Are Conventions Dying?

SF Signal put up an article about the death of science fiction conventions based on some Boskone rumors. As these things go, they then cast blame the Internets and its tubes.

My answer is no. As you all know, rarelylynne and I go to a lot of conventions. Some are a bit stagnant, but they're not exactly dying. Other conventions are quite robust. I think there are two major factors for a convention's livelihood:

1- It is well run.
2- The convention has broad appeal.

So what do you all think?

Interview Meme

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me!"
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your blog or journal.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5.When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Questions by shsilver

1. If you could live anywhere you wanted, where would it be?
I would live in London. I find it endlessly fascinating. London oozes history and culture. Like Johnson, I could never grow bored of it. To me, it is the quintessential city.

2. Why is the fourth Doctor so overrated?
Tom Baker fascinated people with his unique charisma and benefited from having an amazing run of stories in his first three years. Not to mention, Tom also had the longest run on the series. His stories aired in a continuous loop for almost a decade here in the US. To many fans, he was the only Doctor.

All of this, of course, ignores the fact that he simply wasn't all that good from Series 15 to 17. He chewed the scenery, played things for laughs, and did everything he could to undercut the performances of his fellow actors. This is what the casual viewer remembers and why so many of them thought it was a cheap kids' show until the recent revival. Doctor Who only works when the actors play it straight.

3. Dinner party: 2 dead authors, 2 live ones, 1 editor?
Ah, the old dinner party question... For the dead, I would pick Samuel Clemens and William Shakespeare. Not only would they be interesting, I'd also get to hear Clemens cross-examine Shakespeare about the whole authorship question.

I would pick Stephen King and Jonathan Carroll for my living authors since they're huge influences on my writing, and I probably won't get the chance to meet them through the usual channels.

The editor would probably be Justin Richards since I'm doing so much research about his time as editor of the BBC Books Doctor Who range.

4. When did you realize you wanted to be an author?
I started writing in high school, but I made the decision to became a writer after my first writing teacher, Sally Foster Wallace, encouraged me to do so. I putzed with it for a few years until life got in the way. I ended my ten-year break after I entered the SF scene with my wife. After meeting so many authors and hearing about their processes, I decided that I wanted to do it, no matter how hard it was.

5. What is your favorite non-genre film and why?
The Maltese Falcon. It is a perfect film: every shot, line, and performance.