In short, I thought it would be cool to make a 6P spoof off this t-shirt:

However, I know from experience that you’ve got to be very careful when “borrowing” ideas from other people. In order to make sure the t-shirt parody project would get off without a hitch, I needed to make sure that I could get around the copyrights that Joy Division or Peter Saville may have on the design.

So I did the first thing anyone else would do… I checked ole trustworthy: Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia has a section about the packaging of the “Unknown Pleasures” album that gives the following information:

The front cover image comes from an edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy, and was originally drawn with black lines on a white background.^[13] It presents successive pulses from the first pulsar discovered, PSR B1919+21—often referred to in the context of this album by its older name, CP 1919.^[13] The image was suggested by drummer Stephen Morris^[13] and the cover design is credited to Joy Division, Peter Saville and Chris Mathan.

From this description, I assumed that the Saville took diagrams from the book and superimposed them on top of one another to make the cool looking image.

But upon further research, this page from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy surfaced:

They straight up used the exact image for their album cover! I guess you could say there is some artistic thought expressed by inverting the colors and choosing the positioning, but it’s the same exact image!

Joy Division - "Unknown Pleasures" - Album Cover

I was dumbfounded when I discovered this. Here I was all stressing about copyright infringement… but now it looks like the image itself might have been infringed upon already!

I had to do some more research to find out more about the pulsar to find its true origin…

It turns out the diagram actually first appeared in a January 1971 issue of Scientific American, and is credited to Jerry Ostriker (thanks to this page for that info, though I’m not convinced Ostriker was the one that published the image).

Here’s what it looked like in that magazine:

Scientific American - January 1971 - Pages 52-53

The image then made a second cameo in Graphis Diagrams in 1974:

And finally, it appeared in the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy in 1977, which is where Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris saw the design:

This brings me back to my original purpose for doing this research, and that was to find out if the image is copyright protected.

I went straight to the source and tried e-mail Peter Saville to see if he had any comment on the matter. I wasn’t really expecting to get a response, but to my surprise his assistant Alice sent a prompt reply:

Hi Adam,
I write on behalf of Peter.
We understand the image as copyright free.
So believe you are liberty to do as you wish.
My best,

Alice

Now we’re on to something… I don’t necessarily take their word that the famous peaks and valleys are in the public domain (as I’m sure he’s made quite a pretty penny of them), but here are the facts:

• The pulsar itself was first discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell
• The image of its radio pulses first appeared in an American Scientific in 1971
• It’s not clear whether the research team that discovered the pulsar created the graph, or if Ostriker (or someone else) just pieced together the data

There is a 1968 research paper listed on the CP 1919 aka PSR B1919+21 Wiki page, but I’m unable to access it, and I don’t have the original Scientific American magazine to read the description.

That 1968 paper could potentially include the graph, and I am unsure about Ostriker being the one that published the image because the American Scientific article has no mention on his publications page.

[EDIT: I found the Scientific American reference on this page instead, so that story checks out. I'm still not sure if Ostriker created the diagram or not.]

What makes it most confusing legal-wise is that I can’t tell if an American or non-American created the diagram, as each of those scenarios would have a different boding on the copyright law.

I’m not even sure if the image itself is protectable… it’s essentially plotted data, but there could be a case made that it’s arranged in a unique matter.

Then if it qualifies for copyright there are a bunch of different scenarios that could be gone through depending on the year it was published, where it was published, if proper copyright formalities were taken, etc…

Overall though, I’d say it’s a pretty safe assumption to treat the image as if it’s in the public domain. It’s been on the cover of a fairly popular album that’s been selling for over 30 years now. If someone was going to drop the law hammer, it would have happened by now.

The only way I can see getting in trouble for using it is if you were marketing a product as a collaboration with Joy Division or Peter Saville. As long as you make it clear there’s no connection, you’re golden.

All that… for a spoof t-shirt. What time does the bar close?

EDIT: The story unravels…

I got in contact with Jeremiah P. Ostriker, who as far as I could tell was the first person to publish the image. Here’s what he had to say about it:

Dear Adam Capriola,

First, I doubt that I created the image but most likely obtained it from a published source.

I think it highly unlikely that I own copywrite to the image but if I do I am happy for it to be used in any way that would increase public education.

best wishes,

jpo

So Mr. Ostriker does not appear to have created it. After hearing this I took a closer look at the second picture above from Scientific American, and this is what I can depict in the caption:

EIGHTY SUCCESSIVE PERIODS of the first pulsar observed, CP1919 (Cambridge pulsar at 19 hours 19 minutes right ascension), are stacked on top of one another using the average period of 1.33730 seconds in this computer-generated illustration produced at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. Although the leading edges of the radio pulses… [can't decipher the rest]

Now we’re on to something… I can’t believe I missed that earlier. The image was computer generated at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. I wish I actually owned the issue of Scientific American so I could read the full caption and see if the article gives any credits, but that’s some information to work with.

(I’m actually somewhat tempted to buy the SA issue on this site for $17.95…)

Facts at this point:

• The pulsar itself was first discovered in July 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell of Ireland
• The image first surfaced (as far as I know) in January 1971
• The image was produced at the Arecibo Radio Observator sometime between then

There is one article that was published in February 1968 that could contain the image, but it’s doubtful. That article is located here and gives the following abstract and note:

Unusual signals from pulsating radio sources have been recorded at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory. The radiation seems to come from local objects within the galaxy, and may be associated with oscillations of white dwarf or neutron stars.

1. Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge

This makes it extremely unlikely the illustration appeared in that 1968 publication as there is no mention of Arecibo (which is where the image was produced), so its appearance in the January 1971 issue of Scientific American is in all likelihood the first place it appeared for public consumption.

However… the question still remains: who owns the rights to the image (if anyone)?

Assuming the image was produced at the Arecibo Radio Observatory, here are some facts about said establishment:

• It is currently operated by Cornell University under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation(meaning it receives substantial government funding)
  • The exact quote from the Arecibo website is “A Facility of the NSF operated by Cornell University” which seems to suggest that NSF owns it and contributes major funding
• Arecibo received funding from the NSF as far back as 1967 according to this NASA article
• The original plan for the observatory was proposed to ARPA (now DARPA) in 1958 and subsequently a contract for building arrangements was signed between Cornell University and the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory (meaning it was government funded from the start)

With that in mind, copyright law does not protect works by government officers or employees as done part of their official duties (hat tip).

What is not clear to me is whether the persons working at Arecibo would be considered government workers… it seems like Cornell operates the facility, but most of it is paid for by the government.

More than likely, the people working there are considered contractors or grantees, and they ARE able to copyright their work.

I guess the last piece to the puzzle is whether or not whomever created the image formally copyrighted it. The image would have been produced between 1968 and 1970, and as per law at the time, it would have had to be published with a copyright notice to receive protection (unlike today where works are automatically protected).

The images above from Scientific American do not appear to have to have a © (copyright symbol), the word copyright, or date, which would have been required back then for protection.

Since image seems to have first been published in Scientific American and it’s missing those key elements, this leads me to be fairly confident the image is in the public domain.

I wish I had a copy of the January 1971 Scientific American, Graphis Diagrams, and Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy to double check if they give any copyright credits for the image, but if they don’t list an author, then it’s pretty much fair game.

I’m uncertain that the image was for sure first published in SA, and without the actual magazine the only reference I have is that it was produced at the Arecibo Observatory. Ostriker had to have obtained the diagram from SOMEWHERE, and if it was previously unpublished before his article, I guess him publishing it without a copyright notice or date has to mean it is public domain.

Otherwise whomever actually first published the image would have likely pushed legal action. And even if they didn’t ever publish it, unpublished work is automatically copyright protected so again, the original author would have likely filed a suit.

In closing, it would be nice to have an original copy of those 3 aforementioned works in front of me to see if they list any copyright, but with the information I’ve been able to gather, that’s the most logical conclusion I can come up with.

tl;dr

The image was first published in the US without a copyright (as far as I can tell) in the year 1971, so therefore it is in the public domain for failure to comply with copyright formalities of the time.

If you ever want to use the image for your own personal benefit, just make sure it’s clear you have no connection with Joy Division, Peter Saville, etc…

Image Credits: AllPosters, Joy Division Central, Wikipedia, Pieces of a Rose Holography

9:14 PM
Temperate, light rain
Philadelphia, PA
Chariots Of Fire

Tang has no place in my cupboard.

I have eluded the Ramen noodle diet.

And I did not resort to 1 ply toilet paper.

I have successfully pulled myself from the brink of financial ruin and once again above the poverty line.

(I jest, but seriously, I have more than $4 in my wallet now…more like $20.)

Sorry for the hiatus from the “I’m Broke” saga, but with finals, graduation, and a sheer lack a focus, I failed to produce any content for this website. To make up for 2 weeks of stagnant space, this post will be extra good.

In short, I was able to go from $30 to somewhere around $850 in 2 weeks without a job and only “working” part time hours.

The Secret

There are two ways I consider to go about making or creating money:

1. Indirectly Making Money

2. Directly Making Money

Let me explain the difference between the two…

I regard indirect methods of making money to be tasks that don’t yield money at the current time, but can potentially produce money in the future.

For example, going to school. You learn skills with the thought that those competencies will help you earn money in the future. Putting those skills to use is what I would call directly making money; that is to use what you know in a job type setting.

I am very oriented towards indirectly making money. I like to learn new things, hone my skills, spend time perfecting projects.

None of that stuff puts money into your wallet.

What I realized is that I needed to spend more time of my day applying some of my abilities to earn money.

In other words, I needed to make an active effort to chase after money. Simple as that.

How to do it

Either you (1) use your talents to provide a service or (2) sell a product. Those are the main two options you have.

While I did get a part time job where I will be of service, I haven’t actually started receiving any money from that yet or really delved into the work I will be doing.

Instead, I sold stuff.

What stuff?

Over the past couple months, I’ve realized truly how much stuff I have. It’s really that…just “stuff”.

I’ve got way too many material possessions that I rarely use. I’ve worn 1 pair of jeans the past year. I only have maybe a half dozen video games that I play on rare occasion. I’ve stopped watching television while at my apartment.

80% of the things in my possession haven’t been touched in a blue moon. Upon coming to terms with this reality, I decided to eschew these materials which clutter my life.

It can be difficult to do this, as when you own something for a long time you become psychologically attached to it; it becomes part of your self. Getting rid of something like an old loved stuffed animal could be akin to losing an appendage for some people.

I’ve been pretty much able to climb over that psychological barrier. Some things I won’t be able to get rid of the first time I contemplate whether I really need it or not, but on second or third thought I will come to terms.

Here’s some of the things I’ve said sayonara to the past dozen days…

• Clothes
• Pokemon Cards
• Video Games
• Books
• CDs
• DVDs

I actually haven’t even sold any of my CDs or DVDs yet, but they are sitting in my closet at home waiting to go. I’m probably only about half way done going through my things too, I’m sure I’ll realize there are more items I have that I don’t need. I’ll be busy for at least another week or two cleaning shop.

What material possessions that you own could you live without?

It actually feels great for me to get rid of my old things…it’s a freeing feeling.

I don’t think we realize how controlled by our material possessions that we really can be. It makes me want to live a lot more minimalistic lifestyle.

The things you own do not make you happy.

What makes you happy are the things you do and the people you interact with.

Those things become clearer when you own less substance. The mind has less white noise to cancel out, in essence, and can concentrate more efficiently.

And of course when undergoing this process of minimalizing, if you ever realize you tossed something you cannot live without…just buy a new one.

Stay dry,

Adam

P.S. Drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts on living a minimalistic lifestyle…I’d love to hear some people’s takes on this.

9:54 PM
Humid, Philadelphia, PA
Flyers just went down 3-0 to the Bruins

I have been kindly reminded by a few of my friends that there is another option besides pawning all my stuff away…I could get a job! (Why didn’t I think of that?)

I’m not going to delve into my thoughts about jobs right now, but let’s just say that getting a paying job immediately isn’t feasible at the moment. I’ve still got over a week to go before I am prodded across the plank into the shark tank that is the real world.

Right now the goal is to see how much money I can make with my own resources before I am forced to get a 9 to 5.

The argument could be made that I should be using all this energy into applying for jobs, but to be honest I don’t know what my plans are going to be. I am not mobile at the moment (this means I have no car for the simpletons out there) and I might consider going to grad school next year, so I wouldn’t be able to commit to anything long term.

Anyway, here’s the progress I made today…

Amazon

Sold two more books for a total of $146.85 netted from Amazon. However, I had to buy bubble mailers and then ship the books, so it’s coming out to nearly $5 per book for shipping and handling. Subtract $20 from that total.

It had been a while since I’d sold anything on Amazon and what I forgot is that they only pay out every 2 weeks, not immediately. Not cool Amazon, not cool…

Selling books on Amazon is a terrible business idea at the moment by the way…if you are just selling school books it’s ok but as a full time business, forget about it.

Maybe 5 or 10 years ago it would be worth it, but right now it’s not the way to go. Maybe I’ll write a post about Amazon in the future…

Pokemon T-Shirts

Yesterday I spent a good amount of time redoing my sales page for my Pokemon site and lowered the prices of t-shirts to see if that might elicit some sales.

