Victor de la Cruz

“We don’t make mistakes; we just have happy accidents.”

From: The Joy of Painting

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Bob Ross

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from way in the past. But it does seem timely as Twitch, the video game streaming site, had just ran a marathon of Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting television series since October 29. A lot of kids of the ’80s and ’90s grew up watching The Joy of Painting, not because they actually painted, but rather because it was fun watching Bob Ross create a beautiful painting in under 30 minutes. Besides, he just sounded so positive, he made viewers believe they could paint like him if they actually just tried.

The quote is actually a running catchphrase of the show. He would say it frequently to viewers whenever it appears he made an error that ruined the entire painting. The clip below is from the episode aptly titled “Happy Accident” where Bob Ross actually wipes out an entire painting and shows viewers what can be done with it.

Geek wisdom: There are very few mistakes in life that cannot be corrected if you try hard enough. Even seemingly insurmountable problems can have solutions as long as you really take the time to solve it and not give up.

And even if you do make a mistake that is “permanent” and cannot be fixed no matter what you do, there’s still something you can do: learn from it. Take it as a learning experience so that, in the future, you don’t make the same mistake.

“Every town has an Elm Street!”

From: Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Freddy Krueger

The story behind the quote: As it is Halloween, it’s only fitting to give a quote from one of the most (in)famous horror characters in movies, Freddy Krueger, Nightmare on Elm Street fame. The quote comes from Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, which was supposed to close out the film series. In the movie, Freddy has managed to kill all of the children of Springwood and intends to find a new town to spread his evil.

During the film, Freddy manages to leave Springwood terrorize the world at large. Maggie Burroughs, one of the protagonists of the film, exclaims that it should be impossible. That’s when Freddy turns to her in delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: There are two pieces of GeekWisdom that can be taken away from this quote, one literal way and one metaphorical/philosophical way. Literally, every town, city or neighborhood has its “evil” side. A place where a lot of bad things can, and will, happen. It’s always best to avoid these places because nothing good can come of going there.

The more philosophical meaning is that, no matter how good you think a person is, there is always a dark side to him or her. No one on the planet is truly good. They may seem that way but there is always a darkness deep inside everyone. It may be really hidden… but it is there.

“Why don’t you make like a tree and get out of here?”

From: Back to the Future, Part II

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Biff Tannen

The story behind the quote: Seeing as October 21, 2015 has passed, the date when Doc Brown took Marty McFly “to the future” to rescue his grandson, it seems only fitting that this week’s quote comes from the film when these events happened, Back to the Future, Part II

The quote comes from the middle of the movie. The Biff Tannen of 2015 steals the Delorean and travels back to 1955. He plans to give the sports almanac from the future to the Biff of 2015 so he can use the information to get rich. Of course, Biff, being the hardheaded bully that he is (in any timeline) refuses the book and delivers the quote. The “elder” Biff then berates his younger self while telling him the actual quote is supposed to be “…make like a tree and leave.”

Geek wisdom: When you’re young, you feel like you can do anything, even extremely stupid things. We feel like we can perform dumb stunts or say incredibly stupid/insensitive things to people because it’s “cool.” It’s only when you get older and have the chance to look at these actions with a more mature mind that you can see how stupid some of these impulsive actions actually are.

“Game over, man. Game over!”

From: Aliens

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Private Hudson

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the second film in the Alien franchise, the aptly named Aliens. The film takes place roughly 57 years after the first film. Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver), accompanies a team to explore LV-462, the planet where Ripley and her old crew first encountered the Xenomorphs. She joins the new expedition in the hopes of eliminating all remaining Xenomorphs on the planet.

The quote actually comes from Private Hudson (played by Bill Paxton). After their drop ship crashes on the planet, a sense of despair almost immediately is felt by the entire crew. This is especially true for Hudson…

Geek wisdom: There are going to be times when your situation looks truly bleak and it may feel like nothing you do would matter. If you think things are helpless, then they really are. That’s because, the instant you feel powerless, you won’t do anything to change your situation… even if the situation isn’t actually helpless!

When things do feel like there’s not a thing that can be done to improve the situation, you may as well try something. After all, if nothing is going to change your circumstances, then you may as well try anything!

“‘Unagi’ is a state of total awareness.”

From: Friends

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Ross Geller

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the very popular sitcom Friends. The show focused on a group of friends (pretty obvious) with rather different personalities yet managed to stick together for a long time. The show launched the careers of many of the actors and actresses involved in the show.

The quote comes from Ross Geller (played by David Schwimmer). The episode starts out with Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe Buffay (played by Lisa Kudrow) commenting about a self-defense class they took and how they can pretty much defend themselves. However, Ross, who mentions he’s taken “kara-teh,” they actually won’t be able to protect themselves from attackers because they do not have, what he called “unagi.”

