Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with quotes

insert clever title here

thinkingwoman — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:27:58 -0800

Help me remember a quote by Anne Boleyn (I think). If I recall correctly, she once told Henry: "I'm too [abc] to be your mistress but too [xyz] to be your wife." I can't for the life of me remember it. Also, [abc] and [xyz] might actually be the same word.

if not a great man, then a good one

serazin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:01:03 -0800

What is the origin of the phrase "if not a great man, then at least a good one" (or similar). I can't find references from google but I believe I initially saw it presented as a quotation. Thanks.

Right here, right now

painquale — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:38:43 -0800

I'm looking for famous movie quotes that contain either the word "here" or the word "now". They would ideally be quotes that anyone would recognize, like "Now is the winter of our discontent." This is, as you might expect, difficult to search for.

I am looking for anecdotes, stories, and pieces of wisdom where "giving up" led to increased happiness and peace of mind.

DeltaForce — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:43:35 -0800

I am looking for anecdotes, stories, and pieces of wisdom where "giving up" led to increased happiness and peace of mind. "If you can't change your fate, change your attitude."
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
"Fighting a losing battle."
"Beating a dead horse."

These are quotes that bring me comfort, and a sense of relief when it comes to trying to get past certain struggles in my life, though I still tend to ruminate and obsess, which just does more harm than good.

I'd like anecdotes, stories, and pieces of wisdom relating to situations in life, health, work, and relationships, where "giving up" led to increased happiness and peace of mind. Also, perhaps someone could guide me towards a certain philosophy or slant of mind that encompasses this concept.

I'd also love to hear recommendations for any movies, music, or books in which this is a theme.

Thanks MeFi!

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.

Who only serves food that's white?

lizzicide — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:12:40 -0800

Help me identify this mangled and misremembered quote from a movie or television show: "You have got to check out Moby's new restaurant -- He only serves food that's white." Much of that quote is, like I said, misremembered, and it's entirely possible it has nothing to do with Moby. The person making up the other half of the dialogue simply goes "Oooh!" in response, and the scene ends. I think this might have been from 30 Rock, but my Google-fu is failing me, and as much as I relish the opportunity to rewatch every episode of the show... Yeah. So please tell me someone else remembers this line!

Quote about building prisons or schools

eflange — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:21:21 -0800

Quotefilter: "If given the choice between prison and schools, Americans will always choose prisons." Who said it? I'm trying to find the source of this quote, as many states now spend more money on jails than colleges. Page 18 of this report says it's a line from Thomas Jefferson, but I have seen no evidence that he actually said it. The closest I've found is this:

“If the children are untaught, their ignorance and vices will in future life cost us much dearer in their consequences than it would have done in their correction by a good education.”

Doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well. Do you know who originally said this statement, or if anyone might have said something similar?

I.T. Lingo

jasondigitized — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:57:08 -0800

Give me your best I.T. related words, phrases, and aphorisms. I have worked in a variety of companies, all of which seem to have some interesting lingo and vernacular. I am not looking for stuff like 'cookie', and 'firewall'. More along the lines of: 'Going Dark' - when developers grab a requirements document and disappear for months, 'Snowflake' - a server that has been modified to the point of being unique, fragile, and unrepeatable. Phrases would include things like 'The problem is between the chair and the keyboard', 'XYZ consulting is just a body shop', or 'Those legacy systems are sunsetting'. Help me collect colorful I.T. lingo and proverbs.

Name that citation please!

Mrs Mutant — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:01:43 -0800

Original citation for the quote "What gets measured gets managed?" This is often attributed to Peter Drucker, but we've seen it attributed to other names informally (Welch, et al).

Can anyone provide an academic citation; e.g., book or journal title, date, etc for this quote? Lots of web sites present the quote, but none (that we've looked at) cite the source. Its just one of those things that "everyone knows".

Not convinced Drucker originally said it. And even if he did, we can't find a citation.

Quotes from 'Flashdance'?

cosmic osmo — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:26:40 -0800

I need some quotes from the movie Flashdance, quick. I'm writing a toast to be given tonight, and I would like to incorporate a quote or two from the movie Flashdance. Unfortunately I can't watch the movie between now and this evening, and the quotes I'm finding on the internet aren't that great. Preferably looking for something about love or marriage, bonus points if it includes the character Alex's name. If anyone can help out, I'd really appreciate it!

other people's money

well_balanced — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:58:17 -0800

Quotefilter: A wise junkie once told me something that sounded suspiciously like a quotation. He said, "They'll spend any amount of your money to protect theirs." Does this ring a bell for anyone? I've had no luck thus far googling for variations.

Lines from Joyce's Ulysses?

malapropist — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:47:30 -0800

What are some juicy lines of dialogue from James Joyce's Ulysses? I want to greet my friend in a Ulyssean fashion for a Bloomsday celebration later. So I'm going down to a Bloomsday celebration tonight at Clancy's Pub in Long Beach, with a friend of mine who is crazy about Ulysses. This will be my second Bloomsday celebration that I"ll be aware of, and sadly I still have not read Joyce's epic. Considering the sheer length of the book, I figure there have to be dozens of really juicy one-liners delivered by the narrator, or even better, by characters, that I can memorize by the time my friend comes over, so I can surprise him with a quote in a rich Irish brogue. Lines displaying a rich dollop of Irish culture and language, as well as Joycean humor, perhaps?

Please, give me your best and favorite lines from James Joyce's Ulysses.

Help me remember a quote about 'seeing the big picture'.

mockjovial — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:18:03 -0800

Help me remember a quote about 'seeing the big picture'. I am trying to remember a quote I saw a few weeks ago. The general message was that you shouldn't get so caught up with day to day minutiae (like doing routine chores) that you miss out on the big picture of life and all that is out there to experience. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

What was a million francs worth in 1953?

b1tr0t — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:01:04 -0800

Where can I find old historical exchange rates? Right now I'm looking for the crosses between British Pounds, US Dollars and French Francs in the mid-1950s. Monthly or yearly exchange rates would be fine. Bonus points if you can find currency data that goes back more than 50 years.

I'm reading Casino Royale (which is surprisingly good, by the way) and trying to get a handle on the cash figures being thrown around.

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.?

Did Keynes really say this?

CCBC — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:00:08 -0800

Did Keynes really say, "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."? This is really two questions: did he actually say "most wickedest"? Did he actually say anything like this and, if so, where?
I find it hard to believe that Lord Keynes could say anything so ungrammatical, but "most wickedest" is far more common on the Net than "most wicked". And Noam Chomsky calls this a "purported" quote. I'm scanning Galbraith now because I'm pretty certain he uses the quote somewhere, but haven't found it yet.

"The sunrise is a strip-tease between night and day." Tom Robbins quote?

prwnkle02 — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:46:00 -0800

"The sunrise is a strip-tease between night and day." Is this a Tom Robbins quote (or similar to one)? My friend is writing a story and included this line..I seem to remember it from a Tom Robbins book, but can't remember which. It might be original and just in the same style, but he wants to know if he should take it out. Any help is appreciated!

There are many great quotes by famous people on why we don't need religion, but where are all the quotes from different religious groups on why we need religion?

querty — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:49:21 -0800

There are many great quotes by famous people on why we don't need religion, but where are all the quotes from different religious groups on why we need religion? For example, if you were to gather a bunch of different people for and against religion in a room, what quotes would the "For" side come back with?

Against
======
“Religion is the frozen thought of man out of which they build temples.” —Jiddu Krishnamurti

“The Christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

For
===
??

I am strictly looking for quotes/authors/links only. No discussions please; this is not a chat, don't want this deleted.

Give me a quote!

kbanas — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:20:46 -0800

I am writing a short story and I would like to have one of the characters in this story quote a real historical figure. I do not have a specific quote in mind, but I have certain ideas about the character that dictate certain parameters for the quote. I would like to solicit the hivemind for suggestions, as my Google-Fu has thus far failed me in selecting something viable. If you accept this mission, you will find details below the fold. Essentially, in broad strokes, this character is a highly educated pretentious asshole. Like, he's an over the top caricature of a highly educated pretentious asshole. Caricature is key.

During a certain conversation, while discussing a really banal subject, I would like for him to quote someone else.

In my mind, the ideal quote would be from an obscure French philosopher - and, even better, he would quote him in French.

I feel like the elements of the quote A) being in a foreign language B) being from an obscure academic-type combine in a perfect storm of hyperbole to illustrate my point.

It could be in German or, really, any language other than English, although an English translation is also necessary for my purposes.

The actual content of the quote is mostly irrelevant. I can pretty much twist the conversation to fit the quote. If you feel like the quote could somehow be applied to a thematic element of Battlestar Galactica, that would be absolutely awesome - but I think at that point I'm asking a little too much of everyone, because, seriously, I understand that makes very little sense.

I found several quotes that I thought were OK, but they had all been translated to English, and I am loathe to run them through a translation engine to get back to the native language because that will undoubtedly look stupid and be wrong.

Alternatively, if you feel like you could translate a quote back to its language of origin, you could make a note of this and I could send you one via Metafilter mail and you could provide me a very helpful service and I would be in your debt.

Memorable Blade Runner quote featured in another film?

CliffDiving44 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:32:43 -0800

"It's too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?" Where, other than from Blade Runner, have I heard this quote? I was thinking it was in a Ben Stiller movie (maybe Zoolander?) , but I've searched for it and I haven't found anything. Another possibility is that I've heard it on the radio, but I can't think of a reason why they would play that, other than it being a popular quote. I've never seen Blade Runner before, but that quote instantly hit me, and I know I've heard it before. Thanks for any help.

QuoteFilter: Help me find this quote about life in cities

mjklin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:07:54 -0800

Awhile back I remember hearing that a famous writer once said something like, "if anyone could go around a city and look through the walls of the houses and offices to see everything that went on in one day--and it wouldn't have to be a big city--it would make that person go completely crazy."

For some reason I thought it was William James who said this, but I've looked through most of his major works and have yet to find it. Does it sound familiar to anyone?

Best source of streaming data for futures?

Hypocrites — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:50:49 -0800

I need to get streaming futures data to use in software I am developing. What's the best source? I'll be using the C# programming language. I'd like to get streaming quotes for all futures and commodities, simultaneously.

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.

Excel delimited text import FAIL

mwhybark — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:59:24 -0800

Excel is chapping my hide. I have a comma-delimited .csv which contains quote-demarcated text fields. The source of my never-ending joy is the recurrent use of inch-marks and commas within the textfields. Right this way... EXAMPLE

TEXTFIELD1, NUMFIELD, TEXTFIELD2
"3" widget, black",1,"3" widget, black"
"Assorted widgets, 3"",1,"Assorted widgets, 3""

this renders in Excel after careful use of the text-import wizard (using backslash-tab to represent cols)

TEXTFIELD1\tNUMFIELD\tTEXTFIELD2\n
3 widget, black"\t1\t3 widget, black"\n
Assorted widgets, 3",1,Assorted widgets, 3""\n

The semi-random removal of in-text-field quotes is repeatable, so there are actual rules being applied.

Excel CAN'T be this brain dead, can it?

I mean, .csv and comma-delimited are OOOOOLD standards. Freeform textfields containing inch-marked and comma-ed product data has to be the very oldest text-and-data management problem in the book.

How can I slap the spreadsheet around to obtain proper data I/O?

PLEASE HOPE ME!

"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?