Not as good as the Danish original but still a pretty good movie. The plot in and of itself is compelling.
The war in Afghanistan has always been trickier for me than the war in Iraq. I react to it more ambiguously. The Taliban are the foulest sort of religious fanatics. Good riddance to them. But the war there was never really about that. And, unlike Sam, thousands really did die over there. Not counting all the folks we killed.
They left that part out though.
But not the PTSD. Not the part about nobody understanding.
This is a film where we are privy to something crucial about a character that the other characters are not. But even we are only privy to the tip of the iceberg. And this is relevant to our own lives too. To our own “self-understanding”.
Also, I have never bought into the “family” bullshit. As though just because someone is our brother or father or spouse we are automatically obligated to them for life. Here I think Ayn Rand [re Hank Reardon in Atlas Shrugged] was on to something. Over time, folks have to earn our respect and admiration. As well as our compassion and commitment.
"Jake Gyllenhaal learned of the death of his close friend and Brokeback Mountain co-star Heath Ledger while he was in the middle of shooting a scene for this film. Upon hearing the news, Gyllenhaal immediately walked off set, and returned to finish the scene two days later. He then took a longer bereavement leave before he was ready to continue with the rest of his scenes." IMDb
Brothers
Sam: It’s my brother.
Grace: He doesn’t deserve you.
Let's come back to this.
Tommy: I’m Tommy.
Maggie: Mom doesn’t like you.
Grace: Maggie!
Maggie: That’s what you said to dad.
Let's come back to this.
Tommy: You love it over there, huh?
Sam: It’s my job.
Isabelle: They only shoot the bad guys.
Tommy: Who are the bad guys?
Maggie: The ones with the beards.
Hank [father]: Your brother’s a hero. He’s serving his country and don’t you ever forget that.
He does though.
Grace: Sam’s dead, Tommy.
No, he's not. On the other hand, Joe Willis is.
Sam: Thanks for taking care of them. I didn’t expect that.
Tommy: It just comes naturally, you know.
Sam: Grace is something, huh?
[pause]
Sam: Did you fuck her?
Tommy: What? You kidding?
Sam: I’d understand. You thought I was dead. I’d forgive you.
Tommy: What’s going on in your head? What makes you think that?
Tommy: You guys just look like two teenagers in love out there. You can’t deny that.
They did, indeed.
Cassie: Did you see him die?
Sam: No.
See him? He was forced to kill him.
Tina: Everyone needs some reassurance.
Tommy: Everyone’s different dad, you know.
Hank: What do you mean?
Tina: I just think it’s necessary that everybody has someone to listen to them.
Hank: Right, you know, these days they need therapy if they stub their toe. These guys are Marines. They’re trained for it.
Tina: They’re Marines but they’re still people and I don’t think that anybody is trained to shoot somebody.
Grace: What do you think they are trained for?
Tina: They’re trained to use deadly force, but nobody…
Hank: Trained to kill.
Tina: But nobody is trained to watch someone die.
I certainly wasn't.
Isabelle [screaming at her father]: WHY COULDN’T YOU JUST STAY DEAD?!!
Grace: Isabelle!
Isabelle: You’re just mad 'cause Mom would rather sleep with Uncle Tommy than you.
Grace: Isabelle, why would you say that?
Isabelle: Mom and Uncle Tommy had sex all the time!
She had her reasons.
Sam: You know what I did to get back to you?
Grace: No.
Sam [screaming]: YOU KNOW WHAT I DID TO FUCKING GET BACK TO YOU?! YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU KNOW HOW HE SUFFERED? HE FUCKING SUFFERED BECAUSE OF YOU! AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FUCKING HOUSE AND MY FUCKING KIDS, GRACE?! YOU’RE FUCKING MY BROTHER IN MY FUCKING HOUSE!Grace: Sam, you know I didn’t. Sam, please.SAM: I LOVE YOU GRACE! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU? YOU KNOW WHAT I…GRACE, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I FUCKING DID…DO YOU KNOW WHAT I CAN FUCKING DO WITH THESE FUCKING HANDS, GRACE?!
[he slaps himself over and again in the head]
Sam: YOU…FUCK! GOD! FUCK!!!
Back again to Joe Willis. I mean, what would you have done?
Grace: Sam, what happened over there? Why are you punishing yourself? I’ve loved you since I was 16 years old. But if you don’t tell me what happened you’re not going to see me again.
Sam: I killed him. I killed Joe Willis.
There, he said it.
Sam [voiceover]: Who was it that said “only the dead have seen the end of war”? I have seen the end of war. The question is, can I live again?
Some can. Some can’t. But let’s get back to what these particular wars are really all about.
Quote of the day
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Time
“By the time you're thirty, your worst enemy is yourself.” Chuck Palahniuk
On average, let's say.
“Now, five years is nothing in a man's life except when he is very young and very old..." Pearl S. Buck
On average, let's say.
“Time folds you in its arms and gives you one last kiss, and then it flattens you out and folds you up and tucks you away until it's time for you to become someone else's past time, and then time folds again.” Margaret Atwood
Close enough?
“Today will die tomorrow.” Algernon Charles Swinburne
Three hours and counting.
“Time is the enemy of identity” Michael Moorcock
Death too.
“Every moment is the paradox of now or never.” Simon Van Booy,
Ever come upon one that wasn't?
“By the time you're thirty, your worst enemy is yourself.” Chuck Palahniuk
On average, let's say.
“Now, five years is nothing in a man's life except when he is very young and very old..." Pearl S. Buck
On average, let's say.
“Time folds you in its arms and gives you one last kiss, and then it flattens you out and folds you up and tucks you away until it's time for you to become someone else's past time, and then time folds again.” Margaret Atwood
Close enough?
“Today will die tomorrow.” Algernon Charles Swinburne
Three hours and counting.
“Time is the enemy of identity” Michael Moorcock
Death too.
“Every moment is the paradox of now or never.” Simon Van Booy,
Ever come upon one that wasn't?
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
If life really was meaningless and absurd it would probably look like this.
Minimalism they call it. In New York, Ohio and Florida.
It’s also a “cult favorite”. What makes a film one of those is as mysterious to me as what doesn’t make it one. I’m really at a loss to explain why I love this film myself. It blow me away when I first saw it all those years ago and everytime I see it I enjoy it all the more. Maybe it has something to do with being a nihilist. Or always having striven to fit in with the lumpen sort. Being one myself as it were.
Maybe only 5% of the population want to live like this someday. But I’m betting a much bigger chunk than that don’t want to live the way they are now.
Be prepared to do most of the work yourself in trying to assertain “what it means”. Not much apparently. But that’s the point.
As for the envelope filled with money…
Stranger Than Paradise
Willie: You’re sure you don’t want a TV dinner?
Eva: Yes. I’m not hungry. Why is it called TV dinner?
Willie: Um…You’re supposed to eat it while you watch TV. Television.
Eva: I know what a TV is. Where does that meat come from?
Willie: What do you mean?
Eva: What does that meat come from?
Willie: I guess it comes from a cow.
Eva: From a cow? It doesn’t even look like meat.
Willie: Eva, stop bugging me, will you? You know, this is the way we eat in America. I got my meat, I got my potatoes, I got my vegetables, I got my dessert, and I don’t even have to wash the dishes.
The American Dream let's call it.
Eva: I’m choking the alligator.
Vacuuming.
Willie: I got something for you.
Eva: What is it?
