Welcome all to the 201st edition of the Carnival of the Vanities. I'm your host, Cait, and we have an excellent selection of posts for you today. /cheery McDonalds cashier voice

No, you may not have fries with that. Stop bugging me about McDonalds.

Anyway, I worked long and hard for this puppy. Let me tell you - I'm having hardwood floors redone so I'm packing up my room and painting it AND doing the carnival pretty much all in the same day. So yeah, this post is pretty much my only post for the day - so my commentary is laced in the carnival because I am efficient. Ok? ok.

Yes, I know I talk about myself a lot in this post. Here's the thing though - I really ENJOY it when people post what they think about the article or post or essay or whatever we're supposed to call them. So I talked about the articles. So there.

A funny thing though - we have a HUGE selection of posts on finances today, so sit back and enjoy.

(I really really really like money.)

(Like, a lot.)



Finance and Business
Julia Dorofeeva has an interesting post on "How to Promote Your Business To Potential and Current Customers." The article is aimed more towards the owners of dating sites, and also looks at some less thought about techniques.

Free Money Finance posted an opinion piece on "Should Kids Pay For Their Own College Expenses or Should Parents Pay It All?" A good post with interesting points. My two bits - Split it up. My parents and I have an arrangement that they will pay for tuition and books, and I pay my room and board.

Peter Kua from RadicalHop.com submitted "Passion or Cash? Heaven or Hell?" A commentary on the ethics and morality of some companies, Mr. Kua has made insightful points.

This is a post that really speaks to my heart. I don't know whether the author is LDS (Mormon) like I am, but tithing is an idea that has been taught to me since I was little. I can't stress enough how much pay tithing has done for me financially and spiritually. Pete from My Financial Awareness presents a beautifully written article on the concepts and benefits of tithing called Gift of Tithing.

Free The Drones submitted a post entitled Improving Your Credit Score: Change the Way You Pay Your Debts. I don't really have too much to say on this subject, as I don't even have a car, let alone a credit score. According to an adult friend of mine, its got some good solid advice.

Francois Tremblay from his blog The Radical Libertarian volunteers an interesting commentary on Accountibilty in Market. I don't even find economy interesting and this was written well enough that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Trent from Stock Market Beat demonstrates an example in trying to solve the stock market puzzle with his post CSG Systems: Something in the Cards?

George from Fat Pitch Financials reviewed Wealth : Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It by Stuart E. Lucas. Its an interesting review, with a nice overview.

An interesting point about online purchases from Five Cent Nickel: (In)Convienience Fees

Money? For bloggers? I'm all for it! Helping Bloggers: Donations and Scholarships written by Wayne Hulbert. Brilliant idea. Absolutely brilliant. Let's start by paying the people who post the carnival. Just kidding!

According to Steve Faber from Debt Free, I'm Already A Millionaire. I'll take his word for it.

Interesting thoughts on trickle-down economics from Adam: Tax Cuts for Diner Owners.


Health and Nature
This is an article that really speaks to me, as a true Washingtonian and a lover of nature. GrrlScientist from Living the Scientific Life has posted an article with a review of the field guide "Birds of Washington State." This is an eloquent review, by the way.

Aparna from Beauty & Personality Grooming presents The Benefit of Walking.

Some natural beauty recipies from Vinoba. I never thought of these.

Comedy and Humor
I had a little trouble deciding where to put this one. I decided to put it under humor, because there's a lot more humor than there's actually science Francois Tremblay from Goosing The Antithesis recounts a tale of Gene Cook on Science and Evolution. Congrats on making me laugh.

Mr. Buckley Williams from The Nose on Your Face has posted Top 9 Things Joe Liebermann Finds Preferrable To Bill Clinton's Campaign Support. Really funny stuff.

Shang Lee presents Why Do I Feel Like a Dog. Don't we all feel like a dog at some point in our lives?

NSFW. Hamza Yusuf and Haram Sex Music, by Unwilling Self-Negation. Some sort of narration or parody. I found it hilarious, so its going to comedy.


The Skwib presents The Devil's Dictionary. I don't know what to say. This is a work of genius. Granted, NSFW genius, so be careful.

This got put under Comedy not because of the questions themselves, but because of the answers imagined. 50 Questions to ask any Democrat, presented by Alan K Henderson.

