HIMYM and 2 Broke Girls: Good Start to Premiere Week/Month(s)

So I didn't liveblog last night - that much is obvious. But I'm here to tell you that last night was a really good start to my personal premiere season, and I'm super excited for the rest of the week!

"How I Met Your Mother" saw the return of BEERCULES! Of course, I didn't remember Beercules in the first place, but that doesn't make him any less awesome. 

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!

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We found out that Barney DOES eventually get married, that Robin still loves him, that Marshall is going to start his dream job soon, that he and Lily are becoming parents and that Victoria is back!! But I'll get to that. 

First, I love when TV shows give nods to pop culture - I thought the whole "autotune Ted's wedding toast" idea was genius, and the YouTube theme of the night, which included Marshall's streaking escapades as "Beercules," was equally entertaining.

Moving onto relationships, I loved finding out that Robin still has feelings for Barney, but it broke my heart when the whole Nora dilemma came into play. Of course, it wouldn't be a television show if everyone fell in love easily and lasted forever. I admire Barney's efforts, and his attempts to change, but it kills me that they're clearly aimed in the wrong direction. 

Finally, I really truly thought Victoria might the mother once upon a time, and now I have a glimmer of hope that it's still possible. I can't say much more about that... I just can't wait to see where all this goes this season.  

Anyway, moving on - 

I always wonder when a new show starts if it's going to be able to keep my attention. There's always a chance, of course, that it keeps my attention but not America's and it gets canceled before its time, but that's none of my concern just yet. 

"2 Broke Girls" came out swinging last night. My first reaction was shock at the vulgarity of some of the jokes, but I really settled into it quickly, and it definitely kept my attention. 

The main characters are witty - but not annoying witty like the "Gilmore Girls" were - and are, for the most part quite likeable. "Max" is played by Kat Dennings, whom I remember fondly from "40-Year-Old Virgin."

I can't say much else because I have a terrible memory and should have done this last night - except that I'm intrigued by the concept of a running "cash total" at the end of the episode. 

TV Premiere Season Starts Tomorrow!

Television premiere series starts tomorrow with How I Met Your Mother at 7 p.m. on CBS. I am not entirely sure what's supposed to go down this episode. All I know is there's a wedding, and that Barney has apparently not cut his fingernails in 36 years.

I am hoping to do some liveblogging during the commercial breaks of most of the season premieres on my calendar, but I'm not making any promises. I keep a pretty tight schedule these days. Anyway, you can keep up with that on Twitter @lauranette. 

My Fall 2011 Premiere Calendar

Here is my Fall 2011 Premiere Calendar. Will be back to add details, but for now, here's my list (CST):

Mon., Sept. 19 HIMYM | 7p CBS Tues., Sept. 20 Glee | 7p FOX Biggest Loser | 7p NBC The New Girl | 8p FOX Raising Hope | 8:30p FOX Wed., Sept 21 Modern Family |8p ABC Thurs., Sept. 22 Big Bang Theory | 7p CBS Grey's Anatomy | 8p ABC The Office | 8p NBC

Fri., Sept. 23 Supernatural | 8p CW11 Ashmore Estates on Ghost Adventures | 8p Travel Channel  Sun., Sept. 25 Pan Am | 9p ABC Mon., Sept. 26 Terra Nova |7p FOX Wed., Sept. 28 Suburgatory | 7:30 ABC Thurs., Sept. 29 Private Practice | 9p ABC

Wed., Oct. 5 American Horror Story | 9p FX Sun., Oct. 16  The Walking Dead | 8p AMC Fri., Oct. 21 Grimm | 8p NBC Sun., Oct. 23 (will be at Supernatural Convention in Chicago) Once Upon a Time | 7p  ABC

What are you looking forward to?

A friend got me into Google+...

...and after reading several articles and exploring a little myself, I have some initial thoughts. Most have to deal with the question I'm seeing all over the internet - Can Google+ Beat Facebook?

If that's even the right question, I think it's too soon to tell.

I don't remember where I read it, but one blogger suggested that while Google is obviously a web giant that employs extremely talented programmers with fantastic ideas - they aren't really a social network company, are they? I mean, look at Orkut.

Now don't get me wrong - Google+ has a plethora of pretty awesome features, including Circles, which will allow users to share with certain social circles instead of with everyone they know, and Huddle, instant group messaging that sounds super awesome but somehow not all that different from services like GroupMe (correct me if I'm wrong). The two that stand out to me the most are Hangout - a video chatroom of sorts that appears to be a lot more user friendly than, say, Skype, and doesn't involve downloading a program onto your hard drive - and Instant Upload for photos (and I assume videos), which as a photography enthusiast, is quite a draw.

Possibly even more exciting is easy integration on the web browsers and Google services I already use, especially for sharing (+1 is kind of like Digg and StumbleUpon), privacy defaults that aren't as obtrusive as Facebook's, and the ability to download everything you've ever shared on + in one neat little zip folder if you choose to do so. Also kind of nice - thanks to my Google profile, my + profile setup was already 75% complete when I signed up. All these things put Google in a nice position, even if Facebook has a head start.

Still - even considering the masses of people who migrated from the (formerly) immensely popular MySpace to Facebook, I think most are naturally resistant to change without a damn good reason. In the case of MySpace, at least for me, there were so many reasons it seemed like a no-brainer - Facebook was cleaner, people used their real names, and it was somewhat exclusive at the time (i.e. I didn't get spammed all the time) to name a few. It's going to be a question of whether these Google+ features outweigh Facebook's, and whether they actually make that big of a difference for the majority of people.

While sharing with specific circles sounds enticing, I think that despite the moaning and groaning, most people LIKE broadcasting their every move to everyone they know. They like growing their social networks as big as they can go. I can see people creating circles and still sharing the same stuff with all of them.