Sold 4 shirts today alone after not selling a single one for almost 2 weeks. Not bad! Shirts sell for about $9 each. I’m only making back what I paid for the shirts at this point, but as long as I don’t lose money then I’m golden.

Pokemon Cards

A friend is getting back into the TCG and is in need of cards, so he sent me a list of what he was looking for and I actually had a good amount of stuff he needed.

Mailed out the cards and am letting him decide what a fair price is. I don’t really know what they’re worth anymore, but I’ll get something for them. :)

Also finally got loose ends tied up in a deal where me, Ian, and Josh were trying to sell upwards of 10,000 commons and uncommons for 3 cents each. Should finally be getting those cards sold this weekend and we’ll split the money, so that’s going to be at least $100 for me…most of the cards are mine anyway, but I don’t want to take more than an even slice of the pie if they are obliged to it.

Clothes

Sold a couple polos I don’t wear anymore to Plato’s closet for a total of $5.60.

Had to listen to Justin Beiber while I waited in the store. Not sure if it was worth it.

Video Games

Tried to get in contact with my friend “Video Game Mike” to see if he wanted to buy any of the Sega Saturn or Genesis games. He didn’t pick up so I left a message.

Either way I’ve got two games which I will throw up on eBay tomorrow and should sell for about $75 each.

I also saved some money today by eating lunch and dinner at home…but I did mow the lawn so I’ll count that as work. I love mowing the lawn though, it’s almost therapeutic.

But at this point I still don’t really have any money in hand. Any money I received today was negated by shipping costs and costs of feeding myself (had to buy groceries).

In two weeks I’ll be getting paid out a decent amount by Amazon, in 5 days or so my ebay auctions will end, and in 3 weeks I get paid out by Google. I’ll probably also had at least a part time job by then.

In any case, I’m still to focus my daily efforts on creating money…well after I finish my last final on Friday. Then I’m good to go.

If you have any get rich quick schemes for me, just drop a comment. I’m all ears.

Stay cool,

Adam

3:47 PM Tuesday afternoon
79 degrees and humid
Philadelphia, PA
“The Ocean” (Led Zeppelin) is playing on WMGK

I am one final and one walk of the plank away from being a college graduate. I don’t have any work lined up aside potential part time…and I have a total of $25.50 in my bank account and $4 in my wallet. I also am out of food except for some carrots, a little bit of peanut butter, and some soy milk.

Bills and groceries don’t pay themselves, so I thought this might be a good opportunity to document how I pull myself from nothing to something. I’ve got a few skills, so as seeing I have almost no schoolwork to worry about at this point, it’s the perfect time to put all my abilities into action and stabilize my financial situation.

First thing I’ve been planning to do is sell off all my unneeded possessions. I am going to have a garage sale in a couple weeks to pawn off everything I don’t use or need…DVDs, CDs, clothes, old toys, etc…it feels great to get rid of clutter and simplify my surroundings.

Problem is the yard sale won’t be happening for over 2 weeks, so…

I spent a few hours this afternoon putting my valuable school books up on Amazon and the non-valuable books (worth less than $10 to $15 on Amazon) will be sold to the school bookstore right after I finish typing this post.

My strategy with Amazon listings is to list my books equal to the lowest price in almost all cases, no matter the condition. You don’t want to go lower than the lowest price because people have software set up that will automatically change their prices to be a penny less than yours. If multiple people have this software set up, it screws everyone over as the prices will continually deflate.

In the listing I made sure to highlight that the books are in great condition if they are needed for a class. Even if they are worn, all books are good for class use and I’m guessing that students are going to be the ones buying the books. I was thinking of putting some disclaimer like “help out a poor fellow college student!”…actually maybe I’ll go back and edit that in. People are more likely to buy from someone they identify with.

But anyway…that’s my strategy for selling the books the quickest. I don’t have shipping supplies right now, but I’ll just buy envelopes when the books sell. No use in buying supplies in advance.

Next up will be to get a listing typed on to sell my Sega Saturn on eBay or Craigslist, then to go through my Sega Genesis games and maybe sell some of them as well.

I also have Pokemon t-shirts from my website which haven’t been selling…guess it’s time to do a price cut and see if I can at least make back what I paid for them.

Wish me luck and stay cool,

Adam

Edit 6:28 PM: Sold some books to the bookstore and 1 of my books sold on Amazon already. $53.35 gain but I need to ship the book, so that will probably cost me $5 if I’m thrifty. Not a bad turnaround in only 2.5 hours.

Edit 7:00 PM: Sold another $41.60 book on Amazon…what’s going on??? Am I doing something right for once? It must be the “Help a fellow poor college student!” line…