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Worf, you never cease to entertain. At least you entertain me.
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The ONE Celebrity (Living or Dead) You'd Give a Body Part to Have Dinner With?
- Thread starter Worf
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Not at all. It's just that western Europe and Great Britain are closer and much better known and understood than the far reaches of Russia and China.
Sharpsburg
One of the Regulars
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Kate Hepburn of course. (Churchill second)
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<quizzical dog look>
Can't say I follow your thinking. Killin' is killin'; evil is evil; geography is irrelevant. I'm going to leave it there, though. We've gone far enough off the rails.
Cheers.
Sent directly from my mind to yours.
ChiTownScion
Call Me a Cab
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Harry S. Truman.
A body part of my choice for dinner. One of your choice for dinner nightly for a week.
A body part of my choice for dinner. One of your choice for dinner nightly for a week.
Worf
I'll Lock Up
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Not the worst job a man could have. I prefer helping folks laugh, chuckle, snort, giggle.. even groan (bad puns) as opposed to making em mad, sad or upset. Life's too short... let's share a smile fer goodness sake!
Worf
Worf
I'll Lock Up
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I'll send this to the rules committee for perusal. Consider it under "official review".
Worf
Just Jim
A-List Customer
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I'd make a reasonable sacrifice to have dinner again with a distant cousin, James Coburn. I spend some time with him when I was younger, and learned a great deal in a short time. I'd like to have another talk about what we've both learned since then, I suspect it would keep me thinking for another 40 years.
This is one of those questions that often comes up - I'm struggling to think of a celebrity I'd want to have dinner with. I always have the feeling that the ones we know least about are often the most interesting to actually spend time with.
But when I think deeper about it, I know I would probably get a kick out of meeting Orson Welles or Christopher Hitchens or Oscar Wilde or Gore Vidal or John Steinbeck or Dorothy Parker or Lauren Bacall or Marilyn Monroe or George Elliot or Gertrude Stein. The problem of course is a two-hour dinner will tell you little and if you get them on a bad day, you may form totally the wrong idea about them.
But when I think deeper about it, I know I would probably get a kick out of meeting Orson Welles or Christopher Hitchens or Oscar Wilde or Gore Vidal or John Steinbeck or Dorothy Parker or Lauren Bacall or Marilyn Monroe or George Elliot or Gertrude Stein. The problem of course is a two-hour dinner will tell you little and if you get them on a bad day, you may form totally the wrong idea about them.
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Obviously I haven't been very articulate in my responses. Don't know that I can do any better, but I will give it one last shot.
I well know what Hitler did. I have read the stories. I have read the books. I have seen the documentaries. I have seen the movies. I have seen the pictures. Yes, I have seen the pictures, in all the gruesome detail. I well know what Hitler did.
But what I don't know is what Stalin did and what Mao Tse Tung did. I know they killed a bunch of people during their reigns of terror, but I really don't know the details.
But I do know the details of the Hitler atrocities; how well those stories are imprinted in my memory. How well the pictures are etched in my mind. How can I ever forget those pictures. That's why Hitler gets my vote for the worst villain the world has every seen. YMMV.
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No, the worst villain is the person who invented internet pop-up ads, hands down.
Marcel Marceau would be a good choice if you'd like to enjoy your meal in peace and quiet.
Sent directly from my mind to yours.
PrivateEye
One of the Regulars
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- 159
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- Boston, MA
Ted Williams.
Between his years of military service and his years during the golden age of baseball, I bet he could tell some great stories.
Between his years of military service and his years during the golden age of baseball, I bet he could tell some great stories.
Edward
Bartender
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Ir's an interesting question.... When i comes to the fantasy dinner party, Christ is always on my list as it would be fascinating to encounter Christ the man as opposed to the deity. In this instance, though, I'll dismiss that option on grounds that, as a practising Methodist, this is one thing I assume I'll have the option of at some point post my allotted three score and ten!
There are people I regard as 'heroes' that I might be wary of meeting lest my enjoyment of their work be ruined forever - Chuck Berry is squarely on that list, ditto Johnny Ramone. Equally, some of those whom I rather regard as among the villains (even if far indeed from the worst of history's illegitimi), I would avoid on grounds that there's a danger I might find them quited charming in person. Churchill is right atop that list.
Then there are those whose company could be either quickly tiresome or utterly joyful, depending on what mood one catches them in; John Lydon would be one of these, another Andy Kaufman. Kaufman would be fascinating if he was himself, but there's also the danger you'd end up sitting at a table with Tony Clifton....
