TSM Death Pool - 2008

[vivalaultra 0]

Boo-yeah! I picked the right Golden Girl!

 

RIP Sophie, thank you for being a friend.

[NYU 0]

Back on the board again.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I figured I didn't have her, but I'm surprised I didn't have any golden girl.

[Vampiro69 0]

I had Getty as my best bet last year and for some reason I didn't even include her this year.

[CanadianChris 0]

I had Getty as my best bet last year and for some reason I didn't even include her this year.

Oh, dude.

 

I'll update the standings tonight. Someone changed their screen name and I won't know who until I look at my master list when I get home.

[MFer 0]

Apparently Kelsey Grammer almost bit the dust last month.

[CanadianChris 0]

Updated standings - July 24, 2008 (changes in red)

 

235 - Marvinisalunatic

110 - Toshiaki Koala

85 - Darthtiki

65 - Vern Gagne

45 - Czech

40 - NYU

20 - Beast, Cuban Linx, hardcoreicon, KOAB, treble, vivalaultra

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Randy Pausch, my best bet, lost his bout with Pancreatic Cancer. I thought he was gonna hold on but nope.

 

(10+50+25)x 2 = 170 points.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Another nobody in pupular media.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Another nobody in pupular media.

 

 

 

 

JJ Abrams gave him a cameo in the new Star Trek Movie.

 

there are more. Just because YOU never heard of someone does't mean that they aren't famous. He inspired millions of people in the last 2 years.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

But did YOU know who he was before you did a search for dying old men?

[Twisted Intestine 0]

I'm just bitter. I probably wouldn't care if you used a different avatar, is the funny thing.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

But did YOU know who he was before you did a search for dying old men?

 

I remembered hearing about the dying professor who gave a really inspirational "Last Lecture" last year on the news and I remembered watching it on youtube and seeing other news stories about him.

 

 

[CanadianChris 0]

Yeah, I think we can all start thinking about next year.

 

Updated standings - July 26, 2008 (changes in red)

 

405 - Marvinisalunatic

110 - Toshiaki Koala

85 - Darthtiki

65 - Vern Gagne

45 - Czech

40 - NYU

20 - Beast, Cuban Linx, hardcoreicon, KOAB, treble, vivalaultra

[RepoMan 0]

Yeah, I think we can all start thinking about next year.

 

Updated standings - July 26, 2008 (changes in red)

 

405 - Marvinisalunatic

110 - Toshiaki Koala

85 - Darthtiki

65 - Vern Gagne

45 - Czech

40 - NYU

20 - Beast, Cuban Linx, hardcoreicon, KOAB, treble, vivalaultra

 

I just want to get on the board. Why the fuck are they keeping Arial Sharon alive?

 

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Does anyone have Bob Barker?

 

My buddy's MSN name is RIP Barker. When I saw it, I did a scan online, but found nothing. He got back to me about eight hours later; It turned out to be his hockey coach from when he was a kid, but claims his first name actually is Bob.

[NYU 0]

I think next year, the choices need to be regulated tighter. Well, not everybody's choices. Just Marvin's.

 

The point of this contest is to pick celebrities who will kick the bucket -- it is a Celebrity Death Pool. Al Copeland (The founder of Popeye's Chicken) is NOT a celebrity. Randy Pausch (A college professor who once appeared on ABC World News with Charlie Gibson) is NOT a celebrity. And you took liberties with the others -- Mikey Dread, JR Simplot, etc. This should have been contested before the game started this year but alas, since I don't have a time machine, my hands are tied. But I think I'm proposing for next year that there be some kind of three-person regulatory team to oversee the beginning stages of the pool just so, if anybody contests a selection somebody makes (i.e. Marvin) as not being a celebrity, that committee can make a ruling over whether the person can indeed be considered a celebrity or not. If they vote no, the poster must remove that selection and replace them with someone else. Because this whole "pick some pseudo-nobody who created a fast food restaurant fifty years ago" nonsense has sucked the fun and enjoyment out of the pool this year.

 

This isn't bitterness here because, facing the facts, I only have forty points and it's not like I would be in the lead if Marvin wasn't here. But this whole thing annoys me just a little bit.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I think next year, the choices need to be regulated tighter. Well, not everybody's choices. Just Marvin's.

 

The point of this contest is to pick celebrities who will kick the bucket -- it is a Celebrity Death Pool. Al Copeland (The founder of Popeye's Chicken) is NOT a celebrity. Randy Pausch (A college professor who once appeared on ABC World News with Charlie Gibson) is NOT a celebrity. And you took liberties with the others -- Mikey Dread, JR Simplot, etc. This should have been contested before the game started this year but alas, since I don't have a time machine, my hands are tied. But I think I'm proposing for next year that there be some kind of three-person regulatory team to oversee the beginning stages of the pool just so, if anybody contests a selection somebody makes (i.e. Marvin) as not being a celebrity, that committee can make a ruling over whether the person can indeed be considered a celebrity or not. If they vote no, the poster must remove that selection and replace them with someone else. Because this whole "pick some pseudo-nobody who created a fast food restaurant fifty years ago" nonsense has sucked the fun and enjoyment out of the pool this year.

 

This isn't bitterness here because, facing the facts, I only have forty points and it's not like I would be in the lead if Marvin wasn't here. But this whole thing annoys me just a little bit.

 

Sort of like, at least 3 other people in the 'competition' must have heard of them as well? Or post a link to prove what they're actually famous for?

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

It turned out to be his hockey coach from when he was a kid, but claims his first name actually is Bob.

 

 

Sound's like someone Marvin would have.

[Retard Girl 0]

Bob Barker, the game show host, is my best bet

[CanadianChris 0]

All right, I'm going to nip this in the bud right now.

