"Now, I don't mean to brag..." (but I'm about to say lots of wonderful things about myself).
"Please don't take offence, but..." (I'm going to offend you in my next sentence).
"Now, I don't mean to brag..." (but I'm about to say lots of wonderful things about myself).
"Please don't take offence, but..." (I'm going to offend you in my next sentence).
"As the days go by, we face the increasing inevitability that we are alone in a godless,
uninhabited, hostile and meaningless universe. Still, you've got to laugh, haven't you?"