It's All About...

It's All About Seal of Awesomeness: Jukeboxes.

This blog post is coming to you live from the Northwest Airlines terminal in Detroit. Wisconsin, here I come!

If you're an in-print It's All About reader, you probably noticed that we changed up the format a bit. Instead of being all about whatever distracts me the most in the week, we decided to get organized and track down the best of the best of everything Lexington, and to bestow them with the It's All About Seal of Awesomeness. (Basically, we think it's cool. That's the reward. Nice, huh?)

This time around, we hunted for jukeboxes.

Photos by Angela Baldridge, whose selected jam was Pink Floyd.

You can read the whole shebang, or see the abbreviated version below. I'm sure I missed some great ones, so share your favorite jukeboxes in the comments.

And, leave a tip for my next Seal of Awesomeness quest: The best public bathroom in Lexington.

Women Writers and Oktoberfest tunes.

On Sunday, the H-L published a one-two punch of stories that made me shriek, "Really? Really!"

First was Cheryl Truman's story about the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, which features a stellar lineup of artists including poet Naomi Shihab Nye, sportswriter Sally Jenkins and authors like Lee Byrd, Helen Oyeyemi and Ann Pancake.

In the past, the conference has been nothing less than a spiritual experience; I expect the events this Friday and Saturday will live up to it. (Even if you're not attending the conference, remember, some events are free and open to the public.)

The other story that made me gape was Walter Tunis' story about Christ the King's Oktoberfest. It's lineup of musicians is one of the most exciting I've seen since moving here: Scott McCaughey of R.E.M. and The Minus 5; Alejandro Escovedo; J.D. Crowe and the New South; my personal favorite on the list, the witty and talented Erin McKeown. (If you haven't heard it yet, do your mood a favor and pick up Sing You Sinners.)

And then I remembered: I'll be in Wisconsin. (Really? Really.) I'm heading to a conference with a fantastic group of women writers, reporters and thinkers.

::sigh::

When did the last weekend in September become so popular?

Review: Hillbilly: The Real Story

Last weekend, as Ken Burns' much-buzzed-about documentary The War began on PBS, The History Channel debuted a special that came a little closer to home: Hillbilly: The Real Story.

With Flatwoods native Billy Ray Cyrus narrating, the show documents some of the history and traditions of Appalachia, from settlement to stock car racing to snake handling. It's typical History Channel in its depth, mixing quick mentions with more developed topics. It's never exhaustive or academic, but mostly respectful and fair of mountain dwellers who "developed their own sense of America." Rather than focusing only on the best-known stereotypes, for instance, one segment points out that only about 2,000 snake handlers remain in the region, and most people in Appalachia don't want to be identified as such.

Eastern Kentucky is featured prominently when the history shifts from moonshine to marijuana, calling the drug "Kentucky's No. 1 cash crop."

An interview with dancer Jacques d'Amboise.

Photo courtesy of Lexington Ballet.

Lexington Ballet is days away from debuting Fabric of Dance III, its fall program that showcases different styles of dance, from classical to avant garde; but the school took time from its rehearsal schedule last week for a very different kind of dance instruction.

Jacques d'Amboise, the onetime principal dancer of the New York City Ballet and founder of the National Dance Institute, taught the students in a one-day workshop, which led to a performance this weekend. When I interviewed him on Friday with another reporter, he had no music and no absolute choreography in mind. He had a percussionist they'd found that morning, a beginning and an ending.

His own beginning as a artist led him to a different kind of understanding of dance and music. He began dancing as a child, and by age 12, was performing with the group that would become the New York City Ballet. He had only one year of high school, then left to pursue dance full time. He worked with George Balanchine starting as a teenager -- "At 16, Balanchine taught me how to have tea with the Queen. Hold the saucer, pick up one lump of sugar, use a silver spoon, make a half turn. The worst was to make sound. Always leave tea in the cup." -- and was dancing in stage and film within a few years.

While d'Amboise enjoyed making films like Seven Brides of Seven Brothers and Carousel, he thought Hollywood too undisciplined. If call was at 8 a.m., he'd be there hours earlier to stretch up and warm. By 8 a.m., he'd be drenched in sweat and still the only one on set. "The discipline of ballet is extraordinary," he says. "It's not there in the movies. I'm so glad I did all those movies, I would do them again, I would do them differently, but I missed the discipline and commitment of the ballet."

He began teaching dance while he continued to perform. Even without a high school diploma, he has taught at several colleges and universities. He continues to work with students, like those at the Lexington Ballet, because he likes "working with children, whether 1 or 2 or 90. I like to find the child in everyone and engage that child's imagination."

Art, he realizes now, is an expression of emotion, wonder and play. "If you stop to think of play, it's a form of preparing someone for life," he says. "Winning and losing, teamwork, independently trying to be better. It's an exercise in survival."

Read on for a Q&A with the dancer, choreographer and teacher.

The Print Edition: Fall movies, gallery hops, the good War.

Kentucky gets cool and beautiful, and how are we rewarded? With a busy weekend. Consider starting the weekend with Gallery Hop, and click below to find more about the Fall Movie Guide, Ken Burns' The War, a tribute to Homer Ledford, one of my favorite musical of all time and a very yummy review of Stella's Kentucky Deli.

Visual Arts: It's Gallery Hop night! There are several you might want to explore.

James Baker Hall. Photo by Darrell Lovitt.

• With his camera, Kentucky poet and photographer James Baker Hall explored the lives of four gay Central Kentucky artists who are over fifty in Four Beyond Fifty. The photographs are on display at Gallerie Soleil, 363 W. Short St.
• Photographer Andrew Stern's Appalachian Portfolio: 1959-1963 opens tonight at University of Kentucky's Tuska Gallery inside the Fine Arts Building at Rose Street and Patterson Drive.
• A teeny, tiny installation will be up from 5-8 p.m. in a missing brick in the Third Street Stuff building at the corner of Third Street and Limestone. No kidding. Check it out. It's very sweet; go see and you'll know why.

A Q&A with Kentucky's Kid Nation star.

Update: Did you watch Kid Nation on Wednesday night? What did you think? Tell me down in the comments.

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The most controversial and curious show in this Fall's batch of new television will debut at 8 p.m. tonight on CBS. Kid Nation got quite a bit of buzz when TV writers first heard about the concept, but as the big day neared, everyone from angry parents to entertainment unions was criticizing the show.

Here's how it worked: Forty kids ages 8-15 were dropped in a deserted New Mexico town for 40 days. Their charge? Build a society all their own, with economy, government and all. The town lacked many of the comforts they're used to, like, say, toilets. But at the end of each episode, the kids gathered together to discuss what was happening, and to award one child a gold star -- literally, a star made of gold, worth about $20,000. They could leave if they wanted to, but there was no elimination procedure.

Two of the 40 children were from Kentucky. There was 12-year-old Kennedy, who lives in Ashland. (Her mother, Tammie Womack, wrote an opinion piece for the H-L, explaining why they allowed their daughter to have the experience.)

Savannah, a 10-year-old from Partridge, was another pioneer. Her father applied to be on Survivor last year, but when casting agents called, they were looking for the daughter, not the father. (Mining applications for other shows seems like standard procedure now; you might recall that David and Mary Conley of Stone were selected for The Amazing Race after David applied to be on Survivor.)

Savannah told me on Tuesday that the family thought it was a joke, but as the calls kept coming in, they decided to listen. Her favorite memories of the show, she says, she's not allowed to share right now.

Read on to learn more about Savannah, her favorite chore in Bonanza City and the worst part about being away from home for six weeks. (One word: outhouses.)

Mike Birbiglia's Secret Public Tour in Lexington.

The last time Mike Birbiglia made a performance stop in our fair state, it was in Louisville, on Derby week, which means the only thing people were laughing at were the julep-swillers Slip-n-Sliding up and down the infield.

He even wrote about the experience in his Secret Public Journal, which is, of course, the crux of his new road trip, The Secret Public Tour. It'll land him at the Lexington Opera House on Thursday, when he'll be  pulling material from the old album  Two Drink Mike, his about-to-be-released CD My Secret Public Journal Live and his new one-man show, Sleepwalk With Me. The whole effect should be a show a little less stand-up-y and a little more Sedaris-like.

