Wednesday, May 14, 2014

14 May 2014

Birthdays
Riley Griffiths b. 1997 (Super 8, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour)
Tara Thompson b. 1988 (My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
Amber Wallace b. 1987 (The Vampire Diaries)
Amber Tamblyn b. 1983 (Babylon Fields, The Grudge 2, Buffy, The Ring)
Ada Nicodemou b. 1977 (The Matrix)
Indira Varma b. 1973 (Game of Thrones, Torchwood, Sci-Fright)
Gabriel Mann b. 1972 (Legend of the Seeker, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, Carnivale)
Sofia Coppola b. 1971 (Star Wars: Episode I – The Title that Shall Not Be Mentioned)
Natasha Ryan b. 1970 (The Entity, The Day Time Ended, The Amityville Horror, Kingdom of the Spiders)
Cate Blanchett b. 1969 (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Danny Huston b. 1962 (American Horror Story, Wrath of the Titans, Clash of the Titans, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Children of Men, Timecode)
Tim Roth b. 1961 (The Incredible Hulk, Planet of the Apes, Metamorphosis)
Brett Leonard b. 1959 (director, Highlander: The Source, Man-Thing, Virtuosity, The Lawnmower Man)
Robert G. Tapert b. 1955 (writer, Alien Apocalypse, Xena, Cleopatra 2525, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys; Producer, The Evil Dead series)
Robert Zemeckis b. 1951 (writer/director, Back to the Future, The Polar Express, Bordello of Blood, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Mark Blum b. 1950 (Fringe)
Tamara Dobson b. 1947 died 2 October 2006 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Jason of Star Command)
George Lucas b. 1944 (writer/director, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Willow, THX-1138)
Sian Phillips b. 1933 (Cinderella [TV, 2000], Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV], The Borrowers, The Snow Spider, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, Dune, Clash of the Titans)
Laszlo Kovacs b. 1933 died 22 July 2007 (cinematographer, Multiplicity, Ghostbusters, Slither, Blood of Dracula’s Castle)
Richard Deacon b. 1921 died 8 August 1984 (Piranha, The Lost Saucer, Hans Christian Anderson, I Dream of Jeannie, The Gnome-Mobile, The Addams Family, The Munsters, Twilight Zone, My Favorite Martian, The Birds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, This Island Earth, Invaders form Mars)

Wow. That's a birthday list. I wish I could share the wealth a little and change some of these people's birthdays to days when the best known people on the list are all Oh That Guys. Behind the camera we have George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis and Laszlo Kovacs, in front of the camera we have honest to Odin movie stars like Tim Roth and Cate Blanchett, who also could get in as a fabulous babe any day of the week. Another top choice for fabulous babedom is the Tamara Dobson, the 6'2" star of Cleopatra Jones, not genre but I don't damn care. As for Oh That Guys, Richard Deacon is at the "Hey, it's Mel Cooley!" level of fame and Danny Huston is making a nice career for himself right now. Sian Phillips is another favorite of mine, as is everybody from the cast of I, Claudius, again not genre and again I don't damn care.

But the Picture Slot goes to Indira Varma, new to the cast of Game of Thrones in the fourth season as Ellaria Sand, mother to the dangerous bastard daughters of Prince Oberlyn Martell known as The Sand Snakes. I could say that Game of Thrones is trump when the show is on, and that is certainly true, but readers of my original blog Lotsa 'Splainin' 2 Do will know that Indira Varma has been trump in my brain for quite some time now.

Professor, are you saying that between Tamara Dobson, Cate Blanchett and Indira Varma, you would give Indira the Golden Apple and win the love of one goddess?

Hypothetical Question Asker, it's been a long time. Let's start by stipulating there is not one universe in the multiverse where I would be given that option, and then answer the question with... yeah, probably. Because the trend of the day has been established.

I don't damn care.

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

 
Predictor: World Aflame by Leonard Engel and Emmanuel Piller, published in 1947

Prediction: On May 14, 1950, after a border air clash, the U.S. strikes first against the USSR with nuclear weapons, by plane, but this act fails to halt the Russian army from marching west and south into Europe and the Mideast.

Reality: So this is written when only the Americans have confirmed nukes, since the first Russian test is in 1949. The propaganda of the day was that Stalin was a monster - that much is accurate - but he didn't love war the way Hitler did. The Soviets certainly subjugated Eastern Europe, but they got those countries by negotiation. The fear that they would march into Europe or the Mideast misunderstands their psyche. They got invaded by Napoleon and Hitler and they were sure they didn't want third helpings of that. They just wanted a buffer zone.

Likewise, as much of an asshole as Putin is, his clumsy moves into the Ukraine are not the start of a major war of conquest.

OMG! I just made a prediction! If I put a date on it, I could use it on this blog!

Once again, thanks to Paul Brians and his great database of nuclear war fiction.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another exact date of a nuclear war that didn't happen. Aren't we half lucky bastards?

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 comments:

  1. I know you have to cut off some credits sometimes for economy, but Robert G. Tapert hasquite a few more genre credits, mostly related to Sam Raimi and in particular, the Evil Dead documentaries.

    Look, I have kind of a personal stake in the Evil Dead, you know?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If someone writes and directs, I usually ignore the producer stuff. Call this the "Jeez, Steven Spielberg, I'm gonna be typing all day" rule .

      Delete

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