Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Quote of the Day -- “ For journalism, I was somewhat non-traditional. When I told my father that I was interested in doing journalism, he recommended that I do not major in journalism, he said that anything that I could learn in a journalism major I would learn in the first few weeks on the job – but that I should major in something that would broaden me as a human being, that would give me a better understanding of human nature and history. So I took his advice and majored in History and Literature. Today, newspapers are more picky about who they hire and they want to see a major in journalism and to see that you have done an internship. …I teach two classes per semester and I have my students do a lot of reading – you cannot become a really good writer unless you are a good reader. When you read good literature you take in the language almost by osmosis, you get a feel for the language; you have a feel for connotation and the use of words. You cannot really teach somebody that, th...

-- Quote of the Day -- " We have reached maturity when we can look at ourselves and acknowledge our limitations ." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt -- Lillian Reads Poetry on Live Radio -- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AuthorsRead/2009/08/28/Towards-Understanding-Purpose-In-Life Come hear me read excerpts from my poetry book! This is a 15 min online radio show broadcast - made available as a free archived show that anyone can listen to. Simply click on the link above to access the reading! Today I read the following sections of Towards Understanding : Dedication & Acknowledgment Ode to BC Our Hands True Knowledge Will I Spend My Life Forgetting? Looking Back Double-locked Doors Living Disease In Our Midst Tune in to the Authors Read radio show on Sept 25th to hear me read more excerpts from this book :) -- Eco - Event -- Between Aug 28 and Sept 3 - GoBeyond Youth Action Gathering, " come together to see how education institutions can create solutions to the climate crisis ."...

-- Quote of the Day -- "Blessed us the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving verbal evidence of the fact." ~ Unknown -- Did You Know ? -- Since WWII 70, 000 new chemicals have been produced with no toxic effects information listed by the US EPA for 79% of them. The EPA states that chemicals found in the home are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than airbourne pollutants outside the home. Women who work in the home suffer a 55% increased risk of cancer - the pollution inside our homes is 2-5 times higher than in outdoor air - the Primary Suspect? - household chemicals. Formaldehyde, a known cancer causing agent is commonly used in deodorants, shapmpoos, mouthwashes, toothpaist... Air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell via a nerve deadening agent, or by coating the nasal with a film of oil. * Read those labels and make sure you know what you are buying! -- Prize Draw Reminder -- Email me at: ldbrummet@yahoo.com with the word "prize" in t...

-- Computer Recycling -- *Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Nystrom As more people become aware of the need to conserve natural resources and keep our environment clean, recycling old computers has become incredibly popular. But what is computer recycling, exactly? Why is it so important? And can one take a computer to be recycled? What is Computer Recycling? Computer recycling is the process of extracting valuable secondary raw materials from obsolete computers. The EPA estimates that 30 to 40 million personal computers are ready for recycling each year. But because of the source material used to make them, simply throwing away your old computer can be dangerous and harmful to the environment. Depending on their age, computers can contain such toxic materials as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and radioactive isotopes. They also contain valuable materials worth recovering, such as gold, tin, aluminum, iron, silicon, copper, and an array of different plastics. Why ...

-- Quote of the Day -- “I don’t have a website, and the fact that I have done this successfully for over 13 years really shows you the power of the word of mouth. …Depending on what genre you are writing in, this is the key target for you to focus on when looking at a publicist. …When you are interviewing a publicist one of the key things you should ask is the genre they specialize in. …We are all aware that we are all in this together and we do want to create a good impression in the community. …(Publicists) understand that you have to put forward a lot of money after releasing a book, we know it can take years and it can cost thousands of dollars, and we want to make that journey as easy as we can. …If you really love something - just go for it. …Don’t let the fact that there are millions of other books on your subject daunt you. …I don’t think that a lot of authors are writing books waiting to become a millionaire and waiting to become famous …I think that they really want to get th...

