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Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024) "No one? Really no one? Zhang? Jimmy? Ok, I'll go then, you cowards" (Seiji's last words) "I'm saddened by the demise of famed director Toscanini" (Joe Biden's message of condolences) Age at death: 88 Known health issues: Diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2010, pneumonia in 2017, hospitalised with heart disease in 2018, lived the last ten years with Alzheimer's, wheelchair bound in 2023. Cause of death: Impaled by his own director wands. No, just joking, heart failure. Alignment: One of the great directors of the last century, and more or less universally respected.

I'm a moderate Democrat, and I will vote for Biden without hesitation (not that it matters, because I live in California) because Trump is not just a truly disgraceful, vile human being, but also a dangerous one. And yes, Biden is old and obviously past his prime. But Trump is the best possible opponent for him, because for the few hundred thousand voters over the few swing states that will decide the election, they essentially will go into the voting booth knowing that Biden's biggest perceived weakness (he's old, senile, etc.) is also something that Trump shares. Trump is barely younger and has also clearly exhibited that he's in obvious cognitive decline. And that's when the fact that Trump is much more hated than Biden is by these particular voters could play in Biden's favor. This has been my theory the whole time. I'm not talking about Trump supporters and most Republicans (and that goes hand in hand now, really); they obviously hate Biden, that's just the way it is. But the difference is that not only do Biden supporters and Democrats hate Trump, but so do independents/swing voters. He has baggage -- more baggage than he did even when he left office -- and these people do not like him. In the early primary contests, it's a poor sign for Trump that he's losing independents badly. Say what you want about Biden, but these particular voters don't hate the guy. The vast majority of them wish that a better alternative were available to them, sure, but they don't hate the man. So yeah, that's my theory. I agree with Nikki Haley that she would defeat Biden easily, and so would any "normal" Republican in this cycle. Haley would draw such an obvious contrast in terms of age for these voters, plus she's not hated by these voters. One worry I do have for Biden, despite my beliefs above, is that perhaps enough on the far left will stay home and not vote for Biden (or vote for Kennedy or something, a la Jill Stein ruining Hillary's chances in 2016), to give Trump just enough to eke out enough all-important swing states. These idiots are pissed at Biden for his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict...like, what the hell do they think Trump would do, by comparison? It's idiocy of the highest order.

Should and would. Seiji Ozawa reportedly swung his last baton: Awaiting the usual.

Sir Anthony Epstein (wiki), co-discoverer of the Epstein-Barr virus, dead at 102 if you read the latest comment on his Wiki talk page. Death notice due in The Times in the next few days, after which a full obit will likely be published. A unique DDP pick.

Not any more. Dries Van Agt reportedly dead: https://nos-nl.translate.goog/artikel/2508141-oud-premier-dries-van-agt-93-overleden?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_hist=true

And so the carnage continues. After players got stung by the early deaths of Glynis Johns and Franz Beckenbauer, everyone hoped for a quiet few months for their teams. It didn't happen of course, as the Reaper continued the busy start to his year by knocking out pool-favourites Jonnie Irwin and Toby Keith in quick order. Irwin was the third most popular pick this year with 27 backers, while Keith also made the team of most popular picks with 14 selections. These are the fallers I have since the last update - let me know if I have missed any obscure deaths. 17th January: Jaako Valtanen 19th January: Jack Burke Jr. 20th January: Norman Jewison 25th January: Jason Smith 25th January: Roger Donlan 30th January: Chita Rivera 2nd February: Jonnie Irwin 5th February: Toby Keith It has been a grim start to the year for "favourites backers" with 4 of the most popular picks gone in the first 6 weeks of competition. And it is a Grim look to the leaderboard as @Grim Up Northused their Irwin Joker and the picks of Keith and Smith to take the lead at the (far too) early stage of the race. @RadGuyalso jokered Irwin to lie in second, while @Etushispushingupdaisieshas put the disappointment of the Stuart Gray miss behind them to sit in third place. @wannamakercontinues their nightmare start to the year with 5 picks down for a mere 81 points, while further down the field @nantonian2013picks up a third hit in Jack Burke Jr, to leave them on 26 points after 3 hits, a quite impressive 8.66 points per hit. The popularity of Irwin and Keith has brought a lot of players into the race properly, with now only 15 players sitting idle on the sidelines. Among them are 2023 champion @Dying Probably, twice champion @Death Impends, and perennial contender @Wormfarmer. Very ominous on all counts. Here are the top 12 - full scoreboard is on page 1. GrimUpNorth (127 points) 4 hits [Derek Draper, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin*, Toby Keith] The RadGuy (118 points) 4 hits [Brian Barczyk, Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin*, Toby Keith] Etushispushingupdaisies (81 points) 4 hits [Derek Draper*, Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Wannamaker (81 points) 5 hits [Brian Barczyk, Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns, Roger Donlan, Toby Keith] Torva Messor (77 points) 4 hits [Glynis Johns, Jack Burke Jr., Jonnie Irwin, Joyce Randolph*] ZZZ - Boring Predictable Team (76 points) 4 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] The Old Lady (75 points) 3 hits [Derek Draper*, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Drol (71 points) 3 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Mario Zagallo, Toby Keith] Toast (70 points) 3 hits [Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Lady Fiona (67 points) 2 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] The Unknown Man (67 points) 2 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Salmon Mousse (65 points) 3 hits [Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin, Roy Battersby] Gcreptile (62 points) 3 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day..... hmmm maybe not Sir Creep though. He's always wrong.

