gcreptile

The Alternative Nobel Prize for a debunker of extreme old age claims: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2024/sep/ucl-demographers-work-debunking-blue-zone-regions-exceptional-lifespans-wins-ig-nobel-prize There probably are no "blue zones", i.e. areas of centenarian clusters. It's mostly fraud and clerical errors. Very interesting.

Craig Maxwell wins an ITV award. Just had lung surgery, but looks pretty okay: https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2024-09-20/dad-with-terminal-cancer-wins-pride-of-britain-award-for-fundraising-efforts

David Graham is a hit for me. Chuwit Kamolvisit is in. So Oliviero Toscani is 1st sub, Rupert Keegan is 2nd sub. Please add sportscaster Al McCoy as my 3rd sub.

2nd hit in quick succession for me. Virginia McKenna now for the win.

Louis Farrakhan recently joined a fraternity: https://blackpressusa.com/min-louis-farrakhan-has-joined-a-black-fraternity/

Okay... so Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci - 5 pts: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cqlvrp4nylwo

Did we notice that Ruth Langsford's mum has Alzheimer's? https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62ggr0n7l3o Edit: Seems to have been known since last month: https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/ruth-langsfords-incredible-way-honour-33406335 And previously, she was said to have dementia. Okay, not that much of a new development.

Radio interview here: https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/esther-rantzen-assisted-dying-people-right-to-shorten-death/ The drugs still work and have "extended her life expectancy".

This is the thread for Vanessa Redgrave, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress from one of the most prominent acting families ever. She was nominated for the Oscar six times and won in 1977 for Julia. Other memorable roles were in Mary, Queen of Scots and Howard's End. Her birth was famously announced to the public by Laurence Olivier during a play at Old Vic. Recent news revealed that she suffered a life-threatening heart attack in April: http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/vanessa-redgrave-before-i-didn-t-care-at-all-now-i-find-myself-thinking-what-a-miracle-everything-is-a2954866.html Her smoking has reduced the functionality of her lungs to 30% and she is aware that she is in her last years, "maybe even less". She's also seen her daughter and brother die relatively early, and has basically retired from stage while her public appearances are getting rarer. She still feels obliged to write the second volume of her autobiography though.

Oh, that's where I picked him.... I only remembered the previous Scavenger Hnt game.

Georg Koch gives his "final interview": https://m.bild.de/sport/fussball/todkranker-georg-koch-gebe-hier-mein-letztes-interview-66e2d4c2cb180e1cf92068e2 Doesn't look too terrible if that photo is recent. Maybe it's enough to live into 2025.

Joe Wilson, US rep who memorably interrupted Obama's State of the Union with "You lie!" hospitalised after collapse: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-rep-joe-wilson-south-carolina-hospital-collapse-rcna170530

Watching NBC before the debate... ...can anyone please euthanize Andrea Mitchell (Alan Greenspan's wife)? Unbearable. She sounds older than her 77 years.

Lol, damn, you're right. And I already have Rantzen at E! I must have skipped a line, changing from my Excel draft to the PM here on the forum. The actual replacement would be Roberta Flack.

My team, as submitted yesterday to Wormfarmer: A - Al McCoy 2 pts B - James Baker (punk musician) C - Chuwit Kamolvisit D - Dikembe Mutombo 3 pts E - Esther Rantzen F - Robert Fisk (Daily Express journalist), if not accepted, Esther Rantzen Roberta Flack, please G - Trisha Goddard H - Henry Mountcharles I - David Irving J - Jonathan Clements (Wall Street Journal money journalist) K - Rupert Keegan (obit?) L - Nigel Latta M - Craig Maxwell (Rugby executive) N - Debbie Nelson-Mathers (Eminem's mum), if not accepted, then Linda Nolan, please O - Oliviero Toscani P - John Pender Q - Qian Liren R - Joanna-Paul Robie S - Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci 5 pts T - Linda Tirado U - Pjotr Ufimtsev V - Marc Valentine-Morton (opera singer, was accepted this year, too) W - Ros Worthington (if not accepted, Johnnie Walker, please) - 4 pts X - X. J. Kennedy Y - Jamal Yunos Z - Claude Zidi I found a curious number of new names that are actually somewhat decent and might actually list them as a possibility for 2025 later in the week.

And now the partner has died as well from the burns: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/crime/rebecca-cheptegei-olympic-athlete-death-killer-b2609989.html

Somehow Darth Vader died again.

I've just submitted. Might be the first time in years I will not finish this one at 1st or 2nd. I don't know, I think I miss 1-2 names with good letters.

Mormon leader Russell M. Nelson turns 100, celebrations ensue: https://www.wtaj.com/news/national-news/ap-the-mormon-churchs-president-already-the-oldest-in-the-faiths-history-is-turning-100/ He's still involved in day-to-day activities according to the article. Edit: Okay, it's also mentioned in the birthday thread..

Wikipedia's description of his cancer fight is wild, it had spread everywhere, he was in a coma because it was in his brain, but has since fully recovered. Apparently thanks to electro-therapy??

