Danny Federici's Hungry Heart Stops Playing

Scoring Update! The points change, death remains the same...

Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died Thursday. He was 58. Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Federici had taken a leave of absence during the band's tour in November 2007 to pursue treatment for melanoma, and was temporarily replaced by veteran musician Charles Giordano. At the time, Springsteen described Federici as "one of the pillars of our sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all eagerly await his healthy and speedy return."

Congratulations and 24 points awarded to Daddy to Be Dead Mates. The Rosters and Standings have been updated.

[Yahoo! News]

Chaos Theory Puts Edward Lorenz in a Deadly State

Scoring Update! The points change, death remains the same...

Edward Lorenz, the father of chaos theory, died at his home in Cambridge, Mass., Wednesday. He was 90.

"Of all the geniuses of that era, he was the quietest and most humble and the most kind," said Jerry Mahlman, a longtime friend.

Congratulations and 24 points awarded to Angelos or Bust. The Rosters and Standings have been updated.

[AP]

Pope on a Rope

Not to brag or anything, but I've been to many Mets games, and I haven't had much trouble using the escalators.

It seems as though the Pope does have some sort of direct link to God. How else can you explain him holding mass at Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium, but not at Shea Stadium?

Today is somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Pope Benedict XVI's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 81! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Pope Benedict XVI's name appears on "Daddy to Be Dead Mates'" roster

• Pope Benedict XVI's interests include classical music and cats. He owns a specially engraved white Apple iPod and enjoys listening to music on it.
  

One of the many perks of being the Pope. All of those are of course offset by the fact he can't have sex. But at least he can listen to Mozart all he wants.

... And Many More!

Arlen Specter Can't Fund A Clean Bill of Health

A little while ago, we told you about Sen. Arlen Specter's book about how he overcame Hodgkin's disease in 2005. Turns out, though, he wasn't completely out of the woods.

Sen. Arlen Specter's Hodgkin's disease, which he battled in 2005, has recurred, but doctors said that its return was detected early and that Specter has an "excellent chance" of once again achieving remission, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the senator's office.

Specter, 78, will continue to perform his Senate duties and conduct his campaign for re-election to a sixth term but will undergo 12 weeks of chemotherapy, the written statement said. The recurrence was found during a routine scan, which flagged small lymph nodes in Specter's chest and abdomen. A follow-up biopsy of one of the chest lymph nodes was positive for recurrence, but a bone marrow biopsy was negative.

Doctors cite the early diagnosis as the explanation for the optimism they have this go around. The senator says that he's beaten a lot of political opponents during his career and he is ready to win this second bout with Hodgkin's disease. We can't help but wonder when the next book in the miniseries is due out.

[CNN]

Marvin J. Miller Will You Please Go Now!

First squirrels, now horses? I think I'm going to sign up for my local chapter of the speciesism movement. We have to get rid of these monsters post haste.

You know who else liked to get rid of monsters? Marvin Miller. Of course that's only if by monsters you mean low salaries for baseball players.

Yesterday was somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Former Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players' Association Marvin Miller's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 91! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Marvin Miller's name appears on "CraigsDeathList.org's" roster

• In 1992, the Hall of Fame broadcaster Red Barber said, "Marvin Miller, along with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, is one of the two or three most important men in baseball history."
  

Today is the 61st Anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier.

... And Many More!

Beverly Cleary, Age 92

I always knew there was reason for me to be afraid of squirrels.

This is probably the reason why Beverly Cleary wrote about mice. No one's afraid of a mouse on a motorcycle. A squirrel on a farm is, sadly, another story.

Saturday was somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Children's Author Beverly Cleary's Birthday. How Old Is She? 1,2,3,4... 92! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Beverly Cleary's name appears on "The South Shall Rise (from the Grave) Again's" and "Grateful(ly) Dead's" rosters

• Cleary's first full-time job was as a librarian in Yakima, Washington, where she met many children who were searching for the same books that she had always hoped to find as a child herself. In response, she wrote her first book, Henry Huggins, which was published in 1950.
  

