Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Quote of the Day -- “B eing an author (who’s joined writer’s organizations), there is so much information – so much to weave through and trying to find out what is right. …So being a part of these organizations they help to weave through the information, find the right information, being able to network with their members and gain marketing tips from them – it is very helpful. …I also belonged to a local writer’s group really helped me in that it gave me the courage to write my first book .” ~ ~ Barbara Techel Today's quote was derived from the Conscious Discussions interview with Barbara on March 9th... Titled: Animal Therapists - where she discussed her volunteer work using her disabled dog to help others. * Check out the interview by clicking on the hyper-links above. -- Writer Interview #7 -- April 21 - Margaret West is here today to share here experiences in the world of writing within the paranormal, romance genres. A professional UK-based writer for over 20 years, she...

-- Quote of the Day -- “The call to change began as most transformations do; a subtle form with no discernible texture, a microscopic breeze that signals a change in wind direction, a little voice speaking in tongues – that we either trust without knowing why, or ignore at our own peril.” ~ Jeff Brown, author of: Soul Shaping -- Green Building -- Green building is catching on and since today’s construction standards has buildings life cycle lasting 100 years – the need to build more efficiently just makes sense. This is why such programs as LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) exist. The public sector is very much aware of the benefits of owning a green home and real estate reflects this trend with a 9% increase in estate values. Some options that are really neat for people to consider are Solar Hot Water systems which can provide, according to Michael Jessen’s article “Global Warming Doing the Right Thing”, 30% of a home’s hot water needs. Geothermal heating... thi...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ Mankind has a genius for survival, often only manifested at the eleventh hour. Now is the time when we must act together to avoid the catastrophe of climate change. Saving the rain forests will be an essential first step. Deforestation is one of the largest contributors to climate change. Rain forests provide countless services to humanity, often unnoticed .” ~ The Prince of Wales -- Bottled Water -- There are numerous environmental concerns with bottled water: the production and consumption of bottled water consumes energy, pollutes the environment, and contributes to global warming. Producing the plastic bottles uses energy and emits toxic chemicals, environmental implications of bottled water. Transporting the bottled water across hundreds or thousands of miles spews carbon dioxide into the air, complicating our efforts to combat global climate change. And in the end, empty bottles are piling up in landfills. * Source for statistics below: TakeBackTheTap.org...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ In 2005, Americans used and discarded 14.4 billion disposable paper cups for hot beverages. If put end-to-end, those cups would circle the earth 55 times. Based on anticipated growth of specialty coffees, that number will grow to 23 billion by 2010—enough to circle the globe 88 times. Based on hot cup usage in 2005, the petrochemicals used in the manufacture of those cups could have heated 8,300 homes for one year .” http://www.metaefficient.com/bioplastics/innovation-biodegradeable-coffee-cups.html -- Conscious Celebrations -- April is an incredibly busy, and exciting month - so many proactive actions happening across the globe... We've done our best so far to celebrate activities and celebrations for April; Poetry Month , Library Month , Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month , Prevention of Child Abuse Month, Autism Awareness Month ... and we'll continue to offer great tips, interviews and resources for these celebrations all month long on our blog...

-- Writer Interview! -- Today we speak with: James C. Wallace II, originally a native of West Virginia, with his wife Amanda, their 5 children and 12 grandchildren, now serve as the Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma, Sovereign Ruler of Oz and endeavor to fulfill her royal command to tell the tale of her newest Royal Magician to the children of the Great Outside. Obviously the joy of storytelling is a passion in their life. James is here to give some insight into the world of writing; to find out more about him go to: http://magicianofoz.blogspot.com Q. Tell us something about yourself. A. I am, above all else, a parent and grandparent. This defines my world and it is from that definition that I embrace a number of other disciplines. These include being an Educator and Advocate for Youth Literacy. In addition, I am an Astronomer, as well as a Magician. I took up Astronomy and Magic in 1970 and have continued a life-long love of these subjects ever since. Education and Youth Literacy are m...

-- Quote of the Day -- " It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult ." ~ Seneca -- Chatter -- The Brummet's Muse newsletter goes out this morning - sign up via the widget on the top right on this site if you'd like to receive a copy. This newsletter goes out every 2 weeks via email. Our Canadian Authors MySpace Blog was just updated: http://blog.myspace.com/canadianauthor -- Conscious Living Events -- April 16-17 China International Recycling Conference & Exhibition. New Century Grand Hotel - Hang Zhou, (China) Info: www.chinairc.org April 19- 25 Bauma 2010 Munich, Germany; New Munich Trade Info: www.bauma.de/en -- Steel Recycling -- Steel recycling rates have made the industry very eco-friendly with between 28 and 90 percent recycled content in today’s manufactured steel products. Steel holds the record for the highest recycling rate of all materials currently accepted in recycling waste man...

-- Quote of the Day -- " If you're going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow ." ~ Louis L'Amour -- Taking Literacy for Granted -- Today's post comes from Fiona Ingram who is here to share her thoughts on childhood literacy, a passion of hers. Fiona’s earliest story-telling talents came to the fore when, from the age of ten, she entertained her three younger brothers and their friends with serialized tales of children undertaking dangerous and exciting exploits, which they survived through courage and ingenuity. After 15 years in the field of journalism, Fiona has released a children’s adventure series, Chronicles of the Stone – the first installment of this series has already been released and the second is on the way. Find Fiona at: http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com I love this piece Fiona wrote for us ...