31 July 2014

Birthdays
Alexis Knapp b. 1989 (Vamp U, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Sofia Pernas b. 1989 (Age of the Dragons)
Charlie Carver b. 1988 (The Leftovers, Teen Wolf [TV])
Eric Lively b. 1981 (The Butterfly Effect 2)
Harry Potter b. 1980 (fictional wizard)
B.J. Novak b. 1979 (Amazing Spider-Man 2)
James Harvey Ward b. 1978 (The Dark Knight Rises, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, No Ordinary Family)
Annie Parisse b. 1975 (Fringe, NYPD 2069, National Treasure)
Jodi Ann Paterson b. 1975 (Dude, Where’s My Car?)
Emilia Fox b. 1974 (Merlin, Dorian Gray)
Tami Stronach b. 1972 (The NeverEnding Story)
Christina Cox b. 1971 (Elysium, Stargate: Atlantis, The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda, Mutant X, Code Name: Eternity, Earth: Final Conflict, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, First Wave, Forever Knight)
Ben Chaplin b. 1974 (The Water Horse, Dorian Gray, The Return of the Borrowers [TV])
Dean Cain b. 1966 (Smallville, 10.5: Apocalypse, Lost, Futuresport, Lois & Clark)
Jim True-Frost b. 1966 (666 Park Avenue, Fringe, W.E.I.R.D. World)
Pat Finn b. 1965 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Dude, Where’s My Car?, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
J. K. Rowling b. 1965 (won the 2001 Hugo for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Ian Roberts b. 1965 (Infected, Puppet Master X; Axis Rising, Superman Returns)
Wesley Snipes b. 1962 (Blade, Futuresport, Demolition Man)
Greg Travis b. 1958 (Halloween II [2009], Night of the Living Dead 3D, Starship Troopers, Humanoids from the Deep, American Gothic, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures [TV])
Dirk Blocker b. 1957 (The X Files, Quantum Leap, Starman, Poltergeist, Beyond Westworld)
Michael Biehn b. 1956 (Metal Hurlant Chronicles, Planet Terror, The Insatiable, Clockstoppers, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Asteroid, The Abyss, The Seventh Sign, Aliens, The Terminator, Logan’s Run [TV])
James Read b. 1953 (Charmed, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark)
Lane Davies b. 1950 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Babylon 5: In the Beginning, Lois & Clark)
Richard Griffiths b. 1947 died 28 March 2013 (Harry Potter, Hugo, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Whoops Apocalypse, Superman II)
Geraldine Chaplin b. 1944 (Gulliver’s Travels [TV], Z.P.G.)
Sab Shimono b. 1943 (Ben 10: Race Against Time, Southland Tales, Waterworld, The X-Files, The Shadow, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Max Headroom, Knight Rider)
France Nuyen b. 1939 (Automan, The Six Million Dollar Man, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Dimension 5)
Geoffrey Lewis b. 1935 (Odyssey 5, The X-Files, The Lawnmower Man, Annihilator, Amazing Stories, Night of the Comet, The Amazing Spider-Man [TV], Mork & Mindy, Quark, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Ted Cassidy b. 1932 died 16 January 1979 (Man From Atlantis, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Planet Earth, Genesis II, I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Terrific, The Addams Family, Jack and the Beanstalk [TV], Star Trek, Batman, Lost in Space)
Don Murray b. 1929 (The Stepford Children, Radioactive Dreams, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes)
Primo Levi b. 1919 died 11 April 1987 (author, The Periodic Table)
Mario Bava b. 1914 died 27 April 1980 (director, Baron Blood, A Bay of Blood, Blood Brides, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, Planet of the Vampires, Caltiki, the Immortal Monster, Lust of the Vampire)

Multiple random thoughts:

Ted Cassidy is the reason I became interested in obits: I had an idea for a genre detective show back in the 1980s and our heroes had colleagues/competitors named The Feather Brothers. In my head, I cast Richard Kiel and Ted Cassidy as The Feather Brothers, guys who mainly do bodyguard work, Keil as the friendly one and Cassidy as the not friendly one. It was my brother who told me Ted Cassidy was dead. After that, I checked the obits in the papers every day.

And, oh yeah, iconic. I could have used Cassidy as Lurch or his one shot role on Star Trek, though there are plenty of other great choices on the list.

Acting is a hard way to make a living: A lot of the laments about the acting profession deal with beautiful women who are forgotten once they reach a certain age and France Nuyen is an example of that. But I'd like to point out a few actors who had their moment in the spotlight and faded as well.

Don Murray starred opposite Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop. IMDB.com doesn't even have a picture of him.

Dean Cain's post-Lois & Clark career is pretty spotty.

Michael Biehn had good roles in the first Terminator and Aliens, but since then it's a lot more low budget.

Or maybe acting is easy as pie: Geoffrey Lewis, an Oh That Guy of the first order, makes it look easy. Looking at his 218 credits on imdb.com, he might be best known as Clint Eastwood's pal in Every Which Way but Loose, though I'm not sure the general public remembers anyone besides Clint and the orangutan Clyde.

Harry Potter's birthday: On Twitter, I advertise the blog by saying "Birthdays for Captain Picard and Han Solo" when I actually mean Patrick Steward and Harrison Ford, but according to J.K. Rowling's book, she gave Harry Potter her birthday, just fifteen years later.

Who did I forget? Lots of other interesting names on the list, but the unmentioned people who have serious shots at the Picture Slot in 2015 are Wesley Snipes as Blade and Richard Griffiths as Uncle Vernon.

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

In the Year 2000!
 
Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.

Prediction: You'll be able to dictate memos and personal letters directly into an electronic typewriter. Already, a rudimentary phonetic typewriter can type a few simple words and phrases as they are spoken into a microphone.

Reality: This technology was certainly not ready for prime time in 2000, though as de Forest points out, prototypes have been kinda working for over 50 years. He's not completely wrong, but he overshot the prediction.

