Victor de la Cruz

“You mean you have to use your hands?” “That’s like a baby’s toy!”

From: Back To The Future: Part II

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Two kids from the future

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the second installment of the Back To The Future trilogy of films. In this film, Marty McFly goes to the future (2015 at the time) because Doc Brown says that one of his future children is in trouble. However, while saving his son, Biff Tannen steals the DeLorean and changes the past by giving his 1955 self a Sports Almanac that allows 1955 Biff to make a fortune by placing bets on the winners, creating a horrible alternate future. Mary and Doc then race to the past to prevent this from happening.

The quote comes from when Marty arrives in the future. Two kids from the future manage to get an old Wild Gunman arcade machine working again. Unable to figure out how the game works, Marty steps in and shows the kids his prowess in the game. However, the kids are unimpressed by how to actually control Wild Gunman…

Geek wisdom: Technology will always keep on improving by leaps and bounds. Before you know it, the latest gadget that you believed was incredibly advanced will seem incredibly dated in a span of a few years. With that being said, we keep on getting the latest tech, such as the newest phones or tablets, knowing full well they will be obsolete in a couple of months.

Sometimes, it’s a good idea to take into perspective if it’s actually worth getting the newest gadgets knowing someone is trying to innovate something radically better than the thing we have right now.

“They may take our lives. But they will never take our freedom!”

From: Braveheart

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: William Wallace

The story behind the quote: The quote Braveheart. The film is based on the life of William Wallace, one of the leaders during the Wars for Sottish Independence. The film shows how Wallace (played by Mel Gibson) managed to rally the embattled Sottish forces during one pivotal battle as well as his eventual capture and execution.

The quote comes from the film’s pivotal “freedom speech.” As the Scottish forces look at imposing might of the English army, William Wallace, who has become some kind of legend because of his previous victories in battle, rallies the demoralized Scottish rabble with a speech.

Geek wisdom: Personal freedom is one of those intangible things we never appreciate until it’s gone. When it is taken from us, we sometimes feel it’s better to live under someone’s boot rather than fight to regain it. And when we do realize the yoke of oppression it too much, we may find out that it’s too late to fight back.

Freedom is for everyone. However, we must be willing to fight for it. Yes, there is a risk involved… but it may be a risk worth taking.

“They’re boxy but they’re good!”

From: Crazy People

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Stephen Bachman

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the little known film, Crazy People. Emory Leeson (played by Dudley Moore) is an advertising executive. One day, he has a nervous breakdown and decides to create “truthful” commercials and advertisements. Some of these new ads are a little too straight to the point and this results in Emory getting checked into a mental hospital. However, these new “honest” advertisements are accidentally released to the public and are actually well received! This leads to Emory, along with the rest of the patients, to create more candid commercials.

The quote comes early in the film. After Emory and his colleague, Stephen Bachman (played by Paul Reiser), are chewed out by their boss. Backman looks over the ads that Emory pitched…

Geek wisdom: Frequently, we love to go for style over substance. We will sometimes go for the more “sexy” product because it looks sleek and stylish. We then wish we got the more practical alternative; the one with more features and less prone to breakage.

Let’s focus on functionality rather than form. Because, in the long run, that’s what really matters.

“My body is ready!”

From: Youtube (More specifically, the 2007 Nintendo E3 Press Conference)

Genre: Video Games, Internet

Who said it?: Reggie Fils-Aime

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from, of all things, the 2007 Nintendo E3 Press Conference. During the reveal of the Balance Board for the Wii Fit, Reggie Fils-Aime was called out on stage to demonstrate how the accessory works alongside Shigeru Miyamoto. As Reggie stepped on the Balance Board, he awkwardly delivered the quote.

The quote has since become an Internet meme of sorts.

Geek wisdom: In this day of age, it’s extremely easy to have a sedentary lifestyle. From the prevalence of fastfood and easy to prepare snacks to the ability to order things online and have machines do the heavy lifting for us, a lot of us have fallen into the trap of laziness. However, when we least expect it, we may need to actually do some manual labor. But we may not be able to because we have become of this unhealthy lifestyle.

Take some time to exercise once in a while.

“Life finds a way.”

From: Jurassic Park

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Dr. Ian Malcolm

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the very first Jurassic Park movie. The film was a landmark in special effects as it was one of the first motion pictures to use computer generated imagery (CGI) effectively. The film was directed by Stephen Spielberg and based on the book of the same name by Michael Crichton. It’s all about a rich philanthropist John Hammond (played by the late Richard Attenborough) who dreams of opening the titular Jurassic Park, a theme park that will feature real life dinosaurs.

The quote comes from fairly early in the film. The head geneticist of Jurassic Park (played by BD Wong) explains that all the dinosaurs are female to prevent uncontrolled breeding. However, renowned mathematician and chaos theorist, Dr. Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum) doesn’t think the plan will work.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, in the bleakest of times, things just mysteriously work themselves out. At times, we even try to figure out how these situations resolved themselves but can’t find out how it happened. We just have to accept that life just works in mysterious ways.

