# Your Best Guests At Your Dinner/Drinks Party



## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

You're throwing a dinner/drinks party, no expense spared! 

Gordon Ramsey will be overseeing the most amazing culinary banquet!

The best alcohol known to man (and some soft drinks) will be available.

You can invite 10 people from the living or the past (minimum of 4 (four) connected to music).

Who's on your guest list?

Here's mine:

Keith Moon
Richard Wagner
George Best
Jack Johnson
Oliver Reed
Rocky Marciano
Ozzy Osbourne
Donald Trump
Prince Philip
Modest Mussorgsky (seated between to Keith Moon & Oliver Reed)


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Five non-alcoholics out of ten ain't bad, I suppose...


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

J.S. Bach
W.A. Mozart
Richard Wagner
Arnold Schoenberg
Plato
Fyodor Dostoevsky
William Shakespeare
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Leonardo da Vinci

A representative from almost every period of Western cultural history is in attendance. Bach, Wagner, and Schoenberg get in a bitter debate over the purpose of music which ultimately results in a food fight while Mozart cracks up at their antics. Plato and Leonardo calmly ruminate on philosophy and ideals. Jefferson and Roosevelt consider the scope and limitations of the federal government. Shakespeare and Dostoevsky observe it all with mild amusement and hastily jot down notes on their observations of human behavior. After dinner, Bach entertains us by improvising a six-voice fugue on the "new" Steinway concert grand while Wagner cheats Schoenberg out of his money in poker, Plato tries to challenge Shakespeare to an improvised Socratic dialogue, and Mozart cracks uncomfortable jokes which nobody besides Jefferson finds entertaining.

Gosh, the things we do in our minds to entertain ourselves during quarantine.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> J.S. Bach
> W.A. Mozart
> Richard Wagner
> Arnold Schoenberg
> ...


A more cerebral dinner party than mine :lol:


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

Off the top of my head (or perhaps out of the depths of my nether regions):

Marcus Aurelius
Siddhartha Gautama
Samuel Johnson
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Benjamin Franklin
Mark Twain
Ludwig van Beethoven
Richard Wagner
Gustav Mahler
H.L. Mencken

Let the mayhem begin!


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

UPDATE:

You should see the state of my place - bloody animals!

I think Moonie smashed the bathroom up and someone threw the TV out of the upstairs window. The only ones who behaved themselves were JOHNSON AND MARCIANO.

Someone (who shall remain nameless) was found slumped in the bathroom with a hypodermic needle and had injected himself with disinfectant!

And puke everywhere 

Gordon Ramsay shagged the young newly-wed next door!

Never doing this again!


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

HenryPenfold said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> You should see the state of my place - bloody animals!
> 
> ...


Just for once I envy Ramsay.

That testosterone filled room would send any sane human out in search of some female company.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

WA Mozart
Hildegarde de Bingen
St Francis of Assisi
Mike Tyson
Emperor Nero (with an unreliable connection to music)
Boris Johnson
Damon (musicologist from Ancient Greece)
Mary Magdelene
"The Old Man" of La Chapelle aux Saints (the world famous Neanderthal)
Napoleon


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Given that the OP specifies Gordon Ramsey is cooking, I would invite
Mary Magdalene
William of Normandy
Empress Mathilda
Rasputin
Beethoven
Mark Twain
Dorothy Parker
Cher
then sneak off to the pub and leave them to it. 
My money's on Ms Parker being the only survivor.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I have sent my invitations to:
John Cleese
Frank Zappa
Barney Greenway
Billy Connolly
Vernon Reid
Arne Nordheim
Odd Nordstoga
Kim Larsen
my buddy Geir
and wife Elly


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Four connected to music: 
-- Johnny Cash 
-- Snoop Dog 
-- Yuja Wang 
-- Milton Babbitt 

Six more: 
-- Albert Camus 
-- Roseanne Barr 
-- Cesar Chavez 
-- Donald Trump 
-- Albert Schweitzer 
-- Sister Ping


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Or, for an altogether different sort of party, I might choose: 

Related to music: 
-- Richard Taruskin 
-- Alex Ross 
-- Alan Lomax 
-- Ted Gioia 

Six more: 
-- Jaroslav Pelikan 
-- James C. Scott 
-- Steven Lukes 
-- Malcolm X 
-- Che Guevara 
-- Ursula Goodenough


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Paul McCartney
Yuja Wang
Philip Glass
Jordi Savall
Orhan Yegen 
Salvador Dali
Carl Jung
Wilhelm Reich
Albert Einstein 
Stanley Kubrick


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

eljr said:


> Paul McCartney
> Yuja Wang
> Philip Glass
> Jordi Savall
> ...


problem is, my dinning table holds but 8 comfortably


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

,..........................


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

You guys are not aiming high enough:

Art Rock
Rogerx
Woodduck
Strange Magic
Kjetil Heggelund 
Eddieareyoukidingmevarese
Roger Knox
Vasks
One of the Barons
Bettina

Weapons will be checked at the door!


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## Guest (May 2, 2020)

HenryPenfold said:


> You're throwing a dinner/drinks party, no expense spared!
> 
> Gordon Ramsey will be overseeing the most amazing culinary banquet!
> 
> ...


Great list - what a hell of a cluster fcuk that would be!!


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## Guest (May 2, 2020)

HenryPenfold said:


> A more cerebral dinner party than mine :lol:


Yep. Dull as dishwater. Yours is better!


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## Guest (May 2, 2020)

Room2201974 said:


> You guys are not aiming high enough:
> 
> Art Rock
> Rogerx
> ...


Add me as a gate-crasher!!


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## Sad Al (Feb 27, 2020)

Albert Einstein
J.S.Bach
Giuditta Pasta
Socrates
John Lennon
Adolf Hitler
Jimi Hendrix
Josef Mengele
Vlad the Impaler
Crazy Horse


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## Guest (May 2, 2020)

My guests wouldn't be as lofty as some on these lists:

Howard Hawks
Billy Wilder
Preston Sturges
Orson Welles
Peter Ustinov
Laurence Olivier
Nicklaus Harnoncourt
Carlos Kleiber

Or

Germaine Greer
Lionel Shriver
Sir Roger Scruton
Douglas Murray
Jordan Peterson
Stephen Pinker
Stephen Fry

Or 

Ayaan Hirsi Aly
Niall Ferguson
Maajid Nawaz
Tucker Carlson


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Donald Trump
Johnny Cash
Ted Nugent
Ronald Reagan
Calvin Coolidge 
Charlton Heston
John Wayne
John Vickers
Dinesh D'Sousa
Ludwig van Beethoven


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

SixFootScowl said:


> Donald Trump
> Johnny Cash
> Ted Nugent
> Ronald Reagan
> ...


LOL.................


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

HenryPenfold said:


> You're throwing a dinner/drinks party, no expense spared!
> 
> Gordon Ramsey will be overseeing the most amazing culinary banquet!
> 
> ...


*Prince Philip* is in hospital for a little while, so he can't partake - we wish him well.
*Donald Trump* is no longer president, so he has no currency. He is disinvited and asked to leave.

My replacements are:

*Malcolm Arnold*
*Tyson Fury*

What are yours?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Jared Diamond
Isaac Asimov
Ivan Sanderson
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Admiral Wolfgang Canaris
John Le Carre
Captain Basil Liddell Hart
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Mark Twain
Oliver Sacks


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

If it was a dinner party that lasted every night for a week, then I would invite the following. Only because the minds of these people probably couldn't even get warmed up until the 3rd night. Ten people would inhibit much of a conversation with such great minds just over one dinner party. So, if it lasted a week or two, it would be the following:

JS Bach
Mozart
Prince
Leonard Cohen
Carl Jung
Dostoevsky
Nietzsche
Socrates
Thomas Jefferson
Alexander The Great

Now, if it could only be one night, I wouldn't attempt such a deep intellectual, philosophical, and spiritual pursuit because the logistics just wouldn't lend itself to fulfillment, so I would trade it in for a hysterical romp, but with great wit:

Mozart
Frank Sinatra
Leonard Cohen
Sammy Davis Junior
Mark Twain
Bill Burr
George Carlin or Lenny Bruce or Robin Williams or Don Rickles
Dave Chappelle
Winston Churchill
Oscar Wilde

V


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Richard Wagner
Jacques Offenbach
Lady Gaga
Anne-Sophie Mutter
HJ Lim
Georg Friedrich Haas
Richard Strauss
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Marie Jaëll


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

This thread reminds me of the cover of "Vellevision" by Maurice Vellekoop =>


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Andrew Kenneth said:


> This thread reminds me of the cover of "Vellevision" by Maurice Vellekoop =>
> 
> View attachment 151293


Is that Michael Foot, second in, bottom right?


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

HenryPenfold said:


> You're throwing a dinner/drinks party, no expense spared!
> 
> Gordon Ramsey will be overseeing the most amazing culinary banquet!
> 
> ...


Henry...get to the next local AA meet asap...(no not the car service people).


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

mikeh375 said:


> Henry...get to the next local AA meet asap...(no not the car service people).


:lol:

...............


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

HenryPenfold said:


> Is that Michael Foot, second in, bottom right?


The guy with the white hair & glasses looks more like Andy Warhol to me.


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

Christopher Hitchens
Arthur Marshall
AJP Taylor
Brian Johnstone
Anne Lister 
Willie John McBride (for the craic)
John Martyn
Garrison Keillor
Thomas Weelkes (but not let him go upstairs)
Barbara Strozzi (apparently knew how to throw a party)


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Andrew Kenneth said:


> The guy with the white hair & glasses looks more like Andy Warhol to me.


I recognise less than half of them.

David Bowie, Richard Wagner, John Crawford, Bette Davis, Andy Warhol, Mozart (with Oscar Wilde???). Is that Alfred Hitchcock bottom left???


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

elgars ghost said:


> I recognise less than half of them.
> 
> David Bowie, Richard Wagner, John Crawford, Bette Davis, Andy Warhol, Mozart (with Oscar Wilde???). Is that Alfred Hitchcock bottom left???


Yes, that's Hitchcock.

Also on the upper right corner; dressed in pink/ with pink hair is 80ies pop/camp singer Divine.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Andrew Kenneth said:


> The guy with the white hair & glasses looks more like Andy Warhol to me.


Yes, I think it is Warhol - I was joshing when I mentioned Michael Foot!


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

The only ones that are fairly obvious to me are, Wagner, Divine, Warhol & Hitchcock


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Andrew Kenneth said:


> Yes, that's Hitchcock.
> 
> Also on the upper right corner; dressed in pink/ with pink hair is 80ies pop/camp singer Divine.


Good spot - I couldn't help wondering if it was Bette Midler with a weight problem. Have no idea with any of the others.


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

Well, I,own this book and there's more to the cover (it folds back)

I've just made a quick pic of the whole drawing =>


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

It's getting more like the _Sgt Pepper_ album cover now!


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Now I see Elizabeth Montgomery on the back cover. Is that Oscar Wilde on thee front middle?


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

HenryPenfold said:


> Now I see Elizabeth Montgomery on the back cover. Is that Oscar Wilde on thee front middle?


I wondered if it was Wilde on a previous post. I recognised the Bewitched figure but couldn't recall who played the character. Is that a Shakespearean ghost or a vampire under the white print??? I recognise a couple more now but I'll let others have a go.


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2021)

After some thought (i.e. after several glasses of _*Mesmer*_*, a really rather nice dry and "mineral" German Riesling, 12€, vinified not a million miles from Bonn), I now propose:
1) Ludwig van Beethoven;
2) Anton Schindler;
3) Ignaz "Fat-boy" Schuppanzigh;
4) Beethoven's nephew, Karl;
5) Beethoven's nephew Karl's mother, the "slag Johanna";
6) Beethoven's brother Karl;
7) Beethoven's brother Johann;
8) Karl Holz (Violin II in the Schuppanzigh combo);
9) Nikolaus Kraft (cellist in the same combo);
10) Er, I can't think of another name, but it would be that fellow in the film, you know , that one, I forget his name...

Anyway, I know that Mr Penfold told us only 4 musicians but I have chosen to ignore his request because I'm a very naughty boy. I think that my combo would make for a very interesting dinner party.

* I'd like to think that the white wine I often drink from the Palatinate region is something LvB might have been familiar with.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

TalkingHead said:


> After some thought (i.e. after several glasses of _*Mesmer*_*, a really rather nice dry and "mineral" German Riesling, 12€, vinified not a million miles from Bonn), I now propose:
> 1) Ludwig van Beethoven;
> 2) Anton Schindler;
> 3) Ignaz "Fat-boy" Schuppanzigh;
> ...


You're such a rebel!

And all on that Pino Grigio, or whatever cheap supermarket plonk it is, that you're drinking


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2021)

HenryPenfold said:


> You're such a rebel!
> 
> And all on that *Pino Grigio*, or whatever cheap supermarket plonk it is, that you're drinking


You mean that awful turpentine pinot grigio from Aldi or Lidl? Please, give me some credit !! Check out (and taste, if possible) the Mesmer I referred to above.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I see Carol Burnett with her signature pulling of her earlobe, also Alfred Hitchcock, Lurch, David Bowie, Roddy McDowell in his chimpanzee disguise. Next to Lurch, facing him, may be Walt Disney.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

TalkingHead said:


> You mean that awful turpentine pinot grigio from Aldi or Lidl? Please, give me some credit !! Check out (and taste, if possible) the Mesmer I referred to above.


My mistake, I misread your post 

As an Anglo-Italian, I do not drink French wine (well, not very often).


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2021)

HenryPenfold said:


> My mistake, I misread your post
> As an Anglo-Italian, *I do not drink French wine* (well, not very often).


Mr Penfold, *Mesmer* is a wine producer in Germany. Next door to France, admittedly.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

TalkingHead said:


> Mr Penfold, *Mesmer* is a wine producer in Germany. Next door to France, admittedly.


Did I say otherwise?


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2021)

No. 
..................................


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

TalkingHead said:


> No.
> ..................................


You must admit, it sounds more French than German ........


