Help! Rename my blog. I'm not clever enough.

It's time to rename this blog, or at least that's what everyone keeps telling me. "Amanda, you are no longer the entertainment writer at The Free Press, so you keeping your blog as "Katotainment" is the crime equivalent of clubbing baby seals." So, so true.

I have no idea what to call it, though. The history of my posts indicates a couple of things: 1. I tend to post on whatever I'm thinking at that very moment. So, impulsive blogging. 2. I tend to post extensively on whatever is at the forefront of my thoughts during a given period of time. So, last year: losing chunks of weight. When "Project Runway" is on, I blog about that. (Except for "All Stars," because I think it stinks and the title is 100 percent misleading.) During Awards Season, I blog about movies. When there's something intriguing/interesting in Mankato's entertainment scene, I blog about that.

I think the takeaway here is that this blog is personality based. It doesn't reflect my job at The Free Press, and that's OK. The newspaper industry is changing, and whereas reporters were once expected to be 100 percent objective and diplomatic and tended to be neutral, overall, now we are expected to brand ourselves, to show you who we are as people and connect with you on a human level. Some are for, some are against. For me, it makes it easier because I tend to be myself, whether that's good or bad, wherever I tend to be and whomever I tend to be with.

So, with all of this in mind, maybe y'all can help me out. I need a blog title that sort of encompasses a personality-based blog about random thoughts, fitness, TV (lots of TV), movies, Mankato and such. If any of you come up with a super good one, I'll award you a $10 coffee card and, of course, bragging rights (ha! I'm sure that's the hugest incentive ever, right?) Plus, I'll blog about you and your incredibly clever blog title.

Email me at adyslin@mankatofreepress.com or call me at 344-6388. Thanks!!!

Frustration mounts, and I have that icky quitter feeling

My left leg is perched on my ottoman at home, and I have the worst pinch in my left hip than I've ever felt. When I walk, it feels more like a crunch.

For the first 15 minutes of day four of my couch to 5k today, I WAS SO HAPPY. My lungs have been the issue this week. They burn so bad that I feel like I can't get enough air. But today, they didn't burn at all. It was more my legs that felt heavy. Maybe they've felt heavy all week and I haven't noticed because of all the burning in my lungs. ... But anyway, I was about 10 yards into my fourth running segment when I felt some sort of twist in my hip. It was immediate, and I could barely walk.

I hobbled out into the hallway and stretched it for a bit. But frustration set in pretty much immediately. I know it's because of my shoes. I haven't had money to invest in running shoes. And that just made me madder because I kept thinking about all these pieces of advice-command hybrids from runners that not only added up in dollars, but also pains-in-the-tuckus.

Me: I don't own a watch and I need to track my running minutes. Does anyone I know, like in life -- anyone at all -- own a watch or a stopwatch they aren't using?
Everyone in the world: No. You have to go buy a watch. You should get a stopwatch that you can program and alert you to when you need to start running again. They're the best kinds of watches for runners.
Me: I have blisters. How do you run with blisters?
Runners: You need sweat-wicking socks if you want to be a runner. You need moleskin to put on your blisters.
Me: Mole-what? ... Maybe I should lose the rest of my weight first. I'm bouncing all over the place when I run. Gives a whole new meaning to booty-shake.
Runners: You need Spanx or quality spandex shorts. That's what I use, as well as a sports bra. You have to buy quality under-things if you want to be a runner.
Me: My toes are hurting a little. These shoes are too small.
Runners: Those shoes won't do anyway. You need good quality shoes. You need to spend an enormous amount of money on shoes. Do you want to run? Then you have to spend money on shoes. Shoes are everything. Buy shoes.

So, basically, I need new gear from head to toe, and unless I plan on doing laundry every day, I need several sets of "good quality under-things." And since running is the most important thing in the universe, I guess I'd better get on it right now.

Gah! I'm going to take a step back here and just think this out. I need my hip to feel better anyway before I can try again, so I'm going to just think about whether the ginormous hassle of running is even worth it. I lost 74 pounds without running AT ALL. So there are other ways to be healthy, right?

But I know myself, and I know backing down from a challenge this early will make me feel really bad.

I don't know. I just don't know.

Finally flipping the bird at Mr. Jones

We'll call him Mr. Jones (so I won't get sued). I heard tell of him from my dad and my dad's siblings. They all had him for gym class when they were in middle school. My dad was a naughty kid. So he'd had an altercation or two with Mr. Jones, which I couldn't even imagine. When nobody in my sixth-grade gym class was doing anything to piss him off, he still looked so severe. Never smiled. Stood shoulders back, arms crossed. Tight blue shorts made of unidentifiable fabric, most likely produced in the '70s or '80s. White leg hair from mid-thigh to ankle. White arm hair, thicker than what seemed normal to a 12-year-old. White head hair (what was left of it). No trace of a smile or even smile lines that might indicate he actually did show his teeth once in a while at home. Plenty of frown lines, though. So the idea of anger in those eyes directed right at my dad, inches from his face, made me keep as quiet as a Sunday morning in January.

I had just moved to Fairmont from K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the U.P. of Michigan. I had no friends, and it was my first year of middle school. So the last thing I needed was another reason to feel out of place and behind my fellow classmates. First-period gym class with Mr. Jones was that extra reason. It was a few months after my parents' divorce. I had put on weight. I was out of shape. I'd never run before, except for short bursts the way kids do. And here stood this cold statue of a man barking at me and my classmates in military style to run eight laps or 10 laps or however many he felt like that day.

I was always near the back of the pack. It wasn't unusual for me to get lapped by the fastest boy in the class. But still I remember how grateful I was that two or three girls were actually slower, somehow, than I was so that I wouldn't be dead last.

