I think this is precisely why some of us like themes.
I mean, It gets too easy otherwise. One person does all the research, another comes in and copies the list.
And frankly, I don’t see the game in looking at the Zsa Zsas. IMHO, if you can ““solve”” a game, you are no longer playing it.
And yes, I have a Theme list for 11, 12, 13 and 14.
Say what?
Posn. Name Points Number
105= Meeko 0 0
There’s still only 72 entries for this year. I can only assume there’s going to be a lot of Dopers posting on NYE.
Simply that I have one method of playing, that hasn’t changed from 2010 to 2011.
Simply that other players can, and do copy lists, and it is too easy for them to do so.
Simply that I think you short change yourself if you don’t theme, one way or another.
What do we win again?
Oh. right.
It’s why I personally will play Slots over Blackjack. I know the odds suck, but I’m going for enjoyment not a math puzzle.[Doesn’t hurt that I actually made a good profit off the slots…]
Dude, it’s not a “math puzzle.” Just ask all of the people who have a “sure thing” from 2008 or 2009 still hanging around on their 2010 list looking like they might make it to 2011. Cancer isn’t a sure thing, being old isn’t a sure thing, etc. It’s just a guessing game. There’s no right or wrong way to play it. Sheez.
People get so worked up about this! 
As for me, I plan to post my list on NYE, as usual, and so far I’ve still got at least 3 or 4 unique picks on there that I haven’t seen anyone else go for yet. I expect that will change as we get closer to the cutoff and more people post, but still, your assertion that there is one “good list” that everybody just copies is kind of hilariously wrong.
Yeah, after all it’s just a game - it’s not a matter of life or death…
Or we’re all playing our own game, aren’t we? I’m going for black rooster sacrifices every full moon for 2011 just so I can have a higher score than zero.
Everybody doesn’t copy it. I didn’t.
But, I think the concept of low hanging fruit, and Conches wouldn’t exist if a good list wasn’t too far behind.
I think we are on the same side this argument here. I tried the best way I could to defend my way of playing. You say there is no right or wrong way of playing.
To that end, I find it odd that Amarone felt it necessary to mention my rank for the year.
It was just supposed to be a bit of fun - juxtaposing the comment about selecting celebrities being easy with a zero score.
There are no low hanging fruit, or at least, not many. Of the top ten most popular picks this year, how many died? I think it was two.
One - Zeld Rubinstein, the 4th most picked. And two of the top 25 - Elizabeth Edwards at number 12.
Right, I didn’t intend to imply that I was one to pick among the easier. It was a general statement.
I’ve never done a theme list before, but I’m taking a crack at it this year. My theme is people who have an “E” in their name, and drummers for Genesis, and small Korean dictators, and women who have shared one or more movie marquees with German compact cars.
[ol]
[li]Lindsay Lohan, 7/2/1986 – Hollywood trainwreck du jour[/li][li]Eric A. Boe, 10/1/1964 – American astronaut[/li][li]Dave Rose, 12/19/1957 – Brigham Young basketball coach[/li][li]Steve Jobs, 2/24/1955 – inventor of the Newton[/li][li]Mike Heimerdinger, 10/13/1952 – Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator [/li][li]Phil Collins, 1/30/1951 – gorilla[/li][li]Christopher Hitchens, 4/13/1949 – English-American author[/li][li]Diane Allen, 3/8/1948 – New Jersey politician [/li][li]Ed Thompson, 12/25/1944 – Wisconsin politician [/li][li]Michael Douglas, 9/25/1944 – American actor and producer[/li][li]Aretha Franklin, 3/25/1942 – Queen of Soul[/li][li]Kim Jong-Il, 2/16/1941 – Broadway triple-threat[/li][li]Clare Hollingworth, 10/10/1911 – British World War II journalist [/li][/ol]
Diane Allen
Eric A. Boe
Phil Collins
Michael Douglas
Aretha Franklin
Mike Heimerdinger
Christopher Hitchens
Clare Hollingworth
Steve Jobs
Kim Jong-Il
Lindsay Lohan
Dave Rose
Ed Thompson
For alternates, let’s say John Madden (4/10/1936), and then, if necessary, Zsa Zsa. (Zsa Zsa once co-starred with an '84 Opel Corsa, so she still fits my theme.)
