David Archuleta's Gaydar Functioning Properly

Former Idol contestant David Archuleta discusses Adam Lambert and musicians who come out of the closet:

"I don't think it was a big surprise. I don't think he was trying to be all secretive and sneaky about it...I just kind of assumed it. I think everyone else did too, but I don't think it's a bad thing or anything. He's a really cool guy. He seems really confident on stage but I don't think it comes across as cocky or anything...[For people like Adam Lambert and Clay Aiken, that's] up to them, [coming out is] their choice. As long as they're doing music, I think that's their main concern anyway. I know it's always interesting and surprising and shocking when they say those things, but I think that's up to them. It's their lives."

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Clay Aiken Bitter Over Idol, Can't Stand Adam Lambert

Would anyone like some sour grapes for breakfast?

Clay Aiken is bitter, and letting it be known. Defamer received this screed the former Idol contestant posted to his blog following the Idol finale.

And keep in mind, while reading it, that a few weeks ago Aiken dropped in on the Idol set unannounced (and for whatever reason) was quickly escorted off the premises because his relationship with the producers is so bad.

Clay's rant:

Now that it's all over, and for the record.... I couldn't be happier about the way AI ended this year. I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing "Ring of Fire" and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn't really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him. Granted, I never saw another performance (and many folks who I trust said that he was great) but I can't imagine I would have enjoyed it. Just not my cup of tea at all. To each his own. I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative. It's usually a matter of taste, right? But Idol is not always a matter of musical taste only. It's about the person you like. From what little I saw, Kris seemed likable. (That's not to say that Adam isn't just as likable as anyone.. maybe more so... I don't know) When Ruben and I were standing next to each other every night (many years ago) you had two equally talented, equally unlikely, equally unpolished contestants.... so it really was a matter of taste as to who was voted for. While some may argue that one of us was hyped more than the other, I don't feel that was the case. However, this year, there was an obvious bias. Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win. In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don't think I am alone In my opinion, it all often comes down to that last night of voting.

Continued, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Lincoln, Joaquin Phoenix, Sundance, Philippines, kd lang

Presbyterian leaders in Kentucky vote to allow gays and lesbians to be ordained as pastors, elders and deacons.

Abraham Lincoln's watchmaker carved a secret inscription to the president on the inside of his pocket watch. The watchmaker's memory of it is nicer than the reality: "The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try."

Stunt? Joaquin Phoenix attacks "bitch" in his audience - VIDEO.

Florida judge orders school board to allow Gay-Straight Alliance to meet at Yullee High School near Jacksonville.

Center Square: San Francisco reading of one-man play about Paul Lynde halted by "cease and desist" letter.

Gay man picked to head Sundance Film Festival: "Actor Robert Redford, who founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, said [John] Cooper 'brings to the position an infectious enthusiasm as well as a deep understanding of the Sundance brand and culture. Forward thinking, he is a natural choice of succession to lead the Festival into the 21st century.' In recent years, Cooper has been involved in distributing short films on platforms such as iTunes, XBox360, and Netflix. He's also recently spearheaded the Art House Project, an initiative of 18 art houses from across the country designed to connect regional audiences to the Sundance's films and filmmakers."

It's probably best not to give a woman-beater a Kids' Choice Award.

Oh, just kiss and get it over with.

Three new biographies explore authors who were gay (or struggled with it).

Trial to begin over anti-gay killing in Brooklyn's Crown Heights. Killer thought victim was flirting with him.

Philippines military opens recruitment to gays. Commanding officer: "I don’t have anything against gay people but I am still in the dark, I cannot imagine how they will perform and discharge their duties once they are accepted in the military"

Boston Gay Men's Chorus to tackle kd lang's "Big Boned Gal" in next concert. Somebody please send a video.

Apparently, Sean Penn's suit from Milk is a Mormon magnet.

Big Gulp: Croc gobbles shark in Australia.

Website scans NYC sandwiches.

Clay Aiken to present GLAAD award to Tyra Banks.

Gambling regulators in Las Vegas recommend $50,000 fine and a 6-month suspension of a slot machine license for city's oldest gay bar Snick's, over public sex complaint.

In praise of Sonny Bill Williams.

Google to increase user surveillance: "Google’s influence over our lives is set to grow further after it anounced today that it will track millions of people as they move through the internet in order work out what their interests are. Using that information, it will then provide targeted advertising to suit users' individual tastes."

Kelly Clarkson: I'm Not Gay

In a new interview with Popeater, Kelly Clarkson is asked about her former tourmate Clay Aiken and whether or not she's gay.

Says Clarkson: "I get that all the time. People are like, 'Are you secretly a lesbian? Because I’d really love it.' Lesbians tell it to me all the time. I’m like, 'I’m glad it works for you and I wish I liked women like that because oftentimes men are very hard for me, but I happen to like boys.' I could never be a lesbian. I would never want to date [someone like] myself, ever. I’m a crazy person. I need some kind of stable, quiet man. I don’t really care if you’re black, white, yellow, gay, straight, crazy, whatever. As long as you’re cool and you like the music, and you’re coming out to have a good time at the shows, I don’t really care. I have everything I just said in my family, so I’m just used to being surrounded by that. I just don’t know any different."

On Aiken's coming out, she says: "I was actually on vacation when I found out. He called and he just said, 'You’ll probably get a lot of calls about this, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.' I honestly don’t care if he is gay or isn’t gay, and I don’t care if he tells people or doesn’t tell people. I’m not friends with him for either of those reasons. If I’m a fan of an artist, I don’t really care if you’re gay or not gay, as long as you’re making cool music."

Watch her recent video for "My Life Would Suck Without You" AFTER THE JUMP...

