Tosche Station Radio #33: Her Universe

Posted on October 4, 2012 by admin

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On this special episode of Tosche Station Radio, hosts Nanci and Brian are joined by the voice of Ahsoka Tano and the founder of Her Universe, Ashley Eckstein!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Fanwork Friday featured a fic by salanderjade called Beside the Dying Fire. Bria’s weekly Cosplay Monday feature looked at a brilliant Ursula costume. In Trope Tuesday, Brian entered the battlefield of love to discuss Ship-to-Ship Combat. He also reviewed the Essential Reader’s Companion by Pablo Hidalgo and discussed continuity and perspective in the Expanded Universe. Hark.com sent us some infographic fun comparing Star Wars to Star Trek.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci has been keeping herself busy by reading The Long Hunt as well as the Essential Reader’s Companion. She’s also thrilled that Once Upon a Time is back on the air. Meanwhile, Brian is reading through War of the Seasons: The Half-Blood by Janine Spendlove and the latest issues of the all-new Captain Marvel. He also has been enjoying all the extra features in the Avengers Blu-Ray set.

Deak’s Dirt starts with news that the Essential Reader’s Companion has hit book stores. Long story short? Go buy it. Suvudu has collected a wealth of Star Wars short stories and archived them on their site. New ebook editions of the ERC and Essential Guide to Warfare are now available from Del Rey. Meanwhile, the Scoundrels release date has been pushed back to January 1^st. Finally, The Clone Wars television series now has its own Twitter account!

For this week’s Camie’s Concerns, hosts Brian and Nanci are excited to welcome the voice of Ahsoka Tano and the founder of Her Universe onto the show. Ashley Eckstein joins Tosche Station Radio to answer questions from the hosts and listeners.

Wrapping up the show, hosts Brian and Nanci field questions from listeners and readers in our Ask Us Anything segment.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #32: Tears for Fears

Posted on September 27, 2012 by admin

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On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, Nanci and Brian take a look at their favorite tear-jerker moments from Star Wars and the Expanded Universe!

Kicking the show off, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog this week. Fanwork Friday featured Marcin’ On, a Harry Potter fan music video. Bria highlighted an incredible Lin Bei Fong costume in Cosplay Monday. In honor of The Avengers releasing on DVD and Blue Ray, This week’s Trope Tuesday investigated the Avengers Assemble trope. Brian reviewed War of the Seasons: The Human by Janine Spendlove.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci finished off her final edits of her original novel Robber Barons. Of course, that means she also started work on the sequel! She also watched a couple more episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, much to the joy of the rest of the Tosche Station staff. Brian finished reading War of the Seasons: The Human and dove into the second novel.

Deak’s Dirt starts out with news of a female Expendables and the hosts offer up their suggestion for who should be in it. Mark Hamill celebrated a birthday this week and in other Star Wars news, the latest LEGO Star Wars special aired on Wednesday. Be sure to check out James’ interview with Michael Price over at Club Jade! Timothy Zahn is on his way to New York Comic Con. Meanwhile, Jen Heddle of Lucasfilm answered questions regarding fan diversity and reiterated that the Big Three will be fading into the background post-Crucible. Finally The Hunger Games: Catching Fire just began filming!

This week’s Camie’s Concerns will require some tissue on hand. Brian and Nanci discuss their notable and favorite tear-jerker scenes in the films and Expanded Universe.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #31: State of the Union

Posted on September 22, 2012 by admin

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On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, hosts Brian and Nanci peer into their crystal ball and take a look at the state of the Expanded Universe!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Cosplay Monday saw Bria featuring Dr. Strange and Clea. Cosplay Week wrapped up with Tropic Thunder and Hallis Saper. Trope Tuesday discussed the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism. We’re also curious if you want us to continue a weekly podcast recording livestream.

It’s a quiet week in Fixer’s Flash. Nanci’s still busy revising Robber Barrons and is getting set to pitch it to publishers. Meanwhile, Brian’s been enjoying War of the Seasons by all-around-awesome human being Janine Spendlove.

