Derby Dead Pool 2014

[Garn2 34]

Thanks for all you hard work TMIB, including the site re-design. You've done a grand old job and will be missed.

[Deathray 2,933]

I do hope that TMIB is leaving out of a sense of "I've taken this team as far as I can" rather than nervous exhaustion from too many hours of "does this count as an obituary?" emails. If his replacement handles the DDP with half the dignity when dealing with a bunch of whining ambulance chasers he does, we'll be in good hands.

 

Do people actually send "does this count as an obit?" emails to the site? Sad bastards, it's only a game.

 

*goes back to curating notepad of 2015 potentials into age sorted spreadsheet with illness columnn - 2 down, several thousand to go*

[deadsox 891]

Blackie,

Thanks for your work in hosting the DDP. You've done a great job and it's good to see deadpoolers expressing their appreciation.

[themaninblack 2,112]

Thanks for all your kind message. Makes the heart swell with pride...

I decided last November that 2014 would be my last year. I have taken it as far as I can go, although there's still room for improvement. The database conversion to html pages for a start. Surely the software has moved on so you conceivably make instant changes rather than cranking up a program. Then there's the loading of new celebs. I abandoned the old method because I couldn't work out a way of adding more years so I imported from Excel instead, which did the job but not without some difficulties, so there's plenty of scope for improvement to make the site more efficient.

As for the Theme Team's future, that will be up to the new host to decide.

Who will be the new host? Well, I don't know. I shall email all competitors and open up the recruitment process. It doesn't have to be one person, it can be a collaborative effort if they can all decide what to do and who will do it. Cloud technology could make this easier...

[Bibliogryphon 8,650]

Thank you TMIB for doing all the work you have on the DDP and being very patient with people who have not always been polite. Hope you hang around.

[Bibliogryphon 8,650]

Latest update is oop!

 

Is the other update of a different sort we've been waiting for the last week? Hurry up, me lad.

 

Are we finally sponsoring Fort William Football Club? Are you giving up the ghost-logging? Are we being shut-down? Is it a donation-drive? Have the old bill shut us down?

 

Sorry for the mindless speculation, I crawl back in my cave.

 

 

Re: getting shut down.... probably not!

 

However if the trend of people stuffing their teams with young cancer (and other similarly horrible illnesses) victims (who weren't even remotely famous before they got told it was terminal) continues and grows, and next year half the top forty picks consists of that said-type of person, maybe that day won't be as far off as you might think?

 

I mean seriously. Especially female, UK-based ones - they're the ones that are really asking for trouble from certain..... outrage-based outlets which most DLers and DDPers generally tend to despise. Do I really have to spell it out any more?

 

Just a thought, guys (and girls...), maybe use your brains a bit next time?

 

This is one thing I am going to agree with Dr Z on. I do not like the Terminally Ill "ordinary person" picks. It raises alsorts of questions. Although, there is an argument that if they are using social media to express their thoughts then they are courting publicity and could be considered fair game whereas a lot of celebs close down completely and you don't know anything until they are dead (Lewis Collins for example). I for one will not be seeking out the Kate Grangers of the future I will stick to my obscure notion of celebrity.

[Dr. Zorders 1,269]

Latest update is oop!

 

Is the other update of a different sort we've been waiting for the last week? Hurry up, me lad.

 

Are we finally sponsoring Fort William Football Club? Are you giving up the ghost-logging? Are we being shut-down? Is it a donation-drive? Have the old bill shut us down?

 

Sorry for the mindless speculation, I crawl back in my cave.

 

 

Re: getting shut down.... probably not!

 

However if the trend of people stuffing their teams with young cancer (and other similarly horrible illnesses) victims (who weren't even remotely famous before they got told it was terminal) continues and grows, and next year half the top forty picks consists of that said-type of person, maybe that day won't be as far off as you might think?

 

I mean seriously. Especially female, UK-based ones - they're the ones that are really asking for trouble from certain..... outrage-based outlets which most DLers and DDPers generally tend to despise. Do I really have to spell it out any more?

 

Just a thought, guys (and girls...), maybe use your brains a bit next time?

 

This is one thing I am going to agree with Dr Z on. I do not like the Terminally Ill "ordinary person" picks. It raises alsorts of questions. Although, there is an argument that if they are using social media to express their thoughts then they are courting publicity and could be considered fair game whereas a lot of celebs close down completely and you don't know anything until they are dead (Lewis Collins for example). I for one will not be seeking out the Kate Grangers of the future I will stick to my obscure notion of celebrity.

 

Thanks pal. I was hoping maybe a few people would back me up on that..... I guess maybe it's something to discuss later when 2015 is much closer?

 

I'm serious though. Maybe stuff like Felix Glenny isn't so bad cos he's a male and therefore not subject to the Maddie mentality. And even the Daily Mail has a residual loathing for Americans. But people really need to learn to not push it.....

[Book 3,346]

Thank you TMIB, all the best to you!

[Toast 14,837]

This is one thing I am going to agree with Dr Z on. I do not like the Terminally Ill "ordinary person" picks. It raises alsorts of questions. Although, there is an argument that if they are using social media to express their thoughts then they are courting publicity and could be considered fair game whereas a lot of celebs close down completely and you don't know anything until they are dead (Lewis Collins for example). I for one will not be seeking out the Kate Grangers of the future I will stick to my obscure notion of celebrity.

 

I too don't really approve of "terminally ill non-famous" picks. It just seems to go against the original spirit of dead-pooling.

 

I don't think keeping an online diary makes someone famous, nor a celebrity, in real terms. 99% of the population will not read it, and beyond a passing glance at a paragraph in the Daily Mail or similar, will have no clue who these people are. Same with fund-raising campaigns - at the end of the day (no pun intended) they are only Famous For Being Ill.

[Spade_Cooley 9,021]

The problem is though, how do you determine that someone is "only famous for being ill"? Winnie Johnson? Well she'd been a regular appearer in the newspapers for nearly 50 years. Anne Williams? Actually won a BBC Sports Personality of the Year Special Merit award. Lisa Lynch? Had written for most of the major national newspapers, journos always obit themselves. Steve Evans? OK, maybe not "famous" in any way but he was a prominent figure in his community. All of these people would have obitted if they'd have been hit by a car rather than having cancer. Also, all four got BBC TV obituaries. Which is more than maybe 50% of "legitimate celebrity" picks will get.

[Spade_Cooley 9,021]

I mean, it's not a shot on anyone but if you start policing picks on the grounds of "well they're not famous", you're going to end up like certain other deadpools that only let players pick from a list of 1000 people.

[Toast 14,837]

The problem is though, how do you determine that someone is "only famous for being ill"? Winnie Johnson? Well she'd been a regular appearer in the newspapers for nearly 50 years. Anne Williams? Actually won a BBC Sports Personality of the Year Special Merit award. Lisa Lynch? Had written for most of the major national newspapers, journos always obit themselves. Steve Evans? OK, maybe not "famous" in any way but he was a prominent figure in his community. All of these people would have obitted if they'd have been hit by a car rather than having cancer. Also, all four got BBC TV obituaries. Which is more than maybe 50% of "legitimate celebrity" picks will get.

 

Winnie Johnson was not "famous for being ill", she was famous, or shall we say in the public eye, because she was the mother of a Moors murder victim.

Is Anne Williams the Hillsborough campaigner? I'm not sure to what extent she was in the public eye.

I don't know who Steve Evans is or was.

 

When you say "All of these people would have obitted if they'd have been hit by a car rather than having cancer" I think you hit the nail on the head. If that's the case, then they're not just "famous for being ill",

[Death Impends 7,365]

Agreed with Spade on this, I don't necessarily care for having iffy-fame picks but being someone who partakes competitively I accept that one will likely have to pick a few of them to have a serious shot at doing well. However I do try to limit my iffy picks each year (this time Evans, Crowe, Granger, and Ritchii Kara... perhaps Andrew Madoff too since he's only famous for his notorious father but he doesn't go under "famous for being ill" as his obitworthyness comes from the scandal rather than his cancer) and I tend to consider those who are only newsworthy because they got married on their deathbed off limits.

[Octopus of Odstock 1,855]

Blackie, Thank you for taking over at much shorter notice than you are giving your sucessor. I was sorry to give it up, but circumstances went against me to have the time to diedicate to it and keep it going, and circumstances will still stop me from running it again.

 

I hope you've enjoyed it. I've always felt that I kept it going so that it still existed, but I didn't really advance anything with the site using a "it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude.

 

I like the fact that you've advanced it in so many years - the Theme Team league, the Drop 40 and also if you go into previous years, you can see who is still alive and dead from those lists - I like that.

