August 29, 2021

“The power of Christ compels you!” … and the power of BTS ...

       

FAMOUS SATAN-BUSTING MOVIE QUOTE:

“The power of Christ compels you!”
       The words from the Catholic “Rite of Exorcism” repeated multiple times by the characters Father Merrin and Father Damien (played by Max von Sydow and Jason Miller) in the movie The Exorcist (1973), as they try to exorcize the demon that possesses
Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). 
       You can watch the scene where they chant the line as Regan floats in the air above her bed by clicking
this link or the image at left.
       It still gives me goosebumps. 

Catholic exorcisim rite

THE ORIGIN OF THE FAMED LINE:

“I adjure you, ancient serpent...to depart from this servant of God, whom almighty God has made in His image. Yield, therefore, yield not to my own person but to the minister of Christ. For it is the power of Christ that compels you.” 
       Part of the official Catholic “Rite of Exorcism”
       The instructions for the rite explain that it should be used get rid of a demon in “the person possessed.” It adds the helpful tip that the afflicted party “should be bound if there is any danger.”



       

THE SOUTH KOREAN BOY BAND VARIATION:

“Power of BTS Compels You: These BTS-Backed Phones Broke Pre-Order Records for Samsung.”  
       Headline of an August 2021 Rolling Stone magazine article about the surge in sales of Samsung mobile phones caused by the brand's use of the South Korean boy band BTS in promotional videos.

the power of Patty compels you       

THE GHOSTBUSTING VERSION:

“The power of Patty compels you!” 
       Line shouted by character Patty Tolan (played by Leslie Jones) in the
the 2016 version of the movie Ghostbusters.
       Patty yells this while slapping the face of her friend Abby Yates (actress Melissa McCarthy), in an attempt to exorcize the ghost that possesses Abby’s body.
       It works. After the ghost leaves, Abby quips: “Ow! That’s gonna leave a mark.”

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter DVD

THE HOLY VAMPIRE BUSTER’S VERSION:

“The Power of Christ Impales You!” 
       Ad tagline for the indie comedy-horror movie Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)

Robin Williams Weapons of Self Destruction

ROBIN’S DEMON TURD:

“The drugs make you so constipated, I thought they were gonna have to bring in a priest to do a f**king exorcism. ‘Demon turd, fall from his ass! The power of fiber compels you! The power of fiber compels you!’
       Robin Williams (1951-2014)
       American comedian and actor
       Riffing on the constipation caused by the pain medication he took after heart surgery, in his 2009 HBO special Weapons of Self-Destruction.

The Power of Kanye Compels You 2

THE WEST GRAFFITI QUOTE:

“THE POWER OF KANYE COMPELS YOU”
       These words, spray-painted on a brick wall, gained attention when a photo
showing Taylor Swift standing next to them was posted in various places on the internet.
       Commenters on the photo debated whether it was the real Taylor Swift or an impersonator.
Either way, given her famous feud with Kanye West, it ‘s kinda funny.             
     

The Power of Taylor Compels You

A TAYLOR SWIFT FAN’S COUNTERQUOTE:

“THE POWER OF Taylor COMPELS YOU” 
      
A Photoshopped version of the Kanye graffiti a Taylor Swift fan posted on her blog, with the comment “Fixed it.”

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Related reading and viewing…

August 12, 2021

The fine lines between stupid, clever – and various other things...


SPINAL TAP’S “SMELL THE GLOVE” PRINCIPLE:

“It’s such a fine line between stupid…and clever.”
       The legendary saying from the mockumentary This is Spinal Tap (1984) 
       This “quote” actually combines parts of consecutive lines spoken by two characters in the movie: Spinal Tap’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist, David St. Hubbins (played by Michael McKean) and the band’s bass player, Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer).
       In the scene, the band members and their manager Ian Faith (Tony Hendra) are discussing the fact that the latest Spinal Tap album, Smell the Glove, had been criticized as sexist and banned by major retailers for featuring a photo of a greased, naked woman on all fours wearing a dog collar around her neck. Meanwhile, the album of a rival musician, Duke Fame, was selling well even though it had photos of several naked women on the cover. Ian explains that Duke is shown tied down and the women are whipping him in his album cover photo. Thus, Duke is the “victim,” so it’s not sexist.
       Ian notes: “If we had all you guys tied up, that probably would have been fine...But it’s still a stupid cover.”
       David muses: “It’s such a fine line between stupid and...”
       Derek finishes the thought and creates the famed “quote” by adding: “And clever.”
       David agrees: “Yeah, and clever.” 
       And, thus, the legendary saying was born.


THE CONGRESSIONAL VARIATION:

“There’s a fine line between irony and hypocrisy. I’m not sure our political leaders in Congress understand either one. But at least that makes for some fine comedy!” 
       From a July 31, 2014 post on The Center for Justice & Democracy’s PopTort.com site 
       The post was about the news that the U.S. House of Representatives had passed a resolution authorizing Speaker John Boehner to sue President Obama for what Republicans say has been inadequate enforcement of “Obamacare” – the health care program they oppose.
       (Cartoon by Steve Sack, political cartoonist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.)


