Idle Wandering

Penn Yan Flood

2014-07-29T17:31:00.003-04:00

Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than
water;
But, for attacking the hard and strong, there is nothing
like it!
For nothing can take its place.
That the weak overcomes the strong, and the soft
overcomes the hard,
This is something known by all, but practised by none.

DaoDeJing, Ch. 78, Trans. John C. H. Wu

I visit a friend in Penn Yan, NY, once or twice a year. I used to live in Geneva, NY, right down the road, and I love the Finger Lakes area three seasons of the year. (Winters are dreadful.)

This year in mid May the village had an unusual occurrence, a huge flood. 8 or 9 inches of rain fell in a couple of hours! My friend lives outside of town, up a steep hill, and she awakened to find a 4 foot drop at the end of her driveway! Because road crews had been parking in her driveway off and on for months, it was repaired lickedy split, but here's what the roadside "ditch" next to it looked like that morning:

That grey shape up on the horizon between the trees on either side is her newly repaired driveway, with the new drain pipe peeping out.

Flooding downtown was even worse. My favorite restaurant, the Wagner, was nearly completely destroyed, partly due to a large tractor trailer that floated down the street and into the restaurant. Luckily, it has been repaired and remodeled in record time thanks to on-line fundraising and lots of neighborly help. We had breakfast there yesterday morning.

The building that was hit the hardest isn't there anymore. This is what was under it:

How did that happen? Well, it's a bit of a long story, but I will try to keep it as short as I can. When the Finger Lakes were formed, a natural creek was created between Seneca and Keuka lakes. The first European settlers built grist mills and sawmills along the creek; at one time there were as many as 40. Only one remains, and this company has been in operation continuously since 1797: the Birkett Mills. They even survived the flood! Famous for their buckwheat, their products are shipped all over the world.

In the 1830s a canal was built along the creek to connect Keuka and Seneca lakes, and later, a railway that was operational for 100 years. Businesses all along the "Outlet," as it was called, were built over the water. That little bit of water you can see in the photos transformed into a raging monster for just long enough to do a lot of damage, including completely washing away the building that was over it. Here's the other end of the piping system for that block:

Although the Outlet hasn't been used for its original purpose since the 1870s, many businesses still operate in buildings along the Outlet, and they all have access to the waterfront. The water also runs under a number of businesses downtown. Although only one building was completely destroyed, a few others have been condemned, and many businesses downtown lost inventory stored in basements and sub-basements. Fortunately, all is now more or less back to normal, although the clean-up and rebuilding will no doubt continue for quite some time.

If you'd like to know more about the Outlet and the trail that runs along it, here's a link: Keuka Outlet Trail History.

When I say I'm going to Penn Yan, lots of people think I'm headed for China. How did Penn Yan get its name? Anyone know? I just found out this week! I'll tell you in the next blog. Post your guesses in the comments if you want.

American Idol Extra: Clay talks about Spamalot and the new album

2008-04-04T00:31:00.002-04:00

Linking to a great blog, and a bit of editorializing

2007-07-10T14:49:00.000-04:00

The person who runs cdd.blogstop has had it with the media! Read this great blog: Media, this one is for you. I thought about writing on this topic, but the writer of this blog has all the points are covered, including some examples of the kind of crap that ended up being "reported" by some media outlets about the Great Airline Debacle of '07.

The only thing I have to add is a link to a blog I wrote last August when Clay's presidential appointment was announced: Is it asking too much?

I understand that celebrity gossip is big business these days, and scandal draws hits, but whatever happened to reporting? You know, fact-checking and stuff? Working to get the information right? OK, so Clay's only a celebrity, and who cares about being fair to them? So what if he's assaulted in his sleep on a plane and ends up getting slammed in the media for it because AP deliberately chose to leave out an integral part of the story, sensationalizing it and creating the impression that the incident was his fault. So what? He's just a celebrity and he's icky and probably gay anyway, right? So who cares?

Well, the same distorted kinds of misinformation are being published about politics, wars, and other vital national and international issues every day. Sure, I care about what the media has done to a pop star with humanitarian ideals and a big heart because I'm a fan, but it's about much more than that. It bugs the hell out of me to see the truth manipulated for the sake of hits, rating, and attention. As someone who used to idolize Bernstein and Woodward back in the day, who felt that journalism succeeded where other checks on government corruption had failed, I find the state of the media today appalling. Back then we had Bernstein and Woodward, today we've got Perez Hilton. 'Nuff said.

Clay speaks up about airline incident

2007-07-09T17:19:00.000-04:00

From ET online:

Now, in an exclusive statement to ET, the singer tells his side of the story, saying, "While sleeping on a plane over the weekend, my foot evidently found a home on the arm rest of the passenger seated directly in front of me. I didn't realize I was causing the woman any distress until she woke me up with a quick hit to the chest.

"Unfortunately, being that this happened on a plane, the FBI was called in to investigate and eventually we were all sent on our way. I'd like to thank everyone for their concern; I am fine and have taken steps to prevent any foot wandering in the future."

Clay cleverly implies that there are far greater sources of distress in the world. "Now that I have your attention," he continues, "if you'd like to learn more about how you can help the world's children, please visit www.unicefusa.org."

and the Insider online:

Can I get a witness?

2007-07-09T15:10:00.000-04:00

An eye-witness account of the now fabled airline incident reported by cdd.blogspot.com here:

I was sitting across the aisle from Clay Aiken and the woman who hit him. I looked over at him at one point and he appeared to be sleeping. I would have loved an autograph, but didn’t want to bother him. I was reading a magazine when suddenly I heard the woman across the aisle shouting, and I saw her hitting at Clay. He looked startled, apparently just woke up, and tried to talk to her and calm her down but she kept hitting at him. At that point a flight attendant came over and blocked my view so I couldn’t see anymore. Later on I signed a statement as a witness to her attack. I don’t know if Clay pressed charges against her or not.

See other eyewitness reports here and here .

Slow news day, huh?

2007-07-08T12:15:00.000-04:00

Well, as expected, the news of Clay's "altercation on a plane" is all over the news today, with no mention of the fact that he was sleeping when it started. This blog, ClaySpots includes his version of the story:

I was in a meet and greet with him tonight before the concert......Clay told us exactly what happened and he was asleep...He didnt even hear her talking to him until she began screaming at him, at which point he pulled up his visor and she started swinging

This one, Excuse Me While I Take a Moment, takes a humorous approach, suggesting that the woman was taking a measure of the man.

There's a YouTube up now of his joking about the incident, but he didn't give it a lot of time. Lots of other funny stuff though:

Clay Aiken in trouble for sleeping on a plane

2007-07-08T02:41:00.000-04:00

Earlier today a "breaking news" item was posted in the Tulsa paper, regarding an incident in which a sleeping Clay Aiken was smacked awake by a woman who was unhappy about his foot being on her armrest. Here's how the story read:

Aiken apparently questioned after airplane incident

By World Staff
7/7/2007 5:52 PM

Former "American Idol" singer Clay Aiken was apparently involved in a disturbance with another passenger Saturday while on an airplane headed to Tulsa International Airport.

The dispute occurred on a Continental Airlines flight between a woman and a man, whom FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson confirmed was a former "American Idol" contestant.

Aiken, who was a runner-up on the TV talent show in 2003, was headed to Tulsa Saturday for a performance at the Brady Theater. His management could not be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.

Johnson said he was told the dispute was over one passenger's feet resting on another passenger's armrest.

Apparently, a former "American Idol" contestant was asleep in his seat and a woman roused him to get him to move his foot, Johnson confirmed. An argument then followed.

There was an allegation that the woman gave the contestant a "minor shove" during the argument, Johnson said.

"At that point the flight crew was able to resolve the situation," he said.

The disturbance occurred Saturday morning, said Tulsa Airport Authority spokeswoman Alexis Higgins.

Higgins said the passengers were held until FBI agents arrived to question them.

No injuries were reported and no arrests were made. The disturbance did not interfere with the flight of the aircraft, Johnson said.

As Aiken was travelling from Houston where he had performed with the Houston Symphony to another night's concert in Tulsa, there were several fans on the commuter flight with him, and the eye-witness reports came in quickly. Here's what was soon posted on one of his message boards:

One of the organizers of the pre-concert event was on the flight and witnessed the kerfuffle. She was questioned and had to sign a witness statement and everything.

According to the people who witnessed it, Clay was asleep with one leg crossed over the other (kind of parallel to floor) and his foot was apparently touching the armrest. The woman hit at his foot and told him to get his foot off her arm. Clay slept through that apparently and she got pissed and started swatting at him and smacking him. He woke up to the woman hitting him.

According to the witness, they were all questioned by authorities after the flight touched down and the woman was "led away" by authorities. They think she was arrested but don't know for sure, just that she was in custody.

Next thing you know, it's on the AP wire, and here's the version they're telling:

Clay Aiken involved in airplane spat

08:46 PM CDT on Saturday, July 7, 2007
Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. – Former American Idol singer Clay Aiken was apparently involved in an airplane disturbance with another passenger Saturday while headed to Tulsa International Airport.

The dispute on a Continental Airlines flight occurred between a woman and a man, whom FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson confirmed was a former American Idol contestant.

Aiken, runner-up on the TV talent show in 2003, was headed to Tulsa for a Saturday performance at the Brady Theater. His management could not be reached for comment on the alleged incident.

Johnson said he was told the dispute was over the male passenger's foot resting on another passenger's armrest. He said the disturbance minor.

There was an allegation that the woman gave the male passenger a "minor shove" during the argument, Johnson said.

"At that point the flight crew was able to resolve the situation," he said.

The disturbance occurred Saturday morning, said Tulsa Airport Authority spokeswoman Alexis Higgins. Higgins said the passengers were held until FBI agents arrived to interview them.

No injuries were reported and no arrests were made. The disturbance did not interfere with the flight of the aircraft, Johnson said.

Agents forwarded the results of their investigation to the U.S. Attorney's Office, which declined to file charges, he said.

Later in the evening, the Tulsa paper had rewritten their version to remove the part about Aiken being asleep, to correspond with the AP story.

Meanwhile, Aiken regaled the Tulsa audience with his version of the story, and was mocked by his backup singers for being "beaten up by a woman." Unfortunately, the fabled video-gathering capacities of the Clay Nation were no match for the eagle-eyed Tulsa security watch, so there will be no You Tube tonight, but the jist of it was that he was asleep and woke up to this woman smacking him. Only Clay could manage to get embroiled in a scandal while sleeping on a plane--or rather, I should say, only the media could manage to get Clay embroiled in a scandal for sleeping on a plane.

Something completely different

2007-07-07T18:55:00.001-04:00

Clay's take on top 40 radio:

Video by spotlightlover, 07/06/07

Tags: Clay Aiken Houston Symphony radio classics

There are no words

2007-07-07T01:32:00.000-04:00

Just listen...

Video by SecretlyLovesClay, 07/06/07

Tags: Clay Aiken Tulsa Lover All Alone

Clay's trip to Afghanistan

2007-04-12T13:28:00.000-04:00

Press is just starting regarding Clay's trip to Afghanistan, which ended yesterday. A press release was issued by UNICEF via PR Newswire just a few minutes ago: UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken Draws Attention to the Critical Needs of Children in Afghanistan . A fund-raiser has been announced on the UNICEF website: Clay Aiken's Afghanistan Appeal: $100,000 in 10 days!. More details as they emerge.

There's a long press conference, held at the end of his visit, reported here: Press Briefing by Clay Aiken, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Catherine Mbengue, UNICEF Representative for Afghanistan and Aleem Siddique, UNAMA Spokesperson’s Office .

Here's Clay's statement from that press conference:

Clay Aiken, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador:

It is a pleasure to be here, we have had an amazing time observing the programmes and the people of Afghanistan over the past week. I’ve traveled with Catherine, UNICEF’s country representative here in Afghanistan, and my high school teacher, Mary Props, two people who individually who have in different ways had a major impact in the way that I look at world affairs and the needs of children all around the world but especially here in Afghanistan.

There’s a very distinct impression that those of us in America have been given about Afghanistan, the people and the children and the situation here in Afghanistan. Because of major media in the US unfortunately only had the opportunity to see the more negative aspects, the more painful images of what’s going on here in Afghanistan. For that reason I didn’t really know exactly what to expect when I found out I was traveling here and was not really anticipating such an amazing and positive welcome from the people both in the city of Kabul and in Bamiyan where we have just returned from. The people of Afghanistan are without question it’s greatest natural resource because we have been greeted by nothing but wonderful hospitality since we’ve been here and it’s been really amazing to see not only the generosity but also the strength of the people. Some of the most impressive people without question, I would think are the national staff in the office at UNICEF. Not to negate or take away from the international staff, like Catherine [UNICEF representative] and those who have come from other countries. But there’s an amazing number of [national] staff from right here in Afghanistan who are working with UNICEF to make sure the children of this country are given every opportunity to survive be that through education, through health and nutrition, through sanitation and water access. There’s a lot of work going on here by UNICEF through not just the people who have come from outside Afghanistan but also lots of Afghans too.

Thanks to Catherine and her colleagues we had an opportunity to visit a high school here in Kabul [Macfee High School] where we met a number of young women who have an amazing positive outlook on their future now in post conflict Afghanistan and it really provides a backdrop of hope, there’s an amazing sense of hope and promise not only in the country but in the young people here too.

In Bamiyan, which is some the most beautiful country that I have ever seen in my life. We had an opportunity to visit other schools and one very interesting school where boys and girls are learning together in the same classroom which is extremely promising and very exciting for me to see. We visited clinics I actually got an opportunity to give polio vaccine to a new born [baby] that was exciting for me and risky for the mother and the new born! But it’s indicative of the type of work UNICEF is doing in every area of the country but in Bamiyan they are having a lot of success with polio vaccines, with healthcare in general, prenatal and postnatal healthcare in Bamiyan.

I could speak on and on about the different activities and programmes that we saw taking place, we did see a literacy centre for both young and old women who are learning to read now in post Taliban Bamiyan. Instead of pin pointing each and every experience that we had I think it’s more important to give you a sense of the overall feeling that we got. I have never in my life, and I’ve traveled with UNICEF to a number of countries and of course have seen all parts of my own [country], I have never in my life seen such a thirst and an excitement for learning, seeing children, women, men, boys and girls to be so excited about learning, to be so excited about being in school it’s actually something I know makes my former teacher [Mary Props] quite jealous! That kid’s are so excited about being in school and really being on the forefront of making sure that they have the best education possible and that’s exactly how and why I know that Afghanistan is such a powerful force to be reckoned with because the natural resource in its humans and the people who are thirsty for knowledge is just so evident.

That idea that education is so important is why I asked my high school teacher to join me. A lot of the children in the US don’t really have access to or the desire to learn about issues that are facing our world outside of our own country which I find to be a horrible situation, that kids don’t have that desire so I asked my teacher to come along and she’ll be able to provide some different perspective on education here in Afghanistan from an educator in the United States perspective and Catherine will be able to provide more insight into exactly what UNICEF is doing.

I really appreciate you giving us the opportunity to be here and talk with you.

Thank you.

Who knows where her hands have been?

2006-11-21T19:21:00.000-05:00

Several great blog entries by Thistle Hut are here.

Here's a link to a bunch of great blogs on "handgate".

An hilarious montage by Aspiegirl:

And a short but sweet one from pixieglitter:

A moving montage by no1tvfan63:

Technorati tags: Kelly Ripa Regis Philbin Clay Aiken

Still the coolest guy around - Clay Aiken

2006-09-23T14:07:00.000-04:00

In honor of Clay's new album, and of the round of publicity he's had this week, I wanted to bring back an old favorite. Clay Aiken is back, and he's cooler than ever. Most of the media reaction to his interview with Diane Sawyer has furthered the speculation that he is gay, but still won't admit it. As he told People, "It doesn't matter what I say. People are going to believe what they want." The most sophisticated talking point the media has come up with so far is whether someone's sexual orientation is anyone's business or not. CNN Showbiz Tonight ran a long piece on this topic as its lead story Friday; note the poll at this link on the left side of the page below A. J. Hammer's picture. Of course, they ran a caption saying that Clay has never said that he isn't gay, which is not the case. Hey, you can't expect accuracy from the media these days; it doesn't sell. Most of the media have been even more simple-minded, and have focused on why he won't just come out--or have suggested that he did so by omission. (Special kudos, however, to Lara Spencer of the Insider for her great interview, which you can watch in two parts here: Yahoo! TV and to People, for presenting Clay's story straight in their print edition, without the distortion of selective editing to sensationalize.)