 

The whole point of the game is to try and find famous people who'll die in the next year (I used the word celebrities, but any famous people are fine -- Jesse Helms was famous, but wasn't exactly a celebrity). Famous, of course, is an extremely subjective word. Famous will mean different things to people in different countries, who work in different fields, and with different interests. For example, everyone on this board would know about the passing of Jake "The Snake" Roberts, while most people off the street wouldn't have a clue who he is. A lot of people equate being well-known with being visible, which isn't the case. People aren't famous just for appearing in People magazine or on television on a regular basis.

 

Since I started running the contest, my criteria for determining whether or not someone is eligible for the contest is simple -- if a person is noteworthy enough to have an obituary run in a major outlet (NY Times, LA Times, Guardian, CNN, BBC, etc.), or possibly a semi-major outlet, then he/she is in. The only exceptions are people famous for being related to someone famous (Bil Keane, author of The Family Circus, is eligible; Thelma Keane, Bil's wife and the inspiration for the strip, was not). If I have a question about someone, I usually do a Google search and see what comes up. I'll also look at other death pools and see who people have been choosing for the last couple of years; if a person shows up on one of those, I'll allow it.

 

As for Marvin's picks...I don't know about any of you, but Randy Pausch's death was pretty well-covered everywhere I saw. He was a best-selling author and had a huge viral following. Al Copeland did the exact same thing Dave Thomas did -- found a national fast-food chain -- and isn't any less "famous" just because he didn't star in his company's commercials. JR Simplot was included on the Forbes list many times -- is he any less "famous" than someone like Warren Buffett? No, just less visible.

 

Finally, someone who takes this silly little thing seriously and does research is going to have an advantage over someone who just picks 20 names off the top of their head. That's why Leena won last year, and that's why Marvin's winning this year. They didn't do anything wrong besides actually trying to find people who would die. Had anyone here besides Leena heard of Jane Tomlinson last year? Probably not, but she was well-known enough that someone could have, and Leena picked her and profited. If people want to just pick the first 20 people that come to mind, that's fine, but just know that the chances of winning that way aren't as good. That's pretty much what I've done the past two contests, and I've been shut out for the past 19 months.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I agree, ultimately. Out of curiousity, why did you choose Bil and Thelma Keane as your examples?

[CanadianChris 0]

I agree, ultimately. Out of curiousity, why did you choose Bil and Thelma Keane as your examples?

She died recently, and it was the first thing that popped into my head.

[bob_barron 0]

People need to stop being bitter that Marvin for once outsmarted everyone.

 

The Last Lecture guy got tons of press for his death, very smart pick

[NYU 0]

Chris, this is where your theory falters.

 

Al Copeland did the exact same thing Dave Thomas did -- found a national fast-food chain -- and isn't any less "famous" just because he didn't star in his company's commercials. JR Simplot was included on the Forbes list many times -- is he any less "famous" than someone like Warren Buffett? No, just less visible.

 

Visibility IS fame. The more visible you are to the public, the more famous you are as well. Conversely, the less visible you make yourself to the public negatively affects your fame status as well. Dave Thomas is indeed more famous than Al Copeland because he starred in his own commercials. If Copeland can be considered a celebrity because he founded Popeye's Chicken, then where do we draw the line? Are all company founders now considered celebrities? What about inventors? Hey, Art Fry invented Post-Its. Is he a valid selection next year? There are modicums of fame, and Dave Thomas is indeed more famous than Copeland. Just as Warren Buffett is indeed more famous than JR Simplot. Considering perhaps 90-95% of the board had probably never heard of Simplot before, could he fairly and objectively be considered a celebrity? Well, that's what the panel would decide.

 

This is your contest and if you don't support the idea of regulating it a little more tightly next year, then there's not much I can do. I respect your opinion but still, it doesn't change mine.

[CanadianChris 0]

I do think it's a valid point that you make. I'll try and think about it for next year's contest -- maybe have everyone's entry in by Christmas and have an appeal process in the final week of the year. I doubt anything would be solved by having three people looking over the selections instead of one. Like I said, fame is incredibly subjective, and the line between famous and obscure is different for everyone. I would rather err on the side of inclusion, because I don't want a lot of people to get annoyed by having less famous selections rejected.

 

One more example: Don Wittman died recently. He was eligible, but it's very unlikely many people on this board would have heard of him, as he was a Canadian sportscaster.

 

And yes, I would've accepted Art Fry.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I guess most of these people are famous in the US only, as I haven't heard or saw much coverage over here in the UK. But then, that would be same for most of my picks like Bobby Robson, Amy Winehouse, Pete Douchty, etc (basically the English types).

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Im waiting til the last minute so I can pick people who no one else picked for those bonus points.

 

Only real chance I have of winning.

 

This is the main reason Im winning by such a wide margin. I specifically went and made sure that none of my picks were made by anyone prior and waited until 10 am on December 31 to make my picks, hoping that would keep anyone else from using my picks.

 

Doing this gave me an extra 150 points for my 5 deaths (4x25 + 25x2 for my best bet death).

 

Also, the remaining 14 people alive on my list are a lot more famous.

[Beast 0]

I was looking through my picks since I finally got on the board for Estelle Getty and I noticed that I didn't get any points for Albert Hoffman (the inventor of LSD). He died April 29th. EDIT - And jeez, Suzanne Pleschette died 1/29, should have defintely got something for her.

[CanadianChris 0]

Dammit, I'm not a machine.

 

Updated standings - July 30, 2008 (changes in red)

 

405 - Marvinisalunatic

110 - Toshiaki Koala

85 - Beast, Darthtiki

65 - Vern Gagne

45 - Czech

40 - NYU

30 - v.2

20 - Cuban Linx, hardcoreicon, KOAB, treble, vivalaultra