Nobody admires anyone else without qualification. If they do they're after an image, not a person.

My disinterest in your bullshit is so tangible you could make bricks out of it

I'm speaking of the pursuit of excellence in all things. All things! Presence of mind and devotion to craft. A great artist has these. A great chef. A great master of tea. There's powerful kung fu in a well-built house or an eloquent letter, but the limit of your imagination is bones breaking and bullets flying.

You're ten pints of crazy in a one-pint glass.

Throwing blondes at Locke Lamora was not unlike throwing lettuce at sharks.

When you see the crooked Warden," said Locke, twisting something in his hands, "tell hi that Lock Lamora learns slowly, but he learns well. And when you see my friends, you tell them that there are more of you on the way.

We like what we like, we want what we want, and nobody needs to give us permission to feel that way!