Joss Whedon: From Fanboy to Box-Office Superhero

Now that Joss Whedon has conquered the universe with his box-office-record-breaking juggernaut The Avengers, it's instructive to look back at his career. Here is the story of a comic book fanboy who is living the dream. Whedon's path to the top of the blockbuster movie world follows a career arc, from screenwriter to television creator/director to comic book author to movie director, culminating with his The Avengers joining the elite "Billion Dollar Club" of films that have grossed over $1 billion. Linked titles are available at MCPL.

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The Personal Computer: From Tower to Tablet

I am amazed at just how much has changed since the first time I sat down at school in front of a computer: a Commodore PET with cassette memory storage. I played many games of Lunar Lander and Dungeon, but I did no real computing. Still, it was the first of many relationships I would have with computers.

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Sarah Connor, Mother of the Year

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Truman Heritage Festival Barbecue Championship: The Results Are In, and They Are Delicious

This past weekend marked the First Annual Truman Heritage Festival Barbecue Championship, sponsored by the City of Grandview and Mid-Continent Public Library. This was a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event and drew 26 teams from across the metro area and from as far away as Arkansas.

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The Doctor's Finishing School for Young Thespians

Over the last seven years, many famous actors and actresses have graced the screens of the new (2005-present) Doctor Who. I won’t even begin to list all the people who have starred in classic (1963-1989) Doctor Who. It is easier to simply say, "All of Britain." Here are just a few of the actors and actress who have played alongside Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith in the new Who.

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The Secrets of Barbecue Sauce

For me, the highlight of this coming weekend will be the Truman Heritage Festival BBQ Championship on May 4 - 5, a collaboration between the City of Grandview and MCPL. Barbecue competitors are fiercely protective of their techniques and recipes. For instance, one might get to read the NSA secret files on Area 51 before a barbecue competitor might divulge the exact composition of their spice rub.

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The Criterion Collection: Films for People Who Love Cinema

One of the truly wonderful things about working at MCPL is that I stumble across little gems on a daily basis. I took home Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 satire of fascism The Great Dictator on DVD the other day, and I noticed that it was part of the Criterion Collection. A quick search of the MCPL online catalog revealed that MCPL has 171 DVD titles from the Criterion Collection. If you’re a lover of cinema, this is a treasure trove!

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The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and the Enduring Appeal of Pride & Prejudice

It is a truth universally acknowledged... 
        

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Still the Fairest of Them All

Fairy tales are in fashion again at the moment, and Snow White still remains the fairest of them all. You can find the classic fairy tale heroine currently gracing both TV and film screens in a variety of adaptations.
 

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The Master of Lightning

Over the weekend, I stumbled across a truly amazing video on YouTube. A man in a chain mail suit was being struck by truly impressive electrical arcs from a Tesla coil, all to the tune of the Imperial March from Star Wars. Amazingly, the man was not harmed, and the electrical arcs themselves were creating the music! None of this epic awesomeness would have been possible without Nikola Tesla, the Master of Lightning.

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