Wednesday, May 27, 2009

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

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15 comments:

SueReu said...

Congrats on all the countries Caro!!!!

Clay Aiken is a class act. He doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk.

Thanks!!!!

musicfan said...

Thank you for another great blog. You always have so many interesting things to say.

Congrats for all the countries. It is amazing how Clay is known all over the world.

I love Clay Aiken. He's been around for 6 years and I bet he is around for 60 more!!

Ashes said...

We came for the voice but stayed for the man.
I'll treasure that phrase forever.

Gerwhisp's video is one of my favourites, thanks for posting it.

Congratulations on all the countries visits! One of these days I need to update my list. I see unknown ones on yours that haven't found me yet :)I haven't a clue where some of them are--time to get the map out again!

Thanks for the highlights from some of your awesome blogs!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Caro!!!

I so LOVE Clay Aiken!!!

Thank-you for a wonderful blog!

Anonymous said...

I love the pictures with him and kids. He really cares about the plights of kids who face battles in growing up when that period of time in their life shouldn't be about battling anything. You can see it by the look in his face in the pictures.

Congratulations on the countries!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!, on all the countries!! You are so good at your blogs and I appreciate all you do.
Clay is a good guy, hope he sings more to Us, soon! Take care, A Clay music fan, Donna in Wi.

Anonymous said...

A wonderful blog for newcomers and long timers alike. Thanks :)

ImGranny said...

Thanks for the great blog! It's wonderful that so many countries have visited.

Clay Aiken is one of a kind and I'm proud to be his fan!

CLM said...

Awesome Caro. I love reading your blogs. Congrats on all the countries that also love reading your blog.

zanyforclay said...

So nice to see so many people from around the world enjoying your blog. Even during slow times you manage to keep the blog interesting and full of memories. Great for new and old fans alike!!!!

Unknown said...

42,704 hits from 119 nations, and it all started with one animated blue note! Who knew???

Congratulations on a very successful journey my friend.

Anonymous said...

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS CARO!!!

119 countries....how amazing. All your hard work sure shows, and we all Thank You.

I love gerwhisps video.....

Hope your having a Great Weekend.

Hugs,
Marlyne

jbc4clay said...

I love your blog. It is amazing to see people from all over the world reading your words about Clay Aiken. He is a class act.

Cindy said...

What a pleasure (and privilege) to revisit the humanitarian part Clay's journey. I think 'Measure of a Man' will always be the most special Clay song for me. He has given us a very tall stick to measure by and there hasn't been a day in six-plus years that he hasn't exceeded it in my eyes.

Great blog, by a wonderful writer! Congratulations on 119 nations!!!

CLAYCOLOMBIA said...

Hello, I'm happy of knowing that we are many the followers of different countries who we are fans of Clay and of your blog.
Wonderful work! You know that I always visit your blog.

Hugs.

Rossy