Areala Asks: Who Would You Meet? (20160324)

[Areala]

Assume you could sit down and share a delightfully charming lunch, dinner, tea, breakfast, coffee, etc... with any one person in the world, living or dead. This person need not be famous, but let's stick to real life (dinner with Conan O'Brien = fine; dinner with Conan the Barbarian = no). You have two hours. Who would you choose to meet, what made you choose that person, and what would you most want to discuss with them?

As normal, this topic will remain open for seven days which means you have until the 31st to reply before this one is closed and a new one posted.

*huggles*
Areala

[kitsunebi]

I've thought about this before. A flippant answer would be easy, but actually considering the ramifications of successfully achieving what I would hope to be the goal of such a meeting makes the entire endeavor morally dubious. You see, I would like to meet Kurt Cobain. Not magically resurrected for the purpose of the meeting, but actually alive, which would of course require this meeting to take place in the past. But when, exactly? Early in his career, before fame had struck, or after he had become the biggest rock star on the planet?

I'd choose the end. As in the last day. It's only a two hour meeting, and almost impossible to believe that a stranger could have any kind of meaningful impact, but I can't help but play out the fantasy in my mind that if someone had been there, with a sympathetic ear, well...it probably would have only briefly delayed the inevitable, but...

Of course, here's the problem. If the fantasy plays out to its extremely improbable conclusion of leading him away from that final solution, we're talking about changing history. Would I want that? What kind of world would that create? The man was extremely influential, but a good deal of that legacy of influence was bolstered by a sort of instant mythology that was created upon his death. How would the face of music be different today had he lived, and would it be different because of his continued contributions to it, or simply because other people's contributions were altered by lacking the significant inspiration that his death may have given them in our current reality? I would love to see how things might have turned out, but I can't help but be afraid that some things might actually change for the worse. It's a pretty goddamn big butterfly we're talking about flapping its wings, here...

[twiztor]

Assume you could sit down and share a delightfully charming lunch, dinner, tea, breakfast, coffee, etc... with any one person in the world, living or dead, who would you choose to meet?

the living one.

*ba-dum-tshh*

[KiwiArcader]

I'd probably want to meet Areala to see if the Warrior Nun is as pretty as my mind paints her out to be. Her internal beauty however, offsets any chance of my expectations being affected no matter the outcome as we all know that is more important than anything else. Although if she were to look like Matilda May in Lifeforce or Leigh Lombardi in Moontrap I'd probably need a box of umm .... no comment ....

[Phillyman]

J. R. R. Tolkien - I just have way too many questions about his Lord of the Rings series and I need answers!

[miketheratguy]

You know what? I'd like to meet myself. Lil' Mike, around maybe age 12 or 13. I'd want to sit him down and tell him to never forget to show love and appreciation for those close to him, that the struggles of junior high and all the confusion and peer pressure and self-doubt will eventually settle down and become a non-issue, and that there are some truly amazing times ahead as long as I continue to make the right choices in life and remain true to the person that I've always been - but to take my time and enjoy childhood as much as I possibly can, because I'm only going to get to once.

[Areala]

I've thought about this before. A flippant answer would be easy, but actually considering the ramifications of successfully achieving what I would hope to be the goal of such a meeting makes the entire endeavor morally dubious. You see, I would like to meet Kurt Cobain. Not magically resurrected for the purpose of the meeting, but actually alive, which would of course require this meeting to take place in the past. But when, exactly? Early in his career, before fame had struck, or after he had become the biggest rock star on the planet?

I'd choose the end. As in the last day. It's only a two hour meeting, and almost impossible to believe that a stranger could have any kind of meaningful impact, but I can't help but play out the fantasy in my mind that if someone had been there, with a sympathetic ear, well...it probably would have only briefly delayed the inevitable, but...

Of course, here's the problem. If the fantasy plays out to its extremely improbable conclusion of leading him away from that final solution, we're talking about changing history. Would I want that? What kind of world would that create? The man was extremely influential, but a good deal of that legacy of influence was bolstered by a sort of instant mythology that was created upon his death. How would the face of music be different today had he lived, and would it be different because of his continued contributions to it, or simply because other people's contributions were altered by lacking the significant inspiration that his death may have given them in our current reality? I would love to see how things might have turned out, but I can't help but be afraid that some things might actually change for the worse. It's a pretty goddamn big butterfly we're talking about flapping its wings, here...

I suppose we could say for the sake of argument that nothing you say or do could really change history so as to avoid the whole issue of what happens if you tell someone about the future thus allowing them to alter it. But that would be a fascinating conversation to have, and I love this choice. Nirvana basically re-defined music for my generation, and it's impossible to imagine what the landscape would look like without them, but like you, I find it even harder to imagine what happens with them still around twenty years later.

the living one.

