art

Changing not the world

By Dave English

This is what great pilots share with artists, and monks and mystics. The heightened perception, the fascination with flight, eventually turns into an aeronautical superpower. The great pilot sees things and corrects before the average pilot ever knows anything is amiss. The desire of monks and mystics is not unlike that of artists: to perceive the extraordinary within the ordinary by changing not the world but the eyes that look. Within a summoned and hybrid awareness, the inner reaches out to transform the outer, and the outer reaches back to transform the one who sees. Catherine of Sienna wrote in … Continue reading Changing not the world

Outraged woman asks Picasso

By Dave English

Outraged woman asks Pablo Picasso why simple bar sketch will cost 5000 Francs, since he drew it in only five minutes: “No, madam, it took me my whole life.” Maybe your old airline captain isn’t overpaid for that landing?

It’s always a balance

By Dave English

It’s always a balance — you have to make money; you have to stay on schedule; moving people is your goal. But you have to get them there safely. Captain Sheryl Clarke Director of safety, security and compliance, ExpressJet Airlines. While there are some concerns with SMS, it’s nice to see a senior airline SMS manager publicly (in Flying magazine online) acknowledge that safety is not number one. Moving people is the goal. Safety is risk management. Safety is a balance.   “Safety is our number one value” and other trite soundbites initially sound good, until you try to apply … Continue reading It’s always a balance

Fly like an Eagle

By Dave English

I just re-watched the excellent rockumentary History of the Eagles (2013), over four hours on the band that made the biggest-selling album of the twentieth century. The movie has several revealing interviews with members of the legendary band. Contemporary thoughts from the early 70’s, and reflections after 40 years: “Perfection is not an accident.” Glenn Frey “Our goal was just to be the best we could be. We wanted to get better as songwriters and as performers. And we worked on it.” Don Henley “Your whole mandate is just to improve. Life is about improvement.” Glenn Frey “It wasn’t a hobby … Continue reading Fly like an Eagle