"Basil Fawlty was an easy character for me. For some reason, portraying a mean, uptight, incompetent bully comes naturally to me."

John Cleese Entertainment See all quotes by John Cleese →

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“A wonderful thing about true laughter is that it just destroys any kind of system of dividing people.”

“If I like chocolate it won't surprise you that I have a few chocolates in my fridge, but if you find out I've got 16 warehouses full of chocolate, you'd think I was insane. All these rich guys are insane, obsessive compulsive twits obsessed with money — money is all they think about — they're all nuts.”

“All humans are stupid, but the smarter ones at least have a handle on their own ignorance.”

“When I was teaching, the headmaster told me "You know, the sad thing about true stupidity is that you can do absolutely nothing about it.”

“Podcast to celebrate The Life of Brian”

“If God did not intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?”

Resonant Thoughts

"What's really hurting me, the name Islam is involved, and Muslim is involved and causing trouble and starting hate and violence. … Islam is not a killer religion. … Islam means peace, I couldn't just …"

— Muhammad Ali

Social Activism1769–1849

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"Good sense travels on the well-worn paths; genius, never. And that is why the crowd, not altogether without reason, is so ready to treat great men as lunatics."

— Cesare Lombroso

Medicine1835–1909

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"…This is a period of relaxation for me, but there are still some weeds that need pulling. I kind of go with Thumper, you know, from Bambi. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” …"

— Joni Mitchell

Music1943

#philosophy

"Every institution is a racket. Whether we are considering political, religious, economic, ideological, or educational institutions, each is a formal, elaborate system designed for one purpose: to cont…"

— Butler D. Shaffer

Literature1935–2019

#philosophy