28 November 2014

Birthdays
Karen Gillan b. 1987 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Who)
Krystal Vee b. 1987 (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-li)
Alan Ritchson b. 1984 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Smallville)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead b. 1984 (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Thing [2011], Grindhouse, Sky High, The Ring Two)
Kelly Wenham b. 1983 (Dracula: The Dark Prince, Merlin)
Emun Elliott b. 1983 (Prometheus, Game of Thrones, Paradox, Afterlife)
Daniel Henney b. 1979 (Revolution, X-Men Origins Wolverine)
Adam Chuckryk b. 1979 (Lost Girl, Jumper)
Aimee Garcia b. 1978 (RoboCop,Supernatural, Ultra, Global Frequency)
Ryan Kwanten b. 1975 (True Blood, Knights of Badassdom, Griff the Invisible, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord)
Maurissa Tancharoen b. 1975 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mortal Kombat: The Legacy, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, The Guild)
Dawn Robinson b. 1968 (Batman Forever, Tank Girl, SeaQuest 2032)
Jane Sibbett b. 1962 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Arrival II, Shatterbrain, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Rif Hutton b. 1962 (Buffy, Lois & Clark, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Babylon 5, Children of the Corn III, Star Trek: Generations, Dark Shadows [1991], Alien Nation [TV], Wavelength)
Alfonso Cuarón b. 1961 (director, Believe, Gravity, Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
Judd Nelson b. 1959 (Bigfoot Wars, Netherbeast Incorporated, The Black Hole [2006], Strange Frequency)
Thom Matthews b. 1958 (Sorcerers, Alien from L.A., Return of the Living Dead I & II, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI)
Lucy Gutteridge b. 1956 (Deadly Nightmares, Arthur the King, The Secret Garden [1987 TV], A Christmas Carol [1984 TV])
S. Epatha Merkerson b. 1952 (Mann & Machine, Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Ed Harris b. 1950 (Westworld [2015], Gravity, Snowpiercer, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, The Truman Show, Apollo 13, The Stand, Needful Things, The Right Stuff, The Aliens Are Coming, Creepshow, Coma [1978])
Alexander Godunov b. 1949 died 12 May 1995 (Waxwork II: Lost in Time, The Runestone)
Joe Dante b. 1946 (director, The Witches of East End, Small Soldiers, Warlord: Battle of the Galaxy, Matinee, Eerie, Indiana, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Gremlins 1 & 2, Innerspace, Amazing Stories, Explorers, The Howling, Piranha)
Michael Ritchie b. 1938 died 16 April 2001 (director, The Golden Child)
Lilia Skala b. 1896 died 18 December 1994 (Testament, Charly)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The picture slot. Last year, I went Whedonverse nerd and chose Maurissa Tancharoen. This year, I went with Karen Gillan in her role as Doctor Who companion Amy Pond. While it is very common for me to think of older actors in roles from last century as iconic, next year's best bet is Ryan Kwanten from True Blood.

2. Wait... they're dead? One of the reasons the older actors are not likely to be chosen for the Picture Slot on this dater next year is that there are so few of them. I had completely blanked on the facts that actor and ballet dancer Alexander Gudonov died nearly twenty years ago and director Michael Ritchie was no longer with us.

3. One hard to spot Canadian. We don't have anyone with a quintessentially Canadian resume. Several actors born after 1970 have one role in a Canuck genre TV production, but only Adam Chuckryk was born north of the border.

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

Predictor: H. G. Wells in his 1902 book Anticipations

Prediction: Having a mind considerably engaged, he [the engineer] will not have the leisure for a wife of the distracting, perplexing personality kind, and in our typical case, which will be a typically sound and successful one, we may picture him wedded to a healthy, intelligent, and loyal person, who will be her husband's companion in their common leisure, and as mother of their three or four children and manager of his household, as much of a technically capable individual as himself. He will be a father of several children, I think, because his scientific mental basis will incline him to see the whole of life as a struggle to survive; he will recognize that a childless, sterile life, however pleasant, is essentially failure and perversion, and he will conceive his honour involved in the possession of offspring. Such a couple will probably dress with a view to decent convenience, they will not set the fashions, as I shall presently point out, but they will incline to steady and sober them, they will avoid exciting colour contrasts and bizarre contours. They will not be habitually promenaders, or greatly addicted to theatrical performances; they will probably find their secondary interests--the cardinal one will of course be the work in hand--in a not too imaginative prose literature, in travel and journeys and in the less sensuous aspects of music. They will probably take a considerable interest in public affairs. Their _ménage_, which will consist of father, mother, and children, will, I think, in all probability, be servantless.

Reality: One of the main predictions of the book of an engineer class that rise up in the 20th Century, and as a general prediction Wells scores full points. As for his imaginings of the typical social life of an engineer, these are not worth full points. If you read Wells' novel First Men in the Moon, it's a little surprising he didn't see the tendency towards nerdiness in the scientific type, since Henry Cavor is a well fleshed out example of British eccentricity applied to the scientific life.

Never to be Forgotten: P.D. James 1920-2014

The British novelist P.D. James, best known as a mystery writer whose police detective Adam Dalgliesh became a fixture both in print and on British television, died yesterday at the age of 94. She is remembered here for her novel Children of Men about a dystopian future where women cannot conceive. It was made into a film in 2006 starring Clive Owen and directed by Alfonso Cuaron. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database also mentions a short story titled Murder, 1986, published in 1970.

Best wishes to the family and friends of P.D. James, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Saturday, another prediction from 1893.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!