Preparing a carnival

A monthly carnival is a large task. (I am running about 2 hours a day on this one so far.) It is also a learning task. (The variety of material exposes one to several thought streams.)  It is also a searching task - click after click - a good tree bears good fruit.

How many of these posts are really carnival material? What judgment do I make?  Some blogs are not on my regular reader (and some who were not are now on). Some posts seem good on the day they are read and then - something goes sideways and they seem less than interesting. That doesn't mean I fail to include posts I disagree with - just posts I find don't hold up to a rather cloudy vision of what I think is 'interesting'.

Ever tried to define what is 'interesting'?

One - it does not contain offensive ads. (Maybe)
Two - there's an element of beauty. (Equally difficult to define - like Quality in Zen and the Art of Motor-cycle Maintenance.)
Three - related to One - there is no direct commercial motive and its corollary - no pay wall.
Four - it is relevant to something related to the Bible - even one word is enough sometimes.
Five - a clear reference to sources is a good sign.
Six - a stretching of the intellectual muscle is good.
Seven -  an indication or two that the writer is also thinking.

What thoughts do you have on the carnival(s)? What criteria would you apply?

Email your desired posts for this month to dustcarnival at gmail dot com. And put a comment below or in the email if you have thoughts on criteria for selection of posts for a Biblical Studies carnival.

It is 1/5th of the way through this month - and already I have drafted four foot-long pages of posts. I may have to split this into two carnivals. But I can't do this till the last month's carnival is out. [It's out! Yea!]