For the past two weeks, and throughout the month of November, a superlative recreation of lnineteenth century fashion is on display at the Haysville Community Library.

Local corsetiere Marti McCartney received both the First Place blue ribbon and Best of Show award at the Kansas State Fair in September for her exquisite 19th Century replica dress. Don’t miss it.

Various hummingbird species (Ernst Haeckel)

The rare Peruvian spatuletail hummingbird’s mating display is the subject of a fascinating bit of video from BBC News. Here’s another at the Internet IBC Bird Collection.

(Note that the illustration above does not include the spatuletail hummingbird)

There’s another intriguing slideshow at Seed Magazine, this time a brief overview of the art of Luke Jerram, including a plant orchestra, fantastic glass sculptures of maleficent bacteria and viruses, a device that sings the moon’s gravity, and more. It’s At the Edge of Perception.

Orion Nebula (M42) (Hubble Space Telescope)

Seed Magazine offers a visually stunning and immensely interesting slideshow entitled Traveling Through Time and Stars. Quite wonderful.

The 2009 Consumer Information Handbook is now available from the Federal Citizen Information Center, and ten free copies are waiting for the first to claim them at the Haysville Community Library.

The handbook covers a very broad range of topics of interest to consumers, providing helpful tips about preventing identity theft, understanding your credit, filing a consumer complaint, filing for bankruptcy, finding a lawyer, planning a funeral, along with many other useful and interesting topics.

For more information on the handbook, or on related consumer news, see the Federal Citizen Information Center’s ConsumerAction.gov website.

After weeks of weather-induced delays that have frustrated the diligence and patience of the Public Works department, final road construction on South Hays resumed today, and, weather permitting, should be completed soon. Roadwork completion will also allow the final landscaping work to be finished in front of the library.

Gliese 667C System (artist's impression -- ESO)

The European Southern Observatory today announced the discovery of 32 new exoplanets, bringing the total known extrasolar planets to well over 400. Operating at the very limits of contemporary technology, the HARPS instrument has now discovered more than 75 planets in 30 different solar systems.

For more on this announcement, see Scientists Announce Planet Bounty from the BBC News and HARPS Discovers 32 New Exoplanets from Universe Today.

For more intimate details on the operation of the HARPS and its mission, see The HARPS Search for Southern Extra-Solar Planets, a manuscript from Astronomy & Astrophysics.

For more information on exoplanets, view the links related in our earlier post Hard Rain.

You’re planning on visiting the Haysville Fall Festival this weekend, of course.

When you do, be sure to drop by the Haysville Community Library/Friends of the Library booth for some great bargains on used books, a new or updated library card, or just a little pleasant conversation. We hope to see you there.