Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with quotations

Woof.

corn_bread — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:39:20 -0800

Please share your favorite poems/quotations about man's love for dog(s).

Ted Nelson and Vannevar Bush, please forgive me.

mecran01 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:02:42 -0800

I have a word document composed of multiple text files. I'd like to highlight the good parts, push a button, and have those quotes automatically excerpted and pasted into a new document. Bonus points if the title of each article were retained above the respective excerpt. Is there a slick and easy way to do this using mac or web-based applications? Bonus points if the title of each article were retained above the respective excerpt. I also have Textwrangler and Tex-edit, and I suppose it might be possible to cobble something together using "copy lines containing [x]

I also own DevonThink but haven't played with it much. I guess I'm really fishing around for a workflow for annotating and excerpting bits from electronic documents with a few short keystrokes.

Thanks for your patience with this rambling, ill-formed request!

Quotes for a science classroom wall

alby — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:11:09 -0800

I'm looking for good quotations about science (particularly physics) and education that are suitable for the wall of a secondary school (ages 11-18) classroom. As examples, these are quotes I've already used:
"The two most common elements in the Universe are hydrogen and stupidity." - Harlan Ellison
"Physics is like sex. Sure it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it" - Richard Feynman
"The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." - Alvin Toffler

Gandhi quotation attribution help

goethean — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:32:20 -0800

Widely attributed, unreferenced Gandhi quotation: "I like your Christ..." Authentic? According to many many people and several bumper stickers, Gandhi said: "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."

Having been burned before with a plausible but bogus Goethe quotation, I want to be sure that Gandhi said it before attributing it to him. Any idea how to go about verifying it? I already tried Google, Google Books, and Google Scholar.

Quotation help: defend domestic fiction.

scratch — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:07:20 -0800

Quotation help: A vaguely remembered snippet about so-called domestic fiction. Specifically, that domestic fiction is or historically has been looked down upon by male critics because by definition it deals mostly with women, home life and the running of households, rather than tackling "big themes" like war or business or other such manly pursuits. Not much to go on, but I think it's actually a pretty well known observation. Please help me stave off a senior moment (for which I am much too young).

What is the source of the quotation "The United States is in no sense founded upon the christian doctrine."

ivey — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:19:55 -0800

"The United States is in no sense founded upon the christian doctrine." is often attributed to George Washington. Where did he say this? Google turns up many unattributed versions of this quotation, but I couldn't find any attribution or source. Anyone able to do better?

I'm wearing dog tags, but I'm not some dog on the internet...

titantoppler — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:28:30 -0800

What quotations / sayings have you found to be helpful to you in getting through daily life? So I'm getting a couple of dog tags engraved for myself, with a few quotations I find to be personally meaningful.

Two such quotations are:
"This too shall pass" (on coping with difficult situations)
"I shall step into this river but once" (on doing the best I can for everything because I will only do this once)

What other quotations / sayings have you personally found meaningful? I'm leaning towards quotations dealing with regret, living a fulfilling life and inspirational quotes.

/Caveat: As far as possible I'd like to refrain from profanities, and being engraved on dog tags, they'll have to be short.

Thanks!

sourcing a Frost quotation

roger ackroyd — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:02:46 -0800

I'm trying to find the context of the Robert Frost quote "Freedom lies in being bold." So far, the earliest reference I've found is via Google Books in The Critical Reception of Robert Frost (1974) by Peter Van Egmond. I can make the trip to the LAPL downtown branch to find the book (it's reference, no interlibrary loan possible), but I'm hopeful that the collective wisdom of AskMeFi might provide the answer. Thanks!

Any good quotations about regret (or the lack thereof)?

punchdrunkhistory — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:54:51 -0800

Occasionally I find myself regretting and second-guessing decisions I've made in the past. Whenever this happens, it naturally wreaks havoc on my happiness and self-esteem. I'd like to be able to cheer myself up during such times. What are your favorite quotations about letting go of the past/looking toward the future/stopping regret/living in the present/etc.?

What were Yitzhak Rabin's Last Words?

minicloud — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:31:41 -0800

What were Yitzhak Rabin's last words? I am trying to fact check what my guide on a Birthright Israel tour told us, which is that before he died, Rabin said "I can't believe it's a Jew," referring to his assassin who was a right-wing Orthodox Jew. I feel like I've heard this quote elsewhere, but when I try googling to find Rabin's last words I cant find this quote. Can anyone verify this?

This is Something That Happens

orsonet — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:05:45 -0800

Can you help me find a quote from the Dalai Lama? During a prayer service in New York I heard a Buddhist monk talk about a moment after 9/11 where the Dalai Lama said, "That happened" in reference to the horrible events of the day. The quote is similar to the statement "this is something that happens" said by the young boy genius as he watches frogs rain from the sky in the film Magnolia. I would like to find out about the context in which the Dalai Lama said it (and if it's even true). I have always found the idea comforting, to just acknowledge that: yes, that occurred. I’ve never been able to find it anywhere, though, and I’m wondering if you might be able to help me.

The most imitated AskMe..

CRM114 — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:13:38 -0800

Who was it who first said that (paraphrasing) "the American black man is the most imitated man in the world"? I want to say that this was first said by Cornel West, but Google has failed me completely.

Tas Soft Wind?? Anyone?

coollibrarian — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:53:45 -0800

Who is (was?) Tas Soft Wind? A few quotes have been attributed to Tas Soft Wind, one of the most notable being "I like her because she smiles at me," and tonight a friend asked me if I could find biographical info on this person. I'm not at work (the library) so I don't have access to the other sources I might have checked, so, naturally, I Googled - to no avail, I'm ashamed to say. I was directed to several quotations sites, a frightening number of porn sites (?), and quite a few link farms, but no bio info. I tried several other meta and specialized engines with no result. And now that I can't find the answer, I am dying to know. Anyone? (Also, if you find the answer via Google or somesuch, I would LOVE to know what you used for a search string!) Thanks!

Help my find this quotation about editing

VeniceGlass — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:08:29 -0800

Help my find this quotation about editing... A long time ago, I ran across a great quote but didn't write it down. It was, in essence, "There is no greater urge than the desire to edit another man's text." I seem to recall it was Mark Twain's, but who knows.

Anyone?

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" or French existentialism?

valkyryn — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:25:38 -0800

MovieQuoteFilter: I'm trying to find the origin of a quote from Waking Life and I'm starting to think it's either misattributed or simply wrong. Help! The quote is from the scene where the anarchists walk up to an elderly man sitting on a bench. He says:

"What was missing was felt irretrievable. The extreme uncertainties of subsisting without working made excesses necessary and breaks definitive. To quote Stevenson: 'Suicide carried off many. Drink and the devil... took care of the rest.'"

As far as I can tell, the phrase "Drink and the devil took care of the rest" is actually a corruption of the pirate shanty in Treasure Island, which goes "Drink and the devil had done for the rest."

But I can't find the phrase "Suicide carried off many," in Stevenson anywhere, and I tried Project Gutenberg.

Thing is, if you do a search for the alleged quote, it turns up attributed to Stevenson all over the place, but they're all after Waking Life was released in 2001, so they could well be propagating the misquotation/misattribution.

Does anyone have more definitive information about the origin of this quote? Or of the whole line?

Positive quotations or aphorisms about crime and/or criminals?

paradoxflow — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:03:50 -0800

Positive quotations or aphorisms about crime and/or criminals? I'm looking for quotations or aphorisms which show respect, admiration, or approval of crime (particularly non-violent crime), and criminals. I am -not- looking for quotations concerning specific criminals, but rather the practice and the people in general. "The wise thief always prospers," though probably terribly misquoted is a good example of what I mean.

One definition for news

grrarrgh00 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:21:24 -0800

Some journalist once said something to the effect of, "What happened today that didn't happen yesterday. That's what news is. Start typing." Who was the journalist, and what was the exact quote? This link attributes the quote to Raymond Coffey, Washington bureau chief for Tribune, but that's the only sourcing I can find for that claim, and it seems thin. (Coffey certainly might have said it, but that article turns up as the only mention of that quote on Google, so I'm suspicious.)

Looking for an old ad

hihowareyou — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:27:13 -0800

I'm hoping to find a pdf or image of the old Shearson Lehman/American Express ad featuring the following quotation: "Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions that speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time, year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of, the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism." So far google has failed me, anyone happen to have it lying around? Or know any more information? (e.g. what magazine(s) it appeared in? What year?)

Help me find this quote.

overglow — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:30:31 -0800

Help me find this quotation. The gist of it is something like this: in current times, fantastical metaphors are the only way of describing the convoluted reality of experience. I have tried to google this, but the problem is that I can't remember who wrote it, where I read it, or any specific words that are definitely in the quote. I'm pretty sure the quote doesn't come from any of the "big names" in fantasy or literature. I'm hoping that someone here has read the quote too and can point me to it. Thanks!

Quote Needle in a Literary Haystack

crush-onastick — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:28:50 -0800

Literary Identification, please! Help me remember a passage about the quality of sleep and how it is transcendent when shared. I believe it is in one of the US-public-school-required-reading-by-a-British-guy novels. I've asked around my friends (and my mom the librarian) and tried searching the intertubes to no avail. My brain keeps telling me it's DH Lawrence, but I can't confirm that (Well, I could re-read all the DH Lawrence I've ever read, but I have other things to read!) The phrase "quality of sleep" sticks with me too, but it could just as easily have been "rest" or not.

Ring any bells, anyone?

What Do Those Experts on the Street Think?

krippledkonscious — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:35:02 -0800

Are those "person on the street" quotes in magazines ever real? One of my fiance's guilty pleasures is reading mags like Glamour and Cosmo. Lacking any other reading material one day whilst taking some toilet time, I thumbed through one. Throughout the mag there are smatterings of small thumbnails depicting a smiling person, identified by their first name and age, accompanied by their take on whatever issue the article is addressing. Are these ever real? Does anyone here have evidence that these mini-interviews actually take place in the real world?

If these are actual quotes attributable to the actual person depicted, has there ever been any reported backlash where someone got in trouble for making an offhand comment to some intern with a camera and a notepad? What kind of policies are in place?

Quotation about men and brothels?

gelcap — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:42:46 -0800

Famous old quotation about men, whorehouses and shame? I used to know it, or at least who said it. I think it may have been someone French, some sort of long-dead intellectual not primarily known for his debauchery, who said something like:

"In each man's life there comes a moment when he must face the shame of exiting a whorehouse in the morning"

or

"No purer shame be there for any man than to stumble home in the morning from a whorehouse"

that kind of thing. Any ideas?

That Atlanta airport saying

tinkertown — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:37:44 -0800

Isn't there some saying about "before you die/live life, you'll connect through Atlanta", referring to ATL being a huge hub airport? How does it go exactly? Google-fu failing and all that.

I wrote this down without attribution

crush-onastick — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 09:19:09 -0800

Please help me identify this quote from a novel about love and a girl named Lucy. He was speaking for himself and for Lucy, whom he had loved since he was twelve years old. Remember how he told us? She was spinning in cartwheels across the football field the first time he saw her, a strange, friendless girl, new in town. He said he saw himself in her that day, though we could not imagine how or where, in what part of her electric being he might be found.

Maybe that was all love way--seeing yourself in someone else--and when love ends it's only because you fail to see yourself there anymore.

Quote?

Misciel — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:18:35 -0800

I'm running in circles looking for a quotation. Something about how at the age of 40 you become the person you always were, or always were meant to be, or something like that. Anybody know the quote and who said it? Thx!!