I have not heard any reports of an illness. I am assuming it was quite unexpected.
I am reading this thread for the first time today and this is as far as I’ve gotten so far so I don’t know what your final total is. But the fact that I didn’t submit a list is no reflection on the quality of your death mistressing. I didn’t like my thoughts in Sept and Oct, upon hearing of someone’s acute illness, and hoping that they would hold out until January. Also, I was mortified at my feelings when one of my picks died. I know posters kid about getting over those feelings but I’m not sure I want to. So, I didn’t submit this year and while I have mixed feelings, overall I’m feeling good about that.
And now if someone wants to kiddingly mock me, feel free to break out in a rendition of . . . wait for it . . . “Feelings”.
My last points were for Dick Francis several years ago. I hated getting those points, since I really liked picking up his annual book. But whether I got the points or not, he would still be dead. There are quite a few people on my current list I would not like to see die, but joking about it will actually help deal with it, at least for me. (Or you could pick a list of people in public life you hate, then feeling good about them dying is not quite so icky.)
One way to avoid the hoping someone makes it until January to die is a themed list, without checking on anyone’s health. That is how I put mine together. I won’t ever win the game, but I enjoy just playing.
rotflmfao!!!
I’m the DM around here and I wouldn’t mock you. This kind of game is not to everyone’s taste, and I respect those who are squicked out about it. I enjoy it, but not because I’m gloating over even an evil dictator’s death.
The test I used for myself was. “If I was a celebrity and not an SDMB member, would I mind if someone picked me?” The answer came up no, for two reasons. One was that if I was chosen, that meant that people remembered me. The other was that I’m not afraid of being dead, just of the dying process. Winning points for someone would mean I was past the hard part.
With a very few exceptions I don’t think many people want their choices to die.
Of course not, that just makes the bastards cling to life even tighter.
Hm. Cause of death not specified.
pleaseletitbesnakebitepleaseletitbesnakebitepleaseletitbesnakebite
Rapper Freddy E. Buhl has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 22.
[note to self] Go with all rapper theme in 2014 [/note to self]
PROFIT (mmmm, cookies from Baker)
Reached his Final Destination.
Richard Ben Cramer Dies at 62; Wrote of Presidential Race
“Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and the author of “What It Takes,” a superbly detailed account of the 1988 presidential election …”
I’ve spent a bit of time making a bookmark folder in Chrome linking to the wiki pages of all my picks. Is this… erm… normal? I just feel an urge to go wash my hands a lot, is all.
Blood stains? :dubious:
Take a look at my list as I posted it!
I kept the document and the links.
I’ve got a spreadsheet with each person’s name, risk category, date of birth, and a couple of columns that use a formula to automatically update their age and point value. I have no shame. 
So whose list(s) have the highest risk?
And how is risk determined?
No, I mean just the celebrities on my own list. For example, one entry from my list looks like:
Bonnie Franklin pancreatic cancer 1/6/1944 69 31
Gotcha. I have lists of my death pool picks with d.o.b. and stuff going back 8-9 years.
meanwhile…
Rizana Nafeek (4 February 1988 - 9 January 2013) was a Sri Lankan woman, who was executed by beheading in Saudi Arabia for unintentional homicide. Sri Lanka has unsuccessfully sought Nafeek’s amnesty.