Icebreaker briefs may not be the world’s worst underwear, but they’re the worst waste of forty bucks I’ve ever spent on gotch. They should really change the name to Crack Chafer, because that’s what these things excel at. This chameleon-like garment transforms itself into a sumo mawashi the moment you start hiking. Once it has lodged itself in your crack, it saws up and down like a...
It’s that time of year when I tempt you to obliterate what remains of your savings. Hey, it could be worse. At least you’re not pissing it away on unoriginal streaming music or vapid superhero rehash. I’ve got some great books to recommend this year. As usual, I read and re-read a lot of travel literature to prepare for Personal Landscapes podcast conversations. I also have a few essential...
I read a fascinating book last week called Pan American Clippers: The Golden Age of Flying Boats by James Trautman. It’s about a forgotten age of air travel, when men were men, adventure was waiting around every corner, and the world was a much larger place. It was the decade before World War 2, the early days of aviation. Air travel was still a luxury within reach of a select few. Crowds...
A lone mud-spattered researcher in torn khaki pants and sweat-stained sleeveless t-shirt kneels in the dirt in front of a makeshift shelter, carefully injecting formalin into a toad to halt the onset of decay. Tiny sweat bees cloud around her head, crawling into her nose and ears and getting into the corners of her eyes. She’s so concentrated on her work that she barely notices them...
In addition to reviewing classic works of travel literature, I’d also like to draw your attention to works of outstanding artistic merit. The sort of thing that’s likely to appeal to those who enjoy my prose. The music of The Church has formed the soundtrack for every journey I’ve ever taken. Allow me to introduce you to their latest album: Untitled #23. Untitled...
I normally stick to recommending classics of travel literature, but I’m going to break my own habit because I enjoyed this book so much. This slim first novel from renowned poet Forrest Gander punches well above its weight in ounces. It’s the perfect size for the side pocket of your backpack, and great travel reading because, like poetry, you’ll find yourself returning to it...
Though Henry Miller’s book on Greece, The Colossus of Maroussi, is generally regarded as his greatest achievement, he also wrote a second travel book which should be regarded as a definite classic of the genre. The Air-Conditioned Nightmare chronicles Miller’s return to America in 1939, hot on the heels of the Greek trip referred to above, and from what he believed would be an open...
Every journey needs a soundtrack. The music of The Church has always formed the backdrop of mine. The band’s singer, Steve Kilbey, an accomplished lyricist, poet, blogger and painter, has also been one of my most significant writing influences. Allow me to introduce you to Kilbey’s recent solo album: Painkiller. I’ve made it a habit — well, call it a ritual — that each...