Movie and Movie Line Trivia

Do you reflect on quotations that make you think or make you smile?  I have a major failing. (Don’t get smart and roll your eyes.  And don’t even try to tally the others you’ve noticed.)  I can’t help but remember movie lines.  See if you know from whence they originate. If not a movie, then the celebrity who coined the phrase:

“I wouldn’t join a club that would have me as a member”

“I have half a mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it”

“Oh that’s some hat, buy that hat and you get a free bowl of soup.  [pause and roll of the eyes] Looks good on you though…”

“Golf courses and cemeteries, biggest wastes of prime real estate”

“Let’s try a pincer movement [pause] carpe dentum”

“Shouldn’t we bury them pilgrims?  Bugs gotta eat same as worms”

“Wanna smoke?  Yeah let’s take our time and maybe we’ll both die of cancer”

“Your Delta Tau Chi name is Flounder.”  “Why flounder?”  “Why not?”

“I do love a good piece of hickory”

“How was it for you?  [pause and shoulder shrug] I’ve had better…”

“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son”

“Did we quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?  [pause] Don’t stop him he’s on a roll”

“Honey this is it, you cracked the case!  Why didn’t I think of this.  A picture of me in the shower!”

“Seven… minute… abs.  And if they have a problem we’ll give them the eighth minute free!”…  “Have you seen my baseball?”… “Franks and beans, franks and beans…”

“You got any hundred dollar bottles of champagne?”  “You could buy a bunch of Mumms.”

“You can milk anything with nipples.”  “I have nipples, can you milk me?”

“Is this moron number one?  Put moron number two on da phone”… “You better get more personally involved in your work or I’m going to blow torch the both of you.”… “Hey Tony, he ain’t mad at me is he?”

“This is what I’m paying you for?  I ask a question and you repeat it back?  I can get Jelly to do that for nuthin.” [pause] “Get Jelly. I’m going back to my party””

“I’m Mike Loughery.  Yeah, I’m Mike Loughery.”

“Aw, you bought that nice man flowers.”…  “You were stung as a child.”…  “We’re not hosting an intergalactic kegger.”

“You want the truth?  You can’t handle the truth!”

“REDRUM”

“Red light, green light.  Hasta lasagna, don’t get any on ya.”

“Hallo, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!”

“Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

“You wrote a book called Owen, Owen’s mother and his friend Larry?”….  “Aw, you wrote a pop up book!  This is the cutest thing!”

I hope you enjoyed the trek down the silver screen memory lane. Have a favorite movie line?  Feel free to share it!

Have a wonderful weekend.  Act like you love life!

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro

Antonymic Translation

Do you wonder if your statements are running through an antonymic translation program?  Yes it’s throw back Thursday in all its eight letter glory.  Say something.  Then repeat yourself when communication fails to connect.  You think you made your point only to find the opposite of your intention and further your instructions are being executed as if the current activity is exactly as you directed.

Wow, you think, could I have been speaking a foreign language?  Did I stumble upon an episode of the Twilight Zone?  Does doubt creep in or do you drive to the point of discrepancy and reinforce what you’ve said?

It’s not you.  I’ve experienced such a situation.  In fact, the person to whom I refer has an agenda that diverges from the objective.  How could that be?  Not only were you clear, so were others with as much or more influence as you.  Now you’re flummoxed.

Shake it off.  People with hidden agendas will always find a way to discount what you say, even if you have the authority or experience to underpin your position.  Those people are smart and choose to utilize said intelligence to employ nuances that on the surface may appear to be only a one-degree diversion.  But remember one degree three feet out is still proximate to the original direction, but one-degree one mile out is a different path and so on and so forth.  At times I’ve felt death by a thousand nuances.  I was left with a choice; press my case or ignore.  I’ve tried both approaches with spotty results.  I’m wide open for suggestions.  Maybe I’m not drinking the appropriate Kool-Aid.

Life is filled to overflowing with challenges.  Pick your battles wisely as some are designed to be won, others to be lost.  Every battle can’t be important, or can it?  You’re smart and will figure it out.  The question is how many cuts will you suffer before either acquiescing or collapsing from exhaustion.

Enjoy your Thursday and carry emotional ointment.  You never know when you will need it.

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro

Your Phone is Ringing...

When you least expect it, you’re elected.  You’re the star today.  I was plugging along on my Monday routine when I received a text message from a girlfriend I had the good fortune of meeting almost a year ago at one of the Raven weekends.  Do you get the feeling that someone is in the emotional vicinity?  Maybe it’s my woman’s intuition but I felt this wonderful lady reaching across the miles.  I was thinking of her and there appeared a text message.

How does your heart feel when that happens?  Do you experience something light and airy, as if a butterfly has taken your heart on a joy ride?  I don’t get misty often but today I felt late spring showers in my emotional forecast.  No complaints and no frets; I’m learning that emotional expression is a wonderfully satisfying experience.