 

I know - in fact apart from you, I'm the only person on DL who does know, as much as it's good fun and interesting, what an absolute pain in the arse it is at times- and yes, people do constantly email "is this an obit?" "did you know this person is dead (someone obvious like Mandela)" and so on, similiar to what Predictor keeps mentioning, minor quibbles in the scheme of things. You deserve the rest.

 

I knew Blackie was stopping last year, and that's part of the reason I announced my retirement early, rather than towards the end of the year or at the start of 2015. I didn't want it to look like I'd only do it if Blackie ran it and I didn't want to look like I wasn't supporting the new host - as mentioned before, I very nearly didn't enter a team for this year (Wags will say I still haven't...)

 

Whoever takes it on - it's long, it's tiring - Christmas and New Year will have to be cancelled.... but overall, it's immense fun and very rewarding. I wish all potential candidates well. Please, even though I'm not entering any more.. keep it free.

[Predictor 1,007]

similiar to what Predictor keeps mentioning, minor quibbles in the scheme of things.

Sorry if I quibble too much sometimes.

[Bibliogryphon 8,650]

Agreed with Spade on this, I don't necessarily care for having iffy-fame picks but being someone who partakes competitively I accept that one will likely have to pick a few of them to have a serious shot at doing well. However I do try to limit my iffy picks each year (this time Evans, Crowe, Granger, and Ritchii Kara... perhaps Andrew Madoff too since he's only famous for his notorious father but he doesn't go under "famous for being ill" as his obitworthyness comes from the scandal rather than his cancer) and I tend to consider those who are only newsworthy because they got married on their deathbed off limits.

 

In terms of the DDP I respect that everyone should be able to choose within the rules and take the risk on the obit. I just won't be joining them. I would not want to see the likes of terminally ill bloggers on the main list. Other people in public life such as campaigners, journalists etc are fair game.

 

As a starter for 10 I would ask what the opinion of picking someone like Sara Payne?

[Dr. Zorders 1,269]

Agreed with Spade on this, I don't necessarily care for having iffy-fame picks but being someone who partakes competitively I accept that one will likely have to pick a few of them to have a serious shot at doing well. However I do try to limit my iffy picks each year (this time Evans, Crowe, Granger, and Ritchii Kara... perhaps Andrew Madoff too since he's only famous for his notorious father but he doesn't go under "famous for being ill" as his obitworthyness comes from the scandal rather than his cancer) and I tend to consider those who are only newsworthy because they got married on their deathbed off limits.

 

In terms of the DDP I respect that everyone should be able to choose within the rules and take the risk on the obit. I just won't be joining them. I would not want to see the likes of terminally ill bloggers on the main list. Other people in public life such as campaigners, journalists etc are fair game.

 

As a starter for 10 I would ask what the opinion of picking someone like Sara Payne?

 

Whether someone was "properly famous or not" before they died is extremely tangential to the original point I was trying to make. And I think you're getting back to the original point I was making with that starter for 10. And I think it should be an obvious answer so let's just skip that starter and go onto the bonus questions, which will hopefully be about Georgian-era fairy cakes or the London Underground.

[Lard Bazaar 3,687]

Thanks for all your hard work TMIB, it's clearly a massive task to undertake and you've done a splendid job

[CaptainChorizo 1,903]

Thank you for your work in hosting this all these years TMIB.

[Handrejka 1,840]

Thanks TMIB and OoO before him for a job well done. I used to run a very small on-line dead pool and that was hard enough so I can't imagine what running the DDP single handedly was like.

 

Good luck to your succcessor(s), unless it turns out to be Dave Quantick of course.

[Guest Guest]

Elsbeth Juda, German-born photographer known for her Portrait of WC, has died.

 

http://www.derbydeadpool.co.uk/deadpool2014/celebs_J.html#judae

 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article4145306.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2014_07_11

[themaninblack 2,112]

Latest from the Derby Dead Pool...

[maryportfuncity 10,013]

Thanks TMIB and OoO before him for a job well done. I used to run a very small on-line dead pool and that was hard enough so I can't imagine what running the DDP single handedly was like.

 

Good luck to your succcessor(s), unless it turns out to be Dave Quantick of course.

 

Agreed!

[Spade_Cooley 9,021]

Eileen Ford joins the list of the missed, btw.

[CaptainChorizo 1,903]

Looks like Ken Thorne may be heading to List Of The Lost. So far the only mention of his death is from a Hollywood Reporter Obit 3 days ago.