tag:liamhurley.com,2005:/blogs/web-log?p=1Web Log2024-02-23T05:33:00-05:00Liam Hurleyfalsetag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844832010-05-27T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:51:28-05:00The Curse
<p>hello!
i finally finished my new video for Josh Ritter's song, "The Curse." Marionette Mummies!
check it out here:
<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/gxWxiuJRApU&hl=en_US&fs=1&">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
<embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/gxWxiuJRApU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
or here:
http://n.pr/dmvgkH
Enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844822010-01-10T19:00:00-05:002022-08-21T11:24:48-04:00Anne Frank
<p>I am currently ensconced in the halls of Yale University, working puppets on a wonderful show about the life of Meyer Levin, a writer who helped The Diary of Anne Frank find publishing in English.
http://www.yalerep.org/on_stage/2009-10/compulsion.html
today, miep gies, the woman who collected and protected Anne's diary, died at 100 yrs. old.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-11/miep-gies-dutch-woman-who-found-anne-frank-diary-dies-at-100.html
come check out the show; it's gonna be goooooooooood!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844812009-11-24T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T12:26:20-05:00Muppetian Rhapsody
<p>here's and incredible video featuring almost the entire muppet cast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844802009-11-23T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T11:58:28-05:00@avary
<p>roger avary, who wrote Pulp Fiction (among others), is serving a year in jail for vehicular manslaughter and DUI. he is tweeting the experience in 140 characters or less. absolutely riveting:
http://twitter.com/avary</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844792009-11-14T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T13:57:03-05:00posters!
<p>here's a collection of ridiculous science fair projects.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/35-amazing-science-fair-projects
my favorite is "electricity vs. cat"</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844782009-11-13T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T12:05:38-05:00bridges!
<p>here's a admittedly lame poll from huffington post with an admittedly awesome collection of pictures of bridges, some real, some simply as designs. enjoy!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/best-bridges-the-most-ama_n_355675.html?slidenumber=B7VW0DALTI4=</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844772009-11-07T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T12:08:29-05:00Duffy and the Crab
<p>ok. i love this for it's weirdness. it's 80's icon Patrick Duffy doing small shorts with a crab puppet.
i'm not kidding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k3oahdeYIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8JSt9PQZT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osIfR2IQyXk&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwaWrHuHxvg&feature=related</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844762009-10-20T20:00:00-04:002023-11-07T17:05:58-05:00su-su-sudi-oh-no
<p>after surgery, phil collins can apparently no longer feel his fingers, which disqualifies him from drumming.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/surgery-left-phil-collins_n_325719.html
say what you will about his music; phil collins is an awesome drummer.
need evidence? here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy52yueBX_s</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844752009-10-19T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:43:15-05:00you've got talent!
<p>via kottke, here's an amazing performance from a Ukranian woman sand painting a dramatization of Germany's invasion of the Ukraine during WWII.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cri7aQHRT7k
really amazing stuff.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844742009-10-14T20:00:00-04:002022-05-27T11:03:51-04:00uh-huh.
<p>it looks as if the Official Band of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, a-ha, is packing it in. c'est la vie!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8308829.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844732009-10-13T20:00:00-04:002022-08-06T07:33:52-04:00Mr. Kite
<p>I just watched julie tamoor's Across The Unvierse last night and loved about 60% of it.
by the grace of youtube, here is the best part, with Mr. Eddie Izzard playing Mr. Kite in a psychedelic reinterpretation of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ahx9ckqIw
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844722009-10-11T20:00:00-04:002024-02-23T05:32:59-05:00hell yeah, buzz!
<p>here's an op ed piece from buzz aldrin, the 2nd man to stand on the only other celestial body mankind has ever set foot.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/buzz-aldrin/a-different-kind-of-moon_b_317786.html
here's video of mr. buzz aldrin punching out a lunar-landing denialist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOo6aHSY8hU</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844712009-10-04T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T12:00:48-05:00Red Book
<p>here is a fascinating NY Times magazine article about the forthcoming publication of Carl Jung's Red Book, a collection of his innermost dreams written in beautiful script and highly detailed drawings:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/magazine/20jung-t.html
I'm chipping away at Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth, whose work seems to dovetail nicely with Jung's idea of a collective unconscious.
i definitely plan on visiting the Red Book when it's on tour at the Rubin Museum!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844702009-07-07T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:32:57-05:00Chrome
<p>here's a news story about Google launching Chrome, an OS designed to challenge Windows' dominance. Chrome was designed more for netbooks, or mini laptops, and uses an open source protocol, allowing users to design there own OS, and not rely on the Windows package deal.
Go google! don't be evil, though.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/08/technology/google_chrome/index.htm?postversion=2009070807</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844692009-07-04T20:00:00-04:002022-08-06T06:57:59-04:00swatting?
<p>this a story from wired.com about a 19 yr old blind hacker who operates entirely by phone, using his extensive knowledge of the phone system and his exceptional memory to wreak havoc.
in a world of cyberterrorism threats, it's nice to know you can still get by with a dial tone....
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/blind_hacker/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844682009-06-27T20:00:00-04:002022-08-06T06:18:20-04:00MJ & CF
<p>so, in a world filled with tributes to Michael Jackson at the moment, i thought i would add this one, oft-overlooked homage. This is a video of Corey Feldman on Evening at the Improv, performing (lipsynching and dancing) to a song he wrote for Dream a Little Dream (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097236/)
here's the vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsSP8a0ToGY&feature=related
notice any influences?
RIP MJ.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844672009-06-11T20:00:00-04:002022-05-20T08:55:04-04:00banksy goes legit
<p>the bristol museum of art in banksy's hometown has created an entire exhibit of his work, but kept it secret from the city council that was accustomed to prosecuting him.
from the video, it looks like a great exhibit, with plenty of the standard ironic stencils, but with a mixture of sculptured versions of his unique work. check it!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8094839.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844662009-06-06T20:00:00-04:002022-08-06T06:44:13-04:00federer!
<p>roger federer finally won the French Open, which is great to watch the top dog become the under dog, then the top dog again.
apparently, it was quite the uphill battle, with terrible weather conditions, and an instance of a man running on to the clay to demonstrate his swiss pride:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORA2TX3fF90</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844652009-06-03T20:00:00-04:002022-08-06T07:37:13-04:00Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique
<p>Bill's Dead!
no official cause yet, but what a tragedy...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/04/david-carradine-dead-foun_n_211292.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844642009-05-29T20:00:00-04:002022-07-20T08:13:47-04:00L. Wiki Hubbard
<p>here's an article discussing wikipedia's decision to block Scientologist servers and members from editing articles related to scientology. this seems a little strange to me, as one of the reasons given for the ban is: 3.0) This longstanding dispute is a struggle between two rival factions: admirers of Scientology and critics of Scientology.
so why are only scientologists blocked? why not lock the article so no one can edit it?
i can't believe i'm defending scientology. this must be how the ACLU feels....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/29/wikipedia-bans-scientolog_n_208967.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844632009-05-28T20:00:00-04:002022-05-18T07:02:30-04:00google earth
<p>just checked out and downloaded the new google earth, and wow, it rules. this may not be news to anyone else, but it's been a minute since i used it.
http://earth.google.com/intl/en/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844622009-05-27T20:00:00-04:002021-08-30T07:45:35-04:00justin townes earle
<p>so here i am in sunny richmond, VA, about to play at the lovely Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, and who should be playing as well but Justin Townes Earle! you can check out some of his music here:
http://www.myspace.com/justintownesearle
then it's off to rock the cat's cradle in carrboro, NC with the Proclivities!!!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844612009-05-22T20:00:00-04:002022-05-21T07:58:59-04:00Roger Wilco
<p>here's a cool feature of Wilco's official website.
http://beta.wilcoworld.net/loft/gigapan.php
it's a picture of their loft studio that is zoomable, panable, and freakin' sweetable!
and in more wilco awesomeness, here is a video of glenn kotche playing a solo piece for prepared drumset. i'm still scratching my head in wonderment:
http://glennkotche.com/video.php</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844602009-05-17T20:00:00-04:002022-04-06T06:52:57-04:00Neil Cleary
<p>Hello!
just got back from an exciting romp in my hometown, and checked my inbox to find a link to the Contrarian, a sweet site dedicated to all things awesome.
and what better way to get to all things awesome then by inviting Neil Cleary to dish? check out his profile and posts:
http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/author/neil/
and be prepared to learn a little something... about yourselves.....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844592009-05-10T20:00:00-04:002021-12-31T12:40:09-05:00elmo wants this tape!
<p>this is great:
ricky gervais and elmo trying to do a charity announcement. the outtakes are riotous, and the whole experience was cool enough that they have agreed to work together on a future project!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr9_5uZn6ds</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844582009-05-10T20:00:00-04:002022-04-19T03:54:34-04:00more cool vids...
<p>hey y'all!
not much new here. coming up on finals, so i will just post a few cool vids in the usual lazy fashion.
new video from Fires of Rome, oscar's rockin' french foray:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5xAzT0duHc
speaking of french, some amazing parkour for you, from kottke.org:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1mrVGVHZWA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kottke.org%2F&feature=player_embedded
and a london busker playing a drum kit hooked to his overturned bike:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sqrkMPnVlc
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844572009-05-03T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:21-05:00finally!
<p>here's an article about the new administration's foray into closing tax loopholes for companies who are removed from american soil. i know this will be a huge uphill battle against significant lobbies, but it is a very fiscally responsible move that i would love to see happen!
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/04/news/economy/obama_corporate_tax_proposals/index.htm?postversion=2009050411</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844562009-05-01T20:00:00-04:002024-02-23T05:33:00-05:00!
<p>i was just talking to kenzie the other day about how exclamation points have become more widespread. i see this as technology influencing writing. with the inundation of written communication these days, we need more expressiveness in less amount of space. hence, the need for more exclamation!!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/29/exclamation-mark-punctuation</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844552009-04-27T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:21-05:00The Kite Runner
<p>here's a great youtube video about afghan kite-fighting. really interesting to actually see it done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYCLyNvFSDs</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844542009-04-23T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T00:45:36-05:00MJ's stuff
<p>so this is a link to pictures of items michael jackson was gonna auction off, but then canceled.
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/04/17/goodbye-brain-sorry-i-accidentally-exploded-you
my favorite was the california raisins statues...</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844532009-04-21T20:00:00-04:002020-11-06T15:21:11-05:00my kind of website!
<p>http://ididnotknowthatyesterday.blogspot.com/
i found this site through kottke.org (a major favorite). it's just random trivia. enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844522009-04-19T20:00:00-04:002022-03-16T07:51:30-04:00M.A.S.K.
<p>i watched a LOT of cartoons as a child, and i was recently reminded of this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0BzBFWt8V8
M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) was a blatant toy seller, taking the popularity of G.I. Joe and mixing it with vehicles similar to the Transformers.
here's the wik if you want it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.A.S.K.
while on youtube, i also found this gem: a German live action mash-up trailer with Sam Eliot in the mix!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO90Q1-uOvk&feature=related
enjoy the trip down (my) memory lane!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844512009-04-13T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00typos...
<p>a nit picky little entry, but i chuckled as i read a cnn commentary post by Ed Rollins, praising obama's decision to keep Robert Gates as defense secretary. Rollins loves Gates, and details the many great things he has done during his tenure, writing such things as "He has also carefully guided the new president through a withdrawal plan for Iraq and an enhanced program to deplore more troops to Afghanistan."
i believe he meant "deploy more troops..."
here's the full article for as long as the link is good:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/14/rollins.rescue/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844502009-04-11T20:00:00-04:002021-12-08T04:51:30-05:00stupid human tricks
<p>this is a silly post, but the picture caught me by surprise. this woman hopped a fence at the berlin zoo and was subsequently attacked by polar bears.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/11/polar.bear.attack/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
she was rescued, but not until she sustained some heavy damage.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844492009-04-02T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00sheep!
<p>hello from norfolk VA!
life on the road has been wonderful, rocking with such acts as gomez, allie moss, and the inimitable mark erelli. we only have a few days left, and i'm looking forward to a little time back in nyc.
in a totally unrelated note, check out this video of some incredible sheep photography:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844482009-03-21T20:00:00-04:002021-05-23T04:06:42-04:00Yoga Examiner
<p>hello from the road!
for all you new yorkas out there, i thought i would pass along a link to this site for all things NYC, but specifically yoga, at Examiner.com:
http://www.examiner.com/x-2276-NY-Yoga-Examiner
full disclosure: i know the writer....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844472009-03-17T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00dancing with cats
<p>too awesome.
http://www.monpa.com/dwc/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844462009-03-09T20:00:00-04:002022-02-14T05:23:42-05:00Google chat virus
<p>ah, in the end all programs must let us down. i really like google mail, use it constantly, and today it seems as if spam was sent out to a lot of my friends in the form of a G Chat request. my friend Jon May pointed me to these articles:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/24/gchat-virus-information-s_n_169648.html
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/viddyho-phishing-scam-hits-gmail/?hp
sorry if you received any spam from me. i just changed my password, i suggest y'all do the same!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844452009-02-23T19:00:00-05:002022-05-24T11:07:59-04:00CAPTCHA
<p>in relation to the Cryptonomicon, and Alan Turing specifically, i have noticed a large increase in the number of websites requiring a CAPTCHA form. CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automoted Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. it is those squiggly lettered nonsense words you must enter to verify your participation in something online.
here's some more info from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captcha</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844442009-02-11T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00I Finished!
<p>today i sat down in the new york public library and finshed part 3 of the Baroque Trilogy by Neal Stephenson.
best. books. ever.
these books are "about" a lot of things: global politics, the nature of money, physics, technology, et al. so it is pretty hard to encapsulate a particular subject.
one of my favorite aspects, however, is the historical fiction involved. Real people, world-changing people, populate these pages and add a weight to the fiction that i enjoy very much. Isaac Newton is perhaps the foremost "real" character in the book, and i learned much from this book about his life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_newton). he was a deeply religious man, but with a critical eye, which led him to some unorthodox notions on christianity, god, and god's role in the universe.
ach. i could go on forever about my love of these books, but my best efforts would not come close to your experience of reading them. go get them from the library. or perhaps better yet, read Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, which is the single volume descendant/antecedent (written before the Baroque Trilogy/ takes place after, with many ancestors from BT characters). the should be a good indicator of your level of interest!
i hope you enjoy them like i did!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844432009-02-09T19:00:00-05:002022-03-31T02:34:23-04:00Muppets!
<p>here's a CNN story on some interesting origins of certain Muppet characters:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/02/10/mf.muppet.favorites.stories/index.html
my new favorite is Pepe the King Prawn. i first saw him in 'Muppets in Space,' and have loved him since!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844422009-02-08T19:00:00-05:002021-10-21T03:43:14-04:00La Machine
<p>Check out these beautiful works created by a group called La Machine (http://www.lamachine.co.uk/index.php/la_machine/). They just completed a work called La Princesse in Liverpool, where a giant spider roamed the streets, slept, and climbed buildings:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/la_princesse_in_liverpool.html
here are some youtube videos of their earlier works (i especially like the elephant).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQbTMEupTpk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5lDkYBh-fQ&feature=related
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844412009-02-03T19:00:00-05:002022-05-25T12:16:39-04:00Kids on Drugs
<p>my friend doug rice shared this video of a poor kid feeling the anaesthetic effects after dental surgery:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs
not exactly news, but really hilarious!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844402009-01-31T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00New Photos!
<p>i've added some new photos, including what i realized was a long-overdue photo of Yarden Fenway Hurley, my new niece! check the "Pix" page and enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844392009-01-27T19:00:00-05:002021-09-22T05:25:15-04:00Animusic
<p>found this on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyCIpKAIFyo&feature=related
check some of the related animusic clips. a little boring, but really pretty beautiful.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844382009-01-26T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00Run, Updike, Run
<p>Today John Updike died today. There's a lot of books i've always meant to read, but the Rabbit series has always been way up there on the list. I read his story, The Centaur, a long time ago, and it introduced me to the idea that characters can be imbued with more symbolism than a tag name. It introduced me to the Promethean myth, and it included a John Irving-like autobiography that was very, ahem, novel to me.
hopefully i can turn Updike's unfortunate demise into the impetus to finally tackle his award-winning series.
meanwhile, i am circling in on the end of the The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson, and it has been one of the most enjoyable reads i've ever had! I am most assuredly going to reread the Cryptonomicon right after this; this protracted prequel can only enhance its successor.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844372009-01-21T19:00:00-05:002021-09-05T15:06:03-04:00chewbacca can rock...
