Between 2010 and 2019, Cauli Le Chat (2006?-2020), feline roving reporter for Mooresville Public Library (Mooresville, Indiana), reported all things interesting to cats (and humans) happening at the library. Related stories from across the state (and beyond) were also included.
My Library has a new source for eBooks. Check out this slide from our Town Crier, which continuously runs at the Circulation Desk and Youth Services Desk.
Click to Bigify
eSebco offers children's nonfiction eBooks for free viewing on your computer. Login directions are available on our website. Once you reach the eSebco website, it will explain how to access the books using your computer. You do not need your library card for this service.
Of course, as we discussed previously, my Library is a member of the eIndiana Digital Consortium, from which you may download digital copies of popular fiction and nonfiction titles to your digital devices (or your computer). Just click the blue download icon on our home page (immediately to the left of my icon) You can't miss it.
Click Here to Download eBooks (Library Card Required)
Even More eBooks 4 U,
Cauli Le Chat
MPL Roving Reporter
Digital News Beat
P.S. Speaking of "free" downloading reminded moi of "Don't Download This Song," by "Weird Al" Yankovic, from his CD Straight Outta Lynwood (2006). Music pirating is no joke, but "Weird Al's" humorous parody of big-name charity songs will make you chuckle about it all. Please don't infringe on music copyrights. The Music Man has a bunch (straight from the U.S. Copyright Office) from original compositions (each of which you may have heard in my Library's YouTube videos), and so he would ask nicely. RIAA, not so nice about infringements.
Wild Thang and Sammy the Toucan posted their latest early literacy blog. This installment covers the letter Pp. That stands for parachutes and penguins. So where's the video, Wild Thang and Sammy? I saw you filming it the other day. Still in editing? I can imagine it was tough to videograph some parachuting penguins. Isn't that what digitization is for? You could just include some animations in the live video clip. Like so:
Click Graphic Above to Play Video Clip
I found that video on YouTube. It's amazing what one can find there.
What do I think of when I think of penguins? Penguins. That was sort of obvious.
Oh, I get it. I'm supposed to say I think of our book trailer about penguins.
Click Graphic Above to Play Video Clip
(For some reason, Scowl-Face feels compelled to include playback instructions beneath the video clips. He didn't used to. I guess since he needs to be told exactly what to do at all times, he thinks everybody is similarly situated. Give my readers some credit, Scowl-Face. They know how videos work.)
Speaking of Scowl-Face and parachutes, when he was a little lad, his favorite syndicated television program (for a couple of years, anyway) was Ripcord! (1961-1963), starring Larry Pennell (as Ted McKeever) and Ken Curtis (as Jim Buckley). McKeever and Buckley operated a skydiving service called Ripcord! They were parachuters-for-hire. If you needed someone to reach some inaccessible place fast, these dudes were your go-to guys. This plot device afforded a variety of weekly adventures in which our heroes chased criminals and rescued hapless victims of the screenwriters. The skydiving sequences were just utterly way-cool.
A word about Ken Curtis. Scowl-Face didn't realize until he was researching this for moi that Ken Curtis played the part of Jim Buckley. (To better appreciate Scowl-Face's fascination with this program, you need to know his real surname is the same as Curtis' character.) You older readers may remember Curtis from the long-running TV series, Gunsmoke (1955-1975). Curtis played Marshall Dillon's deputy, Festus (1964-1975). Dennis Weaver played Chester, another of the marshall's deputies (1955-1964). If, by virtue of your relative youth, you are unfamiliar with these characters (or the actors who performed them), check out a copy of Gunsmoke from your local library or video store. You could do a whole lot worse for an hour's entertainment. Your grandparents enjoyed the show, anyway.
You probably won't find Ripcord! at your favorite video rental establishment or public library, but you're welcome to look. The show was fairly low-budget--it went directly into syndication--so it's possibly much cheesier than Scowl-Face remembers. Maybe we should search YouTube for a clip.
I'm hoping Wild Thang and Sammy the Toucan (remember that this posting is actually about their letter Pp blog posting) finish and upload their Pp video soon. Otherwise, I'll have to show more parachuting penguins. Nobody wants that.
Maybe P stands for Philly cheese steak sandwiches, like Wild Thang mentioned in her PLA video.
Just Saying,
Cauli Le Chat
MPL Roving Reporter
Early Literacy News Beat
P.S. Episode 609 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 lampooned the abysmal movie, The Skydivers(1963), written and directed by Coleman Francis (a director worse than Ed Wood, if you can imagine). Here is the original minute-and-a-half movie trailer, which might make the film appear palatable. By itself, it isn't. If you must watch it, see the MST3K version. You'll thank moi later.
Wild Thang and Broadway Gal created a wonderful promo trailer to enter in a contest to win a partially-paid trip to the annual PLA (Public Library Association) conference bigbash in Philadelphia coming in March. The top five finalists' videos were selected, but, sadly, theirs was not among them. Frankly, I can't imagine why not. This is a fun. flashy video, which certainly held my attention. We felines like fast-moving visuals.
Wild Thang said I could post the video once the contest finalists were announced. So here we go.
That's a winner by my standards! We appreciate all the hard work, creativity, and just plain fun that our master videography producers/directors created for the PLA contest. Honestly, I think Wild Thang and Broadway Gal could travel around the country doing "slobberdog and pony shows" to demonstrate how libraries could be creating videos to market their services and collections. Just saying.
Yesterday's posting was my 500th for this blog. How should we celebrate? A juicy hot dog would do nicely.
All Mine. Pretty Much.
HEY!!! Back Off, Slobberdog!
Honestly, you can't turn your back on a slobberdog for a second.
Are hot dogs good for canines or felines? Or anybody, for that matter? Well, I don't want to start a ruckus about it. All things in moderation, right?
How Soon Till Summer? Just Asking,
Cauli Le Chat
MPL Roving Reporter
Statistics News Beat
P.S. Speaking of five hundred, folk legends Peter, Paul and Mary recorded a cover version of "500 Miles" on their debut album, Peter, Paul and Mary (1962). We heard Bobby Bare's version as a musical closer to one of my previous blog postings.
This week's "Friday Features" posting shows our current top 10 viewed videos on the MPL YouTube Channel. As always, click the graphics below to bigify.
Newcomer to our top 10 is our book trailer for Classified as Murder, by Miranda James. Actually, it is one of our patron's book trailers that we feature on our patron playlist. This novel is part of the Cat in the Stacks mystery series that Scowl-Face mentioned in his readers' advisory blog. Want to see the book trailer? No mystery there.
Why the sudden increase in viewing for this book trailer? That, too, is no mystery. The Lady With the Red Hair, who created this (and other) book trailers for the series to appear on her library's website, received a very pleasant email from the series author, Dean James, whose nom de plume, of course, is Miranda James. Follow along on the publisher's website to stay abreast of new titles in the series. Hey, one has just been published! While I was typing this! Well, maybe not that fast. Check it out.
Any cat lover (and who isn't?) will adore the Cat in the Stacks series. These are fun, fast-paced mysteries that will keep you guessing. Best of all, the author is a real-life librarian. All the best writers are librarians. Ask anybody I work with, and they will tell you it's true.
Maybe I Need a Book Series About Moi--Just Saying, Technigal,
Cauli Le Chat
MPL Roving Reporter
Video Viewership Statistics News Beat
P.S. Garrison Keillor sang "Cat, You Better Come on Home," probably from a live broadcast of his radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. I'm a long-time fan of the show, and this is as good an opportunity as any to include something feline from its archives as a musical closer for my blog.