Never to be Forgotten: Robert Halmi, Sr. 1924-2014

Robert Halmi, Sr. died yesterday at the age of 90. His production company, which he ran with his son Robert Jr., is responsible for 137 credits, mostly TV movies and mini-series, going back to 1974. The first genre production was 1997's Gulliver's Travels starring Ted Danson and continued with Riverworld, Flash Gordon, Hogfather, Jason and the Argonauts, Alice in Wonderland and Dinotopia, from which the picture on the left is taken.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Robert Halmi, Sr., from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Never to be Forgotten: Dick Smith 1922-2014

Dick Smith started working in film in the 1940s, but his best known work was in masks that either aged actors, notably Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man and Marlon Brando in The Godfather, or masks that turned characters into monsters, like Jack Palance in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Linda Blair in The Exorcist, pictured here. His other work in genre includes House on Haunted Hill [1999], Death Becomes Her, Monsters [TV], Poltergeist III, Starman, The Hunger, Ghost Story, Scanners, Altered States, The Stepford Wives, Dark Shadows, ‘Way Out, The Alligator People and the 1955 TV version of Alice in Wonderland. It should be noted that another great prosthetic designer Rick Baker revered Dick Smith not unlike the way Ray Harryhausen looked up to Willis O'Brien.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Dick Smith., from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's the beginning of August and time to look in on the prediction for the playoffs in Major League Baseball.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

30 July 2014

Birthdays
Joey King b. 1999 (Oz the Great and Powerful, The Dark Knight Rises, Battle Los Angeles, Jericho)
Yvonne Strahovski b. 1982 (I, Frankenstein)
Hilary Swank b. 1974 (The Core, Buffy)
Christopher Nolan b. 1970 (director, Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Batman Begins)
Simon Baker b. 1969 (Land of the Dead, The Ring Two, Red Planet)
Terry Crews b. 1968 (Gamer, Terminator Salvation, Idiocracy, Click, The 6th Day)
Jason Watkins b. 1966 (Atlantis, Doctor Who, Psychoville, Being Human, The Golden Compass)
Vivica A. Fox b. 1964 (Sharknado 2: The Second One, Ella Enchanted, Tremors [TV], Batman & Robin, Independence Day)
Laurence Fishburne b. 1961 (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, The Signal, The Colony, Predators, The Matrix, Cherry 2000, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
Richard Linklater b. 1960 (director, A Scanner Darkly)
Richard Burgi b. 1958 (The Green Inferno, Reaper, Firefly, Mann & Machine, The Flash)
Philip Davis b. 1953 (Being Human, Merlin [2011 TV], Doctor Who, Alien³, Howling V: The Rebirth)
Jean Reno b. 1948 (Rollerball [2002], Godzilla [1998], Le Dernier Combat)
Carel Struycken b. 1948 (Charmed, The Addams Family, Men in Black, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Witches of Eastwick, Ewoks: The Battle of Endor, The Prey, Bigfoot and Wildboy)
Arnold Schwarzenegger b. 1947 (Terminator, The 6th Day, End of Days, Batman & Robin, Last Action Hero, Total Recall, The Running Man, Red Sonja, Conan, Hercules in New York)
William Atherton b. 1947 (Defiance, Lost, Stargate SG-1, Headspace, Race to Space, The Crow: Salvation, Twilight Zone [1985], Ghostbusters)
Frances de la Tour b. 1944 (Into the Woods, Hugo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Alice in Wonderland [2010], The Book of Eli, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
John P. Ryan b. 1936 died 20 March 2007 (Class of 1999, Faerie Tale Theatre, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, It Lives Again, Futureworld, It’s Alive)
Richard Johnson b. 1927 (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Zombie, Space: 1999, The Haunting)
Victor Wong b. 1927 died 12 September 2001 (Poltergeist: The Legacy, Tremors, Beauty and the Beast, The Golden Child, Big Trouble in Little China)


Last year's Picture Slot was Ahhhnold, and this year I went with an actor I actually like. There are some fabulous babes and Oh That Guys who might get the nod next year, notably Carel Struycken, Lurch in the re-boot of The Addams Family and Victor Wong, either from Tremors or Big Trouble in Little China, two of my favorite non-blockbuster genre films of all time.

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

 

Predictor: Herman Kahn in the 1972 book Things to Come, published by the Hudson Institute

Prediction: It will increasingly difficult for the West to maintain East Germany is merely a puppet of the Soviet Union.

Reality: Umm... no, not that difficult at all. East Germany was a puppet state until it collapsed.

Kahn was a conservative and a hard line Cold Warrior and he didn't see what was going to happen in our relations with Soviets and very nearly ignored the People's Republic of China. Other than predicting big growth in Japan, he is usually wrong or very vague, not unlike our Friday regular Edgar Cayce.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We get another prediction from Lee de Forest, predicting the year 2000 from 1960. Except for seeing the communications world pretty well, de Forest isn't that much better than Kahn or Cayce, but at least he isn't wishy-washy.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

29 July 2014

Birthdays
Allison Mack b. 1982 (Smallville)
Dominic Burgess b. 1982 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Doctor Who, Batman Begins)
Megan Hayes b. 1980 (Sleepy Hollow, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, +1)
Rachel Miner b. 1980 (Supernatural)
Stephen Dorff b. 1973 (Immortals, Blade, Space Truckers)
Dileep Rao b. 1973 (Touch, Inception, Avatar)
Wil Wheaton b. 1972 (Big Bang Theory, Eureka, The Guild, Neverland, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Invisible Man, Python, Deep Core, Flubber, Perversions of Science, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Monsters, The Curse, The Last Starfighter)
Graham McGrath b. 1971 (Krull, Frankenstein [1984 TV])
Timothy Omundson b. 1969 (Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Jericho, Xena, Starship Troopers, Dark Skies, SeaQuest 2032)
Richard Steven Horvitz b. 1966 (Invader ZIM, Babylon 5, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Munsters Today)
Dean Haglund b. 1965 (The Icarus II Project, Atlantis Down, The X Files, The Lone Gunmen)
Alexandra Paul b. 1963 (A.I. Assault, Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York, Cyber Bandits, Christine)
Brian Peck b. 1960 (Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], X-Men 2, X-Men, The Tick, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, Return of the Living Dead I, II and III)
Marcus Gilbert b. 1958 (Army of Darkness, Doctor Who)
Wendy Hughes b. 1952 died 8 March 2014 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Amerika)
Charles Hallahan b. 1953 died 25 November 1997 (Roswell, Warlock: The Armageddon, Cast a Deadly Spell, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Thing)
David Warner b. 1941 (Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Hogfather, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, Cyber Wars, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2003 TV], Planet of the Apes [2001], The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Total Recall 2070, Wing Commander, The Last Leprechaun, Perversions of Science, Beastmaster III, Babylon 5, Lois & Clark, Necronomicon: Book of Dead, The Lost World, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, My Best Friend is a Vampire, Frankenstein [1984 TV], Faerie Tale Theatre, The Company of Wolves, Cat a Deadly Spell, TRON, Time Bandits, Time After Time, The Omen)
Robert Fuller b. 1933 (The Brain from Planet Arous)
Lloyd Bochner b. 1925 died 29 October 2005 (Legend of the Mummy, Superboy, Millennium [1989], Manimal, Battlestar Galactica, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Starlost, The Dunwich Horror, Bewitched, The Green Hornet, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone)
Frank Marth b. 1922 died 12 January 2014 (The Incredible Hulk, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Captain America, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Marooned, The Invaders, The Green Hornet, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian)
Melvin Belli b. 1907 died 9 July 1996 (Star Trek)
Maria Ouspenskaya b. 1876 died 3 December 1949 (Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Wolf Man)

A lot of good choices today. Last year, having done less research, I only listed Wil Wheaton and David Warner, and the younger actor got the Picture Slot. When I woke up this morning, my first thought was to give David Warner his moment in the spotlight, but another iconic image came to mind when I saw Lloyd Bochner's name. So many Twilight Zone stories depend on the twist ending, and To Serve Man is certainly one of them. Bochner's does not say the line, he gets to react to it, standing in for all of us at home who were thinking "Holy crap!" This still captures the moment.
A quick note: two actors died this year on today's birthday list and I didn't hear about their deaths. Both Wendy Hughes and Frank Marth deserve to never be forgotten.