<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be230foSiWo</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844362009-01-08T19:00:00-05:002021-12-08T04:54:55-05:00swede beats...
<p>my friend marco just sent me this link, proving what i've suspected for years now: i'm smarter than everyone!
http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jan/058
not.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844352009-01-03T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00happy 2009!
<p>been a minute; sorry to keep y'all in suspense!
let's see, since we last talked, i've been to ireland to play with Josh Ritter and an orchestra in dublin, i did "miracle on 34th st," the marionette version, at Macy's 8 times a day for a month. oh yeah, i played drums on what is sure to be a great record from my friend Allie Moss (http://alliemoss.com/), and now i'm rehearsing for "The Fortune Teller," which is being presented at Dartmouth College at the end of the week. all in all a great end/beginning to the year!
for your viewing pleasure i've collected a few videos. i hope you enjoy!
this is a japanese magician who can behead himself!
http://images2.jokaroo.net/videos/grandpajapan.wmv
a trailer for the new "Watchmen" movie, based on Alan Moore's masterpiece. i'm skeptical, but excited:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4blSrZvPhU
and a radiohead video. i lot of people told me they didn't like this song, but i love it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nTFjVm9sTQ
i hope y'all had a good 2008, and are having a great 2009!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844342008-11-19T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00beatboxing!
<p>this was a featured video on youtube, and it blew my mind!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fC65sy9tzY
it's a one take vocal performance, using Kaoss pads and a loop station, and then video edited to kick it up a notch.
it reminded me very much of this video by Dosh, another looping favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DooPMMGh71U</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844332008-11-17T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00kim jong il update
<p>ok this one is weird. kim jong il had not appeared in public in many months, sparking rumors that he is ill, or possibly even dead. to quell speculation, the north korean government has released several photos that the bbc has deduced to have been faked!
read along, and click on the photo!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7715458.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844322008-11-17T19:00:00-05:002021-07-02T01:41:14-04:00hi tech war
<p>this a great idea. it's a hand-grenade sized ball with a 360 degree camera that can be thrown into (or even fired from a grenade launcher) a dangerous situation. yeah, hi tech!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7734038.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844312008-10-20T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00so ronery....
<p>Kim Jong Il is a fascinating character, worthy of ridicule, fear, and curiosity.
hopefully you've all seen "Team America" and it's amazing portrayal of him. I wonder if he has seen it....
i also suggest you read the graphic novel "Pyongyang," which was written and drawn by a french artist who held a job in north korea for months. since tourists cannot take pictures, he drew his experiences.
contrary to that last statement, here is a photo essay on North Korea from The Big Picture:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/recent_scenes_from_north_korea.html
And last but not least, an amazing article about an actress and a director who were kidnapped from South Korea and forced to produce North Korean propoganda films:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13815?cnn=yes</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844302008-10-19T20:00:00-04:002021-12-28T15:08:49-05:00new macs!
<p>they're sleek, sexy, and nominally affordable!
http://www.apple.com/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844292008-10-08T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00The Great Tube Robbery
<p>next time you answer an ad on craig's list for a job, beware: you may be an unwitting accomplice in a bank robbery:
http://news.cnet.com/bank-robber-hires-decoys-on-craigslist-fools-cops/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844282008-10-04T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00shadow puppetry!
<p>this video of one guy, a projector, and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" is delightfully winsome!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlbQPmXg08</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844272008-09-27T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00caketastic!
<p>check out these krazy kewl kakes!
http://www.charmcitycakes.com/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844262008-09-26T20:00:00-04:002022-05-11T12:56:46-04:00The Proclivities
<p>hey y'all!
i'm gearing up to play a show with the one and only Proclivities! check out some of their music and web-presence:
http://www.theproclivities.com/
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=68425846</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844252008-09-25T20:00:00-04:002021-09-18T11:42:25-04:00ragdoll...
<p>daddy's little cutie.
here i am in NC with Matty Bones and the Proclivities, and hanging out at Chris B's house, i met Roger, the Ragdoll cat. this breed is awesomely weird! the are so docile, you could throw'em against wall and they would come right back to you!
check it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragdoll</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844242008-09-01T20:00:00-04:002021-09-10T06:40:52-04:00In a world....
<p>where the most famous voice-over actor dies:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/02/obit.lafontaine/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844232008-08-25T20:00:00-04:002022-04-30T11:14:01-04:00cyborgs II
<p>here's a link to an article on ReWalk, a robotic exoskeleton that allows the paralyzed user limited upright mobility.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7582240.stm
pretty cool. i can't wait to see this develop into something more.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844222008-08-22T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00ninjas
<p>two young jersey dudes were recently arrested for dressing like ninjas and trying to take on the drug dealers:
http://www.cliftonjournal.com/NC/0/426.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844212008-08-21T20:00:00-04:002021-08-11T14:46:38-04:00Radiohead Video Contest
<p>Radiohead has announced finalists in their online contest through aniboom, where fans submit animated videos to songs off of "In Rainbows."
check it out!
http://www.aniboom.com/radiohead/
click the "watch clip" link under each name in order to view them full screen.
one of the entries reminded me of Henry Darger, with tons of hand drawn, bizarre ink drawings.
i think i enjoyed the video for "Reckoner" the most....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844202008-08-13T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:20-05:00I and I been online too long...
<p>this article, about the capitalization of the word "I," comes to us via kottke.org. i've been curious about this, ever since i forewent capitalization in my own writing some time ago.
whoops: forgot to link! here's the kottke language tag; very good stuf:
http://www.kottke.org/tag/language
for instance, did you know that when one types "#@$%" to mean a swear, it's called a "grawlix?"
cool, right?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844192008-08-12T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:55:11-05:00pornozatak
<p>spam. the final frontier.
whenever i neglect liamhurley.com long enough, i'm rewarded with a plethora of spam entries on the guestbook page. some of the entries are in totally foreign languages, which are fascinating in their own right. some, however, are genius in their brevity and inanity. here's a small sampling. i wouldn't click on any of these links if i were you!
chadorhoorb Estepona
hoefront jamesarthurray
Added: Aug 12 2008 4:08pm
delete pornozatak
Отличный сборник ХХХ видео по жанрам. Постоянные обновления порнорликов и фильмов и все это совершенно бесплатно. Хватит рыться в сети в поисках бесплатного порно. Просто заходи и качай!
Added: Aug 12 2008 2:23am
Fluoleelomi Avarua
mtv piano
asian strong women lift carry http://diastery.1gb.in/free6546.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844182008-08-08T20:00:00-04:002022-04-19T06:53:36-04:00more big picture...
<p>ok it's a little lame to just post from boston.com all the time, buti've caught Olympics fever, and this series highlights some of the best representations of the opening ceremonies.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/2008_olympics_opening_ceremony.html
i love the opening ceremonies, because the pomp is simply out of control, and usually contains some incredible visual design. china was certainly no slouch!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844172008-08-02T20:00:00-04:002021-07-22T11:40:27-04:00the beginning (and end) of the world
<p>swiss and french scientists are near to completion of a 27 km particle super-collider that will hopefully recreate conditions in the few seconds after the Big Bang.
these pictures are very 2001, and are very cool.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844162008-07-19T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00segway
<p>here we are in wyoming, and i am still flying high from our trip to telluride, CO. the mountain were beautiful, the people were great, and the gondola was free! what was not free, but totally worth the $25 was the Segway tour! Sam, Zack, Leo, and I followed around our guide Bob Beer (no lie) through Telluride while we learned about whore houses (old and new). i'll post pictures when i can, but for now, enjoy this youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1udsrQsCZY0</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844152008-07-07T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00verizon sign
<p>so kenzie and i were able to walk across the brooklyn bridge the other day to see the "waterfalls" (http://nyfalls.com/nycwaterfalls.html)
and it was really very pretty. we also were able to get to a roof top to enjoy the 4th of july fireworks, which were spectacular. however, both views were somewhat marred by 375 Pearl st. otherwise known as Verizon's switching station. emblazoned atop this building is a gigantic Verizon logo, and it pretty well ruins any viewing of the cityscape.
flickr.com/photos/55114802@N00/2518769080
good news, though! Verizon has sold the building to Taconic, and they plan to "re-clad" the building, so here's to hoping this blight on the skyline shant be around long...</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844142008-07-07T20:00:00-04:002021-09-18T12:30:22-04:00bruno
<p>so sacha baron cohen looks like he is in production for his new movie, "Bruno." who's psyched?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/08/faked.fight.nights.ap/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844132008-07-03T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00dirty cars
<p>so actually found myself reading In Touch magazine, where you can get the latest on Britney's waistline and Brangelina's pregnancy. after killing a few brain cells reading this rag, i found this little link, which i thought was pretty cool.
http://dirtycarart.com/
enjoy, and happy fourth!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844122008-06-29T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00Pops
<p>okholycrap. our show with the Boston Pops orchestra has left me walking on the clouds for the past few days. the crowd was electric, and the hall was (beautifully) acoustic. thanks to everyone who made it into a night i will never forget!
and now for something completely different:
http://www.dollywood.com/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844112008-06-24T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00the trons
<p>sam just sent me this link to an all robotic band, the Trons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2JChnwv2Ws
looks like i'm out of a job!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844102008-06-20T20:00:00-04:002022-06-01T21:22:40-04:00i heart ny
<p>sometimes i get burnt out on this city. it used to be i couldn't wait to get back, and the view of the skyline from the bqe or the turnpike would get me so amped. i've found that this has faded a little, and every once and a while i need a boost.
i found this link through http://www.kottke.org, a great site, and it did the trick:
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5136</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844092008-06-18T20:00:00-04:002020-08-18T02:31:21-04:00Oblique Strategies
<p>speaking of computer music, i'm currently digging Coldplay's new album "Viva La Vida," produced by Brian Eno.
in the 60's, Eno and his painter friend Peter Schmidt came up with a stack of cards with an aphorism on each that was meant to jog your creativity. they called it Oblique Strategies.
Here's a website that has collected all the sayings:
http://stoney.sb.org/eno/oblique.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844082008-06-16T20:00:00-04:002022-05-18T12:42:57-04:00computer music
<p>so much of what i do musically is related to computers, i thought this article about the earliest electronic music was interesting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7458479.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844072008-06-15T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00the daisy ad
<p>in this time of political campaigning, here's a look at it's beginnings....
http://tinyurl.com/64muht
here's the actual advert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG2G1wdwP48</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844062008-04-25T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00deep thoughts
<p>http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844052008-04-03T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:32:31-05:00sean odell
<p>so here's a link to my friend sean's new website, and i was just blown away.
check it out (and be disturbed!)
http://seanodell.com/
in other artist news, check out andrew goldsworthy:
http://www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk/browse/
or google image search:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=Ds6&q=andy+goldsworthy&um=1&ie=UTF-8</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844042008-04-02T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:44:03-05:00also...
<p>elephants. painting. wtf?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LHoyB81LnE</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844032008-03-21T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00new photos!
<p>hey!
we're in rotterdam right now. awesome city. apparently it was close to leveled in the Great War, so it has a much more modern vibe than many of the other dutch cities.
utrecht last night was very awesome. i can't say enough good things about the dutch way of life. all the venues we've played are very professional, sound great, and have plenty of amenities (read: showers!). utrecht was like a mini amsterdam, but they actually have basements! talk about flood insurance.
i put up some new photos from our canadian tour/ my florida vacation. i hope you enjoy them!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844022008-03-16T20:00:00-04:002021-07-25T15:16:52-04:00ok it's been forever.
<p>but i haven't forgot about the blog!
i'm just lazy when i get home. lazy with a lot to do!
so here are some links to tide you over:
http://bigeyeinthesky.com/
addis shared this one with me; it can really make you dizzy!
and check out this comedian, demetri martin, who i caught at Union Pool the other day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_mR-Fhnc9o
pictures soon! promise!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844012008-03-05T19:00:00-05:002022-08-31T01:41:51-04:00origami
<p>hello from ottawa!
these past few shows have been spectacular! musically, toronto was a truly magical evening for the band: one of those inexplicable chemical and chymerical nights where we hit new highs. the audiences have been outstanding at every show, and i can't say enough good things about canada in general. we made it through some rough weather last night, and a rough primary the day before, and are really looking forward to a trip to florida for the langerado music festival (http://www.langerado.com/home2.php)
on a totally unrelated note, someone told me about this little news item after i was reminiscing about my childhood love of paper airplanes:
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/01/origami-spaceplane-to-launch-from-space-station/
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61844002008-03-02T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00magna carta
<p>everything's for sale....
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/03/magna.carta.display/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843992008-03-01T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00what to write, what to write....
<p>hello from minneapolis!
we're back in the states for 2 days, in the midst of a whirlwind canadian tour. we finally hit cold weather in saskatoon, saskatchewan, and it has stuck with us since. thank god oscar (www.nakatomiplaza.com) loaned me his winter coat!
we hit a leap day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year)
which was cool.
um... what else.... my beard is getting pretty full. i don't have pictures yet, but i will.
we're all sort of exhausted from a rough border crossing; apparently a rock'n'roll bus crossing into the states at 5am sends up some red flags with the night patrol! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Border_Patrol
wish us luck with the rest!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843982008-02-23T19:00:00-05:002020-11-27T00:03:04-05:00kelowna!
<p>hello from British Columbia!
so far we've been to Vancouver Island, which was a breathtaking ferry ride, and Vancouver proper, which is one of my favorite cities. our 2nd show was at the Commodore Ballroom, and it went amazingly! they had put out chairs on the dance floor, which was odd, but we were still having fun. then about halfway through the show, some brave souls got up in the aisle to dance. security moved in swiftly to shut them down, but in a truly "strength in numbers" moment, everyone rushed the stage, and the night turned into a real rock'n'roll show. it was one of those rare symbiotic moments between performer and audience, where each was feeding the other. thank you, vancouver!
today we drove through the coastal mountains (not as big as the rockies, ehich comes later, but still amazing) on our way to kelowna. we are on lake with a canadian version of Nessie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogopogo</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843972008-02-19T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T12:03:00-05:00ohmygodi'mdone
<p>hey y'all!
so, a while ago, i wrote about the 1,500 piece jigsaw puzzle i started in early january. well, i finished! i know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but man, what a relief. i stayed up late the last couple of nights to finish before i started this next leg of touring. i've posted some pictures for your viewing pleasure, and here's a link to an explanation of the painting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tower_of_Babel_%28Brueghel%29</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843962008-02-15T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00hmmmm.....
<p>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/nyregion/16vote.html?_r=1&oref=slogin</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843952008-02-13T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00sQuba
<p>check this out! a swiss company called Rinspeed has invented a submersible car!
the underwater scene is a little long, but the production is hilarious!
http://tinyurl.com/34e9ef
speaking of 007, the sequel to Casino Royal has been announced!
http://commanderbond.net/article/4876</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843942008-02-13T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00update
<p>remember that link i had about the satellite falling to earth?
it looks like they're not leaving anything to chance!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/14/spy.satellite.ap/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843932008-02-12T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00macbook
<p>i bought a computer! i bought a refurbished macbook from the apple website. checck it:
http://tinyurl.com/2b8fex
i'm really excited!
i'm also on my way to see eddie izzard tonight! live in concert!
check out this clip of him talking about bilinguality:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9IzDbNFDdP4
exciting times!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843922008-02-09T19:00:00-05:002020-06-16T13:12:07-04:00lawyers are kinda like real people...
<p>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7237248.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843912008-02-07T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00Old man, take a look at my life
<p>hear's a quick article about Neil Young's new movie and tour.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080208160230.p2cyq6q1&show_article=1
young says he believes the time when the world could be changed by a song is past.
i disagree. i don't think that time has come yet.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843902008-02-06T19:00:00-05:002021-08-27T05:38:18-04:00two
<p>for some reason, this morning i woke up thinking about what a weird spelling for the number 2 we have. of course english is full of words that don't have amazing phoneticism, but two is a pretty weird one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two
i found out that 2 is called the "oddest prime," because it is the only prime number that is even.
2 is the new black.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843892008-02-04T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00okeydokey!
<p>super tuesday (or as i like to say: supertues) is upon us; who will win?!
while sporting around the internet last night, i found this gem from Steve Martin:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=alD_tukE77Q
i knew that he rips on the banjo, but i had no idea he was a magician, as well. a lot of his early comedy seemed to be based around the "incompetent magician."
here's another one that previews his performance in Parenthood:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bI--TGQGNFc&feature=related
and along the lines of physical comedy, check out this buster keaton footage set to a josh ritter tune:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hTX9PO1ZzhE</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843882008-02-02T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00superbowl XLII
<p>here's my run down of the best superbowl commercials:
(this can all be found on http://www.myspace.com/superbowlads#)
1st Quarter: Bridgestone's "lucky squirrel" ad takes the prize. an abundance of the ads featured animals.
