Octothorpe

100: I Don’t Have Show Notes or Alcohol

John, Alison and Liz receive a telegram.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia
  • Irwin Hirsh
  • Raj on Mastodon (1, 2)
• Hugo voting stats
• Moon Knight
  • Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey’s run
    • Warren Ellis’ predatory behaviour
      • Article at the time of the original story
      • SoManyOfUs
      • Article from the year after
  • Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio’s run
  • Moon Knight: Age of Anubis: A Marvel: Multiverse Missions Adventure Gamebook
    • Want an invite to the Discord? Hit John up! - Glasgow 2024 announces Tanya DePass as special guest
• Picks
  • John: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jiminez [paperback, Amazon]
  • Alison: The Coral Bones by EJ Swift [paperback, ebook, Amazon]
    • Late-breaking news of a new paperback from Jo Fletcher Books
  • Liz: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh [paperback, ebook, audiobook, Amazon]
• Festive gaming corner
  • John:
    • EXIT: The Game: Advent Calendar: The Silent Storm
    • Final Girl: North Pole Nightmare
    • Herd Mentality
    • Legendary: Marvel
    • Monikers
    • Paleo
    • SCOUT
  • Alison:
    • Schotten Totten
    • Zuuli
    • Pandemic: Iberia
    • The Mind
    • Bohnanza
    • Terraforming Mars
      • FryxGames’ CEO posted transphobia and racism
  • Liz: Hated by Emily and Andrew
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Telegram from the Queen” by Alison Scott with telegram by Claire Brialey
    • Alt text: A telegram lies with a golden thread bookmark on a plush purple surface. It has two pieces of Weetabix above text which reads “I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one hundredth episode in January 2024. I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. Claire R (of Croydon).” The words “Octothorpe 100” are at the top in golden lettering.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

99: Keep Sending Ops Until They Fix It

John doesn’t study herpetology, Alison knows lots of words, and Liz goes first.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Games, SMOFs

• If I Ran the Zoo… Con
  • PDF version
  • Hard copy from NESFA
• Bidding Phase:
  • 3401 Pre-Supporting Memberships by Leslie Turek
  • 5501 Kill the Wabbit by Priscilla Olson, John Pomeranz, Leslie Turek, Mark Olson
• Planning Phase:
  • 2201 The “Relationship” by Priscilla Olson, Mark Olson
  • 5901 We’re in the Money by Glenn Glazer, Leslie Turek
    • Modest food
    • Privy’s props
    • Privy’s cast
• At-Con Phase:
  • 701 The Lady and the Snake by Mark Olson, Leslie Turek
  • 1101 The Dungeon Master by Joe Rico
  • 2901 The BNF by Priscilla Olson, Fred Isaacs, Leslie Turek
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Game of Privies” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: John, Alison and Liz are on a large privy holding drinks with a snake wrapped around the privy. Speech bubbles surround them: “Have you seen my emotional support python?” “The perfect spot for the old pharts photo”, “It’s another ‘what if…’ episode”, and “Oi! There’s a queue here mate”. A banner with “Punctuation Worldcon 2030” appears at the top and the words “Octothorpe 99” appear at the bottom.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

Points at the end of each phase:

Phase	People	Financial	Goodwill
Bidding	2	0	1
Planning	5	4	1
At-Con	6	5	7

98: Finally, Manitoba

John thinks it’s grandfathered in, Alison doesn’t think it’s SF, and Sandra is Liz.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia
  • Curt Phillips
    • Where to buy Moon (USA, UK)
    • If you know of websites that do this in other countries, let John know!
  • Mark Plummer
    • The full text of Mark Plummer’s and Leigh Edmonds’ previous locs
• Glasgow 2024’s disease mitigation policy
• Fan funds
  • TAFF
    • Free ebooks
  • Taffluorescence! #1
    • With news of the upcoming TAFF race
  • Geri Sullivan’s Idea
    • #13 is forthcoming
  • Sandra’s books
    • The Psychopath Club
    • The Devil’s Finger
• Picks
  • John: A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (hardback, epub, Amazon)
  • Alison: For All Mankind
  • Sandra: Beyond Fandom: Fans, Culture & Politics in the 20th Century by Rob Hansen (ed.)
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Stunt Lizard” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: The heads of John and Alison regard a lizard version of Sandra Bond who is doing stunts (on fire, skateboarding) while wearing her signature hat. The words “Octothorpe 98” appear at the top.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

97: The Future of Language

John has played some games, Alison will play some games, and Liz is playing games RIGHT NOW

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: China, being burned alive, classism

