GEAR
Victory Bag
$59.90, http://victorysportdesign.com
Just in time for the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (or other ultra challenges), veteran Bay Area distance runner Victor Ballesteros has marketed what is believed to be the first manufactured drop bag. Usually, when ultra runners want to store spare shoes, first-aid kits, food and water bottles along the course, they use a common duffel bag or, worse, plastic bags. This insulated, compact bag is waterproof, has pockets for specific items and a window sleeve on the cover for your bib number.
READ
"California: On the Road" by Victor Silverman and Laurie Glover
$22, 388 pages, www.interlinkbooks.com
History buffs and would-be Kerouacs will definitely want to pick up this book featuring everything from California American Indian sites to murals throughout the state, from the diversity of food to the must-see sites. Plus, the archival photography is worth the price in itself. Glover, the co-author, is a poet and essayist who teaches at UC Davis.
THE LIST
"10 Places You Can Drink Like Your Favorite Writer"
Some are obvious, like El Floridita in Havana, Cuba, for Hemingway fans, and the Algonquin Hotel in New York for Dorothy Parker partisans. But where do you go in Dublin to drink like James Joyce? Well, the list recommends Davy Byrnes, which was featured in "Ulysses." It's where Leopold Bloom stops by for a glass of wine and a cheese sandwich. Another favorite: The Spaniards Inn in London, where Shelley and Keats hung out.
READ
"How To Survive an Animal Bite"
www.outsideonline.com/outdooradventure/nature/How-to-Survivean-Animal-Bite.html
It's not just rattlers that bite, you know. Outside magazine gives you the lowdown on what to do when badgers, alligators, raccoons or spiders bite. In most cases, a rabies shot is in order. The advice, such as it is, for a mountain lion or wildcat attack: "Do anything possible to get yourself away from its reach. When wild cats attack they usually go straight for your vitals, like your throat, which is why they are such precise, lethal hunters."
THE QUOTE
Caroline Morse, reporter for the website SmarterTraveler.com, writing about the Cockroach Hall of Fame in Plano, Texas: "The museum features cockroach corpses dressed in costumes and posed inside tiny elaborate sets. The museum delights in bug-related puns - like the Liberoachi playing a piano and a glamorous Marilyn Monroach. If you didn't lose your appetite looking at the exhibits, try the museum's dried roach-larvae barbecue-flavored snacks."
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