Category Archives: BCM News

‘Views from Atop My Bedpan drops April 1

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“Views from Atop My Bedpan” is set to release April 1, 2023. The cover picture is of author Alan O’Hashi as if he aged 10 years.

Views from Atop My Bedpan, a memoir by Alan O’Hashi, is scheduled to be released on April 1, 2023. The book is a memoir about the author’s experiences with the American healthcare industrial complex spanning seven decades.

Preorder and receive a 15 percent discount at checkout.

During his journey, Alan learned about the Emergency Department bottleneck when he was nearly dead for six weeks. His road to recovery was a long one through alternative treatments. As he grew younger, his contact with the healthcare system was much simpler.

The book moves back in time starting his healthcare in a Boulder, Colorado senior cohousing community. Read about his acupuncture torture and drunken raisin arthritis remedy until he was kicked out of his retirement home for being too healthy and young.

The book recounts Alan’s medical-related experiences in the working world, including a small town hospital merger and an emergency CPR RESCUE.

The story tracks his time in college, then traces his life through high school, sex education as an adolescence and his bad eyes and teeth in grade school.

Is life ends as a twinkle in his parents’ eyes.

Some content may not be suitable from some readers.

There’s a paradox. Public and private healthcare providers are dedicated to keeping people alive and free of disease, but, at the same time, they must financially profit to maintain themselves.

At the same time, the industry keeps its heart thumping and pumping based on continually expanding the number of patients who consume the latest pharmaceuticals, visit doctors, and are diagnosed by the newest machines. It’s better that people stay a little sick rather than be cured from a profit-and-loss standpoint.

At last check, according to the Social Security Administration actuary chart, the author has 10.4 years to go. He conjectures his death at 79. He’s had a flirt with death every 20 years or so, most recently, surviving an exotic lung disease in 2013.

His next meet-up with the Grim Reaper will likely be the last. Please buy the book now!

“We all have unique experiences as we move through life. Being at the top of my game has been hard work. I prefer to have positive influences on others I meet.” Alan O’Hashi

‘The Arapaho Covered Wagon Redux’ green lighted

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“The Covered Wagon” is a 1923 silent film. BCM and the Boulder Symphony are collaborating on a new soundtrack that retells the stereotypical cowboys and Indians movie with a tribal perspective featuring the Northern Arapaho Eagle Drum and Singers.

Boulder Community Media (BCM) had great success in 2022 and wants to keep it up through 2023. BCM was awarded a highly competitive $10,000 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant for “The Arapaho Covered Wagon Redux,” four years in the making.

BCM is seeking matching funds to record a contemporary soundtrack for the 1923 epic “Covered Wagon” silent film. The original score compiled by Anne Guzzo will be performed by the Boulder Symphony led by Devin Hughes in remembrance of the 160th anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre. Most of the funds will pay musicians and the Northern Arapaho Eagle Drum. For information, watch the trailer.

When “The Covered Wagon” screened, tribal members appeared before the audience while casting directors Ed Farlow and Tim McCoy provided information about why they hired 500 Native Americans, mostly Northern Arapaho to perform in the film. Ironically, the realism they wanted to purvey added to tribal stereotypes.

Your tax deductible contribution will make an impact by undoing old stereotypes whether you donate $5 or $500. Every little bit helps. Thank you for your support. We previously raised $500 for the project.

BCM is a 501c3 production company dedicated to make media in all their forms accessible to all.
If you’re a facebook user, BCM has a year-end fundraiser happening through the end of 2022.

Free ebooks by Alan O’Hashi on ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ November 28, 2022

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Support local independent artists this holiday season. Author Alan O’Hashi is offering three Kindle books on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, November 28th!

True Stories of a Mediocre Writer is Alan’s memoir about his unique writing style and process that resulted in the publication of his first book, Beyond Heart Mountain released by Winter Goose Publishing in February 2022.

He explains how he overcame perfection that made him more confident.

In his case, luck plays a big part. In June 2019, he attended a writing conference and talked to Winter Goose Publishing. He was asked to submit a full manuscript. He wrote 80,000 words and signed a contract in November.

True Stories of an Aging Do Gooder is another memoir about his journey through life living in accidental and intentional community settings. Those began with a large extended family in Cheyenne, Wyoming, living four years in the same dorm room at Hastings College, a “Golden Guys” house in Gillette, Wyoming, an apartment above the Ace Hardware store in downtown Lander, Wyoming and a Buddhist-centered coop house in Boulder, Colorado.

Those housing configurations set him up to finally move into the Silver Sage Village cohousing community. The book relates his experiences and war stories for anyone who wants to overcome loneliness.

 On the Trail: Electric Vehicle Anxiety and Advice is Alan’s real-time travelogue about a “Beyond Heart Mountain” book tour he took driving his Nissan Leaf 2,600 miles on the open roads of Wyoming.

The first leg was a 178 mile drive to Casper that took 15 hours.

He recounts his “range anxiety” navigating through wind , cold, and snow with no charging stations in many Wyoming communities.

Beyond Heart Mountain is Alan’s memoir published by Winter Goose Publishing. He doesn’t have control over those book sales, but if you’re in Denver, Alan will be signing copies at the Tattered Cover Book Store on Colfax on Black Friday, November 25th from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

His book is about growing up Japanese in Wyoming after World War II and the demise of the once vibrant Japanese community on the 400 and 500 blocks of West 17th Street in Cheyenne.

Wyoming was the site for the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, one of 10 camps set up in the U.S. interior.

Even though his family didn’t spend time in a camp, they had to endure the subtle and overt racism toward Japanese. The upshot of the story is to close economic and social divides, Americans should become more civil.

 

‘On the Trail: Wyoming Electrical Vehicle Adventures’ book now available

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I wrote a new book that was just released by Boulder Community Media entitled, On the Trail: Wyoming Electric Vehicle Adventures. It was written in real-time between May 16th to July 2nd on three road trips totaling 2,600 miles around the vast sparseness of Wyoming.

Here’s the third person blurb from the back cover:

On the Trail is a memoir recounting author and risk-taker Alan O’Hashi’s reflections on his experiences with the automobile over the years and how his life evolved along with those vehicle choices. Now in his twilight years, he trekked 2,600 miles around Wyoming in a 2021 Nissan Leaf SV Plus electric vehicle (EV) 62 kWh at a time (that’s the battery size).

If you’re curious about EVs, he explains some about the different kinds of vehicles in the marketplace, but more about how to overcome “range anxiety” when there is no charging station nearby and the battery is about empty. He explains, in lay terms, about charging station subtleties, general details about battery efficiency, and the pitfalls drivers may encounter on short trips around town and longer drives over, say, 100 miles, including confusion around the three levels of charging stations and different types of plugs.

Alan was not the first driver to embark on a long-haul EV road trip but was a pioneer in navigating the road in the sparsest state in the Lower 48, having to figure out how to keep moving forward despite numerous setbacks including snow and 30-degrees.

His sojourns weren’t as arduous and rustic as they would have been in a covered wagon or a handcart but navigated gravel roads and isolated ribbons of highways in search of 50-amp power at campgrounds, motels, and businesses with external electrical outlets.

Joining the EV movement meant a big lifestyle change, mostly around slowing down

the pace of his life. “Maybe there’d be less road rage if traffic moved slower and drivers put less pressure on themselves to get from place to place,” he said. “I’ve been reimaging ‘Superman’s American Way” and changing my material consumption habits.”

The cover photo is of Alan’s Leaf charging at the Indian Campground in Buffalo,

Wyoming. He found that campgrounds consistently offer 50-amp power in the hook-up pedestals. Plan to stay someplace overnight and wake up with a full charge.

Beyond Heart Mountain speaking, documentary screening events

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May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  Beyond Heart Mountain author and filmmaker Alan O’Hashi will be on the road showing his documentary and speaking about his memoir. The program is entitled, Civility, Culture, Community, All times Mountain Daylight Time. To schedule an event, please send us an email.

May 18 – Riverton and Dubois Libraries, documentary screenings at 7 p.m.

May 18 – Powell Library in Powell, Wyoming, at 7 p.m.

May 19 – Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, between Cody/Powell Wyoming at 6 p.m.

TBD – Sheridan Stationery, Books and Gallery, Sheridan, Wyoming, between 4 and 6 p.m.

June 3 to 5 – Wyoming Writers Inc. Conference, Sheridan, Wyoming – Book signing

June 22 – Lander Art Center Outdoor Movie, screening of Beyond Sand Creek TBD

June 25 – Thermopolis Book store – 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

July 10 – Wyoming International Film Festival, Cheyenne, Wyoming – 2 p.m.

July 13 – Boulder Bookstore, Boulder, Colorado – 6:30 p.m.

July 19 – Laramie County Library, Cheyenne, Wyoming – 7 p.m.

August 8 – Lander Pioneer Museum, Lander, Wyoming TBD

August 9 – Sidekicks Book Bar, Rock Springs, Wyoming – 7 p.m.

August 10 – Centennial Library, Centennial, Wyoming – 7 p.m.

Unique NFT versions of ‘Nishigawa Neighborhood on opensea.io

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Two one-of-a-kind versions of the “Nishigawa Neighborhood” coffee table book is now available as NFTs on the opensea.io blockchain. If you want a true collectible, one or both of these have premium value because they are unique with colorized covers.

