Wikipedia: #Edit2015

National Film Registry Selects 25 Films for 2015

Established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the National Film Preservation Board is an advisory body for the Librarian of Congress. The Board helps shape national film preservation planning policy, and also recommends films for the National Film Registry.

Chosen for their cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance, the Board's 25 annual selections for 2015 cover a wide gamut of genres and time periods, from such early films as Edison's Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze and Dream of a Rarebit Fiend to such later works as Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One and The Shawshank Redemption. The full list for 2015 is as follows:

1990s
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Sink or Swim (1990)

1980s
Top Gun (1986)
Ghostbusters (1984)

1970s
Being There (1979)
Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer (1975)

1960s
The Inner World of Aphasia (1968)
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)
Portrait of Jason (1967)
Seconds (1966)

1950s
Imitation of Life (1959)
Winchester '73 (1950)

1940s
John Henry and the Inky-Poo (1946)
The Story of Menstruation (1946)
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)

1930s 
The Old Mill (1937)
Our Daily Bread (1934)
Dracula (Spanish version) (1931)

1920s
Black and Tan (1929)
Humoresque (1920)
The Mark of Zorro (1920)

1910s
A Fool There Was (1915)

1900s
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906)

1890s
Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (1894)

Further information on the Registry as well as the films themselves can be found on the Library of Congress' web site. All 500+ films selected for the Registry since 1989 can also be browsed online. In addition, the public is encouraged to make nominations for next year's selections to the National Film Registry.

Wapsipinicon Almanac No. 22

The latest annual installment of the eclectic Wapsipinicon Almanac is now available. Published and letterpress printed since 1988 by Timothy Fay of Route 3 Press, the present issue, as with previous numbers, features an engaging mix of essays, reviews, fiction, poetry, art, wit and wisdom.
Number 22 can be purchased at bookstores and other establishments or by writing the publisher directly at Wapsipinicon Almanac, 19948 Shooting Star Road, Anamosa, Iowa 52205. Single copies are $9, plus $2.70 for postage; Iowa residents should also include 63-cents for sales tax.

The front cover shown here was designed by Thomas Agran of Iowa City. A brief history of the publication can be viewed at the Almanac's website, and a video of "Linotype Operator Emeritus" Eldon Meeks in action can be viewed here.

Jackson Pollock's "Mural": The Story of a Modern Masterpiece

The new documentary, "Jackson Pollock's "Mural": The Story of a Modern Masterpiece," was directed and produced by Kevin Kelley, and premiered earlier this fall in Iowa City. Pollock's largest and arguably best work, "Mural" has been owned by the University of Iowa since it was donated by Peggy Guggenheim in October 1951.

Rescued in 2008 from encroaching floodwaters along with countless other artworks from the UI's Museum of Art, the painting later underwent intensive analysis and conservation treatment beginning in 2012 courtesy of the Getty Conservation Institute. The Getty's research was published in the book, Jackson Pollock's Mural: The Transitional Moment, which serves as the basis for much in Kelley's documentary.

For further information, including details on upcoming screenings, visit the documentary's website. A previous Common Curator post may also be of interest: The Value of Jackson Pollock's "Mural".

Get a Jump on 2016 with Heirloom Seeds

The amazing 2016 Catalog from Seed Savers Exchange, featuring heirloom, untreated, non-hybrid, and non-GMO seeds, is now available online as a PDF; alternatively, a copy in print can be requested free of charge.

Founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy, Seed Savers Exchange is now the largest non-governmental seed bank of its kind in the United States. With over 13,000 members, SSE conserves and maintains heirloom seeds for thousands of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Its mission is:

. . . to save North America's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.

Located on the 890-acre Heritage Farm in Decorah, Iowa, SSE is open to visitors from April to October, and sponsors special events such as seed starting, grafting, and gardening workshops. It also hosts an annual conference and campout. To learn more about Seed Savers Exchange and the benefits of membership, visit its website.

Kiva Celebrates 10 Years of Microlending

Founded in October 2005, Kiva currently networks with 302 Field Partners in 83 different countries, and has provided $733,911,800 in microloans to 1,787,306 borrowers. To date, the Common Curator has made 142 loans through Kiva to small entrepreneurs in 79 countries. Kiva loans are interest-free and the overall repayment rate presently stands at 98.47%. As loans are repaid, most Kiva lenders choose to reloan their funds to new borrowers of their choosing.

