Sherman Alexie's Blog

 

My new short short story "Fast" is online at The Stranger.

 

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                                                                   art by Mike Force

 

One of my very favorite singers performing a Harry Nilsson cover:

 

 

 

And here is the Nilsson original:

 

 

 

 

An awesome poem. You can buy Ms. Springer's latest book here.

 

 

 

 

Don’t Let Your Mouth Write a Check Your Butt Can’t Cash

We should all be
so sure the check’s in the mail & the cash in the bank & the bank
in the black—forgive me the promises I took back:
 
For I could not keep you, lover, entertained—I would give you the circus
but when we walked past, carnies pulled up their stakes & down the tent
came—to stubs in the dirt, crushed papercups, one blue sequin stuck
 
to your boot heel.
 
& If not the circus I would give you music—a flamenco ukulele jamboree—
sounded good from the highway but entering late, we just caught the encore:
Heart & Soul played on one instrument & one string—
 
(a shoestring).
 
& if not a concert, I’d give you knowledge—of the physical attributes that
make raptors such excellent hunters. From the eyesight of eagles to the
silent light of owls. But that, too, went fowl—at the aviary, falcons died
mid-flight—so all the way back to the hotel
 
we swerved to miss the bodies of falling birds.
 
Then the hotel burned.
 
& the bellhop fed a rope of sheets out our third story window to lower the
cleaning girl down. & the ring I said I’d give you melted beside a plastic
fundeck of karma sutra cards.
 
Watching them from the street
 
you noticed the last knotted rung of rope that saved the girl was your silk
blindfold & the bellhop might have flown out on a black plume of smoke—
 
had not flames caught
 
tail feathers of my boa clenched in his teeth.

 

From the pages of the New York Times is this interactive USA map of the 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index:

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There are stark differences among Southern and Northern states in all of the well-being categories. It's not exactly a Democrat-Republican thing, as red states like Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota are pretty damn happy. I wonder if average humidity levels and happiness are inversely proportional.

 

This, my friends, is the greatest breakfast cereal in the history of breakfast cereals:

 

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From the website, they "start with whole organic wheat berries, then steam, shred, and weave them." Steam. Shred. Weave. That's poetry.

 

On Poetry Daily, Alan Michael Parker has a devastating poem about lost children and ghosts and shame. Here's a quote: "Once when was son was young/I drove off without him..."

 

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Once, in a Seattle Macy's mens clothing department, I lost my son. He was four. I called for him a few times, figuring he was close. But when he didn't respond, I grew increasingly panicked. A few other customers also started looking for him and then, just as an employee was going to issue the store-wide lockdown, I heard my son giggling. He'd hidden beneath one of those circular clothing racks. He thought we were playing hide-and-seek. Terrifying.

 

To learn more about Mr Parker, check out his website.

 

Hey, I've published a very short story in the latest issue of The Stranger:

 

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art by Mark Kaufman

 

These National Geographic DNA tests have already shown how closely related all of us are, but they will shock the hell out of you if you do it. You're definitely going to learn that your ancestors kept biological secrets...

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Doing this test, you'll also discover if you're descended from Neanderthal or Denisovan ancestry. Awesome.

Perhaps you could send it to your fundamentalist Christian family members as a Christmas gift. Happy Evolution to You!

 

Yes, I am also confused that I am in agreement with a writer for Forbes. It is long past time that online retailers begin paying the same state and local taxes that physical retailers must pay.

 

 

In this anti-tax, anti-government environment, I doubt that Amazon and their online compatriots will have to pay state taxes anytime soon. But I suspect the Justice Department is keeping a close watch on Amazon's business practices. Will the government ever file an anti-trust lawsuit against Amazon that restores balance to The Force? We'll see.

 

I love, love, love Alabama Shakes:

 

 

You can buy their debut album from your favorite local record store here.