“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”

From: Star Wars

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Obi-Wan Kenobi

The story behind the quote: With Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens soon to be released in theaters, it only seems appropriate we mention a few quotes from the original Star Wars films. Hopefully, we’ll get a new bunch of memorable lines in the new Star Wars films. Lines where we can pick up a few pieces of Geek Wisdom as well!

This week’s quote comes from Episode IV: A New Hope. Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness) had just rescued Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) from a group of Sand People. Obi-Wan gives Luke his birthright, his lightsaber, and explains what happens to Luke’s father, a former Jedi Knight, peacekeepers trained to use The Force. Luke then asks Obi-Wan what exactly is The Force is, which is when Obi-Wan delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom:  We are all connected to each other somehow. In one way or another, whatever we do will impact the decisions others will do. This means that, even the smallest and seemingly most unimportant choices we make, can make a huge difference in others. Try to make sure your choices are the right ones for the betterment of everyone.

“Dude, sucking at sumthin’ is the first step towards being sorta good at something.”

From: Adventure Time

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Jake the Dog

The story behind the quote: This will be my second quote from Cartoon Network’s big hit Adventure Time. The show follows the adventures of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog in the Land of Ooo. The show has gained a huge following of not only kids, but adults as well due to its silly humor and as it has the guts to throw in some jokes/situations that only grown-up would appreciate

The quote came from the Season 1 episode, “His Hero.” In the episode, Finn and Jake meet with Billy, who is supposed to be the greatest warrior who ever lived. Billy tells the heroes that, as the villains just keep on returning, they should try helping people using non-violent means. Unfortunately, Finn and Jake aren’t very good at it. This is when Jake delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: It’s easy to give up when you try something new. Whether it be picking up an instrument or trying to learn a new skill, you’ll probably not be very good at it. And it can be easy to get frustrated and give up. But no one said learning something new is going to be easy all the time.

It takes practice to become really proficient at something. The only way to get good at something is to actually do it and to keep on doing it until it becomes second nature to you.

“We were on a break!”

From: Friends

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Ross Geller

The story behind the quote: This is going to be my third quote from Friends, the hit sitcom from the ’90s. Even if the show did end a little over a year ago, Friends is still being shown in syndication in the United States and various parts of the world.

The quote is actually a recurring gag from the show. Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston) is tired of her boyfriend Ross Gellar’s (played by David Schwimmer’s) continuous bouts of jealousy has finally had enough. She then tell Ross that, maybe, they should “take a break” from the relationship. Ross, thinking that the relationship is over, sleeps with another woman. Ross and Rachel do make up shortly after but, when she finds out that Ross did sleep with someone, the two have a heated argument regarding what it exactly means what being “on a break” means.

Geek wisdom: Both sides do have a legitimate argument to make regarding the situation. That’s because both Ross and Rachel interpreted the situation differently because no clarity was given.Terminologies can get a little squirrely at times. Entire sentences can be interpreted by different persons in different way.

It’s always best to clarify and get details when something is pretty vague.

“I’ll have what she’s having”

From: When Harry Met Sally

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Elderly Deli Patron

The story behind the quote: This line is often mentioned as one of the most memorable lines in film… and it came from a background character!

The quote comes from When Harry Met Sally, a film about two people, Harry (played by Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) and their somewhat long “on and off” relationship. The film generally focuses on how both their become intertwined and how their relationship grows from mere acquaintances to lovers.

The film come from the ever popular Deli scene. Sally mentions that women sometimes fake orgasm, to which Harry mentions that he would be able to tell the difference as to when a woman was faking it or not. Sally then proceeds to moan and scream as she is climaxing. After she’s done, one of the people in the deli, a fairly elderly woman gets the attention of a waiter and delivers the quote

Trivia: The elderly woman who delivers the quote is actually the mother of Rob Reiner, the director and producer of the film.

Geek wisdom: We would like to believe that we would be able to spot when people are lying to us. But, the truth of the matter is, it can be incredibly difficult to do so. Some people have actually become so adept at lying to others that people will easily believe them. Sometimes, it’s best to not be too trusting, especially if something seems to be too good to be true.

“Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you!”

From: Samwise “Sam” Gamgee

Genre: Movies/Books

Who said it?: The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the final entry of The Lord of The Rings, The Return of the King. The final chapter closes out Frodo Baggins and his friend Samwise “Sam” Gamgee’s trial/adventure to take the One Ring into Mordor to destroy it by tossing it into the fires of Mount Doom.

The quote comes from near the end of the movie but somewhere in the middle of the book. Frodo and Sam (played in the films by Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, respectively) have entered Mordor and are making the trek to the top of Mount Doom. Tired and exhausted, Frodo collapses. Sam tried to comfort his comrade by telling him about their home. The Shire. However, Frodo only feels paranoia from carrying the One Ring for so long. Sam then makes his decision on how they should press on…

Geek wisdom: You don’t have to go through hardships all by yourself. Friends will support you whenever you have a heavy burden to carry. They may not be able to solve the problem or completely take the load off. However, true friends will be there for you to assist you in whatever way they can.

“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.