The movie adaptation of ‘Bullet Train’ is now on theaters and stars Brad Pitt. Photo: Amazon
Kotaro Isaka is a bestselling and multi-award-winning Japanese writer whose books have sold millions of copies around the world. He has won the Shincho Mystery Club Award, Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan Booksellers’ Award and the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize. His book “Bullet Train” is a dark, satirical thriller that follows the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins. It was adapted into a major film from Sony starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, and more. (Amazon, 2022)
“Bullet Train” – Satoshi—The Prince—looks like an innocent schoolboy but he is really a stylish and devious assassin. Risk fuels him, as does a good philosophical debate, such as questioning: Is killing really wrong? Kimura’s young son is in a coma thanks to The Prince, and Kimura has tracked him onto a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers on board. Nanao, also nicknamed Ladybug, the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world,” is put on the bullet train by his boss, a mysterious young woman called Maria, to steal a suitcase full of money and get off at the first stop. The lethal duo of Tangerine and Lemon are also traveling to Morioka, and the suitcase leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will make it off alive? A bestseller in Japan, “Bullet Train” is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with incredible energy as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwinds up to the last station.
This past weekend I got the chance to watch Bullet Train and I was surprised to learn that it is based on a book. I have not read the book but from reading up on it, there are some obvious differences. Considering that the source is a Japanese novel, The Prince is a boy in the book but a white girl in the movie and Nanao, one of the assassins, is also white and portrayed by Brad Pitt. This does not bother me in the least and I prefer to focus on the story. It is an action comedy movie that reminds me of Deadpool and Quentin Tarantino movies like Kill Bill because of the dark humor and the insane amount of killing and blood involved but without going overboard. The plot twists and surprises keep it interesting and the fact that it takes place on a bullet train foreshadows the momentum of the action. Overall, it is a fun movie, plenty of action and comedy and not too long with a run time of a little over two hours.
Best-selling author will be appearing at this year’s Texas Book Festival in November. Photo: Texas Book Festival
Texas Book Festival is proud to host author Janet Evanovich, “the most popular mystery writer alive” (NYT) and author of 42 New York Times bestsellers, as she presents her new novel, “Going Rogue,” on Sunday,November 6 at 2:30p.m., at the 2022 Texas Book Festival. With “Going Rogue,” the mega-bestselling author returns with the latest book in her massively popular Stephanie Plum series. (Texas Book Festival, 2022)
Book tickets to see this beloved author are now available. Each book ticket includes one copy of “Going Rogue” and admits one person to the conversation and the book signing session. Proceeds from book ticket sales support the annual Festival and our year-round literacy programs, as well as keep the Festival free. A book signing session will immediately follow the event.
Texas Book Festival First Baptist Church 901 Trinity St. Austin, TX 78701
BOOK TICKET: $37 | Includes one copy of Going Rogue and admission to the session and the signing line. SEATING: Seating for book ticket holders will open at 1:45p.m on Sunday, November 6. Book tickets are required to attend this session. SIGNING: A book signing session will follow the event on-site.
Over the last twenty-six years, Janet Evanovich has written a staggering forty-two New York Times bestsellers. In addition to her #1 bestselling Stephanie Plum novels and many other popular books, Janet is the author of “The Recovery Agent,” the start of a blockbuster new series.
‘Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo’ by Max Wareham will be released August 23, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Whether on archaeological digs or translating medieval poetry, the past has always been a north star for banjo player Max Wareham. Following years of performance with the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Wareham digs into the early history of bluegrass music with his debut book, “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo,” which presents an intricate and surprising portrait of a nearly forgotten master. It will be released on Tuesday August 23, 2022. (Max Wareham, 2022)
“I began this project as a way to root my own playing more firmly in the tradition,” explains Wareham, “but quickly came to realize that despite Rudy’s tremendous influence on the development of bluegrass music, he’s been nearly forgotten.” What began as a music instruction book of banjo tablature became a deep dive into Lyle’s impact on an entire genre of music and generations of banjo players.
“Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” paints a vivid picture of the life and musical significance of the early bluegrass giant. The book features exhaustive and largely never-before-published transcriptions and analyses of every break Lyle recorded with Bill Monroe, the “father of bluegrass.” Lyle’s historical significance is explored in the final interviews given by late banjo legends Sonny Osborne and Bill Emerson, as well as interviews with several other prominent banjo players and members of Lyle’s family. Beautiful portraits of each interviewee are included alongside several never-before-published photos of Lyle himself.
In addition to the 19 main transcriptions, the book features chapters on Rudy’s style and its historical importance, his approach to backup playing, a thorough comparison of his breaks on every alternate take of Monroe’s classic “Raw Hide,” and several live transcriptions from before and after his time as a Blue Grass Boy.
Fans of bluegrass music, banjo players, and curious readers can pre-order “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” ahead of its August 23 release date.
Title: “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” ISBN: 364215376135191 Pages: 148 Publisher: Gateless Gate Music Publishing
Max Wareham studied with banjo masters Tony Trischka and Bill Keith and was introduced as a significant voice on the instrument with the release of Peter Rowan’s latest album, Calling You From My Mountain, on which he plays banjo and sings harmony. Prior to joining the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Wareham taught music extensively, played bass with the psych-pop outfit Sun Parade, and wrote songs and produced several albums under various aliases. Much of his work in bluegrass and education is focused on early bluegrass banjo styles and how they can offer alternative paths to expression within the bluegrass idiom
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‘Still On Fire: A Memoir’ is Renee Linnell’s new book due out on August 16, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Renee Linnell is a serial entrepreneur who has founded or cofounded five companies and has an MBA from New York University. Before that she was a model and professional dancer. Having an unorthodox childhood and being surrounded by death at a young age led her on a spiritual quest that took her all over the world, culminating in her ordination as a Buddhist monk. What began as writing for catharsis in 2013—as she struggled to regain her sanity after being brainwashed in a Buddhist cult—turned into her first memoir, “The Burn Zone: A Memoir.” “Still on Fire” is the sequel. Her mission is to remind people Who They Truly Are and to reignite their passion for being alive. It will be released Tuesday August 16, 2022. (Renee Linnell, 2022)
I have a confession to make: I’m not very good at being human. I still can’t figure it out. For the life of me, I cannot figure out other people, and even after all these years of trying, I can’t figure out myself. And maybe that’s the whole point. Maybe that’s what makes life dynamic and thrilling. I’m not sure. Maybe “I’m not sure” is the answer to all of it.
I have noticed that anytime I think I’m sure, life comes along and proves me wrong. I have noticed that anytime I think I’m sure, I turn into a bit of an asshole. I close my mind to ideas and concepts and people that oppose the way I think I’m sure. And I am really beginning to see how quantum physics is right when it tells us there are billions of simultaneous realities. The Buddha said, “With our thoughts we make the world.” Science is finally catching up to what the mystics, saints, and shamans have been saying for thousands of years: our thoughts create our reality. There are billions of us, each with a unique perspective, so there are billions of simultaneous realities. No wonder we can’t get along.
What if we stopped trying so hard to get others to see from our point of view? What if we finally realized our point of view works for us because it is ours. But everyone else has a point of view that works for each one of them. If it didn’t work, they would seek alternative information and change it.
What if life on Earth really is just the ultimate video game? We incarnate in these bodies, and like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the other characters do in the movie Jumanji, we have to figure out how our avatars work. We discover our strengths and weaknesses. We learn about our bodies, our flaws, and our unique skill sets. We discover our likes and dislikes. Personal preferences. And we fine-tune as we go.
We get plopped into these bodies and these personalities that are constantly surprising us. And at the same time, we get plopped into a world where every single other human is living in a different reality, looking through a different lens. They are creating from a different lens, and with a different skill set, different wants and needs. And then we add that each human is projecting that different reality onto everybody else: Thieves think everyone else is stealing from them; lovers think everyone else has good intentions; cheaters think everyone else is cheating; fighters always find people with whom to fight. You get the point.
Combine all that with the fact that when we are young, and often for most of our lives, we bend and mold and shape ourselves into false versions of ourselves to fit in and people-please. And we end up with a shit show. Seriously. It’s fascinating.
The only way to unwind the shit show is for each one of us to stop caring so much about what other people think about us, to stop comparing our lives to the lives of others, to start discovering who we truly are, and then to build an authentic life around it. This raises us up, out of the mess, and it washes off the shit so that we sparkle with light. If we trust that we are here for a reason, that we are unique for a reason, and that a divine path is already lined up for us, life gets a lot easier. As we admit we do not know, that it is all a mystery, that as soon as we think we have the world or ourselves or anyone else figured out, we get the carpet pulled out from under us—we get our paradigm shattered—life gets a lot more fun. It’s like walking up to the River of Life and someone asking, “Where does this river go?” and you answer, “I have no idea, but it sure looks like fun!” and jump in. Arms up in the air. Ready for the ride. Trusting that wherever the ride leads is someplace amazing.
This morning I was meditating in my favorite living room chair, and I had a vision of myself in that same chair at about eighty years old. I saw how little and how wrinkled and how wise this version of me was. She was glowing. She was so patient, so calm, so content. And she offered me advice. She said to me, “Slow down.”
Just those two words.
“Slow down.”
She sat there in her comfy lounge clothing with her warm cup of coffee, and she was so beautiful in her calm, in her peace, in her wisdom.
“Slow down.”
She said, “You will be here in a flash, and you don’t want to miss any moment of it.” She told me, “It is all coming. All of it. All that you dream about. But it is not your work to do. It is God’s work to do through you. If you do not slow down, you cannot be a clear channel. The same way you cannot rush a baby into this world, you cannot rush your accomplishments; they will be born when they are meant to be born, after the proper gestation. Your unique contribution will be offered. It must be. But if you rush the process, you end up with a child that does not have fully functioning lungs. So, please, my love, slow down.”
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