It's All About...

Heading to Iraq.

All right, pals, time for some serious talk. Not to say that The Amazing Race isn't serious, but this is more evening news-style serious.

Today is my last day in the Herald-Leader office for several weeks. I'm heading to Iraq for a rotation in McClatchy's Baghdad bureau. We're also working on an embed with a Kentucky National Guard unit, which I hope will give you a closer look at what's really happening over there, and the people moved to make it happen.

I'll land in Baghdad in the middle of next week, and I'll fly out of there on Jan. 15, if all goes according to plan.  My colleagues there will include Bureau Chief Leila Fadel, the woman behind the blog Baghdad Observer. I also have the great honor to work with an Iraqi staff that risks everything to  witness events no Western journalist can truly report. To read more about them, visit their blog, Inside Iraq. Six women staffers were recently honored with the International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award, too.

I'm not doing this to catch a thrill or chase away boredom. I will miss you. But I feel that this is one of the most important events that will happen in our lifetime. For many people, on many days, it seems like old news, far away, with little effect on us beyond the gas pump. I understand where that perspective comes from, but it doesn't ring true for me. What happens there, I think, will determine a lot about the course of this world, and certainly how our country fits into it. We live in the United States, and regardless of whether we agree with this war, we all will bear its worst consequences and live in thrall of its successes. As one person, I feel helpless. It's only six weeks, I know, but as one reporter working with a team of dedicated talents, I hope and believe we can show that any war, any recovery, anywhere in this world is our war and our wound. If it happens in our world, we're responsible.

People ask often if I'm scared, and much to my surprise, I'm not yet.

A true story of rabbits, guns, friendship and family -- on KET.

Last weekend, the national PBS audience got a look at a KET-produced documentary: The Everlasting Stream, a film about Walt Harrington's hunting trips in Barren County with his father-in-law and a few unlikely pals.

Full disclosure: Harrington was once a faculty member in my MFA program, which is to say I worship at the Altar of Walt. I haven't met him, but he's a former Washington Post reporter with a heady list of works I'd happily recommend to you.

Anyway! The film was based on Harrington's memoir, The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family. (You can read the first 70-some pages of it free. Thanks, Google!) There's a short clip and an interview with Harrington on PBS' Web site. Check it out here.

If you missed it this weekend, you can watch it at 9 p.m Nov. 22 on KET1 or 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. Nov. 21 on KET2. Hoping to watch from outside the area? Check your local listings.

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Relax: Kynt and Vyxsin are still safe!
Louisville's Gothtuckians came in fourth on last night's episode of The Amazing Race. They weren't much of a focus on the show, which required the racers to travel to Africa, learn a bit of the local language, milk a camel and -- gah -- drink it. YUM. Click here to catch up on the episode.

Found vs. Post Secret in Lexington tonight!

One is a Web site of secrets sent anonymously to a non-judgmental guy from Maryland.

The other is a Web site of found items, sometimes secret in a 4 YOUR EYES ONLY!!!! way, sent to a non-judgmental guy from Michigan.

But when the creators of PostSecret and Found come together at ArtsPlace tonight, it will be an exhibition of humanity and a competition of pure pride and ego. (For more info about the event, which is almost sold out, click here. It starts at 8 p.m. at ArtsPlace, 161 N. Mill St. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $65 for VIPs. Call (212) 868-4444 or go to www.smarttix.com.)

Frank Warren, the secret collector, and Davy Rothbart, the keeper of lost items, are traveling the United States to show off their collections and raise money for the National Hopeline Network, a suicide-prevention hotline. Expect arm-wrestling and audience rivalry from the sites that seem cut from the same creative, Web-community cloth.

At an appearance at the University of Kentucky last week, PostSecret's Warren said Found was an inspiration for his site, which asks people to send decorated postcards sharing their secrets. No matter how sad, scary or silly, he says, "they're safe with me. I'm the PostSecret guy."

