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

[calurker]

We were out to supper tonight at a lovely little restaurant here in Halifax. They had pictures on the wall of influential people from across Canada.

The one that caught my eye was a picture of a lady called Nellie McClung(1873-1951).She was a pioneer teacher, author,suffragist, social reformer, lecturer and legislator. They said when ever they need a good quote, Nellie always came through. Ain't Google amazing !!!

This quote of Nellie's was written under the picture and I immediately thought of Clay and all the hullabaloo over his blog/apology.

"Never retract, never explain, never apologize, get the thing done and let them howl."

She was one smart lady lady , I think.

I went to supper, learned some history and got a good quote in the mix.....not bad for a night out !!!

I watched the Susan Boyle clip and she does have a wonderful voice. I think probably she was more nervous this time, probably due to all the scrutiny lately. I mean, last time all she had to do was sing. This time she had to look good and sing. I thought she was fine as she was.....but that's entertainment for ya. I hope she does well in the finals. When are they??????

[wandacleo]

This quote of Nellie's was written under the picture and I immediately thought of Clay and all the hullabaloo over his blog/apology.I do think of the guy at the strangest times.

"Never retract, never explain, never apologize, get the thing done and let them howl."

You should post this as a comment in Clay's blog.

[calurker]

Good idea,Wandacleo....I think I will.

[FromClaygary]

OMG, were any of the Canadians by any chance watching Criminal Minds tonight? Holy crap.....it was the story of Robert Picton. Answered some questions I had about how/why...but I may never sleep again!

OMG...

[jmh123]

Sounds interesting, FromClaygary.

I was listening to Forget I Ever Knew You and Just You in the car today.

I like Forget I Ever Knew You because it is jazzy and kind of moves along--it isn't dirge-like and it isn't wailing, even though it's a break-up, or heartbreak song. His voice sounds effortless on the recording too. I love the melody and his voice and the words and the instruments. It's my current OMWH favorite, and I wouldn't mind more stuff like this at all.

[ncgurrl]

This quote of Nellie's was written under the picture and I immediately thought of Clay and all the hullabaloo over his blog/apology.I do think of the guy at the strangest times.

"Never retract, never explain, never apologize, get the thing done and let them howl."

You should post this as a comment in Clay's blog.

And at CH.

[liney23]

OMG, were any of the Canadians by any chance watching Criminal Minds tonight? Holy crap.....it was the story of Robert Picton. Answered some questions I had about how/why...but I may never sleep again!

OMG...

FromClaygary... well... what about the curiousity of us non-Canadians. Who the heck is Robert Picton and why might you never sleep again??? Inquiring minds want to know...

[FromClaygary]

OMG, were any of the Canadians by any chance watching Criminal Minds tonight? Holy crap.....it was the story of Robert Picton. Answered some questions I had about how/why...but I may never sleep again!

OMG...

FromClaygary... well... what about the curiousity of us non-Canadians. Who the heck is Robert Picton and why might you never sleep again??? Inquiring minds want to know...

I'm not sure if it would have been in your news....about 2 years ago....the pig farmer out in British Columbia who killed about 100 street people....and fed them to his pigs? True story...done on Criminal Minds tonight, graphically, with I'd say a pretty accurate depiction of the story. Don't want to spoil it for anyone for whom it comes on later....don't watch if you may not be able to hack it!!

Dead cinch I'll never eat pork again!!

[cagney1950]

This quote of Nellie's was written under the picture and I immediately thought of Clay and all the hullabaloo over his blog/apology.I do think of the guy at the strangest times.

"Never retract, never explain, never apologize, get the thing done and let them howl."

You should post this as a comment in Clay's blog.

That quote makes for a great soundbite but people like that are darn hard to live and work with. I am in the car that I do not feel that Clay needed to apologize for the first blog but he shouldn't regret writing the second one either.

[Lotus]

OMG, were any of the Canadians by any chance watching Criminal Minds tonight? Holy crap.....it was the story of Robert Picton. Answered some questions I had about how/why...but I may never sleep again!

OMG...

FromClaygary... well... what about the curiousity of us non-Canadians. Who the heck is Robert Picton and why might you never sleep again??? Inquiring minds want to know...

I'm not sure if it would have been in your news....about 2 years ago....the pig farmer out in British Columbia who killed about 100 street people....and fed them to his pigs? True story...done on Criminal Minds tonight, graphically, with I'd say a pretty accurate depiction of the story. Don't want to spoil it for anyone for whom it comes on later....don't watch if you may not be able to hack it!!

Dead cinch I'll never eat pork again!!

