Funny lunch reading: IJ & KCS: The Abridged Script.
Via Waxy. ";}i:1;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Historic Hoops";s:4:"link";s:55:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/06/historic_hoops.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.146";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-06-18T05:48:25Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-18T05:51:49Z";s:7:"summary";s:69:"KG finally gets his ring. And the Lakers get absolutely throttled....";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:227:"HARRISON FORD
What are we doing in the Amazon?
KAREN ALLEN
Cate wants to return the Crystal MacGuffin to the ancient City of Gold.
HARRISON FORD
City of Gold? Isn't that what Nicolas Cage was looking for in National Treasure 2? Are we seriously getting the plot for our shitty sequel to Indiana Jones by ripping off the plot of a shitty sequel to a shitty knock-off of Indiana Jones? I feel like that should unravel the space-time continuum or something.
KG finally gets his ring.
And the Lakers get absolutely throttled.
";}i:2;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:8:"Historic";s:4:"link";s:49:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/06/historic.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.145";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-06-18T05:31:21Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-18T05:39:08Z";s:7:"summary";s:39:"Via Curt, photos of Iowa underwater....";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:243:" Via Curt, photos of Iowa underwater. ";}i:3;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:21:"Requiem for A Day Off";s:4:"link";s:62:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/06/requiem_for_a_day_off.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.144";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-06-18T05:15:08Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-18T05:17:07Z";s:7:"summary";s:235:"Also love stuff like this, where one or two minor changes -- music from a very dark movie, and four minutes of editing -- render something familiar into an entirely different experience. Link via Kottke. Here's more of that haunting...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:1028:"Also love stuff like this, where one or two minor changes -- music from a very dark movie, and four minutes of editing -- render something familiar into an entirely different experience.
Link via Kottke.
Here's more of that haunting score, as seen in one of the most amazing auditions ever on So You Think You Can Dance.
Absolutely sick-riculous.
";}i:4;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:20:"Change Is In The Air";s:4:"link";s:61:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/06/change_is_in_the_air.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.143";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-06-17T19:38:32Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-17T19:40:19Z";s:7:"summary";s:261:"Love articles like these where assumptions are challenged, and people (read: big companies) are willing to question why they do the things they do. It's Wednesday morning at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and the United Airlines check-in area is a mob...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:1938:"Love articles like these where assumptions are challenged, and people (read: big companies) are willing to question why they do the things they do.
It's Wednesday morning at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and the United Airlines check-in area is a mob scene. Passengers queue up in a line that runs the length of the counter and doubles back. Customers waiting for agents block the self-serve kiosks. Finished passengers must push through the crowd again. Average check-in time: 25 to 30 minutes.
Down the hall at Alaska Airlines, employees roam a spacious hall, directing customers toward kiosks. Lines aren't more than three deep, and travelers are on their way to security in eight minutes or less. One woman pauses, looking confused, and another turns and says, "It's this new check-in thing. Don't worry, it's really fast."
Moving customers from frustration to relief--in a fraction of the time--has been at the root of Alaska Airlines' Airport of the Future project. The carrier has spent more than a decade designing a better way to get customers through airport check-in, debuting the first iteration in its Anchorage terminal in 2004. Last October, the $3.3 billion carrier began rolling out its redesign in Seattle, where Alaska and its sister airline, Horizon, have almost 50% market share. The project, to be completed in May, has already reduced wait times and increased agent productivity. "People come to the airport expecting to stand in line," says Ed White, Alaska's VP of corporate real estate, who ran the project. "It's an indictment of our industry."
