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.

National Recording Registry Adds 25 New Entries

On the tenth anniversary of the National Recording Registry, Librarian of Congress James Billington has selected 25 sound recordings as the official entries for 2011, stating: "America’s sound heritage is an important part of the nation’s history and culture and this year’s selections reflect the diversity and creativity of the American experience."

In chronological order, the selections are as follows:

1. Edison Talking Doll cylinder (1888)
2. "Come Down Ma Evenin’ Star," Lillian Russell (1912)
3. "Ten Cents a Dance," Ruth Etting (1930)
4. "Voices from the Days of Slavery," Various speakers (1932-1941 interviews; 2002 compilation)
5. "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," Patsy Montana (1935)
6. "Fascinating Rhythm," Sol Hoopii and his Novelty Five (1938)
7. "Artistry in Rhythm," Stan Kenton & and his Orchestra (1943)
8. Debut performance with the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein (Nov. 14, 1943)
9. International Sweethearts of Rhythm: Hottest Women’s Band of the 1940s (1944-1946)
10. "The Indians for Indians Hour" (March 25, 1947)
11. "Hula Medley," Gabby Pahinui (1947)
12. "I Can Hear It Now," Fred W. Friendly and Edward R. Murrow (1948)
13. "Let’s Go Out to the Programs," The Dixie Hummingbirds (1953)
14. "Also Sprach Zarathustra," Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1954, 1958)
15. "Bo Diddley" and "I’m a Man," Bo Diddley (1955)
16. "Green Onions," Booker T. & the M.G.’s (1962)
17. "Forever Changes," Love (1967)
18. "The Continental Harmony: Music of William Billings," Gregg Smith Singers (1969)
19. "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Vince Guaraldi Trio (1970)
20. "Coat of Many Colors," Dolly Parton (1971)
21. "Mothership Connection," Parliament (1975)
22.  Barton Hall concert by the Grateful Dead (May 8, 1977)
23. "I Feel Love," Donna Summer (1977)
24. "Rapper's Delight," Sugarhill Gang (1979)
25. "Purple Rain," Prince and the Revolution (1984)

The full National Recording Registry currently numbers 350 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. 

 

A Tribute to Morris L. Cohen

The Law Library Journal, the main publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, recently devoted the entirety of its Winter 2012 issue to the remarkable life and work of legal scholar, bibliographer, and librarian, Morris L. Cohen [1927-2010]. Cohen died on December 18, 2010, with an obituary appearing in the New York Times; the newspaper also published an editorial appreciation extolling Cohen's career.

The articles appearing in Law Library Journal, with links to PDFs, are titled as follows:

— Introduction
— Morris L. Cohen, 1927-2010: A Remembrance and Celebration
— In Praise of Morris L. Cohen's Bibliography of Early American Law
— Morris L. Cohen: A Reminiscence
— Memories of Morris—and How I Use His BEAL 
— Morris Cohen and Rare Book School
— Morris Cohen and the Art of Book Collecting
— Cornerstones for Enduring Law Libraries: Morris Cohen's Influence at Yale
— Birth of a Nutshell: Morris Cohen in the 1960s
— The End of Scholarly Bibliography: Reconceptualizing Law Librarianship
— Appeals to the Privy Council Before American Independence: An Annotated Digital Catalogue
— Blackstone and Bibliography: In Memoriam Morris Cohen
— Booksellers in Court: Approaches to the Legal History of Copyright in England Before 1842
— Practicing Reference . . . "That Most Congenial Lawyer/Bibliographer"
— Reflections: An Interview with Morris L. Cohen
— Morris L. Cohen: A Bibliography of His Works
— Keeping Up with New Legal Titles

The Common Curator was fortunate to have known Morris while working in the antiquarian book trade and as a curator of rare law books. A true scholar-librarian and gentleman, he exemplified the very best qualities of the book world, the likes of which are indeed rarely encountered.

Note: The photograph above appeared in the Law Library Journal courtesy of the Cohen family.

Letterpress Guild of New England Exhibition

In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of its founding in 1982, the Letterpress Guild of New England is mounting an exhibition "to educate, entertain, and inform the public," and is soliciting entries of letterpress posters and broadsides through June 15, 2012. For further details and an entry form, visit the LGNE website. Call for entries poster designed by the Interrobang Press.

Support Chapel Hill Public Library

The Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library are sponsoring a fundraiser for the Library, which is currently undergoing a major expansion project. For a donation of $150, the Friends will include an engraved paver in Friends Plaza at the front of the Library in time for its reopening in early 2013:

Your paver will be a long lasting public tribute to whoever is named and the money will be used for an otherwise unfunded need in the new library. Pavers are being sold by the Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library, a membership organization dedicated to supporting library needs not covered by the town’s budget. Friends’ gifts are used to support children’s programming, the Library’s collection and other special projects.

320 pavers are being offered to the public until the deadline of August 31, 2012. Further details and an application form are available on the Friends' website.

Note: Image of the planned expansion by Corley Redfoot Architects.

For Arbor Day: The Forest Where Ashley Lives

To commemorate Arbor Day, check out the free electronic version of The Forest Where Ashley Lives, an educational book about the value and care of urban forests, written by Mark A. and Ashley L. Vitosh, and illustrated by John L. Smith. Intended for elementary school readers, the text has won an Arbor Day Foundation Education Award.

The book is also available in print and as an interactive CD from the Iowa State University online store. The CD includes the text and illustrations of the book, plus additional features such as audio narration, web links, a glossary, “Did You Know?” facts about forests, and supplemental materials for teachers.

NC Governor Opposes Amendment One

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue has recently released a video urging a "no" vote on "Amendment One," or North Carolina Senate Bill 514 (2011), which is on the ballot for the 2012 Primary Election on May 8. The bill proposes that the North Carolina Constitution would be amended to include the following section: "Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State . . . . " Early voting is now underway throughout the state, and the State Board of Elections has also prepared a Voter Guide for candidates covered by the North Carolina Public Funding Programs. Register and vote!

The Sioux City Journal on Bullying

The entire front page of the April 22, 2012 edition of the Sioux City Journal was devoted to the issue of bullying in schools, precipitated by the recent death of a young student at South O'Brien High School in Paullina, Iowa. The text of the editorial board's statement can be read here; more information on bullying can be found at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services web site, StopBullying.gov.

The Surf Zombies Release "Lust for Rust"

Practitioners of the tsunami school of surf music, The Surf Zombies have recently issued their third album, Lust for Rust. Their self-titled first album, The Surf Zombies, appeared in 2008, followed by Something Weird in 2009. More on the band can be found at ReverbNation.