Very Big News!!

Family and friends: (I know you check this blog pretty regularly.) send me an email and call me when you see this. We have great news. (I'm sure you all know what it is by now, but the Big Day has arrived!)

Cactus Eaters/Bookshop Santa Cruz hike and write in the woods

It's official; On April 18th, I will lead a hike through Santa Cruz's beautiful Pogonip meadow, with stops for memoir and nature-writing exercises, in a special "Hike and Write" event sponsored by Bookshop Santa Cruz.A bunch of you contacted me in advance about this. If you would like to join me, make sure to register in advance through Bookshop Santa Cruz. There are a limited number of spaces. When you are registering, Bookshop will give you all the additional information you need, including the specific time and directions to the meeting place. Looking forward to meeting and walking with you (and, of course, seeing and hearing your writing)

Advice for travel writers, part four: "O Grunge Queen, Why Won't You Tidy Up?''

A few months back, we talked about the importance of bringing a high-quality leak-proof pen with smear-proof, water-resistant ink and a good journal with thick, absorbent paper for travel writers. In fact, you might even consider bringing a pencil instead of a pen because pencil lead won't run, and you can even write in pouring rain. Well, here's my latest piece of advice: make sure to store all your travel notes in a very safe place, even if you won't be using them for a long while. I learned this lesson the hard way when I stored two notebooks containing Pacific Crest Trail notes about Oregon and Washington. Absentmindedly, I decided to store them in a leaky shed out in Santa Cruz during the El Nino storm year -- and the water dripped all over them!!! Now, dozens of pages of trail notes about Oregon and Washington are covered with horrible, absolutely unreadable smears. On certain pages, only a few words survive, and now I have no idea what they mean. For example, one page has only one readable line of text, which says: "O Grunge Queen, Why Won't You Tidy Up?'' Now I have no idea what I meant by this. Who is this mysterious 'grunge queen' I was talking about? Where did this grunge-queen incident happen? Anyhow, don't make this silly mistake. Store those journals somewhere dry and safe. You never know when you'll need to use them for reference-- now or 15 years from now.

Watch out for these authors!

Today I want to congratulate my friends Brian Eule and Miranda Weiss, two talented non-fiction writers whose books will be available imminently. Brian Eule just received a starred Kirkus review for his book, Match Day, , an in-depth look at the lives of three medical couples. Miranda Weiss is an excellent nature writer whose book, Tide, Feather, Snow,, is an intimate portrait of Alaska. This story of survival and adaptation includes an unforgettable scene about the skinning of a sea otter. The writer Edward Hoagland described her book as "a lovely, feathery book indeed—a labor of love and a pleasure to read." Get these books -- and see Brian and Miranda in person when they head out on the road very soon.

...and this just in from Etude: New Voices in Literary Nonfiction

Here is the latest review, in Etude, the literary nonfiction journal. (thanks to another sharp-eyed reader for emailing me this link today.) Basically they liked it but think my behavior at the time was not very intelligent.. Guilty as charged. In other news, it looks like I'll be adding at least one new event in the spring in addition to the talking about writing/hiking in the woods event in Santa Cruz. I'll post the updates when I get them.

Video of a guy eating a cactus online ...

I just wanted to thank the reader who sent me a video file showing a guy slowly consuming a cactus, bite by agonizing bite (after adding sauce on top of it!) I had a link to that Stupidity.com video on my blog today but felt that it was a little too offensive (and disgusting) for a general audience, so I removed it. However, if you put "cactus eater video'' or 'video of a guy eating a cactus' into any major search engine, you should have no trouble finding it online. I admire the guy's high capacity for pain.

A date for the new Cactus event! (updated.)

I will be leading a writing discussion/walk in the redwoods on Saturday, April 18, in a special event sponsored by Bookshop Santa Cruz. I will post the weblink to the event as soon as we nail down a few more details. Meanwhile, feel free to shoot me an email if you would like to take part, and I'll forward your contact info to Bookshop. This just in: it's likely that we will have the nature hike in Pogonip Meadow in Santa Cruz -- but we need to do a trial run first to pick the best route -- and the latest round of rainstorms and mud is making that rather difficult!

Cactus Eaters and Synchronized Chaos

This just in: an essay about The Cactus Eaters in the online Synchronized Chaos literary magazine.

Cactus Eaters in National Geographic Weekend

One of my readers just sent me this audio link to an interview I did a while back. This is probably the only time in my life in which I will appear in the same program roster as Chuck D of Public Enemy. Cool. (I just so happen to have Chuck D's autograph, dating back to the "Apocalypse '91, the Enemy Strikes Back'' tour. I still have that autograph somewhere in storage. It's on a napkin.)

Knock back a beer (or a glass of wine) at your local independent bookstore

Stay tuned for my special report on independent bookstores and what they are doing to stay afloat in this rotten economy -- (including, in one case, adding a full beer and wine list!)

Leah Garchik column in SF Chronicle

One of my recent post-Cactus Eaters stories was mentioned in this recent column by The SF Chronicle's Leah Garchik (who I read religiously.) Lately I've been getting a spate of new emails about the unfortunate "other Dan White'' name coincidence.

The Cactus Eaters: now available in paperback!

I am very pleased to announce that the Cactus Eaters is available in the paperback format at your local bookstore. Literal minded people will point out that the book was already out in paperback, but let's just set that aside for the time being. In other news, it looks like the book will go into another printing soon -- and I want my Cactuseaters blog readers to know that I've been incorporating their emailed suggestions, though I will not be able to include color photos, at least for now.

