Christie Hoerneman

 
Mae West . . .
Jean Harlow . . .
Marilyn Monroe . . .

These three actresses are part of the iconic women in Hollywood’s history known as the blond bombshells. The blond bombshells craze began when Jean Harlow (“The Original Blond Bombshell”) appeared in the appropriately titled film Platinum Blonde (1931). After the film, peroxide flew off the shelves so women could mimic Harlow’s blonde tresses.

Brilliant autumn leaves, snow-covered pines, blossoms of a rainy spring, or dusty summer sunshine—the weather outside is always perfect for horseback riding.

Historians believe at least 400 women served in the Civil War as soldiers, but documented cases are very few.

Although Jane Austen lived and wrote 200 years ago, she is as popular as ever. Popular culture has kept her books and her life alive through new movie adaptations of her books, continuances of her stories, biographies of her life, and fictional accounts with Austen or her works as a source of inspiration.

Film noir is not easily defined. The actual words come from French and mean "black cinema." It was in France during the post-war years that the term was used to describe a certain set of Hollywood films that were saturated with a darkness and cynicism that was not seen before.

If you pay attention to the news, you've probably noticed a lot of commentary concerning the environment and ways to live a more earth- friendly life. Some recent green news articles include the Clorox's purchase of the earth-friendly Burt's Bees, and the United Kingdom's plans to say goodbye to traditional light bulbs by 2011 by replacing them with energy saving bulbs. With more than six billion people living on the earth, companies, governments, and people are trying to find ways to become more earth friendly.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the library has compiled a list of resources that focus on women who have overcome adversity, stood up for their beliefs, and risked their personal wellbeing in order to help make the world a better place.

The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, the capital of China. While China has been in the news recently and people are aware of some current events occurring in the country, not many realize that China has a long and complicated history full of changing dynasties. To mark the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this second article of two will introduce people to the dynasties that mark the last 729 years of Chinese civilization.

Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)