Liam Hurley: Web Log

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

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

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

they're sleek, sexy, and nominally affordable!

http://www.apple.com/

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/

this video of one guy, a projector, and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" is delightfully winsome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlbQPmXg08

check out these krazy kewl kakes!

http://www.charmcitycakes.com/

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

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

where the most famous voice-over actor dies:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/02/obit.lafontaine/index.html

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.

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

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....

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?

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

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!

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

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1udsrQsCZY0

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...

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

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!

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/

sam just sent me this link to an all robotic band, the Trons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2JChnwv2Ws
looks like i'm out of a job!

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

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