Cowboy Ronnie

While watching The Last King of Scotland last night, it occurred to me that the loveable African despot is a potentially rich mine of DL candidates. I rushed home, via the pub, hoping to find that the predecessor (and successor) to Idi Amin (a 2003 success) Milton Obote was still alive, but alas he slipped away in 2005. We nabbed PW Botha last year, and have Ian Smith on this year. But the question is, are there any other good candidates out there? I'd start off with a couple of the obvious: Robert Mugabe, Charles Taylor, Gadaffi (still a despot in my books). Suggestions most welcome

I figured as there's a "Read any Good books Lately?" thread, and I can't read, that I'd start a movie version for those of us with the attention span of a goldfish. On a recent trip to the US I thoroughly enjoyed Superman Returns and (gulp) The Devil Wears Prada, and was astonished at how bewilderingly unfunny I found Borat. All the great reviews, massive box office, people (Americans even) in the cinema falling around laughing, while I sat there in stunned silence. Must be the curmudgeon thing.....

Good shout on the parachute deaths of late, T, but haven't most of those been people who've decided to end it all and purposely failed to pull their rip cords? Seems a perverse way to go. On the way down your life wouldn't so much flash before your eyes as play back in real time before you hit terra firma. Given Bush Sr.'s age, status as an ex-Pres. (don't forget Saddam tried to bump him off soon after he left office) and ongoing participation in a dangerous activity, seems he merits discussion for '05. And how about wife Barbara? She looked like she was about 75 when she first came to prominence in 1980, which would make her 99 in perceived years today.

I floated this idea a while back, there was some interest, then it died on the vine. The DL might not be the right venue for it, but anyway. I'm going to put together a 2008 celebrity split list, the idea being a celebrity couple (both must be famous in their own right, even if they only became famous because of their partner) which is predicted to break up next year. Here's a draft list compiled in 2003 (in hindsight, probably some of the "couples" listed weren't): Dating 1. Angelina Jolie ? Colin Farrell 2. Carmen Electra Dave Navarro 3. Jennifer Lopez Ben Affleck 4. Pamela Anderson ? Tommy Lee 5. Marilyn Manson ?/F? Dita von Teese 6. Anna Kournikova ? Enrique Iglesias 7. Leo DiCaprio ? Gisele Bundchen 8. Orlando Bloom Kate Bosworth 9. Beyonce Knowles Jay Z 10. Jason Statham F? Kelly Brook 11. Heidi Klum Anthony Kiedis 12. Andy Roddick Mandy Moore 13. Leyton Hewitt Kim Clijsters 14. Britney Spears ? Jared Leto 15. Prince Charles Camilla Parker-Bowles 16. Minnie Driver F? Robbie Ginepri 17. Lance Armstrong Sheryl Crow 18. Gwynneth Paltrow Chris Martin 19. Nicole Kidman Lenny Kravitz 20. Katie Holmes Chris Klein 21. Parker Posey Ryan Adams 22. Rod Stewart F? Penny Lancaster 23. Tom Cruise Penelope Cruz 24. Justin Timberlake Cameron Diaz 25. Kylie Minogue Olivier Martinez 26. Demi Moore Ashton Kutcher 27. Liam Gallagher F? Nicole Appleton 28. Harrison Ford Calista Flockhart 29. Nathalie Appleton F? Liam Howlett Married/Long-Term Relationship 30. Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton 31. Fat Boy Slim F? Zoe Ball 32. Chris Evans F? Billie Piper 33. David Beckham Victoria Beckham 34. Whitney Houston Bobby Brown 35. Donna D’Erico F? Nikki Sixx 36. David Arquette Courtney Cox 37. Ozzie Osbourne Sharon Osbourne 38. Reese Wetherspoon Ryan Philippe 39. Madonna Guy Ritchie 40. Brad Pitt Jennifer Aniston 41. Sarah Michelle Gellar Freddie Prinze Jr. 42. David Duchovny Tea Leoni 43. Gwen Steffani Gavin Rossdale 44. Rebecca Romin-Stamos John Stamos 45. Simon LeBon Yasmin LeBon 46. Kevin Kline Phoebe Cates 47. Ric Ocasek Paulina Porizkova 48. Will Smith Jada Pinkett 49. Heather Locklear Richie Sambora 50. Sean Penn Robin Wright-Penn 51. Pete Sampras Bridgette Wilson 52. Ben Stiller Christine Taylor 53. Hilary Swank Chad Lowe 54. Faith Hill Tim McGraw 55. Kate Winslet F? Sam Mendes 56. Michael Douglas Catherine Zeta-Jones 57. Goldie Hawn Kurt Russell 58. Susan Sarandon Tim Robbins 59. Warren Beatty Annette Bening 60. Richard Gere Carey Lowell 61. Matthew Broderick Sarah Jessica Parker 62. Paul McCartney Heather Mills 63. André Agassi Steffi Graf 64. Christy Turlington Ed Burns 65. Johnny Depp Vanessa Paradis 66. Danny DeVito Rhea Perlman 67. David Bowie Iman 68. Charlie Sheen Denise Richards 69. Jessica Simpson Nick Lachey 70. Barbra Streissand James Brolin 71. Arnold Schwarzenegger Maria Shriver 72. Tom Hanks Rita Wilson Already Broken Up (but would be on list if they got back together) 73. Heath Ledger Naomi Watts 74. Jacques Villeneuve F? Dannii Minogue 75. Pam Anderson Kid Rock 76. Marilyn Manson Rose McGowan 77. Ethan Hawke Uma Thurman 78. 50 Cent Vivica A Fox 79. Jack White Renee Zellweger I can't remember what "F?" meant. Suggestions for 2008 please.

I'm thinking there's probably already a Gary Glitter thread, but I really can't be bothered to look for it. Anyway, according to this article he's on the lam in Vietnam. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051117/ap_en_...DRrBHNlYwM3NjI- Check out the last sentence. Plus maybe he'll cave in to pressure and top himself. One can only hope.

Iran's President appears to be out to compile the world's biggest list of people who want to kill him (challenging the three B's - Bush, Blair and Beckham). Not content with antagonizing the US and Israel, who are both pretty good at taking out people they don't like, he's now undertaking a massive purge of his own government, drawing the ire of many fellow Iranians. http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1645457,00.html I know wishful thinking when nominating candidates is discouraged, but still.......

According to this story, professional voice of reason Pat Robertson is calling for the Venezuelan President Hugo Sanchez to be assassinated. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9047102/ Judging by how the vote went in the last election there's a lot of Robertson's supporters in the red states that Bush won, so maybe W will bow to the demands of his constituents. Although given the CIA couldn't plant, I mean find, any WMD in Iraq I very much doubt their ability to carry out something as simple as offing a Latin American president. Or, maybe we should just nominate Robertson for '06.

Trawling the net earlier I came across an article which mentioned Sacheen Littlefeather, who went onstage to accept Marlon Brando's best actor Oscar for The Godfather. an honour she couldn't refuse It got me thinking about a few others who truly earned Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame, and not a moment more. Rosie Ruiz you must take the A train Kato Kaelin you imbecile, not now Kato Michael Knighton I bet he can't keep it up much longer Lisa Nowak All play and Nowak Other suggestions for the list welcomed. It would be interesting to see which, if any, get UK obits when they die

Must be a bad week for African quasi dictators with an M, u, a and b in their names, as Hosni Mubarak is apparently ill enough to be raising speculation over who might succeed him. Could be one to bear in mind for next year......

more tragedy in Iraq http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4199618.stm follows a pattern: July 1987 - Saudi security forces clash with Iranian pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca, 402 killed July 90 - 1,426 pilgrims killed in a stampede in a tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca May 94 - 270 pilgrims killed in Mecca stampede Seizing on this, the US has decided to secretly add 350 holy days to the calendar as part of the Iraqi draft constitution. They have calculated that this way, by the time it comes time to vote the only people left in Iraq will be women, children and moderates. With them in charge and all that oil, Iraq is expected to replace France in the G8 by 2020.

