Memphis born and bred Cary Fowler is in charge of the “Doomsday Vault” seed bank in Svalbard, Norway. The Vault, which opened last week, will store seeds from every country on earth, and from every variety of food crop.

He will be in Memphis at the Pink Palace Museum, Monday, March 10, 2008, for a free public lecture entitled, “Seed Banks and Polar Bears: The Quest to Save Agriculture’s Past and Our Future.” This is one of a series of free public lectures in connection with our new exhibit, “Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics.” More details are available on the Pink Palace Museum page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...).

Fowler grew up in Memphis, graduated from White Station High School and spent his summers on his grandmother’s farm near Madison, Tennessee. That is where his interest in agriculture began. Fowler is the Executive Director Global Crop Diversity Trust based in Rome.

This is a tremendous opportunity to learn more about this fantastic project to protect one of the world's most basic resources, food, and perhaps our species. If you can, you should make an effort to go to this lecture and reception to meet Fowler. The importance of the seed bank makes all the political squabbling pale in comparison. It would be a nice break!

Sherrie

Per the KNS today...NASA is having a contest to name the new GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope) telescope. Here's your chance to become part of space exploration history!

Before the latest chapter in the search begins for supermassive black holes, new laws of physics and the mysterious dark matter, you’ll have the historic chance to help name the satellite that makes it all possible. This unique opportunity is open to the public across the globe. Now, YOU may be the one to offer the name which will be given to the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) after its launch in 2008. GLAST is NASA’s next generation gamma-ray mission, designed to explore the most extreme phenomena in our Universe and probe energy regimes far beyond anything possible on Earth.

Go here to enter your own suggestion!

I did!...May the best namer win!

Investigative reporter Scott McNutt has an explosive report in this week's Knoxville Voice exposing Knox County Government as an elaborate hoax -- "the longest-running piece of unannounced performance art ever executed."

"So that's why Paul Pinkston wasn't at the South Knox waterfront meetings -- it wasn't in the script," said Knoxvillian Rachel Craig, a veteran observer of local politics. "And they said you couldn't make up stuff like this!"

It's not online yet, but you can pick up this week's edition at any of several convenient locations around town.

Downtown accounting firm moving west

Coulter & Justus president Sam Coulter said the firm is out of space at its current home, in Gay Street's Riverview Tower, and that it seemed like a good financial move to own its own building.

Didn't know downtown Knoxville office space was so overbooked. This should help relieve the overcrowding.

Elected officials late on nearly $10,000 in taxes

(Nearly half of that amount was owed by State Rep. Stacey Campfield. Some others had what sound like legitimate excuses.)

DeFreese calls for subpoena to detail p-card charges