My secondary career in baking

Some people know me only from my articles, essays, and book, but I'm still enjoying small crumbs of notoriety for  the official Banana Slug cookie I developed for UC Santa Cruz, pictured below.

When I say "developed," I am speaking only of the cookie's shape and design, not the ingredients, the frosting or anything else. I had no say in the butter content, amount of sugar, etc. I developed the Banana Slug cookie cutter by buying a very cheap cat-shaped cookie cutter and hitting it with a hammer until it looked more or less like the Slug mascot of UCSC. Then I sent specifications and the cookie cutter to The Buttery bake shop, telling them where to place the eyes, the smiley mouth, and so on.

   

                                     

You are probably wondering why I am flogging this same old news on my blog once more. Well, here is the reason: Recently, Chancellor George Blumenthal mentioned these cookies (prominently) in his list of Top 10 happy moments during his years on campus. He read the list out loud during the recent Alumni Weekend festivities. To mark the occasion, the Buttery baked up a brand-new batch of these cookies (photographs below.)

Here is the chancellor's list, verbatim. The cookie is mentioned in item number six.

UCSC has been my happy place for 41 years. Here's a Top Ten list that captures just ten favorite memories:

#10: My very first visit to campus, as a UC San Diego grad student attending an all-UC conference. It was amazing. I'd never seen a campus like this.

#9: Cold dark matter. This campus allowed me, as a researcher, to make a significant contribution, for which I will always be grateful.

#8: The moment the elevator I was stuck in opened on October 17, 1989--45 minutes after the Loma Prieta earthquake struck.

#7: The East Field is one of my favorite places. The view is spectacular; it's where my investiture as chancellor took place, and this is where commencement takes place each spring. It's a very happy place.

#6: The day in 1986 when students made the Banana Slug our official campus mascot. The slug prevailed, besting the sea lion in a campuswide vote. On the 25th anniversary in 2011, the Buttery made special-edition banana slug cookies, and the City Council proclaimed September 27th the "Day of the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug Mascot." How far we've come!

#5: The first time I biked up to campus. I made it to the top, but it wasn't easy!

#4: I have had the pleasure of knowing all four of UCSC's alumni regents: Paul Hall, Alan Goodman, Gary Novack, and Ken Feingold.They've all done great work for the campus and the university, and they make me proud.

#3: I'm pleased to have played a behind-the-scenes role in securing a staff advisor to the Regents. The story includes a hushed conversation with a UCLA staffer that took place behind a potted palm—I felt a little like James Bond!

#2: This one goes back to 1983 or so: The day I gave my professor's inaugural lecture at Oakes College was a very happy moment. Making full professor and being introduced by Herman Blake was a winning combination!

My #1 happy memory from this happy place is pretty recent: On February 1, I had the honor of accompanying astronomy professor Sandy Faber to the White House where President Obama presented her with the National Medal of Science. What a moment. It's one we can all share and in which we can take great pride."

Anyhow, thank you, Buttery Bakery, for keeping my cookies alive. As graduation draws near for UCSC, look for more of my cookies at the bakery. They should have them as a seasonal offering for at least a couple of weeks. 

A Golem in Manhattan

Congratulations to my friend Helene Wecker on the publication (today!) of her first novel, The Golem and the Jinni. I just recorded a detailed Q and A with Helene, who told me all about the development, writing process and research that led to this marvelous new book. Look for that this summer (I will share the venue as soon as I have the specifics.)

Coming soon: intensive memoir workshop with author Micah Perks at UC Santa Cruz

Methods and Materials: Memoir is an intensive, advanced creative writing course in memoir writing. For students in the creative writing concentration or by permission of instructor.

June 24-July 5, no class July 4, 1-5 each day, five credits. Sign up begins April 15 through UCSC summer session office. Email Micah Perks, meperks@ucsc.edu for more info. Micah Perks is the author of a novel, short stories, and the memoir, Pagan Time, which is available in paperback, ebook and audio from audible.com. Her personal essays have appeared and are forthcoming on The Rumpus, an online arts and culture magazine.

Mollusk melt: introducing the world's first Banana Slug/Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Get a load of this! Kirstin Guinn, my co-worker here at UCSC, has designed what must be the first Banana Slug/Grilled Cheese Sandwich. No actual slugs were harmed in the making of this gooey concoction, but I'm proud to say that Kirstin used my home-made banana slug cookie cutter to stamp out these two slug sandwiches, which are lying right beside each other on the orange plate. You'll notice that the slug in the foreground has capers for eyes, a bread body, and pepper-jack cheese dripping out of his midsection.