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

Movies released
Cowboys & Aliens, released 2011
 

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in his 1972 children's book, 2010: Living in the Future

Prediction: A large restaurant on the roof of the Sports and Social Center covers the roof and looks more like a garden than a restaurant.

It is sometimes hard to find people in this big area. So, to help you, there is a map at the entrance with all the sitting places marked on it. Look carefully and you can see where your family have marked their place.

At the table it is easy to order. You type what you want on the control panel fixed to the table. A few minutes later the tray comes along the conveyor belt close to the table. You can see that it is your tray because there is a flag stuck to it with your table number on it.

It is interesting to see how the food arrives in the giant kitchen. The kitchen is at the far end of the roof. Like the kitchen at home, it works by computer.

The restaurant kitchen serves thousands of people every day. It would take hundreds of deliveries by electric trucks to keep the refrigerators and deep freezers of the kitchen full. So the supplies are piped to it each day.

Whatever is needed in the restaurant is packed in special wrappers at a depot in the town. Everything is then placed in the pipe, which is filled with a special liquid, and pumped to the restaurant on the roof. The liquid allows packages of different weights to float. Otherwise small packages would float while large packages would sink and bang against the bottom of the pipe. When the packages reach the restaurant they are taken from the pipe, unwrapped, and put into the right containers.

The food is cooked the same way it is at home and sent along the conveyor belts to the customers.

Reality: Jeez, what a commie. Everybody eating at the the same restaurant. What does he think this place is, McDonalds?

Of course, there are restaurants that serve thousands of people a day and deliveries are all by truck. It's kind of too bad, because the pipes are almost like pneumatic tubes, a favorite futuristic gimzo from the predictors of the early to mid 20th Century. More than that, automation in fast food kitchens is possible, but it's certainly not the standard yet.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Herman Kahn takes another crack at predicting the late 1970s and early 1980s from his vantage point in 1972. Not quite as bold as our usual predictors and not that much more accurate.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

Never to be Forgotten:James Shigeta 1933-2014

James Shigeta, the Hawaiian born actor best known for his work in Flower Drum Song and Die Hard, died today at the age of 81. He got his break first as a singer, winning on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. Some obits compare the show to American Idol, though it didn't become the cultural touchstone that the current show is. In its defense, Pat Boone and Ann-Margret were also winners. In some ways, it was more like Star Search.

Shigeta is mentioned here for his roles in genre productions including Space Marines, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, The Greatest American Hero, The Questor Tapes and The Outer Limits, shown here in a publicity still from the episode Nightmare. In the first season, a new scary monster (known on the set as "the bear") was a requirement of the production. The scary monster here was played by John Anderson, who made four appearances on the original Twilight Zone without wearing prosthetics.

In the musical commentary to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Maurissa Tancharoen has a lament entitled Nobody's Asian in the Movies. One could argue James Shigeta's 88 roles in a 51 year career puts the lie to that sentiment, but if you look at similar careers for other Oh That Guy actors with similar longevity, they can easily have hundreds of roles in a half century.

Whatever position you hold on the industry treatment of Asian actors in Hollywood, James Shigeta had a long successful career with several roles in sci-fi and fantasy, the reason he is mentioned here.

Best wishes to the family and friends of James Shigeta. His is never to be forgotten.

28 July 2014

 Birthdays
Hannah Lochner b. 1993 (Dawn of the Dead, Terminal Invasion)
Gabriel Pimentel b. 1979 (InAlienable, Beer Money)
Elizabeth Berkley b. 1972 (S. Darko, Threshold, Control Factor, Perversions of Science, Frog)
Alexis Arquette b. 1969 (Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy, Alien Nation [TV])
Rachel Blakely b. 1968 (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Lost World, Xena)
Carlos Jacott b. 1967 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Firefly, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Angel, Buffy)
Michael Hitchcock b. 1958 (Super 8, Serenity, Bug)
Nina Axelrod b. 1955 (Critters 3, Brainstorm, Time Walker)
Bruce Abbott b. 1954 (The Prophecy II, Black Scorpion, Bride of Re-Animator, Beauty and the Beast [TV], Re-Animator, Interzone, The Last Starfighter)
Tony Carroll b. 1950 died March 2007 (Masters of the Universe, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Hercules in New York)
Frances Lee McCain b. 1944 (Back to the Future, Gremlins)
Phil Proctor b. 1940 (Lobster Man from Mars, The Twilight Zone [1985])
Charles Cyphers b. 1939 (Buffy, Sliders, SeaQuest 2032, Lois & Clark, Halloween I and II, Escape from New York, The Fog, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Isis)
Darryl Hickman b. 1931 (Beauty and the Beast [TV], Looker, The Tingler)
Ann Doran b. 1911 died 19 September 2000 (Twilight Zone [1987], Project U.F.O., Bewitched, The Brass Bottle, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Adventures of Superman)

To be blunt, no A-List movie stars on today's list, but there are two actors whose best known roles are in genre. Rachel Blakely was the brunette on the syndicated TV show of The Lost World and Bruce Abbott was the star of Re-Animator. I went with Ms. Blakely this year because... she's purdy. Other options I considered were the Whedonverse folks, most notably Carlos Jacott and Michael Hitchcock, and Phil Proctor, just because I still love the Firesign Theatre.

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

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Fossil fuel will dwindle steadily over the next thirty years as new energy sources become operative and the supply of crude oil diminishes. By 2010, high prices and decreasing supply will limit the use of fossil fuels to old buildings, cars, airplanes and specialized lubrication functions.

