Classic Comments on the Quote

[LLapp]

For years, the players at Cryptograms.org have been leaving comments on quote solution pages that are often more astute, creative, hilarious, or inspiring than the quotes themselves. Here is a thread where we can save some of our favorite comments and conversations from many years of quote-commenting.

Format:

1. Always start with the quote and attribution, for context, and then paste in the comments below the quote.

2. With each comment, include the commenter's name and date/time stamp.

3. Post whatever portion of the thread that you want to include here -- it can be just one comment, or several comments, or the entire thread.

4. Quote individual comments verbatim. Don't edit, change or shorten what people have written.

5. If you post a sequence of comments, it's okay to leave out in-between comments that aren't part of the classic moment. You know, like you can skip the "87 seconds" comment and other mundane or unrelated stuff. (Or go ahead and keep them in, if you feel they contribute to the magic of the thread.)

6. Remember, this is a place to save the wonderful stuff, not the other stuff.

To show you the format, I'll open in my next post with one of my favorite comments from Pootie (who passed away before I joined the site, but whose words delight me).

[LLapp]

"If the television craze continues with the present level of programs, we are destined to have a nation of morons." — Daniel Marsh

puffybob on 2011-05-02 04:14:02
And he said that in 1950 . . .

pootie49 on 2011-06-03 17:43:12
blubbalurblfllluggbauallbblubbbbpfffttttt.

[montyb]

"Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away."
— Sir Arthur Helps

puffybob on 2013-03-31 06:21:34
But Lord Egbert Hurts disagrees.

[imported_nanrich]

"No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you'll see why."
— Mignon McLaughlin

haverwench on 2013-01-26 19:51:00
Sorry, what was that?

wolf on 2015-09-05 22:48:17
I don't know, I wasn't listening.

[LLapp]

"As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words." — William Shakespeare

bvwRedux on 2012-02-16 02:11:19
And yet it hath been done, that snow is melted and stripped by marvelous electrodes into fuel and air -- hydrogen the first, and oxygen the latter -- then kindled easily, so too is lust's sudden flame easily quenched with a blanket of careful words.

[ddph]

Something tells me we're going to see a lot of montyb comments. He's frequently hilarious

[ddph]

Like this one:

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."
— William Shakespeare

montyb on 2014-02-27 14:27:54
boy, would I like to meet this April lady.

[munchlet]

Something tells me we're going to see a lot of montyb comments. He's frequently hilarious

Barnabas, too. He made a quip on a quote from Arthur Miller, who was speaking at Brandeis. Someone asked Miller why theater or the arts should get government grants and subsidies, when most businesses have to finance themselves. This was before the bank bailouts, I guess. To which Miller replied, and this was the quotation, can you tell me the name of a classical Greek shoemaker?

Sure, said Barnabas. There was Achilles' Heels, a mile or so from the Parthenon.

Sorry, LLapp, I've managed to violate every stipulation in your opening post, save the last. Obviously, this is from memory; one never knows when a particular quotation will strike again: tomorrow, next week, next year.

Also I have a question. You write like an editor instructing an author in matters of style. Is that -- or was it -- your career? Your talent is evident.

[LLapp]

munchlet - That's fine, I didn't mean for the format to be rigid, and I was afraid it might be. My intent was to provide a clear basic template so people could easily take part without having to figure out how to do it. And...at the same time, I wanted to encourage a few things -- like date/time stamps (because I love how some conversations take years), and not altering the individual comments (because nobody likes to be misquoted).

That said, what you just did was fine too. I'm not in charge. It's fine.

And yes, you guessed it, I am an editor. Most recently I worked as a book editor for a tiny publishing house, and working with authors was my favorite part of the job. I love encouraging authors to engage with their work.

[wvwoman]

"There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness."
— Han Suyin

montyb on 2013-06-12 11:39:38
Oh yeah? What about Bounty paper towels?

[LLapp]

Here's a conversation that took over two years:

"Running a casino is like robbing a bank with no cops around." — Ace

pootie49 on 2009-05-18 22:36:57
I think this might be from the movie "Casino"

LiveLoveLaugh on 2009-07-12 13:10:22
Ace Rothstein --- Movie character quotes? Interesting

bonsaisequoia on 2009-07-28 00:22:49
Or is it a Nicholas Pileggi quote, since he wrote the screenplay?

pootie49 on 2009-09-09 18:00:35
Is he any relation to Mitch Pileggi?

bansaisequoia on 2009-11-16 23:53:00
No relation. Just like Donald Duck and Daffy Duck.

Lurker on 2010-04-05 13:27:38
Or Babs and Buster Bunny.

pootie49 on 2011-04-07 01:49:09
or goofy and pluto?

bansaisequoia on 2011-04-16 05:59:08
Actually, Goofy is still regarded as a planet, but Pluto has been downgraded to just another Solar orbiting body. (And rumor has it that Walt Disney's body has been cryogenically preserved on an icy, icy asteroid. I read it in Weekly World News.)

pootie49 on 2011-07-30 09:30:57
There is a planet named Goofy??? Why the hell am I not on it? and if you read it in the WWN then it must be true.

[ddph]

Here's one of my attempts at humor:

"Characters do not change. Opinions alter, but characters are only developed. "
— Benjamin Disraeli

oddcouple on 2013-11-05 01:24:07
And boy, do I know some characters!

[ddph]

"You are your own judge. The verdict is up to you."
— Astrid Alauda

crossland68 on 2013-04-12 15:40:12
Not guilty by reason of insanity.

locodad on 2013-06-05 01:17:05
most of us are.

montyb on 2014-06-26 08:24:15
My case was a hung jury.

kb83 on 2014-12-09 04:50:30
I'd like a new venue.

mazereeuw on 2015-02-18 16:12:55
I'm worried that this judge is an idiot.

marnita on 2015-02-27 08:53:27
Innocent until proven guilty.

MatthewReynolds on 2015-10-02 05:58:40
I remand myself to my own custody.

[LLapp]

"You've got to be in top physical condition. Fatigue makes cowards of us all. "

— Vince Lombardi

montyb on 2012-06-07 17:25:24
I go to bed scared every night.

[LLapp]

"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." — Bertrand Russell

chopstix on 2014-08-29 08:00:08
- but if you do it too often, you start sounding like a valley girl.