Members of K-pop group BTS, from left to right: V, Jin, Jimin, Suga, Jungkook and J-Hope, performing during the BTS comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.Supplied/Getty Images
We all need escape if we want to be resilient for the long haul and given everything that’s going on in the world these days, developing the ability to adapt regardless of circumstances seems timely. Losing ourselves in little bits of fun is about getting out of our own thoughts to clear our minds for the next big challenge. It’s healing and restoring and something we don’t usually regret. Can’t find the time? Make some. Why don’t we start by getting outside?
If you have:
If you have 10 seconds as you rush out the door
Download the Merlin bird ID app, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
I resisted this app for years, not wanting to rely on my phone. I was spoiled by having my child, who graduated straight from a Pokemon obsession into being my own personal bird nerd. He has, however, recently ditched me for his friends. (Wait – teens don’t want to go birding with their mothers?) So I took 10 seconds to download the Merlin bird identifier app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It’s the only app I’m happy to have track my location. Simply snap a pic or hit the record button and it will help you identify birds and learn about them too. What does a bufflehead sound like?
Download the Merlin bird ID app for Apple or Android.
If you have 3 minutes, 54 seconds as you wait for your partner to pick a film
Watch the 2.0 music video by BTS
Six years after being denied a world tour by COVID-19, then delayed by mandatory military duty in South Korea, the scattered seven members of BTS are back. They’ve set our phones on fire with content, skipping legacy media to go straight into breaking the internet with Hot Ones, dance practice videos and livestreams, including a live concert on Netflix. I’ve devoured the entire BTS-related internet over the past few weeks, which is exactly where I want to be. Neophytes can take four minutes to watch their music video for 2.0 on YouTube, which is an homage to Oldboy, the iconic Park Chan-Wook film that broke prestige South Korean filmmaking onto the global stage more than 20 years ago. For this number, BTS put on wigs, fake beards and mustaches, conjuring a vibe like Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, adding a wink and humour to the machismo. Unlike the original Oldboy, no faces were punched. Instead, BTS could mesmerize enemies to death with sheer dance power.
If you have 4 hours, give or take, because you’re skipping your classes today
Read American Han by Lisa Lee
American Hanamazong/Supplied
Now this is a debut novel. Darkly funny, with memorable immigrant mom and dad characters. Lisa Lee has written the story of a family in California, divided by the very thing that binds them – the mirage of the American Dream. Mostly set in the early 2000s, Jane Kim hides that she is skipping class, trying to escape a life marked by outward achievement and success. She excelled through a childhood of tennis championships and piano lessons, her mother firmly guiding the way. “‘You can’t just do whatever you want,’ she’d said when I graduated from college and told her I didn’t want to apply to law school, which is how I ended up going to law school.”
Later, Jane’s mother shows up on her doorstep in San Francisco, while her father, instead of retiring, takes a job he always dreamed of having, driving long-haul across America, in what Jane calls his “refrigerated Darth Vader truck.” The levity is a contrast to the shocking actions of her brother that bring a devastating denouement. Somehow, the book manages to end with some hope. One wishes the family, rather than exploding on each other, could have released the pressure valve for each other their whole lives. Instead, we get this story, one very much worth reading.