Ok, so this is my first time starting a thread, so be gentle.

Who would you have at your ideal dinner party? You can invite whoever you like throughout time, and for sake of ease, let's say you have six spots at the table.

Mine would be:

Mary, Queen of Scots (ideally before she got her head chopped off),
Pope John Paul II,
Groucho Marx,
Linda Smith, (comedienne who died of cancer this year, but who cracked me up so much),
Emile Zola,
and
Katharine Hepburn.

Ooo, good one Maxie!

Joss Whedon
Elizabeth I
Jon Bon Jovi
Andrew Lloyd Weber
Bill Bryson
Robin Williams

PBS used have a series that did this. It was hosted by Steve Allen and they would have actors who played the various historical figures. It was fascinating. Let's see, I only get 6 huh?

Albert Einstein
Abraham Lincoln
Jane Austen
Benjamin Franklin
Harriet Tubman
Jesus Christ (besides all the obvious reasons, he'd be really handy in case we run out of wine)

Heh, I love that reasoning.

I would also have Jane Austen. She would be quiet during the dinner itself but would stay behind afterwards to help me with the washing up and have a good gossip about everyone who attended. Her letters to her sister after social events are really fun bitchfests in this regard.

George Orwell - probably my favourite writer, I don't suppose he'd be the life and soul but he would bring gravitas.

Dorothy Parker - obligatory for wisecracking remarks around a table.

La Malinche - fascinating Mexican woman who was involved in the Spanish conquest, I'd like to hear her real story.

Jeff Buckley - to sing for us and look pretty.

Robin Hood - to be dashing. He'd probably come in an Erroll Flynn type incarnation, though any Robin other than Kevin Costner would be fine.

I think Robin would try to get off with Dorothy but she would prefer to set her sights on George. Malinche would be captivated by Jeff's voice, but as it's my party, Jane would kindly distract her so I could talk to him.

Akhenaten, Hatshepsut, somebody (high or low) from the Aztec and Teotihuacan heydeys, Shakespeare, some Italian great-ancestor of mine. Really my interest is in knowing the mysteries of the past.

Well, I think Jesus would probably be great for the water into wine thing but no way is he helping with the dishes. If memory serves me correctly, he's going to expect someone to wash his feet after dinner. Maybe I need to rethink his invitation.

Well, Jane and I can bitch about him while we clean up.

But Jesus washed all his disciples' feet.

That kind act apparently doesn't extend to women who feed him, though.

I'd kind of like everyone at my dinner party to keep their feet fully covered, thanks very much.

I've thought of substitutes in case anyone calls off:

John Logie Baird - he was, by the sounds of it, absolutely fascinating.
Steve Biko - ever since I read Donald Woods' biography of him, I've been really interested in him.
Maria von Trapp - because I bet truth is stranger than fiction.
Joan of Arc, coz she'd rule. :-)

These are some really fun suggestions that you've been making. It's quite hard to narrow it down to only 6 isn't it?

I am not Jesus, but I have the same initials ... I am the man who stays at home and does the dishes

So if anyone calls off, I would love Jarvis Cocker to come, then.

No one else finds BJC's Bon Jovi supping with Andrew Lloyd Webber worth commenting on?

Ben Franklin (by all accounts one of the most charming/principled/intuitive/insightful/funny men ever)
Mark Twain (I <3 curmudgions)
Natalie Portman (do I even need a reason?)
Hugh Hefner (c'mon, he's a God)
Audrey Hepburn (her unearthly allure is only matched by Grace Kelly's. Pais je adore Funnyface)
My Mom (because an evening this amazing has to be shared with Mommy)

Now, with certainty every man there has a better chance with Ms. Portman than I do, but I think introducing her to my Mom would be pretty cool.

My roommate reading over my shoulder just rattled off a list of stunningly beautiful women. His simplicity is his strength.

And he was a freaking genius, which he never gets credit for. He's responsible for our post office system and our lending library system. He's the only founding father to have his signature on the three most important documents of the American Revoluation (the Declaration of Independence, the Peace Treaty with Britain and the Constitution). He is one of the main reasons the U.S. won the Revolution. His machinations in playing the French off the British was absolutely brilliant. I just think his contributions are so underrated.
One person's God is another person's skeevy misognyist, I guess.

Amen.

I guess he had a bad day?

JRRTolkien: so he could autograph every copy of The Hobbit, LOTR, The Silmarillion and all his other books that I have.

