Liam Hurley: Web Log

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....

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=

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!

tomorrow we are playing in cleveland!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland

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!

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!

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

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.

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!!!!

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.

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!

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:

http://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!

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

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

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.....

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

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

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/06/18/circumcision.decline.ap/index.html

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.

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

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.

i finished a video project for some footage of the Fortune Teller and posted it on YouTube.

i hope you like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4db9Ifxut3s

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/books/08capt.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

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

"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