Imaginary rich people

So the Marmoset and I have both been slacking lately. But this story seemed worth writing about.

In case the world didn't have enough to think about, Forbes magazine has released their "Fictional Fifteen" list, ranking the world's 15 wealthiest fictional characters.

Number one on the list is Santa Claus, with an estimated net worth of "infinite". Last on the list is the recently incarcerated Lucius Malfoy, with a net worth estimated at a measly $900 million or so, depending on the current Dollars-to-Galleons exchange rate.

A few observations on the list:

• I would have expected Scrooge McDuck to be a lot higher than #6. I figured that anyone who measures their money by the cubic acre would have more than $8.2 billion.
  
• Considering that all of his workers are refugees who get paid in candy, Willy Wonka (#10) also came in unexpectedly low.
  
• How the hell did Daddy Warbucks manage to move up a slot since the last listing three years ago? I thought he and that creepy no-eyes stepdaughter of his disappeared around the time Truman left the White House.
• I realize that you generally don't get to the top by being a nice guy, but I never figured Santa for a union-buster.
  
• Likewise, I thought all that evil would at least get Mr. Burns into the top three. "Only a moron wouldn't cast his vote for Monty Burns!"
  
• Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne are the only two comic book billionaires on the list. Tony Stark, Oliver Queen, Ted Kord, Carter Hall, Maxwell Lord, Welsey Dodds, Vandal Savage, Charles Xavier, Ben Grimm, Norman Osborne, Emma Frost, Tom Strong, and Adrian Veidt are probably really pissed at them. As usual.

Too bad for the five people who fell off the list since 2002: J.R. Ewing, Auric Goldfinger, Charles Foster Kane, Gordon Gekko, and Jay Gatsby. Of course, three of the five died at the end of their book/movie, and Gekko was sent to prison at the end of his.

That just leaves J.R., who I'm sure is currently plotting his comeback (not to mention vengeance on whoever bumped him off the list).

Maybe next year...

"I love deadlines, especially the whooshing noise they make as they go flying by."
--the late, great Douglas Adams

My second annual attempt at novel writing (which I mentioned a few weeks ago) has officially ended. In the month of November, I managed to write a whopping 354 words for my NaNoWriMo effort. I have brought shame upon myself and my family. Of course, this past month was not the best time for this sort of thing. I have been busy with many other things, some of which may turn out to be very rewarding, but more on that later.

Speaking of writing, a big shout out to Margaret Butler, a librarian at the Tuscaloosa Public Library in Alabama. Thank you Margaret, for reminding the world why they should be nice to librarians: we know stuff.

Speaking of knowing things, another shout out to the local frat guys for staging the least successful cover-up in recent memory. Good work fellas.

While we're at it, one last shout out to former pro wrestling great Ric "Nature Boy" Flair, for being far scarier out of the ring than in.

And now, before I go, I'll leave you to ponder an age-old question.