Deak’s Dirt kicks off with something big on the rumor mill. Is Matthew Stover returning to the Expanded Universe to finish Imperial Commando? A new LEGO Star Wars special is incoming, The Empire Strikes Out. Meanwhile, the first full-length theatrical trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey released. Ashley Eckstein’s full Celebration VI video diaries also released. Don’t forget, Star Wars Reads Day is quickly approaching!

This week’s Camie’s Concerns has the hosts taking a deep look at the State of the Expanded Universe. Brian and Nanci investigate new trends in Star Wars literature and dive into newly announced titles and series. They also offer some guesses as to what the future might bring.

This week’s Ask Us Anything plays off of the discussion topic with Brian and Nanci answering Expanded Universe related questions from readers and listeners.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #30: The Next Generation

Posted on September 13, 2012 by admin

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Tosche-Station.net writers Emily and Bria join the hosts this week for an in-depth roundtable discussion of X-Wing: Mercy Kill!

We kick off the show with some housekeeping. Wormie’s Works will be moving off the podcast and onto the blog as a regular Friday feature. Meanwhile on the blog itself, we’re having Cosplay Week by Bria. She’s highlighting some of the best costumes spotted at Dragon*Con and Celebration VI. So far we’ve seen Mary Poppins, the Hapan Queens, Darth Talon and Cade Skywalker, as well as the all-new Captain Marvel. We also introduced the gender-swapped Wraith Squadron with a bonus appearance by Aaron Allston.

In Fixer’s Flash this week, Nanci’s been busy watching Captain America: The First Avenger and getting into Avatar: The Last Airbender (FINALLY). Brian finished up Marvel’s Siege comic arc and is reading through War of the Seasons by all-around awesome human being Janine Spendlove. Emily is up to her eyeballs in her dissertation, but has found time to watch the brilliant Slings and Arrows television series. Bria’s found time between costuming to get into a decent vampire novel.

Deak’s Dirt starts with news of a survey sent out to Celebration VI attendees that asks where you’d like to see a future Celebration held at. Brian and Nanci are still in favor of Orlando. Emily is very excited about the title of the new Star Trek film. The hosts implore readers to pre-order Pablo Hidalgo’s Essential Reader’s Companion for a mere $20. Meanwhile, Bria’s thrilled that Joss Whedon is coming back to television with a S.H.I.E.L.D series.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns looks into X-Wing: Mercy Kill by Aaron Allston, the first entry in that series in thirteen years. This spoiler-filled roundtable discussion dives into the plot and setting before spending the bulk of the time discussing the returning characters and new additions to the franchise.

Wrapping up the show, the hosts field questions in our Ask us Anything segment.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #29: Dragon*Con Special

Posted on September 7, 2012 by admin

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On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, we’re recapping Dragon*Con 2012 and attempting to recover from Con Plague!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlight’s what’s new on the blog. There was all sorts of convention coverage that you can find in the archives. Brian bought a toy at Celebration VI that made him cry. Meanwhile, Bria looked into gender-swapped cosplay. Yes, there’s even a picture of us in costume at Dragon*Con.

In Deak’s Dirt, news dropped that ABC has officially picked up a pilot for a Joss Whedon-led S.H.I.E.L.D television series. In other TV news, The Clone Wars is heading for syndication and airing in chronological order. Finally, Lucasfilm President and COO Micheline Chau is retiring and will be replaced by Kathleen Kennedy on an interim basis.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns looks back at the hosts’ visit to Dragon*Con 2012, highlighting the sights and sounds of the four-day fan convention. They spend a lot of time talking about three Expanded Universe panels featuring authors Aaron Allston, Michael Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, and Kevin J. Anderson. Will they ever go to back-to-back conferences again? Listen in and find out!

Wrapping up the show, the hosts dive into the Trope of the Week and answer questions from listeners and readers.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #28: The Celebration VI Special!

