Focus: If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be? Rules: You are there only to witness. You cannot change or alter the event. Any point in history is up for grabs. Try to maybe explain why, also, so that it isn't just a laundry list of interesting things to see. Alt. Focus: It is acceptable to pick one event from each of the catagories (i.e. one past event, one present and one future).
Past: This one's easy, given the amount of impact it had on all subsequent civilizations: The Crucifixion. Have to think about the others.
We were just talking about this the other day. There are so many past events that would be interesting just for sheer reactions of people. For example, somehow the invasion of Poland came up. Now I would never choose it as my singular past event, but the reactions of the Polish army on horseback to a full on tank assault must have just been ridiculous. Choosing a singular event is pretty tough...
JFK assassination, viewed from the lot behind the grassy knoll so I have the fence line and the overpass in full view.
OK, I don't get this. What's the benefit of seeing the crucifixion first hand? Is it just to prove that it actually occurred, or is there some other benefit? It strikes me as a pretty unpleasant thing to watch. If I'm going with Jesus things, I'd rather watch him walk on water, turn water into wine, make pigs jump off a cliff, etc. I think viewing the Continental Congress or Constitutional Convention would be pretty bad ass. Watching Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Hamilton, etc. debate the Declaration of Independent and Constitution would be pretty great.
Past: the destruction of Samarkand by the armies of Genghis Khan, or the battle of Alesia with Julius Caesar. Or something of equivalent epicness where tens or hundreds of thousands of soldiers die and you get to see history's military geniuses in action. It must be completely insane to see thousands of guys on foot or mounted on horses running at each other at full speed with swords in their hands while arrows rain from the sky. It's when you think of events like that that you realize how sheltered and peaceful our lives are. Edit: Found what I was looking for: Battle of the Badger Mouth. 100 000 Mongolian soldiers destroying 500 000 Chinese soldiers? Sign me up!
There are a lot I would choose, but the one I've narrowed it down to is seeing a performance of the Ballets Russes, preferably during a show where one or more of the following people was involved: Dali, Picasso, Balanchine, Nijinsky, Chanel, or Miro. Then, also going to whatever social event/after party happened after the show where those people were attending. I love that time period, but since it has to be a specific event, this would encompass a lot of what I'd like to see.
I'd love to witness a party at the Silver Factory, preferably with Dali in attendance. Warhol and Dali fascinate me as both artists and characters, and I would be entertained just by being a wallflower. I'd settle for Ginsberg and Burroughs, but only if at least one of them was tripping.
Past: Sitting in the control room at NASA the moment Armstrong set foot on the moon. Future: The unvieling of a legit hoverboard
This would have to be it for me as well. I still remember my mother glued to the TV, my father having to sleep on his sub in port for a week in case they had to leave at a moment's notice. Then I lived in Berlin for a year, and really got to talk to people who had been there, on both sides. One girl I talked to told me about how her mother didn't leave their apartment in the West because she know her family from the East would go there first, and she didn't want to miss it when they came. Sure enough, a few days later they saw each other for the first time in about 20 years. The raw emotion and jubilation is something I would love to see first hand.
The Grane Unification Event. At some finite point in the future computers will become so incredibly fast that theoretically they'll be able to instantly fabricate any imaginable application to do anything instantaneously.
Past: I'd want to be front row center at Nirvana's concert in Reading. Partying with Pope Alexander VI sounds fun too. Future: Seahawks super bowl win. Seriously.