Love Unhitched Update

So, guys, just wanted to let you know how the book was doing. Its doing fantastic thats how its doing. Thank you so much for all the support you guys, couldn't have done it without you. At first it was weird for me to experience such fandom from absolute strangers. I mean I'm nowhere close to having a fan following, or am I? I don't know. All i do know is this. You guys are awesome, and I'd like to thank you all for buying my book LOVE UNHITCHED and for those who haven't yet, spread the love by clicking here and on the  box at the top right corner. 

Here are a few links to online stores that have it: 


www.flipkart.com/Love_Unhitched

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Unhitched-Vishnu-Kaimal 

Its been selling like hot cakes on Amazon!! I mean Amazon!! How awesome is that

http://www.infibeam.com/Books/search?author=Vishnu%20Kaimal 

http://stackkart.com/love-unhitched.html

http://www.uread.com/review/love-unhitched-vishnu-kaimal/9789381836415





This is my foray into the big bad world of traditional publishing and so far its been good, but with you guys behind me, I intend to reach great heights.

Ever faithful to you

Vishnu Kaimal

Snippets of Fiction 1

He wanted more from life, wasn't there more to life. He was disillusioned, he wanted to know why he existed. What was the point to life. Why did we live, what was our purpose. What was the universe and what was our part in it.   He looked at the mirror, studying his reflection. What was he doing with his life, why did his life matter at all? 

The raindrops slid down the window pane barely leaving a trail. The air was heavy  with morning dew. He didn't know how long he stood there, she was lying on her side, her head buried in the pillows, ensconced in the comfort only a winter morning can give. He watched her sleep before turning to the window again. He had been in this world for two and a half decades and what did he have to show for it. NOTHING. No one would know he lived, he would barely be a memory after his remains were interred. He didn't care, he would be dead. But the prospect of being known, the prospect of being famous when he was alive always ate at him. He wanted to do something with his life, he wanted to live. He wanted to live for himself, not for the perception of others. He wanted recognition, not fame, he wanted peers not fans. He wanted to be more than just a man. He wanted his life to mean something.

He heard thunder splitting the sky in two. He looked up at the sky and smiled. But then again, his life didn't matter, his actions didn't matter. He was just an insignificant speck in the grand cosmic scheme. He was nothing in The universe, not even a microscopic speck Why was he alive? Why did his life matter?

Download Complete, his computer glowed from the corner of the room. Finally, his Netflix was done streaming.

He sat down in front of his computer and thought no more.

Justice League Concept Art In Next Batman: Arkham Game?

I found this on a website whose name escapes me right now , but the content was too cool not to share, the author is  mentioned below

By : Game Raging Psycho

Jul 11

Several sources reported today that Rocksteady, the studio behind Batman Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, are working on a prequel to both games featuring the JLA.
This prequel will involve Batman’s first battle with the Joker and his first encounter with the JLA members.  It is also rumored that the game will have a stylized 50′s Silver Age feel.  However some concept art from an artist who worked on the Arkham games popped up shortly after the game itself was revealed.
It’s unknown if this really is concept art from the game itself but considering the style of the characters themselves there is a very strong possibility that this maybe from the real game.  As for the release date sources say 2014 at the earliest.  This is a plan from DC to use video games like this, Lego Batman 2 DC Superheroes and Injustice Gods Among Us to build up hype and awareness for the team and movie through video games to non comic book fans.
Here is the rumored concept art for the game:

Batman Arkham City Sequel/ Prequel

So, the Batman Arkham City Sequel may well be a prequel set in the Silver age of DC Comics. Which means there are chances that Batman may be suited up in Blue and Grey tights, a la Adam West in the campy 60s show. I would shudder at this thought, but to be fair, the show had its own flair, for the time, of course. However, with Rocksteady studios helming the game, you can be rest assured that they'll bring the same level of awesomeness, they brought to the franchises previous installments (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City). Now if the game is indeed being set in the silver age, then all the rumours and hints about Harley Quinn and her alleged demon spawn from the Joker himself being the main villain of the game may not be true. With Mark Hamill having declared that he may not be returning for the next installment of the series, it may also seem that Rocksteady may shift focus from the Joker and Arkham Asylum itself and make Batman roam freely tnhroughout the entire span of Gotham City and not just a part of it.

The scope of such a free roaming possibility is enormous. Batman moving in the shadows of the entire span of Gotham City and doling out justice to the scum of the underworld would be awesome.

And if treated right, the game could have the epic noir feel that Spiderman: Shattered dimensions was able to sort of achieve. But I believe Rocksteady can ace it. Gotham City in the sixties, a decade explored to much commercial success by both the X-men and the Transformers. So just imagine what Batman can achieve in said decade, amid the moon landing and the cuban and chinese missile race. Add to that the era of the Mustang and just imagine a sleek and pimped out Batmobile with a Mustang chassis. That would be Epic.  Bataman riding a Batmobile Mustang. This is where you use the word Epic.

dc.wikia.com

connect.collectorz.com

As for possible storylines, theres a great deal of stories to choose from.


This era is perfect for a  prequel for the Arkham series because this was the era, when Batman was taking a turn for the darker more gothic version

This was also the era when he teamed up and co- founded the Justice League, which is being touted as a possible plot point for the game

This was alos the era when the classic Joker was revamped to the cooler and darker Joker of today  

But I don't think Rocksteady will be bringing back the Joker for this, we'll just have to wait and see.


  

Here is the first look at the Wolverine

The first look poster for The Wolverine is beautiful and it seems to be modeled on the Japanese Haiku

Image Courtesy: The Wolverine Movie 

The movie is set in Japan and explores Wolverine's past in Japan and his first real love, a woman named Itsu. He also faces off against a deadly foe, the Silver Samurai. The Silver Samurai has been chosen for Itsu by her family, but she loves Logan. The story seems to revolve around Wolverine's love for Itsu. But rest assured, there will be some wolverine style hack and slash kick ass action.

But the question here is whether he'll be endowed with Adamantium, as in the comics Wolverine's time in Japan is a prelude to his returning to America and before Weapon X.

But earlier pictures have shown him with Adamantium claws. So we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Iron Man 3: The Iron Patriot

Iron Man 3 will hit theatres in April, 2013. The third installment of the franchise features two bad guys. Or thats how it looks like. Tony Stark aka Iron Man, will be facing off agains the classic baddie The Mandarin, who incidentally, in the comics is described as the leader of the Order of the Ten Rings. The same terrorist group that kidnapped Tony in the first installment. Now with Jon Favreau not at the helm, the new director Shane Black is going in another direction, making Iron Man grittier a la The Dark Knight. 

Tony Stark will be going up against the Mandarin, that much is for sure. But here, the questions arise about the movie's second villain/ anti- hero/ ally? The Iron Patriot. 

Screenrant.com

Blastr.com

These photos show that the Iron Patriot, is decked up in the flight suit customised for Col. Rhodey aka War Machine, but with a star spangled paint job. But, heres the question, The Iron Patriot in the comic books is described as a baddie, the bizzarro to Iron Man. But if Rhodey Rhodes is piloting the suit, that characterisation for the Iron Patriot may not fly well with fans of the comic books. Though it could lead room for a possible confrontation between Rhodey and Tony like in Iron Man 2, but that scenario seems highly unlikely.

Or a more likely version would be  that War Machine aka The Iron Patriot will be a government sanctioned Iron Man who fights crime and terror at the behest of the government, which could again pit The Iron Patriot and Iron Man against each other. 

So, we'll just have to wait and see if the Iron Patriot will be fighting alongside Iron Man or against him.

