Life-Saving Quotes

Did you ever have a simple quote/speech that you felt really nailed it down and helped you get on with your life? I had this one moment from Pump Up the Volume really help me out:

You hear about some kid who did something stupid, something desperate. What possessed him? How could he do such a terrible thing? Well come here. It's really quite simple actually. Consider the life of a teenager. You have parents, teachers telling you what to do. You have movies, magazines, and TV telling you what to do. But you know what you have to do. Your job, your purpose, is to get accepted, get a cute girl friend, and think up something great to do with the rest of your life. What if you're confused and can't imagine a career? What if you're funny looking and you can't get a girl friend? You see no one wants to hear it, but the terrible secret is that being young is sometimes less fun than being dead.

Suicide is wrong, but the interesting thing about it, is how uncomplicated it seems. Y’know! There you are, you got all these problems swarming around your brain, and here is one simple, one incredibly simple solution. I’m just surprised it doesn’t happen every day around here. Now, now they’re going to say I said offing yourself is simple, but no, no, no, no, it’s not simple. It’s like everything else you have to read the fine print. For instance, assuming that there is a heaven who would ever wanna go there, you know. I mean think about it, it’s cool you’re sitting on this cloud, you know it’s nice, it’s quiet, there’s no teachers, there’s no parents, but guess what? There’s nothing to do. Fucking boring. Another thing to remember about suicide is that it is not a pretty picture. First of all, you shit your shorts, you know? So there you are dead, people are weeping over you, crying, girls you never spoke to are saying, “Why? Why? Why?” and you have a load in your shorts. That’s the way I see it. Sue me. Now, they’re saying I shouldn’t think stuff like this. They’re saying that something is wrong with me, that I should be ashamed. Well, I’m sick of being ashamed. Aren’t you?

I don’t mind being dejected and rejected, but I’m not going to be ashamed about it. This pain is real. At least pain is real. You look around and you see nothing is real, but the pain is real. You know, even this show isn’t real. This isn’t me; I’m using a voice disguiser. I’m a phoney fuck just like my Dad, just like anybody. You see, the real me is just as worried as the rest of you. They say I’m disturbed, well of course I’m disturbed. I mean we’re all disturbed, and if we’re not, why not? Doesn’t this blend of blindness and blandness want to make you do something crazy? Then why not do something crazy? It makes a hell of a lot of sense than blowing you fucking brains out you know. Go nuts, go crazy, get creative! You got problems? You just chuck’em, nuke’em! They think you’re moody? Make’em think you’re crazy, make’em think you might snap! They think you got attitude? You show’em some real attitude! Come on, go nuts, get crazy. Hey no more Mr. Nice Guy. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, oh god!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I still want to know where they got that paper mache dick. Anyone remember that?

[quote=“Urban Scout, post:1, topic:343”]Did you ever have a simple quote/speech that you felt really nailed it down and helped you get on with your life? I had this one moment from Pump Up the Volume really help me out:

[quote=Happy Harry Hardon]You hear about some kid who did something stupid, something desperate. What possessed him? How could he do such a terrible thing? Well come here. It’s really quite simple actually. Consider the life of a teenager. You have parents, teachers telling you what to do. You have movies, magazines, and TV telling you what to do. But you know what you have to do. Your job, your purpose, is to get accepted, get a cute girl friend, and think up something great to do with the rest of your life. What if you’re confused and can’t imagine a career? What if you’re funny looking and you can’t get a girl friend? You see no one wants to hear it, but the terrible secret is that being young is sometimes less fun than being dead.

Suicide is wrong, but the interesting thing about it, is how uncomplicated it seems. Y’know! There you are, you got all these problems swarming around your brain, and here is one simple, one incredibly simple solution. I’m just surprised it doesn’t happen every day around here. Now, now they’re going to say I said offing yourself is simple, but no, no, no, no, it’s not simple. It’s like everything else you have to read the fine print. For instance, assuming that there is a heaven who would ever wanna go there, you know. I mean think about it, it’s cool you’re sitting on this cloud, you know it’s nice, it’s quiet, there’s no teachers, there’s no parents, but guess what? There’s nothing to do. Fucking boring. Another thing to remember about suicide is that it is not a pretty picture. First of all, you shit your shorts, you know? So there you are dead, people are weeping over you, crying, girls you never spoke to are saying, “Why? Why? Why?” and you have a load in your shorts. That’s the way I see it. Sue me. Now, they’re saying I shouldn’t think stuff like this. They’re saying that something is wrong with me, that I should be ashamed. Well, I’m sick of being ashamed. Aren’t you?

