Bart "J.B." Hopkins's Blog, page 34

A Quick Look: No Easy Day

Actual rating: 3.5 stars.

I’m not going to take a lot of time on this book. Overall, it was good. Not great.

The writing is relatively simple. The good side of that is ease of understanding; he explains things in such a way that even non-military folks can understand it. It wasn’t beautiful prose–just nice and easy. That’s fine.

I liked that he included some of the fringe contributors (example: female CIA Analyst) and their role and reaction to UBL’s demise.

I thought that the author was a little unprofessional in his handling of a few things. It lowered my opinion of him a notch. I still appreciate what he did, of course.  But it marred the story unnecessarily.

If you’d like to get a small peek at what it’s like to be a SEAL, and also get some insight into the Bin Laden raid, it’s a good read.

Texas Jack: Reviews

I’m really excited…reviews for Texas Jack have been trickling in and they’re wonderful so far !!

As a writer, the two things I love most are 1) writing, and 2) knowing someone has enjoyed or connected with what I’ve written.  When #1 and #2 both occur, it’s incredibly fulfilling.  In other words, it’s awesome.  Awesomeness.

Many thanks to the reviewers!  I’ve linked them below, in no particular order.

From the USA…

Indie Addict Blog Review (5-Star)

Maria’s Review (5-Star)

Sheiglagh’s Review (5-Star)

Renae’s Review (5-Star)

Indyanna’s Review (5-Star)

Penman’s Review (5-Star)

And from the UK…

Lynda’s Review (5-Star)

Days Off = Good

I used some vacation time and stayed home from work today.  It’s been wonderful!

That is all!

Field Trips & March

Today I had the pleasure of being a chaperone for my son’s field trip to the Natural History Museum in Frankfurt.

I had a great time.  The teachers divided up the students between chaperones so that we all had no more than a handful of kids.

Well, one of my kids was a very sharp young man, but also one known for being a bit rambunctious.  This young man, who I’ll refer to as Kevin Bacon, was probably placed with me since I was the only male chaperone on the bus.  Like that means I can handle it or something if he acts a little crazy.  Fantastic luck, to be sure.

In the Land Mammal room, young Kevin Bacon would inspect each of the anatomically correct mammals and then announce, “That one’s a boy,” or “that one’s a girl,” before moving on to the next.  When he did this to the lion, I said, “Well, he’s also got this mane, buddy,” but Kevin preferred his own method of gender identification.  The juvenile-boy side of me that never completely grew up laughed inside, but the adult on the outside scowled and tried to be parental, be that authority figure for the kids.

At one point, my son told him, “Dude, that’s just gross.”  Surprisingly, that peer scolding was effective.  More surprisingly, my 9-year-old son didn’t think that this kid pointing out animal privates was funny.

I thought we were done with all that, and we were really learning, until we got to the end of the room.  There was a giant gorilla, facing the other direction, right next to the exit.  Kevin Bacon walked up to the gorilla’s rear, turned to us with a huge smile and said, “Ha!  Gorilla Butt!”

So, that’s what a field trip with 3rd graders is like.

On another note, I decided I’d had enough of Mustache March, and I shaved off my mustache, which I’d named Calico.  Sure, it was a hideous blonde, brown, and black mess, with bare patches here and there.  But, despite my wife rating it a 1 on the 1-10 scale, it never judged her, or anyone else for that matter.  Calico was good to me, but I just couldn’t handle the tickling sensation against my nose any more.

So, here’s to you Calico, until next March…farewell my friend!

 

Happy Fridays

It’s been another fun action-packed week, but I’m happy it’s Friday.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the 30-minute commute to work, but sleeping late is equally appreciated, and tomorrow, for the first Saturday in 3 weeks, we don’t have to wake up early.

I may stay in bed all day.

For now I thought I would figuratively pour a little out for the homeys with a pictorial recap of the week.  I’d like to say it was busy, but it was just status quo.

We kicked off Saturday with Pinewood Derby races from 9am-3pm at the Ramstein mecca of fast food and consumerism: the KMCC!  Ryan raced 4 times and had a #1, #2, and two #3 finishes.  We didn’t place overall, but that’s cool.  Ryan represented with his Mt. Dew car.

Next there was a journey to the St. Wendel Easter Market.  We munched on delicious chimney cakes and chit-chatted with friends.

Wednesday we had the pleasure of seeing Rocky jam in her band recital!

Thursday was Jackie’s Art Extravaganza from 5-7pm at the Elementary school.  Lots of little Picassos showcased their masterpieces!

And tonight was Rocky’s Soccer game in Medelsheim.  Go Team Jagersburg!

And so ends another week in the life.  I wish you all happy Fridays!

Texas Jack: Now Available

Friends,

My latest novel, TEXAS JACK, is now live on Amazon !!

If you’d like to snag a copy, you can use the links below.

Click here for Texas Jack on Kindle

Click here for Texas Jack in Paperback

The Blurb About TJ:

Meet Jack Leonard…

Jack was destined to be an alcoholic. His father, Billy, is a happy-go-lucky drunk from East Texas whose behavior varies from outdated to outrageous. He isn’t a bad person, but he tends to make bad decisions. Billy drives his life like he drives his truck: under the influence.

