Saturday, July 19, 2014

19 July 2014

 Birthdays
Jared Padalecki b. 1982 (Supernatural, Friday the 13th, House of Wax)
Erin Cummings b. 1977 (Dollhouse, Charmed, Star Trek: Enterprise)
Benedict Cumberbatch b. 1976 (The Hobbit, Star Trek Into Darkness)
Bodhi Elfman b. 1969 (Touch, Charmed, Armageddon, Sliders, Godzilla, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Nancy Carell b. 1966 (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World)
Anthony Edwards b. 1962 (Zero Hour, Pet Sematary II)
Campbell Scott b. 1961 (The Amazing Spider-Man, Final Days of Planet Earth, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Top of the Food Chain)
Terri Treas b. 1957 (Alien Nation [TV], Knight Rider)
K.A. Applegate b. 1956 (author, Animorphs, The One and Only Ivan)
Peter Barton b. 1956 (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Dan Hicks b. 1951 (Paranormal, Burbank, My Name is Bruce, Spider-Man 2, Wishmaster, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, Darkman, Evil Dead II)
Richard Pini b. 1950 (writer, Elfquest)
George Dzundza b. 1945 (Stargate: SG-1, The Twilight Zone [1986], Faerie Tale Theatre, Salem’s Lot)
Tim McIntire b. 1944 died 15 April 1986 (A Boy and His Dog)
Richard Jordan b. 1937 died 30 August 1993 (Solar Babies, Dune, Logan’s Run)
Pat Hingle b. 1924 died 3 January 2009 (Muppets from Space, Batman, The Shining [TV], Maximum Overdrive, Amazing Stories, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)

Last year, the Picture Slot was Benedict Cumberbatch and this year, same guy. Right now is his moment and it is remarkable that most of this fame is based on a TV show from BBC where three episodes constitutes a season and the seasons are two years apart. There are other options, of course. I might get in an Oh That Guy mood and go with Pat Hingle or maybe Terri Treas in her Alien Nation make-up. But when the 19th of July rolls around next year, don't be shocked if you are once again staring at the impossibly high cheekbones of Mr. B.T.C. Cumberbatch one more time.

It's his world right now and we just live in it.

Movies released
The Conjuring, released 2013

Predictor: David Hummel Greer, (1844-1919), Anglican Bishop of New York, predicting the world of 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago

Prediction: I am satisfied that we are to have a solution to the mighty problem of temperance. This will come neither in legislative enactments nor in criminal procedure. Rather, I think temperance is to be gained solely by the influence of the Christian religion.

Reality: As always when dealing with 1893, we should start with a look at the facial hair. The mustache is large but not ostentatious. The grooming choice that is now out of date is the slicked down hair with the part in the middle.

As for solving the societal problems associated with alcohol, we haven't done that yet and the Christian religion shows no sign of being the panacea in this regard. That said, I'd like to note that drinking as a cost to society has been reduced over the last fifty years. From the 1970s to the 1990s, cirrhosis was one of the top ten causes of death. While it can be caused by hepatitis, the greater numbers from those decades is usually associated with the drinking habits which peaked in the United States in the 1970s and has since tapered off.

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5 comments:

  1. I watched the first half of the Ken Burns "Prohibition" documentary recently. There was an interesting confluence of progressives, suffragists, women's rigths advocates and moral scolds that came to bring pressure on the gubblement and make the 13th Amendment happen. The violence resulting from alcoholic parents fell extraordinarily heavy on women and children so for many, it was the original domestic violence issue.

    Of course, rather than address the root causes of the alcoholism and violence, the temperance movement kind of overstepped by going for legal prohibition, which not only didn't address the underlying issues, but failed to even slow drinking down very much. Not to mention making criminals of wide swaths of Americans, and financing the rise of organized crime.

    I found it amusing that on the day that Prohibition went into effect, there was a rash of liquor truck hijackings across the country.

    With the large numbers of German immigrants in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, it may not need to be mentioned than Prohibition was not popular here. Also, pretty widely ignored.

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    1. A friend who teaches history is always glad to point out that the 18th and 19th Amendments both hoped to outlaw bad husbands and fathers. Didn't quite work out as planned.

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    2. Arrgh. 13th Amendment?!?! . Where's that come from? I blame Obama.

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  2. Addendum: Campbell Scott was also in "The Love Letter" with Jennifer Jason Leigh, a TV movie in which two people communicate with letters across 130+ years of time. It's kinda like "Lake House", but good (in a Hallmark movie kind of way).

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    Replies
    1. Thanks James, I'll add it in. I likely mistook it for Love Letters, the Broadway play where professionals don't have to memorize their lines.

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