Visit the Kiva website to learn more about microfinance and how the lending process works, as well as the many milestones in Kiva's history as an organization dedicated to alleviating poverty around the world.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Tim Smith (pictured third from right), the owner-operator of the Smith Farm in north-central Iowa, was recognized in Washington, D.C. on October 26, 2015 as one of twelve White House Champions of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture. The event in its entirety is viewable via the White House's YouTube channel. As stated in the White House press release:

These individuals were selected by the White House for their achievements and will be honored for exemplary leadership and innovation in agricultural production and education. The Champions have helped implement agricultural practices that promote soil health and energy efficiency, improve water quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change can no longer be seen as a distant threat. It is already impacting forest, grassland, and cropland systems in the United States, and is threatening agricultural producers and their communities. These Champions understand the challenges our nation is facing from a changing climate and are taking steps to build resilience to the impacts of climate change, which also protects their bottom line. The program will feature remarks by United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Smith's accomplishments were described as follows:

Tim Smith is a fourth-generation farmer who raises soybeans, corn and cover crops on his family’s Century Farm in Wright County, Iowa. In addition to raising crops, Tim is focused on strengthening soil health and improving water quality. He has worked with a number of organizations, including the Iowa Soybean Association and the Soil Health Partnership, to implement new farming methods. Tim travels throughout Iowa and the United States advising farmers on how to approach new sustainability efforts. 

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals who are doing extraordinary things to inspire and empower members of their communities. Previous Common Curator posts about conservation practices on the Smith farm include: Iowa Soil Conservation Farmer of the Year; Cover Crops Reduce Nitrogen Run-Off, Improve Water Quality and The Boone River Watershed: Why Strip-Till and Cover Crops Matter.

The Iowa City Book Festival

One of just eleven UNESCO Cities of Literature in the world and the only one in the United States, Iowa City, Iowa is hosting the seventh annual Iowa City Book Festival, October 1-4, 2015. In partnership with the University of Iowa's International Writing Program and Writers' Workshop, FilmScene, the Mission Creek Festival, as well as other organizations and individuals, the four-day event will feature a Book Fair, readings by numerous authors, and non-stop programming at many venues in and around downtown Iowa City. The 2015 Program can be downloaded as a PDF, and full details can be found at the festival website.

Scenes from Seed Savers Exchange's Annual Conference at Heritage Farm

The above photographs were taken at Heritage Farm in Decorah, Iowa during the 35th Annual Conference and Campout at Seed Savers Exchange held July 17-19, 2015.

The National Book Festival: "I Cannot Live without Books"

The 15th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held on Saturday, September 5, 2015, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The festival is free and open to the public.

To observe the 200th anniversary of the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's personal library by the Library of Congress, the theme of this year's festival is the following well-known quotation from Jefferson's letter of June 10, 1815 to John Adams: "I cannot live without books."

As in prior years, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. More than 170 authors, poets, and illustrators will be making presentations throughout the day in the theme-based pavilions for Children, Teens & Children, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Contemporary Life and Poetry & Prose.

Further information, including a schedule of events and a map of the festival grounds, can be found at the festival website. The 2015 poster, shown here, was designed by Peter de Sève.

An earlier Common Curator post provides more background on the Library of Congress' acquisition of Jefferson's library: The British "Light Up" the Library of Congress.

Tossed in Space

NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have grown and consumed produce in space for the first time, a small crop of red romaine lettuce. Further information on the Veggie greenhouse system used on ISS is available in this NASA interview with the developer.

Iowa Soil Conservation Farmer of the Year

Tim Smith, the owner-operator of the Smith Farm in north-central Iowa, has received the 2015 Iowa Soil Conservation Farmer of the Year Award, which has been sponsored by the Iowa Farm Bureau (IFB) since 1952.