Reality: I first heard of Peak Oil back in the 1970s, and if the science of petroleum creation is correct, eventually we run out. As we know now in hindsight, 2010 was not "eventually". The price fluctuations in crude have made other energy sources more attractive, but I seriously doubt the End of Crude will come in my lifetime. In the lifetimes of my grand nieces and nephews... that's a different story.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

2010 is such a popular year, we will hear what Geoffrey Hoyle thought it would look like tomorrow.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE 

27 July 2014

Birthdays
Ashlyn Sanchez b. 1996 (The Happening, Charmed)
Indiana Evans b. 1990 (Arctic Blast, H2O: Just Add Water)
Lou Taylor Pucci b. 1985 (Evil Dead [2013], Carriers, Southland Tales)
Blair Redford b. 1983 (Beauty and the Beast [TV], FlashForward, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], Dance of the Dead, Voodoo Moon)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers b. 1977 (The Mortal Instruments, Dracula [TV])
Maya Rudolph b. 1972 (Idiocracy, Gattaca)
Takako Fuji b. 1972 (The Grudge)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau b. 1970 (Game of Thrones, Oblivion)
Paul Levesque a.k.a. Triple H b. 1969 (Blade: Trinity)
Bryan Fuller b. 1969 (writer, Mockingbird Lane, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Carrie [TV movie 2002], Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Julian McMahon b. 1968 (Fantastic Four, Premonition, Charmed)
Cliff Curtis b. 1968 (The Last Airbender, 10,000 BC, Virus, Mysterious Island [TV], Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Roxanne Hart b. 1952 (Meteorites!, Highlander)
Simon Jones b. 1950 (Spectropia, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy [2005 and 1981], Twelve Monkeys, Brazil)
Maury Chaykin b. 1949 died 27 July 2010 (Blindness, Eureka, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Lexx, Mister Destiny, Twilight Zone [1989], Def-Con 4, WarGames)
Rade Serbedzija b. 1946 (The Legend of Hercules, X-Men: First Class, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Fallen [TV mini-series], Surface, The Fog, Batman Begins, Space Cowboys, Mighty Joe Young [1998])
John Pleshette b. 1942 (American Horror Story, Good vs Evil, Lois & Clark, Beauty and the Beast [1990])
Lanny Flaherty b. 1942 (Men in Black 3, Signs, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Waterworld)
Robert Gunner b. 1931 (Planet of the Apes, The Green Hornet)
Keenan Wynn b. 1916 died 14 October 1986 (Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star, Black Moon Rising, Manimal, The Greatest American Hero, The Clonus Horror, The Lucifer Complex, Piranha, The Bionic Woman, Laserblast, The Devil’s Rain, The Girl with Something Extra, Son of Flubber, The Absent-Minded Professor, Twilight Zone)

Last year, the Picture Slot belonged to Jaime Lannister, this year it's Arthur Dent. There were other possible choices, like Keenan Wynn from the original Twilight Zone. Mr. Wynn's name on the list brings up the question to which I do not have a complete answer, which is "Exactly WHY isn't Dr. Strangelove counted as genre?"

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

Movies released
Planet of the Apes [reboot] released 27 July 2001
 

Predictor: Carl L. Biemiller's Escape From The Crater, published 1974

Prediction: A "Crio" (a person cryogenically preserved by freezing at death) from 1999 is revived and provides them with essential knowledge to bring about a reconciliation between the otter people and normal humanity. He also tells them of a savage war of consumers against conservationists which caused such devastation to civilization that humanity was forced to adopt ecologically sound measures involuntarily.

Reality: Ecologically sound measures adopted involuntarily? How could that ever happen? Humans are always careful about the world they will leave behind for future generations. I do like the split between "the otter people" and "normal humanity".

As always, a thanks to professor Paul Brians and his nuclear holocaust fiction database.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

That happy break in the day every Monday, The OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

26 July 2014

 Birthdays
Taylor Momsen b. 1993 (Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Hansel & Gretel)
Miriam McDonald b. 1987 (Orphan Black, Lost Girl, The Sea Beast)
Mageina Tovah b. 1979 (American Horror Story, Spider-Man 2 and 3, Buffy)
Eve Myles b. 1978 (Torchwood, Doctor Who, Merlin)
Ben Cotton b. 1975 (Defiance, The 100, Continuum, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Battlestar Galactica, The Tomorrow People, Arrow, Fringe, Seeds of Destruction, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Stan Helsing, Kyle XY, Stargate: Atlantis, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], Bionic Woman, Flash Gordon [2007], Supernatural, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The 4400, The Chronicles of Riddick, Taken, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, Smallville, Strange Frequency, The Immortal)
Kate Beckinsale b. 1973 (Total Recall [2012], Underworld, Click, Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV])
Spencer Wilding b. 1972 (Frankenstein [2015], Jupiter Ascending, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Legend of Hercules, Atlantis, Doctor Who, Wrath of the Titans, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Game of Thrones, The Golden Compass, Stardust, Eragon, Batman Begins, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
Olivia Williams b. 1968 (The Last Days on Mars, Dollhouse, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Sixth Sense, Jason and the Argonauts [TV], The Postman)
Jason Statham b. 1967 (Death Race, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Ghosts of Mars)
Jeremy Piven b. 1965 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Edge of Tomorrow, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde)
Sandra Bullock b. 1964 (Gravity, Premonition, The Lake House, Practical Magic, Demolition Man, Love Potion #9, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman)
Danny Woodburn b. 1964 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mirror Mirror, Watchmen, Passions, Charmed, Angel, Conan [TV], Lois & Clark)
Kevin Spacey b. 1959 (Moon, Superman Returns, K-PAX)
Nana Visitor b. 1957 (Grimm, Torchwood, Battlestar Galactica, They Are Among Us, Dark Angel, Deep Space Nine, The Spirit, The Twilight Zone [1985])
Danny Bilson b. 1956 (writer, The Rocketeer, The Flash, Zone Troopers, Trancers)
Susan George b. 1950 (Computercide, Tales of the Unexpected, Tintorera: Killer Shark, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
Helen Mirren b. 1945 (Inkheart, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Faerie Tale Theatre, Twilight Zone [1985], 2010, Excalibur)
Celeste Yarnall b. 1944 (The Velvet Vampire, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Bewitched, Captain Nice)
Peter Hyams b. 1943 (director, Threshold, End of Days, Timecop, Amazing Stories, 2010, Outland, Capricorn One)
Mick Jagger b. 1943 (Freejack, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Robert Colbert b. 1931 (Disaster in Time, Knight Rider, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, My Favorite Martian, Have Rocket – Will Travel)
Stanley Kubrick b. 1928 died 7 March 1999 (writer/director, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey)
James Best b. 1926 (The Green Hornet, The Twilight Zone, The Killer Shrews, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
Jason Robards b. 1922 died 26 December 2000 (The Day After, Something Wicked This Way Comes, A Boy and His Dog)
Aldous Huxley b. 1894 died 22 November 1963 (author, Brave New World)

Every day's a different story. Yesterday's birthday list was lacking in star power, but today's is overloaded with options, not unlike the Thursday list. Last year I went with Nana Visitor from Deep Space Nine, since her best known role is in genre and she's a fabulous babe. With today's Picture Slot choice, Kate Beckinsale as Selene from Underworld has the same qualifications of iconic and fabulous. I have no idea who will be in the Picture Slot next year, but there are just too many good options to repeat myself.

I'm keen on coincidental birthdays, exact same day and exact same year if both people are famous enough, but today we have one part of one of the most famous coincidental death dates, since Aldous Huxley died on the day John F. Kennedy was shot.

