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

[cindilu2]

Heheh, in the interest of accuracy, he didn't say we were more accurate, he said he'd get better results.

[luckiest1]

Heheh, maybe I should tentatively book April 16th & 17th off as vacation days......just to be on the safe side, you know. I can always cancel them later if it turns out to be a false alarm.

ETA: Finally got into the OFC thread with my old password. Wonder how long that'll last? Hee, it's funny reading through the thread and seeing all the different "clues" people are finding in Clay's question. From St. Paul to either Reed or next tour site, to Independent meaning he's confirming that he left RCA, to me and the April 16th fixation. It'll probably turn out he was just curious.

[Couch Tomato]

Heheh, maybe I should tentatively book April 16th & 17th off as vacation days......just to be on the safe side, you know. I can always cancel them later if it turns out to be a false alarm.

lol..yeah I'm about to book a vacation and am totally thinking as soon as I do clay will announce he'll be in California the same day.

[preden]

Heheh, maybe I should tentatively book April 16th & 17th off as vacation days......just to be on the safe side, you know. I can always cancel them later if it turns out to be a false alarm.

lol..yeah I'm about to book a vacation and am totally thinking as soon as I do clay will announce he'll be in California the same day.

I wish we would hear about dates for a tour before the middle of march, which is the time we chose our summer vacation. Oh well if not will have to ask for arranging my schedule around concert dates, of course if he does tour!

[Lotus]

I wonder if Clay is now laughing at all the speculation brought on by a simple request for information....maybe he did it on purpose to give fans something relatively innocuous to talk about.

I've decided it's about time I visit relatives in England before any more of them die so I've booked a month's travel there....couldn't wait any longer to make arrangements and I hoping, hoping that Clay isn't on tour while I'm away or if he is, that there are still some dates after I return.

For you Leonard Cohen fans, they've started announcing his North American concerts...Yipee there will be one in Vancouver in April!! Just hope I can get tickets. Apparently they sell out very fast.

I'm now in Florida for a few days enjoying the sunshine for today at least...the forcast is for cooler and cloudy for the rest of my visit..but oh it is so nice to sit out by the pool under a clear blue sky with no jacket.

The maintenance man here has a pet snowy egret which follows him around!

[luckiest1]

Hee, I hope he's sitting back laughing at the frenzy his innocent question has caused!

[cindilu2]

Hee, I hope he's sitting back laughing at the frenzy his innocent question has caused!

And wearing his tinfoil hat.

Good lord - I bet we amaze even him sometimes. I'm sure that he says/does things at times that he knows will cause ripples - but I'm equally sure that at times he sits back and just says 'WTF????' Really?

The more I read the OFC thread, the more I feel that this fandom simply doesn't want to enjoy the man. Sigh. ETA: at least it isn't the majority. But when the interpretations of his 'real intent' is being encouraged by a mod it isn't hard to understand why some folks buy into it.

[luckiest1]

Whether or not he's left RCA is such a non-issue for me, I guess I just missed those "hints".

ETA: Have fun in Florida, Lotus! And I'm sooooo jealous about your England trip, too!

[merrieeee]

Oh god we're back to IIT and IIUT!

[jmh123]

But when the interpretations of his 'real intent' is being encouraged by a mod it isn't hard to understand why some folks buy into it.

WAH. Don't make me read over there to find out what you are talking about, please.

[justclay12]

I don't see what the problem is with people speculating. No one at the OFC seems to be overly invested in a certain scenario, they are just having fun, which may have been Clay's intent. Or maybe he could have been leaving a hint. He does seem to like to play with words and give hints when he can't speak directly. We just don't know but I don't understand why it should be a big deal if people are speculating. I have more problems with the ones over there, the same 2-3 people, who seem to be completely humorless and always want to put a damper on Clay and others having some fun. I still can't figure out what it is that they actually like about Clay because I can't ever remember them saying anything positive.

And as far as RCA, they have done him no favors so if he has left, I think it should be party time. I may not think that they are the evil empire but I do think they are idiots who couldn't find their own way out of the boxes that they like to put people in. So sue me.

[cindilu2]

But when the interpretations of his 'real intent' is being encouraged by a mod it isn't hard to understand why some folks buy into it.

WAH. Don't make me read over there to find out what you are talking about, please.