An enduring puzzle: the Golden Gate Park spear (updated report.)

As I mentioned in a recent blog posting, I discovered what appeared to be a spear point in Golden Gate Park, not far from the Shakespeare Garden, and turned it over to the deYoung Museum, who in turn handed it over to the California Academy Of Sciences. An expert from the Academy's Department of Anthropology has weighed in on the finding -- and there are many more questions than answers.


While the expert has declared that the obsidian object is "likely a spear tip or knife -- it looks too robust to have served as an arrow tip,'' its provenance is murky. There is some chance that the object was buried before the park was created in the late 19th century, and that a burrowing rodent pushed it up to the surface. But very often, gophers and other creatures actually bury artifacts deeper into the ground, rather than pushing them up -- and there's always a chance that someone brought the object from somewhere else and dropped it into the park. "In short, it is virtually impossible to determine from where and when the item originated, if it is an indigenous piece or a reproduction.''

Is there some hope that this puzzle will solved some day? Perhaps. Otherwise, the scientist would have said "flat-out impossible'' instead of "virtually impossible.''
Until then I'll just have to let the mystery be. By the way, the artifact will soon be on display somewhere in the park. Details to follow.

The mystery of the Golden Gate Park spear, continued....

Stay tuned. I will provide a full report on Tuesday, with all the latest information ...

Mary Magazine, featuring Cactus Eaters deleted scene and interview

This just in. Mary Magazine -- a literary magazine with headquarters at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga -- has published an interview by the writer Jillian Kurvers, along with a very brief deleted section of The Cactus Eaters. And one more thing: While Cactuseaters is a family-friendly blog, there are a couple of impolite words in the deleted section. Just so you know.
Also, make sure to check out the college's upcoming series of readings, featuring the talented fiction writer Lysley Tenorio and many others.

$1.6 million needed to save SF bookstore

I stopped by Stacey's bookstore on Market Street here in SF and asked if there was anything I could do to help the bookstore and prevent it from closing. One of the employees said yes, I could write them a check for $1.6 million!! Apparently that is what it would take to save the store, which (according to the employee) is paying 65K in rent each month!! So I guess the news is final after all. On the bright side, I can take some comfort in the fact that two top-notch bookstores (Alexander's, just down the block, and a branch of Book Passage, several blocks away overlooking the water) are still going strong.

The vanishing mural of Haight-Ashbury (where has it gone?)

One of my favorite pieces of local street art has vanished. Every day, when I'm going on my appointed rounds or marathon-training runs, I pass this color-splashed mural with anthropomorphic smiling faces (some of them with lolling tongues.) I witnessed this project take shape from start to finish. Tourists are always posing in front of it. Locals stop to stare and admire it. And now, boom, it's gone beneath a fresh coating of off-white paint. There might be a rational explanation (perhaps it was meant to be a temporary installation. I'll ask around the block and see what I can find out.) Meanwhile, if you've never seen the mural, here are some photos that I took on pure impulse a couple of weeks back. By the way, there is a great mural on Cole Street near the Haight intersection; it's an 'evolutionary rainbow' featuring fish, reptiles and other creatures. Make sure to check it out.

I found a spear in Golden Gate Park!

Yes, you read that correctly; I found a spear -- or, to be more specific, a rocky spear point -- in the park not too long ago, while running through the park on a rare, sunny day. GGP -- long before it was turned into a pleasure garden -- was just one more section of scrubby plants and sand dunes marching out toward the Pacific Ocean. Human habitation has a long history in what is now San Francisco -- reaching back to at least 3,000 years B.C. But this doesn't (necessarily) mean that the relic that I found -- and duly turned over to the de Young Museum, which transferred the item to the California Academy of Sciences, after I provided specific coordinates of where I found this 'surface relic -- is the real deal. Sometimes it takes careful examination to determine whether something like this is authentic or merely a discarded tsoschke from a gift shop somewhere. Stay tuned to this blog --- and I'll give you more answers within the week.

Save Stacey's Bookstore!

Yet another great independent bookstore is shutting its doors. The SF Chronicle reported yesterday that Stacey's Books -- which has been on Market Street for 85 years, including a half-century at its current address -- is closing down in March. If you've never been there, this is a beautiful, airy, multi-level bright spot in the Financial District. They're good about supporting local authors and they are very responsive to the clientele, who help them stock a "local favorites'' shelf. The Chronicle reports that Stacey's, like other independents, has been harmed by the "the rise of national chains...and Web-based booksellers,'' compounded by the lousy economy. Still, the story gave me a small glimmer of hope when it mentioned the campaign to save Kepler's Books in Menlo Park. These independents are more than just booksellers. They are also salons, meeting places and entertainment venues, with free readings by local and national authors. The economy will rebound eventually, but I'm worried that all my favorite stores will be gone from the landscape by then.

Chew on this (cactus, desert and Joshua tree photos from the California hinterlands), plus a day hike recommendation.....

Here are some of the spiny monsters that I admired (but did not eat) during my recent trip into the California outback. Also --if you're out in the Joshua Tree area, I recommend the hike up to the top of Ryan Mountain, which is beautiful and windswept. Compared to the tallest peaks of the Sierra Nevada, this 5,461-foot crag is a bit of an anthill. However, the view from the top is magnificent. Bring shoes with decent arch support, and, of course, lots of water.