The street people he murdered were women. Sex workers from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver had been going missing for years and it took years for the police to take any action. IMO it was because these women were street walkers and therefore considered disposable.

[justclay12]

Finally caught up but it's way past my bedtime. Just wanted to post my appreciation for Couchie and I love how you run this board. Also wanted to yeah that (too tired to look for the emote) to everyone here who didn't see what the big deal was with Clay's blog. I even liked Adam, not loved mind you, too much shrieking for me, but all I read was Clay giving his opinion about a certain performance. Since I feel he has as much right as anyone else to express himself, I didn't have a problem with it.

Nice to see Ansa post again. Hopefully, now that I am done painting and school is out, and once I get my poor laptop back, I will start posting more again. Unfortunately, I had to go a whole weekend without it because it died. My hard drive crashed, so please keep posting pics cuz I need to start filling up folders again. Although this time, they are getting put on PB for safety's sake.

Good night everyone who is still awake.

[canfly172]

So do ya think there's enough for a new book NOW, Clay? LOL

What shall you call it? Sooo many possibilities

Perhaps:

Simon Say's: Shut Up and Sing 2

(Learning to keep my foot outta mah mouth)

I LOVE Clay Aiken and hope you know I'd buy the reqesite 10 copies baby!!

That's entirely too funny...I gotta steal that. Whomever is in charge of Thread titles...

Simon Says: Shut Up And Sing 2 (Learning to keep mah foot outta mah mouth)

I saw all of the emote talk and I have NO idea how I ended up with my own emote here (presumably Cindilu "appropriated" it, lol?

I have my own emote at RHT, The Shed and NNHB and here, lol.

is pretty distinctive.

That reminds me...I've been meaning to post a picture of my airplane. I took this on the way to the last Toronto cluncheon.

I own 1/10th of it and don't ask which 10th because that joke is really old, lol. I bought my share of the plane in 1998 for $2,500, when it had faded out old paint and fugly 70s mustard yellow interior and an over-timed engine. It now has a new engine, new burgundy interior with lettering rubbed on by hand...letter by letter by yours truly over the course of a summer and nice shiny paint job. Luckily costs are split 10 ways, lol.

While I'm in this PB folder, here's my new Mustang...2008...and my cat...and a squirrel's nest in the engine of my old Yukon, lol.

[beryl]

Susan Boyle's Memory from Cats performance on YouTube. She faltered a bit in a couple of places and the whole performance wasn't as strong, but I still got shivers when she really belted it out about the middle of the song (2:23 in). She looks very nice with her darker hair and a bit more makeup. She won into the next round.

Memory sung by Susan Boyle[/ur]

I've been watching BGT on the internet. It's much better than AI. I completely agree with the future talk show host CA. If only TV execs see how much his opinions matter to thousands of people, they'll probably get higher ratings than some of the shows about to be axed!

Back to SB, she sounded like her idol Elaine Page towards the end. Of course, Barbra Streisand sang it more beautifully than EP but the former Brits sang with more feelings. For those who want to hear another version, there's Memory by Regine Velasquez in YouTube.

I'm happy Kris Allen won; I prefer his singing even though I like Adam's voice. As for BGT, my favorites are Greg Pritchard, Julian Smith, and Shaun Smith. I hope the 3 join SB in the finals. May the best and most needy win. And I'm not thinking of Susan because she got global fame already; a contract is sure to come by.

[luckiest1]

I'm not sure if it would have been in your news....about 2 years ago....the pig farmer out in British Columbia who killed about 100 street people....and fed them to his pigs? True story...done on Criminal Minds tonight, graphically, with I'd say a pretty accurate depiction of the story. Don't want to spoil it for anyone for whom it comes on later....don't watch if you may not be able to hack it!!

Hee, except they set it in Detroit/Port Huron/Sarnia ON which CMSU! Was so weird hearing such local places on a big, US show. And I had no idea it was a true story (see how much I read/watch the news?), I was more struck by the coincidences with the Hannibal trilogy. Horrifying to hear it was real, AND it was truly Canadian.

Thanks for the Susan Boyle link, I will watch it tonight.

[aikim]

Good Morning Everyone,

145 Days until The BAF Gala!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[bottlecap]

I have Good Morning America on, and the anchors are in Time Square talking about how they are permanently closing Broadway between 42nd and 47th Street and making it into a pedestrian mall. When I was there last April to see Spamalot, I can attest to how crowded the sidewalks were on the week-ends, as that was exactly the area we had to go through to get to the Shubert from our hotel. It's way cool to see it on TV and think "Hey, I've been there!" And "Hey, I'd love, love, love having a good reason to go back!"

[FromClaygary]

I'm not sure if it would have been in your news....about 2 years ago....the pig farmer out in British Columbia who killed about 100 street people....and fed them to his pigs? True story...done on Criminal Minds tonight, graphically, with I'd say a pretty accurate depiction of the story. Don't want to spoil it for anyone for whom it comes on later....don't watch if you may not be able to hack it!!

Hee, except they set it in Detroit/Port Huron/Sarnia ON which CMSU! Was so weird hearing such local places on a big, US show. And I had no idea it was a true story (see how much I read/watch the news?), I was more struck by the coincidences with the Hannibal trilogy. Horrifying to hear it was real, AND it was truly Canadian.

Yes, exactly; they changed the place names to protect the innocent, I guess! But as soon as they got into it, I recognized the story from the news pieces I had read at that time (as I was out West when it was transpiring) and knew where it was headed. Fascinating, and creepy as HELL!! I always wondered why the brother never got charged, and now I guess I know.

I never did really care for pork.

[djs111]

I hope Clay keeps talking AND singing! Without filters - he is funny and snarky and I generally agree with him.

Well, I don't agree that there was some big message sent with the voting, I just think more people like to listen to Kris. Shrug.

Also do not feel we would be having all this sturm und drang if Clay had said anyone else's one performance made his ears bleed. But, as in years gone by, this too shall pass. That's the thing about being a fan of someone who is polarising - like Clay fans, you have to expect that there is strong feeling on both sides of that polarising thing.

I hope everyone has a great holiday today, and stops to think about the men and women who gave so much - no matter what the circumstances.

[luckiest1]

No holiday here, we had ours last weekend, but happy Memorial Day to all the Americans!

That's interesting info about Broadway Ave. Now I have a reason to go back - so I can see the changes! Hee, like I need an excuse. I love NYC!

[jamar1700]

Found this on my college basketball board. Thought it was interesting in light of recent discussion...

Wisconsin decommitment a lesson for message-board miscreants

One pertinent part...

Because this is not a story about Blue and Wisconsin as much as it's a story about message boards, and how total anonymity allows people to attack and attack and attack with little regard for the folks they are attacking. On a personal level, I can't tell you how many wild (and anonymous) words are written about me each month either on message boards or via e-mail; words that question my integrity, background, education, sexuality, hairstyle (that one's open for criticism, I suppose) and anything else you can imagine. Every once in a while, I actually take the time to respond in the most reasonable way I know. And more times than not, I get a response within hours from somebody apologizing and explaining how they would've never been so rude or brash or ignorant if they really believed I would read it.

The player being trashed on the message board is a 16 yr old highschool student btw.

[Carolina Clay]

Happy Memorial Day, FCA!

Sunday when I came across "The Longest Day" while checking movie listings, I decided to feature John Steele in my Memorial Day blog. He was the paratrooper who landed on the Ste. Mere Eglise church steeple during the Allied invasion and is portrayed in the old D-Day movie by Red Buttons. The summer before my junior year in college I interviewed him for the Wilmington Morning Star.

This weekend America salutes all who have served and sacrificed for our country. I located a hard copy of the John Steele story, nothing digital back then. A graphic by Ashes accompanies a video of Clay singing "God Bless the U.S.A." The blog is posted at the OFC and at Carolina On My Mind. Hope you enjoy!

Clickable by Ashes

If you missed the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS, you can tape it at 2 a.m. ET Saturday, May 30. I thought it was an amazing program, outlining the history of Memorial Day from the Civil War on, with many outstanding musicians and actors, several from Broadway.

Happy Birthday, Mama Couchie, and belated greetings to Claymatron!

Yay for Mama Couchie's pink iPod!

When I looked up at my toolbar after reading and replying to Clay's blog, I noticed the CNN logo had the little breaking news alert thingie above it. My first reaction was: "Wow that was fast! CNN's reporting on Clay's clarification already?" I think I've been a lettle too wrapped up in Adamgate today.

[Actually, it was reporting on the death the former South Korean president who fell while hiking. Or was pushed, by bitter ex-Idol Aiken in a fit of pique.]

Which goes with this ...

I'd type how much I'm snorting at bottle's post, except it's too hard when my eyes are rolling out of my head at aikim's.

What to do? What to do???

More

Gibby, congrats on your daughter's graduation! The red convertible sounds like a winner!

Excuse me, BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING PISSING AROUND IN PARIS?!!! [tm God, sort of]

GET THEE TO NANTES and do some serious Clay-stalking! Mylene's got 4 shows there, and it shouldn't be that hard to find one American in the crowd of 10,000 screaming Mylene fans. He'll be the one with the bleeding ears.

