NewsGram with Sam Youmans

Welcome to this edition of Newsgram

Have you ever wondered about the forces that shape our identity? Who we truly are and where we come from? In a world filled with uncertainty, reconnecting with our roots can offer a sense of security and inner peace. Today we are going to journey back in time to explore the captivating tale of one man’s quest to reclaim his Cuban roots.

Mario Cartaya – How do we go from all the hate and the anger and the fear that we are exposed to daily into achieving an inner peace.

That’s Mario Cartaya. He is the author of “Journey Back Into the Vault: In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints.” His is a very personal adventure but it’s also a reminder of how powerful it is to learn about ourselves and where we came from.

Mario Cartaya – Come to terms with who you really are and then try to find that inner-peace within us that we all need so much.

He knows something about this. In an effort to reclaim his forgotten Cuban childhood and his original identity he did some digging into his own past. The results are in his new book Journey Back Into the Vault, In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood. When he was nine years old he was forced to flee his home country with his parents and older brother in a pretty dramatic way.

Mario Cartaya – The head of the Cuban Nationalization program of American properties putting a gun to my dad’s head demanding his books. My dad did comply eventually and that forced us to leave the island when Guevara told him your future safety in this country is no longer guaranteed.

When you’re forced to leave your country in this way you have to leave everything behind, your aunts, uncles, friends and acquaintances.

Mario Cartaya – We just never got to say goodbye. The 1960’s if you remember was a time of the Cuban missile crisis, it was of the bay of Pigs invasion, it was time when many, many things happened and there was no communication between us and Cuba so they did and we only found out through Western Union telegraphs that would tell us your grandfather died, your uncle died.

I can’t imagine the culture shock of coming to America from Cuba in the early 1960’s. I guess one of the cool things would be the fact that he was very young and didn’t have to be concerned with the draft or politics. You get to just try and fit in as an American kid. play some baseball, make new friends, eat a hot dog and learn why we call it soccer....

Mario Cartaya – It was wonderful. Becoming an American was easy, however that vault that I built to protect me from all these painful and relevant memories would come to play a few years later.

Yep, at some point in the growing up process we are all forced to breach that vault where we’ve stored all those painful memories and see if enough time has gone by to have another look. For some of us it happens naturally and for others you have to crack open your own unconscious ‘vault’ and retrieve the buried memories to better examine them in with the wisdom that comes from growing older.

Mario chose to head back to Cuba.

Mario Cartaya – I was hoping that the stimulus of going to the buildings, the places where I lived, would remind me however what that stimulus did was it took me to a place inside me where all those memories lived. I had never lost those memories that I thought I’d forgotten. I had never forgotten it. I just stopped myself from remembering. I protected myself from remembering in the subconscious vault that we all build and I realized that as the memories returned the demos of long ago belonged long ago and the more I opened myself to going inside that vault and discovering who I am. It’s not who I was, it’s ...

Welcome!

If you’ve ever planned an event and were the one in charge of all the things then you know how much work it can be. I’ve put off doing events for that very reason. On the other hand, how many events have you attended and thought wow, that could have been done some much better. Event planning is hard. There are lots of things to consider. Lots of moving parts and the best way to get good at it is, like anything else, trial and error or do your research. Today we are going to focus on a very specific kind of event and we’ve got an expert to guide us through it.

Now, if you read the synopsis for this program then you know where I’m going. Yes, dear listener, today we are going to host a sex party. This edition of Newsgram is for the mildly curious as well as the community that openly celebrates sexuality and those that want to move in that direction.

We are going to educate the curious and if you so desire, help you to create opportunities to...let’s say, meet some new friends. Ali Bushell is author of The Sex Party Handbook

Ali Bushell – Put it this way, when I was writing my book and indeed published it, Whenever I mentioned it to somebody, it doesn’t matter who they are, they are always curious. They always want to know more. I’ve never had a situation where someone has been totally offended and shut the conversation down. So I think there’s always interest even if it’s not necessarily...people might even say like...that’s not something that I would be into but that’s quite interesting to hear about so I think you have a kind of tacit acceptance of you know, whether or not you want to do it, well live and let live and let people do their own thing and people who do have sex parties are very careful to insure that they do not draw attention to them.

Curiosity is part of our nature and he’s right no-one is walking around handing out flyers so knowing how to navigate these waters is helpful. You may have seen the upside down pineapple on your neighbors door, the garden gnomes or the flamingoes in the lawn and many other rumoured signs that someone is looking to spice up their relationship but I digress. Ali Bushell is not an author; he is also a therapist, a podcaster, and the guest and creator of many sex parties.

