An idle thought

On the one hand, the volunteer culture of fandom, as represented by Worldcon, Boskone and Minicon (and other fine conventions). On the other, a more commercial approach to conventions, as represented by Dragon*Con.

As previously shown, Boskone was strained beyond endurance by 4000 people and if I recall correctly has settled on a more reasonable attendence which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 people (Nor are they the only con to find that larger != better). Worldcon, a special, high status event that roves around the world, thus spreading out the job load over a wider population than a regional convention can, might have between 4000 to 6000 attendees.

(Usual disclaimer about Canadian fans being stingy bastards)

Dragon*Con had an aggregate daily attendance of over 47,000 in 2005.

Can we draw a conclusion from this concerning the ability of non-commercial mechanisms to handle complex events like a convention and if so, can this be generalized in some way?

An idle thought

On the one hand, the volunteer culture of fandom, as represented by Worldcon, Boskone and Minicon (and other fine conventions). On the other, a more commercial approach to conventions, as represented by Dragon*Con.

As previously shown, Boskone was strained beyond endurance by 4000 people and if I recall correctly has settled on a more reasonable attendence which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 people (Nor are they the only con to find that larger != better). Worldcon, a special, high status event that roves around the world, thus spreading out the job load over a wider population than a regional convention can, might have between 4000 to 6000 attendees.

(Usual disclaimer about Canadian fans being stingy bastards)

Dragon*Con had an aggregate daily attendance of over 47,000 in 2005.

Can we draw a conclusion from this concerning the ability of non-commercial mechanisms to handle complex events like a convention and if so, can this be generalized in some way?

An idle thought

On the one hand, the volunteer culture of fandom, as represented by Worldcon, Boskone and Minicon (and other fine conventions). On the other, a more commercial approach to conventions, as represented by Dragon*Con.

As previously shown, Boskone was strained beyond endurance by 4000 people and if I recall correctly has settled on a more reasonable attendence which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 people (Nor are they the only con to find that larger != better). Worldcon, a special, high status event that roves around the world, thus spreading out the job load over a wider population than a regional convention can, might have between 4000 to 6000 attendees.

(Usual disclaimer about Canadian fans being stingy bastards)

Dragon*Con had an aggregate daily attendance of over 47,000 in 2005.

Can we draw a conclusion from this concerning the ability of non-commercial mechanisms to handle complex events like a convention and if so, can this be generalized in some way?

The great (planet name here) novel

Imagine a series of eight SF books, each of which is supposed to be particularly suitable to represent one of the eight planets. What book would you pick for each world?

Assume nothing by Heinlein is useful in this matter.

I seem to be coming down with something, which seems to be limiting my creativity. My first pass was:

Mercury:
Venus:
Earth: Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
Mars:
Jupiter: Jupiter Fred and Carol Pohl (ed)
Saturn:
Uranus:
Neptune: Triton, Samuel R. Delany

The great (planet name here) novel

Imagine a series of eight SF books, each of which is supposed to be particularly suitable to represent one of the eight planets. What book would you pick for each world?

Assume nothing by Heinlein is useful in this matter.

I seem to be coming down with something, which seems to be limiting my creativity. My first pass was:

Mercury:
Venus:
Earth: Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
Mars:
Jupiter: Jupiter Fred and Carol Pohl (ed)
Saturn:
Uranus:
Neptune: Triton, Samuel R. Delany

The great (planet name here) novel

Imagine a series of eight SF books, each of which is supposed to be particularly suitable to represent one of the eight planets. What book would you pick for each world?

Assume nothing by Heinlein is useful in this matter.

I seem to be coming down with something, which seems to be limiting my creativity. My first pass was:

Mercury:
Venus:
Earth: Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
Mars:
Jupiter: Jupiter Fred and Carol Pohl (ed)
Saturn:
Uranus:
Neptune: Triton, Samuel R. Delany

Chris Lightfoot 1978-2007

Chris Lightfoot died unexpectedly on 11th February 2007.

Chris Lightfoot 1978-2007

Chris Lightfoot died unexpectedly on 11th February 2007.

Chris Lightfoot 1978-2007

Chris Lightfoot died unexpectedly on 11th February 2007.

The Emma Peel Avengers

A friend has a box set of all the AVENGERS episodes that co-star Emma Peel, on whom a lot of young men (and probably young women) fixated in the 1960s. I borrowed them and up to A Surfeit of H2O. Some very idle thoughts:

I bet if Peel auditioned today, someone would call her chubby. They would be wrong. I laugh at them in absentia: ha ha!

Wow, have we learned a lot about staging fights on TV in the last 40 years. Some of the fight scenes, I couldn't figure out how exactly someone was supposed to get hurt. That said, Mrs. Peel could totally kick Buffy's ass.

Peel and Steed are remarkably unbothered by violent deaths, even the deaths of kindly old men that the agents left in high risk situations (If you're a supporting character in the Avengers, never ever meet Peel or Steed at the bad guy's hide-out. It won't end well). Steed is, of course, a combat veteran but I'm not sure where Mrs. Peel gets her attitude. Steed in particular seems to see the whole thing as a lark.

Wow, for spies, they sure have their covers blown on a regular basis. Perhaps using their own names is the problem....

The Emma Peel Avengers

A friend has a box set of all the AVENGERS episodes that co-star Emma Peel, on whom a lot of young men (and probably young women) fixated in the 1960s. I borrowed them and up to A Surfeit of H2O. Some very idle thoughts:

I bet if Peel auditioned today, someone would call her chubby. They would be wrong. I laugh at them in absentia: ha ha!

Wow, have we learned a lot about staging fights on TV in the last 40 years. Some of the fight scenes, I couldn't figure out how exactly someone was supposed to get hurt. That said, Mrs. Peel could totally kick Buffy's ass.

Peel and Steed are remarkably unbothered by violent deaths, even the deaths of kindly old men that the agents left in high risk situations (If you're a supporting character in the Avengers, never ever meet Peel or Steed at the bad guy's hide-out. It won't end well). Steed is, of course, a combat veteran but I'm not sure where Mrs. Peel gets her attitude. Steed in particular seems to see the whole thing as a lark.

Wow, for spies, they sure have their covers blown on a regular basis. Perhaps using their own names is the problem....

The Emma Peel Avengers

A friend has a box set of all the AVENGERS episodes that co-star Emma Peel, on whom a lot of young men (and probably young women) fixated in the 1960s. I borrowed them and up to A Surfeit of H2O. Some very idle thoughts:

I bet if Peel auditioned today, someone would call her chubby. They would be wrong. I laugh at them in absentia: ha ha!

Wow, have we learned a lot about staging fights on TV in the last 40 years. Some of the fight scenes, I couldn't figure out how exactly someone was supposed to get hurt. That said, Mrs. Peel could totally kick Buffy's ass.

Peel and Steed are remarkably unbothered by violent deaths, even the deaths of kindly old men that the agents left in high risk situations (If you're a supporting character in the Avengers, never ever meet Peel or Steed at the bad guy's hide-out. It won't end well). Steed is, of course, a combat veteran but I'm not sure where Mrs. Peel gets her attitude. Steed in particular seems to see the whole thing as a lark.

Wow, for spies, they sure have their covers blown on a regular basis. Perhaps using their own names is the problem....