h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, jwf.

Please don't worry about my being disqualified from the deathwatch. Worry about the person who entered my list and now has to remove it. That's extra work.

The rules I saw didn't *say* that Dec. 31 was the deadline. In previous years, the deadline was Jan. 20, apparently. Now they say Dec. 31. Whatever.

I benefit, too. I don't have to worry about the Pope or the Queen dying and giving me an advantage. I wasn't thinking. It's good to be saved from that kind of grief.

Of course, if any of the people on my list *do* die [not that I want them to], I may brood about how things might have been . If that happens, there's probably some way to use it as material for a short story or expose.

We live and learn. It beats the alternative.

Let's see, we could have a new rule that declares the person with the fewest points the winner.

>>..person with the fewest points the winner. <<

Yeah, that's my feeling on this 'game' as well.
It always struck me as a bit morbid. There's definitely
a dark streak of pessimism and whatever that German word is
for taking pleasure in the suffering or misfortune of others
about this 'deathsport' that creeps me out a bit.

Take care.

~jwf~

The German word you want is Schadenfreude.

The game is not all bad, though. Lots of notables pass on without people realizing it. A thread that mentions whoever has died gives people a chance to come to terms with it, maybe say some nice things about the dearly departed.

It's not as if predicting someone's death is an exact science. It's very inexact. "Dallas Buyers Club" is a movie about someone who contracted AIDS and was expected to die within 30 days. He survived 7 years. On the other hand, lots of people are apparently healthy one minute and dead the next.

The winners of the deathwatch game are simply lucky, *unless* they have inside knowledge of a celebrity's frail health. But people who win the lottery are lucky, too. Everyone else is unlucky, though they will keep throwing away their money on lottery tickets.

I admire your broad and tolerant viewpoint.
And envy your positive and optimistic outlook.


~jwf~

Balancing optimism and realism takes a lot of work.