud with his sister? That seems so ... odd. I definitely always liked Eric more than I did Julia Roberts as far as acting goes and think he's better than the Tom Cruises and Brad Pitts of the world. Life is a bitch. heh.

My feelings exactly. And to me, when Eric Roberts (and Joaquin Phoenix, for that matter) is on the screen I can't look at anyone else, to me they are very compelling. I like Robert Downey too, he just grabbed the brass ring of having his drug use and excesses be forgiven. I have zippo interest in Brad Pitt or, say, George Clooney, they mostly seem like pretty boys. And I never got over Clooney's stint as a clod in Roseanne. Hmmm....acted too well, I guess! :-) Brad did grow on me a bit in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, though - not because of his looks but because it looked like he just might be snarky and actually understand what was funny in his lines.

Come to think about it, I never really cared for Downey until he did that Elton John "I want Love" video. Which was after he got out of jail.

Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie! and it is the movie that brought Alan Rickman to my attention. Yum. Heeee.....I still watch that Texas "In Demand" video from time to time, just to see him tango next to a gas pump. Or whatever he is doing. Another yum.

Most change with undefined results is scary, but I think the fans who are celebrating the RCA thing are not just whistling in the dark, they just feel sure that Clay already has stuff in the works. No control over what is going to happen anyway, why not enjoy the speculation?

From some of the angst or negativity about his leaving RCA, one would think this was a surprise move that never occurred to Clay or his team at all. And like my real life, I don't waste a lot of time worrying about the very worst scenarios. I sure am not going to worry that Clay's friends and family will desert him or assign possible shallow motives to them. Heh, like Jaymes is going to sue for custody, claiming Clay does not have a current recording contract? Heeee.

[lilyshine]

In the for what it's worth department.

Last night I had a very vivid dream in which part of my house was whirled away by the wind - just like in the Wizard of Oz. It was so realistic, the first thing I did when I got up was to check that all of the house was still there.

Anyway, at the end of the dream, an announcement was made, "Clay Aiken announces the release of his next CD entitled 'Everything but Mongolian Polkas' on June 15, 2009."

Very strange for me to have anything Clay in my dreams. They are usually very pedestrian and can be linked to something directly in my RL.

[djs111]

Yay! I'll buy six!!!!!!! Lilyshine, you may be psychic!

I hope it is true, I have gotten quite good at laughing at and then forgetting the angst that accompanies anything Clay does.

Who knows, maybe he has the rights to all the stuff he supposedly recorded before Evil Clive whacked him with the covers stick! :-O

Actually, I don't think Clive was evil, just stuck in his own lane. It is not like Clay was the only singer to be told to record covers. Ooooh, unless Clive also had been thwarted in his evil desires for Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow, too! I never considered that! Bwah!

All I know is, even if Clay never records another CD, that would not make me into a fan or supporter of anyone I don't care for at this time. I don't need to be a fan, this is an anomaly. If, for instance, the only music available to purchase or listen to was Josh Groban - I would merely play my music I already have and save lots of money.

Nothing against Groban per se, but it seems some people think Clay fans all need to be a fan of someone, that they will of course all turn to someone else, and I don't think that is true. Or some think that Clay fans are not big fans of other singers out of loyalty. I have been accused of not liking Groban because that would be disloyal to Clay.

Nah. Nope. Nuh-uh.

I am still buying CDs by people I like.

[ldyjocelyn]

djs, try "Good Night and Good Luck." It totally changed my feelings on George Clooney -- I didn't remember him from Roseanne, but he was the "cad" character on ER, and I don't like "cad" characters, so I always thought he was just a "pretty boy" too. I will say that he does tend to play the same type of character over and over -- but he does it well.

couchie, Eric Robert's character was killed off in Heroes during season two. To me, he's one of those character actors that, when he pops up, I go "hey, that's Eric Roberts." Reading on imdb, he's got a role in The Dark Knight, which is coming up next on my Netflix queue. (Saw Robert Downey redeem himself via Netflix too, with "Iron Man.")