Willie: It’s a present.
Eva: Thanks. What is it? It’s a dress?
Willie: Yeah.
Eva: Oh. Thank you.
[she looks at the dress]
Eva: I think it’s kind of ugly. Don’t you?
Willie: No. I bought it. Why don’t you try it on?
Eva: I don’t really wear this style.
Willie: You know, when you come here, you should dress like people dress here.
Eva [tossing it aside]: I’ll try it on…later.
Later, she dumps it on the street.
Willie: Hey, leave me some Chesterfields.
Eva: Can I get them in Cleveland?
Willie: Yeah, yeah, you can get 'em in Cleveland.
Eva: They taste good there, like here?
Willie: It’s the same Chesterfields.
Eva: Yeah?
Willie: All over America. Yeah.
Next up: Old Gold? Tarryton? Viceroy? Lark?
Eddie: You know, last year before I met your cousin, I never know you were from Hungary or Budapest or any of those places.
Willie: So what?
Eddie: I thought you were an American.
Willie: Hey, I’m as American as you are.
[Silence. They begin driving into Cleveland]
Eddie: Does Cleveland look a little like, uh, Budapest?
Willie: Eddie, shut up.
I forget: did he?
Eddie [in Cleveland]: You know, it’s funny… you come to someplace new, an’… and everything looks just the same.
Willie: No kiddin’, Eddie
McCities let's call them.
Willie [to Eva]: Here, let me tell you a joke, all right? There’s three guys, and they’re walking down the street. One guy says to the other one, “Hey, your shoe’s untied.” He says, “I know that.” And they walk… No… There’s two guys, they’re walking down the street, and one of them says to the other one, “Your shoe’s untied.” And the other guy says, “I know that.” And they walk a couple blocks further, and they see a third friend, and he comes up and says, “Your shoe’s untied.” "Your shoe’s un - " Aaah, I can’t remember this joke. But it’s good.
Next up: these things: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0 ... =610&dpr=1
Willie: You take me to the dog races and now you tell me “you can’t win them all”.
Eva: What’s going on?
Eddie: Nothing. Nothing’s going on. We just lost all of our money.
Eva: At dog races?!
Next up: the ponies.
Willie: I had to buy the ticket so I can get on the plane to take her off the plane.
She's not even on the plane!
As I recall.
Eddie [watches plane take off]: Aw, Willie. I had a bad feeling. Damn. What the hell you gonna do in Budapest?
Unfortunately, no sequel. Not yet, anyway.
Minimalism they call it. In New York, Ohio and Florida.
It’s also a “cult favorite”. What makes a film one of those is as mysterious to me as what doesn’t make it one. I’m really at a loss to explain why I love this film myself. It blow me away when I first saw it all those years ago and everytime I see it I enjoy it all the more. Maybe it has something to do with being a nihilist. Or always having striven to fit in with the lumpen sort. Being one myself as it were.
Maybe only 5% of the population want to live like this someday. But I’m betting a much bigger chunk than that don’t want to live the way they are now.
Be prepared to do most of the work yourself in trying to assertain “what it means”. Not much apparently. But that’s the point.
As for the envelope filled with money…
Stranger Than Paradise
Willie: You’re sure you don’t want a TV dinner?
Eva: Yes. I’m not hungry. Why is it called TV dinner?
Willie: Um…You’re supposed to eat it while you watch TV. Television.
Eva: I know what a TV is. Where does that meat come from?
Willie: What do you mean?
Eva: What does that meat come from?
Willie: I guess it comes from a cow.
Eva: From a cow? It doesn’t even look like meat.
Willie: Eva, stop bugging me, will you? You know, this is the way we eat in America. I got my meat, I got my potatoes, I got my vegetables, I got my dessert, and I don’t even have to wash the dishes.
The American Dream let's call it.
Eva: I’m choking the alligator.
Vacuuming.
Willie: I got something for you.
Eva: What is it?
Willie: It’s a present.
Eva: Thanks. What is it? It’s a dress?
Willie: Yeah.
Eva: Oh. Thank you.
[she looks at the dress]
Eva: I think it’s kind of ugly. Don’t you?
Willie: No. I bought it. Why don’t you try it on?
Eva: I don’t really wear this style.
Willie: You know, when you come here, you should dress like people dress here.
Eva [tossing it aside]: I’ll try it on…later.
Later, she dumps it on the street.
Willie: Hey, leave me some Chesterfields.
Eva: Can I get them in Cleveland?
Willie: Yeah, yeah, you can get 'em in Cleveland.
Eva: They taste good there, like here?
Willie: It’s the same Chesterfields.
Eva: Yeah?
Willie: All over America. Yeah.
Next up: Old Gold? Tarryton? Viceroy? Lark?
Eddie: You know, last year before I met your cousin, I never know you were from Hungary or Budapest or any of those places.
Willie: So what?
Eddie: I thought you were an American.
Willie: Hey, I’m as American as you are.
[Silence. They begin driving into Cleveland]
Eddie: Does Cleveland look a little like, uh, Budapest?
Willie: Eddie, shut up.
I forget: did he?
Eddie [in Cleveland]: You know, it’s funny… you come to someplace new, an’… and everything looks just the same.
Willie: No kiddin’, Eddie
McCities let's call them.
Willie [to Eva]: Here, let me tell you a joke, all right? There’s three guys, and they’re walking down the street. One guy says to the other one, “Hey, your shoe’s untied.” He says, “I know that.” And they walk… No… There’s two guys, they’re walking down the street, and one of them says to the other one, “Your shoe’s untied.” And the other guy says, “I know that.” And they walk a couple blocks further, and they see a third friend, and he comes up and says, “Your shoe’s untied.” "Your shoe’s un - " Aaah, I can’t remember this joke. But it’s good.
Next up: these things: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0 ... =610&dpr=1
Willie: You take me to the dog races and now you tell me “you can’t win them all”.
Eva: What’s going on?
Eddie: Nothing. Nothing’s going on. We just lost all of our money.
Eva: At dog races?!
Next up: the ponies.
Willie: I had to buy the ticket so I can get on the plane to take her off the plane.
She's not even on the plane!
As I recall.
Eddie [watches plane take off]: Aw, Willie. I had a bad feeling. Damn. What the hell you gonna do in Budapest?
Unfortunately, no sequel. Not yet, anyway.
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
God
“To believe in God or in a guiding force because someone tells you to is the height of stupidity. We are given senses to receive our information within. With our own eyes we see, and with our own skin we feel. With our intelligence, it is intended that we understand. But each person must puzzle it out for himself or herself.” Sophy Burnham
Next up: you have a "condition".
“All right, God, say that You are really there. You have put me in this fix. You want to test me. Suppose I test You? Suppose I say that You are not there? You've given me a supreme test with my parents and with these boils. I think that I have passed Your test. I am tougher than You. If You will come down here right now, I will spit into Your face, if You have a face. And do You shit? The priest never answered that question. He told us not to doubt. Doubt what? I think that You have been picking on me too much so I am asking You to come down here so I can put You to the test! I waited. Nothing. I waited for God. I waited and waited.” Charles Bukowski
Even I wouldn't take it that far. You know, just in case He does exist.