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

Movies released
The Wolverine released, 2013

Predictor: Richard Mansfield, actor, predicting what the 20th Century would look like in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition

Prediction: I presume that, in New York City, we shall have a great theater, perhaps modeled after that of the great theater of France. It will be supported not by the patronage of the state, but by that of individuals of wealth. With such support, the theater in the United States can become the great refining and moral influence, which in its highest form it has become in France.

Reality: First things first. No extravagant 19th Century facial hair for Mr. Mansfield, but he does wear an uncomfortable collar and the silly affectation of glasses with a hanging wire.

Like in his time, most theater in this country has to earn its own keep, but I would say his description of a "great theater" fits New York's Lincoln Center fairly well and it was a project supported by wealthy civic leaders including John D. Rockefeller III. It should be noted that Carnegie Hall already existed when Mansfield made his prediction, since it was built in 1891, but he is taking about the theater and Carnegie Hall is for the most part a venue for musicians.

I would give Mr. Mansfield full marks for this, but for the fact that he mentions the French and fails to mock them mercilessly. It should be noted that Mansfield was British by birth and not a native of the United States, but that is no excuse for questionable taste.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's been a few weeks since we had a nuclear holocaust and it feels like time for another one.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

25 July 2014

Birthdays
Mason Cook b. 2000 (Mockingbird Lane, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D)
Preston Bailey b. 2000 (Children of the Corn [2009])
Linsey Godfrey b. 1988 (Altergeist, Wizards of Waverly Place, Surface)
Michael Welch b. 1987 (Twilight, Grimm, Day of the Dead, Stargate SG-1, Birds of Prey, The Invisible Man, The X-Files, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Shantel VanSanten b. 1985 (The Messengers, Beauty and the Beast [2013])
James Lafferty b. 1985 (Oculus, S. Darko)
Jay R. Ferguson b. 1974 (No Ordinary Family, Surface)
Jason Marin b. 1974 (Back to the Future)
Aaron Craven b. 1974 (100,000 Zombie Heads, Supernatural, Continuum, Fringe, Smallville, Alien Trespass, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Stargate: Atlantis, Kyle XY, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
Michael C. Williams b. 1973 (The Objective, Altered, The Blair Witch Project)
David Denman b. 1973 (After Earth, Angel, The X-Files)
Miriam Shor b. 1971 (Bedazzled)
D.B. Woodside b. 1969 (Buffy)
Matt LeBlanc b. 1967 (Lost in Space [1998])
Illeana Douglas b. 1965 (The Coven, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Strange Frequency)
Iman b. 1955 (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Lynne Frederick b. 1954 died 27 April 1994 (Space: 1999, The Canterville Ghost, Phase IV, Vampire Circus, No Blade of Grass)
Janet Margolin b. 1943 died 17 December 1993 (Ghostbusters II, Planet Earth)
Ken Swofford b. 1933 (Max Headroom, Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Girl with Something Extra, The Andromeda Strain, The Intruders, Shadow on the Land)
Woody Strode b. 1914 died 31 December 1994 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Kingdom of the Spiders, Batman)
Jack Gilford b. 1908 died 2 June 1990 (Cocoon, Anna to the Infinite Power, Caveman)

Yesterday, there were a bunch of excellent iconic choices for the Picture Slot, many of them fabulous babes, but today the star power in genre productions is not that great. Even the Oh That Guy actors aren't all that recognizable, with the exception of Woody Strode who was in a jillion Westerns and the comic actor Jack Gilford. And so, I make the Whedonverse Nerd move and go with a picture of David Denman as the demon Skip from Angel.

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

 

Predictor: Edgar Cayce in 1932

Prediction: In 1936, political upheavals will see the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.

Reality: Wow. That's really specific and predicting very large changes to happen in a very short time period.

He's completely wrong, of course, but you have to admire the boldness.

I can understand how the Soviet Union or the U.K. or even the U.S. might break apart, but it's hard to imagine Japan becoming more than one political entity. Maybe he assumed they would be kicked out of Manchuria, which they invaded in 1931 so he should have known about that when he made the prediction. Even that didn't happen by 1936, so another big strikeout for Mr. Prophecy Guy.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is Saturday just around the corner again. Then it's back to 1893. (Spoiler alert: no cool facial hair, but some clothing choices no one would make today.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!


 

24 July 2014

 Birthdays
Emily Bett Rickards b. 1991 (The Flash, Arrow, Soldiers of the Apocalypse)
Daveigh Chase b. 1990 (S. Darko, Donnie Darko, The Ring, Charmed, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Anna Paquin b. 1982 (X-Men, True Blood)
Elisabeth Moss b. 1982 (Invasion, Escape to Witch Mountain)
Summer Glau b. 1981 (Arrow, Alphas, The Big Bang Theory, Mammoth, Angel, Dollhouse, Serenity, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The 4400)
Rose Byrne b. 1979 (X-Men: First Class, 28 Weeks Later, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones)
Laura Fraser b. 1976 (Vanilla Sky, Neverwhere)
Jennifer Lopez b. 1969 (The Cell, Anaconda)
Rick Fox b. 1969 (The Guild, Big Bang Theory, Dollhouse, Holes)
Paul Ben-Victor b. 1965 (Daredevil, The Invisible Man [2002], Red Scorpion 2, The X-Files)
Lynda Carter b. 1951 (Smallville, Sky High, Wonder Woman)
Michael Richards b. 1949 (Coneheads, Whoops Apocalypse, Transylvania 6-5000, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Robert Hays b. 1947 (Superhero Movie, Starman [TV], Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare, Cat’s Eye, The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything, Wonder Woman)
Linda Harrison b. 1945 (Planet of the Apes [2001 and 1968], Cocoon, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Batman)
Chris Sarandon b. 1942 (Charmed, Perversions of Science, The Vampyre Wars, Bordello of Blood, Deep Space Nine, Shatterbain, Frankenstein [1987], The Princess Bride, Fright Night [1985])
Dan Hedaya b. 1940 (Alien: Resurrection, The Addams Family [1991], The Twilight Zone [1985], Buckaroo Banzai, Earthlings, The Hunger)
Mark Goddard b. 1936 (Lost in Space [1998 and 1965], Strange Invaders)
John D. MacDonald b. 1916 died 28 December 1986 (author, The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything)
Sydney Bromley b. 1909 died 14 August 1987 (The NeverEnding Story, Dragonslayer, An American Werewolf in London, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Prehistoric Women, Night Creatures, Quatermass and the Pit, Quatermass II, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1954 British version])
Lord Dunsany b. 1878 died 25 October 1957 (author, The Gods of Pegana)

Regular readers will know that I've done a lot more research on birthdays this year than I did last year, and a list like this makes it worthwhile. A lot of names you should know, not all of them most famous for genre work. While I might put Chris Sarandon from The Princess Bride or Mark Goddard from Lost in Space in the Picture Slot if this were a typical birthday list, both those fine gentlemen are not competition for Summer Glau, Anna Paquin and the lovely woman you are now looking at, Lynda Carter. I should also add that Sydney Bromley is a great grizzled Oh That Guy and Linda Harrison looked fantastic in the original Planet of the Apes, but seriously... Wonder Woman. Game over, dude.