Snippets of Fiction

So, keeping with the intro to my blog. I will be posting snippets of fiction here, some maybe random, some may be sequential. But hopefully they should help you pass the time at work. Hahahaha who am I kidding. Pass the time? You've got a butt load of stuff to pass the time. Its the freaking internet, thats at your fingertips. But trust me, you come here, you'll get lost in another world.

Trust me it'll be worth it.

Anyway, just give it gander. Who knows maybe you'll enjoy it. 

So, watch this space for more snippets of fiction. 

And in case you're wondering why I'm foraying into fiction just check out my post on being published.

Iron Man 3: The Mandarin

Iron Man 3, directed by Shane Black will hit theatres in April of 2013.

The story line is still being kept under wraps, but from what can be seen from the Trailer and set photos. The events of the movie take place after New York, i.e. The Avengers. Tony Stark is back in Malibu and this time, he seems shaken and vulnerable. He doesn't seem like the upbeat, arrogant and supremely confident Tony Stark of the previous installments. He seems damaged and broken.

In the just released trailer, he gets his house blown up by The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley. It has to be noted that The Mandarin, doesn't seem too close to his ethnic origins as described in the Iron Man Comic books. The Mandarin as the name suggests, has links to China and South East Asia, but here it seems that the filmmakers are taking a slight departure. We'll just have to wait for the movie to hit screens in 2013.

Heres a first look at The Mandarin by Ben Kingsley as released by Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Pictures

    The image on the right is how the Mandarin is portrayed in the comics.                                                                   

villains.wikia.com

   

The new Iron Man 3 Trailer is out!!!!

So, the wait is finally over, the new Iron Man 3 Trailer has hit and its every bit as amazing. It seems a little darker and grittier than the previous instalments in the franchise. And by the looks of it, it takes place after the Avengers, leaving Tony Stark a little vulnerable. And from what i've heard Marvel may be coming out with a book that explains the events leading up to the Avengers and which explains the absence of War Machine in the Avengers as well. We also get a glimpse of Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin. Check out the trailer below: 

That right there is the Iron Patriot, and even though he looks like Iron Man, he ain't a good guy.Watch this space for more deets on Iron Man 3.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

So i just stumbled onto this, test footage from a shelved Batman game, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

Picture Courtesy DC Comics and Wikipedia

Its based on the Graphic novel of the same name, which is now considered the first elseworld's story. For those who do not know DC Elseworld's takes characters out of their original setting and places them in an alternate reality.
In this story, Bruce Wayne is after Jack the Ripper. Pretty cool huh, the Dark Knight vs Jack the Ripper.

The game as you'll see in the test footage has an awesome looking batman, the setting is quintessentially the Dark Knight, but the gameplay, however seems a little repetetive and dull, maybe because the test footage doesn't show any bad guys that Batman can beat up. Anyway, after Rocksteady Studios is done with the Arkham City Sequel, which is being called a prequel possibly set in the silver age. I think they should give this one a go. I wouldn't ask them to limit to limit themselves to this storyline alone, because DC Elseworlds has a plethora of fantastic settings and villain possibilities. Dracula anyone?

Check the test footage here 

 

So any way, which storyline would you like to see on a PC or console near you?

Nerds and Nerdhood evolving in Pop Culture

"You're such a nerd", this statement today would illicit an "Awww so cute" or an "OMG me too", but in the days of yore, being a nerd was looked upon with disdain and more often than not contempt. Has pop cultured evolved or is this fascination with video games and super heroes just a new fad for studio execs to cash in on? I honestly don't know..

