We are a bunch of hypocrites! The other day, Garry commented that Apple is suing Microsoft (again? still?) over copyright infringements while Apple is suing Samsung and I’m sure Samsung is suing someone — all for infringing on iPhone copyrights.

I told him: “In the computer world, every company is suing every other company for copyright infringement. It keeps the legal profession in business.”
We tell kids — one among the many hypocrisies we spew — that “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” If Julia copies your hairstyle, buys the same dresses, talks and walks like you, it’s because she admires you and wants to be you. “Now, be nice to Julia. She’s just showing how much she admires you, dear.”
In the real world, you’d be suing Julia all the way to the Supreme Court. Oh the lies we tell!
The real quote is:
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” ― Oscar Wilde
Not exactly the way one usually hears it. Isn’t it interesting how big a difference a few words at the end of a sentence can make?
I had never heard the full quote before either. Oscar Wilde would definitely not have been nice to Julia.
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He wasn’t nice to a lot of people which is how he wound up in jail!
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This is very interesting, I have never heard this quote before. I would not like someone copying me and I would not be nice to Julia.
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Everybody has heard the first part of the quote, but this is the complete quote. Just a few extra words, but what a difference!
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Like all good propaganda for children and voters, we only use the parts we want.
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I was really surprised when I saw the original quote. I had NEVER heard the whole quote before. Yes indeed. We select what we want to say and leave the rest behind.
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Wilde had an answer for everything.
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He was a snappy chatterer and he apparently had a chatty response for everything. It is amazing what that second clause in the sentence makes to the intent of the comment!
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I never even knew…. sacré Wilde!
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His plays don’t stand up well to the modern era, but he sure did have the right words for just about every possible situation!
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When I lived in the UK, I saw many of his plays and I adored them. He was so unconventional, so ‘wild’, so fearlessly impossible…. and he sure had his ways with words!
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I know. Great words. A lot of things have happened relatively recently that have so changed our world, maybe nothing seems normal anymore.
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