Tom X. Brooklyn profile picture

Tom X. Brooklyn

Take an ax to the prison wall. Escape. Walk out like someone suddenly born into color. Do it now.

About Me

Brooklynite exiled to New Jersey. Working in a coal mine (figuratively speaking) but there is light at the end of the tunnel. After 35 years of playing, still learning, but having fun. Hate cell phones, cordless phones, corded phones, the NY Yankees and the G.O.P. Lost my beautiful wife to cancer, but my kids rescued me and now life is new again. May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes. Time to wash the dishes.

My Interests

All things Sharyl. Jangly guitars, especially telecasters & rickenbackers. The transmigration of souls. The New York Mets. 20th century poetry. 16th century poetry. 14th century poetry. Handy Hopper. The Episcopalian Roller Coaster. Distance running. Pretending to be an actor, especially when on stage. Most things Scottish. THE BLUES!

I'd like to meet:

George Harrison in his current incarnation. Bodhidharma. Mr. Bean.
Dedicated

Hari Space

Ah, Mary (Ka)

Music:

Beatles. Motets. Robyn Hitchcock. Leadbelly. Elvis Costello. John Dowland. John McLaughlin. John Martyn. Nick Drake. Chopin. Billy Bragg. Bill Frisell. Rory Gallagher. Nick Cave. KT Tunstall. Eric Clapton. XTC. John Taverner (both of them). Roy Buchanan. Roy Harper. Gillian Welch. Thomas Quasthoff. Early Pink Floyd/Syd Barrett. Bach but also Grieg. John Mayer. Albert King. Ten Years After. Bert Jansch. John Renbourn. Andreas Scholl. The Incredible String Band. Debussy. Bob Dylan. Led Zeppelin. The Sixteen. Yes. The Clash. Henry Purcell. The Talking Heads. Neil Young. Ian Bostridge. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. The Hoodoo Gurus (That's what I like)

Movies:

Aguirre the Wrath of God. Brazil. Nosferatu. American Beauty. The Big Lebowski. Henry V. The Natural. The Departed. The Full Monty. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Apocalypse Now. The Lord of the Rings. Hotel Rwanda. 21 Grams. Invincible. Billy Elliot. Chariots of Fire. Syriana.

Television:

Baseball. Otherwise, a useless contraption.

Books:

Moby Dick. Light in August. Clockwork Orange. A Bright and Shining Lie. Foucault's Pendulum The Flounder. The Decline of the West. Ulysses. Brooklyn Follies and most things by Paul Auster. Yeats' Mythologies. The Names. Confessions of a Mask. Modern Man In Search of A Soul.

Heroes:

The person who can remove Bush from office.

Myspace Layouts at Pimp-My-Profile.com /


Second Half of the Century“Oft am I by the women told "Poor Anacreon! Thou Grow'st old Look! How thy hairs are falling all!" Whether I grow old or no, By the effects I do not know; But this I know, without being told, "Tis time to live, if I grow old, "Tis time short pleasures now to take. Of little life the best to make, And manage wisely the last stake.”Anacreon, 6th century B.C.
Tribute to Rory GallagherDedicated to Rory Gallagher, the Irish guitar genius who left us all too early in 1995, at the age of 47. A brilliant innovator, a consummate performer and a humble man, he was by far the most important influence on my early guitar playing. The track below, “I Wonder Who,” is taken from Irish Tour ’74 which was recorded live in Belfast’s Ulster Hall, at a time when most rock acts refused to play anywhere near the area because of the rampant violence. Those who were there say that Protestants and Catholics came together at the show and forgot their differences, enthralled by Rory’s music. God love him.
PlayListSpace.com - Media Play Lists
Delusions of Grandeur
SoundtrackLoss and Renewal (use the player's scroll bar to see all music)

My Blog

9/11 Reflections from the Writers Almanac

The following poem by Mary Oliver and a 9/11 reflection by Garrison Keillor appeared in today's Writer's Almanac http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/ : The Summer Day (Mary Oliver)Who made the ...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:38:00 PST

It Cant Happen Here - Fascism in America

In his essay "Fascism Anyone?," political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt identified social and political agendas common to fascist regimes. His comparisons of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pin...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:13:00 PST

A Democratic Governor For President

If we look back at the presidents in recent history, the last senator to be elected president was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  That's right.  And while a number of congressmen have been presiden...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 08:58:00 PST

Seeing the Sky

  Missed my train this morning, so I took the bus through suburbia to get to the city, so that gave me an opportunity to write this mini-rant. The places I've spent most of my life - Long Islan...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:31:00 PST

When the Child Was A Child...

  This poem, (recited in German) opens Wim Wender's Wings of Desire, a film people either seem to love or hate.  It would be impossible for me to hate a film that brings together  Brun...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Sat, 09 Jun 2007 09:34:00 PST

Sand Mandala

This story came across the wires today&.. ******* Toddler stomps monks' sand creation; Design that took two days to create was too tempting for Mo. child to resist The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, ...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Fri, 25 May 2007 07:56:00 PST

Living with Dandelions

My front lawn looks like the shoulder of an interstate highway -- it's completely covered with dandelions.  They're there because I refuse to dump herbicides on my lawn.  Everytime I think a...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Sun, 13 May 2007 10:27:00 PST

800 Years of Rumi

Your way begins on the other side. Become the sky. Take an ax to the prison wall. Escape. Walk out like someone suddenly born into color. Do it now. & Die, and be quiet&. Your old life was a frantic r...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Wed, 09 May 2007 07:55:00 PST

This Thin Knife Breaks

Written by, William Hull, a good friend, during the 1940s: In a wood stood a man cutting stone cutting stone.   Fool, I cried, this thin knife breaks, the stone endures.   My tool is this ...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Sun, 06 May 2007 10:58:00 PST

14 Years

May 1st would have been Jacqui and my 14th wedding anniversary.  She left this world before we saw our 13th.  So much has happened in between now and then, but it seems like only yesterday t...
Posted by Tom X. Brooklyn on Tue, 01 May 2007 08:37:00 PST