If I were her, this would have made me write a lot of coloring books and connect the dots book. Maybe I'd throw in a word find as well.

... And Many More!

Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Constipation

Today is the 143rd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln being shot at Ford's Theatre. He died a day later, on Tax Day. Every grade schooler knows that it was John Wilkes Booth who killed the 16th President. What you may not know, however, is that may not be true. At least according to Palo Alto physician and amateur historian John Sotos, who says that President Abraham Lincoln was suffering from a lethal genetic cancer syndrome when he was shot.

"Lincoln was a rare man with a rare disease," said Sotos. He has self-published a 300-page book and 400-page database to support his conclusion, based on an exhaustive analysis of Lincoln photographs and historical eyewitness descriptions of the president's health. "This solves a puzzle."

Lincoln's health has fascinated medical sleuths. In 1962, it was suggested that his great height and long limbs were linked to a genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome. Others have proposed alternate ailments - Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, perhaps, or Stickler syndrome. Some say he suffered from depression or exhaustion.
The late president's health had long puzzled Sotos.

Not yet done, Sotos and others speculate about illnesses that other U.S. Presidents suffered from at the time of their deaths.

George Washington may have suffered dementia during his last years in office; James Madison suffered seizures; Calvin Coolidge grew depressed after the death of his son; after a lifetime of heavy drinking, Franklin Pierce died of cirrhosis of the liver...He diagnosed severe sleep apnea in William Taft and graphed the president's weight gains and losses.

After reading an article about thyroid cancer last year, Sotos pieced his theory together. It explained President Lincoln's lanky build, chronic constipation, hooded eyes, asymmetric jaw and the lumps on his lips, he said. Lincoln's health was already weakening at the time of his assassination.

We fear that maybe Sotos is just trying to cover up for President Lincoln's bad looks and chronic constipation. While President Lincoln's ass may have been his primary concern, it was inevitably Lincoln's assassination that brought him down twice as hard.

[San Jose Mercury News]

Elizabeth Taylor Gives Another Breath-Taking Performance

We can only assume at this point that Elizabeth Taylor doesn't think her health problems are as scary as others think they are. Or else maybe she's doing her best to act like she doesn't.

Elizabeth Taylor was reportedly rushed to hospital after mixing alcohol and prescription drugs. According to the National Enquirer magazine, the 76-year-old actress woke her assistant at 4am on April 6 after she started vomiting and had trouble breathing.

She was rushed to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she was treated before returning home later that afternoon. A friend of the legendary star said: "Liz was panicking. She really thought she was going to die."

Dating back to the 1980s, Taylor's had two stays at the Betty Ford Clinic.

'Cleopatra' actress Elizabeth was previously treated at the Betty Ford Clinic in 1983 for chemical dependency and in 1988 for problems with painkillers. We sense that this star's light has been teetering out for so long it's hardly even worth worrying about it anymore.

[Monsters and Critics]

Pauline Phillips' Holding onto 'Dear' Life

Dear Abby,

I want to spend more time with my sick mother. She barely recognizes me, though. What's the solution? - J.P.

Dear J.P.,

Sounds like you should take over her syndicated newspaper column and then speak glowingly about your mother at any chance you get. It'll draw you two closer, even if she has trouble expressing it.

Jeanne Phillips had been co-writing Dear Abby for more than a decade before she publicly took over in 2002, when it became known that her mother was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. While some readers may have expected the quality to suffer, the younger Phillips brought her own style to the column, and it's as popular as ever - receiving more than 10,000 e-mails and letters per week.

"For a long time, as she became progressively sicker, I was writing it, and she was editing me when she could. And she was a very fine editor, so perhaps that smoothed the transition," says Jeanne Phillips.

Now that Jeanne has a steady hold on the column's reins - daily readership around the world is at roughly 110 million people - you may be wondering about her mother, Pauline.

"I miss my mother. We were very close," Phillips says. "She has Alzheimer's, and she's here, but she's not here. That's rough."

It sounds to us like a case where when the bonding gets rough, the tough get writing.

