Dan White

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

Well, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but someone is raising a rooster out here. It’s a little strange — this is an urban area — but I know it’s not my imagination. Every day I hear the strangled sound of the rooster calling out — “mawk-mawk-magooo!” For a while, the sound stopped, and I felt bad for the rooster. I thought that it was some ‘slow food’ thing, carried to a ridiculous extreme, and that he wound up in a soup or as a capon. But the noises returned yesterday, louder than ever. I love all creatures great and small, but not at 5 in the morning. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

My morning drive goes something like this: I race to my car, turn right on Divisidero, and the MUNI lurches up from the curb to cut me off. I switch on the radio. It’s the same song every morning: Dynamite Hack’s mellow folk cover of NWA’s “Boyz-N-The-Hood.” At the corner of Divisadero and Haight, I see the same homeless woman, holding a sign that says “Smile.” I cut straight through the Castro, then down into Noe Valley, where I amp myself with coffee and a fistful of Noe O’s. From there it’s 280 South. Soon enough, I pass the charmingly inept sculpture of Junipero Serra and that Flintstones-looking house with red-brown paint. In San Jose, “She Rock The Hips” beams into my car radio at the same time every morning. Eventually I lose the signal and switch to Greg Kihn in the Morning. An AC/DC cover band is playing “Highway…

I recently visited my old haunt, Santa Cruz, California, to catch up with some friends. I was hanging out downtown, standing in front of a shrubbery near the entrance to Book Shop Santa Cruz on Pacific Avenue. All of a sudden, the shrub began to shake and scream. The leaves parted, and out jumped a pasty shlub of a guy, laughing, while holding a bunch of branches in his hands. When I came to my senses, I realized that the shrub guy was in league with a second man, standing across the street, filming the whole thing. I guess the two of them were filming one of those ‘gotcha’ style comedy movies, where they bother people in the streets and then incorporate the footage into a narrative. Anyhow, the dummies forgot to ask their “victims” for releases. If I see myself in their movie, I’m lawyering up. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default