Kris Rasmussen: September 2008 Archives

I don't really want to belabor the Clay Aiken "coming out" discussion here at Idol Chatter, but I have to say that after I caught his interview with Diane Sawyer, I stopped and did some thinking about what he had to say.

As he spoke with Sawyer, he was actually very sweet and articulate about the fact that he was raised Southern Baptist, and still considers himself of that faith--even though he realizes he is not exactly welcomed with open arms by that denomination. He was also quick to say that he does not want to put himself in the place of telling those from generations before him-- like his grandmother--that they are wrong in their opinions about the matter. To do so, would be a lack of respect for his elders.

Several weeks ago, I posted about Paul Newman's battle with cancer and the media speculation that he had stopped treatment and would return home to die. Sadly, on Saturday the announcement came that Newman passed away Friday night. The tributes from friends and co-workers are already numerous, and one thing I have noticed as a common thread among all of them is that Newman will be missed not only for who he was, but he will also be remembered for who he wasn't.

He was a sexy, attractive man who did not allow himself to buy in to just being another Hollywood pretty boy. He was successful without letting his movie career define him. He stood up for what was right without turning it into a photo-op.

I haven't seen the Christian movie "Fireproof"--which stars former "Growing Pains" star and currently Christian evangelist Kirk Cameron--but I have seen some of the other work that has come out of Sherwood Baptist Church by the Kendrick brothers (they brought us "Facing the Giants"). And now, a recent interview in Christianity Today reminds me of the decades-old discussion about Christians and moviemaking: Is ministry more important than making Great Art?

Yesterday Perez Hilton's website revealed the new cover of People magazine in which Clay Aiken at long last tells America the obvious--he's gay. As of Tuesday, the magazine only confirmed that Clay is on the cover with his newborn son, but said nothing about any revelations about his sexual orientation. However, a rep from the magazine did say that fans should check out their website today to see the cover story, hinting that they may be dropping a major bombshell. Sure enough, this morning, People.com offered an exclusive interview in which Aiken reveals that because of his child he needs to finally tell the truth.

The Emmys is my least favorite award show to watch, mainly because the nominating process is tainted, and rarely do shows that the general public enjoys ever win, much less receive a nomination. But while some are calling last night's showthe lamest ever, I found a few highlights--as well as unintentionally humorous lowlights in last night's ceremony.

Did you bother to watch last night's ceremony, and if you did, leave your comments on it in the box below!

Highlight: Tina Fey giving a smart, pithy acceptance speech in which she explained she always introduces herself at parties as a writer, not an actor, because "people are much less interested in you if you are a writer, which is great." And she didn't make a single Sarah Palin joke.

Lowlight: Kathy Griffin's Sarah Palin joke that I can't even remember now because it fell flat the second she told it.

I had so much fun creating my Top Ten Songs I Hate To Love list with some friends of mine, that I became nostalgic and decided to sift back through my archives one more time and pick out some of...

My fellow Idol Chatter bloggers and I have written before about how we believe Will Smith doth protest too much that he is not involved in Scientology. I have even questioned Smith's claims that all religions are basically the same--...

Though I am a huge fan, I have never made it to a Sam Phillips concert--not even when she played a Christian college a few hours away from me last week--but Monday night I will have a chance and I...

I can't claim to be much of a fashionista, but I have to admit that clothing and shoe designer Kenneth Cole's latest ad campaign does a great job of being both slick and spiritual. The tagline for the campaign is...

As yet another example of how filmmakers are purposefully taking their production out of the hands of studios and going straight to the consumers, the critically acclaimed documentary "Awake My Soul" is now playing for free for a limited time...

I've tried to hold off on expressing my thoughts and opinions about Bill Maher's movie "Religulous" until closer to the movie's official release date on October 3, but in the last few weeks there have been more and more early...