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Quotations
Used in the 'WMail' Newsletter
and the Dateline Chamesa blog
Page Seven
Alphabetical by Author
authors A thru C • authors D thru F • authors G thru J • authors K thru N • authors O thru R • authors S thru Z
on this page: Proverbs & Anonymous & Advertising • Laws of Life • Visual Quotations
Working Minds Homepage
free monthly 'WMail' Philosophy Newsletter [2000-2007]
Index of All Issues
After WMail Issue #72 in October 2007, essays & quotations & news are being posted to the
Dateline Chamesa weblog
“Nothing is required for the triumph of evil but that good men do nothing.”
“Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” “Do Right & Fear Not” “Take what you want and pay for it, says God.” “Great souls have wills; feeble souls have wishes.” “Treat the Earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned “Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty. The pig likes it.” — old saying {Issue #32}
“If it's in your way, knock it over.” — Klingon proverb {Issue #36}
“If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?” “The wicked flourish like a green bay tree.”
“Life is short, but wide.” — Spanish proverb {Issue #36}
“Opportunity doesn't knock anymore, it just beeps as it drives by.”
“The very rich forfeit barely 1% of their net worth to the U.S. Treasury every year.”
“Canta che ti passa!” [Sing and it will pass!]
“When it becomes clear [that] no one else shares your level of passion, “Thorns have roses.” — old saying {Issue #40 & blog 2/2016}
“Nothing could be worse than turning 40, 50 or 60 years old with nothing “You can have a lord, you can have a king, but the man to fear is the tax collector.” “Failure is not an option . . . It's included with the software.” “Any man who could concentrate for as much as three minutes on any “[Americans] work more hours than workers in any other industrialized “There was an era in America when a family could live comfortably on the income “This is the B.B.C. Home Service. There is no news.” “Fifty percent of the population are below average.” — anonymous {Issue #49}
“You get what you pay for.” — Arbuckle Coffee slogan, circa 1900 {Issue #51}
“Stand back! I'm an eagle.” — American saying {Issue #52}
“The news is first.” — N.P.R. Radio slogan {Issue #54}
“The economic status quo cannot be maintained long into the future. If radical changes “Live your life like you're not afraid to die.” “The white men are like locusts.” “Poco a poco se anda lejos." (Little by little, one can go far.)” “Plant trees. Plant lots of trees." “It is the duty of a newspaper to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” “A challenge does not build character, it merely reveals it.” “Only when lions get to write history will hunters cease to be heroes.” “Beer has food value, but food has no beer value.” “Support our oops.” — new bumper sticker {Issue #64}
“If we aren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?” {Issue #66}
“Do not be surprised if the horse that you are riding takes you in the direction that you are headed.” “Never get a tattoo where a judge can see it.” — old saying {Issue #70}
“Louisiana doesn’t tolerate corrupt politicians, it demands them.” “Carpe Mañana” — Santa Fe, New Mexico bumper sticker {Issue #70}
“If you wish to go fast, go alone. If you wish to go far, go together." “Jail To The Chief” — new bumper sticker {Issue #71}
“Who Would Jesus Bomb?” — bumper sticker {blog 10/2007}
“Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his own Self in all beings, loses all fear.” “Growing old is mandatory / Growing up is optional” — t-shirt {blog 11/2007}
“An intellectual is someone who can find something more interesting than sex.” “Genius is the ability to avoid work by doing it right the first time.” “Every animal knows more than you do.” “Give Light and the people will find their own way.”