"Sometimes we think we're keeping a secret, but it's really keeping us," Warren told the crowd. He says that sharing a secret can create added burdens in the short term. It can create problems. Before he shared his own secret -- expect him to do that tonight -- he thought he'd be reliving it if he revealed it.

It just didn't happen.

But the people with the best secrets are those who say they have none. (Women, he says, have the very best.) "The children the world almost breaks become the most likely to change it," he says. "All of us have a secret that could break your heart."

Still, the secret he sees most often are confessions of peeing in the shower.

Rothbart's Found project relies on people sharing notes, photos and objects they've found; the secrets they reveal are open to interpretation.

"When you read these notes, it sparks your imagination. Two people can look at the same found note and come away with completely different stories," Rothbart said. "It's a fragment of a story. It helps reveal our shared humanity."

So who wins in this battle of common culture? Look behind the cut to decide.

KY girl gets gold star on Kid Nation

Kennedy, kid and a gold star/CBS

This post is a bit late, but if you haven't been keeping up with Kid Nation, it'll be news to you.

One of the pioneers from Kentucky was given the highest honor in Bonanza City when she was awarded the gold star on last week's episode. (Really, it's a big deal: it's worth $20,000.) Kennedy, from Ashland, took the stage during the town's talent show and made a complete fool of herself with a rap-and-dance routine. The kids loved it, and most importantly, it helped Kentucky's other pioneer, Savannah from Letcher County, to brighten up after homesickness set in.

When the council decided who had earned the gold star that week, they turned to Kennedy, for her fearlessness and selflessness, but also for her pure art and entertainment value.

Kennedy and Savannah/CBS

You can watch a clip of the talent show, the announcement that Kennedy won the gold star and the phone call to Kennedy's mom. (You can also read my Q&A with Savannah by clicking here.)

Watch the next episode at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS, when the green district argues that it should be renamed the gold district, thanks to its many gold stars. CBS also promises a "shocking announcement."

The Big Lebowski, artistically rendered.

Photo by Finlay MacKay/NY Times

As Kentuckians, we have a keen interest in The Big Lebowski, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

The Coen brothers' new film, No Country for Old Men, is an adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel, which means it cannot possibly be as light-hearted. (How would I know, though? The film hasn't opened here yet.)

Regardless, The New York Times published a charming and bizarre series of portraits gathering together some of the favorite characters from Coen brothers' movies. There seems to be a special focus on The Big Lebowski in these photos by Finlay MacKay.

Take a gander. I'm sure you will love it. 100-percent certain.

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Celebrate: The Goth-tuckians made it through another round on The Amazing Race!
The teams traveled from Ireland to Amsterdam. Kynt and Vyxsin, of Louisville, didn't come in first, but they were far from last, and they didn't appear to break down, scream or panic even once. By the way, here's Vyxsin's MySpace, and Kynt's.

Apply: Carnegie Center's 2008 Young Women Writers Program.
It's a series of five workshops for women in grades 9-12. (They're held on Saturdays in January and February. You must attend at least four of the five.) They'll focus on poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoir and journalism. Organizers assembled a tremendous list of instructors, including Nickole Brown, Bianca Spriggs-Floyd, Randi Ewing and Lori-Lyn Hurley. I'll be teaching the journalism workshop, focusing on music and culture writing.
    Every gal selected for the program is given a full scholarship. Another cool feature: In April, you'll do a public performance of your writing during Gallery Hop, and you'll be invited to read at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference in the fall. Download the application or  e-mail kgreene@carnegieliteracy.org for more information. Deadline is Nov. 16.

And speaking of young writers, read: Teen Board!
We had a teen-heavy weekend at the H-L, with This I Believe essays from some of them, as well as letters to Gov.-elect Steve Beshear. I am so proud of them -- their ideas, their talent, their willingness to explore and debate -- I could just burst!

Movies, music and munching for the weekend.

Happy weekend!

Here's the to-do:

Movies: New this week are Fred Claus, King of California, Lions for Lambs and P2. Did you notice our fancy new five-star rating system?