It’s very rare I’m happier than when I’m walking through a rainforest. Especially when it has a raging torrent flowing through it.

Biden is not fit to serve. He is showing signs of dementia and not even that early-stage.

You are defending TOC. That's really all that needs to be said. When he has an informed, rational opinion I'll give him one in turn.

Several obits from the main Japanese news outlets already: NHK Asahi Nikkei

Once again a lack of high profile deaths ( we were spoiled in January) has left us all at a bit of a loose end so it all kicks off in the politics thread. However on Sunday I am undertaking my first overseas trip (for work) since before covid. I am off to Germany for a week to carry out audits at customer factories. Being away from all my key databases will probably result in lots of activity I cannot follow up until I get back. So keep an eye on 20/20 and more importantly the finely poised Scavenger Hunt sites whilst I'm away I will still have my phone so I will be commenting

9/2/2024 50 Sophie Ellis-Bextor — Murder On The Dancefloor +1 41 Wheatus — Teenage Dirtbag 36 Daft Punk — One More Time 32 The Supermen Lovers & Mani Hoffman — Starlight +3 26 S Club 7 — Reach 26 Artful Dodger & Romina Johnson — Movin’ Too Fast 24 Sonique — Sky 24 Moloko — The Time Is Now 24 Outkast — Ms. Jackson 23 U2 — Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of 22 Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue — Kids 22 Samantha Mumba — Gotta Tell You 20 Sophie Ellis-Bextor — Take Me Home 19 Kylie Minogue — On A Night Like This 19 iiO — Rapture 19 Zombie Nation — Kernkraft 400 19 Sweet Female Attitude — Flowers 18 Mis-Teeq — All I Want 17 Blink-182 — All The Small Things 13 Destiny’s Child — Bootylicious 08 Gordon Haskell — How Wonderful You Are -6

Carole King is 82.

Steve McMichael named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/nfl/chicago-bears/bears-news/official-steve-mongo-mcmichael-named-to-the-pro-football-hall-of-fame/538351/

@TQR... Thanks for sharing with us your interesting travel. You're a sensational photographer of landscapes.

9/Feb/2024 49 Sophie Ellis-Bextor — Murder On The Dancefloor 41 Wheatus — Teenage Dirtbag 36 Daft Punk — One More Time 30 Outkast — Ms. Jackson 29 The Supermen Lovers & Mani Hoffman — Starlight 26 S Club 7 — Reach 26 Artful Dodger & Romina Johnson — Movin’ Too Fast 24 Sonique — Sky 24 Moloko — The Time Is Now 23 U2 — Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of 22 Samantha Mumba — Gotta Tell You 20 Gordon Haskell — How Wonderful You Are +4 20 Sophie Ellis-Bextor — Take Me Home 20 Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue — Kids 19 iiO — Rapture 19 Zombie Nation — Kernkraft 400 18 Sweet Female Attitude — Flowers 18 Mis-Teeq — All I Want 16 Blink-182 — All The Small Things -6 15 Kylie Minogue — On A Night Like This 13 Destiny’s Child — Bootylicious

Christ, the political nuts and the royalist weirdos are really have a field day on here recently. When can we get back to being a forum that, you know, discusses death? I’ve never clicked ‘mark forum as read’ as much as I have this week.

Ah OK, got it now. As in Richard III was re-buried after they found his 100s of years old body in the car park.

Keep your uninformed opinions to UK politics please.

To follow up on this, here's Pollard posting on X/Twitter from his ICU bed, revealing that he's awaiting said transplant and is on a donor list, classified as a stage 2, he says.

Fri 9 Feb 00:07 NZDT 41 Wheatus — Teenage Dirtbag 38 Sophie Ellis-Bextor — Murder On The Dancefloor 35 Daft Punk — One More Time +4 28 The Supermen Lovers & Mani Hoffman — Starlight 27 S Club 7 — Reach 26 Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue — Kids 25 Outkast — Ms. Jackson 24 Sonique — Sky 24 Moloko — The Time Is Now 24 Sweet Female Attitude — Flowers 22 Samantha Mumba — Gotta Tell You 22 Artful Dodger & Romina Johnson — Movin’ Too Fast 22 Gordon Haskell — How Wonderful You Are 21 Kylie Minogue — On A Night Like This 20 Mis-Teeq — All I Want 20 Sophie Ellis-Bextor — Take Me Home 19 iiO — Rapture 19 Blink-182 — All The Small Things -6 18 Zombie Nation — Kernkraft 400 17 Sash! — Adelante 17 U2 — Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of 15 Destiny’s Child — Bootylicious 06 Baha Men — Who Let The Dogs Out How do you not find Blink-182 deeply irritating? Seriously?

According to Reuters, Abu Baqir al-Saadi, commander of Hezbollah killed in US airstrike.

You basically have the Harry equivalent of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

He looks perfectly recognisable and fine healthwise to me. Nothing to see here.