I suggest good comfortable blog hopping shoes. Prizes galore are on offer. Last year over 1000 bloggers took part. This year even if you do not write a post inviting others along you can till take part – by commenting on at least 20 participating blogs.

How could I take part, keep to my blog topic and offer something of use to other party guests I wondered? I noticed that some participants are posting recipes which gave me my idea. I therefore present for your edification something to whet the palate:

Ultimate Menus

- blog menus that is. I will dip into the recesses of the storeroom of my mind and dish up some of my favorite tips, resources and tutorials. A 5 course course on blog navigation.

• Tuesday: Appetizers – some light hor d’ouvres – nothing too heavy to put you off the rest of your meal.
• Wednesday: Entrees – a selection of easily digested tips for making the most of navigation menus on your blogs.
• Thursday: Main -The meat of the course, pure rump and nothing butt. How to create navigation menus.
• Friday: Desert – The icing on the cake – sweet navigation designs that you can whip up yourself.
• Saturday: Coffee – To finish off, a mild blend of information that will not grind you down but hopefully inspire you to cook up your own menus.

I do apologize for the food puns but some of my earliest memories of laughter were of the bantering puns that my father and brother served up. I suppose they were bread into me.

Before I start writing these posts I am off to take a nap. Preparations for my youngest son’s 18th birthday party and the party itself yesterday in 35 degree heat have worn me out. It was probably a mistake wearing a wig and a thick heavily beaded long velvet belly dancing dress, whilst cooking in those temperatures. (a Bollywood costume for a Hollywood theme party). I think I am still coming to terms with the fact my baby is all grown up now and all my children are adults.

Let the Carnival begin …

A favorite quote of mine is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself”, which is why I found Albert Foong’s post The life that has gone on before: The Perils of Compassion, Part 2 fascinating. Albert talks of the importance of gaining experience, understanding and inner peace before we can offer effective help to others.

Keren , whose work as a Mental Health Social Worker and her blog and site Birdwing Therapies is all about helping others. She offers us Sandplay and Symbol Work – A History and Therapeutic Benefits ,explaining how this kind of therapy helps children and adults who have experienced trauma due to childhood physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Karen’s blog is new so I suggest that we show our admiration of her work and the experience and knowledge she is sharing with us by helping her get her blog more well known and widely read.

Achieving understanding and inner peace often requires us to change.

Craig Harper in Why New Years Resolutions are Stupid points out that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome”, which is what regularly makes us fail in our resolutions. (this is another quote that has helped me on my own path to change over the years). Craig, who offers sage advice on how to make sensible resolutions and how to succeed in these goals, has had “twenty five years of watching and working with people in the area of ‘change’ “.

Suzie Cheel in Abundance is a Feeling says that “Getting into the feeling or the vibration is essential to having abundance in all areas of your life”. She also gives us details of a teleclass by Michael Losier on “how you can change your language to deliberately use the Law of Attraction to improve your finances, relationships and health” to be aired at 12 noon (Melbourne/Sydney time) today.

A healthy mind is helped by also having a healthy body:

Lightening offers us a very comprehensive guide to the benefits of Aloe Vera along with tips on growing your own. Aloe Aloe – Every Home Should Have Some That must have taken some time to put together, Lightening, thank you.

I have finally found a wonderful and convincing reason as to why I enjoy sleep-ins. Thank you to Craig Harper for writing Sleeping Ugly., saying, “The only two things we can’t live without for any length of time are water and sleep.” Craig talks about the importance of getting enough sleep, the health dangers in not doing so and offers us a “sleep strategy’ for making sure we do

Samuel Bryson gives us a detailed breakdown of the costs involved in using a bicycle as compared to using our cars in Pedalling Money – Saving Money by Cycling: – I certainly like the idea of saving money at the same time as keeping fit but I find that being lazy is so much easier. However Samuel has also submitted his post on Cycling and Your Wellbeing which makes me think twice.

We are fortunate in having so many blogs, written by experts in their field, helping us to be the best we can. On the other side of the equation there are those who offer us insights into their life experiences and how they live think and feel, which helps us in our understanding of others.

