Why I Hate Chamomile Tea

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Ryan Murdock

 

You know what really pisses me off?

Chamomile tea.

Anything labelled “soothing” or “calming” drives my anger through the roof. Are you saying I need to calm down???? Are you? Well great job then Mr. Crystal Rubber, because I HATE being told what to do. Don’t be surprised if “someone” eggs your house… I need calming down like I need 14 assholes.

Sleepytime Tea! Bah! I want a tea that pisses me off and raises my blood pressure!

I think twig tea would do the trick. Being served an infusion of dried up old sticks is sure to send even the most blissful New Age tree kisser into a sputtering rage.

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Time Like A Running Grave

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Ryan Murdock

 

I found a quote in my notebook that I want to share with you:

“Studies are pointed to indicating that of all the professions medicine is the one most likely to attract people with high personal anxieties about dying.” How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland

I wonder if writing attracts a disproportionate number of people with high personal anxieties about memory, forgetting, or losing the past? Of all those stories that will just fade away? Of one’s existence being for nothing, one’s individual past folding into Time and history… and then, eventually, the void?

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Does Your Stuff Honour You?

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Ryan Murdock

The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World

I bought a copy of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World last week. The new 2012 edition, with the planet sketched out in map sheets so beautiful they rival high art.

I’ve dreamed of owning this enormous atlas as far back as high school. And in university I went to the library between classes to flip through its pages. But I could never afford to buy one back then. It’s nice to finally make those simple childhood dreams come true. And it made me think about the value of the things I surround myself with.

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Posted in Uncategorized, Update | 2 Comments

What’s On Your Travel Playlist?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Ryan Murdock

Music is essential for any trip. It entrances us on long journeys by bus or rail, occupying the conscious mind and allowing insight to float up from the depths. You listen to those same songs over and over, and they soak up the landscape, the smells and the very feeling of the place. They colour the way you see it just like different shades of glass colour a sunny day.

Here’s what’s on my travel playlist right now:

Won’t Leave Home Without It

These albums have been on my travel ipod for years. Each has formed the backdrop to many trips. And each—for whatever reason—has earned a permanent place on all my journeys.

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With Crush Hat Worn Diabolically Askew

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Ryan Murdock

Kick back your chair and tilt your hat to a rakish angle. It’s time for a short update on what’s new in Road Wisdom Land.

My latest magazine feature was just added to the Articles page. If you missed it at the newsstand, you can now read it online. It’s a story of mystery, myth and our search for the real man behind the legend of King Arthur. I learned that a journey through Wales is a lot like waking up in a detective story. And in this episode we were traveling with the genuine article… the legendary John Wake. Did we solve the mystery? Read the feature to find out!

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The 10 Best Books I Read Last Year

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Ryan Murdock

I typically read about 100 books each year (… and yes, I count them). Everything from travel literature to poetry, history, psychology, fiction and memoir. I’d like to take a moment to share my top reads of the past year—ten great books that earned my Road Wisdom Stamp of Approval, from one book lover to another.

Chasing by Kathryn Woodall

I picked up this excellent first novel on my kindle, and by the end of chapter one it had completely drawn me into its world. It’s a story of inner conflict, personal growth, right and wrong, and the difficulty of questioning everything you ever believed to be true about yourself.

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Will North Korea Change?

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Ryan Murdock

Jeez, I disappear into the deserts of Namibia for a couple weeks and the news world turns over…

I learned of the death of Kim Jong Il when I stopped for fuel in the town of Otjiwarongo. Anyone who followed his rare appearances in recent years could see a visible decline in his health, but still, the announcement of his death caught me off guard. I’ve been a keen North Korea watcher since I visited the country in August 2001, and this was one of those historical events I wanted to be around for.

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A Postcard From The Harem

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Ryan Murdock

 

The theme of Topkapi is seclusion. A graduating depth of shadows. Deeper shades of obscuring darkness. Privacy nestled within privacy like Russian dolls, visible in the layers of courtyards and iridescent tiled chambers. Each layer of rooms contained its own household of secrets that transcended and included the rooms that surrounded it. Only those at the centre knew all.

The innermost rooms were places of decadence concealed behind walls and pleasure gardens, shrouded in the speculations of those outside. A surfeit of opulence as symbolized by the ornate visual overload of the tiles, and as realized in the women of the harem: specimens of pleasure from every nationality and every race of the empire. Istanbul retains this pleasure orientation even today.

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The True King Arthur Revealed?

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Ryan Murdock

Outpost Issue #84 - Winter 2010/2011

My latest magazine feature just hit newsstands across Canada and select international magazine stores in the United States.

It’s the main feature of Outpost’s 15th Anniversary issue: a story of mystery, myth and our search for the real man behind the legend of King Arthur. I learned that a journey through Wales is a lot like waking up in a detective story. And in this episode we were traveling with the genuine article…

I also wrote a very cool sidebar on walking in the footsteps of Dylan Thomas.

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A Postcard from Central Anatolia

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Ryan Murdock

 

The theme of Cappadocia is Seclusion and Fear. Isolated by its arid emptiness, its people sought further seclusion by digging vast cities deep under the ground. They tunneled to escape invasion, military recruitment, and puritanical government attempts to control the distillation of raki. The rock is threaded by rooms in which thousands of people could live for 4 or 5 months without ever coming out. I wonder if they forgot the sky?

 

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