Every time I past Mr. Jones during each lap, a bit of anxiety would creep in. Sometimes he'd shout things. "Pick it up! Pick it up!" And when one of my tactics on long runs was to put tissues on the stage at the edge of the gym and pretend to have a cold, he was onto me in a heartbeat. "Carry that Kleenex with you, Dyslin! Don't stop!"

Until now, this is the only experience I ever had running. And every single time I have circled the track at the Y this week, having begun my couch to 5K, I have imagined Mr. Jones standing there, arms crossed, watching every unsteady stride. The funny thing is, though, the negative connotation I have with the actual act of running has started to go away. I wonder if it's because I'm choosing to be there, and I feel like it's for an actual purpose. When you're 12, there seems to be no reason at all to be asked to run half a mile in front of your peers, wearing hideous red shorts and doing everything you can to hide your pit stains. It just seems like a really mean social experiment, and you start to imagine ways to make Mr. Jones disappear without anyone tracing the crime back to you.

Hopefully, when I'm ready to move this running campaign outside and hit the streets, the old man won't be in my thoughts at all. Or maybe if he is, I'll just flip him the hand gesture that my dad was brave enough to do when he was just a kid.

I'm totally a runner now

OK, I just lied. : ) Technically, no, I cannot call myself a runner, as in one who runs for lengths of time. I could maybe call myself a runnette, as in one who runs for shorts of time.

A couple of posts ago I said I was going to try my hand at running, even though I swore up and down I never ever would. Because it's hard. And because my memories of sixth-grade gym class are all bad. And that's literally the last time I ran for any solid length of time.

But then a pal, Shane Frederick, forwarded me a link to the Runners World version of a couch to 5K program, and it looked manageable. It starts with walking for two minutes, running for 1, and then repeating that combo ten times. And that's the entire first week. And to make it easier, every other day the first week is just walking. It seemed like everyone could do that. Everyone!

So I was all, "I've got this." Because, if you know me even remotely well, you know I'm the absolute worst kind of human being: the kind who, in their own mind, is the expert on everything and can do absolutely everything. My only redeeming quality is that, when I make the attempt at whatever it is and then fail miserably, I become humble awfully quick. I don't try to save face in an annoyingly arrogant way. I just bow my head and apologize to my audience.

Today, this very scene played out as I tackled day one of my couch to 5K. My first running lap and a half around the track at the Y, I was all, "What's so hard about this? Excuse me, walkers, I'm on your left," with ponytail swinging in a triumphant wave as I passed with gusto.

By minute 20 of the program: (I approach a couple walking side by side, about to break into a wobbly, unsteady jog) "I'm so sorry. Can I get by? My first day of a stupid couch to 5K. (huff, puff) I'm really bad at this! I haven't run since the sixth grade! (huff, puff)" The couple half-smiles, thinking, "Can't she move this trainwreck outside?"

To make matters worse, an old high school classmate entered the track to walk. She probably flashed back to middle school, too, and thought, "She hasn't changed much."

All in all, a humbling experience. I am conditioned to do an easy 60 minutes on the elliptical or in a Step aerobics class. But running is another level. The good news, though, is that I'm usually up for a challenge.

West girl explodes on web after 'American Idol' performance

Before Wednesday night, a google search of Shelby Tweten didn't turn up much. A couple of pictures, a private Facebook site, her Twitter account and a mention of her on "American Idol" fan sites and blog entries.

Google her right now. Go ahead. I'll wait.

She has EXPLODED. Mtv.com has a graph on her in their "Idol" roundup. Newsday.com's "Idol" blog writer Jamshid Mousavinezhad even said Tweten was her favorite of the season under this headline: Bipolar Shelby Tweten is 'fearless' and fantastic on 'American Idol.'

From PopCrush: 'American Idol' Aspen Auditions Recap: Shelby Tweten, Jenni Schick Win Our Hearts

Hollywood Life: 'American Idol' Recap: Bipolar Teen Wants To Be Known For More Than Disorder

It's clear that Shelby made an impression on America on Wednesday's show, and she certainly made an impression on the judges. Read all about her performance here.

Tweten could be on 'American Idol' tonight!

Tonight could very well be the night we see Mankato West High School student Shelby Tweten on "American Idol."

Tweten was said to have auditioned for the show in Colorado, and tonight's episode features Colorado auditions. Now, not all singers who get through to Hollywood get much air time. Some are just glimpses, and heck, with so many good singers, it's possible some don't get much airtime at all.

However, if you see a post below, you'll see that various fan sites and blogs have leaked the Top 42 contestants list, and Shelby is on it. Some are even saying that the judges are really, really liking Shelby. So perhaps that hints at us getting to hear her sing tonight.

I wonder what crazy things Steven Tyler will say about her? Exciting! Tune it at 7 p.m. on Fox. Or see tomorrow's Free Press for what happened.

'A.I.' blogs: West student in top 42 on 'American Idol'

So hard to keep secrets now that the Internet spreads rumors so very quickly these days ...

"American Idol" blogs and fan sites have leaked the top 42 contestants list, and guess what? Mankato's Shelby Tweten is on it. One site even said the judges are totally geeking out over her.

Where do they get this info? Who knows. Maybe a contestant that got voted off. Maybe someone who works on the show. Who knows? But if it's true, we could have a star in the making right here at West High School.

An anonymous source even said "American Idol" had made an inquiry about shooting footage in Mankato. How exciting!

Tweten is involved in Orchesis at West and she sings the national anthem at area events, including MoonDogs games. She's quite a talented young lady.

"American Idol" kicked off its new season Wednesday with Georgia auditions. Tweten audition in Colorado. No word on when those auditions will be aired, but be sure and tune in to cheer her on!