Pajiba

Paris, France. The date is 29 May 1913. The destination is the Theatre des Champs-Elysees for the world premiere engagement of Igor Stravinski's Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). The energy in the theater is electric as no one has any exact idea what they will be seeing performed by the Ballets Russes, only that it will be a night to remember.

Chaos ensues as large swaths of the crowd are shocked and offended by the bold, erratic, ritualistic choreography from Vaslav Nijinsky and ill-tempered, dissonant conflict of Stravinski's composition. Fights break out between audience members and police rush into the scene. Yet, the dancers and musicians play on.

I sit there enraptured by the entire experience, witnessing one of the most influential events in the history of music and dance unfold before me. I catch a fleeting glance at Sergei Diaghilev, smirking from the balcony at the chaos caused by his commission, before returning to my own time.

Probably 20 A.D. Jerusalem to follow Christ around for awhile and check out the whole Son of God claims.

When: 48 BC
Where: Egypt
Why: I'm going back to the Library of Alexandria before Julius Caesar and his legions set fire to the city and bringing back as much of the lost books and manuscripts as possible. Hell, even better, I bring a portable scanner and a shitload of flash drives.

And if I get the chance, I do the same at the Library of Baghdad (where most of the Western world's knowledge resided after the fall of Rome) before the Mongols get there and throw all the books into the Tigris and Euphrates until they turned black from all the ink!

Oh, bullshit.

The time: The early 60s.
The place: Swinging London.

What would I do? I'd find and fuck:
John Lennon
Eric Burdon
Pete Townsend
Keith Moon
Maybe Eric Clapton and/or Paul McCartney

One at a time, or all together in a bunch. Or maybe both.

I'd be one of the Lost Generation in Paris, just lounging around brooding and being artsy.

When: About 1501
Where: London, England
What: Catch a performance at the Globe Theatre, and watch Shakespeare in action.

- or -

When: Christmas Day, 800
Where: Rome
What: Witness the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor.

Jerce, I like your style, but Fredo nailed it for me.

Those of you planning to head back more than 150 years, take a bottle of aspirin with you and pass it around. You will either be hailed as a god or burned at the stake as a sorcerer -- possibly both at the same time.

aroorda,

When you get back, tell us what a pack of zero-century fishermen smells like.

GoGo dancer for James Brown. Can you imagine?

Far out.

Late 19th Century
South of France
Commission and buy 3 works of van Gogh bring them back, 'discover' them, sell two of them and keep the third.

Do the "I have a van Gogh painting and you don't" dance.

(Ignore the fact that any tests would probably show that the paint wasn't over a hundred years old...let me have my fun you bastards!)

Actually, I have lots of time travel daydreams.

Another one was to take back an Encyclopedia Brittanica and show H.P. Lovecraft that he has been remembered.

Wow, I'll be the first to say I'd go forward in time.

When do you go: Year 2500.

Where do you go: Erm, this is the tricky part and what also makes it exciting. How do you know where and what land masses there will be in 400 years time. Ill say my back yard with a surfboard in hand incase the Gold Coast, Australia is underwater by that point. A Gas-mask on in case of a biochemical war. a Parachute on my back ( you never know ). And some Comfortable allround clothes ready for any situation.

What do you do: Explore the world and see how far its progressed in over 400 years time. And just learn about whats happened over the previous ( and future ) 400+ years.

See what technologies have advanced and what potential future problems might be in store for the human race and how we could circumvent them. Also getting in on the ground floor for any future breakthroughs in science and medicine when I return to my original time.

And I would also like to see if in 400 years time we have a possible firelfy situation of humans out in space trying to make a living of it. Space is the final frontier afterall.

I'd go back in time to the day before my dad had his stroke and tell him I loved him.

Thank you, Aislinn. I miss the guy too.

I'd go back to high school and study instead of coast. I'd not date some of the people I did date. I'd harp on my grandmother to switch doctors and divorce my crabby ass grandad so she could have a few decades of peace in her life before she died. I'd invest in anything Richard Branson touched.

I've tried to think of something original, but what I REALLY want to do can be described using only quotes from other peoples' ideas:

When: About 1501
The Place: Swinging London
watch Shakespeare in action, just lounging around and being artsy
I bring a portable scanner and a shitload of flash drives
go to balls and wear pretty dresses

Thanks guys. And cue wistful Shakespearean daydreams in 5..4..3...2...sigh

Uh, esme, the wanderer - Shakespeare wasn't born until 1564, so you'd have some waiting around to do if you hit London in 1501...

When: 20 years from now. See how my kids turned out, you know, in case I don't last that long. See what could have been done better or differently, come back and do it.

Fortunately, the lovely and luscious Lauren

Oh, do go on . . .

Though I'm tempted to do something as simple as go back to September 22, 2004 and stop myself from watching the premiere of LOST, I think I'd rather show up in New York on Dec. 8, 1980. I'd wait outside The Dakota, and then clock Mark David Chapman on the back of the head with a baseball bat. I'd explain to John quickly, then leave.

Toby, good catch. I also recall that Lazarus Long got his target wrong the first time out (resulting in him schtupping his own mother and catching a bullet or two in The Great War).

Nobody's perfect ...

Hmm. Where/when else would I go? Hmm, decisions, decisions ...

When: Anytime before cameras and DNA testing.
Where: Doesn't matter.
Why: To enjoy all the complex joys of lawlessness.

Hey it's 1812 let's rob a bank, since NOONE'S GOING TO STOP YOU!
oh the sheriffs out of town for the day? How bout an orgy on main st?
I'm bored, let's smoke opium and fire guns at the moon.
Stupid modern civilization and their rules...

Ilmarien,

You might be a little early there. I don't think he started The Hobbit until about 1935, and The Lord of the Rings after the success of the Hobbit. In the 1920's he was writing the early versions of the tales and poems that went into the Silmarillion.

Now if you caught him around 1950 (after he had written LOTR) you could ask him the 2 questions I've always wondered about:
1) Whatever became of Radagast?
2) Who is older, Tom Bombadil, or Fangorn ?