Job perk No. 8,452: I've got the not-yet-released album. It's funny. It's all based on entries into the Secret Public Journal, a comedic blog that came out of a therapy session where it was suggested he start writing all this madness down. He's written some serious entries, like a tribute to Mitch Hedberg, and not-so-serious entries, like wooing Jesus in his Top 8. Maybe it's a swell way to work through his stuff, but we get the benefit because he decided to post it. (It's very MySpace: You know everyone is reading, and yet, you fool yourself into believing it's only you and your pals, so yeah, why not post that ridiculous photo of you and the beer bong and the guy in the banana costume? And then talk about your nasty break up? And that mole you had removed a few days ago?)

Lexington, he's really very nice, possible horse allergy aside. If you're on the fence about getting tickets, read on to learn a little more about him, then choose your Thursday activities wisely.

Oh yeah, before I forget: What are your favorite juke boxes in town? I'm on a secret mission, but you've got to help me to the best music-making machines, or it won't be any fun. Thanks!

Emmy wrap-up: fashion and final wins.

I'm no great judge of fashion, but for my money, I'd say the ladies in red and the men in black looked best last night. Maybe that's a little dull, but there's no denying the classics.

On that note, here are some fashion opinions from people that know what they're talking about.

• Robin Givhan, the delightful and analytical fashion critic for The Washington Post, is finishing a Q&A on Emmy fashion as I type this. Read it here.
• People.com has a gallery of best-dressed, including Kentuckian Rebecca Gayheart in navy blue.
• The gals at GoFugYourself.com seem to be getting started on Emmy fug.

Read on for a short list of who won the big awards...

Emmys 2007: The Live Blog.

And there we have it. Credit rolling, generic guitar music in the background. The night is over. Check back tomorrow for a list of winners and a longer take on who got snubbed, who rocked and who looked hottest or nottest.

For now, I'm going to bed. G'night!

 

11:08 p.m.

Say what you will about The Sopranos final season, but I'm glad they won this award, if only so that we could get Journey played during the Emmy ceremony. As commenter Kelly said below, The Sopranos love seemed a little trite after a tribute to Roots, but it was kind of a big deal for television, and it did have a brilliant close. Heroes, Grey's Anatomy and all the nominees in this category could stand to learn from that show. (Not to mention David Chase's lovely closer: "If the world and this nation were run by gangsters...maybe it is.")

11:02 p.m.
Oh! OH! I so called it! 30 Rock IS the best comedy series on TV right now. Maybe tied with The Office. But that wasn't nominated. So, yea 30 Rock! (And kudos to Tina Fey for thanking the "dozens and dozens" of viewers. It's like getting a personal thank-you!)

10:58 p.m.
I know this isn't about the Emmys, but it is about the Emmy commercials: I kind of want to try the Oreo Cakester.

10:52 p.m.
Go Ugly! Best actress in a comedy was a tough category with a lot of previous winners who had great seasons, but seeing America Ferrera win for Ugly Betty is just uplifting. It's the kind of show primetime should see more often. And since I just proclaimed that I would shut my computer and quit my job if Julia Louis-Dreyfus won, well, I'm particularly glad that America got the statue.

10:40 p.m.
Yea Sally Field. She looks beautiful. Harkens back to her first Emmy, for Sybil, which was, of course, about a patient and doctor who both happened to live in Lexington.

She gave a pretty good impromptu speech, tying her hope to end war into family, and mothers waiting for children to come home. And then...she was goign to say something else, and nothing happened.

Um. Did they just bleep Sally Field?

10:35 p.m.
Why did they  save all the funny stuff in this broadcast for after 10 p.m.? For the last hour? To escape safe harbor hours? Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert ripping on the hypocrisy of green awards shows is just brilliant! Who else would think to create a leaf blower that runs on Al Gore's tears? Or to replace Ricky Gervias, who actually won the Emmy, with Steve Carell? Oh, to see that level of celebration for a real award, instead of a silly speech!