It also helps us, if we are having problems ourselves, to know there are others who understand what we are going through..

Tiffany shares her feelings with us in Broken thoughts of a SAHM? Sunday arvo blues. . My own children are now grown but how vividly I remember experiencing the same feelings as Tiffany when they were young..

Miscellaneous Mum nobly tried to be a blood donor but was advised against it by a caring nurse. She says “Donating blood is harder than you think!” in Where I went to donate blood – but they wouldn’t’t let me . Suffering from BPPV myself, which has some similarity to Menieres Disease although not as severe, I understand your dilemma, Karen.

If you are anything like me, you will need tissues in hand to read the beautiful poignant message Babyamore (Trish) writes for her twin boys: 18 month Letter to S & J. I never fail to smile when I see the photo she has of them in her sidebar.

Blogs that draw our attention to injustices and wrongdoings help inform and educate us, highlighting issues that may not make the front pages of mainstream media but are important nonetheless.

Megan Bayliss , whose work is dedicated to keeping children safe, presents Jay Jays is the Little Loser urges us to boycott Jay Jays because of their “overtly dysfunctional and sexualised slogans of their new teen range …… Let our kids be kids – not pimps, drunks, bitches and whores”

Deborah Robinson tells us of Illegal dumping at Salvation Army Stores, which costs the Salvation army millions to dispose of, money that would otherwise have been spent on helping the nation’s needy.

I always appreciate tips that make to make everyday living easier:

Mad goat lady inspires me to make a purchase in Can you have an addiction to?(things I love #2) Mad Goat Lady

Leigh reminds us of Australian “back to school” dates and gives us details of stores offering sales on the supplies we need to buy to set our children up for going Back to School . If you are a parent whose first child is starting their kindergarten life, check out the link Leigh gives to a booklet provided by the NSW Dept of Education.(hint from me – don’t forget the tissues for yourself on the first day and even the second day…..)

Colin Campbell humorously talks about the rights of seagulls in Sid the Seagull gets Fired in his introduction to a topic of importance to us all – the threat of the nasty UV stuff.

James K. Bashkin reviews On, Off: A Novel by Colleen McCullough. A serial killer terrorizes Connecticut in the turbulent 1960′s. who describes the post as a “Review of an Aussie book by Jim with the Aussie Mum. I’m afraid this book went too far for me. See if you agree.”

On the business front:

Martin Russell suggests that if you are offering something for free in your business, to test it against an offer that requires a small payment. You can read his reasoning behind this at this at The Danger Of Freet Word of Mouth Marketing.

Emma Rhoades gives us some pros and cons on the subject of Publicity- DIY or outsource??

Gavin R. Putland offers us his in depth analysis on what he suggests the Australian Federal Government should be doing to ease capacity constraints, remove barriers to employment, reduce compliance costs (hence inflationary tendencies and interest rates), and make Australian products more competitive in global and domestic markets – Raising Australia’s Market Share

For sports enthusiasts:

Swollen Pickles presents Cricket turns into finger pointing, name calling and the blame game and questions the concept of cricket being a “gentleman’s sport” showing a video of ” tough talking Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh demonstrating how not to walk ……. not to leave the ground and wait for the umpires decision“.

Barry Pittard talks of International Cricket And The Secret Swami (Sathya Sai Baba), discussing “one of the biggest rows in cricket history which is afflicting the present Test series between India and Australia”

Here is a wonderful story about Australian, Chris Minko, and his work with the landmine victims of Cambodia: Theodore Pappas gives us The Celebration of Life Through Sports Award: Christopher Minko and the Landmine Victims of Cambodia Christopher is the director of an international volleyball league specifically for landmine victims with “a vision of sports bringing a people’s tragedy and struggle together in a bond that only a team can understand.”

To lighten the mood:

Mike Macgirvin shows us videos of the awesome Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks at Pyro Technica. Many moons ago I lived in a block of units in Kirribilli, where the uninterrupted rooftop view of the fireworks was spectacular. (For memories sake I still tend to tune into watch Sydney rather than Melbourne fireworks.)

