Coffee List according to Taylor Hill

Having asked for submissions to the Coffee List from other people...this is the list from Taylor Hill, engineer-in-training and a good friend:

Taylor's Coffee List:
C.S. Lewis
-Seriously, who wouldn't want to chat with this guy over coffee? He had one of the most active imaginations in the world, besides being a scholar, theologian, and general intellectual. Most of those types of people can't even make it through college.

James Dean
-An interesting and yet highly private individual, known for his dedication to his work, his inquisitive nature, and his volatile temperament. I imagine this would be an extremely interesting conversation.

Rob Bell
-He has a talent for expressing new and old ideas alike as fresh, simple, and profound. I expect it would translate well to conversation.

Yuko and Ananth from Johnny Wander
-They seem to have some wild and crazy adventures. Or daily life cleverly disguised as wild and crazy adventures with pen and ink.

Ray Bradbury
-I would like to have a huge round-table panel discussion with a number of dystopian fiction writers, but if I had to pick one, I'd pick Ray Bradbury. Or Vonnegut. Or Orson Scott Card. Dang it! Bradbury.

J.R.R. Tolkien
-I know, lots of writers on my list. But I picked most of the writers for reasons other than their writing, and I picked Tolkien solely because I can imagine no better person in the history of the world to discuss language with than, as far as anyone knows, the only man who ever created an entire working language (multiple, in fact), by himself.

Leonardo Da Vinci, David Kelley, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Alec Issigonis
-I made myself choose one dystopian fiction writer, but this coffee chat really needs to be a round-table between some of the most fertile and innovative minds in engineering and design. That is, if you could get Tesla and Edison in the same room, if you believe stories of their heated rivalry.

Dwight D. Eisenhower
-My favorite president based on some of his contributions to our country such as the Interstate Highway System and the American sister cities program.

Victor Hugo
Oscar Wilde
The "Mute Math" Guys
Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords

Coffee List Entry #1

Coffee List Entry #1: J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter has been one of my all time favorite book series since I was introduced to it in the Seventh Grade. It was right before the fourth book (Goblet of Fire) was released. I vividly remember one day in school when several of my friends were sitting around the lunch table animatedly discussing this Harry Potter guy. I, being almost completely ignorant of his existence, sheepishly asked who it was they were talking about. After recovering from the shock that one of their friends was not aware of Harry Potter's existence, the first three books were promptly shoved into my hands by the avid fans in front of me. And the rest is history. Some eight odd years later, I am reading the sixth book (Half-blood Prince) for the 3rd or 4th time. I have been to 4 midnight book releases as well as the first five midnight showings of the movies. Harry Potter has been a significant part of my life.

This is why I pick J.K. Rowling as one of my coffee list contestants.

When the books were coming out, I was very near in age to Harry. Harry grew up as I grew up. Provided his life was slightly more exciting than mine, there were things that were very relatable. Going to a new school, not knowing anyone, having to make friends, and deal with good and bad teachers alike. Just growing up in general and the new challenges life hands you. I wasn't fighting for my life against the ultimately evil wizard or anything, but you know... It also provided a common link in some friendships that I have to this day. We bonded over Harry Potter, speculating on what would happen in the next book, reminiscing over what happened in the last one, and trying to make sense of the plot and characters and how it all fits so nicely together.

I would like to talk to Ms. Rowling about where Harry came from. How did she first think of him? How long did it take to create the Wizarding world? Where did she get ideas for their banking system, schooling system, names, etc? How did Harry change her life? Does it reflect elements of her own life? Did she have an idea of what was going to happen in the seventh book when she was writing the earlier ones? What caused the series to get so dark near the end? What's it like having such a huge fan base and creating books that inspire children to read? How did she deal with the controversy of the books being about witchcraft? Where's her favorite place to eat? What's her favorite thing to do with her kids? When she was young did she always want to be an author? What was her family like growing up? Does she believe in God? If so (or not), did her theological beliefs affect the story of Harry?

And so many more.

Harry Potter has stimulated my imaginative and intellectual minds and had a great effect on my life. To meet the creator of this huge influence on my adolescence, would be unbelievable.

Introduction to the Coffee List

It's just an ordinary day. I get up, brush my teeth, get dressed, and head out for a run of the mill breakfast date. As I stumble down the stairs and into the parking lot of my apartment building, I'm thinking about the day ahead of me. I'm going over and over the questions I had previously thought of for the person I'm meeting with. On my way, I'm tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the music on the radio, trying desperately to stay calm and to not have a mental breakdown. I get out of my car, and ever so cooly enter the Dunn Bros coffee shop. I scan the room and my eyes finally fall on a table in the corner where J.K. Rowling is sitting...

No this has never really happened to me, but how I wish it would.

I am convinced that every person subconsciously holds a list in their mind of people that they want to meet. Famous people that is. Or not necessarily famous. Just people that you otherwise wouldn't ever have a chance of meeting, except in your wildest dreams. They are those people who you admire, hold in high regard, and wonder what happens inside their heads on a daily basis. Part of my list (in no real order) includes:

Jesus

Barack Obama

Rob Bell

C.S. Lewis

Rowan Atkinson

E.O. Wilson

etc. (this list continues with no end in sight...people are added on a daily basis)

It's the coffee list.

It's the list of people that you want to sit down with and over a cup of coffee (or tea or whatever), pick their brains about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. To find out everything about them, what their favorite color is, what they think of the world, and why they are the way they are.

It doesn't necessarily have to be people that you agree with or support. I would certainly add Hitler and Joseph Kony to my list, along with a number of other criminals or societal outcasts. I would want to talk to them and find out why they believe what they do, and so on.

There are no rules. They can be dead or alive. From any country or century. From any and all social, economic, geographic, or political arena. The setting is this: You and your person of choice at a coffee shop. That's it. You can ask anything. There are no boundaries. No security risks. No one else to get in the way (except maybe a translator). It can be a famous person, or that family member who died a few years ago.

Who's on your list and why?

What would you ask them?