I don't know about you, but I dread going to parties. I especially dread going to gigs like wedding receptions, moreso if I know that I'm going to be the only person there whom I know. Why can't I be sure that I'll sit with some really kickass people who will be fantastic to talk to? I chatted about this idea a bit at my other blog and thought it might be fun to talk about here.
Let's do a few rounds. I'll set some guidelines each time. This round is Cultural Commentators. The deal is this: You're giving a dinner party and you can invite 3-5 people. (For this round, they must be alive. We'll get to the Dead Dinner Party in later rounds.) Who would they be? Here are my:
Let's do a few rounds. I'll set some guidelines each time. This round is Cultural Commentators. The deal is this: You're giving a dinner party and you can invite 3-5 people. (For this round, they must be alive. We'll get to the Dead Dinner Party in later rounds.) Who would they be? Here are my:
Top 5 Cultural Commentator Dinner Party Guests
1. Ken Burns
2. Rachel Maddow
3. Tom Brokaw
4. Garrison Keillor
5. Garry Trudeau
Let's talk about my Guest List, but just a little bit. First of all, I know--only one woman (but what a woman!) and my girl Hil is not on it. Basically, I'd rather wait to talk to her when she's not holding public office and isn't all constrained by politics. There's some humor there with Trudeau and Keillor, but they are both also incredibly smart and insightful. Brokaw has seen a lot of news all over the world but strikes me as very human. Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker, (credits include The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz) would be incredible to talk to...about anything. He has one of the most haunting quotes--to me, anyway,--of all time: "There are no ordinary lives." I think my list is pretty nicely balanced. I also know that there is no big honking republican on it, but that is so that I am able to eat as well as talk. Ahem. And listen.
1. Ken Burns
2. Rachel Maddow
3. Tom Brokaw
4. Garrison Keillor
5. Garry Trudeau
Let's talk about my Guest List, but just a little bit. First of all, I know--only one woman (but what a woman!) and my girl Hil is not on it. Basically, I'd rather wait to talk to her when she's not holding public office and isn't all constrained by politics. There's some humor there with Trudeau and Keillor, but they are both also incredibly smart and insightful. Brokaw has seen a lot of news all over the world but strikes me as very human. Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker, (credits include The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz) would be incredible to talk to...about anything. He has one of the most haunting quotes--to me, anyway,--of all time: "There are no ordinary lives." I think my list is pretty nicely balanced. I also know that there is no big honking republican on it, but that is so that I am able to eat as well as talk. Ahem. And listen.
Okay, so which Cultural Commentators are on your Guest List? And, it's okay to invite any of mine as well. I'm sure they'd be happy to be so popular.
9 comments:
I hope these all count. I'm not sure who qualifies as a cultural commentator.
1. Rachel Maddow
Easy.
2. Nicholas Kristof
The man has been everywhere done EVERYTHING. I want him for my best friend.
3. Jay Smooth
(of illdoctrine.com)
4. Chuck Klosterman
Author of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. I can't say I like him, but it would be undoubtedly interesting.
5. Alison Bechdel
Author and artist of Fun Home (graphic novel) and Dykes to Watch Out For (comic strip). She may not qualify, but once I thought of her Bechdel Test for movies, I couldn't think of anyone else. She often discusses culture on her blog. And she's awesome.
Yeah, cultural commentator definition could be debatable ...
1. Rachel Maddow--She just amazes me. So much fun to listen to and watch.
2. Jon Stewart--He gets to be too much for me sometimes, but other times he really nails an issue and is so funny.
3. Michael Pollan--You knew I had to have a food person.
4. Garry Trudeau--Doonesbury still amazes me. I wonder what he's like to live with. Does he save all his humor for the strip? In that case, he might not be our best choice.
5. Ben Stein--He amuses me. Some people say he is boring and full of BS, but often I agree with what he says (I usually see him on CBS Sunday Morning) and frankly I haven't quite figured him out. The nasaly/whiny voice can be annoying, but I'll tolerate it.
Mine would be comedy-themed because the comedians I really like are very smart as well as funny, and all of them have a lot to say about the world at large. I want my social commentary to be entertaining and funny as well as thought-provoking. You must be on your toes, have an education, and a working brain to get what these people have to say.
1. Eddie Izzard
He is able to narrate his own life and thoughts and yet relate it to everyone else's experiences with humor and pathos. You know exactly what he's talking about because you've been there or thought that.
2. Steven Wright
Dead-pan pun master. Re-positions your perspective on how words work. His comment about Oreos and his dental hygienist never fails to conjure up a very funny picture.
3. Larry Miller
Just a very funny guy with a lot to say.
4. Ellen Degeneres
Since she came out of the closet, she has lived her life out in the open for everyone to see. Even in this day and age that's pretty brave. Yet she still has a lot of funny things to say about how the world works. She stole the show as Dori in "Finding Nemo". That's my kind of funny.
Life at the Funny Farm--Hey! Welcome to Stuff. Eddie Izzard would be a hoot. And he's so smart! I often wonder if Steven Wright would talk at all aside from onstage. Interesting to find out.
gfe Shirley--holy crap, what would you serve Pollan? that would be the challenge there. LOL. I like him as a guest, though. Maddow and Stewart at the same table would be a real treat. (you do know ben stein is a "big honking republican", don't you? LOL)
tiana--your list forced me to employ The Google and made me feel very old. LOL. What an interesting--and no, that's no euphemism for "odd" or "strange"--group. You might have a lot of hollering, though, and a big bar bill.
Here are my 5 (I, too, had to steal Rachel from your list):
1. Rachel Maddow
2. Bill Maher
3. Wanda Sykes
4. Michael Moore
5. Craig Ferguson
Now.... what if we did this in reverse? Like the 5 dinner guests from hell? For example:
1. Rush Limbaugh
2. Lou Dobbs
3. Glenn Beck
4. Michael Savage
5. Ann Coulter
:-D
Ortizzle--Don't jump the gun on future Dinner Party topix. Wait for rounds to come. LOL. And I am beginning to worry a bit about your Craig Ferguson fetish. (Not really. I just have to tease you.)
Oops! Well, if that becomes a future dinner party scenario, I will just cut and paste from this one, heh, heh.
Craig Ferguson makes me laugh out loud--- loud, raucous, spontaneous laughter. There are many comedians who make me smile, but laugh out loud? Not too many. As if that were not enough, you can go right ahead and tease me. It's true. No shame. In fact, the only shame is that I am not twenty years younger, because I would probably be capable of stalking the man, lol.
1. Oprah, I know a lot of people thing she is overrated but I think she's seen and done a hell of a lot. Especially as a black wowan.
2.Laura Ingram. Don't shoot me. But I'd love to go blow for blow with that bitch.
3.Maya Angelou. Even if I didn't like what she had to say, which is highly unlikely, I love the sound of her voice.
4.My Grandmother. She'd 87 years old. She's lived through a lot. We, as a society, need to sit down and listen to the elderly more. We could learn tons.
5.Nance. And no, I'm not kidding. You always have an interesting point of view. I always enjoy our conversations, regardless of the topic.
Nina--Oh, thank you so much! I am beyond flattered. And with you and I there, that Laura Ingram wouldn't stand a chance.
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