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

I'll take 10 randomly chosen people from everyone who's ever lived, at randomly chosen points in their lives.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Strange Magic said:


> I see Carol Burnett with her signature pulling of her earlobe, also Alfred Hitchcock, Lurch, David Bowie, Roddy McDowell in his chimpanzee disguise. Next to Lurch, facing him, may be Walt Disney.


Agree with Disney, but not sure about Lurch, SM - I thought it was either the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley or Leonard Nimoy as Spock.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

HenryPenfold said:


> You're throwing a dinner/drinks party, no expense spared!
> 
> Gordon Ramsey will be overseeing the most amazing culinary banquet!
> 
> ...


George Bush Sr. (World Leader)
David Eagleman (Neuropsychologist)
Michael Graves (Architect)
Wilhelm Reich (Doctor of Medicine and Psychoanalyst)
Leonard Susskind (Professor in Physics)
Jordi Savall (Music Conductor, Composer and Viol Player)
Philip Glass (Composer and Pianist)
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (Singer and Songwriter)
Esperanza Spalding (Jazz Bassist, Singer)
Katherine (my eldest daughter)

(my second list of 10)


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

science said:


> Four connected to music:
> Donald Trump


I am curious, why? Same to the OP who chose him. (don't let this make this wonderful thread political!!!!, I am just curious what there is that would put him in such a refined group)


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

eljr said:


> I am curious, why? Same to the OP who chose him. (don't let this make this wonderful thread political!!!!,* I am just curious what there is that would put him in such a refined group*)


....Balance?....


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

elgars ghost said:


> Agree with Disney, but not sure about Lurch, SM - I thought it was either the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley or Leonard Nimoy as Spock.


Close call. I looked for Spock's pointed ears but did not think the illustration definitive. Lurch has grey hair, not black, but the facial expression and the carriage are Lurchian. Beardsley? Maybe. Will we ever know?


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

eljr said:


> I am curious, why? Same to the OP who chose him. (don't let this make this wonderful thread political!!!!, I am just curious what there is that would put him in such a refined group)


I can think of many reasons to invite Trump. The man was an idiot savant. He was an idiot and and A**hole in many ways, and he was also brilliant in others. So, at least, having Trump would be "interesting." Not going into more detail than that to keep this non political. But the same may be asked of your "George Bush Sr" on your list. If there was ever a family of mediocrities that rose to such high levels of achievement (beyond my comprehension), it was the Bush family.

To me, if you were going to have a US President or 2, I can understand Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Adams, Roosevelt (either of them), Truman, JFK, and Reagan (and a few others) but why GHWB?

V


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Malx said:


> ....Balance?....


No balance in my selections - Rocky Marciano is the only sensible, level-headed, even-tempered, personable, reliable, sane person to be invited!


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Varick said:


> I can think of many reasons to invite Trump. The man was an idiot savant. He was an idiot and and A**hole in many ways, and he was also brilliant in others. So, at least, having Trump would be "interesting." Not going into more detail than that to keep this non political. But the same may be asked of your "George Bush Sr" on your list. If there was ever a family of mediocrities that rose to such high levels of achievement (beyond my comprehension), it was the Bush family.
> 
> To me, if you were going to have a US President or 2, I can understand Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Adams, Roosevelt (either of them), Truman, JFK, and Reagan (and a few others) but why GHWB?
> 
> V


I agree that Donald Trump is an idiot savant (few realize this, I have found) as his powers of self promotion and image building are genius. He can also draw caricatures of people through word. But I can't help but think he would sully any gathering and he would not have anything intellectually stimulating to lend.

I choose Bush Sr for his vast knowledge. In addition to being President he was VP, in the House of Representatives, Ambassador to the United Nations, CIA Director and businessman. He could speak to anything. All this added to his compassionate nature would add greatly to any discussion that may arise.

He and Trump have nothing in common but a job title. I do not think me being surprised that you included Trump should make you defensive and dismissive of Bush Sr. One has nothing to do with the other.

Peace


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

eljr said:


> I agree that Donald Trump is an idiot savant (few realize this, I have found) as his powers of self promotion and image building are genius. He can also draw caricatures of people through word. But I can't help but think he would sully any gathering and he would not have anything intellectually stimulating to lend.
> 
> I choose Bush Sr for his vast knowledge. In addition to being President he was VP, in the House of Representatives, Ambassador to the United Nations, CIA Director and businessman. He could speak to anything. All this added to his compassionate nature would add greatly to any discussion that may arise.
> 
> ...


For the record, I never included Trump in my guest list. So you never expressed any surprise at my list. My response to you was singular and not any tit-for-tat. I don't do that.

With that said, I think you made a very good case for including Bush Sr. I am not pursuaded, but a good case non-the-less. :tiphat:

V


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