Right, it's the old question, but with a slight twist.
You decide to hold a small dinner party. You are allowed to invite any person from human history, from the beginning of time to a nanosecond ago. Your favorite time travel device (modified Delorean, funky phone booth, Omni, slingshotting starship, rift in space, whatever) has been presented to you so that you might be able to gather these esteemed guests.
However, before you proceed, you must compile your list of invitees. There are, of course, certain restrictions. There will be 6 people--you & 5 guests--& there must be gender balance, including yourself; this means if you're female, you need 2 other women & 3 men, while men need 2 other men & 3 women. The grouping must be somewhat harmonious; respectful conflict & debate is allowed & expected, but outright antagonism is not (meaning you cannot have Henry VIII & a Pope at the same table, or John McCain with Ho Chi Minh). You are also allowed to enlist a "second-string" grouping should any of the first choices be unable to attend. This means that you must consider cross-group harmonics.
That being said, who would be on your lists, & for what reasons? What would you expect the general atmosphere for each group to be? How would certain people being called up from the backup group affect the dynamic of your party?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I forgot to mention that you are also granted universal translator technology so that all guests will be able to converse with each other.
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
Main list
Joeseph Merrick Harper Lee Lorraine Hansberry Karl Marx Sarah Winchester
WHy them... Merrick was outcast from society, and would be interesting to meet.
Lee and Hansberry both penned works that made American society consciously think about itself
Karl Mark wished for an economically equall society
And Sarah Winchester went nuts and kept herself away from society. And her house is cool. That is where the party would be held.
The second group...
will take a lot more thinking...
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I had to look up Merrick because I didn't recognize the name.
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
Do the people on the list have to be directly from history? Can they be the versions of themselves from a work of historical fiction?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Yeah, the real people. It's not "find a fictional character."
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Well here goes (note I too don't have second choice list as of yet)
Gen. William Tecumesh Sherman (Civil War Union General noted for his "total war" and "scorched earth" tactics, also heard he was somewhat nutty in the head)
Alaric I (King of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in 410AD but who really had the desire to make piece with the Romans and settle his people within the Empire.)
Joan of Ark(French woman who supposedly had visions and who could really have been crazy, yet she still managed to score victories for the French)
Marie Curie(Women instrumental in study of elements and radioactivity and one 2 Nobel Prizes, no easy feat for women at the time)
Gilda Radner(Of Saturday Night Live fame who know for her humor and wit)
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
No one's noted the last part of the question yet.
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
Wouldn't be best answered after we have both groups assembled?
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Albert Einstein is the easy first choice. Gautama Buddha, because I'd love to see how he and Einstein get along, with relativity and all. It'd be a really cool discussion to witness. Also, like, it's the freakin' Buddha.
For the women, let's see. Shakira. I know what you're thinking, but I love South American music, she speaks four languages, and she works really hard to promote charities in developing countries. I think she'd be a good vibe to add to the table, 'specially if someone brought a guitar Princess Diana, mostly because it'd be cool to meet royalty, also because my mother (who's British) adored her and I'd like to find out what she was like in person. Her charity work also indicates she'd mesh with the others present. Finally, and I know to many this would just seem silly, Angelina Jolie. Like George Carlin said about right-to-lifers, "you don't see them lining up to adopt a little minority baby do you?" (I'm paraphrasing, can't remember exactly). I respect her humanitarian works and she's easy on the eyes, always a good thing for a dinner party.
I wish I could think of more 'historical' women, but there seemed to be a lack of women-in-history taught at my school. About the only figures I can even think of are Boudica and Joan of Arc. However, on my second-string group I might include Mary Magdalene, to hear about things from a first-person perspective and find out whether or not she did date the C-man. Come to think of it I'd probably put him on my second-string group too. I think he'd get along with Gautama like two peas in a pod.
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sean: Main list
Joeseph Merrick Harper Lee Lorraine Hansberry Karl Marx Sarah Winchester
WHy them... Merrick was outcast from society, and would be interesting to meet.
Lee and Hansberry both penned works that made American society consciously think about itself
Karl Mark wished for an economically equall society
And Sarah Winchester went nuts and kept herself away from society. And her house is cool. That is where the party would be held.
The second group...
will take a lot more thinking...
Secondary...
Alan Alda "The Great Bird" Alice Paul Ellen Page Ellen DeGeneres
Alda and Paul are/were for womens rights
I shouldn't even have to explain the second choice, you know, with the whole society influencing TV show and all
Degeneres and Alda are both Comedians, and Ellen Page is a funny actress.
