Barnes & Noble

Barnes and Noble are liars. Their website said they had the graphic novel Shooting war in stock and that was not the case. Perhaps I shouldn't have waited until 6 oclock to walk over there to get it because since they didn't have it, and the bookstore at school closed at 6pm so I have no book now. Luckily, I have some friends in the class who have already read it. Judging by the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be a quick or easy read. I shall have to see for myself...

The part that stood out to me in the second half of Jarhead the most came at the bottom of page 183 when Swofford revealls what he later learned about the anti-chemical-warfare pills they had all been taking. He discovers that they were approved for a very strictly limited number of doses. He thinks that they took way in excess of the approved amount but explains the reasonning behind it. That if 21 pills will keep them from dying, then 42 is better, and 63 is golden. The side effects later on are unimportant because they just want to believe that they can actually do something that will keep them alive.
While this is just another example of how the government will lie to you and change the story as they see fit, it brings into understandable terms at what the pills were most likely approved for. It's probable that in the modern world of medicine that they did not know whether or not the pills would really prevent death or disease form chemical attacks but just that they would give soldiers hope and the belief that they would be okay if they fell under chemical attack; a sick sort of placebo effect.

The one prospering American Company

Google.

Most of us use it every day by searching for anything on the internet. Google has been one of, if not, the strongest technology companies for a few years now. While other companies seem to cut costs and fade away from the stronghold they've held on the tech market, Google has grown and expanded and continued to dominate almost everything. Well, now maybe everything is within their reach. Google's long anticipated smart phone software "Android" has finally materialized into this
T-mobile appears to be the first benefactors of Google's success and development. I predict and strongly hope that Android will crush the iPhone in every way. Mainly because I hate Apple and what they stand for; trying to be different just for the sake of being different. Im a very pro-PC guy.

Monday Night Football

Chances are that if you grew up in America you know what Monday night means. FOOTBALL! That's right, Monday Night Football!!! Even casual football fans go crazy when their team has the Monday night game. This week, the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets take on the San Diego Chargers. Unlike most Jet fans, I have not been salivating at having Brett Farve at quarterback this year. He definitely is a step up over the previous noodle-armed quarterback whose name rhymes with schmedington. I'll be impressed with 8-8 and even then what's the point of that? I'd rather see them tank and get a great draft pick then finish middle of the league, not make the playoffs, and have like the 18th pick or something like that. Oh well, my Uncle tried to warn me against being a Jet fan; everyone else in my family are Giant fans.

I jumped the gun

I jumped the gun and watched the movie version after finishing the first half of Jarhead. I think it just proved my point in the previous post about how much I disagree with the lack of chronological order. A flashback is something that can be much more successful in a movie than in a book. In the movie, the plot is presented in more chronological order, but the few flashbacks that there are(if you can even call them that) are brief serve the purpose of setting up the rest of the plot rather than interrupting it like in the book. Perhaps I am a classic casualty of my generation that would rather watch a movie or television than read, but I think it's more about presenting the story in the most understandable and entertaining way possible.

Reading Jarhead

I usually find novels dragged out and filled with needless details seemingly designed as nothing more than page fillers. Authors get paid by the page, right? Jarhead is no different. Except Swofford is writing about actual events or at least what he can recollect. I really hate the fact that he jumps around in time so often. My reading comprehension is poor enough that I have trouble following the story, but when he goes from talking about a night he spends contemplating suicide and the indirect paths the bullets might take through his body to talking about Troy's death and his funeral and his time spent in Greenville and then right back to stories involving Troy. It seems to me like the book was published as he originally wrote it. In the order he remembered it rather than the sensible order of chronology. It's not that I don't like the book itself, what it's about, or the military subject matter, rather I think it would benefit from a little re-editing to suit more of a story than a collection of memories and past events. It's actually not a bad read when there are several pages that refer to a single memory, but when he jumps from story to story I lose interest and focus.

Being a Student-Athlete

Being a student athlete on any team in any school is a very difficult thing; take it from me. I have been on the Track and Field team at St. Francis College for the past two years, this will be my third. Over those two years I have learned a lot about managing time, making sacrifices, and basically having two jobs at the same time which are constantly getting in the way of each other.