“After all, when ‘the Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become’ He resolved to ‘wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created – and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground – for I regret that I have made them’ (Genesis 6:7). The Bible thinks it is perfectly all right to destroy all animals as punishment for the crimes of Homo sapiens, as if the existence of giraffes, pelicans and ladybirds has lost all purpose if humans misbehave. The Bible could not imagine a scenario in which God repents having created Homo sapiens, wipes this sinful ape off the face of the earth, and then spends eternity enjoying the antics of ostriches, kangaroos and panda bears.” Yuval Noah Harari
On the other hand, it wouldn't make nature any less a slaughterhouse. Not to mention all the ghastly diseases that animals are afflicted with.
“If you were meant to cure cancer or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself...You hurt your children, you hurt me, you hurt the planet. You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite God Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter further along its path back to God.” Stephen Pressfield
Come on, it was God who created cancer, right? And I'm still waiting for anyone who can reconcile their own religious beliefs with this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_earthquakes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_l ... _eruptions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_t ... l_cyclones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tsunamis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_landslides
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fires
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deadliest_floods
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_t ... ore_deaths
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_diseases
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinction_events
“Faith means I chose not to know, which is different than ignorance which refuses to know.” Craig D. Lounsbrough
New thread?
“There's a lot of pride involved in my refusal to believe in god.” Orhan Pamuk
New Thread?
“To believe in God or in a guiding force because someone tells you to is the height of stupidity. We are given senses to receive our information within. With our own eyes we see, and with our own skin we feel. With our intelligence, it is intended that we understand. But each person must puzzle it out for himself or herself.” Sophy Burnham
Next up: you have a "condition".
“All right, God, say that You are really there. You have put me in this fix. You want to test me. Suppose I test You? Suppose I say that You are not there? You've given me a supreme test with my parents and with these boils. I think that I have passed Your test. I am tougher than You. If You will come down here right now, I will spit into Your face, if You have a face. And do You shit? The priest never answered that question. He told us not to doubt. Doubt what? I think that You have been picking on me too much so I am asking You to come down here so I can put You to the test! I waited. Nothing. I waited for God. I waited and waited.” Charles Bukowski
Even I wouldn't take it that far. You know, just in case He does exist.
“After all, when ‘the Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become’ He resolved to ‘wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created – and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground – for I regret that I have made them’ (Genesis 6:7). The Bible thinks it is perfectly all right to destroy all animals as punishment for the crimes of Homo sapiens, as if the existence of giraffes, pelicans and ladybirds has lost all purpose if humans misbehave. The Bible could not imagine a scenario in which God repents having created Homo sapiens, wipes this sinful ape off the face of the earth, and then spends eternity enjoying the antics of ostriches, kangaroos and panda bears.” Yuval Noah Harari
On the other hand, it wouldn't make nature any less a slaughterhouse. Not to mention all the ghastly diseases that animals are afflicted with.
“If you were meant to cure cancer or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself...You hurt your children, you hurt me, you hurt the planet. You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite God Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter further along its path back to God.” Stephen Pressfield
Come on, it was God who created cancer, right? And I'm still waiting for anyone who can reconcile their own religious beliefs with this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_earthquakes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_l ... _eruptions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_t ... l_cyclones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tsunamis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_landslides
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fires
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deadliest_floods
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_t ... ore_deaths
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_diseases
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinction_events
“Faith means I chose not to know, which is different than ignorance which refuses to know.” Craig D. Lounsbrough
New thread?
“There's a lot of pride involved in my refusal to believe in god.” Orhan Pamuk
New Thread?
-
accelafine
- Posts: 5042
- Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:16 pm
Re: Quote of the day
''...when others who have been using the forum as an online mental asylum for many years...''
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Iñárritu’s movies are always about the ways in which we’re connected to others…and in a manner most of us hardly ever think about at all. This film is the final part of a trilogy, including Amores Perros and 21 Grams.
But in our modern world, those connections can be global in scope. And Babel spans it. A seemingly insignificant event in a seemingly insgnificant part of the world can metastasize into a profusion of consequences…that then spread out far beyond what they ever could before.
Attempts at communication here become miscommunication instead. Then it’s either being or not being in the path of the inevitable fallout.
And then there is the element of culture: Mexico, Japan, Morocco. In some respects people are people are people. But in other respects where you come from makes all the difference in the world.
Babel
Susan: Richard, why did we come here?
Richard: What d’you mean why? I thought you would like it.
Susan: Really? Why are we here?
Richard: To forget everything. To be alone.
Susan [sardonically, looking around at all the people]: Alone?
Now that's a good point.
Richard: You’re never going to forgive me are you?
Susan: You know what I’m talking about.
Richard: Hey, I’m not going to argue.
Susan [after a long pause]: Okay. You just let me know when you’re ready to argue.
Then she gets shot.
Chieko [flushing her panties down the toilet]: Now they’re going to meet the real hairy monster.
I'd look forward to that myself.
Yasira: Why are you home so late?
Abdullah: They closed the road, and we had to take the long way around. Apparently some terrorists killed an American tourist.
Their own son as it turned out shot her. Though she doesn't die. And it probably saved their marriage.
Mike: My mom told me that Mexico is really dangerous.
Santiago [in Spanish]: Yes, it’s full of Mexicans!
Let's get back to Santiago later.
Doctor [in Arabic]: The bullet didn’t hit her spine but if she stays like this, she will bleed to death.
Richard: What did he say?
Anwar: He says she will be fine.
Let's run this by Benjamin Button.
But in our modern world, those connections can be global in scope. And Babel spans it. A seemingly insignificant event in a seemingly insgnificant part of the world can metastasize into a profusion of consequences…that then spread out far beyond what they ever could before.
Attempts at communication here become miscommunication instead. Then it’s either being or not being in the path of the inevitable fallout.
And then there is the element of culture: Mexico, Japan, Morocco. In some respects people are people are people. But in other respects where you come from makes all the difference in the world.
Babel
Susan: Richard, why did we come here?
Richard: What d’you mean why? I thought you would like it.
Susan: Really? Why are we here?
Richard: To forget everything. To be alone.
Susan [sardonically, looking around at all the people]: Alone?
Now that's a good point.
Richard: You’re never going to forgive me are you?
Susan: You know what I’m talking about.
Richard: Hey, I’m not going to argue.
Susan [after a long pause]: Okay. You just let me know when you’re ready to argue.
Then she gets shot.
Chieko [flushing her panties down the toilet]: Now they’re going to meet the real hairy monster.
I'd look forward to that myself.
Yasira: Why are you home so late?
Abdullah: They closed the road, and we had to take the long way around. Apparently some terrorists killed an American tourist.
Their own son as it turned out shot her. Though she doesn't die. And it probably saved their marriage.
Mike: My mom told me that Mexico is really dangerous.
Santiago [in Spanish]: Yes, it’s full of Mexicans!
Let's get back to Santiago later.
Doctor [in Arabic]: The bullet didn’t hit her spine but if she stays like this, she will bleed to death.
Richard: What did he say?
Anwar: He says she will be fine.
Let's run this by Benjamin Button.
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Babel
Richard: What kind of doctor is he?
Anwar: He’s a veterinarian. But he is good.
Next up: the dope lady.
Abdullah: What the hell are you talking about?
Ahmed: Yussef killed the American and he spies on Zhora naked and Zhora lets him watch her…
The sister!
Border patrolman: They don’t look like you, ma’am.
Uh-oh.
Richard: Find me an ambulance! This is your fucked-up country, it’s your responsibility!
Government official: The Americans stopped the ambulance. They want to send a helicopter but there are problems.
Now that it's an "international incident".
