On the Shelf

This week I have been exclusively reading "Warrior Elite", a fascinating novel that enters into the lives of the men training to become NAVY SEALs. A haunting event that transpired within this novel was the passing of "Hell Week" which, as the name implies, puts the trainees through living hell. The class began Hell Week with 39 trainees and after 170 hours of intense physical training, drown-proofing, frequent immersion in 56 degree ocean water, many miles of running, simulation of machine-gun fire and artillery explosions, countless races on land and at sea, an extreme obstacle course, and many cases of pneumonia, the class of 228 finally concluded Hell Week. The class of 228 officially secured 19 of its initial 98 trainees to move onto phase 2. The novel does an excellent job expressing the different effects of this horrible training on each individual, following the candidates most likely to succeed. One of the strongest trainees is described in one scene as lethargic and upon the verge of quitting. Lying on the ground nearing a breakdown, he convinces himself that he has to complete the training as a leading officer. He immediately sprints to the next drill and leads the group. His determination and ability to motivate others really is something admirable. Perhaps if we all had the willpower to pull ourselves through adversities and still perform as the best of the best the world would be a much better place.

On the Stereo

Shinedown has been my band of the week. Primarily, I have been listening to their latest album, “Amaryllis”. I really enjoy listening to the song “Unity”; it is definitely one of those songs you can put on repeat and play over and over again. I have also been listening to a band with a pretty unique sound. Volbeat’s lead singer uses an autotune effect to give his vocal parts a very different sound. Autotuning is rarely done in the rock genre, but it’s nice to hear something different every now and then.