Scarlett, I've loved your posts these past few days. I think instead of celebrating, Clay is probably asking himself the questions you've asked. Since there is the unknown of "no label," it's an interesting time for him. He could reinvent himself, if he wants. He could go in a new direction --TV show? Broadway full time? Full time father? The possibilities are endless.

I think I'll just wait and see.

[aikim]

Good Morning Everyone,

14 Days until Daylight Savings Time!

26 Days until The First Day of Spring!

45 Days until Judge Aiken is holding Court on ANTM!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[luckiest1]

ITA, djs. It's not a competition anymore! Hee.

They (gnocchi and pierogi) don't look similar to me even though they are both dumplings,. The gnocchi I had were tiny, almost like noodles. Pierogi (to me) are more like potstickers.

Oooh, we're discussing dumplings? I luuuuurves dumplings. Yesterday, I had dim sum.....steamed shrimp dumplings. Yum. I had some gnocchi a couple of weeks ago at an Italian buffet restaurant. Yum again. And a great idea for that cute little puppy's name, annabear!

Speaking of gerbils..(what are they anyway? ..a bit like a rat?) ....my DS1 has nearly talked me into letting him get a guinea pig. I am not a pet person but a bit of a soft touch to the kids, apparently.

Gerbils are more like mice than rats, at least in size. I was never a gerbil fan, cuz they bite and aren't really very cuddly. Rats are much more lovable. I've had many rats over the years, as pets. We had a couple of guinea pigs, and they can be lovable, but it takes a lot of patience and time with them to get them over their skittishness (is that a word? *g*) They also tend to bite, in fact my one cat got a bit too curious and they nipped off a piece of his ear! They love to eat grass, so we built them a little enclosure outside in the summer where they could graze while we sat and kept an eye on them. They are quite smelly though, you need to change their cage often. Good luck!

[claytonic]

He's going to be the kind of father he never had.

claytonic....my eyes sprung a funny, stinging moisture when I read this. My own history/relationship with a father, then stepfather is similar to Clay's....and I know that the couple of times I got serious about a guy I dated, I was checking him out big time as "potential future father" material.

I was determined to marry someone who I believed would be a solid dad to whatever children we might have. That criterion truly, truly had a major influence on whom I eventually DID marry (and have now shared 28 years of my life with)...

And I was an EXCELLENT judge of 'future father figure' character! My husband is the father to our two girls that I never had myself. And that makes me all kinds of schmoopie.

Maybe you can set up a Baby Daddy Consultancy ... where a woman who is considering marriage can bring her fiance to you for assessment, and you use your "daddy radar" to suss them out.

Hey, why not?

I think we all know too many who have no business being fathers, and maybe your radar can also pick up on the woman who shouldn't be responsible for taking care of a rat in a cage, much less an actual live baby. I don't understand women who fall pregnant to a drug addict or alcoholic ...I can understand that some people need help, but get the help first, get cleaned-up first.

Strange how you have to get a license to get married, but you don't need a license to breed... makes no sense to me.

You know, the interesting thing is that Clay referred to his biological father as a sperm donor, and yet that is what he himself became, but his own son has two loving parents who adore him and love and respect each other as dear friends. Is that really too awful to celebrate?

ETA: I was very impressed that Julia Roberts supported her niece's mother against her own brother, for absolutely the right reasons.

[djs111]

djs, try "Good Night and Good Luck." It totally changed my feelings on George Clooney -- I didn't remember him from Roseanne, but he was the "cad" character on ER, and I don't like "cad" characters, so I always thought he was just a "pretty boy" too. I will say that he does tend to play the same type of character over and over -- but he does it well.

ladyj, I did love him a LOT in "Syriana", I thought he deserved more awards for that, but I tried watching newer stuff, and it didn't work for me. Poor George. :-O

He was a shambling dunce in Roseanne, they were trying to fix him up with Jackie. "Booker Brooks".

