latimesblogs - Dear detractors, tell me again why this isn't scary news?

- posted 12 31 09

Since Copper Canyon Press is one of the two or three premier poetry publishers in the country, it would seem apt to describe the release of Sherwin Bitsui's Flood Song as a historical event. It's been many years since a new Native American writer has had a book released by such a major publisher. So I celebrate Sherwin and Copper Canyon and urge all of you to do the same.

- posted 12 30 09

I'm very proud to have Small Press Distribution's best selling poetry book of 2009. And, hey, take a look at #11 on the list. That book of mine is 17 years old. Heck, Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was the #1 song of 1992. And "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was #2. That lil' book of mine has been around for a long time in pop culture years.

- posted 12 29 09

Please, please, please, members of far left, far far left, and outer space left, don't get so angry and irrational that you launch some third party candidate in 2012: trueslant.com.

So I read this tragic article and felt like crying and praying, but pulled up short when I read about the "commod-squadding," and laughed out loud. Well, the Pine Ridge gangbangers either have a great sense of humor, or some old Indian pulled a fast one on a New York Times reporter and spun a good canned fantasy. Commod-squadding? Indians can be so funny in the most desperate of circumstances.

- posted 12 15 09

Shane Battier will be running for U.S. President someday: espn.go.com

- posted 11 20 09

The Onion!

Thank you, Kate Harding: salon.com.

- posted 10 2 09

A great friend of mine, Jess Walter, has a new novel out, The Financial Lives of the Poets, and it is great. It's getting stellar reviews everywhere. It's a funny and sad take on the current economic climate. Buy it now.

- posted 9 15 09

I read this personal essay about Twitter addiction - salon.com - on the same day there was also a small flare-up of my violent-fear-of-Kindle-related controversy. Because of my opinions about Kindle, a blogger wrote that she/he thinks I am an "ignorant douchebag" who is guilty of "barbarism." Sherman the Barbarian! I like that. This person must have seen me play basketball. However, "douchebag" is a problematic insult. There is something sexist and trite about using a vaginal-related product as disparagement. I think the gender-neutral "enema" is more original and hilarious: "Sherman Alexie is an ignorant enema." Now that's a crassly poetic insult. And one that sounds suspiciously like a George Carlin bit. Did I just steal from Carlin? But, hey, we live in an Open Source Culture. I'm not stealing from Carlin; I'm remixing.

Despite my enema-impaired intellect, I realize now that I am messin' with certain folks' addictions when I question the moral, ethical, artistic, and aesthetic qualities of digital book technology. Have you ever questioned the drinking, eating, smoking, dating or shopping choices of an active addict? And if so, do you still have the burn scars? Of course, being a recovering, non-so-recovering, and openly-in-denial addict of various varieties myself, I have Johnny Blazed plenty of friends, family members, and strangers. But I'm an old school addict. Just keep me away from the booze, tortilla chips, and T.J. Maxx. I am very curious about these new school addicts. I think there will soon be a booming economy in the treatment of Internet and digital addiction. And, yes, as I type this on my computer, while connected to the Internet, after doing a few ego-related Google searches, I am quite aware of the ironies inherent in this little blog-like post. But it's not a blog, damn it! I'm not a blogger! And I don't have a problem with my Internet use! I'm not addicted! I just use the Internet to relax! I deserve to play on my computer after a long hard day spent working...on my computer.

(At this moment, during a live performance, I would purposefully pause to prolong and heighten my self-mockery. I would also use facial expression, body language, and stage position to highlight my shameful hypocrisy. And I would be hoping that more and more members of the audience would realize that, in addition to playing a character named On Stage Sherman, I was also playing a character named Digitally Addicted Dude Who Has Suddenly Realized the Extent of his Addictions. And as I post-modernly describe what I would be doing if I were performing this live, I am also hoping that more and more of my readers recognize that I am commenting on the primary weakness of digital technology: lack of intimacy. And now I pause again, on the theoretical stage and in this blogesque post (It's not a blog!), to listen to the furious typing of my detractors: "But Sherman, I have made so many friends on the Internet. I am close to so many more people that I would otherwise be. Because of the Internet, I have hundreds of friends."

