Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

[Prospero101]

Busy birthday weekend. Also I read far, far too many comics.

South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar might have said "Dammit! How will I ever get out of this labryinth!" or simply "Fetch the luggage. They do not want us here." Sources differ.

Denis Diderot, French Enlightenment scholar who gave us the world's first encyclopedia, said to his wife, "How the devil do you think this could harm me?" when she admonished him for eating too much.

The last line of Roger Ebert's last public blog post, written two days before his death, read: "So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for coming on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies."

[Bebop Man]

Are you sure about Bolívar? Weren't his last words "I have plowed the sea"?

[Prospero101]

Those are the only two ones I've read from Bolivar, but you might know better than me, Bebop.

[Bebop Man]

Not a clue man, Bolívar is a big hero in the northern South American countries. In Argentina he's just a footnote. We never really learn anything about him except he won the freedom of such and such country.

[Prospero101]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck washing dishes. With a big knobbly stick.

Marilyn Monroe's last words were addressed to Rat Pack tagalong Peter Lawford. "Say goodbye to Pat (Patricia Kennedy Lawford, Peter Lawford's wife and JFK's sister), say goodbye to Jack (JFK), and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy."

No one gives a shit about Peter Lawford. Although Frank and Dino used to call him the "First Brother-in-Lawford."

Pancho Villa is often quoted as saying "Don't let it end like this! Tell them I said something!" but this is probably apocryphal. He was shot in the chest and head several times, so it's more likely that he didn't have time to say anything.

[Prospero101]

I HAVE TWO JOBS AND DO NOT NEED YOUR SASS

Ernst Rohm was the co-founder of the Nazi "Storm Battalion" or SA. He was among a number of high-ranking Nazi officials suspected of conspiring against Adolf Hitler and rounded up during the 1934 Night of Long Knives. He was given a pistol and told he had ten minutes to use it. He refused, saying "If Adolf wants me dead, let him do it himself." He was promptly shot in the chest by SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Michael Lippert.

The SS had their own names for ranks for no other reason than they felt like it. "Obersturmbannfuhrer" was "Senior assault unit leader," roughly analogous to lieutenant colonel.

[Ptangmatik]

°donates more sass°

[My pseudonym is Ix]

Or, as John O'Farrell puts it 'the Nazi military organisation was named with all the subtlety and maturity of a fourteen year old heavy metal fan'.

I mean calling your high command 'the Eagle's Nest' and a dedicated group of 'Death's Head' units- seriously, how did they not realise they were the bad guys in all of this?!

[Master Gunner]

Germans really like their titles. Granted, I would too if I were German - the language makes everything sound ridiculously impressive.

[Prospero101]

Germans really like their titles. Granted, I would too if I were German - the language makes everything sound ridiculously impressive.

Indeed. My favorite German word is the perhaps the shittiest anti-tank weapon ever produced, but it still sounds impressive.

PANZERFAUST!

There's also the town in Germany that I'm sure is perfectly lovely but is intimidating nonetheless: LEIPZIG!

[KiteNeravar]

Germans really like their titles. Granted, I would too if I were German - the language makes everything sound ridiculously impressive.

Indeed. My favorite German word is the perhaps the shittiest anti-tank weapon ever produced, but it still sounds impressive.

PANZERFAUST!

There's also the town in Germany that I'm sure is perfectly lovely but is intimidating nonetheless: LEIPZIG!

Panzerfaust is now my Battle Cry

[Dutch guy]

I'm sure you will all find this hilarious then

[Prospero101]

Here's one I probably should have done for Death Row week.

Serial killer Carl Panzram said, "Hurry up, you Hoosier bastard! I could kill ten men in the time you're fooling about!" shortly before he was executed by hanging on September 5, 1930.

Depending on who you ask, "Hoosier" is either a derogatory term or affectionate nickname for someone from Indiana.

Panzram was a charming fellow. Initially given 25 years in jail at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, he told the warden, "I'll kill the first fucker that bothers me." Sure enough, he killed Robert Warnke, foreman of the prison laundry, by beating him to death with an iron bar. He was sentenced to death and refused any appeals, even threatening to kill human rights activists who tried to intervene on his behalf.

[Prospero101]

Alright, look. Here are the facts. I have two jobs. (Remember? Two jobs, exhaustion, no sass, etc.?) I have neither the time nor the energy to continue doing this once a day. I'd rather not give it up entirely, but the best I can do is two or three a couple times a week.

I arbitrarily declare this post themed around philosophers completely ignored by my college philosophy professor because they weren't Greek!

German philosopher George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, most famous for attempting to develop a comprehensive system of ontology (which is the philosophical study of being, becoming, and reality) from a logical starting point, said to his favorite student, "Only you have ever understood me...and you got it wrong."

Niccolo Machiavelli, Italian Renaissance philosopher and political scientist, said "I desire to go to Hell, not to Heaven. In the former I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings, and princes. In the latter, only the company of beggars, monks, and apostles."

Michel Foucault's last words are not known, but I still feel you should know that he once used the phrase "the insurrection of subjugated knowledges" completely without irony.

[empath]

I, for one, am totally content with whatever schedule you find most comfortable, dude.

Also these are continuing to fascinate!

[Prospero101]

Pablo Picasso said, "Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can't drink any more."

Yeah, yeah, we all know about Picasso. Blue Period, cubism, melting clocks, etc. etc. But did you know his full name is, and I kid you not: "Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso."

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are most famous for being executed in 1953 for treason after allegedly passing information to the Soviet Union concerning the construction of the atomic bomb. There was a degree of evidence to prove this, but not enough that would reach a conviction in an ordinary American court of law. Besides, the Soviets knew plenty about atomic bombs. If I recall correctly, Richard Feynman's lab assistant at Alamogordo was a Soviet spy.

Anyway, both the Rosenbergs were allowed a final statement before their execution by electric chair. Ethel said, "We are the first victims of American fascism!" Julius was a bit less declarative: "We are innocent. That is the whole truth. To forsake this truth is to pay too high a price even for the priceless gift of life. For life thus purchased we could not live out in dignity."

[My pseudonym is Ix]

Other thing about Picasso- Picasso was in fact his mother's name, which he used in preference to his father's (Ruiz) because it was less common and thus made him stand out more.

[Canageek]

I thought there was a good deal of evidence against the Rosenburgs, but it was from sources that Amarican intelligence didn't want to compromise?

[Prospero101]

I thought there was a good deal of evidence against the Rosenburgs, but it was from sources that Amarican intelligence didn't want to compromise?

Which is why I said it wouldn't really hold up in an ordinary court of law.

[Bebop Man]

Were those the guys tried by Roy Cohn?

[Prospero101]

Well, he was the prosecuting attorney, yes.

[Canageek]

I thought there was a good deal of evidence against the Rosenburgs, but it was from sources that Amarican intelligence didn't want to compromise?

Which is why I said it wouldn't really hold up in an ordinary court of law.

Ah, I took that to mean you thought the evidence against them didn't exist.

[AdmiralMemo]

I'd like to see this thread revived at some point, if possible.

[Elomin Sha]

"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast."

[Prospero101]

Oh, wow. I didn't know there was interest. :O

Well, I'll have to read over the thread again, to make sure I don't repeat myself, but I don't see why I can't dash off a few whenever I get a chance.