The countdown to 'The Games' begins tonight

After tonight -- Oscar night, also known as my Super Bowl -- a new countdown will begin ...

I thrive off of silly enthusiasm. There's nothing I love more in life than living and breathing a new infatuation, usually fleeting, that nonsensically reels me in and rules my little world for a period of time. There was "Karate Kid," when I was a wee child. There was New Kids on the Block in my adolescence. In high school, it was "Dawson's Creek."

And then I started to grow up, and these little fads became few and far between. It made me sad thinking I was officially a boring adult whose thoughts would only be consumed with money and bills and work and boringboringboringboring.

Then came "The Hunger Games," a trilogy about a world where 12 impoverished districts must put forth a girl and a boy between the ages of 12 and 18 each year to fight to the death for the amusement of the Capitol. For one glorious week, I lived and breathed Katniss Everdeen and her boy with the bread. I talked about it with everyone I knew. I begged my friends and family to read the books. I stayed up well into the night finishing each one (and I haven't seen 2 a.m. since my early 20s). I printed out "Hunger Games" Valentines. I LOVED this trilogy.

Finishing the books broke my heart a little. It's so hard to let an infatuation end, wondering again if you'll find something else that will make you feel those things again.

Which is why I have been absolutely giddy every time I see previews for "The Hunger Games" movie. A series of films will stretch out over several years, and will allow this crush to go on for a bit longer.

The new countdown that begins tonight, post-Oscars, leads to March 23, the opening of "The Games," where I plan to totally Geek out and wear a mockingjay somewhere on my person. I've also debated about whether I will give the District 12 salute to the screen when the credits roll. That might be a little too much Geek even for me. But we'll see.

If you haven't read the series, PLEASE DO. Ignore all those ridiculous "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" comparisons that people will make when it comes to Y/A. The trilogy is nothing like either, and it is very much for adults as well as kids.

Go! Now!!!!!!!!!

Amanda's picks for best Oscar gowns of all (her) time

The red carpet ... for me, even though it makes me out to be all girly and such ... it's just a huge part of the Oscars experience. I literally watch hours of red carpet coverage on E! before the big show. We're talkin' early coverage, like when the nobodies are told to show up to allow for the more dramatic entrances during the last few minutes before the show.

I love seeing the gowns my favorites will wear. Kate Winslet never disappoints. She's the one I always look for first. Lately, Viola Davis has really upped her game, so I'll be watching for her as well.

But my top 5 Oscar gowns of all time (or at least during the years I've been watching) were donned by neither of these lovely ladies. In fact, only one of them in the bunch (No. 5) is on my list of favorite actresses. Still, each managed to pull off a stunning moment on the red carpet.

Here they are, folks!
Top row: No. 1, Penelope Cruz, No. 2, Anne Hathaway, No. 3, Keira Knightley
Bottom row: No. 4, Halle Berry, No. 5, Cate Blanchett

That's all, folks. Couch to 5K is off.

Last night I was nervous, but excited about attempting to run again after 9 days out due to knee injury. So I went online and bought a pair of Nike Duel Fusions I had my eye on. Black and pink. Very sassy. Might catch people's eye as I blow past them like a rocket on the track!

This morning the knees felt good. I did what Runner's World advised, and I didn't attempt a return until I felt absolutely no pain in my knees. Runner's Knee, as they call it, can become a chronic condition if you push before you're ready.

I strapped on my knee brace, put on my runner's under things (heehee), slapped on my watch with the timer, and I put orthopedics in my shoes for added support. Felt like a suit of armor or something, all for a few spins around a track.

But I still had that uneasy feeling in my tummy. It was that feeling of dread I had every morning I was headed to the Y last year to meet my personal trainer. I knew she was going to put me through the ringer, and she always did. Today's nerves were about whether my knees would hold up to jumping back into week 2 of the couch-to-5K program.

The Y is crazy on a Saturday. The parking lot, alone, is an epic battle. And then I got into the track and there was some event going on in the gym below, so it was loud and distracting. Not to mention the various walkers and runners on the track. These were the first couple of elements to begin building the dam of frustration.

The actual running built the rest of it. Pain. Both knees. And after just over a week, I took a hit to the stamina. Three minutes of running was hard for both of those reasons. After 10 minutes, I was done. So was my left knee, already swollen inside the brace.

And as if the running gods hadn't had enough of a laugh at my expense already, as I climbed onto the elliptical feeling defeated and powerless, "Born to Run" came on the mp3 player. I kid you not. I never thought I'd have the urge to turn that song off, but today, Bruce, you had to go.

So I was the idiot near tears in the Life Center today deciding that I'm quitting Couch to 5K for now. Maybe I'll try again this summer, just so I don't feel like I completely wasted a ton of money on all that running crap I thought I would need. Or maybe one sad little mile is my running-legacy. (As you can tell, I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself. This isn't pretty.)

Thanks for your encouragement, anyway. Now off to ruin the rest of a perfectly good Saturday by staying inside grading a ton of papers and essays. Best weekend ever.

