Wednesday, October 30, 2013

30 November 2013

 Birthdays
Clémence Poésy b. 1982 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Fiona Dourif b. 1981 (True Blood)
Sarah Carter b. 1980 (Falling Skies)
Mark Steven Johnson b. 1964 (director, Ghost Rider, Daredevil)
David Yates b. 1963 (director, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Charles Martin Smith b. 1953 (The X-Files, Starman)
Harry Hamiln b. 1951 (Clash of the Titans)
Rusty Goffe b. 1948 (Harry Potter, Flash Gordon, Mirrormask, Star Wars)
Leon Rippy b. 1947 (Stargate, Under the Dome, Star Trek:The Next Generation, Universal Soldier)
Tim Kirk b. 1947 (artist)
Hamilton Camp b. 1934 died 2 October 2005 (Star Trek: Voyager, Twilight Zone, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman)
William Campbell b. 1923 died 28 April 2011 (Star Trek)
Ruth Gordon b. 1896 died 28 August 1985 (Rosemary’s Baby)

Lots of actors on the birthday list today. Any of the young actresses at the top of the list would qualify for the Pretty Girl=Picture Slot formula, but for iconic roles in genre, it was either William Campbell or Harry Hamlin and I picked Star Trek over Harryhausen. Perseus will get his turn next year. 


Predictor: T. Baron Russell, A Hundred Years Hence, published 1905

Prediction: Cities will be provided with moving street-ways, always in action at two or more speeds; and we shall have learned to hop on and off the lowest speed from the stationary pavement, and from the lower speeds to the higher, without danger.

Reality: Moving sidewalks yet again. The show up in sci-fi stories, I remember them from Harlan Ellison's "Repent, Harlequin!" said the Ticktock Man in particular, but they were really popular in the predictions from the early 1900s, including a Hildebrand's German Chocolate postcard and one from my man crush John Elfreth Watkins. I'm not against escalators and moving walkways in airports are really useful when you are carrying luggage, but outdoors and exposed to the elements is probably not a good idea, apart from the fact that it discourages walking, an excellent exercise.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An earthquake prediction from a scientist in 2004 gets a big swing and a miss.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

3 comments:

  1. Good pick. I have always remembered Trelane but had no recollection of him being in The Trouble with Tribbles. http://www.hollywoodmemoir.com/images/c/william-campbell.jpg

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  2. Trelane is a classic. More than a little Liberace in that performance.

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  3. Also, does "Harold and Maude" deserve a mention for Ruth Gordon? Lots of genre overtones in that one...

    I watched Rosemary's Baby in my annual Seasonal HorrorThon, and Ruth did a fabulously buzzy, deranged and out-of-round performance in that one. She played three ticks off from her first appearance, without becoming a parody or chewing scenery.

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