men down

The big news, which I haven't covered on this blog, is that US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert had his face and hand (arm?) bloodily slashed open by a Korean assailant wielding a ten-inch knife and screaming about the need for Korean reunification. Lippert suffered nerve damage in one or more digits and is in recovery.

The assailant, 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong, is in custody, but formal charges are yet to be filed as of this writing. It's likely that Kim is a pro-North sympathizer.

People are noting that Kim has assaulted diplomats before; they're also noting that President Park Geun-hye had her own face slashed with a razor not long ago, and she handled the incident with remarkable aplomb. Perhaps she and Mr. Lippert could hold a meeting to commiserate.

The other big news is Harrison Ford's plane crash out in California. Ford was flying one of his vintage planes when a mechanical failure forced him to return immediately to the airport he had just left. His engine may have conked out while he was attempting to land. Some articles claim he clipped a tree on his way down to the deck; he ended up crash-landing in a golf course. Smart move, as golf courses are where doctors like to hang out, and sure enough, there were plenty on hand to help the star at the scene.

Eyewitnesses say Ford was bloody when he emerged from the cockpit, but he was also aware and ambulatory; later on, he was listed in "critical" condition, but I expect the grouchy old bastard to get through this the way he got through his broken leg last year (broken after a nasty on-set encounter with the Millennium Falcon's door while filling the upcoming Star Wars sequel).

If Ford did indeed manage to glide his plane to earth, I'm impressed by his piloting skills. Had he been in a fly-by-wire craft, he might not have been able to control his descent.

Et voilà: the important things I haven't been writing about.


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