Year: 2010

Just wanted to let you know that I will be speaking and signing books at the 2011Literary Orange, a literary festival in Southern California. I know it’s a little early to get the notice out — it’s not happening until next April — but I’ll send reminders out before then on Facebook and elsewhere. It will be great to see everyone. I will be part of a travel-writing panel. Check the website in early fall for the full line-up. Last year the keynote speakers were Karen Joy Fowler and Dean Koontz. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Disclaimer: There is some chance that the chickens described in a previous blog entry could cause Alektorophobia. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Cactuseaters review: Glaum egg vending machine. Aptos, California. The Glaum chicken farm egg vending machine exceeded expectations, combining good nutrition with wholesome family entertainment and overall dollar value. Here’s what you should do: drive down Highway One from Santa Cruz and take a left on Freedom Boulevard, then take another left on Valencia. Soon, on the right, you will see the chicken farm, and signs pointing to the vending machine, which is open all the time. Seriously. You could drive up there at three in the morning. Anyhow, make sure to bring three crisp dollar bills (no quarters.) Insert the bills into the machine. Suddenly the curtain (blocking a small window) will go up, and 10 dancing chickens will emerge. They will sing. They will dance. They will wiggle their small, feather-covered butts to the tune of a loud Benny Goodman song. The song will go on for a very…

I will be taking part in a big literary event in springtime down in So.Cal (where lots of family lives.) Will post more when it’s official. Sorry to be vague, but it will involve a discussion of travel writing, plus book signing and more. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

My parents have just gotten back from their 60th(!!!)wedding anniversary cruise. (That really puts things in perspective, in this day and age when people can’t even buy futons together anymore.) In other news, my visit to the Glaum Egg Vending Machine (featuring a group of dancing robot chickens) was a big success. Will post pictures when I figure that out. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

This weekend, I met a live bat, and now I am about to visit the famous Glaum Egg Vending Machine. Full report soon. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I just saw the biggest, juiciest rattlesnake ever in Rancho San Antonio. I stood in the middle of the path and tried to direct people away from the snake. I warned everybody that the huge snake was on the right side of the road and that they had “better watch out.” The trouble is that everyone thought I meant my right side of the road, so they did the opposite of what I told them and walked left instead of right, straight into the coils and dripping fangs of that rattlesnake. If I had to guess, about 15 people walked straight into the jaws of that snake because of my attempt to help them out. It probably chomped and maybe even swallowed every one of them. (sorry, everybody.) http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

On Sunday, while strolling through the mountains, I almost walked right into a black bear yearling with white-and-cinnamon fur and a hulking Mama Bear, who was jet black, and right on the side of the trail near Crescent Meadow. Someone warned me in the distance. “There’s a bear!” According to several witnesses (I have blanked out everything that happened next)I put my hands up to make myself look bigger and took small steps backward, away from the bears, who were only 20 feet or so away from me. After a while, they snurfled around through the bushes and took off. I am not bragging about this at all, but it’s worth mentioning because I’ve made such a mess of my bear encounters in the past. It just goes to show that people can learn from their mistakes. But I have no proof of this. I know that someone videotaped the…

Here is the most recent review — and thanks to the reader who sent this in today. (I’m counting on you guys, since I don’t have much time to trawl through the Internet these days.) In other news, disgusting ants have entered my residence and they keep trying to carry me off so they can feed me to their ant queen. When I wake up in the morning, I am exactly one foot closer to the door than I was when I went to sleep. This means the ants are trying to carry me off incrementally, in the hope that I won’t notice until it’s too late. Anyhow, if you have any non-toxic solutions, please let me know. It’s getting really bad. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Colum McCann — Let The Great World Spin. Steve Almond — Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life. The Toto lyrics chapter just about killed me. Daniel Okrent — Last Call. This book is a riot, and it’s the most precise and engaging book on the subject. Now nudging its way up the bestseller list. Dan Chaon — Await Your Reply. Identity-theft nightmare. Will make an insomniac out of you. David Howard — Lost Rights: The Misadventures of a Stolen American Relic Real-life historical crime caper. Gripping and real. See blog entry below. Rebecca Skloot: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. John Richardson: My Father The Spy. Your parents’ secret career. Dave Cullen: Columbine. Everything you thought about Columbine turns out to be wrong. On order: Beth Raymer, Lay The Favorite. The last time I saw Beth Raymer, it was four or five years ago, and she was giving an…