These people worked hard to organize these carnivals, so if you have some time, do them a favor and check ‘em out.

The Guru’s Movie Review Carnival # 15 - May 3 Edition

Movie Monday / Trivia Edition #52

Carnival of Cinema: Episode 71 – The Wild Blogs

Carnival Of Tips - April 19, 2008

Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to check them out. So if you find something great let me know!

And thanks again to the bloggers who organized these carnivals.

Company characters are cool, and they aren’t just for big corporations anymore. You want a way to easily increase your traffic and your blog’s appeal? Consider getting a unique character designed to represent your blog. Getting a cartoon character designed for your blog will increase your traffic, subscriptions, and ultimately make you more money.

In a post yesterday I plugged the company that did the character design for Pimp Your Grades, but I realized I didn’t give any good reasons why I decided to have a character designed. I really did have some good reasons for it, besides the fact that I thought it would be friggin’ cool!

So in this post I’m going to give you 4 good reasons why I got a cartoon mascot designed for my blog and why you should too.

1) It will be memorable. We remember unique and novel things. And a well designed cartoon character will definitely add a degree of novelty to your blog. When I was creating my college study tips blog, Pimp Your Grades, I knew I needed a way to ensure people will remember it. Paying a few bucks for the character design was well worth it.

2) Adds tons of perceived value to your blog. This goes for logos too. It’s easy to set up a free blog on blogger.com. And with how cheap domains have gotten, it’s easy to have your own domain too. Assuming you have good content that you want people to read, how are you gonna set your blog apart from all the cheap ones out there?A professional looking design will make your blog look more valuable. It shows that you care enough to put some money into it (or that you are making enough money from your blog to afford it.) When you can’t afford an entire custom made layout, paying for a character design can spruce up your blog without breaking the bank.

3) It’s better than a logo. Why? Because it’s more recognizable than a logo. No one sits around with their buddies saying, “Man, that little AT&T logo really cracks me up!” But what about the Geico Gecko, or the Burger King guy, or the Michelin Man?

4) It puts a “face” on your blog. Putting a face on your brand is important. It adds a level of friendliness that wasn’t there before.

Many experts suggest putting an author photo on your blog. But if you don’t wanna put a pic of your own mug up on your site, a unique cartoon character is a great alternative.

So there are a couple reasons for you. If you can think of more, please leave a comment!

Second, I have to give a little plug for the company who designed the character, Designfxpro, because they were so great to work with.

Like I said, they did the mascot for my study skills blog over at Pimp Your Grades, and I gotta say, they did a totally awesome job. Especially for the price.

When I first decided I wanted a blog mascot, I knew I wanted the style to resemble the mascots from John Cow dot com and Tyler Cruz’s website.

But the $350+ price tag at the company they used was way to steep for this college kid’s budget. So after looking high and low for a cheaper company, I found Designfxpro on the Digital Point forums. I’m totally glad I did, because they did the design for half the price the other company wanted.

The head of the company, Melencio, is a fantastic artist and easy to work with. I told him wanted I wanted and he pretty much nailed it on the first draft!

They do logo and header design as well.

So check them out. And if you decide to use them, let them know who sent ya.

Alien Simple and awesome. Just how I like it.

#9 Scarface

Scarface No dorm room could be complete without the Scarface poster.

#8 Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction This poster screams “cool.” Just like the movie.

#7 Star Wars

Star Wars Talk about “old school!” This poster rocks.

#6 Braveheart

Braveheart “You can never take OUR FREEDOM!”

#5 Back to the Future

Back To The Future“Hey McFly!”

#4 American History X

American History X Dude, did Ed Norton pump some ‘roids before shooting this flick? He’s one ripped sonamabitch.

#3 Fight Club

Fight Club It’s all about the soap baby.

#2 Terminator

The Terminator T2 is a better movie, but the original Terminator’s movie poster is simply bad ass.

#1 300

300 This poster is dripping with manliness (that’s what she said.) Seriously though, I’m pretty sure they used testosterone for ink.

Click here to buy movie posters!

The ebook is pretty good. I paid for the rights to it, so you probably won’t find it free anywhere else. Head on over to Pimp Your Grades and check it out!

