Saturday, September 13, 2014

13 September 2014

 Birthdays
Erin Way b. 1987 (Warehouse 13, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grimm, Alphas, I <3 Vampires)
Sean Brosnan b. 1983 (U.F.O.)
Ben Savage b. 1980 (Aliens for Breakfast, Little Monsters)
Elizabeth Weinstein b. 1979 (Supernatural, Arrow, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Smallville, Goblin, Stargate SG-1)
Colin Trevorrow b. 1976 (Jurassic World, Safety Not Guaranteed)
Jonathan Walker b. 1967 (Continuum, Supernatural, Fringe, The Thing [2011], V [2011], Smallville, Flash Gordon, Stargate SG-1, Land of the Dead, Tracker, The X Files, Cyberjack)
Laura Stepp b. 1966 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Spawn)
Isiah Whitlock Jr. b. 1954 (Europa Report, Enchanted, Gremlins 2: The New Batch)
Ann Dusenberry b. 1953 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Taryn Power b. 1953 (The Sea Serpent, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger)
Christine Estabrook b. 1952 (American Horror Story, Spider-Man 2, The X Files)
Raymond O’Connor b. 1952 (Buffy, Babylon 5, Breakfast of Champions, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Dr. Alien, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers)
Bruce Phillips b. 1951 (Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers R.P.M., Lord of the Rings, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Clyde Kusatsu b. 1948 (Dollhouse, Charmed, Babylon 5: Thirdspace, Godzilla [1998], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lois & Clark, ALF, The Powers of Matthew Star, Meteor, Dr. Strange)
Frank Marshall b, 1946 (producer, Jurassic World, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, The Sixth Sense, The Indian in the Cupboard, Amazing Stories, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Land Before Time, Arachnophobia, Hook, *batteries not included, Innerspace, Gremlins, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Poltergeist)
Richard Kiel b. 1939 died 10 September 2014 (Inspector Gadget, The Princess and the Dwarf, Superboy, Out of this World, Phoenix, Hysterical, Moonraker, The Humanoid, The Incredible Hulk, Land of the Lost, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, My Mother the Car, I Dream of Jeannie, The Human Duplicators, The Twilight Zone, Eegah, The Phantom Planet)
Don Bluth b. 1937 (Director, Titan A.E., The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH)
Joe E. Tata b. 1936 (Charmed, Wonder Woman, Batman, Batgirl, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, The Outer Limits)
Barbara Bain b. 1931 (The Visitor, Space: 1999, My Mother the Car)
Norman Alden b. 1924 died 27 July 2012 (K-PAX, They Live, Small Wonder, Back to the Future, The Greatest American Hero, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Planet of the Apes [TV], Batman, My Favorite Martian)
Scott Brady b. 1924 died 16 April 1985 (Gremlins, The Invisible Man [1975], The Mighty Gorga, Journey to the Center of Time, Destination Inner Space)
Maurice Jarre b. 1924 died 29 March 2009 (composer, Solar Crisis, Ghost, Solarbabies, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Dreamscape, Firefox, The Island at the Top of the World)
Roald Dahl b. 1916 died 23 November 1990 (author, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches)
Roy Engel b. 1913 died 29 December 1980 (Kingdom of the Spiders, The Invaders, My Favorite Martian, The Colossus of New York, Not of This Earth, Indestructible Man, It Came From Beneath the Sea, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Zombies of the Stratosphere, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Man from Planet X)
Reta Shaw b. 1912 died 8 January 1982 (Escape to Witch Mountain, Bewitched, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, I Dream of Jeannie, Lost in Space, Mary Poppins)
Mae Questel b. 1908 died 4 January 1998 (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Ruth McDevitt b. 1895 died 27 May 1976 (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Birds)
Daniel Defoe b. 1660 died 24 April 1731 (Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World of the Moon)

Notes on the birthday list.

1. The Picture Slot. I used Barbara Bain last year and it's only been a few days since Richard Kiel died, so those two were out of the the running. It definitely felt like an Oh That Guy type of list, so I picked Clyde Kusatsu in a role from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

2. Speaking of Oh That Guys, both Joe E. Tata and Norman Alden played minions on the 1960s TV version of Batman, the guys who hang around in odd costumes behind the even odder costumed villains and get the stuffing beat out of them by the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder.

3. Oh That Gals. Both Reta Shaw and Ruth McDevitt are best known for playing little old ladies, McDevitt as the pet shop clerk in The Birds and Shaw played Aunt Hagatha on Bewitched.

4. My fickle respect for voice actors. I only rarely list the voice work for actors in the credits and ignore some people doing voice work altogether, but Mae Questel is a special case. She did the original voice for Betty Boop and voiced Olive Oyl for several decades, so she is clearly a Big Damn Deal and gets a mention.

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

Predictor: Daniel W, Voorhees (1827-1897), Indiana politician, predicting the world of 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago

Prediction: In my judgment the next 100 years will show but slight changes in the form of out government. Some minor changes, however, are altogether probable. I should think there would be a limit of the Presidential term to a single six year term with no re-election. I believe the American people have decided there shall be no federal control of elections within the states. Tariffs will still exist, but they will be greatly reduced to something near free trade. The system of taxation will see major changes, including taxes on income and property, taxing the prosperity, but not the necessities.

Reality: Points for Voorhees.

1. Facial hair and fashion. That beard is more severe than nearly any in Major League Baseball today, and that's saying something. He appears to be avoiding the uncomfortable collar here, though I've seen other pictures where he is a slave to fashion.

2. Predictions. Some hits and some misses. There were limits put on the presidential term, though not his exact recommendation. The Civil Rights Act certainly counted as federal control of elections, but our wise Supreme Court has gotten rid of that, now that racism is clearly a thing of the past. Tariffs are greatly reduced and there are both income and property taxes, but sales taxes hit both the prosperity and the necessities.

As for the big changes he missed, he didn't mention more states, but that's not such a big change from his lifetime when several states were added. Women getting the vote would likely be the biggest surprise for him.

(Note: one sentence in the reality section is meant to be sarcastic. Did you spot it? Yes, I knew you would.)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We are made wise to the plans of the dirty filthy commies by the Earl of Halsbury!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

3 comments:

  1. (Note: one sentence in the reality section is meant to be sarcastic. Did you spot it? Yes, I knew you would.)

    I was gonna say.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This just came to my attention. I don't recall if you've used it previously, but it looks right up the alley for this project: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Profiles-Future-Inquiry-Limits-Possible/dp/0575402776/ (Profiles Of The Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible, by AC Clarke) Here's the review where I saw it: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/mar/04/profiles-future-arthur-clarke-review

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It looks like it's short on exact dates and it was revised in 1999 from the 1962 version. I'll check local libraries.

      Delete

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