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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 24, 2015 15:43:08 GMT -5
In awe. Though Hitchcock was no slouch, either. And I imagine that Shakespeare was used to some pretty rough company, working for the Elizabethan stage. That's just a guess, though - I don't actually know anything about Elizabethan table manners. Go with your gut on that. The fork was not a commonly used utensil, though at big state dinners and the like, finger washing before and after eating was a custom. In the taverns, not so much, as far as I know. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2015 15:46:02 GMT -5
And I imagine that Shakespeare was used to some pretty rough company, working for the Elizabethan stage. That's just a guess, though - I don't actually know anything about Elizabethan table manners. Go with your gut on that. The fork was not a commonly used utensil, though at big state dinners and the like, finger washing before and after eating was a custom. In the taverns, not so much, as far as I know. fingerbowls and a knife-all the utensils you will ever need!  -M |
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Post by edgeofadream on Mar 24, 2015 15:48:56 GMT -5
Carl Sagan
Frank Sinatra
Ava Gardner
Tecumseh
Will Rogers
Sam Houston
Yeah I know that's six.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 24, 2015 15:58:57 GMT -5
I've struggled with this one. Lots of people. And Number One with a bullet would be my Dad. But...
Ray Bradbury. My favorite author. Also fan turned writer.
Cosimo de Medici. Founder of a political dynasty...more importantly one of the great patrons of the arts.
Groucho Marx. Simply the funniest man ever.
Clarence Darrow. The greatest attorney ever and civil libertarian extraordinaire.
Leonardo da Vinci. The original renaissance man.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 24, 2015 16:19:49 GMT -5
Carl Sagan
Frank Sinatra
Ava Gardner
Tecumseh
Will Rogers
Sam Houston
Yeah I know that's six. I considered Tecumseh before I decided to restrict my choices to English speakers. I read a lot about Tecumseh because my father used to live a few blocks from the White River (in Anderson, Indiana) and I would stand on the bank and think about Tecumseh paddling by with a few dozen braves on a diplomatic mission to the tribes in the southeastern U.S.
A fascinating historical figure.
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Post by berkley on Mar 24, 2015 21:43:06 GMT -5
Hollywood stars:
Charlie Chaplin - one of those people I'd like to hear talk even if he hadn't been the most film-maker of his time; extremely tough childhood and politically engaged leftist
Cary Grant - my favourite Hollywood star and another interesting character; I'd like to hear him talk about his early life as a travelling acrobat almost as much as the Hollywood stuff
Audrey Hepburn - one of the most beautiful actresses ever; grew up in Nazi-occupied Netherlands
Anita Ekberg - I'd like to get a glimpse of the personality behind the beautiful exterior; and I would try not to stare.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 25, 2015 5:45:17 GMT -5
That's only four, berk! You should also invite Hedy Lamarr, who was an inventor as well as an actress. (Frequency hopping? Dear Lord, aren't Hollywood actresses supposed to be airheads?)
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Mar 25, 2015 6:53:51 GMT -5
Robin Williams Stan Lee Dave Grohl Curtis Joseph Gwen Stefani I feel like that evening would satisfy all my interests  |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Mar 25, 2015 10:17:24 GMT -5
One of the people thst came to my mind and one of the most interesting philosophers I've ever read. None have kept my attention and keep me in awe like Nietzsche. I very much like "God is Dead" and most of all of "The Madman" as it's often quoted and used, much like some do the bible, for their own purposes. The Gay Science is probably my favorite in that it's just chalk full of interesting observations and estrapulation on the human race and our place in the universe. My second favorite would probably be Thus Spoke Zarsthustra. A great piece of writing that as much entertaining as a novel as it is a piece of philosophy. I haven't read his complete works, but most all his latter writings. I don't think I could even match him in conversation with his intellect. However if Bukowski bowed out ( he was never really a people person, especially media and interviews) I'd probably give it a shot. One would of course want to hear his thoughts on the current state of religion as a social construct, but I have a feeling he'd get bored with that pretty quickly as I think it's panned out pretty much as he would have expected. I think that, in addition to the things I already listed, I'd be most curious to find out his thoughts on the arts, especially the literature and music that's been made since his death (assuming I suppose that he had a few years to catch up on some of this stuff before the dinner). How would he have felt about Kafka, Schoenberg, stuff like that. Yeah I think he'd have a big fat "I told you so" ready. :-) I wonder, indeed, what he might think of our "liberal" minded art in music, movies, and literature. Hey Friedrich, you gotta read Twilight! Ever hear of one of the best rappers of all time, Notorious Big? Wanna watch Croenburg movie? As far as other philosphers, of what I have read, Kant is another favorite of mine. His ideas were interesting and deep, but he was easy to read, but still made you think. Sarte, however, made my head explode like he was a Scanner. I didn't make it far into the book that I did try to read of his work. |
