Victor de la Cruz

“Once again, things that could have been brought to my attention yesterday!”

From: The Wedding Singer

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Robbie Hart

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the romantic comedy from 1998, The Wedding Singer. The story is all about a failed rock band lead singer who becomes a wedding singer later on. He meets and falls in love with a waitress during one of his gigs but he finds out that she’s already engaged.

The quote comes early on in the movie, Robbie Hart (played by Adam Sandler) is left at the altar by his fiancee. His fiancee tells Robbie he fell in love with him when he was part of a rock band and she doesn’t love him anymore. She also wants to leave town and make it in the big city. Robbie then asks what’s wrong with living in their small town and living with him. She then retorts that he lives with his sister and she couldn’t handle living like that. This is when Robbie delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, there is never a good time to break bad news. It might be best to just rip off the band aid as fast as possible because you never know when it might be too late.

“That’s all it is, Miles. A leap of faith.”

From: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Genre: Movies and Cartoons

Who said it?: Stan LeePeter B. Parker

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote was submitted by Hassan Sarosh. Thank you for your submission!

Today’s quote comes from the 2018 animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film takes place in a different “universe” and follows Miles Morales, a young pre-teen who is bitten by a genetically modified spider and gains spider-like powers. This universe’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man dies attempting to prevent the multiverse’s destruction and the cataclysm accidentally brings in different Spider-themed heroes into Miles’ universe.

The quote is can be heard twice in the film. The first time it’s said is by Peter B. Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson), a Spider-Man from a different universe from Miles Morales. He delivers the quote when, while training the youth, Miles asks when he’ll know he’s ready. The second time is during a flashback when Miles Morales, despite being told he would be in danger while the rest of the team goes after Kingpin, he still joins the fight, remembering Peter’s words.

Geek wisdom: We won’t always have a clear signal or sign when to do something. We have to set our own path, realize our strengths and weaknesses and do our best. It can be a risk but, if we don’t take that leap of faith, we will never really know if we were ready or not.

“If it bleeds, we can kill it.”

From: Predator

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Major Dutch Shaefer

The story behind the quote: This quote comes from the 1987 action sci-fi movie, Predator. In it, a team of commandos, led by Major Dutch Shaefer (portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger), come into contact with an alien lifeform intent on killing them for sport.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. The Predator has killed a good number of the commandos and seems unstoppable. The woman they were bringing with them explains that she noticed the creature was somehow injured. This is when Dutch delivers the quote and rallies his troops.

Geek wisdom: Even the most insurmountable odds can be overcome. But it does take tenacity and the willingness to beat the odds, which may seem impossible… but it actually is possible.

“Well, my family can’t live in ‘good intentions,’ Marge!”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Ned Flanders

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from one of the episodes of The Simpsons. As one of the longest running shows ever (and since I’ve already used a lot of Simpsons quotes in the past), this show needs no introduction anymore.

The quote comes from the 8th season episode entitled “Hurricane Neddy.” In the episode, Ned Flanders’ house is destroyed by a hurricane. The townsfolk gets together to help rebuild the domicile but, because of how shoddy the workmanship is, it instantly is brought to the ground when Homer Simpson closes the front door. Flanders (voiced by Harry Shearer) uncharacteristically lets his anger boil over and berates everyone. Marge tries to defend the people of the town by saying they only had the best intentions. This is when Flanders delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Sure, doing good things for the right reasons may sound nice. But, unless you actually do your best, good intentions really don’t matter.

“You will eat less than you desire and more than you deserve.”

From: The Menu

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Elsa

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the 2022 thriller comedy, The Menu. The film is all about a celebrity chef (played by Ralph Fiennes) who invites various upper class customers to his island restaurant to enjoy a very exclusive meal. Although the menu has been painstakingly planned out, a wrench is thrown into the works when one of the guest invites another guest, Margot Mills (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), who was not part of the guest list when the menu was made.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. During one of the courses, the Breadless Bread Plate, a group of venture capitalists try to pull their weight and actually get some bread. The host of the restaurant, Elsa (played by Hong Chau), refuses. After doing so, Elsa leans forward and whispers the quote into one of their ears.

Geek wisdom: What we “deserve” and what we “desire” are things we might confuse between the two as this is more of a play on “needs” and “wants”. You might think you “deserve” a Lamborghini but, in actuality, we just “desire” one. And it might not really be needed as maybe a Honda Civic would work just as well. Think about if you really think the thing you “deserve” or “need” is actually something you “desire” or “want”.

“There is no such thing as a coincidence.”

From: Tiktok/YouTube

Genre: Internet/Web Series

Who said it?: William Knight/grandrisingapp

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes the world of TikTok and YouTube and it’s from a meme from 2020.

William Knight created the grandrisingapp account on Tiktok to promote is self-affirmation app called Grand Rising. He became widely known thanks to his very piercing stare (wherein he uses a filter to get the eyes) and very serious tone. He blew up as a meme when, during one of his videos, a jogger brushed past him and she lets out an audible scream after he turns to her.

Geek wisdom: Life does have a lot of twists and turns and, for the most part, all of our decisions and choices we’ve made has led us down the path we are on. Whether consciously or subconsciously, we are where we are right now because of what we’ve done.

“Say the line, Bart!”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Milhouse Van Houten

The quote comes from the 5th season episode entitled “Bart Gets Famous.” In the episode, Bart Simpson accidentally becomes super famous due to a mishap he caused during the Krusty the Klown show, leading him to becoming known for saying “I didn’t do it.” At first, Bart enjoyed his newfound fame but starts to get tired of it as he becomes pigeonholed for only saying the line, despite trying new things. During this time, the entire class stops, with everyone staring at Bart. Bart then just wants to keep the lesson going, leading to Milhouse to goad Bart into saying his catchphrase with the quote.

Geek wisdom: There will be a time when you can feel stuck in a rut and want to expand your horizons but you might be afraid of change. That’s totally normal and the best way to get over that fear is to actually try something new.

“The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind, especially when we don’t know what’s going on.”

From: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Waymond Wang

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the award winning film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. The film focuses on Evelyn Wang, a seemingly nobody who is struggling in her business and life. Due to a series of events, it turns out she might be the only one who can save this universe and the entire multiverse from utter destruction.

The quote comes from the climax of the film. Evelyn Wang (played by Michelle Yeoh), feeling hopeless, gives up as she feels life is pointless. She stops, however, to listen to her husband, Waymond Wang (played by Ke Huy Quan) as he pleads for everyone to stop fighting. This is when he delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: The world can be a confusing and dark place and that makes it so easy to lash out at everything every time. But when we do, we are just adding to the confusion and darkness. It’s best to avoid adding more problems to the world and giving more good instead.

“You don’t think about saving the world. You think about saving one person. Because sometimes, that’s enough.”

From: Superman: Grounded

Genre: Comics

Who said it?: Superman

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from DC Comics’ Superman, specifically the first issue of the Superman: Grounded storyline. This follows Superman’s journey across the United States in an attempt to reconnect with the people of Earth after being offworld for so long.

The quote comes from the first issue of the storyline. Superman encounters a woman who wants to commit suicide by jumping off a building. She wants to kill herself as she feels hopeless as she lost her mother and her job. She basically feels she feels life is pointless. This is direct contrast with how she felt she was going to change the world after she graduated from high school and she feels life just isn’t fair. Superman says that’s just how life is. Superman then agrees with her that everyone believes they can save the world when the graduate high school. This is when he delivers the quote while reminiscing how his Kryptonian parents saved him by sending him to Earth.

Geek wisdom: We don’t have to do something grand to be a hero. Even the smallest heroic deed is still an act of heroism. And even helping just a singular person has an impact in the world.

“Disco? With myself? Outrageous!”

From: The Fairly Oddparents

Genre: Television, Cartoons

Who said it?: Jorgen Von Strangle

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the Nickelodeon animated series, The Fairly Oddparents. The show features Timmy Turner who gets into various adventures because he has two fairy godparents, Wanda and Cosmo, who can grant his every wish. And these wishes usually backfires, leading to Timmy to un-wish whatever it was to return everything to its status quo.

The quote comes from the episode entitled “The Secret Origin of Denzel Cronker!” Denzel Cronker is one of Timmy Turner’s teachers who is obsessed with proving the existence of fairies. Deciding to figure out why Cronker is so mean, Timmy wishes to travel back to the past to find out. They eventually travel back to the 70’s and inadvertently cause a young Cronker to reveal that he had fairy godparents then. As revealing the existence of fairies is against the rules, the head fairy, Jorgen Von Strangle, erases every person’s memory and forbids Timmy, Wanda and Cosmo from trying to fix this. Jorgen then meets up with his 70’s counterpart and delivers the quote before the two versions dance.

Geek wisdom: It’s nice to be alone with yourself sometimes. While it’s good to be with company, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the quiet solitude of having some fun by yourself as well.