I had not realised just how many shows he was in before he got lucky with E/R:

Clooney's early TV

I have never watched ER. Very bad experience in an ICU, and I never watched any hospital stuff at all from 1999 until House, and I only watch that because I adored Hugh Laurie in Blackadder and as Jeeves. or Wooster. With Stephen Fry.

It's fun to watch old Twilight Zones, and see which actors got famous.

I don't think Clay is celebrating, I don't think he is filled with foreboding, either.

And I don't think he will be a "failure" no matter what he decides to do - teach, record, philanthropy, whatever.

Claytonic, both my mother and my father were pretty bad parents. But I sure am glad they were allowed to "breed".

That deciding and judging thing is a nasty slippery slope.

(Looks down at) merrieeee - have you ever seen The Kumars at No. 42? Brilliant (IMO) British comedy, they send everything up. Stephen Fry was a hoot on that, I also try and catch anything he hosts or appears in. He even makes Graham Norton somewhat watchable.

[merrieeee]

I have never watched ER. Very bad experience in an ICU, and I never watched any hospital stuff at all from 1999 until House, and I only watch that because I adored Hugh Laurie in Blackadder and as Jeeves. or Wooster. With Stephen Fry.

Love these two guys together! Now Stephen Fry is brilliant! He, to me, can be at times the epitome of an English gentelman who is slightly eccentric. He doesn't care what anyone says about him and has a very successful career. He certainly doesn't suffer fools gladly.

Have you seen the game show Qi?

Content: Clay is smart and I don't think suffers fools gladly. Also he doesn't care what anyone says about him.

Although we really don't need content here because almost anything we post can relate back to Clay. For example: Pierogis...I love Pierogis and I love Clay Aiken...Gnocci, cute name for a puppy and Clay has dogs. See told ya!

djs111 Love the Kumars! Another really good show. I only watch Graham Norton when he has a guest on that I like. I'm really not fond of silly British humour and he is just so OTT.

[claytonic]

Claytonic,

both my mother and my father were pretty bad parents. But I sure am glad they were allowed to "breed".

That deciding and judging thing is a nasty slippery slope.

djs clearly your parents did something right...

And I was really doing a "tongue-in-cheek" .. . I am too much of a liberal to resort to the dark side of Big Brother. But having said that, there needs to be more assistance given to new parents. For example, in Oz, you get a $5K bonus for every new-born, and some people actually get pregnant for this bonus. It used to be paid as a lump-sum but now it is paid in 13 weekly payments. (That still won't stop them shopping for giant plasma screens but at least it doesn't make as easy)

I would, however, think that implementing a basic course in child care, child psychology and first aid would be a good thing for all new parents. Some new parents don't realize until too late that they have made some awful mistakes. I also don't understand why all new parents don't have a certificate in First Aid. I found the course invaluable, you never know when you might need it for your family or even a stranger in a shopping mall who may need CPR. Better still, it could be part and parcel of completing high school.

ETA: Oh, and I meant to mention about that woman who gave birth to 8 babies when she already had 6 and was single. Nothing wrong with being a single mother, but 6 kids under 8 plus 8 new born? That doctor who supported her "wish" needs to have his head checked.

[jamar1700]

Gerbils are more like mice than rats, at least in size. I was never a gerbil fan, cuz they bite and aren't really very cuddly.

Actually, it depends on the gerbil. E. had a very social albino gerbil named Whiskers. If you wore a shirt with a breast pocket she would crawl in and curl up and go to sleep. We had more hamsters who bit than gerbils. Especially the Siberian Dwarfs. But we also had a very very social Teddy Bear Hamster named Stinky. She would get up on her hind legs and paw the air when you walk by her crate. She loved to be handled.

Don't know nuttin' 'bout no guinea pigs tho. Except they are much larger than either hamsters or gerbils. I know people who have kept pet rats and they love them also.

