Tracy Gest, Miss Wisconsin 2005, returns to the Stimmung Stunde on March 11, 2006

Good friend of the show, Tracy Gest, Miss Wisconsin 2005, is returning to the program on March 11, 2006 to relate stories of what it was like to participate in the Miss America 2006 competition. This was truly a historic year because this was the first time in the history of the event that it was held outside of Atlantic City. Along with the move to Las Vegas, it was also exciting because this time it would be on a new network, CMT, that garnered it's largest viewership ever with the event.

Pretty exciting all around, I'd say.

Tracy has always been a wonderful guest and we can't wait to pull back the curtain and learn more about this iconic event.

Leipzig exhibition traces 50 years of rock 'n' roll in Germany

A new interactive, multimedia exhibition at the Leipzig Historical Forum is investigating the role rock music played among young people growing up in communist East Germany.

Organized by the Foundation Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, "Youth and Music in Germany" looks at the parallels between youth in East and West Germany and the effects of various types of post-war music on relations between youth culture and government authorities.

American and British rock icons imported to Germany naturally get top billing in the exhibition, especially Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. For most people growing up in West Germany, these bands were more a part of their young lives than home-grown rockers.

Across Germany, rock music captured the feelings of younger generations who felt misunderstood by their parents.

In the East, rock's role as a type of revolt against communism also provoked leaders who found the "import of the west" decadent.

"Rock!" begins its chronicle with the King himself, in 1958, the year that Elvis Presley completed a tour of military duty in Germany. It follows the influence of the Beatles, who toured Germany heavily even before they became famous, the Stones, the Comets, the Who, and on to the German bands such as BAP, Pankow, and die Toten Hosen.

Alongside audio exhibitions, visitors learn about the various measures authorities took to try to control the phenomenon, such as a 1972 general ban of rock festivals in West German Bavaria.

One room of the exhibition invites visitors to watch old episodes of the popular West German TV series "Rockpalast," while another space brings together rock music memorabilia collected by young East and West Germans.

With its focus on youth culture and its roots in revolt, rock 'n' roll seems a perfect topic for the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum to address. The forum is devoted to documenting and investigating the history of opposition in the East German regime through a museum, a documentation center and a foundation.

"Rock! Youth and Music in Germany," funded in part by the Federal Center of Political Education, runs through April 17.

Source: The Week in Germany

Food, fun and farming at Berlin's Green Week

The world's largest food and agriculture fair has this year grown even larger as a record number of exhibitors present an appetizing mixture of agricultural demonstrations and free samples in the German capital.

German President Horst Koehler, left, inspects a block of Bavarian cheese during a tour of Berlin's International Green Week. bpa photo

Berlin's International Green Week, running though January 22, is one of the most important international trade fairs for the food, agriculture and horticulture industries.

This year, it features more than 1,600 exhibitors from over 50 countries.

They include first-time exhibitors Kazakhstan and Mongolia, long-time attendees the Netherlands, France and Austria as well as partner country Russia, which has mounted the largest-ever display by an international exhibitor.

Around two-thirds of the exhibitors hail from Germany, though, prompting officials to draw a connection between the farming and food industries and the country's economic well-being.

According to figures from the DBV industry association, sales by the German food industry in 2005 totaled 134bn Eur ($162bn), making it the fourth-largest branch of German industry after the automotive, chemical and engineering sectors.

Yet trade visitors from the so-called "agribusiness" sector aren't the only ones who have been itching to taste test the thousands of beers, wines, sausages and various organic goods on hand in Berlin since the show opened last Thursday.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of consumers attend the event, which began in 1926 as a local produce mart but now features exhibits on everything from wellness travel and physical fitness to modern farming methods.

The Green Week also has plenty of attractions for anyone with an interest in animals. Over 10,000 domestic pets are on display, as are hundreds of cattle, horses and sheep.

Source: The Week in Germany

Whale cadaver attracts Berlin crowds

Hundreds of Berliners have a whale of a tale to tell after catching a glimpse of a 20-ton dead whale dumped outside the German capital's Japanese Embassy on Thursday by environmental activists.

"You don't get whales coming to Berlin too often." dpa photo

Bemused onlookers, including several school groups, lined up to view the 56-foot cadaver of a fin whale that had been deposited by Greenpeace activists in a protest against Japan's whaling policies.

