Oh, this is a blow. I didn’t always agree with Safire’s politics, but always enjoyed reading his thoughtful opinions anyway. And I loved his language columns.
Damn! Had him in '07 and '08 – can’t reconstruct now why I dumped him for '09.
Bob Stupak, who made millions by first opening Vegas World, and later transforming it into The Stratosphere, the tallest building in Las Vegas, has died at the age of 67.
Duckster beat me to it. Too bad I didn’t have her…
Guillermo Endara, who served as president of Panama from 1989 to '94, has died at the age of 73. Endara was elected in May of '89, only to be blocked from taking power by General Manuel Noriega. Seven months later, a U.S. military invasion of Panama removed Noriega and allowed Endara to begin serving his term.
Pavel Popovich, the first cosmonaut chosen by the Soviet Union, passed away less than a week before he would have turned 79. Popovich, who in 1962 became the sixth man to orbit Earth, returned to space in 1974 as commander of Soyuz 14’s mission to the space station Salyut 3.
And here are the standings at the end of September. September’s departees were:
Name Dead Age Points Votes
Susan Atkins 24-Sep 61 39 9
Mary Travers 16-Sep 72 28 1
Patrick Swayze 14-Sep 57 43 96
Henry Gibson 14-Sep 73 27 1
Norman Borlaug 12-Sep 95 5 1
Jang Jin-young 1-Sep 35 65 2
The standings are now:
Name Points Number
1 amarone 401 9
2 Captain Lance Murdoch 276 5
3 GIGObuster 258 5
4 Sublight 255 8
5 Ms Whatsit 251 6
6 Walkabout 241 6
7 Critical Mass 223 6
8 MissTake 204 4
9 CowPatty 200 6
10= Etherman 193 5
10= Anne Elk 193 4
12 El Perro Fumando 181 4
13= MadTheSwine 177 5
13= gonzomax 177 4
15 Boyo Jim 176 5
16 Quartz 166 3
17= Baker 154 4
17= Dolores Reborn 154 4
19 Shirley Ujest 149 5
20 NurseCarmen 141 4
21 bowler girl 139 4
22= Merkwurdigliebe 138 4
22= SandyHook 138 4
24 imthjckaz 136 5
25 amarinth 133 5
26= Kat 131 3
26= notfrommensa 131 3
26= twickster 131 3
29 zoog 129 4
30 Andrew 21 127 4
31 Diogenes the Cynic 124 4
32 MarkF 123 2
33= Carm6773 118 4
33= pseudotriton ruber ruber 118 3
33= Uvula Donor 118 3
36= Annie-Xmas 116 3
36= Justin_Bailey 116 3
36= Ms Macphisto 116 3
36= Omega Glory 116 3
40= The Librarian 112 4
40= VunderBob 112 3
42 Captain Klutz 110 3
43 Jeep's Phoenix 107 3
44= Monstera deliciosa 104 3
44= rolandgunslinger 104 3
44= tarragon918 104 3
47= Drain Bead 100 4
47= phungi 100 3
47= Sternvogel 100 3
50= carnivorousplant 95 3
50= Scoobysnax 95 3
52= Happy Lendervedder 93 5
52= appleciders 93 2
52= Cazzle 93 2
52= Cunctator 93 2
52= Doody Pants* 93 2
52= Jack Batty 93 2
52= nofloyd 93 2
52= Rilchiam 93 2
52= Seeker of Truth & Beauty 93 2
61= Hockey Monkey 91 3
61= tumbleddown 91 3
63 5 time champ 89 4
64 The Vorlon 88 3
65= BACI 83 3
65= Borborygmi 83 3
67= drewbert 81 3
67= cbawlmer 81 2
67= Eleanor of Aquitaine 81 2
67= FarmerChick 81 2
67= katie1341 81 2
67= Little Nemo 81 2
67= Nightingale 81 2
74 Thunder 80 3
75 BiblioCat 78 3
76 BMax 76 3
77 Mona Lott 74 3
78= Clothahump 73 2
78= ErinPuff 73 2
78= Oredigger77 73 2
78= Ragiel 73 2
78= Maus Magill 73 1
83 pohjonen 71 2
84= Ataraxy 66 2
84= cadolphin 66 2
84= Cassie Beth 66 2
84= Cisco 66 2
84= clipper 66 2