Two more things to consider - 1. Facebook Connect. While Google certainly would have the ability to do something similar with + in the future, there's not a similar service built into the current version. Even when people aren't on Facebook, they're using Facebook these days. 2. Facebook has been around something like 6 years and we've seen almost as many versions already. Even if Google+'s features outweigh Facebook's now, that's not to say Facebook won't come out with something just as useful in future versions. As much as I love Google products, the people at Facebook know what they're doing. As long as Mark Zuckerberg is around, I don't see Facebook going down anytime soon. Even if the "cool" factor shifts to Google+ (which is probably inevitable, at least in the beginning), Facebook won't be any less useful - and it's because it's useful, not cool, that it does so well.

My friends, and coworkers especially, know me as the girl who pushes Google services at every turn (i.e. as a web editor, every time someone has a problem viewing something online I always push them to switch to Chrome, anytime anyone moans about slow e-mail and full inboxes I push them toward Gmail, and I've even converted a few iPhone devotees to Android lovers). I would suggest everyone check it out, and I'll certainly be on it - but I don't think it's going to "beat" Facebook per se.

Bonnaroo Craziness

Justin is over here right now and we're getting ready to put some CDs together. I just came up with my list of priorities (at least how it looks today). Keep posted on my Roo Rants via http://bonnaroovirgin.blogspot.com.

May 27 Update

Just dropping in. 
Here are some things I've been up to lately:

• I graduated from Lewis and Clark Community College this month. I didn't walk because I already did that when I got my bachelor's from EIU (that, and I shot photos for work at the ceremony instead ;)), but I did earn an Associate in Applied Science in Web Design. 
• I'm in my fifth week on Weight Watchers online and actually, I love it. The last couple weeks have been slow going, but I'm down about 12 pounds, and I'm feeling good while eating the things I want to eat (but better portion sizes) and still learning to be healthier overall. Cravings for the bad stuff come and go, but as long as I have some form of chocolate (even tiny amounts) I'm usually good to go. 
• Two weeks from today, I will be at Bonnaroo enjoying its best day (the one with the most stacked schedule for me). I haven't decided how I'm going to cover it this year. Maybe just on Twitter. It's my first year with a smartphone after all. I've really neglected Bonnaroo Virgin, but the week after next I'll probably be posting a lot more since I'll be off work and getting pumped.
• Tonight I'll go running with my Bonnaroo crew for the first time, as we are preparing to run the Warrior Dash in Missouri in October. I ran the St. Patrick's Day 5-Mile Parade Run in March and it was a lot of fun! Only thing is I had shin splints days later from overdoing it - so I really want to prepare well this time. It's a shorter race but its off-road and there are obstacles ;) Follow my training or friend me at DailyMile.com!
• In July, we're going to Pitchfork Festival as well. I'm only going on Saturday, but the boys are there all weekend so I get some quality time with Brian. We're going to see Harry Potter 7!

I think that's about it. See you next time!

What would you do if caught "Between a Rock and a Hard Place"

Hey there, it's been awhile. My mind has totally been occupied by other things lately - mainly, work, school, and this.

It's the story of Aron Ralston, a great outdoorsman who becomes trapped in a canyon with his right arm crushed under an 800-lb boulder and must amputate that arm using only a blunt multi-tool as a surgical instrument and climbing gear as an impromptu tourniquet, just to survive.

It's truly an inspiring story. Even though Aron was an experienced mountain climber and canyoneer and in better shape than the average American at the time of his accident, the whole incident begs the question - what would you or I have done to survive in a similar situation? Or would we?

David and I had been wanting to watch the movie "127 Hours" since the Academy Awards a few weeks ago, so when Family Video was all out on the day of its release, I opted to go to Wal-Mart and just buy the film instead - and I'm glad I did.

The music (A. R. Rahman and various artists) is brilliant and director Danny Boyle somehow manages to make a movie that's mostly one actor stuck in the same place the whole time play like an exciting, nail biting action drama - but the real magic for me is all about actor James Franco's amazing portrayal of the main character, Aron Ralston. You can't help but connect with the guy, and feel what he's feeling, and I think without that - this movie wouldn't have been so successful.

Knowing the story going into the film for the first time only adds to the experience - you cringe as he feels around his home cabinet and brushes by (but leaves behind) his Swiss Army knife, you see the beauty of the canyonlands as he takes it all in, you feel his pain and fear as a boulder traps him in the wilderness with limited options, and you anxiously await the moment when he's freed, half excited to see him walk out of there alive, and half afraid because you know what he does to make that happen.

Yes, the amputation scene is gruesome, but totally crucial to the storyline. Some people can't handle it, and should probably look away for those three minutes (although, fair warning - the sound is almost as bad as the visual). I, on the other hand, am used to watching crime dramas and hospital dramas so the sight of blood and guts are not so physically debilitating to me. I will say, however, that knowing this is based on something that really happened, paired with great sound editing and cinematography, this scene is emotionally stressful, for lack of a better way of describing it.

I watched the movie twice, but I still could not stop thinking about Aron Ralston. So yesterday, I visited the library and took out "Between a Rock and a Hard Place," which is the same story in book form, told by the real survivor himself. I'm currently to the part where he's just gotten trapped, and I can't wait to get home to read on. Even though I know what happens, and I've seen Boyle's genius interpretation, just to read the real Ralston's own words describing the unthinkable is... exhilarating. It's almost as if you're there with him as you're reading, living it and cheering him on, even though most of us will (thankfully) never find ourselves in any situation like it.

Here's the "127 Hours" trailer. If you haven't seen this movie or read this book, please do. You'll be doing yourself a favor.