====

I dreamed there were 4 large dead bears in my backyard.

???????

----

I don't for one minute think that Clay went into contract negotiations with his label without having some sort of a plan for his future career. The industry has changed so much and the old label model just isn't the only option out there anymore. Not to mention that Clay is probably more equipped to walk away than most. Re-signing with the label may have already been his plan B, you know sit down and see what they have to say out of courtesy and curiosity. I also don't think, given what he's actually said in interviews, that going back to teaching is something he considers realistic any longer.

When radio went corporate, everything changed. The new thing now is that there won't even be local DJ's. Everything will be packaged stuff sent out from a main corporate location. so the Clear Channel AC station in Omaha will hear the same thing as the Clear Channel AC station in Dallas. etc etc.... Not unlike networks on television. A bit of local news, a few local commercials, then back to Ryan Seacrest

edited to take out nesting quotes, stray e's and various other shit..

eta...guotes? WTH is that? Blaming it on the mini-pc.

[calurker]

"I don't for one minute think that Clay went into contract negotiations with his label without having some sort of a plan for his future career. The industry has changed so much and the old label model just isn't the only option out there anymore. Not to mention that Clay is probably more equipped to walk away than most. Re-signing with the label may have already been his plan B, you know sit down and see what they have to say out of courtesy and curiosity. I also don't think, given what he's actually said in interviews, that going back to teaching is something he considers realistic any longer. "

That was very well stated , jamar and I totally agree.

One thing Clay isn't, I think, is stupid. He seems to have an intelligent/serious side that balances his wacky/snarky side. I think it's totally refreshing to know you are backing someone who actually has a brain and who is not being controlled by a puppeteer. Now, how deep is that?????

This is cool..have to admit , I didn't know what it meant until I clicked on it.....duh!!!!

Talk about stun.

[djs111]

djs clearly your parents did something right...

Nah. One was entirely absent for most of my life, and my father was a violent man given to insane rages. I am still pissed because he broke all my 45 rpms that he thought were my way of supporting the Black Panthers. Coulda sold them on ebay.

I am not a believer in giving parents too much or exclusive credit for good or for bad. Heh, then you gotta give good or bad credit to THEIR parents, and on back, until I guess we can blame everything on Adam and Eve. Or Lucy, or whoever one believes in.

Once kids are out and about, they are just as affected by peers, media, etc. I am not saying good parenting isn't wonderful and doesn't provide a excellent start - but sometimes people can good parent like all get out, and their kid turns out badly. That's why I don't like to assign parental blame. Kids just are not that biddable after a point. I believe free will plays a big part.

Clay, for example - if his dad was great, then he would get credit for good parenting. His dad and Ray are considered (without having too much info :-)) horrible, and yet here we have Clay Aiken! I suppose then that Clay is a good guy just to prove his parents wrong? That's why it cracks me up when people rag on Faye - is Clay a philanthropist in spite of her, or because of her? That depends entirely on agenda, from what I can see. IMO. Heee....he gets to be entirely self-created!

And there were four of us kids - three left now - we all turned out quite amazingly differently.

I believe that at some point, free will must kick in.

Yes, I assumed you were being a bit flip, because getting a marriage license only requires a small bit of cash and, in most states, dissimilar breeding apparati :-)

The whole thing is a crapshoot.

Well, except for maybe eHarmony. But I read they toss a lot of people out, so who knows!

But having said that, there needs to be more assistance given to new parents. For example, in Oz, you get a $5K bonus for every new-born, and some people actually get pregnant for this bonus. It used to be paid as a lump-sum but now it is paid in 13 weekly payments. (That still won't stop them shopping for giant plasma screens but at least it doesn't make as easy)

Yes, and I like the idea of classes and such. But rich people and smart people can be just as terrible.