Trivia: What Ross probably means is “Zanshin,” which means pretty much what he thinks the word “unagi” means.

Geek wisdom: Even the smartest people can be wrong at times. In Friends, Ross is supposedly the most educated of the group. However, he flat out gets the word wrong and, even when confronted with different people commenting that “unagi” is an eel, he still never bothers to actually check if he was wrong since he “knows” he’s correct.

Ross’ mistake can happen to anyone, even you. Make sure to double-check your facts once in a while and be ready to admit when you’re wrong.

“Are you not entertained?”

From: Gladiator

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Maximus Decimus Meridius

The story behind the quote: The quote comes Ridley Scott’s Gladiator starring Russell Crowe as Maximus, the titular “Gladiator” of the film. The movie is about a former Roman general who, because he didn’t give his fealty to Commodus (played by Joaquin Pheonix) and after some heartbreaking events, became a gladiator in the Roman colosseum.

The quote comes after one of Maximus’ early gladitorial fights. After handily defeating several other well-armed opponents and disrespecting the governor, Maximus turns to the crowd and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: People do find pleasure in watching mayhem. It’s a part of human nature. No matter how hard you want to deny it, there is a certain allure about it. However, just because it look enticing, that doesn’t mean we should perform random acts of violence.

Real life violence should only be used during desperate times and not for “entertainment” value.

“Go home and be a family man!”

From: Street Fighter II

Genre: Video games

Who said it?: Guile

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from Street Fighter II. While the series has always revolved around karate practitioners Ryu and Ken, Street Fighter has amassed a huge cast of characters. One of the more popular characters is Guile. The quote doesn’t actually come from the arcade/original version of the game. Rather, the only time Guile gives this particular victory quote is in the console versions (SNES and Genesis).

Here’s a little piece of trivia: The win quote is actually a mistranslation of a much longer quote. In the original Japanese, Guile advises his defeated opponent to “Go back home. You need to take care of your family.” However, the translation became the quote as we know it today.

Geek wisdom: Being a father and/or a mother is more than just siring a child. You also have to take care of your offspring. But a lot of people think this is just providing for them. If you give them money or support them, that should be enough. But it’s not.

You have to be there to nurture your children. Be there to take care of them and make sure they grow up the right way.

“If you build it, he will come.”

From: Field of Dreams

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Mysterious Voice

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the critically acclaimed 1989 film, Field of Dreams. The film is about a farmer named Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner), who receives a vision to build a baseball diamond in his field. While he does go through with constructing the baseball field, this does lead to some disastrous financial problems for the family. However, Ray does get some reward in the end…

The quote comes very early in the film. As Ray wanders into his field of crops, he all of a sudden hears a mysterious voice whisper the quote to him.

Geek wisdom: We love to talk ourselves out of our dreams for fears we won’t be successful or all our hard work will never pan out. But, the weird thing is, if you don’t even make the attempt, then there’s no way they will ever come true. The only way our desires and wishes can come to fruition is if we actually go ahead and chase after them. We have to believe we can reach our goal.

“I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?”

From: Meet The Parents

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Admiral Ackbar

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the 2000 comedy film, Meet The Parents. The unfortunately named Gaylord “Greg” Fokker (played by Ben Stiller) intends to propose to Pam (Teri Polo), his girlfriend. However, he finds out that he has to ask permission from her parents first. The couple travel to Pam’s home and Greg hopes to get Pam’s parents blessing. Unfortunately, Pam’s father, Jack (played by Robert De Niro), takes an immediate disliking to Greg for several reasons (his name and his occupation as a male nurse for example). Because of this, Greg tries to find way to curry favor from Jack.

The quote comes from one of the tall tales Greg weaves in the hopes of impressing Jack. In order to get out of a lie, Greg says he milked a cat…

Geek wisdom: We do feel the need to stretch the truth now and then. However, if you get caught in a lie, it’s pretty painful. There are a lot of implications when people find out you’re a liar as well. People can start distrusting you or not believe you, even when you are just giving the facts. As much as possible, it’s a good idea to avoid lying altogether.

“Save Ferris?”

From: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Some guy in school?

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the smash teen comedy from the 80’s. While the movie does focus on Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) and his cohort’s adventures while playing hooky from school, there’s actually a small but fun subplot regarding Ferris’ excuse for staying home.

Ferris Bueller managed to convince his parents that he’s sick and that he should not go to school. However, the news of Ferris being “sick” gets misconstrued. All of a sudden, there is a need to help out the ailing high school student…

Geek wisdom: With the prevalence of the Internet and social media, things often get blown out of proportion. The sad thing is, people think and react to this news without hearing all of the facts. They immediately jump to their own conclusions and fight for causes without fully understanding what they’re fighting for. Rather, they only do it because it’s the popular thing to do… even if it doesn’t fully fall into their own beliefs.