“You don't get to be the best because you're the oldest, “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.” “You can have that done one of two ways – fast or good.” “Lower your voice and strengthen your argument.” “There are three truths: my truth, your truth, and the truth.” “A wise man knows everything, a shrewd man knows everybody.” “The best answer to anger is silence.” “If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done.” “A bit of perfume always clings to the hand that gives the rose.” “Those who wish to sing always find a song.” “The domination of women by men has lasted for fifty thousand years. Why can't it last just fifty more?” “Life is all about how you handle Plan B” — gag t-shirt {blog 12/2008}
“Dare to be indifferent" — gag t-shirt {blog 12/2008}
“To die of love is overdoing it.” — French proverb {blog 12/2008}
“Having a good wife and rich cabbage soup, seek not other things.” “In the end, all that you have is your story.” “The wise man never has to lie.” — Jesuit maxim {blog 12/2008}
“The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span the hours spent fishing.” “Where there is no vision, the people will perish.” “Reach high, think big, work hard, and have fun!” “A kiss without a moustache is like an egg without salt.” “These days it is not 'the economy, stupid' but the stupid economy.” “It is not for honor or glory or wealth that we fight, but for freedom alone, “Friendship is like peeing in your pants – everyone can see it, but only YOU “An unbiased person is someone who has the same bias as we have.” “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago; the second-best time is now.” “Even the best writer has to erase.” — Spanish proverb {blog 2/2010}
“It is never too late to start early.” — anonymous {blog 5/2010}
QUIDQUID LATINE DICTUM SIT, ALTUM VIDITUR ("Anything said in Latin sounds profound") “Women have not yet achieved the right to be mediocre.” “Nobody likes to eat his own beef.” — New Mexico saying, DIE DULCI FREURE ("Have a nice day") {blog 6/2010}
NON ILLIGITAMI CARBORUNDUM (Don't let the b*stards grind you down) {blog 6/2010}
Bumper Stickers & T-shirts {blog 6/2010}
“Just Do It” — Nike athletic shoes ad campaign, circa 1990 {blog 7/2010} “Whenever I hear [the word] 'culture'. . . I remove the safety from my Browning!" “They're always flying these flags at half mast. Why don't they just make the flag poles shorter?"
“Progress has little to do with speed and much to do with direction."
DUM VIVIMUS, VIVAMUS (While we live, let us live!)
“Politicians should dress like NASCAR drivers so [that] we know who their corporate sponsors are"
“If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
“Certain things catch your eye. But pursue only those that capture your heart.”
“Let us hear the voice of Reason, singing in the night”
“Coyote is always out there waiting, and coyote is always hungry.”
“At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.”
“The intelligence of the world is a constant. The population is increasing.”
“Fascism: The conservative notion that killing people makes them work harder.”
“Men change, but seldom do they.” — old saying {blog 6/2011}
“What's the difference between Congress and the Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have adult supervision.”
“He who fights for his rights can lose; he who does not fight has lost already.”
“You are master of your words, but, once spoken, they control you.”
“Enough is better than too much.” — French proverb {blog 1/2012}
“You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.”
“They only call it class war when we fight back.”
“Speak truth to power!” “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.”
“The believer is happy; the doubter is wise.”
“Surrounding yourself with dwarfs does not make you a giant.”
“Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry.”
“Trust everyone, but cut the cards.” — anonymous {blog 6/2012}
“A mushroom cloud has no silver lining.”
“One good father can do more than 100 schoolmasters.”
“We should have an extra debate where Romney soundbites debate themselves.”
The Lego Group's motto is "Det bedste er ikke for godt", which means 'the best is never too good'. {blog 11/2012}
“While the election is over, the class war isn't.” “I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy.” “First man take drink, then drink take drink, then drink take man.” “In any war there are heroes on both sides . . .” “Everyone's a coward about something.”
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.”
“Ignorance is its own reward.” — common saying {blog 1/2014}
“I considered atheism but there weren't enough holidays.”
“Don't you just hate rhetorical questions?”
“Wherever one is not, that is where the heart is.”
“What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. And what I do, I understand.”
“Getting money from any government agency is like getting cheese from a cow – a long and involved process.”
“Organized religion is like organized crime: it preys on people's weaknesses, generates huge profits for its operators, “If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough.”
“Forget all the reasons why it won't work and believe the one reason why it will.” “Are you sure you want to empty the spam folder?”
“If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.” “All fishermen are liars, but not all liars are fishermen.”
“Salad is not a meal !” — guys' saying {blog 8/2014}
“All cats are libertarians: Completely dependent on others but fully convinced of their own independence.” “Ninety-nine percent honesty is the foundation of any relationship.” “People can't change the truth, but the truth can change people.” “Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don't need an appointment” “The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” “Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare.” “If the problem is digital, the solution is analog!!” “Strategy is often in the things [that] you decide not to do.” “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred “A wise person knows that there is something to be learned from everyone.” “A half truth is a whole lie.” — Yiddish proverb {blog 5/2015}
“We all place ourselves in danger to one degree or another when we stand up, but we place our children “The soul would have no rainbow if the eye had no tears.” “Some folks follow old wagon tracks. Others break new trails.” “The West is good country for men and dogs but mighty hard on women and oxen.” “'Enough' is a feast.” — Buddhist proverb {blog 6/2015}
“Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana" means 'disclose the essential message' “There are those who do not fear death for they are more afraid of not really living.” “The only law that matters is gravity.” — line in the movie "Point Break" [2015] {blog 7/2015}
“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” 'Earth' without 'art' is just 'eh' “He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever.” “Rosa sat, so Martin could walk. Martin walked, so Obama could run. Obama is running, so our children can fly.” “The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” Donald Trump “No Gains Without Pains” Coffee: Starter fluid for the morning impaired — recent poster {blog 2/2016}
“Drink up; you're half the man my mother was.”
