(Sorry--the first link works, the second link was to a letter alerting me to the discussion...I've fixed the link now)
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
If I'm not registered I can't read the discussion - what movie are they saying it's from?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Those of us not registered on imdb can't read that. Mind quoting the salient bits?
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
Do you realize what you've done?
The pursuit of the answer to this question was like the pursuit of perfection; eternally striving towards it made us all better people and now look what you've done.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Meh - it's about as convincing as crop circles to me.... a controversy that will never really die. Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
This is a hoax. The link doesn't work, and there is no source. They're just trying to get our hopes up.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Oh my....I must say I'm shocked....After all of that....it's found...I remember spending so many hours tracking it down....I never thought it would ever get found...
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Boothby171, I don't think the quote is exact. There is a "what does it do?" part and a "that's the beauty of it" part, but they are not together, and the rest of it is only approximate. (I can't hear it well, in part because of my speakers and in part because I am in a -very- loud background noise place, but this seems to be true.) People have found other things close before, but not exact, and this was deemed not to be the exact quote so many people think they remembered.
I'd love to read the transcript of the clip, but you seem to have linked to a private messaging function, not a discussion thread. (?) It refuses entry.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I love that one of the replies was to pm you, Steve.
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
EL,
I am, after all, the messiah of that new religion. And now, I must be killed and eaten by my followers.
Love SSYWAK, Kill SSYWAK, Eat SSYWAK
(as the saying goes)
I've fixed the link, BTW
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Hmm, being Catholic, that doesn't sound too out there to me.
*nibbles*
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
I'm registered on IMDB.
The movie is apparently "Burke's Law: Who Killed 711". But ... I've never heard of it or seen that clip. So where did I get that phrase?
I'm still not convinced. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
My best-guess transcript (there wasn't one on the IMDB thread):
quote:[Burgess Meredith!] as Mad (?) Scientist: Certainly, certainly ... [stammering] ... mnnuuh, let's, I, I ... I always take this w-w-with me ... When I travel. At home I have a m-m-much bigger one.
Guy in suit and hat: What is it?
Scientist: Well it - my, my therapy - I'm still perfecting it.
Guy: What does it do?
Scientist: Do?
Guy: Wha-What's it for?
Scientist: Well nothing, nothing, I mean, that's the beauty of it. Every machine in the world does something, but not mine ... [stammering continues, but clip ends]
It is certainly close, but I don't think it's necessarily closer than some other things which were proposed. Perhaps. But I think the mystery of this was that so many people had a very vivid memory of a quote that exactly matched one another's recollections, though no exact match could be found in the media.
This doesn't fufill that either, but it's a strong showing. It is close, but people seemed to remember (vividly, and in complete agreement) something else.
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
Hey!
That tickles!
Knock it off!
Personally, I don't expect we'll ever get any closer than that. I know that I was 3 when that show was aired, and I doubt very much I saw it then!
But since? Who the heck knows!?!
It just feels right, though, doesn't it?
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
quote:Originally posted by Boothby171: It just feels right, though, doesn't it?
Nope. But still cool. And admirable of someone to remember and post it.
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
I appreciate all the support and hard work coming from all you guys (and gals)
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
You've done the hard work, and you've been diligent about spreading the word and updating us. That's so great.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Of note, the thread title linked to at IMDB (and at least one post in it) refer to the "...It doesn't do anything" quotation, but that wording isn't actually in the clip. See transcript above.
---
Is anyone verified to post at IMDB? I'd love to post the transcript of the clip along with a link to the discussion here. Also to the original thread from Hatrack where other quite similar possibilities were noted.
It's not that I don't agree that this was a great piece of detective work -- I just don't think it solves the puzzle more than it was previously solved, and I'd hate to see the search truncated prematurely.
I'll verify myself at IMDB with a credit card later if this isn't of interest to anyone else.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I'm with CT. It's close (arguably the closest yet), but no ceegar.
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
Now I know how new religions are spawned from the old ones.
I'm taking it as solved, and leaving it at that.