I don’t mind being dejected and rejected, but I’m not going to be ashamed about it. This pain is real. At least pain is real. You look around and you see nothing is real, but the pain is real. You know, even this show isn’t real. This isn’t me; I’m using a voice disguiser. I’m a phoney fuck just like my Dad, just like anybody. You see, the real me is just as worried as the rest of you. They say I’m disturbed, well of course I’m disturbed. I mean we’re all disturbed, and if we’re not, why not? Doesn’t this blend of blindness and blandness want to make you do something crazy? Then why not do something crazy? It makes a hell of a lot of sense than blowing you fucking brains out you know. Go nuts, go crazy, get creative! You got problems? You just chuck’em, nuke’em! They think you’re moody? Make’em think you’re crazy, make’em think you might snap! They think you got attitude? You show’em some real attitude! Come on, go nuts, get crazy. Hey no more Mr. Nice Guy. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, oh god!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! [/quote]

I still want to know where they got that paper mache dick. Anyone remember that?[/quote]

Ha! That movie rocked! ;D

Pirate Radio ftw.

Mine’s a bit more simple. I’m paraphraseing Ran Prieur, but when I’m feeling like I’m hitting a brick wall, my mantra has become"I am the weed that breaks the sidewalk"

A bigger one:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. "-Heinlein

Also, on my angry days practically any of the quotables from fight club will do.

Great quotes.

I’ve always liked a couple from Krishnamurti-
“Claiming to be well adjusted in today’s society is nothing to brag about.”
And
“Trying to work within the system is like asking for better food in jail.”

One I came up with, sorta, “You learn something new everyday if you are not careful.”

shame never saved my life, but materialism keeps me alive. what if all the everything I’ve ever thought and felt is a cosntructed reaction built over millenia of ancestral musings? If this is all there is, I better get as much of it as I can.

This one helped me understand abstract informational input:

“My propositions serve as elucidations in the following way:
anyone who understands them eventually recognizes them as
nonsensical, when he has used them – as steps – to climb
up beyond them. (He must, so to speak, throw away the ladder
after he has climbed up it.)” – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus

This one helped me. That’s what it did:

“The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.” - George Bernard Shaw

& this one I think of in times of discourage:

“I am a constant soldier, a sometimes poet, and I will be king” - Lion in Winter [film]

Hell yes! This is my favorite play of all time. That’s one of many memorable quotes, but definately one of the most applicable to an average life.

Ok, most applicable to the average life if you take out the, “and I will be king” part.

“There are those for whom the callapse of “Western Civilization” has already come. Look around you. We call them homeless.”
me @ March 1985

Whoever we are
Wherever were from
We shoulda noticed by now
Our behavior is dumb
And if our chances
Expect to improve
Its gonna take a lot more
Than tryin to remove
The other race
Or the other whatever
From the face
Of the planet altogether

They call it the earth
Which is a dumb kinda name
But they named it right
cause we behave the same…
We are dumb all over
Dumb all over,
Yes we are
Dumb all over,
Near n far
Dumb all over,
Black n white
People, we is not wrapped tight

Nurds on the left
Nurds on the right
Religous fanatics
On the air every night
Sayin the bible
Tells the story
Makes the details
Sound real gory
bout what to do
If the geeks over there
Dont believe in the book
We got over here

You cant run a race
Without no feet
n pretty soon
There wont be no street
For dummies to jog on
Or doggies to dog on
Religous fanatics
Can make it be all gone
(I mean it wont blow up
n disappear
Itll just look ugly
For a thousand years…)

You cant run a country
By a book of religion
Not by a heap
Or a lump or a smidgeon
Of foolish rules
Of ancient date
Designed to make
You all feel great
While you fold, spindle
And mutilate
Those unbelievers
From a neighboring state

To arms! to arms!
Hooray! thats great
Two legs aint bad
Unless theres a crate
They ship the parts
To mama in
For souvenirs: two ears (get down!)
Not his, not hers, (but what the hey? )
The good book says:
(it gotta be that way!)
But their book says:
Revenge the crusades…
With whips n chains
n hand grenades…
Two arms? two arms?
Have another and another
Our God says:
There aint no other!
Our God says
Its all okay!
Our God says
This is the way!

It says in the book:
Burn n destroy…
n repent, n redeem
n revenge, n deploy
n rumble thee forth
To the land of the unbelieving scum on the other side
cause they dont go for whats in the book
n that makes em bad
So verily we must choppeth them up
And stompeth them down
Or rent a nice french bomb
To poof them out of existance
While leaving their real estate just where we need it
To use again
For temples in which to praise our god
(cause he can really take care of business!)