-- Quote of the Day -- “A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back – but they are gone. We are it. It is up to us. It is up to you.” ~ Marian Wright Edelman -- Announcement -- Check out our new video slide on Conscious Discussions radio show page or also on Authors Read show page (click on show titles & scroll down that page to view the video) -- Recommended Eco-Resources -- Maacenter.org - Focusing on increasing awareness about a variety of concerns including: asbestos contamination of the environment, environmentally safe workplaces, green public policies, health, and green building. www.maacenter.org Iclei.org - Provides technical consulting, training, and information services to build capacity, share knowledge, and support local government in the implementation of sustainable development at the local level. www.Iclei.org Coolcities.us - Brings real solutions at local levels, showcases solutions for others to model and builds leaders...

-- Quote of the Day -- “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Conscious Celebration -- Aug 23 = International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition * Quoted from: http://www.timeanddate.com - "The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is annually observed on August 23 to remind people of the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade. It gives people a chance to think about the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of slave trade. ... Each year the UN invites people all over the world, including educators, students and artists, to organize events that center on the theme of this day. Theatre companies, cultural organizations, musicians and artists take part on this day by expressing their resistance against slavery through performances that involve music, dance and drama. Educators...

* Note: Prize Draw Reminder - only a few days left to enter this week's prize draw. *Sunday, Aug 23rd at noon is the deadline. See previous posts for more info... -- Quote of the Day -- “ How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world .” ~ Anne Frank -- Writer's In the Sky -- I am thrilled to announce the discussion that aired today with Yvonne Perry host of the Writer's in the Sky Podcast and owner of Writer's in the Sky Services . Yvonne's podcast is a weekly talk show with the latest writing, publishing and book marketing news, methods and techniques. Today, Yvonne and I discuss how a marketing plan is developed, including building a platform and growing name recognition from there, which will then lead to sales. We talked about how to get reviews, what types of reviews and reviewers one can consider and how to query reviewers. We also talked about building a strong list of key words and the importance of a media-...

-- Quote of the Day -- "Long ago people waited days for a stagecoach; today, we are peeved if we miss one section of a revolving door. " ~ Unknown -- Positive Eco-News -- Today's Positive Eco-News segment of Conscious Discussions Radio offers information that will have the environmentalist in you cheering! Discover new inventions such as a soil bacterium that safely decomposes melamine. Or a new technology that allows us to recycle bumpers. And so much more. If time allows I will also read an excerpt from our book Trash Talk -- Eco-Resources -- Rggi.org - " The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory, market-based effort in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ." WesternClimateInitiative.org - Inspiring " cooperative actions to address climate change and implement a joint strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ". Climatechange.ca.gov - The Climage Change California Portal offers " information on t...

-- Quote of the Day -- “… The issue of resources, the depletion of resources on the planet, and some practical things we can do to reduce our footprint on the planet. …We will be out of some resources in my lifetime – in certain cases. For example, we will be out of copper (recoverable copper on this planet) in 16 years. …It means that we can no longer continue using the business and living-as-usual model that we’ve developed in the industrial and fast-developing nations. …What we need to do is internalize that impact and recognize that we are consuming the planets resources. …A lot of the information that has been given to the common man has been done in such a way that the common man has difficulty understanding. …It is great to introduce children to facts they did not know, and they take that home and think it over and tell mom and dad. When you point out to a child that an aluminum can, a soft drink can, weighs 25.75 liters of consumed water to smelt that little bit of aluminum… Th...

-- Quote of the Day -- "The most unhappy people in the world are those who covet their neighbors status symbols." ~ Unknown -- Conscious Discussions Radio -- Margaret Paul is our guest of the day; she is the co-creator of the Inner Bonding program, author of eight published books and co-creator of the SelfQuest program. Today we are going to learn about healing fear & pain, prison and school programs that help teach personal responsibility & the world of writing. Check out the live interview at 10 AM (pacific) or access the archived Healing Fear & Pain radio show at your convenience, by clicking on the hyper-links here or looking to the right side of this page to find the Conscious Discussions talk radio show . -- Conscious Holiday -- Aug 18 is International Homeless Animal Day You should have seen how excited my little young girl was when I told her it was her day! lol She squirmed and danced, so of course - I had to give her a treat :) I so love my dogs, and ...