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia
  • España Sheriff
  • Leigh Edmonds
  • Lori Anderson
• Chengdu
  • Chinese v foreign attendees
    • An example
  • We expect stats at the 90 day mark
• WSFS remote participation
  • Current WSFS constitution and standing rules
  • Preliminary meeting video
  • Don Eastlake on Facebook
• Glasgow 2024
  • Online convention news
  • Glasgow presents Catherynne M Valente and Peter S Beagle
• Novacon
  • Novacon 53
• Picks
  • John: The Wicker Man
  • Alison: Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi (physical, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
  • Liz: Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway (physical, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
• Gaming corner
  • Tabletop games
    • Hadrian’s Wall
    • Moon
    • Turing Machine
    • Villagers
  • Cracking the Cryptic play Return of the Obra Dinn
  • The Roottrees are Dead
• Credits
  • Cover art: “To the LizBatmobile” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: John, Alison and Liz are depicted as Robin, Harley Quinn and Batman, but the Batman logo is replaced by “WSFS”. The Batmobile is in the centre of the three of them. The words “Octothorpe 97” appear at the top and the words “…to the LizBatmobile” at the bottom.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

96: A Less QR-Code-Using Society

John didn’t, Alison would’ve done, and Liz tried.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: China

• Was Chengdu a shower?
  • Nicholas Whyte signs autographs
  • Chengdu Worldcon on YouTube
  • WorldconEvents on YouTube
    • Site selection meeting videos are going up here
  • WSFS Business Meeting” group on Facebook
  • File 770’s reporting on this year’s WSFS
• Picks
  • John: Hallowe’en
  • Alison: New Zealand
  • Liz: Poker Face
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Chengdu Worldcon Report” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A giant panda stands in a metal tub wearing a rainbow show cap with helicopter blades beneath a shower made of bamboo. A purple towel with “42” on it is over the side of the metal tub. The words “Octothorpe 96” are above “Chengdu Worldcon Report” with a footnote reading “might not have been a shower after all”.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

95: Hugo, Girl!

John is playing a game, Alison is in New Zealand, and Liz’s head is on fire.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Privilege (letters of comment), carbon emissions (GUFF), grant applications (picks)

• Letters of comment
  • Dave Mansfield
  • Esther MacCallum-Stewart
  • Chris Garcia
  • Abigail Nussbaum
  • SJ Johnson
• Hugos
  • Congratulations to Hugo, Girl!
  • Thanks to Nicholas Whyte for
    • Being our designated Hugo acceptor
    • Liveblogging the Hugo Award ceremony
• GUFF
  • It goes from Australasia to Europe (and vice versa)
    • Australasia
  • Stonehenge Aoteroa
  • Woomera
  • Te Tauaarangi Air Force
  • Royal Australian Air Force
  • Kākāpō family tree
• Picks
  • John: Don’t Play This Game (play the demo)
  • Alison: Australia
  • Liz: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood (epub, paperback, audiobook, Amazon)
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Birds” by España Sheriff
    • Alt text: A kakapo, a kiwi and a SIAMESE FIREBACK just chilling out. They look a bit like John, Alison and Liz. The words “Octothorpe 95” adorn the top of the cover.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

94: Satisfying Meat

John is eating cinnamon rolls, Alison doesn’t think it’s funny, and Liz has two lists.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X, on Mastodon, or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: colonialism (chapter 2), COVID (chapter 3), organised crime (chapter 5), privilege and capitalism (chapter 7).

• No letters of comment this week, normal service resumes next week!
• Books in the order they were discussed
  • The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi
  • Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree
    • Coffee Shop AU
  • Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
  • The Spare Man, by Mary Robinette Kowal
  • Nettle & Bone, by T Kingfisher
• John’s ranking:
  1. Nettle & Bone
  2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
  3. Nona the Ninth
  4. The Spare Man
  5. Legends & Lattes
  6. The Kaiju Preservation Society
• Alison’s ranking:
  1. Nettle & Bone
  2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
  3. The Kaiju Preservation Society
  4. Nona the Ninth
  5. Legends & Lattes
  6. The Spare Man
• Liz’s ranking:
  1. Nettle & Bone
  2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
  3. Nona the Ninth
  4. The Kaiju Preservation Society
  5. Legends & Lattes
  6. The Spare Man
• Consensus ranking:
  1. Nettle & Bone
  2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
  3. Nona the Ninth
  4. The Kaiju Preservation Society
  5. Legends & Lattes
  6. The Spare Man
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
    • Alt text: John is in the bottom-left, sitting in a chair, wearing a blue shirt and purple trousers, holding a can, and reading an ebook. Alison is in the upper-middle, lying down upside down, wearing a purple shirt and stripy trousers, and reading an ebook. Liz is in the bottom-right, wearing a pink shirt with green trousers, holding a mug of a hot beverage, and reading a physical book. They are surrounded by floating beer bottles, books, the Moon, a mug with a moose on it, and two cats. The word “Octothorpe” appears in scattered letters around the artwork, against a pinky-purple background.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