[San Francisco Chronicle]

John Wheeler's Death Leaves Black Hole Behind

Scoring Update! The points change, death remains the same...

John A. Wheeler, a visionary physicist and teacher who helped invent the theory of nuclear fission, gave black holes their name and argued about the nature of reality with Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, died Sunday morning at his home in Hightstown, N.J. He was 96. The cause was pneumonia, said his daughter Alison Wheeler Lahnston.

Max Tegmark, a cosmologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said of Dr. Wheeler, “For me, he was the last Titan, the only physics superhero still standing.”

Congratulations and 18 points each awarded to CraigsDeathList.org and Last Call. The Rosters and Standings have been updated.

[New York Times]

Take out the Trash Day

I don't even know what to say about this story. There are so many questions. How was this guy picked up by a garbage truck? Why didn't the garbage men realize they just picked up a man and not trash? I've posted some bizarre stories in my day, but this is certainly up there.

However, this is mighty apropos for our birthday today because as Governor of New York, Hugh Carey advocated using trash as an alternative fuel. You have to think the more people in the trash the better the fuel.

Today is somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Former Governor of New York Hugh L. Carey's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 89! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Hugh L. Carey's name appears on "The Quit Parade's" roster

• In April 2006, a few days after his 87th birthday, Carey endorsed then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as a candidate for Governor; Spitzer went on to win the election by a large margin, and was sworn in as the 54th Governor of the State of New York on January 1, 2007.
  

Insert cliche'd Eliot Spitzer prostitute joke here.

... And Many More!

Weekend at Harry's?

It seems as though every month or so we get another one of these stories. To be honest, I just don't get them. Doesn't the phrase "the smell of death" tell you all you need to know about dead bodies? I guess there are just more crazy people in this world than I had ever imagined.

I don't know if our birthday boy is crazy, but looking at some recent pictures, it certainly possible that he is just a dead corpse being kept alive for some crazy reason.

Today is somebody else's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Emmy Winning Actor Harry Morgan's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 93! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Harry Morgan's name appears on 8 DP 2008 rosters

• In the episode "The Days Dwindle Down" of "Murder, She Wrote," Morgan played LAPD Detective Webb. In 1967, he starred as a member of the LAPD in "Dragnet 1967" which was created by and co-starred Jack Webb.
  

He was also scheduled to voice Charlotte in "Charlotte's Web" but talks fell through.

... And Many More!

Cemetary Towns in N.Y. Hold Some of the Famous

We told you recently about a hobby that some people have to visit the graves of famous celebrities. While some travel around looking for these graves, others have made their searches more local.

Chuck D’Imperio of Oneonta, New York, is the author of "Great Graves of Upstate New York." He believes that the state of New York has enough buried there for people take up an interest in their local cemetaries.

“They’re repositories of history, family history, New York history,” he said. “There are representatives of every war. There are fascinating sculptures. You never know who’s going to turn up in a cemetery in Central New York.”

So who has D’Imperio found? The book contains a list of 70 people – including criminals, politicians, movie stars, artists – who are buried in Upstate New York.

“The list of these 70 people is fascinating,” said D’Imperio. “It includes four U.S. presidents. It includes very, very famous names like James Fenimore Cooper and Lucille Ball.” D’Imperio became interested in famous graves after the death of his grandfather. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira. So is Mark Twain.

“There’s politicians here,” he said. “There’s folk heroes here; there’s a horse here. There’s a one-legged tap dancer here.”

You may now be wondering where some famous horses are buried. Mr. Ed? Unknown. Secretariat? Kentucky (a champion horse...of course, of course). Marvin The Tap-Dancing Horse? Reruns.

[Utica Observer-Dispatch]

A Byrd in the Bed is Worth Poo vs. the Bush

Avid Best Death Pool Ever readers (me? Live Like You Were Dying?) will of course remember the case of Senator Robert Byrd who has not been quite free as a…bird, after falling and hurting his hip in his home nest.

Well, Byrd also happens to be the chairman of the Senate’s appropriations committee, which is working on a crucial supplemental spending bill related to the war in Iraq.