Ali Bushell – I lived in Sweden for eighteen months and there was a party that was happening quite regularly and I went to that. The guy who ran it was really, really nice and his rules were really good. Some of my rules for my parties I borrowed from that like this are really good but then I’ve been to other parties in London where I walked around and it was like (sigh) that’s not how I would have done it. I wouldn’t have organized it like that or I would have made sure there were rules around that. Fortunately I was never in a situation where I had to say to somebody “this sucked and I hated it”, but I did come away from situations thinking, “I wouldn’t go back to that”.

That experience is what led him to create The Sex Party Handbook: Your Ultimate Guide to the World of Orgies, Sex Clubs and More (and How to Host Your Own).

Ali Bushell – I’d gone to lots of parties before, different kinds, doing different things and there’s always something that could have been better and then there is of course that wonderful phrase, “if you want something done properly, do it yourself”.

The book is a pretty comprehensive glimpse into these “passionate soirees” but it’s a lot more. There is also history and some psychology in addition to the how to element.

Ali Bushell – I’ve had a lot of people say to me, you know I’ve been to its of sex pa...

Welcome to the first ever, pre-teen ladies only edition of Newsgram.

That’s right, today we are going to boldly go where we’ve never gone before. We’re going to a place where girls have all the power and they know how to use it. Our guide is Pamela Lavan.

Pamela Lavan (P-A-M-E-L-A) PAMELA LAVAN,

As you can see this is no HAL 9000. Our guide on this journey is a cheeky A.I. voice named Pamela and her special skill is instructing young girls how to control the boys in their life. I’ve done my best to reprogram PAMELA but as you might expect she is stronger than me.

Pamela Lavan (Laugh)

Pamela is more than just a computer voice. She is also an author with a wicked sense of humor and she’s also written a book. It’s called Not for the Boys: Preteen Edition.

Pamela Lavan – which will make girls of all ages and ladies smile, laugh and giggle at the funny situations naughty male chauvinist boys in the book find themselves in under girls thumbs. As the title says, it’s not for the boys.

You keep saying that is not for the boys – which only made me more curious.

Pamela Lavan ...and men listening will probably see the fun in lining their wife in bed both wearing pretty night dresses.

Hahaha that is what I’m talking about.

Pamela Lavan – Giggle, Poor babies

Alright before we go completely off the rails let me read you an excerpt from the book. Before I begin you will hear words like Mummy because Pamela hails from the planet UK.

Pamela Lavan – The book takes place in the south of England in the present day but it could be any town in almost any country although some countries let men carry handbags about and so it’s not so applicable there.

I see. It’s most impactful if your world frowns on men carrying handbags. Noted.

Music

This book is aimed at schoolgirls from 6-year old plus (but teenagers may enjoy it too). This book should only be read by girls or ladies – If it is a girl reading this book or her Mummy, then all is well. However, if it’s a boy or man they are obviously sissies –

If it’s a boy, then he’s to admit to liking skipping, playing dress-up, dollies, etc.

If it is a man, then I hope you enjoy reading this in a sweet bra, panties under your frock. In both case hair ribbons and mincing with your handbag are optional –

The stories in this book are all made up, but should make you laugh while you imagine your brother, cousin, boy next door or from school being put in precarious situations and under control of girls.

Pamela Lavan – Although this book Not for the Boys is completely fiction, with all the characters and situations being made up the girls and ladies in the audience should realize how easy it could be to put the games compliments, fun football and fun laundry into action and have boys, brothers boyfriends and local boys under their thumbs in the same situations the boys in the book find themselves in. Girls will love the compliments game. Especially playing with their mum facing each other and giving a compliment which is greeted by a thanks with a curtsy and pirouette and then a kiss and then the compliment returned to lots of laughter. But then ask a boy to give his mom or sister a compliment and no matter what he says he gets a ballet thank you but then finds a pretty apron slid over his head and he’s tied into it and is given his compliment back ready for his curtsy and pirouette, but it gets even funnier and more embarrassing for him. Fun footy and fun laundry have him in pretty aprons but with a handbag added to his fun look along with ballet, curtsies and pirouettes to more giggles.

I see. It’s fun stories and games to give girls and ladies a laugh. The more macho the boy, the funner it can be.

Pamela Lavan (Takeaway) Giggle, imagine some of the boys being coerced into ballet tutu and giving the girls a laugh as they prance around ...

Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

Today’s episode is dedicated to anyone who has ever taken on the challenge of finding fun and engaging activities for children. Anyone can turn on the T.V. I’m talking about parents, grandparents and even babysitters brave enough to get the children in their care involved in baking or building a volcano or some other science experiment, taking a trip to the museum or even building a birdhouse. These kinds of activities are not just fun but they activate a Childs natural curiosity. Something Mamimo Chan says is very important and one of the key things she sees when interacting with children.

Mamimo Chan – When I interact with children, I see in them a lot of curiosity, a lot of wanting to know more and explore the world. And that’s what I always incorporate in my teaching during my education year. And at the same time, I make sure that the children enjoy the process. So that is something that I weave into the book to kind of give the children the curiosity of what’s happening at the same time to have the courage to explore the world.

Mamimo Chan is a mother of four, a grandmother and an educator with over thirty years of experience. She’s also author of Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure — where Pondering is a double entendre.

Mamimo Chan – The title speaks a lot about what’s happening in the book as well. A pondering adventure. It requires the making of a pond in the book. It teaches about the capillary action, of how we are actually taking care of the fish in the pond. But it’s also a pondering adventure for Sue because she realized that at times she made mistakes along the way and with that mistake, how is she going to actually save the day? So it is pondering in the sense to Sue because she has curiosity, she wants to explore. By the same time, she probably understands now that she needs to have certain steps, instructions taken well and at the same time to make sure that the fish are safe. So she saves the day with the adventure.

The wordplay in Pond-ering reflects the book’s blend of curiosity, learning, and family teamwork. As Sue and her siblings build their fishpond, they learn life lessons along the way—all while introducing young readers to science in a fun and accessible way.

Mamimo Chan – I feel that really, you know, in this very fast-paced society that we’re in now, brought about with technology, we mustn’t forget about the basics of our being. Our being came from a family. And to us, family is really very critical in how we grow up. And the polarity of growing up together in a family, but at the same time, giving the independence to the young children when they’re growing up so that they make decisions and they actually will explore the world. They can have different experiences and they may make mistakes along the way. But that is part of their learning journey.

Mamimo’s ideas about family trace back to her roots in Singapore. The book’s illustrations are inspired by her childhood home in 1970s Singapore.

Mamimo Chan – The Illustration is my original home, my first home. And I had a photograph of that captured in the year of 1970s in Singapore. We don’t quite see such homes around us anymore because we have developed very quickly over the past 50 years. And as a result, I wanted to be captured and put in a book. I have a granddaughter now, and I would love that this book becomes something that is a legacy for the family so my granddaughter will know that, oh, th...

Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

For years, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of spirit guides, the afterlife, and the unseen forces that shape our journey. It’s a topic that once raised eyebrows, but today, more people are embracing the idea that there’s more to life than meets the eye. Now, this is not something I talk about all the time but when asked I will be happy to share my thoughts on the subject. God, The Afterlife, Angels and Spirit guides are all real. Yes, we all have Spirit Guides that help us on our journey through life and I’ve come to realize that the Heaven and Hell we were taught about may not be the full picture.

What if the visions we experience in meditation aren’t just our imagination, but glimpses of something greater—something real?

If any of this resonates with you, then you’re ready to meet Asif Saba, author of a book called The Rock Crystals.

Asif Saba – It was a book that came about by accident, really. It goes back maybe, you know, 30 years. I was at college and I was doing this English essay. And I wrote a really short, 4 page, you know, like a practice page of a little story as part of my English essay.

And then I put it away for a good five, ten years. And then I found it again after all that time. And I started reading it. And then I started thinking about it. And, you know, the thoughts wouldn’t go away. So, you know, I just started writing from there.

Some stories demand to be told. When your thoughts keep knocking on your mind’s door, sometimes you have to answer them. The Rock Crystals, Asif combines his talents as a fiction writer with his knowledge of the Quran and the afterlife to weave together a story that entertains and informs.

Asif Saba – Now, so where it starts is, I’ve got a character called Yusef, and he meditates daily. And he had a vision. Now, he had lots of little different visions, but one day he had a major vision that put all the pieces together, and he couldn’t work out why this vision existed.

Anyway, on one of his meditations, what happened is he came out of his physical body and went to the spiritual world. He met a couple of guardian angels, or these spiritual beings, and they took him further into the afterlife. And that’s where he had this adventure. And the adventure, it’s basically fraught with challenges and obstacles that Yusef must overcome as part of his journey. And these companions are like his guides, even in the afterlife.

His journey mirrors our own lives in a way, just like Yusif, we all face obstacles, but we’re not alone—we have guidance – There is wisdom out there that says we were put on this earth to grow spiritually. We all have a life plan that includes accomplishing certain goals throughout our lifetime. To help us do that we have spirit guides that gently nudge us along to keep us on track. Asif believes this story isn’t just fiction; it’s a reflection of spiritual truths we can all learn from.

Asif Saba – I think for people who like to meditate, and they are spiritual, I think they will get so much out of this book. It’ll help them maybe understand some of their own experiences, because of what Yusuf is going through. And so I think people will really find it fascinating.

Speaking of art mimicking life, one of the major lessons Yusef learns is to choose love over hate.

Asif Saba – The greatest lesson we can learn is to love each other and not hate, because that just brings our vibration down. And love raises our vibrational spiritual body and helps to ascend. And the beauty about love is that when you express love, you know, it opens your consciousne...