At Last

I shed a little tear this morning when I learned Etta James passed on. 

Jamesetta Hawkins was born in 1938 to a 14 year old mother and, as Etta claimed, legendary pool player "Minnesota Fats".  Her music career began in the church choir at age 5, but by age 17 she joined a group called The Peaches and started singing such adult themed songs as "Roll with Me Annie".  With a raw and impassioned voice, she brought both sex and tenderness to her R & B.  Her song "At Last" is still my favorite.

She had a long-lived fondness for heroin, to which she and others attribute her worsening health.  Friend and fellow addict, Billie Holliday warned Etta not to follow too closely in her footsteps, and Etta did her best to heed that advice.  But smack is a horrible mistress
Her music inspired lovers and musicians to use their passions.  The world was better for her existence and a little sadder for her loss.  In my heart she will be missed.

2012 Dead Pool List

As any Dead Pool is probably a moot point because of the world's impending demise on December 23, 2012 and none of us will be around to celebrate the victor's spoils, we can still have fun until the apocolypse.  Here's your lists:

It's Not a Tooma
Alice
Afridi, Dr Shakeel
Douglas, Michael
Fernandez de Kirchner, Cristina
James, Etta  RIP 27
Lohan, Ally
Lugo, Fernando
Minneli, Liza
Montgomery, Michael
Mugabe, Robert
Murray, Dr Conrad
Portwood, Amber
Rooney, Micky
Treska, Clayton
Tymoshenko, Yulia
Zohn, Ethan

High Noon Drive By
Todd
al-Megrahi, Abdel Baset ali Mohmed  RIP 40
Becker, Jason
Bradey, Ian
Dickens, Little Jimmy
Ellison, Harlan
Funicello, Annette
Gleason, Steve
Hagman, Larry  RIP 19
Hall, Scott (AKA Razr Ramon)
King, Rebecca
Manson, Charles
Paterno, Joe  RIP 15
Pratchett, Terry
Thomas, Orlando
Waddell, Sid  RIP 27

Picking Off the Weak
Chistina
Berry, Chuck
Bradburry, Ray  RIP 9
Carter, Jimmy
de Haviland, Olivia
Franklin, Aretha
Garret, Leif
Gooden, Dwight
Hawking, Stephen
Hefner, Hugh
Kissenger, Henry
Mandela, Nelson
Reed, Lou
Sizemore, Tom
Van Dyke, Dick
Young, Sean

Death Rattle of the Mariachi
Heather
Addler, Stephen
Anderson, Michael J
Bulow, Claus Von
Castro, Fidel
Cooper, Bessie  RIP 16
Douglass, Kirk
Galyon, Donnie
Galyon, Ronnie
Kosin, Sultan
Lee, Stan
Lewis, Jerry Lee
Lohan, Michael
Pei, I.M.
Simmons, Richard
Son, Joe

Justin Beiber's Bang Wranglers
Tim & Tracy
Caesar, Sid
Carter, Gary  RIP 43
Clark, Dick  RIP 18
Connery, Sean
Means, Russell  RIP 28
Murdoch, Rupert
Nixon, Agnes
O'Toole, Peter
Philbin, Regis
Queen Elizabeth II
Ryan, Buddy
Shallot, Gene
Sharon, Ariel
Sutherland, Tom
Williams, Andy  RIP 16

Runnin' With the Devil
Garrett
Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud
Ali, Muhammed
Calderon, Filipe
Chavez, Hugo
Cheney, Dick
Dylan, Bob
Goodman, John
Hall, Michael C
Harris, Shelby  RIP 10
Kimura, Jiroemon
McClain, Shirely
Mubarak, Hosni
Mueller, Brooke
Sullivan, Patrick
Wilson, Owen

Le Petit Mort
Scott
Barker, Bob
Borgnine, Ernest  RIP 5
Diller, Phillys  RIP 5
Ebert, Roger
Fielder-Avil, Blake
Gabor, Zsa Zsa
Ginsberg, Ruth Bader
King, Larry
Kluggman, Jack  RIP 5
Lewis, Jerry
O'Hara, Maureen
Regan, Nancy
Thatcher, Margaret
Thomas, Helen
Vigoda, Abe

The Dying Game
Trace
Alda, Alan
Bates, Kathy
Carrey, Jim
Dick, Andy
Ford, Harrison
Freeman, Morgan
Gottfried, Gilbert
Nicholson, Jack
Ono, Yoko
Ross, Geoffry
Sheen, Charlie
Sheen, Martin
Shields, Brooke
Washington, Denzel
Williams, Robin

Undercooked Pork
Paul
Adulyadej, Bhumibol
Andrews, Patty
Biggs, Ronnie
Gibb, Robin  RIP 38
Graham, Billy
Lee, Harper
Lom, Herbert  RIP 5
Martin, Tony  RIP 2
Molinaro, Al
Neimeyer, Oscar  RIP 4
Pincher, Chapman
Shamir, Yitzhak  RIP 4
Wallach, Eli
Wing, Anna
Wouk, Herman

Bringing Out Your Dead
Jen
Brand, Russell
Eastwood, Clint
Griffith, Andy   RIP 14
Hersh, Emile
Jagger, James
Lange, Artie
Lansbury, Angela
Mickelson, Amy
Perry, William “The Fridge”
Rourke, Mickey
Sandusky, Jerry
Polizzi, Nicole "Snooki"
Sorrentino, Michael "The Situation"
Versace, Allegra Beck
Wilder, Gene

Drop Dead Gorgeous
Alice 2
Anthony, Casey
Berra, Yogi
Bush, Barbara
Bush, George Sr.
Caan, James
Day, Dorris
Fenty, Robin Rihanna
Honnold, Alex
Humperdinck, Englebert
Limbaugh, Rush
Love, Courtney
Marshall, Penny
Nelson, Willie
Spector, Phil
Wallace, Mike  RIP 7

Another Year in the Books

As we celebrate the change to the new year, we tend to look back before we look forward.  In that spirit, I present to you a few words about the 2011's Dead Pool. 

In short, High Noon Drive By won with an overwhelming tour de force of 128 points on 4 hits.  TnT also celebrated four hits, but Jaws of Life shocked the other participants by A) scoring the largest hit of the year with 73 points on Amy Winehouse and B) scoring points.  Jaws of Life has been retired for 2012, and while not hung in the rafters, it is honored as the hallmark representing true luck--both good and bad.

Some other highlights:  Clara Meadmore, the world's oldest virgin, is no longer.  (Living, that is.  It is accepted as given that she remained a virgin.)  Andy Rooney, the eccentric curmudgeon from 60 Minutes, retired then died.  Those hardcore badasses, Seal Team 6, found and "retired" Osama bin Laden.  And Abdelbaset al-Megrahi spoke movingly on behalf of his benefactor, the late Geoffrey Ross-impersonator, Muammar Gaddafi.  Megrahi survives Gaddafi by 4 months and counting. 



Source: REUTERS/Ismail Zetouny

 

Source: Comedy Central via The Huffington Post