Fav quotes

Started by Lord T Hawkeye, September 19, 2009, 01:02:11 AM

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Whatever ones you like.  Whether they came from real or fictional sources, show them all!

I believe in no god, no invisible man in the sky, but there is something out there far greater than each of us: A combination of our efforts, a great chain of industry that unites us.  It is only when we act in our own self interest that this chain pulls society in the right direction.  The chain is too powerful and too mysterious for any government to guide.  Any man who tells you different has either a hand in your pocket or a pistol to your neck - Andrew Ryan, Bioshock

Life is not about what happens, it's about how you react to it - My father

Have you ever noticed that if you make something illegal, everyone seems to rush out to go do it just to be unique?  Yet if you make something merely inconvenient, nobody goes anywhere near it.  With this is mind, I have the perfect solution to the drug problem: legalize all drugs...and sell them at the post office! - Me
I recently heard that the word heretic is derived from the greek work heriticos which means "able to choose"
The more you know...

"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them. If I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I and I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." --Bernardo de la Paz, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

"I say you cannot administer a wicked law impartially! You can only punish, only destroy. And I warn you: a wicked law, like cholera, destroys everyone that it touches--its upholders as well as its defiers." --Henry Drummond, Inherit the Wind

September 19, 2009, 11:30:45 AM #2 Last Edit: October 20, 2010, 02:11:52 PM by surhotchaperchlorome
Wow, Shane, those quotes are awesome.  ;D
I especially like the first one. :)

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning and observations of a single individual." - Galileo Galilei

"In math there is nothing new; you just start with a few axioms and rearrange them." - Richard Feynman (paraphrased)

"Math is to science, what masturbation is to sex." - Richard Feynman
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies." --Groucho Marx

"Facts? I'm sick of facts! You can use them to prove anything that's even remotely true!" --Homer Simpson

"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views. Which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering." --The Doctor, Doctor Who: "The Face of Evil"

"Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather...We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before." --John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

September 19, 2009, 02:38:20 PM #4 Last Edit: December 27, 2009, 12:15:59 AM by surhotchaperchlorome
"82% of all statistics are made up on the spot." --My English Professor

I'll do you one better for the next few quotes:  









"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

"Bureaucracy is expanding to fit the needs of an expanding bureaucracy." --Ashleigh Brilliant

"Your ideas are too narrow, too crippled. I am a citizen of the universe, and a gentleman to boot!" --The Doctor, Doctor Who: "The Dalek Master Plan"

"Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fancies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing. The child mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be in after years relieved of them. In fact, men will fight for a superstition quite as quickly as for a living truth--often more so, since a superstition is so intangible you cannot get at it to refute it, but truth is a point of view, and so is changeable." --Hypatia of Alexandria

September 20, 2009, 06:38:39 PM #6 Last Edit: July 21, 2012, 04:14:10 AM by surhotchaperchlorome
I can't seem to grasp what it is about Dr. Who that makes people like it.  What stuff I have seen of it I found boring.

And speaking of Sci-Fi stuff:

(I'm not actually a Star Trek fan, fyi).

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.  You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.  You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.  You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.  You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.  You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.  You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.  You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.  You cannot establish security on borrowed money.  You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves." - Attributed to Abe Lincoln but disputed.
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

"Which is the quickest way out of here?" [Everyone points in different directions] "Yes, well, that's democracy for you." --The Doctor, Doctor Who: "Castrovalva"

"If somebody who knew the future pointed out a child to you, and told you that the child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?" --The Doctor, Doctor Who: "Genesis of the Daleks"

"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." --The Doctor, Doctor Who: "The Face of Evil"

And something else from the SF scene:

"Many who live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends." --Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings


"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—"No. You move.""
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537
   
"I Know What Freedom Is...You Know Compromise." - Captain America Civil War: The Confession.

"People should not fear their governments. Governments should fear their people." - V, V for Vendetta (The movie, not the comic. I know the book's better and the movie was a terrible adaptation, but I still enjoy it, dammit!)

More V quotes, but from the comic book.