Heeee.....I can remember being very pissy when delivering Christmas presents to needy people and seeing big TVs. Then it occurred to me that big TVs might be all they would ever have - a window to the world. And a friend of mine taught kindergarten and said she could generally pick out the poorer kids - they all showed up knowing the alphabet and colors and numbers, from watching Sesame Street. In color; she said (this was in the 70's) that a lot of more affluent parents prided themselves on not having color TVs, and so the kids had to be caught up with colors. And that it was funny hearing kids imitate The Count.

CMSU.

I am unashamedly afraid of all rodents with teeth - I was afraid of rabbits long before Monty Python. And any pet which comes with instructions to handle carefully or it will bite? Nope.

[Scarlett]

Oooh, we're discussing dumplings? I luuuuurves dumplings. Yesterday, I had dim sum.....steamed shrimp dumplings. Yum. I had some gnocchi a couple of weeks ago at an Italian buffet restaurant. Yum again. And a great idea for that cute little puppy's name, annabear!

:pickme: Another Hargao lover here -- the ones with the transparent wrapper, right? Dumplings are wonderful everywhere, no matter what they're called!

I have never watched ER. Very bad experience in an ICU, and I never watched any hospital stuff at all from 1999 until House, and I only watch that because I adored Hugh Laurie in Blackadder and as Jeeves. or Wooster. With Stephen Fry.

Love these two guys together! Now Stephen Fry is brilliant! He, to me, can be at times the epitome of an English gentelman who is slightly eccentric. He doesn't care what anyone says about him and has a very successful career. He certainly doesn't suffer fools gladly.

Have you seen the game show Qi?

Content: Clay is smart and I don't think suffers fools gladly. Also he doesn't care what anyone says about him.

Although we really don't need content here because almost anything we post can relate back to Clay. For example: Pierogis...I love Pierogis and I love Clay Aiken...Gnocci, cute name for a puppy and Clay has dogs. See told ya!

djs111 Love the Kumars! Another really good show. I only watch Graham Norton when he has a guest on that I like. I'm really not fond of silly British humour and he is just so OTT.

One weekend, can we watch all these shows that we'd planned -- Shogun, Thornbirds, Black Adder, Fawlty Towers, etc. Why oh why do we end up watching Clack every.single.time?!!!

*Nod-nods that that intelligence sure is hot!!! ... and he can sing too!*

ETA: Not so sure if the "naive" part isn't just an urban legend. Maybe I'm extra-sensitive to this because a lot of people who meet me for just 2 minutes think I'm naive --- rotfl, recalling all those Best Buy salesmen who thought they could talk me into worthless electronics -- How do people get judged to be 'naive' anyway? I need to find out because I keep getting picked on 100% of all the jury selections I've been on.

[claytonic]

One thing Clay isn't, I think, is stupid. He seems to have an intelligent/serious side that balances his wacky/snarky side.

I think it's totally refreshing to know you are backing someone who actually has a brain and who is not being controlled by a puppeteer. Now, how deep is that?????

Absolutely agree.. in fact, that was what I found fascinating about Clay in his early interviews. He was this mix of a naive boy yet very smart young man. He took himself/his life and responsibilities very seriously, yet he also laughed the loudest at himself, so much so that it endeared him to comics like Kimmel, who gave him lots of air time. I also loved his interviews with Diane Sawyer, they showed him as someone with depth, and I found that attractive about him.

[Couch Tomato]

I actually adore Robert Downey Jr -- I just wouldn't have trusted him with my millions of doallars project. Yet, people always did.

DJS - Yes Mr. and Mrs Smith kinda did it for me too. It's the first movie that I've really liked with Brad Pitt. Of course I did see it on a cruise ship and they pleyed it over and over on the tvs and I was locked on the boat for a week -- but yep that's what finally worked. He and Jolie have some serious chemistry. Even still it takes a lot to get me to watch a Pitt movie.

