6
Preface Dead celebs raking in more than ever
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
N AN
M
S
E
M RIS
In each others’ way By REBECCA GIBSON Columnist
W
hile most of you do not know me, take my word for it, I am short. At just under 5’2” I am dwarfed by most people, both men and women. I am also disinclined to make a fuss. Both of these things mean that when I walk the school halls, I try to develop Jedi mind powers to move people out of the way. My legs do not stretch very far, and in order to get around large groups of people sometimes I need to jog. So I try to nudge them out of the way with my mind, more polite and more circumspect than elbows. Naturally, it does not work. Perhaps it is senior year cynicism, but this semester seems particularly bad for groups, knots, roadblocks, and bottlenecks of people in the halls, barring access to classrooms, bathrooms and cafes alike. The need to bunch up is inbuilt, after all humans are social creatures, but how that translates into blocking a ten foot wide hallway defies explanation. That and walking out of a classroom and stopping right in the doorway, but that is an entirely different column… One could even understand if these were temporary gatherings on the way to finding a more permanent perching place in one of IU South Bend’s numerous lounges, benched or seated areas, or outdoor seating areas. However, it is possible to watch these hall-blocking groups form and then swirl around their center, like a flock of birds or a school of fish. To be sure, this kind of group movement has its own beauty, but so does making it to class without having to hover one’s drink over the heads of one’s peers because there is no room to carry it any other way. As always, the answer to this type of stress is to keep our fellow students in mind. If you find yourself in a group, and it is spreading out to take up all the available space in the area, do not hesitate to suggest moving closer to the edge of the area, or going somewhere better placed for large numbers. Something not discussed nearly enough is empathy. I am sure we have all been in the situation where someone or something blocks our path. And surely, the ‘excuse me’ of the person trying to get by should be enough to remind us of that experience, leading us to give way graciously, and to keep the concerns of others in mind.
By Mandi Steffey Staff Writer
I
t’s no secret that there is money to be made in the entertainment industry. With all the attention big stars like Oprah and Lady Gaga are getting, it is no wonder that they rake in millions with all their hard work. Some celebrities, however, are making a cool buck without even breaking a sweat. Names like John Lennon, Charles Schulz, and Elvis Presley are among some of the top-earning stars of all time—and they all have one thing in common: they’re dead. Every year, Forbes magazine creates a list of thirteen of the top-earning dead celebrities. Some of the names on the list are powerful personas like Albert Einstein and J.R.R. Tolkien, but it doesn’t require a list to take a stab at which deceased superstar earned the most this year—does Michael Jackson ring a bell? After his death in the summer of 2009, the “King of Pop” has earned a staggering amount of money totaling $275 million. While this seems impressive, Jackson never made it on a “top earning” list of any magazine in his lifetime. According to forbes.com, most of his post-mortem money came from various estate items and rights, including the rights to the film This Is It. Even though he is no longer with us, Jackson now has the bragging rights to the highest salary paid to any musician, dead or alive. While no dead celebrity earned more than Michael Jackson this year (in fact, he made more than anyone on the list did combined), there are many others who earned substantial salaries we’d be proud to call our own. Some of these people include Stieg Larsson, author of the Millennium Trilogy series, who made a reported $15 million this year, and Theodore Geisel (more commonly known as Dr. Seuss), whose estate collected $11 million. Though some still-famous names didn’t make the Forbes list this year, there are some that are still making some residual amounts. Classic movie stars and artists like James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Andy Warhol are making an impact to this day—and still being compensated for it. This all just goes to show that there is decent money to be made anywhere. However, this doesn’t mean that in order to make money, one must be dead. All of the deceased stars were hugely famous during their lives, so these earnings are just a (really) nice reminder to those they left behind that being successful and working hard pays off.
COURTESY OF: WWW.SOYFASHIONISTA.COM
COURTESY OF PINBOARDBLOG.COM