Birthday Run!

Zach here with the final softball update:  Birthday boy Blake Krevolin was a single shy of hitting for the cycle at last night's victory over Nelson.  A home run in the first inning followed by a double and then a triple secured Krevolin's place in the JKRP Softball record books in the category of "best performance on your own birthday."  The bats for the rest of the lineup were on fire, with many extra base hits and two additional home runs.  Positions were shuffled a bit in both the infield and outfield, but the team's defense remained tight throughout the game.  Solid fielding and laser-accurate throws kept Nelson at bay, allowing the offense to take control.    

The lead changed every inning, with JKRP up by three in the top of the 7th.  Surprisingly good hitting and a slide into first base put the scrappy Nelson team on top by one as the bottom of the JKRP order came to bat.  The future looked bleak, but Dan Howard and Laura Woolford managed to get on base.  Both were later forced out at second, leaving guest-star Mike Krevolin perched on first as Jason Wistreich stepped into the batter's box.  I honestly  have no idea where he hit the ball, but I know that Mike rounded the bases to tie it up and a throwing error allowed Jason to score the walk-off run.  What looked like a 13-14 loss a few minutes before turned into a glorious 15-14 victory to end the season. 

The team will be gathering at the Pub next Wednesday during normal softball hours to continue the beer consumption, but without the swinging of bats or running of bases.

Chicago!

 

Marissa here:  I recently returned from a four day excursion to Chicago.  It’s a wonderful place with clean streets, beautiful parks, public art, and impressive architecture.  It also offers other things that I love like delicious food (hello Rick Bayliss, hot dogs, and deep dish pizza), Goose Island IPA (best IPA I have had in a while), and baseball.  Yes, I had the chance to be at Wrigley’s when Roy Halladay succumbed to the heat.  SAD!  There were many architectural highlights including Frank Lloyd Wright’s old stomping ground of Oak Park, the Chicago Architectural Foundation’s boat tour, Willis Tower Skydeck, the Rookery, and Carson Pirie Scott.  Although I would have to say that some of the most memorable things to me were the attention to detail and beauty and the city's wonderful parks.  The Art Institute of Chicago featured a hallway of architectural drawings all ink on linen from the late 1890s that were beyond beautiful.  The Chicago Cultural (top picture) center features the world’s largest stained glass Tiffany dome and gorgeous mosaics.  The bottom picture is the beautiful Lurie Garden with Renzo Piano's Modern Wing of the AIC beyond. 

Ahhh Vacation....

Izzo Here:  No architect ever goes on a vacation without seeing a significant piece of architecture.  In keeping with tradition, I went to the little known island of Tenerife off the coast of Spain, not really to see a significant piece of architecture, but I wasn't about to travel 4,000 miles and not see this building.  Pretty cool piece of architecture if you ask me.  This is Santiago Calatrava's Auditorio de Tenerife. Not only is it an amazing piece of architecture, it's a pretty bangin' piece of engineering.  I think they value engineered the straight wall out of the project though.  It could have been REALLY cool.  

"Like Walking Through a Blanket, A Wet Hot Blanket"

Zach here with the weekly softball recap:  The 2-game JKRP win streak came to a sad, sweaty end Wednesday night as the softball team fell to the #2 ranked sluggers of H2L2.  The JKR defense was solid, giving up only a few fielding and throwing errors.  H2L2 kept star left fielder Pete Hartenstine on his toes, sending 80% of their hits directly to his position for a series of easy outs.  


It took 7 innings to bat through our order twice, illustrating either the prowess of the opposition's fielding abilities or JKRP's lack of hit production.  One bright spot came late in the game, when "Little" Dave McClafferty hit a home run over the right fielder's head, bringing himself and "Original" Dave Urffer in to score.  The other bright spot was the tray of brownies, which were delicious.  


With one game to go, the JKRP team is looking to end the regular season with a win next week.  

The Stoogeum

Dave here: Recently, my family and I visited a shrine to one of the most well known comedy teams of all time – the Three Stooges. The venue is called the Stoogeum, located in a small building within an office park in Spring House, PA. The building was originally an old stone barn, which had been converted to an architect’s office (more on that later), which was then renovated and expanded to create the museum. Inside are three floors chronicling the history of the Stooges, with displays ranging from photos to movie posters to arcade games.  There is also an 85-seat auditorium continuously showing the Stooges’ shorts.

As mentioned, the building was previously an architect’s office. While that may not seem significant, it was the firm that Jerry, Glenn and I had worked at previously. My desk was located where the gift shop now stands. Jerry and Glenn sat where the auditorium was constructed. I love the irony.

The Stoogeum is open one Saturday a month, and admission is free. Check out their web site for more info and their schedule. ( www.stoogeum.com ) Any fan of comedy will enjoy a visit to the Stoogeum!

Once that shirt's on, she's all business.

Zach with the weekly softball update (a day late, but whatever):  Two outs were all we needed to end the game with another victory.  Two outs is what short-fielder (and team treat-provider) Jen Whary gave us, adjusting to each hit and making the catches look easy.    


The JKRP team took to the field in great form Wednesday night, putting 13 runs on the board with solid hitting (including a home run).  The defense turned in some quick innings, with both infield and outfield stepping up to make plays.  Throws were accurate, bags were covered, and everyone played like we knew what we were doing out there.  We were leading the WRT team going into the top of the 7th inning, and Jen's epic catches (along with her heroic traffic-stop earlier in the game) made her the MVP of the night.


With two regular season games left to play, the team is ready to continue their first winning streak of the decade and finish above .500.       

Only in Texas...

Greg here: If you thought the fake beer mug app on your iPhone was cool...you'll be happy to hear that the world now has its first microbrewery/movie theater. Flix Brewhouse located in Round Rock, TX is that place. The place where the stars come out and the pints of beer go down. JKR Partners worked with Flix to design this 6-six screen viewing/dining experience that allows patrons to order dinner and beverages from the comfort of their own seats while enjoying first-run movies on the big screen. We're not just talking popcorn and pretzel bites here either...we're talking Louisiana mac n' cheese with crawfish. Does that taste good? I have no idea...but the point is: Flix has it.

Hip-Hip-Jose!

Zach with the weekly softball report:  Jose Hernandez didn't wake up Wednesday morning thinking that he would bring in the winning run in the bottom of the 7th inning that night.  He went to bed, however, knowing that he did just that.  Tight defense kept the JKR softball team in the game, and they were only down three runs when their last batters took to the plate.  Strong hits and smart running (aided by excellent base coaching) steadily marched the batters around the diamond, tying the game at 11 when Hernandez stepped into the box.  With one out and runners in scoring position, Jose only had to pop up deep or send a blooper over the heads of the infield to bring the winning run home.  He did neither.  A hard line drive tight to the third base line allowed the runners to advance and gave the JKR squad another win in their turnaround season.


Also worthy of note: an excellent home-brewed beer made an appearance on the JKR bench, marking the first time a keg has been tapped at a softball game.

Montreal

Lauren here:  Last week I took a train trip to Montreal with my siblings.  Despite the rainy weather we had a great time exploring the city.  Here are two photos from the trip.  The first was taken at the sculpture garden at the Canadian Center for Architecture.  We saw an awesome rainbow after walking two miles to the museum in the rain.  The second photo is from the Biosphere museum.  It is housed inside the geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller as the US pavilion at Expo 67.  In the foreground is a solar house designed by Montreal students for the 2007 Solar Decathlon in Washington D.C.