Ross’s Profile

“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never would.”
― Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

“Black as night, sweet as sin.”
― Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys

“Only boxers can understand the loneliness of tennis players - and yet boxers have their corner men and managers. Even a boxer's opponent provides a kind of companionship, someone he can grapple with and grunt at. In tennis you stand face-to-face with the enemy, trade blows with him, but never touch him or talk to him, or anyone else. The rules forbid a tennis player from even talking to his coach while on the court. People sometimes mention the track-and-field runner as a comparably lonely figure, but I have to laugh. At least the runner can feel and smell his opponents. They're inches away. In tennis you're on an island. Of all the games men and women play, tennis is the closest to solitary confinement....”
― Andre Agassi, Open

“Hit it! You have to hit it harder than that. Electrons are timid little things but notional; you have to let them know who’s boss.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls