Dead pool 25th December 2016
Welcome to the penultimate edition of The Dead Pool Newsletter 2016! We have points to award, Zsa Zsa has finally been released from her long wait. It would probably be easier for me to list who didn’t have her, but since 19 people had her listed let’s just say well done to all of you, either 51 or 151 points awarded for those who did, just check the leader board to see the change in scores but no real change in positions.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank myself for producing this weekly monstrosity, even on Christmas Day! and if you feel the same, please donate towards the running costs on the website, everything is very much appreciated. As you will see, some very generous people have already set the ball in motion but please don’t feel like you have to, I know we all struggle at this time of year.
All that is left for me to say is, keep working on those lists for 2017, you have until 31st December to hand them in and I hope you all survive the Christmas overindulgence so that you can take part next year. As you will see from this week’s league table, you might want to think a little longer on who you decide your Big Three will be. All of the top scorers have had at least two of their biggies drop, so make sure to take this advantage yourselves in 2017!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Zsa Zsa Gabor, 99, Hungarian-born American actress (Moulin Rouge, Touch of Evil, Lili) and socialite, heart attack.
- Lionel Blue, 86, British rabbi, journalist and broadcaster, complications from Parkinson’s disease.
- Deddie Davies, 78, Welsh actress (The Railway Children, Stella) and musician (The Zimmers).
- Frank Murray, 66, British band manager (Thin Lizzy, The Pogues), suspected heart attack.
- Philip Saville, 86, British television director and screenwriter.
- Piers Sellers, 61, British astronaut and meteorologist, pancreatic cancer.
- Rick Parfitt, 68, British musician and songwriter (Status Quo), complications from shoulder injury.
In Other News
Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, is in intensive care after suffering a heart attack during a flight, her brother says. Fisher, 60, went into cardiac arrest minutes before the end of the London to LA flight. Passengers attempted to revive her with CPR and she was taken to hospital when the plane landed after midday local time. “If everyone could just pray for her that would be good,” her brother Todd said. “The doctors are doing their thing and we don’t want to bug them. We are waiting by patiently.” Fisher had been on tour promoting her latest book, The Princess Diarist. The heart attack happened about 15 minutes before the plane landed in LA, a medic who was travelling on the plane administered CPR. Paramedics then spent a further 15 minutes administering more CPR to Fisher before getting a pulse, TMZ reported. The actress was on a ventilator in the UCLA medical centre. A law enforcement official told NBC that her condition was “not good”.
The Queen missed the traditional Christmas day church service at Sandringham for the first time in almost 30 years as she continues to fight a heavy cold, Buckingham Palace said. The 90-year-old monarch has attended the annual service ever since the Royal family began visiting Sandringham in 1988. Before then, the family stayed at Windsor for Christmas. This morning, Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Harry, the Earl of Wessex and Prince Andrew were seen making their way from Sandringham House to the service. Hundreds of no-lifers had gathered outside the church, with some assholes arriving before dawn. The Queen and Prince Philip, 95, were stuck down with colds earlier this week and had to delay the departure of their holiday by 24 hours. Buckingham Palace revealed on Wednesday the royal couple had both come down with “ heavy colds”, leading to the last minute postponement of their annual trip. While the Queen usually takes the train every year to her Norfolk estate, the pair made the 100-mile journey by helicopter, with Royal aides suggesting that it had turned out to be the most practical method of travelling at short notice.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has been injured by a knife-wielding attacker, believed to be a burglar, at her home in the Czech Republic. Kvitova, 26, was stabbed in the left hand when she tried to defend herself but her injuries are not life-threatening. She tweeted: ‘In my attempt to defend myself, I was badly injured on my left hand. I am shaken, but fortunate to be alive.’ Kvitova was attacked this morning in the town of Prostejov in the east of the country, which is home to a national tennis academy. Prostejov police spokesman Frantisek Korinek said the attacker, who was aged about 35, escaped from the house and a manhunt is under way. Kvitova tweeted: ‘The injury is severe and I will need to see specialists, but if you know anything about me I am strong and I will fight this. Thank you all again for your love and support.’
On This Day
- 336 – First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.
- 800 – The Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
- 1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
- 1914 – A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
- 1946 – The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union‘s F-1 nuclear reactor.
- 1989 – Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, First-Deputy Prime-Minister Elena are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.
Deaths
- 1946 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, juggler, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
- 1977 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and director (b. 1889)
- 1989 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Dean Martin, American singer and actor (b. 1917)
- 2006 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Brad Pitt (53), Katie Holmes (38), Jake Gyllenhall (36), Alyssa Milano (44), Kiefer Sutherland (50), Jane Fonda (79), Samuel L. Jackson (68), Ralph Fiennes (54), Eddie Vedder (52), Ricky Martin (45), Vanessa Paradis (44), Steven Spielberg (70), Christina Aguilera (36), Keith Richards (73), Ray Liotta (62), Johan Hill (33), Stephanie Meyer (43), Steve Austin (52), Jennifer Beals (53), Phil Donahue (81), Chris Evert (62), Carla Bruni (49), and Kirsty Swanson (47).
Next week peeps!
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