Pay for the dead

Ok, here is a question for the fanatics out there. Think of every celebrity that has died, ever. Now tell me which one made the most money last year.

Yes, believe it or not someone actually cares about this. And they keep records of this over at Forbes. They have an annual list of who is the top dead celeb. I have to imagine the economy, and dwindling circulation in the industry, is seriously getting to Forbes.

But since the subject has come up like a re-animated corpse from a graveyard, I will deal with it.

Who could it be? Elvis? Michael Jackson? Anna Nicole Smith?

Well if you thought it was Smith you seriously are a fanatic and far to obsessed, much like many parts of the media that still probe her life and death well after the fact. But it wasn't current craze, Michael Jackson either. In fact the celeb wasn't even American.

It was Yves Saint Laurent, a french fashion designer and one of the few reasons to think of France positively. His estate made a whopping $350 million. Not bad at all for a dead guy.

Number 2 on the list is not really fair as it's 2 people combined. Rodgers & Hammerstein. They made $235 million, and some people thought showtunes were dead.

Michael Jackson shows up in third place with $90 million. But somehow I think he will be moving up very quickly. Especially if rumors of the movie made from video of his last dress rehearsal performance winning any kind of Oscar comes true. More more on that in a separate post.

Elvis Presley, the king of the 50's and notorious for stealing songs from Black performers and calling them his own, made $55 million. I expect his numbers to drop steadily as his fanbase is aging rapidly.

JRR Tolkein comes up next. His trilogy (actually 4 books if you count the Hobbit) and the excellent movie conversions have been around for decades. Of those on this list I find this the most positive statment that some people still read (besides you my readers) and appreciate good art. $50 million

Charles Schultz may not be a name most will recall of hand. Definitely my younger readers are unlikely to recognize the name. But old and young alike will have no problem recognizing one of the most famous creations of Schultz, Snoopy. Immortalized in newspapers, television specials, and now the image of MetLife, this character is so embeded in American culture even rap had to imitate it. $35 million

The 3rd singer on the list is one of the keys to the British invasion. Yes that means John Lennon of the Beatles. The yellow Submarine just keeps moving along and earned Lennon a post-humous $15 million.

Probably my favorite on the list has to be Dr. Seuss. Like millions, if not tens of millions, I can still recite some of his stories that I loved best (I'm really good with Green Eggs and Ham). And if you have to see his work rather than read it, which I think all kids should read, then stick with the Grinch That Stole Christmas and avoid at all costs the horrible conversion of the Cat in the Hat. $15 million (likely due to Mike Myers).

One of my inspirations while growing up will likely suprise some people buyt is next on the list. Albert Einstein. Yes, one of the greatest minds ever made the list though he was hardly a celebrity by today's standards (as low as they are). But the power of pure thought still must be respected. $10 million

Last of the top 10 is another writer. Michael Crichton just made enough to clear the next couple of guys on the list. He comes in just under double digits with $9 million.

Other notables on the list include the incredible Jimi Hendricks with $8 million.

So it doesn't have to be Halloween for the dead to rise it seems.

Literature and the internet could have beat Hitler

The Nobel prize is an accomplishment of great order and a source of pride for any winner. Often an entire lifetime of work is summed up in this one award. And there is no question that colleagues respect those that have won.

For those of us in the general populace the Nobel Prize is beyond our expectations. Most of us do not work in various fields of science and mathematics that many past winners like Albert Einstein and such delve into. But in the area of literature we all can dream of witting that one, or several, novels that capture the essence of life and imagination. Thus many of those that have won for literature are well known to us all, or become so.

But this year, as has happened in many years past, the winner of the Nobel for Literature - Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio of France - has taken that dream of the populace and added something different. He postulated that perhaps, if the internet had existed in the time of Hitler in the 1930's, he might not have been able to do what he did.

Now this has of course drawn criticism of all sorts. I even read one article where many modern day despots and such ilk were discussed and shown to be without concern for the internet. So it is true that the internet by itself is not an answer. And that is the key.

Like writing fiction, life requires imagination. And it is the imagination of say the blogosphere that can ignite the inspiration required to buck trends and question authority. While it may not be possible in North Korea, or China, where the internet is censored and restricted to high levels it is possible in many free nations. And once that inspiration takes hold it filters to the rest of the world.

Maybe Hitler would have been denounced and ridiculed enough to prevent him from gaining an audience. Perhaps his faulty logic could have been laid bare by the comments and attention to detail the internet can provide. Perhaps it could have been as simple as a Youtube video of a gaff that could have dashed his hopes. Maybe not.

But it is the thought that it might have that is important. Because if it might have in the past, it could in the future. And that is the point I think Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio was trying to make. That if we can inspire it, and discuss it, it is possible.

The internet allows for the breaking of every barrier that has existed for millennia. Borders, language, trade differences, religion, and nationalism are all useless. And if we can have the imagination we can spark inspiration. Just like writing does and can do.

And I for one, if I understand this Nobel winner correctly, like that idea. Whether or not it would have worked in the past I can imagine it. And that can inspire us all for a better future.