All are/were good natured, and should fit in with the first group should the need arise.
The main focus of conversation would probably be the betterment of human society, but withso many different personalities could go anywhere. Hopefully Page,DeGeneres and Alda would provide some light hearted comedy moments.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Uh, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and somebody else, and their wives. I don't know, Washington maybe. Mostly I'd just like to talk to Franklin.
Alternates would be maybe some continental Enlightenment types?
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Well, I think we'd all like to meet Ban Franklin! One of the greatest, if not most debauched mind that ever lived!
I think I'd send out invites to Aung San Suu Kyi, an inspirational woman, but we'd have to smuggle her out of the house. H G Wells would have a few stories, so he can come too.
I could save on a bit of revision for my masters and invite Jean Henri Fabre. He managed to merge entomology and near poetry into his writing, so any conversation with him would be fantastic.
Dodie Smith's writing is some of my favourite, and I always think she's been a bit neglected by history, so thats a meal for her.
And my last choice? Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and by all accounts a very nice woman. The conversation between her and Wells might be interesting (she joined the Communist party and was a long term politician after leaving the military, and he was an affirmed socialist).
As for backups - Joan of Arc would be interesting, but a sermon at dinner is for passover, so she's a reserve. She would spark conversation and thought I hope. Amelia Earhart is still one of the most famous female icons of the 20th century. She was an explorer and a feminist icon so she'd get on with most of them at the table.
As for back-up blokes - I suppose Gene Roddenbery goes without saying, but I don't know how he'd interact with the others. My final back up would be Lieutenant- General Adrian Carton di Wiart VC KBE CB CMG DSO. A real life action man. If you can get a copy of his memiors they are well worth a read. He'd probably be very nice company, but he detested communists on principle, so that might be a problem.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Hang on - if the original list couldn't make it - why couldn't you set your time machine for a time when they COULD make it?
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
Maybe they didn't want to come, no matter what time you asked them,
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Frankly Sean, I was hoping for something more Doc Brown, involving the total destruction of the whole universe, or at the very least our own galaxy. I'm not upset, just disapointed.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Mohammad, Christ, 'Virgin' Mary, Mary Magdalene, and a miscellaneous prostitute. Just to see what is what and how they'd react to my #6.
Hitler could fill in for Mohammad, to see how his reaction would be to meeting Jesus, and visa-versa.
Moses could fill in for Christ, which could cause a bit of tension with Mohammad/Hitler.
Mother Teresa could fill in for either Mary.
As for the rest, well, that would just have to develop.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
So you *want* the table to be all tense? Posted by Zefram (Member # 1568) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ritten: Moses could fill in for Christ, which could cause a bit of tension with Mohammad/Hitler.
Moses is actually an important prophet in the Islamic faith. His life is given a fuller account in the Koran than most prophets recognized by Islam.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Man, you guys really took to this, more so than any other place I've posted it. I'm glad to see it. Some interesting choices among some of the obvious ones. Anyway, my first-string would be as follows:
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus
Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico
Mae West
Scheherazade
Hatshepsut
All are "royalty" in there own way (as Mae West was queen of the movies). Two are entertainers. Two fought for power. Three were highly beloved by their peoples. I think it would be a hell of a conversation as the rulers (real & not) talked shop, as the entertaining lasses spun their wiles.
Second-string would be as follows:
Livia Drusilla, later Julia Augusta
Margaret Brown, AKA "Molly Brown"
Robert Heinlein
Golda Meir
Jon Stewart
How would the replacements affect things? Well, if Livia was there with Augustus, he'd have a very different attitude, that's for sure; she manipulated him greatly. I think Mae West & Molly Brown would get along grandly, & Heinlein would really dig everyone. Golda & Augustus would probably bond over the problems in Judea, & I think Stewart would dig Mae, Molly, & Golda as well as have loads of fun with Norton.
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
Oh, I could come up with many lists of comedians I would love to eat with. The conversations would no doubt be very interesting.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Scheherazade is a fictional character, isn't she?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
She was in fact quite real.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Oh. I thought she was based around a few Persian queens, but she herself was a character. Well, live and learn.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Ginger Beacon: Well, I think we'd all like to meet Ban Franklin! One of the greatest, if not most debauched mind that ever lived!
Reminds me of that episode of The Office (US). Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
Perhaps John Browning, or Nikola Tesla would be interesting to meet.
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