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies. But a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”

From: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Dumbledore

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the very first Harry Potter book/film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The series is about a boy named Harry Potter, a boy wizard. When he was a baby, he managed to survived a deadly spell cast on him by Lord Voldermont, earning him the nickname, “The Boy Who Lived.” Although he didn’t die, the magical attack left a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Now, as a teenager, Harry Potter is enrolled in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But there are rumblings that Lord Voldermont is slowly regaining his power and is poised to make another play to take over the wizard world.

The quote comes from the very end of the book/film. Dumbledore, Hogwart’s Headmaster, is awarding points to the different “houses” of the school. Although Harry’s house, Gryffindor, is behind their rival, Slytherin, Dumbledore decides to give a few extra points to one of Gryffindor’s members, the meek and mild mannered Neville Longbottom as he did display true courage…

Geek wisdom: Conflict is an odd thing. We usually try to avoid it, especially with those we have a close bond with. At times, we even support things they may do that are just plain wrong just to “fit in.” This isn’t really good. In fact, as friends and family, we have to sometimes tell them the ugly truthjust to lead them on the right path.

Sometimes, tough love is the answer. It may not be the easy path but it may be the right one.

“Annie’s pretty young. We try not to sexualize her.”

From: Community

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Jeff Winger

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Community. Initially, a sitcom on NBC, the show was cancelled, dashing hopes for the dream of it getting “six seasons and a movie.” But, with Yahoo! Screen coming in for the save and picking up the cult show, all that’s missing now is the movie. The story has evolved from Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale) trying to get a law degree from Greendale Community College to him actually becoming a faculty member. But Greendale is still the crazy school it’s always been.

The quote comes from the first season episode, “Investigative Journalism.” Buddy (portrayed by guest star Jack Black) attempts to join the study group. He then makes a sexual comment directed at Annie Edison (played by Alison Brie). Jeff quickly takes him aside and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We tend to put people on pedestals. We worship people celebrities and fantasize that our crushes have perfect lives. What we fail to realize in situations like this is that these people are people, too! Sometimes, our own imagination tends to get the better of us and we don’t realize that they may have their own problems and their lives, while it may seem perfect, isn’t a great as we think.

“If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!”

From: Batman, specifically The Killing Joke

Genre: Comics

Who said it?: The Joker

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel, The Killing Joke. This comic drastically gives a different spin on the origins of The Clown Prince of Crime and turns it on its head. Basically, The Killing Joke tells the story of The Joker’s plan to kidnap Commissioner James Gordon and give him “one bad day” so he can go crazy like The Harlequin of Hate became after his stint as the Red Hood.

The quote comes near the end of the story. Batman managed to track down the Joker. The Joker attempts to escape and, all the while, goes on a tirade saying that he’s won (thinking that Gordon has gone as mad as he is). He also knows that something awful happened to him that made him become the Joker but he just can’t remember exactly what it was…

Geek wisdom: Our brains have this weird way of clouding our very memories. Sometimes, we can remember something so vividly, we’d bet our life on it, only to find out we remembered it wrong. Other times, we can have fond memories of the past. But, when we revisit the same thing, we find out that it’s not as good as we remembered.

This is not a bad, nor a good thing; it’s just a fact of life.

“Boy, that escalated quickly.”

From: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Ron Burgundy

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the first Anchorman film. The movie tells the story of 70’s superstar new anchor Ron Burgundy (played by Will Ferrell) and his all-male news team. The station is forced to hire Veronica Corningstone, a fledging female reporter. Due to a freak accident on the way to work, Ron Burgundy is late to work and Veronica takes his seat during his absence. She becomes a hit and is made co-new anchor, which irritates Rob and his friends.

The quote comes somewhere in the middle of the film. Rob and his team get lost while taking a shortcut to buy new suits. They bump into a whole bunch of rival news teams and a riot breaks out, leaving some of the people involved severely injured, maimed or dead. Rob reflects on the events that led to the fight and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, things do get out of control and get out of hand. And when that happens, catastrophic things can happen. It’s best to avoid situations like this before they do. Try to keep a level head during difficult situations and try to be in control of your actions at all times. Let cooler heads prevail.

“Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!”

From: Batman

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Narrator

The story behind the quote: While I’ve already created an earlier entry for the 1966 Batman camp-fest, that was for the movie. This time, the quote comes from the television series.

The 1966 Batman television series (starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin) followed the style of the older serial films. As such, each story arc was broken up into two episodes. The first episode will always end in a cliffhanger with Batman and Robin in some sort of jam. The episode will then end with the narrator summing up the Dynamic Duo’s predicament and advising viewers and fans to make sure to watch how they’ll save themselves.

Geek wisdom: In this ever changing world filled with uncertainty, it’s always nice to fall back on something you can rely on. It’s comforting to have something consistent.