gcreptile

Mississippi senator Thad Cochran NOT hospitalized, even though Donald Trump tweeted it; http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cochran-trump-im-not-hospitalized

Brad Pitt forgot about his grandma - now she's dead: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4926574/Brad-Pitt-s-grandma-Betty-Russell-passes-seeing-him.html

Murray Peshkin, one of the last survivors from the Manhattan Project, dead at 92: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wjxgzz/one-of-the-last-remaining-manhattan-project-scientist-has-died Trying to find the last ones..... A Robert Carter might be a candidate: http://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/robert-carter

Donnie "Dirtwoman" Corker, famous drag queen of Richmond, Virginia, dead at 65: http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/dirtwoman-one-of-richmond-s-most-colorful-characters-has-died/article_03a4b7dc-05bb-5520-990a-a65e2ce28bd0.html In the course of his career, he did everything from drag shows, radio appearances, wrestling matches and running for mayor.

I knew she had cancer, but I thought she'd give too few points for the DDP. Was a mistake, she would have been unique. She also got a BBC obit, naturally.

Oh, who knows how to spell those slavic names...

He had aged considerably in a picture in late 2015 and had no public appearances in 2016. And well, I had a couple of free slots in my B-Team and wanted to fill it with my own "unusual" findings - see also John Swinton of Kimmerghame. Initially, I had the B-Team full of likely unique picks. I just wanted to get "interesting" hits. Of course, now I know I should have just put John Wetton in there and the team would have been a title contender.

He's a continental phenomenon. Eternal A-list name in Europe.

Hm, indeed. Could be I initially calculated that AFTER I had already switched my longlist from "2016" to "2017", so that Ricketts, picked in 2017 for 2018, is possibly only worth 9 pts. Then the ceiling of TJS is 1 point higher. He still wins that 19/20 scenario though.

Yes, your ceiling is 213, DQSP's is 212. GS's is 205. Also, in my opinion, your most likely survivor (Ricketts) is "only" worth 9 points, and Spade's most likely survivor (Gilbert) is 10pts. So you'd also win the hypothetical 19/20 scenario. Personal dream scenario: Herbert Kretzmer dies in 2 weeks (his birthday) giving The B-Team a temporary lead of 2 pts....

Apart from that exception, you're right though. I was basically thinking that it's between TJS and DQSP now, with them having all picks the same except for Gilbert and Michael, so that Michael would give TJS the win. But true, I forgot about GS who would pull ahead with King Michael. So it remains Cryne and/or Michael vs. Elias, though in this case, there is one more differential for Spade: Stefan Karl... in contrast to Greg Gilbert, I could see him still going down this year.

Update for today's bonanza plus Charles Bradley and other people I am currently forgetting, but they might come back soon. (Edit: Yisrael Kristal) 1. David Quantick's Showbiz Pals (190,53) (+1) 2. Thomas Jefferson Survives (190,03) (+1) 3. Golden Slumbers (188,74) (-2) 4. Still Life (183,645) (---) 5. drollercoaster (174,34) (+2) 6. To Kill a Gabor Sister (173,33) (-1) 7. The Love Boat (172,93) (-1) 8. Deceased Hose (167,45) (+1) 9. Poochie died on the way back to his home planet (165,26) (-1) 10. Buckets of Blood (162,82) (---) 11. I will not die, it's the world that will end! (160,32) (+8) 12. Dead Ends (160,145) (---) 13. The B-Team (159,83) (---) 14. Day in the Death (159,8) (---) 15. Heading Nowhere (159,55) (-4) 16. Crossing the Styx (159,47) (-1) 17. I'm sorry for your trouble (158,745) (-1) 18. New Years and Drinks All Night (157,52) (---) 19. The Living End (155,01) (-2) 20. Dead as a Doornail (154,57) (---) Two big winners of this update, in my opinion. TJS with the double slam of Bradley and Booth is now the most serious comeptition of DQSP. The competition has changed from basically Rayya Elias vs. either Cryne or Michael to.... King Michael, yes or no.... He is the most important person for the rest of competition .... unless Greg Gilbert has a ...very... sudden health downturn. The other big winner is "I will not die, it's the world that will end!". He (?) also had Booth and Bradley and gains 8 places with them. As we are about the enter the final quarter of the year. The next update might see another reduction in score of those not-terminally ill based picks. Time is running out for them, and without a change in their health status, the probability of them still dying this year is diminishing. But as a contrast to the first reduction in score at half-time, I might also reduce the score of the terminally ill, but not dead people. Maybe by 25%. So those with Leah Bracknell or Gord Downie will suffer. I mean, I already them at very high calculated scores, which I think was in line with everyone's expectations. But now that time is running out, it is time to reflect their stubborn survival. I think it will also help to kick my main team out of the top ten. It will reduce the bias I initially, and almost inevitably had, in favor of my own team. But as my main team drops, so will my B-Team rise (since it doesn't have either Bracknell nor Downie, nor King Michael, nor Rayya Elias, nor Greg Gilbert).

Michael

In intensive care, waiting for a donor heart: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/leute/esc-sieger-salvador-sobral-auf-intensivstation-warten-auf-spenderherz-a-1169865.html (german link)

"reports (that) Ami Brown is just days away from succumbing to stage-four lung cancer" http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/what-happened-to-matt-on-alaskan-bush-people-142555

Lord Laird not in the best of health, has heart problems, or so he says: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-41349379

Hmm, not really...try a different broswer? Allow some cookies?

So after one month, August 25th is still at only 5 notable deaths. It's the most deathless day in years!

Legendary butcher Marco Peerdeman has died suddenly: http://meatinfo.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/21766/Industry_legend_Marco_Peerdeman_passes_away.html He was one of The Netherlands' "most prolific Butchers" and had lived in London for the past 10 years. He also was, for example, Chief of Judges at the World Steak Challenge 2017. Edit: Could he have died of heart failure?

Did Shameless pick the wrong fattie?

I actually think it's a somewhat easy feat to achieve - easier than it might seem. I think Spade could have done it, for example, if he hadn't gone for the relatively young Greg Gilbert, but, say Violet Brown, or someone like that. But we all take risks for the lower age brackets. It hurt my main team too much this year and I might take a different approach the next time. But take the eight names above (though some of them will still die), plus a couple of low-hanging fruit, Dilip Kumar, for example. Plus possible new must-haves like John McCain or José José (if he survives) and I think you get a floor of 12-13 hits. Then pick Richard Overton or the new oldest person of the world. And you get a relatively low score, but 15 hits without a lot of risk.

Reiterating my prediction that 2018 will see the first team with 20 hits.

That picture... let him die, please...

Well, I can't complain for not picking him. I got some correct inside information. But the cancer returned with a vengeance. It happens I guess... Edit: DQSP and GS are level now. Cryne and Elias are on a timer... but what about King Michael... survival mystery of the year..

I see. So for South Florida, he was the Beatles' .... rickshaw.