Joey Ramone or Joe Strummer would be great. Or Bob Dylan if he were in the mood. Rosa Parks would be superb. Of the historical figures in the 20th century, Connie Markievicz would be interesting to talk to, both in terms of her significance in Irish history and also being a woman directly involved at a leadership level in some very significant historical events that were otherwise male-dominated. (Notably, among other things, she was the first woman elected to the British Westminster Parliament, in 1918, but owing to her party's abstentionist policy she did not take her seat and so history records the first female MP as Nancy Astor, who won her sat in a 1919 by-election.) I would simply adore to meet the playwright Sean O'Casey (the thinking man's Brendan Behan), or Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, a man far ahead of his own time, and one of the all too many sad, innocent victims of Ireland's violent years. Skeffy was a passionate advocate of various socially progressive causes in the early 1900s; mong other things, an ardent pacifist, feminist and campaigner for both social justice and votes for women. He was widely regarded as something of an academic eccentric in Dublin. During the 16 Rising (of which he disapproved; despite having certain ideals in common with some of the rebels - he was formerly a member of the Irish Citizen Army until its focus shifted from workers' rights to nationalism - Skeffy strongly rejected violence as a political tool), he was arrested by the British army as a result of being caught up in an argument which broke out when he tried to discourage poor Dublin citizens from using the Rising as an excuse to loot shops and, in some cases, rich people's houses. The officer in charge of the arrest ordered hat he be shot without trial on the basis that he was considered a 'sympathiser' with the rebels. Skeffy was 37 when he died.
While it is undoubtedly the case that he was A Bad Man, I often suspect the reason that he is remembered as the worst man in history is, perhaps, in part down to his motivation and methods. Whereas Stalin, Mao and others who presided over mass murders typically killed to wipe out (perceived) opposition, Hitler was driven to exterminate an entire race of people, the Jews, as well as those who were considered lesser (non-whites, the disabled, gay people). I think it's the ideological drive behind that, as well as the sheer industrialisation of it - the fact that the gas chambers were designed to make mass murder as clean and efficient as possible - that makes it harder for the average person to grasp.
Of course, we cannot also ruled out the enduring effect of the permeation of WW2 Allied propaganda on Western popular culture. Stalin was an ally during the war, Russian Soviet troops were core to defeating Hitler and, at least in that period, Stalin was not perceived as the threat that Hitler was. Neither Stalin nor Mao seemed interested in invading Western Europe. Much of the worst that went on in the USSR didn't come out until much later on. I also suspect that whereas Hitler was seen as the unholy font of Nazism and personally demonised, the Cold War era propaganda created a much mored generalised 'red panic'. The enemy was The Communists, and faceless, rather than so much based on the image of an individual. Mao, of course, kept everything within China, which didn't start opening up to the world much at all until 1990, and it's very easy to ignore it when someone targets only their own citizens and it doesn't affect 'us'.
A very good point; there are several celebrities I've been around a number of times over the years to whom that would certainly apply.
There are people I regard as 'heroes' that I might be wary of meeting lest my enjoyment of their work be ruined forever - Chuck Berry is squarely on that list, ditto Johnny Ramone. Equally, some of those whom I rather regard as among the villains (even if far indeed from the worst of history's illegitimi), I would avoid on grounds that there's a danger I might find them quited charming in person. Churchill is right atop that list.
Then there are those whose company could be either quickly tiresome or utterly joyful, depending on what mood one catches them in; John Lydon would be one of these, another Andy Kaufman. Kaufman would be fascinating if he was himself, but there's also the danger you'd end up sitting at a table with Tony Clifton....
Joey Ramone or Joe Strummer would be great. Or Bob Dylan if he were in the mood. Rosa Parks would be superb. Of the historical figures in the 20th century, Connie Markievicz would be interesting to talk to, both in terms of her significance in Irish history and also being a woman directly involved at a leadership level in some very significant historical events that were otherwise male-dominated. (Notably, among other things, she was the first woman elected to the British Westminster Parliament, in 1918, but owing to her party's abstentionist policy she did not take her seat and so history records the first female MP as Nancy Astor, who won her sat in a 1919 by-election.) I would simply adore to meet the playwright Sean O'Casey (the thinking man's Brendan Behan), or Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, a man far ahead of his own time, and one of the all too many sad, innocent victims of Ireland's violent years. Skeffy was a passionate advocate of various socially progressive causes in the early 1900s; mong other things, an ardent pacifist, feminist and campaigner for both social justice and votes for women. He was widely regarded as something of an academic eccentric in Dublin. During the 16 Rising (of which he disapproved; despite having certain ideals in common with some of the rebels - he was formerly a member of the Irish Citizen Army until its focus shifted from workers' rights to nationalism - Skeffy strongly rejected violence as a political tool), he was arrested by the British army as a result of being caught up in an argument which broke out when he tried to discourage poor Dublin citizens from using the Rising as an excuse to loot shops and, in some cases, rich people's houses. The officer in charge of the arrest ordered hat he be shot without trial on the basis that he was considered a 'sympathiser' with the rebels. Skeffy was 37 when he died.
While it is undoubtedly the case that he was A Bad Man, I often suspect the reason that he is remembered as the worst man in history is, perhaps, in part down to his motivation and methods. Whereas Stalin, Mao and others who presided over mass murders typically killed to wipe out (perceived) opposition, Hitler was driven to exterminate an entire race of people, the Jews, as well as those who were considered lesser (non-whites, the disabled, gay people). I think it's the ideological drive behind that, as well as the sheer industrialisation of it - the fact that the gas chambers were designed to make mass murder as clean and efficient as possible - that makes it harder for the average person to grasp.
Of course, we cannot also ruled out the enduring effect of the permeation of WW2 Allied propaganda on Western popular culture. Stalin was an ally during the war, Russian Soviet troops were core to defeating Hitler and, at least in that period, Stalin was not perceived as the threat that Hitler was. Neither Stalin nor Mao seemed interested in invading Western Europe. Much of the worst that went on in the USSR didn't come out until much later on. I also suspect that whereas Hitler was seen as the unholy font of Nazism and personally demonised, the Cold War era propaganda created a much mored generalised 'red panic'. The enemy was The Communists, and faceless, rather than so much based on the image of an individual. Mao, of course, kept everything within China, which didn't start opening up to the world much at all until 1990, and it's very easy to ignore it when someone targets only their own citizens and it doesn't affect 'us'.
A very good point; there are several celebrities I've been around a number of times over the years to whom that would certainly apply.
MissMittens
One Too Many
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- Philadelphia USA
Hitler only copied what was done in the U.S. before his rise to power. It's uncomfortable, but it's the truth no one wants to hear.
MisterCairo
I'll Lock Up
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So, avoiding which 20th century despot was more or less evil than the others, and my hoped for meeting with the Lord, I am saying Charles Dickens. Say, about three years before his death, to recommend he take it easy on the touring, and to get an earlier start on The Mystery of Edwin Drood...
Just Jim
A-List Customer
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- The wrong end of Nebraska . . . .
Met her once, years ago. Nice lady. As I recall, we talked of recipes, and cooking philosophies: almost always a safe topic when meeting someone of your grandparents' generation.
Edward
Bartender
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- London, UK
Another couple of options occurred to me last night... I watched the second part of Billy Connolly's Made in Scotland film, shown by the BBC over the Christmas period (if you get a chance either on the iPlayer or otherwise, well worth it). It reminded me what a fascinating and inspirational human being he is, not least in his ability to see the joy and the wonder in every facet of life, even his own slowing down as he has gotten older and coped with the Parkinsons. He's always been an entertaining character, but I think he's at his most interesting now.
Also, Johnny Cash... around the time, perhaps, he wrote his autobiography.
Yes, that would be interesting... if potentially miserable... (per Horrible Histories).
I've met a few historical icons, but limited only to the entertainment world, not people who actually did something which led to change on that level. Always fascinating to see the human behind such a significant point in history.
Also, Johnny Cash... around the time, perhaps, he wrote his autobiography.
Yes, that would be interesting... if potentially miserable... (per Horrible Histories).
I've met a few historical icons, but limited only to the entertainment world, not people who actually did something which led to change on that level. Always fascinating to see the human behind such a significant point in history.
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LizzieMaine
Bartender
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Maybe not for a meal, but I'd give at least a couple of toes to go to a ball game with Hilda Chester.
Lean'n'mean
I'll Lock Up
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I wouldn't like to have dinner with anyone, even if they were paying. However, It would be very hard to refuse a picnic & an afternoon pushng paint around with Claude Monet.
If that's not possible then I'd settle for sandwiches in a 5 star hotel room with a 35 year old Emmanuelle Beart.
If that's not possible then I'd settle for sandwiches in a 5 star hotel room with a 35 year old Emmanuelle Beart.
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- East of Los Angeles
I've perused this thread two or three times since Worf started it and honestly couldn't think of anyone I'd sacrifice a body part more significant than a plucked hair to have dinner with; the adage "Never meet your heroes" comes to mind. But after reading Edward's post I'm now considering which bit of flesh and bone I could do without if it meant I'd get to have dinner with Billy Connolly or George Carlin.