As cited in the IFB news release:

Smith’s Wright County family farm uses many conservation practices to protect the environment and each brings its own set of measureable improvements and added benefits; strip-till and no-till planting and cover crops boost soil organic matter. Grassy waterways, field borders and a bioreactor serve to slow and filter rainfall. And prairie strips, planted with native grasses and forbs not only prevent runoff, they provide habitat for a variety of bird species. Smith also uses a nutrient management plan for all his fields. 

Smith's contributions to conservation advocacy were also noted, as he given numerous field demonstrations, media interviews, and hosted tours for agricultural representatives from Europe, as well as made presentations to middle school students in Des Moines and graduate students from Iowa State University.

Previous Common Curator posts about conservation practices on the Smith farm include: Cover Crops Reduce Nitrogen Run-Off, Improve Water Quality and The Boone River Watershed: Why Strip-Till and Cover Crops Matter.

The Advent of Atomic Weaponry: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

A Day That Shook the World, a short British Pathé film from 1945, briefly describes the dropping of "Little Boy," the first atom bomb to be used as a weapon, on the city of Hiroshima at 8:15am on August 6, 1945 (Japan time). It was quickly followed by the dropping of "Fat Man" on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Both caused unprecedented death and destruction.

A previous Common Curator post, The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, discusses, among other matters, Tsutomu Yamaguchi [1916-2010], who at the time of his death was the only nijyuu hibakusha, or "twice-bombed person," officially recognized by the Japanese government. Other resources of interest are Democracy Now's interview with Japanese Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe and the National Archives' photographs and sound recordings documenting the Hiroshima bombing.

Medicare and Medicaid at 50

The video above depicts the signing of the Social Security Act of 1965 by President Johnson on July 30, 1965. The act created the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the signing ceremony was attended by former President Truman who had long supported the development of public health care. Johnson in fact also signed as a witness on Truman's personal application for enrollment, and presented his predecessor with the nation's first Medicare card.

Further information on Medicare can be read in the earlier Common Curator post, Operation Coffeecup and Socialized Medicine, which describes the American Medical Association's 1961 campaign against what it termed "socialized medicine." It enlisted the services of Ronald Reagan and the AMA's Women's Auxillary to mount a grassroots public relations effort to defeat pending legislation intended to create a Medicare-type program.

No Longer "Not Yet Explored"

Issued in 1991 by the United States Postal Service, the 29-cent Pluto commemorative stamp bore the words "Not Yet Explored." The July 14, 2015 flyby of Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft definitively put to rest the implicit challenge expressed on the stamp. The stamp design at the bottom was proposed several years ago via petition to the US Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee of the USPS in anticipation of a successful mission.

Save Iowa History 3

The President and Executive Director of the American Historical Association (AHA), the leading professional organization of historians in the United States, sent the above letter on June 16, 2015 to Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and the leadership of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs to protest further cuts in funding for staff, services, and research collections at the State Historical Society of Iowa.

For further information, see earlier Common Curator posts: Save Iowa History (with petition and contact information) and Save Iowa History 2 (with survey).

R.I.P. Ornette Coleman

Jazz great Ornette Coleman [1930-2015] died today at age 85 in Manhattan. In an interview in the above BBC program excerpt, Coleman states: "I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody. I want to be as human as I can get. Believe me. There's nothing I'm trying to hide. There's nothing I'm trying to climb above. There's nothing I'm trying to destroy." His obituaries can be read in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, and elsewhere.

A Good Stamp Is Hard to Find

The United States Postal Service is honoring the author, Flannery O'Connor [1925-1964], with the issuance of its 30th stamp in the Literary Arts series. First Day Covers of the commemorative will be available June 5, 2015. The watercolor portrait of O'Connor is based on a black-and-white photograph taken while she was a student at the Georgia State College for Women.

O'Connor subsequently earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop in 1947. One of her acerbic observations--about academia--is recorded on a plaque along Iowa City's Literary Walk: "Everywhere I go, I'm asked if I think the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them."

Among O'Connor's major works are the novels Wise Blood and The Violent Bear It Away, as well as the short story collections A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge, and The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor, for which she was posthumously awarded the National Book Award for Fiction in 1972.

Save Iowa History 2

The State Historical Society of Iowa is presently soliciting public input about its collections and services via an online survey, as described below:

WHAT: The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) wants your input about what and how you use our historical collections to conduct research.

