Happy Year of the Horse

马 年 快 乐 !  恭 禧 发 财 !!  Eight things you (probably) didn't know about the Year of the Horse, via the Guardian.

Rest in Peace, Pete Seeger

Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" as a MOOC

The International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa is offering a Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, entitled "Every Atom: Walt Whitman's Song of Myself." The course is the university's inaugural MOOC, and will run from February 17 to March 29, 2014. Lead instructors will be Professors Christopher Merrill, Director of the IWP, and Ed Folsom, Co-Director of the Walt Whitman Archive and Editor-in-Chief of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. The course is free, and registration can be accomplished online. Information on additional courses can be found at The Writing University's web site.

The Dada Vinci Archive

The Dada Vinci Archive (DVA) is comprised of a large collection of oil paintings, works on paper, collages, letterpress printing and the book arts, photography, digital video, and works in other media. A representative sampling of new and older artworks can be seen in the DVA gallery at the Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 East 2nd Street, Davenport, Iowa. Contact the Common Curator (commoncurator @ gmail.com) for further information.

From the Top

Heirloom Seeds for the New Year

The amazing 2014 Catalog from Seed Savers Exchange is now available and can be browsed online, or 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. Also of interest is the book authored by co-founder Diane Ott Whealy, Gathering: Memoir of a Seed Saver.

Wapsipinicon Almanac No. 20

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 20 can be purchased at bookstores or directly by writing the publisher at Wapsipinicon Almanac, 19948 Shooting Star Road, Anamosa, Iowa 52205. Single copies are $9, plus $2.50 for postage; Iowa residents should also include 63-cents for sales tax.

The cover shown here was designed by Terry Rathje, who also did the cover for the first almanac. 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.

Spike Like Ike!

Here is Dwight D. Eisenhower's recipe for bourbon-enhanced eggnog, courtesy of the National Archives' Our Presidents Tumblr. Enjoy responsibly.

Other of Eisenhower's favorite recipes, for such dishes as Old-Fashioned Beef Stew, Chili Con Carne, and 1868 Venison, can be downloaded here. Further historical information is available on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home website.

Jean Seberg Documentary Premieres

Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg, a documentary about the internationally renown actress from Marshalltown, Iowa, has just premiered at the 3rd Annual Jean Seberg International Film Festival. Besides screening several of Seberg's films, the festival sponsored a symposium that explored Seberg's legacy both as an actress and as a civil rights activist. The documentary was produced by filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films and Garry McGee of McMarr, Ltd.

The Story of the Duck

David Lynch relates a story of a duck and its significance for painting and film-making.

Cover Crops Reduce Nitrogen Run-off, Improve Water Quality

This short video features the Smith farm in north-central Iowa, and was produced by the Iowa Farm Bureau, which is working to improve conservation practices among farmers.

For a related post, see The Boone River Watershed: Why Strip-Till and Cover Crops Matter.

Celebrating the Freedom to Read

Banned Books Week is an annual celebration of the freedom to read. It began in 1982 in response to widespread censorship of books, and since that time over 11,000 books have been challenged in communities throughout the United States.

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom has been documenting cases of challenged and banned books since 1990, and the ALA's Library Bill of Rights strongly supports free and unfettered access to information and ideas.

An illustration of the extent of the phenomenon is the remarkable fact that of the 88 titles featured in the Library of Congress' 2012 exhibition, Books That Shaped America, 30 have been challenged or banned at one time or another.

National Book Festival 2013

The 13th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held on Saturday & Sunday, September 21-22, 2013, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The festival is free and open to the public, and will take place rain or shine.

As in prior years, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. More than 100 authors, illustrators, and poets 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.

Schedules are available online for the Author Pavilions and the Library of Congress Pavilion. A map of the festival grounds can be downloaded here [PDF]. The Library of Congress is also sponsoring a survey about "Books that Shaped the World," which can be completed online.

The Festival website features an archive of video webcasts and audio podcasts. The 2013 poster, shown here, was designed by Suzy Lee.

Do the Gargon

"Do the Gargon," the latest album from the inimitable Johnny Dowd and band, is now available from the Johnny Dowd website. A European tour will commence in September.

"From One Second to the Next," a Documentary by Werner Herzog on Distracted Driving

Werner Herzog's documentary on the perils of distracted driving.