TWID - September 11th Edition

This Week in Death brings you: This Week in Death! Below are all the notes and news to cover a week's worth of health and death. There are more health notices than a hospital, and more death than... well, a hospital. How is Billy Graham this week? What's the latest in baseless Fidel Castro rumors? Which Music or TV persona - whom I have never heard of - died? One way to find out...

We said goodbye to Luciano Pavarotti this week. But we said it in a beautiful, alto tone. Our condolences to Domingo and the other guy. We also wished farewell to Jane Wyman. Jane, Jane gone away, will not come again, another day

Health is part of a balanced breakfast...

Bin Laden' Beard Back in Black, Alive and Not Hearing Hell's Bells
Western intelligence agencies were last night studying a personal message from Osama bin Laden, in which he apparently tells Americans they must convert to Islam if they want the war in Iraq to end. A short excerpt of the video, shown yesterday on Al-Jazeera television, appears to show bin Laden in good health. Most noticeably, his beard appears trimmed and almost entirely black. In previous images, it is gray.
[The Scotsman]

Pleshette Rid of All Those Little Cancerous Lumps, Still Has Lovely Lady Humps. Her Humps Her Humps Her Humps.

Suzanne Pleshette is very much alive, and ever her saucy self. "I'm cancer-free, my (breasts) are great and ... I'm extremely, extremely rich," she responded to a question from The Associated Press, generating howls of laughter from a packed audience. Early into the panel discussion, Pleshette noted, "I could have dropped dead. There are three doctors who kept me alive, just for tonight."
[Yahoo!]

When Life Gives Willie Nelson Aid, He Makes Farm Aid
The four musical members of the Farm Aid board (Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Willie Nelson) closed out the night. Before launching into "Homegrown," Neil Young slyly said the song "used to be about one thing now it's about another." Translation: the song was written about the glory of growing your own marijuana, but it's now about the glory of organic food grown on family farms. Willie Nelson — who knows a thing or two about both subjects — sat in on guitar.
[Rolling Stone]

Death, on the other hand, is just part of breaking you. Fast...

As the Saying Goes: Sometimes Gillmor is Less...Alive
Ohio Rep. Paul Gillmor was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a Republican leadership aide said. The aide said the body of the 68-year-old Republican was found by staff members who went to his apartment after he failed to show up for work. There was no immediate word on the cause of his death. Gillmor's office did not respond to a reporter's call.
[CNN]

Blood Clot Means One Thing: Jennifer is D-U-N-N, Dunn
Former Rep. Jennifer Dunn, who became the most powerful Republican woman in Washington state history during six terms representing Seattle's east-side suburbs, died Wednesday after developing a blood clot in her Virginia apartment, her family said. She was 66. Dunn was known for her work on tax issues, promoting women-owned businesses and sponsoring the Amber Alert bill for locating missing children.
[New York Times]

I Know You're the Big Money Expert. Oh I'm Sorry, I Forgot, You're Dead... I'm Sorry, That Was 100% Inappropriate...
Wall Street big shot Seth Tobias was mysteriously found dead yesterday in the swimming pool of his Florida mansion, police said. Tobias' wife found the well-regarded CNBC commentator's body about 1 a.m., floating facedown in his pool in an exclusive section of Jupiter, Fla., near Palm Beach. Cops said an autopsy would be performed to determine how the brash moneyman died. "It's unusual because of his age," Pascarella said of the 44-year-old.
[NY Daily News]

Female Elvis Has Left the Building
Janis Martin, who was billed as the Female Elvis in the 1950s, died Monday (Sept. 3) from complications of cancer. She was 67. Regarded as the first female rockabilly singer, Martin was discovered as a teenager by RCA executive Steve Sholes, and in 1956 she recorded in Nashville with Chet Atkins. Her first single, "Will You, Willyum," launched her pop music career and led to several high-profile TV appearances, but she retired within a few years to raise a family. At the time of her death, she was still a popular draw in Europe and had several rockabilly festival dates booked.
[Country Music Television]

Miyoshi Says Sayonarra, Will Be Mourned by Mitoad and Mibowzer
Miyoshi Umeki, 78, a Japanese-born singer and actress who became the first Asian performer to win an Academy Award -- for "Sayonara" (1957) -- and who played a housekeeper on the TV series "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," died Aug. 28 at the Licking Park Manor nursing home in Licking, Mo. She had cancer.
[Washington Post]

This Week Was Somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Some Death Pool Entrants' Birthdays. How Old Are They? 1,2,3... And Never been Kissed By... Death
Happy Birthday to:
September 7: Michael E. DeBakey (99)
September 8: Sid Caesar (85)
September 9: Phyllis A. Whitney (104)
September 10: Arnold Palmer (78)
September 11: Bashar al-Assad (42)
... And Many More!!!!!!!!

Pavarotti's death this week helps the 2nd and 3rd-place teams close in on the leader, but there is no change in the Top 5, who remain...

1. El Esta Adead - 76 points (6 deaths)
2. The Ex-Parrots - 62.3 points (6 deaths)
3. Kraut's Picks - 60.9 points (8 deaths)
4. Yiz-score - 54.3 points (4 deaths)
5. Die Hard - 48.3 points (4 deaths)

TWID, Nutritious as always.. Now with more fiber!
The Commissioner's Council