Marshall McLuhan? Quentin Fiore? Frank Richardson? Terence Trent D’Arby? Theodor W. Adorno? Dear Quote Investigator: In 2019 the Italian conceptual artist and provocateur Maurizio Cattelan used duct tape to attach a banana to the wall of an art gallery. He dubbed the resultant artwork “Comedian”. After Cattelan sold the quasi-sculpture for a lucrative price he …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
You Are the Average of the Five People You Spend the Most Time With
Will Smith? Jim Rohn? Tim Ferriss? Jack Canfield? Janet Switzer? Daniel G. Amen? Loral Langemeier? Keith Cunningham? Ty Talcott? Scott Elliott? Paula Owens? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: You are deeply influenced by the actions and behaviors of your friends and companions. You consciously and unconsciously imitate what you perceive in your local environment. The following …
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Whoever Named It Necking Was a Poor Judge of Anatomy
Groucho Marx? Robert Quillen? Robert O. Ryder? Dorothy Uris? Evan Esar? Agro B. Arlo? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The informal term “necking” refers to kissing and caressing amorously. A comedian once said: Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy. Do you know who crafted this joke? Was it Groucho …
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Life Is Thick Sown with Thorns, and I Know No Other Remedy Than To Pass Quickly Through Them
Voltaire? Louis Mayeul Chaudon? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous French writer Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) apparently said something like: Life is bristling with thorns. One must travel through them quickly to minimize the pain and harm. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: Voltaire died in 1778, and Louis Mayeul Chaudon …
A Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words
Arthur Brisbane? Confucius? Kathleen Caffyn? Frederick R. Barnard? Robert Maguire? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A famous adage highlights the value of illustrations and photographs. Here are four versions: (1) A picture is worth ten thousand words (2) A picture is worth a thousand words. (3) One picture is worth a ten thousand words. (4) One …
Writing Advice: I Can Fix a Bad Page. I Can’t Fix a Blank One
Nora Roberts? Eileen Wilks? Lori Avocato? Susan Elizabeth Phillips? Bonnie Hearn Hill? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: When you are attempting to write a book you must move forward and put words on a blank page or screen even if you fear that your output is flawed. Eventually, you will be able to revise and improve …
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Most of Us Are About as Eager To Be Changed as We Were To Be Born
James Baldwin? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Change is onerous. The prominent writer James Baldwin once constructed a vivid analogy between change and birth. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1977 James Baldwin published an article titled “Every Good-bye Ain’t Gone” in “New York” magazine containing the following passage. Boldface …
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Spaceship Earth: No Instruction Book Came With It
Buckminster Fuller? Richard Dreyfuss? C. S. Lewis? William Nicholson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A prominent futurist once said that our planet did not come with an instruction book. Therefore, we should act carefully while creating our own instruction book for living and flourishing. I think the author of this notion was Buckminster Fuller. Would you …
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All You Need To Make a Movie Is a Girl and a Gun
Jean-Luc Godard? D. W. Griffith? Evelyn D. Miller? Frederick James Smith? George W. Sears? John Philip Sousa? Abel Gance? Fredric Wertham? Charlie Chaplin? John Boorman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A powerful and jaded film director once listed the two crucial ingredients to achieve success: All you need for a movie is a girl and a …
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Instead of Writing Criticism, I Make a Film
Jean-Luc Godard? Roger Ebert? Gene Siskel? Nancy O’Higgins? Apocryphal Dear Quote Investigator: An influential film critic decided to become a filmmaker. Here are four versions of the explanation provided by the critic for this notable transformation: (1) Instead of writing criticism, I make a film. (2) The only way to criticize a movie is to …
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