Anyways, I asked Kirstin just now: what possessed you to make this particular sandwich? "One of the things I do as a social media manager is find weird holidays and then figure out how to celebrate them online, usually with photos as that makes everything more compelling," she explained. "When I found out from a fellow social media manager that today is National Grilled Cheese Day, I immediately knew this was one to celebrate (as all college students love grilled cheese almost as much as they love Ramen). I started thinking about making grilled cheese so I could photo the sandos and post them and then I walked past your office and saw the outline you made with your banana slug cookie cutter that hangs in your window. I love it when a plan comes together . . . . "

Sharp-eyed blog readers will notice that the slugs are resting their sleepy heads on a bed of freshly plucked cilantro. Yum.  Stay tuned for boll weevil quiche and broccoli-cricket ice cream!

Food photography by: Kirstin Guinn

UC Santa Cruz's boogie-woogie sea lion dances to Earth, Wind & Fire, and the Backstreet Boys

Normally I don't upload videos but I made an exception for this one.      

  Next week: see what happens when they cue up a Slayer CD!

Just kidding. Speaking of 'just kidding," this video was released on April Fool's Day, but I can assure you that it's real. 

                         

The Love Song of Jonny Valentine: I double-dare you to read this book and not think of Justin Bieber

Remember that stupid game in middle school when one of the older, snarkier kids defied you to go back home that day and not think of monkeys?

Naturally enough, you went home, and you couldn't get those monkeys out of your head for the whole day. You went to sleep dreaming of those monkeys.  It was like Jedi Mind Tricks for 12 year olds.

The middle-school don't-think-of-monkeys trick came to mind when I was reading the beautifully written, funny and highly entertaining new book, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne. Wayne, with mischief on his mind, even uses a quote attributed to Justin Bieber at the very beginning of the book. This book is remarkable because it reads as a satire but it also comes across as a convincing insider look at the celebrity culture that it (gently and not so gently) sends up. Anyhow, this book was a very welcome distraction during an arduous week. I believe that all three of my readers would enjoy this very much but I could be wrong. One thing that keeps popping up in my head: if they ever made a movie out of this book, would there be any chance that Jonny Valentine would be played by .... Don't think of monkeys!

Forgot to mention that Teddy Wayne shot an intentionally cheesy and nerdy promo video for the book featuring Teddy Wayne bobbleheads and a once-in-a-lifetime T-shirt offer.

Catamaran Literary Reader makes waves (with new podcast link)

Here is the latest news story about our mighty magazine. I'm happy to say that a  third one is already in the works (we had our editor's meeting out here just the other day, and it looks like we'll have great visuals and stories for the next one, too. Little by little, I'm getting my own contribution together. Looks like I'll interview one of my  favorite nonfiction authors but it's not official so I'll keep mum for now. Let's just say he's written a staggering number of books and I'm attempting (early in the mornings, and late in the evenings) to read 'em all. I will admit to feeling intimidated as I look at the leaning pile of fat, thoroughly researched and beautifully illustrated books on my night stand ... By the way, if you happen to be in town on April 4th, the magazine is holding a reading at Bookshop Santa Cruz, featuring a few contributors. Oh, and one more thing: on the Catamaran website, you will find a brand-new and slightly different edit of my TC Boyle podcast interview, which uses his story "The Extinction Tales" as a jumping off point to explore his engagement with the natural world. The image and link to the podcast can be found about halfway down the page, which also includes detailed info about the first issue.

Things you should NEVER do in the backcountry

The season for recreation is almost upon us so it's time for me to republish this very important, comprehensive list of backcountry don'ts. 

You will find my list, in its entirety, right here.

Thanks to everyone who traveled far and wide for our rager of a birthday party here in Santa Cruz

It was a wild time.

People slid on slides.

They screamed.

They yelled.

They climbed a tree and swung on swings. They threw tantrums. They laughed. They drank from sippy cups.

I am proud to say that the cake I thought would be terrible turned out to be pretty good. In fact, the kids chomped it down in about two minutes. Not kidding.  By the time I was able to reach in there and grab a piece for myself, nothing remained but a shriveled, dried-out, semi-frosted, charred elbow of crust.

I ate it anyhow.

Stop by and say hello to Catamaran Literary Reader at AWP in Boston

Catamaran Literary Reader is out in force at this year's AWP conference in Boston. The conference starts today, so make sure to stop by and say hello to editor in chief Catherine Segurson and managing editor (and highly talented fiction author) Elizabeth McKenzie.

