I’ve got a few things to cover in updates this time around, so bear with me as I list them off one by one.

OTAKON 2010
I will be at Otakon again this year. Otakon is a HUGE anime and manga convention located in Baltimore, Maryland. It runs from July 30-August 1. As always, I’ll be in the artists alley and you will find me at tables E01 & E02, against the wall near the exit doors! I will have my big Red String/Miharu banner up to help you spot me in the whirlwind of the alley.

I will have all my Red String merchandise with me (except the playing cards which won’t be back from the printer yet) as well as a bunch of Filthy Figments stuff. Hope to see you there!

RadioPlay
The cast has been announced over at the VAA forums. THANK YOU everyone for making this open audition such a huge success! You all were amazing and there were some tough decisions to be made. I thank you so much for your time and effort in this project! Also, I might be contacting some of you who didn’t get parts this time to have you play other Red String characters who were not cast at this time.

Lines have started coming in from the new Voice Actors and they sound great! I will start mixing the lines when I get home from Otakon and you should starting seeing scenes soon after that!

‘NERDY IS THE NEW SEXY’ shirts
SHIPPED OUT! Picked up the shirts from the printer today and they look excellent, so they were packed up and shipped out. Thank you so much for your patience and support.

It’s been quite an adventure and I could use your help. If you have been contemplating purchasing some Red String merchandise, now would be a PERFECT time! Not only would you get some super cool stuff, but we could really use the extra sales to help with the expenses of this whole car mess. I’ve got t-shirts and playing cards for pre-order right now and on hand are books, charms, posters, and original RS comic pages. Of course, there is also the FilthyFigments.com subscriptions for the adults (remember, the site is so very NOT Safe for Work). So, yes, your purchases are appreciated!

Flashback mode…
This afternoon we were on our way to the in-laws for a huge 4th of July family get-together and that’s when things took a crazy turn! We were only twenty miles out of town when some chunk of something in the road hit the underside of the car. We got it off the road thinking a tire might have been hit only to find that whatever the road debris actually ruptured our fuel tank. It went right through the protective casing and put a hole (the size of three large man fingers) into the tank itself. All fifteen gallons were spilling out.

The Fire Dept. and HazMat had to come out to clean up the spill while we sat out of the way with the cat and dog. A tow truck comes and starts lifting the car and we went to ask what was going on. They told the hubby they’d put him in the police car if he didn’t get away. We soon found out that they weren’t taking the car anywhere, just lifting it to patch the hole enough to stop the leaking fuel. In the meantime, the cop pulls out a bag of brown stuff that he said was marijuana and claims he found it by the car. Huh? Not only do we not smoke (even cigarettes), but there was nothing beside the car when we had to pull over. He wanted to search the car, which the hubby declined (it’s his right to say no even if there’s “nothing to hide”). Eventually, the officer told us he wasn’t going to do anything about it. Which, when it comes down to it, there was nothing he legally COULD do. His mystery bag wasn’t in our car, it wasn’t on us. So, with that weird drama out of the way, the clean up finishes, the police tell us they couldn’t find anything on the road that could have done what happened. Then the Fire Dept, HazMat, and police leave.

The tow truck driver comes up and demands one hundred bucks or he’s taking our car. The man wouldn’t explain what this was all about, so the hubby calls the police back out. After some discussion they tell us that some contract with the county allows them to charge us for this. If the tow-guy has to touch the car it’s $100 right there. Yeah, so we paid that and will dispute it later. Triple A gets out and takes our car to the dealership. Car will be looked at on Monday, so we have no idea of the cost yet. We have insurance, but even with that it’s going to be kind of expensive. We were picked up by the rental car people and got a rental car for however long it will be that we need it. Whew! That six hour ordeal was something else! We’ll miss the family gathering, but at least we’re all okay and no one was hurt. There’s always another holiday to hang out with the family.

I have a brand new shirt up for pre-order. It is the “Nerdy is the new Sexy” and it comes in both Unisex and Ladies cuts. In addition, I am taking preorders for both the Penguins shirt and the Fear My Cuteness shirt. Both are currently out of stock and I am going to be putting in a order for them. Pre-orders ensure that you get the size you want and they help support the artist!