say as little as possible

once you open up your eyes to the full, quotes pop up like sprouts in spring. the air seems to be brimming with 'em. wisdom is being whispered from fanatic's lips or else spoken up (hopefully not in tongues ~ unless we're talking TALKING HEADS). thus i've been wondering about quotes recently, about the quality of quotes. because like the next person, i do enjoy a memorable quote {when found solitary, on someone's blog, e.g.; here or here}.

since i caught quotable gertrude stein/kathy bates saying the following on our television screen just a few days ago: "... we all fear death, and question our place in the universe. the artist's job it is, not to succomb to despair, but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence, ... ", i have felt a little out of sorts. {the actress spoke the words to a desperate owen wilson - who handles woody allen's mild melancholy to a tee, might i add?}

i mean, as an antidote to fear of dying in general, it is a comforting cite. sit back, relax, find your topic, enjoy the creative process, you're done. consider the emptiness of existence and roll yourself in it. accept it. on a clear day one can see forever, and in a good mood that is exactly what we'll do, and we'll be creative and kill that thing, that bug, that knowledge, that piece of existence. well. kill it. LIVE it!

quote by cesare pavese

but when the days are dark, and when the walls come tumbling down, the quality of life and death, or quotes on the subject, can become a little gloomy, a little hard for us to take. but a few examples: "there is left us ourselves to end ourselves" (william shakespeare), "i hope the leaving is joyful, and i hope never to return" (frida kahlo), "there are worse things in life than death. have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?" (to quote the man himself, woody allen).

just to make the point, really, quotes should be taken in small doses, don't you find? which is NOT what happens in above mentioned movie. a fireworks of quotes, of cites, of excerpts and paraphrases. and once one tires of words spoken to fulfill wisdom's despair, fortunately, there will always be paris. let's live, let's dance.