Month: October 2013

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”

From: Dumb and Dumber

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Lloyd Christmas

The story behind the quote: Dumb and Dumber is a film from the mid-90’s that tells the story of two best friends, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. Lloyd (Jim Carrey) works as a limo driver who was hired to drive Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) to the airport and immediately falls in love with her. Seeing Mary leave a suitcase at the airport terminal, he picks it up with the plan of returning it to her, not knowing that it was left there intentionally as it contains the ransom money for her kidnapped husband. Lloyd travels with Harry (Jeff Daniels) travel to Aspen to return the briefcase to Mary… and hopefully the two of them will fall in love.

The quote comes from when Harry confronts Mary about his feeling for her and asks her if they have a future together. Mary tells Harry frankly that the odds are not good… which makes Lloyd pretty happy.

Geek wisdom: Looking at only the bad side of life can really be taxing on a person. Sometimes, it’s great to look at the good side of life. Your life is not so bad that there was nothing that good that came from it. There will always be something nice that has happened to you.

Life is not just misery. There is always a chance that life can give you good luck… even if the odds are one in a million.

“Life is like a hurricane”

From: Duck Tales

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: Opening Song

The story behind the quote: The song comes from the one of the most popular cartoons from the late 80’s, Disney’s Duck Tales. While we were generally familiar with Donald Duck and his animated shorts, Disney decided to put out new 30 minute adventures instead, with more complex storylines as well as more action. During the first episode, it’s explained that Donald will be out sea for an extended period of time (he’s a sailor, remember?) so he will not be able to take care of his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. He leaves them in the care of Scrooge McDuck, his uncle and who also happens to be the richest duck in the world.

They all go on fantastic adventures around the world to find new treasures to increase Uncle Scrooge’s wealth. They come across new new friends like Launchpad McQuack, “ace” pilot and come in contact with new memorable foes such as Flintheart Glomgold, the second richest duck in the world who always schemes to eventually surpass Uncle Scrooge in wealth.

The quote, as you all probably know, comes from the extremely catchy theme song of the show, which you can hear below.

Geek wisdom: Life can be hard and unpredictable. It will throw various challenges and difficulties at you during the most unexpected times. The best thing to do is to take on these challenges as they come rather than just complain about them and do nothing about it.

Besides, when you do tackle them and succeed in overcoming your problems, like Uncle Scrooge and his friends, you’ll have your own fantastic tales to tell later!

“I’m Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel”

From: Mass Effect 2

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Commander Shepard

The story behind the quote: Mass Effect 2 is the second installment of the Mass Effect trilogy. In the games, you take control of Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre. In the first game, Shepard learns of the Reapers, a sentient race of machines that wipe out all organic life in the galaxy after a certain amount of time has passed. Shepard does manage to prevent the initial invasion from happening. However, it only postponed the inevitable.

In the second game, Shepard is proclaimed a hero after the events of the 1st game. Shepard decides to capitalize on this to get discounts from the various stores of the Citadel. The Commander simply delivers the same quote as a personal endorsement at different shops.

Geek wisdom: We see celebrities endorse products all the time and we do get the urge to buy whatever product it may be because the person using it is popular and well-known. But, here’s the thing: are they being honest when they do it? Or are they just doing it because they are getting paid to do it?

Here, Commander Shepard goes around different stores on the Citadel and makes a recording that they are his/her “favorite store” in the area. Which is not true. He/She is doing it to get a discount!

People lie. It’s up to us to try to tell the lies and the truth apart.

“I volunteer as Tribute!”

From: The Hunger Games

Genre: Movies/Books

Who said it?: Katniss Everdeen

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy. The book has been made into a successful film as well. The story takes place in a dystopian future in the country of Panem. The Capitol and its residents live carefree lives while 12 Districts serve under its rule. The hero of the book is Katniss Everdeen, a resident of District 12.  In order to ensure that the Districts understand their place in the world, the Capitol forces each of the 12 Districts to send one boy and one girl to fight in a duel to the death known as The Hunger Games.

The quote comes early on in the story. During the selection, Katniss’ younger sister, Primrose, is selected at random. Katniss, wanting to protect her sister from competing in the Hunger Games, steps out of the crowd and volunteers herself, delivering the quote in the process.

Geek wisdom: We have to be prepared to make sacrifices to protect what we feel are important. It can be hard to actually do this since there will usually be a some risk involved. It could be something as serious as protecting your family from harm to something smaller, such as standing up to a bully.

No matter how great or small it may be, stepping up to a challenge can be daunting, especially if you’re used to keeping quiet and playing it safe. Still, it’s best to recognize when facing the challenge may be the best thing to do in a situation.