Jeff Buckley: to sing Hallelujah to me.

Viggo Mortensen: do I really need to explain what his purpose would be?

Jane Austen: for all the reasons listed already.

Fran Walsh: to hear her side of the LOTR story.

My Greek friend Effy: because no party is complete without her.

I have wide and varied tastes.

AA, before I opened this thread I tried to guess your dinner list and suprrise, surprise, I got 3 right! Tolkien, Viggo and Effy.

Mainly I try not to think about Andrew Lloyd Webber, so commenting on him would be a wee bit too much for me. :-)

I'm sadly predictable, aren't I? But it would be a fabulous dinner party!

And now I have the mental image of Bon Jovi performing snippets from Starlight Express. Oh, my ears.

AA, thannk you very much for that image.

I was just about to go to bed. If I get that in my dreams, there are going to be ructions.

Sorry about that, Heatherbelle. Sweet dreams.

Ok, I've been giving this a lot of thought, especially during work hours when the alternative is ..ya know, working.

What has become blatantly obvious is that I'm low-brow, so low brow that I may indeed be no-brow. One could say brow-less, less-of-brow.

So here's my list:

Jon Stewart - One of those guests who can speak well on any topic. Plus there's the small matter of his dimples.

The Queen Mum - A very cool old stick with with a plethora of stories from a life well lived.

Ellen DeGeneres - Great all round guest who brings the funny.

Bill Clinton - Because I've always wanted to have a chat with him

Bono - Can't think of any reason not to.

Allison Janney - Has the worlds best laugh and would make a dinner party fun

A fabulous, relaxed dinner party with laughter, great conversation and great food (provided by Ambrose's Auntie). What more could a no-brow want?

That's a good list Nat Cat, but here's the thing that I don't get: Jon Stewart. I don't think he's that funny, and the dimples thing really has passed me by. Oh, well, at least you and I won't have clashing guest lists. :-)

You do realize, NatCat, that Ellen + Allison Janney = strong likelihood of a living room brawl, right? Those two are hilarious together though.

So I'm hanging out in the kitchen cooking and wishing I could mix with the cool crowd...

I'm okay with that cos by the time the brawling starts, I'll be otherwise occupied with Bono while Ambrose's Auntie is sneaking Jon Stewart into the kitchen to have her wicked way with him.

The Queen Mum and Bill Clinton will be left to do the dishes.

Maxie, the Jon Stewart love isn't for everyone, I can understand that. However if you and any other 'Fugees happen to be in town for the dinner party, you know you're more than welcome.

Nah, the Queen Mum will be too busy getting tucked into the gin to be doing dishes!



Aw, thanks, NatCat! I'll make sure and bring a bottle of wine and a bunch of flowers! ;-)

Ahhh, wine no good with some of the Aussie Fugees. May I recommend you bring pie instead?

Mmmmm, pie. I'm looking forward to some good pie NEXT MONTH!!

Sorry, got a bit excited about my trip then.

Well I was sort of meaning the wine to be for me and the flowers for NatCat, but I can bring pie too. I make a mean lime torte and a delicious tiramisu if that interests.....

Maxie, get yourself over here. Now.

Between you and NatCat, we clearly have the pie covered.

Ok, but I'll need to wait for the air travel chaos to subside.... Oh and to make the pie.... :-)

*Pokes head outside of The West Wing Thread*

I love this question!!! :-) I'm always asking my friends this at random times, and yes..they do think I'm odd.:-)

My list:
- Alison Krauss (from Alison Krauss and Union Station, a bluegrass group....she'd be more than welcome to bring the boys of the group also!)
-The Apostle Paul- cause I've got some questions
-Richard Schiff- one of my favorite WW actors
-Allison Janney-just one of my favorite actresses all around.
-John Williams (the movie music composer)
-Aaron Sorkin- because his writing is like music.

Like, perhaps: "Why so bitter about women?"

And "why'd you change your name from Saul, anyway? Did you just not feel like a Saul?"

He had to keep up with Simon Peter. Name changing was all the rage back then.....



I have more of an issue with St Paul's over used of the comma. Toby Ziegler would have sorted him out for not using punctuation properly.....

And here I am disliking him for his homophobia.

But not the perverting of a good Rabbi's earnest teachings into a tool for oppression, division and avarice?

Oh those are there too. Thats just kind of at the forefront of my own agenda as it affects me the most. ;)