Kelly Clarkson Gets What She Wants [popeater]

News: Sweden, Thin Mints, Kanye West, Moon, Herpes, Clay Aiken

Girl Scouts hit by recession: Bad news for lovers of Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, and Thin Mints!

Kanye West shows off new LV shoe, says he will not be doing bisexual porn.

Poll: Gay marriage or civil unions okay with Floridians. "A new poll finds that most Florida voters favor allowing gays to get married or have civil unions. Most of those voters -- 55 percent to 39 percent -- also oppose the state law banning gays and lesbians from adopting children. Democrats and independent voters were in the majority favoring the elimination of the ban while more Republicans and white evangelical Christians supported the law. The Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday -- with a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points -- found marriage and civil unions supported by younger voters more than by older voters, more by Democrats than Republicans, and more by people with higher incomes and college educations."

Inauguration panorama!

Sweden likely to allow gays to marry civilly and in Lutheran church: "Sweden, already a pioneer in giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children, would become the first country in the world to allow gays to marry within a major Church."

SALON: Is the government spying on citizens from a secret room at AT&T in St. Louis?

Scientists: Asteroid hit might have flipped moon around.

State Department employees hold "Glinda party" for Hillary, refer to Condi as "The Wicked Witch of the West".

MAP: Structurally deficient bridges in the United States.

Mixed-race transgender woman sues Wisconsin nightclub: "[Broussard] said she was twice denied entrance to Park Central, 318 W. College Ave., because of her race and her transgender status...A club manager told The Post-Crescent newspaper this summer, however, that the bars do not discriminate against gays or lesbians, but cannot accommodate Broussard because allowing her to use either the men's or women's restroom is a safety issue."

Scientists: Cream could prevent genital herpes infection. "This topical treatment, which has so far been tested only on mice, stops the virus from replicating in a new host...The cream, developed at Harvard Medical School, uses a technique called RNA interference, which stops the genes the virus needs to replicate from working properly."

Aiken and boyfriend ham a lot in Spamalot photo booth.

Avenue Q to exchange lyrics referencing George W. Bush for an anti-Prop 8 quip as part of online competition.

More sting arrests IDed in Chelsea, NYC porn shops: "Police arrested at least five men for prostitution in a Chelsea porn shop last September and October, bringing the total number of known prostitution arrests of gay and bisexual men to 52 in eight different businesses dating back to 2004. The five arrests are part of a wave of such arrests that swept through Manhattan porn shops in 2008, with cops busting at least 27 men in at least six porn shops last year. Police made at least 25 other arrests from 2004 through 2007, including at least 23 at Video, Video, Video, a porn shop that was located at Eighth Avenue and 34th Street."

Economy takes toll on gay media: "The financial woes have led many LGBT media outlets to reduce page counts, lay off writers, and scramble to find new sources of revenue."

Audun Carlsen, the male escort at the center of the Boy George conviction, apparently now receives death threats: "I look over my shoulder." Boy George is reportedly releasing a song in March, sung in French,

Chace Crawford says: take the jeans off.

News: Ethiopia, Clay Aiken, Burger King, Michael Musto , Spain

Decade-long spike in anti-gay hate crimes expected to continue surge in 2008.

Some vintage shots of a well-known CNN anchor.

Ethiopian clerics want ban on homosexuality enshrined in constitution: "Religious leaders in Ethiopia on Monday urged lawmakers to amend the country's constitution to ban homosexuality in a move they argue could further strengthen existing codes. At a meeting in the Ethiopian capital, nearly a dozen religious figures, including heads of Ethiopia's Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, adopted a resolution against homosexuality, which they termed as 'the pinnacle of immorality.'"

British mum in court for anti-gay attack on her own son.

40-year-old British ex-boxer in court for anti-gay attack on 14-year-old boy: "Wirral magistrates heard Stephen Hope, 40, of Hull, only stopped his attack when he was slashed across the arm by the boy’s mother, who had panicked and grabbed a kitchen knife. The thick-set former drug user had befriended the woman four months prior to the attack on August 13. The court heard how having originally listened to the youth confide he might be homosexual, Hope grew increasingly angry, saying he was driving a wedge between him and his mother."

Clay Aiken immortalized at Sardi's.

Gay Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil goes undercover to try and find a partner: "Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil has been trawling the bars and clubs of a British seaside resort - even taking up a menial job - in a life-follows-art search for a soulmate. Gohil, crown prince of the former princely state of Rajpipla in Gujarat, is among three ‘undercover princes’ who have travelled from India, Sri Lanka and South Africa to star in a four-part British television documentary."

Recession-proof: Arnold Schwarzenegger spends at Hermes.

Max Blumenthal on Rick Warren's double life.

James Kirchik: Gay community needs to calm down about Rick Warren.

The Village Voice's Michael Musto takes on Sarah Palin and others in his year-end review. FLASHBACK: Musto as Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe.

Spanish judge suspended for trying to stop lesbian from adopting: "The court’s ruling Tuesday says Ferrin ignored Spanish laws allowing homosexual couples to adopt and showed contempt for the woman’s sexual orientation while processing her application. Ferrin says he will appeal his suspension, and that he had only the child’s interests at heart."

Can Paris Hilton get any tackier? It's possible.

Burger King "Flame" meat-scented cologne sells out in NYC. PETA responds with their own fragrance: Gore.

What the Pope actually said about homosexuality being as dangerous as the destruction of the rainforests.

Burlesque dancer Dita von Teese and Dr. Mervyn Silverman receive Award of Courage from amfAR: "Silverman, director of public health from 1977 to 1985, was feted for leadership in HIV prevention...Von Teese, a spokeswoman for the MAC AIDS Fund and a supporter of amfAR, was honored for putting her time and charisma into international fundraising and awareness efforts - not just for men, but women, too."