Leaderboard

Tessa Jowell looked healthier in her last appearance. April tops imo.

Getting the update out of the way now. First off, Elena Huelva. Sigh. She was Banana's second sub and has a base 50 points. But also rejected from the DDP as her social media following, though large, predicated on being ill. Thus I am applying a penalty of 30 points so the gain is only 20. Up next was tennis star Dick Savitt whose death sees Torva Messor serve the little yellow ball onto the HPDP court and score her first points of the season. She gains 28 points (20 base + 8 bonus). Savitt was overshadowed by another demise that day, however. Italy football great Gianluca Vialli was the second-most-popular pick of the entire pool. The part of the Pele/Benny squad of "please make 2023" who actually made it, he naturally was placed high on most teams. An Fear Beag, Banana, CaptainChorizo, chilean way, diego, Famous6Eva, gcreptile, JoeMoneypenny, LizLemon, MariNisia, maryportfuncity, nantonian2013, Perhaps, Sean, Thatcher, TheDumbReaper, ThereWillBeDeaths7, wannamaker all get 50 points. DeathBecomesThem, drol, Funeralopolis, Hell, justonecornetto, msc, RadGuy, The Unknown Man 45. Toast 40. Book, BuffaloPhil, Clarence, Pedro67, and theoldlady 35. The Old Crem 30. BabyBlue and Charles de Gaulle a first sub hit for 25. Back to the low-key unique with US journalist Bernard Kalb. A unique for John "요한" Sulu who made 100 but didn't make 101, Sulu beams up 56 points (40 base + 16 bonus). King Constantine II was moderately popular with 5 teams picking him though a bit of a Greece-y spoon as most of them were banking on him as a later-year death. wannamaker gains 15 points, Young One 10, Murdoc 5, and diego and Etushispushingupdaisies both get their first sub points for 25. Natalie Fornasier. Another sigh. Again, she was rejected for DDP so instant penalty. Banana had her as a unique so the pre-penalty total is 56 (40 base + 16 bonus) but I will be subtracting 36 points from that so he only gains 20 points. A little more famous is Italian screen diva Gina Lollobrigida. Surprisingly not picked on any previous HPDPs under my watch, the lucky timing for BabyBlue benefits them by 35 points (25 base + 10 bonus). IIRC Kane Tanaka was a unique hit last year. Double checking, yes, she was. History repeats itself with the WOP unique once more. BuffaloPhil cloistered alone in picking 118-year-old French nun Lucile Randon, and is rewarded with 49 points (35 base + 14 bonus). Spanish economist Juan Velarde Fuertes is now Juan Velarde Muertes. No doubt we will look back on 2023 as the year this towering figure died. At any rate one individual who was invested in this guy was WEP, whose eclectic mix is on the board with 49 points (35 base + 14 bonus). And thus here is the second scoreboard, with all but nine teams all off the mark now. Defending champion Banana sees himself perched atop once again, however the FFBI penalties keep it close while we're still in the early days. 1. Banana 115 2. justonecornetto 90.95 3. msc 86.77 4. BuffaloPhil 84.95 5. drol 81.77 6. diego 75.82 7. RadGuy 67.7 8. wannamaker 65.95 9. BabyBlue 60.95 10. John "요한" Sulu 56 11. LizLemon 52.7 12. nantonian2013 51.27 =13. An Fear Beag 50.95 =13. gcreptile 50.95 =13. Perhaps 50.95 =13. TheDumbReaper 50.95 =17. chilean way 50.82 =17. Sean 50.82 =17. ThereWillBeDeaths7 50.82 =20. Book 50 =20. CaptainChorizo 50 =20. Famous6Eva 50 =20. JoeMoneypenny 50 =20. MariNisia 50 =20. maryportfuncity 50 =20. Thatcher 50 27. WEP 49 28. DeathBecomesThem 46.77 29. Funeralopolis 45.95 30. The Unknown Man 45.82 31. Hell 45 32. Toast 40.95 33. Clarence 36.77 =34. Pedro67 35 =34. theoldlady 35 36. The Old Crem 30.95 37. Torva Messor 28 38. Charles De Gaulle 26.77 39. Etushispushingupdaisies 26.4 40. Young One 10 41. Murdoc 5.82 =42. Great Uncle Bulgaria 1.77 =42. YorkshireBanker 1.77 =44. John Key 0.95 =44. markb4 0.95 =46. CalebH 0.82 =46. GuyFromFuture 0.82 =46. Joey Russ 0.82 =49. arghton 0 =49. Death Impends 0 =49. DeathByArsenic 0 =49. DevonDeathTrip 0 =49. Gooseberry Crumble 0 =49. Lord Fellatio Nelson 0 =49. TheKillingTime 0 =49. time 0 =49. YoungWillz 0

I reckon this is going to be an age thing. Us oldies probably downvoting crap (IMO) and the youngsters voting the other way.

He doesn't look at death's door to me. For example, unlike a lot of terminally ill older people, his hands are not discoloured. I reckon maybe another couple of years.