“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”
“Prohibition is OVER!” — slogan at Wise Pies Pizza {blog 6/2016}
“The reverse side also has a reverse side” — Japanese proverb {blog 7/2016}
“What is my favorite quote? 'No. – Rosa Parks'.” “Wondering if you're happy is a great shortcut to being depressed.” “Do not seek the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.” “Never does not exist for the human mind . . . only Not yet” “If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you.” “Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to meet Him.” — roadside church marquee {blog 1/2017}
“Fighting crime? Crime fights back!.” — line in the "Tick" TV series, 2001 {blog 2/2017}
“The future is today - Worry about it tomorrow.” — motto of "Futurama" TV series {blog 2/2017}
“Our delusions own us. We can never truly break free from them.” — line in "Mr. Robot" TV series {blog 2/2017}
“The geeks have inherited the Earth. The rest of you just don't know it yet.” “A truly great library contains something to offend everyone.” — anonymous {blog 3/2017}
“You may already be a member!” — motto of The Cacophony Society [est. 1986] {blog 3/2017}
“Joy shared is twice the joy. Sorrow shared is half the sorrow.” — Swedish proverb {blog 4/2017}
“The difference between coffee and your opinion is that I asked for coffee.” “Don't run after this world thinking this is paradise when Adam was sent here as a punishment.” “You know that you're a book geek when you still get upset thinking about the Library of Alexandria.” “Welders are always in heat” — bumper sticker {blog 4/2017}
t-shirt idea: “Some features not available in all states” {blog 5/2017}
“The rich man is not the one who has the most, he is the one who needs the least.” — Arab saying {blog 5/2017}
“Logic will get you from A to B, imagination will get you everywhere.” {blog 6/2017}
“Ni Pravda b Tass, ni Tass b Pravda (No truth in The News, no news in The Truth)” — longtime Russian saying {blog 6/2017}
“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water; after enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” — Zen proverb {blog 6/2017}
“It is only when a mosquito lands on your testicles that you realize [that] there is always a way “Honor is better than honors.” — Belgian proverb {blog 7/2017}
“When fear is used to control us, love is how we rebel.” — book blurb {blog 8/2017}
“Ertznay to ouyay.” — intertitle on 1938 Disney "Silly Symphony" cartoon short {blog 10/2017}
“We must face up to the unfaceuptoable.” — line on "The Simpsons" TV show {blog 10/2017}
“There are seven days in a week. 'Someday' isn't one of them.” — popular Pinterest & t-shirt meme {blog 10/2017}
“Don't wonder at those who are good without god. Pity those who need god to be good.” “World domination is within our grasp! 'found' t-shirt text: 'may not be combined with any other offer' {blog 11/2017}
“Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains."
“The same people who think [that] Obama is a Muslim think [that Trump] is a Christian.” {blog 2/2018}
“Times change quicker than people do.” {blog 2/2018}
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”
“To find inner peace, search deep inside yourself. Is there a donut there? If not, take corrective action.” {blog 3/2018}
'found' t-shirt text: 'message and data rates may apply' {blog 4/2018}
“While the Lord will sometimes provide, He may be busy looking after somebody else when you need Him most.” {blog 4/2018}
“To Roseanne: Racism is not a known side effect of our drug (Ambien).” {blog 5/2018}
“Remember: Life is short. Dream big or go home.” {blog 5/2018}
“If it's Tuesday, it's Election Day.” {blog 5/2018}
another 'found' slogan for t-shirts: Prize inside! {blog 6/2018}
Leviticus 19:33-34 and 24:22 – “When the alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you “We are fools whether we dance or not. So we might as well dance.” {blog 6/2018} “Make no mistake: Brett Kavanaugh’s a liar. He lies about little things. He lies about big things. He lies under oath.” {blog 9/2018} “Artists use lies to tell the truth while politicians use them to cover the truth up.” {blog 9/2018}
“If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all . . . and don't write it on Facebook either!” {blog 10/2018}
“Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to p*ss us off.” {blog 12/2018} 'found text' for T-shirt: 'garaged when not in use' {blog 12/2018}
“Progress is rewriting your own story.” {blog 12/2018} “As my grandfather would say, if she had another brain it'd be lonesome.” {blog 12/2018}
“My three favorite things are eating my family and not using commas.” {blog 12/2018}
why Republican pseudo-Xians get no respect: "He answereth and saith unto them, he that hath two coats, let him impart to him “My mind is like my internet browser: 19 tabs open, 3 of them frozen, and I have no idea where the music is coming from.” {blog 2/2019} Power generation from wind turbines is thriving in New Mexico because Arizona blows and Texas sucks. {blog 6/2019}
another 'found text' for back of T-shirt: HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED {blog 6/2019}
'found' text for T-shirt: 'upgrade cost may apply' {blog 8/2019}
“There are three kinds of people in the universe. Those who can count, and those who can't . . .” — bumper sticker {blog 8/2019}
CUM DUBITO DESISTO — when in doubt, don't {blog 12/2019}
'found text' and images for T-shirt:
“It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” ~~ Irish Proverb {blog 3/2020}
another 'found' text for back of T-shirt: 'no artificial preservatives' {blog 3/2020}
excited ten-year-old schoolchild in America at the start of the trumpvirus lockdown: “The more we see of men, the more we like dogs.” — inscription by Messrs. Frank and Dubois on a 1902 dog collar
“Please don't call them protesters . . . they're terrorists. Protesters don't carry AK-47s, wave swastika flags, or block ambulances."