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

Predictor: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, released 2 July 2003

Prediction: Although the original Judgment Day of August 29, 1997 came and went without incident, John Connor still believes his life is in danger, and on 24 July, 2004, his fears are realized as a new model Terminator is sent to kill him.

Reality: Time travel would take massive amounts of energy and would likely kill any living matter, but I guess it doesn't make sense to bring this up when you have a franchise that's produced four movies, a TV show and a fifth set up for next year, 31 years after the original movie.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More hokum from Edgar Cayce, this time political instead of geological.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

23 July 2014

Birthdays
Daniel Radcliffe b. 1989 (Frankenstein [2015], Horns, Harry Potter)
Reece Ritchie b. 1986 (Hercules [2014], Atlantis: End of the World, Birth of a Legend, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, 10,000 BC)
Kathryn Hahn b. 1974 (Tomorrowland)
Charisma Carpenter b. 1970 (Supernatural, Legend of the Seeker, Charmed, Angel, Buffy, Strange Frequency)
Bill Chott b. 1969 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Invader ZIM, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Galaxy Quest, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Philip Seymour Hoffman b. 1967 died 2 February 2014 (The Hunger Games, The Invention of Lying)
Woody Harrelson b. 1961 (The Hunger Games, 2012, Zombieland, A Scanner Darkly)
Edie McClurg b. 1951 (Flubber [1997], Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Homeboys in Outer Space, A.J.’s Time Travelers, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Small Wonder, Faerie Tale Theatre, The Incredible Hulk, Carrie)
Belinda Montgomery b. 1950 (TRON: Legacy, Man from Atlantis, The Sixth Sense [1972])
Marianne Gordon b. 1946 (The Being, Rosemary’s Baby, Mr. Terrific)
Ronny Cox b. 1938 (Age of Dinosaurs, Stargate SG-1, Deep Blue Sea, From the Earth to the Moon, Time Trax, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain America [1990], Total Recall, Martians Go Home, RoboCop)
C.M. Kornbluth b. 1923 died 21 March 1958 (author, The Space Merchants [with Frederik Pohl])
Virgil Finlay b. 1914 died 18 January 1971 (artist)
Coral Browne b. 1913 died 29 May 1991 (Dreamchild, Time Express, Theatre of Blood)
Michael Wilding b. 1912 died 8 July 1979 (Frankenstein: The True Story)

Last year, the Picture Slot belonged to Daniel Radcliffe, and for iconic roles in genre, he's hard to beat. I might go all Whedonverse nerd and put up a picture of Charisma Carpenter, or maybe Woody Harrelson from The Hunger Games or Ronny Cox from one of the classic movies he was in. But when I saw Virgil Finlay's name on isfdb.org, I knew I wanted to have one of his terrific scratchboard illustrations gracing the blog today. (Scratchboard starts out all black and you scratch away to get the white. It's an extremely unforgiving method and Finlay was as good as it gets at the medium.)

Why this particular illustration? Hmmm... reasons.

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

Predictor: Herman Kahn in the 1972 book Things to Come, published by the Hudson Institute

Prediction: The Japanese economy will double or perhaps triple in the 1970s

Reality: Kahn isn't being precise, but he is clearly bullish on Japan's economy. The thing is, he wasn't bullish enough. According to the World Bank, the Japanese GDP was $209 billion (U.S.) and $1,040 billion in 1980, which means it almost exactly quintupled! It couldn't keep up that growth rate, but it did triple in the 1980s, then peaked in the mid 1990s and has been fluctuating up and down ever since.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The weekly schedule is interrupted for a prediction from a movie.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 July 2014

 Birthdays
Lauren Bittner b. 1980 (Paranormal Activity 3)
Candace Kroslak b. 1978 (Knight Rider [2008], Planet of the Apes, Demonicus)
Franka Potente b. 1974 (American Horror Story, Run Lola Run)
Colin Ferguson b. 1972 (Caper, Haven, Eureka, Primeval: New World, Matty Hanson and the Invisibility Ray, Lake Placid 3, The Hunger [TV])
Rhys Ifans b. 1967 (The Amazing Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Nanny McPhee Returns, Little Nicky)
John Leguizamo b. 1964 (Kick-Ass 2, Repo Men, The Happening, Land of the Dead, Super Mario Bros.)
David Spade b. 1964 (ALF, Monsters)
Adam Godley b. 1964 (Powers, Battleship, Dollhouse, The X Files: I Want to Believe, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Nanny McPhee, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Willem Dafoe b. 1955 (John Carter, 4:44 Last Day on Earth, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Daybreakers, Spider-Man, Control, Shadow of the Vampire, eXistenZ, Deadly Nightmares, The Hunger)
Tisa Farrow b. 1951 (Anthropophagus, Hunter of the Apocalypse, Zombie)
Alan Menken b. 1949 (music, Tangled, Hercules, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors)
Albert Brooks b. 1947 (Defending Your Life, Twilight Zone: The Movie)
J. Kenneth Campbell b. 1947 (The Huntress, Angel, Charmed, The Journey of Alan Strange, NightMan, Mars Attacks!, The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake, The Abyss, Wonder Woman)
Danny Glover b. 1946 (Toxin, 2047 – Sights of Death, Space Warriors, Touch, 2012, Blindness, Earthsea, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, Predator 2, Tall Tales & Legends, Iceman, The Greatest American Hero)
Peter Jason b. 1944 (Robosapien: Rebooted, Planet Raptor, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2006], Alien Apocalypse, Raptor Island, Carnivale, Ghosts of Mars, Perversions of Science, Escape from L.A., Mortal Kombat, Congo, Village of the Damned, Quantum Leap, Arachnophobia, They Live, Alien Nation, Prince of Darkness, Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star, Amazing Stories, Dreamscape, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Captain Nemo, Shadow on the Land, Land of the Giants)
Nick Brimble b. 1944 (Greek Gods and Goddesses: Jason and the Argonauts, Loch Ness, Frankenstein Unbound, Cosmic Princess, Blakes 7, Space: 1999)
Terence Stamp b. 1938 (Smallville, Wanted, Elektra, Red Planet, Star Wars: Episode I – Such a Good Cast Wasted, The Hunger [TV], Alien Nation, The Company of Wolves, Superman I and II, The Thief of Baghdad [TV], HU-Man, The Mind of Mr. Soames)
Louise Fletcher b. 1934 (The Genesis Code, Heroes, Wonderfalls, Deep Space Nine, Brimstone, VR.5, Frankenstein and Me, The Stepford Husbands, Virtuosity, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Tales from the Crypt [TV], Deadly Nightmares, Shadowzone, Twilight Zone [1988], Invaders from Mars, Brainstorm, Strange Invaders, Mama Dracula, Exorcist II: The Heretic)
Perry Lopez b. 1929 died 14 February 2008 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Star Trek, The Time Tunnel, Creature from the Black Lagoon)
Orson Bean b. 1928 (Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe, Alien Autopsy, Being John Malkovich, Monsters, Innerspace, Twilight Zone)
James Whale b. 1889 died 29 May 1957 (director, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein)

