In reply to Ted Clayton.

For the record, and in the heat of this editorial scrum, I would like to establish that I've long regarded Chip Bennett as the most valuable Theme authority at WordPress. He is in the best senses a 'straight arrow' who resists the buffeting. His contributions derive from the kinds of motivation we all like to see folks working under, and anything he is associated with (the Theme Review Team, prominently) benefits from association with him.

Chip Bennett's own Oenology theme:
... is designed to be a simple, minimalist, yet feature-complete and fully documented Theme intended to serve as a base for child Themes and as an educational reference for Theme development using WordPress functions, action/filter hooks, and template tags.

If you are following along with this lively & intriguing Post, and wondering whether you might (finally?) take a more active hand in theming your WordPress installation, there is no better guide to the art than Chip's Oenology example-theme. Especially if are one of those who learn best from real, working examples.