Category Archives: Current Events

An Open Letter to America

Posted on November 7, 2016 by fromabrooklynbasement

Hello America, It’s been a while since I checked in from the old Brooklyn Basement. Even when I was writing on here regularly, I usually tried to steer clear of politics, for the same reason that I mostly avoid political … Continue reading →

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On Tom Waits and Robin Williams

Posted on August 12, 2014 by fromabrooklynbasement

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to write something about the Tom Waits song Come On Up to the House. I dearly love the song, and it has one of the best music videos I’ve ever seen. At first … Continue reading →

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SXSW: Echoes of Attias

Posted on March 17, 2014 by fromabrooklynbasement

South by Southwest made national headlines last week, but not because of the unveiling of a new tech gadget or the sudden rise to fame of an indie band. Rather, SXSW became the backdrop for tragedy, as 21-year-old Rashad Charjuan … Continue reading →

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Sunny’s Is Back

Posted on August 26, 2013 by fromabrooklynbasement

I already told the Sunny’s story here, but in brief: The 100-plus-year-old dive bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn is my favorite place in the world, largely because of the magical Saturday night jam it hosts; however, it’s been officially closed … Continue reading →

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On Fruitvale Station, Oscar Grant, and Trayvon Martin

Posted on July 19, 2013 by fromabrooklynbasement

Last Saturday night, a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of murdering 17-year old Trayvon Martin. By an almost perverse coincidence, the verdict came through the night after the release of Fruitvale Station, a film that dramatizes the final day in … Continue reading →

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On the Supreme Court and Self-Contradiction

Posted on June 27, 2013 by fromabrooklynbasement

I’ve always felt that the easiest way to explain the difference between liberals and conservatives in America, at least when it comes to social issues, is that if you think the 1960s (the Civil Rights Movement, protests against the Vietnam … Continue reading →

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One of My Favorite Places: Sunny’s Bar

Posted on April 29, 2013 by fromabrooklynbasement

From the outside, Sunny’s Bar is the very picture of unassuming. A lonely building, identified with a yellow “BAR” sign, on a dark cobble-stone street at the very tip of Red Hook, a Brooklyn neighborhood cut off from the rest … Continue reading →

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On the Boston Marathon bombing, Zero Dark Thirty, Social Media, and Life in the 21st Century

Posted on April 17, 2013 by fromabrooklynbasement

I’ve been fighting a horrible cold, one of those illnesses that stretches on for days without any sign of improvement. The last time I remember being this sick was the most recent time I had the flu, and that was … Continue reading →

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