A pointless discussion w/another DL Member inspired this topic: which famous person is mentioned in the most different pop songs? We're talking real people here, so please spare us "Jesus Christ" or any of that ilk. I can think of one person who is named in at least three songs. A point for anyone who can do better. Candidates on a small, square piece of digital correspondence below, if you please.

Osama Bin Laden = Now, 'e is a bad man Salman Rushdie = Dare shun Islam David Beckham = Bad Chav miked Steven Gerrad = Red Vest Ranger and this is relevant to the DL as there are vast swathes of the population who have wished all of the above to die at one point or another in recent days/months/years. Any others?

There's another Diana deathopic on C5 tonight, which got me to thinking - what are the greatest ever deaths? The person probably needs to be a combination of very famous, with an unexpected, violent even, demise. Answers on a post card please.

sorry to have to report, but W. F. Deedes was pictured on the front page of Saturday's Torygraph somewhere in Africa where he'd been sent on assignment. And, although there was a cheetah in the photo with him, alas its jaws were not wrapped around the old boy's throat like wot happened to Roy out of Sigfriend and Roy.

Did anyone notice that no less than 4 people died whilst competing in the Great North Run yesterday. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4259174.stm "Warm weather" was blamed in part, which makes sense as temperatures soared all the way up to a staggering 64 degrees Farenheit (18 C) on Tyneside yesterday. And here's a cheery quote from some unnamed police officer: "I can confirm four male participants in the race have died, which is more than the usual one or two - but every year more people are taking part." And it's not even a full marathon - only 13 miles. I wonder, is this a record for most deaths during a road race?

In the 1950's Superman TV show, newspaper boss Perry White would frequently exclaim, "Great Caesar's ghost!" Not sure that is well-enough known for deadline purposes. So, maybe we should go with, "I come to bury Caesar", (and praise the committee for picking him).

I've probably missed this on the DL due to my crap searching skillz, but Britney Spears forerunner (on account of they were both at one point Mouseketeers), Beach Blanket Bingo Babe (ish), and Skippy peanut butter hawker Annette Funicello died yesterday. http://www.guardian....s-mousketeer-ms

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21459240 He needs to hire Johnny Cochrane's ghost.

If that goes to court he wont have a leg to stand on... His lawyer has filed a defense of diminished capacity through extreme intoxication. After a long session down the pub he came home legless.

As if those geriatric kiddie-fiddlers would even consider a black guy. After carefully consulting my popeometer I predict it will be: Cardinal Angelo Scola, Italy. Right age, right nationality, right level of whiteness. If I read one more article about how "brave" the current one is for stepping down I might have to scream. He's evil, we can all see it in his eyes. Born in Germany in 1927, which couldn't be much more prime for Hitler Youth if he tried. Wait, I just checked Wikipedia, and sure enough, signed up when he was 14. But he was an "unenthusiastic member", according to his brother. Great, glad they cleared that up then. Him and Kurt Waldheim.

Alright, enough already, I can't take it any longer. I saw the documentary about the "discovery" of "the body Richard III" on Channel 4 last night, and I am calling bull-$hit. At least until there is some corroborating testimony in respect of the DNA evidence, which wasn't presented at all during the programme. What are the odds that this particular skeleton actually was Richard III? Several thousand to one, at best.

A Death Wish come true.

He also played the executioner who [where's the spoiler alert feature?] chopped off someone important's head at the end of season 1 on Game of Thrones. http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Ilyn_Payne Must be a definite DL candidate for 2014, partly because the deadline - "Roger, Wilko, over and out" - writes itself.

An open-ended trivia question came up over the weekend. Can you name any actors or actresses to appear in all three (or more) films in two different movie trilogies. An example would be Harrison Ford - first three Star Wars and Indiana Jones x 3. No Googling, and only one name per post please. There are at least ten.

I'm not sure it's necessary to get into this level of detail about one's masturbatory antics.....