Posted on August 31, 2012 by admin

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It’s the big Celebration VI special! Unfortunately, the hosts don’t have enough time to sift through everything that happened at the convention, so this week’s show notes will be brief. The episode, however, isn’t. For the first time, Brian and Nanci are unscripted and coming to you almost live from the Orange County Convention Center.

On the docket is a discussion of Del Rey’s big announcements, celebrity panels, news from the StarWars.com redesign, and all sorts of odds and ends from the premiere Star Wars convention. We also had a pair of guests on the recording, including Tracy of Club Jade.

Sit back, grab some power converters, and enjoy our first-ever unscripted foray into podcasting!

Tosche Station Radio #27: Convention Madness

Posted on August 17, 2012 by admin

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On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, the hosts gear up for Celebration VI!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Emily, Brian, and new staff writer Bria contributed Mercy Kill reviews. Cosplay Monday featured Savannah’s awesome Jedi costume. All three were extremely positive. We asked, you answered: What Celebration VI events are you most looking forward to? We went over our own CVI schedule. Finally we wrapped up our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest with thirteen entries. Thanks to all who participated!

In Fixer’s Flash, both Brian and Nanci read and finished X-Wing: Mercy Kill. They enjoyed it. Tremendously. Nanci began reading Scourge and in her free time, began edits to her original novel. She also found the time to re-watch X-Men: First Class in order to admire Michael Fassbender. Brian read through Captain Marvel #2 and thinks that comic readers absolutely need to pick the new series up. He also began the groundwork for his own original book, but most of his time is spent preparing for convention season with Celebration VI and Dragon*Con right around the corner.

Deak’s Dirt begins with news that Raiders of the Lost Ark is coming to IMAX theaters in September. In other film news, Joss Whedon got himself a new deal from Marvel and it’s a dandy. The final Crucible cover was revealed, and it looks pretty much like the old cover. Her Universe revealed their Mara shirt as part of their Celebration VI exclusives.

In this week’s Camie’s Concerns, the hosts talk Celebration VI and what you should expect. They highlight Club Jade’s convention prep posts, an invaluable resource for those who may be attending a con for the first time. The hosts dive into what you can expect from Orlando and the Orange County Convention Center itself before diving into their schedules for CVI. Brian and Nanci take a few questions from listeners as well.

For Wormie’s Works, Nanci highlights a NASA parody video and Brian links to a musicvideo highlighting fifty years of fandom.

This week’s Trope of the Show takes a look at The Charmer. Hello, Wes Janson!

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #26: Heavy Meta

Posted on August 7, 2012 by admin

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On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, we’re joined by author, filmmaker, and Star Wars fan Bryan Young!

Kicking off the show, we highlight new Replace Mara’s Catsuit entries from kataja, Ellen, Bria, and Robert. Brian looked back at Isard’s Revenge and Emily wrapped up our series of X-Wing retrospectives with a fond review of Starfighters of Adumar.

In Fixer’s Flash, both Brian and Nanci have been pretty wrapped up with the Olympics. Nanci did find some time to read The Gathering Flame, the prequel to the Mageworlds trilogy. She also finished her Mirax costume! Brian apologized for live-tweeting the US Women National Soccer Team’s match versus Canada. Over the weekend he jumped into Marvel’s Siege comic arc and started reading Mageworlds again. He also spent the latter part of the weekend nervously watching NASA’s seven minutes of terror.

Deak’s Dirt opens with news that Brian and Nanci are thrilled about. X-Wing: Mercy Kill, the long-awaited tenth novel in the series, has hit bookshelves! In Celebration VI news, badges were revealed, Warwick Davis was confirmed, the We Love Prequels panel is returning, and the full schedule has finally been revealed. The Old Republic was recently confirmed as going free-to-play, but Brian’s unsure if this is good news for the game. Rounding out the news, Brian and Nanci are pumped that NASA successfully landed Curiosity.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns features author and Star Wars fan Bryan Young. The hosts and Bryan talk his writing and filmmaking career, his love of nerd culture, and all sorts of Star Wars related topics. Bryan dives in and discusses the previous Celebration conventions he’s been at and what you can expect from his Why We Love the Prequels panel. Be sure to check out his novels like Operation: Montauk and Lost at the Con! You can find Bryan at Big Shiny Robot, Bryan Young Fiction, The Huffington Post, and on Twitter.