Now just suppose for a moment that Clay isn't gay. If that were true, it would mean that he really doesn't care what people think. He doesn't mind if people think he's gay. Had Clay said this week, again, that he isn't gay, he would have continued to be mocked and disbelieved--maybe even moreso than before. Now he has introduced a new element to the discourse--shifted the focus--and given people something to think about. Pretty cool, eh?

For the record, I neither know nor care what Clay's sexual orientation is. Makes no nevermind to me.

For a great blog that goes much deeper into this week's interview, and the history that precedes it, see Is Clay gay or straight? It's none of your business!

Three people who have made a lot of money and gotten a lot of attention by mocking perceptions of Clay's orientation are featured in this old blog entry--people a lot of folks think are cool (because mocking someone for their perceived sexual orientation is cool, right?). So, in their honor:

On Being Cool, or
"those on the edge don't follow the crowd"

My favorite quote from one of the founding members of the Korean fansite I mentioned here (International Fans) is:

For us, there is no 'cool/not cool' standard. If you like the song and the singer can sing, that's "cool".

Not too many people will argue that Clay Aiken is “cool”, or that being a Clay Aiken fan is “cool” either. What’s “cool”, when it comes to Clay, is to make bad jokes about him and his fans, to blog about every little piece of unsubstantiated gossip you can find, or even better--to make up stories about him and post them on the internet where they’ll be picked up and spread around. What’s “cool” is to make a living dissing Clay and other celebrities, like a certain celebrity gossip blogger has done.

Gee, do I wish I were “cool” like Conan O'Brien, Kathy Griffin, and Mario Lavandiera?

Or would I rather be a fan of this guy?

Duh.

What about you? Would you rather be a fan of someone who makes a living putting other people down, or of someone who is dedicated to raising people up?

Like Bloomingclay from Korea, Clay Aiken fans do not care what is cool, and neither does Clay.

I didn't mind if the other teenagers who worked for me occasionally laughed at me.... Kids don't need lessons in cool. They need to have fun. --Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life

Allison Glock, who ended up helping Clay write Learning to Sing, said in Elle:

Aiken's ignorance of all things hot translates into a doofy authenticity and a captivating vulnerability. He's so uncool, he's cool.*

Long ago, just as Measure of a Man was coming out, RCA executive Richard Sanders was quoted in a Time feature thusly:

Americans buy more vanilla ice cream than any other flavor. Yes, they like their Rocky Road and Cherry Garcia, but ultimately America wants to consume vanilla. So we're going to sell the best vanilla.*

In response, a group of his fans arranged to have several pints of Ben & Jerry's "Vanilla for a Change" ice cream delivered to RCA with the following note:

To Clive Davis and staff:

Those on the edge don't follow the crowd. Try some "Vanilla for a Change," and Let Clay be Clay.

and to the author of the Time article, this note:

Mr. Tyrangiel,

We want to write to thank you for your recent story on Clay Aiken. What we feel you may have overlooked is that Clay Aiken actually has a very sophisticated and internet-savvy fan base. Our tastes in music aren't pedestrian, quite the opposite. We feel that when the envelope has been pushed so far that those on the "edge" produce music as monotonously rhythmic and sexual as bad pornography, perhaps the true edge lies in the other direction.

Put simply, we've been starved for the cool, clean, sensual taste of vanilla...

And we're not alone. There is a reason Clay sold over 900,000 singles and why thousands of fans worldwide are meeting on October 14th to celebrate the release of his first album. It IS a revolution.

If Clay Aiken is indeed vanilla, he's a richly textured delight to the senses. Clay's fans appreciate a fine vanilla and have made our tastes known by having some excellent Vanilla ice cream delivered to the executives of RCA today. We sent cartons of Ben & Jerry's "Vanilla for a Change." It just felt appropriate.

The Clackhouse,
a Division of The People's Republic of Clay

So, to all those whose blogs are dripping with sarcasm and "cool" comments about Clay and his fans, to all the comedians with your cheap jokes about Clay: this is what is really cool:

___________________________
*Aching for Aiken, by Allison Glock. Elle; October, 2003.

**Building a Better Pop Star, by Josh Tyrangiel. Time; 10/13/2003, Vol. 162 Issue 15, p72-76.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken Clay Aiken fans Conan O'Brien Kathy Griffin Mario Lavandiera Perez Hilton Allison Glock Elle Learning to Sing Josh Tyrangiel Time Banda Aceh

Is it asking too much?

2006-09-07T02:00:00.000-04:00

Is it asking too much to expect the media to get the facts straight? Take that infamous "fan suit" for example. There never was a suit--just a few pranksters who released a press release saying they were thinking of suing RCA for misrepresenting Clay's image. Not a single news outlet checked to see if the press release had any merit. They just reported it. Oh, one music writer for the Delaware County Times did question whether or not it was a hoax. A couple of prestigious writers for foreign papers analyzed the suit's deeper meaning as it reflects on American culture--but without checking the basic facts. So much for the "news" media's dedication to accuracy in reporting.

So today, the media is starting to pick up the story of the Presidential appointment. This morning Clay's hometown paper, the News & Observer, published the following short news item on their website:

The White House has announced that President Bush intends to appoint Clay Aiken -- or Clayton Aiken, as he is listed in the press release -- to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

Aiken is a Raleigh native who rose to fame as a runner-up in the "American Idol" competition. Before his singing career took off, Aiken worked as a counselor at a YMCA.

The committee advises the president and the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on issues relating to programs and services for people with intellectual disabilities, according to the committee's web site. The committee was first established, as the President's Panel on Mental Retardation, in 1961 by President Kennedy.

He worked as a counselor at the Y? He received this prestigious appointment because he was a counselor at the Y? What about his degree in special education? The very successful foundation he started three years ago to foster inclusion for children with disabilities? Ambassador for the US Fund for UNICEF? These are not difficult facts to find. Three minutes with google would do it.

But the craziness doesn't stop there. This evening the AP wire service picked up the story directly from the News & Observer. A close paraphrase. Oh wait, no, something was added to later releases: the fact that Clay has a CD coming out later this month. That's nice. So he was chosen for his experience as a camp counselor and because he has a CD coming out soon.

I know there are more important things in the world to worry about, and, sadly, the media isn't getting a lot of those more important things right either. Celebrity gossip--that's the name of the game these days. Suri Cruise's first picture--now that's news. If Clay were to be seen out partying with Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan, that would be a story worth investigating.

OK, reporters, my Clack House mate Berkeley has saved you some trouble. Here's a news item for ya with some substance to it:

Aiken brings considerable experience to the President's Council.

He received his BA in Special Education from The University of North Carolina, Charlotte, in December 2003.

Five months earlier, in July of 2003, Clay Aiken and Diane Bubel, an advocate for children with disabilities who is herself the mother of a child with autism, co-founded the Bubel/Aiken Foundation. BAF's mission is to integrate children with disabilities into the same life environment as their typical peers. In just three years, BAF has presented hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to advance its mission and has sponsored an inclusive summer day camp for three years. The foundation has received multimillion dollar grants from State Farm Insurance and from the U.S. Department of Education to develop an inclusion curriculum for elementary schools.

In addition to appearing at benefits in support of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving and America's Promise / The Alliance for Youth, Aiken has been a keynote speaker at the Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities and the Fearless Caregiver Conference.

In 2004, Aiken was appointed to be a National Ambassador for UNICEF (the United Nations Childrens Fund), with a focus on education. Following the tsunami in December 2004, he made field trips to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, to observe the rebuilding process. He also visited camps for people displaced by rebel violence in Northen Uganda, helped raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina and served as the spokesperson for the 2005 Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign.

Here's the link to Clay's page at UNICEF: UNICEF - Clay Aiken. The other links you need are in my last blog. In case any media types reading this wanted to do some research, this is a start for ya. Knock yourself out. Or you could just take my word for it. Oh wait, maybe I should just issue a press release.