"Good evening, London. I thought it time we had a little talk. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... I suppose you're wondering why I've called you here this evening. Well, you see, I'm not entirely satisfied with your performance lately... I'm afraid your work's been slipping and... and well, I'm afraid we've been thinking about letting you go. Oh, I know, I know. You've been with the company a long time now. Almost... let me see. Almost ten thousand years! My word, doesn't time fly? It seems like only yesterday... I remember the day you commenced your employment, swinging down from the trees, fresh-faced and nervous, a bone clasped in your bristling fist... "Where do I start, sir?", you asked, plaintively. I recalled my exact words: "There's a pile of dinosaur eggs over there, youngster", I said, smiling paternally all the while. "Get sucking". Well, we've certainly come a long way since then, haven't we? And yes, yes, you're right, in all that time you haven't missed a day. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Also, please don't think I've forgotten about your outstanding service record, or about all of the invaluable contributions that you've made to the company... Fire, the wheel, agriculture... It's an impressive list, old-timer. A jolly impressive list. Don't get me wrong. But... well, to be frank, we've had our problems too. There's no getting away from it. Do you know what I think alot of it stems from? I'll tell you... It's your basic unwillingness to get on in the company. You don't seem to want to face up to any real responsibility. To be your own boss. Lord knows you've been given plenty of opportunities... We've offered you promotion time and time again, and each time you've turned us down. "I couldn't handle the work, Guv'Nor", you wheedled. "I know my place". To be frank, you're not trying, are you? You see, you've been standing still for far too long, and its starting to show in your work... And, I might add, in your general standard of behavior. The constant bickering on the factory floor has not escaped my attention... nor the recent bouts of rowdiness in the staff canteen. Then of course there's... Hmm. Well, I didn't really want to have to bring this up, but... Well, you see, I've been hearing some disturbing rumors about your personal life. No, never you mind who told me. No names, no pack drill... I understand you are unable to get on with your spouse. I hear that you argue. I am told that you shout. Violence has been mentioned. I am reliably informed that you always hurt the one your love... the one you shouldn't hurt at all. And what about the children, its always the children who suffer, as you're well aware. Poor little mites. What are they to make of it? What are they to make of all your bullying, your despair, your cowardice and all your fondly nurtured bigotries? Really, its not good enough, is it? And its no good blaming the drop in work standards on and management either... though to be sure, the management is very bad. In fact, let us not mince words... The Management is terrible! We've had a string of embezzelers, frauds, liars and lunatics making a string of catastrophic decisions. This is plain fact. But who elected them? It was you! You who elected these people! You who gave them the power to make your decisions for you! While I'll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go on making the same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short of deliberate. You have encouraged these malicious incompetents, who have made your working life a shambles. You have accepted without question their senseless orders. You have allowed them to fill your workspace with dangerous and unproven machines. You could have stopped them. All you had to say was "No". You have no spine. You have no pride. You are no longer an asset to the company. I will, however, be generous. You will be granted two years to show me some improvement in your work. If at the end of that time you are still unwilling to make a go of it... you're fired. That will be all. You may return to your labors."

"There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof."

Rorschach: "Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Dan."

"None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with me."

"You see, Doctor, God didn't kill that little girl. Fate didn't butcher her and destiny didn't feed her to those dogs. If God saw what any of us did that night he didn't seem to mind. From then on I knew... God doesn't make the world this way. We do."

I'm obviously something of an Alan Moore fan. And just for good measure...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IReCgN2T-Tw

(For some reason, I can't seem to embed youtube videos.)

"With government, 'no' means 'yes';
and 'yes' means 'anal.'" - Me.
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

"You must treat government as a mad dog, requiring constant vigilance. One single lapse in your attention, and this mad dog will steal your food, tear your furniture, attack your friends and neighbors, or maybe even maul you to death. Keep it in check, and it will perform the only job it could possibly serve- to protect you from other, madder dogs." - me

The origin of the V quote:

"When people fear the government, there is tyranny. When government fears the people, there is liberty." --Thomas Paine

Testing the embed of your video:

[yt]IReCgN2T-Tw[/yt]

It's working for me. Great movie, BTW. Never as good as the book, of course, but still worthy of it.

I saw the movie as someone who never heard of the book until that point.  Couldn't get into the movie honestly.  It's really hard to take all the overly heavy handed material seriously in a super hero story.

Though I didn't get as far as that scene.  Anyone care to give me some context behind it?

Anyway, quotes...

When someone says 'there ought to be a law', there probably oughtn't - Penn Jillette

Why do I do this?  Why do I fight creationists?  Because their god is too small - Phil Plait

Never assume yourself beyond temptation for that is the first step towards succumbing to it - Aryll, a character from one of my stories.
I recently heard that the word heretic is derived from the greek work heriticos which means "able to choose"
The more you know...

Well, if we're doing characters from our own stories: "Far greater than the loss of freedom is the loss of hope, for without hope you lose the ability to regain that which was stolen from you."
http://e-stories.org/read-stories.php?sto=4536

Quote from: Lord T Hawkeye on September 21, 2009, 05:08:10 PM
I saw the movie as someone who never heard of the book until that point.  Couldn't get into the movie honestly.  It's really hard to take all the overly heavy handed material seriously in a super hero story.

Well, Adrian Veidt (the guy talking about the people he's murdered to save humanity) has faked an attack by a large outside force in order to end the cold war. In the comic, it was an alien attack. In the movie, it was Dr. Manhattan. Rorschach, being something of an objectivist, feels that he cannot accept this false peace and leaves to tell the world. Dr. Manhattan feels that he can't let him do that. The rest plays out as such.

You really can't read Alan Moore books as "super hero" stories. More like stories that have "super heroes" in them. The Watchmen comic book was critically acclaimed for many reasons, one of them being that it deconstructed the super hero archetype and tried to see how the existence of super heroes would deform the world they live in.