Alex Garcia talks about another of our Australian Cities in Queensland’s exciting River City (Brisbane) and displays a real time video of the Riverside Expressway. If you have to commute having a river view must make the journey a touch more bearable. Alex refers us to another article by Jessica Marsalec which covers the more pleasant aspects of the riverside.

What do a couch potato and a patriotic government employee have in common? Duncan Macleod gives us the answer and includes a video of an entertaining TV ad on Australia Day Patriotic Visitor.”

Jen talks us about a clown show good for kids and adults alike on Clowning around and provides some entertaining photos too (I can see what you mean about the adult aspects Jen!)

Just in case you thought you may have landed on the wrong blog today I will conclude with entries relating to blogging

Meg presents How to Set Up Google Reader, saying, “Ever wonder how you can keep up to date with new entries on blogs? Here is a beginners guide on how you can set up a feed reader in Google.” Dipping into the Blogpond

Kathie Thomas presents Mash doesn’t do it for me with a warning that there is an option in Mash to make your member page modifiable by others and to be careful as “Building profiles online can be hazardous if others are allowed to do it for you.”Thanks for the warning Kathie, I was not aware of this option and am going to check my account.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this wonderful assortment of carnival entries as much as I have. If you are interested in finding out about future editions of the Carnival of Australia please:

Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Australia using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Many thanks to Megan of Imaginif for setting up and running this Carnival of Australia and giving me the opportunity to be today’s host.

Technorati tags: carnival of australia, blog carnival

The Carnival of Australia

It will be my pleasure to present a potpourri of prodigious, pulchritudinous, phenomenal posts – on an abundance of topics never witnessed before in this blog.

You will be flabbergasted, stupefied and dumbfounded by the amplitudinous,  aleatoric assortment of amazing articles by adept, astute, articulate and accomplished Australian authors.

Please don your very finest attire and join me in avocation on Wednesday 16th January in welcoming my guests, discovering new blogs and making new friends.

Blog Carnivals are a wonderful blogging resource for those who enter them or for those who merely read the submitted posts.

What is a Blog Carnival

A blog carnival is a kind of group writing project, usually based on set topics. Occasionally a carnival is a one off event but they are normally ongoing and held on a regular basis. Individual bloggers publish a post and submit its URL to the organizer of their chosen carnival by a set date, usually via the Blog Carnivals site. Each edition of a carnival takes the the form of a blog post that contains links to these submitted posts, often with a short description of each.. Carnivals are usually hosted on different blogs each time, the sites of those who participate in the carnival, but occasionally on the site of the carnival organizers themselves..

Reasons for taking part in Carnivals:

• to become part of communities sharing common interests and discussions
• to find blogging contacts
• to develop friendships
• to have your posts read by a larger audience
• to bring visitors to your site who are interested in your niche or topic areas, making them more likely to comment and to become regular readers
• to add links to your blog to help you in search engine rankings, often from sites that have good rankings themselves.

Reasons to Read Carnival Posts:

• to research for content for your own blog
• to find other blogs that relate to your own
• to provide interesting and well written reading material on a large variety of topics
• to give you topics to blog about if you are stuck for ideas

Carnival posts tend to have a higher standard of writing than usual and quality content relevant to the topic,; with bloggers writing specifically for the carnival or to highlight a good post they have already written. Some Observations:

• Participation can be particularly useful for new bloggers or blogs.
• Pillar articles which stand the test of time are often the most useful for submission if your objective is to advertise yourself and your blog. Pillar articles are those that tend to be longer than usual, contain original or unique material and show your expertise in a particular area.
• If you are not looking for great blogging fame, although just a few new readers would be rather nice; just submit your best or favorite posts, be yourself and have fun.
• Carnivals publish only your article title, linked to your blog, so content duplication is not a problem.

Where to find Carnivals

The Blog Carnivals site is the best place to start, if you have not stumbled upon or been referred to any. This is the place that most carnival organizers use for their information and submission pages . If you wish to read already published carnivals, The Truth Laid Bear lists the most recent. Wading through the lists at the Blog Carnival site can be daunting, as there are so many carnivals. I have gone through the lists, choosing carnivals that are well established, regular, ongoing and seem to have a good participation rate. The first link in each item is to its Blog Carnival page. They are in no particular order..

