Matterhorn

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Matterhorn is a first hand account of the Vietnam war written from the perspective of a boot Second Lieutenant. With Second Lieutenant Mellas, the reader embarks on a journey through initial confusion, to a basic orientation on how to do the job of platoon commander, to the more nuanced understanding of the Marine Corps culture and politics and the nature of war and suffering.

The book is engrossing and fascinating. While it is definitely a 'man's book' in its attention to the details of combat tactics and male camaraderie, there is much here that would be of interest to women too. The author's sensitivity captures the nuances of personal relationships, back channel communication, and other aspects of social interaction. In addition to being a novel about war, Matterhorn is also a novel of manners, class, race, ambition, and maturity. It is also absolutely engrossing and more than a bit of a page turner.

So why only four stars? I have two small critiques of the novel. First, it could be a good 200 pages shorter. Mind you, I am not complaining as I enjoyed the extra detail and I did not want the novel to end. Still the additional sections (mostly the return to Matterhorn) while entertaining are a bit superfluous and stand in the way of this book being a timeless great.

Second, the author was able to make the book as engrossing as it is by focusing on an aspect of the war, the engagement with the North Vietnamese Army along the DMZ, that was most like a conventional war. This is a fascinating aspect of the war to experience through literature but is possibly not typical of what most soldiers experienced in Vietnam. I would have been interested to also read at least a little about the chaos and corruption of the rear, or about the confusion created by the engagements in the south.

However, these are both very minor criticisms. Matterhorn is a terrific read, and portions of it, such as its treatment of the internal thoughts of an ambitious but raw young officer at the time of Vietnam are unsurpassed.



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Found Art

Surprise.  A photo I posted on flickr was revisited by a viewer with a new look.  Three hyper-styled teens seen in the Seoul Seoul subway as re-imagined by yearned on her Tumbler site.  The internet and globalization at work.

What I'm Listening To . . .

It has been a while since I've written a what I'm listening to column, but its always an easy way to get me jump started back into the blogging spirit. If you like this column, you'd probably also like some of the earlier installments of it that can be found here, here, and here. So let's get right into it.

Empire - The Black Angels If the Velvet Underground's 'All Tomorrow's Parties' and the Doors 'This is the End' had a baby, this song would be their louche, abandoned love child. Cool and intense at the same time. I never quite figured out why the black angels aren't bigger stars than they are.  They have new album coming out September 14th (check their website for a sample track).  Maybe that will do it.

The Black Angels sound like Acid Rock with a darker, post-1970's feel. Highly influenced by the drug induced music of the Vietnam anti-war era, the Black Angels modernize the sound without losing the feeling. When I listen to this track, all I can think of is Martin Sheen putting his hand through the mirror in Apocalypse Now. I have to think that was intentional.

	The Black Angels - Empire .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Museum of Natural History

To Do List

1. Keep kids alive
2. Keep self alive
3. Don’t get kicked out of the house
4. Don’t get fired
5. Interact with kids
6. Talk with wife
7. Have sex
8. Advance career
9. Figure out what 8 means
10. Take pictures
11. Read fiction
12. Blog
13. Tweet
14. Socialize
15. Everything else

Yoforia Apologizes. Clarifies Position on Tap Water

I was happily surprised to receive a call yesterday from a Mr. JP Kim, the Vice President of Marketing for Yoforia Yogurt. He was highly apologetic about the situation that occurred on Wednesday when my daughter was denied a glass of tap water at their VaHi store. He emphatically stated that it is not Yoforia's policy to not offer tap water, and that the person who was in charge at the time acted unwisely. He also said that they had called all of their locations to clarify the company's policy on water.

Seems like a simple mix-up, and one that could happen to anyone. I appreciate the apology and I intend to enjoy a Yoforia frozen yogurt and a big cup of TAP WATER in the very near future. I would urge you to do the same.

Copy of  Yoforia's emailed statement to me below the break.

Yoforia refuses 7 year old paying customer a glass of water

I am not all that into complaining and I think everyone has a right to run their business the way they see fit. I just also have a right to tell my neighbors when I think something’s not right.

Here’s the story. We went to Yoforia on North Highland Avenue tonight and paid just under $15 for three cups of frozen yogurt. As we were eating my 7 year old daughter got thirsty and we went to the counter to ask for a glass of water. I thought we could use the opportunity to help build her confidence in ordering by herself. My daughter quietly asked “May I please have a glass of water sir?” The very nice boy at the register (it’s not his fault) got a little nervous, stammered, and then turned to me and replied that he was sorry but the store policy was to only sell bottled water. Personally, I think bottled water is a waste of money and the bottles hurt the environment. I’ll buy it in a pinch, but I do resent being forced into it.

Rediscover Yogurt?  More like rediscover rudeness. 

So I politely said to the boy “I’m really not into buying bottled water and my 7 year old is thirsty?” He stammered a little bit and said “Well, um we don’t have cups.” There was a stack of paper ice cream cups right in front of him so I said “Well maybe since we didn’t know this new policy before we came in you could just give us some water in one of these ice cream cups.” He said, he really wanted to and he would check.

It's Raining Oil

last night I posted a photo to Flickr of an oily spot on my hand that I discovered after getting caught in a sunshower in Clearwater on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The light rain left a filmy feel on my face that felt sort of tight. My wife and sister-in-law complained that the air had a chemical smell (I did not smell anything, but I don't smell that well) and we all wondered if the film was oil or dispersant evaporated from the surface of the Gulf and reintroduced from the clouds in the form of rain. In the car about an hour later I noticed an oily spot on my hand.

I thought I was likely over reacting (though it made for a good image) and the most likely explanation was that I rubbed against the car without noticing. Now today on Twitter I discovered this YouTube link to the aftermath of an oilrain in a suburb outside of New Orleans.



In case you think these are exceptions, just query the search term Oil Rain on YouTube or on Google and you'll discover that the Oil Rain problem is widespread.

How big is the oil rain problem, how far will it spread, and what are the long term consequences of oil raining down on civilian populations and agriculture? Impossible to say.

And All This Time I Thought He Was a Blue Dog

According to this billboard south of Atlanta . . . well, I'll let you read for yourself.

I'm not getting in the middle of this one.  My main question if god is not a socialist, then how does an organization called Billboards Against Obama stay afloat?

Virginia Highlands Festival