Pre-Flight Checklist

Pre-Flight Checklist
Avalokiteshvara, Tibetan painting of 17th-18th century at Bharat Kala Bhavan, Acc. No. 5704.jpg

Keys, wallet, phone.
The Collected Works of Federico García Lorca.
Moleskin journal and ballpoint pen.
Mahogany chess board, Rubik's Cub, and a framed photo
of your grandfather posing with Edward R. Murrow.
Comfortable shoes, down jacket rated to 38,000 feet.
Wings and feathers; compass, ice axe, rope.
Map of the Earth and, in case of emergency, of the stars.
A lifetime supply of guitar strings, guitar not included.
Bathymetric chart of the sea, mastery of whale-song.
Gifts for the people of Atlantis and Xanadu.
Your share of stolen jewels from the Louvre
and a list of paupers to hand them to.
Lock of Whitman's beard, pailful of sand
from Omaha Beach, Normandy, 1944.
Ice sculpture of the Lincoln Memorial, signed copy
of the Gettysburg Address.
Graph of the Keeling Curve as of November 2nd, 2025.
Sword in the Stone, sword of Damocles.
Candles, incense, life-size statue of Avalokiteshvara--
his Thousand Hands soothing, just enough,
your megalomania.

More writing

All →

Mother’s Day

I didn’t get you roses from Ecuador, nor one of those cards you grab, in a rush, at the checkout line...

· 1 min read

On the Ordinary Pitfalls of AI

For all the talk of Artificial Intelligence one day becoming super-intelligent and ending humanity, a more ordinary--and more pernicious--dynamic is very much here.

· 3 min read

The Rooftops of Kyiv

On the rooftops of Kyiv we master the circle dance, the feel of wood that can still support our weight.

· 1 min read