Dan White

You might read my blog and think that it’s a very small operation with only one unpaid employee. But you would be wrong. In truth, the tentacles of the Cactuseaters blog reach all over the world. I have a staff of highly trained volunteer translators who help me decipher messages that I receive every week from all over the world. For instance, I received a Chinese comment just the other day. An attentive reader translated it as follows: “When an individual’s heart can embrace conflicting ideologies, he/she becomes more appreciated.” Thank you, translator. This is a useful comment. I could use a few conflicting ideologies in my life. And to my readers: keep sending in those comments, whether they are in English, Mandarin, Tagalog, Sanskrit, Cantonese, Vietnamese, French, Greek, Spanish or Esperanto. (My team of translators will be standing by.) http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Stay tuned for my interview with Wolf Larsen, Kelly McFarling and Megan Keely, who put on an incredible performance at the Blue Six in the Mission last Friday. I suppose I should have alerted them to the fact that I want to interview them for Cactuseaters before posting this, but I’ll stick it up on the blog as soon as I’m finished. The group is great, although they do need a name (and a bass player!)The three musicians — who each have devoted followings — perform ‘hootenanny” style, alternating lead vocals on original songs and then uniting to sing three-part harmony. They are all outstanding songwriters, but they also throw some wild, off-the-cuff covers into the mix (ranging from Whitney Houston to Don Ho.)By the way, the Bluesix Acoustic Room is the best place to see acoustic music in the city right now. It’s like sitting in someone’s living room…

That’s right. It’s now available as a book, on Kindle and on the Ipad. You can also have it printed on Silly Putty. By the way, I had no idea that it was up on Kindle until I saw someone reading it at a party recently. Seriously. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Here are a few words from my brother Phil. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Reposting this image in memory of my brother, David Gordon White aka Zooknoone. Thank you for your remembrances and messages, and feel free to send in again. This pen and ink drawing was done a year ago while returning home from a celebration of his life. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Details to follow. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Just wanted to wish Mr. Limbaugh well on his permanent and irrevocable sojourn to Costa Rica. In fact, I hear he will be jumping on a plane any minute now. Some travel advice: bring a large bottle of Tapatio hot sauce. The food is great but it can use a little seasoning. Once he gets there, he should ease into the lifestyle gradually. Perhaps he’ll rent a cabana near the Arenal volcano, and then light out for the cloud forest, or the Pacific coast. Happy travels! http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Do not miss Sam Lipsyte when he speaks in SF tomorrow at the Tosca Cafe. He will read from his acclaimed new book, The Ask. Peter Malae will be at City Lights Bookstore this Thursday to read from his just-released novel, What We Are. Also this week: a slew of author’s events at the Booksmith, including a talk by Alex Lemon, subject of a fascinating profile in the latest P & W. Alas, I can’t go to any of these events, but I’m reading all the books in tandem, starting with What We Are this week. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Congratulations to my friend, Professor Sam Autman, who will speak at the Koret Auditorium today. He is a Soul Making Literary Contest winner and is here in SF to mark the occasion. The event is at the main branch of the SF Public, and if you would like to go, try to get there around 1230 when the doors open. The talk runs from 1 to 3 p.m. And my apologies for the extremely short notice. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

This just in. One of my readers has stepped up and translated all of the recent Chinese comments on my message board. Stay tuned for the translations. I will post them next week. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default