Librarian. Cat Lover. Clay Aiken Fan (among many others). Life is good.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Chameleon

The definition of chameleon From Merriam-Webster Online:

1 : any of a family (Chamaeleontidae) of chiefly arboreal Old World lizards with prehensile tail, independently movable eyeballs, and unusual ability to change the color of the skin
2 a : a person given to often expedient or facile change in ideas or character b : one that is subject to quick or frequent change especially in appearance

Look at this wallpaper, created by the person who coordinates Meerkat Chitchat (Click on the picture to get the full view):



I believe I saved this one in March 2005 – the most current picture in it seems to be from the BAF benefit in Hawaii. It’s mind boggling to me to see these changes in Clay Aiken’s appearance, all in one photo.

Add to this:
From the Jukebox Tour, photo by neverstopaiken,

and:

From the Joyful Noise 2005 Tour, photo by Farouche.

These images were the images that were freshest in many-a-mind, both fan and non-fan. The spikes and color were identifiable as CLAY. His hair became his trademark, and it was discussed forever on message boards. Especially when it seemed to change every other day…just like a chameleon.

Then, a few weeks ago, this guy

Appeared. Whoa. That’s some long hair dude. However, most of the fans wrote this look off as “he’s not playing the celebrity here.” Almost everyone figured that when Clay would come back into the public eye, the trademark would return.

So -- when this gu...man


Made his grand entrance on the American Idol finale to surprise his biggest fan…I truly believe there was a collective gasp across the nation. So much so, that a new catchphrase was born:

THAT’S CLAY AIKEN?


What has been fascinating to me is that it took the diehard fans aback as much as the people who only remember him from AI. I myself knew he changes his appearance all the time, and yet I was stunned to see the man with the confidence and the HAIR. The combination turned out to be lethal for me.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue to watch this chameleon. You know why? Artquest wrote this the other day on the message board I most frequently haunt:

The wrapping is different, but the gift is the same.

Amen, Professor artquest.

For another look at a different and truly wonderful feature of Clay Aiken, visit A Southern Girl’s Guide to Almost Anything.




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Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Oh what a night...



This is what a star who is in charge looks like.



This is what a star who is in charge and extremely happy looks like.

My reaction to Clay Aiken being on American Idol this evening is simply this: what a man. It showed he has a sense of humor, and isn't afraid of ANYTHING. Also, I've mentioned this time and time again...he's a chameleon. He's constantly surprising. I love that.

I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight at all.

Here's someone else who is thinking the same way I do...Idle Wandering

Thank you clack cappers. You've made me very happy.

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Saturday, May 20, 2006

On Being a Fangirl...

I have a theory that being a fan is in someone’s DNA. I base this theory totally on my life, for I’ve been a fangirl practically since I was born. At age mumblemumblemumble, I’m still a fangirl. (Clay Aiken, eat your heart out. *g*)

I started when I was 4 years old. Don’t ask me why, but I became a fan of Glen Campbell. This was during the phase of his having a TV variety show every week. According to my Mom, I was hooked, and thought he was cuuuuuuuute. Never missed an episode. Looking back now, I understand his musical talent (my husband enlightened me to the fact many years after my fandom waned that he was important to the legend of the Beach Boys), but what was I thinking on his looks?

Of course, now that most people seem to know him more like this --…well, that makes me REALLY shudder.

My next fandom happened soon after…Davy Jones. Gosh, he was even my height! I also discovered at that time how much I loved British accents. The Monkees, as a whole, were funny to me. Only later (during the reruns in the 1980’s on MTV) did I realize how adult their humor really was. And of course, since I was 4, I didn’t really care that they were a “created” group. By the way, I managed to see the Monkees during that 1980’s tour. That started a second-phase fandom for me during that time frame. Does that give you an idea of how much of a fangirl I can be?

Here is one of their best songs, “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” Davy’s the one who thinks he’s playing the bass guitar. *g*

Then I saw David Cassidy. Boy, I was hooked on him. I had all the Partridge Family albums, and I think I wore out the grooves on a few of them. Since I was taking piano lessons at the time, I even had a few of their albums in sheet music format. (My Mom wasn’t happy about that, but she learned to deal.)

