Liam Hurley: Web Log

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!

here's and incredible video featuring almost the entire muppet cast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY

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

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"

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=

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k3oahdeYIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8JSt9PQZT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osIfR2IQyXk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwaWrHuHxvg&feature=related

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy52yueBX_s

via kottke, here's an amazing performance from a Ukranian woman sand painting a dramatization of Germany's invasion of the Ukraine during WWII.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cri7aQHRT7k
really amazing stuff.

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

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ahx9ckqIw
enjoy!

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:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOo6aHSY8hU

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!

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

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/

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsSP8a0ToGY&feature=related
notice any influences?

RIP MJ.

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

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORA2TX3fF90

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

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

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

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!!!

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

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.....

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!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr9_5uZn6ds

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:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5xAzT0duHc
speaking of french, some amazing parkour for you, from kottke.org:
http://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:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sqrkMPnVlc
enjoy!