Which makes us wonder: Hmm…How can you be reading documents when the documents are in your briefcase? (NSFW-ish) Said otherwise: How can you be leading a committee when the committee is in the Senate?

Now, reports are surfacing that Democratic Party leaders are also pondering this same question and are meeting to discuss the future of the endangered Byrd:

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., told The Hill newspaper that Democrats have concerns that Byrd won't be able to move the committee through spending bills quickly enough. "The concern is that we've got a lot to do, and we've got to move quickly," Lincoln told the newspaper. She added that Byrd's recent illness has held up the committee's progress.

To us, this seems like an overdue lesson in the Byrds and the bees, as in Byrd shouldn’t be chairman anymore.

[Charleston Daily Mall]

Stanley Kamel Was a Working Animal

Stanley Kamel, well known for playing Dr. Charles Kroger on the hit series “Monk,” has died, Access Hollywood has learned. Kamel was found dead in his Hollywood Hills home on Tuesday. He was 65. The actor died of a heart attack, Access Hollywood reports.

A rep for the USA network, which airs the Emmy-winning “Monk,” released the following statement to Access Hollywood:

“USA is deeply saddened by the news of Stanley Kamel's passing. Stanley was an amazingly talented and extremely kind man, and an important member of the USA family. He will be sorely missed.”

He is credited with over 100 roles. You may recognize Kamel from his television role on “The West Wing,” “Six Feet Under,” “Melrose Place,” or "Beverly Hills, 90210." Somewhere Dylan McKay cradles Kamel's head in the rain.

[MSNBC]

The Demon Stabber of Waukegan

I know 6 year olds can sometimes be a handful, but to call one a demon and then murder her? That just seems like a bit much to me.

Some would call our two birthday boys demons. I would agree on the second, but certainly not on the first. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't stab either one.

Today is somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Founder of "Playboy" Magazine Hugh Hefner's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 82! And Never been Kissed By... Death (but has been given a lap dance by Pamela Anderson)

Hugh Hefner name appears on "The Quit Parade's" and "Extended Weekend at Bernie's'" rosters

• After serving in the subscription department and as a copywriter for "Esquire," he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. He worked at Children's Activities, then took his biggest gamble in 1953 by lending his furniture for $600 and raising $8,000 from 45 investors -- including $1,000 from his mother -- to launch Playboy.

I think I speak for males everywhere in thanking the management of "Esquire" for being such tightwads.

Today is somebody else's Birthday! Whose Birthday? Founder of White Aryan Resistance Tom Metzger's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 70! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Tom Metzger's name appears on "Genesis 6:7's" roster

• In 1980, Metzger won the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives with over 40,000 votes in a San Diego-area district. He had changed his party registration from Republican to Democrat earlier in the year. The Democrats disavowed his candidacy, instead endorsing incumbent four-term Republican Clair Burgener. Metzger lost by over 200,000 votes in November to a several-term incumbent in a heavily Republican district.
  

Republicans and Democrats may disagree on many issues but it seems as though they agree that Nazis are bad. That stance must have polled through the roof.

... And Many More!

Randy Pausch Spices Up His Life

More successful, albeit mentally disturbed looking women than I once remarked:

Smiling, dancing, everything is free
All you need is positivity

And positivity is something Randy Pausch is sure of. If you remember, we are now 7 months removed from Randy Pausch’s virtual death sentence from his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. And Pausch is still smiling. Since that time Pausch has given a “last lecture” viewed by more than 10 million people, has wrote a book that is coincidentally titled “The Last Lecture,” testified before congress about the dearth of funding for pancreatic cancer research, and he will be the subject of a one hour ABC special hosted by Diane Sawyer, tonight.

Whatever. We’ve been blogging, and thanks to the New York Times, we know that’s just as dangerous as cancer.