Hundreds of friends? Hundreds?

I guess that's my problem. I have a small number of friends.

This all brings me back to one of my favorite stories. Years ago, my little sister startled me by saying, 'I know how you smell. Shoot, you could blindfold me, and have you and ninety-nine other guys take off their shirts and hang them on a clothesline, and I could still find your shirt by your smell."

That's a cute and faintly icky story. But it should serve as something of a parable, too. Smell is the memory-sense. And digital technology will never have a scent (until Amazon starts selling its Smells Like Old Books cologne).

Okay, now I have to go build Legos with the sons I've been ignoring as I wrote this rant on digital non-intimacy, and I have to email it to my co-worker so she can post it on my website, and while I'm at it, I should probably group-send it to the five hundred people on my email contacts list, and....

- posted 8 16 09

Here's a cautionary tale for all of you fliers who ignore the seatbelt warning signs: cnn.com.

For those deluded fools who continue to think that college basketball is "better" than pro hoops, just watch highlights from the first day of practice at the USA Basketball mini-camp. Ferocious. These group of pros would beat any college team, or any college all-star team, by 70 points or more: iamatrailblazersfan.

So how many people still think I'm paranoid about the Kindle? boingboing.net.

- posted 8 13 09

Wow, this guy has no idea that children's literature is booming right now and dozens of incredible children's books have been published in the last few years: nytimes.com.

I would urge you, just as a starting point, to please read the contemporary work of: Neil Gaiman; Sara Zarr; Edward Bloor; Jacqueline Woodson; M.T. Anderson; Suzanne Collins; and Walter Dean Myers.

I could list many more great writers of young people's literature, but as I made this short list, I realized that the Times Mr. Kristof seems to have little knowledge and/or interest in contemporary young adult realism. He mostly celebrates the books of his childhood while failing to celebrate the books that kids, even his own, are reading now. Here are my sons' favorites: Rick Riordan; Jeff Kinney.

I love these two guys, as well. And you should also pay attention to the amazing quality of most of these writers' websites. Generally speaking, I think you'll find that children's book writers are far more invested in their readers than the writers of other genres. It's just part of the job description, I think. As Neil Gaiman said in his recent Newbery Award Winner acceptance speech, he was a "feral kid raised by libraries." And, trust me, I've learned that there are hundreds of thousands of those feral kids out there reading dozens of books a year. I am proud to be writing for them.

- posted 8 5 09

This documentary is fascinating, particularly its segment about Aboriginal inmates: channel.nationalgeographic.com.

Well, now at least it's official. The right wing wants to party like it's 1959: humanevents.com.

More Kindle news: seattletimes.nwsource.com.

- posted 8 2 09

Brilliance - deadspin.com.

I love this book. I'm currently filling out an American poets bracket. Walt Whitman is the North Carolina of American poets and Emily Dickinson is Duke - books.simonandschuster.com.

Where others see storage for posters, I see the means by which I can battle my oppressors. Or a few friends. - tubeduel.com.

- posted 7 24 09

This trip would be amazing, but take a look at the price! Yowtch! - nationalgeographicexpeditions.com.

What would happen if Michael Bay filmed The Great Gatsby - cracked.com.

Dunkgate continues - sports.espn.go.com.

Dunkgate update: There was a cell phone camera at the scene of the basketball crime. Nike and LeBron must release the professional videos now. Demand it, people, demand the release of the videos: .tmz.com.

- posted 7 23 09

Fundamentalist nonsense: www.youtube.com. Notice how she says that Arizona citizens will never even "notice" the uranium mine. Trust me. They'll notice: seattletimes.nwsource.com. Lots of people will notice: www.spokesman.com.

Letterman! - www.thrfeed.com.

There are only two poetry-only bookstores in the country. We in Seattle are so lucky to have one of them in our city: www.openpoetrybooks.com.

