Of This and Other Worlds

melissa_tlc, if you haven't seen this yet, you really, really need to. Remember what you were saying about how unfair and inaccurate it was to say that Clay's voice was "too Broadway", and how Broadway-style singing was a whole different kettle of fish? I agreed with you about that, and I even would have gone so far as to doubt that Clay's voice and delivery were suited for Broadway musical-type fare at all.

I've just changed my mind completely on that point, however, courtesy of Clay Aiken singing Alan Menken's 'lost' Aladdin song "Proud of Your Boy". (And yes, it is streaming video, so even dialup connections can see it.)

Why, oh why, oh why, did Clay's first album not have this kind of production? It's about the voice, people, not the lousy instrument track!

Hmm, no Clay icons at the moment. Oh, well.

You know that maybe, just maybe, it might be time to lay off the Clack when your just-barely-two-year-old son catches a glimpse of Clay's picture and immediately starts singing the chorus to "Invisible".

That being said... his set on Good Morning America was mega-cool. The prospect that this guy might come to Canada sometime disturbs me, because I might actually have to give him some of my money. I had no great desire to buy the CD or any of the singles, and the merchandise appalls me, but... Clay in concert? Hm. I think I might be tempted, because he's just that good.

You know, between being a non-smutty, non-slash writer in HP fandom and genuinely liking Clay Aiken, I will never, ever be cool. But it's OK. I've come to terms with that. :)

I've just posted a question to the blog about the Wacom Graphire II graphics tablet, which I'm seriously thinking about buying at some point (hopefully soon). If any of you are familiar with graphics tablets in general or this one in particular, would you mind having a look at said post and leaving a comment, here or there, to let me know what you think?

In a completely unrelated bit of news, I watched the recent remake of The Italian Job last night. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it, not after the scathing review I'd heard on CBC Radio when the movie first came out in theatres. Then, the reviewer had said the movie was hopelessly dull, with flat characters, a slow-moving plot, and utterly lacking in the wit and verve that marked the original. Well, I haven't seen the original movie myself, so I wasn't inclined to make those kinds of odious comparisons; still, the review did cause me to approach the remake with some skepticism.

But you know what? I really liked it.

Oh, it's not deep. It's not exceptional. And I can't imagine wanting to sit down and watch it more than once or twice. But nevertheless, I found it engaging, surprising, and fun. I have a weakness for caper flicks (I liked the Ocean's Eleven remake, too), and this had all the twists and turns and logical puzzles, plus the clever teamwork and camaraderie, that make a caper flick enjoyable for me.

It sure is a two-hour commercial for the Austin Mini, though. But at least they didn't subject us to endless closeups of the manufacturer's logo in the middle of the chase scenes (which I'm sure all of us who learned to loathe the Ford Focus last year, thanks to a series of anvillicious product placements on Alias, would approve).

Watching Seth Green as the team's resident hacker was a slightly surreal experience, though. Aside from finding him the most attractive guy in the film looks-wise (which says something about my indifference to Mark Walhberg), I kept frowning at him and wondering who he reminded me of. About halfway through the film I realized it was Clay Aiken. Hee!

Anyway, yeah. Italian Job fun. And it has Donald Sutherland in it. 'Nuff said.

ETA: If for no other reason, it's worth checking out that pic of Clay Aiken just to see that the guy has the biggest feet in the history of the world. They're like pontoons! It's unbelievable!

Sorry, just had to get that out of my system.

( Comments on last night's American Idol )

I have no idea who's going to win, and this last night of competition didn't help. I still think Clay deserves to win, and that if they're really going by number of votes Clay will win, but at the same time the media and the judges have been pushing Ruben so hard that I'm not sure they won't just push him straight through no matter how the votes turn out...

So Nicholas, my three-year-old, loves to watch Clay Aiken videos. But the ultimate was his one-line review of Clay's "Grease", delivered with great relish while watching the video today:

"He's a silly, silly goofball."

Who needs Simon Cowell?

The unfortunate image of Clay Aiken singing "Grease", accompanied by intermittent hip twitches and pelvic thrustlets, has been wiggling uncomfortably across the surface of my right temporal lobe since last night.

Paula's attempt to put a brave face on it notwithstanding, I am cheered by the obvious conclusion to this episode: you can lead a geek to fashion, but you can't make him hip.

It's all right, Clay, we still love you. Even if we sometimes have to do it with our eyes closed.