Yussef: I killed the American, I was the only one who shot at you. They did nothing…nothing. Kill me, but save my brother, he did nothing…nothing. Save my brother…he did nothing.
Really, suppose she had died?
Police: Ma’am, it was a miracle that we found those kids. I don’t know how you could leave them alone in the desert.
Amelia: I had to look for help. How are they?
Police: That’s none of your business, ma’am. Do you know how many kids die every year trying to cross this border?
Amelia: Sir, I raised these kids since they were born. I take care of them day and night. I feed them breakfast, lunch and dinner. I play with them. Mike and Debbie are like my own children.
Not any more.
Richard: What kind of doctor is he?
Anwar: He’s a veterinarian. But he is good.
Next up: the dope lady.
Abdullah: What the hell are you talking about?
Ahmed: Yussef killed the American and he spies on Zhora naked and Zhora lets him watch her…
The sister!
Border patrolman: They don’t look like you, ma’am.
Uh-oh.
Richard: Find me an ambulance! This is your fucked-up country, it’s your responsibility!
Government official: The Americans stopped the ambulance. They want to send a helicopter but there are problems.
Now that it's an "international incident".
Yussef: I killed the American, I was the only one who shot at you. They did nothing…nothing. Kill me, but save my brother, he did nothing…nothing. Save my brother…he did nothing.
Really, suppose she had died?
Police: Ma’am, it was a miracle that we found those kids. I don’t know how you could leave them alone in the desert.
Amelia: I had to look for help. How are they?
Police: That’s none of your business, ma’am. Do you know how many kids die every year trying to cross this border?
Amelia: Sir, I raised these kids since they were born. I take care of them day and night. I feed them breakfast, lunch and dinner. I play with them. Mike and Debbie are like my own children.
Not any more.
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Let’s take a break from all the serious stuff above and explore the truly absurd and meaningless.
Howard Stern.
I didn’t like him before watching the movie…but only because people I did like didn’t like him. I had never listened to him. After watching the movie I still didn’t like him. But I didn’t like him less than I thought I wouldn’t like him.
The guy [and the movie] are, however, really, really, really funny.
But then he’s not aiming the humor at me. Me being a white male too.
Besides, isn’t this one of the truly great love stories? Even though [admittedly] they’re divorced now?
Hey, only in America.
Private Parts
Young Howard: Mom, we’re half Negro?
What's the other half?
Young Howard: And then I hit puberty. That made things worse because my penis never got any bigger. I mean, I was hung like a 3-year-old.
He still is according to some.
Howard: Oh, my God, man, she’s taking her clothes off.
Fred: I guess she forgot to close the door.
Or, sure, maybe not.
Howard: I got to tell you something. You are gorgeous, And…And you’re a great actress and everything, but I got a wife at home. I can’t cheat on my wife.
Brittany [naked in the tub]: Then leave your underwear on.
Howard: What?
Brittany: If you leave your underwear on, then you can’t cheat. It’s just like going swimming.
More logic!
Howard [aloud to himself]: God, let me get away with this, and I swear I’ll never stray from Alison again. Never.
Define stray?
Duke of Rock: Hey, the Duke of rock’s gettin’ ready to walk, but I want you to stick around, because we got a brand-new morning man…looks like Big Bird to me…Well, now, how about that, kiddies? He’s gonna have Kermit the Frog come in here and sing the Alphabet Song. Isn’t that somethin’? Coming up next on the Big Bird show.
Let's just say that Howard get's the last laugh.
Howard Stern.
I didn’t like him before watching the movie…but only because people I did like didn’t like him. I had never listened to him. After watching the movie I still didn’t like him. But I didn’t like him less than I thought I wouldn’t like him.
The guy [and the movie] are, however, really, really, really funny.
But then he’s not aiming the humor at me. Me being a white male too.
Besides, isn’t this one of the truly great love stories? Even though [admittedly] they’re divorced now?
Hey, only in America.
Private Parts
Young Howard: Mom, we’re half Negro?
What's the other half?
Young Howard: And then I hit puberty. That made things worse because my penis never got any bigger. I mean, I was hung like a 3-year-old.
He still is according to some.
Howard: Oh, my God, man, she’s taking her clothes off.
Fred: I guess she forgot to close the door.
Or, sure, maybe not.
Howard: I got to tell you something. You are gorgeous, And…And you’re a great actress and everything, but I got a wife at home. I can’t cheat on my wife.
Brittany [naked in the tub]: Then leave your underwear on.
Howard: What?
Brittany: If you leave your underwear on, then you can’t cheat. It’s just like going swimming.
More logic!
Howard [aloud to himself]: God, let me get away with this, and I swear I’ll never stray from Alison again. Never.
Define stray?
Duke of Rock: Hey, the Duke of rock’s gettin’ ready to walk, but I want you to stick around, because we got a brand-new morning man…looks like Big Bird to me…Well, now, how about that, kiddies? He’s gonna have Kermit the Frog come in here and sing the Alphabet Song. Isn’t that somethin’? Coming up next on the Big Bird show.
Let's just say that Howard get's the last laugh.
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Private Parts
Howard: My name is Howard Stern, and welcome to the new morning show. And we have a new feature for you. This is, uh, something special. We have a traffic copter now here at WWWW. Let’s go up to Mama Look-a boo boo day in the traffic copter. Mama, you there? Hello? Mama? Uh.
[Helicopter Flying Sound Effect]
Howard: Hello?
Howard (as MamaLookaboobooday): Yes, hello. This is Mama Look-a boo boo day, the only black traffic reporter in the Detroit area, I’m proud to say.
Howard: Pleasure to make your acquaintance this morning, Mama. Tell me, uh, what’s going on in the traffic?
Howard (as MamaLookaboobooday): First, a political statement, if I may. “Kill Kill Kill the White Man” by Eugene Mamalookaboobooday. Eugene is my pen name 'cause I wrote this while I was in the Pen. “Kill Kill Kill the white man. Kill him until he is dead. Kill the white man. Thank you.”
Who really knows what he does believe when it's all for laughs.
Station manager: You talk too much. And very important, I want the time and the temperature 4 times every 15 minutes, not 3…4.
Howard [on the air]: My grandmother died last night. I spent all night with her in the hospital. She…She had a car accident. Her head went right through the windshield. By the way, uh…It’s 6:45 and the temperature is, uh, 58 degrees.
The perfect combination.
Howard [on the air after the station switches to county music format]: Howdy, cowpokes. Uh, I know I shouldn’t be interrupting in the middle of a song, but I got to tell you something. I know a lot of you out there really love this music, but I just don’t get it. Explain it to me. And maybe it’s 'cause I went to college, and I never drove a truck and had sex with my daddy’s sister, but… I guess what I’m trying to say is, I…I don’t think I’m the man for this job. So this is your old pal Hopalong Howie saying I quit.
What balls?
Howard: I feel like such a loser…I don’t want to be one of these disc jockeys that runs around the country, you know, looking for work all the time. I don’t want to end up like that. It’s so sad. It’s so apparent to me now what I should be doing. I should be talking about my personal life. I’ve got to get intimate. And every time I feel like I shouldn’t say something, maybe I should just say it, just blurt it out, you know? I just got to let things fly. I got to go all the way.
Allison: You didn’t go all the way before?
Nope, as it turned, not even close.
Kenny [Pig Vomit]: Uh, Mr. Erlick, if I may? Put me in charge of the Stern show. Let me ride herd on him, and I’ll mold that son of a bitch into another Don Imus. When I’m through whipping him, that boy will be asking permission to wipe his ass.