LeBron is turning himself into a villain: myespn.go.com.

Twenty-three years after the film's release, I am still angry that Andie (as played by Molly Ringwald) chose Blaine ("Blaine! That's not a name! That's a home appliance!") over Ducky - www.youtube.com. How could she not choose Ducky? As you may or may not know, the film originally ended with Andie and Duckie riding off into the sunset together, but test audiences wanted her to reunite with Blaine ("Blaine!"), so they reshot the last scene. The original footage is reportedly lost forever, but I can imagine it: Andie and Ducky holding hands, stepping onto the dance floor, spinning around in romantic circles to some awesome '80s ballad (like this one: www.youtube.com), and kissing while Blaine and James Spader (playing Stef the bad guy) explode with jealousy and preppy rage.

- posted 7 22 09

In the Indian world, reservations, and their residents, are invariably viewed as being more authentically Indian than urban areas and their indigenous residents. Republicans often use a similar type of language to valorize small towns as being the most authentically American. But a supermajority of Americans are actually urban. Take a look at this: fhwa.dot.gov. In 2000, fifty-eight percent of Americans lived in urban areas over 200,000 population. And if you include urban areas of more than 50,000 people then seventy-eight percent of Americans can be defined as urban. According to that same census, sixty-six percent of Native Americans live in urban areas. Because of various social, political, and economic factors, the United States is becoming even more urban. I would guess that the next census will reveal that over eighty percent of Americans and seventy percent of Natives live in urban areas. What does this mean? Well, first of all, it means that many Americans are terminally nostalgic, but it also means that many Indians are terminally nostalgic.

There is drama among the Young Republicans -thedailybeast.com.

- posted 7.11.09

Since a Kindle can hold up to 1,500 books, how many ads will it also contain? - mediabistro.com. Of course, ads in books are very old fashioned. I remember the macho cigarette ads in my dad's war novels. And what about those irritating subscription cards that fall out of magazines? How do you folks feel about the Kindle being turned into a little billboard?

Ah, there's a sonnet in this book that begins: "A song for those who learn forgotten, slow/Skills, crafts submerged past by massed commerce..." This is a great book of poems, funny, sad, rowdy, and it has a great website: sixtysonnets.com.

Among your friends, is there a romantic couple that are so much better looking and more stylish than everybody else that you don't feel worthy? These two aren't my friends, but damn, they sure are purty: 3.bp.blogspot.com.

- posted 7.10.09

These twins look great: thesartorialist.com.

Why did she do it? What are her plans? What is going to happen now? - slate.com.

Which one of these dudes do you most closely resemble: sports.espn.go.com or  sports.espn.go.com?

- posted 7.9.09

If you don't know about this place - in-n-out.com - then you should. And if you do know about this place, then you are suddenly dreaming of the Double Double with onions. I just bought this book, In-N-Out Burger, but my wife, who grew up on the Double Double, stole it from me so she could read it first. I play a cell phone game with a good friend, a transplanted Californian living in Seattle, who also grew up on the Double Double. Whenever he or I find ourselves lucky enough to be eating a Double Double, we snap cell phone photos of said burger and send it to the other guy to torment, torture, and tantalize. I have accepted speaking engagements and arranged book tour stops just so I could travel to cities with an In-N-Out franchise. Whenever my wife, sons, and I travel to her hometown in Southern California, we immediately drive to the In-N-Out that is only minutes from the Ontario Airport.  

- posted 7.8.09

I'm halfway into this thriller (us.penguingroup.com) and, oh, am I hooked. I hope the second half of the book lives up to the first. 

I think this article is terrifying. And, yes, hilarious. Can you imagine the alternative world we could be living in right now? - vanityfair.com. And you should also check out this profile: men.style.com. I went to high school with small town white guys like Johnston. Heck, I was best friends with hunters, fishers, farmboys, and tobacco chewing truck drivers. I mean, yes, I was a reservation Indian boy, but I was also captain of the basketball team, prom royalty, and president of my high school's Future Farmers of America chapter (ffa.org). I miss my high school friends, who were right wing Republicans from birth. I loved them and they loved me, the left wing Democrat from birth. But let me tell you, I never knew any small town woman like Sarah Palin.

