Bar Crawl Radio

For this BCR conversation at the West Side Community Garden we investigated the stories of two ladies--one affected by chance--the other by choice. The first story is about a chance phone call that led to instant and fleeting fame – and the other -- a choice to help recently arrived neighbors which will lead to – what?

Rebecca McKean and I were set-up in the southeast corner of the West Side Community Garden. As our UWS neighbors sought their favorite spots to listen to the Cassatt String Quartet, we talked with Marilyn O’Day – a high school junior who started a study hangout at the Newton Hotel for recent migrants from South America as part of the Open Hearts Initiative -- and -- Meg Parsont, a publicist for publishers, gardener, and contributor to the West Side Rag newspaper. Meg was once famous – appearing over 30 times in the early 1990s on Late Night with David Letterman.

Later in this program, we spoke with cellist Gwen Krosnick of the Cassatt String Quartet about the evenings musical offerings.

Alan Winson

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Kumara is a uniquely global trio of musicians who create a synthesis of sound that is unique and beautifully inspiring across and within cultures and communities. I spoke with Samite who plays African Harps and the Kalimba and Shem Guibbory, a classical violinist the day before the WSCG concert. Guitarist Sean Harkness couldn’t make it; he was in a recording studio.

This program presents the entire Kumara performance at the West Side Community Garden Concert on Sunday, May 26, 2024.

Alan Winson

CONTACT: [email protected]

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This BCR conversation talks about suicide in the U.S military. 

A growing statistic: Women and men who had dedicated their lives and minds to the most destructive military ever – are killing themselves at increasing rates. 

I spoke with Angus Benfield – an Australian actor – now working in the U,S, -- about his newest feature film – "The Keeper" which he stars in, produced, and co-directed. “The Keeper” is a true story about George Eshleman an artillery officer who participated in Desert Storm. Years after his time in Iraq, he was hit with lingering PTSD and considered suicide. Then, a friend kills himself and George decides to carry his buddy’s military uniform name tag on a walk on the Appalachian Trail. Others learn of George’s plan and send him the name tags of their loved ones who died by suicide. When George started his walk from Maine to Georgia he carried two rings with 363 name tags. 

I met Angus Benfield and his wife Ruth – who wrote and sang the title song for the film at 5Napkins Bar and Restaurant on the Upper West Side.

Alan Winson

CONTACT: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kaoru Watanabe was the featured music artist of the first summer concert in the West Side Community of 2024. Rebecca and I got to the Garden early and set up our portable studio in a corner alcove to talk with Jody Sperling -- dancer and choreographer -- and the Artistic Director of Time Lapse Dance which explores environmental performance forms. Also, Jody is the Eco-Artist in Residence at the New York Society of Ethical Culture. We talked about her artistic work to raise emotions about the climate disaster impinging on our wonderful world. And she told us about the upcoming Time Lapse Dance concert at the NY Society of Ethical Culture on June 1.

This program includes selections from Watanabe's performance featuring Taiko drums and Shinobue reed flute. The entire -- unedited -- concert can be heard at BCR #224.

Alan Winson

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This is the first "Park Bench Chat" of the 2024 Summer Season – a production of Bar Crawl Radio. During the warming days of spring and summer, Rebecca and I sit at our favorite park bench in the “You’ve Got Mail” garden in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side and talk with our neighbors. Today’s topic--“grammar.” Ellen Jovin is a self-proclaimed “grammar nerd.” She has degrees from Harvard and UCLA in language-related subjects and has studied bunches of languages because she lives in NYC -- a multi-verse of languages. Ellen is a cofounder of Syntaxis, a communication skills training firm, and the author of several books on language. For this program we talked about her recent bestseller Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian (HarperCollins, July 2022). “Roving” because Ellen is the creator of a traveling, pop-up grammar advice stand called the Grammar Table, whose adventures serve as the basis of her book and a soon-to-be-released documentary of the same name. And this afternoon, Ellen set up her Grammar Table below the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument to talk with Sunday strollers about grammar.

Alan Winson

BCR Podcast Producer

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The majestic trees in front of Goddard Riverside on the Upper West Side of Manhattan were blushing brightly as the community gathered to learn about and spruce up the beds of our leafy neighbors for the seventh annual “Love Your Street Tree Day” – May 7th 2024. 

Rebecca and I learned a lot about our urban forest and how to take care of our barked friends – not our barking friends. Which reminds me -- "Don’t piss on our street tree" signs were passed out to our UWS neighbors -- along with buckets of mulch -- and donuts – and coffee.

The event was sponsored by the West 80s Neighborhood Association – and we talked with two of its leaders. But before we talked with Melissa Elstein and Kim Johnson, we had some fun with a few UWS tree huggers.

CONTACT: [email protected]

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PHILIPPE DIAZ is a film director – producer – and promoter of “intelligent films.” Born in Paris France, he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. Since 1980 he has produced and distributed international films by auteur directors for world audiences. 

Diaz has directed both documentary and feature narrative films on political, economic and social issues.

In 2003, Diaz and his team created Cinema Libre Studios -- producing and distributing socially relevant independent narrative and documentary films.

The director was in Manhattan to promote his newest narrative film – “I Am Gitmo” -- premiering at the Cinema Village.   I am Alan Winson and with my BCR partner Rebecca McKean, we talked with Philippe Diaz at the Moxy East Village Hotel bar.

CONTACT: [email protected]

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Rebecca McKean and I walked during Easter week 2024 in the desert north of Las Vegas to the Nevada Nuclear Bomb Test Site– with a community of people who know about the imminent danger of a targeted and ready-to-go American nuclear arsenal. 

This BCR podcast will not counter the insanity of the deterrence argument – rather here are a few of the people who walked to the white line at the entrance to the most bombed place in the world – run by the U.S. Department of Energy and protected by the U.S military 

When you are aware of a great danger - even one that is – probably -- unavoidable -- there is some comfort in working with others doing something positive.

Alan Winson

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