fry – My Geek Wisdom

“Femputer sentences them to death… by snu snu!”

From: Futurama

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Femputer

The story behind the quote: This quote comes from the sci-fi animted comedy, Futurama. The show has a 20th century male named Philip J. Fry accidentally put into suspended animation and reawakened in the future. He now works for an intergalactic delivery service and flies around the galaxy, getting into a whole mess of adventures along the way.

The quote comes from the 1st episode of the 3rd season, Amazon Women in the Mood. The trio of Fry, Zapp Brannigan and Kif are imprisoned for insulting females. The Amazonians cannot figure out what use are the males but Amy whispers into the ear of one of the Amazonians about sexual intercourse. The Amazonians realize what Amy is describing is “snu snu,” something they haven’t experience but only read about. Femputer, the ruler of the planet, then sentences the trio to a seemingly pleasurable death by the aforementioned snu snu.

Geek wisdom: Too much of a good thing is still too much. While it may seem all fun at the start, after a while, even the most pleasurable activities can become painful and even harmful. Recognize when to stop before you hurt yourself.

“Shut up and take my money!”

From: Futurama

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Fry

The story behind the quote: This is another quote from Futurama, which is odd, since I’m a bigger fan of Matt Groening’s other show, The Simpsons. Anyway, the quote comes from the episode, entitled “Attack of the Killer App” from Season 6.

A new device called the eyePhone (obviously a joke on Apple’s iPhone devices) is being released and Fry is eager to get one. The retail sales clerk begins to warn Fry that the device is very expensive, he has no choice of what phone company to use and the battery life is poor. However, Fry angrily interrupts the person and shoves a lot of money into his face, exclaiming that he should just keep quiet since he’s going to buy the eyePhone.

The quote became somewhat of a meme because of the utter ridiculousness of Fry’s anger regarding the situation and him totally ignoring what the clerk was telling him.

Geek wisdom: We can be like Fry a lot of times, ignoring practicality to just get the next “big” and “cool” thing. We basically just want to be part of the “in” crowd and that’s normal. However, by doing this, we may experience remorse for purchasing an expensive item that really doesn’t meet our needs.

The first iPhone suffered from the exact same problems the fictional eyePhone had, yet a lot of people bought it. What happened afterwards? A lot of people complained that it was too expensive, you couldn’t choose what phone company you wanted and it had poor battery life.

Sometimes, it’s better to wait for improvements and be patient because good things come to those who wait.

“When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”

From: Futurama

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: God?

The story behind the quote: Futurama comes from the mind of Matt Groening, the same guy who created the Simpsons. The style of humor is pretty much like the Simpsons, only given a sci-fi twist. It follows the adventures of Fry, a young man who was accidentally placed in suspended animation and revived in the 30th century. There, he finds a job as a courier for the Planet Express courier service. He works with Leela, a one-eyed cyclops who also becomes his love interest, and Bender, a robot that is an “alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler” (according to Leela).

Anyway, the quote comes from the 20th episode of the 3rd season. While floating aimlessly in space, Bender becomes a god to a small race of beings that lived on his body but the race died because of a nuclear war (long story). The robot actually meets a being that appears to be God. God then tells Bender that he doesn’t interfere with the human race directly but prefers to use a “light touch” to guide them.

Fry and Leela search desperately for Bender and, using a powerful telescope used by space monks (again, long story), find Bender out in space. Bender is then hurtled towards his friends and Fry and Leela are relieved and amazed to find their friend. When leaving the monastery, they realized that they still have the monks tied up. Bender says that God cannot be counted on to help them. The camera then zooms out back to God, where he gives the quote.

(Wow! That was a long summary!)

Geek wisdom: Let’s not get into a theological discussion regarding the quote. Rather, let’s focus on the wisdom behind it. If you think about it, God (well, the voice in the episode anyway) is right. When everything is going right, we don’t give two thoughts regarding how things work. We’re just happy it does.

People have to remember and thank the people in our day to day lives that makes things run smoothly. It can be a thankless job for the guy (or gal) that makes sure that the plumbing in your house is working properly or the janitor that cleans your work area. Acknowledge that they are an important part of our lives.