Against all odds, Jack escapes his fifty-percent-alcohol-by-volume fate. How? He meets a girl, of course. Samantha rescues Jack from his path of self-destruction. Fast-forward twenty years, and Jack’s life is nearly perfect: he has the job, the house, a wonderful marriage, and a 10-year-old son he loves more than anything.

But life is never perfect…is it?

Texas Jack is a compelling story about family relationships, forgiveness, and finding harmony with those you love. From lighthearted and humorous to achingly painful, it captures real people, at their best and worst, and chronicles the choices they must make along the way.

The Full Cover (Cut it in half and you’ve got the Kindle Cover):

Many thanks to all my friends, family, and anyone who happens to stumble along…

Take Care,

Bart

Paranormal Anthology Available

Available 3/18 (today) on Amazon: Paranormal Anthology with a TWIST.

11 paranormal stories from 11 authors (yours truly being one of them).

Featured Stories:

“Voices of the Soul” by Rene Folsom

“Number 18″ by Michael Loring

“Sweet Lenora” by Bart Hopkins

“Truth or Dare” by Jon Messenger

“Suburban Zombie” by Anthony Lance

“All I Want for Christmas” by Jason Brant

“In the Eyes of the Beholder” by Penelope Bartotto

“Little Tchotchkes” by Nicki Scalise

“I am Serna” by Magen McMinimy

“Bloodlines” by S. L. Dearing

“Metronome” by Eaton Thomas Palmer

Many thanks to the creator and editor: Cynthia Shepp!

Kindle Freebie: Chasing Sunlight

Free 3/16 – 3/17

CHASING SUNLIGHT

The promotion starts at midnight Pacific Time on 3/16 and runs through 3/17 !!

Musical Interests Part 4

I’d like to step back and look at 1982.

I was 7 years old and my musical tastes were probably still mostly guided by a combination of the radio and my parents’ tastes; however, I was also starting to be influenced by friends AND developing my own sense of style.  It was an eclectic time, and as such, I’ll share five favorites from that year that I think capture a strange brew of musical interests.

1. Saints and Sinners by Whitesnake

What a great album.  I remember watching the video for “Here I go again” on MTV and thinking it was awesome.  That song, by the way, remains a favorite of mine even now…probably in my personal top thirty or so.

2. Plastic Surgery Disasters by Dead Kennedys

I owe this one to random friends whose older brothers exposed us to this music while skateboarding in the street.  It’s hard to say whether it was the first punk/thrash kind of music I ever heard, but it’s close, alongside Black Flag and The Misfits.  Whenever I picture a young Bart launching from his homemade ramp, I think DK.

3. Thriller by Michael Jackson

At one time, I have to believe that everyone over 30 liked MJ.  He was a leader in the Biz back then, somewhat normal, prior to all the plastic surgeries and such.  I recall a friend’s parents renting a VCR for his birthday and one of the videos we rented/borrowed was “Thriller” with all those people dancing in a parking garage or something.  My pal even had the leather jacket with zippers – yikes!  (Another video we rented that day was Purple Rain with Prince.)

4. Rio by Duran Duran

Rio was always my favorite song by these British Light-Rockers.  Hungry Like The Wolf was on this album, too.  Good tunes…and the first album I heard from them.

5. Chicago 16 by Chicago

I’ve always had a spot in my heart for Chicago.  ”Hard to say I’m sorry” is my favorite from this group and it came out on this album.  I don’t know if it was their 16th album.

A pretty strange assortment, right?  It’s no wonder I am the way I am.

Have a Fantastic Day!

Manliness

I’m frequently told that I’m, like, this really macho guy.  My nickname in high school was The Michelangelo of Manliness.

Okay.  I might be exaggerating just a smidge.

This week my 2004 Ford Expedition (aka THE TANK, aka THE BEAST) died on me.  The Service Engine Soon light popped on Wednesday night, and Friday morning it wouldn’t start.

The guys at work had me describe the problem and repeat those fatal final sounds THE TANK made:  Click-Click-Click-Click.  Their diagnoses were varied, but the consensus was that it should be jump-startable.

My cars have been fairly reliable since high school.  Back then I owned a couple of real pieces of, well, they were unreliable vehicles.  So it’s been, err, twenty years since I jumped a car.

To bone up on the process, I did a quick search and found this web site: THE ART OF MANLINESS.  Their logo says they are “reviving the lost art of manliness” and the site is chock full of great things, such as how to tear a large phone book in half with your bare hands.

With some borrowed jumper cables (regrettably, I am often ill-prepared for these types of things), I juiced the Expo from our BMW, then deposited it at the mechanic’s front door where it awaits a Monday morning appointment.

Life can be a real pain sometimes.  Thankfully, people and web sites are there to help us dodge all the debris in the asteroid’s wake, so that we can land on the asteroid, drill down 800 feet, insert our nuclear bomb, and blow it apart just moments before it strikes Earth, destroying mankind forever.

Sorry.  We recently watched Armageddon.

Expo…we’ll see you soon, my old friend…BEAST.  And if any of you need to jump start a car, check out that web site, or check your owner’s manual because it’s usually in there, too.