"You don't get whales coming to Berlin too often," noted a police spokesperson in an interview with Reuters news agency.

The whale in question had been found beached on Germany's Baltic coast last week and was en route to the German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, where it is due to undergo an autopsy, before the Greenpeace activists transporting it made an unscheduled pit-stop in Berlin.

Harald Benke, the Oceanographic Museum's head, said he had initially been upset that the whale had been hijacked for political purposes but that he eventually forgave the group.

"This fin whale in Berlin did more to combat whaling than a lot of words," he said.

The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, but Japan has continued hunting the giant mammal for what it says are scientific purposes.

Source: The Week in Germany

Klum touts sauerkraut soup on "Tyra"

Supermodel Heidi Klum is once again touting the epicurean pleasures of her homeland. In an interview with model-turned-talk show host Tyra Banks of the "Tyra Banks Show," Klum offered audience members the recipe for her grandmother's sauerkraut soup.

"It looks kind of nasty, but it tastes delicious!" Klum told Banks.

Heidi Klum snacking on a gummy bear. dpa photo

A native of the tiny northern German town of Bergisch-Gladbach, Klum is famous for her television reality show "Project Runway" as well as her work as a model for Victoria's Secret and a spokesperson for the 2006 soccer World Cup in Germany.

Klum was also in the headlines for giving birth to her second child and appearing on the runway in New York just six weeks later.

Her grandmother's sauerkraut soup, she says, is a family secret — and her favorite food. The recipe calls for three cans of sauerkraut, pork or beef, onions, mushrooms, ketchup, vegetable bullion and other ingredients to taste.

The recipe is also available on the website for the Tyra Banks show.

Sauerkraut has experienced something of a comeback in recent years as U.S. top chefs find ever more creative ways to incorporate the tangy cabbage into gourmet meals.

Nutritionists laud it as a health food and an excellent source of both Vitamin C and the lactobacilli bacteria found in yogurts. Sauerkraut has long been a staple of cuisine in northern European climes.

Find out more about introducing German specialties into your culinary life at Germanfoods.org.

Source: The Week in Germany

MISS WISCONSIN, HHS GRAD, SEEKS MISS AMERICA TITLE

MISS WISCONSIN, HHS GRAD, SEEKS MISS AMERICA TITLE

January 11, 2006

Tracy Gest Hamilton High School's own Miss Wisconsin, Tracy Gest, has qualified for the Miss America contest, which will be held Jan. 21 in Las Vegas.

The 20-year-old Gest, who graduated from Hamilton in 2003, won the Miss Wisconsin title June 25 in Oshkosh from a field of 23 contestants on her first attempt.

She also won the pre­lim­i­nary swimsuit contest earlier in the year, and plans to use her 12 years' experience playing piano in the talent portion of the Miss America pageant.

Now a junior at Carroll College in Waukesha, she still lives in Menomonee Falls with her parents, Tammy and Edward Gest.

She left for Las Vegas yesterday and is scheduled to appear on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" on Jan. 10.

The Miss America pageant will be televised from the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas on the Country Music cable chan­nel. This year is the first time in the competition's 84-year history that it has not been held in Atlantic City.

Source: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15902012&BRD=1401&PAG=461&dept_id=173345&rfi=6

Check out TKPN on Channel 18!

Go to the TKPN website now!

For a limited time, we have the TKPN appearance on the Channel 18 news posted on our site! It was a great piece and we thank them for bringing podcasting to the attention of people all around Milwaukee.

Why are you still reading this? Get over there!

JS Online: Center a bit off-center on 'Blitz'

JS Online: Center a bit off-center on 'Blitz': ". . Tim Kretschmann, host of the 'Stimmung Stunde' German music show at 10 a.m. Saturdays on WJYI-AM (1340), is launching what he calls a 'network' of podcasts at www.tkpnpodcast.com/. . . ."

I found this Card Trick and thought it was great!

More Card Tricks
Funny Video Found @ GKKO.COM

TKPN featured on local TV news

My new podcast network, http://www.tkpnpodcast.com, is being featured TONIGHT on WVTV, Channel 18 news! Tune in at 9:00 p.m. and look for both of our smiling faces!

More about podcasting

What is podcasting? Podcasting is a feed with audio files on the internet. It is the new way of broadcasting audio for the future. You can download the shows or listen to them live on the web.

What is TKPN? TKPN is a collection of three of the finest podcasts currently produced. All originate from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You can connect to all of these programs from our website:
http://www.tkpnpodcast.com

What’s the easiest way to get started? On the TKPN webpage, look over the available programs and click on the links to their Podcast Pickle page. Podcast Pickle provides an in-browser player function that allows for easy listening on the Web.

What if I really like this podcast stuff? Time to get a podcast subscription aggregator like Juice or the ever-popular iTunes. To subscribe to a program, simply download the free iTunes application and click on the proper link the webpage
http://www.tkpnpodcast.com

Stimmung Stunde (Podcast Edition)
In Southeastern Wisconsin, tune in every Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. to WJYI, 1340 AM for the best in German music and German-American community news. We're Milwaukee's best source of German music and we're proud of it! We're the home of Milwaukee's German community--and we like our schlager like our lager; light and frothy and never bitter!

Police on the Scene with a Crime Prevention Lean
Police on the Scene with a Crime Prevention Lean is a podcast that will focus on crime prevention, scam alerts, safety tips and, to lighten the mood from time to time, stupid criminal stories.

We encourage other podcasts to insert this 3 minute program into their podcast. Simply let us know and thanks for spreading the word!

PageantCast
Commentary, Interviews and News related to Beauty Pageants in the U.S.A. We discuss the ever changing face of pageants in this country and give exposure to the wonderfully talented young women that participate in pageants.

COMMENT LINE: 206-339-TKPN (8576)

WWW.TKPNPODCAST.COM opens world of podcasting to Milwaukee

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
WWW.TKPNPODCAST.COM opens world of podcasting to Milwaukee

Podcasting was recently named “2005 Word of the Year” by the New Oxford American Dictionary. Local radio hobbyist Tim Kretschmann launched TKPN in response with a suite of community based programming.

To learn about podcasts and listen to his programming, one can visit his website www.tkpnpodcast.com. The site includes links to e-mail the programming creators, listen to the programming and even subscribe directly in iTunes.

His programs, “Stimmung Stunde” (Milwaukee’s German-American community), “Police on the Scene with a Crime Prevention Lean” (Crime Prevention tips and Dumb Criminal stories), and the “PageantCast” (beauty pageant news and interviews) are also available at www.podcastpickle.com--but the easiest way to find them all and their associated show notes is at the new website www.tkpnpodcast.com.

He has also opened a comment line at 1-206-339-TKPN (8576) for listeners reviews and comments to go with the new website.

For more information, contact Tim Kretschmann at 414/327-9887.

Local Radio Hobbyist launches Podcast Network

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Local Radio Hobbyist launches Podcast Network

Tim Kretschmann, a West Allis broadcaster who produces the local German radio program "Stimmung Stunde" on WJYI (1340 AM) every Saturday from 10-11 a.m, announces that he is launching TKPN (Tim Kretschmann Podcasting Network). Podcasts are special internet radio programs that can be downloaded and listened to on your computer or MP3 player. (Podcasting was recently named “2005 Word of the Year” by the New Oxford American Dictionary.)

He has been producing a podcast version of his radio program "Stimmung Stunde" so volksmusik fans in Germany could listen to some of the exciting interviews with German recording artists lately. The program discusses local German-American events, international news and even some German language podsafe music. Each program is approximately 30 minutes long.

He has added two additional programs to his network with the new programs "PageantCast" and "Police on the Scene with a Crime Prevention Lean."

Just as the "Stimmung Stunde" examines the local German-American community, "PageantCast" explores the world of beauty pageants. On his local program, Tim has interviewed many beauty pageant contestants and has found this world quite interesting. He has decided to share his new interest with the world with this exclusive program. Each program is approximately 30 minutes long.

"Police on the Scene with a Crime Prevention Lean" is hosted by local police officer and national crime prevention specialist JD Dhein. Each three minute episode features a crime prevention or safety tip, a scam alert or a stupid criminal story. These programs are designed to be short enough for other podcasters to insert in their program (in fact, it has already been picked up inside the "Stimmung Stunde" podcast).

To subscribe to any or all of these fine programs, go to the TKPN website at: http://www.stimmungstunde.com/TKPN. There are brief descriptions of each program and links to instantly subscribe through iTunes or listen to the programs right through your standard WWW browser.

For more information, contact Tim Kretschmann at 414/327-9887.