23 June 2013

Birthdays
Melissa Rauch b. 1980 (True Blood, The Big Bang Theory)
Joss Whedon b. 1964 (Whedonverse... d'uh!)
Woody Harrelson b. 1961 (The Hunger Games)
Frances McDormand b. 1957 (Transformers, Darkman)

The Picture Slot = Cute Girl rule should mean either Ms. Rauch or Ms. McDormand should be smiling at us here, and I give the nod to Ms. Rauch not because she is cuter (arguable) or younger (undeniable), but because her career is associated with two genre TV shows while Ms. McDormand's longer and very successful career is not defined by her few roles in sci-fi films.

I have a soft spot for the ginger headed killer of so many favorite characters, but Joss turns 49 this year. He will certainly get the Picture Slot next year on his 50th. Many happy returns to everyone on this list.

 

Prediction: "Long before the next century dawns, systematic reforestation and the scientific management of natural resources will have made an end of all devastating droughts, forest fires, and floods. The universal utilization of water power and its long-distance transmission will supply every household with cheap power and will dispense with the necessity of burning fuel. The struggle for existence being lessened, there should be development along ideal rather than material lines."

Predictor: Nikola Tesla in the Feb. 9, 1935 issue of Liberty magazine

Reality: First things first. The quote is from 1935 and the picture from 1890. I should have used a picture of a much older Tesla, but this is my favorite.

A lot of the predictions he makes in this article are about 2035, so they are too far in the future for the rules of this blog. Fortunately, this one specifically talks about what things should look like around the end of the 20th Century. He was certainly an optimist, but "the scientific management of natural resources" turned out to be a trickier problem than what we first imagined. Cutting down of old growth made fires worse when they came, and floods and droughts are still with us, with the distinct possibility that climate change will make them worse instead of better in the future. Water power is used, but the environment can't be sustained if we dam every river, and of course we are still burning fossil fuels.

As for development along ideal instead of material lines, it turns out the rich still want to get richer. Who knew?

So do I end with a kind word for Our Pal Nikola™? Oh, absolutely.

Alternating current? Great idea, buddy.

And as a young man, you could really rock the porn-stache.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Alternate Mondays belong to OMNI Future Almanac. I'm not sure what it will be about, because I can open the book to nearly any page and get a prediction with a date attached. It's one of my favorite parts of this little hobby.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!