“A gathering of covidiots is known as a covfefe." ~~ shared on Facebook, April 2020 {blog 5/2020}
another 'found' text for back of T-shirt: sealed for your protection {blog 11/2020}
t-shirt: Well dammit, I AM essential! {blog 2/2021}
funny 'found text' t-shirt: CAUTION / OVERSIZED / LOAD {blog 7/2021}
“Trump Republicans are running on nothing except lies and hate.” {blog 10/2021}
“Gun violence is a public health crisis.” {blog 10/2021}
“Big problems can be such big fun.” {blog 10/2021}
“Never underestimate a psychopath's capacity to do harm” {blog 10/2021}
'found text' t-shirt: "only in theaters!" {blog 10/2021}
'found text' t-shirt: "WYSIWYG" somebody should write a book about "Cooking In Space" {blog 5/2022}
'found text' for back of t-shirt: "for sale by owner" {blog 7/2022}
How many Santa Feans does it take to screw in a light bulb? One hundred: one to screw it in and ninety-nine to attend the opening.
“If you’re not barefoot, then you are overdressed.” {blog 7/2022}
“You're either on my side, by my side, or in my f***ing way . . . choose wisely.” {blog 10/2022}
“If it isn’t good for everybody, it isn’t good.” {blog 10/2022}
“Inside the person [that] you know, there is a person [that] you do not know.” {blog 11/2022}
“Every day is one of those days . . .” {blog 3/2023}
“You never stop learning until there is dirt in your face.” {blog 3/2023}
“Sometimes your job as an artist is to be invited somewhere and ensure that they never invite you back.” {blog 8/2023}
"Record profits are unpaid wages." {blog 12/2023}
"If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, "We will be known forever by the tracks [that] we leave." {blog 12/2023}
"Life is the best gift . . . the rest is extra." {blog 4/2024}
'found' t-shirt text for short or skinny people: 'MADE WITH LESS MATERIAL' {blog 7/2024}
"When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace becomes a circus." {blog 7/2024}
"As we watch several of Caligula’s horses get nominated . . . I go in and out of madness.” {blog 12/2024}
Laws of Life
Nordell's Hypothesis The original Murphy's Law, Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives ['folk' version of Murphy] Murphy's Paradox Corollary to Murphy's Law, source unknown
Proverbs & Anonymous & Advertising
— quoted by John F. Kennedy [1917-63], often attributed to
Edmund Burke, but actual origin unknown {Issue #3}
— Chinese proverb
{Issue #10}
— sign in captain's cabin on 1863 museum ship Star of India
in San Diego, California {Issue #13}
— Spanish proverb {Issue #23}
— Chinese proverb
{Issue #27}
to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors,
we borrow it from our children.” — Native American proverb {Issue #32}
very often attributed to George Bernard Shaw [1856-1950]
— unknown {Issue #36}
— British saying (after Psalm 37:35} {Issue #36}
— Comerica Bank advertisement, 2003 {Issue #36}
— Forbes Magazine, Oct 2003 {Issue #37}
— Italian proverb {Issue #38}
you are where you belong.” — Rolex ad 2003 {Issue #39}
but TV viewing and work as your legacy.” — unknown {Issue #41}
— Sumerian saying, circa 1800 B.C.E. {Issue #43}
— unknown {Issue #43}
given problem could rule the world.” — Chinese saying {Issue #43}
country except South Korea.”
