Quote/Unquote: ManU, The Recession, hari-kari and Sam Johnson on lit. criticism

(Editor's note: Another in a continuing series of quotes about Our Times, from today and yesteryear, compiled by Wilson of St. Louis.)

"A lot of English journalists left looking very stupid tonight. And for once, I'm not one of them. Yahoo. I honestly couldn't believe how many tabloid johnnies and broadsheet behemoths were breezily predicting a win for Manchester United this morning. On what grounds were they basing this nonsense?"
-- Barry Glendenning, Manchester Guardian, after Barcelona's 2-0 win over Manchester United in the champions league final

"I look at the intersection every day, forlornly. Stalled. Everything is stalled."
--- Richmond Heights city council member Tim Gallagher, talking about the intersection of Brentwood Blvd. and Clayton Road, where the bankrupt stores of Linen n' Things and Mark Shale are, and an abandoned project for a Westin Hotel

"Don't be sorry. Don't resent anyone. It's destiny. Don't be too sad."
-- suicide note left by former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, after he jumped off a 100-foot cliff to his death as he was being investigated for corruption, two days before the North Koreans exploded nuclear weapons underground

"You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables."
-- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) talking about literary criticism