2nd Quarter: Justin Timberlake's Pepsi Ad was incredible, because stars and massive head trauma are always a powerful combo. But "Tide To Go," with its talking stain ad comes in close second.
3rd Quarter: Contains an endearing "Wall-E" ad, which got my $11.50 when it comes out in theaters.
But the "E-Trade" commercial shortly thereafter gets the prize in this round. The "talking baby" idea is so tired, but this is pulled off with aplomb.
4th Quarter: Adam Sandler's perplexing new movie, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," made me giggle. Bill Frist and James Carville doing a Coke commercial was an odd coup. not Will Ferrell's finest, and Victoria has no Secrets in my house. for the 4th Quarter 1st place prize, i say it's the E-Trade talking baby commercial once again.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843872008-02-02T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00fair and balanced
<p>here's a somewhat damning story of barack obama's legislative prowess as a junior senator fromt the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/us/politics/03exelon.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
and here is the NYT Editorial Board endorsing Clinton:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/opinion/25fri1.html
i know editorials are opinions, and that to come out and state one's preference is better than to play behind-the-scenes favorites, but i still think it is a little weird for a newspaper to have preferences. strictly objective reporting is near impossible; writers are human. but for an entire editorial board to claim that it will favor one person over the other leads to fluffy articles like the first link in this post.
i just find it weird.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyrd</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843862008-02-02T19:00:00-05:002021-09-14T03:42:39-04:00kind like domino, but even badder
<p>this is the story of anna loginova, a russian supermodel and bodyguard.
she was recently killed when attempting to foil a carjacker.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/01/russia.killing/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843852008-02-01T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:19-05:00Puddles
<p>maybe it just speaks to the debate on what sort of personality-type goes into politics, but this story makes you wonder who would go through all the trouble of becoming the mayor (even of a small texas town), only to throw it all away on a lapdog?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7224647.stm
don't mess with texas. they're messy enough as it stands.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843842008-01-29T19:00:00-05:002021-09-02T18:10:53-04:00I Heart Tina Fey
<p>i've been watching '30 Rock' on nbc.com, and i have to say that ms. fey is incredible in her comedy stylings.
check it out.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843832008-01-29T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00hummingbirds
<p>this bbc article talks about how a particular type of hummingbird actually makes chirping noises with its tail feathers, not its vocal chords, as previously thought.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7216230.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843822008-01-27T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing
<p>check this website for some time-wasting goodness:
http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf
i would suggest putting it in "manic mode."
(thnx mom!)</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843812008-01-26T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00The Sky is Falling!
<p>here's a news story about a classified satellite that will fall abck to earth in late february-early march. with the earth being 70% water, the best bet is it will fall harlmlessly, but i would feel a lot better if the tracking agencies involved were any good at precise predictions.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/01/26/dead.satellite.ap/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843802008-01-25T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00Go 'Bama
<p>Obama just won S.C., and i'm really psyched.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843792008-01-23T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower
<p>check this out! this is the story of Victor Lussig, the famous con artist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lustig</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843782008-01-22T19:00:00-05:002021-08-07T15:14:14-04:00LetterTube
<p>here's a link to the last night's josh ritter letterman performance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rcUsFatXw4
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843772008-01-19T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00!!!
<p>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Patriots</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843762008-01-18T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00HA!
<p>ok so i'm sad obama lost NV, but here's to hoping for SC!
i found this historical gem (featuring Michael Cera) on http://www.bobanddavid.com
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6V_DsL1x1uY</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843752008-01-17T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00Be Kind, Rewind.
<p>Crazymonk.org pointed me toward Michel Gondry curating the Youtube Homepage (http://www.youtube.com), which was awesome. but it reminded me of the impending date of "Be Kind, Rewind," gondry's newest film starring jack black and mos def. it comes out feb. 22nd, and it looks like magic!
here's the trailer:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2IugKepxOyY</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843742008-01-16T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00landlord
<p>will ferrell and adam mckay make me guffaw,
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/04/14/will-ferrells-landlord-problems/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843732008-01-16T19:00:00-05:002021-10-12T08:46:03-04:00Letterman II
<p>hey folks!
i just got the word that josh ritter & co. will be performing on the David Letterman Show this tuesday, jan. 22. 11:30 on CBS! be there or be dodecahedronical!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843722008-01-14T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00air?!
<p>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7188849.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843712008-01-12T19:00:00-05:002021-09-02T13:45:34-04:00shows!
<p>man. i have been music'ed out for a second. the past two nights i've been to see four bands.
friday night was the Eric Biondo Quintet at Small's (http://www.ericbiondo.com/home.html), and then it was over to Pete's Candy Store to see Royal Pine (http://royalpinemusic.com/home.html).
saturday night was all horns and percussion, first with The Hot 8 Brass Band (http://www.hot8brassband.com/), and then on the always-classy Joe's Pub to see my dear friends in the Brooklyn Qawwali Party (http://www.bqpmusic.com/live/).
i'm lucky to live in a city where hearing all this music is possible....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843702008-01-09T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00mo' money, mo' problems
<p>The FBI has had several wiretaps closed down on them due to unpaid bills. my question: is there a wiretap pricing plan that can fit my lifestyle? i do the majority of my eavesdropping during work hours, with only an occasional long-distance wire-tap.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=2008-01-10_D8U35C500&show_article=1&cat=breaking</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843692008-01-08T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00in rainbows
<p>radiohead's new album, in rainbows, is amazing. like their other records, it took me a few listens to really dig on it. now i am hooked.
and i appreciate them shaking up the current reccord distribution system!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080109/ap_en_mu/music_radiohead</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843682008-01-07T19:00:00-05:002021-11-07T15:01:25-05:00okokokok
<p>so i took a long holiday break. so sue me.
i am going to try to post a lot in the next few weeks; let's see how i fare.
cool new thing:
http://www.marvel.com
i've been reading a LOT of comics recently, much to my accountant's chagrin.
the new batman trailer is up:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WaIR9dAZRR0
i'm really looking forward to this. i thought batman begins was exactly where the movies needed to go stylistically, and this continuation (with the same production team) looks like i'm gonna dig it.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843672007-11-30T19:00:00-05:002022-04-02T04:23:26-04:00Jools II
<p>hello!
we just conquered tullamore rugby club: it was tight and sweaty and a whole lot of fun.
then we went back to the hotel in a hurry to catch Later... with Jools Holland. it was amazing!
here's the link to the entire show. we play two songs interlaced with others: don't forget to check out the Who!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/series30/episode05/
enjoy responsibly!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843662007-11-27T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00Cahrk II
<p>hello!
we've just finished to 2 nights at the amazing Everyman Theatre, and it was nice to get a shot at redemption. Our first night, expectations were very high, and the delivery was a bit off. whenever we play a seated show, it takes some adjustment to the band/audience dynamic, and we were glad to get a second shot at it, because our second night was brilliant. much more relaxed and successful (musically). our irish label, Independent Records (http://independentrecords.ie/index.shtml), has been very kind to us, and it is great to be staying in one city for such a stretch (4 whole days!). a small return to normalcy has been greatly appreciated by all. i even had a hot towel shave!
also, we have been preparing for a special solo show in boston (http://tinyurl.com/2jl64h) to help raise money for our friend's battle with cancer. check out joshritter.com for more details.
it's nearly xmas!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843652007-11-24T19:00:00-05:002022-02-23T09:57:31-05:00Cahrk
<p>we have finished our UK leg, and it was really great. i saw so much of england, and for that i will be eternally grateful to my band mates and the entire JR crew. yesterday in bristol, i wandered past this pic, only to realize i was in Banksy's hometown!
http://tinyurl.com/3dhhul
last night we said goodbye to our amazing crew, because ireland provides for all its children...
i'm very excited to be here in Cork, because this is where the Hurley family originated. years ago, i doscovered the 700 yr old Hurley farm in Clonakilty, about 20km from where i am currently sitting (which is on a hilltop overlooking the River Lee!).
in a totally unrelated note, i've brought some juggling bags out with me on this trip, just to give myself something to do, and my friend leo hipped me to this incredible video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wEKDFtDAxyU
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843642007-11-20T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00Jools!
<p>Hello!
Last night played on Later...with Jools Holland, an amazing music show that has no parallel in the US (htpp://www.joolsholland.com). it was an amazing experience, and we were on the same show as The Who! they played My Generation, Baba O'Reilly, and The Seeker. Townshend did the windmill, and we all went crackers!
but an even bigger celebrity moment occurred the day prior: Mos Def!
we were staying at a hipster hotel in London called the K West. cruising through the lobby, i'd seen The Hives, Timbaland, and whole host of other fashion celebs. but this time around, The Mighty Mos was just hanging out at the bar. i don't normally get so giddy, but i have been a huge Mos Def (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mos_def) fan since i discovered Black Star, which is amazing, but his first solo effort, Black on Both Sides, is a truly spectacular album.
even though he thinks the moon landing is a hoax, i still love him.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843632007-11-14T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00parisian thouroughfare
<p>hello!
paris was very exciting! we arrived after a red-eye to find the city on transit strike. a normally half hour cab ride from Charles de Gaulle airport to the hotel took an hour and a half, and was VERY expensive. our show was great, and i had french onion soup and escargot across fromt he moulin rouge. not bad!
one thing that i noticed was very cool was Velib, the parisian public bicycle system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velib
maybe it was the strike, but the ubiquity of these strange looking bikes was striking.
also striking was what we dubbed the shame shower, or shath. it was a bathtub and handheld shower attachment, with no shower curtain! it's a queer system. you try several positions, but basically you just sit in the tub and try to soap up with one hand.
our public bike system may not be up and running, but our shower curtain technology is light years beyond theirs.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843622007-11-10T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00Crash
<p>hey everybody!
my body has crashed following an incredible final US show at Webster Hall. so here's a funny, lazy blog:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gaines</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843612007-11-01T20:00:00-04:002022-10-11T08:12:17-04:00seriously.
<p>ok. best halloween ever.
we played in Birmingham, AL at the Workplay Theater. Josh dressed as a Roman statesman, Zack was a mummy (he's so mummy and he doesn't even know it), austin and sam had wigs, and i had a vampirish pleather thing going on. the show was awesome, and then we saw josh play an in-store. and then, i kid you not......
foxy-boxing.
real life, drunk ladies wailing on each other.
we went to a bar called bell bottoms, where they have amateur boxing. the guys' fights were really fun to watch, but man. does it get much better?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843602007-10-30T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00the south shall rise again!
<p>happy halloween!
we're shooting through the south now, making incredible time. we've driven from L.A. to LA in 4 days. we stopped in Tucson, where Zack donned a pink jumpsuit for the encore, and then in Austin, a liberal oasis in the middle of Texas. Sam introduced me to Jim Eno, the drummer for Spoon and producer extrordinaire, and we retired to his house/studio (http://www.public-hifi.com/) to geek out on Stevie Wonder, Queen, and Fleetwood Mac. some of those recordings are completely amazing on a really nice speaker system; you end up hearing all sorts of new info.
then it was on to a day off in New Orleans. i have only been to N.O. once before, a while ago, so it was hard to compare pre- and post-Katrina, but it definitely gave one a battle-torn impression. we stayed in Lee Circle, where a giant statue of MR. Robert E. resides on a tall pillar:
"Since it was built in 1884, the most prominent monument in New Orleans has been a 60 foot (18 m)-tall monument to General Lee. A sixteen and a half foot statue of Lee stands tall upon a towering column of white marble in the middle of Lee Circle. The statue of Lee, which weighs more than 7,000 pounds, faces the North (because he believed that you should never turn your back on your enemy). Lee Circle is situated along New Orleans' famous St. Charles Avenue. The New Orleans streetcars roll past Lee Circle and New Orleans' best Mardi Gras parades go around Lee Circle (the spot is so popular that bleachers are set up annually around the perimeter for Mardi Gras). Around the corner from Lee Circle is New Orleans' Confederate Museum, which contains the second largest collection of Confederate memorabilia in the world."
after beignets at Cafe Du Monde, we are now on our merry way towards Birmingham, AL.
non-sequitir: "to ruminate" means "to think," right. cud-chewing animals are called ruminators. cogitate that.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843592007-10-26T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00Left Coast
<p>hey y'all!
we have arrived in Tuscon, AZ, after spending 4 crazy days in California. I got a tatto in SF, played at a place called Bimbo's, drove to LA, and played at the Museum of Natural History.
it was amazing!
but i'm glad to be headed east...
pix soon...</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843582007-10-19T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:00SLC Funk
<p>hello!
we had a day off yesterday in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it was pretty awesome! it's a wonderfully creepy town, with pristine streets, a decent homeless population, and a Mormon bent.
after laundry was done to satisfaction, i became engrossed in Meerkat Manor for a bit (http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/meerkat/meerkat.html). then josh, sam, and i walked over to temple square, home of the mormons' most sacred church. it was breathtaking. a reflecting pool in front of the church made for some beautiful pictures at sundown, which i will post as soon as our internet connection is up to speed.
i know i've talked about him before, but check out Porter Rockwell, Joseph Smith's "destroying angel":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_Rockwell
having just finished Guy Delisle's Pyonyang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang_%28comic%29), i couldn't help but notice a few similarities between SLC and the capital of North Korea.
we are now in idaho, on our way to boise, after a sheared engine bolt caused some delays....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843572007-10-17T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:18-05:002nd Amendment Capitalism
<p>hey everybody!
i'm in the middle of a 15 hour drive to Boulder, CO, from Minneapolis, MN. it is damn hard to sleep on a moving vehicle, i can tell you that much.
somewhere in Nebraska, i saw a camel!
and our friend matt fleming (http://www.blackt-shirt.com) just showed me this little gem of a commercial:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LsV50T5uEyw&mode=related&search=</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843562007-10-14T20:00:00-04:002021-08-26T12:17:43-04:00Wild and Wonderful
<p>Hello all!
just arrived in ann arbor, michigan, after two great nights in West Virginia. our first night there we played in Carnegie Hall! Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, WV, that is. it was the culmination of a festival called Taste Of Our Town, or T.O.O.T., and it reminded me very much of home (http://www.carnegiehallwv.com/events/toot.htm). it was a great street fair with lots to eat, and it felt like a combination of Simsbury (small town, everyone knows everyone), and Brooklyn (street fair!).
the shows have been going great! last night we played at a venue called Mountain Stage (http://www.mountainstage.org/) with a the venerable Loudon Wainwright III, and i was surprised to learn of his acting career (http://www.lwiii.com/). he lit up the stage with his great sense of humor and clever lyrics.
tonight we play a venue called the Blind Pig, with which we have had very little contact. cross your fingers!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843552007-10-09T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Cleveland
<p>tomorrow we are playing in cleveland!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843542007-10-06T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Taxation Without Representation
<p>Today we arrived in Annapolis, MD. We rented a car and drove to see my uncle Jack at the Newseum (http://www.newseum.org/) where we watched the most amazing 3-D movie i've ever seen, including moving seats, puffs of air, and incredible sounds. then we took a leisurely stroll to the washington monument (http://www.nps.gov/archive/wamo/home.htm) before seeing our second 3-D movie of the day, called "Seamonsters." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichorhynchops) after a very educational walk around Georgetown (http://www.tourdc.com/), we are back on the bus, resting up for our appearance on WRNR (http://www.wrnr.com/) tomorrow at noon.
what an incredible day off!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843532007-10-01T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00First night
<p>hey y'all!
the first gig of our US tour was a wonderful start. this morning in boston we met our new home for a few weeks: a giant tour bus that just came from Ozzfest.
yeah you heard me.
motherf***in Ozzfest.
we hit the grocery store, drove a little while, popped in Disc 1 of a 2-disc DVD of an aquarium (http://tinyurl.com/3a3d3y), and relaxed until we arrived in Portland, ME. Zack graciously let me borrow his new, collapsible bicycle (http://www.citizenbike.com/) for my ride to the local drum shop to by a triangle (http://tinyurl.com/3cjf6a).
we played to a packed house in a space called Space.
it ruled!
now we are tucked into coffin-like bunks, getting some beauty rest before our gig tomorrow night in Northampton.
pictures soon! i promise!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843522007-09-24T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Is it worth it?
<p>so i read an article today about a special effects artist being killed in a mishap during the creation of the next batman flick.
http://tinyurl.com/3ap6xz
is it worth it? does one human life matter more than a silly movie? for my part, i say it's worth it. the artist is a responsible adult, and one can die in so many ways, at so many times, that a movie set is as good a place as any to meet your maker. art is worth a lot more than most people are willing to admit.
granted, if i were a family member of this guy, i might feel a little different. but i'm not. i'm a huge batman fan.
here are some photos of the forthcoming film:
http://tinyurl.com/2tyvuy</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843512007-09-15T20:00:00-04:002022-05-12T18:30:19-04:00Ptolemy V
<p>hey! i'm back from travels abroad with josh ritter & co., and i can easily say that i love my new job!
we played in ireland, holland, germany, and england, and each gig was amazing in its own way. look for video of the amsterdam performance on www.fabchannel.com; they should be archiving it soon. meanwhile, learn a little about the rosetta stone (http://tinyurl.com/38mz47), which i had a chance to espy at the British Musem.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843502007-09-09T20:00:00-04:002021-12-18T08:30:56-05:00ireland!
<p>hullo!
we just got done with the irish leg of our tour, and it was amazing! we played one evening in galway at a place called the Roisin Dubh (the Black Rose), and one evening in Dublin at the Tripod. both were amazing, and both were incredibly hot! i'm not sure i've ever sweated that much on a gig! well, maybe one or two with Nakatomi Plaza (www.nakatomiplaza.com)...
we went to the guiness brewery on our day off, and learned very little about the process of making beer, but learned a whole lot about what it takes to be a master cooper (barrell maker). the have a bar at the top of the brewery that has a 360 degree view of dublin. it's a bit like charlie and the chocolate factory, taking an elevator all the way up to the tallest building in dublin.
we're in amsterdam now, and i had an amazing birthday last night with the best bunch of fellas in the world!
ps. i had frog's legs!!!!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843492007-08-23T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Pass the Pigs
<p>hello!
Austin Nevins, guitarist extraordinaire, has gotten us hooked on this wonderful game of pig-shaped dice. play the virtual game here: http://www.fontface.com/games/pigs/
i'm back in nyc for a hot minute before i head off to record with Mark Erelli (http://www.markerelli.com/). thanks to everyone who came out to the Box on wednesday! here's a video from the show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bCIqRJJsEa4
today we played (i think) our best show yet for a great crowd and NPR radio at the World Live Cafe, and they've already posted the show! here it is: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13877719
stay tuned for more updates! we're headed to ireland very soon, and i'll do my best to keep blogging!
cheers.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843482007-08-21T20:00:00-04:002022-02-08T03:11:25-05:00PlaneArium
<p>hey y'all!
i'm back in NYC for a night, and getting back to the blog. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter came out yesterday, and i'm very freaked out now that it is a reality.
two nights ago we played a wonderful gig at the Boston Museum of Science in the planetarium! with lasers! it was a really intimate, special show for WBOS, and we all had a great time staring up while we played.
for an interesting history of planetaria, check this link out:
http://tinyurl.com/yoto7y
cheers!
also, check out the linx section of my site to make your very own south park character at the PlaneArium!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843472007-08-05T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Boulder, CO
<p>i had my first ever gig with Josh Ritter & Co. at the Triple A Radio Conference in Boulder, CO this past week, and it was amazing!
here is a (rough) youtube clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duWYiVae_WU
the scenery flying in was amazing as well; geometric farmland punctuated by large green circles (created by sprinklers), and broken up by dry river beds.
the denver airport is also arresting:
http://www.myrgroup.com/uploadedImages/denverair_lrg.gif
stayed tuned!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843462007-07-26T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00I quit my job!
<p>it was scary.
if you read this blog, you probably already know that i recently joined the Josh Ritter band, and am going on tour for a lot of the foreseeable future.
check out our new album coming out on August 21st:
http://www.joshritter.com/historical/
and check the tour listings to see if i will be in your area!
http://www.joshritter.com/tour.php</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843452007-07-15T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Update
<p>A little while back i posted a story on Oscar Pistorius, the runner with carbon fiber lower legs, and whether or not he would be able to compete in the 2008 beijing olympics. the IAFF has concluded that his artificial limbs do provide an unfair advantage (less wind resistance), and he is thus uneligible to run against non-handicapped athletes.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/07/16/bc.run.iaaf.amputeespri.ap/index.html?cnn=yes</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843442007-07-14T20:00:00-04:002021-08-10T12:29:39-04:00FundaMental
<p>i have recently been engrossed in the a book called Under the Banner of Heaven by Jonathan Krakauer. it is an in-depth look into the brutal murder of a young woman and her infant child at the hands of her brothers-in-law. the brothers were fundamentalist mormons who claimed that God commanded the killings, and they therefore feel no remorse for following the big guy's orders. Krakauer delves into the culture that produced these abominations, and it is absolutely fascinating.
on a totally related note, CNN reported that Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints, has been indicted on extra counts of accomplicing a rape.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/12/polygamy.charges/index.html
making his way onto the FBI's 10 most wanted list, Jeffs was finally caught On August 28, 2006, around 9 p.m. Pacific time. Warren Jeffs was pulled over on Interstate 15 in Clark County, Nevada, by Nevada Highway Trooper Eddie Dutchover because Jeffs' red 2007 Cadillac Escalade's temporary license plates were not visible. One of Jeffs' wives, Naomi Jeffs, and his brother, Issac Steve Jeffs, were with him, and Jeffs had four computers, 16 cell phones, disguises (including three wigs and twelve pairs of sunglasses), and more than $55,000 in cash.
the "prophet, seer, and revelator" continues to lead his church from jail, although there are assertions that his brother Nephi is really in control, as Warren is the only one allowed to preside over sect marriages, and that can't happen from jail.....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843432007-07-01T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00crazymonk
<p>at the end of this month, i'm going to vist my best friends marco and lee in las vegas!
check out marco's amazing website
www.crazymonk.org</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843422007-06-25T20:00:00-04:002021-09-08T14:55:00-04:00The Invention of Hugo Cabret
<p>so i bought this book that a friend of mine created. i knew it would be amazing because he is amazing, but this exceeded my already high expectations! it's called The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and it is by Brian Selznick.
moreover, on the website for the book, there is a links page which has so far provided me with literally hours of wonder and amazement.
check it:
http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_brian_weirdsites.htm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843412007-06-18T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00intactivists unite!
<p>http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/06/18/circumcision.decline.ap/index.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843402007-06-03T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00R.I.P. Cheetah
<p>Monday, June 4, 2007 was Cheetah's last day on Earth. She had been diagnosed with intestinal cancer, and the immunosuppresant shot she had received left her susceptible to a really awful cold. She couldn't eat, and had a trouble breathing, and so our very kind veterinarian neighbor euthanized her in her home. It is a strange thing to schedule death. In the end, i think all the wonderful animal companions who have left me have helped me learn more about death and how necessary it is. She was a handful, to be sure, but it is a burden i would gladly bare if i could have her back and healthy.
goodbye, Cheetah.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843392007-05-13T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Cyborgs!
<p>here's a really interesting story:
http://tinyurl.com/2eztys
this guy has had carbon fiber lower legs since infancy, and is now kicking ass at sprinting. he is hoping to be allowed to compete in 2008 Olympics, not the Paralympics, which occur just after the regular competition.
Do his high tech feet give him an unfair advantage? or is he working on a comparable scale to runners with natural feet?
the most amazing bit in the article is that his coach's name is Ampie.
here's more if the article is a dead link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborgs</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843382007-04-23T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00defendants gone wild!
<p>i normally try to keep my schadenfreude in check, but i must admit to no small amount of joy from the news that joe francis, creator of "girls gone wild," and career misogynist, will spend 35 days in jail for contempt of court.
http://tinyurl.com/2w6m77
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Francis
just to be clear, i don't consider him a misogynist because of what he does, but how he does it.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843372007-03-29T20:00:00-04:002022-07-26T18:48:59-04:00iTube
<p>i finished a video project for some footage of the Fortune Teller and posted it on YouTube.
i hope you like it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4db9Ifxut3s</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843362007-03-06T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00the Death of America
<p>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/books/08capt.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843352007-03-05T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00good verdict
<p>today i. lewis "scooter" libby was found guilty on 4 out of 5 counts of obstruction of justice and perjury.
'tis a small victory, but it's nice to know politicians can still sometimes be held accountable for misdeeds.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6424319.stm</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843342007-03-03T19:00:00-05:002022-03-16T15:15:53-04:00good quote
<p>"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843332007-03-01T19:00:00-05:002021-08-17T13:06:18-04:00captain midnight!!!
<p>i recently got "the wire" on netflix, and i believe i am hooked. it's pretty gritty, with an ambivalence towards justice that i really appreciate.
anyways, so "the wire" is on HBO, and so i wikd it. then i found out about this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Midnight_%28HBO%29
way to go!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843322007-02-18T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00the next level
<p>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208988/
worst. movie. ever.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843312007-02-16T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00scrotum!
<p>i don't know how long this link will be active:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/books/18newb.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
"The Higher Power of Lucky" is a Newbury Award winning children's book that uses the word "scrotum" on the opening page. Imagine the outrage.....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843302007-02-12T19:00:00-05:002022-03-09T23:41:08-05:00Google Earth 4
<p>wow.
http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843292007-02-05T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00whoops.
<p>i take it back. donnie davies' "god hates fags" video is still alive and kickin' on the site.
in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BWTsn7SmHQ davies implores us to not call him "fat." also, he can dunk a basketball.
on a totally different topic, i have been obsessed with these graphic novels: http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1736
the story is witty and amazing. what bums me out is that i am hooked, because each trade collection costs $12.99, takes 20 minutes to read, and leaves wanting more. there are 8 of them! that's more than $100 for a story! argh. why do i love comic books!?
but if you're looking for bang-for-the-buck action read Shogun, by James Clavell. it rules. all i'm gonna say is: pirates and samurai.
check it out: http://tinyurl.com/27sy2w</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843282007-02-05T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Ewwww .....Awww ....
<p>'til death do us bind:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=434454&in_page_id=1770
speaking of lovers, it looks like the Donnie Davies "God Hates Fags" link has been shut down all over the Net. sorry folks.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843272007-01-29T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Uncyclopedia
<p>so, you all know of my love for wikipedia.
here's a wikipedia-sponsored humorous version of its own site:
http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
i found this site in a roundabout way. i went looking for information on Oscar Wilde, after donnie davies proclaimed oscar wilde as a role-model for reformed homosexuals.
what?
check out donnie's gift to the music world here:
http://www.eveningservice.com/Video
please don't think i endorse this dude. i just think it's sad. and hilarious!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843262007-01-12T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Heavy Metal BeBop
<p>RIP Michael Brecker.
http://www.michaelbrecker.com/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843252007-01-06T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:17-05:00Letterman!!!
<p>hey y'all!
guess what.
i am very excited to announce that i will be playing drums for Josh Ritter on the David Letterman Show!
This friday, january 12. tune in. watch me make stupid faces when i play! on national tv!
http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/
also, check out this list from kottke.org.
http://www.kottke.org/07/01/the-best-links-2006
it kept me enthralled for HOURS. (thanks marco!)</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843242006-12-30T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00happy new year!
<p>new things in 2007:
eliot spitzer will be governor of new york as of midnight!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer
longer daylight savings time!
http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html
on july 7, there will be a NEW list for the 7 wonders of the world:
http://www.new7wonders.com/
so long, 2006!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843232006-12-24T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00Merry Xmas!
<p>have a great christmas! and a happy new year!
p.s. RIP james brown:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843222006-12-17T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00say anything
<p>in this time of holiday shopping, i am reminded of the words of john cusack:
Lloyd Dobler: I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.
powerful stuff.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843212006-12-11T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00St. Louis
<p>A friend just described this place to me, and i REALLY wanna go:
http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp
alas, it is about the only reason to head to missouri.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843202006-12-03T19:00:00-05:002022-07-24T15:43:31-04:00"we're going to blow up the moon."
<p>it's official folks.
moon base.
that's right. NASA plans to build a permanent home near the one of the poles on earth's moon.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6208456.stm
this snippet from Wikipedia....
The United States' Apollo program achieved the first (and only) manned missions to the Moon: The first manned mission to orbit the Moon was Apollo 8 in 1968, and the first people to land and walk on the Moon came aboard Apollo 11 in 1969. The unsuccessful Soviet manned Moon project was abandoned in 1974. The Moon is the only celestial body other than the Earth upon which human beings have walked.
Contents
....should entice you to read the rest of the article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843192006-12-01T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00This is really f****d up right here
<p>these past weeks, i have been buying the New York Daily News for 50 cents a pop, mostly because it contains 2 crossword puzzles and a jumble.
mostly.
anyways, the talk of the town has been the fatal shooting of Sean Bell.
check out this NYTimes multimedia coverage:
http://tinyurl.com/y5qs7l
the information age is truly a wonderful thing, as our news sources adapt with the times....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843182006-11-21T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00The Departed
<p>no, not the movie.
raise a glass, ladies and gentleman.
last night, around 11:30, our beloved cat Fanny passed from this world. she had been listless for a few days, and when i hurried her to the vet, she expired during the diagnosis. the veteranarian believed it to be a congenital heart defect.
i miss her very much.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843172006-11-19T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00sorrysorrysorry
<p>it's been too long since my last post, and i apologize.
my excuse: while on the last page of my midterm paper, my cat spilled Coke all over my computer.
$540 later, i have a much less sticky laptop.
so what's been going on?
dems retook the house and senate. on one hand, i am ecstatic. on the other hand, i realize that their success was based in a large part on the glaring failures of the republicans (foleygate, plamegate, etc.). this makes me skeptical of the future.
what else, you say? well, The Fotune Teller went so well that they have extended our run! that's right! all thru december, you can check out the hottest (puppet) show in town. get info HERE:
http://www.here.org/who/artists/fortune_teller/
that's it for now.
i promise to keep up the posts!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843162006-10-24T20:00:00-04:002021-08-25T07:08:40-04:00pretty big news day
<p>jersey supreme court upholds queer equality:
http://tinyurl.com/y95gp8
that's pretty big.
Bush seemingly about-faces on the "everything's fine" strategy regarding iraq:
http://tinyurl.com/yy5q5q
that's also pretty big.
it's kind of scary that i can see the future. iraq is in ruins, and the strategy now seems to be making unreasonable demands on the barely functional iraqi government, and then blame them for not being commited to democracy, thereby providing an excuse for withdrawal.
prove me wrong, W. prove me wrong.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843152006-10-23T20:00:00-04:002021-08-05T13:30:56-04:00where have i been?!!
<p>hello all!
so i've been running myself ragged between work, school, and The Fortune Teller (a new puppet play).
check out the NYT article on the show:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/theater/22done.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
today is my first day off in about a month, and it feels a little alien. and by "day off," i mean i have a 5 page paper due and a midterm tomorrow afternoon. and here i am, blogging.
The Fortune Teller is going splendidly, and tickets are rapidly selling out! if you can, check the box office to see if more are available:
http://here.org/see/now/
in other news, congratulations to Jeff and Kerrin Walling on the arrival of Julian! pretty soon, jeff and his offspring will be tearing up the nation, Partridge-Family-style.
hmmm.. what else what else what else.....
that's all i can think of for now! check back soon!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843142006-09-09T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:49:48-05:00Babbo 3: The Reckoning
<p>Last thursday, i went for my 3rd visit to Babbo (http://www.babbonyc.com), and it was every bit as exciting and amazing as the last 2 times. We took a gamble and tried the pasta tasting menu (http://www.babbonyc.com/menu2.html#tasting), and it turned out to be simply marvelous. the 1st dish , Black Tagliatelle with Charred Corn and Castelmagno, competed for my affection, but it was the 5th dish, the Pappardelle Bolognese, that stole my heart. the service was wonderful, as always, and the soundtrack included "Yoshime vs. The Pink Robots" by The Flaming Lips.
if ya got the dough, you gotta go.
i'm just saying.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843132006-09-02T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00thank youtube
<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUZiyLdqeUQ</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843122006-09-02T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00banksy links
<p>here's some links to bbc stories about banksy, the guerilla artist.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5310416.stm (because she sucks)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/5193552.stm (the fact that the town voted to keep it makes me happy)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4748063.stm (imagine being shot at while spraypainting)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3084053.stm (hot & distressed?)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2018739.stm (god save the chimp)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4563751.stm (banksymus maximus)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4382245.stm (a peek at his methods)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/photo_gallery/3077005.stm
(more of his "turf war" show, as well as a cover for a Blur album)</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843112006-08-28T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00OK....
<p>GO!!!
so getting my flash player back means i can watch stuff like this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RbdbVhBGETQ
or, even better, its sequel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72otRRT3lEE&NR
enjoy.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843102006-08-27T20:00:00-04:002022-07-25T17:15:27-04:00live free or die
<p>so..... militias. being an american in the 21st century, i have forgotten what it is like when there is more than one "army."
you'd think i'd be familiar with them. america was originally defended by militias.
politically, i always assume 1 state vs another = 1 army vs. another, but this is not always the case.
i am reading a book called "Five Points," about the infamous new york slum. it's not very good. but it is very thorough. the idea that elections were decided mostly through mob violence may seem a little weird now, but in 19th century irish-american politics, that's how it got done. the candidate with the best bruisers ccontrolled the polling station, thereby allowing only those voting favorably to make it out with all his teeth. and these enforcers were more often than not firemen! the fire brigades were miniature armies, poised to assist politcal bigwigs when it came time to vote. they even scuffled with other brigades to decide which engine company was allowed to put out a fire!
speaking of brigades, let's look at iraqi militas. not only are there Coalition of the Willing forces (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2862343.stm), which are multifaceted enough, there are also several armed factions of iraqis. obviously there are Sunni vs. Shiite tensions/divisions throughout the country, but even the Shiite population is split. the Badr Brigade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badr_Organization), once an outlaw militia, now comprises a majority of the offical Iraqi Army and police force. exiled by Saddam Hussein and forced to flee to Iran, the Badr Brigade is a Shiite army that is extremely pro-Iranian, fighting against Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War ('80-'88). Also in existence is the Mahdi Army, headed by Moqtada al-Sadr, another Shiite milita that formed in 2003 as a response to the American invasion. sorry, occupation. although Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani has brokered an uneasy truce between the US and the Mahdi armies, the made headlines today with some serious clashes (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5293278.stm). apparently, this is a result of ANOTHER militia being formed from the Mahdi faction, opposing al-Sadr's participation in the Coalition government.
even the insurgents are splintered into militias. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a figurehead of foreign insurgents, but considered an interloper by Baathists, the Mahdi, and other Iraqi insurgents.
what about militias in other parts of the world? you may ask.
let's see:
the janjaweed (http://savedarfur.org/)
the IRA (http://www.sinnfein.ie/)
and, most notoriously right now,
Hezbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah)
"There is a violence that liberates, and a violence that enslaves; there is a violence that is moral and a violence that is immoral"
- Benito Mussolini
what?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843092006-08-22T20:00:00-04:002021-04-19T00:52:34-04:00FLASH!
<p>AH AAAHHHH!!!!!
FLASH!
so for weeks now, my flash player has been defunct, due to some glitch that i was unable to conquer. i dealt, forgoing homestar runner and youtube, but i was fretting daily.
and now it's back. i can't explain it. i did install a new security update last night, so maybe that did it. all i know is, i just watched a crapload of flash movies.
in other flash news:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080745/
http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/
http://www.flashmountain.com/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843082006-08-15T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00is it wrong....
<p>... to be attracted to a cartoon?
i just finished watching the 1st season of "Drawn Together," and i am smitten with Foxxy Love, voiced by Cree Summer. actually i love the whole show.
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/drawn_together/index.jhtml
it's a parody of all reality shows, in a house populated by spoofed cartoon characters.
check it out. now. but i highly recommend the unccensored version. cartoons, like puppets, that can swear are infinitely more funny than their censored counterparts.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843072006-08-12T20:00:00-04:002022-07-20T16:02:03-04:00Vertigo
<p>so, last night i watched the alfred hitchcock classic Vertigo (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052357/).
man, did it suck.
why is this movie such a hit? it bombed when it first opened. hitchcock was apparently very upset by that. but then it was willed to his daughter, as part of the 5 "lost hitchcocks." it went unseen (along with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Rear Window (1954), Rope (1948), and The Trouble with Harry (1955)) until 1984. i believe this absence just built a pressure cooker of hype for a film that really wasn't all that great.
sure it has a lot of metaphorical imagery combined with cool camera techniques (including the famous vertigo zoom, where the camera moves forward while the lens zooms outward), but the plot is held together by a thread. a frayed thread.
but the ending of Vertigo did remind me of the book i just finished and thoroughly enjoyed, "Smilla's Sense of Snow." at its center, Smilla's.... is a tale of vengeance, and in the final page we find Tork Hviid, the antagonist, running across pack ice, destined to either fall through it, or to become lost on the frozen landscape. either way he dies. but we don't get to watch. it has a wonderful final paragraph:
"Somewhere ahead of me the runnung figure slowly grows darker.
Tell us, they'll say to me. So we will understand and be able to resolve things. They'll be mistaken. It's only the things you don't understand that you can resolve. There will be no resolution."
I have no idea what that means, but i like it. i like it a lot.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843062006-07-28T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:16-05:00weekend
<p>so far, it has been a pure weekend. 3 days off. i watched some movies:
Elf (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0319343/), Citizen Kane (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/), and i am about to put on Walk The Line (http://www.johnnycash.com/) . I tried to watch Standing In the Shadows of Motown (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314725/), but it was faulty. this might be, i believe, Netflix's fatal flaw. i have had many a disc problem to report. but i can wait for a replacement. the movie contains an incredible 30sec clip of just the rhythm section playing, and they have a close-up on the tambourine player (also the pianist). he is the one that made the "motown feel" happen, in my opinion.
i played some tambourine with the barbarians on tuesday night, and it gave me a new appreciation for the instrument.
SITSOM also contains interview footage of Meshell Ndegeocello (http://www.okayplayer.com/meshell/), whom the BQP opened up for on Wednesday night (brook's last night in town!).
it was a really amazing night, but the standout feature had to be her new drummer, Dana Hawkins (http://tinyurl.com/q5jj8).
i believe the word for his technique is "ricockulous."
speaking of drummers, before the show, the dj was playing a whole bunch of spankrock (http://www.spankrock.net/), and who should i see later? Alex Epton aka XXXChange. it was really good to see him, and i was so hooked on his music that i went out and bought the album the next day (http://tinyurl.com/n3rl3).
needless to say, it was inspirational.
particularly the track "sweet talk."
so back to this weekend, and i had time enough to write a song! i messed around on ProTools (http://tinyurl.com/lgvds), and came up with a crappy little tune. it was a lot of fun.
then, not completely satisfied with amount of drumming i did today, i strapped on the iPod and played along to the following tracks:
"Check Up On It"-Beyonce feat. Slim Thug:
yup. i confess i paid $.99 for the hook alone.
"Memories Live"- Talib Kweli
"The World is Yours"- Nas:
Illmatic is one of the finest ever made...
"Work It"-Missy Eliot:
Timbaland is masterful on this track. one of my favorite parts of hip-hop is the "dropout." where most drummers would put a fill, the drums simply lay out.
Track 14-Reflection Eternal- Talib Kweli: proof that there is a little tiny dj in everyone's iPod.
Track 8- Alex Epton solo album-
further evidence of the miniDJ.
and, as if announcing this revelation,
"Tiny Dancer"- Elton John:
an abrupt departure from the previous set of songs, the miniDJ took me on a detour through soft rock.
"February Stars"- Foo Fighters:
not quite soft, but sensitive rock. Dave Grohl made one of my all-time favorite album with "The Colour and the Shape."
"The Crunge"- Led Zeppelin:
again, not exactly soft, but the pitchbending keyboard definitely takes the edge off. (note-to-self: odd meters are really tricky after playing hip hop songs for an hour).
then softly culminating in.....
"In The Dark"- Josh Ritter (http://www.joshritter.com/). i love this song. it is definitely not the most unique song on his new album (http://tinyurl.com/pccgc), but i love it just the same.
whew. that was a marathon weBlog.
cheers!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843052006-07-19T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00Park-core
<p>So i am very very very excited to see the latest installment of the James Bond series, "Casino Royale."
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381061/) they originally cast Pierce Brosnan, then recanted and instead chose Daniel Craig. aka the first blond bond. i am still a little skeptical about this choice in casting. sean connery really set the mold for tall, dark, and dead sexy. and it sees mr. craig was chosen on the strength of his biggest film, Layercake (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375912/). don't get me wrong, Layercake was fantastic, but it seems like a big gamble.
but isn't gambling what James Bond does best? well, maybe second best...
my friend Geoff tells me of his enjoyment of genres. as in, he can appreciate movies that may have been poorly recieved in the context of their place within the pantheon of films just like it. it is exciting to see what new twists writers/directors can infuse into an essentially formulaic piece.
one new twist in casino royale: the use of parkour (http://parkour.com/pk/). the producers enlisted the talents of M. Sebastien Foucan, who, along with childhood friend David Belle, are credited with creating the discipline known as parkour (or "free-running"). created in france, its practicioners are called "traceurs," and the basic object is total freedom of movement using the surrounding environment. imagine running at an urban landscape and take the most direct route possible. while some of the videos remind of lame skate movies, watch the "casino royale" trailer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381061/trailers), and you will see how hardcore it can be.
interesting tidbit: casino royale was made into a movie in 1967 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061452/), starring peter sellers and orson welles (and woody allen!). originally meant to be a straight adaptation, it was decided that the only way the film could rival the sean connery 007 was if it was turned into a parody. reportedly, sellers and welles insufferable divas on the set, to the point where they would not film scenes together.
another tidbit: for more parkour in movies, check out David Belle's District B13 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414852/).</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843042006-07-15T20:00:00-04:002021-08-16T07:30:14-04:00Riggs
<p>so we all love the first 2 lethal weapon movies, right? and mel gibson's character, martin riggs, is on the edge, sanity-wise. well, if the passion of the christ didn't completely convince you he's a few sandwiches short of a picnic, this will.
here is the trailer for Apocalypto, gibson's latest movie.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/apocalypto/large.html
just after you finish the scene where a pregnant woman is staring up into a light, pause the trailer. now use the lower right hand buttons to move forward frame by frame. keep going. you will know it when you see it.
while he may be crazy, here I am, promoting this trailer. so who's the crazy one?
thanks to mike crumsho!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843032006-07-14T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00chewbacca!
<p>ok. i admit it. i was using wikipedia to look up general grievous.
while i was there, i found this:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
it confirms the existence of nerd-life on this planet. enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843022006-07-14T20:00:00-04:002021-08-11T14:30:33-04:00i beg your pardon...
<p>the following is more of a mass transit issue, so i apologize to all you car-owners out there.
there is a phenomenon i have always been a part of, but had not realized others indulged in it as well. it is how i get my news in the morning. it is called eavesreading. that's right. peering over at whatever the person next to you is reading. most of the time it's one of our 2 major rags, the Post or the Daily News. sometimes it's a book. rarely is it porn.
the owner of said reading material almost always notices, but the social code is pretty laissez-faire.
i've gotten pretty good at it. i can read upside down, and i've even started eavesreading in spanish!
take a look around next time someone is reading the paper on a subway/train/bus. i bet you'll notice some enrapt passengers.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843012006-07-12T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00Hunter College
<p>I got in!!!
now what?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61843002006-06-28T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00Hamdan
<p>let's us rejoice:
http://tinyurl.com/m8upk
today the supreme court made an independent move at retaining the fragile checks & balances that keep this country running.
what's interesting is the opinion that this may actually AID the bush administration, in that it provide a clear way out of bad publicity it has been enduring over these prisoners murky legal status.
unfortunately for those IN camp delta, it has taken roughly 3 years for this decision to come about, and probably will take another 3 to move another painfully slow step forward.
the wheel of justice turns, however slowly.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842992006-06-27T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00p. schniddy
<p>come on down to Paul Schneider's Record Release Show at Magnetic Fields!
PAUL SCHNEIDER & THE CLOSE TALKERS
w/IAN LOVE
@ MAGNETIC FIELD
THURS, JUNE 29, 8 PM, $6
97 ATLANTIC AVENUE (f to jay or bergen, 2/3/4/5 to borough hall, a/c/e to jay)
http://magneticbrooklyn.com
8pm Ian Love
9pm Paul Schneider
it shall ruleth.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842982006-06-27T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00GOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL
<p>lessee.... a few things. Brook is moving on saturday. very sad. very strange. change is scary.
what else?
i went to see one of my favorite bands the other night. they are called Jerseyband (www.jerseyband.com), and they rule. they play Lungcore. in the midst of one of there songs (about breast implants), the infamous Matthew Lesko (the dude on late night TV in the riddler outfit who shows you how to get grants) (www.matthewlesko.com) dashes onstage and starts shouting "Free Money" and distributing his new DVD. it was surreal. and awesome.
what else? hmmm..... oh! i know. so i'm on refdesk.com, and they have a link to a Norwegian "doomsday" grain silo (http://tinyurl.com/ogn6s) called the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where they plan to house 3 million of the world's diverse seeds, as a sort of Noah's Ark of flora. then i'm thinking, "Svalbard. where do i know that from?" well, it turns out that Svalbard is a location in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dark_Materials), which i thoroughly enjoyed. There are lots of polar bears (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bears) on Svalbard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard).
interesting fact: polar bears are so well insulated that only there noses and breath appear on infrared viewing.
i am excited by the Seed Vault, as it is an international endeavour. just like FIFA's 2006 World Cup
(http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com). if you haven't caught any of the games, you should. these games do more for global awareness than the UN. put aside our american exceptionalism, call soccer its proper name, and watch the along with the world as some incredible athletes compete for world-wide glory.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842972006-06-12T20:00:00-04:002021-09-04T14:06:42-04:0042
<p>i know it sounds really trite, but the Internet is ASTOUNDING. truly. i think of it as (pardon me, carl) "the collective conscious." i think of how much it has changed humanity, and i want to put it in the "Salk Vaccine" category.
did you read/see "the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy?" (www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers)
the internet makes me believe that humans are a supercomputer charged with formulating the Ultimate Question.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842962006-06-07T20:00:00-04:002021-07-16T16:36:37-04:00woodstock
<p>so i visit refdesk.com occasionally. today's SOTD (site of the day) is thomas.loc.gov. THOMAS is a search engine for legislature. i typed in "abortion." the first were a few related to parental consent. the next few had to do with the "unborn child pain awareness act of 2005."
what?
speaking of pain awareness, today a little mouse ran right in front of me, only to be inadvertently stepped on by my co-pedestrian. it was awful.
the puppet-mobile also sat in traffic next to a truckload of live chickens on their way to the slaughter.
that was a trip.
speaking of love awareness, i am hooked on this sandwich called a "woodstock." hummus, cheese, avocado. MMMMmmmmmm.
www.woodstock69.com</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842952006-06-02T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00Lee!
<p>This is Lee Rowland. more of a sister than a best friend, i have known Lee since i was 13. i am extremely proud of her position as an ACLU lawyer (www.aclu.org) in Nevada, even if it does take her rather far away (www.nv.gov). she has a really cool tattoo of a fractal (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set). she knows some latin (www.thelatinlibrary.com). she will kick your ass in bridge (www.acbl.org), and she has really nice teeth (tinyurl.com/qwz6s).
and it is her birthday today!!! (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_June)
huzzah!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842942006-05-25T20:00:00-04:002022-05-29T07:11:28-04:004 day weekend
<p>holy crap i'm excited. 4 whole days off. i've been working like a dog, doing puppet shows in Canarsie, and then children's musicals in Webster Hall at night.
sidenote: Park Slope was originally inhabited by the canarsee indians.
i've been getting into new york history, as usual. this week's installment: Collect Pond.
Collect Pond was a 48 acre lake on the southern end of manhattan. on a modern map it would be bordered by Bayard St on the north and Worth St on the south. pre-colonially, "the Collect" provided fresh water for most of the early inhabitants. in the late 18th century (aka industrial revolution), the Collect became too polluted to be potable, and was condemned. drainage canals were dug to the east and west, and give us modern day Canal st. the infrastructure of Canal St is notoriously terrible, because there is no solid land underneath. due to improper landfilling, the land became marshy, attracting legions of mosquitoes, and driving the rich away, leaving the area ripe for the development of NYC's most infamous ghetto: Five Points.
after the Collect could not provide fresh water, the city created the Croton Aqueduct, which brought water from westchester county to Highbridge Tower in washington heights, and then on to a 180 million gallon repository in the middle of manhattan in an are known as Yorkville. from there, the water traveled to a slightly smaller repository known as the Croton Reservoir on 5th ave and 42nd st. we know it today as the NY Public Library.
crazy, right?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842932006-05-15T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00Flight 77
<p>So the pentagon just released video of flight 77 slamming into the building on 9/11. after having been sued under the Freedom of Information Act (god bless it).
a few things:
1) still unreliable footage. the plane is barely visible. i have a hard time believing what is supposed to be the most secure building in the world has no visual record of a jet airliner coming straight at it.
