Newcomers Discover Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken - Measure of a Man (UNICEF)
Montage by gerwhisp

Varied Trails Lead to Clay Blog

It's All About the Voice, Heart

We came for the voice but stayed for the man.

An anonymous phrase coined early in Clay Aiken's career remains the mantra of fans six years later. Throughout the spring of 2003, the singer's incredible pipes wooed legions of followers as week after week he progressed to the finale of American Idol 2.

By mid-summer when Clay and Diane Bubel founded The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, officially turning a college blueprint into an organization working to bridge the gap between young people with special needs and the world around them, supporters knew a little more about the heart of the man.

The title track and "I Will Carry You" from Measure of a Man, Clay's first album, have practically become theme songs for his charitable projects of inclusion and worldwide endeavors as a UNICEF Ambassador. The latter are portrayed in the 2007 Measure of a Man montage above by gerwhisp.

IN ALL THINGS, LOVE -- Animated design by cindilu2.

Carolina Blog Greets 119 Nations

According to the ClustrMap and Feedjit Live Feed monitoring the Carolina blog in its sidebar, visitors from 119 countries have stopped by this site in the past year and a half. Today we celebrate you!

In January, Turkey became the 100th country; the United Republic of Tanzania logged on for the first time while I was compiling this entry; and a Latvian tweeter visited after the blog was posted.

Clickable ClustrMap

According to these stats, a very successful worldwide tour is bound to be in Clay Aiken's future. Created by SmartyPantsSuz, clickable graphics of the On My Way Here album cover accompany a representative from each of the six continents. Below are the 118 countries with newer listings in bold:

AFRICA: South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Madagascar, Seychelles, Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Algeria, Uganda, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Tanzania - 15

ASIA: Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Micronesia, Oman, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Qatar, South Korea, Taipei, Taiwan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Azerbaijan (Baku), Bangladesh, Cambodia, Mongolia, China, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Maldives, Palestinian Territory, Brunei Darussalam - 35

AFRICA (Seychelles) and ASIA (Japan)

AUSTRALIA: Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania - 3

EUROPE: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Turkey, Malta, Georgia, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sicilia, Andorra, Latvia - 39

AUSTRALIA (Melbourne, AU) and EUROPE (Netherlands)

NORTH AMERICA: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, United States, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bermuda, Saint Lucia, Guatemala, Nassau, The Bahamas, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Anguilla, Honduras - 18

SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Ecuador - 9

NORTH AMERICA (US) and SOUTH AMERICA (Colombia)

Hurricane Kai Surprises Visitor

ClustrMap, which has tracked Carolina visitors for 18 months, shows 42,704 hits since 12/2/07. In the beginning, Ron Kanipe, a friend with a background in geography, helped me identify countries represented by the map's tiny red dots. Last year, ClustrMap began listing the countries in its monthly updates.

A later addition, the Feedjit "live feed" displays the last 50 locations. Besides showing this writer the graphics and photos readers open and save, the feed also provides a hint into the wide range of topics that guide Google searches here.

Most center around Clay Aiken, his career, new family, and charitable endeavors. However, other subjects have brought readers to the Carolina blog -- accidentally and on purpose.

For example, a resident of Singapore inquiring about a storm named Kai landed right in the middle of the Hurricane Kai Strikes Texas Home entry about my grandson, now 22 months old:

Many may recall that in answer to my plea for more pictures of our brand new grandson, Kai's grandfather sent images of an apartment in total disarray -- dirty dishes in the sink, newspapers stacked up, you name it, to prove how little picture-taking time was available.

From these photos, my friend Sally created the "Hurricane Kai" graphic with grandson calmly sleeping in the eye of the storm.

Potato Rolls, Music Popular Links

Hopefully, the visitor who googled "what's for dinner?" enjoyed reading about -- and possibly baking -- my Aunt Lill's Potato Rolls. My great-aunt, who taught piano into her 90's, often sent a pan of her special rolls home with her students, an unlikely event for the young charges of this non-baker.

Occasionally, I report on rehearsals, performances, and other accomplishments of my piano/string students. This season we had "the gong show" and even discovered a drought remedy: Spring Recital Yields Surprise.

Other popular searches in this field revolve around the my major instrument, Trusty Oboe Could Tell Tales (Nov. 2006); experiences as a marching band director, Football Season Stirs Memories (Oct. 2006); and a collection definitions, Musical Terms Provide Grins (Jan. 2007).

Blogs about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., such as Country Honors Legacy of MLK (Jan. 2007), have been magnets for international visitors and, no doubt, students completing homework assignments. Storms Stir F-5 Tornado Memories (from a Sept. 2008 subhead) pops up according to weather news.

Many thnx to all who leave comments with a recognizable screen name and as "anonymous," the conventional moniker for non-Blogspot members. Thank you, too, for the ongoing geography lesson. We are making "Teacher Clay" proud!

Speaking of which, I wonder what's next ...

Clickable graphic by cindilu2

Have an awesome week, Clay Nation!

Caro

TECHNORATI TAGS: Clay Aiken, The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, UNICEF Ambassador, Measure of a Man, montage, Carolina On My Mind, blog, international visitors, On My Way Here, Official Fan Club, Clay Nation