Is Tweten's run on 'Idol' almost over?

So far, the rumors surrounding North Mankato's Shelby Tweten on "American Idol" have all checked out.
Before the show even started widespread rumors swirled that Shelby had auditioned in Colorado and that she did well enough that she likely would be featured during the audition rounds at the beginning of the season. Check!
Then there were rumors that a leaked list of the top 42 contestants was floating around the Internet and included Shelby's name. Check!
So I'm definitely paying attention to this last rumor I have gotten wind of, which is that last night's advancement in which Shelby did indeed make it into the top 42 after performing "Great Balls of Fire" with her group ... well, folks, it might be her last.

Rumor has it that Tweters didn't make it into the top 24, when the top 12 boys and the top 12 girls are selected and the show begins airing live for viewer votes. Those cuts are scheduled to be made next week, I believe, so it's possible Wednesday or Thursday's episode might be her last.

That's not to take away from her great success already. Making it into the top 42 on a national singing competition is an unbelievable feat. And hopefully it has inspired her to keep singing professionally. She's definitely got the pipes!

Hopefully Billy Crystal won't ruin the Oscars

The biggest night in Hollywood is just 9 days away! Oh my! ... But my excitement is tempered by the fact that I will endure two-plus hours of Billy Crystal. I'm not sure they could have chosen someone more out of touch with the public tone and discourse.

How do you even describe his humor? It's observational, which I like. But maybe it's his delivery. It's old-fashioned. Passe. He does "bits."

I don't blame the Oscar folks for freaking out after last year's disaster when they hired James Franco and Anne Hathaway to co-host to reel in the "younger viewers." Franco decided to phone it in, causing Hathaway to overcompensate, and between the two of them, they became the worst Oscar hosts in the 83 years of the show. But they've really over-corrected here by dialing the show back 25 years by inviting someone so out of the public eye to host.

Who would have been good? Ellen. Ellen definitely is both beloved and strikes the right comedic tone for our time. One website suggested Ryan Reynolds and Sandy Bullock cohost. Both are hilarious and have great chemistry. I'd be all for that. Ryan Gosling would be my personal choice. I mean, the absolute TRAVESTY of him being shut out of best acting nominations this year for "Drive," "Crazy, Stupid Love" or "The Ides of March" ... what does a guy have to do to get some Oscar love? Three great movies? Three great performances? In one year? Are you kidding me? The Academy could make it up to me by asking Gosling to host ... in his boxer-briefs ... or something.

Hopefully Crystal won't embarrass himself. He'll definitely sing, which he seems to enjoy doing. (Jeez.) And he'll do "bits," incorporating himself into the best picture nominees. (Ho-hum.) But maybe in an effort to keep the show at two hours, they won't let him try to milk too much limelight time out of this. It'll probably be his last, after all, until he's old enough to start collecting those life-time achievement awards.

Went rogue and I'm warming the bench

I debated about whether or not to post about my knee(s). I mentioned in my last post about couch-to-5K that my knees had been sore after my runs, so I was going to pull back a bit and really stick with the program as its laid out and intended.

But when I got to the gym on Saturday, two days after I'd run my first mile, I couldn't even make it around the track once. I was hobbling along in terrible pain in both knees, on the inside under the knee cap. The pain was worst in my left leg, though.

Then on Sunday, I ran to beat my mom into the movie theater (or she wouldn't have let me buy the tickets), and I further injured it.

So I haven't run since Thursday, and I've been really depressed about it. I spoke with a coworker who started running last year, and he apparently had the same injury, and it kept him out of the program for two weeks. It's a pretty common injury among first-time runners.

I didn't want to post about this because I don't want to discourage others from trying the program. I still think it's great. But I decided maybe I should mention that I learned the hard way why the program is laid out like it is, with slow progressions made over time, and that it's not a good idea to go rogue and run extra just to see if you can. It's not just about stamina. It's about your body acclimating to a high-impact activity.

So, anyway, I'll be warming the bench if you need me. : ( At least for a while.

Sophia Grace and Rosie risin' to the top

I just can't get enough of Sophia Grace and Rosie, the 8 and 5-year-old British girls made famous by "Ellen," YouTube, frilly pink tutus and Nicki Minaj songs that they sing.

If you missed last week's "Ellen" featuring Sophia Grace's rap, you have to see this. At first she covers a rap song by Keri Hilson, and to be honest, the poor thing is pretty off key. But about halfway through she launches into a rap about her and Rosie that is about the cutest damn thing I've ever seen, and actually pretty good too. Embedded below for your viewing pleasure. Also, the girls have their own YouTube channel now, where you can catch up on all the back videos if you haven't seen the girls before.

Also, Ellen sent them to the Grammys to be her red-carpet correspondents. The segment featuring their coverage is on Tuesday's "Ellen."



I had to also post this video of when they covered the red carpet for "Ellen" at the American Music Awards. When they meet Katy Perry, it always makes me laugh, no matter how many times I watch it. (Which is a lot.)