Clay Aiken: Happy first Father's Day to you!

I don't have anything profound to say, Clay, just that I hope you have a fabulous first Father's Day. I hope having a child is everything you thought it would be and more. There will be ups and downs, happiness and disappointment, laughter and sorrow, but mostly the days will be mundane, the fabric of everyday life.



The years will pass so fast that you'll wonder where they went. One day your child is an infant, the next, he'll be graduating from high school, then college. You'll look in the mirror and you'll wonder, 'where did the time go'? The time went into influencing your baby's personality, into being a role model with your actions and your words. Things you do and say will one day be echoed by Parker. Some of those will make you laugh, some will make you wince, yet others will make you wonder, 'where did that come from'? You'll see yourself in your child, and you'll see your mother, your brother, your biological father, your grandparents, aunts, uncles. All of your family has a genetic stake in Parker, as does Jaymes' family.



And one day, your grown child will bring home their chosen partner for life, a woman or a man, hopefully, in 25 or so years, it won't matter like it does today. And you'll realize that life repeats itself as Parker creates his own nuclear family, has a child, and sees in his child......you.


Happy Father's Day, Clay.

Michelle Obama

I just saw this picture of Michelle Obama. It's her first official White House portrait. It blew me away.

Spamalot: A Tribute and a Farewell

I said my farewell to Spamalot last Sunday during Clay Aiken's last show. I've seen the show about 14 times. I probably wouldn't have seen it at all if not for the fact that Clay was appearing in it. I went to see Clay and I came away with an appreciation of, and love for, so many things Spamalot.

The show itself is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. The script is fabulous, the music fits so well within the parameters of the comedy, and I fell in love with the actors, all of them, from the leads to the chorus to the dancers. I want this blog to be a tribute to the marvelous show that is Spamalot.

Created by Eric Idle and John du Prez, Monty Python's Spamalot was 'lovingly' ripped from the motion picture, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. Directed by the award-winning Mike Nichols, the show won the Tony award for best musical in 2005 and has been going strong ever since. The actors come and go, but the play remains as funny as ever.

I didn't get to see the original show with the original actors, including David Hyde Pierce and Tim Curry, but I was privileged to see the last installment with the current actors. This is a tribute to them:


King Arthur: Played by Jonathan Hadary and Michael Siberry. Both had a different take on the King with Jonathan playing him more seriously, more of the anchor to the show, and Michael giving Arthur a more comedic personality. I confess I fell in love with Jonathan's portrayal, but grew to appreciate Michael's take on the character.

Patsy: Luckily I didn't have to choose between actors because the brilliant David Hibbard played Patsy for the entire run that I attended. David brought a heartfelt poignancy to the role that was the soul of the show. One can't help falling in love with Patsy. And David's brilliant rendition of 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' puts a smile on my face every time I think of it, but my favorite thing that David did? The head cheerleader for the Lady of the Lake and her Laker girls. It was about a 30 second bit that quickly became something I looked forward to every show.

The Lady of the Lake: Again, played by two actresses Hannah Waddingham and Merle Dandridge. Both ladies are wonderful. Hannah brought a more 'over the top' rendition to the role, while Merle was a bit more understated. I liked them both equally well and I got to meet Merle during a fund-raiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids (BC/EFA) when I got my picture taken with her and Clay. There was way too much pretty up on the stage and I don't mean me.

Sir Dennis Galahad: Played by both Christopher Sibert and Bradley Dean, Christopher went on to another show early in Clay's run. I loved Christopher's and Clay's characters interaction but grew to appreciate and respect Bradley as he grew into the role. In the end Bradley made more of an impression because he was in the role longer than Chris, but I loved them both.

Sir Lancelot: What can I say about Rick Holmes? Brilliant. Magnificent. Funny as hell. Perfect for the role. I loved him. His French Taunter was one the funniest things I've ever seen and his big 'Carmen Miranda' dance was hilarious. What a talented man Rick is. I hope to be able to see him do other roles. Soon.

Sir Robin: Originally played by David Hyde Pierce, I only saw Clay in the role. I've been a fan of Clay's since American Idol and I know how freaking talented he is but Broadway? Acting? Dancing? Well, I go to see Clay as much as I can so I went to his opening night. I knew he'd be good but what I didn't know is that he'd nail it so well. Not only acting, but dancing, too! And funny! If you've ever been to the 'Clay Aiken Traveling Singing and Stand-Up Comedy Show' you'd know he was funny, but he was freaking funny in the show. Shitting his pants, dancin' an' fightin', Brother Maynard, the Castle Guard, he brought an innocence to each role that was refreshing.

Prince Herbert: Tom Deckman. What can I say about the multi-talented Tom Deckman? Thank heaven I discovered him in Spamalot because I will be following his career forever. He reminds me of the great comedic talents like a Dick VanDyke. Tom has a face that can, with just one look, convey an entire character's feelings. And he has a voice as pure as snow. I lurves him muchly.

Sir Bedevere: Wally Dunn plays Sir Bedevere and Sir Galahad's mother. The part isn't very big, but Wally puts is own spin on each character and you can't help but fall in love with him.

I'd like to pay my respects to the show's ensemble:

Piper Lindsay Arpan, Thomas Cannizzaro, Callie Carter, Kevin Crewell, Matthew Crowle, Nikki Della Penta, Mika Duncan, Andrew Fitch, Stephanie Gibson, Jenny Hill, Emily Hsu, Kristy Kerwin, Gavin Lodge, Brian Marcum, Michael O'Donnell, Pamela Remler, Vanessa Sonon, Rick Spanns, and Billy Sprague, Jr. I hope I got everyone. I took the info from the Playbill.

This tribute would not be complete without mentioning the illustrious Musical Director, Todd Ellison. Todd and his orchestra set the mood from the opening number to the final note. He had to coordinate his orchestra with the action on the stage, not an easy thing to do. Thank you, Todd, we loved you, too.

Finally, to the backstage crew, who worked so tirelessly behind the scenes to bring this show to life, to the Shubert organization, who treated the inflow of Clay's fans with grace and courtesy, to the Shubert security who 'secured' with patience and, sometimes, smiles, to the ushers and usherettes, who were gracious, my hat's off to you all. You can look back on this special time on Broadway with pride for you all did a really, really good job.

Thank you.

Oh. And I fart in your general direction.





Clay Aiken
Monty Python's Spamalot

Clay Aiken: 2008, the Year in Review

Hey Clay, how’s it going? Yes, it’s us, your internet fans once again discussing your life as we always do. You know, not everyone likes to be lumped into ‘internet fans’. They say, ‘you don’t speak for me’. Well they’re right, we don’t speak for everyone, but we read all the message boards and take the general gist of what the fans are feeling about the events in your life, year by year, so no, we can’t speak for all, but hopefully our little year end essays cover the most prevalent mood of all the boards. We also give the opposing view whenever we can. Now we’re switching to the singular for this essay. Actually, we’ll probably switch back and forth but who cares? We ain’t the grammar police. Heh.

So……………

What’s new with you for 2008? HA!HA! I crack myself up! You actually had a really good 2008, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll begin at the beginning of the year.

January: We left you last year in Mexico on a UNICEF trip where, once again, we oooh’ed and ahhh’ed over Humanitarian!Clay! and we pitched in our pennies and raised over $100,000 for UNICEF’s ‘Help Clay raise $100,000 by December 31st’ fund-raising campaign. I think that goal was hit around 4:00 pm (I could be wrong) New Year’s Eve. You done good, we done good, UNICEF and children the world over benefit. It’s a win-win situation.

On January 7th, you held your first ‘Golfing for Inclusion’ at the Mirasol Country Club in Florida. Along with Wayne Player, you were on the course, interacting with the golfers, having a grand old time. Clay, some of your fans loved the blond hair, some didn’t, but you looked mah-valous that day, simply mah-velous! The signed Masters flags were a nice touch for the winning groups (no, not signed by you, signed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player, three of the most beloved golfers in history), you and Diane gave a speech about inclusion, and you bestowed a grant to Vicki Pugh and Janice Labat for the Boca Raton YMCA to expand their inclusion program. Good job, Clay, good job. You had some really terrific prizes to auction off and you raised over $60,000 for the ‘Let’s ALL Play’ programs. And kudos for expanding your corporate sponsor list because that’s so important in the life of a Foundation. BTW, Clay, there are people out there that are dedicated to philanthropy AND vote for American Idol AND attend your concerts. Just sayin’…

Soon after the Golfing event, the numbers were released for the 2007 BAF Wrapping for Inclusion. The goal was $100,000, the actual amount raised was over $102,000! Good job to each and every person who participated and made Wrapping for Inclusion an annual fund-raising vehicle. What a nice way to spread the word about inclusion and the BAF.

We didn’t have to wonder when we’d next see you again, like we usually do at the end of a concert tour, because those of us who could had already scarfed up tickets for your Broadway debut. Let me say that again. Clay Aiken’s Broadway debut. God, that sounds good. Now, as you may very well know, while most of us loved the fact that you would be on Broadway, some of us didn’t like the idea. Some wanted Rock!Star!Clay! or at least Touring!Clay! but instead, we got something different! We got your Broadway debut in a vehicle that was far removed from what we thought you’d do, Clay Aiken starring in ‘Spamalot’. Monty Python! Irreverent humor, bawdy scenes, dancing numbers. STOP THE PRESSES! Did we say ‘dancing’? About the guy who has always said he doesn’t know how to dance? Shut up! Yeah, yeah, we know you said choreography is not the same as dancing, but it really is, especially after you’ve internalized the moves so that it comes naturally for you.

Anywho….., January 18th, 2008. The theater was filled with your fans and as we patiently waited for the curtain to rise, the atmosphere was almost as festive as one of your concerts. Old friends calling across the theater to each other, new friends meeting for the first time, that sense of anticipation that hangs heavy in the air at every Clay event, especially opening night. There was an air of underlying excitement, as there always is, when your fans know that they will see you again. We saw your mom, Faye, your grandmother and your brother, Brett standing at the theater door before the show started. That was cool. Little by little, we made our way to our seats and waited breathlessly for the show to begin.

Schlip, Schlap! Schlip-a-schlap a-vay

The show began and as good as the opening number was, we were waiting to see you.

‘Oo goes there?’

The roar of the crowd, the smell of the greasepaint. *ahem* Sorry, I couldn’t resist. The roar of the crowd, your fans, welcoming you to Broadway! You stuck your head out of that tower, with shit all over you *g* and you freaking NAILED your part. The accent, your demeanor, your facial expressions. Pure perfection and it was only opening night!

‘Are you saying coconuts migrate?’

OMG, it was so funny! You were so funny! You played perfectly off King Arthur. We’re not going to recap each and every scene, well, maybe we will, so let’s resume!

“Bring out yer dead”

Clay, I don’t think we can encapsulate the feeling in the theater that night. The wonder, the joy, the giddiness, all leading up to the Bottle Dance, where we collectively held our breaths and waited for the conga line. You saw the piano, sat, played chopsticks, did the turn, the shoulder roll, stood up, large and in charge with the stomping, then came the line. Down on your knees, leg out, pull, other leg out, pull, leg out, pull. OMG, it was fabulous, just fabulous! You were fabulous, the cast was fabulous, the show was fabulous, and the night was magical.

There are so many scenes in Spamalot that deserve recognition. ‘Not Dead Fred’ was funny as anything, the entire ‘All for One’ leading into the Camelot scene and ‘Knights of the Round Table’ was brilliant in it’s combination of the comedic and the ridiculous. The absolutely sublime Rick Holmes as the French Taunter was sheer comic genius.

The way Brave Sir Robin get to experience all sorts of ‘death’ via everything Idle and Cleese could throw in, the Lady of the Lake and her Laker girls, The Knights who say Ni and various and assorted other things. The foolhardy bravery of the Black Knight, the show-stopping ‘You Won’t Succeed on Broadway’, Sir Lancelot and Prince Herbert, and, of course, Herbert’s father and the guard scene. King Arthur realizing that Patsy is family, the Killer Rabbit, or Ra-beet, as the French Taunters would say, Brother Maynard and the Holy Hand Grenade, finding the Grail, anointing the peasant, and the fabulous finale. What can we say about such an excellent production, from the script to the characters, to the actors who brought it to life, to the backstage support team, to the amazing audiences each performance? It was an experience that we will never forget, and it was a privilege to see you in your first Broadway production. It was a privilege to get to ‘know’ the cast members and see their talent hard at work. Clay, we not only loved you, but we loved the cast, too. Oh! And the Shubert Organization, from the ushers to the security, to the ticket people, they were all extremely gracious to your ‘Nation.

After the show, Shubert Alley was filled with fans and NJU from stem to stern, top to bottom, side to side. Most of us didn’t see you, the crowd was so thick but the camaraderie was hanging heavy in the air, old and new friends met up, we swarmed the local eateries, Juniors, John’s Pizza, Carmines, Sardi’s, we had little and not-so-little after-parties, we celebrated your Broadway debut and it was grand. Some of us saw all five shows that weekend, some saw only one, and others had to hear the intermission reports over a cellcert, but we were all there with you that night, celebrating. We hope we didn’t embarrass you too much. The cast was so generous of their praise for us, saying that when the audience is ‘on’, so are they. Good thing *wink*

Of course, during January there were also newscasts of your trip to Mexico on many and various stations and a few short interviews of your Broadway turn.

February: American Idol Rewind, which started in October of 2007, continued with the Top Ten episodes. How fun it was to relive the memories, to see you as a pup because you looked so young back then. How fun it was to watch the evolution of your look and to see your confidence grow each and every week, to see Brett looking so young, Faye looking so proud, Nick and Kristy grinning from ear to ear. Good times.

March: Thank heavens for the nightly stage door reports and the stage door clack because without that, we’d have died from lack of Clack. Heh. There were small Spamalot mentions on TV, short interviews, and Broadwayworld.com ran some nice articles about you.

April was a pretty busy month for you and for us. You participated in leaving your handprints in cement at Planet Hollywood, AOL First Listen debuted the first single…we were all over that like white on rice, and itunes had the CD up for pre-order. Thank you, God, for the QVC mini-concert on the 28th.. Thirty minutes, talking and singing five songs was a gift this year because you didn’t tour. Too bad only about 110 people got in the studio but those 110 people were the luckiest people in the world. Sorry, Spamalot keeps creeping into this conversation. Amazon released your digital single and April 29th saw the 22nd Annual Easter Bonnet Competition where you and Hannah sang The Prayer.

May was one of those bittersweet months. While we had the release of ‘On My Way Here’ on May 6th, we also saw the last night of your Spamalot run. Your fans filled the theater en masse and the show was probably one of the best of your run. The cast was on fire, you were on fire, the audience was on fire and when you did the drunken guard scene and started braiding the ribbons and Tom Deckman sat down, then David Hibbard sat down, then Brad Dean sat down and let you run with it, well, I don’t think we laughed so hard at anything before or since.

Shubert Alley that night was, once again, magical. The Alley was overflowing with people, all waiting for you to make your appearance and wow, did you ever! On the third floor ledge (or was it the second floor?), waving, blowing kisses, holding up six fingers. You looked fabulous, Clay, simple fabulous, and your ‘Nation was there, paying homage to your magnificent Broadway debut.

We can’t leave Spamalot v.1 without mentioning the cast, that marvelous cast that was the heart and soul of the show.

Jonathan Hadary, King Arthur, the heart of the show; David Hibbard, Patsy, the soul of the show; Hannah Waddingham, The Lady of the Lake, the multi-talented ‘love interest’; Tom Deckman, the comic relief (and that’s saying something in this ensemble); and your Knights of the Round Table: Rick Holmes, Sir Lancelot, man of many talents and a fabulous French taunter; Christopher Seibert, Sir Galahad and friend to Robin, who played off you to perfection; Bradley Dean, who took over when Chris Seibert left, and grew into the role magnificiently; Brad Oscar, Sir Bedevere, the gas-challenged and mother to Galahad.

The supporting cast and ensemble: Kevin Covert, Matthew Crowley, Thomas Cannizzaro, Greg Reuter, Emily Hsu, Brian Marcum, Andrew Fitch, Jenny Hill, Abbey O’Brien, Ariel Reid, Vanessa Sonon, Brandi Wooten, Callie Carter, Beth Johnson, Pamela Remler (dance captain), Rick Spaans *waves* (OK, I confess, this author thinks Rick is mighty hot) Lee Wilkins, and Todd Ellison and his fabulous orchestra. I know we’ve left out so many who contributed to Spamalot. Just know that we appreciate each and every one of the people behind the scenes for their contribution to a wonderful musical.

*Ahem*

What else happened in May, 2008? Oh, yeah, the release of your first CD since ‘Measure of a Man’ to feature all original songs, ‘On My Way Here’, or OMWH, as we abbreviate it. Clay, we could do a run-down on the state of the music industry today, the state of RCA promotion, digital downloads vs physical CD’s, pushing a single to radio, but no matter what the number sold, for the most part, your fans love the CD. To be honest, some don’t, they think there are too many strings, or the production is too much the same, some wanted more rock songs, but mostly we love it. We love the songs and we love your voice. It’s a win-win situation, for us. We just want you to tour behind it. Remember that word? Tour? Ok, we’re spoiled, we expect you to tour each year, we want you to tour each ear, we need to see you on that stage, singing, every year. But you do what you have to do, Clay, we’ll be right here waiting.

We held the CD release parties on Monday night, May 5th, the CD was released on Tuesday, May 6th, you signed CD’s in Virgin Megastore, appeared on GMA on Wednesday, May 7th. We were there, both inside and outside the studio, supporting you as we always do. You did The View, The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda,; you did the Mo Rocca interview that we loved. What was that with the pea? You were on ABC’s Nightline with your playlist songs, you did a fabulous AOL Sessions. In fact, you were on the AOL top ten videos for a few months, Clay. Good job! You sprinkled some UNICEF interviews around here and there, Jimmy Kimmel and Rachael Ray on May 16th. You were a busy guy in May. Just the fact that you did eight shows a week with Spamalot AND recorded an album, all at the same time, spoke volumes of your dedication and work ethic, and, unbeknownst to us, you, or rather Jaymes, were cooking something in the oven. Hmmmm…..

June: You participated in the Ford’s Theater Gala at the National Theater in Washington DC. Tribute to the musical, The Civil War and you sang ‘Sarah’. We consider that lost Clack. See what you can do about that, OK?

Also in June, you made a trip to Somalia and Kenya on behalf of UNICEF. While a lot of your fans already know what’s going on in these countries, we’re still being educated by your trips and your blogs about conditions in the third world countries. About the education, or lack thereof, about the health conditions and lack of medical personnel in the field, about how the children of these countries are hungry for an education. Again, good job, Clay. The teacher in you in never far from the surface, is it?

We first heard rumors of baby news on May 29th from that bastion of journalistic integrity, TMZ *cough*. I think our eyes fell out of our head. Baby? Clay? And with Jaymes? Yowza. That news hit us right between the eyes. Was it true? Was it journalistic crap? We turned it into one of our acronyms, IIT, for ‘if it’s true’ every time we wrote about it. Of course, not a word was heard from TeamClay. But the tabloids? Unnamed sources? Eric Roberts. Sisters-in-law, publicists, first it was there, then it was retracted, WTF was going on? Then appeared a photo of Jaymes with a little belly. Now that woman never had a belly in her life, tiny thing that she is. We had no clue if it was true, but as the weeks went on, I think most of us came to accept it as a fact but we also remember what you said: Don’t believe it unless it’s on the ofc. Heh. OK.

July: On the 6th of July, CNN presented a special, ‘The Survival Project: One Child at a Time’ on which you appeared as a UNICEF spokesman. Ya know, you didn’t do much over the summer except wait for Parker to emerge. Doesn’t leave us much to write about, but never fear, we’ll persevere. Lead on, MacBeth!

August: 08/08/08 at 8:08 am. The birth of your first child, Parker Foster Aiken, first name, middle name, last name, no hyphen. Happy birthday, Parker. We saw the pictures of you and Jaymes leaving the hospital, you didn’t look too thrilled with the paparazzi that day, Clay. We don’t blame you but we were glad to see the pictures. We hope that you had an uneventful first month with Parker; then we found out about his gastric problem. That must have scared a few years off you and Jaymes, but it’s good to know that everything turned out all right.

September: Well. What can we say about September? Specifically September 24th, the day that People hit the newsstands. Wow. This is going to be hard to write about because the fans’ emotions were all over the place and we don’t want to slight anyone’s feelings. First, off, the majority of your fans really didn’t care that you were gay. There was a saying on some of the message boards: ‘When he starts singing with his dick, then I’ll care’. Yeah, that line will probably not be in the version on the ofc, but it will be in my blog. Some fans suspected you were gay, some had no clue, most were in the middle, taking you at your word and letting you self-identify. After all, you’re right, it’s nobody’s business except the person you’re sleeping with and you were never going to sleep with us. OK, me, but I digress.

Emotions were flying high for a few weeks. You lost some fans. For that, I’m sad. I’m sad that they let something that should have been personal to you get in the way of all that you are and all the fun that you brought to this fandom. Some left for religious reasons, some left because they thought you weren’t the man you professed to be over the past five years. Most of us didn’t feel that way. Most of your fans realized that being straight or gay is just a small part of a person, a very small part; that your heart remains as big as your voice, that the funny is still there, the intelligence is still there, the caring is still there, and demmit, the performer is still the same as before September 24th, 2008.

Some fans thought you lied to them. Not about being gay, but that you lied about lying about being gay. Was that sentence grammatically correct? Again, the majority of your fans understand why you misdirected, starting with the Rolling Stone interview and through a few other interviews. Yes, you were vague in your answers, but again, those were answers to questions that no one should have to answer.

It was nice that you let the ofc have an open forum for two weeks for people to come to grips with whatever issues they had, whether with you, with your sexuality, or with their perceptions of who you were. It was sometimes a nasty thread as posters picked on each other, but you also had posters who learned from others, who shared their feelings and realized that they may have been wrong about how they felt, or others whose opinions remained the same. Some posters didn’t have the patience to help others through their feelings, yet other posters remained on-line for as long as someone needed to vent. We think that you leaving that thread up for as long as you did was a very brave thing to do. It had to have hurt to read some of the things being said, but we hope you took comfort in most of the reactions from the fandom. We just hope you’re OK with some gentle ribbing about your sexuality once in a while, ‘cos some of us just can’t keep our mouths shut.

Well, I said it would be hard to write about the fandom reactions. We probably didn’t get every single emotion down on paper and for that, I apologize to any who felt left out, however, the blog you wrote on October 10th brought a lot of us to our knees, figuratively speaking. What a heartfelt blog that was, Clay. Some read it with a cynical eye, some read it and cried for what you’ve been through the past 10 years, some read and asked, ‘OK, when’s he touring’, yet others read it and it wasn’t enough for them. You have to do what feels right for you, Clay. Some fans understand that, others don’t, but you can only live your life to be true to who you are, as we all must do. Hold your head high and know that you are loved. The fact that you laid yourself bare for the world to see took a courage that a lot of people don’t have and we admire you for that. Stay strong, Clay.

OK, enough about that. What else happened in September, 2008? On the 19th, you returned to the scene of the crime, Spamalot v. 2. For the next four months, we’d know where you were for most nights. That felt good. We also looked forward to the stage door experience. You seemed more friendly (or should that be friendlier?), or maybe it was just a relief for you, that you could be yourself and not have to parse everything you said. You signed for the fans, you took pictures with them. You made the stage door a truly unique experience for those so lucky to experience them.

Anyway….Spam v2 was a different experience because the audience consisted of not just the fans, but a lot of NJU. You do know what that means, don’t you? After all, per you, ‘yeah, I know your words’. NJU = Not Just Us, meaning not just your core fans, the die-hards, but just regular people who loved Monty Python, or just people who wanted to see a funny show, or people who saw you on American Idol but haven’t been following you ever since, like some we could mention. It was fun watching their reactions and listening to them after the show. One guy said, just recently, ‘Clay Aiken was the best thing in the show’. Don’t get a swelled head, m’k? Other NJU’s said things like ‘he really held his own’, or ‘I didn’t know he could act’. It warmed our hearts that more people are seeing what we’ve seen all along, the mad-talented Mr. Aiken. And of course, that fabulous cast. There were some cast changes, some of us preferred the old and others liked the new members, but all in all, Spamalot was a wonderful experience for the fandom, Clay.

Let’s see, People hit the newsstands on Sept. 24th and on the 25th and 26th, you gave our old friend, Diane Sawyer, another interview. How to say this? Coming on the heels of People, hearing you talk about being a homosexual so nonchalantly was a bit jarring, but we have to remember while we had only days to process it, you had ten years. ‘Paula’s Party’ aired on the 27th and you cooked with her. How freaking cute was that?

October saw that heartfelt blog from you and the open board that we discussed ^^ up there. October 18th brought us the BAF Champions for Change Gala in Raleigh which was even more successful than the first one in 2007. From the morning’s round table discussion of inclusion to the special screening of ‘Including Samuel’, those attending left with a greater appreciation of the work the BAF was doing and how their volunteer efforts affected the community at large. That evening’s celebration, beginning with the VIP reception and ending with a mini-concert defies explanation but that hasn’t stopped us yet, has it? Linda Loveland, Diane Bubel and you all spoke about the opportunities the Let’s ALL Play camps provided for children with special needs. After the dinner, you and Diane bestowed honors on the 2008 champions of Change:

Dan Habib and his wife Betsy McNamara
Rick Donovan
CVS Caremark Representative Randy Martinez

The auction at the end of the evening was once again a freaking hoot. Clay, you are funny! The auction items were really good, very creative and gave some fans a chance to interact with you outside a concert venue, well, except for the Celine package, which is inside a concert venue, just not yours. The clothes raised a lot of money and in the end, not only did you raise over $500,000 for the BAF, the closing song, ‘Right Here Waiting’ brought tears to the eyes of not just the attendees, but from most who watched the clack of the song. Oh, and Clay? About Emma Bubel babysitting? Some fans hoped that you’d wait for her to grow up, but guess that’s not going to happen now. See what we mean about gentle ribbing? She’s cute as a button.

October also brought you to the Friars Club to participate in that raunchy roasting. We only wish you got up to do some zingers because you’re probably funnier than most of those who spoke, although Meredith was pretty funny.

November was busy for you with the Rosie’s Gala, ‘Building Dreams for Kids’, and participating in ‘Rosie Live’, while continuing to do Spamalot. You talked to the anchors of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and on 11/29 you held a fund-raiser for BE/EFA at the Shubert called ‘Conversation with Clay’. Thank heavens we have some fans with good memories because the recaps were wonderful. You continue to be an enigma at times, don’t you? And on November 30th, you FINALLY reached 30, a milestone birthday. Happy birthday, Clay.

December saw you featured in an hour-long ’E! True Hollywood Story!’ which, for E!, wasn’t bad at all with the exception of a few interviewee’s that could have been left on the cutting room floor. On the 23rd of December, you had bestowed upon you one of Broadway’s highest honors, your caricature on the wall of Sardi’s. Although opinions about the caricature were all over the place, the opinions that you looked especially good were pretty unanimous. Except some didn’t like the shirt, and some didn’t like the sweater, and some didn’t like the hair. HA!HA! We crack ourselves up. But what would this fandom be without dissenting opinions? On the 27th, you were featured on a special with Geraldo Rivera. That was a really good appearance Clay. You came across as educated on the subject and as a caring man. That’s a good way to end the year.

And as we end this long-as…, uh, long-winded recap, we want to mention two things. First was a statement you made to People.com in an interview on 12/21/2008:
"At the end of the day, Parker is the most important thing of the year, and of my life, without question," Aiken, 30, tells PEOPLE. "Having a son and that type of responsibility is obviously going to be something that I remember forever."

At the end of OUR day, your fans, in how we feel about you, Clay, while you’re not the most important thing in our lives, as fans, I think each and every one of us wish you nothing but the best. Knowing that you now have the child that you’ve been saying you wanted since 2003, well, it makes our hearts swell with love.

As we look forward to 2009, with the historic swearing-in of the first black President of the United States, our thoughts, once again, turn to wondering when we’re going to see you next. Take your couple of months off to spend time with your son (note the use of the word ‘your’. Because your sense of time and our sense of time are vastly different), visit some countries that need awareness brought to them with UNICEF, do some work for the BAF, but please, keep us informed periodically. You do have use of this new-fangled thing called a blog, you know. Your blogs don’t all have to be prophetic, they can be about the mundane, too. We’re not picky. But whatever you do, don’t forget us, Clay, because we’ll be right here waiting. Always and forever.

With thanks to Ms Marmalade at the Clack House and www.FindingClayAiken.com website for keeping such detailed records of everything Clay, and to Berkeley for documenting the BAF activities.

Any and all mistakes in content and/or timeline are solely the fault of the author.

Clay Aiken
UNICEF
The Bubel Aiken Foundation
Monty Python's Spamalot
American Idol
QVC
On My Way Here
Sardi's

Clay Aiken: Merry Christmas, with Love, v. 2008

It's just another Christmas day. Every year, I eat dinner at my brother's house with my nephew, bro's roommates and a few friends, this year is no different except my nephew crashed his car last night and couldn't make it. He's fine but the car is not.

Dinner was wonderful; we had a filet and a spiral ham with baked potatoes and The Salad. Note the capitals for 'The Salad' because it's the best freaking salad in the entire world, bar none. We don't make it too often, it's very expensive to make with about $10.00 worth of pine nuts, but worth every penny.

Every holiday we visit my dad in the nursing home, but he passed away this past September and he's in a better place now.

I don't have a big family. One brother here, one brother in Houston, two cousins close by. The holidays aren't a big deal to me, in fact, I can truthfully say that they really don't mean anything to me, just another day to get by, eat a good dinner, and get together with the few relatives in my life.

I look back at Christmases past and think of the good times we had as children. I remember the year my dad was putting toys together at 3:00 am and didn't have a tool so he threw on an old ratty coat, got in his car and drove to his store to get what he needed. The cops saw him jiggling the lock, trying to get the key in the door and almost arrested him for breaking and entering. And the year the angel hair over the fireplace caught fire. My mom yelled out 'the house is on fire' and ran out, leaving all of us to deal with it. Or the year when she persuaded my father to put up all green and blue lights around the roof of the house and once he had them up, she didn't like them so he took them all down and put up the multicolored ones.

I remember the year I had my tonsils out and the next morning waking up with a nose bleed, a serious nose bleed where the blood was pouring out of my nose. My older brother took me into the bathroom and woke my parents. I ruined the brand new carpet that year and it had to be replaced.

I remember the year I got my piano. I was 9-1/2 and my dad's delivery men brought it over on Christmas Eve in a snow storm. My eyes were bigger than the moon that year. I remember the year that I got my first pair of skis. My first record player, my first TV. Funny, though, I never got that pony that I wanted so badly. I remember that every year we got our dad a pair of munsingwear pajamas and a tie. He had so many freaking ties!

This year, as I have the past five Christmases, I think about how my life has changed because of Clay Aiken. I remember going to my first concert in 20 years to see him, then of, course, I had to go again. And again. And again. 52 appearances later, I'm still planning on going to more. I've made so many friends and acquaintances because of Clay Aiken and this incredible fandom that has sprung up out of nowhere. I've discovered message boards and have met so many wonderful people at the concerts and pre and post-concert parties. I've seen some of my friends go to college, graduate, and get married! Others have passed away in the prime of their lives. Some live charmed lives yet others have problems that have made them stronger.

This year was a special treat for those of us who live close to NYC because Clay is starring on Broadway in 'Monty Python's Spamalot' as Sir Robin. He started on January 18th, took a break over the summer when his baby was born, then resumed the role in September. He'll play Sir Robin through January 4th, 2009. I've seen the show about 10 times. Yes, each show is a bit different because the actors get to do some ad-libbing in spots and I've grown fond of the ensemble. The show is closing for good on January 11th, 2009 and they will be sorely missed.

Oh, yeah, something is a bit different in Clay Nation. In August, Clay had a baby boy named Parker with his 'dear friend', Jaymes Foster, sister of David Foster, and Clay came out of the closet and is living openly as a proud gay man. So while some perspective has shifted, for the most part, nothing has really changed except we have to share Clay with his baby. I, for one, am thrilled that he has the child he's always wanted and I'm very proud of him for coming out so publicly. It's hard enough to tell your religious family, especially the older generations, but to have to worry whether or not he'd still have a career left....well, that's courage.

The cookies have been eaten, the leftovers are in the refrigerator, my dog is asleep at my feet. All I have left to do tonight are some dishes in the sink.

I assume that Clay has spent this Christmas holiday with his family, either blood relatives or his theater family and blogging about the need for education for UNICEF. He's a good man with a good heart.

Clay, I'd offer you one of my chocolate chip, white chocolate chip, raspberry chocolate chip, macadamia nut cookies, but that would kill you, so *smack* hands out of the cookie jar!

Merry Christmas to my fellow Clay fans. I'll leave you with this message from Clay:

She leaned with her head on the window
Watching evergreen bend in the snow
Remembering Christmas the way it had been
So many seasons ago.

When children would reach for their stockings
And open the presents they found
The lights on the tree would shine bright in their eyes
Reflecting the love all around.

This year there's no one to open the gifts
No reason for trimming the tree
And just as a tear made it's way to the floor
She heard voices outside start to sing.

Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas with love.

Carolers sang as she opened the door
Faces of friends in the crowd
And all of the shadows of lonely reminders
Driven away by the sound.

Now the heart that for years had been silent
Was suddenly filled with a song
As she clung to their hands like a child in the night
She found her self singing along.

Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas with love





Clay Aiken
UNICEF
Monty Python's Spamalot
Clay Nation

Michelle Obama, our next First Lady?

Well, my header does say that sometimes I'm going to talk a little about politics. The election is less than one month away so now's a good time.

I'm a Democrat. Always was, always will be. Why? The values of the Democratic party speak to me in ways that the Republicans have never been able to.

I'm a Hillary supporter. Always was, always will be. I think that woman is brilliant and she would have been a fabulous President at this time in our history. But it was not to be so I threw my support behind Barack Obama. The more I learned about him, the better I liked him. He's a smart, intelligent, caring man who I believe wants to be President because he wants to truly improve the lives of everyday Americans. I'm not blind, it is the most powerful position in the world and he's ambitious. Good for him.

However, I was never a Michelle Obama fan. I didn't dislike her, but I never 'took' to her. All that changed on Wednesday evening, when Michelle appeared on an episode of 'Larry King Live'on CNN. As I watched Michelle being interviewed, my eyes started tearing up. I had no idea why until I realized how priviledged we as a country would be if we had the honor of Michelle Obama serving as the First Lady of the United States.

First, a quick Bio:

Michelle Obama was raised in a blue-collar neighborhood in Chicago's South Side. Her father worked for the City and her mother was a secretary. Michelle attended Princeton and Harvard, earning her law degree in 1988. She was an associate in a law firm when she met Barack, in fact, she was his summer advisor. According to Answers.com, Michelle worked for the Chicago city government as an assistant to the Mayor and assistant Commissioner of Planning and Developement, later becoming the Executive Director of a non-profit encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies.

In 1996, Michelle served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago and since 2002, at the University of Chicago Hospitals in various executive roles.

Now the good stuff:

So, why did Michelle Obama affect me so much last Wednesday? Listening to her answer Larry Kings questions with grace and dignity uplifted my heart. Her intelligence shown through, as did her heart. Larry King asked Michelle how she felt about Sarah Palin. Here is Michelle's answer:

"What do you make of her running for a vice president and having many kids and being a good parent and bouncing all the balls?" King asked.

"I think she provides an excellent of example of all the different roles that women can and should play," Michelle Obama responded. "I'm a mother with kids and I've had a career and I've had to juggle. She's doing publicly what so many women are doing on their own privately. What we're fighting for is to make sure that all women have the choices that Sarah Palin and I have."

When the common ploy is to tear down an opponent, did Michelle go for the jugular? Absolutely not. Her graceful answer, in the face of what Palin hs been saying about Obama, was thoughtful and nuanced. I admire that.

When McCain referred to Obama as 'that one', did Michelle take umbrage? She said Americans "right now are scared" and "nervous about the economy."

"They don't care about the back and forth between the candidates. ... They want real answers about how we're going to fix this economy and get the health care benefits on track so, you know, this is part of politics," she added.

Watch the video





I look at the Obama family and I see love. I see a shining example of what a family should be. I see two caring parents who are raising their children as best they can to be proud, upstanding citizens and I see two adorable little girls who are a reflection on their parents values.

To borrow a phrase from Jack Nicholson, Michelle Obama makes me want to be a better person. She makes me want to live up to the example she sets, to appreciate the promise that I see in both her and Barack and I can't think of a better person to occupy the White House as our First lady.

Here's the full interview:













Michelle Obama
Hillary Clinton
Larry King Live
CNN
Sarah Palin
John McCain
Barack Obama
Answers.com

An Open Letter to Clay Aiken

Clay blogged sometime in the early hours of the morning today. He has laid his soul bare to not only the general public, but to his fans, that huge entity of 'friends' that he's gathered together for the past 5 years. I've written an open letter to Clay and since he said that his blog could 'travel', I'm putting his blog below my letter to him

Dear Clay,

I wake up after a restless night's sleep and after reading your blog, the tears are streaming down my face.

I don't imagine anyone can know what the past five years were like in regards to the intrusiveness of the media into an area of your life that should have been private.

I think as far as the fans are concerned, it's the way we got to know you that makes it seem that we know you, if I'm explaining that right. As with most TV actors, we get to know them through the characters they play and if we're lucky, we learn a little about their real lives, but with you, you didn't have a character, you were Clay Aiken from the get-go. Because of that, I think the fandom, or some of us, felt that we knew you more than we think we did (and I'm not talking about sexuality). We felt we were part of your life all through American Idol, even though we weren't.

To this day, I look at you more as a 'friend' than I do an 'entertainer', right or wrong. I know you're not my friend, but I think I use that word 'friend' to convey that no matter where your career takes you, no matter how high you fly, you're still Clay Aiken, dorky kid from Raleigh with the great voice and a pee-in-your-pants humor that seems more real than fantasy. A lot of celebrities seem so far removed from every day life, but not you, Clay. You are a real person who just happens to be famous. Maybe that's not a good thing, in your eyes, in how it affects how we think of you, but I don't know if that will ever change.

I'm glad you didn't apologize for something that never should have been in the news to begin with. Shades of Bill Clinton and having to answer a question that was actually illegal to be asked of him in the first place. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to have to tap-dance around intrusive questions while staying true to yourself and your family and still thinking of the fans.

I feel badly for the people who are having trouble assimilating this facet of you. You are correct, none of us are defined by our sexuality, we are defined by who we are and what we do. We are defined by how big our hearts are, how we treat our family and friends, how we interact with others, not by who we sleep with.

May you walk in peace for who you are, Clay, for all parts of who you are. There will be a small portion of the fandom who will leave, who may leave with bad feelings but you can't control that, you can only live your life to be true to who you are. As we all must do.

Hold your head high and know that you are loved.


This is Clay's blog from the early hours of 10/04/2008, with his permission (I've added some white space for easier reading (Clay, you really need to learn the joys of white space *g*):

10/03/08 Killing the elephants in the room.

What a week or so this has been. In fact, it's just been two weeks since I started back to the Spam. Jerome and I were just talking the other day, though, about how the past two weeks have felt like a month. So much routine to get back into and yet so much routine and consistency to break. No doubt, many of you have been going through quite a bit over the past week or so yourselves. What a bunch of headline news we have had in the past 10 days! Wall Street falling to it's knees. Congress propping it back up. Two debates. Hijackers in Somalia. New leaders in South Africa and Japan.

You'd think with all of the important events going on in the world, there would be plenty to fill up the pages of America's newspapers, websites and blogs without the need for information on the private lives of the country's singers and entertainers. But, alas, thats never the case. In fact for the last five years, I've found what seems to have been an inordinate amount of interest (not from the public, but from the media) in my own personal life. The questions never seemed to stop. Oh sure, they die down for a period, but they resurface. The wind blows another direction, and I do yet another interview worried that my personal life will become a topic of discussion.

No doubt the birth of Parker would bring the same scrutiny, just heightened. It's an interesting time we live in. Gone are the days when entertainers could go about their lives without the invasion of privacy that we now see everyday in the form of paparazzi and internet tabloid bloggers. So, in the hopes of being able to sing and act (and dance poorly) and do what I love to do for a living while raising my son in a hopefully more private and accepting environment, I chose to go ahead and confront things head on. Yes, I would have preferred to separate my personal life from my professional life. I would have been just as happy to go on without discussing my orientation. But, it seems like that was not an option.

Make no mistake, its not because I am ashamed. No, not for a minute. I haven't always been as comfortable as I am now, but I am without a doubt, proud of who I am and make no apologies for it. Instead, I would have been happy to have kept my personal life private for that very reason. Because it's personal life and I have always considered myself a private person. But, living as myself without discussing my sexuality publicly would have been as impossible. One chance to expose the truth would have been a payday for any greedy opportunist.

I went to American Idol, much like many of us did "back in the day". Naive. Unlike the contestants who join up today, we had no idea of the power and pull of Idol when we signed on. (I'm sure many of us season two folks like to think we are the reason the show got so big!!! ;-) ) There I was two months off of the biggest show in the country, sitting at a table with a reporter from Rolling Stone who was asking me every single question I would never think of. Twenty-four years old in the rest of America is a LOT younger and more naive than twenty four years old in the media business. So when this guy started asking me about things that I didn't really know how to answer for myself... things that I was not yet ready to admit to folks like my mother and my family.... things that I found intimidating and invasive, I responded in what I assumed was a benign way at the time. I attempted to "out spin" a professional. I wasn't as good as I thought I was. But, I have no regrets.

The truth is, I don't apologize for the responses I gave to that reporter or any reporter over the past five years. I did make every attempt I could after that one interview to never say "I am not gay" or "I am straight". And I never said either. (some interpreted my vague answers to mean that... but I never said either) Some will say thats misleading. In truth, it might be defined that way. But, a better definition and a more accurate way to describe it for me, is a redirection and an attempt to change the topic to something that matters more. For some of you it won't be enough, but I can't apologize for keeping my personal business to myself. If someone feels that they were mislead, I can totally understand that viewpoint and apologize for that feeling, but I can't apologize for how I handled questions that affected me and my right to privacy.

In my opinion, sexual orientation is ALWAYS a private thing. I think the OVERWHELMING majority of people agree with that. Why in the world should someone's sexual orientation be a news item? Why should anyone care? Yet, for all we espouse as a society about tolerance and open mindedness we forget to allow folks the opportunity to be who they are without judgement. Making a decision to come out to family is a difficult and heavy decision. But, for every young man or woman who is struggling with it, it should be a decision that is made on his or her own schedule ONLY. It's never acceptable for anyone to make such a decision for anyone else nor to coerce someone to take such a significant step before they are ready. Not a friend, not a stranger, not the media. So, I waited until the time was right for me. For that I can't apologize either.

There are plenty of you who have anticipated this blog in hopes that I would "set the record straight" or "admit to lying for five years and apologize for it". For that small group of people, I am afraid I will have to disappoint you. My decisions over the past five years have been made with lots of deliberation and at times even heartache. Always with concern for folks who might feel mislead. Don't doubt that. But they have also been made as an attempt, not to hide my true self, but instead to allow myself the same liberties and rights that every single gay man and woman in the world should have... the right to determine for myself when I was ready to discuss my personal life. In as much as that, at times, was interpreted as misrepresentation, I feel badly. But I reserved that right for myself and I can't say I regret it.

I have endeavored over the past several days to allow folks to vent and express themselves as freely as possible without restriction on these message boards. There is no way to change a person's mind when you tell them they are wrong. We all, when backed into a corner, have a human instinct to swing. Having different feelings and opinions and viewpoints are only natural. The only way to deal with that is to accept everyone's right to disagree, and allow them to discuss their feelings. I always have, and I always will.

That said, it hasn't been, nor do I imagine it will be, my intent to make the message boards or the OFC a clearinghouse or discussion zone for sexuality or such topics. I hope we can always continue to discuss the same things we have always found important. The need for inclusion for children with disabilities. The desire to make sure every child in the world has access to their basic needs for survival. And any other topics that will make our neighborhoods, our regions, our country and our world a better more acceptable place (where that relates to issues involving sexuality, I hope we are able to advocate, at those times for the acceptance of others)... and I hope we will all still use the message boards for the lively discussion of the need for better entertainment and music in the world!!!! ;-)

That said, as of this posting, I have asked the moderators to archive the thread regarding the People magazine article and close it from discussion. For those of you who are still struggling, I encourage you to continue to talk to your friends and neighbors and fellow OFC members in the thread devoted to such support. It is not going to be as easy as accepting something over night, but I believe that we are on the right track. The moderators will resume their regular duties of moderating the boards in the fashion that they did prior to last week, and I (and hopefully all of us) will resume our routines in the same fashion as well. Talking about music, talking about potential tours and other performances and appearances, talking about me forgetting my lines of tripping on stage in Spamalot, and discussing with our friends how many times we have seen the show and will see it! (And... looking forward to the announcement of out Playbill contest winner!!!)

Finally, I will say that, also representative of most every other gay man and woman in the world, that I am not defined by my sexuality. No more so than each of you are defined by your sexual orientation. No more than a man or woman is defined by race or ethnicity. It is, simply, a small facet of the same person I have always been. Most of you realize that nothing has changed. I hope to continue being able to entertain you in the same way I have for the past five years. And I hope you will allow me to continue to inform you of the causes that I find important and entertain you with the music and performances I love. For I love and cherish you all. Yesterday, now and forever.

c


Clay Aiken