Most of you have probably already seen this on Giz. Nothing to add really. I want, and I want them now! And yes, I’m all for jailbreaking if need be. ;->

Thank goodness great minds think alike.

[via Gizmodo]

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m pumped, VERY pumped. Otakon’s always been a big deal, but this year….this year it’s a whole new monster. The show notes:

Team XenoPhoenix is coming to Otakon in a big way! We have sooo much planned!

We’ll be selling our book in the Dealer’s Room, at a very special table! The ‘Light It Up & The Grand Illumination’ booth (tables 619 & 720). The one known for it’s props, rave toys, accessories, weapons, and other cool gadgets. Or as most fans know, THAT neon booth, with the shiny stuff and rave music. Come on by and say hello, & support our vendor, Xavier. If you’re lookin for a souvenir, he’s probably got what you’re looking for. Plus, anyone who buys one of our books will get discounts on his merchandise. Discounts vary from piece to piece, but tell em XenoPhoenix sent you, and they’ll hook you up proper.

Then we have our panel, ‘Spoiler Alert’! This is an 18+ panel, that will be held in Panel 1, Sat midnight-1am Sun morning. We’ll be talking about how to survive some of the wackiest, craziest, & most terrifying con horror stories. We’ll also field questions about our book & group. Come on by if you’re looking for a fun late-night panel. 1st 10 people get a $2-off coupon for our book.

Not to mention the vast amount of web coverage we have planned for the convention weekend. We will be Twittering, Facebooking, Myspacing, & Youtubing the con throughout the weekend. Don’t miss out on this fun little experiment!

Twitter
Facebook

Of course, it takes a bit to fund our con-to-con operations, so donations are always greatly appreciated. And if anyone wants to come down to the booth and donate $4 (or more), we’ll gladly draw you your very own chibi commission as our way of saying thanks.

Hope to see you at Otakon!

I recently wrote pieces about the status of my book & my group, but decided to shoot a video in case people didn’t feel like reading.

Team XenoPhoenix, proudly presents, How To Avoid Hara-kiri: A Guide To Surviving Anime Conventions!

Last year some friends and I wrote this book called How To Avoid Hara-kiri: A Guide To Surviving Anime Conventions; the joke (for the few of you that don’t get it) behind the title being, if you don’t buy this book you’ll go crazy and commit hara-kiri.

Hara-kiri is the Chinese term for ritual suicide to restore one’s honor; it’s seppuku in Japanese.

So the other day, I came across this article on PolitiFact which briefly mentioned hara-kiri/seppuku. Suffice to say, it made me smile (because of the allusion, not my twisted sense of humor…this time). The article talked about this congressman who wanted AIG to take a page from the Japanese and resign because of the millions in bonuses they decided to pay themselves recently.

“But few expressed their outrage with AIG officials as starkly as Sen. Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa.

“I suggest, you know, obviously, maybe they ought to be removed,” Grassley said. “But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they’d follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.”

“And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology.”

The next day, Grassley specified that he was not suggesting AIG executives should kill themselves, though he did say he wanted an apology.”

Now the practice of ritual suicide has been outlawed for decades, but it’s still practiced today in some Asian countries by individuals few and far between.