As you can see, there is a very impressive line-up of speakers this year at the conference. I will always have a place in my heart for AWP because I went to the one in New York some years back and had a very good time, in spite of the fact that we were supposed to have handed out advanced review copies of The Cactus Eaters and, in true classic Cactus Eaters/Murphy's Law fashion, the printer broke down, so I ended up handing out -- and signing -- dozens of little postcards with my picture on it and a photo of the ARC. Anyhow, I won't actually be there for this one -- I will be throwing the ultimate birthday party out here in Santa Cruz, baking the chocolate sheet cake myself, and trying to figure out the kind of party favors that a pre-school demographic might enjoy  -- but I hope you stop by and talk to the Catamaran contingent out in Boston. They should be out there right about now ...

And I almost forgot to thank you for the large and enthusiastic crowd we had for our second Catamaran release party -- and thank you for your kind response to my presentation. When I step up to a live microphone, I am never sure how it is going to go so thank you for your encouragement.

The spring issue of Catamaran is here. If you happen to be in Santa Cruz this Friday, I'm going to read something so new, I haven't written it yet.

                              

The second issue of Catamaran Literary Reader is coming your way. Any moment now it should start showing up in indie bookstores across the nation and in several other countries, and start working its way into your mailbox. Even the erratic mailman who serves two of our most loyal readers in a certain suburban community in Los Angeles County should, eventually, deliver the magazine. Our magazines arrived today, on John Steinbeck's birthday, no less. To celebrate, we're throwing a big party at the Tannery Arts Center with some great surprises. The festivities start at 6 p.m. Friday, with live music until 7 p.m., readings from 7 to 8 (and, I would guess, perhaps a wee bit later than 8) and dance music until 9 p.m. This is your chance to meet the contributors to our second issue, and view original art from the magazine.

Here is how to get there.


If you go, you will hear from the following authors:


Jack Shoemaker, essay. (This is a rare opportunity to hear one of the most influential voices out there today. Read more about him right here.)


John Moir, essay. ( John Moir has written an excellent essay about an extremely famous author, mountaineer, and the first-ever president of the Sierra Club, whose name is almost identical to "John Moir." And no, the right answer is NOT David Brower.)

Patricia Smith, fiction

Dane Cervine, poetry

Peggy Townsend, fiction

Karen Joy Fowler, fiction

I'm reading a piece that I plan to start writing late Thursday evening (tonight) about the 40th anniversary of the publication of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and Jim Houston's influential book, Farewell to Manzanar. I'll share a few thoughts about the book and my recent talk with Jeanne in Santa Cruz.

See you then, I hope.

A tragic day (week, month, year) in Santa Cruz, California -

Yesterday felt like a bad dream -- helicopters circling my neighborhood for hours, streets blocked off, and reports later on that two veteran police officers had been shot to death during a sexual assault investigation on the street that I run and drive on almost every day of the week. For hours we were getting reports that a shooter was still in the neighborhood -- and though the report turned out to be wrong, our household got quite a jolt when a door-to-door marketer, with an only-in-Santa-Cruz sense of timing, pounded on the door, hoping to sell stuff. (She was told to please go away and perhaps come back when there was not an active manhunt in progress.)  It was nerve-wracking to see constant updates and national news stories coming over the wire and have no idea if the situation was ongoing.  Later on, I was stunned to hear that one of the fallen officers was Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker, a true professional, and  my go-to guy every time I wrote about social issues downtown while working at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. He was one of the most visible members of the force -- an almost constant presence downtown. At one point I wrote  stories about panhandling and street musicians, and a set of downtown ordinances restricting where people could "spare change" (a verb out here in Santa Cruz.)  Sgt. Baker was always very informal and friendly, and more than willing to go about his rounds with a pesky reporter trailing after him, recording his every move. Those were the days when people seemed on edge in this town -- so much anxiety when the stakes were so much lower. I got a  small and slightly scary taste of what Sgt. Baker had to go through every single day when I "patrolled" downtown myself as part of my newspaper beat.  These days I can't help but feel a little nostalgic when panhandling ordinances seemed like our biggest concern in the city. Now it's 2013, and in the same few weeks we've had to deal with the shooting (not fatal) of a student at the bus stop I use almost every day, a fatal drive by shooting of someone right in front of an extremely popular college hangout called The Red Room, an alleged sexual assault on campus that heightened anxieties but turned out to be a false report, a robbery of the same organic food store where a disoriented guy tried half-heartedly to mug me while I was shopping some weeks back. And let's not forget the fatal stabbing of the owner of Camouflage less than a year ago in broad daylight.

Obviously there is no "upside" to all of this tragedy, but we can all take heart in the people who work hard to keep bystanders out of harms way, the grocery stores that closed early to make sure their employees got home safely, and the generosity and work ethic of so many people in this town. I'm talking about the same sense of responsibility that led Sgt. Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler out to that house on North Branciforte Avenue yesterday.

The Cactus Eaters: reviews, stories, podcasts and links

Just in case you are new to this blog (and I seem to be getting new readers checking in every month), I've updated the page with the reviews, stories, podcasts, links and other info. Thank you for your continued support. Yes, I am working on new things, but I am am not a fast writer.  It took me all month just to write this blog post.

The new issue of Catamaran Literary Reader is coming to a bookstore near you

Or to your mailbox, imminently. Here's the brand-new cover by Belle Yang, acclaimed author of Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale, which is sitting right here beside my keyboard while I'm typing this. It's great to see the word is getting out -- internationally-- and how this magazine is bringing together all the various threads of my writing/editing life. For instance, a month or two ago, I got an email from a poet who lives in Vancouver. She read my "Man in the Shoebox" essay in a recent issue of Poets & Writers, which included my bio at the end. The story inspired her not only to buy a copy of The Cactus Eaters at her local bookstore, but to order a two-year subscription to Catamaran. Anyhow, I'm proud to be part of this acclaimed new start-up, and I hope you go out and get a copy of the latest magazine, which will be a heavy hitter.  Here's the line-up for our second issue:

Poetry from...Gary Snyder, Killarney Clary, Aleida Rodriguez, Judith Serin, Casandra Lopez, Dane Cervine, Judith Barrington, Anya Groner, Beatriz Vignoli, Linda McCarriston, Cassie Premo Steele, William J. Harris

Fiction from... Patricia Smith, Peggy Townsend, Deni Y. Bechard, Paul Skenazy, Liliana Heker, Elizabeth Crane, Chuck Rosenthal, Karen Joy Fowler

Nonfiction from...Jack Shoemaker, John Moir, Charles Hood, Eva Saulitis, Dan White with Jeanne Houston, Belle Yang

Visual art from...David Ligare, Sandra Ivany, Mari Kloeppel, Erika Perloff, Katie Cater, Dorothea Lange, Belle Yang, Charles Prentiss, Warren Chang, Linda Christensen, Noelle Correia, George Hitchcock 

Sarah Silverman and me: HarperCollins Stranger than Fiction: 10 Great Memoirs ebook promotion featuring The Bedwetter, The Cactus Eaters, and Josh Kilmer-Purcell

Here's the latest bit of news.  Sarah Silverman and I  are part of the same e-book promotion at HarperPerennial called "Stranger Than Fiction," featuring a list of selected HarperCollins memoirs.  Anyways, this promotion, which is live now and ends on February 25, allows you to buy a spanking-new e-book version of Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter, my first book, The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost my Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail,  and other bestsellers, including I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell for  less than you would pay to buy a gingerbread soy latte at The Sour Cup or a bean burrito at Cafe Indigestion.   But you'd better buy  this very minute because the whole thing ends in just over a week.

Here is the complete list of participating authors:

The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Sophia Al-Maria
Fante by Dan Fante
Dishwasher by Pete Jordan
The Cactus Eaters by Dan White
I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
Everything is Going to be Great by Rachel Shukert
Everything is Wrong with Me by Jason Mulgrew
The Cactus Eaters by Dan White
The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman
Working Stiff by Grant Stoddard
The Cactus Eaters by Dan White

Wait -- I accidentally put my own book more than once in that list.  Darn it. I'll go back and correct that just as soon as I get the chance!!

By the way, this blog entry will self-destruct on February 26 as soon as this promotion ends.

Cactuseaters versus the Spam Robots: why I have comment moderation on this blog

I don't like having comment moderation on Cactuseaters.  It makes it difficult  and annoying for people to write in. Now, when someone attempts to comment on any blog post, a sequence of headache-inducing numbers comes up on the screen, along with scattered letters. The would-be commentator must sit there at his or her keyboard and  reproduce those numbers and case-sensitive letters perfectly to leave a comment on my blog. Trying to be responsive to your needs (all four of you people, who only write into this blog once every Hale-Bopp anyhow), I changed the comment settings in February, allowing any carbon-based life form to comment on my posts without my having to approve the content. It was all-comers, complete freedom for everyone. How easy. How convenient. What a nightmare.  You would not believe the garbage that flowed into my blog that week! I received a small avalanche of nonsensical, surly, whiny comments about the most innocent blog posts on Cactuseaters, along with tons of ads, spam attacks, queries from people trying to sell me stuff, and whack-a-doodle manifestos from people who should not be allowed to manifest anything. A lot of the "messages" were anonymous and seemed to be generated by a Spam robot. (see photo above.)  So it looks like I'll have to fall back on the author-approved message system for a while until this all blows over. Sorry about that. It will have to suffice until I think of a better system. Meanwhile, keep those comments coming. In moderation.

Life after homelessness in Santa Cruz: honoring the work of Stephen Nelson

Forgive the sudden change of tone, my four loyal readers, but I have a story with serious import to share. Here is a bit of inspiration for you this morning. It's about a man who thought he'd lost everything, only to wake up one day and realize that his life of misfortune contained a template for actual change -- not just his change but other people's, too. I interviewed him at some length on Monday and based my story on our talk, and my conversations with several other folks who know him well. Meanwhile,  mark your calendars for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation. And in case you missed it, here is my interview with the 2012 keynote speaker Nikki Giovanni and my story about the upcoming ceremony, featuring activist and educational activist Robert Moses. And yes, it goes without saying that I will be there at the ceremony. (photo by the talented Carolyn Lagattuta) And by the way, if you are on hand to congratulate Stephen, keep in mind that the pronunciation for his first name is unusual. It is pronounced Steh-FONN, with strong emphasis on the second syllable. 

Another update

I did, in fact, get completely lost on the way to the big Catamaran reception. I thought I could take a shortcut by going on Graham Hill Road, but I ended up behind a locked, residents-only security gate so I had to dogleg over Highway 17 and ask directions at the hotel near Pasatiempo. I finally figured it out, and it was a great evening. I had a nice talk with Belle Yang, a wonderful graphic novelist (her most recent book is Forget Sorrow) who designed a gorgeous cover for the upcoming Catamaran. Just wait until you see it. I also had a chance to talk with Robert Sward and his work in progress. He'll have a poem in an upcoming issue of the magazine -- not the next one but the one after that. There was a lot of excitement about our soon-to-be-published next issue, which focuses on the West Coast immigrant experience. We're getting lots of support from bookstores across America -- and, I'm glad to say, in Canada, where we sold very well (and we only had four measly returns). Meanwhile,  fundraising efforts are moving right along. The magazine is also a big part of the revitalization going on at the Salz Tannery. If you haven't seen it, you should stop by;  the once run-down Tannery now feels like an extension of downtown, complete with a restaurant, art space and art galleries, and a soon-to-open performance center. That's become part of my weekly ritual -- just running the length of the San Lorenzo River levee, stopping by the Tannery and seeing what exhibits, classes or talks are going on. All for now.

Update

My three readers (all of whom I know on a first name basis) should feel less self-conscious about writing in. Here is the latest update. I was very pleased with the turnout and reception to Amy's class. Very heartening to see. I finished up the Q and A that will appear in the next issue of Catamaran, featuring Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, and tonight I am going to a special reception for the magazine and its supporters. Slightly nervous that I will get lost on the way to the party. It will be up in Pasatiempo -- I hardly know that area at all. Still reading many books -- especially Katherine Boo's Behind The Beautiful Forevers, though I've been cheating on it with other things -- and juggling  projects, though I've made a New Year's Resolution to finish every long form and short form piece that I begin. This means that I'll need to put finishing touches on two profiles I am writing and finish the first short story I've written in decades, and maybe even send it out somewhere if I can work up the nerve. Hoping to teach or co-teach a workshop or writing class soon. All for now. Looking forward to seeing all three of you soon.

Amy Ettinger in praise of "slacker parenting" with update at the bottom

My talented wife, Amy Ettinger, has a thought-provoking story up in the Huffington Post in praise of "slacker parenting." (note the scare quotes. Our kid is the opposite of slacker!!) I loved this story, and so will you. By the way, Amy will be teaching a class on writing about parenthood at the Capitola Book Cafe from 1 to 4 p.m. on January 26. 

And here is that story in the Huffington Post for your reading pleasure. She is getting tons of positive feedback for this one. And this just in -- a new story about Amy, her writing and upcoming workshop in today's Santa Cruz Sentinel.