Posted by Papa Janitor (Member # 7795) on :
Upon a second watching, I'm gonna have to agree that it's not close enough. But I'll leave the thread stickied for a little bit out of reverence for the concept.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I am amazed that this got stickied.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
CT -
I can post at IMDB, if that's what you mean, last I checked you don't have to have a credit card to do so, at least you didn't back when I signed up.
If you want to construct a post but don't want to go through the trouble of signing up yourself you can email it to me and I'll put it on that thread.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
I don't want to be a wet blanket, but I do want to leave open the possibility that people may want to keep looking.
Thanks, Lyrhawn. I'd love to take advantage of your generosity. Just a sec --
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Boothby171: EL,
I am, after all, the messiah of that new religion. And now, I must be killed and eaten by my followers.
Love SSYWAK, Kill SSYWAK, Eat SSYWAK
Wait... you're SSYWAK?
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese: Boothby171, I don't think the quote is exact. There is a "what does it do?" part and a "that's the beauty of it" part, but they are not together, and the rest of it is only approximate. (I can't hear it well, in part because of my speakers and in part because I am in a -very- loud background noise place, but this seems to be true.) People have found other things close before, but not exact, and this was deemed not to be the exact quote so many people think they remembered.
I'd love to read the transcript of the clip, but you seem to have linked to a private messaging function, not a discussion thread. (?) It refuses entry.
As far as I can see, it's as close as "Play it again, Sam". Which, as an exact phrase, probably appeared first in a Woody Allen movie, because it's never said in Casablanca.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Lyrhawn, this is great. Thanks. You are a real peach.
Wait a minute for me to finish editing, as I want to make sure the links work. And let me know if it's too long.
Thanks!
-----------------------------------------------
Hi, IMDB folks. What a great thread!
This is CT from Hatrack, one of the sites that has been plagued by this quote since 2003 (thanks, Thalia). I wanted to give you a link here to our current discussion of this proposal, as well as some links to some older threads where other possibilities were discussed at our site. One of our other members, Lyrhawn [if you are okay with being named], is kind enough to crosspost for me.
I think all of us are delighted to see the video clip and read the discussion. Some, like ssywak, are calling it closed. Others, like me and some other oldtimers, are not, and not just because we are grumpy old farts. (But that too. *grin) Of particular note, there have been other possibilities quite close, and though this has some intriguing elements, it doesn't even contain the classic "It doesn't do anything" part referenced in both the title of this thread and in one of the posts above. This has "nothing." (see transcript below) Close, but not quite -- and what made this quotation so compelling was that so many people seemed to remember it *exactly* as such.
But this is something we each have our own mystical relationship to, and I suppose we each have to make up our own minds. I'll leave you with my transcript of the video clip for future reference. Thanks.
quote:Burgess Meredith as Mad (?) Scientist: Certainly, certainly ... [stammering] ... mnnuuh, let's, I, I ... I always take this w-w-with me ... when I travel. At home I have a m-m-much bigger one.
Guy in suit and hat: What is it?
Scientist: Well it - my, my therapy - I'm still perfecting it.
Guy: What does it do?
Scientist: Do?
Guy: Wha-What's it for?
Scientist: Well nothing, nothing, I mean, that's the beauty of it. Every machine in the world does something, but not mine ... [stammering continues, but clip ends]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Well-summed, CT.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Cool. And I've edited to update the links.
Thanks, Lyrhawn. It's ready to go.
And thanks, Boothby171, for posting it and keeping us updated. The fact that we don't agree in toto doesn't mean I don't really appreciate your hard work, as well as the work of the person who found and uploaded this clip. Awesome.
---
Whoops! Lyrhawn, if you could just update the date (not 2004, but 2003) for the original thread, that would be great. If not, no big deal -- and you can leave out whichever formatting you need to in order to make it easy. However it works for you.
[ March 27, 2007, 06:23 PM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
You remember that 80s show, "Probe." I rewatched a few episodes last year, and for some reason, I think of the quote as being in there.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I still think it was from an episode of Saved by the Bell where Zach steals some money to buy a fancy boom box.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Edit: I had to fudge it a bit, as the coding isn't the same at Hatrack, but it's posted. Let me know if that's okay.
[ March 26, 2007, 01:35 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :
I still don't think that is the right one. I'm determined that it's out there in some strange movie that we've all seen, but can't quite recall. I will never stop searching. NEVA!
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
Lisa...you didn't know I was (hell...still AM) SSYWAK ?!?
Posted by dantesparadigm (Member # 8756) on :
This is nothing more then false hope, this is about as convincing as the discovery of Jesus' corpse.
I'll never stop searching, I know it's out there, word for word, clear as day, no mumbling or distortion, it will be memorable, and it will make us all go "Ohhhhh, that's right, I should have gotten that, moving along."
Someday.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Boothby171: Lisa...you didn't know I was (hell...still AM) SSYWAK ?!?
Um... I guess not. What does it stand for? Anything?
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I think this is it. I think this is the source of the quote. It is altered slightly, but I think for the same reason everyone remembers "Play it again, Sam." as the accurate quote.
Wow. It's found. It's like finally learning who Deep Throat is.
I'm not dissapointed with this source, though - I think it fits the spirit of the quote perfectly. Wow.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I am absolutely confident that I have never seen this movie.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I doubt many people have seen this movie at all. Still, just like I could quote The Godfather despite never seeing it and the ways everyone has heard "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a d***" whether or not they have seen Gone with the Wind, I think the quote entered the zeitgeist right...there. Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
It's not even a movie. It's an episode of a 60's TV show.
Was that directed at me? I don't see how that's relevant...maybe it wasn't directed at me. Never mind. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:I think the quote entered the zeitgeist right...there.
See, I don't. Because we know how "frankly, my dear" is sustained through the zeitgeist; this particular episode isn't popular enough and isn't quoted enough to be supported, and we have evidence by now that the individual line itself isn't propagated widely through the media.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
What Tom said [all the times above, actually]. But I think it's fine for people to have different criteria to be satisfied about the quote.
[ March 26, 2007, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
I agree with kat and Boothby; people heard it on the show, misquoted it the next day around the water cooler, and it just took off. We all heard it in amateur stand-up routines and high school dramas. Our parents used the phrase in jokes and we laughed at the punch-line of a thousand independent jokes. We all heard it from different sources and different times, but all independently derived from this one, monumental moment. Thank you, Burgess Meredith, for this mighty endowment to our society.
Case closed. Whew.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by SenojRetep: Case closed. Whew.
quote:But I think it's fine for people to have different criteria to be satisfied about the quote.
(*grin )
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
Sure. I just reserve the right to gloat in the next life when all truth will be revealed (including, although perhaps not most importantly, this one).
(*grin )
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Lyrhawn, you are a jewel. A very manly jewel, such as a large red jasper, or perhaps a deep, black onyx. Thank you -- it is perfect.
---
SenojRetep, of all the things I both fear and hope to be explained to me after my death, this is surely right up there. And if it should be that there is a decent pub at hand when we are put to that mettle, and if we then find this true, well, I'll kindly spot you a pint and call you prescient. Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
I doubt we'll ever get closer to it, but I'm also sure people will keep looking Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
I'm going to make a movie with this line in it. Just so people can be put at rest.
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
A mathematician, a physicist and an engineer were asked to answer the following question. A group of boys are lined up on one wall of a dance hall, and an equal number of girls are lined up on the opposite wall. Both groups are then instructed to advance toward each other by one quarter the distance separating them every ten seconds (i.e., if they are distance apart at time 0, they are d/2 at t=10 s, d/4 at t=20 s, d/8 at t=30 s, and so on.) When do they meet at the center of the dance hall? The mathematician said they would never actually meet because the series is infinite. The physicist said they would meet when time equals infinity. The engineer said that within one minute they would be close enough for all practical purposes.
