Monday, December 30, 2013

30 December 2013

Birthdays
Kristin Kreuk b. 1982 (Smallville, Beauty and the Beast, Earthsea, Snow White: The Fairest of Them All)
Eliza Dushku b. 1980 (The Guild, Torchwood, Big Bang Theory, Dollhouse, Tru Calling, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Tyrese Gibson b. 1978 (Transformers, Death Race)
Lucy Punch b. 1977 (The 10th Kingdom, Dinotopia, Ella Enchanted)
Bryan Burk b. 1968 (producer, Cloverfield, Star Trek, Lost, Super 8, Fringe, Revolution, Almost Human)
Ellen Sandweiss b. 1958 (The Evil Dead, Oz the Great and Powerful)
Patricia Kalember b. 1957 (Signs, Limitless, Jacob’s Ladder, Cat’s Eye)
Fred Ward b. 1942 (10.5, The Crow: Salvation, Invasion: Earth, Tremors, UFOria, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann)
Russ Tamblyn b. 1934 (Joan of Arcadia, Babylon 5, Quantum Leap, Necromancer, War of the Gargantuas, tom thumb)
Tom Keene b. 1896 died 4 August 1963 (Plan 9 from Outer Space)

Several choices for the Beautiful Young People in the Picture Slot today, and I went with Kristin Kreuk from Smallville and the most recent version of Beauty and the Beast on TV. A couple names I put on the list because they were near the top of the bill in famous cult films, Ellen Sandweiss from The Evil Dead and Tom Keene from Plan 9 from Outer Space. Mr. Keene started in movies in 1923(!) and was credited under the names George Duryea and Richard Powers as well. He made a wagonload of low budget, one hour long Westerns and his character was almost always named Tom. You might think that is a one way ticket to Palookaville, but the one hour Westerns were the start of John Wayne's career started as well. Luck always plays a factor in show business, and for Mr. Keene, he worked steadily but never became a household name.

Many happy returns of the day to all the living on the list, and to Mr. Keene, I hope you are catching better breaks wherever you are now than you did when you were here.
 

Prediction: 30 December 1999: The last moments of the life of a robber shot by the police are recorded on a SQUID, a device that lets people relive the experiences of others.

Predictor: From Strange Days, released 20 October 1995

Reality: It's an interesting premise that has been used many times, but we really don't understand the wiring of the human brain very well, certainly not well enough to record memories. To show that it's "the future", L.A. is a nearly post-apocalyptic and gas sells for the oppressive price of $3.00 a gallon. In reality, gas in 1999 L.A. was actually about $1.55 a gallon.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We will all have radio frequency chips implanted by the end of 2017. Thanks, Obama!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

8 comments:

  1. I just paid 3.39 a gallon for gas this morning. Help, help, I'm feeling oppressed!

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  2. Strange Days treated memory sharing as an addictive activity in a dissolute sub-culture dealing in black market porn memories. An earlier film from the 80s called Brainstorm had Christopher Walkin and Natalie Wood as genius neuroscientists (!) developing the same thing. Again porn memories slipped in as well as the evil military uses. The ending is pretty good though.

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    Replies
    1. And there are the two versions of Total Recall, and because it's Philip K. Dick, questions about the nature of reality are much more prominent.

      Joss Whedon's Dollhouse also explore this theme.

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    2. ....aaaaaannnd we're back to Eliza Dushku.

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    3. You're right about Total Recall, when did Blue Skies over Mars really begin? And yeah, Eliza is pretty but I never watched Dollhouse or the one on Fox.

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    4. While I was away from the computer this afternoon, I also thought about the ST:NG episode where Picard lives another lifetime on a planet going through climate change when a probe messes with his memories.

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    5. Kind of the whole plot of ST:NG; Generations, ain't it? But at least it has Lots of Guinan.

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Traveler! Have you news... FROM THE FUTURE?