RIP

[Happy_Go_Lucky]

Maria Fernandes died napping in her car between part-time jobs, but let's focus on how she lived





http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/0...-how-she-lived


Maria Fernandes, the woman who died while napping in her car between shifts at the three different Dunkin' Donuts stores she worked at, is a powerful symbol of the horrors of America's low-wage economy. Rachel Swarns, writing in the New York Times, profiles Fernandes, seeking to make her "more than an emblem of our nation’s rising economic inequality." She was a Michael Jackson fan, an animal lover, and more. But you can't get around that her life—not just her death—was defined by her work, and by the low wages and impossible schedule it left her with

She had an apartment, but was falling behind on the $550 rent despite those three jobs. Dunkin' Donuts said she was a "model" employee, but wouldn't say how much she was paid or how many hours she worked. Which makes sense—it probably is in Dunkin' Donuts' best interest for us not to know how they treat their model employees.
Fernandes was certainly an individual who deserves to be remembered for who she was. But in a way her death is a reminder of how many people are one accident away from becoming emblems of rising inequality. And it shouldn't take a death to make us see the rank injustice of Maria Fernandes' life. The minimum wage should be higher than New Jersey's $8.25 an hour. Fast food chains like Dunkin' Donuts should offer workers regular schedules with enough hours, so they aren't forced to spend their days going from job to job, grabbing naps in between. Someone like Fernandes should not only be able to pay $550 a month for a basement apartment, she should also be able to afford her dream of going to cosmetology school. Maria Fernandes may have died in a way that focused attention on her life, but some of the attention should go to how sadly common the details of that life are. It should not be so ferociously difficult to get by, let alone get ahead, in this country.

[ProfPacker]

Still brings to mind the study Nickel and Dimed

[Happy_Go_Lucky]

Originally Posted by ProfPacker

Still brings to mind the study Nickel and Dimed

If I still taught school, ANY Barbara Ehrenreich book would be a 'must-read' in my class room. This country has lost its way.

[Kobi]

Paul Revere, a teenage businessman who found an outlet for his entrepreneurial spirit in the form of a campy rock 'n' roll band that capitalized on his name, wore Revolutionary War-era costumes and cranked out a string of grungy hits in the mid-1960s, has died. The founder of Paul Revere and the Raiders was 76.

Revere died Saturday of cancer at his home in Garden Valley, Idaho, his longtime manager Roger Hart told the Associated Press. After a near-constant touring schedule in recent years, Revere retreated six months ago to his adopted home state because of health issues, said his tour manager, Ron Lemen.

Along with singer and saxophonist Mark Lindsay, Revere, a keyboard player, formed a band called the Downbeats in Boise in 1959. Within a few years they would become Paul Revere and the Raiders, string together top-10 pop hits including "Kicks," "Hungry" and "Good Thing" and become fixtures of Dick Clark's weekday afternoon TV show "Where the Action Is."


"Just Like Me," a 1965 hit written by Revere and Lindsay, made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

Born Paul Revere Dick on Jan. 7, 1938, in Harvard, Neb., he grew up on a farm near Boise, where he learned to play piano. While still a teenager he opened a barbershop. At 18, with three barbershops to his name, he sold them to buy a drive-in restaurant and put together the band to attract young customers.

After some local success the Downbeats moved to Portland, Ore., in 1960 and with encouragement of their new manager, radio disc jockey Hart, renamed themselves Paul Revere and the Raiders. They recorded a 1963 version of "Louie Louie" that was eclipsed by another Portland garage band, the Kingsmen, but the Raiders were on their way to Hollywood.

Joined by early core members Drake Levin on guitar, Mike Smith on drums and Phil Volk on bass, the group performed a choreographed show in elaborate outfits complete with tri-cornered hats, brightly colored frock coats, white hose and knee-high black leather boots. In 1964, they signed a contract with Columbia Records as the label's first rock act and caught Clark's eye.

"From day one, we've always been a party band that accidentally had some hit records and accidentally got on a hit television series," Revere said in a 2000 interview with the Associated Press.

"We were visual and fun and crazy and were America's answer to the British music invasion. ... We just happened to be at the right time and had the right name and had the right gimmick."

Producer Terry Melcher honed the band's hard-edged, guitar-driven sound with Lindsay, the front man, providing the vocals. The blond Revere was content to remain in the background playing organ.

Besides performing as the house band on "Where the Action Is" beginning in 1965, Paul Revere and the Raiders appeared on Clark's later "Happening" shows as well as "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Tonight Show" and as themselves on the "Batman" TV show in 1966.

The band had 20 consecutive hits and reached its peak with John D. Loudermilk's "Indian Reservation" at No. 1 in 1971, but a revolving door of band members and changing musical tastes led to its decline. Revere maintained a busy pace of touring and appearing at state fairs, casinos and clubs.

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituar...006-story.html

[Kobi]

Actress Marian Seldes, the Tony Award-winning star of "A Delicate Balance" who was a teacher of Kevin Kline and Robin Williams, a muse to playwright Edward Albee and a Guinness Book of World Records holder for most consecutive performances, died Monday at age 86.

Marian Seldes made her Broadway debut in 1947 in a production of "Medea," starring the versatile actress Judith Anderson, and later appeared in hits such as "Equus" and "Deathtrap." Her most recent Broadway outing was in Terrence McNally's "Deuce" in 2007, starring opposite Angela Lansbury.

Seldes was nominated for a Tony five times, for her performances in "A Delicate Balance," ''Father's Day," ''Deathtrap," ''Ring Round the Moon" and "Dinner at Eight." She won in 1967 for "A Delicate Balance" and won her second Tony in 2010 for lifetime achievement.

Her collaborations with Albee included "Three Tall Women," which won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for drama, "The Play About the Baby," ''Tiny Alice" and "Father's Day."

But she moved easily from role to role, from Chekhov's "Ivanov" to Peter Shaffer's "Equus," from Ira Levin's "Deathtrap" to Tony Kushner's "A Bright Room Called Day" and Tina Howe's "Painting Churches." Her off-Broadway credits also include "The Ginger Man" and "Painting Churches."

Seldes' reliability and professionalism sealed her place in the Guinness World Records for a time after playing every performance during the run of "Deathtrap" from 1978 to 1982 — a total of 1,809 performances. Her record as most durable actress has since been broken by Catherine Russell, who logged over 11,000 performances in the off-Broadway production of "Perfect Crime."

From 1969 to 1992, she served on the faculty of the Juilliard School, teaching the craft of acting to such pupils as Kline, Williams, Patti LuPone, Laura Linney, Mandy Patinkin and Christopher Reeve.

Seldes also acted in films, in "Mona Lisa Smile," ''Home Alone 3" and "Celebrity." On television she appeared in "Nurse Jackie" and played Candice Bergen's aunt in "Murphy Brown" and Mr. Big's mother in "Sex and the City." She also wrote two books: a memoir, "The Bright Lights: A Theater Life," and a novel, "Time Together."

Seldes, a slim and elegant woman who often wore her hair pulled back, studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse and made her professional debut at age 17 in Robinson Jeffers' "Medea," with Anderson.

Her other Broadway credits include "Crime and Punishment," ''The Chalk Garden," ''The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore," Oliver Hailey's "Father's Day," for which she won a Drama Desk Award, Arnold Wesker's "The Merchant" and Kanin's "A Gift of Time."

In 1995, she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame, marking 50 years in the profession, but she missed the ceremony because — typically — she was on tour with "Three Tall Women" in Los Angeles.

- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/ns/obituary.as....x24tCzxO.dpuf

[Linus]

Geoffrey Holder, the Tony-winning actor, dancer and choreographer known to millions as Baron Samedi in Bond movie Live and Let Die, has died at 84.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29505646


http://www.latimes.com/local/obituar...007-story.html

[Kobi]

Former "Saturday Night Live" star Jan Hooks died on Thursday. She was 57 years old.

Hooks appeared on "SNL" from 1986-91 and most recently guest starred on "30 Rock" as Jenna Maroney's mother, Verna. She was a regular on "Designing Women" from 1991-93 and appeared on TV shows "3rd Rock From The Sun," "The Martin Short Show," "The Dana Carvey Show," "The Simpsons," "Futurama" and "Primetime Glick." While on "SNL," she was known for her recurring character Candy Sweeney of "The Sweeney Sisters." She also impersonated Bette Davis, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Sinéad O'Connor, Jodie Foster and Hillary Clinton.

Originally, Hooks was considered for the 1985 "SNL" cast, but was passed over for Joan Cusack. She was hired the next season alongside Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman and Nora Dunn. In one of her most memorable sketches, she played Brenda the Waitress in "The Diner" with Alec Baldwin.

Hooks was born near Atlanta in 1957 and began her career as part of famed comedy troupe The Groundlings. Prior to joining "SNL," she landed a small but notable part in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" as a tour guide at the Alamo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/1...n_5961882.html