Other blogs about this news: The Conclayve - Berkeley's blog
Webweaver's World - Clay's Presidential Appointment

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken UNICEF Suri Cruise Lindsey Lohan Paris Hilton Clack House

Presidential appointment

2006-09-06T00:57:00.000-04:00

So Jessica launched her album with a made-for-publicity romance with John Meyer, Justin Timberlake's been talking a lot about drugs and bringing sexy back...oh wait...

Sorry, I had to Take a Moment. Anyway, Aiken's launching his new album with a Presidential appointment.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities:

Dallas Rob Sweezy, of Virginia, and upon appointment designate Chair, for an additional two year term expiring May 11, 2008.

Clayton Aiken, of North Carolina

Stephen Bird, of Virginia

Valerie Billmire, of Utah

James Boles, of New York

Stephanie Brown, of Florida

William J. Edwards, of California

Brian J. Kelly, of California

Mary Margaret Pucci, of Illinois

Linda Hampton Starnes, of Florida

Stephen Henry Suroveic, of Pennsylvania

William E. Tienken, of Illinois

The Press Release: Personnel Announcement
The Committee: The President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
A little about the Bubel/Aiken Foundation: BAF develops curriculum, with funding from the US government and State Farm; Clay Aiken releases grant for children's book

Photo is copyrighted to the gifted Invisible926

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken Bubel/Aiken Foundation State Farm Presidential Committee new album Jessica Simpson Justin Timberlake

Caption this picture....

2006-07-27T23:22:00.000-04:00

Max Hsu and Shaun Shankel are to blame for this. (See previous blog entry.) I know there are people who hate the picture below, but it's one of my favorites. I just had an epiphany a day or two ago about this hair. I realized that it was a deliberate shout out to a particular fan of his; it appeared first on the website of the symphony of her hometown, Detroit. It's on my second (or third?) favorite t-shirt - for the 2005 Christmas Tour.

How do you like my hair, CAP121?

For the three people reading this who don't know, CAP121's language about Clay's hair on any given day can be quite colorful, and she isn't easy to please.

So why do I love this picture so much? Let's take a closer look:

It's the eyes. Almost a smile but not quite, more of a smile than we saw on AI5 as he came on stage behind Sandecki. An enigmatic and attractive smile, but the eyes are what I love. They say, "Do your worst, I do not care."

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken Shaun Shankel Max Hsu mohawk

Children in Need

2006-07-27T16:48:00.000-04:00

Clay blogged today to talk about UNICEF's efforts in the current mid-east war. Thanks for the reminder, Clay. Once again, children are suffering the most in this situation. Regardless of your feelings about the conflict, those children will appreciate your help if you are willing and able to give.

UNICEF

Here is a link to donate.

Update - in around 24 hours, the Clay Nation donated $47,556.96. We rock!

Another update - today (Monday, July 31) the total is $66,723.12. Plus the matching donation from Rosie O'Donnell of $47,000.

Technorati tags: UNICEF Clay Aiken

Something Completely Different - Sumo

2006-07-16T16:33:00.000-04:00

On the Clack House, to pass the time waiting for word on Clay's album release date, we were posting about encounters with famous people. I'd already posted my short list when djs111 posted this:

I did see Akebono and Musashimaru outside the sumo arena in Tokyo.

I immediately scribbled out a new post, and starting uploading photos. About that time, lots of exciting things happened. It was announced that there was a winner of the "guess the initials of the new album" contest, then the winner posted about her conversation with Clay, and then Clay blogged. So I decided to spare my fellow fans the details of my brushes with sumo greatness, and blog about them instead.

Now by the time I'm done, you'll be thinking I was some kind of sumo groupie, but it wasn't like that. Just dumb luck.

So, here I am with the first non-Japanese Yokozuna (top ranked wrestler), Akebono, born Chad Rowan in Hawaii.

(Where I am, you ask? Well you can't be incognito and post your own picture on the freaking internet, now can you? You'll just have to take my word for it.)

Here "we" are again:

When I brought the film with the Akebono photos into the photo processing kiosk up the street, I thought the owner was going to have conniption fits. I was treated like royalty forever after.

Here's Akebono with his game face on:

6' 8" tall, 540 pounds. He'd make Ruben look like a little pixie.

Now Akebono was a lovely man, unassuming and dedicated to the sport, but my favorite was Mainoumi. Here we are together (minus me, of course):

I liked Mainoumi because he was small but scrappy, like me. He could triumph over really, really big guys, like the morbidly obese Konishiki:

The other wrestlers said Mainoumi could stick to the dohyo like he had glue on his feet. It was still a struggle for him because he was so small, and he had the misfortune of having Konishiki fall on him once. Not good. Even though the broken leg healed, he was never quite the same and eventually he retired. Here's a shot of Akebono cutting off a lock of Mainoumi's hair at his retirement ceremony, broadcast on Japanese television.

Since he retired, he's become a famous Japanese television personality; minus the sumo attire and hair-do he looks like this:

His wedding was televised too. Sumo wrestlers are huge celebrities in Japan. But, as I said, I was lucky. Here I am (invisibly speaking) with another Yokozuna, Wakanohana:

Wakanohana and his brother Takanohana were Yokozunas at the same time, a rare event indeed. Their father had also been a Yokozuna, and ran the biggest sumo "stable" in Japan. (Sounds like a place for animals, doesn't it?)

Sometimes the wrestlers can let their hair down, like when they are traveling for exhibitions:

Yup, I took that picture "backstage". Now why couldn't I ever be backstage during a Clay Aiken concert??

I had some other great sumo moments, such as a number of social occasions with the esteemed gyoji Shozaburo:

He'd probably tell you about how difficult I was to feed, as I refused to touch anything remotely exotic. One of my funniest moments was watching how uncomfortable he was in a donut shop. Shozaburo's name changed when he was promoted, and then he retired too.

What else? Well, I went to a kareoke bar once with Daishi, who loved to sing Whitney Houston, and was very, very good.

Here's Daishi singing traditional sumo songs:

I don't have any photos of the time some of us took a bunch of wrestlers out to dinner. The bill was outrageous, and the menu very squicky. Imagine a large hibachi in the middle of the table with about 20 beef tongues on it, looking exactly like what they were. Ew.

I never did get to meet the wrestler I thought was the hottest: the Wolf, Chiyonofuji. He was retired by then, and a famous stable-master. Here he is before his retirement, in Peru:

And in the special ring-entering ceremony for Yokozuna:

Rawr.

So that's my story of hob-nobbing with the very famous in Japan. How did I do it? Connections. What can I say? Luck. Now if only I were lucky enough to have that kind of connection with the Aiken. Sigh.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken Clack House sumo Akebono Mainoumi Konishiki Chiyonofuji Shozaburo

Most of these photos I did not take, and those do not belong to me. The ones with me in them (invisibly) do belong to me. Photos copyrighted to those who own them.

On Being Cool, or "those on the edge don't follow the crowd"

2006-07-05T19:08:00.000-04:00

My favorite quote from one of the founding members of the Korean fansite I mentioned here (International Fans) is:

For us, there is no 'cool/not cool' standard. If you like the song and the singer can sing, that's "cool".

I didn't mind if the other teenagers who worked for me occasionally laughed at me.... Kids don't need lessons in cool. They need to have fun. --Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life

Allison Glock, who ended up helping Clay write Learning to Sing, said in Elle:

Aiken's ignorance of all things hot translates into a doofy authenticity and a captivating vulnerability. He's so uncool, he's cool.*

Long ago, just as Measure of a Man was coming out, RCA executive Richard Sanders was quoted in a Time feature thusly:

Americans buy more vanilla ice cream than any other flavor. Yes, they like their Rocky Road and Cherry Garcia, but ultimately America wants to consume vanilla. So we're going to sell the best vanilla.*

In response, a group of his fans arranged to have several pints of Ben & Jerry's "Vanilla for a Change" ice cream delivered to RCA with the following note:

To Clive Davis and staff:

Those on the edge don't follow the crowd. Try some "Vanilla for a Change," and Let Clay be Clay.

and to the author of the Time article, this note:

Mr. Tyrangiel,
We want to write to thank you for your recent story on Clay Aiken. What we feel you may have overlooked is that Clay Aiken actually has a very sophisticated and internet-savvy fan base. Our tastes in music aren't pedestrian, quite the opposite. We feel that when the envelope has been pushed so far that those on the "edge" produce music as monotonously rhythmic and sexual as bad pornography, perhaps the true edge lies in the other direction.