This time around in Wormie’s Works, Nanci highlights Kate Blankenship’s brilliant Endor Leia costume and Brian cheats and highlights the great costume and art entries submitted to our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest. Rounding out the show, Brian and Nanci take questions from listeners.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #25: Escalating Prank War

Posted on July 27, 2012 by admin

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This week’s Tosche Station Radio brings us back to the X-Wing Retrospective and the Wraith Squadron arc!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s new on the blog. We ask just what’s in a Power Converter. Nanci asks EU fans to give Crucible and Troy Denning a chance. Brian looked back at Solo Command. On this week’s Cosplay Monday, the blog featured a magnificent Heimdall costume.

Fixer’s Flash is somewhat light this week. Both the hosts have Icarus Hunt tales to share. Nanci finished the first draft of her book and Brian finally put academia behind him.

In Deak’s Dirt, there’s a host of Celebration VI news including announcements of a Rancho Obi-Wan exhibit and the return of the Bounty Hunt game. Mary Franklin claims that the CVI schedule currently stands at nine feet long in the physical printout. Leland Chee discussed the Holocron on the official blog. Jena Malone was officially confirmed to play Johanna Mason in Catching Fire. In some bizarre (but awesome) rumors, will Mary Poppins duel a gigantic Lord Voldemort at the Olympic Games? Finally, we bid farewell to pioneer and trailblazer Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

Camie’s Concerns this week brings us back to the X-Wing retrospective. This time around, the hosts dig into the Wraith Squadron arc and talk the plots and characters as well as examining the impact Aaron Allston’s novels have had on the Expanded Universe. It’s far more than just dogfights and blaster skirmishes.

For Wormie’s Works this week, Nanci highlights Star Wars Yoga and Brian links to an Indiana Jones vocal cover.

Rounding out the show, the hosts answer questions from listeners. Remember, if you’ve got a question you want to ask us, e-mail and tweet them to us, or leave us a message on Facebook.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio #24: Flight of Romance

Posted on July 20, 2012 by admin

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On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, the hosts delve into the touchy subject of romance in fiction!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s new on the blog. Beth sent in a Replace Mara’s Catsuit art entry. Emily brought us back to the Coruscant Craft Fair with a look at some Marvel-inspired shoes. Cosplay Monday featured Nate and Heather from Zhobot. Brian looked into a game that John Rhys-Davies and Mark Hamill appeared in.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci had herself a good time at a Wizard Rock show. She’s also been re-reading The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn. She also appeared on the Wrong Opinions About Movies podcast to talk about the hilariously awful Batman and Robin. Look for a link on the blog! Finally, she’s almost finished with her original novel! Meanwhile, Brian’s in comic mode having finished the Dark Reign arc and buying Captain Marvel #1.

Deak’s Dirt covers a host of information from San Diego Comic Con this week, specifically news from Dark Horse, Del Rey, and the Clone Wars creative staff. Mark Hamill was announced for Celebration VI, and there’s a bunch of new casting calls and rumors for Catching Fire. The hosts also take some time to talk Troy Denning’s new novel, Crucible, and go off on a tangent over fans that want Luke, Leia, and Han to die.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns revisits an article featured on the blog a few weeks ago, Rethinking Romance. We brought in Maggie to talk about why she wrote the piece and why she thinks we need to reevaluate our knee-jerk dismissiveness of romance in fiction and literature. The hosts and Maggie also touch on gender issues in fiction.

In Wormie’s Works, Nanci links to the Star Wars Love Poster by Mark Elwood and Brian rocks out to Book Eight – Another Harry Potter Song by nerdfighter Hank Green.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree