Dead Pool 15th May 2022

Not to keep on about it, but the new rumour about Putin is blood cancer, couldn’t happen to a nicer person. And a quick shout out to Ukraine for winning the Eurovision, probably a forgone conclusion, but sadly was at our expense! Who would have thought, actual points and being on top of the table for a little while!  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

BBC podcast host Deborah James has told her followers that she doesn’t know how long she has left after halting treatment for bowel cancer and moving to hospice at home care. The mother-of-two, who hosts the award-winning You, Me And The Big C, told her almost 300,000 Instagram followers that the last six months had been “heartbreaking”, but that she had been surrounded by “so much love” and had “no regrets”. James, 40, was diagnosed with the condition in 2016 and since then has regularly posted on social media with posts about her diagnosis and treatments. She wrote on Monday 9th May: “We have tried everything, but my body simply isn’t playing ball. My active care has stopped and I am now moved to hospice at home care, with my incredible family all around me and the focus is on making sure I’m not in pain and spending time with them. Nobody knows how long I’ve got left but I’m not able to walk, I’m sleeping most of the days, and most things I took for granted are pipe dreams. I know we have left no stone unturned. But even with all the innovative cancer drugs in the world or some magic new breakthrough, my body just can’t continue anymore.” Sharing links to charities including Cancer Research UK, Bowel Cancer UK and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, James asked her supporters to make donations and “buy me a drink to see me out this world”. She added: “Right now for me it’s all about taking it a day at a time, step by step and being grateful for another sunrise. My whole family are around me and we will dance through this together, sunbathing and laughing (I’ll cry!!) at every possible moment! You are all incredible, thank you for playing your part in my journey. No regrets. Enjoy life x Deborah.” James, a former deputy headteacher, has been an avid cancer campaigner ever since her diagnosis, and has often shared the trials and tribulations of her disease in newspaper columns and on social media. She often wrote from her hospital bed. In September last year, she said she intended to “bang on” about her 40th birthday all week, because doctors previously told her she was unlikely to ever make it to that milestone.   

Britney Spears has revealed that she’s had a miscarriage weeks after announcing she was pregnant. Spears posted the news in April but, on Saturday, she told her followers she had miscarried, writing: “It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that we have lost our miracle baby early in the pregnancy.” The singer added: “This is a devastating time for any parent. Perhaps we should have waited to announce until we were further along, however, we were overly excited to share the good news. Spears said that she and her rumoured husband Asghari would “continue trying to expand our beautiful family”. Underneath the post, Asghari, who is believed to have recently married the singer in secret, wrote: “We will have a miracle soon.” Spears previously revealed that she had taken a pregnancy test after gaining weight on a vacation to Hawaii. In the post, she referred to Asghari, 28, as her “husband”, but sources close to the couple claim they are yet to be married. The 40-year-old has two children – Sean, 16, and Jayden, 15 – with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. Federline was married to Spears for two years from 2004 to 2006. Spears eventually filed for divorce from the former dancer, citing irreconcilable differences. 

A former top manager of the Russian energy corporation Lukoil has died from suspected toad poisoning, the flying monkeys report. Following a session with a local shaman in Mytishchi, a city northeast of Russia’s capital Moscow, Alexander Subbotin, a Lukoil board member, allegedly died in a basement after an anti-hangover session with the healer. Subbotin visited the shaman, Magua, and his wife at their home to treat a hangover using toad venom. “They made an incision on the skin, dripped toad poison there – and after vomiting the patient allegedly got better.” The witness also claims that Subbotin knew the couple for a long time and had regularly used their services. They noted: “And so he came to them once again – to treat a hangover. Suddenly he felt unwell – his heart ached. The owner decided not to call an ambulance, gave Corvalol and put the businessman to sleep in the basement. There the man died. They were just friends.” The tale of Subbotin’s curious demise is one in a number of unusual deaths involving Russia’s energy sector following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Recently, four current and former Gazprom officials – along with a further Russian energy official – died under mysterious circumstances over the course of several weeks, in the build-up to, and aftermath of, the Ukraine invasion. In two cases, the executives’ wives and children, in Moscow and a Spanish resort town, were also discovered gruesomely hacked to death.   

Actor and singer-songwriter Abi Phillips, the 28-year-old star of Hollyoaks, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Phillips, known for playing Liberty Savage on the popular soap, shared the news with followers on Instagram on Monday 9th May. According to the post, Phillips had been diagnosed last month after initially being turned away by medical staff. She had been told that her age meant there was nothing to be concerned about after noticing two lumps on her neck However, she sought a second opinion after seeing Love Island star Demi Jones share her own experience with tumours. Sharing photographs of herself at a hospital, Phillips wrote: “So, I took these pictures before my scans and after my biopsy having a good old laugh about how ridiculously dressed up I looked in the hospital before a gig, not expecting for one moment to get the news that I did two weeks later… I’d previously been sent away from the doctors after having found two lumps in my neck, they’d passed it off and said I was ‘young’ and it wouldn’t be anything and I was ‘probably getting over a cold’ or my body was ‘fighting something off’. As much as that’s what I wanted to hear I wanted to get everything checked for my own peace of mind.” After booking in with a specialist, Phillips was referred for an urgent biopsy and scans. Two weeks later, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and told she would need to undergo surgery and radiotherapy. “I never thought I would be told that I have cancer at the age of 28, you never think it’s going to happen to you,” she said. “I wouldn’t have taken things further with seeing a specialist if I hadn’t seen @demijones1 post as her lumps were in the exact same place as mine. If ever you find a lump or something unusual on your body, never just think it’s nothing, don’t be told that you’re fine by the GP and you’re ‘young’, always get things checked out by a specialist if you can and insist on tests even if it turns out to be nothing, as catching things early is crucial for a good prognosis.”   

Former England player and coach Graham Thorpe is “seriously ill” in hospital, the Professional Cricketers’ Association has said. Thorpe, 52, had accepted the job of Afghanistan head coach following his departure from the England set-up after this winter’s Ashes. The PCA released a statement at the request of Thorpe’s family, which read: “Graham Thorpe has recently fallen seriously ill and is currently in hospital receiving treatment. His prognosis is unclear at this stage and we ask for privacy for him and his family at this time. Our thoughts are with Graham and his family.” Former Surrey left-hander Thorpe was renowned as one of the finest English players of his generation, played exactly 100 Tests and scoring 16 centuries before retiring in 2005. He went on to begin a coaching career in Australia, where he worked with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner at New South Wales, before joining the England and Wales Cricket Board as a batting coach. He worked as assistant with the senior side under Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood, stepping up to lead the team in this winter’s Sydney Test against Australia due to Silverwood’s coronavirus diagnosis. England drew the match to avoid a series whitewash. Thorpe left his role at the end of the Ashes but signalled his intention to remain in the international arena by taking the Afghanistan job in March. Surrey sent their thoughts to a “favourite son” of the club, writing on Twitter: “The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Graham, his wife Amanda, and family at this time. He is an icon of the English game, known by millions of cricket fans and forever a favourite son of Surrey CCC.”   

Gene Hackman has made a rare public appearance, and delighted movie fans in the process. The actor, who is 92, attended a show in Santa Fe’s Lensic Center for Performing Arts titled Broadway Confidential. It was billed as “an evening” with former Saturday Night Live star Ana Gasteyer and Sirius XM Radio host Seth Rudetsky. Rudetsky excitedly shared a photo of himself alongside Gasteyer and Hackman on Twitter, writing: “Look who came to our show in Santa Fe! GENE HACKMAN!!!!! Ah!!!! The Posiedon Adventure!!! My fave!” Since retiring from acting in 2004, Hackman, who lives in Santa Fe, has removed himself from the public eye, with many of his fans expressing concern about him. However, this photo has encouraged Hackman’s fans that the actor is OK, with many stating that he looks healthy. “What an honour!” one fan tweeted, adding: “He’s been retired from acting for a long time, but I’ve heard so many stories about him enjoying his life in Santa Fe. How great that he came to see your show. He looks fabulous.” Another added: “Oh wow, one of the greatest actors of the last 50 years (and arguably ever). Great to know that he’s still going strong even if we’re not lucky enough to have him on one screens anymore.” “He looks like he’s enjoying life to the fullest,” yet another Hackman fan replied, stating: “So nice to see a photo of him after so long!” Hackman’s extensive list of credits include The French Connection, The Conversation, Superman, Mississippi Burning and Unforgiven. His final roles before his retirement were The Royal Tenenbaums, Runaway Jury and Welcome to Mooseport. Hackman is considered one of the greatest actors of all time.

On This Day

  • 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
  • 1940 – Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald’s restaurant.
  • 1957 – At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
  • 2010 – Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.

Deaths

  • 1886 – Emily Dickinson, American poet and author (b. 1830)
  • 2003 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (b. 1929)
  • 2020 – Fred Willard, American actor, comedian, and writer (b. 1933)

Last Meals

Clarence Dixon had a last meal of KFC, a half a pint of strawberry ice cream and a bottle of water before he was executed last week. 

Dixon was sentenced to death for the murder of Deana Bowdoin, a university student, back in 1978. 

The blind 66-year-old served life behind bars and was executed by lethal injection, the first execution in Arizona since 2014.

As is protocol, inmates on death row get served a final meal of their choice and Dixon made his choice of chicken and ice cream according to documents given to the flying monkeys.

DNA linked Dixon to Bowdoin’s murder case in 2008 when he was already in prison serving a life sentence for a sexual assault in 1985. 

Leslie James, Bowdoin’s sister, released the following statement ahead of Dixon’s execution: “Deana was a beautiful person, inside and out. She was only 21 and in her last semester at ASU when she was violently taken from my family.” She said the last 44 plus years of reliving the murder as well as the trial had been horrific for the family. She continued: “As victims, the Arizona Constitution guarantees a prompt and final conclusion of this matter. Our parents wanted nothing more than to ultimately see justice for Deana. Unfortunately, they both passed away before punishment could be imposed.” 

The US Supreme Court denied Dixon a last minute stay of execution and he was given a choice between lethal injection and gas chamber. 

In the Arizona lower courts, the judge said that whilst Dixon evidently suffered from schizophrenia, in his legal opinion, he remained rational enough to comprehend proceedings and why he was being put to death. 

Prior to Dixon, Joseph Wood was the last person to be executed in Arizona. He ended up struggling and gasping for air for almost two-hours as he ended up being given more than a dozen doses – around 15 times the amount required according to the state’s execution protocol of drugs needed to kill a prisoner. 

Currently, in Arizona alone there are 112 people on death row however in recent years the state, like many others, has struggled to get hold of the drugs required for execution as more and more companies block their products from use. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Cate Blanchett (53), Sofia Coppola (51), George Lucas (78), Tim Roth (61), Robert Zemeckis (71), Francesca Annis (77), Jim Howick (43), Danny Huston (60), Greg Davies (54), Siân Phillips (89), Martine McCutcheon (46), Robert Pattinson (36), Samantha Morton (45), Iwan Rheon (37), Harvey Keitel (83), Zoë Wanamaker (73), Mark Heap (65), Stephen Colbert (57), Dennis Rodman (61), Stevie Wonder (72), Rhea Seehorn (50), Malin Akerman (44), Rami Malek (41), Emilio Estevez (60), Vanessa Williams (59), Ving Rhames (63), Gabriel Byrne (72), Stephen Baldwin (56), Jason Biggs (44), Shohreh Aghdashloo (70), Jeffrey Donovan (54), Tim Blake Nelson (58), Pam Ferris (74), Holly Valance (39), Coby Bell (47), Jadyn Wong (37), Bono (62), Maureen Lipman (76), Rosario Dawson (43), Glenda Jackson (86), Billy Joel (73), and Grace Gummer (36).

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