From time to time, the news hits a lull period like the one that we are currently experiencing. While it does not make writing a column like this any easier, such slow periods are part of the equation and may even be a good thing.

Right now, there are of course a number of important things happening, but none of them appear to be moving in a new or surprising direction. For example, the death of Pope John Paul II saddened Catholics and many other people of faith throughout the world, but the election of Pope Benedict XVI, a man who appears to share John Paul's views on most issues, seemingly represents continuity rather than change. The newly elected Iraqi government is being formed after painstaking negotiations involving the Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis, and is a welcome development, but the direction of the new leadership still remains to be seen. There has been a recent upsurge in violence in Iraq, but nothing indicates that the insurgents are likely to turn the tide. In Britain, prime minister Tony Blair has been returned to power for a third time, but his diminished majority reduces the luster of this triumph.

Domestically, the big political story, whether Senate Republicans will be able to end Democratic filibusters of their judicial nominees, is inching forward, as both parties warily edge toward a confrontation. While this issue is actually very significant, the slow pace of developments, as well as the "inside the beltway" nature of a fight over Senate rules, probably mean that it is of limited interest to many people. Even less engaging to many people is President Bush's attempt to reform Social Security by providing for private accounts, a difficult to explain controversy that involves disputed forecasts of effects far in the future.

Even some of the more trivial stories, at least in a global sense, are not moving at a fast pace. The Michael Jackson trial drones on more or less endlessly, with almost daily examples of weird behavior in Neverland, whether or not the behavior is ultimately determined to be criminal. No wonder the country seemed momentarily fascinated by the saga of the runaway bride in Georgia.

In some sense, these interlude period are useful. The 2004 elections was very polarizing and it followed the difficult period from the 9/11 attack through the Iraq war, with events large and passions high. It is thus not a bad thing to have a period of "normal" times where there is no immediate looming crisis and the world is not so sharply divided between liberals and conservatives and between blue states and red.

Inevitably, these periods come to an end. The last period of relative calm occurred in August 2001 when the country was lulled by President Bush's long vacation on his ranch in Crawford and the major news story revolved around Congressman Gary Condit's relationship with missing aide Chandra Levy. Sadly, this slow period was supplanted by a time like no other in my lifetime.

One obviously hopes that the next story that defines the news cycle will be good tidings rather than bad. But for the moment, this little period of rest and relaxation on the news and social front is probably worth savoring.