*ba-dum-tshh*

We discussed it in the admin area, and the decree is unanimous. Twiztor has inadvertently selected the next question for 'Areala Asks' which he will have the opportunity to answer very shortly: what would you order as your last meal before your summary execution?

I'd probably want to meet Areala to see if the Warrior Nun is as pretty as my mind paints her out to be. Her internal beauty however, offsets any chance of my expectations being affected no matter the outcome as we all know that is more important than anything else. Although if she were to look like Matilda May in Lifeforce or Leigh Lombardi in Moontrap I'd probably need a box of umm .... no comment ....

*blush* You're too sweet, Kiwi. Sadly for you, Mathilda May is right out, as she's got long black hair and I'm a strawberry blonde. Leigh Lombardi is as well, although she's closer to my age and height. I was told in my college days I most resembled Alysson Hannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although I'm WAY taller than she is.

As for inner beauty...you do realize my last question involved whether or not people would be willing to engage in fisticuffs or copulation with a genetic duplicate, right? *LOL*

J. R. R. Tolkien - I just have way too many questions about his Lord of the Rings series and I need answers!

Such as...?

You know what? I'd like to meet myself. Lil' Mike, around maybe age 12 or 13. I'd want to sit him down and tell him to never forget to show love and appreciation for those close to him, that the struggles of junior high and all the confusion and peer pressure and self-doubt will eventually settle down and become a non-issue, and that there are some truly amazing times ahead as long as I continue to make the right choices in life and remain true to the person that I've always been - but to take my time and enjoy childhood as much as I possibly can, because I'm only going to get to once.

Ah, the sensible route. Go back and tell one's self it would be all OK. I did a blog about what I'd tell a much younger me several years ago. Would yours be along similar lines?

https://community.retromags.com/blog/6/entry-395-letter-to-my-past-self/

*huggles*

Areala

[Areala]

I like to wait to see other answers before I post my own so I don't accidentally influence anyone. It's also an extremely difficult question, because there are a slew of people it seems like I would enjoy hanging out with for a couple of hours. Whittling down that list is a herculean task I need to think on for a while myself.

*huggles*
Areala

[twiztor]

We discussed it in the admin area, and the decree is unanimous. Twiztor has inadvertently selected the next question for 'Areala Asks' which he will have the opportunity to answer very shortly: what would you order as your last meal before your summary execution?

*huggles*

Areala

pizza.

getting back on topic, i've got a variety of answers, depending on the occasion. i'll list them in order of preference, with the first one being the person i'd most like to meet.

if i could sit down and have a meal with one person, it would be Stan Lee. he had such a creative mind in the '60s and single-handedly* changed the comic book forevermore.

if i could go to one performer's concert (thus excluding festival shows), it would be Jimi Hendrix. his music is so powerful, and i'm sad that he died over a decade before i was born.

if i could go out to the bars for a beer with one person, it would be Jack Burton. from 'Big Trouble in Little China'. Hijinks would ensue. i know he's a fictional character, but too bad i'm picking him anyway.

*not really single-handedly. Lots of credit also goes to the artists like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and many others.

[te72]

Of course, here's the problem. If the fantasy plays out to its extremely improbable conclusion of leading him away from that final solution, we're talking about changing history. Would I want that? What kind of world would that create?

Here's the problem I see with that: The best thing to come out of Nirvana, was the Foo Fighters. Now while I'm a big fan of both bands, and have been for 20 years or so, I think that what made FF great was merely the maturation of some of the ideas that came from Nirvana. So... moot point, perhaps. Maybe Nirvana would have went on to create the type of music that FF made.

J. R. R. Tolkien - I just have way too many questions about his Lord of the Rings series and I need answers!

What a mind, to create an entire universe like that, one so fleshed out and as real as fiction gets. Good pick...

You know what? I'd like to meet myself. Lil' Mike, around maybe age 12 or 13.

I like this idea myself. I find myself regretting the things I didn't do, far more than the things I did do growing up. Then again, I had something of a certain shelf life in my own mind back then...

As for my dinner, I would probably pick Ron Paul. For a politician to be so transparent, so predictable, so true to what this country was founded on... I find that rather amazing. For a politician to believe that the government has no business in my bedroom or in the affairs of other countries... when is the last time you saw THAT combination? I could go on about the guy, but it's also a moot point I fear.

[kitsunebi]

Here's the problem I see with that: The best thing to come out of Nirvana, was the Foo Fighters. Now while I'm a big fan of both bands, and have been for 20 years or so, I think that what made FF great was merely the maturation of some of the ideas that came from Nirvana. So... moot point, perhaps. Maybe Nirvana would have went on to create the type of music that FF made.

I couldn't disagree more, but to be honest, I think even if Kurt had lived, Nirvana was more or less done at that point. I can't see them having continued as a band for very much longer, so it's entirely probable that Foo Fighters or something similar would have happened, anyway. I'm more interested in what Kurt might have created as a counterpoint to Nirvana as part of a new band or a solo artist.

[KiwiArcader]

*blush* You're too sweet, Kiwi. Sadly for you, Mathilda May is right out, as she's got long black hair and I'm a strawberry blonde. Leigh Lombardi is as well, although she's closer to my age and height. I was told in my college days I most resembled Alysson Hannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although I'm WAY taller than she is.

Okay, I REALLY want to meet Areala now that I know she looks like Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman but with strawberry blonde locks. OMG!!!!!!

[te72]

I couldn't disagree more, but to be honest, I think even if Kurt had lived, Nirvana was more or less done at that point. I can't see them having continued as a band for very much longer, so it's entirely probable that Foo Fighters or something similar would have happened, anyway. I'm more interested in what Kurt might have created as a counterpoint to Nirvana as part of a new band or a solo artist.

I'm curious as to what makes you think that Nirvana was basically done as a band by then? I think In Utero was probably their most solid album, myself.

To tie the bands together though, the song Marigold was written LONG before FF was a band, but it was never really a "Nirvana" song as I understood. Perhaps it is possible that they would have kept together as a band and ended up basically making the music that FF made anyway?

Err, edit to point out that I just ended two posts basically the same. Perhaps that point is stuck in my head. Thoughts?

[Areala]

I think I've come to my decision. The person I'd most want to spend a couple of hours talking with over a meal is H.P. Lovecraft.

I've been a huge fan of horror fiction ever since I read "The Stand" in 7th grade, but it wasn't until recently I really got into Lovecraft's stuff...not only his stories, but his letters as well, which are actually more fascinating to me than his fiction. Lovecraft recently has gotten an awful lot of flak in the fantasy/horror community for his personal beliefs concerning race, but I believe it is possible to admire the works of someone while not agreeing with everything they say or believe. In addition, there's a darn good chance Lovecraft suffered some severe psychological problems evolving from his family life and his ravenous intelligence as a young child, where it was all but impossible for him to find kids his age with whom he could connect.

In any case, Lovecraft's letters prove how ridiculously ahead of his time he was in several ways, and it would be fascinating to sit down with him, especially in Rhode Island, and listen to him talk for an hour or two. I've learned such a ridiculous amount from his correspondence...I can't imagine what I'd uncover from him directly.

*huggles*
Areala

[kitsunebi]

I'm curious as to what makes you think that Nirvana was basically done as a band by then? I think In Utero was probably their most solid album, myself.

To tie the bands together though, the song Marigold was written LONG before FF was a band, but it was never really a "Nirvana" song as I understood. Perhaps it is possible that they would have kept together as a band and ended up basically making the music that FF made anyway?

Err, edit to point out that I just ended two posts basically the same. Perhaps that point is stuck in my head. Thoughts?

Getting way off topic here. I don't dispute that In Utero is a great album. I just think that there was a sort of internal meltdown happening within the band due in large part to Kurt's problems that would have probably broken them up anyway, leading Grohl to pursue his own musical interests while Kurt went in a new direction (possibly with Novoselic in tow.)

I don't want to knock on FF. They have some songs I like, particularly on their second album. I don't feel that Kurt would have been comfortable becoming a band like the FF, though. In Utero was a conscious attempt to distance themselves somewhat from their own commercial acclaim. Nirvana wasn't necessarily "punk rock" so far as the musical genre is defined, but Kurt was very much enamored with the idea of the punk aesthetic of doing things outside of the mainstream. When I think of FF, I think arena rock, which is about as far from the punk aesthetic as you can get within the realm of rock music. Regardless, the bottom line is that Kurt WAS Nirvana, like it or not, and I imagine Dave would have eventually left to write his own songs. Nothing wrong with that.

[KiwiArcader]

Now that I have gotten over my Areala fixation I think if I could talk to two people they would be:

• My great, great grandmother. She came to New Zealand from Prussia in the 1890's but never spoke of her family at all so we have no idea on our family roots on my mothers side other than they were born or lived in Kirschkau and that when looking at Holocaust records for people from that area with her family name they ended up in Stuthoff Concentration camp. Getting family names from her would allow my mother some sense of closure by being able to ascertain if any relatives survived. Germany/Poland is so far away and she isn't physically able to make a trip to the other side of the world now.
• My son, but that's a conversation much too difficult to go into here

[Areala]

Okay, I REALLY want to meet Areala now that I know she looks like Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman but with strawberry blonde locks. OMG!!!!!!

My co-workers do jokingly refer to me as 'The Amazon' from time to time, since I'm nearly 5' 10" (177 cm) tall.

*huggles*

Areala

[MisterXiado]

I've met Mister T, and that was nice, but I really would like to have met Bob Ross or Mister Rogers.