— Program on WorkLife Law at American University Washington College of Law {Issue #46}
of just one worker. But that's not so any more.”
— Los Angeles Times editorial, December 2004 {Issue #49}
— actual radio news broadcast, circa 1930 {Issue #49}
are not made, we face loss of well-being and possible ecological catastrophe.”
— Scientific American Magazine, September 2005 {Issue #55}
— country western song, 2005 {Issues #59 & #62}
— DreamWorks mini-series, 2005 {Issue #60}
— Hispanic-American dicho {saying} {Issue #60}
— ending credits of Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" [2006] {Issue #61 & blog 8/2019}
— from the 1955 play "Inherit The Wind" by Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee {Issue #61}
— mutual fund commercial, 2006 {Issue #61}
— African proverb {Issue #62}
— motto of Second Street Brewery in Santa Fe, New Mexico {Issue #62}
“You go, Hugo!” — another bumper sticker {Issue #64}
— slogan at Rudy's Country Store & Bar-B-Q in Albuquerque, NM
— ancient Chinese saying {Issue #68}
“That's good advice.” — Judge John P. Pope, Valencia County, New Mexico
— local saying {Issue #70}
— African proverb {Issue #71}
— Upanishads {blog 11/2007}
— anonymous {blog 11/2007}
— old saying {blog 1/2008}
— Nez Perce proverb {blog 1/2008}
— masthead motto of the Rocky Mountain News [est. 1859] of Denver, Colorado {blog 1/2008}
you get to be the oldest because you're the best.”
— Bushmill's Whiskey advertisement {blog 2/2008}
— Western American saying {blog 2/2008}
official origin: paraphrase of a statement in the essay 'Farming' (1870) by Ralph Waldo Emerson [1803-82]
— old saying {blog 3/2008}
— Lebanese proverb {blog 3/2008}
— Chinese proverb {blog 3/2008}
— old saying {blog 8/2008}
— German proverb {blog 9/2008}
— anonymous {blog 9/2008}
— Chinese proverb {blog 9/2008}
— Swedish proverb {blog 9/2008}
— grafitto in Berlin, Germany {blog 11/2008}
— Russian proverb {blog 12/2008}
— voiceover narration of the movie "Australia" [2008] {blog 12/2008}
— old saying {blog 12/2008}
— Judeo-Christian Bible, Proverbs 29:18 {blog 4/2009}
— motto of Disney Channel's "Imagination Movers" children's TV program {blog 6/2009}
— old saying {blog 6/2009}
— motto of the Green Festival Project {blog 8/2009}
which no good man gives up except with his life.”
— Declaration of Arbroath by Scottish leaders, 1320 A.D. {blog 8/2009}
can feel its true warmth.” — viral email, 2009 {blog 9/2009}
— Mason City [Iowa] Globe-Gazette, in 1998 {blog 10/2009}
— African proverb {blog 12/2009}
{blog 5/2010 & 12/2011}
— anonymous {blog 6/2010}
as quoted by mystery author Tony Hillerman [1925-2008] {blog 6/2010}
or DIEM DULCEM HABES ("Have a nice day") {blog 12/2011}
“We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?”
“Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.”
“Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.”
(The inspiration was convicted killer Gary Gilmore, who said "Let’s do it" just before
he was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1977.)
{original: "Wenn ich Kultur höre . . . entsichere ich meinen Browning!"}
from the 1933 German play "Schlageter" written by Hanns Johst
(and not uttered by either Hermann Göring or Julius Streicher} {blog 10/2010}
— New Mexico state employee in 2010 {blog 10/2010}
— old saying {blog 10/2010}
— as quoted by Robert A. Heinlein [1907-88], in 1963 {blog 10/2010}
— bumper sticker {blog 11/2010}
— old saying, as well as 1990 country-western hit by Aaron Tippin {blog 11/2010}
— old Native American saying {blog 12/2010}
— line from song in "Muppet Christmas Carol" [1992] {blog 12/2010}
— old Native American saying {blog 12/2010}
— Italian proverb {blog 4/2011}
— unknown {blog 4/2011}
— anonymous {blog 4/2011}
— variation on an old joke {blog 8/2011}
— German labor slogan {blog 12/2011}
— author uncertain {blog 12/2011}
— Navajo proverb {blog 2/2012}
— cover art of Z Magazine {blog 3/2012}
— slogan created by the American Friends Service Committee {Quakers} circa 1955 {blog 4/2012}
— attributed to James A. Garfield [1831-81]
“Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.”
— Aldous Huxley [1894-1963]
“The truth will set you free. But first, it will p*ss you off.”
— Gloria Steinem
{blog 5/2012}
— Hungarian proverb {blog 6/2012}
— Yiddish proverb {blog 6/2012}
— Spanish proverb {blog 6/2012}
— controversial saying {blog 6/2012}
— ancient Persian saying {blog 10/2012}
— tweet from mantisdragon91 quoted in TIME Magazine {blog 10/2012}
— New York Times, November 2012 {blog 12/2012}
— sign at Sandy Hook School rally in Pennsylvania {blog 1/2013}
— old Chinese saying {blog 9/2013}
— title card at beginning of "Jet Li's Hero" feature film [2002] {blog 9/2013}
— line from the Oscar-winning war movie "The Hurt Locker" [2008] {blog 11/2013}
— first appeared in the 1981 'Narcotics Anonymous' basic text
(and often mis-attributed to Rita Mae Brown or Albert Einstein [1879-1955] ) {blog 11/2013 & 4/2015}
— old Greek proverb {blog 12/2013}
— anonymous {blog 1/2014}
— anonymous {blog 1/2014}
— French proverb {blog 1/2014}
— Chinese proverb {blog 1/2014}
— old saying {blog 2/2014}
and is almost impossible to eradicate.” — anonymous {blog 2/2014}
— anonymous {blog 4/2014}
— anonymous {blog 4/2014}
— modern Eternal Question {blog 4/2014}
— handyman humor {blog 4/2014}
— anonymous {blog 4/2014}
— showed up on Twitter circa 2009 {blog 8/2014}
— line from 2014 movie "What If" {blog 8/2014}
— anonymous {blog 9/2014}
— saying on t-shirts {blog 9/2014}
— Chinese proverb {blog 11/2014}
— Japanese proverb {blog 11/2014}
— anonymous {blog 3/2015}
— anonymous {blog 3/2015}
from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
— Judeo-Christian Bible, First Timothy 6:10 {blog 5/2015}
— anonymous (appeared in 2006) {blog 5/2015}
and grandchildren in even greater danger when we don't.”
— popular poster on Pinterest {blog 5/2015}
— Native American proverb
{blog 6/2015}
— old Western American saying {blog 6/2015}
— old Western American saying {blog 6/2015}
— Hawai'ian saying, often sung at the end of traditional songs or dances {blog 7/2015}
— ancient proverb {blog 7/2015}
— graphic novel & TV series "V For Vendetta" {blog 7/2015}
— slogan that showed up around Earth Day events in 2012 {blog 7/2015}
— Chinese proverb {blog 8/2015}
— viral email on election night November 2008 {blog 10/2015}
— Hasidic proverb {blog 11/2015}
— popular CafePress poster {blog 11/2015}
— title of circa 1870s book by Helen Cross Knight [1814-1906] {blog 2/2016}
— slogan for Rock & Reilly's Irish Pub {blog 5/2016}
— British proverb, circa 1720 {blog 5/2016}
— unnamed Cleveland, Ohio stage actor {blog 10/2016}
— line from movie "20th Century Women" [2016] {blog 10/2016}
— poem "Hsin Hsin Ming" [VIIth Century China] {blog 10/2016}
— opening intertitle of 1929 silent movie "Woman In The Moon" by Fritz Lang [1890-1976] {blog 1/2017}
— line in the movie "The Last Word" [2017], also gangster Al Capone [1899-1947] {blog 1/2017}
— line from "Algorithm: The Hacker Movie" [2014] by Jon Schiefer {blog 2/2017}
— anonymous {blog 4/2017}
— Islamic proverb {blog 4/2017}
— internet meme (with other variations) {blog 4/2017}
— recent popular quote, NOT by Albert Einstein [1879-1955]
the humor here is that Pravda (truth) is the Communist Party newspaper and Tass (news) is the official government news agency
to solve problems without violence.” — old Chinese proverb (maybe) {blog 7/2017}
— meme on atheist websites {blog 10/2017}
Okay, maybe not. But we've got a lot of locations."
~~ official slogan on website of mall food chain Wetzel's Pretzels [est. 1994] {blog 11/2017}
~~ sign at Farm Equipment Assn. of MN & SD {blog 11/2017}
~~ new internet meme
~~ book review in The Library Journal
~~ Judeo-Christian Bible, Matthew 12:25
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
~~ Abraham Lincoln, June 1858 speech
~~ Lyndon B. Johnson, February 1964 speech {quoting Lincoln} {blog 3/2018}
~~ Hurts Donut Company, USA [est. 2014]
'found' text for back of t-shirt: 'BACK / by popular / demand' {blog 4/2018}
~~ anonymous article writer in the August 1965 The Atlantic Magazine
~~ manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis USA
~~ motto of Lost Hiker Brewing Company in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico
~~ new motto (2018) of the U.S. Democratic Party [est. 1848]
as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” {blog 6/2018}
~~ Japanese proverb
~~ editorial in the Boston Globe newspaper
~~ from "V Is For Vendetta" [2006]
~~ anonymous
~~ 86-year-old woman in a Letter to New York Times
~~ Audi TV ad 12/2018
~~ old-timey insult, source unknown
~~ outdoor marquee at Dunn Lumber of Washington State
that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.” {blog 2/2019}
~~ Gospel of Luke, chapter 3, verses 10-11
~~ author unknown
~~ as seen on TV (red logo)
~~ another one: PERSON OF INTEREST
~~ and another: built (FORD logo) tough
~~ Error 404: This t-shirt cannot be displayed
~~ t-shirt not responding due to a long-running script
{blog 12/2019}
“We don't have to worry about getting shot at school for three weeks!” {blog 3/2020}
at the Colorado Railroad Museum {blog 5/2020}
~~ shared on Facebook, April 2020 {blog 5/2020}
and another: by appointment only {blog 11/2020}
t-shirt: Party Size ! {blog 7/2021}
~~ Ian Reifowitz on the DailyKos newsletter, 9/2021
~~ daily newsletter from ThePaper free weekly newspaper in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 9/2021
~~ line from the "Tango Shalom" movie [2021]
~~ headline on the DailyKos newsletter, 9/2021
another 'found text' t-shirt: "not actual size" {blog 10/2021}
~~ (which nerd types will understand is the acronym for 'what you see is what you get') {blog 5/2022}
another 'found text' t-shirt: "pre-order now!" {blog 5/2022}
another 'found text' t-shirt: "cooking time varies with equipment used" {blog 7/2022}
another 'found text' t-shirt: "Conditions apply.*" {blog 7/2022}
~~ joke first heard circa 1989 {blog 7/2022}
~~ unknown
~~ anonymous {probably a woman}
~~ Cherokee {Native American} saying
~~ saying in Syria
~~ line from Apple+ movie "Luck"
~~ line in the movie "The First Grader"
~~ source not found
~~ recent internet meme
inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody." {blog 12/2023}
~~ Chinese proverb
~~ Dakota Nation {Native American} proverb
~~ African proverb
another 'found' t-shirt text: 'Limited Time Deal' {blog 7/2024}
~~ Türkish proverb
~~ anonymous, in November 2024
“If things were different, things would be different.” {Issue #36}
created by John Paul Strapp, Edward A. Murphy, Jr. & George Nichols in 1949, reads:
“If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways
can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.” {Issue #36}
“Anything that can go wrong, will.” {Issue #36}
“Doing it the hard way is always easier.” {blog 1/2013}
“After all is said and done, a helluva lot more is said than done!” {blog 5/2018}
 | "A History of Murphy's Law" [2006] by Nick T. Spark Lulu / Periscope 7½x7¼ pb [5/2006] for $13.95 |
Agnes Allen's Law
“Everything is easier to get into than out of.” {Issue #36}
Benford's Law of Controversy
“Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available.” {Issue #36}
Brooks's Law
“Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” {blog 8/2008}
Clark's Law
“Sufficiently advanced cluelessness is indistinguishable from malice.” {blog 8/2008}
Collingridge Dilemma
“When change is easy, the need for it cannot be foreseen; when the need for change is apparent, change has become expensive,
difficult, and time consuming.” {blog 8/2018} — David Collingbridge [1945-2005] of U.K. - in 1980
Dirac's Corollary
“The speaker who knows least talks longest.” {Issue #43}
Donald Duck's Law
“Everything is in the last place that you look.” {Issue #36}
Dunning Kruger Effect
“Never expect rational debate with someone who thinks taxes are theft.” {blog 10/2018}
Foster’s Law
“The only people who find what they are looking for in life are the fault finders.” {blog 11/2014}
The Great Law of Sociology
“Some people do, and some people don't.” {Issue #41} —
G.E. Nordell
Greater Fool Theory
“During a market bubble, an investor can make money by purchasing a risky asset because there will always be
someone dumb enough to buy it from them at a higher price.” {blog 7/2022}
Gumperson's Law
“The chances of something happening are inversely proportional
to the desire for it to happen.” {Issue #37}
Hane's Law
“There is no limit to how bad things can get.” {blog 1/2013}
Hanlon's Razor
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” {blog 8/2008}
Hardin's Law
“You can never do just one thing.” {blog 1/2013}
Hillel's Golden Rule
"Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.” {Issue #67}
Hitchens' Razor
“That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.” {blog 2/2021}
— from socio-political critic Christopher Hitchens [1949-2011]
Hoare's Law of Large Problems
"Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get out.” {blog 8/2008}
Hofstadter's Law
"It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.” {blog 12/2023}
— from Douglas Hofstadter - in "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" [1979]
Howe's Law
“Everyone has a scheme that will not work.” {blog 1/2013}
Jay's First Law of Leadership
“Changing things is central to leadership, and changing them before anyone else does
is creative leadership.” {blog 1/2013}
Kettering's Law
“Logic is an organized way of going wrong with confidence.” {Issue #36}
Law of The Individual
“Nobody really cares or understands what anyone else is doing.” {blog 1/2013}
The Law of Louis XIVth
“The reason that real antique chairs are often uncomfortable is that the comfortable
chairs get used, and get worn out – and are replaced.” {blog 10/2008}
Meadow's Maxim
“You can't push on a rope.” {blog 1/2013}
Moore's Law
“The number of transistors on a chip will double about once every two years.” (in 1965) {blog 1/2014}
— Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel
Munder's Corollary
“Everyone who does not work has a scheme that does.” {blog 1/2013}
Napier's Maxim
“When you have a bottle of champagne, you will have something to celebrate.” {blog 4/2011}
Ninety-Ninety Rule
"The first 90% of the [software project] code accounts for the first 90% of the development time.
The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time.” {blog 8/2008}
O'Brien's Law
“Nothing is ever done for the right reasons.” {blog 1/2013}
Occam's Razor from William of Ockham [1285?-1349] {Issue #38}
“Do not posit that which is unnecessary.”
**original “Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate”
{“Plurality should not be posited without necessity.”}
**also “Simpler is better.”
**also “The simplest hypothesis is most likely to be correct.”
O'Toole's Commentary
“Murphy was an optimist.” {Issue #51}
Parkinson's Law
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” {blog 5/2010}
— Cyril Northcote Parkinson [1909-93]
The Peter Principle
“People rise in an organization until they reach their level of incompetence.” {Issue #36}
Putt's Law (from Archibald Putt, 1981)
“Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and
those who manage what they do not understand.” {blog 7/2021}
Leo Rogers' Commentary
“If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.” {blog 1/2013}
The Scientific Principle of Parsimony
“Things will be created or connected or behave in the simplest or most economical way.” {blog 3/2023}
Spencer's Three Laws of Data {blog 1/2013}
1. Anyone can make a decision given enough facts.
2. A good manager can make a decision without enough facts.
3. A perfect manager can operate in perfect ignorance.
Sturgeon's Law
“Ninety percent of everything is [crap].” {Issue #36}
— sci-fi author Theodore Sturgeon [1918-85]
Thine's Law
“Nature abhors people.” {blog 1/2013}
Zuckerberg's Law
"The amount of sharing by a Facebook user roughly doubles each year.” {blog 10/2011}
— billionaire Mark Zuckerberg
Zymurgy's First Law of Evolving Systems Dynamics
"Once you open a can of worms, the only way to recan them is to use a bigger can.” {blog 8/2008}
Visual Quotations
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Proverbs & Anonymous • Laws of Life
Thomas Jefferson [1743-1826] Quotations Page
Ralph Waldo Emerson [1803-82] Quotations Page
Abraham Lincoln [1809-65] Quotations Page
Mark Twain [1835-1910] Quotations Page
Friedrich Nietzsche [1844-1900] Quotations Page
George Bernard Shaw [1856-1950] Quotations Page
Bertrand Russell [1872-1970] Quotations Page
Winston Churchill [1874-1965] Quotations Page
Albert Einstein [1879-1955] Quotations Page
H.L. Mencken [1880-1956] Quotations Page
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Ayn Rand [1905-82] Quotations Page
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Edward Abbey [1927-89] Quotations Page
Martin Luther King, Jr. [1929-68] Quotations Page
G.E. Nordell Quotations Page
Magic Lantern's Great Movie Quotes Page
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