Hello Friends!

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but I hope it was worth the wait. (Drum roll please....)

My new video podcast, "NEW MEXICAST," has been launched AND is already in iTunes (more on that in a minute)!

I posted the first episode on Monday, May 26 (Memorial
Day). For those of you who have been regulars here at RosaLindaRoman.com, it should ...<< MORE >>

Hello Friends,

You know how they say "The road to hell was paved with good intentions?" Well, I hope that is not true, because I had very good intentions of getting "New Mexicast" launched on Mother's Day. My husband and daughters also had great intentions of wonderful things to do for me on Mother's Day.

Then Mother's Day arrived and so did the most AWFUL stomach bug. I am just now able to lift my aching body out of bed to type this.

So, if you were one of my wonderful viewers eagerly anticipating the launch of New Mexicast, I apologize. But ...<< MORE >>

Hello friends!

For more weeks than I care to count, I have been working really hard to get things ready for the launch of my new video podcast called "New Mexicast." Up until now, whenever people asked when to expect that launch, I always gave a vague answer; "soon."

Well, for those of you that know me, you know I function much more effectively with a deadline. That's the reason I did so well in TV news and also the reason that being a full-time Mommy can be so hard for me. For the past three years the only deadlines I've had are related to the potty, feeding children and sleep (i.e. making the girls get a lot and trying desperately to get some ourselves).

So... I am giving myself a deadline. Drum roll please...

New Mexicast will launch on Mother's Day, May 11th at www.NewMexicast.com

Crowd goes wild!

I am going to consider it a Mother's Day gift to myself. After all, what better gift to myself (and my family) than pursuing my dreams.

And speaking of gifts... I want to share something with you all. My longtime friend, Craig Stickler, graciously offered to create a logo for the New Mexicast. After several revisions, the New Mexicast logo is ready to face the world.

Before I tell you which one I ended up picking, I wanted to show my most loyal viewers (that's you) all of the versions Craig made to see which one is your favorite. So here they are (in no particular order):



Please write a comment here on the website and let me know which one you like best (Let's just call them 1, 2, 3 & 4). I think all of them are beautiful, but one stood out for me. (By the way, if you have any graphic/logo/animation/architectural renderings needs you should definitely visit his website: www.FoundationImaging.net )

Well, I still have a TON to do with just one week left, so I better bring this to a close. Please check back soon. It's an exciting time for me and I can't wait to share it all with you.

Sincerely,
Rosa Linda

        

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Dear Friends,

I am so excited to share this video with you! It is a promotional video I made for my soon-to-launch video podcast called "New Mexicast." Please watch it, add a comment, and send the link to everyone you know.

For those of you who haven't been visiting www.RosaLindaRoman.com from the beginning, this video will give you an idea of what my video podcast (or vlog) is all about. As I used to do here on RosaLindaRoman.com, once I launch New Mexicast I will be posting a new story on the website each week (at www.NewMexicast.com ). The stories will be about interesting people and places in New Mexico and beyond. The more viewers the better, so please spread the word by forwarding this link to people you know and by subscribing to the New Mexicast video podcast (at www.NewMexicast.com or through iTunes). And, for those of you that have your own podcasts, please feel free to play this promo as much as you like (please email me if you want the audio-only version).

As you watch the video, please notice the AWESOME theme song called "New Mexico" by Dorian Spencer. You will only hear a little preview in the promo, but it should still give you a good idea of what it sounds like. Dorian has graciously allowed me to use the song as New Mexicast's theme song. I couldn't have come up with a more perfect, positive, upbeat song if I had commissioned it myself. Please support him and his generosity by visiting his website at: www.DorianSpencer.com . If you want some great music, buy his newest album called "Garden." It has the whole "New Mexico" song on it.

Well, I hope you enjoy this video. Although the date is not set in stone yet, I am targeting an end-of-April launch for New Mexicast. Hopefully that will give the promo video plenty of time to make the rounds so people will be ready to enjoy that first episode when it's posted.

Lots of love,
Rosa Linda

P.S. PLEASE, please, please write a comment to let me know what you think!

        

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This week has been really rough. I am so sick of being sick and of the kids being sick. I am also feeling fed up with winter in general. We haven't gotten enough snow to do any real snow-sports, but we have had enough to make a muddy mess every time the dog comes in the house.