Music: Strings are big this weekend, with the Reel World String Band celebrating its 30th anniversary on Saturday and Flying Fingers! concert with Andrew Leonard, Pat Kirtley and Endless Road Strings at Singletary Center tonight.

• Also, The Dialectics CD release party, with Club Dub, will be Saturday at The Dame.
• If I were capable of anything but binge sleep on Friday nights, I'd drive to Louisville for the Buddy Guy/Shemekia Copeland show tonight at the Kentucky Center's Whitney Hall.

Books: Let me just say it one more time -- Kentucky Book Fair, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Frankfort Convention Center. I'll be rocking the H-L booth at 11 a.m., and perusing the fair for many hours after. Come visit. (Did you go to JB last night? Did you see the massive crowd there for Music of Coal? Wasn't that fabulous?)

Eat: Clinton H. Comley reviewed Natasha's this week -- sounds like he dug the goulash, the hummus and the gypsy dancers.  In other news, Sharon Thompson reports that a new Cosi opened in Victorian Square and YES, the Farmers Market is still open! Eat, and enjoy!

Music of Coal, Reel World String Band and more KY reads.

I imagine you're all tired out since last night's fabulous PostSecret event at University of Kentucky, but if you can possibly stand any more stimulation and discussion, swing by Joseph-Beth at 7 p.m. tonight for our Herald Readers event.

We're featuring a CD-book, Music of Coal, produced by Jack Wright. Nick Stump and the Reel World String Band will perform.

Here's an NPR story about the CD, a collection of audio clips and Kentuckian's own memories of growing up in coal country.

If you're in the mood for more Kentucky books, check out the Kentucky Book Fair from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Frankfort Convention CEnter, 405 Mero St. Some of our state’s biggest names, like Wendell Berry and Bobbie Ann Mason, will be there. Look for Drew Curtis, creator of Fark.com and author of It’s Not News, It’s Fark; state poet laureate Jane Gentry Vance, who wrote A Year in Kentucky and Portrait of the Artist as a White Pig; artist and Centre College professor Stephen Rolfe Powell, the subject of Stephen Rolfe Powell: Glassmaker.

And of course, swing by the Herald-Leader table and say hello.

PostSecret on campus this week.

I was all riled last week about the Found vs. PostSecret tour making a stop in Lexington on Nov. 14, but you can get a taste of it this week when PostSecret creator Frank Warren speaks at University of Kentucky. Just to affirm the event's hipness, here's its Facebook page.

Warren will be at the Worsham Theatre in the Student Center at 8 p.m. Wednesday. (Here's more info about the event.) He'll also sign copies of the latest PostSecret book, A     Lifetime of Secrets. You can also see a collection of 200 secrets at UK's Rasdall Gallery until Nov. 20. The gallery is open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

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Go: Vote!
It's a big day. Read up, show up and wear your sticker proudly. Not sure of your polling place? Look here.

The Amazing Race: KY couple comes in second.

Kynt and Vyxsin, donkey charmers.

The Kentucky couple rocked the season opener of The Amazing Race on Sunday night.

Kynt Cothron and Vyxsin Fiala from Louisville came in second after racing from Los Angeles to Ireland, riding a bike through mud and leading a donkey to victory.

Like every episode of The Amazing Race, there were screamers and sweethearts. Kynt and Vyxsin have a hard-core look about them, but they were as calmed and measured as the clergy members. Lots of cheerful support, energy, kind words for the donkey.

I didn't think people could love any Kentucky couple more than they adored David and Mary, but Kynt and Vyxsin are pretty charming...

By the way, if you want to know who came out on top last night -- and it wasn't any of those L.A. natives who were off to such a good start -- just look here.

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Read: Paste! For cheap!
Paste is one of my favorite magazines, up there with Wired, ReadyMade, Mother Jones and, because I'm a woman in her 20s addicted to attractive storage units, Real Simple. Word came last week that they're going the Radiohead route and letting you spend what you want on one year of issues. You must pay at least $1; if you pay the going rate of$19.95, you'll be recognized in the magazine. Before you go on the cheap, consider what it's really worth to you.