The founder of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Robert B. Thomas, was born in Grafton, Massachusetts, nine years before the start of the American Revolution.  Thomas was brought up on a farm in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.  He was fascinated by science and at age 16 read Ferguson’s Astronomy, which he came across in his father’s library.  He later wrote that “it was from the pleasing study of this work I first imbibed the idea of calculating an almanack.”  With this dream in mind, he became a bookseller, taught school, built a store and bindery near the family farm, and studied astronomy in his spare time.  In early 1792, he went to Boston to study mathematics under the tutelage of another almanac maker, Osgood Carlton, and that fall delivered the copy for the first edition of what he called The Farmer’s Almanac to printers Joseph Belknap and Thomas Hall.   https://www.almanac.com/fact/robert-b-thomas-birthday-founder-of-the-holiday 

TIDBITS from The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2022:  In 2000 B.C., the Babylonians celebrated the New Year during a 12-day festival called Akitu (starting with the vernal equinox.)  *  The Easter Bunny who visits children on Easter morning was the invention of German Protestants.  Bunny brought eggs and sweets to good children in the same way Santa Claus brought gifts to well-behaved children.  *  Only two men signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776—John Hancock, president of the Congress, and Charles Thompson, secretary of the Congress.  *  When Europeans first encountered the wild turkey in Mexico, they incorrectly classified the bird as a turkey fowl.  

In 2022, there are new changes in the pop culture landscape.  The updates to the United States public domain often gets new intellectual properties due to the specifics of the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998.  The current rules will allow for works from 1926 to enter the public domain after a 96-year extension in 2022— and that will include some significant names.   Among them is A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh short story collection, and all of the characters within them (except for Tigger, who wasn't introduced until 1928 and will be under copyright until 2024).  Once Winnie the Pooh enters the public domain, it can legally be shared, performed, reused, repurposed, or sampled without permission or additional cost.  This only applies to the original works, and not to the subsequent adaptations and merchandise, which allows for Disney's incarnation of Winnie the Pooh to still be held under trademark by Disney.  The 2022 crop of public domains additions will also include Felix Saten's Bambi, a Life in the Woods, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Dorothy Parker's Enough Rope, Langston Hughes' The Weary Blues, T. E. Lawrence's The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Kahlil Gibran's Sand and Foam, Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Aykroyd, Edna Ferber's Showboat, William Faulker's Soldier's Play, Willa Cather's My Mortal Enemy, D. H. Lawrence's The Plumed Serpent and H. L. Mencken's Notes on Democracy.  Jenna Anderson  https://comicbook.com/movies/news/winnie-the-pooh-enter-public-domain-2022/ 

Each January 1st is Public Domain Day, where a new crop of works have their copyrights expire and become free to enjoy, share, and reuse for any purpose.  Due to differing copyright laws around the world, there is no one single public domain, but there are three definitions which cover most cases.  For these three systems, newly entering the public domain January 2, 2022 are:  works by people who died in 1951, for countries with a copyright term of “life plus 70 years” (e.g. UK, Russia, most of EU and South America); works by people who died in 1971, for countries with a term of “life plus 50 years” (e.g. Canada, New Zealand, and most of Africa and Asia); works published in 1926 (and all pre-1923 sound recordings), for the United States.  This year’s Public Domain Day is of particular note due to the many hundreds of thousands of pre-1923 sound recordings becoming copyright-free in the United States.  More information on this mammoth release, and links to where to explore and download the huge haul in our dedicated blogpost.  https://publicdomainreview.org/blog/2022/01/public-domain-day-2022 

From:  Don Fearn  To everyone reading this:  HAPPY NEAR YOU!  That’s how my nephew said “happy new year” when he was small and it really seemed to fit ‘cause I AM happy to be near the people close to me.  AWADmailIssue 1018 

Home Remedies to Ease Your Sore Throat  While salt water may not provide you with immediate relief, it is still an effective remedy for killing bacteria while loosening mucus and easing pain.  Simply mix half a teaspoon of salt into 8 ounces of warm water and gargle away.  *  “Honey is one of the best remedies for a sore throat due to its natural antibacterial properties that allows it to act as a wound healer, immediately offering relief for pain while working to reduce inflammation.  *   Similar to salt water and honey, lemons are great for sore throats because they can help break up mucus and provide pain relief.  What’s more, lemons are packed with Vitamin C which can help to boost the immune system and give it more power to fight off your infection.  Mix one teaspoon of lemon juice into a glass of warm water and drink for quick relief.  *  It may sound strange to use hot sauce to relieve a fiery throat, but this condiment has actually been proven to provide relief for sore throats.  Hot sauce is made from peppers that are high in capsaicin, which can be used to fight inflammation and provide pain relief.  So, while it may burn at first, dropping a few drops of hot sauce into a warm glass of water to gargle may just be the right remedy to cure your sore throat.  Charlotte Smith  https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2018/february/sore-throat 

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg  neoist  (NEE-uh-ist) noun  One who favors or employs new ideas, styles, techniques, etc.  adjective:  Favoring new ideas, styles, techniques, etc.  From Greek neo- (new).  Earliest documented use:  1916. 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com   Issue 2477  January 3, 2022