#51: You go on with your bad self, Mr. Aiken

[merrieeee]

Based on Clay's answer to the "E! True Hollywood" question, can I just say how glad I am that I never bothered to download or watch it? (Nauseating....)

I loved how he answered a question that was never asked, with that one. The only one he knew was his high school buddy!

[Couch Tomato]

I don't think that was the only one he knew but the only one qualified to speak for him.

[Claymatron]

From Claygary, luckiest1, and goldarngirl...knew I could count on you! Thanks!!!! Off to download Java!

[liney23]

kf wrote:

And about cool -- if I like it, it's cool! I assumed this was true for everyone. "Cool" and "mass popularity" are not synonyms in my dictionary, in fact they are often just the opposite.

I quite agree with you!

It's often how I see the terms "stylish" and "trendy" in contrast to one another.

Such as, trendy is used to show current or fashionable or even cutting edge, it does not mean "good" or "special" at all to me. It's just what others are dictating as current or cool. For now.

While stylish or style is more often meant as an individual expression or unique quality or flare. This to me is the true goal one should aspire to. To be unique, true to one's own individuality, talent or self expressiveness. THIS is what I find special and rare. THIS is how I see Clay Aiken. Not copying anyone else's style or comparing himself to anyone else or even trying to look or sound trendy/current. Just true to himself. Perhaps that is why it has always been so hard to label him or fit him into that box...because it did't exist until Clay created his own!

Clay is the ultimate Clay Aiken.

Of course JMO

Treenuts... I really like the way you hit the nail on the head about Clay having his own style.

I do enjoy comedians who can actually make you laugh without making fun of specific people/groups of people... I mean, a really good comedian (or writer) can do it - it's more challenging perhaps but I also think it says more about their character that they don't go for the cheap joke/shot...

ldyj - thanks for the clip of Jeff G.... hadn't heard of him before - I must live in a bubble... but the bacon bit was funny... took a minute to watch a couple others... much more to my liking...

And I love reading Clay's answers at the OFC! It's a bright spot in the day when I see that he's back answering questions! Makes me smile every time...

spikesmom... I so agree with you about comedians. A really good comedian I would and do watch over and over and over who makes you laugh without nastiness of any kind is that cutesingerman, Clay Aiken. You might have heard of him? I can honestly say that at this point, I go to see Clay equally because of the laughter at what comes out of his mouth (the physical comedy is excellent, too) as the beautiful singing. If I had to choose one over the other I'm not sure I could do it.

If he did a concert with no talking (JNT08), I'd go, but the added joy of his tickling my funny bone elevates his shows from great to pure "out of sight" joy for me.

Ok, anyone want to track the stock values on Amtrak now that Clay has said he loves it??? I have only traveled on the train once and it was with 2 kids under 3 yrs old, one of which had bad diarrhea. It was sooo much better than driving. I loved it. You could let the kids get up and walk around and could take them down to the bathroom and not have to find a place to stop the car. You could hold them when they are sleepy or crying, which you also can't do in a car.

I took a bus trip once and did not enjoy it at all. I had to keep watching the driver to make sure he didn't fall asleep and danged if he didn't around 3a.m. Good thing I was watching instead of sleeping....

[muskifest]

I agree -- especially when he's wrong he's spectacularly wrong. Yesterday I watched the video of Adam Lambert's performance of One -- and Simon swooned and drooled. Word to Simon: It SUCKED! Regarding Broadway, I listen to Adam and think Broadway - and nothing to do with gay, but how theatrical he is on stage.

SOOOOO agree with this, kf! There have definitely been some songs that I though Adam really rocked, but GAWD, I thought the two songs he did last week were the pits. And even my husband was blown away by the pimping after each performance.

Gotta say that the judges' sucking up to Adam, especially these last weeks, reminds me of how they were uber-pimping Ruben near the end. Ruben could do NO wrong, even though his voice was showing strain and he wasn't in top form in a number of his performances. But the machinery was in full throttle by then... (an aside: I was in the grocery store and heard "Flying Without Wings"...I really do love Ruben's voice.)

Anyhoo...oh! I forgot. djs, your comparison of Buble to Jack Jones was spot on! CMSU! Because I've been trying to understand how exactly to describe my reaction to Buble. Nice voice, seems like a pleasant sort of guy...but...

meh--sorta like a muted copy of an original.... Yep, Jack Jones, it is!