I wouldn't watch a Clooney movie for a long time due to how much I hated Doug Ross on ER. heee And yes I know Clooney was not the pathetic character he played on TV. hee But I have this ingrained feeling about 3 or 4 actors and I just refuse to watch them on anything else. You should have seen the hoops I jumped through to avoid seeing on hearing ANY Meredith on the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice crossover. This actress named Kim Delaney is the worst.. I mean I couldn't watch NYPD Blue because she was on it and I love Jimmy Smits - and I didn't watch CSI Miami because she was cast. Took me a few years to discover they got rid of her pretty quick.

Actually, it depends on the gerbil. E. had a very social albino gerbil named Whiskers.

Eeek I get the heebie jeebies just reading about rats. I have to close my eyes when the turn up on the screen in a movie.

I dreamed there were 4 large dead bears in my backyard.

???????

bwah... can't help you there.

Not unlike networks on television. A bit of local news, a few local commercials, then back to Ryan Seacrest

the last bastion of original programming? Sports radio? One can hope that doesn't turn into an endless ESPN sports center loop one day. I care about that more than what becomes of pop radio.

Jamar totally agree with you about Clay - his smartness and his future.

I've never though of Clay as naive - not even on Idol but definitely after listening to his interviews and then seeing how he handled celebrity.

[aikim]

We have had guinea pigs, rats, hamsters and gerbils at various times in our house. Guinea pigs are very sweet, but they do need a lot of care and need to be cleaned up after quite often. Ours was quite sociable. They also need to be able to run around.

My kids were always handling the critters and I don't remember any of them not liking to be held. But again, a lot of cage cleaning and if you don't do it regularly, it can get smelly.

Right now we are down to a cat and dog, but my daughter is going to Vet Tech school and is planning on adopting a rat they have in their kennel. She said he is very sweet and is she is the only one he allow to hold him. Told her she needs to confine him to her room...I am not a big fan of rodents myself; but they have no problem letting them crawl all over them...I am sure the cat will enjoy having a new "playmate"...she loved visiting with our other rats.

Kim

[djs111]

the last bastion of original programming? Sports radio? One can hope that doesn't turn into an endless ESPN sports center loop one day. I care about that more than what becomes of pop radio.

Heeeee.....Couchie, my boyfriend listened to sports radio all.the.time. One time a sports station in Orlando had an impromptu contest - caller could sing a sports song of their choice, and the hosts would declare the winner. Of a tshirt or passes to a Magic game or something. Anyway. he called in and sang the Mets song - Meet the Mets, meet the Mets, etc. He sounded great. But then someone who said he was a trained vocalist called in and sang the same song, pretty much professionally, so he won. My sweetie was a bit irate, and called the station - they said he had a point about the trained singer stuff, so they sent him a cassette of him singing.

This was pre-Clay - if Clay had called in and sung a song, I would have wanted that. too!

I have never played the cassette because I am unsure of how it will affect me, but just having it reminds me of the all day sports talk!

We had antenna wire contraptions all over the place because it was hard to get the Orlando sports stations in Tampa.

I did have a pair of hamsters once. They ran on that squeaky wheel all night, and then one of them sort of ate the other one.

ETA: Not so sure if the "naive" part is just an urban legend. Maybe I'm extra-sensitive to this because a lot of people who meet me for just 2 minutes think I'm naive --- rotfl, recalling all those Best Buy salesmen who thought they could talk me into worthless electronics Kolobok_Laie_haha.gif -- How do people get judged to be 'naive' anyway? I need to find out because I keep getting picked on 100% of all the jury selections I've been on.

Bwahahaha! You are kidding, right? Clay is declared naive whenever he doesn't do what someone thinks he should have done, or unaccountably sticks with his mom and friends after they have been declared unsuitable and perhaps even harmful. I don't think he is the least bit naive.

I get out of being picked for a jury by looking quite eager to be on the jury.

[jmh123]

In the for what it's worth department.

Last night I had a very vivid dream in which part of my house was whirled away by the wind - just like in the Wizard of Oz. It was so realistic, the first thing I did when I got up was to check that all of the house was still there.

