Author: John Coxon

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 110: Tom Hanks Bloody Loves the Moon

Three photographs of the night sky, labelled Newcastle, Bangkok, and “Quite near London” (the labels were written by a Londoner, which is why it doesn’t just say “London”). Text above reads “Octothorpe 110” and below reads “Local Aurora Snapshots”. The Newcastle and London images show photographs of aurora with some minor bits of vegetation intruding; the Bangkok picture shows a skyline of buildings underneath a thunderstorm.
Art by Alison Scott.

John is a professor, Alison doesn’t have a bucket list, and Liz is the country’s foremost fan historian.

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 109: But Also a Worrying One

The background is a starry, lightning-filled square in blues, purples, and yellows. Atop that, there is a spaceship, somewhat like a rocket, with engines coming out of the sides. There are yellow lights shining from it, and a ladder reaches up to a central archway. John, Alison and Liz are depicted as silhouettes, regarding it with wonder. Their shadows stretch off the canvas, and they look faintly alien or futuristic in a hard-to-define manner.
Art by Ulrika O'Brien.

John is middle, Alison is even sadder, and Liz is sorry.

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 108: Ramp is Not Ramp

A drawing of a blackboard with text that reads: “Octothorpe 108 guide to Glasgow street food.” A picture of a deep fried pizza with glasses is next to text reading ’The “Coxon” pizza crunch’, a picture of three pakora with glasses next to ‘The “Scott” haggis pakora’, and a picture of a deep fried Mars bar next to ‘The “Batty” deep fried Mars bar”. Stars also adorn the backboard, and bottles of red and brown sauce are in the bottom-left-hand corner.
Art by Alison Scott.

John is ignorant, Alison is first, and Liz is a trendsetter.

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Fanac Octothorpe

DC’s loc from Octothorpe 108

An octothorpe (hash or pound symbol) made out of white octothorpes as ASCII art, on a purple background, with the word Octothorpe written at the bottom.
Octothorpe artwork by Alison Scott.

A letter of comment from noted Scottish fan DC on the accessibility of the Telford International Centre.

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 107: The Significance of the Acorn

John, Alison, and Nicholas Whyte stand in front of a projection of the Octothorpe podcast and behind a panel table. Each of them wears a convention badge, and Nicholas holds the Glasgow Landing Zone Rocket. Nicholas is looking at the camera, while John and Alison are not quite as good at this. The table they stand behind holds beers, coffees, convention newsletters, phone batteries, microphones, and table tents.
Photo by Sue Dawson.

John, Alison, and Nicholas are live from Levitation!

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 106: Fitter Happier Healthier Eastercon

Three ponies in the style of My Little Pony adorn the cover. The left-hand one is orange, and has a six-sided die as a cutie mark. The central one is teal, and has a rainbow Apple logo for a cutie mark. The right-hand one is blue, and has a Hugo Award for a cutie mark. They look like they are having a nice time. The words “My Little Octothorpe 106” appear at the top, and the words “Podcasting Is Magic” appear at the bottom.
Art by Alison Scott.

John used to be an undergraduate, Alison has been keeping a list, and can Liz be a stunt Liz?

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 105: Scorching Hot Month-Old Takes

A famous photograph of Margaret Hamilton standing beside printed outputs of the code that took the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon, overlaid with the words “Octothorpe 105” and “Liz has finished reading the latest Hugo Award exposés”.
Art by Alison Scott.

John watches movies, Alison walks on the Moon, and Liz has special bonds.

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 104: Groundbreaking and Great

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.
Art by Sue Mason.

John, Alison and Liz discuss what SF they enjoyed from 2023.

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 103: Just This Guy, Y’know?

The words “Octothorpe 103 Hugo Regalia Shop” appear above a selection of costumes. There are small depictions of a clown, a pirate, a panda and a banana above full-length depictions of a member of the Catholic church (with Hugos on their mitre and crosier), a gangster (labelled “boss”, holding a Hugo), Zaphod Beeblebrox (holding three Hugos) and Jesus (with a crown of thorns but made with Hugos).
Art by Alison Scott.

John is a year behind, Alison is opening nominations, and Liz is Elizabeth (!).

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Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 102: I Fully Comprehend the Mysteries

Scooby, Velma and Daphne unmask the panda from last week’s cover art, and the person wearing the panda suit looks a lot like Dave McCarty. They say “It was old Mister McCarty all along!” and he says “And I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for you meddling Hugo finalists!” He is tied up with rope. The words “Octothorpe! 102” appear at the top of the image.
Art by Alison Scott.

John, Alison and Liz respond to a letter of comment from Tobes.