gcreptile

DDP unique pick Nhat Hanh had a stroke last year, and now has spoken the first words since then: http://www.lionsroar.com/recovering-thich-nhat-hanh-speaks-first-words-after-stroke/

What is this, a broadway holocaust?

Schmidt's heart surgeon says that Schmidt hasn't smoked for ten days now: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/altkanzler-im-krankenhaus-helmut-schmidt-laesst-das-rauchen-sein-1.2643255(link in german) The article implies that his smoking caused the blood clot in his leg, the second time after 2011 this has happened. He uses a nicotine patch though.

Interesting case. Though he is covered under my rule as written above because he has his own Wikipedia page in other languages, just not in English. It's actually funny (to me) because I had imagined that this rule would mostly cover former head of state of little-covered non-english speaking nation XYZ, with an obituary in the AP or Reuters, copy/pasted into the Daily Mail.

According to the Telegraph, Jihadi John is Nr. 1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11852303/Jihadi-John-tops-secret-kill-list-of-five-Isil-extremists.html

Yeah, I took that phrase from the related Daily Mail article. It would have made more sense to also link to it, but I had already accidentally closed that window and then used the first link I found. It killed the joke. Edit: Here it is: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3227904/Heiress-Reiss-empire-dies-Debra-Reiss-brand-director-fashion-firm-father-started-1971.html

I guess she'd really like to beat the reign of Louis XIV. And she might want to go for the longest "independent" reign, i.e. not having a regent rule for her. Many of those long-time monarchs were children when they ascended to the throne. For example, Wikipedia says that Sobhuza's independent reign "only" lasted 61 years. I guess once the Queen becomes a centennarian, she'll consider that mission accomplished.

German interview with Henning Mankell: http://www.stern.de/kultur/buecher/henning-mankell-ueber-den-krebs---ich-werde-an-dieser-krankheit-sterben--6440798.html He says he knows he'll die of cancer, but it's unclear when. He has no pain currently, and the treatment worked in so far as that he has regained some strength. His new book "Quicksand" is also a bit of an autobiography.

This would dispel a lot of terrorist-of-the-month picks, though. It's true, Assad Uzzaman would have failed to qualify. Denise Marshall would have failed as well (unjustly, in my opinion). Dave Benton, too (justly, in my opinion). So IF the aim is to exclude "brave cancer mom" (I'd like to read a report of "terrified, uninspirational cancer mum" some day.), then maybe the Wikipedia article should only be requirement for some obits, which means, yes, there would be "first class obits" which are valid every time (BBC, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, and maybe others) and "second class obits" that require a Wikipedia page (the clickbait pages like Daily Mail, Star, Mirror, Yahoo).

Kool DJ AJ, old-school Hip Hop DJ, with connections to Kurtis Blow or Busy Bee, has died: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.35419/title.kool-dj-aj-passes-away-ice-t-kurtis-blow-react

Debra Reiss, daughter of fashion millionaire David Reiss, dies suddenly of a long-term illness: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/young-british-heiress-reiss-clothing-6413550

Some taiwanese journalists are apparently also deathpoolers: http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20150904000016&cid=1101 Jiang Zemin is apparently in good health, but he gripped the stair railing with only three fingers - blood circulation problems? Hu Jintao was shaking, could he have Parkinson's? This could also confirm health problems after two rumoured strokes...

Wow, they are fighting for every single day there. His immune system has probably collapsed with all these infections and the antibiotics aren't helping there in the long run. Lung and brain affected, the whole system is breaking down. Edit: Someone on this forum guessed that Bhumibol would be dead by the time Elizabeth II claims her record, so that's in a couple of hours...

Greek actress Voula Zouboulaki, one of their most important stage and cinema actresses, dead at 91: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/09/08/greek-actress-voula-zouboulaki-passes-away/

I think DDP-valid celebrities should cross a certain line of fame threshhold, so no local obits, only national ones. Banning the Daily Mail alone would be relatively useless, because the Mirror and the Daily Star or maybe Yahoo UK, would fill the gap, and the Daily Mail at least provides (copy/pastes) international obits from AP and Reuters. First, I thought about demanding that the name of the person should be in the headline of the post, which Shaun of the Dead also does now and hopefully, we'll see the advantages/disadvantages of that. But I could imagine that some notable people, especially of the "last of the XYZ" variety would fall through. Another idea to determine that fame threshhold (in addition to the obits) might be to demand the existence of a Wikipedia article in whatever language existing of that person BEFORE the year of team submission. So a person picked for the DDP 2016, and submitted in a team in late 2015, would need to have had a Wikipedia page in 2014 already. That's to prevent cheating by the contestant by creating a WIkipedia page at the time of (or shortly before) team submission. I guess checking the WIkipedia page is already part of the procedure, so I hope it's not too much trouble.

I was recently thinking about him because of his Big Bang Theory guest role. But on TV, he looked ok. Yes, the twitter pictures are bad, but on the other hand, he is on twitter. Still, someone to keep in the back of your mind.

New interview with Michel Houellebecq: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/06/michel-houellebecq-submission-am-i-islamophobic-probably-yes Looking better now?

German children's book author Max Kruse dies at 93: http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/urmel-autor-max-kruse-ist-tot-mit-93-jahren-gestorben-a-1051786.html(link in german) His most famous work was "Urmel aus dem Eis", which was later turned into a puppet play which is basically on every former West German child's mind born before 1990.

Yotaro Kobayashi, ex-chairman of Fuji Xerox and apparently a relative progressive business leader, has died at 82: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/07/business/ex-fuji-xerox-chairman-kobayashi-dies-at-82/#.Ve2jW_ntlBc

Hmmm What are the film rights worth? I'll have "someone attributes it to ghosts before October" for ten, thanks. Put Sir Creep down for a fiver on "you know that joke about greasing the steps at the rest home?...." I'm on board with the ghost theory. It's probably the ghost of a former patient in that home who was buried alive after unqualified personnel falsely declared his/her death.

According to her twitter account, Kate Granger's situation is getting a bit worrisome, by the way.

The search for DJ Derek continues. He made a series of unexplained bus trips. His family fears they'll never find him, and that he killed himself because of health worries. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-34159161

Date set for Janner hearing (7th of December): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34118718 Is he fit to plead?

UUP MLA Michael Copeland who was diagnosed with depression late 2014 (and is somewhere in this thread), now resigns because of that depression: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-34172604

Pascale Honoré, known as the 'duct tape surfer' who overcame her disability to fulfil her dream of surfing and thus received lots of internet fame, has died in hospital at 52: https://au.news.yahoo.com/sa/a/29455946/australias-duct-tape-surfer-dies-in-hospital/