On this day in 1942 CASABLANCA premiered at the Hollywood Theater in New York City
Coolness under Fire, Personified: Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, American Soldier of Fortune.
I love this film. Partly because it mirrors a time in my life when I lived through a similar adventure in a dusty, miserable place on the west coast of Africa not far from Casablanca; but most of all I love this film because of the many subtle sub-plots running through it, and of course for all of the great lines it generated. The screenplay is full of great quotes, here are a few of my personal favorites:
“You know, Rick, I have many a friend in Casablanca, but somehow, just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust.”
- Peter Lorre, never creepier than in this role as Signor Ugarte
Rick: "I stick my neck out for nobody."
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
"As leader of all illegal activities in Casablanca,
I am an influential and respected man."
- Sydney Greenstreet as Signor Ferrari, Owner of the Blue Parrot.
". . . it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people
don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
"Major Strasser has been shot . . .
. . . Round up the usual suspects."
Feel free to share your favorite Casablanca quotes, below:
The beautiful French and German countryside, juxtaposed with such wanton destruction . . . . viewing this amazing footage brings to mind Robert E. Lee's famous qoute:
"It is well that war is so terrible -- lest we should grow too fond of it."
John F. Kennedy once held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
Some notable quotes of Thomas Jefferson:
"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe."
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
Thomas Jefferson said this in 1802:
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
Professional Athlete, Olympic Gold Medalist, Philosopher AND Dragon-Slayer Warrior . . .
. . . Sir Charles Barkley is welcome to grace the pages of STORMBRINGER any day!
1. "I can be bought. If they paid me enough, I'd work for the Klan."
2. "You got to believe in yourself. Hell, I believe I'm the best-looking guy in the world and I might be right."
3. "I don't hate anyone, at least not for more than 48 minutes, barring overtime."
4. "You can talk without saying a thing. I don't ever want to be that type of person."
5. After retiring from basketball "I'm just what America needs - another unemployed black man.
6. EJ: "Did you graduate from Auburn?" Charles: "No, but I have a couple people working for me who did."
7. "We are in the business of kicking butt and business is very, very good."
8. When the Dream Team was about to play the Angola national team, during pre-game interviews the other USA players provided diplomatic, face saving comments about how they would play hard and felt strongly they would win. When Chuck was asked about Angola and the game, he replied: "They're in a lot of trouble."
9. "I know why his name is DMX. Because his real name is Earl. Imagine if his name was Earl the rapper."
10. "If you go out with a girl and they say she has a great personality, she's ugly. If they tell you a guy works hard, he can't play a lick. Same thing."
11. After Kevin Garnett threw a ball into the crowd out of frustration and was ejected. They showed footage of the man that got hit by the ball being taken away in a stretcher and his daughter was crying. Charles commented that players take passes to the face all the time. He topped it off by saying: "You know why that little girl's crying? It's because she's thinking 'my daddy's a wussy'".
12. While watching someone in Australia put $1 million worth of rubies on a table: "Damn, must not be any black folks in Australia. You can't just leave $1 million worth of jewelry lying around the 'hood."
13. Asked if he had ever been in the governor's office in Montgomery, Barkley said no. "They don't let many black people in the governor's mansion in Alabama," he said, "unless they're cleaning."
14. On the goal of the '92 Olympic Dream Team when playing Panama in the Tournament of the Americas: "To get the Canal back."
15. On North Carolina missing 22 of its last 23 shots in losing to Georgetown in the NCAA tournament: "Stevie Wonder could make one of 23 shots."
16. I'd never buy my girl a watch... she's already got a clock over the stove.
17. "I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I've got a technique. It's called just go get the damn ball."
18. On the Portland Trail Blazers (back when they were known as the Jail Blazers) serving Thanksgiving meals: "In between arrests they do community service."
19. "Well, when I went off to college, the guys I used to hang with were pumping gas and voting Democrat. Today they're still pumping gas and voting Democrat. Guess the Democrats didn't do much for them."
20. "When I was recruited at Auburn [university], they took me to a strip joint. When I saw those titties on Buffy, I knew that Auburn met my academic requirements."
21. "I heard Tonya Harding is calling herself the Charles Barkley of figure skating. I was going to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized I have no character."
22. On the All-Star Game: "Hell, there ain't but 15 black millionaires in the whole country & half of 'em are right here in this room."
23. On Jerry Krause still being able to keep his job as GM of the Chicago Bulls: "Jerry Krause must have pictures of his boss's wife having sex with a monkey."
24. After throwing a guy through a 1st floor window in a bar Charles was in front of the judge. Judge: "Your sanctions are community service and a fine, do you have any regrets?" Charles: "Yeah I regret we weren't on a higher floor"
25. After an Olympic Dream Team victory over Angola, in which they won 116-48, Charles got into a physical altercation with a member of Angola towards the end of the game, afterwards he says: "Somebody hits me, I'm going to hit him back. Even if it does look like he hasn't eaten in a couple weeks. I thought he was going to pull a spear on me."
Explore the brilliant Godzilla Vs. Charles Barkley saga HERE
"You only have to solve two problems when going to the moon: first, how to get there; and second, how to get back. The key is don't leave until you have solved both problems." - Neil Armstrong
"Any jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a good carpenter to build one." - Lyndon B. Johnson
"Problems are good, not bad. Welcome them and become the solution. When you have solved enough problems, people will thank you." - Mark Victor Hansen
On Life/Living
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
"Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be." - Grandma Moses
On Courage
"Courage is sometimes frail as hope is frail: a fragile shoot between two stones that grows brave toward the sun though warmth and brightness fail, striving and faith the only strength it knows." - Frances Rodman
"To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself, to test your limits, that is the courage to succeed." - Bernard Edmonds
On Getting Started
"Each indecision brings its own delays and days are lost lamenting over lost days...What you can do or think you can do, begin it. For boldness has magic, power, and genius in it." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Think big, start small." - Patricia Fripp
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start." - Nido Qubein
"The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal and launch, get started, take action, move." - Brian Tracy
On Goals
"All things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation of all things. You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind." - Stephen Covey
"The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them." – Jim Rohn
Somewhere around here I've got a folder full of quotes and cartoons I collected from all the years I spent in SF. This is one of my favorites:
“WE TRAINED HARD . . . BUT IT SEEMED THAT EVERY TIME WE WERE BEGINNING TO FORM UP INTO TEAMS WE WOULD BE REORGANIZED. I WAS TO LEARN LATER IN LIFE THAT WE TEND TO MEET ANY NEW SITUATION BY REORGANIZING; AND A WONDERFUL METHOD IT CAN BE FOR CREATING THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS WHILE PRODUCING CONFUSION, INNEFFICIENCY, AND DEMORALIZATION.” - Gaius Petronius Arbiter, (circa 27–66 AD)
Sean Linnane is the pseudonym of a retired Special Forces career NCO (1st SFG, 3d SFG, 10th SFG). I served with honor on five continents; I continue to serve in other capacities.