The prevailing opinion is that he posted about 'Independent' tour because he is independent of RCA now, but can't say so for whatever reasons - thus he 'hints'. The mod in the thread is on board with/encouraging that theory. That's all.

justclay12, I don't think that all the speculation about him being 'dropped' has been good for him - that is my opinion, just like everybody else has one. I don't think anybody is thrilled with RCA at this point, but cheering the possibility that he was 'dropped' (not just today, but for the last few months) just seem(ed) counter-productive and bizarre to me. We don't have (and never did have) any kind of fact to base it on. To me, it's a disservice to him. It does not help him. My opinion only. Of course I'm in the group that believes him when he stated his opinion on being with RCA (and with loving his ATDW cd for that matter).

Whatever the reality is - Clay will be fine. I believe that with all my heart.

[FromClaygary]

I also liked how he said we were more accurate than Google. Considering that Google is ripe with blog shit about him & RCA today that may or may not be true.

Well-well, MY theory is that that point IS the point! That "we" are more accurate than Google!

I think it's fun to speculate light-heartedly too, as long as you're not too invested in your theory, and it's not detrimental in any way to Clay.

Kind of like shipping light-heartedly.

[djs111]

Hey - maybe he is gonna tour with Kelly again!!!!!

I like speculation - right up until Clay doesn't do whatever his mommies and manageresses have decided he should do, and then he is pronounced stubborn or dumb or misguided.

[FearofH2O]

OMG I'm on facebook. I have friends. I don't know what the hell I'm doing

Fear Ansa's fine. We chat every day. We do the same sit on your ass job. She has been working upwards of 50 hours a week on one job, plus continuing with substitute teaching- and honestly I think her learning to drive has just really changed her life. She posted a picture of where she lives that one time..it's kinda isolated. Now she is just all over the place and doing things with friends, for herself and chaffeuring her kids. You know how when you don't do something for awhile it gets harder to do it? I think that's where she is. LdyJ and I keep her posted. I always tell her when someone asks about her.

Hey it's never too late to change one's life. Good for her. She is a good example for her daughters. Tell her I miss her intellectual analysis.

Looks like I missed a lot of speculation and theories today.

[merrieeee]

I wonder how the folks who are always so miserable live with themselves? People should lighten up.

The Clay Aiken fandom....it's just fun!

[aikim]

I wonder how the folks who are always so miserable live with themselves? People should lighten up.

The Clay Aiken fandom....it's just fun!

I think we have a new thread title!

Kim

[justclay12]

I enjoy reading the speculation too, except like you said djs, I don't enjoy when people start criticizing Clay for doing or not doing things that they think he should. Even if sometimes I may agree with what they are saying, they need to remember that not only do we not have all the information, but we also don't have the same priorities that Clay has. Plus, Clay is only human. He may know something might work better, but we all have our own personalities and histories that we work with, and just cuz we know something in our heads, doesn't mean we can always do it. For instance, I know I should exercise more and eat healthier, doesn't mean I'm gonna be able to do it.

[ldyjocelyn]

You know, sometimes it's really, really hard to be concerned about Clay's career when your own career had a "come to Jesus" moment -- which is what I had today. I have to find it in me to get myself back on track, and fast. I don't need to be perfect with what I need to do, but I've got to find the strength in myself to just do it.

Anyway -- I too think speculation is fine, to a point. However, I've seen way too many times where speculation becomes fact in this fandom. It happens with Clay's career -- "OMG, Clay's leaving RCA!" ad infinatum until it becomes truth. It's happening the same way with Clay's personal life too. The thing is, we don't know, and we will NEVER know, what is going on in Clay Aiken's personal OR professional lives. We can't control it. So, sometimes the speculation IMO becomes counterproductive. If the speculations can stay speculations (the letters "IMO" and "JMO" should be used liberally), I'm pretty good. (BTW, lots of royal "we" there...)

justclay, yeah maybe RCA put him in a box with his musical stylings. But, I always add two things to this: 1) we don't know how much Clay himself has put that box around him. To me, he tends to like the ballads, he tends to like music with orchestrations and melodies. So while there probably was a "mandate" (ew, I said that word), he worked with it and made it work best he could. 2) I tend to believe that pretty much ALL record companies put their artists in boxes. They aren't in it for the art, they are in it for the money, and right now, they are literally just throwing things at the walls to see what sticks. I really don't think the music business knows what it is doing, and it may be a good time for Clay to hang back a bit to see what shakes down.