2) why the long wait? why not release it? the government said it was using the footage in its case against Zacarias Moussaoui. but public release would not hurt their case if the jury was already sequestered, right?
3) brook and i tried watching "uncovering the truth," a documentary claiming, among other things, that the WTC was brought down by strategically placed charges, and that the Pentagon was hit by something other than a jet. while i bleieve that there are many unanswered questions re: 9/11, i just can't see any motivation for such a complex scheme. occam's razor and all that.
on a happier note: don't you feel safer with 6,000 troops keeping those war-like Mexicans at bay?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842922006-05-14T20:00:00-04:002021-07-15T06:52:50-04:00ShimmerPlanet
<p>have you ever wanted to see Oscar play the solo from Stairway to Heaven verbatim? well now's your chance!
May 18, 2006
Shimmerplanet: A Better Place
CD Release Concert for "For the one who kills tomorrow"
Place: Metropolitan Community Church of New York
446 West 36th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues
New York, New York
Time: Doors at 7; Concert at 7:30
Cost: Free
Featuring: The art of Leah Beeferman, Tavet Gillson and Valerie King
Food, beverages, and giveaways</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842912006-05-14T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00Imminent Domain
<p>The Atlantic Yards (www.atlanticyards.com) are a new development proposed for downtown Brooklyn. headed by Bruce Ratner, owner of the NJ Nets, this project would install 17 new skyscrapers in Prospect Heights, as well as a stadium for the newly crowned "Brooklyn Nets."
I like change. change is good. but a lot of this deal is fishy. it reeks of the now-defunct West Side Stadium deal from last year. The MTA owns "the Vanderbilt Yards," which they appraised at $214 million. they are selling this property to City Forest Ratner (the private development company) for $100 million, after an 'open bid,' where rival developers were given 6 weeks to present altenative plans to a project that City Forest Ratner has been working on for years.
the MTA regularly claims budget deficits when it is time to raise the fares ($2.50 in 2007!). so why give this land away so cheaply?
i AM excited by the fact that the site is being designed by Frank Gehry and Laurie Olin. I believe the duo will produce a beautiful product (gehry's expertise is unique structures, while olin's lies in intergrating surrounding area).
i AM NOT excited by the use of public funds, or the liberal application of eminent domain. with a pledge of $200 million in public funds, as well as $1 billion in subsidies over the next 30 years, i have yet to see how this would be a worthwhile public investment. stadiums (stadii?) rarely increase the public coffers, and while the building of the complex will provide jobs, its intended purpose is only marginally commercial.
ratner has been smart enough to gain high-profile community support from groups like ACORN and borough pres Marty Markowitz, and has even signed a Community Benefits Agreement. the CBA states that 50% of the residential building should be affordable housing. unfortunately, they are using numbers from ALL of new york city to determine Average Median Income. manhattan just destroys the curve. also in the CBA is a clause providing 7.5 acres of "public land," but even this is not clearly laid out (http://tinyurl.com/lwdfl).
i'm no law-talking guy (you mean a lawyer?), but the use of eminent domain seems kind of odd in U.S. society. the supreme court decided that commercial real-estate developers have the right to invoke eminent domain if the project is in the "best interests of the municipality." my problem is this: who decides THAT? obviously the developers will have an army of litigators to present a slick presentation of the proposed project benefits. and although those ousted must be provided with "just compensation," numbers can be mutable, as the Average Median Income/ Affordable Housing issue has shown us.
Unlike the West Side Stadium, i believe this project is imminent. i embrace the change in the skyline and neighborhood. i just wish i didn't have to watch the rich get richer right in front of my eyes.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842902006-05-09T20:00:00-04:002023-12-10T11:41:54-05:00meh.
<p>something to pass the time:
http://www.gizoogle.com/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842892006-05-08T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:15-05:00amendment
<p>so, it was proposed that instead of the phrase "to wik it up" in lieu of "to look it up," one would simply say "to wik it."
as in, "i don't know; how MUCH wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? let's wik it."
some drawbacks: you may sound very much like a new englander, when the eventual confusion with the homophonic "wicked" occurs. luckily they are different parts of speech, so hopefully context will clear it up. also, past tense? "i wikd it?" a little strange to our BIG AMERICAN EYES, but better than "i wiked it," or "i wik'd it."
pros: streamlined. cut out the preposition "up," which creates dicey conjugation issues. in "The Power of Babel," McWhorter says that most languages are rife with needless appendages. holdovers from root languages. i say trim the fat. this is the 21st century: i want sleek, sexy language, not decorative rococo-style.
anyway.
"to wik" v. (Mod Eng) 1) to research using Wikipedia.org 2) to investigate
thoughts?
side note: the Voice ran an article on Wikitruth.info. it is a splinter site that claims to publish censored wikipedia articles. it seems kind of like a forum for wiki originators to bitch about each other and the behind-the-scenes politics of it all.
either way, it's worth a gander.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842882006-05-05T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Asterisk
<p>so my friend meredith started working at this new place called Perch.
granted i was starving, but i just ate there and the food was astounding.
veggie ruben, consisting of avocado, sauerkraut, gruyere, toasted using a foreman-like grill*, coupled with a scrummy cobb salad of grilled chicken, mesclun, egg**, tomato, avocado, feta, and something called 'green goddess dressing.'
all of THAT chased by a snicker-doodle/gelato sandwich.
i would describe this meal with the word "ambrosial."
* third time the foreman grill came up today in conversation. did you know george foreman made $150 million to endorse the "George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine?
**this being the 4th egg, 1st hard-boiled, that i have ever had in my life.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842872006-05-02T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00CT
<p>did you ever have your quiet, bucolic home town reduced to cold hard facts?
i did.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simsbury</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842862006-05-02T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00DFW
<p>so here's to my favorite book ever.
it's called Infinite Jest. i think i've mentioned before. it's by David Foster Wallace.
its size is intimidating, but its minutiae is the real gift.
how a man could construct something so beautiful i will never understand. this novel toys with you, entices you, loses you, angers you, enlightens you, but most importantly, it engages you.
there are so many characters, connections, and lessons in this book that i can't even begin to present an adequate explanation of "what it's about."
suffice it to say, you will be a better person for having read this book.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842852006-04-30T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Bonzo
<p>some new things:
i've changed the English language.
instead the infinitive "to look," i propose the alternative "to wik."
as in "I don't know, maybe i'll wik it up."
so on May 18th, 2006, i am going to play "Stairway to Heaven" at a gig. in front of people.
i quickly threw on the Led Zeppelin DVD from 2003.
then i quickly wik'd up John Bonham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bonham)
then i found this site:
http://tinyurl.com/m5bdn
it originally had a verrrrry long address, but jmay hipped me to tinyurl.com, which trims a lot of the textual fat. for free! forever!
but findagrave.com? that's amazing!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842842006-04-28T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00on drums
<p>when i was in 4th grade, we were given a choice of instruments to play. i chose the drums because i tapped a lot. they gave us a book, a drum pad, and some sticks.
i was a terrible student! i didn't practice. i mean, what kind of fun is a pad? but i perservered, and on my 12th birthday, my parents were foolish enough to buy my a 5-piece drumset. this kit (affectionately dubbed "shitkit") has now seen most of the U.S. and a long stretch of western Canada.
i feel incredibly blessed to play the drums, and that i have parents who were so supportive of something that many consider disruptive. drums gave me something to focus my energy on. when i began, i was obsessed with the drums themselves, and players who could dazzle me with their technical wizardry. as time progressed, and especially after my arrival in new york, i realized that drums were just a means to make music, which was the grander goal. i have never considered myself particularly adept at music. i am practically tone deaf. it never came easily. but this only strengthened my resolve, because the point is not to attain your desires, but to work towards them.
drums have taken me to places i would never have visited. i've met so many wonderful people through musical endeavours, and there's no real end in site. my goals and abilities have shifted around over the years, but i am thankful that i have music as a constant in my life.
thus spake zaraliam.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842832006-04-26T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00bridges
<p>so it's been awhile.
been busy with some strange gigs.
oscar & i traveled all the the way to delaware to play for Alison White (http://www.missdelaware.org/alisonwhite.htm), aka miss delaware 1997.
the whole weekend felt like a christopher guest movie.
but to and from the gig, we passed over the delaware canal bridge. check it out: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/images/canddcb.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/canddcb.htm&h=224&w=326&sz=37&tbnid=o8Coua1apSMAAM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=114&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddelaware%2Bcanal%2Bbridge%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG
goddamit that's a long link.
hostbaby is perhaps not the best at this whole "internet" thing. but then again, neither am i.
another bridge that looks just like this is the Zakim Bridege in boston:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.backbaypress.com/images/corporate-05.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.backbaypress.com/corporate-05.html&h=345&w=517&sz=86&tbnid=JPsiN5c8QbrTSM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=128&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dzakim%2Bbridge%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG
another long link. damn.
and finally, i once saw a similar bridge in Ireland: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gtx2.net/images/boyne_bridge.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gtx2.net/2005/03/up-north.htm&h=301&w=410&sz=91&tbnid=FYh_N6R7e1C2lM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=121&hl=en&start=14&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dboyne%2Bbridge%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DX
these may not interest you in the slightest, but i have always dug bridges. i like the functionality mixed with aestheticism.
and of course, the ultimate in bridge sculpture is in my backyard:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://brooklyn-bridge.visit-new-york-city.com/Brooklyn-Bridge-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://brooklyn-bridge.visit-new-york-city.com/&h=252&w=322&sz=17&tbnid=Td-0cAbEgtd-vM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=114&hl=en&start=9&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrooklyn%2Bbridge%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
sorry for the long links! enjoy.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842822006-04-09T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00encomium
<p>a haiku:
perfect pixie cut
she saved my life, for rizzle
zeitlin forever!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842812006-04-04T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Prison
<p>so here's an interesting comparison of the world's prison populations:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/06/prisons/html/nn2page1.stm
check out kenya's 343% jail occupancy level.
in other amazing african news, Jacob Zuma, South Africa's ex-deputy president and head of the National AIDS Council, is on trial for rape. Aware that the defendant was HIV-Positive, Zuma stated that the two had consensual, unprotected sex, and that he showered afterwards to "minimize the risk of contracting the disease."
wow. the head of the National AIDS Council believes showering to be an effective defense. lots of things need to change in Africa, and this kind of ignorance is one of them.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842802006-04-02T20:00:00-04:002021-06-24T06:51:30-04:00it's done!
<p>so the homepage and pics page both have a picture of my newest creations for the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre: a Carnival Float fit for a king. was a very difficult assignment design-wise, because gaudy is not my forte. garish things tend to offend my eye, so i needed constant prodding from my coworkers to glitz the shitz out of this thing. next is to see if i built it sturdy enough to withstand a year's worth of shows.
other news... oh don't forget! Bruce Lee and Ursa Minor rock the house tomorrow night (4/4) at the Bowery Poetry Club.
what else, you say?! well. i heard there is going to be a Simpsons movie, which is pretty cool. I know the simpsons suck now, but i will still watch them out of a sense of loyalty and pride. this show literally shaped my personality. so kudos for attempting a movie, even if the format is all wrong.
cool site:
www.refdesk.com</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842792006-03-26T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00It's Not Fare
<p>So i swipe my metrocard, and the readout says, "Swipe MetroCard Again At This Turnstyle." So i do as commanded. same thing. one more try, and the readout says, "Just Used." which basically means you do not pass Go, and you do not catch your train.
My good friend Anne, being a good friend, suggests the maneuver we pulled yesterday, which consists of one swipe, 2 people, and a crowded turnstyle.
mission accomplished, right?
wrong. i should have known better. 168th is crawling with NY's Finest, and, long story short, we BOTH end up with $60 tickets.
just another small reminder about how Powerless i am.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842782006-03-24T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Bruce Lee
<p>Bruce Lee has a gig! our semi-annual extravanganza is gonna be good. We are playing The Bowery Poetry Club (www.bowerypoetry.com) on Tuesday, April 4, with the magnificent Ursa Minor.
www.bruceleeband.com
speaking of bruce lee:
Bruce Lee's striking speed from 2 feet away was five hundredths of a second. (Glover[6])
Bruce did push ups using only 2 fingers.
Bruce was able to break a 150lb bag with a sidekick. (Coburn[7])
Bruce would ride for 45 minutes (10 Miles) on a stationary bike, sweating profusely afterwards. (Uhera [8])
Bruce's last movie Enter the Dragon was made for $850,000 in 1973 ($3.75 million in 2005 currency[9]). To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $90,000,000. (IMDB.com[10])
thnxwiki!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842772006-03-24T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Chlkdst@aol.com
<p>this was my first e-mail address ever. my family got aol in 1994(?), and since every variation of "liam hurley" was taken, i chose the name of my high school band, Chalk Dust. i would post some our music, but it was so long ago that our most professional demo was recorded to tape!
Chalk Dust was such a formative experience for the place i am today. my hat's off to John, Matt, Tommy, and Liam (Chapman), wherever you guys are.
so but anyway, Chlkdst@aol.com is coming to an end. i am sad to see it go, but letting go is therapuetic. Au revoir!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842762006-03-18T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Crappy Anniversary!
<p>3.19
2003-2006
2519 Coalition dead
17214 Coalition wounded
~97000 Iraqi dead</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842752006-03-17T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Mother Hubbard
<p>So Chef, aka Isaac Hayes, will no longer be on Southpark! Hayes quit after the infamous "scientology episode," issuing this hypocrtical statement:
"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."
there has been many a quip parleyed, but i enjoyed this response from the creator, after the offending episode was yanked:
"So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies."
not that i can watch southpark anymore, but i did order season 5 thru Netflix! i just signed up, and i gotta say, so far it has been WAY better than any video store around here.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842742006-03-15T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Ittai
<p>the photo on main home page is of one Ittai Korman, the proud new owner of an electronic drumset.
playing drums in NYC in not an easy task. manhattan contains 1,537,195 people within an island 13 miles long and 2.3 miles wide. vertical living is a must, as is proximity.
so but recently, two of my students have bought electronic drums as a logical solution. it is awesome! i've always wanted one of these things! there is so much new stuff to learn!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842732006-03-11T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00getting it done.
<p>we have an expression 'round here. it's called "gettin' it done."
sundays are good for getting it done. laundry, trash, cooking, scheduling, surfing, exercising, billing, scrubbing, thinking, napping, sweeping, reading, practicing, and plenty of other gerunds.
i saw a play yesterday. alison took me. it was called "the Lieutenant of Inish More."
this is an NYT review:
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/theater/reviews/28inis.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1142223952-JHWlgHD44VPVdjN9H/tIKA
it was freakin' awesome! i've never seen so much stage blood! and i was crushing on the short-haired galway girl for the entire 2 hours. irish accents make me MELT.
other news.... i'm learning lots of new 10 cent words by using the dictionary as i read Infinite Jest.
some of my favs:
concupiscent= lustful
bradykinetic= slow, lethargic
post-prandial= after dinner/meal
what else, you say?
i am eagerly awaiting brook's return from the road with Royal Pine (http://www.royalpinemusic.com/); this place is too big, and cheetah throws up too much.
totally random fact: koalas have a marsupial puch that open downward, which suggests it evolved from a burrowing animal. also, the fossil record shows that there were once giant koalas.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842722006-03-07T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00recycling
<p>hello world! some stuff:
1) brook's qawaali party is, without question, newsworthy. check out this really cool clip of them on CNN!
http://www.brookmartinez.com/music.html
2) south dakota is trying to ban abortions, and they're doing a pretty good job. currently there is only 1 place to get an abortion in all of SD (pop.~770,000); Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls. they rotationally fly in 4 Minnesotan doctors only once a week. (pro-life) gov. mike rounds has yet to sign the bill, but it is only a matter of time. planned parenthood has challenged the law as illegal under Roe v. Wade, which it undoubtedly is. the hope is that the Supreme Court, with new justices roberts and alito, will take another look at the 1973 case.
while i hope the south dakota law will be nullified, i know the race is WAY too close for comfort. abortion, from what i can discern, is unconstitutional because it violates our interpretation of "privacy." but these orwellian times of ours have shown how mutable and illusory our idea of privacy can be.
3) speaking of george orwell, i tried to reread '1984' recently. but had to put it down. boooring.
but i did retackle my favorite book in the world, Infinite Jest, and it's great! i know it's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842712006-03-02T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:14-05:00Friday!