I distinctly remember one day, when my Mom and Dad dropped me off at the local drugstore. I spent a lot of my time there every week pouring over the latest issues of 16 and Tiger Beat. That day, though, a new magazine caught my eye – Rolling Stone. OMG, there’s David!!! And he’s NAKED!!! Yes, I remember the day my hormones kicked into overdrive. Heh.

You’ll notice a similarity to most of these so far. Musicians, but on TV. For me, it really was a “double your pleasure, double your fun” kind of thing. I appreciated watching these guys on a regular basis, but also having the LP there to listen at different times of the day. One of my next ones fits the same pattern – Tony Orlando. I think, in his case, I was really attracted to the fact that he looked so different from anyone I had ever seen before. Growing up in the Midwest, I wasn’t used to tall, dark, ethnic types. Also, his sense of humor came through on his variety show, and I found that very attractive.

But then, my patterns in my fandom started changing a bit. I discovered Randolph Mantooth, from “Emergency!” fame. Whooo, he was hawt. I faithfully watched that show every week, and had posters on the walls for months, if not years. Since then, I’ve always been partial to EMT’s. *g* Another one who didn’t fit the pattern was Parker Stevenson. He had, in my opinion, the best blue eyes of anyone I had ever seen. I still remember fondly watching “The Hardy Boys.” It was a battle to get the TV away from my Dad, but I managed more often than not.

December 1975. My brother and his new wife present me for Christmas with an album – The Bay City Rollers. Dear Lord in heaven, that one album started a good 4 years of fangirly-ness in me. I was obsessed, thoroughly obsessed. I even had a jumpsuit with plaid cuffs on the bottom of the legs. And yes, the kids in high school picked on me. (When Clay wrote about being picked on in Learning to Sing, I understood.) Eh, I suppose it made me tougher in the long run.

My favorite was Les, the lead singer. He was my one “bad boy” that I really liked. I’m pretty sure he smoked, drank, and probably bedded every girl he could during that time frame. I didn’t care…he was dweemy.

The Bay City Rollers were also my first concert experience. It was at the Illinois State Fair in 1977, and talk about mania! There was a race track between the stage and the seating, and I remember girls climbing the fence and running across the track to get to the guys. Two years ago I saw Clay at the same venue – but they allowed fans on the track. No one rushed the stage then, thank God. It’s surreal to think that I’m experiencing that same mania, albeit with totally different performers, at different stages in my life.

Here are the Rollers, circa 1977, with a cover of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to Be With You.”

I think at this point…I’m going to make this a “part one of two.” Yes, my life as a fangirl needs to be split in two because there’s more, MANY more guys to come.

I’m hopeless, aren’t I?



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Monday, May 15, 2006

Random musings on a weekend...


This was a busy weekend, and I had a lot of conflicting emotions throughout. It started early Saturday morning, with our local Race for the Cure. This is an annual race in support of finding a cure for breast cancer. Our area hosts one of the largest Races in the nation, and this year was no exception. It is exhilarating to be part of over 20,000 men and women (mostly women – they only made our version co-ed a year ago) walking and running for a common cause.

What made this portion of the day also interesting is this – it was terrible weather. Usually at this time of the year, it is approximately 50 degrees or so in the morning, and warms up as the day goes on. That day, it was 40 degrees, no sun, and drizzle. Never got any warmer, either. I wore jeans, a turtleneck, my race shirt, and a jacket over the top. Plus, I had on gloves and my trusty Clay Aiken bucket hat. I think that hat kept me warmer than anything else I had on. Anyway, it is so cool to see so many people come out for this, even if the weather would make most people stay in bed and throw their covers over their heads.

After the Race, my husband (who walked with me!) and I went technology toy shopping. This…was cool.

My husband has never really complained all that much about me being a Clay Aiken fan. Why? Because a side effect of this fandom is that I know a heck of a lot more about technology and computers. Before my fandom hit full throttle, I had never burned a music CD, considered buying a digital camera, or even thought about using Instant Messaging. But now, I can understand what my husband is talking about when he mentions “transcoding” or “compressing a video file” or other technology talk. I really should send Clay a thank you note for that. *g*

Anyway, he and I looked at external hard drives. We both need them. I already have two, and now am looking at a third. With all the clack (Clay video clips, which to fans are addictive as crack, hence the name) out there, and the potential for more to come…heh. We also looked a cable signal booster. My husband and I both have video capture cards in our computers, and the TV reception was getting a bit fuzzy. Voila! Problem solved.