THE SURVIVORS 01. Eva Marie Saint, American actress 02. Jane Morgan, American singer 03. Jimmy Carter, American former President IN MEMORIAM 1. M. Karunanidhi, Indian politician 2. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indian former Prime Minister 3. Charles Aznavour, French singer 4. Doug Ellis, English businessman 5. George H. W. Bush, American former President 6. Rosamunde Pilcher, British writer 7. Stanley Donen, American film director 8. Machiko Kyō, Japanese actress 9. Gloria Vanderbilt, American artist 10. Lee Iacocca, American executive 11. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean former 'President' 12. Robert Frank, Swiss-American photographer 13. Christopher Tolkien, English editor, son of J.R.R. Tolkien 14. Daniel arap Moi, Kenyan former President 15. Zizi Jeanmaire, French dancer 16. Cicely Tyson, American actress 17. Kenneth Kaunda, Zambian former President 18. Amalia Aguilar, Cuban-Mexican actress 19. Leslie Phillips, English actor 20. Carole Cook, American actress 21. Joyce Randolph, American actress

American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll Buddy Holly died on this day 64 years ago, aged 22.

I am Marine ! no but the real thing is When you’re on a foreign site such as this one, it’s hard to be accostumed with another culture and way of Life and you have this kind of proudness for your own country and culture that you want to share. Not to talk about the fact that you’re the most able to relay your own countrie’s News and deaths

Maggie Donaldson of Scottish husband and wife group The Marlettes, reportedly dead from cancer: https://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/news/tributes-paid-to-maggie-donaldson-of-the-marlettes-who-has-d-302153/

Surely that question is put in the interview to see what a good liar you are. When I used to interview school leavers for lab jobs there was a section on the form for interests and pastimes. Generally the girls would write a huge paragraph about all sorts on things they said they did. Lads would put play video games and football. I rapidly learnt that you do not put playing FRPGs on your application form

English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols Sid Vicious died on this day 44 years ago, aged 21.

Annabelle Holblinger dead at 113.

Photo of Ayatollah taken this year. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khamenei_2023.jpeg Looks like one of the healthiest candidates on this year's DL and a safe drop for 2024 at this rate. I bet he won't be carried over next year.

Armi Kuusela, the first Miss Universe, has not made much public appearances in the last years and lost her son in 2020. 89 this year.

Update 20 January Here is the Joker Distribution (now on Stats post too): Henry Kissinger 1 Bob Barker 1 Nigel Starmer-Smith 2 Tony Bennett 1 Norman Tebbit 1 Joanne Woodward 2 Joss Ackland 1 Rolf Harris 11 Ryuichi Sakamoto 9 Shane MacGowan 1 30 And here are the baseline points for all runners. The following penalties are in place: incorrectly predicted (-1 for each 'hit') + (-2 out by 5 on total hits; applies to all runners at this point) + (-2 for having joker incorrect; applies to all runners at this point) = current score. For example, @Grimgrass is at -16. Calculated = -1 * 12 hits + (-2) + (-2) = -12-2-2 = -16 Here's the starting ranks. Grimgrass -16 Great Uncle Bulgaria -17 diego -17 Joey Russ -18 Joltin Joe -19 YoungWillz -19 Bibliogryphon -19 Sean -19 theoldlady -20 gcreptile -20 wannamaker -20 LizLemon -20 Newjack -20 Etushispushingupdaisies -21 tracy -21 The Duke of Deadinburgh -21 TQR -22 Book -22 Torva Messor -22 Funeralopolis -23 DoorSlammer -23 WinterCake -23 Annami -23 chilean way -24 Summer in Transylvania -24 The Daredevil -25 Dying Probably -25 The Old Crem -25 Hell -25 ThereWillBeDeaths7 -26 Grab some popcorn and get comfortable, only 345 days to go!

Congratulations to @Banana on officially winning the 2022 pool.

Alfred Theodore “Ted” Goodwin, who was responsible for a series of bold rulings that helped shape Oregon today, died late last month at the age of 99 after serving more than six decades as a state and federal judge. According to an obituary published by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Goodwin was “the oldest federal judge in the country, as well as the longest-serving current federal judge.” One of Goodwin’s sons told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Goodwin was working cases until about two years ago. SC

You are my Honey Honeysuckle, I am your beer....

