deedlebee Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Some of the following quotes were culled from various other forums, hence the unknown names/handles :> (I am also an avid collector ) "Abanoning your morals to follow pointless traditions is not an act of love, but an act of sheer cowardice." - MrGrendel (seen on Slashdot forums) "Freedom is not a license for chaos" - Narrator of The Dot and The Line, Warner Bros. Cartoon. "On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." -- Charles Babbage "Censorship is like telling a man cannot have a steak because a baby cannot chew it "- Mark Twain "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect, has intended us to forego their use." Galileo "Political correctness, like other totalitarian ideologies, demands absolute purity." - James Taranto (seen on Slashdot forums) <humor> "To avoid casting aspersions on our feline friends, the "cat" command is now merely "domestic_quadruped." ... The "abort()" function is now called "choice()." ... From now on, "rich text" will be more accurately referred to as "exploitive capitalist text". ... No longer will it be permissible for files and processes to be "owned" by users. All files and processes will own themselves, and decided how (or whether) to respond to requests from users." - anonymous (seen on Slashdot forums) </humor> "A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble." - George Orwell "Modernism is art about art. It endlessly asks the question ad-nausea: what is art? What is art? They believe that only those things that expand the boundaries of art are good all else is bad. It is art about art. Where-as, all of the great art in history is Art about life." - Fred Ross of ARC also... "Only a society such as this could generate people who would even be permitted to dribble paint on a canvas and call it a work of art. A hundred years earlier, somebody trying to do that would probably have been thrown into an institution or worse. We must realize that modern art could never have existed save on the back of the Humanist art that preceded it. One can't help but be struck by the irony that the chief benefactors of these "liberated" and "enlightened" artists are their chief detractors. The knife of ingratitude cuts deep." - Fred Ross of ARC "I'd rather make 24K/year and be my own boss than make 100k/year and have to put up with bull**** everyday. There is something to be said for Quality of Life." - BoomerSooner (seen on Slashdot forums) <humor> "I've had one of those plastic tubes of frosting and jelly they call a "Yogurt Fruit Parfait." And I didn't use a safety net or a helmet. But that's because I'm a f***ing extreme eater. I can chew without biting my tongue off. I can put food in my mouth without swallowing my hand, and I can finish an entire cup of coffee with practically no injuries. Listen-- I'm the Mountain Dew commercial of eaters, f***er" - Sean (from seanbaby.com) </humor> "When I stand on my own stage, what dialogue would I be reciting?" - Hibiki (Character from an anime series called Vandread) "Animals unfortunately are cuter than trees, so people tend to anthropomorphize them. That's why cute but ecologically irrelevent creatures like pandas get saved, they are cute. Meanwhile Lobsters look like science fiction monsters, so it's ok to boil them alive. Try boiling a cute puppy alive, and see how people react." - the tortured one (Yes, from here. I really liked this!) (This next may be the most controversial I post. I am curious what opinions others might have concerning it.) "America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest." Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free. " - Michael Douglas as Andrew Shephard from the movie "The American President" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondigitalia Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 "America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest." Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free. " - Michael Douglas as Andrew Shephard from the movie "The American President" I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the tortured one Posted February 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2005 heres another one from me WHile here I stand, not only with the sense of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts that in this moment there is life and food for future years. ~William Wordsworth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.West Posted February 8, 2005 Report Share Posted February 8, 2005 Here are a couple of satirical quotes I like: "Democracy is the worship of jackals by jackasses." and "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." both by Menken Also an obscure quote from South Park "Gerald: You see, Kyle, we live in a liberal, democratic society. And Democrats make sexual harassment laws. These laws tell us what we can and can't say in the workplace. And what we can and can't do in the workplace. Kyle: Isn't that fascism? Gerald: No, because we don't call it fascism. Do you understand? " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 "A Freudian slip is when you say one thing and mean your mother" anon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the tortured one Posted February 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 (edited) Ah, But a man's reach should exceed his graps, or what's a heaven for? ~Robert Browning I heard that one today and really liked it Necessary Truth, Jim Lovell was not a fictional person Edited February 22, 2005 by the tortured one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KantSpell4... Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 I have to say that I find the rules contained in the Sword of Truth series to be pretty good. This is the pivot to them all.... "The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason. What is, is, and what exists, exists. And from this irreducible bedrock principle all knowledge is gained." Related to them, and also contained in the same series... ""We all can be only who we are, no more, no less." "When you are out numbered, and the situation is hopeless, you have no option-you must attack!" "I let them suffer the worst possibilit [of their irresponsilbity] , the results of their own actions." "History is rarely made by reasonable men." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realitycheck44 Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 "We know not the future, and cannot plan for it much. But we can... determine and know what manner of men we will be whenever adn wherever the hour strikes." Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (from The Leadership Moment by Michael Useem) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles2112 Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Some of my personal favorites: "You won. All right? You came in and you killed them and you took their land. That's what conquering nations do. It's what caesar did, and he's not going around saying, "I came, I conquered, I felt really bad about it." The history of the world is not people making friends. You had better weapons, and you massacred them. End of story." -Spike, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "And yes it was for me, not you, that I came to write this song" -Neil Peart, Anthem "And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt, who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat." -Vincent Lombardi, "What it takes to be Number 1" Speech "I will choose a path that's clear, I will choose Freewill." -Neil Peart, Freewill Calvin:Miss Wormwood? Ms. Wormwood: Yes Calvin? Calvin: How do I know I'm getting the education I need for my future? When I get out of here, I want Opportunities! I want a high paying job! Ms. Wormwood:Well, in that case, I suggest you start trying harder, because what you get out of school depends on what you put into it. Calvin: Oh, then forget it. - Bill Waterson "Sometimes I think the surest sign of intelligent life on other planets is that none of it has tried to contact us." -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Waterson And the one in my profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWDS Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 A paraphrase from the Bible* - "Freedom is freedom to say 2+2=4. If this is granted, all else follows" *By which I mean '1984'. Read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the tortured one Posted March 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 The famous "Spaceship Earth" quote. "It is a well-provisioned ship, this on which we sail through space. If the bread and beef above decks seem to grow scarce, we but open a hatch and there is a new supply, of which before we never dreamed. And very great command over the services of others comes to those who as the hatches are opened are permitted to say, 'This is mine!'" Henry George, from his best known work, Progress and Poverty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCEnglish Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 "Unions are suited for occupations that are vulnerable to job market flooding. To wit: jobs that trained monkeys could do." I am not sure where I picked this quote up; however, I think it's wity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praxus Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear. -Marcus Tullius Cicero A bureaucrat is the most despicable of men, though he is needed as vultures are needed, but one hardly admires vultures whom bureaucrats so strangely resemble. I have yet to meet a bureaucrat who was not petty, dull, almost witless, crafty or stupid, an oppressor or a thief, a holder of little authority in which he delights, as a boy delights in possessing a vicious dog. Who can trust such creatures? -Marcus Tullius Cicero The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. -Marcus Tullius Cicero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCEnglish Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. -Marcus Tullius Cicero I love it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iakeo Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Don't eat beasts that don't eat. (A statement by a "savage islander" in reference to the "imaginary" in general, and those who would trade, search for, or base anything on such "beasts".) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles2112 Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 (edited) All from Calvin and Hobbes "Reality continues to ruin my life." -Calvin "I hate to think that all my current experiences will someday become stories with no point." -Calvin "I don't need to compromise my principles, because they don't have the slightest bearing on what happens to me anyway." -Calvin "In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks." -Calvin "When I grow up, I'm not going to read the newspaper and I'm not going to follow complex issues and I'm not going to vote. That way I can complain when the government doesn't represent me. Then, when everything goes down the tubes, I can say the system doesn't work and justify my further lack of participation." -Calvin "The secret to happiness is short-term, stupid self-interest!" -Calvin "I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" -Calvin "You know how people are. They only recognize greatness when some authority confirms it." -Calvin "Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantaneous?" -Calvin edited because I wasn't actually done when I accidentally hit submit. Edited March 14, 2005 by Styles2112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iakeo Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 All from Calvin and Hobbes "Reality continues to ruin my life." -Calvin "I hate to think that... edited because I wasn't actually done when I accidentally hit submit. Hae ae ae ae...!!!! I want to have some serious talk time with this person..! Excellent..! Jeez,... was this person (like me until VERY recently) an objectivist who didn't know he was an objectivist, or WHAT..!? -Iakeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles2112 Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Hae ae ae ae...!!!! I want to have some serious talk time with this person..! Excellent..! Jeez,... was this person (like me until VERY recently) an objectivist who didn't know he was an objectivist, or WHAT..!? -Iakeo I've often thought that about Calvin. Hobbes, actually, is the more interesting character, though. Have you ever read this comic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iakeo Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 (edited) ...Hobbes, actually, is the more interesting character, though. Have you ever read this comic? I'm such a pop culture no-nothing. Sometimes I feel like the lead fellow from the old "Pretender" series that was the embodiment of naivete. "Oooo,... you call this ICE CREAM..!? Very tasty, and COLD..!" ..so there you go,.. using a pop-culture reference to illustrate that I don't know any pop-culture references. Hmmm.. rather weird. -Iakeo Edited March 17, 2005 by Iakeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles2112 Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 I'm such a pop culture no-nothing. Sometimes I feel like the lead fellow from the old "Pretender" series that was the embodiment of naivete. "Oooo,... you call this ICE CREAM..!? Very tasty, and COLD..!" ..so there you go,.. using a pop-culture reference to illustrate that I don't know any pop-culture references. Hmmm.. rather weird. -Iakeo That was a great show. I wish they had left it on a few more seasons. Unfortunately, I don't have cable so I could not see the mini movies. And my wife is the same way. She claims to know nothing about pop-culture, but she constantly spews it out. It makes me laugh. Anyways, if you get a chance, grab any "Calvin and Hobbes" book. Given what I've seen your, observed, humor to be, I think you'd enjoy them. Calvin is a great view of individual battle between rationality and irrationality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Posted October 18, 2008 Report Share Posted October 18, 2008 (edited) *** Mod's note: Merged with an earlier thread. - sN *** For all of us who love a well turned phrase... Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good. H. L. Mencken The army in which vigilance is not perpetual is sick, until the enemy demonstrates it to be dead. Col Ardant Du Picq A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stewart Mill Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven. William Shakespeare Edited November 19, 2009 by softwareNerd Merged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juxtys Posted October 18, 2008 Report Share Posted October 18, 2008 You can not cook bread from a bed. Lithuanian proverb Life is what you make of it. Mister Swig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 This is one I think of when I get depressed: Agaisnt stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain Schiller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensch Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 To the vast majority of mankind Nothing is more agreeable Than to escape the need for mental exertion. … To most people nothing is more troublesome Than the effort of thinking. James Bryce (1838-1922) What the superior man seeks is in himself. What mean man seeks is in others. Simonides c.556-468 B.C. There is only one good: knowledge, and one evil: ignorance. Socrates 469-399 B.C. I have gained this by philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. Aristotle 384-322 B.C. Never has a man who has bent himself been able to make others straight. Mencius 372- 289 B.C. Obsequiousness begets friends, truth hatred. Terence 190-159 B.C. The only fence against the world is a thorough knowledge of it. John Locke 1632-1704 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMeganSnow Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 This is one I think of when I get depressed: Schiller Eh? I thought that was a Nietzsche quote, and it read "Against boredom, even the gods contend in vain". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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