The interesting one, though, was my husband ASKING to look for a video camera. Now, I’ve been thinking of getting one for a few years, in order to capture clack at concerts. But I hadn’t asked, because I knew we just bought a regular digital camera which has captured some pretty darn good video. (Someday, I’ll link to a few…) So, imagine my surprise when my husband decides to get one! EEEEEEEEE! We don’t have it yet, and he is doing research at the moment…but soon. Very soon.

Sunday was Mother’s Day, and I visited my Mom. She recently fell and broke a bone in her leg, and she is now recuperating in a nursing home. She is also 85 years old. Since her fall, I’ve been visiting her every weekend (a 3 hour trip each way). What I’ve discovered since these visits is the hard realization – I have to mother my own mother. This is incredibly difficult for me, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I don’t have kids of my own (just our adorable kitties), so being a mother is a foreign concept to me. But, more importantly, it’s just hard watching someone who has been your rock for so many years need so much help. It’s so sad for me to feel this way, watching her like this, and having to do basic things for her (such as giving her sips of water).

It was a day when Clay’s “I Will Carry You” helped an awful lot.

Picture courtesy of the pjstar.com

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Wednesday, May 10, 2006

What I'm Reading


My favorite author of the moment. *g*
__________

I have a confession to make.


I’m not a reader.


I know, I know…I’m a librarian. All librarians are readers, right? Well, I read – but not voraciously. Let me tell you a story…


When I was growing up, I watched TV. A lot. I don’t know why or how it happened, but I managed to become the poster child of the TV generation. But – get this. In the process, I learned to read. Granted, at first, most of the words were “Pow!,” “Ooof!,” and “Boom!”


One day, my Mom was reading the newspaper, and I was sitting on the floor in front of her. Instead of playing, as most 4-year-olds are wont to do, I was babbling. Then, my mother figured out that I was reading the back of the newspaper to her.


So, what does this have to do with me not being a reader? Well, once my Mom figured out I COULD read, she tried to get me to read everything. OK, not everything…just what SHE wanted me to read. Therefore I had to read things like “Little Women.” I hated it. I was being force-fed books which held no interest for me, and it actually turned me off the process of reading books.


Having said that, I do read books – just not as many as most people think a librarian would. And yes, I know lots of librarians who read everything in sight. Nancy Pearl is a great example, and I’ve been honored to meet her. If you ever see Book Lust or More Book Lust, pick them up. These titles are great for those people who searching for a suggested book.


What am I reading at the moment? My favorite humorist, Dave Barry. His latest book, Dave Barry's Money Secrets: Like: Why is There a Giant Eyeball on the Dollar? is laugh-out-loud funny. Of course, I think every word that he writes is laugh-out-loud funny.


I’ve also got waiting for me the latest book by Al Franken entitled The Truth (With Jokes). This man is smart…and is also not afraid to pull punches. He makes me laugh and cry at the same time. On the other hand, I don't think George W. Bush will be inviting him to dinner at the White House any time soon.


And then there’s The Kite Runner. Clay Aiken suggested the book in his Official Fan Club Blog. Since I’m a sheep for almost anything Clay suggests, I interlibrary loaned it. (I could have bought it, but why? I work at a library. *g*) The copy is sitting by my bed…and I think I’m afraid to open it. From what I’ve heard about it, both from Clay and other people who’ve read it, I’m scared I’ll get way too emotionally involved in this story. I’m just not sure if I’m ready to read a highly charged piece of fiction. I’ll get to it by the end of summer though.


So, am I a bad librarian? Or just one that would rather spend time on the computer?


Wait, don’t answer that...



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Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Welcome to the Cat Librarian

First of all, no, I don't catalog cats for a living. However, I am a librarian, and I love cats. I also love to spend time on the computer, talking to friends on message boards about Clay Aiken. Hmmm...I guess you could say I love him too.

So anyway, here is my blog. My goal is to provide cool links about cats, Clay Aiken, librarianship and information literacy, and anything else that tickles my fancy.

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