Month: January 2016

“I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.”

From: The Incredibles

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Edna Mode

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Pixar CG animated movie The Incredibles. The film is about a family of retired superheroes headed by Mr. Incredible. He is hired by a mysterious company to take out a rogue robot. Once he does, he starts to use his powers more openly, not knowing the company he’s working for has nefarious motives.

The quote comes from superhero costume designer Edna Mode. Mr. Incredible goes to her to get his old supersuit fixed. Edna Mode decides the suit needs an updated look. Mr. Incredible sarcastically comments that it was she that designed the original outfit. This is when she delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We all look at past events frequently. Sometimes, we remember them fondly and wish things were just like that right at this moment. At times, we look at our past mistakes and lament how our choices had led us to this point in time. While looking to the past may be fine at times, it’s best to focus on the present.

If you want life to be as good as it was before, do something about it. If your choices had dug you into a hole, stop focusing on what led you in there and concentrate of getting you out of the situation.

“You must construct additional pylons.”

From: Starcraft

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Protoss VO

The story behind the quote: The quote comes Blizzard’s incredibly successful Starcraft. The game is about a war between the colonizing Terrans, the xenomorphic Zergs and the highly evolved Protoss races. The general goal of the game is to build up resources to enable your chosen race to amass an army to wipe out the opposing group. Each race has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Protoss forces are generally strong but it takes a long time to build a unit. The Zergs are the opposite; it takes a short time to amass a huge army but they generally have low health. The Terrans provide a nice middle ground between the two.

The quote comes from when you control the Protoss and you attempt to construct additional units or buildings without having the required number of “pylons,” which the Protoss need to power up their buildings and units.

Geek wisdom: There are going to be times when you think you have enough of something. Whether it be money or security or anything, you may suddenly realize that you lack it when an emergency arises. It’s always a good idea to “play it safe” and have a little extra just in case disaster strikes.

“Control your emotions! Discipline your mind!”

From: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Severus Snape

The story behind the quote: It’s been a very sad week as two cultural icons have passed away: David Bowie and Alan Rickman. As such, My Geek Wisdom will be paying tribute to both of these legendary men by posting a quote from these individuals today. Earlier, the site posted a quote from David Bowie. So now, it’s Alan Rickman’s turn.

This quote comes from Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, specifically, from the character Alan Rickman brought to life on the big screen, Serverus Snape. Harry Potter is in need of a way to shield his thoughts from Voldermont. Dumbledore enlists the help of Serverus Snape to help teach The Boy Who Lived on how to do precisely that. Snape easily invades Harry’s mind and the teacher starts berating his student’s parents by calling them “weak.” Harry contradicts this, which is when Snape delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We can let our emotions get the better of us. We can make rash decisions when we let our feelings take over. Rational thought and thinking with a cool head is much better than just “going with our gut” during stressful times.

“It’s a crystal. Nothing more. But if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams.”

From: Labyrinth

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Jareth, The Goblin King

The story behind the quote: It’s been a very sad week as two cultural icons have passed away: David Bowie and Alan Rickman. As such, My Geek Wisdom will be paying tribute to both of these legendary men by posting a quote from these individuals today. We will be posting a quote from Alan Rickman’s body of work later in the day. But, right now, we’ll be focusing on David Bowie.

The quote comes the cult classic film Labyrinth. The movie is about Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly) who makes the mistake of wishing for his infant, brother, Toby, to be taken away. Jareth, The Goblin King (played by David Bowie), appears to grant Sarah’s “wish.” When Sarah attempts to take the wish back, Jareth makes a deal with her: he will only return Toby back if she manages to solve his Labyrinth in 13 hours.

The quote comes early in the movie. Jareth presents Sarah with a gift. Sarah asks The Goblin King what the object is and Jareth proceeds to deliver the quote

Geek wisdom: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. People will look at the same thing in a variety of manners. The way they see and feel about something will be different depending on their perception. We have to be aware that we may look at something and see it as something ugly or ordinary. But to others, that same item may be the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen.

There’s no right or wrong way of looking at things as it will be a matter of opinion.

“Failure is always an option.”

From: Mythbusters

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Adam Savage and the rest of the Mythbusters crew

The story behind the quote: The quote comes the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters. The show has been on air since 2003 and is set to air its final season this year. Mythbusters is all about taking various myths, movie scenes, idioms, viral internet videos and such, and testing them using scientific methods to see how true they all are by attempting to recreating them.

The quote is sort of the television show’s motto. It’s generally credited to Adam Savage, one of the original Mythbusters along with Jamie Hyneman. It’s been said and mentioned throughout the entire series’ run, especially when something does go wrong.

Geek wisdom: The general public tells us that we can’t make mistakes. But, in actuality, you can. It’s okay to get something wrong at times as it teaches us that it was a mistake. We can learn a lot of things through experiencing not only our successes, but we can obtain knowledge from failure as well.

“This doesn’t seem physically possible!”

From: Red vs. Blue

Genre: Web Series

Who said it?: Capt. Lavernicus Tucker and Pvt. Jimmy

The story behind the quote: Red Vs. Blue is machinima series, which means that is uses video games (in Red vs. Blue’s case, the Halo series on Xbox) instead of using actual actors nor fancy CGI models. RoosterTeeth started making episodes for the series since way back in 2003, making it one of the longest running web series ever.

The quote comes from way back in the series’ first season episode, A Shadow of His Former Self. Church comes back as a ghost (long story) to warn the Blue team about Tex as Church had a really bad experience with the freelancer. Church retells the story of when he was stationed in Sidewinder. He was out in patrol with his partner Jimmy when his entire squad was annihilated by Tex.

According to Church, Tex beat Jimmy to death with his own skull. Of course, Tucker found this incredibly unlikely… which was the exact thing Jimmy was thinking.

Geek wisdom: There are some things that are only impossible if you think they’re impossible. Sure, it can be incredibly difficult but it can still be done as long as you keep at it. A lot of great inventions and the modern conveniences we currently enjoy were built on the things that people thought were “impossible” before, such as the light bulb or little tiny computers that could fit in the palm of our hand. But, thanks to people that question what is impossible, we have these things.

Question what is impossible.