Since we are only a small group, I want to invite you all to join a new group . . .

Hello Members of the Appraisal Group:

I thank you for joining the appraisal group, and I will start posting more to it.  Their have been a lot of really great posts on here, but they all seem to be to be from Lenn.   However, it would be great to get others involved in the appraisal group.  I'm still thinking of topics about which to write. 

In the mean time, I am inviting you (and anyone else who might find it fun, even though it sounds a little twisted) to join The 2012 Dead Pool. I hope you'll be an active participant, but you are also welcome to simply be a spectator or commentator.  The group site is:  http://activerain.com/groups/deadpool

We usually kick-off the festivities on January 1st of each year. Each player gets a week (or 2) of extra time to submit. However, if your late, you cannot submit your list with anyone who has already died (which is pretty fair).

If you are going to do it, it's easy to research by going to www.stiffs.com. That website has thousands of entries from around the world. If you take the top picks from the top players, you'll do well.  Also, checking the news and Google will allow you to think of creative search phrases that will bear fruit.  Searching Google.com with terms like "Diagnosed with cancer" in the "News" section seems to help.  Also, believe it or not,  has a number of helpful pages, like "People with Stomach Cancer".   It's twisted, but that's what makes it fun.

I hope you join. It's good, somewhat clean, fun. Even my 82 year old dad plays. Not only does he play, but he laminates his list and keeps it in his wallet. I guess you could see why I'm a little wacky.

I will promise to not look at anyone's list until I post my own. I will probably pick early just so that I cannot be accused of wrongdoing.  You can also steal ideas from my list, but then you cannot win, because we'll have the same picks.  While we may play for cash in our little group, the AR version should have some award, or I can send the winner a check for $25, as a congratulatory win.  Anyone with ideas on what the winner should receive, please throw me your ideas.

I will post entries from participants who are not on AR. This will make the competition a little stronger. But, again, the rules are: Send a list of 20 celebrities (famous enough to have their deaths noted in the NY Times - or famous enough to be in any 'Hall of Fame' - for instance, we consider any member of the ML Baseball Hall of Fame to be famous, even if they are 100 any you and I don't recognize their names.)

For the 20 celebs or famous people, you just have to give us their name and major role in life (i.e. Fidel Castro - Cuban Dictator). Then, rank them from top to bottom . Picks 1 and 2 are worth 20 points, 3 and 4 are worth 19 points, etc. You last two picks will be worth 10 points.

There are 3 bonus categories this year, while we usually only have 2. The first to pick any 3 famous people under the age of 40. All of these picks are worth 20 points. (Notable past winners have had Chris Farley and Anna Nicole Smith - who died at 39 and several months, and a few others.)

The 2nd bonus category is that we usually, for fun, pick an old professional wrestler. (For 2011, we have a winner with Macho Man Randy Savage!)  However, in light of the real estate motif, we'll go with anyone in the world of real estate as a 21 point bonus. Donald Trump, Dave Liniger (founder of Re/Max), Barbara Corcoran, or any other real estate person who is known outside of their own hometown will qualify. I like Sam Zell for my pick, although he's so loaded he could be kept alive for years.

Last, if you want, pick a date of death for each player. If you get the date exactly right, you get a 5 point bonus. If the person dies within a week of your date, you get a 3 point bonus, and within a month, you get a 1 point bonus.

So, that's that. I will publish my list by tomorrow and the rest will trickle in as time goes by. You can also make a team name, like 'the Nearly Departed' or anything else you find to be clever.

So, everyone, tell your friends. We'll have 1/2 dozen subscribers by tomorrow and should have a total of about 10 entries.

Good luck and write me with any questions. Happy New Year.

David