Comic Books have always been considered, a nerd's domain. If you read comics, you were a nerd and a loser with no social life and no date for the prom. But today, if you say that you prefer Jim lee's art complementing Scott Snyder's epic storyline, you'll probably get laid. Ok, that probably may not be true, but you're guaranteed to get some tongue action at least.Joe Kubert passed away recently, most people who watched the Avengers or the dark knight rises may not, scratch that, do not have any idea who he was. Joe Kubert was a comic book artist who pencilled iconic characters like the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that first editions of Kubert's rendering would go for a hefty price nowadays

You see, today, nerd culture has changed, propelled forward by shows like The Big Bang Theory. The YOLO generation has no idea what the Golden Age and Silver Age of comics is. They go around wearing t-shirts with quotes like "Beam me up Scotty",  when they have no idea that the original line from Star Trek was "Beam me up, Mr. Scott", and if you make the mistake of pointing that out, may god have mercy on your soul, because these faux nerds are worse than grammar nazis when it comes to protecting their false nerdhood.  In the days of yore comics and video games were never part of pop culture, they were pursuits followed by kids or weird creepers in basements. Which in itself was such a base and misguided generalisation.

But now, every one plays video games, if you don't, then you're not socially balanced or better yet you're weird. This may be a sweeping generalisation but its true. These days playing video games is equated with letting off steam like watching football and yelling at the screen was a way of letting off steam in the days of yore. If you're a true nerd today, you would still cherish the joy of blowing into cartridges (get your mind out of the gutter i meant blowing air), okay that didn't come out right, if you're a true nerd you'd get what i'm talking about. Anyway If you're a true nerd you'd still enjoy selecting games from a menu, still enjoy hannah barbera classics, and truly enjoy iconic characters that you have aspired to be like before they hit the mainstream and started making big bucks for movie studios. I for one have been a fan of Batman ever since i was born, literally since i was born, not figuratively, but literally, but that is a story for another post. And now i see my friends who can't differentiate between the riddler and the joker (i mean c'mon) talking about how they have been life long fans of Batman comics. When in reality, their exposure to Batman goes as far as the Arkham games and Christopher Nolans epic rendition on the big screen.

Though i really appreciate that comics, video games, and action figures have hit the mainstream in a big way. I still can't help but feel, that all this hullabaloo is a passing trend. Its just the band wagon picking up the latest trend and once its done with it, true nerds will be condemned to the basements and labelled immature like they have been in the past. While the jack asses who claim to be true nerds will jump ship like scared rats.


So this is me, a guy who really enjoys comics and video games saying, if you question my leisure interests with any kind of judgement, you may live to regret it.
 

Chuck and Beans says it all

The truth behind blogging, explained quite succinctly by Chuck and Beans Comics

 

ME IS FINALLY PUBLISHED!!!!!!! YAAAAY!!!!

First of all I'd like to thank all the guys and gals who visit my blog, even with just a handful of posts on my fledgeling rant space. I have had the honour of receiving four digit visits in the past month, when i decided to start blogging again. You guys are the best. You have no idea how awesome it was to see the entire world map highlighted in green on my stats.  It kinda justified the title of my blog, AWESOMENESS. So once again, thank you for that. This thank you encompasses all the guys and girls who even gave a passing glance to what i had to say, from India, Russia, Europe, USA and the rest of the world. You guys are awesome.

So, yeah, I know I haven't been very regular in updating my posts, well its no excuse, but I was busy with work and some other stuff. And to be honest, I didn't think any one gave a rats ass about what i had to say about anything. But now I gotta kinda re-assess. So here goes:


The reason I haven't been updating my blog was because i was working on something, i was working on something very special, it was gestating for close to eight and a half months and now that very special something is about to come out into the world. My book LOVE UNHITCHED will hit bookstores all over the country (India) on the 15th of September. But for those outside India, fret not my brethren, you can order it online on Amazon.com soon enough. For those of you in India my book is available for pre- order on Flipkart.com, heres the link if you want to give it a read http://tinyurl.com/9bjbgnx

Life is a Gift

What do you do with life?

Do you live it for the sake of living?

Do you live for others?

or

Do you live for yourself?

