Octothorpe

65: Action Castle 2

John is a computer; Alison and Liz are talking to him very slowly.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

• Buy the Parsely Games PDF
• Alison had an ear worm
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Maps” by Alison Scott and Liz Batty
    • Alt text: Two hand drawn maps of the world described by the game, in handwriting, one on an iPad and one on paper. They are atop a purple square which says “Octothorpe 65”.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

64: Best Commemorative Plate

John is crying, Alison is lounging, and Liz is crocheting.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: climate change, death, abuse (chapter 3)

• Letters of comment
  • Ang Rosin
  • Caroline Mullan
  • Mark Plummer
    • Galactic Journey
    • Kev Smith’s TAFF report
    • John’s TAFF report
  • Bill Higgins
  • Chris Garcia
  • Raj
  • Hotel eggs
• Our Hugo Award ballots
  • The Brialey Competence Threshold
  • The list of finalists (we’re not going to write them all out here!)
• Worldcon schedules
  • The following are us on the Chicon 8 guide: John, Alison, Liz
  • Wait for a second for the data to come in to replace the “this user is not found” page rather than deciding it didn’t work before immediately closing the tab (see also: Alison)
• Worldcon miscellany
  • File 770 reports on proper electronic site selection
    • Vote through Chicon 8’s Registration subsite
    • We all voted and thought it was very easy!
  • Alison escapes from collating WOOF
  • Kampcon 2028 bids for a Ugandan Worldcon
• Picks
  • John: Nope (in cinemas) and “Family Cooking” by Anamaria Curtis (Uncanny)
  • Alison: “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny)
  • Liz: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Disney+)
• Star Wars games
  • I could do links to Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch games with Star Wars in, but I feel like you can probably just do that yourselves, listeners. I know, the service here is terrible
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Commemorative Plate” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A commemorative plate with a purple rim edged in gold, and gold writing which says “Octothorpe 64” and the names of the hosts on that rim. In the centre, three figures; John on the left, giving a thumbs up in a yellow Star Trek uniform with ocular implants like Rutherford’s in Lower Decks; Alison in the centre wearing a red Star Trek uniform; and Liz on the right wearing a blue Star Trek uniform with blue-green skin and pointy ears. We each have a single command pip.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

63: Nonsense Divide

John has a button, Alison has a venue, and Liz once saw a computer that had been in Chris’s car.

Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 2), death at a young age (chapter 6).

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia
  • Roman Orszanski
  • Paul Weimer
  • Bridget Bradshaw
• FantasyCon
  • It was cancelled
    • They had sold 200 memberships, but needed 400 and were £24k short
  • It was uncancelled
    • You can join the new iteration here
• Arthur C Clarke Awards
  • The shortlist is out
  • The Scotsman reviewed Deep Wheel Orcadia
• Conversation has a venue now!
• Chicon Fringe
• Picks
  • John: Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic (Steam, Switch, Xbox, iPad)
    • No PlayStation version, probably because of the coming remake?
      • The remake has been “paused indefinitely”
  • Alison: “In the Black Fantastic” at the Hayward Gallery
    • Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
  • Liz: The Great Potato War
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Assorted Jedi” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Three humanoid figures hold lightsabers and stand against a futuristic cityscape reminiscent of Coruscant. The leftmost looks like John, but is clad in the clothes of Luke Skywalker. The middle figure looks like Alison, but she’s green and looks quite a lot like Yoda. The rightmost looks like Liz, clad in the clothes of Rey Skywalker. The words “Octothorpe 63” adorn the top of the image in the distinctive typeface of Star Wars.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

62: Do You Want to Talk About Lesbians?

John has superpowers, Alison is an alien in a human suit, and Liz likes cats.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: being stranded in space (chapter 1); sexism (chapter 2); Hell and murder (chapter 5).