WHO: The survey is open to the public. We encourage all Iowans interested in history and other researchers to participate - from students to scholarly to general interest.

WHEN: The survey will be open through Tuesday, June 30, 2015. You may complete it only once.

HOW: Take the survey here. It will take approximately 10 minutes or less to complete.

WHY: This survey is an important step in the SHSI Collections Planning process currently underway. It will help SHSI plan for how Iowa's history is best managed, preserved, and accessed by Iowans and researchers.

Your input is valuable as SHSI sets priorities for future care of its historical collections. We will continue to serve those already invested in Iowa history--and want to inspire new generations of historians across Iowa's 99 counties.

NEXT STEPS: To receive news about SHSI, please sign up for the Iowa Historian, the Society's newsletter.

More information about the Society's resources and activities can be found at the SHSI website.

Save Iowa History

The following petition, which has nearly 3,000 signatories to date, was initiated by Professor Tyler Priest of the University of Iowa:

Reorganization plans for the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) endanger the preservation of Iowa history contained in diaries, letters, photographs, maps, oral histories and other materials housed at the Society's two libraries in Des Moines and Iowa City.

Drastic reductions in operating hours and staff, the diversion of resources to unrelated activities, and recommendations to "streamline" the SHSI libraries threaten public access to the state's history.  Iowans risk being severed from their past.

On behalf of all Iowans and others interested in the history of the greater Midwest, we make the following requests of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the SHSI:

1) Guarantee accessibility to the physical records of Iowa's history at the State Historical Society of Iowa libraries and archives.  Maintain the operation of the Iowa City branch located in the Centennial Building, which manages the materials collected since the institution's 1857 founding under the auspices of the University of Iowa.

2) Provide funding sufficient to enable library staff to conserve, process, and manage the SHSI's valuable collections and acquire new ones.  Ensure that the libraries remain open to the public during regular business hours at least five days per week.

3) Make the budget and decision-making process for the DCA and SHSI more transparent and allow for public input into plans for the reorganization, dispersion, or digitization of the SHSI research collections.

If you wish to make your voice more widely heard, write or call the Governor of Iowa, your Iowa state legislators, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and/or the State Historical Society of Iowa. Tell them to restore the cuts to staff and hours of the SHSI libraries that have longed served the state so well.  

:: Governor Terry Branstad, 515-281-5211, @terrybranstad

:: Mary Cownie, Director, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, mary.cownie@iowa.gov, 515-281-8741

:: Chris Kramer, Deputy Director, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, chris.kramer@iowa.gov, 319-281-3223

:: Anthony Jahn, Iowa State Archivist, anthony.jahn@iowa.gov, 515-281-4895

:: Susan Kloewer, Administrator, State Historical Society of Iowa, susan.kloewer@iowa.gov, 319-281-8749

:: Senator Jeff Danielson, Senate Chair, State Government Committee, jeffdanielson@gmail.com, 319-231-7192

:: Representative Guy Vander Linden, House Chair, State Government Committee, guy.vander.linden@legis.iowa.gov, 515-281-3221

Further information is available on the Change.org website.

Lame Duck Social Media?

Although it has taken President Obama until May 18, 2015 to send his first tweet, the @POTUS Twitter account has already acquired more than 1.83 million followers in less than 24 hours. @FLOTUS, the account run by the Office of the First Lady, with occasional tweets by Michelle Obama, currently has 1.93 million followers and was established in January 2013.

New from Seed Savers Exchange: The Seed Garden

The Seed Savers Exchange has just published The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving. Written by Micaela Colley and Jared Zystro, the book is extensively illustrated with photographs and provides invaluable information for both novices and seasoned gardeners on gathering and saving seed from heirloom and open-pollinated plants. Further details and ordering information is available at the SSE website.

MayDay 2015: Saving Our Libraries

Since 2006, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) has designated May 1st as MayDay, or a day of action for both individuals and organizations such as archives, libraries, museums, and historical societies to improve their capacities to deal with emergencies that can threaten or destroy historical collections. The ravages of natural disasters such as the tornadoes and hurricanes of recent years are just some of the physical risks facing cultural heritage institutions.