Anyway, it was with these complaints floating around in my head that I opened today's email and discovered three separate correspondences that totally made my day! I felt like Sally Fields when she won the Oscar, "They like me, they really like me!" Seriously, I shed some tears, but I can't tell if that is from lack of sleep from caring for a very sick baby, or from realizing that I matter to several people who don't need me to a) clean up after them, b) nurse them, or c) stop everything I am doing to cater to their every need. In fact, I was so excited about hearing from old friends and old viewers that I go on and on about it in this week's episode.

Hey, I told you I was sick, I just didn't mention that it was affecting my brain.

So, in the video I mentioned my friend, Cecile, who has a blog that I really recommend you check out. It can be found at: 

afroginaz.blogspot.com/
 
I also mention my friend, Craig Stickler, who is working on the new logo for New Mexicast. When I say "talented" it is an extreme understatement. If you ever need photo-realistic computer animation or graphics, you should look at hiring him. His website is at:

www.FoundationImaging.net

Hopefully, in the next few weeks I will be able to post some of his potential logos here on RosaLindaRoman.com so you can help me vote on which one you like.

Finally, I mentioned that I am looking for music for New Mexicast. If you have any suggestions in that department (or for any other improvements to the websites) please email me at: RLR@RosaLindaRoman.com.

I hope you are all feeling healthy and happy! Have a fantastic week.

Lots of love,
Rosa Linda

        

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Hello everyone!

I know the postings here are inconsistent at best lately, but I assure you the reasons are good. I have been working nonstop on the launch of NewMexicast.com. All while doing my best to not take too much time and attention away from my girls.

Speaking of my girls, a very happy 1st birthday to baby Ziva! I can't believe she's already a year old. Sometimes it seems like I'm spinning my wheels career-wise, but when I look at those amazing girls, I know I'm making the right decisions. Besides, not only do I have two wonderful daughters, but I have already done several of my own stories and am about to launch a new video podcast. I guess that's not half bad for the three years since I left my last TV station.

Well, I've got a lot more to do before all is said and done. Please let me know what you think of this new, lower quality video. Is it better than just typing a post as I did last time? I would love to get your comments or emails on this. If you're okay with this lower-quality version, I will do my best to make these postings more frequent; with a goal of doing them bi-weekly. It's a lot easier than trying to get the camera set up with lights, etc.

Let me know what you think! Thanks again for watching!

Lots of Love,
Rosa Linda

        

Hello everyone!

It’s almost midnight on a Saturday night, and I just returned from shooting an upcoming story for my soon-to-launch video podcast on New Mexicast.com. I thought now was a very appropriate time to write a blog entry here on RosaLindaRoman.com… #1 because it’s one of the rare moments it’s actually quiet here at my house. And #2, because the chaos that came before this calm moment is a perfect example of what it takes to make my independent reporting a reality.

The story I just shot is about a local teenager who is an amazing hockey player and the incredible dedication his Mom shows in helping him pursue his dream of one day playing in the NHL. The kid’s hockey team was playing a big game tonight, so I thought it would be a good time to get some footage of him in action. The only problem was that my husband is on call tonight – meaning he works 30 hours straight and stays at the hospital all night. That meant that I had to get creative if I wanted to shoot that story. Luckily, my Mother-in-law, Ann, is visiting and agreed to come with me to the ice rink to help watch the girls. Some of our friends, Tara, Alex and Jason Zubia, also agreed to meet us to help. They were all amazing as they entertained two little girls for over an hour while I worked.

Still, even knowing the girls are in good hands, it’s never easy to shoot a story with my little ones anywhere near me. It has nothing to do with the girls or the people taking care of them, it’s just that my mind is always on them and not fully on the task at hand. I did get some great footage, but because I was in a hurry to get out of there before either of my girls had a melt-down I didn’t get everything that I need for the story. I'll definitely have to arrange for a second shoot to interview the hockey player, and get some better nat sound – meaning natural sound – and close-up shots of him on the ice. But overall I would say it was a success.

Of course you know what they say, “pay me now, or pay me later!” This time the payoff for getting the video I wanted was that it took us WAY past the girls’ bedtime. And if you know anything about little kids, you know that’s just asking for trouble!

We got home by about 9:30 (two hours after bedtime) and got the girls in their pajamas, which is no small task with over-tired 3 and 1 year olds! Then, just as I was about to put the baby in her crib, she started puking all over the place. Not spit-up, mind you, puke (I know, as my Mom likes to say, “TMI” or too much information). Poor baby! Meanwhile, my 3 year old was throwing yet another temper tantrum with my saint of a Mother-in-law (I say “yet another” because it was probably her 30th tantrum today).