I have not ordered anything from these folks. But I want to be part of "the pants pants revolution." - bonobos.com

- posted 7.7.09

There is a poem in this book titled "Fury's Ukulele." Another begins, "Are you happy to be over, twentieth century." A third poem is a list that ends with a gravedigger's bicycle. And, oh, yeah, the book's heart is beating Richard effing Nixon.  A strange, funny, and surreal book. Good stuff: ahsahtapress.boisestate.edu.

Back from the grave: slate.com.

Our wonderful country can also be so cruel, idiotic, and bigoted: cnn.com. For compelling evidence against the ouster of gays from the military, read the wikipedia entry on Alan Turing and then check out any number of books about him. The man was the father of computers and helped win WWII by devising technologies to crack the German's Enigma code machines. And he was a gay man who, after the war, was convicted of the crime of being homosexual, institutionalized, and forced to endure psychological attempts to "cure" him. He killed himself not long afterward. Technological giant, homefront war hero, and gay; I'd call that a holy trinity.

- posted 7.1.09

After reading about this minor dust-up, a friend emailed me a list of writers who should definitely not be on Twitter. I was in his top three. salon.com.

If there is a man (or woman) out there who owns this particular thing, can I please be your friend? - themanwall.com.

Please support the fight: ncac.org.

- posted 6.30.09

My sons and I have really enjoyed playing this boardgame. It's great for all ages (it's simple enough for my seven year old to play but the strategy involved is also fascinating for adults). My boys  can beat me in this game as often as I beat them. There is much to explore here in terms of history, as well, and the meanings and myths of war: daysofwonder.com.

And speaking of board games, here is a link to a great website and their user-rated list of the best boardgames of all time: boardgamegeek.com.

Would one or more of you Kindle-lovers like to comment on this, or perhaps you can discuss it at your next Kindle coffeehouse gathering? boingboing.net.

Very funny: salon.com.

When it comes to political discourse, liberals, conservatives, and everybody in-between (me, included), should probably be wearing this T-shirt: www.mentalfloss.com.

I watched this flick on pay-per-view the other night. It is gloriously insane: youtube.com.

- posted 6.29.09

Check out the longshot candidate: thedailybeast.com. - posted 6.25.09

I read this intense blog post, theatlantic.com, and thought, of course, of the colonization of Native Americans. A few weeks back, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I said something similar to Coates. Native Americans love to think of ourselves as special, as a people whose specialness was partly and/or fully destroyed by European colonization. But what if we Native Americans are just as ordinary as everybody else? What if our genocide is no more or less special than anybody else's? If, as Coates suggest, there is a certain self-destructive glamour (for white and black folks) in being so attached to certain mythologies about slavery, then is there also a corresponding self-destructive glamour (for Natives and non-Natives) in being so attached to certain mythologies about genocide? - posted 6.23.09

A few parents think I am dangerous. Here's an in-depth story about the resolution of the Antioch book challenge. Does this group of people have any idea how chilling it is to think of putting warning stickers on books? Of course, as a friend of mine noted, those stickers would make those books even more popular among teens: chicagotribune.com.

Kudos to the school board and superintendent: blog.seattlepi.com. - posted 6.22.09

As the voting  protests continue in Iran, as detailed here (thedailybeast.com), I am struck by the political power of current technology (tweets as revolutionary communication), and hope Iran turns more toward democratization (though I worry it's more likely to become even more of a fascist state). I am also thinking about the usefulness of technology, in regards to my recent flap over the Kindle and EBooks. I'm just beginning to formulate ideas on this, and am reading widely to get other folks' take on it, but I think that the Internet is a beautiful forum for immediate and egalitarian information-share, but by definition, it's disposable. A blog post, a digital report, any form of journalism, is almost immediately going to be replaced (or should be replaced) by a newer, more informed report. I'm worried that people are (inadvertently or not) carrying this click-and-read mentality into literature. A book is a physical object that takes up space in your life. It has presence. One must take account of it on a minute-by-minute basis. Right now, in fact, as I type this post, I can see five bookshelves in my house (and am aware there a few dozen other shelves I cannot see from where I'm sitting). That's a few thousand pounds of books. That's permanent. If one keeps their library (or increasing amounts of their library) on an electronic device, don't those books lose physical presence? Don't they, by definition, become easily erased, forgotten, archived in the electronic closet? Does digital technology turn fiction and poetry into journalism? Interesting debate. And while we are praying for the protesting Iranians, and marveling at the power of technology, let's not forget that the true power and glory resides with those people who are now so courageously and physically making their opposition known. They used technology to organize the protests, sure, but those protests are effective because they take up space and have presence. The ruling government can see, hear, feel, taste, and smell a protest. Oh, and by the way, a right wing paranoid freak friend of mine (he calls me a communist bastard) called to tell me that he's scared of eBooks and digital readers, too. I'll paraphrase him:  "What government wouldn't love to have its citizens, and its best and brightest and most technologically adept citizens, carry devices that contain all of their correspondence, personal and business; the entirely of their address book; the collected history of their books and magazines read, movies and TV shows watched, music heard, web sites visited, and items purchased? And then add in the GPS tracking shit and you've got a perfect means of government control." Not being a right wing (or left wing) paranoid freak, I never even considered how the current technology could make its users so easily followed and defined. I'm a fool for not thinking about this because I'll soon be getting emails from friends and fans and enemies based on this post, and my Gmail account, after sifting through the key words in my messages, will ever so helpfully include a sidebar of web links so that I can purchase Kindles, GPS devices, cell phones, and hot chicken wings (left and right) from KFC. - posted 6.18.09

So Kobe won his fourth NBA title and I'm bummed about it. I'm a certified Kobe-hater. And I've never been able to fully articulate my negative feelings about him. But Bill Simmons does a great job of describing his negative feelings: sports.espn.go.com.

It has something to do with Kobe's joylessness. I don't get any joy out of watching Kobe. I don't even get any joy out of rooting against him (like I do rooting against the Raiders or Cleveland Indians, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Braves). I fully recognize that Kobe is one of the top five players of all time (MJ, Magic, Bird, Shaq, LeBron, Kobe, Kareem, Bill Russell, Wilt, and Oscar Robertson all have valid reasons to be included in the top five), but he's just not beloved like the others are. As Simmons notes, it's a bizarre phenomenon. Has anybody this great ever inspired so much ambivalence? - posted 6.16.09

If you watch the "Facebook the Past" episode of MY BOYS - tbs.com - you will be in for a surreal shock. I've watched it a few times now and I'm still delighted and weirded out. - posted 6.10.09

If we add up the leftness and rightness of Obama's appointments, I'm guessing he'd be pretty close to the midpoint. In essence, he seems to be ignoring the far left and far right. A wise move. But as I hear folks complimenting or complaining about his choices ("He's a shrewd politician!" "He's an appeaser!" He's a hypocrite! He's a genius! He's a socialist!"), I wonder why more people aren't thinking that his choice as detailed here (salon.com) might be the result of Obama's association with socially conservative Evangelical Christianity. Can we entertain a question here? What if Obama is opposed to gay marriage, not because he's worried about losing voters, but because he is, as a certain type of Christian, actually opposed to gay marriage? I've always been more worried about his Evangelical influences than most of his supporters. The Obama Presidency, in its infancy, has already been so dramatic and revolutionary in ways that none of us could have predicted. - posted 6.9.09

Even as I'm being insulted by hundreds of strangers, I am grateful that the Internet literary world is a bit abuzz with discussions about the negative and positive aspects of eBooks. Ed Champion interviewed me for his website: edrants.com. I am happy that I get to clarify a few things, and I'm very pleased that Ed noted that my comments on the BEA panels were theatrical in nature. I'm a performer and I was using theatrical techniques to make a point. I honor people's right to disagree or agree with my opinions, but I hope they also recognize that I was doing something old-fashioned: I was telling stories to a large group of people and I was using the tone of my voice, facial expression, and body posture to help tell that story. - posted 6.2.09

