So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’tcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it. — Fargo

Every time we watch the local news and they talk about the horrific crime du jour, Irish Woman almost always looks at me and asks “Don’t people have anything better to do?”.  I tend to agree with her sentiment.  The amount of thought and work it takes to commit a crime, then the trouble of staying out of prison, then the wasted years behind bars or under state supervision, seems to be a bad investment.  Look, I’m not talking about the “He stole bread to feed his children” thief.  I’m talking about the “I’d rather beat up old people for their money and kill witnesses” kind of thug.  Yeah, your average criminal isn’t exactly a degreed professional when he’s looking for a job, but if you just keep your nose clean, there are lots of entry level jobs around.  Entry level, when mixed with hard work and staying out of trouble, translates into something better.  If the trash who choose to rob, steal, loot, and intimidate their way into a prison cell would just figure that out, life would be a lot easier, not only for them, but also for everyone else.

A.J.: Have you ever heard of Evel Knievel?
Lev Andropov: No, I never saw Star Wars.

— Armageddon

If you’re going to try to work with a culture, you have to know that culture.  Speaking slowly and loudly doesn’t work in a language conflict, and trying to connect your culture with others can be just as unsuccessful.  You have to know where the parallels are, where they aren’t, and work accordingly.

The world is what you make of it, friend. If it doesn’t fit, you make alterations. — Silverado

I’ve never understood those who just accept things as they are.  I’m a conservative by nature, and a realist, and I realize that sometimes you just have to keep your head down and live through things.  But there are a lot of people for whom apathy is a daily companion.  Be it tradition, inertia, or just plain hopelessness, but something keeps them from looking at their condition, recognizing it for what it is, and making it better.  I hope I never get to that point.

Jack, please, I’m only an elected official here, I can’t make decisions by myself! — The Nightmare Before Christmas

Ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, Mr. President, and various elected legislators, governors, sheriffs, and dog catchers, please read the above carefully.  It is humorous because it embodies how I see you.  I didn’t vote for you to grandstand, shake babies, or kiss hands.  I elected you to do a job, and usually that means taking a stand based on principles and facts.  If you can’t do that, go do something more constructive with your time and my tax money.

Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… So tweasure your wuv. — The Princess Bride

Marriage is more than the reception and the honeymoon.  It’s mortgage payments, lawn care, late night feedings, litter boxes, housebreaking puppies, anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays.  It’s waking up next to her when she doesn’t feel well and putting up with him when he’s in a bad mood.  It’s putting off what you want to make sure the other has what she needs.  It’s learning to cook the way he likes it, and learning to eat things the way he makes them.

In other words, marriage is hard work, and it’s worth every erg of effort.

Kala: We’re going to empty your memory as we might empty your pockets… Doctor.

Dr. Hans Zarkov: Don’t empty my mind! Please, I beg you! My mind is all I have! I’ve spent my whole life trying to fill it!

— Flash Gordon

“Remember us.” As simple an order as a king can give. “Remember why we died.” For he did not wish tribute, nor song, nor monuments nor poems of war and valor. His wish was simple. “Remember us,” he said to me. That was his hope, should any free soul come across that place, in all the countless centuries yet to be. May all our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones, “Go tell the Spartans, passerby, that here by Spartan law, we lie.” — 300

We didn’t ask for parades.  We didn’t do it for free drinks.  We didn’t sell our youth, our health, and our lives for a free meal on Veteran’s Day.  We did it because it needed doing, nothing more, nothing less.  All we ask is that what we did, and what we gave up to do it, be remembered.

Young Gru: Mom, someday, I’m going to go to the moon.
Gru’s Mom: I’m afraid you’re too late, son. NASA isn’t sending the monkeys anymore.

— Despicable Me

There is a balancing act that every parent goes through.  First, you want to encourage your children to succeed.  Second, you want to put your foot in their backside when they stop trying.  Third, you want to keep their expectations manageable.  The last thing you want to do is lay one of the three on too thick and either hold them up when they should be moving on their own, push them too hard, or crush their dreams.

Blood has no nationality — Gattaca

No matter where we come from, what color our skin, or what faith or creed we follow, we are all human.   We divide ourselves in a lot of ways, but when we forget that basic truth, horrible things happen.

Rizzo: He’s some kind of a blind fiend.
Gonzo: I believe they prefer visually challenged fiend.

— Muppet Treasure Island

At what point do I get to stop using modern euphemisms for things that have been said, with no bad connotations, for years?  Where is the shame in having a condition where you cannot use your eyes to see called being “blind”?  Is it really an insult to call someone who has trouble hearing “deaf”?  Can anyone point to where using the old words, with some obvious exceptions such as outright slurs, is derogatory?

Larry Correia makes a good point when he says that due to his Portuguese ancestry, he’s “Hispanic”, but he’s as white as I am, so I guess that doesn’t count.  I can see where someone whose ancestors greeted my ancestors when they got to Vinland objecting to being called “redskin”, or even “Indian”.  They are neither.  But “Aboriginal” or “Native American” is clunky. Would it be better if they said “Lakota” or “Blackfoot” instead?  Can’t we just say “American” and force others to treat us in the manner that name demands?

And by the way, I’m not a Caucasian.  I know people from the Caucasus, and they don’t look a heck of a lot like me.  If I have to pick a description, I prefer “Barbarian American” or “Green Eyed Devil”, thank you very much.