"... the tattooed man. Who loved his wife, the tattooed lady. And was proud of his son, the tattooed baby." - Isabel Dalhousie, Alexander McCall Smith

"... What do you think about that?"
"... Nothing."

"There os a story pf why so few birds remain in certain areas of the great north-west. Thousands upon thousands of birds would be attracted by the seed sown to feed the vast army of Wall labourers. The birds would eat much of the seeds and so, to save the food, and hence the people, a general had ordered hundreds of thousands of long poles to be cut and sharpened. The troops patrolled the fields, holding the poles above them, poking at the birds when they attempted to land. Because the birds could not land to eat they literally died of exhaustion and hunger. This story is often used to illustrate the might of a united China." - Braam Malherbe, "The Great Run"