After a bath to clean up the baby, and calm down the older one, I went to put the baby back in her crib and she starts puking again! Luckily, this time it wasn’t all over her sheets, which I had just changed. Instead it was all over me. So much for the glamorous life of an independent reporter!

Anyway, now that I have managed to get both girls to sleep, clean myself up and gross you all out, I realize I am too tired to record this week’s vlog as I had hoped to tonight. I am also too exhausted to fill you in on all the exciting plans I have for the upcoming launch of NewMexicast.com. At this point, I basically have just enough energy to tell you that RosaLindaRoman.com is now going to have both vlog (video) and blog (text-only) entries and to tell you that the official launch of NewMexicast.com won’t be for several more weeks. Despite all this, I am optimistic that you’ll find it all worth the wait so please come back and check on the progress in a week or two.

Good night, and have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,
Rosa Linda

P.S. Just in case you are worried, the baby seems fine now. In fact, both girls are sleeping like angels as of this posting. Now it’s my turn… nite-nite!

        

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Well, this week's episode isn't really an episode at all. Instead, it is a video of me talking about a major shift here at RosaLindaRoman.com. And now that I think about it, the video itself is actually a bit of a preview of things to come. As you will see in the video, I am moving my professional work (i.e. my stories) to another website and making this website my personal video journal, or vlog. I am doing this for both professional and practical reasons.

So, in the near future my stories will be posted on:

www.NewMexicast.com

Meanwhile, here on RosaLindaRoman.com I will be sharing my thoughts, observations, rants and feelings along the way. Consider this more of a companion site to NewMexicast, where you can get some behind-the-scenes insights.

Although I am still working out all the details, the plan right now is to do a vlog entry here every two weeks or so and continue the weekly story postings on NewMexicast.com. Initially I will be reposting some of my "evergreen stories" (meaning the ones that aren't tied to a specific holiday, which can run any time of year) that you've already seen here. But, I hope you'll still check out the launch of NewMexicast.com because there will be a lot of exciting things to see.

Thanks to all of you who are sticking with me through this transition and beyond.

Sincerely,
Rosa Linda

        

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First of all, a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season surrounded by loved ones.

Secondly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet daughter, Ahava. I can't believe she's 3 already!

In honor of her birthday, I thought I would share her big acting debut. It is a short film I made when she was just a tiny little girl (well, she's still tiny, but thinks she's BIG of course!). It's called "Dog Vlog." The premise is that a dog decides to create an online video podcast, or vlog (kind of like a certain reporter you know! LOL!).

Next week: a big announcement about upcoming changes on RosaLindaRoman.com!

Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Rosa Linda

        

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Greetings from the Windy City!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday, surrounded by family and friends! We certainly did! Every year we have our family Christmas on a day other than actual Christmas so that everyone can be together. This year we chose December 29th. Well, that morning we got the best gift of all... my sister's baby, Christina Raquel was born!

Meanwhile, here on RosaLindaRoman.com this is week 2 of my short film showcase. Last week (actually, two weeks ago, but who's counting?) I showed you one of the very first short films I directed called, "Jogging Buddies." It was just 3 minutes long and was really just some of my friends helping me out. This week I am sharing another film I directed called, "Cookies for Callie." Actually, you will just see the trailer here because the movie is 33 minutes long. This was a much more professional effort. In case you're interested, here's a little background:

When I was working in Phoenix, I wrote a feature length screenplay (a script for a movie) and submitted it to a competition called "Project Greenlight." While I didn't win anything, that gave me the opportunity to meet other Arizona screenwriters. After seeing some of the lousy films that people were submitting to short film festivals, we eventually decided to start making movies ourselves. The first was a script I wrote called "Rosa Peligrosa" directed by Kathleen Mullin. "Cookies for Callie" was the next one we made. It was written by James E. Sperl (who was a top 30 finisher in Project Greenlight). At the time, there were seven of us principals; Kathleen, James (Jim), Joe Gruberman, Chris Redish, Libby Farris, Ethan Moe and me. We called ourselves "Lime Wranglers" and made several films together (4 or 5, I think).

If you want to learn more about the Lime Wranglers check out the wonderful website made by Joe Gruberman:

http://www.jgrub.com/limewrangler/index.html 

Well, this is turning out to be a very long entry, so I'll leave it at that. I hope you enjoy the trailer.

Next week, one more short film; "Dog Vlog."

Have a very safe and happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Rosa Linda