Just got hooked on "America's Next Top Model" the past month.

I have a dramatic new respect for models after this show. Finally get what it takes to make a stunning shot. Starting to get it.

And the surprising thing is, I'm interested. Really interested.

Kahlen has been a big part of the reason. More than anyone else on the show, she has demonstrated for me how a winsome, meek little girl can suddenly project this wild intensity of emotion into the photograph. Not cornball rage or hysteria, she stirs subtle, complex feelings I had never dreamed she was capable of.

Love that girl. Love her for who she is and what she can do, too.

It's been gratifying to watch her blossom over the course of the season, and mesmerizing to watch each of her photo shoots. Nearly all.

(My tivo gobbled up most of the season this weekend when VH1 reran them all. Nearly caught up now.)

Hope she's going to win tonight. Think she will, but I'm a novice to this show, to this industry.

I did watch the male version last (fall?) and it was fun to watch the beefcake, but strictly a guilyt pleasure. Never felt like I learned anything. This show, I felt like I arrived as ignorant as Kahlen, grew along with her over the course of the season--at least in my understanding. Wish I could ever project like that.