That last part is the harshest reality of a student athletes life. Dealing with the fact that your day will go something like this... wake up early, breakfast, class, lift weights, lunch, drills, class, practice, dinner, homework, going to sleep early due to exhaustion, and repeat. Oh, and then there are the days where you have night class after practice. Those are the best days. Like wednesday night when I have this class. Dinner gets either postponed or eliminated depending on how I feel when I get home. Luckily, my weekends are relatively free until late January and February when the season starts and most of the weekend is spent in a different state or on the road to a different state. For now, aside from maybe a light practice on a saturday morning, weekends are mostly spent sleeping and recovering and getting ready for the next week.

Now thats all fine when your team is winning or when you are performing well at competitions, but imagine how frustrating it is when you lose, or when you are putting in all that work and not getting the results you feel you have earned!

All that said, I encourage everyone to support St. Francis College's athletic program and athletes. At least visit the official website and click around for a bit.

Smartphones

Like most people I have become attached to my smart phone, a Samsung Blackjack II. I got it as a birthday present from my parents this past March. I always have it on me and I'm usually texting someone or utilizing its Internet browsing capabilities to read the latest sports news or some other article that just can't seem to wait until I get on a regular computer. The sad thing is when you see people walking on the street with their eyes and fingers glued to the device. I know I am guilty of that as well but at least I can text without looking at the keypad so i can see where I am going. Over the summer I was working in Manhattan and it was a regular occurrence to see someone almost get hit by a car or walk into a pole because they were busy working or doing whatever just couldn't wait.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trading my smart phone in any time soon. All I'm saying is that some people just can't be without it. I've even heard people admit to texting while driving; now that is a scary thought.

Blogging is nothing new to me

I have been blogging since March on Trackshark.com.  Trackshark is the leading website for news, results, and information about NCAA Track and Field.  I set up a blog on there to get the St. Francis College name out there as well as to give people an insight as to what it's like competing for a small, unknown athletic program.  I wasn't sure what to expect because I always assumed that blogging was for people with too much time on their hands who needed somewhere to complain or express their opinions.  However, I think it has helped me understand myself and my own training better because writing about my experiences and how I'm feeling forces me to think of ways to improve things.  I was also surprised by the amount of people who would come up to me at track meets and tell me they read my blog and really liked it.  Apparently people actually read these things.  If you want to check it out, it can be found here...  http://www.trackshark.com/blogs/mattmega/

Bringing back memories...

When I first read the back cover of the Mercy Seat and discovered it was centered around September 11, 2001, my mind immediately shot back to that day.  8Th grade at St. Fidelis School in College Point, Queens.  Standing outside of school in the school yard that morning with the smell of a fire and just assuming it was from a small fire somewhere nearby; but then a few hours later being told by our teachers that the World Trade Center had been attacked.  After the initial shock of what we had all just been told set in they starting asking if any one's parents were firefighters or police officers or if they worked in Manhattan.  I saw many of my friends break down in tears when the principal came into class and asked them to come with him.  (Fortunately, none of their parents were killed that day.)  My mother works as a secretary in the school and her brother, my uncle was a firefighter for 23 years.  His firehouse was in midtown Manhattan on 51st street near Park Avenue.  My mother came up to my classroom and as soon as I saw her I feared the worst, but she told me not to worry and she was sure he was fine.  I spent the next few hours hoping she would be right.  My mother came down to the auditorium where we gathered for lunch and told me she had heard from him and he was fine.  It turns out that he and his truck, Engine 8, were designated to go to the United Nations in case of emergency situations such as this.  

Later that day my uncle came over to my house and I saw the stress and the pain in his face, a way I had never seen him in my life.  I have always been very close to my uncle.  He is probably the coolest person I know, one of the funniest, and he always used to come over and play sports with me and my brother and our friends.  He has always been a mix between an older brother and a second father.  And I think September 11, 2001 was the first time I hugged my uncle.  He didn't say anything to me, just came into our house and gave us all hugs.  I'll never forget that.  

The Mercy Seat takes on quite a different tone than the words you've just read.  I did enjoy reading it, which is surprising because I usually despise reading.  I found myself hating Abby because she seems like a typical woman who is always trying to make you "understand them" better because of course we never do.  For that reason I was very happy with the ending sequence when he called her to tell her its over.  Although it came off as cheesy and perhaps a little predictable, it was perfect.  Neil LaBute should be proud if he reads this blog because I am usually never satisfied by endings of books, movies, or anything.