Tracing Quotations
Lucy Maud Montgomery? Adelaide Anne Procter? Walt Whitman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery is best known for the children’s novel “Anne of Green Gables”. Apparently, she once made a powerful statement about transience, mortality, and memory: Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember …
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Agatha Christie? Hercule Poirot? John Jortin? Maria Edgeworth? Richard Lovell? Letitia Elizabeth Landon? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Creativity and inventiveness are wonderful attributes, but an overly imaginative person is prone to self-deception. Here is a cogent adage: Imagination is a good servant, but a bad master. This saying as been attributed to the famous …
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Dorothy Parker? John Keats? Richard L. Jenkins? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent witty woman once described three qualities she desired in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid. This viewpoint has been ascribed to poet and critic Dorothy Parker. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote …
Dorothy Parker? Franklin Pierce Adams? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The notable wit Dorothy Parker constructed several epitaphs. I am interested in the following: She is happy, for she knowsThat her dust is very pretty. This topic is confusing because I’ve also seen a different version of these lines: She is happy, for she knowsThat …
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John Waters? Austin Kleon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Building a library is an enjoyable lifelong pursuit. Intellectually engaged people are often bibliomaniacs. Yet, many acquired volumes are never read. This behavior has been condemned and praised in two radically different statements that differ by a single word: (1) Nothing is more impotent than an …
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Jim Morrison? Andrew Doe? John Tobler? Francis E. Walter? Philip F. Pocock? E. S. James? Frank Lisciandro? Apocryphal Question for Quote Investigator: The activities of rock-n-roll star Jim Morrison received extensive newspaper and television coverage in the 1960s. He was alternately praised and condemned in the mass media. Apparently, he once stated: Whoever controls the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Whoever Controls the Media, Controls the Mind”
Charlie Chaplin? Nigel Bruce? Claire Bloom? Austin Kleon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Before performing a new show or displaying a novel artwork it is natural to feel fear. Perhaps the audience will condemn you as an amateur. A famous comic actor crafted a brilliant remark about amateurism. It went something like this: Everyone is …
Marshall McLuhan? Ashley Montagu? Edmund Carpenter? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan contemplated the influences of different types of media on human thought and behavior. He said that television was a cool medium because it was high in participation, whereas radio was a hot medium with low participation. He formulated the …
Marshall McLuhan? Quentin Fiore? Frank Richardson? Terence Trent D’Arby? Theodor W. Adorno? Question for 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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Art Is Anything You Can Get Away 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? Question for 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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Are the Average of the Five People You Spend the Most Time With”