What it takes to become a soldier

The U.S. Army has been the country’s main fighting force on the ground for the past century. As an avid World War II enthusiast, I, John Eilermann, have often read up on how the bravest of the brave make it to becoming a bona fide soldier.

Apparently, many of the requirements you needed to become a soldier back in WW2 are still needed today.

                Image source: armytimes.com

Of course, before you sign up, you have to be sure that you can handle the job physically. Yes, physical condition is a huge requirement. Any serious heart condition or bouts with chronic ailments or asthma, or even having bad hearing or vision can rule you out. It’s important that you get the all-clear from your physician before you head into the intense, physically demanding tests and activities in the army.

Next up, be prepared to be stationed far away from the people you love for months, sometimes even years at a time. Basic training restricts family members from staying with you. You can only contact them through emails, chats, or limited phone calls.

Image source: offthebase.wordpress.com

Then, there’s the usual four-year contract after enlistment, which basically means you’re tied legally to the army for that period.

My suggestion is, make the most out of this time. Learn as much as you can. Train to be a mechanic or a pilot so you can have other jobs once your service in the army is over. It’ll make life a whole lot easier. That’s a John Eilermann guarantee.

Hello, I’m John Eilermann, a huge fan of the beautiful game, football. I’m also a World War II enthusiast. Learn more about me and the stuff I love by following me on Twitter.

The four seasons explained by Greek mythology

There are a lot of mythological tales told in history that depicts or tells the tale behind natural occurrences. At the time, what science couldn’t explain, the supernatural supplemented explanations. A good example of this was the Greek mythology behind the four seasons winter, spring, summer, and fall. According to literature student John Eilermann, Greek literature provides an astoundingly detailed story as to why these seasons occur.

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The story begins with Demeter, the goddess farming and watcher of the harvest. It is believed that spring marks the time when the goddess visits the earth to look upon the progress of the crops. In all the tales, she always brings her daughter Persephone with her during her visits. This caught the eye of Hades, god of the underworld, who fell in love with Persephone.

One day, while Persephone was picking flowers, Hades opened the earth and dragged her toward his realm. Later on, Zeus would order Hades to release her but Hades had already fed her a pomegranate, a fruit that would bound her to Hades.

Struck with grief, Demeter locked herself in her room for 12 months. This caused mass spread famine across the lands. To resolve the conflict among the gods, Zeus allowed Hades to have Persephone for 3 months of the year and that she would return to Demeter for the remaining 9 months.

Image source: youtube.com

According to John Eilermann, the 3 months of winter signifies Demeter waiting for her daughter to return, meaning crops were left to shrivel and farmlands going to waste. The remaining 9 months are then characterized by spring, summer, and fall where crops are bountiful.

John Eilermann is currently in college pursuing a degree in Comparative Literature. The vastness of the field he is studying has kept him busy, and he really doesn’t mind it. He believes that his major will offers him an abundance of opportunities once he graduates. For more insightful reads on literature, visit this website.

Five most significant battles in World War II

Like most wars in the past, World War II was composed of numerous bouts between the Axis and the Allied forces. Some battles are more noteworthy than others because of their significance in the outcome, number of casualties, as well as serving as milestones in the campaign. WWII enthusiast John Eilermann believes that there are some battles that aren’t in text books which deserve to be known. Here are five of the most significant battles in WWII.

Image source: historyextra.com

D Day, Normandy 1944 

 D Day, June 6, 1994, marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from German occupation. The battle would last for six weeks. Strategically, the Germans had the advantage as it was a great opportunity to repel the Allies from holding further grounds in Western Europe. But in late July, Hitler and the tired German forces retreated to Germany.

 France, 1940

 Through the Germans’ unique mastery of mobile warfare, Germany was able to expand their territories through the Low Countries and northern France. Through this campaign, the Germans shattered the French Army, giving Hitler full control of Western Europe.

  Pearl Harbor, 1941

 A crippling blow was dealt to the Americans by the Japanese in this surprise attack in Hawaii. Japan deployed six aircraft carriers carrying over 400 planes to attack the naval base. This resulted to the nuclear option as retaliation for the attack.

 Bagration, 1944

 According to John Eilermann, Operation Bagration was more significant than D Day. This soviet offensive in Belorussia destroyed a large portion of the German army and liberated most of the soviet territories.

  Moscow, 1941

 The Red Army’s attack in front of Moscow took the Germans by surprise as it would prove that Hitler’s Blitzkreig strategy had failed. In the end, the Reich would lose in the battle of attrition in Soviet soil.

Image source: historyextra.com

  Chicago localJohn Eilermann is an expert when it comes to WWII facts and memorabilia. For more reads on this topic, visit this website.

Key tips on analyzing and critiquing poems

Analyzing poems can be a daunting activity for many a student, perhaps because a lot of them consider it cryptic and requires a need to get the so-called meaning. In this blog, Comparative Literature student John Eilermann from St. Louis offers some tips to better understand and critique this oft-elusive creature called poetry.

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Firstly, poems are rooted on heightened language. Part of how to best approach a poem is to understand that it always offers more than one layer or reading, and that to get its insight is not as important as getting the diction. It goes without saying that poems detest cliché, as the labor of the poet is to say things in a new way, often indirectly, often obliquely. In other words, no poem just reads like an essay. Note the opposite of the poetic is the rhetorical.