Going ahead and posting my list.
Stephen Hawking
Aretha Franklin
Michael Douglas
Randy Quaid
Butch Patrick
Stefano Borgonovo
Charlie Sheen
Paul Gascoigne
Jesse James
Vasily Aleksanyan
Orlando Thomas
Pete Doherty
JT Holmes
Alternates:
Amy Winehouse
Lindsey Lohan
Explainations:
Butch Patrick - Eddie Munster
Stefano Borgonovo - Italian footballer
Paul Gascoigne - footballer
Pete Doherty - Babyshambles frontman
JT Holmes - Birdman/Extreme sportsman
OK, my apologies amarone, but due to my jumping the gun (like just about everybody) with the Elizabeth Edwards thing and not finding out about the theme award until after I made my initial list, I have completely scrapped my earlier list.
Here is my new and improved list of PEOPLE WHO MUST DIE, 2011 version, now with all-new THEME!
Theme: Band Geeks!
Everyone on my list played a musical instrument in high school. I tried to stay away from celebrities who were already famous for music, but I just couldn’t ignore 'retha - low-hanging fruit is always hard to avoid 
.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, all of the below celebrities played the noted instruments in high school. Some I have not been able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were actually in their high school band, but they definitely played the instrument while they were going to high school, which makes it close enough by my definition 
- I mean, c’mon if the accordion doesn’t make Ross Perot a band geek, nothing will
Aretha Franklin
Woody Allen
Allen Greenspan
Vince Carter
Jonathan Frakes
George Stephanopoulos
David Ogden Stiers
Calista Flockhart
Bill Clinton
Clint Eastwood
Ross Perot
Julia Roberts
Montel Williams
Aretha Franklin - (tuba)
Woody Allen - (Clarinet)
Allen Greenspan - (Saxophone)
Vince Carter - (Drums, and Trumpet, and Saxophone)
Jonathan Frakes - (Trombone)
George Stephanopoulos - (Baritone Horn)
David Ogden Stiers - (French Horn)
Calista Flockhart - (Flute)
Bill Clinton - (Saxophone)
Clint Eastwood - (Flugelhorn, piano)
Ross Perot - (Accordion)
Julia Roberts - (Clarinet)
Montel Williams - (Trumpet)
Is “plays a band instrument in high school” something that only a tiny percentage of people do? I am not American and so my knowledge may be deficient, so I will throw this open for feedback from others, but the band at the local high school seems pretty darn big.
That’s one reason I stayed mostly away from musicians - they are (almost by definition) infinitely more likely to have been in high school band.
However, it also depends on when you grew up. When I went to high school in the early 80s, there was definitely a stigma attached, so most people avoided it. I went to a high school with an enrollment of about 1100-1200. We never had more than 35 members at any given time - most of the time it was right around 30 - so >3% of the school was in the band. And at least in my hometown that was pretty typical based on what I saw at various band competitions. Yeah, there were bands with 75-100+ members, but those schools also had enrollments of 2000-3000 or more - again in the 3% range.
Definitely a tiny minority in SoCal in the early '70s.
(missed my edit window - work so interferes with my Straight Dope posting darn it…)
I also deliberately avoided celebrities who played the “rock band” instruments - guitar, drums, keyboard - as much as possible. There’s a world of difference in coolness between sneaking out to play gigs with your garage band at the punk bar and playing 3rd chair trumpet at George Washington Carver High. I was also aiming for those celebrities not known for their instrument playing.
The size of the band is often reflected in the size of the HS football program.
Is some Dixie States, where football is the best way to get to college, the bands are huge and impressive as well, often the reason to see the game as the team might very well be terrible.
For those of us who cannot play any musical instrument at all were placed into “choir”. Any choir would outnumber the band by a wide margin.
But if we’re narrowing it down to celebrities who once played in a marching band, then that certainly becomes a small field indeed.