I think I'm in favor of leaving it winner-take-all, but I don't feel strongly about it. Danny suggested taking some of the money and buying booby prizes for 2nd and 3rd place -- I'd rather see folks volunteer to sponsor the prizes, because the pot should stay big enough to matter.
Anyway. Weigh in, why doncha?
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Next Year -- Who's in?
Are you all planning to play again? Does anyone want to weigh in on the proposed rules change? Do we want to change from winner-take-all to prizes for first, second, and third?
Comments? Questions? Bueller?
Comments? Questions? Bueller?
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
2008 Dead Pool Update
My fellow ghouls,
Andy is killing everyone, so to speak. If you are to catch him (or beat him) here's your 12-pointer hit list.
Betsy can take the lead if two out of her three top dollar stars become celebrity corpses: Larry King, Michael Jackson, or Peter O'Toole. She can tie with one of them plus one of her six-pointers.
Heather needs both Dolores Hope and Jack Kevorkian to tie. Abe Vigoda is her only six-pointer.
Danny (moi) requires the deaths of three from a pool of entertainers (Beverly Cleary, Bill Keane, Liza Minnelli) and war criminals (Chemical Ali, Oral Roberts) to pull ahead. I have no six-pointers.
Andy has two high-value targets left: Pete Seeger and Gloria Stuart. He has three six-pointers.
Elaine should have her eyes on Blake Edwards, Eli Wallach, Mitch Millar, Monty Hall, and Nanette Fabray--all of 'em hale & hearty & over 86 years old. She needs two to tie Andy.
John has one target that's fun to say, one that will never die, and one whose death would satisfy. He's he needs all of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Keith Richards, and Philis Schafly. He also has three six-pointers, so any two of those would compensate for the loss of one big-timer.
Chris is all politics, with Bob "Bob Dole" Dole, Osama bin Laden, and Queen Elizabeth all needing to die for him to lead. He has two half-worthies.
Morgan has six big number folks, and needs three of them to tie Andy. So, watch out Aretha, Barry, Britney, Courtney, Loretta and Regis. She has only Jimmy Carter on the reserve team.
Rebecca also has six high-rollers and needs three of them to roll snake eyes. Barbara Billingsley, Bhumibol Adulyadej, Maggie Thatcher, Norodom Sihanouk, Sargent Shriver and Shirley Temple Black... momma needs a new pair of shoes! She also has one sixer.
Tom says, "Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Biggs, he's a dead man! Van Kirk, dead! Niemeyer..." Dead. Yes, we hear you Tom, but you only need two of 'em to tie. You also have two six pointers.
Andre wishes ill to Borgnine and Zsa-Zsa. Say that a few times. It's fun. He needs both of them, and he has no six-pointers.
So with 27 days remaining, more or less, Andy is the ghouliest of the ghouls. But nobody is technically out of the running.
Keep on wishing ill.
Update
Uh oh... I forgot Holly.
Andy Dick, Arlen Specter, Miep and Prince P, plus T. Berry Brazelton. She needs three of these.
And she has three six pointers as well.
Andy is killing everyone, so to speak. If you are to catch him (or beat him) here's your 12-pointer hit list.
Betsy can take the lead if two out of her three top dollar stars become celebrity corpses: Larry King, Michael Jackson, or Peter O'Toole. She can tie with one of them plus one of her six-pointers.
Heather needs both Dolores Hope and Jack Kevorkian to tie. Abe Vigoda is her only six-pointer.
Danny (moi) requires the deaths of three from a pool of entertainers (Beverly Cleary, Bill Keane, Liza Minnelli) and war criminals (Chemical Ali, Oral Roberts) to pull ahead. I have no six-pointers.
Andy has two high-value targets left: Pete Seeger and Gloria Stuart. He has three six-pointers.
Elaine should have her eyes on Blake Edwards, Eli Wallach, Mitch Millar, Monty Hall, and Nanette Fabray--all of 'em hale & hearty & over 86 years old. She needs two to tie Andy.
John has one target that's fun to say, one that will never die, and one whose death would satisfy. He's he needs all of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Keith Richards, and Philis Schafly. He also has three six-pointers, so any two of those would compensate for the loss of one big-timer.
Chris is all politics, with Bob "Bob Dole" Dole, Osama bin Laden, and Queen Elizabeth all needing to die for him to lead. He has two half-worthies.
Morgan has six big number folks, and needs three of them to tie Andy. So, watch out Aretha, Barry, Britney, Courtney, Loretta and Regis. She has only Jimmy Carter on the reserve team.
Rebecca also has six high-rollers and needs three of them to roll snake eyes. Barbara Billingsley, Bhumibol Adulyadej, Maggie Thatcher, Norodom Sihanouk, Sargent Shriver and Shirley Temple Black... momma needs a new pair of shoes! She also has one sixer.
Tom says, "Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Biggs, he's a dead man! Van Kirk, dead! Niemeyer..." Dead. Yes, we hear you Tom, but you only need two of 'em to tie. You also have two six pointers.
Andre wishes ill to Borgnine and Zsa-Zsa. Say that a few times. It's fun. He needs both of them, and he has no six-pointers.
So with 27 days remaining, more or less, Andy is the ghouliest of the ghouls. But nobody is technically out of the running.
Keep on wishing ill.
Update
Uh oh... I forgot Holly.
Andy Dick, Arlen Specter, Miep and Prince P, plus T. Berry Brazelton. She needs three of these.
And she has three six pointers as well.
Draft of 2009 Rules
UPDATE: Picks are due 1/6 at midnight, and money due 1/16. (If one of your picks dies between 1/1 and 1/7, you get a free replacement pick.)
Deadline for list submission to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com: 1/6/2008, midnight
Deadline for $20 (cash or check to Holly or PayPal to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com): 1/16/08
How to Play
Make a list of ten famous*, non-fictional people you think will die in 2008, along with one alternate. If anyone on your list dies between the time that you send the list and January 7, s/he will be replaced by your alternate. Once the game begins, your alternates are no longer relevant to the game.
Check out Dead or Alive: Over 85 for a list of the aging famous by birth year, but remember: young folks drop dead, too, especially if they lead perilous lives.
Send your list with alternates to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com
Scoring works as follows: the points for each death = (number of people participating) minus (number of people who picked that goner).
Example: 20 people participate. Bill Clinton dies. Five people had him. Each person gets 15 points.
Example: Eight people participate. Bill Clinton dies. Three people had him. Each person gets 5 points.
NB: This is different from last year's scoring. It doesn't weigh uniqueness of guess nearly so heavily. This year, being right will matter more than picking people no one else picked.
Once the deadline has passed, I will post everybody's lists at the Dead Pool Blog (http://deadpuddle.blogspot.com) and give everybody's lists to Danny, who will set up a Google document spreadsheet and invite us all to view it.
I am playing, too. You're just going to have to trust that I'm not going to sneak peeks at your picks before I submit mine.
Once you have submitted your list, give me $20. You can give it to me in cash, by check (made out to me), or via PayPal to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com. (PayPal will take a small percentage.) If I have not received your $20 by midnight on 1/16/09, you are not in the game. (PayPal takes a small cut of all money paid using it, so the pot will be slightly smaller than all the money submitted. Deal with it.)
Throughout 2008, when someone on one of our lists dies, I (or someone faster than I) will post on the blog. Subscribe to its RSS feed or check in regularly to stay updated.
The Dead Pool closes at midnight 1/6/09. I will announce final scores and the winner on New Year's Day, 2010. I will send a check or PayPal the winner his ill-gotten booty the following day.
*Famous for something other than being really, really old. (No Maria de Jesus dos Santos, smart-ass.) I'm not going to define "famous." When I send around everyone's lists after New Year's, we will all have a week to challenge each other's picks for famousness. Once a pick is challenged, a majority vote will knock that pick off the list without a replacement.
Deadline for list submission to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com: 1/6/2008, midnight
Deadline for $20 (cash or check to Holly or PayPal to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com): 1/16/08
How to Play
Make a list of ten famous*, non-fictional people you think will die in 2008, along with one alternate. If anyone on your list dies between the time that you send the list and January 7, s/he will be replaced by your alternate. Once the game begins, your alternates are no longer relevant to the game.
Check out Dead or Alive: Over 85 for a list of the aging famous by birth year, but remember: young folks drop dead, too, especially if they lead perilous lives.
Send your list with alternates to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com
Scoring works as follows: the points for each death = (number of people participating) minus (number of people who picked that goner).
Example: 20 people participate. Bill Clinton dies. Five people had him. Each person gets 15 points.
Example: Eight people participate. Bill Clinton dies. Three people had him. Each person gets 5 points.
NB: This is different from last year's scoring. It doesn't weigh uniqueness of guess nearly so heavily. This year, being right will matter more than picking people no one else picked.
Once the deadline has passed, I will post everybody's lists at the Dead Pool Blog (http://deadpuddle.blogspot.com) and give everybody's lists to Danny, who will set up a Google document spreadsheet and invite us all to view it.
I am playing, too. You're just going to have to trust that I'm not going to sneak peeks at your picks before I submit mine.
Once you have submitted your list, give me $20. You can give it to me in cash, by check (made out to me), or via PayPal to hollydeadpool08@gmail.com. (PayPal will take a small percentage.) If I have not received your $20 by midnight on 1/16/09, you are not in the game. (PayPal takes a small cut of all money paid using it, so the pot will be slightly smaller than all the money submitted. Deal with it.)
Throughout 2008, when someone on one of our lists dies, I (or someone faster than I) will post on the blog. Subscribe to its RSS feed or check in regularly to stay updated.
The Dead Pool closes at midnight 1/6/09. I will announce final scores and the winner on New Year's Day, 2010. I will send a check or PayPal the winner his ill-gotten booty the following day.
*Famous for something other than being really, really old. (No Maria de Jesus dos Santos, smart-ass.) I'm not going to define "famous." When I send around everyone's lists after New Year's, we will all have a week to challenge each other's picks for famousness. Once a pick is challenged, a majority vote will knock that pick off the list without a replacement.
Welcome to the Dead Pool Blog!
Hello, gruesome ghouls!
Danny suggested we have a blog for Dead Pool, and I didn't see any reason to wait.
You should all be thinking about next year's pool already.
I think we should change how scores are weighted from (# of participants) / (# who picked dead guy) to (# of participants) minus (# who picked dead guy). We want to favor originality, but not so heavily, is my thinking. Comments?
Also, think about asking other people you know to participate. When we've agreed on next year's rules, I'm going to post them as a note on my Facebook page to see if that drums up any interest.
I'm making you all authors on the blog, btw -- I'm not sure if Blogger emails you to let you know, but you have posting privileges.
ETA: Ok, I see that Blogger does email you. Rock.
Danny suggested we have a blog for Dead Pool, and I didn't see any reason to wait.
You should all be thinking about next year's pool already.
I think we should change how scores are weighted from (# of participants) / (# who picked dead guy) to (# of participants) minus (# who picked dead guy). We want to favor originality, but not so heavily, is my thinking. Comments?
Also, think about asking other people you know to participate. When we've agreed on next year's rules, I'm going to post them as a note on my Facebook page to see if that drums up any interest.
I'm making you all authors on the blog, btw -- I'm not sure if Blogger emails you to let you know, but you have posting privileges.
ETA: Ok, I see that Blogger does email you. Rock.
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