YoungWillz 21,044 Posted January 21, 2018 Personally I do play for fun and accept that others take it more seriously. Don't think you'll ever find someone who hasn't made some form of fairly significant contribution on my teams, and I do avoid those FFBI/other picks simply because I have no connection to them. Having had a brother who was seriously ill, who we were involved in some major fund-raising for treatment for and who has sadly died, I can honestly sympathise with such people and their plights, but don't see such people as "competition fodder", no matter how interested others become in their situation. So, it's just the famous for being famous, infamous or indeed making a contribution I can identify with that make my teams. Because I'll be sad when they go and maybe have an interesting titbit or two to share. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,358 Posted January 21, 2018 16 minutes ago, Joey Russ said: Sorry to be of annoyance Deathray, but Bob Dylan never was a country singer, he does folk and later rock music. Not country. Dylan's seminal 1968 album John Wesley Harding was definitely country. Recorded in Nashville with country musicians. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deathray 2,940 Posted January 21, 2018 20 minutes ago, Sean said: I stil love the game.The obit rules make it more interesting.I avoided cancer mums and most FFBI.The only FFBI out of my 60 is Noel Conway but if he overturned the the law on assisted dying would go down in history.Also I consider him an activist. Quite frankly the obit rule changes are tinkering with the steering wheel while your sinking into a bottomless pit or eating more protein to boost your sperm count after having a double vasectomy. Until a reasonable definition of a celebrity is agreed on, the competition is as Windsor rightly points out (my issue with him is not the point he's made but the way that he's made to paraphrase Banarama) a complete farce. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,443 Posted January 21, 2018 1 minute ago, YoungWillz said: Personally I do play for fun and accept that others take it more seriously. Don't think you'll ever find someone who hasn't made some form of fairly significant contribution on my teams, and I do avoid those FFBI/other picks simply because I have no connection to them. Does anyone NOT play it for fun? It's not like there's a big cheque for the winner, it's just a bit of a distraction from life. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deathray 2,940 Posted January 21, 2018 Just now, msc said: Does anyone NOT play it for fun? It's not like there's a big cheque for the winner, it's just a bit of a distraction from life. Quite a few people seem to play for competitive purposes or for the sake of wanting to win. Playing a theme team of cancer mums/terminally ill nobodies so they can win the theme team league? You know that sort of utterly pathetic kind of shit that nobody respectable would do... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted January 21, 2018 1 minute ago, msc said: Does anyone NOT play it for fun? It's not like there's a big cheque for the winner, it's just a bit of a distraction from life. I dunno msc, just saying where I come from....after all, there seems to be a whole lot of analysis on the part of certain folks of their chances. I think I can fairly say that I'm not part of that. But when my twenty expire quietly this year...BOOOM! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,443 Posted January 21, 2018 On the subject of "reasonable definition of a celebrity", one of the great sensible minds of the forum said this once: On 2/9/2017 at 18:25, Handrejka said: I think if you can describe the person to non Deadpool player without their illness or advanced age being one of the first things you mention about them then they are more than likely legitimately famous. And it's stuck with me as a crucial point. Indeed, it was a view point I used to help shape my various teams this year. But then, 8 years on this forum has told me one thing, it's that no two forum members have the same view on fame thresholds. There isn't a statistical level, it's very much a subjective thing. Just now, Deathray said: Quite a few people seem to play for competitive purposes or for the sake of wanting to win. Playing a theme team of cancer mums/terminally ill nobodies so they can win the theme team league? You know that sort of utterly pathetic kind of shit that nobody respectable would do... tbf to Gcreptile here, as much as I really hated the Shameless team, I am led to believe he was doing it deliberately to make the same point you are, only in a somewhat less subtle way. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,443 Posted January 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, YoungWillz said: I dunno msc, just saying where I come from....after all, there seems to be a whole lot of analysis on the part of certain folks of their chances. I think I can fairly say that I'm not part of that. But when my twenty expire quietly this year...BOOOM! Oh that? That's just lists. Lists are fun! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deathray 2,940 Posted January 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, msc said: On the subject of "reasonable definition of a celebrity", one of the great sensible minds of the forum said this once: And it's stuck with me as a crucial point. Indeed, it was a view point I used to help shape my various teams this year. But then, 8 years on this forum has told me one thing, it's that no two forum members have the same view on fame thresholds. There isn't a statistical level, it's very much a subjective thing. tbf to Gcreptile here, as much as I really hated the Shameless team, I am led to believe he was doing it deliberately to make the same point you are, only in a somewhat less subtle way. A reasonable definition is a celebrity is as simple as Handrejka put it if not simpler "They've done something of notability unrelated to illness/age". Bring in that rule and the competition will be so so much richer for it. Who knows? It might actually entice some of the old crowd back. Whatever his supposed justification it was still utterly pathetic. It didn't make a point, looking at the entries for this year the shameless pick brigade didn't seem to take any heed and dozens of genuine theme teams have completely given up knowing they can't compete with shameless type theme teams! 1 minute ago, msc said: Oh that? That's just lists. Lists are fun! He's got a point though you can't just say "everybody does it fun" when you're running commentary essentially treats it with the same significance The Wall Street Journal treats the stock markets and analyses each team in more depth than the sport's bookies papers analyse each fucking runner and rider. If that's what you got kick out why not do the old fashioned way and pull up the fantasy football? At least nobody has to die for that to work! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted January 21, 2018 Yeah, let's not slate other folks for abiding by the rules in force from time to time. If people want to get excited, make lists, do the analysis let them...it's their way of having fun imo. It's not my idea of fun to worry whether someone will get a QO, I'm normally confident they will (damn you press for ignoring Zara Nutley and did they ever get round to Albert Moses?). People play differently, and we have to live with the rules. You know, someone is definitely going to win this with a team full of "proper" (if I can use that term) celebrities, and someone's going to lose it over a non-QO. Sometime. Maybe not today, or next year. But sometime..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deathray 2,940 Posted January 21, 2018 5 minutes ago, YoungWillz said: Yeah, let's not slate other folks for abiding by the rules in force from time to time. If people want to get excited, make lists, do the analysis let them...it's their way of having fun imo. It's not my idea of fun to worry whether someone will get a QO, I'm normally confident they will (damn you press for ignoring Zara Nutley and did they ever get round to Albert Moses?). People play differently, and we have to live with the rules. You know, someone is definitely going to win this with a team full of "proper" (if I can use that term) celebrities, and someone's going to lose it over a non-QO. Sometime. Maybe not today, or next year. But sometime..... It shouldn't be an issue though. A cursory glance if a team and any FFBI's banned. Lots of forum pools manage fine. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Russ 7,226 Posted January 21, 2018 As I'm going through the celeb list to pick up jokers, I noticed that John McCain's birthday was put as April 29, 1936 when his birthday was actually August 29, 1936... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deathray 2,940 Posted January 21, 2018 My last point on this for tonight anyway. The point at which game runners felt it necessary to scramble pucks names because they were so not-famous it could actually shock their family to see them on the site was the point that those names should have been banned. Not now years later when it's become accepted to use those names. It should never have been allowed though I doubt anyone involved in running the game will listen; the last one threw a tantrum an announced his quitting after a minor criticism.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,443 Posted January 21, 2018 17 minutes ago, Deathray said: He's got a point though you can't just say "everybody does it fun" when you're running commentary essentially treats it with the same significance The Wall Street Journal treats the stock markets and analyses each team in more depth than the sport's bookies papers analyse each fucking runner and rider. If that's what you got kick out why not do the old fashioned way and pull up the fantasy football? At least nobody has to die for that to work! There's no need to be a twat about it, but anyhow, don't worry, there will be considerably less "Wall Street Journal" posts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deathray 2,940 Posted January 21, 2018 17 minutes ago, msc said: There's no need to be a twat about it, but anyhow, don't worry, there will be considerably less "Wall Street Journal" posts. I'm not "being a twat" about anything. It just seems markedly odd to say something's just for fun when you seem to spend half your life chatting about. It's just the sort of bollocks a pathetic middle aged man who isn't getting enough of his wife would tell himself to convince himself he wasn't wasting his fucking time. Although given you've followed my lead in passing a pool you can't be arsed with on maybe you're getting the odd handy these days... you sound like you could do with going by the frustrated nature of your posts Oh and I don't really care how many you make. I stopped reading that shit yonks ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RadGuy 1,614 Posted January 21, 2018 Noticed a few minor errors. Peggy Cummins and Alice Ducat are still listed. They both died in December. Also, Vigdis Finbogadottir is listed twice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
machotrouts 828 Posted January 21, 2018 Not sure this counts as an error, but Marco Pierre White Jr on my 'Unpersons' team has a blank "Details to Follow" bio this year, even though I also had him last year and he was given a bio then. (He was confused for Marco Pierre White not-Jr when the pool first went online, but this was subsequently corrected.) Also, this is really petty but it's bothered me for the past 3 years: the description for my '#1 Hits' team – "Those who have had a UK number 1 hit single either solo or as a group..." – ought to end "in a group", "as part of a group", "as a member of a group", something like that. There are no entire groups on there. It'd be great if all 20 came together as a charity supergroup for the particularly mortal, but it hasn't happened yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 10,970 Posted January 21, 2018 If Ian Toothill doesn't obit he'll be the biggest non-obit (number of people who picked him) ever, beating Michel Delpech. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 10,970 Posted January 21, 2018 Also continuing last night's discussion, I think some of those dropouts reflect that deadpooling has almost become some sort of full-time job, or at least a December full-time job.There's so much information on this forum to absorb... I could imagine that this "professionalisation" is a step too far especially for those who "could have been a contender". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
viGnoS 18 Posted January 21, 2018 feel amazed by the number of unique picks & drop40 picks I have in my teams, might be the sign of a good mix @Spade_Cooley when will the scoreboard be updated ? how many team this year versus last year ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CastAway 488 Posted January 21, 2018 1 hour ago, gcreptile said: If Ian Toothill doesn't obit he'll be the biggest non-obit (number of people who picked him) ever, beating Michel Delpech. BBC obit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phantom 2,533 Posted January 21, 2018 7 hours ago, Phantom of the Midway said: Noticed a few minor errors. Peggy Cummins and Alice Ducat are still listed. They both died in December. Also, Vigdis Finbogadottir is listed twice. It looks like John Clegg is also listed twice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drol 11,945 Posted January 21, 2018 18 minutes ago, CastAway said: BBC obit It's a local BBC obit therefore it is not qualifying. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CastAway 488 Posted January 21, 2018 1 minute ago, drol said: It's a local BBC obit therefore it is not qualifying. Must have missed that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted January 21, 2018 Incredible work as always getting this tonnage of talent loaded and described. Somewhat amazed to discover I've snagged footie coach Eric Harrison as a unique pick (I sent yers a photo and brief outline cos that section of the pool is currently blank) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites