Further Update on Happy Birthday Copyright

Posted on 2015-09-23 by arjaybe
Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times

Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times

A US judge (George King) has ruled that Warner/Chappell, which acquired the copyright to Happy Birthday in 1988, only bought rights to specific arrangements of the melody, not to the actual song. Warner/Chappell got the rights when it bought another company, which was the successor to yet another company, which got the rights from sisters Mildred and Patty Hill, who wrote the song Good Morning to All in 1893. That song was meant to be sung in class by school children, and the melody was later combined with the Happy Birthday lyrics that we know today. If you’re as confused as I am, then you’re getting a glimpse at the mess which is current copyright law.

This judgement applies only to the US, and only to part of the song. Other parts of the song and other renditions of it may still be encumbered, so think twice before posting your birthday party on Youtube if it contains any part of the Happy Birthday song. Read the linked articles for more clarificatioon.

Here are my first and second posts on this topic.

Here are links to the story at NPR, BBC, the LA Times and the Hollywood Reporter.

A small step in the right direction, since this song might finally be kinda, sorta, partially in the public domain at last.

rjb

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Cognitive Biases that Affect Decisions

Posted on 2015-09-17 by arjaybe

20-cognitive-biases-that-screw-up-your-decisions

In my ongoing effort to remind myself of the ways I can get it wrong, I post this link to a useful infographic. I believe that one of our most important missions in life is to see past our biases and misconceptions, and the best way is to know what to look for. I’ve made similar posts before, including two on the kind of thinking that goes into conspiracy theories — number one and number two (with infographic) — and one on what goes into bad science (with infographic.) Tap the picture for the full-sized original, or use the link below to go to the original article.

You make thousands of rational decisions every day — or so you think. From what you’ll eat throughout the day to whether you should make a big career move, research suggests that there are a number of cognitive stumbling blocks that affect your behavior, and they can prevent you from acting in your own best interests. Here, we’ve rounded up the most common biases that screw up our decision-making.

Source: Cognitive biases that affect decisions – Business Insider

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Glory – An Optical Meteorological Phenomenon

Posted on 2015-09-11 by arjaybe
All photos Brocken Inaglory CC-BY-SA, except as noted

All photos Brocken Inaglory CC-BY-SA, except as noted

Cloud of the Day – Glory

Glory is an optical phenomenon which has become much more commonly observed since the rise of widespread flight.

Fogbow_glory_spectre_bridge_Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

Glory is seen in clouds or mist when the Sun (or rarely the Moon) is directly behind the observer.

AndiW - Public Domain

AndiW – Public Domain

The observer must be higher than the clouds or mist because, since the Sun (or Moon) is above the horizon, the glory must be below the opposite horizon.

Glory_spectre_fogbow-Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

Glory is most commonly observed from a high vantage point, like a mountain, a bridge, a tall building or an aircraft.

Brocken Inaglory - Public Domain

Brocken Inaglory – Public Domain

In some cases the glory will surround the shadow of the aircraft.

Reeftraveler - CC-BY-SA

Reeftraveler – CC-BY-SA

When the glory surrounds the dramatically large shadow of the observer, when standing on a mountain top, say, it is called a Brocken spectre, named for a German mountain renowned for the effect.

Spectre_of_the_Brocken_Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

No one has yet devised a generally accepted theory for the formation of glories. The rings are all centered on the observer’s eyes, so they’re obviously dependent on the observer’s position. And they’re obviously optical, resulting from one or more of the reflection, refraction, interference, and tunneling of light. It’s not nailed down yet, though.

Solar_Glory_with_helicopter_shadow_around_Mauna_Loa-Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

Tap the photos for large originals.

rjb

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