Life is a gift, unique to each and every living creation, courtesy of the big guy aka Morgan Freeman. It is precious and heck, you get only one shot at it. People are afraid of dying And yet they forget to live. People start dying from the day they are born. That is a fact, There is no denying that fact.If you are born, you must die. And yet everyone forgets the most crucial part in between those two extremes, living. People get so caught up in climbing the corporate ladder, rigging the rat race and hell kissing ass, all in an effort to get ahead in life. WHAT LIFE? The life you have forgotten to live in an attempt to better said life. You might think that money, security and money will help you in life. Hell ya! They will help you indeed. They'll get you the latest toys, that new 150 inch flat screen TV, which in turn will give you happiness. Right? You'd expect me to say Wrong, but hell I'm not going to disagree with 150 inches of high definition happiness. BUT, when you get down to it, does that crystal clear picture or the perfect sound quality give you happiness or the fact that your neighbour probably burst an aneurism when he saw the movers carting the baby into your living room.  If the answer to the latter was in the positive, then you have a problem like every other single creature on earth. You're living your life for somebody else, actually you're living your life for everybody except yourself. Ever since we were kids, adults have governed our life, what we should wear, what we should eat, what we should learn and how we should conform to an acceptable way of life. But heres the question again, Whose Life? We study, get jobs and start families, we do what we are told, we abide by laws and are respected in society, but at the end of it all, we are so caught up, in living a life that isn't ours, we forget to even be miserable at not being able to discover what we were capable of. Hell, we didn't even try to explore what we could have done with our lives. As kids the very notion of being Rockstars, Presidents and Astronauts is encouraged. It is in its very essence patronizing and pacification, cos we are stupid kids who don't know any better. But once you reach an age where you're potty trained and can aim at the urinal and can use a spoon, napkin and fork, the question of being a Rockstar goes out the window like it never existed. You tell your parents that you want to drop out and start a band, and you'll be out on your ass before you can say Gibson. But in all fairness, your parents do have your best interests at heart. And its always nice to have a back up to fall back on if things don't go as planned. Cos, sometimes life will wake you up from your dreams in a very abrupt way and you've got to have something to wake up to. BUT that does not mean, you don't go back at the end of the day and dream again.

 your parents to   others and now as adults, our peers, who themselves are adults, still govern our lives.  Then answer me

Books! BOOKS!! BOOKS!!!

They are wizards of concealment, diviners of revelation and masters of knowledge. They inform, enthrall and enchant. Some of the most sublime prose and world changing thought is contained between bound pages, encased in leather. Or for the more modern crowd, hardbacks and paperbacks. Literature has evolved and diverged into many forms and genres today. This expansion, has certainly added to the plethora of books at our disposal, but has this evolution towards an increasing quantity, compromised on the quality and substance, that used to be the norm of yore? The answer is no. It hasn't. No one can destroy literature, it cannot be corrupted by casual prose, any work of fiction or non-fiction only adds to literature. It is just a small part in an ever expanding universe. Literature is a symbol of enlightenment. And as my mentor Bruce Wayne puts it "A symbol cannot be corrupted". I paraphrase of course. But the point stands.

Can we argue that the Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey series have corrupted literature. We could, but we shouldn't :P. Now, in all seriousness. Stephenie Meyer and E.L James have written books that only entertain women. So what? They entertain, thats it period. These works are a contribution to literature nonetheless, a major contribution at that. Now, the Twilight series has been classified as every woman's domestic fantasy, the perfect man while the Shades trilogy has been classified as mommy porn, which roughly translates to the boudoir fantasies of middle aged women nearing their mid-life crisis. The author herself has confessed to her work being exactly this. So, what if its porn? So was Chaucer's Miller's Tale. And that is still considered high literature isn't it.

I have to confess, that I haven't read either of these works. This however is not a reflection on these books,. Or maybe it is, I know I'm being contradictory here, but that may be because I'm a guy, and I prefer my erotica in the good ol' visual form. And here's another thing, The double standard (This is a sweeping generalisation, but it is true, more or less), that women don't watch porn. But they'll read the crap out of it a' la The Fifty Shades of Grey series which has sold nearly 31 million copies. Twilight and Shades may not have any literary merit but they do serve the present sensibilities. Which isn't saying much, because we're in a generation that watches The Jersey Shore and The Kardashians, takes duck face photos on a phone that has more processing power than the computers that put a man on the moon and quote YOLO. 

Hopefully, in the future, sensibilities will change. Books like the Twilight and Shades series have not weakened literature, they have only added to it. Literature encompasses everything from a glossy tabloid advertising a celebrity's divorce, to a graphic novel to high art like Shakespeare's Timon of Athens.

Writing a book, any book is not easy. And the act of crafting a book requires a lot of patience and hard work. Now the above mentioned authors may not be good examples for this kind of writer, but they are writers nonetheless. A book is eternal, its leaves will remain and endure, long after our generation is dust. And thus the act of crafting a book, filling its pages with thought, words and knowledge is the noblest of acts and deserves the highest respect. 
 

Today, the traditional book, is giving way to digital devices like the Kindle and the Nook. Again, these devices only add to literature and help it thrive. Now, the Kindle, has a glare free screen which enables you to read in the sunlight. You know what else you can read in the sunlight? A freaking book. 

The publishing industry was hit hard like any other during the financial crisis and traditional publishers still stay safe. But there has been quite a change in the publishing game since years of yester. Today, we have new writers emerging everyday and Getting published. I should know, I'm one of them. Writers writing in various genres, writers who could go on to to great things. Writers who could lead this generation and the next into literary Re-renaissance. Trust me Re-renaissance is a word. Young authors with a unique voice and words to share and fill the ever expanding universe of Books and I should know I'm one of them. 

Books are sublime carriers of wisdom and allow you to explore and live life as it was, as it is and as it may be in the future.   

 

Real Life Recall

So i watched the remake of Total Recall this weekend, the movie was good enough, between kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and the Martian prostitute, i would say that i got my moneys worth. But it also got me thinking. So, here I was, another week and nothing new in life. I mean absolutely nothing, zip, nada. Its days like these that make you wonder why you exist. I personally think all of us need something like Recall, to take our minds of our mundane lives. Not all of us can become spies, actors, models or even Batman (Being Batman is my calling, so there). But we sure as hell can pretend. Even if just for a day, if we could leap off buildings, romance femme fatales in exotic locations, have millions of adoring fans mob you for an autograph, it would bring us such happiness. But heres the deal, Recall in real life, or Recall for us, is the silver screen. For two hours we get to live the lives of super heroes and spies, we get to save the world and we get to be cool. And when the end credits roll, we have to realise that all good things must come to an end. So, here i was walking out of the theatre after watching a really cool movie, with the awkward realisation that my life was far from what i had just witnessed on the big screen. But hey, its my life, i have got to live it nonetheless. Cause if  i don't, who is ? 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Other People
Age 1-5- Spiderman
Age 5-10- Fireman
Age10-15- Rock Star
Age 15-25- Engineer/ Doctor
Age 25 and above- Not a Clue

Me


Age 1-5-   Batman
Age 5-10-  Batman
Age10-15- Batman
Age 15-25- Batman
Age 25 and above- Batman

So I know that i haven't been updating my blog at all. Not like anyone cares but still. But heres the thing, i have been thinking about some stuff, again not like anyone cares, I was wondering about what makes us happy in life, what is it that makes life worth living. Now each of us has something completely different, that fulfills us. But more often than not, we tend to forget what it is. So if anyone out there stumbles on this post, i would really like you to tell me, what it is that makes life beautiful for you. What makes it worth living. Now let me be clear, to watch his own, it can be anything from a Lamborghini to long walks on the beach. It could be something shallow and materialistic (I'm completely for that btw) or something transcendental and visceral (I have no idea what that is). But each of us has only one life, eighty to ninety odd years if we're lucky. But still, these years that make up our life must mean something to us. We sren't living just for the sake of living now are we? ARE WE? I certainly hope not. So if it pleases thee, please tell me, what it is that makes you tick.