Anyway, at the end of the dream, an announcement was made, "Clay Aiken announces the release of his next CD entitled 'Everything but Mongolian Polkas' on June 15, 2009."

Very strange for me to have anything Clay in my dreams. They are usually very pedestrian and can be linked to something directly in my RL.

I'll buy that album, for sure!!

[FromClaygary]

Always lots of great stuff while I'm sleeping

From some of the angst or negativity about his leaving RCA, one would think this was a surprise move that never occurred to Clay or his team at all. And like my real life, I don't waste a lot of time worrying about the very worst scenarios. I sure am not going to worry that Clay's friends and family will desert him or assign possible shallow motives to them. Heh, like Jaymes is going to sue for custody, claiming Clay does not have a current recording contract? Heeee.

Good Lord, I never see where you guys are reading this shit...must be some seriously whacked places out there!

All I know is, even if Clay never records another CD, that would not make me into a fan or supporter of anyone I don't care for at this time. I don't need to be a fan, this is an anomaly. If, for instance, the only music available to purchase or listen to was Josh Groban - I would merely play my music I already have and save lots of money.

Nothing against Groban per se, but it seems some people think Clay fans all need to be a fan of someone, that they will of course all turn to someone else, and I don't think that is true. Or some think that Clay fans are not big fans of other singers out of loyalty. I have been accused of not liking Groban because that would be disloyal to Clay.

Nah. Nope. Nuh-uh.

I am still buying CDs by people I like.

Exactly! My playlists are extremely eclectic; but Clay is a completely different scenario for me. There IS noone to replace him. I don't replace my kids if they annoy me either. Most of the time.

And I was really doing a "tongue-in-cheek" .. . I am too much of a liberal to resort to the dark side of Big Brother. But having said that, there needs to be more assistance given to new parents. For example, in Oz, you get a $5K bonus for every new-born, and some people actually get pregnant for this bonus. It used to be paid as a lump-sum but now it is paid in 13 weekly payments. (That still won't stop them shopping for giant plasma screens but at least it doesn't make as easy)

I would, however, think that implementing a basic course in child care, child psychology and first aid would be a good thing for all new parents. Some new parents don't realize until too late that they have made some awful mistakes. I also don't understand why all new parents don't have a certificate in First Aid. I found the course invaluable, you never know when you might need it for your family or even a stranger in a shopping mall who may need CPR. Better still, it could be part and parcel of completing high school.

Better yet...it is! It's called "Life Experience" or something dumb like that here.

And re the $5K to Oz parents....I believe that was initiated as a facet of needing more population in the country at some point in the past. Clearly not the case here.

I don't for one minute think that Clay went into contract negotiations with his label without having some sort of a plan for his future career. The industry has changed so much and the old label model just isn't the only option out there anymore. Not to mention that Clay is probably more equipped to walk away than most. Re-signing with the label may have already been his plan B, you know sit down and see what they have to say out of courtesy and curiosity. I also don't think, given what he's actually said in interviews, that going back to teaching is something he considers realistic any longer.

Exactly!! ...and I think your "Plan B" scenario could be it.

Scarlett, LOVED your post...that's what I miss most these days, is the logical-think-it-out/explore it/research it that used to happen years ago (hee!) as opposed to the roof-is-falling that seems to happen now.

[luckiest1]

When I was a kid, we had a series of rats as pets because my dad was allergic to the fur of all animals.....he actually was allergic to the rats, too, but only if they got on his skin. We let each rat roam the house, just like a cat or a dog. They would come when you called, they would great you at the door, etc. Hee, sowwy couchie, I bet you are scrolling at this point! But we only had one at a time, not like a houseful of rats! LMAO

Right now I have two cats, who are quite independent, and the grand pug puppy who visits for a week or so at a time. I am trying not to succumb to the desire to get my own pug puppy, because I miss her so much when she's gone. But it's hard! I don't want to get tied down, or what will I do when Clay tours again? Hee, notice I said when, and not if.