Of course, we know how that turned out.
Pig Vomit: You goddamn motherfuckers. You fucking waltz in here, and you think you know everything, don’t you? Well, I fucking worked my fucking ass off to get to New York City, and you sure as fuck are not gonna fucking blow it for me!
Howard: I was just doing character…
Pig Vomit: Barry, Jerry, clarify the situation for him, please.
Lawyer (Barry): Page 108, paragraph 3, No jokes involving flatulence, excretion, urination, ejaculation, or other bodily functions.
Lawyer (Jerry): Also, no use of the seven so-called seven dirty words. These are cocksucker, mother-fucker, fuck, shit, ****, cock, and pussy.
Cue SiriusXM.
Howard [as the Match Game host]: Our first clue up is…blank willow. Blank willow. Let’s go over to Miss Brett Somers right now. Now, Brett, what did you have for us? Blank willow.
Robin [as Brett]: The only thing on my mind, Gene, was pussy.
Howard: Uh-oh. Pussy. Hey, all right. Hey, that’s kind of wild. Pussy willow, that’s what I would have said. All right, let’s go over to Dick Nixon, former president of the United States. What did you have? Blank willow.
Fred [as Nixon]: In any language, pussy.
Howard: All right! Now let’s go to our newest member of the panel, Mr. Jackie “Jokeman” Martling. Blank willow.
Jackie: Well, Gene, I didn’t write it too neat, so I have a sloppy pussy.
Howard: Sloppy pussy! We had a sloppy and a fuzzy pussy and a very big one. All right, now, let’s keep going. Now it’s gonna get a little rougher, OK? Everybody ready? Blank a-doodle-doo. Blank a-doodle-doo. Blank a-doodle-doo. Think about that while the celebrities are writing. Here we are. Let’s go over to our Dick Nixon, our own ex-president. What do you got there, Dick? Well, it takes a Dick to know a cock, and that’s what I wrote. Cock-a-doodle-doo.
Howard: Now, that’s what I would have said. That seemed like the obvious answer. OK, let’s go to our own Jackie “The Jokeman” Martling. Jackie The Jokeman?
Jackie: My answer is “cock”, and I wrote it really big, so I have a “big cock!”
Howard: I’m afraid you can’t say “big cock” on the air. That’s a no-no.
Robin: But I just said “pussy”.
Jackie [whining]: Yeah, she just said pussy!
Howard: Well, pussy’s okay. It’s the way you say it. “Big cock” coming out of your mouth is, just not good.
Jackie: Wait a minute. I can’t say “big cock”, but you can say “big cock coming out of your mouth?”
Howard: That’s right.
Jackie: That sucks!
[Pig Vomit, very pissed off, starts running for the studio]
Fred Norris: [as Richard Nixon] Did you just say “big cock coming out of your mouth that sucks”?
Howard: So Brett, what did you write down?
Robin Quivers: [as Brett Summers] Just like the boys, Gene. I’ve got “cock”.
Howard: Do me a favor. Hold that up for a second so I can see your “cock”.
Technically legal?
Pig Vomit: You’re the anti-Christ. You know that, Stern?
[shouts]
Pig Vomit: YOU ARE THE MOTHER-FUCKING ANTI-CHRIST!!
In fact, he might just be, right?
Researcher: The average radio listener listens for eighteen minutes. The average Howard Stern fan listens for - are you ready for this? - an hour and twenty minutes.
Pig Vomit: How can that be?
Researcher: Answer most commonly given? “I want to see what he’ll say next.”
Pig Vomit: Okay, fine. But what about the people who hate Stern?
Researcher: Good point. The average Stern hater listens for two and a half hours a day.
Pig Vomit: But… if they hate him, why do they listen?
Researcher: Most common answer? “I want to see what he’ll say next.”
Just out of curiosity, what does he say now?
Pig Vomit [last lines - Pig Vomit speaks to the camera as road construction happens off-screen]: I bear no grudge against Howard Stern. He’s been very successful, and God bless him. God bless him. But I’ll tell something; I ain’t done too badly, myself. Uh, I manage a shopping mall down in Florence, Alabama. Yeah, it’s the number one mall in Colbert County. It’s number four in the state, so it’s not too bad, you know? Uh, I play golf several times a week, you know? But I’ll tell ya, if Howard woulda listened to me, I’d still be up there in radio. Still be doin’ radio, you know… How ‘bout that? That goddamn motherfucker, you know. I tried every
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: thing I could
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: think of, mold him into a proper kind of deejay, but that goddamn son-of-a-bitch
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: I’ll tell you, Howard Stern, man! That motherfuckin’…
[extended jackhammer and siren]
Pig Vomit: ! And I’ll say that with no shame, either! Man’s a
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: ! Foul-mouthed, immature… The man’s immature, you know? He’s like a
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: child. I’ll tell ya this much: There ain’t no God while Howard Stern’s walking the Earth, I’ll tell you that.
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: I gotta go.
[He walks away. To a passerby]
Pig Vomit: How 'bout that? Howard Stern, huh?
[to the camera]
Pig Vomit: Howard Stern can kiss my ass in hell!
[sustained jackhammer as Pig Vomit exits the frame]
God bless him anyway?
Howard: My name is Howard Stern, and welcome to the new morning show. And we have a new feature for you. This is, uh, something special. We have a traffic copter now here at WWWW. Let’s go up to Mama Look-a boo boo day in the traffic copter. Mama, you there? Hello? Mama? Uh.
[Helicopter Flying Sound Effect]
Howard: Hello?
Howard (as MamaLookaboobooday): Yes, hello. This is Mama Look-a boo boo day, the only black traffic reporter in the Detroit area, I’m proud to say.
Howard: Pleasure to make your acquaintance this morning, Mama. Tell me, uh, what’s going on in the traffic?
Howard (as MamaLookaboobooday): First, a political statement, if I may. “Kill Kill Kill the White Man” by Eugene Mamalookaboobooday. Eugene is my pen name 'cause I wrote this while I was in the Pen. “Kill Kill Kill the white man. Kill him until he is dead. Kill the white man. Thank you.”
Who really knows what he does believe when it's all for laughs.
Station manager: You talk too much. And very important, I want the time and the temperature 4 times every 15 minutes, not 3…4.
Howard [on the air]: My grandmother died last night. I spent all night with her in the hospital. She…She had a car accident. Her head went right through the windshield. By the way, uh…It’s 6:45 and the temperature is, uh, 58 degrees.
The perfect combination.
Howard [on the air after the station switches to county music format]: Howdy, cowpokes. Uh, I know I shouldn’t be interrupting in the middle of a song, but I got to tell you something. I know a lot of you out there really love this music, but I just don’t get it. Explain it to me. And maybe it’s 'cause I went to college, and I never drove a truck and had sex with my daddy’s sister, but… I guess what I’m trying to say is, I…I don’t think I’m the man for this job. So this is your old pal Hopalong Howie saying I quit.
What balls?
Howard: I feel like such a loser…I don’t want to be one of these disc jockeys that runs around the country, you know, looking for work all the time. I don’t want to end up like that. It’s so sad. It’s so apparent to me now what I should be doing. I should be talking about my personal life. I’ve got to get intimate. And every time I feel like I shouldn’t say something, maybe I should just say it, just blurt it out, you know? I just got to let things fly. I got to go all the way.
