Monday, August 4, 2014

4 August 2014

 
Birthdays
Lucinda Dryzek b. 1991 (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Doctor Who)
Meghan Markle b. 1981 (Fringe, Knight Rider [2009])
Abigail Spencer b. 1981 (Oz the Great and Powerful, Cowboys & Aliens)
David Lewis b. 1976 (Man of Steel, Supernatural, Fringe, Seeds of Destruction, Stonehenge Apocalypse, Zombie Punch, Wyvern, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], Smallville, Ba’al, Beyond Loch Ness, Eureka, The Butterfly Effect 2, Kyle XY, Alien Incursion, Stargate SG-1, Alienated, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dead Like Me, Halloween: Resurrection, Level 9, Lake Placid, Lexx, The New Addams Family, The X-Files)
Andy Hallett b. 1975 died 29 March 2009 (Angel, Buffy)
Michael DeLuise b. 1969 (Bloodsuckers, Lost, Stargate SG-1, 3rd Rock from the Sun, SeaQuest 2032, Tales from the Crypt, Encino Man, Amazing Stories)
Daniel Dae Kim b. 1968 (Insurgent, Lost, The Andromeda Strain, Spider-Man 2, Star Trek: Enterprise, Hulk, Momentum, Angel, Charmed, Crusade, Brave New World [TV movie], NightMan)
James Tupper b. 1965 (Resurrection, Toxic Skies)
Sebastian Roche b. 1964 (The Originals, Pegasus vs. Chimera, Grimm, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Fringe, Vamped Out, Beowulf, Charmed, Odyssey 5)
Lauren Tom b. 1961 (Supernatural, Threshold, Quantum Leap)
Bernard Rose b. 1960 (director, Candyman)
Billy Bob Thornton b. 1955 (The Astronaut Farmer, Armageddon, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown)
Donald Gibb b. 1954 (Hancock, Black Scorpion, Homeboys in Outer Space, Breakfast of Aliens, The X-Files, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], Quantum Leap, They Came from Outer Space, Transylvania 6-5000, Otherworld, Knight Rider, Conan the Barbarian)
Sara Botsford b. 1951 (Matty Hanson and the Invisibility Ray, Three Moons Over Milford, The Fog, Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, Total Recall 2070, Sliders)
Richard Belzer b. 1944 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Species II, The X-Files, The Invaders, Not of This Earth, The Puppet Masters, Lois & Clark, The Flash)
Don S. Davis b. 1942 died 29 June 2008 (Stargate, Flash Gordon, Supernatural, Beyond Loch Ness, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Andromeda, Atomic Train, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X-Files, M.A.N.T.I.S., Highlander [TV], Needful Things, Hook, Omen IV: The Awakening)
Martin Jarvis b. 1941 (Neander-Jin: he Return of the Neanderthal Man, Stargate: Atlantis, Space Island One, Space: Above and Beyond, Doctor Who, Taste the Blood of Dracula)
Tom Hennesy b. 1923 died 23 May 2011 (Revenge of the Creature)
Wesley Addy b. 1913 died 31 December 1996 (The Invaders, The Outer Limits)


Daniel Dae Kim isn't the only choice for the Picture Slot, but he is certainly a good one. He has a lot of roles in genre, including his best known role on Lost. Other options were Billy Bob Thornton, the only guy I'd call a movie star here, Don S. Davis, best known as General Hammond on multiple versions of the Stargate franchise, Donald Gibb, the big guy best known as Ogre in Revenge of the Nerds, and Andy Hallett, Lorne on Angel and last year's Picture Slot choice.

The big surprise today: Richard Belzer is 70. I don't know why some actors and celebrities get locked in a certain era for me, but Belzer is one of them. It seems so strange he is that old. I was also surprised at how many genre roles he has.

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

Predictor: Terminator 2, released 1991


Prediction: On 4 August 1997, Skynet is launched.

Reality: The idea that machines will take over is not new. One of the earliest sci-fi plays Rossum's Universal Robots (also known as R.U.R.) is about people becoming obsolete, and there are two famous films about computers and nuclear annihilation, Colossus the Forbin Project and WarGames. That said, the Terminator films are better known by far than any of the other films predicting The Singularity as an apocalypse. I made the decision early on as to what franchises would get labels of their own and the decisions were completely arbitrary. If I had to do it over again, I would probably give labels to both the Terminator and Alien franchises.

As for reality, drones are real now, but they are still run by people, not autonomous machines.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another interruption in the regular schedule, this time for an exact date from Philip K. Dick.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 comment:

  1. Technology keeps advancing, as does Judgment Day. Still, I think this XKCD comic strip tells us where we're headed: http://xkcd.com/652/

    ReplyDelete

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