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/123/hustle-and-flow.html
Via Signal vs. Noise. ";}i:5;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:11:"Good Things";s:4:"link";s:52:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/06/good_things.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.142";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-06-17T00:15:27Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-17T00:23:09Z";s:7:"summary";s:235:"Posting has been sporadic, mostly due to a slew of family activities and a fairly busy schedule at the office. But I'm going to take a moment, here, to describe the awesomeness that is mid-June in Minneapolis. Temperatures appear to...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:948:" Posting has been sporadic, mostly due to a slew of family activities and a fairly busy schedule at the office. But I'm going to take a moment, here, to describe the awesomeness that is mid-June in Minneapolis. Temperatures appear to be hovering around 70 degrees or so. A slight breeze pushes through the trees in the neighborhood. Birds are singing from all directions, and occasionally light down in the yard. I'm using my laptop in the backyard, where sprinkler is back-and-forthing over by the garage, making sure to cover not only the newly planted peonie, but the flowers on the other side of the yard, in the planter box that lines our patio. Instead of enjoying the wireless -- and the fading evening sun -- at the patio table, I'm relaxing in the hammock underneath the maple (one of our two oldest, tallest trees). Everything is blue and green and pleasant and warm. All in all, a very good way to wrap up a Monday. ";}i:6;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:9:"Overheard";s:4:"link";s:50:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/06/overheard.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.141";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-06-08T17:06:26Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-08T17:17:10Z";s:7:"summary";s:256:"While the eight-year-old daughter was in the middle of a Sunday morning construction project. She'd just turned the page on the instructions and realized she was about to start adding some of swiveling side-mount cannons: "that's awesome, with a capital...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:482:"
While the eight-year-old daughter was in the middle of a Sunday morning construction project.
She'd just turned the page on the instructions and realized she was about to start adding some of swiveling side-mount cannons: "that's awesome, with a capital "A!"
";}i:7;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:19:"Stuff From All Over";s:4:"link";s:60:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/06/stuff_from_all_over.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.140";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-06-07T14:42:23Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-08T17:15:44Z";s:7:"summary";s:232:"Some interesting reading from the past couple of weeks, in no particular order, that I meant to write about then but didn't get around to until now. Applying Divine Proportion to Your Web Designs (via Vinny) 10 Books on Investing...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:1978:"Some interesting reading from the past couple of weeks, in no particular order, that I meant to write about then but didn't get around to until now.
Hallo. My name is Prince Caspian the Tenth. Joo killed my fodder. Prepare to die.
Update: the joke probably makes more sense if you've seen the movie. And although you only get to hear Prince Caspian utter one line in the trailer (at about the 0:33 mark), imagine more of the same throughout the entire flick.
";}i:11;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:8:"Mini Civ";s:4:"link";s:49:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/05/mini_civ.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.136";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-05-16T02:02:12Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-05-16T02:13:29Z";s:7:"summary";s:232:"Wow. I'd been looking for a good Civilization like strategy game for my Nintendo DS. Not searching all that hard, really, just wishing for a good, portable turn-based strategy game. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is kind of fun, sort...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:798:"Wow. I'd been looking for a good Civilization like strategy game for my Nintendo DS. Not searching all that hard, really, just wishing for a good, portable turn-based strategy game. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is kind of fun, sort of, but not really much in the way of grand empire building. I'd figured the game I was looking for simply didn't exist.
What a pleasant surprise, then, to discover that Civ is, in fact, making a move to consoles, including the DS. Comes out in early July. Woo-hoo!
";}i:12;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:18:"55 Year Old Scotch";s:4:"link";s:59:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/05/55_year_old_scotch.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.135";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-05-14T02:14:35Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-05-14T02:38:26Z";s:7:"summary";s:217:"I was reading about this a month or so ago. Not sure what prompted me to remember it now, but in case anybody's visiting the Twin Cities later this summer, and wants to spend anywhere from $500 to $2,000 (depending...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:1551:"I was reading about this a month or so ago. Not sure what prompted me to remember it now, but in case anybody's visiting the Twin Cities later this summer, and wants to spend anywhere from $500 to $2,000 (depending on how many "shots" you want) on some very well-aged single malt scotch, then the St. Paul Hotel is the place for you.
In time for the biggest political bash to hit the Twin Cities in living memory, one St. Paul bar has made an extravagant business decision: to corner the market on the best booze in town.
Republicans coming to their national convention in September can buy a "pony shot" of 55-year-old single-malt scotch, fresh from a famed 184-year-old distillery in the Scottish Highlands.
For $525 a glass.
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Heh. I was struggling with the concept of spending $15 for a glass of 12-year old Macallan at the hotel bar while I was in India (ultimately deciding that it just wasn't worth it). I can't even begin to imagine the stratosphere where you're willing to spend the five bills on one ounce of alcohol. I mean, I'd be sitting in those rich leather chairs thinking that I could buy an entire bottle of 25-year-old Macallan for the same price as one ounce of the 55-year-old stuff. Or, heck, give me a case of really good wine for the same price as either of the single-malt-scotch options.
See, that's my problem. Always looking for a better deal.
";}i:13;a:9:{s:5:"title";s:20:"25 Percent -- Yikes!";s:4:"link";s:57:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/2008/05/25_percent_yikes.html";s:2:"id";s:37:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2008://2.134";s:9:"published";s:20:"2008-05-14T00:59:25Z";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-05-14T01:17:45Z";s:7:"summary";s:230:"Again, from Kottke, we've got a list of 1,001 things to do/see before you die. Although the most recent movie is from 2005 (missing out on The Departed, Pan's Labyrinth, and, inexplicably, both Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle...";s:6:"author";s:23:" ";s:11:"author_name";s:3:"RKB";s:12:"atom_content";s:8204:"Again, from Kottke, we've got a list of 1,001 things to do/see before you die. Although the most recent movie is from 2005 (missing out on The Departed, Pan's Labyrinth, and, inexplicably, both Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure), it's still pretty comprehensive. Bottom line? For an english major, I've watched way too many movies, and haven't read enough good books.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)Spotted this last week in advance of the Players Championship. I've hacked my way through more than a few golf courses in my day, but this is exceptional.
Playing from the championship tees at Pete Dye's unforgiving TPC Sawgrass course, Spagnolo was ensconced in a bitter battle for worst of the worst with fellow competitor Jack Pulford, at 104 over par through 16 holes.Ouch. Just like Tin Cup, except with much worse golfing. ";}}s:7:"channel";a:7:{s:5:"title";s:18:"A Work in Progress";s:4:"link";s:28:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/";s:9:"link_self";s:36:"http://www.robertkbrown.com/atom.xml";s:2:"id";s:39:"tag:www.robertkbrown.com,2007-08-08://2";s:7:"updated";s:20:"2008-06-19T17:31:20Z";s:8:"subtitle";s:57:"History is nothing more than a vast collection of todays.";s:9:"generator";s:28:"Movable Type Open Source 4.1";}s:9:"textinput";a:0:{}s:5:"image";a:0:{}s:9:"feed_type";s:4:"Atom";s:12:"feed_version";N;s:5:"stack";a:0:{}s:9:"inchannel";b:0;s:6:"initem";b:0;s:9:"incontent";b:0;s:11:"intextinput";b:0;s:7:"inimage";b:0;s:13:"current_field";s:0:"";s:17:"current_namespace";b:0;s:5:"ERROR";s:0:"";s:19:"_CONTENT_CONSTRUCTS";a:6:{i:0;s:7:"content";i:1;s:7:"summary";i:2;s:4:"info";i:3;s:5:"title";i:4;s:7:"tagline";i:5;s:9:"copyright";}s:13:"last_modified";s:31:"Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:31:32 GMT ";s:4:"etag";s:23:""b802e-7f18-591ee500" ";}
Then came No. 17.
Often called the most exciting hole in golf, the par-3 17th hole frequently is referred to as having an island green, but it's really a peninsula, with a thin strip of land allowing players access to the putting surface from the left side and water surrounding it from all other directions. To Spagnolo, it was intimidation personified.
"That could have been the English Channel I was trying to hit across," he says. "It was that daunting of a shot. It just looked like a near impossible idea to contemplate."
On his initial tee shot, Spagnolo found the water hazard. He hit another and found the water again. And again. And again. And again.
"It was painful to watch," Carney says. "Funny at first, and then not funny at all. You can't get a hip-high wedge shot to stop on a green like the 17th from 100 yards. [He] hit the green seven times. Those shots had no chance of staying on the green."
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