Allison: You didn’t go all the way before?
Nope, as it turned, not even close.
Kenny [Pig Vomit]: Uh, Mr. Erlick, if I may? Put me in charge of the Stern show. Let me ride herd on him, and I’ll mold that son of a bitch into another Don Imus. When I’m through whipping him, that boy will be asking permission to wipe his ass.
Of course, we know how that turned out.
Pig Vomit: You goddamn motherfuckers. You fucking waltz in here, and you think you know everything, don’t you? Well, I fucking worked my fucking ass off to get to New York City, and you sure as fuck are not gonna fucking blow it for me!
Howard: I was just doing character…
Pig Vomit: Barry, Jerry, clarify the situation for him, please.
Lawyer (Barry): Page 108, paragraph 3, No jokes involving flatulence, excretion, urination, ejaculation, or other bodily functions.
Lawyer (Jerry): Also, no use of the seven so-called seven dirty words. These are cocksucker, mother-fucker, fuck, shit, ****, cock, and pussy.
Cue SiriusXM.
Howard [as the Match Game host]: Our first clue up is…blank willow. Blank willow. Let’s go over to Miss Brett Somers right now. Now, Brett, what did you have for us? Blank willow.
Robin [as Brett]: The only thing on my mind, Gene, was pussy.
Howard: Uh-oh. Pussy. Hey, all right. Hey, that’s kind of wild. Pussy willow, that’s what I would have said. All right, let’s go over to Dick Nixon, former president of the United States. What did you have? Blank willow.
Fred [as Nixon]: In any language, pussy.
Howard: All right! Now let’s go to our newest member of the panel, Mr. Jackie “Jokeman” Martling. Blank willow.
Jackie: Well, Gene, I didn’t write it too neat, so I have a sloppy pussy.
Howard: Sloppy pussy! We had a sloppy and a fuzzy pussy and a very big one. All right, now, let’s keep going. Now it’s gonna get a little rougher, OK? Everybody ready? Blank a-doodle-doo. Blank a-doodle-doo. Blank a-doodle-doo. Think about that while the celebrities are writing. Here we are. Let’s go over to our Dick Nixon, our own ex-president. What do you got there, Dick? Well, it takes a Dick to know a cock, and that’s what I wrote. Cock-a-doodle-doo.
Howard: Now, that’s what I would have said. That seemed like the obvious answer. OK, let’s go to our own Jackie “The Jokeman” Martling. Jackie The Jokeman?
Jackie: My answer is “cock”, and I wrote it really big, so I have a “big cock!”
Howard: I’m afraid you can’t say “big cock” on the air. That’s a no-no.
Robin: But I just said “pussy”.
Jackie [whining]: Yeah, she just said pussy!
Howard: Well, pussy’s okay. It’s the way you say it. “Big cock” coming out of your mouth is, just not good.
Jackie: Wait a minute. I can’t say “big cock”, but you can say “big cock coming out of your mouth?”
Howard: That’s right.
Jackie: That sucks!
[Pig Vomit, very pissed off, starts running for the studio]
Fred Norris: [as Richard Nixon] Did you just say “big cock coming out of your mouth that sucks”?
Howard: So Brett, what did you write down?
Robin Quivers: [as Brett Summers] Just like the boys, Gene. I’ve got “cock”.
Howard: Do me a favor. Hold that up for a second so I can see your “cock”.
Technically legal?
Pig Vomit: You’re the anti-Christ. You know that, Stern?
[shouts]
Pig Vomit: YOU ARE THE MOTHER-FUCKING ANTI-CHRIST!!
In fact, he might just be, right?
Researcher: The average radio listener listens for eighteen minutes. The average Howard Stern fan listens for - are you ready for this? - an hour and twenty minutes.
Pig Vomit: How can that be?
Researcher: Answer most commonly given? “I want to see what he’ll say next.”
Pig Vomit: Okay, fine. But what about the people who hate Stern?
Researcher: Good point. The average Stern hater listens for two and a half hours a day.
Pig Vomit: But… if they hate him, why do they listen?
Researcher: Most common answer? “I want to see what he’ll say next.”
Just out of curiosity, what does he say now?
Pig Vomit [last lines - Pig Vomit speaks to the camera as road construction happens off-screen]: I bear no grudge against Howard Stern. He’s been very successful, and God bless him. God bless him. But I’ll tell something; I ain’t done too badly, myself. Uh, I manage a shopping mall down in Florence, Alabama. Yeah, it’s the number one mall in Colbert County. It’s number four in the state, so it’s not too bad, you know? Uh, I play golf several times a week, you know? But I’ll tell ya, if Howard woulda listened to me, I’d still be up there in radio. Still be doin’ radio, you know… How ‘bout that? That goddamn motherfucker, you know. I tried every
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: thing I could
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: think of, mold him into a proper kind of deejay, but that goddamn son-of-a-bitch
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: I’ll tell you, Howard Stern, man! That motherfuckin’…
[extended jackhammer and siren]
Pig Vomit: ! And I’ll say that with no shame, either! Man’s a
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: ! Foul-mouthed, immature… The man’s immature, you know? He’s like a
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: child. I’ll tell ya this much: There ain’t no God while Howard Stern’s walking the Earth, I’ll tell you that.
[jackhammer]
Pig Vomit: I gotta go.
[He walks away. To a passerby]
Pig Vomit: How 'bout that? Howard Stern, huh?
[to the camera]
Pig Vomit: Howard Stern can kiss my ass in hell!
[sustained jackhammer as Pig Vomit exits the frame]
God bless him anyway?
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Death
“If there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.” Pythagoras
Sounds about right.
“We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.” Hermann Hesse
His books? On the other hand, he is still almost certainly dead.
“Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” John Donne
Any day now.
“Stuffed deer heads on walls are bad enough, but it’s worse when you see them wearing dark glasses, having streamers around their necks and a hat on their antlers. Because then you know they were enjoying themselves at a party when they were shot.” Ellen DeGeneres
I'll bet you hadn't thought of that.
“Contrary to what you may assume, I am not a pessimist but an indifferentist- that is, I don't make the mistake of thinking that the cosmos gives a damn one way or the other about the especial wants and ultimate welfare of mosquitoes, rats, lice, dogs, men, horses, pterodactyls, trees, fungi, dodos, or other forms of biological energy.” H. P. Lovecraft
He wondered if he might be an indifferentist too. Or still just an ironist.
“Everyone sounded the same when they died.” Sarah J. Maas
As far as we know, of course.
“If there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.” Pythagoras
Sounds about right.
“We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.” Hermann Hesse
His books? On the other hand, he is still almost certainly dead.
“Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” John Donne
Any day now.
“Stuffed deer heads on walls are bad enough, but it’s worse when you see them wearing dark glasses, having streamers around their necks and a hat on their antlers. Because then you know they were enjoying themselves at a party when they were shot.” Ellen DeGeneres
I'll bet you hadn't thought of that.
“Contrary to what you may assume, I am not a pessimist but an indifferentist- that is, I don't make the mistake of thinking that the cosmos gives a damn one way or the other about the especial wants and ultimate welfare of mosquitoes, rats, lice, dogs, men, horses, pterodactyls, trees, fungi, dodos, or other forms of biological energy.” H. P. Lovecraft
He wondered if he might be an indifferentist too. Or still just an ironist.
“Everyone sounded the same when they died.” Sarah J. Maas
As far as we know, of course.
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
They can’t go on, they’ll go on.
The old world and the new world can produce very different people. But the capitalists won and, for some, that is harder to endure than for others.
Reminds you of Goodbye Lenin!: creating a fantasy world in order to spare the feelings of one who is old and entrenched in the past. Both films came out the same year.
Here Communism is on the way out but capitalism is scrawny. And crooked. Money has long since replaced “one for all and all for one” and here the “ordinary folks” often struggle to subsist from day to day.
Still, they have their good times…and each other. But: For better and for worse.
We all become enscounced in a family dynamic we can only understand from one point of view. Yet somehow we have to figure out a way to integrate them all together. Or just walk away. If we can. I walked away myself.
Why should we even care though? And, less and less, some don’t. Life can be cruel. What else is new.
Since Otar Left [Depuis qu’Otar Est Parti]
Marina [hanging up the phone]: I got cut off. Stalinist!
Eka: If being a Stalinist means being honest, patriotic, altruistic…then I’m a Stalinist! And proud of it too! Stalin was a great man.
Marina: A great man! He was a murderer!
Ada: Stop it, we don’t give a damn about Stalin!
Eka: Stalin never ordered anyone’s death. I can prove it.
[the electricity goes off—again]
Eka: Stalin would have sorted out this mess!
Someday, no doubt, some will be saying the same thing about Putin.
Marina [reading of Otar’s death in France]: “Our consulate in Paris has sent the following details. On June 11th Otar Goguebachvili was found at the foot of a scaffold. The French police say he fell from the fifth floor. He died from his wounds on the way to the hospital. The foreman is facing charges because your brother did not have a work visa. The building company denies having hired him. We confirm that your brother’s body has been provisionally buried free of charge in the concession for the poor in the Thiais Cemetary in Paris.”
Another one bites the dust. Another one takes his place.
Eka [after Ada reads Otar’s “letter”]: Things can’t be all that easy for him. This time he hasn’t sent a bean.
Maybe next time?
Marina [in the shower when the water shuts off]: Life’s impossible in this fucking country!
And Stalin's not around to fix it.
Ada: Where’s the money from?
Marina: I won the lottery.
Then Niko shows up.
Ada [to Marina]: It’s over, that’s enough. I won’t do it anymore. I’m fed up with lying. You’ll do anything to please your Mum. For her to look at you differently. For her to love you a little more than Otar. That’s why you refuse his death, to continue competing. Because if he dies she’ll make a saint of him and you’ll cease to exist. But it has nothing to do with me. It isn’t my problem, it’s yours. Your fears, doubts, worries…sort them out yourself!
Of course, things like this are always tricky. After all, where does the political end and personal begin?
Tengiz [trying to explain Marina to Ada]: Don’t blame your mother. Our whole generation’s like that. We failed at everything. We’ve lived a lie our whole lives, without questioning it, since we were children, without realizing it, believing it was happiness.
And so, tacitly, they all come to share the same lie. They fall back on each other’s good intentions. Is this for the best? Or, more to the point, perhaps: does it work?
The old world and the new world can produce very different people. But the capitalists won and, for some, that is harder to endure than for others.
Reminds you of Goodbye Lenin!: creating a fantasy world in order to spare the feelings of one who is old and entrenched in the past. Both films came out the same year.
Here Communism is on the way out but capitalism is scrawny. And crooked. Money has long since replaced “one for all and all for one” and here the “ordinary folks” often struggle to subsist from day to day.
Still, they have their good times…and each other. But: For better and for worse.
We all become enscounced in a family dynamic we can only understand from one point of view. Yet somehow we have to figure out a way to integrate them all together. Or just walk away. If we can. I walked away myself.
Why should we even care though? And, less and less, some don’t. Life can be cruel. What else is new.
Since Otar Left [Depuis qu’Otar Est Parti]
Marina [hanging up the phone]: I got cut off. Stalinist!
Eka: If being a Stalinist means being honest, patriotic, altruistic…then I’m a Stalinist! And proud of it too! Stalin was a great man.
Marina: A great man! He was a murderer!
Ada: Stop it, we don’t give a damn about Stalin!
Eka: Stalin never ordered anyone’s death. I can prove it.
[the electricity goes off—again]
Eka: Stalin would have sorted out this mess!
Someday, no doubt, some will be saying the same thing about Putin.
Marina [reading of Otar’s death in France]: “Our consulate in Paris has sent the following details. On June 11th Otar Goguebachvili was found at the foot of a scaffold. The French police say he fell from the fifth floor. He died from his wounds on the way to the hospital. The foreman is facing charges because your brother did not have a work visa. The building company denies having hired him. We confirm that your brother’s body has been provisionally buried free of charge in the concession for the poor in the Thiais Cemetary in Paris.”
Another one bites the dust. Another one takes his place.
Eka [after Ada reads Otar’s “letter”]: Things can’t be all that easy for him. This time he hasn’t sent a bean.
Maybe next time?
Marina [in the shower when the water shuts off]: Life’s impossible in this fucking country!
And Stalin's not around to fix it.
Ada: Where’s the money from?
Marina: I won the lottery.
Then Niko shows up.
Ada [to Marina]: It’s over, that’s enough. I won’t do it anymore. I’m fed up with lying. You’ll do anything to please your Mum. For her to look at you differently. For her to love you a little more than Otar. That’s why you refuse his death, to continue competing. Because if he dies she’ll make a saint of him and you’ll cease to exist. But it has nothing to do with me. It isn’t my problem, it’s yours. Your fears, doubts, worries…sort them out yourself!
Of course, things like this are always tricky. After all, where does the political end and personal begin?
Tengiz [trying to explain Marina to Ada]: Don’t blame your mother. Our whole generation’s like that. We failed at everything. We’ve lived a lie our whole lives, without questioning it, since we were children, without realizing it, believing it was happiness.
And so, tacitly, they all come to share the same lie. They fall back on each other’s good intentions. Is this for the best? Or, more to the point, perhaps: does it work?
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Philosophy
“How small a thought it takes to fill a life.” Ludwig Wittgenstein
How small is yours?
“To live entirely without a goal! I have glimpsed this state, and have often attained it, without managing to remain there: I am too weak for such happiness.” Émile Cioran
I hear that.
“Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's, come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet.” Barbara Kingsolver
New thread!
“They can't tell so much about you if you got your eyes closed.” Ken Kesey
For example, while posting here.
“Whether you take the doughnut hole as a blank space or as an entity unto itself is a purely metaphysical question and does not affect the taste of the doughnut one bit.” Murakami,Haruki
Or, sure, eat them: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=9 ... =610&dpr=1
“A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, "Why is there so much suffering?"
Suzuki Roshi replied, "No reason.” Shunryu Suzuki
Start here: https://youtu.be/lnIlHQLAiTA?si=WfedZVmEMiWNV3aE
“How small a thought it takes to fill a life.” Ludwig Wittgenstein
How small is yours?
“To live entirely without a goal! I have glimpsed this state, and have often attained it, without managing to remain there: I am too weak for such happiness.” Émile Cioran
I hear that.
“Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's, come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet.” Barbara Kingsolver
New thread!
“They can't tell so much about you if you got your eyes closed.” Ken Kesey
For example, while posting here.
“Whether you take the doughnut hole as a blank space or as an entity unto itself is a purely metaphysical question and does not affect the taste of the doughnut one bit.” Murakami,Haruki
Or, sure, eat them: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=9 ... =610&dpr=1
“A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, "Why is there so much suffering?"