Honestly -- I don't know what Clay's career plans are. I almost want him to totally back away from it for a while, just to give some fans the "come to Jesus" moment I mentioned earlier in my job. I love him dearly, am totally overinvested in some ways regarding him, and yet, if he left, I could handle it. (And probably pull my real job back into major focus). I'm not so sure about others, and I sometimes think some cold water would help.

Now, do I really think he'll back away? Nope. He's said he's got plans for the year. I believe him. But I'll wait. Patiently.

And I'm not going to speculate what him wanting to know about the dates for the Independent tour are.

Sorry for the downer post.

justclay, in preview I see a new post from you, and I DO agree with it.

[FromClaygary]

Lotus, this one's for you......are you a Best Buy Reward Zone member? They're offering a pre-sale for tickets to Leonard Cohen in Canada, I just got the email.

You could become one pretty quick, I think if not. Online signup.

[liney23]

I wonder if Clay is now laughing at all the speculation brought on by a simple request for information....maybe he did it on purpose to give fans something relatively innocuous to talk about.

I've decided it's about time I visit relatives in England before any more of them die so I've booked a month's travel there....couldn't wait any longer to make arrangements and I hoping, hoping that Clay isn't on tour while I'm away or if he is, that there are still some dates after I return.

For you Leonard Cohen fans, they've started announcing his North American concerts...Yipee there will be one in Vancouver in April!! Just hope I can get tickets. Apparently they sell out very fast.

I'm now in Florida for a few days enjoying the sunshine for today at least...the forcast is for cooler and cloudy for the rest of my visit..but oh it is so nice to sit out by the pool under a clear blue sky with no jacket.

The maintenance man here has a pet snowy egret which follows him around!

Lotus... ohhhhh, I LOVE egrets! I would have liked to have seen that! Hope the rest of your trip is wonderful! Enjoy!!!

I think Clay must be bored to have actually started a thread at OFC. To me, that's good, cause it usually is followed by work of some kind that I enjoy the heck out of. Go, Clay!

{{{{{ldyj}}}}} You can do it! I had a moment like that 3 weeks ago. I was depressed the first week, then have been picking myself up since and am ok now. The alternative is just not ok, at least to me. Good luck!!!

[Couch Tomato]

I honestly wouldn't find anything to celebrate in Clay getting dropped by a label unless he had a new contract somewhere else. And in this economy, companies are shedding NOT adding to their rosters.

Will it be the end of the world. No. It's just not something I'll celebrate. I believe as Clay said - show me one that's different. They're all the same. Maybe one of the others will fit him better but who knows.

Now, am I concerned that about it? No - because a record company only affects one aspect of Clay's career. And he's certainly got the talent and determination to keep on trekking. So even if it turns out to be true - it's not the end of the world.

Sorry about work LdyJ. I hope things work out for you or you find something better.

As for OFC - spec can be fun. I don't read anything other than what Clay has to say because I'm well aware that my every opinion about the place is colored by my very low opinion of the place. Hope everyone is having fun. We can be funny..especially when we can step back and think just how nutty we can be when it comes to Clay.

[justclay12]

It's official now. Wish there was also something about him signing with a new label because most of the article gives the impression that he is leaving because of poor sales of his last cd.

Here's the link:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20260594,00.html

[Couch Tomato]

ok good..well it's official. Looking forward to what's next. I won't be celebrating the divorce but I will be sending lots of good vibes Clay's way which is all I can do. I do hope his management team (which gave us Spam but really they've never really impressed me much) can do some new and interesting things for him. I would love to see him doing some more acting or even touring - there are tours of all sizes out there. I guess we'll see their real worth soon. I have faith in Clay.

[jmh123]

ETA: Just because I am a pain in the ass and things are v.v. slow right now, I thought I'd post another plea for those who still need to do their CITH recommendations. Seriously, what's your excuse? We are in a drought, man!

O Come O Come Emmanuel - atinal

Mary Did You Know - Ansa

Christmas Waltz - liney23

Who Would Imagine a King (Angela) - ialreadyam

Welcome To Our World - jmh123 FINALLY!!

Don't Save It All For Christmas Day - couchie

All Is Well - KAndre

clayzycoffin has already done one song and has offered to do more, and I don't mind doing another one as well, so if anyone wants to give theirs up, please PM me. I would really like to get this finished.

Maybe clayzcoffin's next listening project could be "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" from the DCAT tour? That one never got done, and all the rest are complete.