<p>is the best day. unless i have to work on saturday. which i don't!
hmmm. something new. lessee.
migraines. migraines suck. blinding pain, nausea, and an inability to do anything about it. and yet i am hesistant to go to a doctor. why? because i don't believe they can help me. does anyone else have trouble putting faith in their doctor?
the last time i went to a doctor, to tell him i was having lower back pain, he was writing a prescription for muscle relaxants before i was finished talking. now, i don't have a medical degree, and i don't believe to heavily in alternative medicines, but common sense would dictate that he inform me of some stretches or exercises i could try, or even ask where precisely it hurt.
my friend's father, Dr. Kassirer, wrote a great book called "On The Take," about the conflict of interest between pharmaceutical companies and doctors. interesting stuff. check it out if you can.
what else? reapplying to grad school, so i've been mired in more paperwork than i'm used to.
second time's a charm?
in the news: let's hear it for a second cold-war style arms race heating up in the middle east. i am curious as to our nuclear dealings with India. they did not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, so what right does the administration have to deal with them? since they seem to enjoy flouting the law, i guess this is just another example.
sigh.
i have heard rumors of cheney stepping down after the mid-term elections. anyone wanna place bets?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842702006-02-23T19:00:00-05:002022-07-26T16:47:25-04:00Titillate An Ocelot
<p>it's been a re-reading type of month, but that's not a bad thing. i reread Caleb Carr's "The Alienist" and "The Angel of Darkness," as well as "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem (an incredible book). i also had time to read "The Gun Seller" by Hugh Laurie (TV's "House, M.D."), which royally kicked arse.
where to next, is the question?
so, i've been eating like a king as of late: i wrote about the first fancy dinner i had, but here is the full menu from that meal (thnx jesse):
lamb shank ravioli
japanese eggplant and unagi (eel)
sweetbreads with celery vinagrette
guinea hen
veal cheek risotto with truffle foam
striped bass with brandade (pronounced: "brand-aid")
passion fruit panna cotta
white chocolate chowder
chocolate cake
and then, for a most EXCELLENT valentine's day, sara and i ate at Po, this swank-ass restaurant on Cornelia in Village. originally a Batali joint, it was a perfect choice.
we ordered the taster's menu, where the chef comes up with something suited to your tastes.
it was:
Insalate made of raddicio, carmelized onions, gorgonzola, toasted pine nuts
tortelloni stuffed with ricotta and kale, in butter and parmesan
lamb with curried white bean, sun-dried tomato & chipotle harissa, on a layer of cumin yogurt
hand-made gnocchi with rabbit in tomato sauce
sheep's milk cheese, goat's milk cheese, and another we couldn't remember
panna cotta with the scrummiest wild cherries imaginable
warm apple tart with vanilla bean icce cream
it was an extraordinary meal, and something to strive for.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842692006-02-11T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00The Man, the Myth, the Voice-Over Artist
<p>i want to bear Eddie Izzard's children.
sara pointed me towards these:
http://www.recyclenow.com/about_recyclenow/the.html
they are a series of recycling commercials that are all CGI-animated, where Izzard seems to simply narrate what he sees for the first time, and yet it leaves me rolling on the floor. or 'rotf' for all you IMers out there.
happy presidents' day!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842682006-02-10T19:00:00-05:002022-08-14T02:11:00-04:00Cena
<p>Dinner is my favorite meal. i was never a breakfast person. lunch is pretty awesome, but dinner pretty much owns the day. which is contrary to how diet gurus would suggest we eat. but f them.
the other night i ate dinner at Brasserie 8 1/2 (http://www.rapatina.com/brasserie8/). it was restaurant week in NYC, meaning the best eateries have reduced prices and special menus. since my search for an online copy of of the menu came up fruitless, i will attempt to remember some of the highlights (jesse, clarissa, et alia help me out!).
appetizers: the sweetbread won of the 3 choices. sweetbread is NOT bread, rather it is a thyroid gland. icky? yes. delicious? surprisingly.
there was an eggplant dish that wasn't amazing.
duck ravioli with a butternut squash sauce came in second.
but the winner of the evening, for me at least, was veal with risotto, served in a ginormous bowl. so creamy! it was my second time eating veal, and my conscience nagged at me a little, until the sensory explosion silenced it.
next fancy dinner in the works: Po.
check it out:
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/listings/restaurant/po01/</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842672006-02-06T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00Reality Bites
<p>i guess the lesson for the week is: don't draw pictures of Muhammed.
has the world gone mad?
ostensibly, the ban on depicting muhammed is to prevent idolatry.
but isn't violently protesting a cartoon deifying its subject? isn't this tautology?
now iran has cut off trade with denmark, and is sponsoring a contest for the best holocaust related cartoon. they have also formally rebuffed the IAEA, and abandoned russia's offer of exported uranium.
i would say the glass is half-empty at this point.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842662006-02-04T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00CouldaShouldaWoulda
<p>So..... for years i had this idea to do a marionette music video. i told myself i would use "One With the Freaks," by The Notwist, which is one of my all time favorite songs.
Then Marco posts this link:
http://www.keithschofield.com/
this guy directed several videos, one of them being "One With the Freaks!" and he used puppets!
i am ticked that i didn't get the opportunity to follow through, but i am simultaneously happy that mr. schofield did the song justice. it's a great video. enjoy.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842652006-01-31T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00Plugging
<p>?uestlove.
the man is my hero.
his music, his work ethic, his production, everything! he does is great.
i've heard from those that have met him that he is not exactly congenial, but i will reserve judgement until i meet him.
did you know he has a MySpace blog? he keeps it updated, and it is really interesting to see what he is up to.
here is a link to a film trailer that i can not wait to see. i have been waiting for this to be released for over a year!
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/davechappellesblockpartyqt1.html
dave chappelle and michel gondry teaming up to bring us the best concert bill in a looong time.
to bring it full circle, the idea was inspired by Richard Pryor's Wattstax.
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842642006-01-25T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00Unplugging
<p>i think it is really important for me to unplug myself from web/tv culture every once and awhile. i did away with my tv as a new year's resolution, and it has greatly improved my winter. no more hoping that tonight's CSI is going to be even better than the last. now if i could just stop incessantly viewing homestar runner.com.
soooo. i finished working on Ice Cream for Diablo, and it went smashingly! people seemed to love it, and a few of the Henson brood even extolled its greatness. so, here's to the future of Oliver's endeavours.
now i have a gig filling in for a friend at PuppetWorks, my local Park Slope marionette theater. if anyone has ever wanted to see me dressed as an ogre onstage with a puppet version of puss'n'boots, the time is nigh.
non-sequitir: i saw Lord of War recently, and combined with the trailer for Why We Fight, i am convinced we deserve all the destruction that will inevitably rain down upon us. humanity's avarice has become a means to justify our innate propensity for violence.
speaking of a propensity for violence, i finished reading The Mole People, a non-fiction investigation into the "homeless" who live beneath New York. what an amazing story! thousands of people inhabit the tracks, tunnels, and caverns that go down at least 8 stories below our city. the author, jennifer toth, was lucky enough to survive her encounters in the tunnels, where life is very cheap. what is amazing is the amount of humanity and caring amidst the violence and drugs.
if i had three thumbs, i would put them all up for this book.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842632006-01-13T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00what a wonderful world...
<p>so i added some new pix (just 3). i think they help illustrate the fact that i live in the best city on earth.
enjoy!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842622006-01-13T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00Extracurricular Puppets
<p>so i've been burning the candle at both ends recently, creating and rehearsing Ice Cream for Diablo, and it premieres this week!
here is the info:
http://www.here.org/HARP05/diablo.html
it is going to be very short and very sweet.
oliver is an incredibly talented man. here is a gallery of some of his work, including a picture of this life-sized Star Wars Bantha that i was able to help construct and accompany in the NYC Halloween Parade.
http://www.artdorks.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=14
it is mounted on a U-Haul truck that my other good friend anne posluszny had to drive BACKWARDS all the way up 6th ave!
the show is fast approaching. raise your hand if you love deadlines!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842612006-01-13T19:00:00-05:002021-09-02T13:20:28-04:00Larkin
<p>jeff walling, aka the coolest dad on the planet, has a short news story he would like to share with us.
jeff?
Did Jesus exist? Court to decide
Wednesday, January 4, 2006; Posted: 1:35 p.m. EST (18:35 GMT)
ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- Forget the U.S. debate over intelligent design versus evolution. An Italian court is tackling Jesus -- and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago. The case pits against each other two men in their 70s, who are from the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary school in their teenage years.
The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in court later this month.
"I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression," Cascioli told Reuters.
Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two Italian laws. The first is "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is "Sostituzione di Persona," or impersonation.
"The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of Gamala," Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought against the Roman army.
A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted, at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the case has enough merit to go forward.
"In my book, 'The Fable of Christ,' I present proof Jesus did not exist as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of Christ's existence," Cascioli said.
Speaking to Reuters, Righi, 76, sounded frustrated by the case and baffled as to why Cascioli -- who, like him, came from the town of Bagnoregio -- singled him out in his crusade against the Church.
"We're both from Bagnoregio, both of us. We were in seminary together. Then he took a different path and we didn't see each other anymore," Righi said.
"Since I'm a priest, and I write in the parish newspaper, he is now suing me because I 'trick' the people."
Righi claims there is plenty of evidence to support the existence of Jesus, including historical texts.
He also claims that justice is on his side. The judge presiding over the hearing has tried, repeatedly, to dismiss the case -- prompting appeals from Cascioli.
"Cascioli says he didn't exist. And I said that he did," he said. "The judge will decide if Christ exists or not."
Even Cascioli admits that the odds are against him, especially in Roman Catholic Italy.
"It would take a miracle to win," he joked.
so what do YOU think, loyal readers? did jesus exist? seems like a whole lotta something for someone was fabricated.....</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842602006-01-05T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00Ice Cream for Diablo
<p>so i am exhausted, but it is a good exhaustion.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842592006-01-01T19:00:00-05:002021-04-30T02:31:44-04:00Dance of Death
<p>So there's this series of books i like written by 2 guys: douglas preston and lincoln child. i don't really understand the dynamics of co-authoring, but they hit the nail on the head when they created FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast. pretty much a rip-off of the uber-sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Pendergast has an intellect of gargantuan proportions, and an unflagging sense of decency.
i was dying to read the latest installment of his adventures, entitled Dance of Death. in it, Aloysius is pitted against his younger brother Diogenes, his intellectual equal, yet lacking a moral compass.
i just finished.
COP OUT!!!
lamelamelamelamelamelame.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842582005-12-30T19:00:00-05:002021-07-18T13:15:50-04:00Auld Lang Sygne
<p>the scots calls new year "Hogmanay," and they also give us the saying "auld lang syne." it is scots english for "old long since," or, more properly translated, "times gone by."
brook and i were wondering why the new year falls on jan 1, a time that seems to lack any symbolic meaning.
the answer lies in our switch from use of the Julian calendar (which was slightly too long), to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. the catholic church wanted the vernal equinox to more accurately approximate Easter, and so corrections to the calendar had to be made. owing to the slow adoption of this new, papal-endorsed calendar, it was common to denote dates with 2 different numbers. man what a headache!
"And the Muslim people going, "A.D., who's he?""
-eddie izzard
anyhoo. why jan 1? you would think that with such an overtly catholic system, christ's birthday would demarcate the year. well, the papal bull instituting the change did not specify when the new year began, and many did indeed use xmas as the start of the year. others used easter as new year's day, and there are a variety of discrepancies. but somewhere in the middle ages, the date of January 1st took on the name "new year's day," and in the ensuing confusion of the switch from Julian to Gregorian, most of us now agree upon this date, arbitrary as it is.
so raise a glass, light something on fire, and love the one you're with.
Happy New Year!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842572005-12-25T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:13-05:00Iraq, Iran, whatever.
<p>Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the current president of Iran, is a very dangerous man. he had this to say 3 weeks ago:
"Some European countries insist on saying that during World War II, Hitler burned millions of Jews and put them in concentration camps. Any historian, commentator or scientist who doubts that is taken to prison or gets condemned. Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, if the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe—like in Germany, Austria or other countries—to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe. You offer part of Europe and we will support it."
holocaust deniers should not be in charge of nations.
he is the first president to take an extremely anti-US stance, but after a little investigation, who can blame him?
from 1951-1953, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was the freely-elected prime minister of Iran. after nationalizing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, the US and UK deposed Mossadegh in a plan called Operation: Ajax. we replaced him with Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who had been in power before the democratic elections. Pahlavi ruthlessly silenced dissidents by using his newly formed SAVAK, or secret police. understandably, iranians were upset at having gained a democracy, only to have it destroyed because it did not match western oil needs (iran is OPEC's 2nd largest oil producer). this led to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which deposed Shah Pahlavi and empowered the infamous Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. it also began the Iran Hostage Crisis, which lost Carter the election and handed the presidency to Ronald Reagan.
in becoming Supreme Ruler of a populist theocratic republic, Khomeini was seen as a threat by surrounding arab countries, leading to the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988. Oddly enough, Iran and Iraq are the only two countries where Shia Muslims outnumber Sunni Muslims.
Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989, only to be replaced by the Ayatollah KhAmeini, then president of Iran. It was under Khameini that
Ahmadinejad went from being a marginalized governor of Tehran to President of Iran. I took solace in the fact that the president of Iran does not control the military, until i discovered his unusually close connection to the current Supreme Leader, who DOES have control of the army. widely thought to be Khameini's protege, Ahmadinejad is the second president ever to kiss the hand of the Supreme Leader (a significant event), and it is believed Khameini's son was largely responsible for Ahmadinejad's political success.
so what i mean to say is, we are directly responsible for the situation we find ourselves in.
history is a bitch.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842562005-12-22T19:00:00-05:002020-10-14T03:06:09-04:00Coult .45
<p>Offering several rationales for why she had "difficulty ginning up much interest" in the recent report that the Bush administration secretly authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on Americans and others within the United States, syndicated columnist and right-wing pundit Ann Coulter wrote in her December 21 column: "I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo."
A "daisy cutter" is a 15,000-pound bomb with a lethal radius of 300 to 900 feet, making it the largest conventional weapon in the U.S. arsenal.
now, i know ms. coulter just says inflammatory things so we will pay attention to her, but man. wtf?!
in other news, it's christmas time in hollis, queens. mom's cooking chicken and collard greens.
i'm back in Simsbury, CT, enjoying the comforts of hearth and home. i hope everyone out there uses this holiday season to take a step back and appreciate all they have.
and if they don't, i hope santa and satan tag team their ass in a televised monday night smackdown.
more entertaining plagiarism:
In November, Parker Houghtaling, 23, standing on a station platform in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was hit in the head when he leaned out too far over the tracks as a Metro-North train was arriving. The Poughkeepsie Journal reported that Houghtaling was similarly hit by a New York City subway car in 2002 when he leaned out too far. (He was hospitalized both times.) [Poughkeepsie Journal, 11-21-05]</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842552005-12-20T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00by pedal motion
<p>whew! what a day of work! i biked from park slope all the way to randall's island (underneath the triboro brodge). 34 miles roundtrip of some dicey urban riding. with some heavy lifting in between. it was awesome. it was more exercise than i've been used to as of late, and i am definitely gonna be sore tomorrow, but it was nice to break up the routine a little. and i must say that i live in the most beautiful city! there are new photos up on the pix page, capturing a few choice sites.
i feel divided about the strike. on one hand i wholeheartedly support the TWU's demands regarding pension cuts, and to make their striking illegal takes away the limited leverage they have. but on the other hand, i feel like there are some very powerful people playing pretty petty games with the populace, negatively impacting the wrong people.
but what do i know?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842542005-12-19T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00strike strike strike
<p>it's 7:50 am, and the city is a little chaotic this morning. the transit workers union declared a strike at midnight, meaning all subway and bus lines are not running.
chapter 1 of "how to cripple a city."
i think it is a testament to NYC that we rely so heavily on mass transportation. i have never owned a car in the city, nor do i plan to. sure, subways provide their own set of headaches, but at least i never got a $115 ticket for illegally parking my subway train.
thankfully it is not raining, but the temperature is dangerously cold. with wind chill, it is around 17 degrees Fahrenheit. i shudder to think of anyone who might suffer injury or even die as a result of this strike.
the MTA has been in court since 4 this morning, trying to invoke the Taylor Law. also known as the Public Employees Fair Employment Act, it was created in 1967 following costly transit strikes. mostly dealing with employees' rights to unionize, it also criminalizes strikes, charging employees twice their daily wage for every day of the strike.
law is so weird! while the threat of such monetary loss has been a powerful incentive to avert strikes in the 11th hour, today the Transit Workers Union decided to make good on their threats, ordering everyone off the trains and buses when the clock struck 12. and i must say, i don't have a lot of hope for this being a short strike. mayor bloomberg has already used the words "cowardly" and "reprehensible" in reference to the TWU.
it is hard to say "Double-U, U."</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842532005-12-18T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00special ed
<p>today i tried to make puppets with a very small class of special needs kids.
can i get a round of applause in appreciation of the teachers?
that was one of the hardest days of work i ever put in.
at one point, we were all holding dowels with perpendicular pipecleaners across the middle. one of the aides said, "hey! it looks like the Klan!"
it was the kind of class that scared me away from pursuing teaching.
i can't wait for xmas.
i got a first look at a new puppet show i'm involved in, and lemme tell ya, it's gonna be cool! it's only 7 minutes long, but it will blow your mind! jan. 18th, y'all; you've been forewarned.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842522005-12-16T19:00:00-05:002021-07-10T16:36:54-04:00a pimp named "slickback"
<p>so i've just watched a whole bunch of boondocks episodes, and i give it two thumbs up! i'd give it 3(?) thumbs up, but i have a qualm. the writing is exemplary, the music is really creative, and the anime-style production is very skilled. my one complaint with the show is that the animation seems a little stilted. it is as if there were less drawings per second. other than that, the show is really well done. aaron mcgruder is an incredible talent.
wikipedia has this to share about him:
"At the NAACP Image Awards in 2002, it is said that he was approached by then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, who asked if McGruder would include her in his comic strip. McGruder allegedly replied "I don't draw mass murderers," although he did later include her in the strip for May 20, 2004"
speaking of being white, our apartment is about to recieve a long-overdue face lift of white paint. we have to pile all ours stuff into the middle of the room and strip the walls. we all need impetus for change and i definitely welcome this one. it's like spring cleaning in the winter. throwing away all this stuff is so cathartic.