10:29 p.m.
Awww! Did you hear David and Mary speaking when they announced that The Amazing Race won the Emmy?! Our Kentuckians! I'm a huge Project Runway fan, and I certainly enjoy Top Chef, but I'll never pass up a chance to get the Conleys back on TV.

10:25 p.m.
First -- Wayne Brady is funny. He made the second-most honest comment of the night, speaking to the crowd at the Emmys: "You're all rich!" We don't give him enough credit. And when he brings Rainn Wilson and Kanye West onto the same stage, well, I think that's a design he deserves something better than Don't Forget the Lyrics.

10:13 p.m.
Elaine Stritch: "I'm not faking this, I really don't know what the hell I'm doing." That was the most honest thing ANYBODY has ever said on an awards show.

10:08 p.m.
"Nothing like the very real threat of nipple to keep the audience tuned in." There we have it, ladies and gentleman, from Joely Fisher, the quote of the evening! With her 'Til Death co-star, they managed to make milk/boob/Sen. Larry Craig jokes, reminding us once again what an award ceremony on Fox sounds like.

Here's the very lovely dress that got it all started -- and an awfully dark shadow in a very strategic place. Yikes:

10:04 p.m.
Check out Masi Oka's smudgy Mac as he presents this creative achievement in interactive TV award! And...hey...there's Tom. MySpace Tom, everybody's first friend! He's quite a bit cuter than that one photo reveals. Huh. And there's Al! Al Gore, you know, the guy that invented the Internet! Wow. What a night.

9:35 p.m.
According to my wise German-speaking pal, Alan Taylor said this during this speech: Never have I loved another girl so much as you. Say it with me now: Awwww!

9:20 p.m.
Well. We're going to be hearing about this Daily Show win on The Colbert Report for the next few weeks. Remember the last time Jon won over Stephen? The guy just could not let it go. Sheesh.

9:13
WAIT! What did he say? I think that was in German.

9:09 p.m.
Whoa, who let Mr. Bubble on stage? Oh wait! No! That's Hayden Panettiere, drowning in a vat of cotton candy. WHY WON'T NEIL PATRICK HARRIS SAVE HER?

9:07 p.m.
My vote for the classiest move of the night: bringing back the cast of Roots to present the award for best mini-series. Broken Trail was swell and all -- who doesn't want Robert Duvall to win a few awards? -- but it was a lot more exciting to see everybody from Roots on the stage.

8:56 p.m.
We had dueling blonds in red. Who looks better?

Heidi Klum in some kind of couture something-or-other with a slit up to the no-no area, and earring she designed herself.

Or, Ali Larter, in true red and natural hair.

 

I know Heidi Klum is the supermodel, but I'm going to have to go with the Heroes actress whose career was in the trashcan not so long ago.

8:51 p.m.
Christina Aguilera hardly looks pregnant in that gown, at least, from the front. I've never tried to fit an evening gown around a bump, but I'm guessing that magenta is a hard color to pull off at that point.

8:42 p.m.
These are the best intros EVER! Please, let's use misappropriated political footage and suggestive bathroom shots whenever possible. It's still funny! I guess Conan is OK for the win, although I'm certainly more of a Daily Show/Colbert Report kind of girl. Good speech, though: "Thank you very much, we'd like to leave through the trap door!"

8:38 p.m.
Katherine Heigl! (Yes, thank you for getting her name right.) Wow. Wow. That's a big win for her on her first nomination. Seems like Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson were the bigger names, and frankly, with the end of the The Sopranos, they seemed like a sentimental lock. That was likely the most natural sounding speech we'll hear tonight -- she says she worked her ass off. She thanks her mom. She thanked all the other women actors there, and sounded like she really meant it.

Knocked Up, an Emmy and the opportunity to stand next to Kyle Chandler. Solid coupla months for her, right?

8:34 p.m.
Ellen DeGeneres. Still funny, and introducing what might be the funniest and most organically sweet moment of the night with the Tom Snyder remembrance. By the way, she's also half of perhaps the most attractive couple on the red carpet. Isn't this photo cute?

