“I love the Power Glove… it’s so bad.”

From: The Wizard

Genre: Movies, Video Games

Who said it?: Lucas Barton

The story behind the quote: This quote comes from the movie long Nintendo commercial, The Wizard. The story of the film is a “special” kid named Jimmy who wants to travel to California to put pictures of his dead sister in a dinosaur. His half-brother (played by Wonder Years’ star Fred Savage) breaks him out of the institution where he stays to help him get to California. Along the way, they meet a girl named Haley and they find out that Jimmy is a “wizard” in playing video games (get it?) so they enter Jimmy in Video Armageddon, a video game tournament with a prize of $50,000 going to the winner.

The quote comes from one of the “villains” of the film, Lucas Barton. Lucas encounters the trio and exclaims that he is the best NES player ever since he has all of the Nintendo games ever made. To emphasize this even further, he produces the Power Glove and uses it to play Rad Racer. After completing the race in the game, Lucas turns to the audience, delivering the quote and plugging the Power Glove to the young kids who are watching the film.

Geek wisdom: While it may seem like arrogance, it’s actually a good thing to take pride in what you have. Whether it be material things or your personal accomplishments, you have to be proud of it. There’s actually nothing wrong with what Lucas did in scene shown above. He’s just stating that he loves the Power Glove… and he proved why it’s awesome.

“It’s dangerous out there! Take this.”

From: The Legend of Zelda

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Old Man

The story behind the quote: This is a classic quote from the first Legend of Zelda game, a classic game for the NES. It’s also hard to believe that a simple 8-bit game revolutionize gaming as we know it with the ability to save. Before, gamers had to write down a password (which were usually incredibly long) when they had to continue where they left off. The Legend of Zelda changed all of that since the cartridge had a battery which allowed you to save the game. Oh, and it also helps that the game was just plain awesome!

While there have been several games (and reboots) during subsequent releases, the general plot remains the same. The hero of each game is an elf boy named Link. The kingdom of Hyrule is under attack by Ganon and Link goes on a quest to defeat the evil wizard and save the kingdom and Princess Zelda.

Anyway, the quote comes from the start of Link’s 1st quest. He enters a cave where he encounters an old man who tells the hero that the world is filled with monsters and he will need a weapon to defeat these evil creatures. Link gladly takes the sword that is offered and (like all other objects he finds along the way) raises it up in celebration.

Geek wisdom: Simply put, no man is an island. A lot of times, we do feel pride and we think that we can take on the world with no problem. However, there are going to be some instances when it’s simply not true. We will need assistance and every little bit helps.

Even if we are confident and sure that we can take on the world, it doesn’t hurt to be ready for unforeseen circumstances that can prevent us for success. That’s why we would need every little advantage to make sure we will do well.

“A single idea from the human mind can build cities”

From: Inception

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: “Dom” Cobb

The story behind the quote: This quote comes from the smash-hit Inception. One of the highest grossing films of all time, Inception tells the story of Dominic “Dom” Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is a professional criminal who enters the minds of his targets to steal their ideas. However, Dom’s team has been hired to do the opposite; instead of stealing ideas, their job in the film is to actually implant an idea in the target’s mind.

The story goes deeper into that just that. The director of the film, Christopher Nolan, weaves a brilliant tale regarding Dom’s backstory about his life and why he decides to take the job. Inception is a film that is thought provoking and something that should be seen by geeks and people who love movies in general.

Geek wisdom: It’s hard to underestimate the power of an idea. A lot of our modern culture is actually derived from ideas. The airplane came from the idea that people can fly. Even simple conveniences that we take for granted, such as paper, were derived from the idea that we should be able to write on something light and portable.

We all have ideas. No matter how small they are, we have to nurture these ideas into maturity because we can never know how great the idea actually is until we make the idea into reality.

“Use the Force, Luke!”

From: Star Wars

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Obi-Wan Kenobi

The story behind the quote: If you haven’t heard this quote before, you may be on the wrong site. Kidding! Anyway, the quote comes from the first Star Wars film (technically called Episode IV: A New Hope) of the original trilogy. While the Force is mentioned several times throughout the film, the most iconic time it was uttered in the movie was during the attack on the Death Star.

Luke Skywalker flies his X-Wing into the trenches of the massive space station to fire a missile into a hole “that’s no bigger than a womp rat” (meaning its pretty small). While there are computers on board his X-Wing to “accurately” fire the shot, an early attempt failed even with the equipment. As Luke approaches the hole, he hears the ghost of Obi-Wan, his mentor, to turn off the targeting computer and let the Force guide the shot. He does follow the advice and manages to score a direct hit, obliterating the Death Star.

Geek wisdom:  All of us have the potential to do great things, but we are sometimes hindered by the thought that we can’t do it. We essentially don’t believe in ourselves anymore. Sometimes, we have to forget modern conveniences and actually perform the things we need to do by ourselves without assistance.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

From: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Ferris Bueller

The story behind the quote: One of the most memorable films from John Hughes. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the story of the titular character, played by Matthew Broderick,  skipping school for one day to enjoy life. Ferris manages to coax his best friend, Cameron (Alan Ruck), and “spring” his girlfriend, Sloan (Mia Sara), from school to take the day off from school.

The quote is actually mentioned twice. The first time is when Ferris a few minutes into the movie, after he convinces his parents that he’s sick so he can stay at home and “recover.” He walks around the house, talking to the audience to deliver that piece of advice.

The second time the quote is delivered is at the end of the movie. Ferris successfully to return home before his parents get home to check up on him. After his parents leave the room, he looks back to the audience and tells the quote to the audience again.

Geek wisdom: In this day of age, we tend to take life too seriously and postpone our happiness. We think that, once we do this or achieve that, then that’s when we’ll be happy. Well, what’s wrong with being happy now? It’s always a good idea to take a break from the hassles of life once in a while. Take the time to appreciate what life can bring us.

Live it up a little. We only have a short time on this Earth. Take the time to revel in all the good things it can offer because we never know when it’ll be over.

“Are you telling me you built a time machine out of a Delorean?”

From: Back to the Future

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Marty McFly

The story behind the quote: The Back to the Future series of movies was pretty awesome, however, it wouldn’t have been possible if the first film wasn’t so awesome to begin with. It established great characters (Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly and Chrisopher Llyod’s Doc Brown) and even terms from the movie, such as “flux capacitor, ” “1.21 gigawatts” and “88 miles per hour” have been ingrained in geek culture.

The time machine is another reason why the film is so popular. Doc Brown built his time machine from a DeLorean DMC-12, which is pretty odd if you think about it since most time machines before were, well, stationary objects. In fact, after their first test run, Marty also exclaims that he can’t believe that the car was actually a time machine.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, we gotta go with style over substance. Sure it may seem shallow, but as Doc Brown said, its good to add some flair as well. While it does pay to be practical most of the time, it can be boring. We all want to get things and do stuff that, in the long run, are not really useful. Buying an expensive shirt or eating at a very fancy place may seem useless. However, if you do enjoy it, then there is some use to it.

Life isn’t just about surviving. Life is also enjoying living. We all have to balance our “fun” and “survival” in the right amounts.

“It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy… let’s go exploring!”

From: Calvin and Hobbes

Genre: Comics

Who said it?: Calvin

The story behind the quote: Calvin and Hobbes is a very creative comic strip from Bill Watterson. Unlike most comic strips, the jokes and stories never patronize the intelligence of the audience and can be read (and enjoyed) by kids and adults alike. Calvin is a very active kid and is best friends with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Since he is just a kid, he is very imaginative and constantly dreams of impossible adventures, such as being in outer space in his Spaceman Spiff persona. Most of the stories and gags usually revolve around Calvin’s imagination and how it gets him into trouble. However, there are a lot of philosophical ideas as well. Calvin and, by extension, Hobbes observe things with remarkable insight for a little boy.

The quote comes from the very last strip that was released. It has Calvin and Hobbes walking in the new fallen snow and exclaiming that the day is so full of possibilities. They then both ride on their bobsled, eager to look around the world and find new and exciting things.

Geek wisdom: We have to treat each day as a new adventure. As Calvin said, the day is always full of new possibilities. A lot of us have become cynical and actually dread and worry about what tomorrow will bring. There’s a lot of things the world can offer us and we sometimes close ourselves to the possibility of actually going out and enjoying ourselves.

All of us should take the time to remember that each day brings us new opportunities. We should not hide from these opportunities. Rather, we should chase after the chance a new day brings us.

“Leeroy Jenkins!”

From: Youtube (I guess)

Genre: Video Games, Internet

Who said it?: Leeroy Jenkins (I guess)

The story behind the quote: This is going to be a weird one since it doesn’t really come from anything other than Youtube. However, it does bear mentioning that the video is funny if you know the basic idea behind it. So, let’s first explain what the video is about.

The video shows a bunch of friends planning a raid within the World of Warcraft MMORPG. Before then enter the citadel where the raid is to take place, the group huddle up and meticulously plan and strategize how they are going to attack and what each persons role will be to minimize losses.

Unfortunately, one of the players, Leeroy Jenkins, becomes impatient (or just doesn’t care about strategy) and charges into the battlefield, yelling his name like a battlecry. Leeroy’s actions alert all of the monsters in the citadel and they begin attacking. Their plans wrecked because of this impulsive act, the group is decimated very quickly and all they can do is berate Leeroy Jenkins for it.

Geek wisdom: Planning definitely helps, especially if you want to be successful. Rushing into a dangerous situation without any form of strategy is, as the video shows, just plain suicide. Take a step back and predict possible failure points and make countermeasures. This just doesn’t go for video games; planning also helps with every thing in life.

“That makes me a sad panda!”

From: South Park

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Sexual Harassment Panda

The story behind the quote: South Park comes from the twisted minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The show revolves around the residents of a small community in Colorado. Most of the stories are from the viewpoint of four children, Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman. A lot of the humor comes from the general weirdness of the residents and every episode comes from putting a spin on the ridiculousness of life. The show will poke fun at different topics that Trey and Matt want to make fun of, such as religion, politics and even pop culture.

One episode, aptly called Sexual Harassment Panda, has a person dressed up in a panda outfit trying to teach children about how bad sexual harassment is. Unfortunately, the only message Cartman heard after the speech is that you can sue anyone you feel has harassed you before. However, that’s beside the point. I just wanted to show you the speech of Sexual Harassment Panda because there is some wisdom(?) to his words… and its just funny.

Geek wisdom: People and society tell us that we should not show our emotions and bottle them up. Guys will be ridiculed if they cry while watching a movie. Women are taught that they have to hide feeling of love and play hard to get.

We have to be honest with our feelings. Our emotions are a part of us and make us unique from other people. We shouldn’t let others tell us what to feel in certain situations. We shouldn’t be ashamed to express how we feel. In fact, displaying our emotions will give other people a deeper understanding into our very being.

“You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

From: The Matrix

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Morpheus

The story behind the quote: Released in 1999, The Matrix was a groundbreaking film that was unlike any other. First, the trailer did not reveal a single thing about the plot. It only asked “What is the Matrix?” Because of this, people were hooked! They just had to see it!  Before I go into the plot, people that haven’t watched it yet should go watch it first… this will get kinda spoiler-y. Don’t worry. I’ll wait.

Watched it already? Good!

So the plot of the movie is that machines have actually taken over the world and the world that human think they’re living in is just a computer simulation called The Matrix. All of humanity are plugged into machines where our bio-chemistry gives energy to the machines. Essentially, we’re all just giant living batteries. Only a small segment of humanity know about this and are trying to fight the machines.

The hero, Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) gets an audience with Morpheus (portrayed by Lawrence Fishburne). Morpheus gives Neo a chance to take a blue pill (which will just knock him out but he will never learn that we’re just giant batteries) or a red pill (which will make him wake up from The Matrix).

Geek wisdom: Throughout life, we are given the choice of taking the blue pill or ignorance or the red pill of knowledge. While there is a saying that ignorance is bliss, having knowledge is always going to be better. Now, the thing is, every thing that we learn is actually through our own choice.

All of us have a great capacity to learn new things on a daily basis. However, a lot of us don’t even try. Even reading a geeky site about wisdom you can find in pop culture (ahem!) adds to one’s knowledge about life. What we become educated on is wholly dependent on our own choice to educate ourselves with what is available in the world.