Plant Ahead! 2013 Seed Savers Exchange Catalog Now Available

Founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy, Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) 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.

The amazing 2013 Catalog can be downloaded as a PDF, or a copy in print can be requested free of charge. Also of interest is the book authored by co-founder Diane Ott Whealy, Gathering: Memoir of a Seed Saver.

The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa 2013

In 247 days, RAGBRAI XLI will commence its annual mass bicycle ride from Iowa's west coast, the Missouri River, to the east coast, the Mississippi River. Registration for the week-long event (July 21-27, 2013) begins today, November 15, 2012. For full details and registration forms, visit the RAGBRAI website. The Common Curator rode on the fortieth anniversary RAGBRAI last summer and is contemplating next year's ride.

Vote Early, Vote Mad

The Iowa City Song Project

As part of its year-long centennial celebration, the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa has collaborated with Maximum Ames Records to produce the Iowa City Song Project, commissioning 31 musicians and bands to craft new music inspired by the city of Iowa City. With a release date of November 6, 2012, the album can be pre-ordered through Maxiumum Ames Records. In addition, the Englert Theatre and The Mill Restaurant will be hosting record release shows on November 2 at 7pm and November 3 at 8pm, respectively.

Kickstarting the Morbid Anatomy Anthology

Joanna Ebenstein of Morbid Anatomy is joining forces with author Colin Dickey to edit and produce the Morbid Anatomy Anthology, "a lavishly-illustrated book comprising a collection of articles based on some of the best of the Morbid Anatomy Presents lectures and presentation series." The Morbid Anatomy Library and Cabinet is located in Brooklyn, NY, and is dedicated to "surveying the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture." Numerous scholars, writers, museologists, morticians and scientists are signed up to contribute works to the anthology, and more on the project, including a short video, can be found at the Kickstarter project page 

The Past Re-Imagined As The Future

The Free Music Archive and the Prelinger Archives Collection are co-sponsoring  a video remix contest called "Sound for the Moving Image: The Past Re-imagined As The Future." The contest invites artists everywhere to mix video from the Prelinger Archives Collection on the Internet Archive with audio from the Free Music Archive to create new digital mashups for the public domain.

The Prelinger Archives was founded in 1983 by Rick Prelinger, and the Free Music Archive is directed by freeform station WFMU. A free public screening of winning entries will be held at Anthology Film Archives on November 29, 2012 at 8-10pm. More information on how to participate in the contest can be found online; the deadline for submissions is November 4, 2012. The video above describes the Prelinger Archives.

The World's First Color Films

The National Media Museum in Bradford, U.K. has recently discovered what it believes are the world's first color films, produced by a method patented by the photographer Edward Turner and his financial backer Frederick Marshall Lee in 1899. The technique involved photographing successive frames through blue, green, and red filters, and then recombining the images to produce full color moving pictures. Current staff at the museum utilized digital technology to reproduce the films for screening in a manner that has not been experienced in over 100 years. For a timeline of the Turner & Lee color process, visit the museum website.

"my eyes are not shut"

"my eyes are not shut," an exhibition of photographs by Sandra Louise Dyas, opens at the Anderson Gallery at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on September 7 and runs through October 12, 2012. A reception will be held from 5 to 7 pm on Friday, September 7, and the artist will give an informal gallery walk beginning at 6:30 pm. The exhibition received great support through a recent Kickstarter campaign, and features a new body of work. In January, Dyas published a book of the same name through Blurb, which serves as the template for the upcoming show. An earlier book, Down to the River: Portraits of Iowa Musicians, was published in 2007, and is available from The University of Iowa Press. "Caroline Flies" is the title of Dyas' photograph shown above.

Vulnerable on the Open Road

"Vulnerable on the Open Road: Five Pro Cyclists Reflect on Bike Safety" is a new video produced by Peopleforbikes.org, an advocacy organization devoted to "mak[ing] bicycling safer, more convenient and appealing for everyone." Share the road!

"Growing It Here, Growing It Now" on YouTube

"Growing It Here, Growing It Now" is a documentary about real food and the people who make it happen in community gardens. It explores the knowledge, passion, and collaboration of gardeners, both young and old, who nurture and raise their own crops in an urban environment. Of interest to anyone who needs to eat well.

Filmed at the verdant site of two thriving, side-by-side gardens--the Carrboro Community Garden and the Growing Healthy Kids Garden in Carrboro, North Carolina--eight gardeners relate their unique connections to the soil and why it is important to produce one's own food. The youngest, five-year-old Liana, speaks perceptively of the growth cycle of plants, while Bob, who grew up with a Victory Garden in World War II, freely shares his abundant gardening experience and advice with newcomers.

"Growing It Here, Growing It Now" shows gardeners in action, whether turning under "green manure," conditioning seed beds for new crops, transplanting tomatoes, weeding chard beds, or pruning raspberry bushes. The challenges of pests such as deer, insects, and disease are described, as well as the need for participation, cooperation, and simple, hard labor at the height of summer heat. As Alice, a gardening veteran, observes: "It's an important part of life. It feeds the soul."

"Growing It Here, Growing It Now" is a Common Curator production, directed and produced in 2011 by Daniel Smith. The documentary is available on YouTube as well as on DVD for $5 postpaid; email the Common Curator (commoncurator @ gmail.com) for ordering details.

Livin' XL

RAGBRAI XL: The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa 2012: from the Missouri to the Mississippi . . . did that, been there, got the patch:

Total Trip Mileage: circa 500

Top Daily Mileage: 88

Top Speed: 38 mph (momentarily)

Peak Temperature: 102 degrees Fahrenheit

Mountain Bikes: 1.6% (outliers all)

To view RAGBRAI XL videos, click here. 

Books That Shaped America

Books That Shaped America is an exhibition on view through September 29, 2012 at the Library of Congress. Intended to kick off a multiyear "Celebration of the Book," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington states that:

. . . the list [of books in the exhibition] is intended to spark a national conversation on books written by Americans that have influenced our lives, whether they appear on this initial list or not. We hope people will view the list and then nominate other titles. Finally, we hope people will choose to read and discuss some of the books on this list, reflecting our nation’s unique and extraordinary literary heritage, which the Library of Congress makes available to the world.

An annotated online exhibition can be viewed here; in addition, readers are encouraged to submit their input on books of merit via an online survey. Another upcoming significant event is the 12th annual National Book Festival, to be held September 22-3, 2012 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

BookOpolis 2012: Call for Entries

Asheville BookWorks is soliciting entries for its eighth BookOpolis, an annual exhibition and celebration of artists' books and prints. Located in West Asheville, North Carolina, BookWorks is a vibrant community center for the book arts and printmaking. The theme for BookOpolis 2012 is "Editorial Content: Spine-Tickling Artists' Books." Entries must be delivered during the period, August 20 to 24, 2012; submitted works will be exhibited during BookOpolis weekend, September 21-22, 2011.

Juror Tatana Kellner will also make a selection of the best work for extended display through November 30, 2012. A prospectus with further details, as well as an entry form, is available at the BookWorks website.

Throughout the year, BookWooks sponsors workshops, exhibits, lectures, and other events, such as the Edible Book Festival. BookWorks is a valuable resource for all those with an interest in the book arts, providing "space, equipment and technical support for artistic exploration, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge."

Public Libraries: Weathering the Storm

The American Library Association produced the following infographic to highlight the continued cuts to public library budgets across the United States despite increased demand for a wide range of library resources and services. More detailed information can be obtained in the ALA's final report, Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2011-2012, which "assesses public access to computers, the Internet, and Internet-related services in U.S. public libraries, and the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment, and sustainability."

Kickstarting "Freeform or Death": A Documentary about WFMU

Directed by Tim K. Smith, Freeform or Death is a documentary about iconoclastic freeform radio station WFMU. With support through his Kickstarter project, Smith intends to:

. . . share the intimate story of New Jersey’s WFMU, the world’s longest-running freeform radio station, and one man’s attempt to keep it independent and alive in the face of a recession, the persistent threat of commercial media, and the challenges that come with keeping a rebellious group of outsiders together.

With 24 days to go, Smith's project has attained 2/3 of his funding goal with over 300 backers. Two brief videos as well as further information about the documentary can be viewed at Kickstarter.