Technology and Innovation
Barry Welford from StayGoLinks presents The Mobile Divide. Being the technojunkie I am, this was actually really cool to read.

Home and Work
Mama Duck from Lil' Duck Duck narrates taking her little one out to the pool in "The Joy of the Pool." Speaking as a part-time nanny, this experience is definately heartwarming. Thanks for sharing!

Dad from Raising4Boys.com presents Monitoring the Sex Offender Registry. I am very close friends with someone who was molested at an early age, and I cannot stress this concept enough.

Tam gives us a little insight into Workplace Annoyances. You know, I can totally identify with that. It doesn't only apply to work, it applies to school and classes as well.

Paula from Coaching 4 Lesbians brings up an interesting point: Why don't we have handwritten thank you cards anymore? The Lost Art of the Handwritten Thank You.

Current Events and World
Oooh! Oooh! I really liked this post. Really really really liked it. I'm not sure if showing preference while hosting a carnival is allowed or not, but I really enjoyed this essay. Searchlight Crusade presents Israeli Response Disproportionate? Absolutely not!

Stephen from Fearless Philosophy for Free Minds comments on Paying For Others' Risky Behaviors. Bravo! Its time to take responsibility!

Jack Yoest posts about the new World Trade Center movie that's directed by Oliver Stone. I so cannot wait to see this movie now. I'm so glad that its not an item on the left-wing agenda. Presenting: World Trade Center, Oliver Stone's New Movie.

A post on Bush's veto of the Stem Cell Research bill. Thought provoking stuff, there: Meditations on Mengele by Gnotalex.

Interesting thoughts on Immigration and Segregation from Conor Friedersdorf. I reccomend the read.

Oh dear peak oil! We're all gonna die. Or not. A "pragmatic view of the dreaded 'peak oil' and how we're not gonna die." (I love author submitted descriptions! Adore them!) Amusing thoughts from Thomas Ott.


Ethics and Ideas
Its Francois again! Mr. Trembly, I do believe you submitted three different posts under three different blogs. Technically I'm not supposed to allow that, but they're all so pretttyyy.... Speaking of ethics and morality, here's an essay on Morality is Not Outside of You.

Brandon from GT presents Spirituality is Integral to Humanity. This is a really thought-provoking article, one I hope that people will spend some time on.

Deep thoughts from Larry Angell regarding "Live Well and Die Young".


And now for something completely different:
Adam from Creative Destruction presents The Era of Passion. Apparently this is what happens when you take something waaayy too seriously.

Samuel from New Property Blog informs us that Popularity of Overseas Retirement Resorts is on the Rise.

This guy is SO on top of it. Not only did he send an email not via the universal carnival submit page, he provided me a description to post as well. Sweet deal! Without further ado, Ian A from MyQuo.com presents Game Plan for Complaint Resolutions: Calling in to a company you are doing business with to correct a problem or concern can be an intimidating experience. Here are 5 things you should do to make sure you are taken care of.

Shannon Hurley Hall from Sharon's Freelance Writing Advice presents How To Prove You Can Write When You Have No Clips. She says: "The other day someone asked me a question. It was: 'How do you apply for a writing job when you have no writing credits?'. I knew the answer because when I relaunched my writing career last year all my writing credits were old. They proved that I used to be able to write, but there wasn't any recent history to show that someone had thought my writing was worth publishing. The advice I gave is based on what I did. Here it is: How to Prove..."

Self written description from Michael McCullough about his book review: Trial by Ordeal, by Craig Parshall: The hero in Trial by Ordeal, Kevin Hastings, is similar to Grant’s character in North by Northwest. However, instead of the savvy, street-smart character that Grant played, Hastings is a study in naiveté. Stung by a romantic breakup and setbacks at gaining full professor status teaching history at a small college, Hastings sets out to make himself wealthy by investing in real estate, helped by his Uncle Mort, who turns out not to be so helpful after all. The piece of property that he purchases — an old church in downtown Chicago — changes from a dream to a nightmare when Hastings unwittingly sells it to a Chicago mob boss and soon discovers that he cannot deliver on the deal.


Ok. Whew. That's it. I'm done.

Let me know if there are any broken links, mistyped names or inaccurate descriptions. I like fixing these things. My email? z e b r a o n f i r e [ a t ] m s n [ d o t ] c o m .

Thank you and have a nice day.