Although the landmark study, A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections (2005), systematically documented that most institutions lack an adequate disaster preparedness plan, the SAA has worked to mitigate these deficiencies. The SAA web site provides recommendations for MayDay activities, as well as a compilation of resources, including technical literature and tools, disaster plan templates and examples, tutorials and courses, bibliographies, and other resources.

May 1st, of course, is also International Workers' Day, which serves to commemorate the anniversary of the Haymarket Affair in Chicago. The eight-hour workday was a central demand of the Chicago labor movement in the 1860s, and a week-long, city-wide strike began on May 1, 1867. The strike collapsed, but the issue remained, with the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1884 calling for workers to take direct action and begin observing the eight-hour day on May 1, 1886. More on IWD can be found in the Common Curator post, the 125th Anniversary of the Haymarket Affair.

Record Store Day 2015

Record Store Day 2015 Ambassador Dave Grohl addresses in the above video the importance of vinyl to his life as a musician. Support independent record stores April 18, 2015 and throughout the year. Visit the RSD website to find local participating shops.

2015 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest

Entries are now being accepted for the 2015 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest. Begun in 2005 by the Fine Books & Collections magazine for young bibliophiles, the competition is now jointly sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies, as well as the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress.

A number of contests are currently held at colleges and universities around the U.S., with Swarthmore College's competition being the first in the 1920s. College-level students from all educational institutions, however, are encouraged to participate. Entries for this year's competition are due by May 31, 2015. Contest rules and further information are available at the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America website. Winners of the last several years can be viewed here: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.

Blind Lemon Jefferson, Joan Baez, and Radiohead among Artists Added to National Recording Registry

In the thirteenth year of the National Recording Registry, Librarian of Congress James Billington has announced 25 sound recordings as the official entries for 2014, stating: "Congress understood the importance of protecting America’s aural patrimony when it passed the National Recording Preservation Act 15 years ago. By preserving these recordings, we safeguard the words, sounds and music that embody who we are as a people and a nation." Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

In chronological order, the selections for 2014 are as follows:

1. Vernacular Wax Cylinder Recordings at University of California, Santa Barbara Library (c.1890-1910)
2. The Benjamin Ives Gilman Collection, recorded at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago (1893)
3. "The Boys of the Lough"/"The Humours of Ennistymon" (single)—Michael Coleman (1922)
4. "Black Snake Moan" / "Match Box Blues"(single)—Blind Lemon Jefferson (1927)
5. "Sorry, Wrong Number" (episode of "Suspense" radio series, May 25, 1943)
6. "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (single)—Johnny Mercer (1944)
7. Radio Coverage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Funeral—Arthur Godfrey, et al. (April 14, 1945)
8. "Kiss Me, Kate" (original cast album) (1949)
9. "John Brown’s Body" (album)—Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson, and Raymond Massey; directed by Charles Laughton (1953)
10. "My Funny Valentine" (single)—The Gerry Mulligan Quartet featuring Chet Baker (1953)
11. "Sixteen Tons" (single)—Tennessee Ernie Ford (1955)
12. "Mary Don’t You Weep" (single)—The Swan Silvertones (1959)
13. "Joan Baez" (album)—Joan Baez (1960)
14. "Stand by Me" (single)—Ben E. King (1961)
15. "New Orleans’ Sweet Emma Barrett and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band" (album)—Sweet Emma and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (1964)
16. "You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’" (single)—The Righteous Brothers (1964)
17. "The Doors" (album)—The Doors (1967)
18. "Stand!" (album)—Sly and the Family Stone (1969)
19. "Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues" (album)—Lincoln Mayorga (1968)
20. "A Wild and Crazy Guy" (album)—Steve Martin (1978)
21. "Sesame Street: All-Time Platinum Favorites" (album)—Various (1995)
22. "OK Computer" (album)—Radiohead (1997)
23. "Old Regular Baptists: Lined-Out Hymnody from Southeastern Kentucky" (album)—Indian Bottom Association (1997)
24. "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (album)—Lauryn Hill (1998)
25. "Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman" (album)—Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, conductor; Joan Tower, composer (1999)

The full National Recording Registry currently numbers 425 recordings, and can be viewed here. The Registry solicits nominations for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations is available at the Registry website. 