Both include unlockable assets that can be downloaded by the successful buyer. Both NFTs are watermarked with March 17, 2022, the publication date. The first is a one-of-a-kind digital version. The second is an MP4 movie of the 84 pages tracked by original music compiled by author Alan O’Hashi. If you want an autographed copy of the hardcover book, they are available from the author.

Click the image: Nishigawa Neighborhood LTD one of one unlockable MP4 NFT
Click the image: Nishigawa Neighborhood LTD one of one unlockable digital book NFT

‘Beyond Heart Mountain’ book released

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Buy Beyond Heart Mountain memoir published by Winter Goose Publishing. It is available as a printed book and ebook. Signed copies can be purchased from the author. The book was released February 27th. That week coincided with the 80th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 that sent 120,000 Japanese to 10 war relocation camps, that included Heart Mountain in northwest Wyoming.

Beyond Heart Mountain book and related are no for sale.

Remember to download the Beyond Heart Mountain promotional information booklet.

Boulder Community Media (BCM) produced a documentary that aired on PBS that aired in December 2021. The Nishigawa Neighborhood is a coffee table book that will soon be released.

During World War II, Cheyenne native Alan O’Hashi’s family avoided life in internment camps such as Heart Mountain.

As a Baby Boomer, Alan documents the overt and quiet racism pervasive in Wyoming and throughout the United States during and following World War II. He relates his experiences to current violence towards Asians and the issue of civility within society.

The backdrop to Alan’s account is the history of the once vibrant Japanese community in the 400 and 500 blocks of West 17th Street in the downtown area of my hometown, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

*****

“My grandmother and grandfather Ohashi and their large family lived in worked in that neighborhood where I spent quite a bit of time between elementary and high school. Having been away from Cheyenne for many years, I stashed those two blocks in the back of my mind until I learned that two classmates of mine were planning to build a housing development at 509 W. 17th St. The biggest obstacle was obtaining permission to tear down an old building. It was the last structure in the Japanese neighborhood. It was the site of a rooming house operated by Mrs. Yoshio Shuto.”

Buy the Beyond Heart Mountain movie

Buy the Beyond Heart Mountain DVD is mainly about the West 17th Street Japanese community history and a general overview of Executive Order 9066 that President Franklin Roosevelt signed that relocated 120,000 Japanese into 10 internment camps, including Heart Mountain in northwest Wyoming.

I interviewed four childhood friends for the documentary. Robert Walters formerly worked at the City Cafe. He still lives in Cheyenne, where he practices law.

Terie Miyamoto and her family-owned Baker’s Bar. It was the only racially-integrated bar in Cheyenne at the time. She now lives in the Denver Metro area.

Brian Matsuyama now lives in Seattle, Washington. He resided in Cheyenne during his childhood. His family owned the California Fish Market. Carol Lou Kishiyama-Hough is in Cheyenne. She and her family purchased the Fish Market from the Matsuyamas.

Buy the Nishigawa Neighborhood coffee table book. It’s an 11 x 8.5-inch hard-cover coffee table book with over 100 color, black and white images of the neighborhood. Signed copies are available from the author.

Nishigawa Neighborhood coming soon

Mrs. Shuto’s tenants were mainly Japanese residents who made their way to Cheyenne. She later opened the City Cafe across the street which became a gathering place for the Japanese in town.

My grandmother was a cook at the City Cafe. Next door, my grandfather was the third owner of a pool hall.

Whenever we went out to eat, the restaurant of choice was the City Cafe. It was a gathering place for the Japanese in Cheyenne. My friends enlisted me to do a cultural and historical survey of the Japanese residents who lived and worked there from the 1920s through the 1970s.

Buy a Beyond Heart Mountain cap are also available. They are low-profile baseball-style hats. Select Beyond Heart Mountain from the dropdown menu.

The logo is an adapted version of the Wyoming state flag. One size fits most.

‘Beyond Heart Mountain’ memoir – documentary now available

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“Beyond Heart Mountain” is a documentary memoir by Alan O’Hashi based on the book of the same title. The Heart Mountain Relocation Center was one of 10 camps established after President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The memoir-documentary is available for rent or streaming for a small donation.

A chimney still remains at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp in Northwest Wyoming between Cody and Powell. Click on the photo to rent or purchase the movie.

The U.S. government rounded up 120,000 Japanese, mostly on the west coast. After they were sorted out at 15 assembly centers, trainloads of evacuees were transported by train as far east as Arkansas.

Japanese American Baby Boomer, filmmaker and author Alan O’Hashi relates his personal experiences. He reclaims his heritage after once being part of a culturally thriving community.

