An Important Solar Update

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Toby McCasker of Vice.com somehow got an interview with Angeles Duran, who as I'm sure you remember is la mujer española que es la propietaria del sol. See "The Woman Who Owns the Sun Is Using Her Powers for Good," Vice.com (October 2013); see also "Sunshine No Longer Free, Says Sun's New Owner," Lowering the Bar (Nov. 29, 2010). It's pretty great.

Sun

Still free to individuals

You'll be glad to know that she has apparently decided not to charge individuals for using the energy emitted by her sun, only companies that use it without her authorization. This is good news for individuals everywhere, especially given that, according to her, she has been fending off legal challenges from other people who also claim to own the hydrogen-fusing G2-class star at the center of our system. Who knows what they might charge? One is apparently a Romanian man who she mocked for not knowing the law. She also claims to have actually been sued by another Spaniard who claimed he owned the entire universe (of which the Sun is allegedly a part), a suit in which she says she prevailed but I'm not buying that until I see some documents.

I'm also not buying any plots of "solar land" from her, although she's letting them go for just 1 euro per square meter. (You don't need to rush, because there are plenty to go around.)

Although you'd think that owning the sun would provide a sufficient revenue stream, Duran says she has diversified. "I also own the Tarzan shout," she says. (Another priceless item that was just sitting around waiting for someone to claim it.) She's selling el grito de Tarzan too, although exactly what she is selling in that regard was not entirely clear to me. Either her own recording of it, or a license to make your own, I assume.

Anyway, if you happen to absorb any solar energy this weekend, you might drop Angeles a line to say thanks.