The true story of Yamamoto Otokichi (or John Matthew Ottoson, a transliteration of "Oto-san"): a Japanese seaman who in 1832 got caught in a storm off the coast of Japan and ended up floating all the way across the Pacific, becoming the first Japanese (documented, at least) in North America. And that's only the introduction to his story. To get back to Japan he traveled around the world, setting many firsts for a Japanese native, and played a part as the inspiration for Commodore Matthew Perry and his "Black Ships." Although barely a footnote in history, in 2005 half of his ashes were brought back to Japan to rest in home soil.
posted by switchsonic at 11:17 PM PST - 20 comments

Source magazine - uk photography graduates online.
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:49 PM PST - 24 comments

Though foreign-born, he is often considered an American icon. His career may have peaked in the 80's and has certainly taken some questionable turns, but he's retained a cult following. Now he's having a true comeback, and though some may be displeased that he's "sold out", for him it's just the latest in a lifelong series of transformations.
posted by Durhey at 6:52 PM PST - 43 comments

When Fangirls Attack is a compilation of articles and essays about women in comics.
posted by FunkyHelix at 6:08 PM PST - 69 comments

Following the script from A Crude Awakening, Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson announced today that new reasons for staying the course in helping Iraqi forces stand up as we stand down is not regime change nor ridding the country of weapons of mass destruction, but… ensuring Australia's “energy security”.
posted by mattoxic at 5:56 PM PST - 22 comments

It's been there since 2001. The debate continues: is netauthority.org legitimate or a hoax? If it's a hoax, it's one of the most successful web hoaxes of all time. People are still falling for it. (previously)
posted by metasonix at 4:32 PM PST - 20 comments

Watch Iran's new media coup, Press TV, online and take a look at its news website.
posted by hoder at 4:21 PM PST - 35 comments

"Al Gore III - whose father is a leading advocate of policies to fight global warming - was driving his environmentally friendly car at about 100 miles per hour on a freeway south of Los Angeles when he was pulled over by an Orange County sheriff's deputy..."
posted by 445supermag at 3:40 PM PST - 110 comments

Bill Gates no longer the Richest private citizen in the world. In other news, Larry Ellison still doesn't have any eyebrows.
posted by delmoi at 2:32 PM PST - 38 comments

EU Tube: sharing the sigh(t)s and soundsmoans of Europe. Human rights around the world? 700 views. A smoke-free Europe? 2300 views. 44 seconds of sex scenes from award-winning, popular European movies? 1,900,000 views. The European Commission just launched its own YouTube channel, using the oldest marketing trick ever, all for 350 Euros per clip (link includes the list of films), even though the usual suspects aren't happy.
posted by elgilito at 2:30 PM PST - 15 comments

Nigerians have always had musical opinions about lots of topics. From premature pregnancy, to women who cannot conceive, political criminals or the old topic of heartbreak. And that's just the old stuff. The new Nigerian music is about the Nigerian perspective on 419, sexing your professor for better grades, staying faithful to your wife, how a big schlong can get you girls, how getting your car hit by a politician is the best that can happen to a poor man, big booties, success as a musician, being in love and the everywhere played African Queen. There is also the embarrassing stuff, like when the most popular actress decides she also wants to sing. And let's not forget Idols West Africa.
posted by markesh at 2:08 PM PST - 10 comments

Hey, do you know about the USA? Do you know about the government? Can you tell me about the constitution? Great! Now you're ready to celebrate The Shot Heard 'Round The World. Tonight, find yourself a little elbow room, enjoy Lady Liberty's greatest recipe, and watch the fireworks!
posted by Davenhill at 12:49 PM PST - 44 comments

Creepy High Voltage Installations The Russian countryside yields sometimes most improbable sights - abandoned artifacts and installations from bizarre military/scientific research, strangely futuristic forms left to rust and decay - to be found by a curious photographer. "Master" stumbled upon this installation close to Russian city of Istra (50 km from Moscow) quite by chance, and these mysterious shots were percolating for a while around the web, until the answer was found. According to this little, cryptic, and quite secretive website [in Russian], the weird alien-like towers are the Experimental Grounds for High-Voltage Generation, the only open-air kind in the world. Amazingly, it's still in use... as the powerful lightnings rip through the night and the darkened forest - much like in "The Prestige" movie.
posted by psmealey at 11:50 AM PST - 38 comments

Who says right-wingers can't be funny? Eco Enquirer fights the good bad anti-environmentalist fight with humor, wit and verve. Stories include Penguins "Fed Up" With Media Attention, Is Earth 'Spinning Out of Control'?, Court Orders Fisherman to Apologize to Eagle, Levitating Islands in Bermuda Triangle Observed by Spy Satellite and many others.
posted by Kattullus at 11:45 AM PST - 54 comments

Happy fourth of July! One thousand people "realize the dream of becoming United States citizens" during a naturalization ceremony at Walt Disney World. Meanwhile, thousands of legal immigrants are prevented from filing green card applications because of a last minute flip-flop by USCIS. The chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, Zoe Lofgren, writes that the action "seriously undermined the stability and predictability of U.S. immigration law". The American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) has been authorized to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of the affected petitioners. God bless America.
posted by crazycanuck at 10:37 AM PST - 17 comments

The mustard yellow belt returns to the U.S. It just wouldn’t be the 4th without the annual Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. This year’s event was especially exciting, featuring not only a win by California gurgitator Joey Chestnut, but a record-breaking 66 dogs consumed in twelve minutes. Former six time champ Takeru Kobayashi, who had reportedly been nursing a sore jaw, took second place, with 63 red hots downed, in spite of a last-second “reversal of fortune.” Truly a proud day.
posted by Gilbert at 10:35 AM PST - 33 comments

Why not celebrate our Independence Day with the violent overthrow of the government? Some say they want a revolution, others would rather secede. Should we stay or should we go?
posted by Eideteker at 9:36 AM PST - 41 comments

Matt Gross, a travel writer for the New York Times, is traveling across the country this summer. He started out in New York on May 23 and is now in Kansas. Check out his dispatches and videos from Weeks 1 (New York), 2 (Georgia), 3 (Kentucky), 4 (Indiana), 5 (Wisconsin), 6 (South Dakota), and 7 (Oklahoma and Kansas - this weeks installment). Follow him on his online map here, check out his FAQ here, and tell him where to go in Texas for next weeks installment here.
posted by jourman2 at 9:15 AM PST - 13 comments

Flamenco guitarists on YouTube: Paco de Lucia, Vicente Amigo, Sabicas, Niño Ricardo, Manolo Sanlucar, Serranito, Tomatito, Paco Peña, Carlos Montoya, Gerardo Nuñez, Diego Del Gastor, and of course, the legendary Segovia.
posted by malocchio at 8:56 AM PST - 13 comments

"I'm a control freak-- but I was not in control." Lars von Trier made his latest movie without a cameraman. The Boss of It All (trailer), a comedy, was made with "Automavision", allowing a computer to decide when to tilt, pan, or zoom. The film also employs Lookey, a game that challenges the viewers to spot objects that don’t belong in a scene. The first viewer in Denmark to identify all the Lookeys correctly wins a cash prize and a chance to be an extra in von Trier’s next film.
posted by hermitosis at 7:44 AM PST - 14 comments

Susan Sontag's last book, Regarding the Pain of Others, received some praise when it was released, but it was overshadowed by her death and by her NYTimes article with a similar name but a different message. Yet Luc Sante and Jim Lewis debated it, the Observer panned it, and everyone ignored its message: "[P]hotographs of the victims of war are themselves a species of rhetoric. They reiterate. They simplify. They agitate. They create the illusion of consensus.... No one after a certain age has the right to this kind of innocence, of superficiality, to this degree of ignorance, or amnesia."
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:07 AM PST - 37 comments

Put off by the stuffy old world of wine? Try watching Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library TV. (Bewarned: you might end up a Vayniac.)
posted by progosk at 3:39 AM PST - 16 comments

Comanche: The Horse that Survived the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
posted by homunculus at 12:07 AM PST - 26 comments