But, apparently, there are other blogs on the internet, and some bloggers have been writing on them. And, in further development, a certain newspaper has been reporting on those blogs:

Because Pausch has outlived his initial prognosis, a few bloggers have begun to speculate that he is not really dying. Doctors at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Pittsburgh have confirmed Pausch's diagnosis and treatment.
"There's nothing to be cynical about in how he's choosing to approach these last months of his life," said Robbee Kosak, vice president for university advancement at Carnegie Mellon. "He's always been very passionate. He's always very pragmatic. He knows exactly what his priorities are. People like Randy are so rare. We should all be really happy that so many of us have had a chance now to see that it's possible to live your life with passion and energy and candor."

We are not a cynical bunch, so we are with Randy on this one. That said, if he is using this just to kiss some popular female singer…I think we can get to the bottom of it.

Here’s to Pausch. Keep inspiring, Randy. We’ll do your laundry for you for a week.

[International Herald Tribune]

How Long Can Millvina Dean's Titanic Heart Go On?

A chest infection resulting in the loss of her voice has forced Millvina Dean, the last living survivor of the Titanic, to cancel a public appearance she was due to make on Friday. This event wasn't just any speaking engagement. It was part of a series of Titanic commemorations being staged this weekend.

Millvina, who lives at Woodlands, near Ashurst, said: "I am truly sorry that I won't be able to do the talk on Friday as I was so looking forward to it and I hope people won't be too disappointed." Now the sole survivor of the disaster that claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people, Millvina was just a baby when she, her mother and brother were saved in one of Titanic's lifeboats, after the White Star liner foundered during her maiden voyage from Southampton.

The festivities honoring the 96th anniversary of the Titanic crash will go on as planned without Dean's presence. A broken hip knocked Dean out of the 95th anniversary last year.

Ninety nine red bruises go by...

[thisishampshire.net]

Betty is Built Ford Tough

How's this for an April story? A Snowball fight!

Today is somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? First Lady Betty Ford's Birthday. How Old Is She? 1,2,3,4... 90! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Betty Ford's name appears on the Rosters of "M"h By You Buddy," "Up The Arsenal!," "They Are Now As Cold As Ice," "Whoaa-ooah, Dying on the Edge," and "Tomb Raiders Redux (This Time with Candy)"

• On May 3rd, Betty Ford will be the first Non-Brit to be granted the "People's Princess" humanitarian award by the Princess Diana Foundation.

To be clear, this is not the same as the "People's Champion." For example: Betty Ford will still not be able to make use of the "People's Elbow." I just hope she has a finishing move ready if she ever needs to take on Triple H in the ring.

... And Many More!

Looks Like Someone's Got a Case of the Monday...Birthdays

Does 2 make a case of birthdays? Galaxy Zone Misting Fountains come in cases of 2, so I'm going to say yes...

Here is an unbelievably absurd story for you: A New Jersey man's family is suing a hospital for causing his death when they gave him a lung transplant...of a smoker's cancerous lungs. Hmm...Why do we suspect that the surgery was performed by Eric Cartman?

Monday was somebody's Birthday! Whose Birthday? ex-Boston Red Sox Second Baseman Bobby Doerr's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 90! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Bobby Doerr's name appears on "Angelos or Bust" and "Tomb Raider Redux (This Time with Candy)'s Rosters

• The Boston Red Sox held "Bobby Doerr Day" last season at Fenway Park where he drove along the warning track in a car, threw out the first pitch, and gave a speech.

Doerr needed to be cajoled into tossing out the first pitch. He had first threatened that "the ball was in my yard" and "I'm keeping it now." He eventually tossed the ball, but left quickly, complaining of "a draft in here."

Monday was somebody else's Birthday! Whose Birthday? World Famous Indian Musician Ravi Shankar's Birthday. How Old Is He? 1,2,3,4... 88! And Never been Kissed By... Death

Ravi Shankar name appears on "Up the Arsenal!'s" Roster

• Ravi Shankar has won all of the following awards: 3 Grammy awards, 14 honorary doctorates, and the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. He was also nominated for an Academy Award.

That's all incredibly true, and yet...one title still eludes him: That's right- World's Best Boss.

... And Many More!