Favourite quotes, phrases or ideas!

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Sprocket
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Post by Sprocket »

I thought it might be interesting to have a thread where people can post their favourite quotes or mantras or other turns of phrase from a novel, speaker or otherwise which you wear on your sleeve or just gives you inspiration.

Personally, I'm very fond of "A little less love, and a little more common decency.' which comes near the beginning of Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut. Obviously, it's said with a bit of a wink, but I think there's something to it in the idea that love can sometimes be ill-used, whereas common decency, treating other human beings with basic respect, is a good base-line to draw your actions from!
Cori
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Post by Cori »

My sig here has been "To Posterity - and Beyond!" for a long time. From Toy Story, of course, though slightly adapted for the purpose. As I've noticed happening with some other things in my life, it started very flippantly, and has since grown in importance. It's not *quite* my mission statement, (I don't think I have such a thing) but not such a long way off any more.
There's honestly no such thing as a stupid question -- but I'm afraid I can't rule out giving a stupid answer : : To Posterity and Beyond!
Lucy_k_p
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Post by Lucy_k_p »

Roald Dahl said:
“Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
I'm still looking out for magic.
So little space, so much to say.
BellonaTimes
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Post by BellonaTimes »

You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.
--- Dorothy Parker, asked to use the h-word in a sentence. 8-)
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ppcunningham
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Post by ppcunningham »

"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it" - Super Chicken
The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, it's that there are so many answers. Ruth Benedict

Non curo. Si metrum non habet, non est poema

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aradlaw
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Post by aradlaw »

It was a dark and stormy night - anon
:D
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Availle
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Post by Availle »

'That's why there's rules, eh? So that you think before you break them.'

Terry Pratchett, one of the discworld novels, I think it was 'Thief of Time' (which is my favorite, by the way...)

8-)
Cheers, Ava.
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ExEmGe
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Post by ExEmGe »

aradlaw wrote:It was a dark and stormy night - anon
Isn't that by Bulwer Lytton?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulwer%E2%80%93Lytton_Fiction_Contest
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Post by Hokuspokus »

Availle wrote:'That's why there's rules, eh? So that you think before you break them.'

Terry Pratchett, one of the discworld novels, I think it was 'Thief of Time' (which is my favorite, by the way...)

8-)
That's one of my favorites, too. The novel and the quote.
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Post by RuthieG »

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peegee
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Post by peegee »

Availle wrote:'That's why there's rules, eh? So that you think before you break them.'

Terry Pratchett, one of the discworld novels, I think it was 'Thief of Time' (which is my favorite, by the way...)

8-)
Yes Thief of Time is one of my favourites too, along with Mort and Men at Arms.

Another Pratchett classic: "Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened."
:lol:

regards
Phil
ExEmGe
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Post by ExEmGe »

I think I'll go with Sydney Smith:
(Serenely full, the epicure would say,)
Fate cannot harm me,—I have dined to-day.

Or, more seriously "Learn from the earliest days to insure your principles against the perils of ridicule; you can no more exercise your reason if you live in the constant dread of laughter, than you can enjoy your life if you are in the constant terror of death."
Regards
Andy Minter
Rat King
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Post by Rat King »

So many to choose from... But one of my most favourite would be;

“There is a beast in man that needs to be excersised, not exorcised.”
- Anton Sandor LaVey

LaVey has so many good quotes, but the fiery and unapologetic nature of LaVeyan Satanism means he is quite... piquant. Most of his quotes would probably get me warned. :twisted:
[b]"Polly want a cracked skull?"[/b]
[size=75]- [i]Dirk Gently[/i][/size]
Lucy_k_p
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Post by Lucy_k_p »

I also like the first verse of Happy the Man by John Dryden:
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own;
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have lived today.
And I think almost everything Terry Pratchett has ever written is quotable.
So little space, so much to say.
Starlite
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Post by Starlite »

I don't know exactly where I heard this one:
Blessed are the Flexible,
For they shall not be bent out of shape.
Esther :)
"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable
people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress,
therefore, depends on unreasonable people." George Bernard Shaw
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