Saw Star Trek today. WOW! Hubby and I LOVED it! The characterizations were perfect, IMO---very, very cool.

[spikesmom]

Ok, anyone want to track the stock values on Amtrak now that Clay has said he loves it??? I have only traveled on the train once and it was with 2 kids under 3 yrs old, one of which had bad diarrhea. It was sooo much better than driving. I loved it. You could let the kids get up and walk around and could take them down to the bathroom and not have to find a place to stop the car. You could hold them when they are sleepy or crying, which you also can't do in a car.

I took a bus trip once and did not enjoy it at all. I had to keep watching the driver to make sure he didn't fall asleep and danged if he didn't around 3a.m. Good thing I was watching instead of sleeping....

I haven't take a long train ride but I ride the Amtrak train from Milwaukee to Chicago often (it's about 90 minutes). I love it! The best part - I usually catch the earliest a.m. one down to Chicago and I can catch a few zzzz's! The state police frown on you doing that if you're driving! It makes the fact that I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. a bit more palatable!

I've taken the Greyhound twice - once to visit a friend at college (too many years ago to count) and once with my son - we were going up to St. Paul, MN to visit my husband who had three weeks of training for his job. I didn't want to drive as my husband already had a car there plus it's like a 5 hour drive one way and I liked the idea of letting someone else do the driving. It was cheaper than Amtrak and I figured it would be an adventure for my son.

I wanted my son to experience different kinds of transportation so that he'd be comfortable with different options. I know too many people that won't even take the city bus - they're either afraid of it or just don't know how to do it... If they can't drive or fly, they don't go.

So, he has flown, taken the Amtrak and the bus (both Greyhound and city). I'd like to think that he won't immediately rule out the train or bus as options when looking to travel... I know I looked at plane, train and bus when considering Spamalot... plane ended up being the best price, and of course, the quickest but I did look at all three.

[jamar1700]

Saw Star Trek today. WOW! Hubby and I LOVED it! The characterizations were perfect, IMO---very, very cool.

Wasn't it just AWESOME!!!????

I was so impressed. I hope they are able to take it from here and do a few more movies in this vein. Star Trek...the franchise that just won't die.

Thank God.

---

From the gotta laugh through the pain file. As the Twins lost yet ANOTHER walk-off to the f'in &%^kees (Twin's announcer) Dick Bremer said... and this weekend long root canal just won't end.

At least we're young and cute. *sigh*

[djs111]

Anyhoo...oh! I forgot. djs, your comparison of Buble to Jack Jones was spot on!

Thanks, muski, I was afraid I had been too obscure!!!!

Disclaimer - I have a couple of Jack Jones albums, but I bought them for the songs, not the singer.

Anyway, I youtubed Jack to see if I remembered correctly (yes), and listened to him sing "She" (Charles Aznavour's, not Marianne Faithfull's, although both songs are up in my top 10) - and then youtubed Aznavour. Wow! What a difference - Charles sings that song (his song) the very bestest. I had forgotten how much I love to listen to Aznavour, voice smooth, quick, sure, melting. Elvis Costello sings She second best. Not a song for Sinatra, I don't think.

[00lsee]

Bwah, djs...I've heard 'google' used as a verb, but this is the first time I've heard someone say they 'youtubed'. LOL

[djs111]

Bwah, djs...I've heard 'google' used as a verb, but this is the first time I've heard someone say they 'youtubed'. LOL

Then I am TOTALLY going to trademark it!!!!!!!

Heeee......it was way easier than typing "I went to youtube and searched for Jack Jones".......

"tubed" sounded weird.

[Scarlett]

Playing catch-up since it was commencement weekend... Sorry about missing your java question, CM. The Microsoft version of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is no longer distributed by Microsoft since MS and Sun went head-to-head over cross-platform compatibility and licensing, but the Java Runtime Environment (JVM + class libraries) from Sun or other 3rd party vendors like Oracle are ok.