We chatted briefly and then the mobile phone rang.  I have one of those silly rings that says, “Yo your phone is ringing.  You better answer the phone, you know you wanna answer it.  Don’t even try to ignore it...”  It goes on for thirty seconds if you allow it.  My secretary is laughing as I scramble to the phone.

From the caller identifier I know it’s my special girlfriend who has been texting.  Her voice is ebullient, effervescent and filled with sincerity, the way I remember her.  We chatted for a little while but not long enough.  She said wonderful things and shared a few of her travails.  I feel for my friend.  A year ago I was where she is.  I want to support her emotionally as she navigates the shoals and backwaters that will eventually lead to the open waters where she will be able to enjoy the voyage with uplifted spirits.

When I have conversations with “heart close friends” (yes that is another Nikkiism) I need a big hug – it’s the icing on the cake of my life.  Call me weak, call me emotional but don’t call me late for the hugfest.  We all need reassurance regardless of whether we admit it.  Friends can do that for you; bring out the best in you.

I’m thrilled my friends feel comfortable calling.  I hope they never stand on ceremony.  If I can’t talk because of pressing business I will return your call.

Enjoy your Pumps Day.

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro

Someone's Knocking at the Door

Someone’s knocking at the door.  Who might it be?  Could it be your personality seeking an opportunity to shine?  Simplicity sometimes escapes me.  Given the nature of my upbringing and exacerbated by my profession I seek complexity, having to remind myself times may offer the shorter path to solution. 

Played golf over the weekend with friends.  Midway through the front nine one of the foursome asked, “Did you see the latest Bruce Jenner thing.  It was two cereal boxes side by side, one was Wheaties and the other was Fruit Loops.”  I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention.  Taking a deep breath I gathered by thoughts.  The next question made my stomach tighten.  “Do you think he’s faking?” If you know this girl you know she can’t keep thoughts and opinions (surprised?).  I measured the responses in the following way.

“Do you think he’s been faking it for thirty years?  Do you think he’s wearing makeup and pretending to go through the nonsense of nasty stuff in the press?  Why would anyone do that to themselves for attention?  Jenner is already wealthy.  I could think of better ways to make a living other than ostracizing myself.”  There was a pause and a few “that’s a shame” phrases tossed in.  But of course I didn’t stop there.

“I have friends in the LGBT community.  And my company works with many people in that community.  This is serious and it’s not faking.”  The eyes seemed to focus; maybe trying to decipher the messenger.

“Sure there may be some who have fetishes about women’s clothes.  Everyone has a fetish.  And if you think you don’t, then you have a fetish for denial.”  I came up for air, so wanting to probe them but thought better.  Discretion and valor and all those quaint anecdotes.

The balance of the morning progressed without a hitch.  In fact I think the conversation fueled my femininity to play a better game.  I played the best back nine of my career, a solid 8 over par, two putting (both bogeys) at least two greens that could have (should have) been pars.

So there is hope for me yet; another opportunity.  Maybe I didn’t change the world but I think I got three people to look beyond the blinders of conventionality.

Hurray for the First Amendment.  Freedom of speech is alive.  Now we need to parlay that into freedom of physical expression.

As a learned world leader once said during the darkest hour of his nation’s existence, “This is not the beginning of the end, this is the end of the beginning.”

Make today the new beginning and let your light shine for the world to marvel.  Be beautiful, be you! [Feeling a morning shower coming on, joyfully!]

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro

Good to Great!!

When do you know you’ve made the right decision involving your job or more generally in life?

Do you know the book “Good to Great”?  The premise of the book is a masterpiece of simplicity.  Focus on getting from “good” to “great”.

“Really Nikki, you are the mistress of the obvious!”

What are you, breaking national news?  If you’d stop preempting my post you’d discover the depth of my statement. 

You’ve heard the term ‘jack of all trades’.  The appropriate follow on is ‘master [or mistress] of none.’

You can’t be good at everything.  Nobody has that bandwidth.  “Everything” is an endless list.  If you think you have the bandwidth to be good at everything you’re failing yourself.

Determine your strengths and exploit them.  You can always become better at some things.  The appropriate question is “am I improving things at which I am good or am I mediocre at one or more things?”

Spend your energy going from good to great rather than from mediocre to poor.  You will spend less energy going from good to great and the rewards are multiples of the investment.

Trying to advance from mediocre to poor will inevitably deliver frustrations and at the end of the exertion, you are still under water, below grade, subpar (we’re not talking about golf here my lovelies).

You may have desire to conquer a shortcoming.  Determine what constitutes success and then evaluate whether you have the capability to succeed.  If not you should consider selecting another objective.  Success will fuel energy and satisfaction.  Is there much better in life than the SES (success, energy and satisfaction)?

It’s up to you. I’m offering wisdom that comes from many years.  Yes, if I had a rewind button on life and could utilize this knowledge in ‘do over mode’ I would gladly accept the opportunity.

“Good to Great” is an axiom by which I live.  You could do worse but why would you?  Are you happier when you’re miserable? If so, seek professional help.

Have an accomplish-filled beginning to your week.

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro