Jyoti Amge b. 1993 (American Horror Story)
Anna Popplewell b. 1988 (Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Little Vampire)
Theo James b. 1984 (Allegiant, Insurgent, Divergent, Underworld: Awakening)
Kristen Ritter b. 1981 (Mission Control, Vamps)
Christina Cabot b. 1969 (The Incredible Hulk [2008])
Peter Dante b. 1968 (Little Nicky)
Paul Scherrer b. 1968 (Star Trek: Voyager, Quantum Leap, Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, Running Against Time)
Miranda Otto b. 1967 (Westworld [2015], I, Frankenstein, War of the Worlds, Lord of the Rings)
Benjamin Bratt b. 1963 (The Andromeda Strain [2008], Catwoman, Red Planet, Demolition Man)
James Mangold b. 1963 (director, The Wolverine)
Shane Black b. 1961 (writer, Iron Man 3, Last Action Hero, The Monster Squad)
Sam Robards b. 1961 (Vamped Out, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Xander Berkeley b. 1955 (12 Monkeys [2015 TV], Salem, Being Human, Kick-Ass, Repo Chick, Universal Soldier: The Return, NetForce, Gattaca, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Roswell, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, The X-Files, Candyman, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Super Force, Not of This World, Twilight Zone [1986], V)
Bill Johnson b. 1951 (Supernatural Activity, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Future-Kill)
Allan Graf b. 1949 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Revolution, Knight Rider, Supernatural, Universal Soldier, Total Recall, Tales from the Crypt, The Wizard of Speed and Time, RoboCop [1987], Knight Rider, Space Rage, Misfits of Science, Poltergeist)
Christopher Biggins b. 1948 (A Christmas Carol [1977], The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
Ben Cross b. 1947 (Jack the Giant Killer, Star Trek [2009], Lost City Raiders, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997], Poltergeist: The Legacy, Tales from the Crypt, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Dark Shadows [1991], The Twilight Zone [1986])
Terence Knox b. 1946 (Gila!, The Burning Zone, SeaQuest 2032, Lois & Clark, Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, Deadly Nightmares, Twilight Zone [1989], V [1985])
Charles Dennis b. 1946 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Joyce Bulifant b. 1937 (The Shining [1997], Weird Science [TV])
Peter Schrum b. 1934 died 17 February 2003 (Quantum Leap, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Arena, Trancers, Galaxina)
Nicholas Courtney b. 1929 died 22 February 2011 (Doctor Who, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, The Champions)
Terry Carter b. 1928 (Battlestar Galactica [1979], The Six Million Dollar Man: Solid Gold Kidnapping)
Philip K. Dick b. 1928 died 2 March 1982 (won 1963 Hugo for The Man in the High Castle)
Sir Arthur C. Clarke b. 1917 died 19 March 2008 (won 1974 Hugo and Nebula for Rendezvous with Rama, won 1980 Hugo and Nebula for The Fountains of Paradise)
Hollingworth Morse b. 1910 died 23 January 1988 (director, Ark II, Isis, Shazam!, H.R. Pufnstuf, Captain Nice, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Crash of Moons, Duel in Space, The Gypsy Moon)
Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Philip K Dick and this year Arthur C. Clarke. With all due respect, the writers are much more iconic than any of the actors on the list. I haven't seen any of the Alleginat/Insurgent/Divergent movies, but Theo James is second bill, so he could be considered iconic, though a geezer like me would have to be convinced. Besides Mr. James, Ben Cross is Sarek in the 21st Century Star Trek and Terry Carter was Colonel Tigh on the original Battlestar Galactica. I might also go with one of my favorite Oh That Guys Xander Berkeley. Though I likely won't use him, Allan Graf is a great stuntman and fight choreographer. While not in genre, some may remember him as the wife beater Russell Crowe beats up in L.A. Confidential or as Captain Turner, George Hurst's right hand man in Deadwood, another role where he gets the crap beaten out of him.
2. A Canadian walks among us. Charles Dennis, listed here for two Star Trek roles, was born in Canada. There's no way to guess his nationality from his C.V.
Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Predictor: W. Warren Wagar in A Short History of the Future, published 1991
Prediction: A case in point was the privatization of the postal systems in Canada and in the United States in the late 1990s, a move that led to a 250% increase in the productivity of the postal labor force.
Reality: In the predictions from this book, the overriding theme in the era we will look at is "Capitalism wins. Big." In reality, both the Canadian and Yankee postal systems are still not privatized and a 250% increase in productivity is an insulting fantasy. We can look at the private competitors to the post office, FedEx and UPS, and I don't think the service is that massively better than the mail.
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
Yet more fascinating tidbits from 2011 as envisioned in 1911.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
Also it should be noted that not only are Fedex and UPS significantly more costly than the USPS for mail, but they use the USPS for the final leg of deliveries to rural and suburban areas where they don't care to assume the expense of a regular route.
ReplyDeleteAnd they haven't been forced to expense their pension burdens out for 75 years into the future...
When someone like Dick Cheney talks, you hear unrepentant evil, but it's the little petty bullshit like messing with the postal workers that makes me hate the GOP on a daily basis.
DeleteAgreed. But I don't think it's just petty; the Postal Service has been a significant avenue for minorities into decent paying, middle-class unionized jobs with pensions.
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