<p>If you could invite any 2 people over for din with your friends and family, who would they be? I think it would be fun to have Dominick Dunne and Laura Ingraham over. ( I like fireworks with dinner)</p>
<p>That would be fun, dke.</p>
<p>How about Christopher Hitchens and Bill Maher? Friday night was pretty darn good, according to the transcript–way beyond just Hitch flipping the bird at the audience. </p>
<p>FountainSiren and Kluge would be fun, too, but I think Kluge would try to make her sit at the kids’ table and behave.</p>
<p>Funny, when I was growing up, there was a saying that it was not polite to discuss religion or politics at the dinner table (to avoid fireworks). Math is a safer topic.</p>
<p>Oh, I definitely think that you would have “din” with the pairs you’re contemplating. Dinner? Not so sure.</p>
<p>Very funny, Marite! No politics at dinner? The most memorable dinner parties I’ve been to were when the fur started flying over politics. The only thing I was raised not to talk about was MONEY. (which, ironically, seems to be my generation’s favorite topic!)</p>
<p>I’d invite NYU admissions directors and feed them into accepting me. lol.</p>
<p>I think it was taken for granted that one did not discuss money at dinner or practically any other time. It was thought not to be conducive to good digestion.</p>
<p>We are, of course, assuming a family that actually eats together?</p>
<p>-Marilyn Robinson and Richard John Neuhaus
-Bill Buckley and “liberal-intellectual-victim”
-Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal</p>
<p>[Marite,
Math–over dinner–would ruin any meal.]</p>
<p>FS:</p>
<p>We found that it helped S’s digestion. To me, it’s background noise, mostly. It does interfere with piped in Mozart, though.</p>
<p>Mozart by the numbers, I assume. For a better math-dining experience I would recommend Steve Reich’s “Music for Mallet Instruments”…a very distinct pulse.</p>
<p>FS:</p>
<p>How about you and JHS for dinner (I mean as guests, not items on the menu:)) Even literature can provoke fireworks these days, along with food for thought.</p>
<p>Martin Scorcese and Peter Bogdanovitch to discuss classic films, Simon Schama and David McCullough to discuss history, Robin Williams and George Carlin for fun. I would simply shut up and listen. Unfortunately, my family would have very different choices (except, possibly, for the last two). </p>
<p>I grew up discussing politics around the dinner table and hated it. Nowadays, we share details about the kind of day we’ve each had, which often leads to a “can you top this” session about who had the worst one (talk about din).</p>
<p>Some possibilities - </p>
<p>John Stuart & Laura Ingram </p>
<p>Meryl Streep & Eric Rohmer </p>
<p>Mark Helprin & Margaret Atwood</p>
<p>David Sedaris & Amy Sedaris</p>
<p>David Sedaris & Bernard-Henry Levy</p>
<p>Jacques Chirac & Tony Blair</p>
<p>Mel Brooks & and no one else; I want him all to myself.</p>
<p>If you guys are honest, you’re despicably greedy. Given this power, why would you choose to waste it on mere entertainment?</p>
<p>Bob Dylan and Neil Young for both musical and political reasons.</p>
<p>Frazzled, I grew up with my parents discussing international politics at the dinner table. I was to sit, listen and learn. My best friend who lived next door had parents who sat transfixed as she regaled them with stories of her day. I envied that then, but I do wish that our dinner conver could be elevated just a tad from what it is. I love to hear about the kids’ days, but there’s so much going on out in the world that I’d like them to know about. Maybe a happy medium, if possible!</p>
<p>Why, Bill & Hillary of course! :D</p>
<p>Osama Ben Laden, and a very large, well muscled master sargeant.</p>
<p>oprah winfrey and madonna </p>
<p>john hiatt and elvis costello</p>
<p>mark morris and yo yo ma</p>
<p>gabriel garcia marquez and lawrence weschler</p>
<p>larry ellison and steve jobs</p>
<p>They would have to be people who were good at extemporaneous talk, polymathic, and at least somewhat open to being challenged and responding rather than just giving their stump speeches. I would love to meet Thomas Pynchon, but I gather he doesn’t have a lot to say (talking). </p>
<p>Hillary Clinton and Lawrence Summers
Bill Clinton and David Stockman
Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton (wouldn’t you really like to know?) (x-post)
George Schultz and Paul Wolfowitz
Mario Vargas Llosa and Philip Roth
Richard Posner and Shawn Carter (and their dates!)
Benazir Bhutto and Sonia Gandhi
Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullman
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez (then again, maybe not)
Bernice Johnson Reagon and Missy Elliott</p>
<p>This is hard - there are so many intriguing combinations. And I like a bit of friction, too…it’s so boring when everyone is nice and agrees. </p>
<p>Maybe a series of dinners - with Donald Rumsfeld, Arnold Schwartz-etc. (sp??), General Russell Honore, Ayn Rand (if she were still alive), Bruce Lee (if he were still alive) Pope John Paul II (wow, he’s deceased as well), Durham NC DA Nifong, Condi Rice would be fascinating, Tony Dungy, the list is just endless…</p>