I'm close enough for all practical purposes.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: As far as I can see, it's as close as "Play it again, Sam". Which, as an exact phrase, probably appeared first in a Woody Allen movie, because it's never said in Casablanca. [/QB]
OMG!!! Now, I'm gonna have to watch that movie tonight. You're kidding me . . . *reels in shock and dismay* Oh, how memory plays mean tricks. *sniffle*
P.S. I'm fairly sure Bugs Bunny says it in at least one of his cartoons . . . Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
I'm fairly sure Bugs Bunny has said everything that's reasonably quotable in at least one of his cartoons.
Posted by The Reader (Member # 3636) on :
I'm satisfied with the quote. It isn't exactly what we thought it was, but the definition is the same.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
I, on the other hand, have not attained satisfaction.
I don't know how you people can live with yourselves settling for what is obviously an unacceptable solution to this problem. Posted by The Reader (Member # 3636) on :
I'm not looking for a supermodel, Strider. The quote that has been found is moderately pretty, and has a very good character and style. I like it.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
I've never seen that thing, so that's not where I heard the quote from...therefore, it is not an acceptable answer. Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
I have never heard this quote outside of all the times it has been discussed on Hatrack, so I think you all just made up this quest.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
My Gods you are all geeks...
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dragon: I'm fairly sure Bugs Bunny has said everything that's reasonably quotable in at least one of his cartoons.
Then when did he say, "Do! It doesn't DO anything. That's the beauty of it."
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
It had to've been one of those silly little cartoons with the funny Martian.
Either that, or it was actually that wily coyote critter.
Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
quote:Originally posted by katharina: Was that directed at me? I don't see how that's relevant...maybe it wasn't directed at me. Never mind.
Your post wasn't there when I hit reply. If I was responding directly to anybody, I was sort of more responding to Tom, and agreeing with him.
I don't think there's a chance that anybody under, say, 45 (meaning, the vast majority of the people who are having this debate all over the internets because they're convinced they've heard this), heard it from this source.
And I don't think it's just a matter of friends repeating it. I don't remember in any of the various discussions around the internet anybody going, "Oh, that quote? Yeah, I had a buddy who used to say that all the time."
I think the original quote is just has enough resonating phrases and such that it rings true. It's a jumble of enough cliches that it seems like somebody must have had to say it somewhere.
This clip proves somebody did.
I don't think there's a connection between the fact that this phrase rings so familiar to everyone and the fact that somebody actually did say it once.
The real challenge would be finding another mix of cliches that's never been used but sounded so right that everyone would think it has been.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
I'm going to agree with Katie, too. Memory is a fuzzy and easily impressionable and falsifiable thing. To me, the fact that a lot of people "remember" it in the canonical form that we talk about does not mean that it ever existed in that form. I spend a good deal of my time at work verifying quotes from famous people. Probably the majority of them are modified from the original. Some of them are total fabrications. In other words, I know how easy it is for quotes to be modified and passed along without anyone thinking twice about it. Katie's examples are a perfect illustration of how pervasive and stubborn such false memories of a quote can be.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
The original threads I linked in the IMDB post are a very useful read. I'll post some further thoughts later.
Of note, though, is this, from September 20, 2004:
quote:Originally posted by Misha McBride: I found this....
quote:Harold Harold is in the room tinkering with a complex Rube Goldberg machine. Bongs and various other noises emit from it. Harold Harold ("my mother had no imagination - that's a family joke") says his mother's name was Myrtle Myrtle and that may be why he stuttered. He dons an even thicker pair of glasses than the ones he had been wearing, and tells them that doesn't s-s-stutter any m-m-more. Burke asks him to turn the machine off and Harold says he takes it with him wherever he travels. He has an even larger one at home; it's his therapy and he's still perfecting it. It doesn't do anything, that's the beauty of it, it's his rebellion against efficiency.
My husband said he believed Rube Goldberg said it, so I did a search and this popped up.
It appears to be an episode summary of a TV show called Burke's Law, titled "Who Killed 711". If someone could find the actual transcript of that episode we could know once and for all who said it.
If you want to credit this particular quotation, I think credit should probably go to Misha McBride.
[Even though, again, "It doesn't do anything" isn't actually in the clip, although it is referenced in this post.
