Death Impends

My chief parlor trick for nearly 20 years now (and reflected by my DDP team name) is being able to name all the US presidents chronologically in under a minute Learned functional Spanish for a job in an area with a large Spanish-speaking populace, tbh I still struggle with listening to others in Spanish and reading is far easier. Even though my current job doesn't need Spanish I refuse to let it rust, so I'll do a little practice each day. I've been trying to expand my skills/knowledge in recent months actually. In school the grades system ultimately made me care about getting good grades rather than learning. And sadly not uncommon when trans/autistic, I had been in a personal stasis for a long time. I've only truly felt I was living in these past 2-3 years and I'm making up for lost time by kicking the living into overdrive. There's been to-dos I've had in mind (I want to learn the keyboard, though making room for one in my apartment is a puzzle), one of my big escapades in recent months is memorizing the countries, capitals, flags, where they're located, etc, and I've made major leaps and bounds in a short period of time. I'm now irked that I didn't have this newfound knowledge when the ex leader of Tanzania died on leap day, as I so would've used "Dead as a Dodoma" as his DDP pun.

It's been apparent that updates to the site have been more sparse, and those who can read between the lines could probably tell that it meant my time as front page co-host is flaming out. I'm making it official now - I'll be stepping down as DDP co-host at the end of this year and we'll need someone new to write down whatever Wikipedia tells you to think about this recently-deceased Romanian stenographer. Wait, no, that's a vintage LotLer if there ever was one... But yes, I decided back in November that 2024 would be my last year, it's been an interesting ride and exposed me to some fascinating stories I wouldn't have otherwise known if I didn't have to write their obit. But I am tired now and it is time to pass on the reins. I don't have any successor lined up at the moment, so if any of you are interested let me know.

6/22/2024 43 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street +2 38 David Bowie - Life on Mars? 32 Mott the Hoople - All The Young Dudes -4 32 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down +1 29 David Bowie - Sound and Vision 28 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 27 R Dean Taylor— There’s A Ghost In My House +1 24 America - A Horse With No Name  23 Suzi Quatro - 48 Crash 21 ABBA - Money, Money, Money 21 The Four Tops - A Simple Game 20 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 19 The Four Seasons - Silver Star 18 Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle -2 18 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 15 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind

6/21/2024 34 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street +2 32 Mott the Hoople - All The Young Dudes -3 30 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down 30 David Bowie - Life on Mars? 29 R Dean Taylor - There’s A Ghost In My House +2 25 David Bowie - Sound and Vision 21 The Four Tops - A Simple Game 21 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 20 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 20 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 20 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 20 ABBA - Money, Money, Money 20 America - A Horse With No Name 20 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind 20 Lulu - The Man Who Sold The World 20 The Four Seasons - Silver Star 18 Suzi Quatro - 48 Crash 17 Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle 14 Edwin Starr - War 11 Lynn Anderson - Rose Garden 04 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Up Around The Bend -3

6/20/2024 30 Mott the Hoople - All The Young Dudes 28 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down +1 28 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street +2 26 David Bowie - Life on Mars? 26 R Dean Taylor - There’s A Ghost In My House +1 24 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 20 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 20 ABBA - Money, Money, Money 20 America - A Horse With No Name 20 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind 20 Lulu - The Man Who Sold The World 20 Lynn Anderson - Rose Garden 20 The Four Seasons - Silver Star 20 The Four Tops - A Simple Game 20 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 18 David Bowie - Sound and Vision 18 Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run 18 Suzi Quatro - 48 Crash 17 Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle -3 16 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 14 Edwin Starr - War 11 Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love 08 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Up Around The Bend -3 04 The Wombles - Remember You’re a Womble

Take care and be well.

6/20/2024 66 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down 53 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 32 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 27 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 26 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind +4 11 The Rolling Stones - Miss You -4 06 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 00 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -2 Took me a second to realize that's a wrap on this round - forgot 7 got through.

6/19/2024 62 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down 53 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 24 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind 24 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 24 The Cars - My Best Friend ’s Girl +4 22 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -6 23 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 16 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 15 The Rolling Stones - Miss You

6/18/2024 58 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down 53 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 34 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 34 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind 27 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl +4 23 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 23 The Jam - The Elton Rifles 19 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 16 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -6 06 Frankie Valli - Grease 

After the likes of Greg Gilbert, I tend to expect any youngun with stage four colon cancer to still have at least a half decade in them. So this definitely fecks me over. EDIT: Actually only put him at #21, so could've been far worse.

