Author: Dan White

I started the evening, believing that everything was going to the dogs. Then the polls started perking up, and everything changed. Then I went to sleep believing Proposition 30 was going to the dogs. Then I woke up and was in for a big surprise. What a relief. It could just as easily have been a “TRICK.” http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Enough said. Instead of emigrating to Canada, I am going to mark this grand occasion by going to a concert by a grand Canadian: the great Leonard Cohen, appearing tonight in San Jose. Actually attending the concert will be quite a logistical challenge for me, but I am going to do this by hook or crook … http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

On this busy election day, I thought you might take a moment out of watching those polls (relentlessly, joylessly, fruitlessly) and take a look at this brief travelogue. The bottom line is, I got off extremely easy. No power loss in my part of the city, and no flooding. Yes, I saw some harrowing things — gas rationing, traffic lights bopping and pitching in the gusts, awnings blowing down, and bits of brownstone falling off various buildings. But the bottom line is, I ended up in NYC for three additional unscheduled days, which is  kind of like throwing Br’er Rabbit in the briar patch. The hard part was knowing that a number of my friends were either in harm’s way or undergoing severe hardships ranging from electrical outages to flooding and gas rationing. Walking out of our temporary residence, we saw some scenes of devastation including downed trees in front…

hi everyone. I just wanted to say thank you very much for your thoughtful and encouraging responses to my “Shoebox” essay in the latest P & W (the one with Chris Ware’s artwork on the cover.)  I guess I hit a nerve with this one? Anyways, I hope you continue to soldier on with your projects. There is every reason not to continue with your books and your stories — every reason except for the fact that you want to write them, which is reason enough to keep plugging away as far as I’m concerned. And if you think a home-made desk-bound artifact will help keep you on task, you might consider making one for yourself. Remember, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy to get the job done so get out those glue sticks and those cardboard boxes and shipping containers right now. By the way, there wasn’t quite…

See you there? Read the story right here by the talented Wallace Baine. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I couldn’t have picked a more interesting time for our New York City family vacation. I will tell you all about it once my brain is a bit less fried from the entire experience. Stay tuned. Meanwhile I wanted you to know we are back in Santa Cruz — it’s pretty amazing that we got a flight out of Newark yesterday (many were cancelled all around us, and I felt terrible for the families who were waiting around, in some cases for days, to get out.) I have a longer report coming your way, but I just want to say that the New Yorkers were incredibly good-humored and patient during a difficult time for their city. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Here is a brief excerpt from a wonderful essay that Ben Lerner wrote about his days as a smash-mouth high-school debater. As you will see, most of the text is behind the paywall. To read the whole thing, you will need to head off to your friendly indie bookstore and buy this issue of Harper’s.  While this analytical and personal essay is not explicitly about the latest round of debates, you might wish that Lerner was up on the podium, giving grief to everyone involved,  including the moderator.  This essay is not short, but if you get in your car or cinch up your sneakers right now,  you will have time to reach your neighborhood bookstore, buy the magazine and a cup of coffee,  read and re-read this essay before Obama and Romney mix it up this evening.  If you remember from a couple of weeks ago, Ben Lerner is…

I noticed that Andrew Goldman has a Q and A with T.C. Boyle in this week’s New York Times Sunday Magazine. I spoke with T.C. Boyle a couple of months ago about his exploration of mankind’s turbulent and strange relationship with the natural world. In light of the publicity for Boyle’s new novel, San Miguel, and the launching of Catamaran this week, I am posting a brand-new edit of my previously posted podcast interview with Boyle. And here it is. You will find the podcast image and link about halfway down the page, which also includes detailed info about Catamaran’s inaugural issue. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

What does it take to publish a literary magazine? A group of hard-working editors, a whole bunch of talented contributors, lots of brainstorming sessions at the Salz Tannery in Santa Cruz, and a group of determined printers working with an enormous and complicated piece of machinery. In case you are curious, here is what it looked like when the first batch of them got printed up. Enjoy. Every time I watch this video and all those whirring, sorting, printing contraptions, Rube Goldberg comes to mind. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

… if you’re a subscriber to Catamaran or if you are getting, for one reason or another, a complimentary issue. Your copy or copies should be arriving in the mail any day now. So if it doesn’t arrive today, check again tomorrow. If not, Catamaran will be available in bookstores nationwide. And speaking of check again, I know that some of you weren’t able to attend our reading last week. If that is the case, I just wanted to let you know that someone filmed the entire thing including the Q and A session at the end, and it should be uploaded at some point soon; I will let you know and will probably post the link here. Also, do me a favor and drive over to your local indie bookstore or to your Barnes & Noble or whatever you have in town and pick up the latest issue of…