Bergen-Belsen liberator Don Sheppard, dies at 104: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13827073/D-Day-hero-fought-Nazis-France-freeing-Jews-infamous-concentration-camp-dies.html

Maybe it is time for an update.... ...first the Arghton chapter: Arghton likes to pick somewhat obscure foreign people, and sometimes, they do obit! I missed two more obits that I am only seeing now - continuing my streak of misses that began with Shih Ming Teh. First of all, it's malaysian politician Abdul Taib Mahmud - a malaysian politician who obited because Malaysia is very well-covered by Yahoo. He was a chief minister of the province of Sawarak for over 30 years and died already back in February. He died of colon cancer, which was made public in 2023, so this was actually a pretty well-calculated pick in spite of the obscurity. Arghton also scores with Beverly LaHaye. The conservative christian activist was the founder of the "Concerned Women of America" and was part of Ronald Reagan's conservative backlash crew. I should have checked for her, because she is someone I can see being picked here, but I forgot that as well, she died in April. Third name, George Rhoden, jamaican olympian and two-time gold medal winner at the Helsinki Olympic games. Now he hasn't yet received a qualifying obit, as far as I can tell. But some late ones are still trickling in, so you never know if Yahoo decides to still carry one. Next arghton name, Gudrun Ure. Supergran, even though she was a favourite among us, was only picked once in this game. She also died way back in May and I missed it. Once again, here I also have no excuse why I didn't note her death before. Now that's three, maybe four more hits for arghton who increases his score quite a bit. Then let's turn to the big replacement hits, Paul Harrell and especially Sven-Göran Eriksson - actually, scratch that, Paul Harrell wasn't even picked! Sven-Göran Eriksson however was, by pretty much everyone who submitted substitutions - except for me! He would have been my third replacement, but alas.... We pretty much knew that reaching 2025 was an almost impossible task for Eriksson whose pancreatic cancer fight was well-covered.. Eriksson was a real title collector all across Europa, and won the UEFA Cup with Göteborg and the Cup winner's Cup with Lazio. He also coached the English national team and won pretty much all the games except for those that really mattered. In the end, another "golden generation" failed to win a trophy and Eriksson had to go. More hits: Wormfarmer scores a unique hit with Scott Thorson. Liberace's driver and lover had been fighting throat cancer and deadpoolers for a decade. Well, he DID have cancer, so all the deadpoolers weren't wrong, just a little early - and the ways some names gain traction, and others don't, continue to be quite mysterious... A bunch of players score with Christoph Daum. The german coach (he wasn't really a top level player) was one of the most prominent names of the german football landscapes. He was in an eternal rivalry with Uli Hoeneß who even managed to keep Daum from getting the national coaching job by insinuating that Daum regularly uses cocaine. Daum then submitted the notorious hair sample which he expected to be negative, but it was positive. He couldn't get the job anymore because he couldn't fill the exemplary function as the nation's coach anymore.... After that, his active career was basically over, but at that time his (cocaine fueled?) intensity had given him a legendary reputation, not just in the Rhineland area, but also in Turkey where he coached Besiktas and turned into a national hero. His lung cancer fight went up and down, though some of the up's might have been his own wishful thinking. It does seem like his death was slightly sudden, though the usual timeline would not have carried him into 2026 anyway. This seems to be it, nobody picked Ron Yeats, or Sergio Mendes, etc... Arghton gets a well-deserved score boost while I lose some ground because of Eriksson. Not only did I not have Eriksson, but Christoph Daum was a hit for exactly those player just below me. Rank Team Score 1 Cpt. Chorizo 1212 2 Banana 1199 3 gcreptile 1151 4 Book 1060 5 wannamaker 1036 6 RadGuy 1028 7 msc 991 8 Funeralopolis 959 9 Perhaps 952 10 Summer in Transilvania 895 11 Salmon Mousse 884 12 Buffalo Phil 826 13 Toast 794 14 Mr. Wonderful 775 15 The Immortal 759 16 Torva Messor 754 17 An Fear Beag 731 18 The Unknown Man 692 19 Baby Blue 636 20 Pedro67 619 21 Liz Lemon 616 22 MariNisia 604 22 tracy 604 24 The old lady 595 25 Thatcher 589 26 Predictor 584 27 Death Impends 582 28 Etushipushingupdaisies 577 29 DeathBecomesThem 540 30 Wormfarmer 522 31 Cpt. Hemlock 517 32 ThereWillBeDeaths7 516 33 Lady Fiona 514 34 Imelda 511 35 Caleb H 506 36 John Key 485 37 The Old Crem 479 38 Sean 469 39 TQR 462 40 Diego 429 41 The Daredevil 412 42 Yorkshire Banker 404 43 Bibliogryphon 398 44 Charles De Gaulle 394 45 Annami 359 46 Young Willz 321 47 arghton 312 48 Great Uncle Bulgaria 245 49 Hell 215 50 chileanway 187 51 Sod's Law 100 52 Gooseberry Crumble 59

Rebecca Horn, german sculpturist (?), one of the most prominent contemporary german artists, dead at 80: https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/rebecca-horn-ist-tot-a-8ae8d445-8fab-40c9-b22d-5372390a3275

Wade Boggs has prostate cancer: https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2024/09/07/hall-famer-wade-boggs-announces-cancer-diagnosis/ I've been watching a lot of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" lately. That's how I know the name. Haven't really checked if Boggs is actually a heavy drinker.

If he has another miraculous recovery, and survives into 2025, he might achieve immortal status. Edit: Edited