Blogging Related

1. Resource for Bloggers – Homepage
2. Best of Web 2.0 – Techloaf.com
3. Bloggers Mardi Gras
4. Blog basics for everyone – The Next 45 Years
5. Carnival of bumbling newbies – Homepage: SuccessPart2.com

Books/Writing/Literature

6. Bookworms Carnival - Bookworms Carnival
7. Books Carnival – Homepage: Books Den
8. Carnival of children’s literature – Homepage: Here in Bonny Glen
9. Carnival of Quotes – Homepage: Thoughts on Quotes
10. Carnival of Short Stories – Homepage: Musings of a Medical Student
11. Creative Carnival – Homepage: Write Stuff

Entertainment

12. Carnival of Rock ‘n’ Roll – Homepage: The Soul of Rock ‘n’ Roll
13. Carnival of Funny Videos – Homepage
14. Carnival of video game bloggers – Homepage – The Collected Writings of James Newton
15. A carnival for film junkies – Homepage: The Production Blog

General

16. Carnival of Australia (not restricted to Australians) Homepage: Imaginif child protection became serious business
17. All Women Blogging Carnival – Homepage: All for Women
18. Best of me Symphony – Homepage: Dodgeblogium
19. Carnival of Satire Homepage: The Skwib

Health

20. E3 carnival of health and wellness and others Homepage: E3Success Systems
21. Carnival of Healing – Homepage: About.com
22. Carnival of Eating Disorders – Homepage: Change Therapy
23. Attention Deficit Disorder
24. Carnival of depression, bipolar disorder – Homepage: Jane’s Mental Health Source Page

Lifestyle, Personal Development

25. Abundance Thinking – Homepage: Abundance Highway
26. Carnival of creative growth – Homepage: Energies of Creation
27. Carnival of Positive Thinking – Widows Quest
28. Carnival of the Vanities – Homepage: Silflay Hraka
29. Carnival of the Insanities – Homepage: Dr Sanity
30. Living by design Blog Carnival - Homepage: Living By Design
31. Carnival of inspiration and motivation – Homepage: Positive and Successful Lifestyle Tips
32. Happiness Carnival – Homepage – Think Happy Thoughts
33. Personal Development & Happiness Carnival Homepage: the next 45 years
34. Carnival of running an organized home Homepage: A Pot of Gold
35. Mothers and daughters blog carnival – Homepage: Real Life
36. Carnival of family life – Homepage: Colloquium
37. Carnival of Life – Homepage: The Tall Poppy

Specific Topics

38. Carnival against Child Abuse – Homepage: Survivors Can Thrive
39. Carnival against Sexual Violence – Homepage: abyss2hope
40. Carnival of Education
41. Carnival of Entrepreneurs - Homepage: Venture Files
42. Brain Blogging – Homepage: GNIF Brain Blogger
43. History Carnival Homepage – History Carnival
44. Men’s Guide to Women – Homepage: Men’s Guide to Women
45. Carnival of Geneology – Homepage: Creative Gene
46. Carnival of the Cats – Homepage: Carnival of the Cats
47. Bad Kitty Chaos Festival – Homepage: Bad Kittykats.com
48. Make it from scratch – Homepage: stop the ride
49. Carnival of Cities – Homepage: Hometurf Media
50. Carnival of Observations on Life – Homepage: anja merret
51. The fabulous! festival – Homepage – All About Appearances
52. Carnival of eBay Sellers – Homepage: PGA Auctions
53. Mothers in Business Carnival – Homepage: My Day Off

This is just a selection – there are many more. I have not included new carnivals as I wanted this to act as a relatively long term record – new carnivals tend to come and go. I will add more as time goes on. If you know of a good carnival that is not listed here, or are trying to get a new one off the ground, please let me know and I will check it out for inclusion here. And if you would rather experience a non-blogging carnival I believe the Rio, New Orleans, Nice, Venice, Australian, Carnival month in Japan are all well worth a visit.