THE CLIVEN BUNDY VARIATION:

“There’s a fine line between a folk hero and a scofflaw.”  
       Editorial by the Nashua Telegraph, April 25, 2014
       Commenting on Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy, who had about “15 minutes of fame” for publicly thumbing his nose at federal laws and regulations regarding grazing of private cattle herds on public lands and refusing to pay the fees required to use those lands.
       (Cartoon by Milt Priggee.)


ERMA’S OBSERVATION:

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt…How do you know laughter if there is no pain to compare it with?”
       Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
       American humorist, newspaper columnist and author 
       From her book If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? (1985)


BLANCHE’S OBSERVATION:

“There is a fine line between having a good time and being a wanton slut.”
       Actress Rue McClanahan (1934-2010) as the character Blanche Devereaux
       In an episode of the TV series The Golden Girls


THE FISHING VERSION:

“There’s a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot.”
       Steven Wright
       American comedian
       A widely-repeated joke Wright used in his stand-up comedy routine in the early 1990s. It now appears on posters, t-shirts and other items and hundreds of Internet graphics and posts.


THE GARDENING VERSION:

“There’s a fine line between gardening and madness.”
       Actor John Ratzenberger, as the character Cliff Clavin
       In an episode of the TV series Cheers 
       This one is for my wife Barbara Jo, a certified Master Gardener who spends much of her time maintaining the amazing subtropical botanical garden she created in our front and back yards – and for all those other avid gardeners out there who will understand why the joke is funny.

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Related viewing, listening and reading…

August 4, 2021

“The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”


THE FAMOUS SPORTS QUOTATION:

“The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
      
Dan Cook (1926-2008)
       San Antonio sports journalist and broadcaster
       Cook is widely credited as the person who popularized this saying, though he probably didn’t coin it. According to a June 3, 1978 article in the Washington Post (cited by many sources
), Cook first used it in his regular sports column in the San Antonio Express-News around 1975 or 1976.
       In 1978, he said it during a sports show on San Antonio’s KENS-TV, while discussing the Washington Bullets basketball team. Bullets coach Dick Motta heard Cook say it and started using the line himself when talking about his team’s odds of winning the NBA championship that year. It soon became a popular slogan among Bullets fans. When the Bullets won the championship on July 7, 1978, Motta crowed: “The Fat Lady is singing.” Dan Cook later said that the lady he envisioned was an iconic, hefty female opera singer, the popular image many people have of characters like
Brunnhilde in Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung).
       The opera version of the saying may have been inspired by an earlier one used by African-Americans in the southern United States:
“Church ain’t out till the fat lady sings” (a humorous reference to the sometimes plump ladies who sang hymns at church services).



THE TWINKIE OFFENSE:


“The fat lady – the one who apparently ate too many 150-calorie, nutrition-free Twinkies – has sung...Hostess announced early this morning that it would ‘promptly’ liquidate the company immediately and lay off its nearly 19,000 workers. The trigger was a strike this month by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. ‘We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision," Hostess said in a statement, "but we don't have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike.’”

      
David A. Kaplan 
       American journalist
       In a CNN/Fortune article about the news that Hostess Brands, maker of Wonder Bread, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, and Twinkies, the “Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling,” was planning to shut down due to financial woes and placing the blame on its union workers.


THE FEDERAL DEBT DEBATE VARIATION:
“It isn’t over until the Tea Party squeals.”
     
Taylor Marsh
 
       Political analyst and blogger 
       A comment in a post
on her blog about the debate over America’s federal debt problem and the reluctance of Republican conservatives to increase taxes as part of the solution.

THE FRENCH BIKE RACE VARIATION:

“[The] Tour de France...has been marred for years by performance-enhancing drug scandals. Forget ‘it ain’t over till the fat lady sings.’ In this event, ‘it ain’t over till the urine-sample lab results come back.’”
       Greg Cote

       Sportswriter for the Miami Herald
       A quip about illegal “doping” by professional bike racers, in a sidebar of his sports column in July 2011



THE JAPANESE BASEBALL VERSION:

“When the game is over, a fat lady will sing to us!” 
       A Japanese interpreter’s translation of the famed saying, as shown in subtitles, in the movie
Mr. Baseball (1992)


THE LAST RITES VERSION:

“It ain’t over till the fat priest reads extreme unction over your almost corpse. Oh, I forgot, the correct term has been changed from ‘extreme unction.’ Now it has been watered down to something like ‘anointing of the sick.’ God forbid that anyone might imply that the poor soul might actually be dying.”
      
David Skibbins
       American novelist and psychotherapist 
       Lines spoken by a character in Skibbins’ mystery novel The Hanged Man (2008)
       The quip refers to the Vatican II edicts issued by Pope Paul VI in 1965, which changed the name of the last rites Catholic priests give to dying people from the traditional phrase “Extreme Unction” to the nicer-sounding modern version,
“Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.”

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