24 June 2014

Birthdays
Kaitlin Cullum b. 1986 (Galaxy Quest)
Lotte Verbeek b. 1982 (Outlander [TV])
Sarai Givaty b. 1982 (The Legend of Hercules)
Joanna Kulig b. 1982 (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters)
Minka Kelly b. 1980 (Almost Human)
Liane Balaban b. 1980 (Supernatural, Alphas)
Carla Gallo b. 1975 (Carnivale)
Iain Glen b. 1961 (Game of Thrones, Kick-Ass 2, Doctor Who, Resident Evil, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
Dan Gilroy b. 1959 (writer, Stan Lee’s Annihilator, Real Steel, Freejack)
Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister b. 1958 (The Lazarus Papers, Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion, Monster Ark, The Dark Knight, Saul of the Mole Men, Vegas Vampires, Dracula 3000, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Fifth Element, The Meteor Man, Universal Soldier)
Joe Penny b. 1956 (Reign of the Gargoyles, Threshold, The Twilight Zone [1986], Tucker’s Witch)
Michael Reid MacKay b. 1953 (X-Men 2, Batman & Robin, Sleepwalkers, The Monster Squad)
Mercedes Lackey b. 1950 (author, Valdemar, The Ship Who Searched)
Nancy Allen b. 1950 (My Apocalypse, RoboCop, Poltergeist III, The Philadelphia Experiment, Strange Invaders, Carrie)
Peter Weller b. 1947 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Fringe, Star Trek: Enterprise, Odyssey 5, Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, Screamers, RoboCop. Leviathan, Buckaroo Banzai)
Paul L. Smith b. 1936 died 25 April 2012 (Gor, Haunted Honeymoon, Red Sonja, Dune, Wonder Woman)
Jack Carter b. 1923 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Time Trax, Lois & Clark, They Came From Outer Space, Arena, Amazing Stories, Alligator, Beyond Westworld, I Dream of Jeannie, Batman, Tales of Tomorrow)
Sir Fred Hoyle b. 1915 died 20 August 2001 (scientist/author, A for Andromeda, The Molecule Men)

Two surprises in my research today. Paul L. Smith is dead and Jack Carter is alive. I was also thinking Carter wouldn't have any genre credits when I went to his imdb.com page, but obviously I was wrong.

And to the Picture Slot choice. Everyone less than 40 years old is female and fabulous, but they have one or maybe two genre roles. Nancy Allen could also qualify for Pretty Girl = Picture Slot, but her best known role is in RoboCop, so Peter Weller has her trumped and he was the Picture Slot last year. When I did my first research, I had Iain Glenn's birthday wrong, so he's had a Picture Slot as well. Wanting to show someone new, I considered Paul L. Smith from Dune as Beast Rabban, but instead went with the Number One Oh That Guy on our list, the former wrestler Tiny Lister, here seen in his role as the president in The Fifth Element. For me, he's at the "Hey, It's Abe Vigoda!" level of fame, but your mileage may vary.

One last note: Sir Fred Hoyle was an astrophysicist, the father of our regular predictor Geoffrey Hoyle. The elder Hoyle is given credit for coining the term "big bang", though he didn't accept the theory and used it derisively. Now it's the dominant paradigm in physics, but the term used to deride it is the name everyone calls it, whether a proponent or a detractor.

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

Movies released 
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen released 2009
Spaceballs released 1987

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle form his 1972 children's book 2010: Living in the Future, illustrations by Daniel Sinker

Prediction: Your school classes finish every day at one o’clock. After lunch it is time to meet friends at the Sports and Social Center. You can travel by electric car or in a bus. The bus services are very good and run twenty-four hours a day. You can go anywhere in the town and know there will always be a bus back. With very little traffic on the roads it is safe for children to travel by themselves.

There is no fare to pay on the bus.

Reality: Two words.

Fukkin' commie!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The regular weekly schedule gets a three day break as we celebrate a future that is now just around the corner.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!