Talent, plus a rant
Jul. 3rd, 2008 10:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pjthompsonRandom quote of the day:
"We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess."
—Mark Twain, The Autobiography of Mark Twain
The Rant: In Which Moral Indignation is Expressed Over the Sloppiness of Quotation Websites.
I hate unsourced quotes, hates 'em! It doesn't mean I don't use them sometimes—this week has had more than enough, but I'm anticipating four days off and getting sloppy in my habits. I realize this is one of a growing number of things in which I am in a minority of caring about, but a portion of my job over the years has involved tracking down attributions. So I take it seriously.
Besides, there are a plethora of quote websites out there which seem to do nothing but quote each others' quotes or rearrange the words of each others' quotes or edit the real quotes because they aren't "pithy" enough for modern taste or "sound bite worthy" enough. None of these sites have sources. And a quote without a source is tantamount to a used car salesman saying, "This little honey runs like a dream. Trust me."
This is especially true if the quote is attributed to one of the famous quote machines, like Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Voltaire, Dorothy Parker. You can stick their names on any piece of wit or half-wit and people will say, "Oh, okay. Funny chick, that Dorothy." You can also go on to justify any piece of social, political, or moral dimwittery by sticking a great name behind it. "Well, Mark Twain thinks it's so therefore it must be so."
It's balderdash, I say! Humbug! The Decline of Western Civilization, dogs and cats living together without benefit of matrimony, children being heard as well as seen! Have you no shame, Senator?
Yes, I know. Who cares? Especially just before the 4th of July weekend. I guess I really need that vacation.
"We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess."
—Mark Twain, The Autobiography of Mark Twain
The Rant: In Which Moral Indignation is Expressed Over the Sloppiness of Quotation Websites.
I hate unsourced quotes, hates 'em! It doesn't mean I don't use them sometimes—this week has had more than enough, but I'm anticipating four days off and getting sloppy in my habits. I realize this is one of a growing number of things in which I am in a minority of caring about, but a portion of my job over the years has involved tracking down attributions. So I take it seriously.
Besides, there are a plethora of quote websites out there which seem to do nothing but quote each others' quotes or rearrange the words of each others' quotes or edit the real quotes because they aren't "pithy" enough for modern taste or "sound bite worthy" enough. None of these sites have sources. And a quote without a source is tantamount to a used car salesman saying, "This little honey runs like a dream. Trust me."
This is especially true if the quote is attributed to one of the famous quote machines, like Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Voltaire, Dorothy Parker. You can stick their names on any piece of wit or half-wit and people will say, "Oh, okay. Funny chick, that Dorothy." You can also go on to justify any piece of social, political, or moral dimwittery by sticking a great name behind it. "Well, Mark Twain thinks it's so therefore it must be so."
It's balderdash, I say! Humbug! The Decline of Western Civilization, dogs and cats living together without benefit of matrimony, children being heard as well as seen! Have you no shame, Senator?
Yes, I know. Who cares? Especially just before the 4th of July weekend. I guess I really need that vacation.