"the urge to destroy is also a creative urge."
-pablo picasso</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842512005-12-15T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T11:58:54-05:00SLC24A5
<p>penn state researchers believe they have found the gene the codes for skin pigmentation by studying zebrafish. they disapprove of the term 'race gene,' citing the fact that the difference is one letter in the entire genome, which is about as insignificant as it gets.
race, for too many humans, is not insignificant, unfortunately. which is why i am psyched to watch a tape of 'boondocks' that a friend loaned to me. laughter is dependent on tension, and with all the racial tension in this country, this promises to be one funny show. but i shouldn't jump the gun. tabula rasa.
crazymonk.org has a link to a discussion of "meta-bigotry," focusing on sarah silverman, the south park kids, and ali g. i think boondocks will probably fall into this category, walking that fine line that, if you're not careful, 'can look suspiciously like actual bigotry.'
also check out fuckchristmas.org for a really good rant.
and how 'bout bush authorizing the NSA to spy on us, huh? never saw that one coming. well, to look on the bright side of things, the timing of this flagrant violation of civil liberties will perhaps give a little ammo to those who seek to vanquish the renewal of the Patriot Act. god speed, gentleman.
the blog is downright discursive.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842502005-12-14T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00CSI
<p>what is up with my fascination with this show? really graphic forensic work, performed by actors on the quirky side of hot, all set to porno music. there are these really dramatic, necrophilic montages of autopsies.
i'm wondering how much of our important police work is farmed out to deregulated private firms.
and why david caruso is so weird! he punctuates every line with a pejorative pronounciation of the addressee's name.
"well, FRANK, let's go ask mrs. withers where she was on tuesday night."
and we're supposed to take him seriously with a name like HORATIO? yeah. no.
but man do i love a detective story. loveitloveitloveit. i just read "the final solution," a new novel by michael chabon. the whole thing is an homage to sir arthur conan doyle's sherlock holmes, which is cool. i would compare it to a cover song. maybe.... 10,000 maniacs cover of cat stevens' "peace train." definitely created by a studied fan, and an admirable effort to be sure, but not significantly reinterpreted.
but what was cool about this book was the occasional penciled illustration, with a quote incorporated into the landscape. obviously influenced by his love of comics, which he made plain in his piece de resistance, "the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay."
it must be really nice to have a pulitzer.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842492005-12-11T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00travelogue
<p>okokok. i'm sorry it has been so long since i wrote. when i got back, i had so much to write that i didn't know where to begin.
i thought, since a picture is worth a thousand words, why not just do a slide show. so go to the pix page of this website, and you will see a few choice photos from scandinavia.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842482005-12-10T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00Ebony
<p>If you go to the last foto on the pix page, you will see a very bad picture of a very good dog.
ebony died on wednesday, november 30, 2005.
i've lived with 3 black labs in my life. ebony was the best.
i will miss her very very much.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842472005-12-03T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00hmmmm...
<p>blogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblog</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842462005-11-27T19:00:00-05:002023-12-10T11:59:15-05:00Coffeeshops
<p>i am sitting in the red light district of amsterdam, blocks away from some of the least erotic scenes of my life. around a beautiful stone church, a ring of full length picture wondows, each replete with a hooker, are lit by red strip lights.
quite the sight to behold.
i am getting lost with every turn in this most amazing city. luckily the canals provide definitive landmarks.
we saw the vincent van gogh (pronounced "gock")
museum this afternoon. it was inspirational to say the least... did you know that van gogh was heavily studied in japanese woodcuts? i didn't either.
i will create an entire travelogue upon my return...
Dag!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842452005-11-24T19:00:00-05:002022-04-18T00:29:43-04:00this keyboard is weird!
<p>s'up fools!
i am in copenhagen, and it is freezing! why did i think scandinavia in november would be a good idea?
i spent w a whirlwind 4nights, 3 days in stockholm, and it was beautiful. i ate reindeer. i saw a really old viking ship. i iceskated. oh! and i went to a place called the Ice Bar, where EVERYTHING was made out of ice. i would link to it, but all the IE functions are in danish....
i took a really nice train ride (the train was straight out of star trek) to copenhagen, where we had a bit of trouble, then luck, finding a hotel.
today i went to christiania, an autonomous collective right in the heart of the city. maybe it was the post-apocalyptic trash barrels on fire, or the grafitti, or the hungry dogs, or pickpockets, or the fact that commerce seemed to center around drug paraphenalia, but whatever it was, it was giving socialism a bad name.
here are some of the weird thing s i can write with this keyboard (i hope they come out)
¤, µ, €, §, ½, æ, ø, å, £
anyway. wish you all were here!
happy taksgiving!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842442005-11-17T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00Gone Fishin'
<p>i leave in a few hours....
all these little things that i take for granted will not be readily available in a little while....
speaking of taking things for granted: freedom speech.
my uncle jack wrote to me, and i realized that i've never touted the fact that he is big muckymuck at The Freedom Forum, an amazing operation dedicated to free speech and "newsroom diversity."
check it out!
http://www.freedomforum.org/about/
they have this thing called the Newseum. they are building this incredible multimedia 4-D facility!
that's right.
time travel.
so we can see how similar our time is to 55 years ago, when senator joseph mccarthy reigned supreme.
sigh.
good news: patrick fitzgerald wants to convene a new grand jury to further his inquiry.
$10 says rove gets indicted.
update: juan robles-gutierrez, the driver of the bus that exploded on the highway in wilmer, texas, has been cleared by a grand jury of any wrongdoing. he will most likely get deported, but at least he won't go to jail.
speaking of the fragile nature of our futures, check out this link:
http://blog.joins.com/media/folderlistslide.asp?uid=bdaisy&folder=8&list_id=5105133
(thanks marco!)
so anyway,
so long! fare well! auf wiedersehen good night!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842432005-11-15T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:12-05:00Nerve.com
<p>has anyone been there lately? it sucks now. ahwell, time to move on with online dating.
it's definitely an interesting example of technology affecting our social patterns. getting to anonymously shop for mates can be really odd and shallow, but can also reduce the amount of bullshit. unfortunately, one can not get an accurate estimation of a person via the web. i think it is because we instinctually process so much information about a person through physical contact. body language, smell, vocal timbre, et alia, impress upon us much more than we can quantify.
hence the natural evolution of speed dating. created in LA in the 90's by a rabbi, speed dating was lo-fi j-date. now it's an international phenomenon. up close and personal, we have no electronic filter, and can more accurately judge our compatability with others.
i sound like an expert, don't i? but i don't think i'd ever speed-date. it seems just a little too impersonal for me. but who knows? i've tried a lot of new things recently.
nervous.com: i'm just now slipping into freak-out mode about my trip.
why, you may ask?
because i am a wuss, i may answer.
did everyone catch glimpse of the full moon on tuesday? november's full moon is called the Full Beaver Moon.
teehee!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842422005-11-14T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:11-05:00Crepuscular
<p>i've had to get up extra early these past 2 days, and i am paying for it. i just think of it as practice for catching my 8:30 am flight on saturday!
has anyone seen this show 'Bones' on fox? it is indescribably awful. all of the master tapes of this show should be put in a time-capsule, to be opened in the year 2563, when our destructive technology has progressed to where we can selectively eradicate the very fabric of existence. only then would 'bones' rest in peace.
i made my lunch for tomorrow. i can't remember the last time i did that.
my brother was in town last night; it was really good to see him! we went to the heartland brewery and got our irish on. yay!!!
brook is back, too. yay!!! check out the band he was on tour with:
www.barkytheband.com</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842412005-11-11T19:00:00-05:002021-08-26T13:48:34-04:00Context
<p>so i have been going to the Met Museum to see the Salzburg Marionettes.
http://www.marionetten.at/index_e.html
thursday i saw 'Don Giovanni,' and last night i saw 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' both were amazing, but 'AMND' was definitely better. i met a friend who was commenting about another audience member who laughed at practically anything the puppet did. while i agree that maybe it wasn't always appropriate, i am glad that at least SOMEONE was laughing. it was funny! they're puppets! jeez!
in the book 'brimstone,' my favorite character is the Holmesian detective Aloysius Pendergast. in repartee with the antagonist, Pendergast espouses his distate for opera, calling it 'the television of its day.' if this is true, then puppet opera must have been the cartoons of its day. the novelty factor is the same. maybe that's why i like puppets, cuz i sure do like cartoons.
another thing; reading this book, 'The Power of Babel,' jonathan mcwhorter makes an interesting point. reading shakespeare, english speaking students find the language recognizable, but difficult in its antiquity. but imagine we were italian speaking students. now imagine we were reading a translation of shakespeare. the translater would not utilize early modern italian; they would use modern italian. so we as modern italians would probably have an easier time understanding what the hell was going on.
i wish i spoke italian.</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842402005-11-10T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:11-05:00Shilling
<p>here's a weird site:
www.productinvasion.com
you can make donald trump your bitch (in a low res way)!
politics: bush went on the offensive today, using veteran's day as a platform to disparage liberal "revisionists."
for a transcript, go here:
(i warn you, it's long-winded)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/11/international/11bush-transcript.html
there are some scary moments in it, like this one:
"Some have also argued that extremists have been strengthened by our actions in Iraq claiming that our presence in that country has somehow caused or triggered the rage of radicals. I would remind them that we were not in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001. The hatred of the radicals existed before Iraq was an issue, and it will exist after Iraq is no longer an excuse. The government of Russia did not support Operation Iraqi Freedom, and yet the militants killed more then 150 Russian school children in Beslan. Over the years these extremists have used a litany of excuses for violence: the Israeli presence on the West Bank, the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, the defeat of the Taliban or the Crusades of a thousand years ago."
this logic doesn't quite work for me. no, we were not in Iraq on sept. 11, 2001. neither was osama bin laden.
as for the terrible incident in Beslan, the root of that conflict has nothing to do with "Operation Iraqi Freedom" (again with the operations!). Interestingly enough, the BBC Country Profile for Chechnya has this to say:
"Western criticism of Russian tactics and human rights violations in Chechnya was all but silenced following the 11 September attacks on the US. Russia has since portrayed the Chechens as part of the global terror network and uses this to vindicate its methods."
hmmm. a convoluted issue to be sure. i may not have all the facts, but for someone in Bush's position (i.e. [hopefully] with all the facts) to be spouting such drivel is frightening.
enough ranting.
i have been seriously bummed over my grad school rejection, but not to worry. i spent the day running, reading, and eating, and tonight i will see the second installment of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's series featuring the Salzburg Marionettes. i just need some time to regroup.
on a happier note: good luck to Nakatomi Plaza as they head down to Florida on tour! check out the website:
www.nakatomiplaza.com</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842392005-11-09T19:00:00-05:002022-04-22T14:14:17-04:00Hunter College
<p>i didn't get in........
now what?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842382005-11-08T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:11-05:00Blurking
<p>new term! blurking is when you read someone's blog, but do not post a comment. what's the big deal, people?
election day came and went; looks like the democrats gained some footing! now if we can just take the House back in 2006, and start investigating the systemic abuse of power propagated by the elephant. excitement is!!!
hmmm. what else? oh! after a whirlwind weekend (congrats to kevin and penny on their marriage!) i have spent the last 2 days planning my impending trip to europe. stockholm, copenhagen, amsterdam, and oxford are in my sights, and i couldn't be more impatient. well, maybe i could be. the flights/trains are booked, the hotels are reserved, the preparation is underway, and the proper authorities have been notified. in denmark, if i put my hands in my pockets, i could be arrested for concealment of a deadly weapon. kiiiiYA!
has anyone out there been to these locales before? i'm soliciting any and all advice.....
thanks to everyone who came to the 169 bar to see New Electric rock! we had a great time, despite mistreatment at the hands of the employees. their time will come, and the streets will flow with the blood of the unbelievers!!!!
kiiiYA?</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842372005-11-04T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:11-05:00Force Quit
<p>i think that as i grow older, i am getting more comfortable with the idea that sometimes it is necessary to "rip the band-aid." life isn't always fun or enjoyable, and i am getting better at being able to gain some perspective, even as the unpleasantness ensues.
and, funny enough, "parachutes" by coldplay always seems to be the appropriate soundtrack.
in other news, 400 years ago on this day, Guy Fawkes attempted to force quit the King and Parliament of England simultaneously, by rented a vault under the House of Lords and stuffing it with gunpowder.
penny for the guy?
and in related news, if you have not read alan moore's "V for Vendetta," a modern day Fawkesian story, i demand that you do forthwith!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842362005-11-02T19:00:00-05:002019-12-14T18:00:11-05:00Teamwork
<p>i have finished! the pictures on the homepage are of a puppet i have been working on for the past 2 months as part of a henson foundation apprenticeship.
whadyathink?
i now have to give my creations to the theater i work for, so that they can be used in a variety show. it has been a very zen experience, allowing others to take control. painful in the beginning, good for me in the end.
16 days until i take off for scandinavia, and i am atwitter with anticipation!
atwitter!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842352005-10-29T20:00:00-04:002021-09-20T13:34:19-04:00Imposture Syndrome
<p>i spread myself thin, in my opinion. being comfortable with my dilettantism has been a important part of my growth. still, i sometimes get jealous of people who are so focused that there endeavours truly shine amongst the competition.
the grass is ALWAYS greener.
happy halloween!!!!</p>
Liam Hurleytag:liamhurley.com,2005:Post/61842342005-10-27T20:00:00-04:002019-12-14T18:00:11-05:00I, Scooter.
<p>wellitywellitywellity. not everything i had hoped for, but the investigation is still open. perhaps Libby will bring down the house of Card in a plea deal.
"Possibly Maybe."
-Bjork
here is a copy of the letter that Libby sent to Judith Miller, releasing her from the confidentiality agreement between them:
"Your reporting, and you, are missed. Like many Americans, I admire your principled stand.
But, like many of your friends and readers, I would welcome you back among the rest of us, doing what you do best – reporting.
You went into jail in the summer. It is fall now. You will have stories to cover – Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats and the Iranian nuclear program. Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work – and life. Until then, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers."
"weird" does not even begin to cover it. it sounds like code, with all the "they turn in clusters, because their roots are connected." but who am i to judge such delicate poetry and sentiment?
good to know that New York Times reporters and senior White House staff retain such professional distance.
check this out:
http://www.serienoldies.de/main/picture_show.php?id=178&pic_id=727&PHPSESSID=9a210b166dd21a8abd77f486f4cbfaef
and to compare senior staff poetry, let's check mr. ashcroft's lyrics:
"Let the eagle soar,
Like she’s never soared before.
From rocky coast to golden shore,
Let the mighty eagle soar.
Soar with healing in her wings,
As the land beneath her sings:
'Only god, no other kings.'
This country’s far too young to die.
We’ve still got a lot of climbing to do,
And we can make it if we try.
Built by toils and struggles
God has led us through."
i think i prefer scooter's; much more subtle. but ashcroft's imagery IS powerful.
you decide!</p>
Liam Hurley