When I heard that martial law had been declared in South Korea, my first thought was of Donald Trump’s coziness with Kim Jong-un. A whole lot of what is happening around the globe right now is in anticipation of Trump’s return to power.
So I turned on CNN, only to see clips of massive crowds of South Koreans rushing around madly like dancers in a mosh pit. Each and every person seemed to be looking down at their phone. Naturally they were bumping into one another, but as near as I could see, there was no violence and nobody got hurt.
Meanwhile, I suspect somebody was getting the message, because before you could say 무슨 일이야?, the martial law order had been rescinded and democracy restored.
It’s a good thing too because the police or military guys dressed up in hyper-elaborate camouflage outfits looked comically uncertain whether or how to intervene. Nobody was breaking the law — they were all just working their phones. If there is such a thing as a cellphone revolt, this was it, with a lot of intense screen time as the crowd imposed its will on the authorities.
Almost as soon as it started it was over. The whole thing subsided just like an old iPhone loses power when its battery runs out.
***
In one of those desultory moods that periodically occur, I went outside to sit in the sun. Everything seemed quite still around me until a sudden motion caught my eye. It was a hummingbird, drab in color at first, then bright green when splashed by the sun, working its way through one of the many sprigs of lavender growing in our yard.
As I watched, this tiny, determined creature flew from place to place around the property, visiting the various clumps of lavender as well as other flowering bushes, then soaring up to a tree and back down again, at speeds approaching 50 mph, making itself momentarily invisible in case any predator should be also observing its flight pattern along with me.
Anyway, it was putting on a show. A thought came into my mind — what is the average life expectancy of a hummingbird? * It can’t be that long, comparatively, but this particular hummingbird certainly seemed to be making the most of its time on earth.
This shook me out of my melancholy. Maybe If a hummingbird can do it, why can’t I?
* The average life expectancy of a hummingbird if 5 years, though some live to 10 or beyond.
HEADLINES:
South Korea president backs down from martial law order after MPs vote to block it (BBC)
What on Earth is Happening In South Korea? (NPR)
Pete Hegseth's drinking worried colleagues at Fox News (NBC)
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, was forced out of top roles at two veterans groups due to "serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct," the New Yorker reported. [HuffPost]
Trump Considers DeSantis for Defense Secretary as His Support for Hegseth Falters (NYT)
What Kash Patel, Trump's FBI pick, has said he wants to do to reshape the bureau (AP)
Musk and Ramaswamy Are Making a Big Mistake (Atlantic)
No more daylight saving time? Musk, Ramaswamy muse on ending clock changes. (WP)
Hunter pardon reignites talk of rogue Biden impeachment push (Axios)
Supreme Court to weigh bans on puberty blockers, hormones for trans teens (WP)
A Republican state lawmaker in Michigan said gay marriage should be "illegal again," claiming that his position "is not remotely controversial, nor extreme." [HuffPost]
Why America’s economy is soaring ahead of its rivals (Financial Times)
Israel’s Netanyahu ordered to take stand in his corruption trial after repeated delays (AP)
Afghan women 'banned from midwife courses' in latest blow to rights (BBC)
The Billionaire, His Mystery Wife and College Football’s Wildest Recruiting Saga (WSJ)
Japan's growing bear attack problem. (Reuters)
Certain names make ChatGPT grind to a halt, and we know why (Ars Technica)
ChatGPT’s search results for news are ‘unpredictable’ and frequently inaccurate (Verge)
ChatGPT turns two: how the AI chatbot has changed scientists’ lives (Nature)
Amazon announces Nova, a new family of multimodal AI models (TechCrunch)
Report: Majority Of Utah Jazz Players Have Never Heard Of Themselves (The Onion)
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