[miketheratguy]

Fighting to resist making dismissive masturbatory gesture regarding profoundly overrated professional whiner Kurt Cobain. Fighting so hard.

Okay, I REALLY want to meet Areala now that I know she looks like Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman but with strawberry blonde locks. OMG!!!!!!

She had me at Alison Hannigan.

I think I've come to my decision. The person I'd most want to spend a couple of hours talking with over a meal is H.P. Lovecraft.

I've been a huge fan of horror fiction ever since I read "The Stand" in 7th grade, but it wasn't until recently I really got into Lovecraft's stuff...not only his stories, but his letters as well, which are actually more fascinating to me than his fiction. Lovecraft recently has gotten an awful lot of flak in the fantasy/horror community for his personal beliefs concerning race, but I believe it is possible to admire the works of someone while not agreeing with everything they say or believe. In addition, there's a darn good chance Lovecraft suffered some severe psychological problems evolving from his family life and his ravenous intelligence as a young child, where it was all but impossible for him to find kids his age with whom he could connect.

In any case, Lovecraft's letters prove how ridiculously ahead of his time he was in several ways, and it would be fascinating to sit down with him, especially in Rhode Island, and listen to him talk for an hour or two. I've learned such a ridiculous amount from his correspondence...I can't imagine what I'd uncover from him directly.

*huggles*
Areala

Ooooh, great choice.

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents".

I've met Mister T, and that was nice, but I really would like to have met Bob Ross or Mister Rogers.

I bumped into Richard Dreyfuss at LAX the first time that I ever visited LA. That was pretty rad. He was very nice, stopped to sign an autograph and chat for a minute even though it was obvious that his mind was on getting somewhere. He was surprisingly short in person.

[te72]

I think I've come to my decision. The person I'd most want to spend a couple of hours talking with over a meal is H.P. Lovecraft.

I've been a huge fan of horror fiction ever since I read "The Stand" in 7th grade, but it wasn't until recently I really got into Lovecraft's stuff...not only his stories, but his letters as well... I've learned such a ridiculous amount from his correspondence...I can't imagine what I'd uncover from him directly.

*huggles*

Areala

I uh... he's been writing you letters? Now THAT is creepy indeed.

Joking aside, I'm sure being of higher intellect in his era would have proven a bit difficult, especially as a child. Figure back then, nobody took kids seriously, no matter how smart they were. So you are dismissed by your mental peers on account of age, and completely bored with your physical peers on account of intellect. I can see how a person would end up a bit twisted.

Also like to point out how I wish more people could disconnect a person's work from their beliefs. What a person says matters far less than what a person does, in my book.

Getting way off topic here. Regardless, the bottom line is that Kurt WAS Nirvana, like it or not, and I imagine Dave would have eventually left to write his own songs. Nothing wrong with that.

No worries, I can't imagine anyone minds random discussion in an off topic section of the forum? You make a good point there though, they probably were coming to a natural end as a band by then. Would love to have seen what they could have done if Kurt had sobered up though...

Then again, there's that old saying about the brightest flames...

I've met Mister T, and that was nice, but I really would like to have met Bob Ross or Mister Rogers.

Can you IMAGINE, getting the three of them around the same table? Especially given they're all older men at this point (if not passed?), I suspect you'd rather enjoy that comedy show, and hey, dinner too!

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents".

Man had a point there. I think we'd all go crazy if we never forgot things. Even more so if you could connect the dots between everything you've ever taken in... One thing is for certain though, we'd be a much sharper and more cynical people, especially concerning politics and history.

[MisterXiado]

Can you IMAGINE, getting the three of them around the same table? Especially given they're all older men at this point (if not passed?), I suspect you'd rather enjoy that comedy show, and hey, dinner too!

Mister Rogers and Bob Ross each had passed away some time ago. We live in the dark universe, where nothing good is allowed to happen, unless it precedes something far worse.

[twiztor]

I've met Mister T, and that was nice, but I really would like to have met Bob Ross or Mister Rogers.

Mr. T is a guy i grew up looking up to (probably for all the wrong reasons, since i watched the A-Team religiously) but as i grow older i absolutely respect the attitude and ideology he presents. he was almost in my list of three, but *just* missed tbe cut

[te72]

Mister Rogers and Bob Ross each had passed away some time ago. We live in the dark universe, where nothing good is allowed to happen, unless it precedes something far worse.

I thought that might have been the case, memory was a bit fuzzy. Agreed on the second part though...

Mr. T is a guy i grew up looking up to (probably for all the wrong reasons, since i watched the A-Team religiously) but as i grow older i absolutely respect the attitude and ideology he presents. he was almost in my list of three, but *just* missed tbe cut

I agree. The guy has a very positive attitude, good work ethic, and would do wonders as a mentor to younger generations. Heck, even generations closer to my own, from what I see of folks these days.