gcreptile

Have been sick all weekend, and today. But apparently just a normal cold. Nothing you can do, says the doctor.

Collides with oil tanker: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/21/us-destroyer-uss-john-s-mccain-damaged-after-collision-with-oil-tanker (sorry)

Was looking for an update on B-Team pick Herbert Kretzmer, and apparently he and his wife got scammed by Viagogo with invalid opera tickets: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4797398/West-End-legend-falls-victim-ticket-touts.html I like how The Daily Mail still uses Kretzmer to show that they've still got some class left, or at least used to have ("the Mail's former showbusiness correspondent"). Not much in there, health-wise. That episode with the ticket happened about half a year ago. I like, however, what his wife says: "I was very excited about seeing a proper performance, and wanted to take Herbert". Like he his some kind of accessoire.

Booth

I thought it was brave pick from the committee, since Lewis had this feisty interview at the end of 2016. But after his hospitalization, the writing was on the wall. RIP...

Dick Gregory ran for president in 1968 and got the vote of Hunter S. Thompson, but received no votes here.

Hmm, the 127pts of The B-Team is a new personal best for me. Weird. Edit: The title fight is now down to Rayya Elias vs. King Michael or Patrick Cryne. Elias is probably the best pick of those three. But Bert only needs one out of two.

Tutu

Imagine how good that would have been if I had written that down before Forsyth's death. I wanted to, but I had an immediate after-work appointment, so I didn't get around to.

You'd think that in the age of the smartphone alien visits would get recorded frequently. But somehow they aren't. However, I believe aliens exist. And they might have visited us. Has the Belgian UFO wave 1989/90 ever been explained? I remember it as widely covered news on the TV when I was a child. (I also wonder if it inspired the TV series The X-Files.) Since alien visits AREN'T covered regularly via smartphone, I conclude that aliens only visit rarely and in waves, because each visit is a huge endeavour. There are no "rogue" alien starship captains coming over for a visit. But they have giant missions with several ships at once.

20 Tons of Nutella stolen from Truck in Germany: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/08/17/nutella-stolen-theft-germany/

Tortured analogy, part 254: DDT is Italy, Spade is Brazil, DI is The Netherlands? And Sadhana Shivdasani's christmas death is like the referee in the Argentina - Netherlands final in 1978. Or does that make Spade Argentina?

Bob Barker - the American Bruce Forsyth.

I once compared DDT to Steve Davis, and Spade to Stephen Hendry. DI might turn out to become Jimmy White.

Interesting stuff. "La Cosa Nostra" is the Mafia? Hoover was asking the Mafia to kill Gregory, officially because he made jokes about them?

Overton back home and cleared of pneunomia: http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/274446690-story He'll drop dead the minute someone opens up a thread on him, won't he?

Dick Gregory, african-american comedian/activist, hospitalized with "serious" medical condition. They say at his age (84) everything is serious, so I suspect it's pneunomia: http://thegrapevine.theroot.com/comedian-dick-gregory-hospitalized-1797970348

And who knows, maybe Toast is pegging other people just as well.

I had a feeling there'd be several massive deaths this weekend - simply because the last week was bereft of any B- or even C-list names.

Indeed, congratulations?

Holly Boswell, creator of the transgender symbol, dead at 66: http://www.newnownext.com/holly-boswell-creator-of-transgender-symbol-obituary/08/2017/

Took them (potential terrorists) a long time to figure out that the most effective way of terror is not some huge plan with planes or coordinated bomb attacks, but simply driving a car into people. Could happen anytime anywhere. Every day, when I look out of the window from my office, I see the flowers lying on Hardenbergplatz, where the Berlin Christmas market terrorist drove into people.

Wayne Lotter, 51, prominent elephant conservatinoist, shot dead in Tanzania: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/17/leading-elephant-conservationist-ivory-shot-dead-in-tanzania

Funeral on monday: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/funeral-details-released-for-tragic-aundrea-bannatyne-1-8108346

New allegations: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/15/roman-polanski-new-sexual-assault-rape-claim-robin Also turns 84 on Friday.