Reading up more, I had no clue Wallace and Gromit legit saved Wensleydale cheese from the financial brink.

6/17/2024 54 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down 49 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 38 Donna Summer — Love’s Unkind +4 36 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 31 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 30 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 28 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -6 27 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 23 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl 13 Frankie Valli - Grease

If I were in the UK #9 would win me Binface's vote.

6/16/2024 50 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down 49 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 42 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 39 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl +4 35 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 34 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -6 32 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3  31 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 23 Frankie Valli - Grease  20 Donna Summer — Love’s Unkind -6

6/15/2024 49 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 43 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down 42 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 37 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl +2 35 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind +2 34 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 33 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -6 31 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 28 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 22 Frankie Valli - Grease 18 Michael Jackson - Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough 13 ABBA - Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous

Winner is easily my favorite ABBA. I love their poppy territory as well but Winner just in a class of its own.

6/14/2024 48 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 48 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind 43 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl +2 42 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down +2 40 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3  39 The Jam — The Eton Rifles 38 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 36 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -6 28 Michael Jackson - Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough 25 Frankie Valli - Grease  25 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 13 ABBA - Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous

6/13/2024 49 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down  48 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 48 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind +2 44 Earth, Wind & Fire - September 40 The Jam — The Eton Rifles 37 The Rolling Stones - Miss You  37 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl +2 32 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3  28 Michael Jackson - Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough 27 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 26 Frankie Valli - Grease  25 ABBA - Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous   04 Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand - No More Tears (Enough is Enough) -6 I at least somewhat enjoy everything left, as well as Rapper's Delight. I am lax

6/12/2024 48 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind 43 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 42 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down +4 40 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 38 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 35 Earth, Wind & Fire - September -6 35 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 7 30 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 28 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl 27 Michael Jackson - Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough 25 ABBA - Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous  22 Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand - No More Tears (Enough is Enough) 18 The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper’s Delight 18 Frankie Valli - Grease 16 Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams - Too Much, Too Little, Too Late 13 Marshall Hain - Dancing in the City  13 Sad Café - Every Day Hurts

My radio was playing the BJ Thomas version when I read the above posts. No mention by the radio host of his death, so I assume coincidence.

6/11/2024 43 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street +1 43 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down +1 41 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind +1 40 Earth, Wind & Fire - September 37 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 32 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 29 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 28 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl +1 27 Michael Jackson - Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough 27 Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand - No More Tears (Enough is Enough) 26 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 25 ABBA - Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous  23 The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper’s Delight 22 Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams - Too Much, Too Little, Too Late 19 Frankie Valli - Grease 13 Marshall Hain - Dancing in the City -2 13 Sad Café - Every Day Hurts -2 11 Lene Lovich - Lucky Number 10 The Sex Pistols - C’mon Everybody  00 Racey to the bottom - Lay Your Love on Me -2

I said in the straplines from my DDP update from circa three weeks ago that "Wildlife Simon Cowell will be dead by the next update." Then I cranked out the latest update on Saturday, and he dies Sunday, proving me wrong by a day

I had a dream where she died last night. Given she's a pick on the current DL, not sure why dream me thought it was legit.

6/9/2024 38 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street +2 34 Lene Lovich - Lucky Number  33 Donna Summer - Love’s Unkind  31 Earth, Wind & Fire - September 30 Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3  29 Electric Light Orchestra - Don’t Bring Me Down +2 26 The Jam - The Eton Rifles 25 The Rolling Stones - Miss You 25 ABBA - Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous 25 The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl 24 Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand - No More Tears (Enough is Enough) 24 Frankie Valli - Grease 24 ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 23 Marshall Hain - Dancing in the City 22 The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper’s Delight 22 Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams - Too Much, Too Little, Too Late 22 Michael Jackson - Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough 21 Sad Café - Every Day Hurts  20 Racey - Lay Your Love on Me 20 The Sex Pistols - C’mon Everybody 17 A Taste of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie 14 David Essex— Oh What A Circus -6 11 The Three Degrees - Woman in Love 06 Bee Gees - Too Much Heaven