But also extra praise for whomever actually tracked down the clip on YouTube (or uploaded it there), be it sswayak or another IMDB poster -- of course.]
[ March 28, 2007, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jon Boy: I'm going to agree with Katie, too. Memory is a fuzzy and easily impressionable and falsifiable thing. To me, the fact that a lot of people "remember" it in the canonical form that we talk about does not mean that it ever existed in that form. I spend a good deal of my time at work verifying quotes from famous people. Probably the majority of them are modified from the original. Some of them are total fabrications. In other words, I know how easy it is for quotes to be modified and passed along without anyone thinking twice about it. Katie's examples are a perfect illustration of how pervasive and stubborn such false memories of a quote can be.
And all of the young'uns involved with a feeling of frenzied, immediate recollection, and all of the rest of us -- all of us saw a 1965-ish episode of Burke's Law? Hmmm. I can buy that the quote was garbled in many people's memory, but I just can't buy that this show was the nitus for all these recollections. Let me post something from Frisco for context.
[I think Chris Bridges actually had the right of it -- see second post down from this one.]
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by Frisco: Okay, so I decided to get some help from my fellow New Yorkers on this, and I think I lowered the productivity of NYC a significant amount.
I posted an ad on Craigslist.com, and got 20 responses--most of them asking me to tell them so they can get back to work, because everyone in the office is trying to figure it out.
quote:You evil person, now you have me obsessing about this quote. I know I've heard it somewhere.
quote:I know that I've heard that movie quote many times and I can't place it. It's driving me nuts. Please tell.
quote:please, please, tell me where that's from. it's been killing me all morning
quote:It's killing me because I know this movie and I just can't place it. I am just interested in the name of the movie, please, help me out! If not, it will be goinig through my mind all day long!!
quote:this quote is driving me crazy. there are at least 8 people here at the office trying to figure it out. its just so familiar. i feel like I watched it this morning....
For the love of God, please let me know what this movie is Paul Amendola Federal Work-Study Coordinator Office of Financial Aid New York Law School
quote:We need help! Work is not getting done around here. We need a clue...please!! It is driving us crazy!
Thanks,
Adam Baranowsky Customer Relations Executive (212) 271-0838 abaranowsky@ideaglobal.com
quote:the quote: it's been on the tip of my brain. i know it, but i... just... can't... place... it.
you're killing me.
it's not bottle rocket (my initial hunch) because that's: "why do you have tape on your nose?" "exactly!"
i can even hear the way those lines were delivered... it's in my head.
please send help, (in the form of an answer).
i will be tormented until then.
quote:This is driving me insane! I know this one...I really do but I can't remember for the life of me. It is on the tip of my tong.....
Now I am at work, I have a lot of work to do but all I can think about is this darn quote. Thanks a lot! :-)
F.
Besides driving people up the wall, answers I've received have been:
Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
Big
Goldmember
News Radio
Meaning of Life
The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin
Seinfeld
Box of Moonlight
Watership Down
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Hudsucker Proxy
I looked over the Hudsucker script (as it seemed like the best guess), and found nothing. I hate you, Thalia.
.
"this quote is driving me crazy. there are at least 8 people here at the office trying to figure it out. its just so familiar. i feel like I watched it this morning...."
and
"the quote: it's been on the tip of my brain. i know it, but i... just... can't... place... it.
you're killing me."
etc.
Burke's Law? It just seems so unlikely.
[ March 28, 2007, 09:15 AM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by Boon: I found this : "A perceptual notion machine," explained Moffat. "It's based on the theory of relatives actually, mostly uncles and aunts. "I see," said Jennifer but she didn't, not really. "I wish it was more economical though, the way it is now it takes a great deal of entropy to make it go." "Oh," said Jennifer. "What does it do, exactly?" "I'm not really sure," Moffat admitted. "That's the beauty of it! It might do any number of things and it probably does! I won't really know until afterwards, and even then it might be hard to tell!"
This is the first few lines of chapter 5 in a book called "Search for the New-Moon Stones" by Allen Morgan. I'll keep looking.
quote:Originally posted by Avadaru: My sister reminded me of the Seinfeld episode about the show about nothing:
"What it is about?" "It's not about anything. That's the beauty of it!"
That really does sound right, but then what is the quote on KLSU from?!
quote:Originally posted by Lefty the One-armed Man: This one's from the blog. It's unsubstantiated, though.
Sherlock Holmes And The Computer AUG 05 03 by Thomas H. Hunter, http://www.icubed.com/~thunter/stories/computer.htm "But what does it do, Holmes?" "Anything, Watson! That's the beauty of it--a machine that is not restricted to a single task, but can do anything you ask of it." "But what is it doing now?" "Er, nothing really." muttered Holmes as he tried to block my view of the clattering typewriter. (Pretty good, but needs date)
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: The reason William Shatner comes to mind is because he used a similar line in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, when explaining to Spock why he can sell the glass that McCoy gave him in the future.
Spock: Weren't those a gift from Dr. McCoy? Kirk: And they will be again. That's the beauty of it.
Close, but no cigar. I'm starting to think that the quote is a combination of phrases that have been used in different places, but sound maddeningly familiar because the cadence sounds right.
I don't see Burke's Law in a separate, extra-crispy category from these. I think Chris Bridges nailed it, actually, in that last post referenced above.
---
Edited to add: But I think it's also probably important sometimes to get closure on this sort of thing, even moreso sometimes than actually answering the question in a strict way. [And sometimes more important to keep a quest alive, regardless of what proof has been offered! It goes both ways. ] I've been happy with Chris Bridges' take, and I'd be delighted to know that some people are still looking -- as to convincing others that they should not be convinced, well, that requires a higher level of interest and motivation than I have. I'm happy just to present context and options, and let the individual decisions come as they may.
However, I do think IMDB should be updated, if anyone [Lyrhawn? *smile] is willing to do it.
[ March 28, 2007, 09:32 AM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
Gawd! The Holy Grail of Fora.
So, what does it do? Nothing! That's the beauty of it.
*chuckles*
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
quote:Originally posted by prolixshore: I have never heard this quote outside of all the times it has been discussed on Hatrack, so I think you all just made up this quest.
--ApostleRadio
Ditto. This is just a trick to get me to waste more time at work.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
quote:Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese: And all of the young'uns involved with a feeling of frenzied, immediate recollection, and all of the rest of us -- all of us saw a 1965-ish episode of Burke's Law? Hmmm. I can buy that the quote was garbled in many people's memory, but I just can't buy that this show was the nitus for all these recollections.
I've never seen Gone with the Wind or Casablanca, but I'm sure I've heard "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" and "Play it again, Sam." Everyone's heard them, but they don't actually exist. I think a similar thing is going on here—the source is obscure enough that few people have seen it, but the quote was good enough to spread into the public consciousness and mutate. I think it's the only reasonable explanation. Edit: And as Chris said in that post you quoted, it's probably a conglomerate of some sort—a mishmash of old TV or movie quotes and cliche phrases. This clip can be the (main) ultimate source without being the proximate source for anyone.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
See, it is far easier for me to believe that the quote is merely assembled out of misremembered similar lines than to believe that Burke's Law is the actual source of the memory.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: See, it is far easier for me to believe that the quote is merely assembled out of misremembered similar lines than to believe that Burke's Law is the actual source of the memory.
Precisely!
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
But doesn't this version most closely resemble the one we've been talking about on Hatrack? I'm not saying it's the actual source of the memory, just that it might be the original quote that inspired many other similar quotes.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I don't think it actually is closer than some of the others.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Really? Maybe I haven't been following along closely enough, but I'm not aware of any that are closer.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
[Ah, too tired to pursue. Carry on. ]
[ March 28, 2007, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :
"But where is the quote FROM?"
"From? The quote isn't FROM anywhere. That's the beauty of it."
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Evie3217: "But where is the quote FROM?"
"From? The quote isn't FROM anywhere. That's the beauty of it."
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