-- Quote of the Day -- "You must get old before you will feel young in spirit." ~ Unknown -- Authors Read Radio -- Authors Read Radio 's featured guest: Patricia Dischler, author of Because I Loved You: A Birthmother’s View of Open Adoption - which covers the author’s journey from before the pregnancy at 21 years old, through to her son’s high school graduation. Patricia shares the struggle of her decision, the pain of carrying it through, and the joy in building a relationship with her son’s adoptive parents - and ultimately with him, over the years. It is a positive story on what adoption can be when all the parties focus on the well-being of the child. To access the archive of today's radio show and hear this author read an excerpt of her work, simply click on the hyper-linked show titles here or look to the right to find the links to the Authors Read radio show's recent episodes. -- Important Celebrations -- Today, Aug 17th (Monday) is the Indonesian Indepe...

Congratulations to last week's grand prize draw winner - Judy, who will receive: a set of 3 writing-how-to e-books written by Carolyn Howard-Johnson - & - a copy of the Place in Time CD, by the band Grooveyard -- This Week's Prize Draw Now Begins -- Email me at: ldbrummet @ yahoo . com (remove spaces before sending) with the word "prize" in the subject line. *Deadline will be Aug 23rd - noon (pacific). Grand Prize: an autographed copy of The Attitude Girl (novel) by Mila Bernadkin (www.attitudegirlbook.com) & a magnetic note pad with a pen A Runner-Up Prize: A copy of Grooveyard's CD, Place in Time Find Dave & Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio shows & free resources & articles at www.brummet.ca

-- Introducing Recycling -- * Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nina_K During the 1960s and '70s it was thought that emissions from factory chimneys and sewage pipes constituted the biggest environmental problem. But since then, due to new, worldwide "Eco-laws", these discharges have decreased considerably. Instead, the focus has switched to the environmental problems associated with the goods that are produced and consumed in modern society. Many of the most environmentally damaging substances are currently being supplied through glass bottles, newspapers, plastic bags, coke cans, cardboard boxes and sweet wrappers just to mention a few. To tell you what recycling is and what the word actually embodies may seem strange to you. I am sure all of you think you know exactly what it entails. But in theory recycling involves the separation and collection of materials for processing and re-manufacturing old products into new products, and the use of these new pro...

-- Quote of the Day -- “… So I think that we have so many facets, but we tend to label and classify ourselves that actually stop our growth us. We are here as evolving beings – we here to grow and expand and whenever we get stuck on one path, what is going to happen is a little bit of suffering until we learn to get out of our own way. …We go through this every 5 to 7 years. …Many people take other peoples path, we see how other people have done things, we learn from it – but if you don’t at some point if you don’t take your own journey, you are going to get stuck. …I never tell people that they should home-school. Sometimes I’ll hear stories and say ‘Wow public school is really working for you - good for you!’ …Continue thinking about their best interest and your children will never be ruined, that is the thing, kids know when you are thinking about their best interest. It is when we put them in school because we don’t want to have to think about what we have to do as parents. We put...

-- Quote of the Day -- Talk happiness – The world is sad enough without your woes. No path is Always rough. Look for some smooth places and speak of those. ~ Unknown For me, this quote is a reminder not to be a garbage dump truck and heave waste on other people :) Rarely do we realize the impact our emotions has on society, our families and co-workers. Just simply by offering a smile where ever we go we can brighten the city and lighten heavy hearts. -- Recommended Resources -- ftpf.org – fruit tree planting foundation for international local food sourcing program for impoverished regions, improves the environment http://algalita.org/AlgalitaFAQs.htm - plastic bags & debri in ocean www.takebackthelight.ca - the first comprehensive fluorescent lamp recycling program in Ontario - Canada. Working with sellers and consumers they hope to recycle the 30 million fluorescent lights disposed of annually from the industrial, commercial and institutional sector. Ontario resident consumpti...

-- Quote of the Day -- Competition may build and preserve large fortunes, but only cooperation can save this planet for future generations . ~ Unknown -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- Today on Conscious Discussions talk radio we feature the author of Falling Into the Sun and professor of writing – Charrie Hazard. Charrie is an award-winning journalist, formally working as an investigative journalist which she left to pursue teaching and fiction writing. Today she is a Professor of Writing at the University of Tampa, Florida. She is also deeply involved with the National League of American Pen Women . We will be dipping into all of this experience in today's broadcast: World of Writing with Charrie Hazard . -- Household Recycling Systems -- Home recycling bins can help in collection of household waste till they are sent to a recycling center. Collection of waste for recycling is beneficial for both home owners and the environment as it eliminates the problem of waste dispos...

--Last Week's Winners -- Congratulations to Mike, Liz, and Deanna - last week's prize draw winners who won 2 - sets of 5 science fiction posters, a young adult novel and a rock music CD -- an estimated value of $70 (US) --- This week's prize draw --- Between Aug 10th - Ending on Aug 16th, we are accepting entries for the following prizes: A package of 3 writing related how-to e-books by Carolyn Howard-Johnson: (www.HowToDoItFrugally.com) * The Frugal Book Promoter - How to Do What Your Publisher Won’t: Full of nitty-gritty how-tos for getting nearly-free publicity - * The Frugal Editor - Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success: Present whistle-clean copy (whether it's a one-page cover letter or your entire manuscript) to those who have the power to say "Yea" or "Nay." - * The Great First Impression Book Proposal: An Amazon short, selling at 49 cents and taking no more than 20 minutes to read. According to Carolyn, an autho...

-- Thought of the Day -- Sign on a farm gate: The only true love money can buy – newborn puppies for sale. ~ Unknown My two dogs are my fur-kids. They love me unconditionally and depend on me - as I do them. They are family and our time together is always cherished. Onyx and Skyla brighten nearly every moment of every day and we are honored to have the opportunity to rehabilitate and adopt these amazing rescued friends. A special hug goes out to all the wonderful people on the planet working to better the life of forgotten, abandoned or purposely harmed animals. -- Note of Appreciation -- - A big thank you goes out to all of these wonderful people and organizations below who have recently been recommending our books, blogs or radio shows through their channels: Donna Maria from Indie Business (http://www.IndieBusinessBlog.com), Sue Oliver of Passions & Possibilities (http://tinyurl.com/al2m74), the staff at SheBlogs (www.sheblogs.org), Graeme Eastman of Wisdom E-books (http://wisdo...

-- Quote of the Day -- A lot of folks are forever in a hurry even if they don’t know where they are headed. When we lose something, but gain wisdom from the event, we have really won by our loss. ~ Unknown -- Factories Going Underground? -- Yamazaki Mazak Optonics Corp., a group company of Yamazaki Mazak Corp., a major Japanese manufacturer of machine tools, has received the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Tourism Award--the highest award in the 2008 Effective Land Utilization Grand Prix--for its efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, utilize land effectively, and minimize landscape impact by building an underground factory. The factory, called the Phoenix Laboratory, began operations in February 2008 to assemble laser processing machines. Located in Minokamo City, Gifu Prefecture, the Laboratory is built 17 meters (36 feet) below the surface. It maintains temperatures within a range of 4 degrees Celsius year-round by utilizing a geothermal air conditionin...

-- Authors Read -- Don E. Peavy, Sr. teaches religious studies at Victor Valley College as well as philosophy, ethics, and religion at the University of Phoenix & Internet courses for Canyon College. Prior to perusing a career in writing, Peavy practiced law in Fort Worth, Texas, his hometown. Disaster Among the Heavens is Peavy's first novel, although he has published two nonfiction book as well, titled: What Must I Do? & Play It Where It Lies . Drop by to hear Don read an excerpt from his novel – Disaster Among the Heavens - on Authors Read radio show. Click on the hyper-link here or look to the right for a link to the Authors Read radio --How to Start a Recycling Program At Work -- Most of us recycle at home in one form or another but recycling in the office is another story. Many small businesses are not set up to recycle. It takes time and effort to arrange a recycling program but there are numerous benefits. Recycling helps companies save money by reducing garbag...