Alright, here's hoping we're off to a good start. I have hopefully adjusted the masterlist and game files according to your clarifications and late developments. So let's get a first scoreboard up. Gianluca Vialli and Frank McGarvey were the huge names in this first update. Vialli especially received some joker love, a mid-sized joker bonus for him, but some players preferred the absolute certainty. It does at least give them the no. 1 spot in this first update. Fay Weldon was another hit for a few players. Bill Campbell is the first unique hit of the game, for JoeyRuss, well done! I still have to comb through all the new names and add them to my personal list, It's about 300 new names, so I am not yet familiar with all the picked names. If I missed an early death, feel free to tell me, I should find them eventually in anycase. We have 61 players in the game, and 3049 individual picks. That number is now higher than the AltObits Deadpool. That's... something. Rank Team Score 1 ThereWillBeDeaths7 184 1 Perhaps 184 1 Banana 184 4 The Spinosaurus 128 4 TheUnknownMan 128 4 Wormfarmer 128 7 gcreptile 120 7 Famous6Eva 120 7 Funeralopolis 120 7 wannamaker 120 7 Etushipushingupdaisies 120 7 RadGuy 120 7 Death Impends 120 7 Drol 120 7 Predictor 120 7 Grim Up North 120 7 Book 120 7 msc 120 7 Salmon Mousse 120 20 Torva Messor 95 20 TheOldLady 95 20 Toast 95 23 CalebH 64 23 chilean way 64 23 DeathBecomesThem 64 23 GuyFromFuture 64 23 TheQuimReaper 64 23 Joltin Joe 64 23 Nick 64 23 YoungWillz 64 23 Diego 64 23 The Old Crem 64 23 Buffalo Phil 64 23 tracy 64 23 Sean 64 23 Mr. Wonderful 64 23 sam081 64 23 The Daredevil 64 23 MariNisia 64 23 An Fear Beag 64 23 Lady Fiona 64 23 Thatcher 64 23 etib80 64 23 Cpt. Chorizo 64 23 JoeyRuss 64 23 Hell 64 23 DevonDeathTrip 64 23 Pedro67 64 23 Annami 64 23 Summer in Transylvania 64 23 Mr. Custard 64 52 Gooseberry Crumble 31 53 JoeMoneypenny 0 53 Liz Lemon 0 53 Bibliogryphon 0 53 MortalCaso 0 53 John Key 0 53 Cpt. Hemlock 0 53 Charles De Gaulle 0 53 Great Uncle Bulgaria 0 53 Ghostofchristmaspast 0

tbh if Octopus started a thread about chefs hurt "while BBQing", I'd naturally assume it was just and reasonable thread based on the thread starter.

No Wiki page = generally not important. Soz. This one on the other hand... Solomon Blatt, Jr. - a federal district judge in South Carolina appointed by Richard Nixon. Dead at 94: http://www.postandcourier.com/20160421/160429877/federal-judge-sol-blatt-jr-has-passed

If so, he was in poor health for at least 30 years

"They think it's all over, it is now" for Kenneth Wolstenholme nine years ago today. Also, Rhoda's mum and the director of the classic Village People film 'Can't Stop The Music' Nancy Walker, today 19 years ago.

No, no, no, no, no, no. Peter Falk isn't going to die. Silly you. Please, Six, try understanding the post you're replying to before before flopping out another meaningless one-liner. What did I not understand in the post? You suggested that Peter Falk would possibly be following Van Dyke and Forsyth in their deaths at some point in the future. I simply informed you of your mistake. As I said before, Peter Falk is not going to die. So, explain to me what I didn't understand. Oh, and thank you Lady Die for defending me I've just re-read the original post, and Mr Star Crossed said that Columbo will be on the trail of the guilty party, ie will be still alive and chasing the culprit. Seems clear to me. BTW I have no axe to grind, just adding my 10 cents' worth. For what it's worth, I like Six too - fellow Somersettian and all that!

how disgusting

well, of course he didn't write Stairway (Page/Plant, duh), but check out this interesting nugget on a track he did: Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport Rolf wrote this in 1957, inspired by Harry Belafonte's calypsos. The song was number 1 for about four weeks in Australia in 1960; this version was re-recorded in England in 1962. Apparently, the verse marked * caused offence (leading to the song being banned in Singapore), and was removed in later years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Harris) Ardmore & Beechwood Ltd / EMI (P) 1963 Arr. Johnnie Spence - Produced by George Martin [spoken:] There's an old Australian stockman, lying, dying, and he gets himself up on one elbow, and he turns to his mates, who are gathered 'round him and he says: Watch me wallabys feed mate. Watch me wallabys feed. They're a dangerous breed mate. So watch me wallabys feed. Altogether now! Tie me kangaroo down sport, tie me kangaroo down. Tie me kangaroo down sport, tie me kangaroo down. Keep me cockatoo cool, Curl, keep me cockatoo cool. Don't go acting the fool, Curl, just keep me cockatoo cool. Altogether now! Take me koala back, Jack, take me koala back. He lives somewhere out on the track, Mac, so take me koala back. Altogether now! Let me Abos go loose, Lou, * let me Abos go loose. They're of no further use, Lou, so let me Abos go loose. Altogether now! Mind me platypus duck, Bill, mind me platypus duck. Don't let him go running amok, Bill, mind me platypus duck. Altogether now! Play your digeridoo, Blue, play your digeridoo. Keep playing 'til I shoot thro' Blue, play your digerydoo. Altogether now! Tan me hide when I'm dead, Fred, tan me hide when I'm dead. So we tanned his hide when he died Clyde, (Spoken) And that's it hanging on the shed. Altogether now! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a true Australian hero. Maybe when PW Botha goes his DL title of "racist" can pass to the Rolfster.