8:25 p.m.
They put Kyle Chandler and Katherine Heigl together to present an award. Don't they have a Homecoming King and Queen vibe? Surely, they're better looking than anybody being nominated for that award. Even Thomas Haden Church, who looks even more hung over than Jeremy Piven. Seriously, did this night not just begin?

8:24 p.m.
Jaime Pressly deserves this. I mean, Jenna Fischer is so great as Pam, and there were, apparently, 400 other women up for the same award. But let's face it, Jaime Pressley has a kickin' name, and blossomed when dropped into the role of a trashy country ex-wife.

8:15 p.m.
You know, I met Terry O'Quinn at Derby a few years ago, and he was nice. And kudos to a man that wears pink and diagonal spangles on his black tie. But you know what I wanted? A T.R. Knight win. I love him. What a bummer.

8:13 p.m.
Jeremy Piven. He rolls out of bed, shakes off the hangover and wins a best supporting actor Emmy! That's quite a busy two waking hours for him...

8:10 p.m.
I kind of love the in-the-round stage. It makes all of these big stars really self-conscious. And every so often something weird happens, like a close-up on a mirrored globe. Ray Romano is giving a perfectly good speech, and then points out that he feels like he's disrespecting half the room, including The Sopranos, which nobody wants to do.

8:06 p.m.
Whoa, skinny tie. Shiny, skinny tie. Does the host get a wardrobe change? Good for him for not sucking it up in this opening bit, though. So far, he's made fun of himself, made fun of all the other hosts who didn't host the pre-show as well, welcomed everybody and avoided singing. Yes. Good for him.

8 p.m.
You know what? I'm totally OK with cartoon musical numbers opening awards shows, especially if it's Brian and Stewie. Love the Sopranos joke. The Michael Richards/Isaiah Washington joke was so very Fox, though.

I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski.

Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt, they're just a couple of regular guys, regular dudes, if you will. They really dug this movie, The Big Lebowski, and when they realized how many other people dug the 1998 Coen Brothers classic, they thought they'd have a little party at a bowling alley, about 20 friends, a couple games of bowling, a few white Russians, maybe some movie-inspired costumes. Then a couple hundred people showed up to the Louisville alley, and a rumble in this little world of pain turned into a roar: Lebowski Fest.

That was 2002. The movie had already bombed in theaters and stirred few critics, but developed a Star Trek-ish cult following that enjoys quoting dialogue and grooming Pomeranians. Russell and Shuffitt, now 31 and 35 respectively, founded a festival where all the high-achieving Lebowski fans could come together. "They all said 'I thought I was the only one," Shuffitt recalls.

The Louisville festival now draws 2,000 to 4,000 achievers for a few days every year, and proud we are of all of them. The Fest founders have taken it on the road, to Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, New York and this summer, the United Kingdom. (Just imagine "You want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me" in a Scottish brogue.) Lebowski Fest L.A. will be Oct. 12-13.

This month, those dudes, along with pals Bill Green and Brian Peskoe, released the definitive movie fan guide, I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski (Bloomsbury, $16.95) some three years after a literary agent suggested they write it. The book includes interviews with some of the actors and real-life inspirations for the characters, plus a forward by The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, and his photos from the movie set, images of festival posters, profiles of fans and a map to ATMs around Pasadena. Some of their favorite parts are graphic explanations of how to Dude-ify your home, car, life and what have you. From Lebowski Fest HQ, where there is, in fact, a red Oriental-style rug that really ties the room together, the founding dudes abided and explained.

Question: Have you gotten tired of the movie yet?
Russell: It blows my mind that I haven't gotten tired of it. I've probably seen it 100 times. It's such a  rewatchable movie. It just fills me with joy. I know what's coming next, but it's not about that. We started this thing on a lark. We didn't intend to do it again. Every week, something amazing happens. When it slows, something else will happen, like 'Did I really try on Jeff Bridges' jelly slipper?'
Shuffitt: The book, it ended up being was like a three-year school project. It wasn't like "Oh! Let's write a book," it was "Oooh, let's go get this book written." I'm very proud of the final product.