Wednesday, February 12, 2014

12 February 2014

 Birthdays
Enver Gjokaj b. 1980 (Marvel’s the Avengers, Dollhouse, Witches of East End, The Walking Dead)
Christina Ricci b. 1980 (After.Life, Speed Racer, The Gathering, Sleepy Hollow [movie], Casper, Addams Family, Addams Family Values)
Darren Aronofsky b. 1969 (director, The Fountain, Pi)
Josh Brolin b. 1968 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Men in Black 3, Jonah Hex, Planet Terror, Hollow Man, Mimic)
Raphael Sbarge b. 1964 (Once Upon a Time, Heroes, Dollhouse, Dark Skies, Independence Day, Star Trek: Voyager, SeaQuest 2032, Carnosaur, Quantum Leap)
John Michael Higgins b. 1963 (Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Evan Almighty, Blade: Trinity, Bicentennial Man, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], Weird Science [TV], Vampire’s Kiss)
Zach Grenier b. 1954 (RoboCop [2014], Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Star Trek: Enterprise, The X Files)
Simon MacCorkindale b. 1952 died 14 October 2010 (Earth: Final Conflict, Poltergeist: The Legacy [TV], Manimal, The Quatermass Conclusion)
Michael Ironside b. 1950 (Ice Soldiers, Meltdown on the Ice Planet, X-Men: First Class, Smallville, Lake Placid 3, Terminator Salvation, Mutants, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Ignition, Mindstorm, Starship Troopers, SeaQuest 2032, Highlander II: the Quickening, Total Recall, Watchers, V, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Scanners)
Ray Kurzweil b. 1948 (author, The Age of Spiritual Machines, The Singularity is Near)
Maud Adams b. 1945 (Rollerball)
Richard Lynch b. 1940 died 19 June 2012 (Halloween [2007], Charmed, Highlander [TV], Necromicon: Book of Dead, Star Trek: Next Generation, Super Force, Alligator II: the Mutation, Invasion Force, Manimal, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bionic Woman)
Joe Don Baker b. 1936 (Mars Attacks!, Congo)
Lincoln Kilpatrick b. 1931 died 18 May 2004 (Fortress, The Greatest American Hero, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man, Soylent Green The Omega Man)
Lorne Greene b. 1919 died 11 September 1987 (Battlestar Galactica)

A long and varied list today. If I was a total Joss Whedon nerd (and I'm close, but not quite) I'd probably have a picture of Enver Gjokaj from Dollhouse up. If I was looking for the biggest movie star today, I'd have Josh Brolin in the Picture Slot. It's an easy argument to have a picture of Lorne Greene from the original Battlestar Galactica, but I decided to go with Michael Ironside from the gloriously cheesy Starship Troopers.

Many happy returns of the day to all the living on the list, and to all the dead, thanks for the memories.


Prediction: On Feb. 12 1997, Americans destroy two Iranian missile emplacements on Iran’s revolution Day.

Predictor: Shadows of Steel by Dale Brown, published 1996

Reality: Brown makes a big plot point of the fact that attacking the Iranians on their Revolution Day is going to make them really mad, like they would probably just an act of war slide if it was any other day. (Of course, in Brown books we are totally the good guys and this attack was in retaliation to Iranian provocation.)

Except... Revolution Day in 1997 was on February 11.

Oopsie.

To be fair, if you want to know about the cool features of any American fighter aircraft, Dale Brown is your go-to guy. If you want to change the Gregorian Calendar dates to Islamic and vice versa, you might want to look it up online instead.

Never to be Forgotten: Christopher Barry 1925-2014

Doctor Who fans are mourning the passing of Christopher Barry, who directed over forty episodes of the show from 1963 to 1979, a time span in which four actors played the Doctor, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. You can read more about his work here.

Best wishes to the family, friends and fans of Christopher Barry. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The swan song from Isaac Asimov's 1964 prediction list. (sniff.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

4 comments:

  1. Ironside also made people's heads asplode in Scanners. Clearly not a That Guy to be trifled with.

    Of course, Joe Don Baker's most beloved role was not in genre, in Mitchell!.
    Unless you count watching it on a Satellite.

    Maud Adams would have made a fine choice for the picture slot also.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maud Adams did qualify as a fabulous babe, without a doubt.

      Another possibility would be MacCorkindale, just because I love typing Manimal!

      Delete
  2. Your reasoning for picking Ironside because of Starship Troopers would also allow Richard Lynch for The Sword and the Sorcerer, one of the greatest wastes of time, money and film ever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard Lynch is definitely the other important Oh That Guy on the list.

      Delete

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