A Thousand Words

Sometimes it’s easier to express a situation through a snapshot, a quick glimpse of the profundity of any given moment in time, than it would be to write an entire treatise on the subject. Hence the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Or Andrei Kirilenko might suggest a phrase from the Russian writer, Ivan Turgenev, who wrote "A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound" (Fathers and Sons).

Thus I’ve decided that from now on I’m demanding a more visual form of communication from friends and family. If you want to text me that you’re hungry and want to eat; send me an image of you with an index finger pointed at your gaping mouth. If you’d like to send me an email about “a brief justification for the ontological necessity of modern man's existential dilemma;” send me a .jpg of Ethan Hawke—I’ll get it. Or if you’d like to send me the newest Twilight book for my birthday, simply snap photos of each page of the book, assemble the pictures in an easy-to-handle format, and then bind them together.

Here's some more photographs that convey meaning and would make great picture books.

Generation Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke’s new movie “The Hottest State,” (which he directed, produced, stars in, and adapted from the book he wrote) is opening this summer, but what I’m probably more excited about is the soundtrack, which includes Norah Jones, Cat Power, and Bright Eyes. And in the spirit of Ethan Hawkishness (the Generation X poster boy) I’ve posted my top five Ethan Hawke quotes (in chronological order):

Todd Anderson: [standing on his desk] Oh captain, my captain. – Dead Poets Society

Troy: There's no point to any of this. It's all just a... a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know... a quarter-pounder with cheese, those are good, the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter becomes a cackle... and I sit back and I smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt. – Reality Bites

Jesse: You know what's the worst thing about somebody breaking up with you? Is when you remember how little you thought about the people you broke up with and you realize that is how little they're thinking of you. You know, you'd like to think you're both in all this pain but they're just like 'Hey, I'm glad you're gone'. – Before Sunrise

Vincent: There's no gene for fate. - Gattaca

Jesse: I heard this story once about when the Germans were occupying Paris and they had to retreat back. They wired Notre Dame to blow, but they had to leave one guy in charge of hitting the switch. And the guy, the soldier, he couldn't do it. You know, he just sat there, knocked out by how beautiful the place was. And then when the allied troops came in, they found all the explosives just lying there and the switch unturned, and they found the same thing at Sacre Couer, Eiffel Tower. Couple other places I think...
Celine: Is that true?
Jesse: I don't know. I always liked the story, though. – Before Sunset

**If you have any more quotes, please share.