WFMU Marathon 2015

Love free-form radio? Then consider supporting independent station WFMU during its annual fundraising Marathon that runs March 8 through March 22, 2015. WFMU first hit the airwaves on April 24, 1958 at the now-defunct Upsala College and has never looked back. Currently based in Jersey City, New Jersey, WFMU broadcasts at 91.1 Mhz and via a second signal at 90.1 Mhz in Mount Hope, New York. WFMU has also long been an Internet pioneer, streaming its programming 24/7 in multiple formats, including iPhone and Android. Past shows are archived at the station's website, which also features WFMU's entertaining and content-rich blog.

What is free-form radio you might ask? WFMU describes itself as follows:

WFMU's programming ranges from flat-out uncategorizable strangeness to rock and roll, experimental music, 78 RPM Records, jazz, psychedelia, hip-hop, electronica, hand-cranked wax cylinders, punk rock, gospel, exotica, R&B, radio improvisation, cooking instructions, classic radio airchecks, found sound, dopey call-in shows, interviews with obscure radio personalities and notable science-world luminaries, spoken word collages, Andrew Lloyd Webber soundtracks in languages other than English as well as country and western music.

And because the station is listener-supported, WFMU DJs have for years maintained complete autonomy and control over their own programming, which is extraordinarily eclectic. Check out the current WFMU audio smorgasbord, and see for yourself!

Kickstarting CursiveLogic

At a time when cursive writing is being dropped from the curriculum of countless schools around the United States, Linda Shrewsbury has developed a simplified teaching methodology that significantly reduces the amount of time necessary for mastery of this fundamental literacy skill. Her Kickstarter campaign ends shortly, but it has already surpassed its fundraising goal, thus ensuring that the teaching materials will be produced for broad dissemination. More information on the method can be found at the CursiveLogic website.

Tour of the Mississippi River Valley 2015

Sponsored by the Quad Cities Bicycle Club, the 38th annual Tour of the Mississippi River Valley (TOMVR) will take place this year on June 13-14. A tradition since 1978, this year's bicycle ride offers two different distance options, with the longer ride covering 106 miles on the first day (from Bettendorf to Dubuque), and 90 miles via a different route back to Bettendorf on the second day. The longer option also involves approximately 6,000 feet of climb on the first day and 4,000 feet on the second. Registration is currently open, and further information can be found on the QCBC web site.

RAGBRAI 2015 Overnight Towns Announced

The eight overnight towns for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa XLIII were just announced at the annual Route Announcement Party: Sioux City > Storm Lake  > Fort Dodge > Eldora > Cedar Falls > Hiawatha > Coralville > Davenport. The starting and ending points, which are always on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, respectively, are for the first time both the same as for the inaugural ride in 1973.

This year's seven-day ride takes place July 19-25, 2015, and will be 462 miles in length with 15,948 feet of total climb, making it the 19th shortest and 13th flattest route since RAGBRAI began. Registration for the world's oldest, largest, and longest recreational bike touring event is currently open, with a deadline of April 1, 2015 for online applications. Lottery results will be announced May 1, 2015.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2015

Just over 50 years ago, on December 10, 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Peace, concluding:

". . . I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners--all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty--and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.

The complete text of Dr. King's speech can be read on the Nobel Prize website. The text of King's Nobel Lecture, "The Quest for Peace and Justice," is also available on the site.

Plant the New Year with Heirloom Seeds

The tantalizing 2015 Catalog from Seed Savers Exchange marks the organization's 40th anniversary, and is now available online; alternatively, a copy in print can be requested free of charge.

Founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy, Seed Savers Exchange is now the largest non-governmental seed bank of its kind in the United States. With over 13,000 members, SSE conserves and maintains heirloom seeds for thousands of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Its mission is:

. . . to save North America's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.

Located on the 890-acre Heritage Farm in Decorah, Iowa, SSE is open to visitors from April to October, and sponsors special events such as seed starting, grafting, and gardening workshops. It also hosts an annual conference and campout. To learn more about Seed Savers Exchange and the benefits of membership, visit its website.