Put simply, we've been starved for the cool, clean, sensual taste of vanilla...

And we're not alone. There is a reason Clay sold over 900,000 singles and why thousands of fans worldwide are meeting on October 14th to celebrate the release of his first album. It IS a revolution.

If Clay Aiken is indeed vanilla, he's a richly textured delight to the senses. Clay's fans appreciate a fine vanilla and have made our tastes known by having some excellent Vanilla ice cream delivered to the executives of RCA today. We sent cartons of Ben & Jerry's "Vanilla for a Change." It just felt appropriate.

The Clackhouse,
a Division of The People's Republic of Clay

So, to all those whose blogs are dripping with sarcasm and "cool" comments about Clay and his fans, to all the comedians with your cheap jokes about Clay: this is what is really cool:

___________________________
*Aching for Aiken, by Allison Glock. Elle; October, 2003.

**Building a Better Pop Star, by Josh Tyrangiel. Time; 10/13/2003, Vol. 162 Issue 15, p72-76.

Clay Aiken Clay Aiken fans Conan O'Brien Kathy Griffin Mario Lavandiera Perez Hilton Allison Glock Elle Learning to Sing Josh Tyrangiel Time Banda Aceh

Stereotypes of Clay and His Fans--Then and Now

2006-06-30T17:06:00.000-04:00

This time around three years ago I would’ve been thrilled to have a blog like this to record my thoughts about Clay Aiken. I knew some big articles and interviews were forthcoming, and I hadn’t been impressed with what I’d seen thus far, so I decided to write my own. Now, post Elle, post Rolling Stone, post Entertainment Weekly, post Time, I look forward to the print features I anticipate will be appearing soon as the new album promotion rolls out. I know now that I couldn’t possibly write anything remotely as interesting as those articles were.

While we’re waiting for these, I want to take a look back--not only for nostalgia's sake, but also because as great as those features were, they did not fully dispel some misconceptions that people had, and some still have about Clay. In the fall of 2003 I had three major concerns.

1) I wanted people to know that Clay is a handsome and sexually attractive man–that his AI-created image was false. Clay’s geek to chic makeover was quite effective, but it was also emasculating. Before AI Clay wasn’t a fey theatre boi, he was a geek--a college student who was tied to his laptop. During the summer after AI, he grew from boy to man. He gained in confidence, he learned to move. He has phenomenal stage presence. He has charmed politicians, upstaged Jay Leno, and bedazzled the goddess of older Clay fans everywhere, Diane Sawyer. He is witty, genuine, entertaining.

And--damn!--he photographs well. The man Simon Cowell called ugly is a photographer's dream. I wanted people to know that Clay’s a chameleon--he has a thousand different faces. He can go from looking like a teen to looking like a man in seconds, and a myriad emotions can play unguardedly across his face in just a few moments.

I wanted people to know that Clay could sing a lot more than just ballads, that he is funny and entertaining--funnier than most working comedians--that he's mesmerizing to watch and listen to, and a totally effortless live performer.

2) I thought people had missed the point of Clay’s place in the television landscape that year, and in television history. 2003 was arguably the peak year for reality TV. Survivor, Extreme Makeover, the Amazing Race, and MTV’s the Real World were favorites, and American Idol was an upstart that had just entered the scene a season before.

To my mind, Clay is the ultimate reality show winner (even though he didn’t win). He played American Idol like it was Survivor--analyzing and reacting to a wide variety of cues to make himself the most competitive contestant. He changed his appearance dramatically, as they did on Extreme Makeover, but without needing surgical help--just by his changing hair style, clothing, stance. Reality shows reveal a lot about their participants: Clay showed that he is personable, easy to get along with, a leader, and that he has strength of character. He is clean-cut, but quirky enough to be interesting--most of his fans knew by then that he is neither saint nor saintly. In the sense that the goal of all of these shows is to win big money, change one’s life, and/or be a great media success, Clay is the ultimate reality show winner of our time. It’s not a question of winning American Idol or any reality show--it’s what you can accomplish given that exposure, that opportunity. Quick! Name a non-Idol reality show winner or participant who has sustained a public presence since the show ended or who is widely recognized for his or her accomplishments since winning.

3) I wanted people to know about the people, mostly women, who are Clay’s fans--that we are intelligent, diverse, “cool” people. I wanted them to know that I’d never met so many women who are so adept in computer technology. Some of his fans work in tech industries, and others taught themselves and learned from generous fellow fans all kinds of wonderful skills: photoshop/blends, web design, photography, audio and video recording, DVD burning, montage making, file storage and archiving, live cell streaming, and so forth. The Clay fandom is a girl-geek’s paradise.

I wanted people to know about the charitable efforts of Clay and his fans. A couple of good blogs have been written about this recently: In the Beginning.....Look What Love Has Done and There Was a Man.

I wanted people to know that we are professors, lawyers, housewives, artists, students, rocket scientists, truck drivers, male and female, all ages. That we are generous, organized, and focused on making positive changes in the world.

__________________________________

Three years later, with Clay’s third album on the horizon, some of these stereotypes have been dispelled, but for many, thanks mainly to crass comedians, they are stronger and more distorted than ever. Hopefully, with his coming press for the new album, further steps like the surprise AI5 appearance will be taken to change that.

So, as we wait for yet another album and its attendance publicity, and, hopefully, for more stereotype-breaking moments, here’s an essay I wrote back in 2003 just before Measure of a Man came out. I framed it as a letter to TV Guide (though I never sent it). (Little did I know then that he would make the cover–not then, but three times so far.) It addressed some of those stereotypes that concerned me then, and still concern me now.

________________________________

10/1/2003

If the folks at TV Guide are not already planning to put Clay Aiken on next week’s (Oct. 11-17) cover, you should be: He appears on Jay Leno (NBC) October 13, Good Morning America (ABC) October 15, the Early Show (CBS) October 17, and the View (ABC) October 17. He was featured last week on a Primetime Special (ABC), and sang at the Miss America pageant September 20. Aiken has been nominated for an American Music Award as best male pop vocalist, without having ever released a commercial album. More copies of his platinum single, “This is the Night,” (with "Bridge Over Troubled Water") were sold in the first week than of Elton John’s 1997 “Candle in the Wind” tribute single to England’s Lady Diana, the next highest contender.

Many of the estimated 24 million people who watched the American Idol finale last May have not seen Aiken since the flurry of post-show interviews ended. Even some in the music business who ought to be better informed are not aware of the fact that Aiken is on his way to a stellar career. Those of us who have had the good fortune to see a lot of him since last May would like to prepare you for some surprises.

1. Clay Aiken’s new album, “Measure of a Man,” is about to be released on October 14, but this is not his first album. Aiken recorded several “demo” albums long before the American Idol show. The “demos” are low-budget, local productions to be sure, made for himself, friends, and family rather than to shop out to record labels, but the quality of his voice makes everything else irrelevant. Tracks include standards like “Unchained Melody” and “My Girl,” pop hits like Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover,” country tunes such as “I Know How the River Feels,” “Not Supposed to Love You Anymore,” and “Look What Love Has Done,” as well as several Contemporary Christian songs. The best of these to me, and I am not normally a country fan, are the country tunes. This is less surprising when you know that he sang with a country band and in country music showcases back in the Raleigh area as a teenager. Whatever he sings, Aiken’s voice is divine. There are more than a few, I among them, who say his music has spoiled them for any other singer. His phrasing, his vocal power, the clarity and depth of his tone and emotion are that impressive.