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Post by berkley on Mar 25, 2015 19:59:20 GMT -5
That's only four, berk! You should also invite Hedy Lamarr, who was an inventor as well as an actress. (Frequency hopping? Dear Lord, aren't Hollywood actresses supposed to be airheads?) Very impressive character, to be sure. I'd also like to hear about her life in Europe before she came to Hollywood. Like, it seems, so many of the stars from that era, she led had a lot of life experiences even before becoming a Hollywood star. The only reason I didn't pick her was just that I haven't seen any of her movies, that I recall. I should remedy that. |
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Post by berkley on Mar 25, 2015 20:13:50 GMT -5
One would of course want to hear his thoughts on the current state of religion as a social construct, but I have a feeling he'd get bored with that pretty quickly as I think it's panned out pretty much as he would have expected. I think that, in addition to the things I already listed, I'd be most curious to find out his thoughts on the arts, especially the literature and music that's been made since his death (assuming I suppose that he had a few years to catch up on some of this stuff before the dinner). How would he have felt about Kafka, Schoenberg, stuff like that. Yeah I think he'd have a big fat "I told you so" ready. :-) I wonder, indeed, what he might think of our "liberal" minded art in music, movies, and literature. Hey Friedrich, you gotta read Twilight! Ever hear of one of the best rappers of all time, Notorious Big? Wanna watch Croenburg movie? As far as other philosphers, of what I have read, Kant is another favorite of mine. His ideas were interesting and deep, but he was easy to read, but still made you think. Sarte, however, made my head explode like he was a Scanner. I didn't make it far into the book that I did try to read of his work. I don't remember what Nietzsche had to say, if anything, about the popular culture of his own era, so not sure if he'd even be interested in things like Twilight. Perhaps as a cultural phenomenon, if not as a literary work. I'm sure he be fascinated by film as a new artistic medium, though - one that didn't even exist in his day. I'm about to start getting into a lot of Nietzsche - probably within the next week or so. It's been a long time since I've read any of his stuff in depth, so even the re-reads will feel new to me and I'm looking forward to seeing how it strikes me this time around. I found much of Kant very heavy going - The Critique of Pure Reason, especially. The general ideas are compelling and still relevant today, but his exposition can be extremely dense and involved at times. I think Schopenhauer did a good job of distilling its essence and building on it. Sartre I haven't read much at all - just some of his fiction and not much even of that: his early novel, La Nausée, and one of his plays, Huis Clos - both highly recommended. I'm saving his philosophical books like Being and Nothingness until after I read more of his 19th and early 20th century predecessors. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 26, 2015 5:41:40 GMT -5
I think this is a good time to plug the webcomic Existential Comics. existentialcomics.com/comic/72Sartre, Beauvoir and Nietzsche, they're all there week after week. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 26, 2015 8:08:23 GMT -5
Always fun to do these...
If I wanted to hear a REAL Interesting discussion:
Jesus
Hitler
MLK
Lincoln
Einstein
For Fanboyness:
Stan Lee
Roy Thomas
JRR Tolkien
Issac Asimov
Arthur Clarke
For Sports:
Larry Bird
Jack Morris
Pete Rose
Jackie Robinson
Roberto Clemente
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Mar 26, 2015 10:33:15 GMT -5
Sartre I haven't read much at all - just some of his fiction and not much even of that: his early novel, La Nausée, and one of his plays, Huis Clos - both highly recommended. I'm saving his philosophical books like Being and Nothingness until after I read more of his 19th and early 20th century predecessors. I hadn't any idea he wrote fiction. That I might find more readable than his philosophy. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 26, 2015 15:45:19 GMT -5
Sartre I haven't read much at all - just some of his fiction and not much even of that: his early novel, La Nausée, and one of his plays, Huis Clos - both highly recommended. I'm saving his philosophical books like Being and Nothingness until after I read more of his 19th and early 20th century predecessors. I hadn't any idea he wrote fiction. That I might find more readable than his philosophy. His plays are great! The most famous is "No Exit," but I prefer "The Flies."
I read them in a collection called "'No Exit' and Other Plays" that also had "The Respectful Prostitute" and one other, I forget the name.
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