(I had a connection to you today, though. Our keynote speaker was the CEO of Google who used to work at Sun where he led the development of Java. Very interesting speech -- 00see, he mentioned how 'friend' was a noun to his generation and not a verb like it is today)

Maybe it was just as well that I was out since I don't have much to contribute to the discussion because I don't find Simon particularly entertaining so I don't pay much attention to him. I didn't watch AI before Clay, only watched when he was there except for 1 performance last April when I was convalescing at a friend's house and despite my efforts in making us late in getting home that day we still caught 1 song at the end of the show (my friend 'discovered' AI this year); it happened to be Adam, and it's a very telling sign that I can't even recall the name of the song right now but they did it in all bluish mood lighting and apparently people liked it because the next day some other people were gushing about it. Maybe I should just move on since I can't even recall AI or Simon enough to talk about them. *throws arms out and shrugs*

djs, sorry to hear that some of your officemates were so nasty. I never had officemates mention or ask about his orientation. They knew I went to shows a lot and sometimes they'd get confused, thinking it was Michael Buble that I was watching though I always set them straight quickly with some rather vigorous head-shaking.

I took the Amtrak from Boston to NYC for the 2003 Thanksgiving Parade with my kids and we all enjoyed it. The ones I really like are the high-speed ones in Europe and Japan.

kf, thanks for the beautiful screencaps!

Based on Clay's answer to the "E! True Hollywood" question, can I just say how glad I am that I never bothered to download or watch it? (Nauseating....)

ETA: That new UM clip is fabulous! Really gives a better sense of the atmosphere and energy in the room. What a beautiful rendition!

Which post was the answer to the "E! True Hollywood" question? ... must have missed that one. Found it! (tm: Sir R)

[KAndre]

Huh...I think I've just about every form of transportation for air, sea and land...except dog-sled. I like nice buses...back in the day it was a really nice way to travel...Greyhound stations are now too scary for words. Love the trains around the world...even liked rickshaw dude.

[djs111]

I love buses! But the ones in Holland went too fast for me, turned corners too sharply, it was scary.

There were times on subway trains in Tokyo that I was pretty much the only person who seemed awake, people just got on the train, sat down, and went to sleep - just rows of gently bobbing heads, sometimes. (not at rush hour, of course!)

Rickshaw? I am jellus!

Yes, the Greyhound Station in Tampa is very scary. Drug dealers on bicycles, panhandlers, whatever.

But the Amtrak station is awesome.

What was the math question? I seem to have always used a "new math" approach to things, so I wondered what the question was.

Scarlett, my cubicle-mates were a mixed bag, the guys were sweet and matter-of-fact, the woman was a shrike and a harridan. She was astounded that anyone would listen to a singer if they knew the singer was gay. I hope to never ever see her again. Even without the gay comments, she was a piece of work.

I am in love with that Samsung hummingbird commercial, it was made by a company called 1st Ave Machine, they have it and a lot more awesome commercials on their website.

[Scarlett]

What was the math question? I seem to have always used a "new math" approach to things, so I wondered what the question was.

Scarlett, my cubicle-mates were a mixed bag, the guys were sweet and matter-of-fact, the woman was a shrike and a harridan. She was astounded that anyone would listen to a singer if they knew the singer was gay. I hope to never ever see her again. Even without the gay comments, she was a piece of work.

I am in love with that Samsung hummingbird commercial, it was made by a company called 1st Ave Machine, they have it and a lot more awesome commercials on their website.

It seemed to be more of an IQ rather than a math question:

1,5,14,30,55,?

Takes all kinds, doesn't it? *shakes head in amazement*

Would you pls. post a link to the hummingbird commercial page? Thx!

I'm still reeling from the number of excellent speeches I heard today at 3 commencement ceremonies. It's been 2 hours and I'm not done googling the stuff that was mentioned!

[djs111]

These people are awesome!!!!!!!! The site is a bit slow, for me, on navigation. But the graphics are incredible!

All the projects are cool, but I love Samsung and Quinn - Quinn is three minutes long and is wonderful!

1st Ave Machine

oops - the three minute cgi rainforest extravaganza is here -

quinn

[claytonic]

Love the trains around the world...even liked rickshaw dude.

WOW hard to believe rickshaws still exist. I thought they would be obsolete by now, and replaced by trishaws.

[FearofH2O]

I'm enjoying reading here today. I love how the topic changes with almost every post. It's really cracking me up.

[Scarlett]

Love the trains around the world...even liked rickshaw dude.

WOW hard to believe rickshaws still exist. I thought they would be obsolete by now, and replaced by trishaws.

I have a picture from last summer! KAndre and I were probably his favorite passengers. Just need to find the right external drive...

[liney23]

These people are awesome!!!!!!!! The site is a bit slow, for me, on navigation. But the graphics are incredible!

All the projects are cool, but I love Samsung and Quinn - Quinn is three minutes long and is wonderful!

1st Ave Machine

oops - the three minute cgi rainforest extravaganza is here -

quinn

djs.... dang, I can't see it from work. I will look after I get home... sometime later tonight... sigh!

Well, my Clay break is over. Back to work.

Gotta say, tho, I'm all kinds of impressed that Clay knew what that series of numbers even meant, much less the right answer. The man is just soooo intellectual!!!

[bottlecap]

I'm enjoying reading here today. I love how the topic changes with almost every post. It's really cracking me up.

Beats hashing over the same old complaints over and over and over again, doesn't it?

[claytonic]

Paula giving a critique for a song somebody didn't even sing is proof positive of that to me among other things.

Didn't that happen because the judges had already seen the performances beforehand, and wrote notes to comment on later. That is why sometimes the comments don't fit the performance, because the performance that goes to air may be better or worse than the one the judges saw initially. I am not saying it is right but I can understand how something like what happened with Pawler could happen.

As for Simon...I don't hate him..he's kinda funny IMO but I wouldn't mind the landscape being different in the music world today LOL.

I wouldn't want it to be without the likes of Clay Aiken and a few others that 'graduated' from the Idol, XFactor or ? Got Talent boot camps. Of course I can't deny the dark side of these shows but essentially, it has given talented unknowns an opportunity that they would NEVER have otherwise come across. Many of them tried desperately to get their music heard and had doors close on them, e.g. Kelly Clarkson. Tons of artists, internationally, who didn't win were able to capitalize on the exposure they got and create a career for themselves... it may not be a big recording career but it means actually being able to earn a living from live gigs and privately produce and release a 4 song CD to sell on MySpace because they had picked up a following of sorts from the national exposure. This has been the case for so, so many of them. There's one who told me she is eternally grateful to Simon for the opportunity he gave her to earn a living singing, something as essential to her well-being as food, air and water.

OK, I know there are also those who had negative experiences on the franchised singing competitions but some of them really were delusional about their "talent" and couldn't accept that there was no future for them in singing. That's life.

[jamar1700]

Beats hashing over the same old complaints over and over and over again, doesn't it?

What? That happens?

[Couch Tomato]

I can understand a lot of things but critiquing a performance the person hasn't given is proof positive the woman is on drugs. And why are you taking notes at a rehearsal to use as comments when the live performance can be completely different? There is something intrinsically wrong in that IMO. Maybe she needs a crutch and has a hard time talking off the cuff but it was just so wrong. For the first time I wondered if she actually had a script writer.

Have no issues with folks who appear on these shows. I wish them all well.

Beats hashing over the same old complaints over and over and over again, doesn't it?

And I'll just move along... soooo Go Lakers! Nothing better than a game 7 you don't have to watch while biting your nails. Denver looks scary lol. Good luck Boston/Orlando. Where's DJS..hiding under the covers?

Thankful and Jamar .. love to hate the Yankees. The A's can create a dynasty on all the players we couldn't afford to keep so know how you feel.

ETA: just doing a Jamar edit to get the most obvious mistake..I'm sure many still exist

[FearofH2O]

I'm enjoying reading here today. I love how the topic changes with almost every post. It's really cracking me up.

Beats hashing over the same old complaints over and over and over again, doesn't it?

Yes and a lot more interesting.

[duckyvee]

I'd have to say that the only people I know, in my RL, that watch and get excited about the show are my age.

Same here. Last week, 3 people came up to me on an island in the Caribbean to ask if I knew who got voted off American Idol - 1 in a casino, 2 at the pool. All were in my general age range. I suppose I had that look . I didn't know, though. and asked someone else I met earlier in the week who was talking about AI at the beach - same age range.

I missed all the action last week, but am finally caught up on the great Clack. My ICG is working overtime . Thanks to the Clackgatherers!