This is an absolutely ridiculous and testosterone-soaked guilty pleasure: spike.com - posted 5.27.09

Hilarious, intense, curious, fascinating: youtube.com. - posted 5.26.09

Over the next few Sundays, creationist preachers will be freaking about this: revealingthelink.com. - posted 5.22.09

I miss Sonics basketball so much. To think, if things had been different, that I could have been watching this guy 41 times a year in person: youtube.com. - posted 5.21.09

Compare and contrast these two articles: cnn.com and nytimes.com. So it's good to use DNA to find and convict criminals but not to exonerate them? - posted 5.20.09

On many days, Jon Stewart and his writers are the best journalists in the country. Comedy is the best disinfectant: thedailyshow.com. - posted 5.15.09

Here's distressing news: blogs.abcnews.com. I suspect that there are realpolitik motivations involved in the suppression of these photos. Perhaps it is politically and militarily wise to suppress these photos, but is it a moral act? Obama is, after all the hype, just another politician. Could be a good president. Might be a great one. But he is making moral and ethical compromises that his most ardent supporters are either ignoring or abhorring. - posted 5.14.09

This is very sad news: sltrib.com. I have mentioned before how much I love Arnold's poetry. And I did visit with him for a few hours when I was a guest writer at the University of Wyoming, and he was funny, smart, warm, and eccentric. He was great. His friends and family have my prayers. - posted 5.13.09

Years ago, in reading Ian Frazier's "On the Rez," I recoiled when he complimented reservation Indian men for their casual fashion sense: t-shirts and blue jeans. Of course, depending on the t-shirt and blue jeans, that look can be quite beautiful and stylish, but Frazier was praising sartorial disregard---without mentioning, of course, that Indian men often dress like this: images.google.com
 
Indian men are among the most androgynous males on the planet, and I mean it as a compliment. In many of our most "traditional warrior" moments, in our feathers and bright colors, with our high-pitched songs and long hair, Indian men are, well, pretty.

Yes, the masculine and feminine blend in those artistic moments, and those are the moments when Indian men---either as participants or witnesses---are usually filled with the most cultural pride.

So why can't Indian men make those same kind of androgynous and lovely sartorial choices in their everyday lives? Well, it certainly has a lot to do with homophobia of the indigenous and colonial varieties. So that's why I am intrigued with this article: thedailybeast.com - posted 5.11.09

Can one live in a prideful, envious, greedy area and not be a prideful, envious, and greedy person? lasvegassun.com - posted 5.6.09

This seems to be a clear explanation of the Bush administration's sins: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com - posted 5.5.09

"Torture is like Tolkien's ring." That seems to be the best literary description I've read: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com - posted 5.4.09

Oh, man, this is hilarious and compelling for a snacker like me: kettlechipchallenge.com - posted 4.27.09

Neko Case's new album, Middle Cyclone, is incredible. Here's a promo video: youtube.com.  I love this woman and her music. - posted 4.20.09

This one will surprise you: youtube.com - posted 4.14.09

Wow, what an interview. Smart, hilarious, courageous, and a NY Times Crossword solver: www.youtube.com. - posted 3.31.09
Note: If you are a crossword fan, you can find a reference to Sherman in one of the answers to this puzzle - All Keyed Up - Take CTRL of the situation ©2009 BEQ - from Brendan Emmett Quigley's blog. The puzzle is a PDF file, which requires Adobe Reader.

Okay, I've lost track of who wrote it, but some ESPN.com sportswriter called "I Melt With You," by Modern English, a cheesy song. Leaving aside the lameness of that sportswriter's own dairy-related punning, let me say that I love "I Melt With You." I put it on plenty of my mix CDs. Of course, the song has been used far too often in fast food commercials (Modern Capitalism), but it's still a great song. Trust me. It's quite lovely.