Appreciating poetry and having the faculty to comment on it may rest on first looking at the title and how it ties up to the body’s narrative. Is the poem’s story clear? Does the title offer a clue to its intent? If not, then maybe a good approach is to study whether its appeal is rooted in nuances with language use or noticing the images the render scenes. You may try paraphrasing it first.

Image source: pln.mulgrave.com

A lot of beginning readers get stumped by poems because they feel a pressure to comprehend immediately what it’s trying to say. This approach will just lead to guessing games. No interpretation is necessarily wrong, so long as its guided by what the poem implies. Meaning can wait; analyzing begins with reading the lines before resorting to the so-called expression of reading between the lines. 

Certain techniques will begin to open up if you prioritize diction and syntax. Focus on linguistic and figure-of-speech techniques employed. Insight can rest anywhere in the poem, not necessarily in the ending alone. Again, this is because a poem does not often offer a lesson, but simply comment on the human condition. In the end, meaningfulness is more important than meaning, adds John Eilermann.

John Eilermann is based in St. Louis, Missouri. He is currently pursuing a degree in Comparative Literature. The cross-disciplinary approach of the program he’s in enables students to take courses in philosophy, politics, culture, and the intersection of literature with history. Visit this blog for more musings and insights on poems and literature in general.

A beginner’s guide to postmodern literature

Postmodernism in literature essentially means writing that’s concerned with writing itself. It’s a self-reflexive and metalinguistic approach; the idea is to pay attention to what frames the world, even the very ink and pages used to write, say, a story or poem. All of these are subjects in postmodernist thought, as though one is looking through infinite mirrors, explains John Eilermann, a St. Louis comparative literature student.

Image source: electricliterature.com

In postmodernist literature, the narrator becomes heavily involved in the said framing, often coming across as questionable or open to scrutiny as the characters themselves. In other words, he or she is not detached from the narrative; unlike in the linear progression of modernist story arcs, the point of view can reflect the narrator, the medium, and even the reader in a paradoxical sort of way.

Image source: loopingworld.com

One way to approach the postmodernist text is to treat both language and structure as part of the so-called “consciousness” of the work. Again, it’s the framing that’s most important, leading to this suspect or unreliable narrator. In any case, style and ideology merge to utilize literary terms like fragmentation, author self-referencing, dark humor, and parody.

Multiplicity in meaning is preferred in postmodernist literature over singular insights. This is because the idea is to involve the reader in the meaning-making, which we often see in devices or techniques such as intertextuality, non-linear timelines, metafiction, magical realism, and pastiche. St. Louis-based comparative literature student John Eilermann names Samuel Beckett and Bret Easton Ellis as two of the first purveyors of the postmodernist movement.

Comparative Literature studentJohn Eilermannis based in St. Louis, Missouri. He likes the cross-disciplinary approach of the program, which enables students to take courses in philosophy, politics, and culture while allowing for the intersection of literature and history. Visit this pagefor more of John’s writings.

More exercises to raise your endurance for soccer

Image source: just-health.net

I’m John F. Eilermann Jr. and I love soccer. I’ve played it before when I was younger and I know just how hard it can be for people who are in no condition to run great distances at high speeds. Because of this, I’ve checked out a few new-age exercises on how to increase one’s cardiovascular and respiratory capacity for more endurance on the pitch. Let’s check them out. HIIT High intensity interval training or HIIT is a more recent style of training that has been adopted in new-age gyms everywhere. Athletes of every sport have been doing HIIT to supplement their drills to much success. HIIT includes exercises such as burpees and mountain climbers, which do wonders for soccer players.

Swimming Since soccer is hard on the joints of the legs, swimming may be a good complementary workout to increase endurance. Swimming is low-impact, which means your joints are safe. Swimming also increases your lung capacity as well as makes for better blood circulation, both of which are invaluable for soccer players.

Image source: 30dayfitnesschallenges.com

Run-Sprints Performing moderate running and high-speed sprinting at intervals is a great way to condition yourself for soccer. When playing a full game, there will be times you’ll need to go at full sprint and times you’ll simply be walking. Simulate this in an open area. For every 30 seconds of moderate running and brisk walking, do a full sprint of eight to 10 seconds.

Message me, John F Eilermann Jr., in the comments section below if you have any questions regarding soccer.

Hey guys, John Eilermann here. I’m fascinated by the many aspects of World War II. I also love soccer and look forward to every World Cup. More on the stuff I love can be found here.

What football managers want to see in their defenders

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While strikers get all the glory, people seem to forget just how important defenders are in football. For this blog, we’ll be paying tribute to those mighty defenders with nerves of steel and unwavering resolve.


On that note, here are the top qualities of football’s best defenders.

Tenacity

Defenders have to be relentless in hounding forwards and midfielders to win back possession. Against teams that love the possession-type game, defenders need to run back and forth tirelessly to block the passing lanes.

Fearlessness

You can’t defend properly if you’re afraid you’ll get hurt. A defender’s life is mainly comprised of him challenging forwards and midfielders for the ball. He’ll be defending against the best ball-handlers of opposing teams. He fails if he gets intimidated.

Image source: Goal.com

Strength

Since defenders often hit and get hit on the pitch, a strong defender is a reliable defender. Defenders can’t be hit once and fall out of position. They need to have a solid constitution, especially in a game that bats people around.

Speed

Often, defenders will have to race against opposing forwards and midfielders to get to the ball. This is where speed comes in. Always remember that forwards are like gazelles; they run like the wind. To stay in time, defenders need to have speed and pacing.

Hello, I’m John Eilermann, a huge football fan. Learn more about me and the stuff I love by following me on Twitter.