Movie Quote of the Day (‘GoodFellas,’ on How the Mob Murders One of Its Own)

“If you’re part of a crew, nobody ever tells you that they’re going to kill you, doesn’t happen that way. There weren’t any arguments or curses like in the movies. See, your murderers come with smiles, they come as your friends, the people who’ve cared for you all of your life. And they always seem to come at a time that you’re at your weakest and most in need of their help.”—Longtime mobster-turned-informer Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta), in GoodFellas, screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese, directed by Martin Scorsese (1990)

The image accompanying this post shows Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito, thinking he was going to a celebration for himself. Oh, well!

Quote of the Day (William Shakespeare, on Reading ‘The Book of Fate’)

“O God, that one might read the book of fate
And see the revolution of the times
Make mountains level, and the continent,
Weary of solid firmness, melt itself
Into the sea, and other times to see
The beachy girdle of the ocean
Too wide for Neptune’s hips; how chance’s mocks
And changes fill the cup of alteration.” —English playwright-poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Henry VI, Part II (1594)

TV Quote of the Day (‘The Honeymooners,’ With Ralph on How ‘The Squeeze Play’ Works in Salary Negotiations)

Ralph Kramden [played by Jackie Gleason]: “I go right over to see Mr. Marshall, my boss. I tell Mr. Marshall that I have this other offer and that it offers me 40, maybe 50 dollars a day. Therefore, I'll have to leave the bus company, otherwise he'll have to give me my promotion and raise. And that's what you call ‘the squeeze play.’ You know he's not gonna get rid of me.”

Alice Kramden [played by Audrey Meadows]: “It's not gonna work, Ralph.”

Ralph: “What do you mean, it's not gonna work? I'm going to squeeze Mr. Marshall. He's in no position to squeeze me.”

Alice: “Of course not. He couldn't even get his arms around you!”—The Honeymooners, Season 1, Episode 35, “Mind Your Own Business,” original air date May 26, 1956, teleplay by Leonard Stern, Sydney Zelinka and Jackie Gleason (uncredited), directed by Frank Satenstein

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Enuma Okoro, on the Gospels’ Visitation Narrative)

“I hope there's a way we can each figure out how to be an Elizabeth to a Mary in our lives, and vice versa. That we can step forward with someone else into that uncertain space of a transforming life mixed with blessing and challenge, to stand alongside another person's journey, trusting that in that act we too are somehow fortified and encouraged on our own walk.”— Nigerian-American writer and speaker Enuma Okoro, on the “Visitation” narrative in the Gospels’ Advent story, in “The Art of Life: A Season for Solidarity,” The Financial Times, Dec. 11-12, 2021 

The image accompanying this post is Visitation (c. 1517), a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael (1483-1520) that now hangs in the Museo de Prado in Madrid, Spain.

Quote of the Day (Filmmaker John Sayles, on Why ‘Every Movie is a World’)

“Every movie is a world. When you enter that world you should learn very quickly what are the rules of this world. I often use Steven Spielberg, who is very good at tone, as an example. In the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford is getting chased. There is comic violence when he pulls out a gun and whacks this guy with a sword. The same filmmaker did Schindler’s List.  There is no comic violence in that film. It’s a wholly different world.  The rules are set right away: this is real and nothing is going to happen here that we’re going to laugh at.” — Indie actor-screenwriter-director-novelist John Sayles interviewed by Antonio D’Ambrosio, “An Interview with John Sayles,” The Believer (Issue 61, March 2009)

TV Quote of the Day (‘The Sopranos,’ on Revenge)

Anthony “Tony” Soprano Sr. [played by James Gandolfini]: “You know what they say: ‘Revenge is like serving cold cuts.’”

Dr. Jennifer Melfi [played by Lorraine Bracco]: “I think it's ‘Revenge is a dish best served cold.’"

Tony: “What did I say?” —The Sopranos, Season 5, Episode 10, “Cold Cuts,” original air date May 9, 2004, teleplay by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by Mike Figgis

Quote of the Day (Mel Brooks, on Why ‘It’s Important to Fail’)

“Failure is vital. It is an incredibly important quotient in the equation of a career. After you wipe away your tears, it’s not a bad experience and under the right circumstances it will make you better, both as a person and as an artist. I think it’s important to fail, especially between the ages of twenty and thirty. Success is like sugar. It’s too good. It’s too sweet. It’s too wonderful and it burns up very quickly. Failure is like corned beef hash. It takes a while to eat. It takes a while to digest. But it stays with you.”—Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winning writer, director, actor, and songwriter Mel Brooks, All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business (2021)