Guess who's coming to dinner

[cosmolinguist]

"So," I said, snuggling up to Andrew as I was trying to fall asleep last night. "Who would you invite to a dinner party if you could have, oh, six historical people?"

"Doctor Who," he said immediately.

"Real people!" I protested, though I knew it was fruitless and considered myself lucky that he didn't repeat "Doctor Who" pointedly, as I expected him to, just to reinforce the point that as far as he's concerned Doctor Who's as real as anybody and much more so than most.

"Superman," Andrew said instead. At which point I had to laugh.

"You," he went on. "Steve." That's his uncle, who's like Andrew but more so (though I'm sure he wouldn't invite Doctor Who and Superman to his party.)

The last two took him a bit more thought, but he eventually rounded out the guest list with "John Lennon, and Tesla."

As I was musing on my own list -- I wanted to invite Richard Feynman, but Andrew said he would just hit on me and try to draw me without my clothes on*, though I wasn't as deterred by this as he might have thought I should be -- Andrew interrupted to point out "The only problem with there being only six is that there's no room for Batman!

"I suppose he could be Superman's plus-one," he mused. "But he'd probably insist on bringing Lois Lane," he concluded, resignedly.

So who would you invite to your dinner party?


* Once I showed him a blog post that featured some of Feynman's doodles over pages of complicated mathematical equations, and it did indeed prominently feature a sketch of a naked lady. In what I think is destined to become one of those "this will tell you all you need to know about how Andrew's brain works" anecdotes, Andrew's only reaction to this was "One of her legs is a lot longer than the other!" I must say I hadn't noticed that.

Comments

[scarletts-web.livejournal.com]

Can I have 6 Daleks?

[cosmolinguist]

Why would you want six Daleks?!

[scarletts-web.livejournal.com]

they wouldn't eat much.

[cosmolinguist]

Fair point :)

[sfred]

Elizabeth Fry;
George Eliot;
Samuel Johnson;

Do they have to be dead? If not:
Rabbi Lionel Blue;
Jeremy Hardy;
Maya Angelou

If they do have to have died:
Vespasian;
Jesus of Nazareth;
Anne Lister

[sfred]

Oh, actually, I'll pick my mum instead of Vespasian (if they all have to have died) or instead of George Eliot if I'm allowed the living ones.

P.S. I'm entering into the spirit of the whatsit, here, in not just picking six of my friends.

[cosmolinguist]

Nah, they don't have to be dead.

And yes, I do hope your friends don't feel slighted for not having been chosen :)

[burkesworks.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't invite *anyone* for a dinner party, because I don't do small talk and middle-class smugness, and I prefer beer to wine.

Richard Feynman, however, would be welcome any time.

[cosmolinguist]

You honestly think a) any of these people or b) Andrew are any good at small-talk or middle-class anythings? :) It'd quickly devolve into "can I have a go in the Tardis?" and arguing over pizza toppings and philosophical quandaries. And I think there'd be jelly and ice cream for dessert.

[diffrentcolours]

Hmm, Alan Turing is definitely my number one, and I'm happy to steal Nikolai Tesla from Andrew; him and Turing will get on pretty well. HP Lovecraft would probably be a bit shy, but entertaining when he got going - particularly if he had JG Ballard to bounce ideas off.

Stephen Fry is probably the ultimate dinner guest, but he might try muscling in on my affections for Alan so I'd have to be careful - then again, he's got a pet Alan of his own so I might be OK. Or I could try distracting him with Catullus, who's a bit poncy but if I invited Cicero then the conversation would get even more bogged down in politics than usual!

[cosmolinguist]

You are a man of exceptional taste! I love this

[diffrentcolours]

I felt a bit guilty about not having any ladies present, but the main one I'd want to invite is Ada Lovelace - and she'd end up geeking horribly with Alan Turing in the corner all night...

[tartful-dodger.livejournal.com]

Oscar Wilde, Freud, V, Vicomte de Valmont, Marquise de Merteuil and John Wilmot.

[shinydan.livejournal.com]

Right then.

Alan Turing, definitely. Douglas Adams. Albino Luciani aka Pope John Paul I.
JS Bach, partly to watch DNA turn into a squealing fanboy. Sappho (with a babelfish). And finally Emmeline Pankhurst to knock all the men down a peg or two. 8)

[doctorstewie.livejournal.com]

Hmm, apart from you Andrew and Mary and Dan and Tim?
Dead and undead together. So, brains for An Entree...

Tom Baker. Like Oscar Wilde, but Doctor who, so a toofer.

James Whale. If he's anything like the Whale portrayed in Gods and Monsters he'll be a hoot, and he directed Bride of Frankenstein, and therefore deserves a very big pie)

Harlan Ellison. Because he'll start the best fight ever.

Heisenberg. Not sure if he'd come though so maybe Turing after all. And Baker will try and shag him.

Buddy rich. Because he'll fight amusingly with Ellison and play a brilliant solo on the glassware.

Margaret Thatcher. So I can kill her with a fork before the sherry.
I'd like Amelia Earhart to replace Thatcher when the necessary has been done. She'd go really well with Ellison and Baker would try to shag her.

[cosmolinguist]

Okay this is my new favorite :) I love your brain.

[doctorstewie.livejournal.com]

:-) Thank you My Lady :-)

[cosmolinguist]

THis is fantastic. Bit surprised about the Pope, but that's no bad thing. Sounds like you'd have a great time. :)