Over the months since the AI finale, tracks from these demo albums have become widely available, on eBay and as free downloads from numerous sites on the internet. The few remaining originals sell for hundreds of dollars. All of Aiken’s AI performances were made available for free download by Fox. With a wealth of material to choose from, every self-respecting Clay fan has customized at least two or three different CD’s for her or his personal listening pleasure, and burned CD’s for others as well. Does this mean no one will buy his new album? On the contrary, his fans have dedicated themselves to the cause of making it go platinum in the first week of sales. If ever there were testimony to the value of free downloads in promoting the success of a recording artist, these homemade Clay Aiken tracks are it.

The “Measure of a Man” album to be released on October 14th is completely new material. Not an oldie is to be found on it (although older fans are still hoping for a bonus track of “Solitaire”). Despite his substantial baby-boomer fan base and his reputation as a crooner on Idol, RCA has decided to market Aiken as a “pop star.” After all, they might respond to our arched eyebrows, he is only 24 years old. The result is an ambitious, boundary-crossing production that aims to please teenagers and their parents alike.

2. The next item does not begin with a surprise, at least to those who voted for Clay. The AI finalists’ summer tour entertained in 40 venues throughout the country; they sold a lot of tickets, it was an excellent show, and Clay Aiken was the undisputed star. He proved himself to be a natural in an MC role, and in radio and television interviews all over the country he charmed everyone he talked to. The highlight of the show was Aiken’s performance of his new single, “Invisible,” recently released for radio play. Here’s the surprise–Clay CAN dance. He came into his own on this tour, and he was devastatingly seductive. Women screamed and threw panties, and a new term was invented--the Thud (the sound of a fan hitting the floor). Free fan videos of the concerts circulated wildly on the internet. Tribute montages were created, odes were written to every part of his body. Once geeky Clay Aiken is now a sex symbol, and without baring anything more than his forearms. Contemplate that, MTV!

3. Perhaps the biggest surprise to some who have not seem him lately will be my assertion that, second only to his voice, the popular appeal of Clay Aiken lies in his physical beauty. “I’m not a model, that’s for sure,” he said about one of the first times he was photographed for a magazine. But since then he has been photographed endlessly, and if you’re in the celebrity photography business, you already know that he is a dream to shoot. He is a kaleidoscope of personalities. His facets are so many and so varied that one can scarcely believe all are the same person. Some people who saw Clay on American Idol regarded him as giggly and effeminate, and he can be that, but he can also be unmistakably masculine. People who meet him for the first time say they are struck by how tall he is (6' 1"), and, as the photographs have revealed, he’s no smoothed-skinned girly-man. He has moved from the wispy gamin look of the July Rolling Stone cover to the September Entertainment Weekly cover portrait in stubble, t-shirt, and sunglasses. A feature article in the October Elle was accompanied by a photograph of Clay in a tux that caused the Thud heard round the world. The writer, Allison Glock, is an obvious and unashamed victim of Aiken’s charms. She begins thusly: “Clay Aiken smells like fresh laundry. It’s the first thing you notice about him–that he’s well-scrubbed, radiant in his cleanliness, a walking, freckled dryer sheet. The second thing you notice are his lips, which are plump and ripe and shell pink. Much has been made about his hair–the whole flatironed, geek-hipster, red nest of it all, but little, too little, has been made of his lips....”

4. While Aiken’s transformation from geek to gorgeous may be a surprise to some, it will be less of a surprise, at least to AI fans, that Clay speaks in public easily and well. He is charismatic and quick-witted, and these days he radiates self-confidence. Labeled the “thinking woman’s idol” by Diane Sawyer, and "the fantasy fodder of sophisticated women everywhere" by Glock, Aiken was as impressive delivering a speech on education this summer in Washington, D.C., or helping Mayor Bloomberg open the new Wachovia bank on Wall Street, as he is as a singer.

A topic as frequent among his fans as his good looks or his voice is his character. Aiken demonstrated admirable selflessness when Ruben was named the American Idol, and he has refused to engage in controversy over the vote. During the concert tour, he graciously and enthusiastically introduced Ruben every night as “your American idol.” He has displayed humility and genuine concern for others countless times in countless ways. He’s the kind of pop idol you want your kids to admire. While launching his new album this fall, he is also completing his college degree in special education, hoping to graduate in December. Many of his fans are parents of children with special needs, and a host of stories have circulated about Clay’s easy, thoughtful manner with these kids at fan gatherings before and after the concerts, and about the kids’ reaction to him and even to his recorded voice.

This summer Aiken created the Bubel-Aiken Foundation to support inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream programs like the Y and children’s camps. His fans raised $42,000 in less than a week to donate to the Foundation on the occasion of his return home for the Raleigh, NC, concert, spearheaded by a group who named themselves after one of his demos, Look What Love Has Done. Additional checks poured in at every AI concert this summer. For those of you who may have missed his performance at the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon on Labor Day, Clay sang in the time slot traditionally held by Frank Sinatra, and Jerry Lewis made the comparison explicit in his introduction. Fans raised over $30,000 for the MDA. A number of other charitable projects have been initiated by Clay’s admirers.

Neither Aiken nor his fans are wanna-be saints. Aiken has a snarky wit, for instance, and can be abrupt at times; he admits he is “not as innocent as he seems,” but even his faults can seem endearing to those who have been captivated by the total package that is Clay Aiken. He is a man with a huge heart and a playful nature whose caring for others shines through in everything he does.

5. By now it should be no surprise that an avid fan base for Aiken has developed, largely on the internet. These fans freely share gigabytes of photos, audio and video files from concerts; they have created hundreds of internet sites; message boards with thousands of members hang on his every breath, analyze his haircuts, his eating habits, his music, and his sexual attractiveness. While some of what you may find on these sites is unexceptional, and sometimes even off-putting, Aiken has attracted many supporters of great wit, intellect, and humor. After the AI concert tour began, odes to Aiken’s sexual appeal proliferated: The Weapons of Mass Seduction thread, which evolved into a message board; the Lecherous Broads for Clay Aiken website, known for its BEVR’s (Broad’s Eye View Reports of the concerts)–the LBFCA got their own picture in Rolling Stone. It’s by no means all about sex appeal; there is a bounty of websites and message boards with a depth and variety of offerings that should prove attractive to anyone who wants to catch up on all that’s been missed as this new phase of Clay Aiken’s career begins.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken fans Clay Aiken American Idol stereotypes

Mt. Iwaki

2006-06-28T11:09:00.000-04:00

I noticed that a lot of Japanese fans have been visiting this blog, so I just wanted to let you know that my background and profile pic are photos of Mt. Iwaki in Japan.

For those who don't know Iwaki-san, it's near Hirosaki, in the Tohoku region. I went there for an autumn festival, and fell in love.

Iwaki-san is a dormant volcano. It's been dormant so long that a crater looks like this now:

The day I went to the top it was very foggy:

My friend and I had planned to walk down from the mountain top. After riding a bus up the switchback in my background, taking a ski-lift without a safety bar, and then climbing up, up, up a rough path, including some huge boulders, to the very top, we began the walk down. By the time we had reached the lake in the crater, my friend said, sorry it's too foggy, and it's very dangerous -- we'll have to go back. And of course, to get down, first we had to climb back up!

That's OK, it was the festival we came for anyway. Here's the view from the base of the mountain on festival day:

Here's a similar view when there's no festival going on:

At the top of that long flight of steps framed by the torii gates is a Shinto shrine. This picture was taken from the level of the shrine entrance. Beyond the shrine is the real beginning of the climb to the top of Iwaki-san.

The shrine was newly painted for the festival, and looked beautiful:

Many people spent the night on the mountain to greet the sunrise on festival day. Here are a few on their way down in the morning.

This little girl is so cute!

Here's a case where a picture is not worth a thousand words. This was a once-in-a-lifetime sight. The man in the middle of the circle did an amazing shamanic deer dance. I had never seen anything like it, and probably never will again. The photo doesn't begin to do it justice.

One last photo. This is a beautiful view of Iwaki-san with some ugly ducklings (LOL) on a lake below.

I just had to add a link to this blog I found giving an account of a full climb up and down the mountain. The blog includes some really nice photos!
Greg's Japan: Summiting Mount Iwaki and Descending a Small Intestine.
At the end there's a link to more photos: Greg's Iwaki photos

I'm going to steal one. Click here to see the full-size version:

The photo of swans on the lake, the photo of the steps to the shrine when there's no festival, and the switchback photo are scans of post cards. Thanks to the photographers and the post card makers for their use. Thanks to Greg for his gorgeous panorama. Rights belong to the owners.