84= jali 66 2
84= Kyrie Eleison 66 2
84= ladybug 66 2
84= Long Time First Time 66 2
84= Squonk 66 2
84= want2know 66 2
95 Wallflower 65 3
96 Fear Itself 61 2
97 OtakuLoki 59 2
98 Nutty Bunny 58 2
99 Wile E 57 2
100= fubbleskag 55 2
100= SpazCat 55 2
102 jtgain 51 2
103= Dosipede 50 1
103= Lok 50 1
103= LouiseE 50 1
103= puppygod 50 1
103= Sattua 50 1
108 labtrash 49 2
109 42fish 43 2
110= critter42 43 1
110= Jaade 43 1
110= Lsura 43 1
110= Mullinator 43 1
110= Robusensei 43 1
110= Sanity Challenged 43 1
110= Tristan 43 1
110= WarmNPrickly 43 1
110= wheresgeorge04 43 1
119= Freddy the Pig 38 1
119= Qwisp 38 1
119= Rodd Hill 38 1
122 texasoysterman 37 3
123 Mehitabel 32 2
124= missred 31 2
124= Rico 31 2
126= racer72 27 2
126= vivalostwages 27 1
128 Dung Beetle 25 1
129 WF Tomba 24 1
130= Blalron 23 1
130= discodancer 23 1
130= freckafree 23 1
130= meghan 23 1
130= Mr. Goob 23 1
130= Mudshark 23 1
130= zamboniracer 23 1
137 Hal Briston 22 1
138= BJMoose 17 3
138= Paul in Saudi 17 2
140= rucciface 14 1
140= stockton 14 1
142 EJsGirl 12 1
143 a35362 9 2
144= dwc1970 8 1
144= swampbear 8 1
146 anyrose 7 1
147= Mahaloth 6 1
147= wolf_meister 6 1
149 Spiff 5 1
150= Tazmanian Devil 3 1
150= Tuckerfan 3 1
152= 30 others 0 0
48 celebrities have died, representing 5.7% of the total and 16.4% of the votes.
dammit.
Scrabble, Death Pool – damn, you just can’t win. 
I’m tied for 36, with three dead celebrities. My best showing EVAR!
5th! squee!
amarone, has there ever been someone who had all 10 of their picks score? I notice that you’re at 9. :eek:
There are 13 picks, not 10, so he has 4 to go, not 1.
Of course, if I were one of those 4, I’d be pretty freaking nervous.
D’oh. That’s what I get for posting before coffee.
It’s an interesting position, though, for Amarone to be ahead, but with many more celebrities dead than Captain Lance Murdoch. Her celebrities have a lower average value* than his (about 44 to 55) and she can score at most four more times, while he can score 8 more times. If there weren’t such a big gap in total score, I’d say it’s a setup for a comeback.
*This is a wholly disturbing phrase, and I’m made uncomfortable by it.
Apart from the fact that I am a he, you have a good point. I don’t think I will score any more, though - my remaining picks look good to last the year.
Good heavens! I’d completely forgot that I’d entered this year. I’ll have to dig up (hehe) my list and see if any have died that haven’t been noted.
My Kill Ratio is 50% . Hmmm, is it wrong to call it that?
Okay!
I reckon I’ve got 4, maybe 5:
Tom Buckley died 13/5/9 Thomas Buckley is fundraising for The Christie
Patrick Swayze died recently
Allister Boyd died April 2009 http://www.thefratellis.com/forum/view.php?t=11703
Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim died 26/08/9 (Wiki)
and Colin Howe’s website has been taken down, so he’s probably dead.
I’m confident of others but I’ll have to be a bit more skillful with my searching.
You could also call it “bad math.”
I’m guessing this was one of those “people only famous for being sick” entries? A quick Google/Google News search didn’t turn up any information on this person. Will the points count?