Year: 2008

For those of you who are out here in SF, and are looking for a quick escape, and are sick of the crowds in Muir Woods, try this hike. It’s just off Highway One beyond the Devil’s Slide (near Montara.) It’s eight miles round trip — and the first four miles are straight uphill— but the views of the East Bay and San Francisco are tremendous. Warning: clear your schedule after you do this. I couldn’t walk for a couple of days afterwards. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I have been trying, in recent weeks, to make my Cactuseaters blog more focused on the environment, backpacking, trees and “green” issues. With this in mind, I’ve decided to republish a story I wrote some years back for the Santa Cruz Sentinel about an “allegedly phallic tree.” For some reason, this story resulted in a small avalanche of strange attention; I went on various Howard Stern-style radio programs to talk about this particular shrubbery. Fact or fallacy: Sexy tree too much for some Westside neighbors DAN WHITE Sentinel staff writer May 8, 2002 A Westside resident called the cops Monday to report an allegedly phallic tree. Officers responded to the Liberty Street home but found no wrongdoing. They said the 20-footer — actually an evergreen hedge of the Luma genus — is protected by its owner’s right to artistic freedom. “We contacted the city attorney,” said Sgt. Brad Goodwin. “It…

I thought she did an incredible job. They set it up to look like a sit-down interview with Daniel Handler but it was pure, polished improv comedy, right from the start. She would take some ridiculous, offhand comment from the audience (including an astoundingly tasteless remark about Ms. Sedaris’s dead mother in a sexually compromising position), pretend to ignore it, and then refer back to it mercilessly throughout the evening. Comedy is very hard — it’s easy to get up there and look like a shnook — but she seemed fearless. She sparred a bit with Mr. Handler — just enough to make you wonder if it was all part of the act or not. I also picked up on a lot of housekeeping tips (how to put google eyes on peanuts, for example.) There were many other weird twists to the evening — such as Andrew Sean Greer playing…

Please come to the next Steinbeck Fellows reading at 7:30 on March 6 (a Thursday) at the main library at SJSU. Peter Malae and Lysley Tenorio will read from their recent fiction (and I will have a short nonfiction piece.) http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I know that they are just being friendly. But I’m starting to wonder why so many people are offering me “fat nuggs” while I am wearing workout clothes and doing my long marathon training runs through Golden Gate Park. It seems counterintuitive. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I’m sure you’ve all read about the new Blue Bottle Cafe, which opened recently in the Mint Plaza. This city is full of places where coffee drinkers go to absurd new extremes to get that perfect cup — and the Blue Bottle outdoes them all. You’ve got to see this to believe it. The place is clean and airy, with a staff that is in constant motion, stirring the silt out of the New Orleans-style iced coffee with chicory, monitoring the movements of the $20,000 Lucky Cremas Bonmac 105 siphon bar and tasting the product constantly, sipping the brew from tiny little cups. I ordered up a $12 pot, brewed in a glass globe. Quite frankly, this brew was a little bit above my head; it was delicious but I couldn’t quite figure out what was so wonderful about it. However, it packed an insane caffeine kick that lingered for…

I’m keeping a close watch on this one: Washington State preservationists are asking Congress to set aside 106,000 acres of forest, in the heart of Skykomish Valley, as wilderness. The land sounds incredible: old-growth forests, scenic crags and wild rivers, not to mention habitat for bald eagles, wolverines, owls and mountain goats. The proposal has cleared the U.S. Senate. Let’s see what happens with this one. If it becomes a reality, I’m loading up my pack and heading out there as soon as the snows clear up. In other news, the Steinbeck Fellows will be reading in March in San Jose. Don’t miss it. Peter Malae and Lysley Tenorio will present some of their latest works. Refreshments will be served. (and I almost forgot to mention that I’ll be reading, too.) http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. (see footnote.) I’m hoping that lots of people will take leaves of absences and sabbaticals to through-hike this 2,650-mile trail. I might seem like an unlikely advocate for this path, considering that I had a rather extreme experience (running out of water dozens of times, getting lost constantly, getting giardia, etc.) However, many things have changed since I hiked it. For one thing, trail angels are leaving more water caches in the drier sections of the hike. The telecommunications boom is another factor. When I hiked the trail, cell phones were rare, unreliable and clunky. These days, people are blogging right from the trail(!), carrying GPS and maintaining at least some contact with the outside world. Finally, there are so many online resources and publications for people interested in lightpacking and orienteering. I’m hoping to hear from…

As it turns out, I will not be signing some advance copies at the New York Hilton from 3 to 4 p.m. this coming Saturday. However, if you stop by and say hello, I will give you a postcard with some information about “The Cactus Eaters.” These postcards, by the way, are absolutely free. Take as many of them as you want. So far, my visit to New York has been fantastic. I’ve heard readings by Russell Banks, Phillip Lopate, Victoria Redel and many, many others. So far, every one of the AWP presentations has been first-rate. Tomorrow I’m going to see Edwidge Dandicat and John Beryman. I’m attending panels and getting a lot of great advice for creative writing and comp classes. The only cause for worry is my diet. So far, I’ve consumed a large banana pudding from the Buttercup Bakery, a cream-cheese smeared bagel from Absolute, an…

I’m just about to board a plane to New York. I will be out there for the next few days, talking to writers, editors and educators while raising awareness about my book. This means that I will be standing in front of Zabar’s, handing out leaflets and waving around an inflatable cactus. Just kidding. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default