Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Writer Interview #8 :) -- As many of you are already aware, we are participating in a special event throughout April & May (Poetry & Library Month), helping to spread literacy and the love of reading to a wider audience. David Fingerman is our featured author of the day, and he can be found at: www.davidfingerman.com. * BK Walker has been behind this - the full schedule for the participating authors is: http://bkwalkerbooks.weebly.com/virtual-book-tours.html Q: So, David – tell us, what motivates you to write? I hate to sound cliché (a terrible thing for a writer) but pretty much everything motivates me to write. I can be taking a walk and something might catch my eye, or sitting in a restaurant and inhale an odd scent or overhear a snippet of conversation, or even be staring at my computer screen when I'll get a flash of an idea. Then my brain goes " What if . . .?" And with a little twisting around ~ there's the beginning of a new story. I...

-- Conscious Living Events -- Today, April 22 is both: Earth Day & Administrative Professional’s Day . Administrative Professional’s Day was first put in place back in 1952 when it was used to encourage people to consider secretarial careers. Today it is celebrated world-wide to honor administrative professionals for their often unrecognized contribution to the organization's success. For Earth Day and in fact for Earth Month (April), there are likely a lot of eco-events happening in your community today and throughout this upcoming weekend. Locally we have some interesting alternative energy and energy efficiency workshops going on, and New York City is hosting one of the largest student run events in the world... BC Interior Eco-Workshops to Check Out: Info: Bring yourself up to date on all home heating systems - Wood, solar, Propane, LP gas and using electricity. What’s the latest and how to apply for grants and incentive programs. Workshops are free with pre-registratio...

-- 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...