(2) Intermediate

May I present to you the Carnival of Dating Advice, 22nd Edition, here to bring you some of the best reads on dating, relationships, psychology, and more from across the web.

The article selection this time makes for an interesting mix of breezy reading, including a top 25 list on date ideas and a quick article on the psychology of attachment (in this case, to food), with some articles designed to make you stop and think, including those on mother issues, emotional unavailability, and treating relationship building as a problem-solving exercise.

Let's dive in...

It's time once more for the Carnival of Dating Advice, this time the 21st Edition. As always, aimed at bringing you the 'Net's latest in thought-provoking pieces from across the spheres of dating, relationships, psychology, and socializing.

We're serving up four choice articles today: a primer/refresher on making a good impression, a primer on fighting and resolving conflicts effectively and well, a theory on approach anxiety and what you can do about it, and a bunch of fun little tricks you can do at bars (to the delight of any and all in eyeshot).

Let's have a look...

A friend of mine (Ricardus, actually) recently pointed me at a new piece of Internet marketing software called Scarcity Samurai. The design is simple enough; you install it on your site, use it with any sales pages or product launches you're doing, and it attaches a countdown timer to the page, and lets you set up a redirect the instant the timer winds down.

People who don't buy within the time limit miss the sale and the deal is closed.

Why would anyone run a deal that closes? Well, because, on average, these kinds of promotions do around double the sales that promotions without a close date do.

That's exciting news if you sell anything online, but - unless you're selling stuff online - you may be thinking, ah, what's that got to do with me?

Well, what scarcity does for sales, it also does for seduction.

Or, you thought women just throw themselves at rock stars the one time they get the chance to backstage because they figure they can come back and grab the guy whenever they feel like it?

Welcome to the 20th Edition of the Carnival of Dating Advice, bringing you the web's best on dating, relationships, psychology... the works.

This time around, we have an eclectic mix of articles, ranging from how-to advice to a piece on delving into the subculture of Suicide Girls to the role of sex (and lack thereof) in the fraying of relationships. There's even a rather farcical post that I think you'll find fitting for the holiday (April Fools' Day, that is).

On with the carnival...

In the post on indirect game, Dave asked the following about flirting at work and in other non-anonymous social situations where romance may not be the focus of the gathering at hand:

“Hello Chase,
there's something about indirect rapport I'm not sure you've covered and it might be interesting. Very often and especially with girls whom you're likely to meet again - colleagues, fellow students etc. - it seems to me going true indirect could make sense (while still being sexy that is, but not saying "I'm kidding, I just thought you were cute" which is in fact direct but just delayed 3 seconds) because it allows the girl to pretend she didn't know you were seducing her. She can then tell herself (or her friends) that she's completely innocent and didn't help you or make it easy for you. On the other hand, directness and indirect direct polarize reactions so it can easily become awkward if you have to see them on a regular basis afterwards. Maybe you could add a few words on this.
Dave”

It's a tight rope to walk - how do you express interest and flirt with colleagues and coworkers without being so obvious about it that you risk an ugly rejection or a (decidedly non-professional) label as the office flirt?

I'm going to focus mostly on work situations here, largely because we've already covered the classroom (see: "Cute Girls in Class? Stop Flirting and Start DATING"). As with that article, the topic here is going to be not just how you can flirt with (a modicum of) subtlety, but also how you can actually make something happen.

Because, while flirting is undeniably fun in its own right, taking that coworker you've been flirting with for months for a hot date or a roll in the hay is a lot more fun.

Today I want to talk about a strange and confusing topic for a lot of guys - namely, getting mixed signals from a girl.

You know what mixed signals are: one moment, she's flirty and warm with you, and you get excited, thinking you're getting somewhere with her. The next moment, she's cool and aloof - and you're really not sure what happened.

Then, out of nowhere - BAM! You're back get warm, flirty behavior from her.

So does that mean she likes you, or does that mean she doesn't?

Please let me welcome you to the 19th Edition of the Carnival of Dating Advice - bringing you a sampling of the best pieces on dating, relationships, psychology, and more.

This edition we have a number of psychological perspectives, including one on resilience, and another one on the blinding effects of love, plus several more; and we have a pair of posts on breaking up (including one with a bit of humor), one on testing your relationship for strength (or weakness) prior to a major commitment, and one on how the issue of attraction changes for women as they pass from their teenage years into young adulthood.

On with the carnival...