It is tough finding a free theme that has exactly what your blog needs. Even the premium pre-made themes have their drawbacks. I’ve decided to wait until I can pay for a custom theme before I switch to a new one.

Thanks to Margaret and Alex for your input.

Pepperdine has received many awards including having its MBA program recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the “Top 20 business schools for return on investment!” Pretty cool right? Their MBA program has also ranked highly in lists compiled by the likes of The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The Princeton Review

To get an idea of why Pepperdine may be better than other business schools, check out their mission statement:

“Mission Statement

The mission of the George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management is to develop values-centered leaders for contemporary business practice through education that is entrepreneurial in spirit, ethical in focus, and global in orientation. As a professional school growing out of the tradition of a Christian University, we seek to positively impact both society at large, and the organizations and communities in which our students and graduates are members. Therefore, we affirm a higher purpose for business practice than the exclusive pursuit of shareholder wealth. We believe that successful management seeks collective good along with individual profit and is anchored in core values such as integrity, stewardship, courage, and compassion.”

Now that sounds cool!

Since I write about entrepreneurship, it’s important to know that there are some business schools that are dedicated to promoting the entrepreneurial spirit. So if you’re looking for a good school, especially a California Business School, check out Pepperdine.

These events kept happening until I learned how to better my memory. In this list are a few methods I use, as well as a few I’ve read about, that will help you to keep those fantastic brainstorms from slipping away:

1. Write it down.

Write it down somewhere. Anywhere. With all the things you have to remember every day, there is no way you can keep all in your memory. At the very instant that you come up with an idea, the very best thing to do is write it down. Then, just as you need to recall it, it will be there for you in an instant. I suggest keeping a small notebook in your back pocket at all times.

2. Take care of yourself.

A good memory comes from a well nourished brain. Eat healthy; get plenty of rest and lots of good exercise. Good health will better your memory, as well as increase your creativity and ability to focus!

3. Record your every thought.

You might find yourself driving when a good idea comes to you or you might recall something that you really need to write down. No need to pull over and start writing, record instead! Pull off to the side of the road and use a small hand held tape recorder. This is a wonderful tool to carry around with you, to record your thoughts, or your parking space number, or even a telephone number you see on a billboard as you drive by. Use your handy recorder to be your second eyes and ears.

4. Call ahead.

When you are at work or school and you want to do something when you arrive back home, call ahead to your voicemail and leave yourself a message. As soon as you get home you can listen to your message and remember exactly what you wanted to do.

5. Believe in yourself.

If you keep saying you have bad memory, guess what? You will probably continue to have bad memory. It is important to have a motivated, I CAN remember attitude.

6. Email it.

It’s pretty easy to find an internet connected computer these days. If you’re at a computer, log in to your web-based email, write down what you want to remember in an email and send it to yourself. Then continue with whatever you were doing.

7. Use sticky notes.

Sticky notes can be an essential tool of any inventor/entrepreneur. They’re cheap and you can put them anywhere.

8. Keep a dream journal.

Some of the most famous entrepreneurs and inventors have said that their ideas came to them in a dream. Keeping a dream journal will allow you to preserve your dreams for later analysis. Plus, the simple act of writing down your dreams will strengthen your ability to recall new dreams too!

Just to add incentive, if you leave a comment and have a blog, I’ll thank you with a link to your blog in my next post.

Thank you.

For the past 3 months or so, Alex at Studentbloggers.org has been faithfully keeping his blog updated with all the most interesting posts from college bloggers around the net.

I don’t know how Alex does it, but he’s found some pretty cool posts!

Here are a few that I really liked:

Strange Encounters: An Interview With a Stranger
The author has a short, but interesting conversation with a video store manager, who turns out to be an immigrant from Burma. This blog post really demonstrates the point that everyone has a story.

You have to respect the guy. Although on the surface he seems somewhat rude, his story shows his strength of character.

10 Hilarious School Pranks
Those pranks are great. What can ya say? Nerds are creative people.

Ask A Grad Student
A little tongue-in-cheek advice from a grad student.

When you’re done reading these, check out studentbloggers.org and see the other great blogs that Alex has found.