Just your average fish with an alien see-through head

Cool new pic of a deep-sea fish. It looks alien or computer generated, but it's real.

Its head is a transparent shell, and even crazier, the fish's eyes move around within this shell. The eyes are the larger green blobs in the upper part of the head (the eye-looking black areas above the mouth are actually the nostrils). This floating eye / see-through head works for this deep sea fish b/c it lives in almost complete darkness. Its eyes are tubular allowing it to see the tiniest amounts of light, but also giving it almost no field of vision. Of course, if you can just move your eyes around within your head, field of vision becomes a little less critical. Cool. Freaky.

For all the moms who used to say they had eyes in the back of their head, like my mom said, I think it would be cool if they woke up one morning and had this type of skull. That'd make for an interesting breakfast conversation.

It's pretty fascinating how much, how fast, we are learning about the deep sea - yet we still know more about the moon than we do about the deepest areas of the earth's surface. Space, however, is still that greatest prize. That is why the article, wonderfully entitled Galaxy may be full of 'Earths,' alien life, greatly intrigues me. We at tinybluemarble are alien life groupies. More thoughts on this article later....

The Criminals were Correct

Kudos to UofM for not renewing their licensing agreement with Russell because the company had such a poor workers' rights record.

12 much bigger kudos for each student activist arrested (my friend Yousef Rabhi pictured) after peacefully occupying UM President Mary Sue Coleman's office. The students demanded Coleman follow university policy and stop the licensing agreement with Russell because of their poor human rights record - or at least begin a serious dialog about this issue.

One polite fuck you to the university, and President Coleman in particular, for dragging their feet for so long! If it was right to do now, then it was right to do two years ago when the students occupied her office. Instead of creating waves by doing what was right and following the university's own workers' rights policies, Coleman had the above students arrested and charged. UM, the "leaders and the best", had a great opportunity to not only lead, but to encourage the leadership of their own students. They chose to take the road of safe non-action instead. They chose to counter their students - who today were shown to be correct - and instead bow to the temptation of the dollar. It is right and good that UM finally acted today. I doubt they would have done so without the scrutiny and pressure created by these committed students.

UM is the world's most sold university apparel. It's a huge business. After travelling S.E. Asia, I have a stronger understanding of the damage caused by the lack of workers' rights (human rights). When US companies operate in 3rd world countries with no oversight, they profit off cut-throat policies that pinch the last red pennies from the truly destitute. I understand global economics and the tough competition morally-guided (or strictly regulated) companies face, but this is a critical minimum standard to help install human rights in many places. We need to understand that to effectively lead to a better world, we need to make decisions that are not always convenient. And we need to hold people and companies accountable. Like Russell. And Coleman. And Bush... but that's another post.

SOLE, UM student activist group, has been working on this issue since 1999. That's a loooong time. It reminds me that patience is key for those working for a better world. Change comes slowly, but it does come.

PS. this is also being labeled under "stupid ass people" is in honor of President Mary Sue Coleman.

Oscar Results

Jane Craig goes 6 for 6!

Deserted Island Dozen

Because it's never too early to plan for a disaster, I'm preparing my "deserted island dozen" -- 12 CD's I would most want on a deserted island. Yes, my deserted island has an endless power supply and a surprisingly high quality CD player. Unfortunately it doesn't have a USB port to plug in my iPod.

1) Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Like Bad News
2) Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (hard to pass on Blood on the Tracks, but since Blonde is a double album, it makes more sense)
3) Ben Harper - Live from Mars (yes, double album)
4) Ani DiFranco - Revelling, Reckoning (yes, double again)
5) Led Zeppelin - I
6) Digable Planets - Reachin' (A Refutation of Time and Space)
7) Bob Marley - Legend (more diverse than my favorite, "Live!")
8) Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
9) Jeff Buckley - Grace
10) Lenny Kravitz - Acoustic Live
11) Radiohead - The Bends
12) U2 - The Joshua Tree

(My honorable mention albums that I tossed out at the last minute b/c I didn't have room in my backpack were: Damien Rice - 0, David Bowie - Honky Dorey, John Coltrane - My Favorite Things, Rage Against the Machine - S/T, Tori Amos - Under the Pink, Cure - Mixed Up, White Stripes - White Blood Cells, Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds, Beatles - White Album, Tom Waits - Closing Time, Nick Drake - Pink Moon, Bjork - Post)

If I don't starve to death or get eaten by wild boars on my deserted island, I'll probably kill myself for not adding any jazz or enough musical diversity.

By the way, this is my deserted island, and it looks like I'm not completely alone after all. Good furtune.

Oscar Predictions

Hi everyone, Jane Craig here. I'm Tiny's "official" arts and entertainment contributor. I thought it was a good idea for my first post to be my 2009 Oscar Predictions (just the biggie categories too, I'm not skilled enough to predict "Best Sound Mixing" ). I'll come back on Monday to see how I did. Please to enjoy!

Actor, Leading
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

A couple of months ago I would have bet hard on Rourke, Oscars usually enjoy a sad sack/come back from the ashes kinda story, just not necessarily in real life. I'm going with Penn because I think more people saw Milk and he really does give a stellar performance. Still, this is the most hotly contested race, it really could go either way.

Actor, Supporting
Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Without a doubt, they will give it to Ledger. Although, it must be said, Downey's performance was better and probably deserves it more.

Actress, Leading
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

Another easy one I think. Even though Hathaway and even Streep for that matter earned a lot of buzz, once Winslet won two Golden Globes this one was decided. If she doesn't win, Winslet becomes the Susan Lucci of the Oscars (and that would be sad).

Actress, Supporting
Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

A tough one for me considering I've seen none of these movies (I know, I'm an awesome A&E contributor). So I defer to my bible, Entertainment Weekly, which says Cruz wins. The females in Woody Allen movies have good luck in this category too, so I think it's a safe prediction.

Directing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
David Fincher
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
Ron Howard
"Milk" (Focus Features)
Gus Van Sant
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
Stephen Daldry
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)
Danny Boyle

See Below

Best Picture

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire"

Easily my favorite movie of the year. In hindsight maybe it seemed a little schlocky, cutesy at the end, but no other movie made me feel so bad about a place (Mumbai) and so excited about Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

P.S.-Whatever evil geniuses managed to get The Reader nominated, all I can say is "Bravo". I found it melodramatic, slow and just sort of offensive. But the Academy does love a Holocaust movie, oh well.

I'll be back Monday to see how I did! Enjoy the Oscars!

Jane Craig

Righteous Anger

I think we have a new candidate for 'America's Mayor'.

Into the Wild

I finally saw Into the Wild this past weekend. Short thoughts: Loved it. Two thumbs up.

For those who don't know, Into the Wild is the movie adaptation (by the great Sean Penn) of the 1996 non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer about the adventures of Christopher McCandless. On the first page of the book, you find out that Chris will starve to death. Oh. Odd start.

This is one of my favorite books, certainly influenced by when/where I read it. My friend Pete Macias, a fellow Chung'Ang professor and want-to-be-professional traveller, gave me this book before I took off for a trip through S.E. Asia. I read this book while travelling some pretty remote places in Indonesia. The Alaskan wild and the Indonesian rain forest can't be much more opposite, yet the suffocating wilderness of both made me feel quite connected to the story.

I can't quite put words to it, but I felt a great bond with this young traveller looking for something more tangible than the suburban life he knew. He was so idealistic, naive and foolish that it killed him. I don't like to think of myself in those terms, but I did see similarities. Unless I'm moving away, I often feel cramped. As Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Landlocked Blues) says, "The world’s got me dizzy again. You think after 22 years I’d be used to the spin. And it only feels worse when I stay in one place, so I’m always pacing around or walking away." And here I am, in Korea.

Watching the movie brought back memories of the book, that trip, and what I feel is an innate desire to know the earth and lose the nonsense that too often surrounds me. The book isn't depressing, but rather reflective. And watching the movie made me reflect. I recommend the movie, recommend the book even more.

Dad, what's a walkman?

My son turned eight on Valentine's Day. I gave him an iPod nano. Yes,this is my old nano which I no longer needed because I bought an iPod Touch (best purchase ever), but still... he got his first iPod. He was very, very happy.

For my bithday on the 15th, we took a little trip to the city's lone Mexican restaurant. Soren and I listened to music for the entire taxi ride (both listened to Modest Mouse, Good News...). No talking, but in complete harmony. Very nice.

We got out of the taxi and I mentioned how amazing it was to have so much music in such a small package - how it's funny to think back that we thought a walkman was advanced. Soren asked, "Dad, what's a walkman?"

This used to be so totally awesome.... I have 250 albums on my iPod - I would need a large suitcase to carry that many cassettes.

Damn. Time flies. Technology even faster.

2008 election - in just two videos, 56 seconds

OK, I'm burned out by politics as well. So burned out in fact that I left my political job and moved halfway around the world. But still, a political post: A 2008 election summary in in just two videos and 56 seconds.



Bush 3rd term voter.............and..............Streets of Ann Arbor, after Obama declared the winner

New Thread

Thread that needle and let's start sewing ourselves a new conversation.

"스트래스"

The Korean word for "stress" is "스트래스", which is pronounced as ... "stress". Like all languages, Korean has adopted some English words, usually words for new technologies or American ideas/traditions. But "stress"? Before the adoption of this word, the idea of stress simply wasn't communicated in the Korean language. Other words were, like "Shame" or "Expectations", yes. But not stress.

Spreading stress to the world. The exporting of America.

25 things

Taken from the widely-cast facebook note.

1. I have a very had time being brief. Sorry.
2. I donated money to Al Franken's Senate campaign, and I think it was my 25 bucks that put him over the top.
3. Most days, I'm the only non-Korean person I see.
4. I was once bitten by an enormous monkey in the mountains of Thailand that looked like this.
5. My world has infinitely changed since I became a parent for all the normal reasons, but mostly because I see the world through different eyes.
6. I've eaten dog, live eel, live octopus, and silkworm. By far, dog is the best.
7. I published a book, that no one's read, called "A Cosmology of Becoming"
8. I lived in South Carolina for about 18 months. I hated it beyond description.
9. Once, while alone and taking an extremely empty, overnight train through Serbia, I was awoken by two armed guards asking for border fees / passport fines / transport fees. Fortunately I was prepared: I had stuffed the cash into my socks, so I took out my cashless wallet and showed them my one credit card and offered to pay with it. They weren't happy and quickly left.
10. I still have the dream of buying a large boat and sailing from country to country for about a year. Companions?
11. My wife and I married without her parents' consent. They have slowly warmed to me..... very slowly.
12. When I look at my seven year old son, Soren, my heart fears that he is growing up too fast, and that he tries too hard to please me.
13. My oldest son, Soren, cried wildly when he was born. I went to him and said, "It's OK Soren, daddy's here." He turned to me and stopped crying. Probably the best moment in my life.
14. Worst moment: I carried my preemie baby into the ER because he was having great difficulty breathing. He was staring into my eyes as he stopped breathing, his eyes rolled back, and he went unconscious. In the following hours he was attended to by about 20 different doctors, specialists, and the helicopter flight team. It took them three attempts with lots of squirting blood to successfully force a tube into his lungs to get him to breathe again.
15. Now Sage is the most active and determined baby I know.
16. Sometimes, like today, I miss my best friend terribly.
17. When I was born, my best friend was three months old and lived in the other 1/2 of my duplex. We've been best friends ever since.
18. When I moved to Korea, the only possession that pained me to part with was my massive record collection and my wonderful Pioneer PL-570 turntable.
19. I got over it by buying an iPod Touch. Best toy ever.
20. I was once severely beaten by 20+ gang members. That sucked.
21. My favorite place on earth is the remote Paula Weh island, Indonesia, where I stayed for several months in 2000. My stories from here are endless: undersea volcanoes, swimming with dolphins, bricks of marijuana, being offered prostitutes by the secessionist military general (declined, but was afraid to do so), sea full of glowing plankton rivalling a star-choked night sky, daily swims with a green sea turtle family that lived in a coral mound just off the beach -- actually, they swam with me. This was the first land area hit by the massive 2004 tidal wave. I've often wondered what happened to that turtle family.
22. Sometimes I regret not being a better friend.
23. I believe our founding fathers would expect George W. Bush to be behind bars.22. I'm still angry at the church for all the ignorance, and at times hate, it has spread.
24. I think the world will be a better place when women are in charge.
25. Being in nature makes me believe that a one-buddha-spirit god might exist.

tinybluemarble is...

t i n y b l u e m a r b l e is Joel Eckel (buddhafrog) with friend's Bryan Foreman (halloweenjack) and Tim O’Donnell (both without computers at the moment, so it's basically just Joel)

I started this website as a way to journal my life in Korea and random thoughts in general. I've asked two of my best friends from back home to join me in this blog because 1) life is best when shared and 2) my life in Korea is more reflective when it directly compares with my Midwestern USA upbringing. That and because they're odd people and they make me laugh. I need to laugh more.

t i n y b l u e m a r b l e loves comments. It makes the marble go ’round.

buddhafrog is...

Buddhafrog? I don't know what it means either. I took this handle before moving to Korea, before being curious in buddhism. It does, however, fit nicely into my view of the world — that all is equally divine and ignoble.

I first came to Korea in the spring of ‘95, looking for escape: escape from the known and the expected. Escape from predestination. Escape from traditional American values and all those things that make conservative, white grandmothers proud of their county.

My planned one year adventure in Korea turned into five. After an educational but challenging year teaching at a private institute, I got a much better job teaching English at Seoul’s Chung’Ang University. That job gave me four months (paid) vacation a year, so I was able to do a healthy bit of world travelling. It made me understand the world as both incredibly small and unreachably large. This idea coupled with this Apollo 17 experience gave the name for the website. If I don’t always see the world as tiny, at least I am trying to live a life that attempts to make it smaller.

There is no place like the USA, and no hometown like Ann Arbor (unfortunately I’m from Ypsi). So I returned in 2000. This time with a wife and soon enough two sons. Life took its crazy turns and we started thinking about going back to Korea, but this time as a family adventure. We departed in 2008. So far, so good.

I do love America, but sometimes I get lost there. For me, it’s sometimes too saturatingly numb (at least I know what I mean). I often feel restless unless I'm moving. I often feel idle unless I'm confronted with something that makes me question what I've been taught. My life feels much more actualized and my senses much more aware on a remote Indonesian beach, hanging with sea turtles. Or even here, in the used-to-be-strange land of Korea.

It’s all good, most of the time,

Joel Eckel
joeleckel@yahoo.com

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