• No letters of comment this week, normal service resumes next week!
• Books in the order they were discussed
  • Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
  • A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark
  • The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers
  • She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan
  • Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki
  • A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine
• What book would we have put on the list instead?
  • John: The Psychopath Club by Sandra Bond
  • Alison: The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
  • Liz: Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• John’s ranking:
  1. A Desolation Called Peace
  2. Light From Uncommon Stars
  3. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
  4. A Master of Djinn
  5. She Who Became the Sun
  6. Project Hail Mary
• Alison’s ranking:
  1. A Desolation Called Peace
  2. Light From Uncommon Stars
  3. She Who Became the Sun
  4. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
  5. A Master of Djinn
  6. Project Hail Mary
• Liz’s ranking:
  1. A Desolation Called Peace
  2. She Who Became the Sun
  3. A Master of Djinn
  4. Light From Uncommon Stars
  5. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
  6. Project Hail Mary
• Consensus ranking:
  1. A Desolation Called Peace
  2. Light From Uncommon Stars
  3. She Who Became the Sun
  4. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
  5. A Master of Djinn
  6. Project Hail Mary
• 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 words “Octothorpe 62” appear in scattered letters around the artwork, against a pinky-purple background.
  • Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

61: That Little Voice in Your Head

John has a hat on, Alison is taking the baton, and Liz twirls.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID-19 (chapter 2)

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia
    • The Drink Tank
    • Sci-Fi Short of the Week
    • DUST
  • Andrew January
  • Roman Orszanski
  • Duncan McGregor and cDave on Twitter
  • Raj sent a nice message on Twitter as well
  • Fran Dowd
    • Celluloid Screams
    • Fear2000
    • Sheffield DocFest
    • The Festival of Fantastic Films
  • Farah Mendlesohn
    • Science Fiction Research Association
• Octothorpe COVID Round-Up
  • WisCon’s post-con COVID report
  • Andrew Plotkin’s write-up of Scintillation
• The Hugo Awards’ 25% rule
  • WSFS Constitution (see §3.12.2)
  • Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk’s proposal to remove this clause
• Picks
  • John: Elgato Stream Deck Mini
  • Alison: Cricket
  • Liz: Kevin
• Interactive Fiction
  • Spider and Web
• Credits
  • Cover art: Robots by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Three round robot vacuum cleaners on a wood panel floor in a triangle formation. The lower-left one has glasses like John’s and looks like it’s open-mouthed; the upper-centre one has glasses like Alison’s and looks like it’s smiling; the lower-right one has no glasses like Liz and looks like it’s smiling. The text “Octothorpe 61” appears above the robots.
  • Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

60: Different Types of Tedium

John is going to brunch, Alison watched a film, and Liz is critical.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

• Letters of comment
  • Kevin Standlee and Tammy Coxen
  • Bridget Bradshaw
  • Chris Garcia
  • Unofficial Hugo Book Club on Twitter sent us a graph
  • Catherine Crockett
    • Transcripts on eFanzines
    • Subtitles on Podbean - Jonathan Cowie asked “What special Hugo would we introduce if we were in charge at Glasgow?”
  • Alison: Best Transcript
  • Liz: Best Non-Fiction/Best Criticism
  • John: Best Short Film or Best Dramatic Presentation (Very Short Form)
  • Alison (seriously): Best Dramatic Presentation (Audio Form)
• Hugo voting is now open until August 11th
• Picks
  • John: Moon Knight (Disney+)
  • Alison: ABBA: Voyage
    • Pepper’s Ghost
  • Liz: [PICK REDACTED]
• Credits
  • Cover art: DALL-E, courtesy of Bridget Bradshaw
    • Alt text: A three-by-three grid of images generated by DALL-E with the prompt “cover art for Octothorpe podcast”. They are quite surreal, often involve figures, and are mostly in shades of green and pink with one black and white one. They almost give an impression of Lovecraftian tutti-frutti.
  • Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

59: Chickens

John is roast beef, Alison is pickled onion, and Liz is flamin’ hot.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 3)

• Letters of comment
  • Artwork: Dave Coxon
  • Podcasts for tedium: Jonny Baddeley, Ali Baker Brooks, Virginia Preston
  • Convention data: Chris Garcia, Lilian Edwards
  • Worldcons: Malcolm Hutchison, Gillian Polack
  • Picks:
    • Raybearer is getting the Netflix treatment
    • Abigail Nussbaum’s essay on Everything Everywhere All at Once
  • Ali Baker Brooks: Athena Scalzi’s review of a British snack box
• Fanzine Lounge at Chicon 8
  • Alison’s job title is salonnière
  • You can volunteer to help out!
  • Masks will be required as it’s not a designated space for eating and drinking
• Hugo Voter Packet
  • We are working on getting transcripts up for people who aren’t Worldcon members, stay tuned…
• WSFS Constitution
  • Kevin Standlee’s tweets
• Picks
  • John: Sci-Fi London’s short movie track
  • Alison: Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Liz was busy: Bob’s Burgers (Disney+)
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Monster Munch” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Photo manipulation of a purple packet of crisps reminiscent of Monster Munch, with “MEGA OCTOTHORPE PODCAST episode 59” written on the centre of the packet. below that are pictures of three monsters eating monster-paw shaped snack, and beneath each of those reads “40% massive hunks of John ‘roast beef’ Coxon flavour baked corn snack,” “40% huge chunks of Alison ‘pickled onion’ Scott flavour baked corn snack,” and “20% mighty bites of Liz ‘flamin’ hot' Batty flavour baked corn snack.”
  • Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

58: Oh No! Really? Pancakes

John has a paper cut, Alison feels seen, and Liz is cheating on her homework.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: racism and sexism (chapter 6)

• Letters of comment
  • Phil Dyson
  • Chris Garcia
  • Bradley Harris
    • “I listened to some of your Octothorpe podcast which was cool in general just because I like to hear the British styles of speech. Also I agree with John that Detroit-style pizza is very good. I too have some food recommendations for Chicago so you may look forward to those (if you want to get a start, look up ‘Jibarito’), yum!”
  • Mark Plummer
• Hugo Voter Packets
• DisCon III has translated their Souvenir Book into Chinese
  • Chengdu Worldcon has a Translation Services Working Division
• Chicon 8 programme participation
  • “Chicon 8 will be using an opt-in program development model.”
• Data in convention planning
  • Disney’s FastPass: A Complicated History by Defunctland
  • Len Testa’s model of theme park behaviour
• Picks
  • Alison: Everything Everywhere All at Once
  • John: Paper cuts
  • Liz: Raybearer (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon) and Redemptor (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon) by Jordan Ifueko
• Credits
  • Cover art: Brad W Foster
    • Image description: Illustration by Brad W Foster. Three aliens cluster around an old-style radio microphone in turquoise with a red speaker grille and green text saying “ON AIR”. The aliens from left to right are green, pink, and blue and look suspiciously like the hosts of Octothorpe. The title of the podcast is atop the artwork in orange.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

57: Back Bacon is Best

John is a muppet bilby, Alison is actively drinking, and Liz MURDERS OWLS.

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 3), animal hunting (chapter 7)

• Letters of comment
  • Malcolm Hutchison: ‘Listening to the sound John makes at start of this episode made me visualise John as a Muppet (in a good way)’
  • Chris Garcia
  • Roman Orszanski
  • Jersey Gryphon: ‘The Hello Internet podcast did a vinyl edition episode before jumping the shark and doing a 4–5 minute wax cylinder episode.’
• Reclamation 2022
  • 74 cases before tracing stopped,, all over the convention, lots of different fan networks
  • ‘One-woman superspreader event Alison Scott has absolutely no regrets’ – Shona (Prufrax)
  • Norwescon had case 3 and case 5 which will pass into fannish infamy
  • A journal article discussing Omicron attack rates
• Fia Karlsson has won TAFF!
  • The announcement
  • The fanzine with the stats
  • Follow Fia on Twitter
• Chicon 8
  • We’re all going!
• Picks
  • John: Detroit-style pizza from Square
    • John also likes this Detroit-style pizza from San Francisco that he didn’t mention
  • Alison: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
  • Liz: Horizon Forbidden West (digital, PS4 disc, PS5 disc)
• Credits
  • Cover art: Alison Scott
  • Theme music: ‘Fanfare for Space’ by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

56: Sorry, Am I Supposed to Be Recording This

John, Alison, and Liz are live from Reclamation, the 2022 Eastercon!

Please email your letters of comment to octothorpecast@gmail.com and tag @OctothorpeCast when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: None

• Conversation 2023
• Levitation 2024
• Nicholas Whyte’s blog, From the Heart of Europe
  • No merchandise (yet)
• This Never Happened
  • John’s Untappd check-in
• Taste of Mold
• Victoria Line moquette sofa
• Picks
  • Liz: The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk (paperback, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
  • John: A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (hardback, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
• Credits
  • Cover art: Duncan MacGregor
  • Theme music: Fanfare for Space by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)