Check out this dude doing a cover: youtube.com

I think people all too often assume that one-hit-wonders are bad songs. And while I'll never defend "I'm Too Sexy," I will happily arm wrestle you over: youtube.com

And I'd fight Master Blaster (youtube.com) to defend this still amazing song: youtube.com.

All of this leads into one of the best bass riffs in rock history. And while not technically a one-hit-wonder, this song is every bit as powerful as it ever was. Thinking aloud: If you're a rock musician who writes one great song, one generational-spanning monster, then can you be happy with that? Listen to this tune, man, and dream about Sharona: youtube.com. - posted 3.4.09

Oh, man, here's some great poems by a Native poet (you have to register on their site to read the work, but this online magazine is very much worth it): narrativemagazine.com.

I met Natalie a couple years back and it was like meeting a sibling: she's a ball-playin' Injun poet (and being a former pro, I'm sure she could kick my butt, especially now that my game is as broken down as a rez car, and that I am, on the court, at least, "a tattered coat on a stick.").

I'm really excited about Natalie's work, and, as I previously mentioned on my site, and will mention again, am also jazzed about the new books of poetry by S.G. Frazier (narrativemagazine.com) and Orlando White (readab.com). And now I've received word that Sherwin Bitsui (poets.org) has a new book of poems soon to be published by one of the most prestigious poetry publishers, Copper Canyon Press.

So, for the first time in many years, we have a group of new Native writers receiving national acclaim. I'm hoping that we are on the verge of a New New New New New Native American Literary Renaissance. For those of you keeping score, it's been 13 years since a Native writer (princeton.edu) burst onto the literary scene in a major league way. - posted 2/28/09

If you see any parallels between the sad-ass efforts in this video and our government's current attempt to rescue the economy, please be aware that I meant you to see them: www.youtube.com - posted 2.27.09

Thumbs up for this blog: jonpackapproves.blogspot.com - posted 2.25.09

I love basketball: thepaintedarea.blogspot.com - posted 2/24/09

Me, I've always preferred the orange-flavored tic-tacs: www.guernicamag.com. - posted 2.18.09

Since I've been reading a lot and writing many poems about animal behavior - and migration in particular - this amazing article seems to me a study of major changes in the migratory patterns of American humans: www.theatlantic.com. - posted 2.17.09

There is a thin and dangerous line between spoken word performance, poetry slamming, and this gloriously insane performance: www.youtube.com - posted 2.8.09

Diddy is stunned to find a one-dollar bill in his wad of hundreds: www.blogcdn.com. - posted 2.5.09

One of the greatest crossword constructors in the biz also has one of the greatest blogs: www.brendanemmettquigley.com. - posted 2.3.09

Check this out: www.cnn.com. I guess this would be the international version of the Roger Clinton/Billy Carter n'er-do-well brothers of presidents. I seem to recall that Hilary Clinton and John McCain, those near-presidents, also have underachieving brothers. Let me take a look.

Here's one of Hilary's brothers: nymag.com.

Oh, and I'd forgotten about McCain's brother's crazy 911 call: latimesblogs.latimes.com.

There is obviously some interesting family dynamics going on here. What kind of damage can a superachieving sibling do to his/her brothers and sisters, and vice versa? Of course, in the Obama family, it doesn't seem that the siblings were traditionally close-knit. I'll have to find some sibling rivalry studies.

Of course, one could start with this: bible.cc. - posted 2.2.09

Here's a little bit of broken-hearted, nostalgic, angry, wistful, and lustful mix tape heaven: www.cassettefrommyex.com - posted 1.25.09

A gorgeous and sad story about a dog: sports.espn.go.com.

How can one watch a PSA that espouses political concerns that one absolutely agrees with and yet be so utterly knocked into a sugar coma? Well, just watch this: www.youtube.com

While watching this, I kept thinking, "Yeah, all good, all great, but shouldn't we be doing all this service no matter who the President is? Did President W somehow keep all of us from doing this service? Or some part of this service?" And the phrase, 'Service to our President," utterly freaks me out anyway. Service to Our President?! Jeez, that phrase makes me think of this: www.youtube.com

It's not "Service to our President." It's "Service to our fellow human beings and to the earth and to good and great ideas and to our country. And it's service to contempt, satire, criticism, and suspicion."