May and early June update here. The timespan since my last update was replete with carkers who felt like HPDP potentials (Roger Corman, Alice Munro, Super Gran, Dabney Coleman, Jeannette Charles) but were nowhere to be found. But a few still fell in the HPDP radar. First up, belated arrival of the Toby Keith Squares points. theoldlady's points total is updated to 72, and DeathByArsenic's 16. Now for fresh cadavers. Footballer and manager César Luis Menotti will forever be known for taking Argentina to Cup glory in 1978, and El Flaco wasn't flaky in the HPDP either. BabyBlue hails César from the subs bench, worth 25 points. Yodeler Frank Ifield took the UK charts by storm in a brief fever dream in the early 60s. Beatlemania threw his hitmaking career to the wayward wind, but it was still worth remembering him if only because he did Celebrity Squares and pantomime. And YoungWillz did exactly that for his Squares theme team, with an Alpine-sized points haul of 119 points (35 base + 84 bonus). Maybe not the pivotal Cup hit he was hotly tipped to be, but could well be a key player to the HPDP race. The heavy lifting this update came courtesy of rugby great Rob Burrow, tackled by 15 teams this edition: Pedro67 and Torva Messor gain 35 points. maryportfuncity and msc 30. Hell, Perhaps, and The Old Crem 25. CaptainChorizo, Funeralopolis, and The Unknown Man 20. Toast 15. DeathBecomesThem 10. An Fear Beag and ladyfiona 50 sub points. wannamaker 25 sub points. On the same day, actress Janis Paige completed the Pajama Game and dressed herself for permanent rest. A scene stealer in many of the projects she graced, so too was she a major selling point for Charles de Gaulle as a unique Squares participant. He turns the Paige to 88 points (40 base + 48 bonus). I'm a little surprised Sir Ian himself, William Russell, didn't qualify for any bonuses as far as I can see. Perhaps a cue for one of his pickers to hop in the TARDIS for the most important time travel mission of all - getting William Russell onto a vintage Celebrity Squares episode. Until then, five teams Russell up the regular points: Hell gains 25, John Key and Sean 20, Prophet 15, and Bibliogryphon 25 sub points. And here comes the new scoreboard. The composition of the podium remains unchanged from last time, though gold Torva Messor and silver Perhaps both gained from Burrow while bronze Banana attained no new hits. Paige and Ifield show how a motherlode of points can change a team's fortunes - Charles De Gaulle jumps from mid-table obscurity to the top five via the former, and Willz nothing to top fifteen via the latter. Incidentally, if I gave Ifield the Crimes Against Humanity points for his music, Willz would have 287 points and the lead, but with great power comes great responsibility. Do not park outside my apartment and blare Ifield from your loudspeakers to try to change my mind. 1. Torva Messor 235.19 2. Perhaps 215.19 3. Banana 173 4. Thatcher 155.19 5. Charles De Gaulle 153 6. MariNisia 151 =7. Book 135.19 =7. drol 135.19 =9. maryportfuncity 130 =9. wannamaker 130 =11. ladyfiona 125.19 =11. Pedro67 125.19 13. diego 124 14. YorkshireBanker 120.19 =15. chilean way 119 =15. msc 119 =15. YoungWillz 119 18. theoldlady 117.19 19. CaptainChorizo 111.84 20. John Key 110.19 21. BuffaloPhil 107 22. An Fear Beag 105 23. arghton 98 24. Hell 95.19 =25. Sean 90.19 =25. The Unknown Man 90.19 27. RadGuy 86 28. DevonDeathTrip 83 29. Imelda 82.19 30. markb4 81 31. Funeralopolis 80.19 32. BabyBlue 75.19 33. Etushispushingupdaisies 75 34. justonecornetto 72 35. Toast 70 36. Grimgrass 67 37. Prophet 65.19 38. The Old Crem 65 39. CalebH 63 40. gcreptile 55.47 41. Captain Hemlock 55.19 =42. DeathBecomesThem 45 =42. GuyFromFuture 45 =44. Famous6Eva 42 =44. livingbygrace 42 46. WEP 28 =47. Bibliogryphon 25 =47. MalePoster 25 =47. ThereWillBeDeaths7 25 50. DeathByArsenic 16.98 51. JoeMoneypenny 5 =52. Death Impends 0 =52. Gooseberry Crumble 0 =52. Great Uncle Bulgaria 0 =52. Joey Russ 0 =52. LizLemon 0 =52. TheKillingTime 0 =52. time 0 =52. WillyWonka422 0