And when his humble tv servant
With humble white hair
And humble glasses
And a nice brown suit
And maybe a blond wife who takes phone calls
Tells us our God says
Its okay to do this stuff
Then we gotta do it,
cause if we dont do it,
We aint gwine up to hebbin!
(depending on which book youre using at the
Time…cant use theirs… it dont work
…its all lies…gotta use mine…)
Aint that right?
Thats what they say
Every night…
Every day…
Hey, we cant really be dumb
If were just following gods orders
Hey, lets get serious…
God knows what hes doin
He wrote this book here
An the book says:
He made us all to be just like him,
So…
If were dumb…
Then God is dumb…
(an maybe even a little ugly on the side)

Frank Zappa

This dialogue between student and gorilla did it for me:


“I see,” I said. “And what do you teach?”

Ishmael selected a fresh branch from a pile at his right, examined it briefly, then began to nibble at it, gazing languidly into my eyes. At last he said, “On the basis of my history, what subject would you say I was best qualified to teach?”

I blinked and told him I don’t know.

“Of course you do. My subject is: captivity.”

“Captivity.”

“That’s correct.”

I sat there for a minute, then I said, “I’m trying to figure out what this has to do with saving the world.”

Ishmael thought for a moment. “Among the people of your culture which want to destroy the world.”

“Which want to destroy it? As far as I know, no one specifically wants to destroy the world.”

“And yet you do destroy it, each of you. Each of you contributes to it daily to the destruction of the world.”

“Yes, that’s so.”

“Why don’t you stop?”

I shrugged. “Frankly, we don’t know how.”

“You’re captives of a civilizational system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order to live.”

“Yes, that’s the way it seems.”

“So, you are captives–and you have made a captive of the world itself. That’s what at stake, isn’t it?–your captivity and the captivity of the world.”

“Yes, that’s so. I’ve just never thought of it that way.”

“And you yourself are a captive in personal way, are you not?”

“How so?”

Ishmael smiled, revealing a great mass of ivory-colored teeth. I hadn’t know he could until then.

I said: “I have animpression of being a captive, but I can’t explain why I have this impression.” pg. 24-37 Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn


Take care,

Curt

“how you get what you need is how you are controlled and it is how you control others, unless this fact is faced and owned, everything else is self deception”

If you know the first thing about 90s hip-hop, you know this one from Tribe Called Quest:

“…I am recognizing that the voices in my head are urging me to be myself and never follow someone else…” (etc. etc.)

(That whole album is a life saver!!)


And from Jimi Hendrix (for you old farts) :wink:

I used to live in a room full of mirrors
All I could see was me
Then I took my spirit and I smashed the mirrors
Now the whole world is here for me to see

(I think it’s about the joy of not imposing one’s will onto the world)

but can your life-saving quotes stand up to these life-crushing goodies?

“The World of Nature: Whether it’s biology, physics or geology, we explain the natural world for you” -fox news

“The idea is just one of many recent ideas proposed by geoengineering, the science of modifying Earth’s environment on a large scale. In the last couple years, geoengineers have proposed several unique solutions to the global warming problem including stationing mirrors in space, dumping large amounts of iron into the ocean and creating artificial volcanoes.”

“The Food and Drug Administration is expected to give final go-ahead for the sale of cloned meat and milk before the end of the year.”

"Most of the nation’s rivers and streams – and the fish in them – are contaminated with pesticides linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological disorders, but not at levels that can harm humans. "

Bill Gates hails age of digital senses: "I’ll be brave, in five years we’ll have many tens of million of people sitting browsing their photos, browsing their music, organising their lives using this type of touch interface, " he said.

“You can haul that aluminum or plastic baby out of the box in the back of the basement and quickly set it up rather than schlepping down to the local tree stand in the freezing cold, tying the fallen timber atop your SUV and struggling to get it through your front door.”

“The mother sow is one of the three fluorescent green pigs successfully bred by a research team in December 2006 after they injected fluorescent green protein into pig embryos.”

“Make sure you’re not including yourself in this group of fashion misfits by paying attention to the length of your pants. As well, different kinds of pants look best at different lengths. The bottom hem of your jeans, for example, can extend all the way to the bottom of your shoe, and will actually make your legs appear longer and leaner if you follow this piece of advice. Dress pants, on the other hand, should cut off at the top of your heel, but be careful that your socks don’t show when you walk and that no more than two inches of your socks are visible when you sit down.”

“The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts global warming could drive up to 70 percent of plants and animals to extinction.”

Well, thank you scavenger for bringing lots of emotions to my attention. :slight_smile:

Here’s one (not so much life-saving as it is “hell yeah”)

“The industry’s just a better-built cell block”
-Mos Def (talking about the rap industry, but really isn’t it about all of industrial society? Really? Come on guys, let’s all make a judgment on society and be total superjerks.)

Anyway, gotta love that alliteration.