More

We were out to supper tonight at a lovely little restaurant here in Halifax. They had pictures on the wall of influential people from across Canada.

The one that caught my eye was a picture of a lady called Nellie McClung (1873-1951).She was a pioneer teacher, author, suffragist, social reformer, lecturer and legislator. They said when ever they need a good quote, Nellie always came through. Ain't Google amazing !!!

This quote of Nellie's was written under the picture and I immediately thought of Clay and all the hullabaloo over his blog/apology.

"Never retract, never explain, never apologize, get the thing done and let them howl."

She was one smart lady lady, I think.

I went to supper, learned some history and got a good quote in the mix.....not bad for a night out !!!

Perfect!!!

Have a very special Memorial Day, all!

Caro

[Couch Tomato]

My brother in law brought up Clay yesterday...said he knew to go straight to the source LOL. I said yeah Clay said he made his ears bleed on that one song among other things but that made the best headline. So we all talked about that for a bit. My mom of course loves Adam. My sister thought Adam could sing but she basically quit watching after her guy got cut because she couldn't stand the judges pimping and bascially said that Adam came in great so there was no improvement and that he was better on the ballads. But she didn't know how on earth Kris won LOL. I explained that the professional and polished thing was one of Clay's points. And my brother in law... LOL..he so cracks me up .. basically said nobody could sing this year and he agreed with Clay on the ear bleeding and then did his best funny screaming impersonation. Then we wathed SYTYCD cuz my neice who had been looking so forward to it - even told me don't forget Auntie, tonight at 8 - fell asleep before it came on and missed the whole thing. She went to sleep early cuz she was mighty distressed by her loose tooth. It somehow magically came out while she was sleeping. hee. We haven't had a family Clay talk in awhile -- haven't really followed along outside but it must be news LOL. I love my controversy king muchly. Oh and my sister said I should change my background from Clay/Parker from people to one of the latest little cute pictures of Parker LOL. Somehow I dodn't think it's quite right to have just Parker as a background when my neice and nephew are on my laptop constantly bwah.

LOVE your car Canfly. It's like the one Gibby and hubby are buying me for my graduation. and wait your name is canfly cuz you can fly a plane? Did I now that? hee.

[Actually, it was reporting on the death the former South Korean president who fell while hiking. Or was pushed, by bitter ex-Idol Aiken in a fit of pique.]

Caro thanks for quoting this post of bottles. It was hilarious and forgot to And I'm still amazed at your commitment to you blog. I salute you.

[jamar1700]

I may have posted about his already, I can't remember and am too lazy to go back and look. This morning it's just easier to cut and paste.

I'm reading an interesting new book right now.

Appetite for Self Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age. It's by Steve Knopper who is a contributing editor to Rolling Stone. I'm only up to the chapter on Napster but so far it's pretty interesting.

Appetite for Self-Destruction

So far not much mention of RCA or Clive Davis.

----

Not having watched AI or heard this guy sing, I have noticed people say he's better on ballads. So who really expects that his CD is going to have lots of ballads?

[liney23]

Found this on my college basketball board. Thought it was interesting in light of recent discussion...

Wisconsin decommitment a lesson for message-board miscreants

One pertinent part...

Because this is not a story about Blue and Wisconsin as much as it's a story about message boards, and how total anonymity allows people to attack and attack and attack with little regard for the folks they are attacking. On a personal level, I can't tell you how many wild (and anonymous) words are written about me each month either on message boards or via e-mail; words that question my integrity, background, education, sexuality, hairstyle (that one's open for criticism, I suppose) and anything else you can imagine. Every once in a while, I actually take the time to respond in the most reasonable way I know. And more times than not, I get a response within hours from somebody apologizing and explaining how they would've never been so rude or brash or ignorant if they really believed I would read it.

The player being trashed on the message board is a 16 yr old highschool student btw.

jamar.... thanks for bringing this. Wow. People are trashing a 16 yr old. That is just sad. He's pretty smart, tho, and will survive it. To know that some people just get their jolly's by spewing vitriol anywhere they can.

canfly... thanks for the pictures! I didn't know what your name meant either. Kewl!!!

Caro... thanks for the link. That was a mighty fine day. I loved all three songs Clay sang and play them every July 4th. It was neat to watch again. He sings good! And, I didn't know that about John Steele. I watched the movie, of course, many many many years ago.

Just because it's pretty...

[Scarlett]

Remembering the heroes on this Memorial Day...

Thanks for the blog link, Caro! I really enjoyed his performance at the Capitol.

And thanks for the tips on the different Memory performances, beryl.