Predictor

Which members have remained loyal to their avatar from the start and never changed it? Davey Jones Locker, Toast, Bibliogryphon, msc, Death Impends and Deathray comes to mind. Any others?

Konichiwa, DeathList forum members. It is now 1 July 2016 in Japan. Having been born in the Japanese capital Tokyo on 1 July 1916 to British parents, it is now official that Olivia de Havilland has become a centenarian. When she was selected by the DL committee for the first time in late 2004, I bet very few people expected the then 88-year old actress to hang in there for over a decade. She has outlived countless other DL entries over the years, and the fact that she is picked over and over again is just a testament to the fact that she's too big a star to not have her name being displayed in this honourable(?) website. Indeed, her career has been impressive. Already a Hollywood A-lister in the mid-1930s, her arguably best and most challenging performances came in the 1940s, where she ultimately won two Academy Awards. Thank God she was able to break free from her Warner Brothers contract by taking them to court. She semi-retired from acting in the 1950s, when she moved to France with her then-husband Pierre Galante. She still lives in Paris today, so those who don't consider her 100 years old yet will have to wait almost six or seven hours more. Keep in mind that her journey doesn't end here. Age is just a number, and she could just as well live for another few years, who knows? Lastly, some fun trivia for those who like interesting coincidences: When the play A Midsummer Night's Dream was produced in 1934, the following cast was initially chosen for the role of Hermia: Hermia: Gloria Stuart Hermia (1st understudy): Jean Rouverol Hermia (2nd understudy): Olivia de Havilland Olivia ended up getting the role eventually, and also in the film version a year later. Guess who is turning 100 in a mere seven days? I call it the 'Hermian centenarian phenomenon'. Sincerely, Predictor

Well, Lasse Lagerbäck NEVER loses against England, so I can't say I'm surprised by the outcome. Since Sweden's loss against Belgium, most of us have been rooting for our Nordic brothers. You see, unlike Denmark (football), Finland (icehockey) and Norway (skiing), we don't have any particular sporting rivalries with Iceland. Any success that they get is just positive. So it would be completely awesome if they managed to beat the hosts too, although that will arguably be a lot tougher. Not to mention a potential semifinal... Anyways, GO ICELAND!

Look, I don't know what's up with Dr. Zorders' intense anti-islam phase that he's going through these days, but I sure hope he snaps out of it and goes back to his normal self soon. Mostly for his own sake. And yes, most of you guys probably think that this is his normal self, but I know that Dr. Z. in reality is a genuinely sympathethic guy who doesn't mean any harm. We've had several conversations on PM in the past 3 years or so. He even remembered my birthday once. So, rather than banning him for good, give him another chance to be less "obsessive" about the subject. Zorders, I don't think it's wrong to be politically aware and voicing a controversial opinion, but it should be done with civility and acknowledgement that other people are going to disagree with you. While I'm not that religious, I realize how much comfort and hope it brings to people all around the world. The thing is, since these holy books were written ages ago when there was less care for human feelings, a lot of people tend to cherry pick what they consider to be the most pivotal aspects of their religion: Mainly believing that there is a God watching over us and helping us through adversity. If anything, comfort of prayer works as a placebo effect. It can serve a good purpose. Remember this: Probably millions of Halibuts worldwide are, as we speak, praying that ISIS is put to an end. But the "divide and conquer" strategy that we get when we paint every Halibut with the same brush only helps terrorists further their goals. Now, from a psychological perspective, Zorders' reaction comes from a state of fear but also from a place of empathy. Reading about victims from various attacks makes our hearts go out to these poor people. We think "what if we were in their shoes?" The problem is that good intentions doesn't automatically mean that we find the most rational solution to the problem. When in a state of fear, humans want to be able to easily distinguish between "the good people" and "the bad people". We don't like that the mailman who comes to deliver our mail every morning can be a molester. If we know that every Quaran-reading bearded man from the Middle East is a terrorist, we know who to avoid. We want it to be that easy, so that we can trigger our fight-or-flight mechanisms and act accordingly.

There's no guarantee that Marsha Hunt will reach 100, so discussions about her are probably best suited in the Hollywood Possibilities thread or in the Gone With the Wind thread (she auditioned for the role of Melanie Hamilton, which Olivia ultimately got).

The Greek actress and singer Irene Papas (born 3 September 1926) of Zorba the Greek fame has dementia since several years back. The now 89-year old star would be worth a "mere" 5 points in the 2017 edition of the DDP. On the bright side, she is definitely obitable and might even be a unique pick seeing that no one picked her for this year's competition. Obviously, that might change after this post, lol... http://www.nocomments.gr/news/politismos/81494/oi-dyskoles-ores-tis-axeperastis-eirinis-pappa

Just looked at some of my older posts...it seems that a moderator/administrator is substituting every instance of the f-word with "effing". I know with certainty that I never use the word effing in my written vocabulary so it has to be something that's been done retroactively by another person. Am I corrrect to assume that swearwords are now forbidden on the DeathList? If yes, why? If no, what the eff is up with the effing effing word in my texts?

A while back, I came across a BBC article from 27 May 2016 about British actress Margaret Barton (27 May 1926). Those of you who have seen David Lean's 1945 classic film A Brief Encounter probably recognize her as the tea room waitress Beryl. Turns out, she is still alive at the age of 90. As acknowledged by herself ("I was never a film star"), she has rarely, if ever, been mentioned in these boards before. Considering that BBC is aware of her, it's more than likely that she will be obitable when her time has come. Note that according to Wikipedia, her husband died earlier this year, and you never know how a widow(er) will cope with a major loss. Other than that, she is fairly active nowadays, having opened a tea room in Dorset.

