If you could bring back anyone from the dead for a day, who would you bring back?

My cat Sally
*thick Maine accent* "She's YOOOR Caht naw."

I would say my son, but I don't think I could bear to say goodbye again So I'll say nobody. Wait, My grandpa, so I could tell him how much he fudgeed up my life!!!

My quick answer is my sister. But that would be just too painful.

My mother

Most likely my mom as she died when I was 4.

William Blake, Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

my mom

no thanks

The redactor of the Pentateuch.

Yeah man!

George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, so they could spank that bozo Obama and set this country back on track.

Freddie Mercury

My Mother....

Nobody, because Id want to stay longer than a day.

My son.

I doubt Washington or Jefferson would be doing much different in Obama's shoes. If anything, they'd be more Obama than Obama is being so far, and probably push more and hope to keep the public on board less. Obama is trying to maintain our security and opportunity for generations to come, just like the founding fathers. The rules on how to go about that have changed in a new world context. Even for a democrat preference, what Clinton had in mind is already obsolete (except his health care plans). As far as the energy stuff goes, he's setting in motion stuff that Carter should have pushed through when things weren't as desperate.

So what would you do differently?

> I doubt Washington or Jefferson would be doing much different in Obama's
> shoes. If anything, they'd be more Obama than Obama is being so far,
> and probably push more and hope to keep the public on board less.
> Obama is trying to maintain our security and opportunity for generations
> to come, just like the founding fathers. The rules on how to go about
> that have changed in a new world context. Even for a democrat preference,
> what Clinton had in mind is already obsolete (except his health care
> plans). As far as the energy stuff goes, he's setting in motion stuff
> that Carter should have pushed through when things weren't as desperate.
>
> So what would you do differently?


Well, Jefferson was the quite radical for his time, but he was also a consummate politician. Jefferson actually wanted to give every white male Virginian a spread of land, but was canny enough not to push for it against widespread opposition. He also wanted very much to end slavery in his own time, but again, was sufficiently the politician that he did not push too hard for this.

Franklin was my favorite. That crowd was really divided on a lot of core political philosophy, and it's quite an outstanding achievement that they created what they did. There was a common thread of a new experiment in liberty though.

One of my ancestors. I'd like to know more about the history of my family.

With famous people, it's a bit trickier because everyone I can think of is non-English speaking. I'm sure JS Bach is cool but my German is only good enough to get me told off by the train conductor ('This is Germany, you should know German'). Da Vinci would also be interesting - I could ask him to give me a few pointers when drawing. Dostoyevsky would be wicked cool. I think of all famous writers, he's the one who shaped the way I think the most.

But then again I'm probably looking into this way too much. If I can bring back the dead for a day, I'm sure I'd be able to communicate with them. Dostoyevsky it is.

I've decided I shouldn't mess with things like my family. Just because my dad won't tell me much about his mother, doesn't mean my aunt can't. I don't think I'd feel complete; I'd feel a loss. I don't want to lose anything from doing this!

So the usuals:

I can imagine Wittgenstein would be a horror to speak to. An impenetrable Austrian accent, constant pessimism, depression, and the most frightfully logical person conceivable. That's a no, then.

Beckett would be fun. He's hot at the moment, so that would be good, and he's taught me lots about things. He's unfailingly cool without trying. He had a gorgeous Irish accent. Hmm. Mmm.

I keep thinking of Eliot though. He was a literary critic and theorist as well as author and poet, and that's always good... wait a minute, yeah, Eliot.

My mom.

I considered for a moment.... bringing back someone who was close to me in life. I have decided against it. Many questions could be answered, but the end of the day would only bring back the pain.

So, Lizzie has won the vote. I would love the chance to have a chat with Lizzie Borden.

> I would say my son, but I
> don't think I could bear to
> say goodbye again


This was my thinking exactly.

.> So, Lizzie has won the vote. I would love the chance to have a chat
> with Lizzie Borden.



So you could see if there was fourty wacks?

I already know there weren't. That whole poem is whack.