Okay - my list is ready. Is “Jumping On The Bandwagon” a theme?
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi
Fidel Castro
Marcia Strassman
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Billy Graham
Charlie Sheen
Dick Clark
Michael Douglas
Robin Gibb
Kirk Douglas
Barbara Bush
Phyllis Diller
Muhammad Ali
Alternates:
Margaret Thatcher
Henry Kissinger
Stephen Hawking
Well, since no one on my list had the decency to kick off in 2011 and show no signs of doing so in the next 11 days, I’ll just roll them forward a year and see if I wind up with zero again. 
In no particular order
George H. W. Bush
Barbara Bush
Lindsay Lohan
Joan Fontaine
Olivia de Havilland
Jimmy Carter
Sam Elliot
Burt Reynolds
Johnny Depp
Tom Selleck
Bill Clinton
William Shatner
Leonard Nimoy
Alternates:
Alex Trebek
Chuck Norris
Hillary Clinton
Pope Benedict XIV
Damn. Ron Smith [del] had the gall to die 12 days early, blowing a unique pick[/del] Rest In Peace.
Adjustments to my list:
Connie Newton Needham
Robin Gibb
James Garner
Mari Hulman George
George Soros
Louis Farrakhan
Ryan Leaf
Harlan Ellison
Marcia Strassman
Hugo Chavez
Theresa Heinz Kerry
Gary Carter
Michael Douglas
Alternates:
Burt Reynolds
Joni Mitchell
It wouldn’t have been a unique pick (dude did show up on a google news search for pancreatic hospice). Drat.
Yep, I had him on my list too, dang, I’m running out of alternates!
btw -
Barbara Bush = wife of GHW, mother of Dubya
and
Billy Graham = the Evalgelist
Indeed I did and I always do that. Officials! Change Mr. Rhys’s last name to Meyers!
A question about challenges, my having had two winners kicked out this year.
I presume they must be made while there is time to select an alternative.
Will challenges be allowed at 23:59 31 December?
Can there be a limit to challenges of 24 hours after the list is posted?
Flavor of the day. A better replacement for Ron Smith.
Connie Newton Needham
Robin Gibb
Ethan Zohn
Mari Hulman George
George Soros
Louis Farrakhan
Ryan Leaf
Harlan Ellison
Marcia Strassman
Hugo Chavez
Theresa Heinz Kerry
Gary Carter
Michael Douglas
Alternates:
James Garner
Burt Reynolds
Joni Mitchell
[/QUOTE]
**Baker **is in charge now, but here is the background to this situation.
In 2010 when we first introduced the rule about not allow a celebrity famous solely as a result of their illness, I did have a challenge process specifically for that situation. See here. However, I dropped the challenge process in 2011 and there is now nothing in the rules about challenges - an invalid pick is an invalid pick whether challenged by anyone or not. You asked for a ruling on a couple of your picks before 12/31/10, and I gave you my verdict, allowing you to choose alternatives.
I’ll pretty much go as amarone has stated in the previous post. And I’d appreciate it, if there is any question about the status of a pick, to have it done as soon as possible.
I’ve been “understudying” amarone this year, keeping my own version of the lists up to date, and I’ve learned the hardest month is that of December, before the darned game even starts. Folks misspell, don’t follow the rules for posting lists, change their lists five or six times, and so on. So once January rolls around it would be great to just total up corpses, not get into a debate about who is or is not a celebrity.
That being said, let’s just have some macabre fun!
“I’ve got a little list, they never will be missed…”
I refuse to take this competition seriously, and offer up a list of random people with surnames fitting a certain criteria, sure to cause amusement to all who read of it. To further the interests of entertainment, it is left to the reader to divine this year’s criteria (it’s not too hard to figure out if you’re American). I tried my best to pick people that were still alive; use alternates if Wikipedia was not updated correctly or some somehow manage to die in the next 10 days.
This year’s criteria was inspired by a Feud back when I was a more regular contributor to the board.
Denzel Washington - actor
Scott Adams - cartoonist
William J. Jefferson - convicted Congressman
Joe Madison - radio talk show host
Earl Monroe - basketball player
Joe Jackson - entertainment patriarch
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange - Dutch royal who uses “van Buren” as a surname occasionally
Gavin Harrison - drummer
Steven Tyler - rock star
Susan Polk - convicted murderer
Roger Meddows Taylor - drummer for Queen (not Duran Duran)
Charles J. Fillmore - linquist
David Hyde Pierce - actor
Alternates:
Roger Andrew Taylor - drummer for Duran Duran
Alan White - drummer for Yes
Alan White - drummer formerly with Oasis
–
Denzel Washington
Scott Adams
William J. Jefferson
Joe Madison
Earl Monroe
Joe Jackson
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Gavin Harrison
Steven Tyler
Susan Polk
Roger Meddows Taylor
Charles J. Fillmore
David Hyde Pierce
Alternates:
Roger Andrew Taylor
Alan White (Yes)
Alan White (Oasis)
Wikipedia gives no middle name for either Alan White. Sorry.
You do know you’ve just signed the death warrant for Mr. Rhys-Davies now, don’t you?
Changed as directed!
Revised list, due to timely death of Kim Jong-Il
Theme: A List of Evilness (IMO)
Omar al-Bashir - President of Sudan
Yahya Jammeh - President of The Gambia
Sayyid Ali Khamenei - Supreme Leader of Iran
Hu Jintao - Paramount Leader People’s Republic of China
King Abdullah - King Saudi Arabia
Raul Castro - President of the Council of State of Cuba
Robert Mugabe - President Zimbabwe
Islam Karimov - President of Uzbekistan
Bashar al-Assad - President Syrian Arab Republic
Hugo Chavez - President Venezuela
Isayas Afewerki - leader Eritrea
Yoweri Museveni - President of Uganda
Teodoro Obiang Nguema - leader Equatorial Guinea
Alternates:
Dick Cheney
Fidel Castro
Plain List:
Omar al-Bashir
Yahya Jammeh
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Hu Jintao
King Abdullah
Raul Castro
Robert Mugabe
Islam Karimov
Bashar al-Assad
Hugo Chavez
Isayas Afewerki
Yoweri Museveni
Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Alternates:
Dick Cheney
Fidel Castro
Asking for a ruling please …
They are celebrities because of their birth (dicephalic parapagus). So the requested ruling:
[ul]
[li] Do they qualify as celebrities to be eligible?[/li][li]If they qualify, manage to survive into 2012 and later die in 2012, is the award for 100 points (total) or 100 points apiece (200 total)?[/li][/ul]
No. Violates the rule that the celebrity must be 18 years of age on Jan 1st.
I just want to say. . .
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
(inhale)
AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Dude, that’s epic. EPIC. My hat’s off to you for this attempt.
Regarding Ron Smith…
Yeah, he was a lock for my list too. Fooey.
Well, technically it’s not an invalid pick until they die. The rule is that picks must be 18 at time of death, not on Jan 1.
So go ahead and use your picks on that one, Duckster!
Sorry, Baker – new list:
Fidel Castro
Michael Douglas
Robin Gibb
Etta James
Artie Lange
Lindsay Lohan
Shane MacGowan
Fred Phelps
Prince Philip
John Pinette
Keith Richards
Charlie Sheen
Margaret Thatcher
Alternates, in this order:
Jerry Lewis
Roger Ebert
Britney Spears
Damn. Brain fart. Missed it. Thanks.
Thanks. Based on the story and a bit of research, 100 points (minimum) is almost a sure bet. Although 200 would have been better.