I'm stealing this one!

It's far from being beyond the realms of possibility for this to happen and I really hope it does just for the urban legend that will surely start doing the rounds that Zsa Zsa Gabor's marriage was catastrophic for Hungarian international football. Darn it, there goes that conspiracy theory. Zsa Zsa is such a spoilsport.

The old geezer who wrote the bunny book

The Gabor-Anhalt curse over the Hungarian national football team... Hungary played in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where they were knocked out in the group stage. Two months later, Zsa Zsa married Frederic Prinz von Anhalt. Little did people know that the marriage would ignite a dark period in Hungarian football. For the next 30 years, Hungary was absent from all 14 (!) major international tournaments (World Cup & Euro Cup). Note that 14 is the date in August that the marriage took place. Sure, some of the blame could be placed on terrible performances and inadequate coaches, but I’m certain that the marriage has worked as a curse on the team. However, this all changed when they managed to qualify for the Euro 2016. This means that the curse will break and the marriage will dissolve (either through divorce or death of a spouse) prior to their first game against Austria. So, there’s a strong possibility that Zsa Zsa will pass away very, very soon.

...

Nah, the only death he was responsible for was Billy Squier's career's.

Who was the last cast member of War of the Worlds? If you're talking about the 1953 flick, then we have Ann Robinson & William Phipps among us. But you're probably referring to an obscure version that no one's heard of. I wouldn't call the 1938 radio version (by Orson Welles) obscure – it certainly generated quite a bit of publicity, even more than the 1953 film version. As for Olivia, she can only do crosswords on a daily basis as long as her eyesight allows her to do that. Being deprived of her sigh and hearing, she would have no means of remaining active and it would probably sap her of her will to live. And supercentenarians are extremely rare for a reason. Let's suppose that she's much healthier than your average 100 year old, so that she only has a 30% chance to die each year as opposed to over 40% like a normal person (at her age, any fall or pneumonia etc. could be fatal). Then the probability of her becoming the first Oscar-winning supercentenarian would be (1-0.3)^10 = 0.028. A tiny, tiny chance. Sap her of her will to live? No way. There are multiple ways for human beings to have meaningful interactions with their surroundings. The key word is adapting, just like the example Toast gave above. Aging is a gradual process, meaning that people don't just go to bed one day feeling healthy and spry, only to wake up the next feeling old and frail. Now, the shock of a overwhelming and/or quick (negative) change could leave a person feeling suicidal. Olivia has been a senior citizen since the early 1980s, surely there are things that she was able to do back then that she can't do now. But, these changes came step-by-step and she probably found ways to cope with them as they came. And judging by her self-confidence regarding her own longevity, I'm sure she will continue to stay mentally strong even facing the worst of adversities. Fun fact: Susannah Jones, the world's oldest woman who died recently was, according to Wikipedia at least, legally blind for the last ~17 years or so.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a supercentenarian in the making! It's time we all realized this. "One hundred thirty!" So I am a 130-centenarian (whatever the f**k you call that) in the making? No, you also have to do Times crossword puzzles on a daily basis and join the girl scout group Camp Fire like Olivia. Although, I would advise against the latter unless you want to answer a few questions down at the police station. Who was the last cast member of War of the Worlds? If you're talking about the 1953 flick, then we have Ann Robinson & William Phipps among us. But you're probably referring to an obscure version that no one's heard of. What was her cause of death? Severe case of diarrhea? Hmm...Isn't it a good sign though that she went to hospital, meaning that she's health-conscious and sought treatment for whatever ailment she had? As far as deteriorating sensory system goes, it all boils down to the elderly's personality and outlook on life whether they'll give up on life or not. Also, somehow, I doubt Olivia would stubbornly and stupidly continue walking if her eyesight were to reach Stevie Wonder-level on the blindness scale.

Vanity Fair, April 29, 2016: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/04/olivia-de-havilland-joan-fontaine-sibling-rivalry Ladies and gentlemen, this is a supercentenarian in the making! It's time we all realized this.

Hey, drol. Sorry for not replying sooner. I saw on Wikipedia that Madeleine LeBeau died in Malaga, Spain, on May 1st, 2016. But the information appears to be gone, because I assume reliable sources weren't provided. Now that I look at old revisions, it seems that the death info was given by an IP from Andalucia. There's also another IP from the Castilla-La Mancha region. Since the location pretty much matches with Madeleine's place of residence, it's unlikely to be a case of vandalism. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madeleine_LeBeau&oldid=718828454

Man, the final 2 was always fascinating to witness. The ultimate competition: Europe vs America, white vs black, who would win the battle? This is a historical moment for Emma Morano-Martinuzzi. Just think about it, out of all those 1800s people that we all read about in history books, Thomas Edison, Edgar Allen Poe, Florence Nightingale, Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Queen Victoria, Adolf Hitler, Alexander Graham Bell, etc. Emma is the ONLY human being who is still living and breathing, wow. But this also puts extreme pressure on her to not screw this enormous legacy up by dying. Of course, death is probably inevitable, but she should try with all her might to postpone it as much as possible. She owes it for the sake of all the billions of people that came and went between 1800 and 1899. I'm not sure about animals though, because I have no idea whether there are any obscure living microorganisms, Galapagosian turtles or whatever older than Emma.

GO SWEDEN! BEST HOSTS EVER! By the way, I have to warn you guys for the final on Saturday: Our entry is a real sleeping pill; this is because we simply can't afford to host the event twice in a row so don't expect a mindblowingly awesome song like we most of the time have.