GOLDEN IDOL

- The Most Enchanting Video Podcast takes another trip through the jungle this week!

Hello Friends!

I am humbled by the awesome response to the Jungle Cruise story. We broke viewership records on this one and the number of views is going up and up each day. Not to mention, it was such a blast to relive my own days in the Jungle and at Walt Disney World in general. I’m glad to hear so many of you got to do the same by watching that episode. Hopefully everyone stuck around for the bloopers and outtakes. Those are always crowd favorites, especially with some of the Jungle Cruise Skippers hamming it up!

Speaking of hams… I now bring you part 2 of the Jungle Cruise Skipper Reunion series featuring one of the biggest hams of all; Colonel Wayne Percival McSwagger. (If you haven’t seen part one, please click here to watch that first!) As part of the reunion weekend the skippers were given the “Ultimate Adventureland Golden Idol Challenge.” What is this mysterious golden idol? After you watch the story, you can learn more at the golden idol’s Facebook page. Yes, the idol has it’s own Facebook page!

Sticking with the subject of Facebook, for those that don’t know you can now sign in to New Mexicast using your own Facebook account. It’s a lot of fun for me because then I get to see your picture and know who is commenting. Give it a try now by leaving a comment after you watch this story. Be sure to click the checkbox that allows you to get follow-up comments emailed to you. Then you can see some of the fun comments that others (like some of these crazy Jungle Cruise skippers) leave about the episode.

Thanks to all of you that signed up for our email list. New Mexicast is stronger than ever before thanks to all of you. If you aren’t on the list, you can sign up at: http://tiny.cc/NMemail.

Next up: A return to the Land of Enchantment with a story about one of the most enchanting people I’ve ever met.

Lots of love,

Rosa Linda

JUNGLE CRUISE

- The Most Enchanting Video Podcast takes a journey through the jungle this week!

Hello Friends!

In my excitement over our brand-new website and finishing this oh-so-fun episode on the Jungle Cruise Skippers’ mega reunion at Walt Disney World, I totally neglected to write a post to accompany it! So, for what they’re worth, here are my ramblings…

With the help of two amazing gentlemen, Adam W. Warner and Don Marshall, along with input from lots of very smart tech folks, the new New Mexicast website has been launched! Crowd goes WILD (or at least I do)! It took a lot of hard work, but I think the new look really enhances the functionality of New Mexicast. Instead of a standard scroll-down, blog-style it now uses a video-centric theme with lots of great stories accessible right from the home page. If you haven’t seen it yet, please check it out at: www.NewMexicast.com

For those of you on Facebook we have added a new plug-in that allows you to sign in to New Mexicast using your own Facebook profile. In other words, you can write comments as yourself complete with your profile picture, not just as an anonymous viewer (of course, you can always choose anonymity too). There is also a new “LIKE” button after every post. This keeps with Facebook’s new push away from “fans” and toward the “like” button. But don’t worry… I know if you click that you “like” it (and I hope you will!), you are really saying you’re a New Mexicast “fan,” right?  Well, in my mind, at least!

Another change to the website is that you can now click a handy checkbox when you write a comment which allows you to get an email when there is a follow-up comment posted. This is very Facebook-esque and I really wanted this addition. I can’t tell you the number of times a viewer wrote a wonderful comment and had no idea that I responded to it. So, when leaving a comment, please check the checkbox and/or sign in with your Facebook account. It makes it a lot more fun for me to feel like I’m having ongoing conversations with friends. And after all, isn’t FUN the name of this game?

Now on to the reason you have all gathered here today… the Jungle Cruise Skipper Reunion video! What a crazy, silly, fun and FABULOUS group of people this is. Yes, I was once a skipper myself. When we all got together and stormed the Magic Kingdom, I laughed so much my sides ached. I hope you will also get to laugh as you watch this story. It was actually so much fun that I turned it into a two part series. Next episode to be posted in 2 weeks of course!

For those of you that subscribe to this podcast in iTunes, you probably noticed that all of New Mexicast’s episodes were wiped out for awhile. It had to do with the switch over to the new website and the doing away with an old, not-very-helpful plug-in. But I believe I have fixed the problem and you can find every episode there in itunes. If you use iTunes, but haven’t subscribed yet (free, of course!) here’s how to find us: http://tiny.cc/NMiTunes

Finally, I want to welcome all the new email subscribers that have joined the New Mexicast family lately. I am so glad you are here and I am hopeful you won’t be disappointed. Not on the list yet? Here’s the link for that too (also free, and spam free… of course!): http://tiny.cc/NMemail

It truly is one of the most exciting times yet here on New Mexicast. I can’t wait to share more with you all!

Lots of love,

Rosa Linda

P.S. Please forgive the extra emails of old episodes which you may have received this week. It had to do with the website switchover and I don’t think it will happen again. But if it does, just look at it as an opportunity to see some of the older (still great) episodes you may have missed.

