Who's Allowed in my Living Room?

On workdays when we simply do not care to be at work, a coworker devised a procrastination technique called “Who’s allowed in my living room?” It’s a simple concept, only naming random people and then deciding whether they're allowed in your living room, but it’s one that unites or divides a group. There are the Oprah moments of unity, when we all decide we want Oprah in our living rooms; then there the Rosie O’Donnell moments of discord, which descend into questioning a person's entire belief system and eventually “yo momma” jokes. Such is the singular power of “Who’s allowed in my living room?”

The judgment calls are split-second; one just knows. It’s not as easy as liking or disliking a person -- the living-room kind of person will grab you a beer on their way back from the kitchen, will play with the dogs, can sustain conversations on current events as well as the merits of the SpongeBob movie. And for examples, random people I would or would not want in my living room:

Allowed in my living room Jon Stewart Steve Martin Howard Dean Sarah Vowell Zach Braff Drew Barrymore Fareed Zakaria Hillary and Bill Conan O’Brien George Clooney (also allowed in bedroom) Brian Williams Sandra Bullock Steve Carrell

Not allowed in my living room Sharon Stone Joan Rivers Bill O’Reilly John Kerry TomKat Dick Cheney Meg Ryan Condi Rice Madonna Kevin Costner Ann Coulter Cameron Diaz Michael Douglas