The businesses and residents vanished following World War II because of racial injustice out in the middle of nowhere in his hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming

The story is told through the eyes of filmmaker and author Alan O’Hashi. He interviewed four of his contemporaries who had ties to the once-vibrant Japanese community in West Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Young Carol Lou Kishiyama and her family owned the California Fish Market in downtown Cheyenne.

Robert Walters worked at the City Cafe, the neighborhood anchor.

Brian Matsuyama’s family owned the California Fish Market before selling it to Carol Lou Kishiyama and her family.

Terie Miyamoto’s family owned the only racially-integrated bar in the Japanese community, Baker’s Place.

My grandmother worked as a cook at the City Cafe and my grandfather owned the pool hall next to the City Cafe.

Watch for the book version that will be published by Winter Goose Publishing.

Buy ‘True Stories of an Aging Do-Gooder: How cohousing can bridge cultural divides’

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I’ve lived a life of divergent experiences that converged when I joined the Silver Sage Village (SSV) senior cohousing community in Boulder, Colorado. My story about how to play well with others is a somewhat organized stream of consciousness.

Paperback available direct from the publisher Boulder Community Media

True Stories provides “nuts-and-bolts” methods about how your community can use cultural competence techniques that better encourage members to understand one another.

Buy a signed copy direct from the publisher Boulder Community Media.

The Kindle ebook and paperback are available for purchase on Amazon.

After arguing about whether pets are allowed in the Common House, what if cohousers organized themselves and decided to collectively undertake a mission to save the world?

True Stories explores why I believe cohousing can evolve from a “social movement” into being a “social norm.”

I’ll offer a paradigm shift about how cohousing can bridge socio-economic divides.

The stories are about relations between and among individual people and the personal changes necessary to find commonality with strangers, all with different experiences and lifestyles.

In case you’ve just returned after a year in outer space, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that began in late 2019 circled the globe.

Like everyone else, I’ve had quite a bit of extra time on my hands. I have no idea how my day was occupied before self-isolation.

COVID-19 brought to light glaring cultural inequities. The pandemic closed down the economy, and people lost their jobs.

That exposed the lack of lower-priced housing options when people lost their homes or kicked out of their rental apartments.

If homeowners default on their loans at the same time, as happened in 2009, the market will be flooded with pricey houses that nobody can afford to purchase, except the bottom-feeders.

Racial justice issues quickly floated to the top of the social change pond.

African American and Latino people are at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19, hospitalization, and death than the general population.

One nexus of lower-priced housing and racial justice is rental and owner-occupied cohousing that pool resources.

Residents share the financial risks and collaboratively operate and maintain their communities.

The story is written from my viewpoint as a cohousing community member, as opposed to a cohousing professional or a cohousing professional who lives in a community.

SSV is one of 170 existing cohousing communities in the United States.

If cohousing is such a great idea, why aren’t there thousands of communities popping up in all corners of the country?

After all, if there are 30,000 people residing in existing an existing cohousing community or in the community formation phase.

The book is part memoir and part “how-to” manual about my experiences that seemed unrelated at the time but added to my life gestalt, which eventually led me to believe cohousing can make social change happen by bridging cultural divides.

The only person I have any control over is myself. For me, personal change happens when keeping the amount of time between the past and the present as small as possible.

My experiences aren’t that remarkable, but the intent is to encourage you to remember what happened in your personal history as you figure out the opportunities and challenges you’ll face when choosing to care and share in a cohousing community.

‘True Stories of a Mediocre Writer … and Accidental Author’ now on sale!

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All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” is what Ernest Hemingway says about the essence of good storytelling.

Buy a paperback directly from the publisher

This book is for anyone who is a writer of organized words whether they are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, work memos, grant applications, academic papers, or love letters.

Kindle ebook and soft cover editions of True Stories of a Mediocre Writer are now available on Amazon.

If you want an autographed copy of the book, cut out Amazon and buy directly from me.

Read this book if you’re a professional writer, a novelist just starting out, or a screenwriter with a half-done script lost deep in the bowels of a computer hard drive.

Are you a writer or do you know a writer who wonders how to get over self-doubt, kick your obsession with perfection, and for whatever reasons, can’t quite finish your writing project?

Being a writer isn’t just about getting your words down on the page. Writing is a life metaphor. How do you get more focused? Why be organized? Is finishing that important?

This book will provide insight, and a few tips through the experiences of the author about becoming more confident in your ability balancing perfection and accuracy that results in a higher likelihood of finishing your work.

Alan O’Hashi’s memoir about how lessons from life were big influences that resulted in his first book pitch based on a typed up piece of paper in June, resulted in an 80,000 word manuscript and publishing contract five months later.

Author Alan O’Hashi has been writing since he was 12 years old as a reporter for the Carey Junior High School newspaper, “The Tumbleweed” published in his hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming.