Banshees Scream

I'm living in the past, I know.

I went with the popular vote. I say January 14th 2009. Two weeks.

My grandfather always watched James Garner back when he was in Maverick. He would sit back with a scotch and say .. You know .. all those people are dead. I would reply: No, Garner isn't.

I wish everyone the best of luck. Abdelbaset Al Megrahi Keith Bradshaw Phillip Carlo Yao Defen Ronnie James Dio Basil D'Oliveira Laurent Fignon Kristin Hallenga Raymond Hewlett Dennis Hopper Gary Kelly Brian Lenihan Simon MacCorkindale Donald Neilson Zelda Rubinstein Yitzhak Shamir Robert Sargent Shriver Dr William Stanton Zeljko Sturanovic Sir Norman Wisdom

The typical list. Very conservative and a little more ancient than usual. I thought they could have been a little more creative at the height of the list but I guess Al-Megrahi and Biggs are once again qualified to be headliners. Some new faces, some old ones. Zsa Zsa Gabor is probably about 100, and Edrich along with Hopper and Fignon should add to this years count. I see they took my advice and brought back Anna Wing. Wallach and Tork were poor choices, and they should have had Ronnie James Dio who I assume is famous enough. Otherwise, it's basically an oldschool list with a lot of potential. I'm sure a few of our readers would have liked a gamble or two, but maybe this is the winning approach? You gotta love the self centered nature of the committee. Remember the slogan: It's not about what you want. It's what we want. And Clive is getting younger.

Happy New Year to all. If only we knew what Father Time has in mind. .

Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbough has been rushed to a Hawaii hospital with chest pains. If anything of interest becomes of this .. a thread must be created. He looked like a heart attack waiting to happen. It must have been all that red meat.

Tonight I'll leave you just as I do every year. The wind is howling, the bells are ringing, money is disappearing, and people are traveling everywhere. I will remember 2009 as a year of change and progress. I might remember 2009 as hopefully the very beginning for me. Talking death, it was a year that will stay with you forever. Man, Michael Jackson. Who would have thought? I was actually here when it happened and it was thrilling to see so many guests browsing. Names like Fawcett, Carradine, Mays, Goody, Aquino, Cronkite, Malden, Kennedy, Swayze, and Brittney Murphy to go along with it. As most of you know, I almost won the DDP this year. (Yes, I know). That's the way it is. Blood, sweat, and tears and I'll most likely finish in second place after Linda Uttley dies and doesn't get the obituary. Well, maybe somebody else deserves it more than me. It would have been special, but I can only make a Manny Ramirez gesture and smile, and sit back while the vision of the new year burns within. Because throughout life every year introduces us to a different mood, an original thought, a new person, maybe the birth or death of something for the better or for the worse. As the years change life changes, and you change with it but we never lose ourselves. We just seem figure out a little bit more .. Merry Christmas everyone! I'll be back here on New Years Eve. Goodnight.

I'm still contemplating who should have the luxury of being my joker candidate. I vow to never have a list with a joker who sees the year through. After reading that Megrahi is now finally "living up to expectations" I'm kind of keeping my fingers crossed that he breaths until 2010. We will see what happens.

It's just about Winter's prime and we are nearing decision time as the days are fading fast. The DL had a typical year with twelve hits in 2009, and the majority of those twelve hits were big names who were very media friendly. I guess that makes 2009 unforgettable and my aim to is make DL 2010 a more productive and entertaining year. Canadian Paul did a good job sorting out the names but this is a little more concise. (Feel free to add any of the obvious names that I neglected to mention) Here are my tips. : All of these names should be discussed by the committee. (I'm assuming Thatcher will be headlining DL 2010) Muhammad Ali Elizabeth Taylor Professor Stephen Hawking Dennis Hopper Ronnie James Dio Johannes Heesters Laurent Fignon Shaun Greatbatch Meinhardt Raabe Basil D'Oliveira Robert Sargent Shriver Phyllis Diller Vo Nguyen Giap Edward Watson Short Donald Neilson Nursat Bhutto Annette Funicello Peter Falk Frank Kelly Gore Vidal Mike Tyson Alex Higgins Yao Defen Anyonebluesman PS: What about Anna Wing or Kenneth Kendall?

She was a very attractive girl. It's really a shame if it's true. One article says that she was recently fired from an upcoming film.

It's getting cold out there. Father Winter shows us no mercy. 12 degrees this morning.

Good old Oscar. A fearless and dedicated individual who ignores his own reality in order to survive. Could distraction be the key to a long life? Sure, good genes do this too, but you tend to notice a pattern after you hear about all these centurions. One pattern is that work\what they've always done gives them a reason to live. Oscar might be a man with dying ideas but his outlook on life should be more common in people. Where have all those ranters gone?

Oh, but that was then Mr. G, and this is now. The reading of this post is most certainly necessary. (Speaks in a low tone) I can almost hear you raging in that silent obscurity in which you dwell. You cannot speak though I shall speak for you. Mr. Raabe should have the opportunity that he so rightfully and most certainly deserves. He's not only merely qualified, he's really most sincerely qualified to be on the list of all lists next year.

Oatmeal is a Quinquagenarian's breakfast. Bland, tasteless and plain boring. I would say that cinnamon is a vital ingredient when oatmeal is consumed. I often think Breakfast can be a very interesting topic when there is time to waste. Breakfast itself reveals a lot about a human being. I go on cereal strikes sometimes but lately I've been changing it up. I've always liked Newman's own, but some might prefer Kellogg's cornflakes or honey bunches of oats. Newman's is sweet enough but crunchy and honey bunches is much more substantial than say regular cornflakes. Sometimes It's hard to believe Paul Newman is dead for some reason. Is it just me? It probably is. I also seem to think someones choice of coffee or tea is an indicator of who they are. I don't really take sugar. Sometimes I drink it black but I don't mind a little milk and surprisingly I was in a ice coffee served black habit this passed summer. I only drink tea occasionally and I was never one for those waffles drenched in syrup or a dozen strips of bacon because I've never been a carnivore in the morning hours. I do have my toast every now and then and I might have it tomorrow. I don't like the white bread unless it's Italian bread toasted. Nobody knows toast unless they've had Italian bread toasted. Hm, another advertising slogan. Wheat toast is just as good and it's only a myth that eggs cause high cholesterol, but according to the American Heart Association it's a whole different story. I do like bagels and orange juice is essential in the early hours but the urge for vitamin C and other drinks needs to be moderated. I really don't understand people who have to pour everything to the tippy top of the cup. When people pour drinks they develop this excessive behavior that they seem unaware of. Do we have any tippy toppers or dunkers out here? I wonder what other members have for breakfast? .. I just felt like talking about the breakfast hour tonight. Off topic? Yes. Ridiculous? Maybe. Why? .. Because I can.

Cricketer Basil D'Oliveira is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease says the Wikipedia. His "DDP scouting report" changes from being a bold pick to now a very obvious one. Alzheimer's + Parkinsons = Not a very good combination.

"Iron" Mike Tyson's appearance seems to have changed dramatically. Weight gain, the tragic death of his daughter, and a recent "Freak out" may hype up they who keep a constant eye on Hollywood's troubled personalities. Maybe it's just me but his life is the ideal example of one that would end in tragedy and it would hit the headlines hard.

I'll be there at around seven .. Ten to seven to be precise. And in one night not so many people .. Can say they celebrate New Years twice.

Didn't Jack Nicholson attack someones car with a golf club a few years ago? Well, I guess it is weird shit. In life there is a lot of weird shit. Sometimes we pretend it doesn't exist, sometimes we refuse to let it enter our minds, but it's always there. The illusion that human beings with unmistakable talent are superior to others is the disease that inflicts us all. Is it weird shit that Tiger Woods sends texts messages to a cocktail waitress? I guess nobody told you about the other three cocktail waitresses who get text messages from the prophetic Tiger Woods. Is it weird shit that Tiger banged up his car at the end of his driveway? Maybe it's weird shit to the souls who are always on their best behavior. Maybe it's weird shit because we all live under the impression that man is ultimately good and that life and it's near "mythical celebrities" live up to the image media outlets create. Weird shit isn't something that happens like an accident, it's kind of like a characteristic we all have planted in ourselves. So the best way to understand weird shit is to simply accept it with little discrimination, watch those who cannot control their weird shit, watch them grin, try not to be hypocritical, and listen to the apology with an open mind.

Really? Yeah, dead ones. About six feet from the surface, Honez. (Suddenly pulls out a stunt gun and fires)

Long overdue update on the health of Winston Churchill. He is receiving chemotherapy for prosate cancer. As discussed here before, chemotherapy is only used in cases of prostate cancer if the condition is very advanced or has spread elsewhere. Good spot Devon. "The constant gardener" or "The gardener who cares" seem to be ways to describe you. The issue with prostate cancer is that it's been very treatable in the passed decade. We'll never have Genghis Khan or John F Kennedy or Napoleon Bonaparte on our DDP teams, but we might have a Winston Churchill. It's just that I can't help but remember names like Mike Soper and Riad Seif who were in the advanced stages and still are. What about the beat poet Edwin Morgan? He's certainly exceeded all expectations. Abdelbaset Al Megrahi is still alive and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been terminally ill for longer than somebody can be. Allegedly he's been existing in agony for years.

They don't forget, it's called free loading. The world is filled with exaggerators and freeloaders. I'm not sure what's more common. Did Pat stay up late last night or did he go to sleep early because everyone but his son seemed to be at one with the universe. ..

Pakistan is politely asking the Mehsud tribe to hand over Hakimullah Mehsud. If he's alive .. and I think he is very much alive. The Pakistani authorities are offering awards for his capture or for his annihilation.

I've been keeping it quiet but I heard that I might be going into first place soon. I'm pretty sure the Telegraph will take care of it but all of this has really caught me off guard.

Congratulations to Octopus Of Odstock and his partner. The anticipation must fill you with the kind of excitement that is nearly indescribable. I think a baby boy will be born on March 22 2010. I don't know anything about the weight or height of the child so don't ask me. I was hoping you would hold the position until death but living up to such a responsibility will be hard when your up all night. I think you'll be a role model to TMIB and any other future DDP organizers who will come and go with the years. I wonder how TMIB will manage the DDP with only two arms and two legs? Hmm. Well, I'm sure he'll figure it out. The Man In Black has been here ever since I have and if I ran the DDP, I would have chosen him as my successor too. I tip my cap to the both of you. And I raise my glass.