Circadian dischronism, better known as jet lag, is the enemy of every fast-living American citizen - from the lowliest traveling salesman to globetrotting pop star Jennifer Lopez. (You are getting sleepy, Jennifer - you are now under my complete control. E-mail me for instructions.) If you're afflicted with jet lag - as I often am after taking an 18-hour 747 bender out of Bangkok International - please allow the gentle, rolling motion of this column to lull you into a peaceful sleep. Just as it's doing to me.

Books, chairs, and robots - what else is needed to sustain life? Food, perhaps. Booze, certainly. Fatboy Slim? Yes, in moderation. And I become a bigger fan of sleep as time goes by. But aside from those, books, chairs and robots are all that is required to sustain life, and no one understands this better than the smart set at Kungdesign. At their online gallery of the essentials, The Cheese Shop, you'll find Eero Saarinen's molded fiberglass solution to the "slum of legs," a book on David Byrne's big suit and, perhaps most importantly of all, the robot "King Ding," pride of Hong Kong. "King Ding is 'controlled' by the Brain Robot," the site observes, but refrains from commenting on the toy's eerie similarity to Rupert Murdoch. A real pip, this site.
 

In the days long, long before the advent of the Mile-High Club (are you a member?), traveling cocktails were a civilized affair, and more often than not, they were served in the Bar Car -- the place on the train in which suburbanites rinsed the urbanite from their souls on their way home to the spouse and the 2.5 kids. This site, while not a real "smoker" by any reckoning, does offer many of the benefits the "club car" once did: moving comments from fellow travelers, invitations to furtive seduction and a great view of Grand Central Terminal. Take me right back to the track, jack.
 

It was the right runway, but takeoff was premature. Dave Stevens' comic book homage to the Republic serials of the 1930s and 1940s, "The Rocketeer," became a feature film in 1991 - in the Passenger's humble opinion, a few years before anyone was ready to appreciate it. "The Rocketeer" - the movie - was a real pleasure: an action film in which the action didn't pivot entirely on gunplay, a romance in which the sets as well as the characters were washed in warm, expressive lighting, and a veritable fleet of wickedly talented character actors, including Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino and Alan Arkin. And any movie that portrays Howard Hughes (Terry O'Quinn) as a two-fisted scofflaw has got to go in your cool book. This unofficial site does an admirable job of putting you inside Cliff Secord's airborne shoes. Any lingering questions should be addressed to the Blockbuster Video joint just a few blocks away from you, or to the alternative comics joint down by the university.
 

I consulted with Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad" before going abroad myself. I wasn't looking for timely tips - Twain's steamship expedition didn't go anywhere near Thailand, and took place in 1867 besides. (Twain mentions a brief trip to the onetime Siam and "the neighborhood of Bangkok" in 1871's "Roughing It," but doesn't go into detail.) Rather, I wanted to know how a writer travels: how, exactly, to keep one's perspective amidst such beautiful and perfect distraction. I didn't learn anything - Twain lost his head, just like everyone else. But he did it with such cool grace that even his most sardonic of comments had a degree of sweetness to them - a kid cutting up in the back of the classroom. The University of Virginia has been kind enough to provide the full text of Twain's celebrated book online, along with the prospectus used to sell it, a few contemporary reviews and other bonuses. Twain painted a detailed picture; the burden of interpreting it, savage reader, is yours, and a pleasurable duty it is.

The Thai people drink their coffee thick enough to sub for 30 weight. I think of that coffee and it brings me a feeling of warmth and contentment - which, naturally, relaxes me back into sleep. Maybe the only way to beat this damn thing is to fly back to Bangkok. Got any friends at Cathay Pacific?