Come on, people! Regain your critical thinking skills! I mean, jeez, Obama has already bombed and killed 17 people to prove to the world that he's not the lefty wimp that our rightwing Americans think he is.

Don't get me wrong. Obama has already done some great things, pounding the Republican Sith with his Executive Order-powered light saber, but that just means he's making the moral decisions most of us would make. It means he's being a moral human being.

To paraphrase Chris Rock, "Don't celebrate people for NOT doing the evil shit they weren't supposed to be doing in the first place."

Of all the many crimes that President W committed, don't let him commit the crime of turning you into a non-critical dreamer.

But enough of that, let us celebrate Obama! Let us dance and sing to celebrate the glorious resurrection of our country: www.youtube.com - posted 1.24.09

Okay, folks, so I am also excited about Obama and his presidency, but, yeesh, that Inauguration was ten million times too churchified for me. I was perturbed by the faux-inclusiveness of Rick Warren's prayer. And with Elizabeth Alexander's delivery of her poem (That formal occasion demanded a formal poem. Only brilliant meter and rhyme could have stood up to Obama's delivery and the music of Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman.). And, yes, I was also uncomfortable with certain aspects of Obama's speech. And I thank the Almighty (ahem) that the ever brilliant Jon Stewart and his writers clarified some of those difficulties: thedailyshow.com.

But I did love Obama's rip on the Bush Administration's lack of morals. And I loved that Cheney had to arrive in a wheelchair. Here's a photo of Cheney at the Inauguration: www.listphile.com. - posted 1.21.09

Here's an online poem that I love. I am definitely going to borrow this form for a future poem of my own: "Definition of Destruction."

Here are a few books of poems that I've read lately and really like: Sex at Noon Taxes.

There are two poems in Van Doren's book that really get me: "Preposition" and "Seventeen." Here's one of my favorite lines: "One shoe wants you."

Here's a story on another poet that I've been reading: "The Motorcycle Diarist."
Here is the beginning of a poem: "That owl you heard hooting / In the middle of the night wasn't me."

Craig Arnold is one of my favorites. I loved his first book (Shells) and have just started with his newest (Made Flesh). Here's the beginning of the first poem: "The chain uncouples, and his jacket hangs/ on the peg over hers, and he's inside."

The title of that poem is "Incubus."

And that made me remember a crazy ass William Shatner movie, Incubus.

And that reminded me of a novel, unrelated to Craig Arnold and William Shatner, but also titled "Incubus."

I remember reading this novel and it was my first experience with horror/occult/porn novels. It freaked me out. It's long out of print but I just ordered a used copy to see if it still has power. And I've also learned through Google that this novel was adapted into a movie (The Incubus). And it stars John Cassavettes! Yes, the immortal Cassavettes!

And thinking of Cassavettes made me think of the great Le Tigre song, "What's yr take on Cassavettes?" Sample that song at: www.pandora.com.

And that's how you get from a Wyoming poet to Captain Kirk to mythological sex criminals to difficult directors to lesbian punk rock in six easy steps... - posted 1.8.09

Peter Himmelman has been one of my favorite singer/songwriters since 1984 and he's lately been doing a live webstreamed show that is great. He's one of the best live performers you'll ever see: www.ustream.tv. - posted 1.6.09

I learned about this charitable organization during my appearance on the Colbert Report: www.donorschoose.org. I love that it is so specific. - posted 1.5.09

Here are two forthcoming poetry books by two young Native Americans: Dark Thirty by Santee Frazier; Bone Light by Orlando White. And here's an article about both poets in the IAIA Chronicle.

I met both of these guys a couple years back while I was guest-teaching at IAIA and loved their poetry. I think they're incredible. I urge you to pre-order their books. - posted 1.3.09

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