93: The Good Thing About the Hugos

John is husky, Alison is a dingo, and Liz is a ridgeback.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

• Letters of comment
  • Abigail Nussbaum
  • Chris Garcia
  • Ersatz Culture
• Chengdu is a shower
  • Relevant Pixel Scrolls:
    • Fanzine and Fan Writer added; videos of the construction
    • Panoramic views of the convention site
  • Arthur Liu’s post on Weibo
• Glasgow 2024
  • Glasgow 2024 Presents: The Media of Storytelling: Print v Screen
• Hugo discussion
• GUFF
  • LEGO postcards from Australia
  • You can donate £5 or £10 to guffeurope@gmail.com to get a personalised postcard from Alison
    1. Postcard from Australia for £5
    2. Photo postcard from the Internet for £5
    3. Special surprise exclusive GUFF 2023 Art postcard for £10
    4. Postcard with an “unreasonable special request” for £10 [don’t ask me what this means, I just wrote down the words Alison said—John]
• Picks
  • We did a lot of talking about our opinions of SF this episode, so picks return in future!
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Flying to Australia” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A photograph of Alison’s Apple Watch on a plane to Australia. This episode of Octothorpe is playing on that Apple Watch, which is on her wrist.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

92: Shouting From Inside the Room

John went to Reno, Alison went to San Francisco, and Liz went to Chicago.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Murder and sexual violence (chapter 4)

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia
  • Dave Mansfield
  • Duncan MacGregor
  • Ersatz Culture
  • Irwin Hirsch
  • Juan Sanmiguel
  • Nick Hubble
  • Peter Sullivan
• ConFrancisco
  • Ansible 75 (October 1993)
  • File 770’s Worldcon Wayback Machine:
    • Thursday
    • Friday
    • Saturday
    • Sunday
    • Monday
• Chengdu is a shower
  • The Hugo Voter Packet still doesn’t have Best Fanzine or Best Fan Writer
  • Ersatz Culture’s page on the Hugo Voter Packet now contains downloads for both
  • Arthur Liu/Heaven Duke has two pages in Chinese covering similar ground: one, two
• Glasgow 2024
  • Progress Report 2 is now out
  • They’ve got a big organ
  • John is moderating “The Media of Storytelling: Print v Screen” for Glasgow Presents
    • 21 September at 19:00 BST
    • Dan Hanks, A M Justice, Jim Mcleod, and R W W Greene
    • Tickets are free
• Picks
  • John: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978)
  • Alison: The Thin Man (1934) and The Island of Doctor Moreau by H G Wells (1896)
  • Liz:
• Credits
  • Cover art: “1993 Time Machine” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A drawing of España Sheriff with “gosh wow oh boy oh boy” in a thought bubble to the left of a drawing of Alison saying “displays include Hugo history and antique vibrators” behind an info desk. Computer monitors display the text “Coming soon! Websites!” and “Try Virtual Reality, it’s the next big thing”. A Dalek and the Golden Gate Bridge adorn the scene. Above, the words “Moscone North” are below the words “We travel to a land that photography forgot” which are in turn below “Octothorpe 92”.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

91: O— O— O—

John is a journalist, Alison is fundraising, and Liz is approved.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

• Letters of comment
  • Abigail Nussbaum
  • Ali Baker Brooks
  • Chris Garcia
  • David Curry
  • Edward Morland
  • Farah Mendlesohn
  • Jonathan Baddeley
  • Lori Anderson
    • Not Laurie Anderson
• The Clarke Award
  • Liz read them all! 🌟
• Hugo Voter Packet
  • Ersatz Culture’s report on what’s in the packet
• Site selection
  • Voting has started!
  • Seattle in 2025
• Alison’s GUFF plans
  • If you are in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Christchurch, Picton/Nelson, Wellington, Auckland or Perth, email Alison
• Picks
  • John: The (Kenner)Spiel des Jahres shortlist
  • Alison: LEGO
  • Liz: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (hardback, epub)
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Plenty of Bits” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A photograph of three mini figures made to look like John, Alison nad Liz with a dragon in the background. John is holding a lightsaber, Alison a fish and a cup o f coffee, and Liz an ice cream. Two cats accompany them.
  • Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)