Technorati tags: Japan Iwaki-san

International Fans

2006-06-25T02:00:00.000-04:00

I found a new fan site today. It's been up less than a month. Biography, discography, photos, great design. Clay's official site should only be so nice! It's Japanese: The New Clay Aiken.

Awhile ago, maybe a year and a half or two years ago, a few fans in Korea started a fan site after "Shine" was used in a camera commercial starring a famous Korean actor. Today that site has over 10,000 members! Clay's never been to Korea; he has never been promoted in Korea. The interest in him is totally spontaneous, and is nurtured by random American TV appearances rebroadcast in Korea and lots of clack: Korean site.

Here's what one of the first members, Bloomingclay, said when they had reached 5,000 members:

Clay's Internet fan cafe in Korea, now 5,000 people joined!!!! WITHOUT any promotion.

Isn't it really neat people search if there is any fanclub site of him after they just watched his music video (sometimes played on cable channel) or a video clip of his performance on the internet and find here, and then join??

Many of those who joined even didn't know what American Idol is. They just saw the clips of him performing or listen to one or two songs of his album, thought he has great voice or the songs are pretty good and became interested in him. There are pop/rock fans, r&b/soul fans, and those who haven't listen to pop music until they get to hear Clay. For us, there is no 'cool/not cool' standard. If you like the song and the singer can sing, that's "cool".

American Idol was shown all over the world this year. Clay's appearance on the AI5 finale yielded approximately 1,000 new members to the Korean site! Message board posts from international members indicate the response was fantastic in many other countries as well. Not bad for two minutes on TV, eh?

Well, it took less than a
minute for a lot of us to fall
for him in the first place.

Clay's never been played much on the radio, hence all this interest has been generated by television. Not the usual way for a pop star to gain fame, but nothing about Clay Aiken happens in the usual way. With this new album, I predict Clay's international popularity will skyrocket.

Analysis of google searches over the last few years shows that the countries in which searches for Clay Aiken are highest (as a percentage of total searches) are Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Phillipines. Oh, and the US (comes in fourth). Also Canada, Sweden, Australia, and the UK. (Thanks to moonhead for the research. Much more detail can be found here: Clackhouse post.)

The Korean and Japanese sites are by no means the first Asian Aiken fansites. Smaller but closely-knit fan clubs have existed a long time for fans in Singapore and Hong Kong. There are many international fans on the Aiken message boards, with the largest number being Canadian. When Clay visited Indonesia last year, he stopped by Malaysia afterwards just to say a few words at a Forces of Nature benefit for tsunami relief, and charmed the audience by speaking in the native vernacular. See Out of Sight, a blog with many photos and a video of the speech, and this live journal entry, Forces of Nature, for a local perspective.

Now a Japanese site has been created. Did TBPB notice how many Anime montages on YouTube use Clay's music? Did they decide to give him Anime hair because they plan to market him in Asia? How long before his Japanese fandom skyrockets?

International fans - please add a comment and tell me where you're from!

ETA: *waves* at the fans from Canada, Argentina, the UK, Singapore, Thailand, the Phillipines, and New Zealand who have already visited since I wrote this blog a few hours ago!! ETAA: And to more visitors from these countries, as well as Germany, Slovenia, Estonia, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France, South Africa, Dubai, Kuwait, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, and Korea.

I am very excited to have received a comment from the creator of the Japanese "New Clay Aiken" fan site.

Edited again: I learned of two more international fan sites, both from Brazil: Flogao Official Clay Aiken and Clay Aiken: Brazilian Fan Club. (Thanks pax!) I think the latter is the site of Lucia, who has attended a number of concerts and is a member of Clayversity. Here's Lucia's blog: clayaikenbrasil.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken American Idol Japan Korea Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Phillipines Canada UK Australia Sweden Brazil tsunami Forces of Nature Anime

My mother is losing it!

2006-06-02T14:49:00.000-04:00

My mother is almost 93, still healthy, lives alone, and until recently has been pretty clear-headed. There seemed to be some deterioration in her mental clarity after the Raleigh ice storm of 2002 when she was without power for 8 days. She refused to go to a shelter or anyone else's home, and though she had a roaring fire in the fireplace, the temperature inside never left the 50's.

Still, it was just minor things at first. Always a stickler for correct grammar and spelling, she would misspell words when playing Scrabble. She tended to repeat herself a bit. Nothing major, nothing to be really concerned about. After all, she is quite old.

It’s only in the last six months that she’s been really slipping. My sister came up to visit me in March, and my mother called me in a panic because she couldn’t find her in Raleigh, even though we’d talked to her on the phone after my sister arrived.

And now I know for sure that she has lost it. Why? She’s a big fan of Clay Aiken’s, so I told her to be sure and watch the American Idol finale last week. When I talked to her later, I asked her if she saw it. “I’m not sure,” she said, “I don’t think so.” Ever since her old remote died and she's had to figure out a new one, she's had a hard time finding channels and knowing what station she's on. Still, you'd think she'd be able to tell if she was watching American Idol or not! Well, OK, the look was a big change–she just didn’t recognize him, I thought, so I sent her some pictures.

I talked to her again yesterday, and she asked me how Clay was doing, as always. I told her his AI appearance had been a great success and caused quite a stir. “Did you see the pictures I sent you?” I asked. “You mean the one with a hat?” she replied. I laughed, and said, “Well, it might have looked like a hat.” “No it was a hat,” she insisted, and then I realized what picture she was talking about. This one, which I e-mailed to her last August:

My mother and I became Clay Aiken fans together. Every week after American Idol the year he was on, we would talk about the show and his performances that week. She had a friend who knew Clay well, and we were all thrilled that a Raleigh boy had advanced so far in the competition. That was my nickname for him back then: “Raleigh boy”. After the show ended, I got hold of his demos on e-Bay and made her copies for her birthday. I gave her a copy of the Rolling Stone when it came out, and it disappeared mysteriously into her bedroom. I bought her each single and album, and put copies of his AI performances, photos, and television appearances on her computer. She liked these better than the CD’s because, she would always say, “I need to look at him when he’s singing.” Every now and then she’d chuckle and say, “I may be old but I’m not dead yet.” She compared Clay often to Frank Sinatra–“It’s just like Frank,” she would say–the screaming fans, the pop culture phenomenon. I think Clay made her feel like she was his age again:

Then it seemed that her interest cooled. I’d start to talk about him and she would change the subject. I don’t know what happened, and I probably never will, but my theory is that she was tormented so often by my Clay-hating sister and brother that she became embarrassed about loving Clay so much. I know she didn’t really stop caring, because when we went to see my cousin a couple of summers ago–my cousin is also a Clay fan--my mother took all her clack along to share with her. But Mom wouldn’t talk about him with me anymore.

My mother’s laptop crashed that winter, and with it went all her clack. I wasn’t in town, and my brother bought her a new one and replaced all her files–everything except the Clay stuff. No more clack, and too much pride to ask for more.

Last December the whole family went to see Clay’s Joyful Noise concert in Raleigh–everyone except Mom. She hates crowds and doesn’t get around well, so she wouldn’t go. I had bought her a ticket, so I gave hers to my brother. My niece loves Clay, so of course I had a ticket for her, and my sister, who had agreed to go along "just to keep us company". My brother's son decided since "everyone else was going" he wanted to go too, so we got him a ticket at the box office. Everyone enjoyed it immensely. The show put us all in the Christmas spirit, and we were giggly and uplifted by the experience. My brother recorded the concert on his i-Pod, and we all downloaded it onto our mp3 players. On his recording you can hear my sister going "wah hoo" at the end of "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, and exclaiming at how cute little Gregory was in his Rudolph nose--gotcha Sis! Clay was the talk of our household for a couple of days before and after that concert.

Since then, my mom talks about Clay again. She still won’t admit to being a fan, but she does want to hear all the news. I don’t think she remembers much of it, and I guess she’ll never know the “new” Clay, but she definitely remembers this:

The story behind the picture. During the Jukebox Tour, Clay went into the audience every night to find a man to come up and dance with his back-up singers. He tried to find the guy who looked least like he wanted to be there. Funny stuff, great Aiken ad-libs. One night, as he was returning to the stage, he spotted this lady in the audience and took her with him to the front to a better seat. What a sweet man he is!!

Technorati tags:
Clay Aiken Clay Aiken fans Frank Sinatra ice storm Raleigh Rolling Stone mother mom

Reactions to the New Clay

2006-05-25T09:41:00.000-04:00

There were some big stars on American Idol last night: Al Jarreau, Live, Meatloaf, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Bert Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, even Prince. OMG Prince was amazing!!!! Oh, and yeah, a new American Idol winner was crowned.

So what was the "wow" moment of the night? Clay Aiken!!!

Here's a round-up of reactions:

rickey's AI blog:

CLAY CLAY CLAY CLAY CLAY CLAY

CLAY!!!! CLAY!!! CLAY!!!!

THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME SHOW EVER!!!!

WOOHOO!!!!

CLAY AIKEN IN THE HOUSE!!!!

The Idols sing Burt Bacharach songs… don’t they do this every year?

But my god, nothing can top the Clay Aiken moment. Next to Kelly he’s the biggest star this show has produced. Go Clay!

San Jose Mercury-News:

syndicated:

LYNN ELBER
Associated Press

Second-season runner-up Clay Aiken, with a slick new look, performed a "duet" on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with his alter ego, a wannabe "American Idol" contestant who evoked the originally geeky Aiken.

realitytvmagazine.com

...there was one shining moment that will likely go down as one of the funniest moments in American Idol history....

Leslie Gray Streeter at the PalmBeachPost.com:

That fake Clay kid who couldn't sing even after a second chance is singing "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." Who's that behind him...Clay Aiken!!! He's almost hot. Did you hear that, Claymates? I said he was hot! Did you hear me? Are you happy now?

People Magazine photo and poll

and article on line:

But the biggest show-stoppers were Clay Aiken, who debuted a jaw-dropping new hipster hairdo, and Prince, who performed two songs solo before an ecstatic audience.

E! News online:

Season two runner-up Clay Aiken returned with an edgy new look to appear alongside an imitator, who was mocked by the judges at his audition for his attempt to evoke the once-nerdy Idol alum.

Yahoo News photo:

caption: Former 'American Idol' winner Clay Aiken performs during the show's finale at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood May 24, 2006. REUTERS/Chris Pizzello

(well we can't expect the media to always get the facts straight, can we?)

www.topix.net:

But the show did hit one perfect note when Clay Aiken surprised an off-key Clay Aiken-wannabe on stage for a wonderfully impromptu duet.

Fox News online:

Perhaps the biggest laugh of the night, however, came during an appearance by Michael Sandecki, a sensation from an early audition episode (sensational only for how bad he was), who did a "surprise" duet with Clay Aiken.

They performed "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" and it really was akin to watching a before and after video, with Sandecki playing the role of the younger, naive Aiken, almost too enthusiastically.

From the fan boards:

txblonde, from the Official Fan Club via Clayversity via the Clackhouse:

The local reporter for the FOX station in Houston is reporting live from the Kodak. She summarized the evening with this quote:

"Hands-down the favorite reaction from the 33 media crews watching the live show.......Clay Aiken!

"Then the lady anchor said, "I thought he was great! I like his new hair, too!"

Penny, the Clackhouse:

two separate people on my LJ list called Clay's appearance the "best moment in Idol history". \o/

g35luzzter on the Clayboard:

I was watching MSNBC cover post AI5 show.
The host Rita interviewed a California DJ that hosted Katherine Mcphee's hometown watching party...
This is what I saw and heard.

The DJ (male) said, regarding not winning AI : "Look at Clay Aiken. He was on fire tonight. The crowd was crazy about him."

That's a quote.

Arlitexas, on the Official Fan Club via the Clackhouse:

I'm watching the local Fox News here in Dallas. The female anchor introduced the segment with Clay by saying this was one of the best moments of the show, simply hilarious and fun. The male anchor agreed that it was a great moment!

sharinlilbit, on the Official Fan Club:

From a TV blogger for the Akron Beacon Journal --

"Amazing, though, how eagerly people will show up on TV even if the reason is mockery. Crazy Dave Hoover's being there I can understand since he's, well, crazy. But Clay Aiken wannabe Michael Sandecki obviously didn't get the joke; then again, he got to meet Clay in the second-best moment of the evening.

"Sandecki, a terrible auditioner who tried to exploit a deliberate resemblance to old Clay, was invited to sing -- then was interrupted by Aiken's arrival. Sandecki didn't seem to mind at all. He labored to duet with Aiken, and then, when he was offered a seat, continued to have a look of sheer joy. Aiken, meanwhile, has moved way past his ''Idol'' look -- long hair, nice suit. Still has that big voice."

Ericapl, on the Clayboard:

Our local Fox news (Fresno, CA) mentioned Clay's part as one of the highlights of the night--along with Prince, of course. It was brief, but nice.

nowrite2000, on Television Without Pity:

I missed Season 2, I can't call myself a Clay fan and I've never posted here before, but I must say--if this dude can cause so much heated debate and notice in the press and web over his haircut, he must be in possession of some irresistable cultural pheromone. I've never witnessed the level of hysteria amongst the AI watchers sitting next to me than when that backscreen parted. It was as if Jesus was high-fiving Buddha as Allah popped and locked in the background. Incredible.

Faux Clay's stumble backwards was shared by many apparently.

BLOGS:

Oh what a night...

Clay Aiken...Making an Entrance

Holy crap!

The AI5 Finale... And the Return of Clay Aiken

That's Clay Aiken

THAT'S Clay???!???

American Idol Surprises!

That's Clay Aiken???

He's Baaaack!

I'm sensing a theme here with the blog titles. Heh.

___________________________________________________________

There's more, but I think you get the idea. So the Clay Nation is kaput, eh?

____________________________________________________________

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken Clay Aiken fans American Idol finale

That's Clay Aiken!

2006-05-24T23:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks to DeepSouthGurrl for the cap

Thanks to Permaswooned for the cap

Thanks to Wendy in FL for the cap

more: Lecherous Broads
more screen caps: Claymatized

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken American Idol American Idol Finale

Clay Aiken on American Idol Tonight

2006-05-24T18:46:00.000-04:00

So I heard on MSNBC earlier today that Clay's career was over. HA! The fan boards are absolutely buzzing tonight because CLAY'S GOING TO BE APPEARING ON AMERICAN IDOL TONIGHT!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

The lead story on every entertainment news program for three days now has been, "Will Clay Aiken appear on the American Idol finale?" He didn't even win; he was the runner-up in 2003. He hasn't been on TV all year, no new singles, no new nuttin'. HUGE stars will be performing tonight. And still the possibility of an appearance by Clay on the American Idol finale turns the entertainment world upside down.

Here's one of my favorite bits, from the Insider today:

The Insider correspondent, Victoria Recano, says: "But the big buzz is, Clay Aiken may perform right here tonight." Footage is shown of Clay on the Emmy red carpet, then of the "Invisible" video.

The scene changes to an interview room where Paula, Randy and Simon are sitting. Recano asks the Zero Trio...Will Clay Aiken sing on AI tonight?

Paula bites her nails, Randy says, "I don't know--Simon? He might be performing." Simon says snarkily: "Oh Gosh, I hope he is, otherwise I'm not going to sleep."

Tsk tsk, poor Simon. Hated Clay then, hates Clay now, hates Taylor Hicks, and now he's going to have to watch Taylor crowned the American Idol tonight. Heh.

I guess the truth is I like Kat a bit more than I do Taylor, but for me, it was "Idol Found, Game Over" in 2003.

The Meerkat Blogosphere is all about American Idol today. Check out some of these links:

Three Years Later, Clay Aiken Is Too Popular to Be Idle,

The Anomaly...A time to Celebrate!

American Idol - The Final 2 Perform

American Idol - Final 2 Performances

Approximately Three Years Ago Today....

Top 10 Idol "Moments"

American Idol Finale

The Final Two

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken American Idol Zero Trio Randy Jackson Paula Abdul Simon Cowell Taylor Hicks Katherine McPhee