NAVAJO MISSION

- New Mexico’s most Enchanting Video Podcast visits the Navajo Reservation east of Gallup this week.

Even though I’ve been spending half my time in Gallup, and driving right past Smith Lake every other week, I have a Chicagoan to thank for this episode: my Mom, Barb. One of her longtime friends, Teresa Adams, mentioned that she was heading to New Mexico. When my Mom told me Teresa was coming to the Land of Enchantment my reporter’s brain immediately asked, “What for?”

Glad I asked.

Teresa was one of 15 volunteers from a church in West Virginia who came to New Mexico to make a difference in the Navajo community of Smith Lake. They joined forces with Cornerstone Ministries to transform a burned-out elementary school into a community center. You can learn more about Cornerstone Ministries by clicking here.

By the way, did you notice the AWESOME new sponsor we have here on New Mexicast? It is a terrific boot camp that is so much more than a typical exercise program. It’s called “Boot Camp & Beyond” and it helps you transform your body, mind and soul to start living the way you have always dreamed of. I am confident that I will go through this boot camp in the near future (Anyone want to be featured going through the boot camp? It could make a GREAT story!), but for now I am delighted to give you the chance to check it out. Click here to see what it’s all about. Please show them how much we appreciate their support of New Mexicast by visiting them today.

And, speaking of sponsors… Later this week we will be giving away the New Mexicast gift bag filled with goodies from some enchanting sponsors, including: New Mexico Candle Co., Dr. Mark Arcuri (Co-Creator of Boot Camp & Beyond), and Santa Fe Realtor Frank O’Mahony. Thank you to all of these sponsors and to all of you for becoming fans of our New Mexicast page on Facebook! (Not a fan yet? Click here!)

Lots of love,

Rosa Linda

—————————————————–

Twitter: http://Twitter.com/NewMexicast

Subscribe by email: http://tiny.cc/NMemail

Subscribe by iTunes: http://tiny.cc/NMiTunes

Facebook: http://tiny.cc/NMFacebook

FALK FAMILY FINALE

- Dear Friends,

I am so excited to bring you the final installment of the Falk family story. This is part four of a series about Holocaust survivor Gabrielle Falk and her family. This episode focuses on how Gabrielle’s parents, Walther and Ellinor Freund survived the Holocaust and how the family reunited after the war.

While I know my work on this series can never really do the story justice, I hope it will at least give you a glimpse at an amazing person and help us all to never forget.

Thank you to Irene Uffrecht-Peters for the photos from Auschwitz. And, as always, thank you so much to Stephen and Gabrielle Falk for entrusting me with their story.

Lots of love,
Rosa Linda

P.S. Please help us keep New Mexicast the most Enchanting Video Podcast by taking a quick survey. Click here to start it now!

KRISTALLNACHT

- Hello Friends & Happy Valentine’s week!

As promised, this is part three of a four part series on Holocaust survivor Gabrielle Falk and her family. Specifically, this episode focuses on Gabrielle and her parents during the war. The title comes from a night of violence inflicted on Germany’s Jewish community Novemer 9 – 10, 1938, known as Kristallnacht.

I will be honest in telling you this was the toughest episode I’ve done yet. Not only is the subject matter disturbing (maybe it’s appropriate that I’m posting it on Friday the 13th!), but it was also a challenge to find visual elements to compliment the stories Gabrielle shares (in addition to the awesome Falk/Freund family photos provided by her son, Stephen Falk, of course!). Being part of the “New Media” means I have to be very careful about what I use in my stories (Hey, I never said there weren’t some great benefits to working for a big news station… namely, a hefty legal department that handled these issues for me! LOL!).

Which is why two websites are now my new best friends. They are both depositories of images which can be used in projects like mine (and blogs, etc.).

The first one is MorgueFile . Their tagline is: “Where photo reference lives.” It is a treasure trove of artistic photographs that can be used to illustrate just about any point you’re trying to make. And I’m talking GORGEOUS shots! (A special thanks to the “Digital Marketer” for pointing me to this website!)

The second is WikiMedia Commons that seems to be more of a database of archival photos for historic reference (although I imagine there are plenty of artistic ones there too, I just didn’t have time to look). I found this particularly relevant to this story because of an interesting development on their site having to do with the German Federal archives. Here’s what it says on WikiMedia Commons:

• “A 100k image donation from the German Federal archives is currently being uploaded to Commons. Your help is needed categorizing these images. Sample gallery.”

In other words, they are uploading 100,000 German archival photos to WikiMedia. With that many images, they need help sorting it all. So, if you are interested in ensuring history accurately reflects the events surrounding the Holocaust, and if you have the time, they are asking for your help to categorize the images.

That’s it for now. Part four will wrap this all up in two weeks! See you then!

Lots of love,
Rosa Linda

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR

- Hello Friends!

Long time no post. Sorry about that. With the holidays and so many other things going on (see the episode for more details), I needed more time to put this one together. Not to mention this is definitely one of the hardest stories (emotionally and logistically) that I’ve put together so far here on New Mexicast.

What started as a simple recording session to document one woman’s life’s story as a favor to her family has turned into a three part (or maybe more… who knows?) series. After all, how does one tell the story of someone’s 85 very colorful years in one podcast episode? I, for one, obviously can’t!

Seriously, I hope this story moves you as much as it has moved me. Seeing the film from the 1930’s really got to me. A special thanks to Inga Huhn and the Koenig family for allowing me to use the footage. Also, thanks so much to Stephen Falk (and several of his family members) for getting me all the documents and materials for this story (Including sending me an audio cassette! Which prompted my 4 year old daughter to ask, “Mommy, what’s a cassette?” LOL!). I also appreciate the Internet Archive for providing the historical footage. And, of course, Gabrielle for inviting me to interview her in the first place.

Oh, and I am happy to share a few announcements this week:

1. New Mexicast – Episode 14 – is being featured on Roots TV! Click here to check it out!

2. New Mexicast is on Facebook! Click here to become a fan!

Well, it has been a very crazy time in our lives. I hope 2009 calms down sometime soon!

Please know you are appreciated dear viewer! Look for part 3 in two weeks.

Lots of love,

Rosa Linda

FAMILY HISTORIAN

- Hello Friends!

Have you ever undertaken a project that you were excited about only to wonder if you are out of your league? Well, this week’s story is like that for me. In fact, the story is so important that I have decided to turn it into a two part series (which has never been done before here on New Mexicast).

So this week’s episode is part one. It is about an amazing man named Stephen Falk. He has made it his personal mission to research his family tree and to preserve what he can after so much damage was done during the Holocaust. The information he has provided me with for this story is impressive. I only wish I had the time and resources to turn this amazing life’s work into the documentary that it deserves to be. Hopefully, this two part series will at least do a small part to share his work with the world. If you want to learn more, please check out the Falk Family History page on FamilyHistory.org. Here’s the link:

http://www.familymemory.org/pages/1/index.htm

After you watch Stephen’s story, I know you will be excited about the next episode of New Mexicast, which will be his mother, Gabrielle Falk’s story.

Enjoy!

Lots of love,

Rosa Linda

DOLLHOUSES

- Hello Friends!

I am just returning to the wonderful Land of Enchantment from the Windy City where I was visiting my family. It was great to see everyone, but it is always great to be home too.

As you may have noticed, we have been traveling a LOT this summer. One of the places we visited was Montreal, Canada. While there, I learned that our dear friend’s mother, Mina Kupferberg, has a house that looks like a dollhouse museum. She shared her collection with my daughters and they were delighted. I was amazed to hear that she has created every single one by hand. Thankfully, she allowed me to record her story with no advanced notice.

I hope you enjoy the episode. Oh, and the cute kids in the intro are my nieces, Sofi and Lia, and the lovely lady with them is my sister, Rebecca. I put them on the spot while they were visiting us from Chicago. They also gave me some pretty funny bloopers this week! Enjoy!

Lots of love,

Rosa Linda

MANIC MOMMIES

Hello Friends!

And welcome to all you Manic Mommies’ fans that are just discovering the New Mexicast!

If you’re like me, you have long felt like Erin and Kristin were kindred spirits because you’ve listened to every single episode of their awesome podcast. As you struggle through endless parenting challenges, they have probably felt like two of your girlfriends who just tell it like it is. Well, if this sounds like you, then I think you’re going to love this episode of New Mexicast. Because, as much as Erin and Kristin share with their listeners on the show each week, I think seeing them on video along with their families, makes them feel even more familiar.

For those New Mexicast viewers that have no idea what I’m talking about (especially of the male variety), this week I have the priveledge of introducing you to two ladies who host a wonderful audio podcast about the challenges of parenting, called the “Manic Mommies.” I highly recommend you check out (and subscribe to) their podcast in iTunes. Or you can visit their website: www.ManicMommies.com

Also, if you haven’t yet heard it, please check out the Manic Mommies’ episode: MM 125 – When Manic Mommies Meet. It is an episode of the Manic Mommies’ podcast where they turn the tables and interview me. Look for the link on the sidebar of www.NewMexicast.com called ”Rosa Linda on Manic Mommies.”

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I enjoyed doing it! And I hope those of you who are just here to see Erin and Kristin will stay and check out the rest of New Mexicast (I recommend starting with NM0000 – New Mexicast Promo because it explains what this is all about).

For those that have been around from the beginning you may have noticed that I have a new ad in this episode. It is for a project called IndieLab. It’s a really great project that offers free blogs and websites for media creators (photographers, musicians, podcasters, etc.). Check out their website at: www.IndieLab.org

As the Manic Mommies would say,  “if you like our show, please help spread the word and tell three friends, or leave a review for us on iTunes… and have a great manic week” (can you tell I love that podcast?)!

Lots of love,

Rosa Linda

P.S. Be sure to watch until the very end of this episode, there are some GREAT bloopers at the end!