Suzuki Roshi replied, "No reason.” Shunryu Suzuki
Start here: https://youtu.be/lnIlHQLAiTA?si=WfedZVmEMiWNV3aE
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Baseball? Meet Moneyball.
Like most everything else that capitalism touches [for better or for worse] it has become a commodity by and large. It is something to make money off of. That doesn’t stop a lot of the players and the fans from loving it for other reasons, of course. Just don’t lose sight of the bottom line. And part and parcel of that is this: the ballplayers themselves become mere commodities. Really, they are traded back and forth here like baseball cards.
But the beauty of any sport is how deeply embedded it is in the world of either/or. Either you win or you lose. Either you are good at it or you are not.
And there are almost always clearly defined rules for every aspect of it.
Not like other parts of our life at all.
But what happens if it becomes less and less fun to play because it becomes more and more about the science of statistics? Everything becomes increasingly more calculated…calibrated. The computer takes over. The “soul” of the game is lost. Or so some insist.
Moneyball
Title card: “It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.” Mickey Mantle
Next up: word games.
Billy: The problem we’re trying to solve is that there are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then there’s fifty feet of crap, and then there’s us. It’s an unfair game. And now we’ve been gutted. We’re like organ donors for the rich. Boston’s taken our kidneys, Yankees have taken our heart. And you guys just sit around talking the same old “good body” nonsense like we’re selling jeans. Like we’re looking for Fabio. We’ve got to think differently. We are the last dog at the bowl. You see what happens to the runt of the litter? He dies.
Ah, the real world.
Peter: There is an epidemic failure within the game to understand what is really happening. And this leads people who run Major League Baseball teams to misjudge their players and mismanage their teams. I apologize.
Billy: Go on.
Peter: Okay. People who run ball clubs, they think in terms of buying players. Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins. And in order to buy wins, you need to buy runs. You’re trying to replace Johnny Damon. The Boston Red Sox see Johnny Damon and they see a star who’s worth seven and half million dollars a year. When I see Johnny Damon, what I see is…is…an imperfect understanding of where runs come from. The guy’s got a great glove. He’s a decent leadoff hitter. He can steal bases. But is he worth the seven and half million dollars a year that the Boston Red Sox are paying him? No. No. Baseball thinking is medieval. They are asking all the wrong questions. And if I say it to anybody, I’m-I’m ostracized. I’m-I’m-I’m a leper. So that’s why I’m-I’m cagey about this with you. That’s why I… I respect you, Mr. Beane, and if you want full disclosure, I think it’s a good thing that you got Damon off your payroll. I think it opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities.
Next up: what is really happening here.
Billy: Pack your bags Pete, I just bought you from the Cleveland Indians.
He means the Cleveland Guardians of course.
Peter: Billy, this is Chad Bradford. He’s a relief pitcher. He is one of the most undervalued players in baseball. His defect is that he throws funny. Nobody in the big leagues cares about him because he looks funny. This guy could be not just the best pitcher in our bullpen, but one of the most effective relief pitchers in all of baseball. This guy should cost $3 million a year. We can get him for $237,000.
Sold!
Grady: Baseball and its fans will be more than happy to throw you and Goggle Boy under the bus if you keep doing what you’re doing. You don’t put a team together with a computer.
Billy: No?
Grady: No. Baseball isn’t just numbers. It’s not science. If it was, anybody could do what we’re doing but they can’t. You got a kid in there that’s got a degree in economics from Yale. You got a scout here with 29 years of baseball experience. You’re listening to the wrong one. There are intangibles that only baseball people understand.
Not unlike the game of philosophy.
Like most everything else that capitalism touches [for better or for worse] it has become a commodity by and large. It is something to make money off of. That doesn’t stop a lot of the players and the fans from loving it for other reasons, of course. Just don’t lose sight of the bottom line. And part and parcel of that is this: the ballplayers themselves become mere commodities. Really, they are traded back and forth here like baseball cards.
But the beauty of any sport is how deeply embedded it is in the world of either/or. Either you win or you lose. Either you are good at it or you are not.
And there are almost always clearly defined rules for every aspect of it.
Not like other parts of our life at all.
But what happens if it becomes less and less fun to play because it becomes more and more about the science of statistics? Everything becomes increasingly more calculated…calibrated. The computer takes over. The “soul” of the game is lost. Or so some insist.
Moneyball
Title card: “It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.” Mickey Mantle
Next up: word games.
Billy: The problem we’re trying to solve is that there are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then there’s fifty feet of crap, and then there’s us. It’s an unfair game. And now we’ve been gutted. We’re like organ donors for the rich. Boston’s taken our kidneys, Yankees have taken our heart. And you guys just sit around talking the same old “good body” nonsense like we’re selling jeans. Like we’re looking for Fabio. We’ve got to think differently. We are the last dog at the bowl. You see what happens to the runt of the litter? He dies.
Ah, the real world.
Peter: There is an epidemic failure within the game to understand what is really happening. And this leads people who run Major League Baseball teams to misjudge their players and mismanage their teams. I apologize.
Billy: Go on.
Peter: Okay. People who run ball clubs, they think in terms of buying players. Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins. And in order to buy wins, you need to buy runs. You’re trying to replace Johnny Damon. The Boston Red Sox see Johnny Damon and they see a star who’s worth seven and half million dollars a year. When I see Johnny Damon, what I see is…is…an imperfect understanding of where runs come from. The guy’s got a great glove. He’s a decent leadoff hitter. He can steal bases. But is he worth the seven and half million dollars a year that the Boston Red Sox are paying him? No. No. Baseball thinking is medieval. They are asking all the wrong questions. And if I say it to anybody, I’m-I’m ostracized. I’m-I’m-I’m a leper. So that’s why I’m-I’m cagey about this with you. That’s why I… I respect you, Mr. Beane, and if you want full disclosure, I think it’s a good thing that you got Damon off your payroll. I think it opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities.
Next up: what is really happening here.
Billy: Pack your bags Pete, I just bought you from the Cleveland Indians.
He means the Cleveland Guardians of course.
Peter: Billy, this is Chad Bradford. He’s a relief pitcher. He is one of the most undervalued players in baseball. His defect is that he throws funny. Nobody in the big leagues cares about him because he looks funny. This guy could be not just the best pitcher in our bullpen, but one of the most effective relief pitchers in all of baseball. This guy should cost $3 million a year. We can get him for $237,000.
Sold!
Grady: Baseball and its fans will be more than happy to throw you and Goggle Boy under the bus if you keep doing what you’re doing. You don’t put a team together with a computer.
Billy: No?
Grady: No. Baseball isn’t just numbers. It’s not science. If it was, anybody could do what we’re doing but they can’t. You got a kid in there that’s got a degree in economics from Yale. You got a scout here with 29 years of baseball experience. You’re listening to the wrong one. There are intangibles that only baseball people understand.
Not unlike the game of philosophy.
-
accelafine
- Posts: 5042
- Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:16 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Complete and utter insanity in full view. He doesn't appear to know what a 'quote' is. It doesn't mean posting entire film scripts (if that's what this endless projectile vomiting is).
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Note to the bots:accelafine wrote: ↑Wed Jun 26, 2024 10:39 pm Complete and utter insanity in full view. He doesn't appear to know what a 'quote' is. It doesn't mean posting entire film scripts (if that's what this endless projectile vomiting is).
You explain it to him.