The Scent of Bitter Almonds, and etc, etc.
1. Nothing says “I’m a boring person” quite like posting pictures of your alcoholic beverage to Facebook. Seriously. You went out to a bar or club and you think the interesting thing that is supposed to happen is the drink itself? Uninteresting, repetitive pictures of the person you’re with, or even another selfie, are more interesting than a beverage in a glass. We’ve got the whole internet, and you want us to look at a beverage.
2. I’ve brought this up before, but I just have to keep digging at this one. Why are there two kinds of screws and screw drivers, ie flat head and Philips head? I’m not over here like, meh, there should only be one kind! I am confident there are very good reasons for there being multiple kinds of screws, but I just for the life of me can’t figure out what those reasons are. Anyone with any insight, please comment!
3. War is terrible, but man, for a nation so young, we’ve had two very interesting wars! I’ll be damned if the Revolution and the Civil War aren’t two of the most amazing stories ever told.
4. With Philip Seymour Hoffman dead, the greatest actor of this generation (ie the generation currently the correct age to play the most interesting parts in the kind of films that get made the majority of the time) is James Franco. Discuss.
5. I get pretty tired of taking the trash out. I mean, we really just have to keep doing this?
6. Look at this picture of my dad and sister on vacation in Brigantine, NJ in 1980. What’s not to love about this picture? I want to sit on a porch listening to that radio, wearing those socks, next to a child dressed like that:
7. I recently asked a few friends of mine which baseball team they would like, if they had only to consider the teams uniforms/ colors and logo. Where you grew up and your previous loyalty should be not considered. I got a few interesting answers—Billhanna said the Astros, which was a damned good answer. My answer? The Marlins or Blue Jays.
8. Gabriel Garcia Marquez died this week. He is one of my (and many others’) favorite novelists. His most famous book is “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, which I love, but my favorite book of his is “Love in the Time of Cholera”, a book about a man who is obsessed/in love with one woman for his whole life, and dedicates his whole life to being with her. It sounds creepy, and at times, it is, but what I love so much about it is that it is the only work of art in any medium that I have ever encountered that treats the obsessive side of love with the tender and insightful kind of care that most people reserve for “romantic” love. It is a game-changer of a book. Here is the first sentence from that book: “It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.”
9. I understand you didn’t ask for my postcard or letter in the mail, and I understand, in this day and age, you’re not really sure how to respond to such antiquities. I really don’t care too much. Ideally you’d send a letter back, but I’m not expecting that. You can ignore it. That’s fine, you didn’t ask for it. You can text me a response, which is the main thing people do, and that’s fine, if a bit gaudy. But please, please…don’t post a picture of it on Facebook.
10. What about this?
Notes From the Fire 
April 24, 2014 at 1:51 AM
Even a picture of the bartender in #10 would be preferable to a picture of your beer in #1.
April 24, 2014 at 1:52 AM
ha! Could not agree more Momma :)
April 24, 2014 at 1:55 AM
The cig hanging from Dad’s mouth makes it all the better.
War IS terrible!
April 24, 2014 at 3:45 AM
Alright you state that we have the WHOLE internet available to us, yet you won’t look up why we have two types of screws?!?! You’re the very definition of dingaling!
While I don’t remember the specifics I did hear once why there are two types. It has something to do with mechanic/parts stuff that guys like you and I will never need or ever encounter a first-hand experience of.
I’m no James Franco hater, but I’m not ready to put him in the best living actor of this generation just yet. I’d put him on a short list of honorable mentions, but I think your man crush has blinded you. The guy’s great, but he has nowhere near the range PSH had. He’s basically a very good yet slightly different version of himself in all his roles. Sure range isn’t the only thing that needs to be considered in what makes a top tier actor. There are plenty of actors that don’t have a gigantic range that are amazing (Pacino comes to mind). Still I’d like to see more of him. Yes I did see “Spring Breakers” and thought he was great. As far as who I’d pick instead…without too much thought I want to say Sean Penn or my own man crush of Ryan Gosling. But I’m leaning more towards Penn. I’ll probably think of someone else later.
April 24, 2014 at 1:07 PM
Now now, you son of a bitch. I am all about chastising people for asking very Internet-ready questions on the Internet. Like on Facebook, asking, “does anyone in the school district know if we have school tomorrow?” I’m like, you’re on the Internet, fool! I have actually looked up the screwdriver question, but I am not satisfied with the answers and or the sources of those answers on the Internet. Once you said Ryan Gosling, I realized that my James Franco comment was incorrect. The correct answer is Ryan Gosling. Sean Penn is great, but I think he’s outside that age range I was talking about. It’s just a sad fact that actors of both genders get too old to play the really vital roles pretty early.
April 24, 2014 at 5:20 PM
Please explain #9…why?
Thank you for the book tip in #8, I will be purchasing that to read on my upcoming vacation…which made me think, would you like me to send you a postcard? If so, send me your address!
April 24, 2014 at 5:20 PM
I forgot to include…fab pic of your Dad & Sis…classic.
April 24, 2014 at 5:24 PM
Posting a picture for everyone to see of a communication I sent to you in, what I consider to be, the most personal and private of manners, is a huge violation of the intimacy of our relationship. Perhaps I should have been more clear: if I send you a postcard and you want to post a picture of the image on the front of the postcard, that seems fine. I think you would be surprised by the amount of people that post pictures of WHAT I WRITE to them. It’s like, since it’s written on paper, all personal etiquette is forgotten. It’s the same way I feel about people posting screen captures of text conversations. My private communication with you is NOT meant for everyone else to see. ESPECIALLY mail I send! And yes, I would love a postcard. :) 105 Daly St., Philadelphia, PA 19148.