A long list today and a lot of good choices for the Picture Slot. Last year it was Terence Stamp as Zod, undeniably iconic. Good arguments could be made for Franka Potente, Colin Ferguson, Willem Dafoe, Louise Fletcher, James Whale and because I'm such a geek for the original Star Trek and Twilight Zone, Perry Lopez and Orson Bean. But I woke up this morning in an Oh That Guy mood, so you are looking at Peter Jason, a guy with over 230 credits on imdb.com and about a tenth of those in live action genre films and TV. (I usually don't list voice work, though I make exceptions. With some actors, I could be here until noon just typing.) This still is from the not remarkably good but still remarkably memorable They Live, John Carpenter's idiosyncratic take on an alien invasion.

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

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in the 1972 children's book 2010: Living in the Future, illustrations by Alasdair Anderson

Prediction: It is very easy and cheap to travel by air. The airplanes are very small and very fast. They seat thirty people and fly them through the sky at over 4,000 miles per hour. Seats are not reserved in advance. You just climb aboard. It is just like the town bus service.

Reality: It's hard to get more wrong about a prediction, though Hoyle saves face a little with the final sentence. If he meant smelly, uncomfortable and a keen disregard for schedules, yes, air travel is just like the town bus service.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Hoyle may not be perfect, but he is followed by Herman Kahn in the regular weekly schedule, so he always looks better in retrospect.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
  

21 July 2014

Birthdays
Rory Culkin b. 1989 (Signs)
Juno Temple b. 1989 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Maleficent, Horns, The Brass Teapot, Mr. Nobody, The Dark Knight Rises)
Jamie Waylett b. 1989 (Harry Potter)
Sprague Grayden b. 1980 (Paranormal Activity, Jericho, Biohazardous)
Josh Hartnett b. 1978 (Penny Dreadful, 30 Days of Night, Sin City, The Faculty, Halloween H20)
Justin Bartha b. 1978 (National Treasure)
Ray Galletti b. 1974 (Hemlock Grove, Arrow, Smallville, The Core, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Jeremiah, The New Addams Family)
Ali Landry b. 1973 (Repli-Kate, Conan)
Charlotte Gainsbourg b. 1971 (Melancholia)
Trevor Etienne b. 1965 (Falling Skies, Terminator Salvation, Charmed, Angel, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
Susan Swift b. 1964 (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Amazing Stories, Audrey Rose)
Ike Eisenmann b. 1962 (Race to Witch Mountain, Star Trek II; The Wrath of Khan, Wonder Woman, Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell, Return from Witch Mountain, The Fantastic Journey, Escape to Witch Mountain)
Lance Guest b. 1960 (Jericho, Stepsister from Planet Weird, The Burning Zone, The X Files, The Last Starfighter, Halloween II)
Jon Lovitz b. 1957 (Southland Tales, The Stepford Wives [2004], Little Nicky, Coneheads, Mom and Dad Save the World, My Stepmother is an Alien)
Rory Stevens b. 1954 (Carrie, The Munsters, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Robin Williams b. 1951 (Night at the Museum, The Final Cut, Bicentennial Man, What Dreams May Come, Flubber [1997], Jumanji, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Faerie Tale Theatre, Mork & Mindy)
Art Hindle b. 1948 (Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds, Mutant X, Total Recall 2070 [TV], Poltergeist: The Legacy, The Brood, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
Edward Herrmann b. 1943 (Wonder Woman [2011], Here Come the Munsters [1995], The Lost Boys, Purple Rose of Cairo, The Electric Grandmother)
John Woodvine b. 1929 (An American Werewolf in London, Doctor Who)
Don Knotts b. 1924 died 24 February 2006 (Pleasantville, The Girl with Something Extra, The Reluctant Astronaut, The Incredible Mr. Limpet)

A lot of child actors on the list, the youngest being Rory Culkin and the oldest Rory Stevens, as coincidence would have it. The most iconic younger role would likely be Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe, the thuggish friend of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. But I decided to go with an older iconic role, Robin Williams' breakout role as Mork back from the 1970s.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the late Don Knotts, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Vasopressin will be commonly prescribed to combat memory loss.


Reality: The Almanac listed several drugs that are supposed to help with memory loss - lecithin, physostigmine, PRL-8-53 - but they gave final billing to vasopressin. According to Wikipedia, vasopressin prescribed to constrict blood vessels and to help retain water. There is no mention of any side effects dealing with memory. This could be filed in The Journal of Unreproducible Results .

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More fun with Geoffrey Hoyle's predictions about 2010 from 1972.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

20 July 2014

 Birthdays
Osric Chau b. 1986 (The 100, Supernatural, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, 2012)
Martin McCann b. 1983 (Clash of the Titans)
Rory Jennings b. 1983 (Doctor Who, Frankenstein [1994])
Charlie Korsmo b. 1978 (Hook)
Judy Greer b. 1975 (Jurassic World, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Big Bang Theory)
Omar Epps b. 1973 (Resurrection, Dracula 2000, Breakfast of Champions)
Roberto Orci b. 1973 (writer, Star Trek 3, Van Helsing, Sleepy Hollow, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Star Trek Into Darkness, Fringe, Cowboys & Aliens, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers, The Island, Xena, Hercules)
Sandra Oh b. 1971 (Blindness, Last Night)
Josh Holloway b. 1969 (Lost, Sabretooth, Angel)
Carlos Saldanha b. 1968 (director, Rio, Ice Age, Robots)
Reed Diamond b. 1967 (Revolution, Dollhouse, Journeyman, Stargate SG-1, Spider-Man 2, The Huntress)
Dean Winters b. 1964 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Frank Whaley b. 1963 (Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Little Monsters)
Adoni Maropis b. 1963 (Angel, Mortal Kombat: Conquest)
Donna Dixon b. 1957 (Twilight Zone: The Movie)
Jeff Rawle b. 1951 (An Adventure in Space and Time, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Doctor Who)
Naseeruddin Shah b. 1950 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)
Muse Watson b. 1948 (TIMER, Frankenfish, Hollywood Vampyr, The Handmaid’s Tale)
Wendy Richard b. 1943 died 26 February 2009 (No Blade of Grass)
Diana Rigg b. 1938 (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Snow White [1987], The Worst Witch, Theatre of Blood)
Natalie Wood b. 1938 died 29 November 1981 (Brainstorm, Meteor)
Sally Ann Howes b. 1930 (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Lola Albright b. 1925 (The Incredible Hulk, The Monolith Monsters)
Paul Christian a.k.a. Paul Hubschmid b. 1917 died 31 December 2001 (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)

Nice long list, plenty of choices for the Picture Slot. Last year it was Josh Holloway from Lost, certainly iconic, but on this 20th of July I found myself in a Fabulous Babe mood so I used a picture of Diana Rigg from The Avengers. I don't quite count it as genre, which is a strange piece of compartmentalization in my mind. Not unlike Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, the show mixed straight drama/adventure stories with some sci-fi elements. Besides her undeniable fabulosity, Ms. Rigg is here for two other reasons.

1. Exact same birthday pair with Natalie Wood.  That's a whole lot of pretty for one day.

2. A matched set for the weekend. If we compare and contrast with yesterday's birthday boy Benedict Cumberbatch, we see that each of them deserves the award from Best British Cheekbones for their respective generations.

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

Movies released
The Dark Knight Rises released, 2012

 Predictor:Sir Philip Gibbs in his book The Day After Tomorrow: What is Going to Happen in the World, published 1928

Prediction: In less than twenty-five years… the motor car will be obsolete, because the aeroplane will run along the ground as well as fly over it.

Reality: Gibbs might call them "aeroplanes that run along the ground", but we know what he means.

Flying Cars HELLZ YEAH!

As regular readers know, I don't like to discuss flying cars and reality together, because this is one of those times when reality is obviously wrong.

Never to be Forgotten: James Garner  1928-2014

Actor James Garner, best known for roles in The Great Escape, Support Your Local Sheriff (Gunfighter) and the TV shows Maverick and The Rockford Files, died on Saturday. He did very little genre work, but we was in the alien abduction film Fire in the Sky. Because I count nearly any movie about space travel as genre, he also has credits in Space Cowboys and Space.

Best wishes to the family and friends of James Garner, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

I've stated it many times, but for me, The OMNI Future Almanac gives me a little lift on Monday mornings.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
  

Never to be Forgotten: Skye McCole Bartusiak 1992-2014 UPDATE

Skye McCole Bartusiak has died in her sleep at her Texas home. She was 21 and no cause of death has been given.

Most online obituaries are list her role in The Patriot starring Mel Gibson as her best known role. Her first role was in the genre mini-series Storm of the Century which aired in 1999, so she would have been 6 or 7. Her other roles in genre include The Darkling with F. Murray Abraham, Firestarter II and voice work in Lost.

I debated whether or not I should even post this. When a 21 year old dies in her sleep, "no cause given" is not an acceptable answer. If there is an update, I'll report back.

Later reports from her family say she suffered from epileptic seizures in the weeks before her death.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Skye McCole Bartusiak, from a stunned fan. She is never to be forgotten.

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.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Time yet again to glean wisdom from the pages of The Experts Speak.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 July 2014

Birthdays
Brody Nicholas Lee b. 1997 (Cloud Atlas)
Cody Benjamin Lee b. 1997 (Cloud Atlas, The Shiftling, Invasion)
Chace Crawford b. 1985 (The Covenant)
Rosalind Halstead b. 1984 (Dominion, Rage of the Yeti, The Day of the Triffids [2009])
Michael Huisman b. 1981 (Orphan Black, Game of Thrones, World War Z)
Kristen Bell b. 1980 (Heroes)
Kelly Reilly b. 1977 (Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball, A for Andromeda)
Valerie Cruz b. 1976 (Grimm, Alphas, True Blood, Dollhouse, The Dresden Files, Invasion)
Jed Whedon b. 1975 (writer, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog)
Sarah McLeod b. 1971 (The Lord of the Rings)
Grant Bowler b. 1968 (Defiance, True Blood, Lost, The Lost World, On the Beach [2000], Farscape)
Andre Royo b. 1968 (Fringe, Hellbenders, Heroes, The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Vin Diesel b. 1967 (The Last Witch Hunter, Pitch Black, Babylon A.D.)
Elizabeth McGovern b. 1961 (Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, The Handmaid’s Tale, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Lee Arenberg b. 1962 (Once Upon a Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek: Enterprise, Charmed, Dungeons & Dragons, Angel, Star Trek: Voyager, The Apocalypse, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Freaked, RoboCop 3, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Wizard, Martians Go Home)
Travis McKenna b. 1960 (Meego, Batman Returns, Quantum Leap)
Anne-Marie Johnson b. 1960 (The X Files, Asteroid, Babylon 5, Robot Jox)
James Faulkner b. 1948 (X-Men: First Class, Relic Hunter, Highlander [TV], The Martian Chronicles)
Tony Azito b. 1948 died 26 May 1995 (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, The Addams Family [1991])
James Brolin b 1940 (Lost City Raiders, Category 7: The End of the World, Terminal Virus, The Amityville Horror, Capricorn One, Westworld, Batman, Fantastic Voyage, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Hampton Fancher b. 1938 (writer, Blade Runner)
Britt Leach b. 1938 (Quantum Leap, Amazing Stories, Weird Science, Wonder Woman)
Paul Verhoeven b. 1938 (director, Hollow Man, Starship Troopers, Total Recall, RoboCop, Deadly Nightmares)
Burt Kwouk b. 1930 (Spirit Warriors, I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle, Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People, Rollerball, Curse of the Fly)
Syd Mead b. 1933 (artist)
John Glenn b. 1921 (astronaut)
Hume Cronyn b. 1911 died 15 June 2003 (Cocoon, *batteries not included)

This year, guys who walked on the moon are trump. While John Glenn did not make that trip, he was the big media darling of the original Mercury Seven. Last year, I had a Syd Mead illustration in the Picture Slot and I might do that again next year, Mead's contribution to the look of the future is so influential, but there are some other choices I might go with instead.

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

Movies released
The Dark Knight released, 2008
Jurassic Park III released , 2001

Predictor: Edgar Cayce

Prediction: The Great Lakes will empty into the Gulf of Mexico in the 1958-1998 era.

Reality: If you wonder why no one talks about Edgar Cayce anymore, crap predictions like this are a big part of it. Yes, he knew enough geography to know the Great Lakes flow to the ocean through the St. Lawrence River, but he predicted massive changes at the tectonic plate level in the second half of the 20th Century and simply put, none of them happened. But there. It's hard to believe now how many people took him seriously back in the day.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's the weekend already and time to hear from our futurist pals from 1893 again.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 July 2014

 Birthdays
Jessica Amlee b. 1994 (Absolute Zero, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate: Atlantis, Jeremiah, Andromeda, Smallville, Dark Angel)
Tom Cullen b. 1985 (Last Days on Mars)
Melanie Thierry b. 1981 (The Zero Theorem, Babylon A.D.)
Mike Vogel b. 1979 (Under the Dome, Cloverfield)
Eric Winter b. 1976 (Witches of East End, Charmed)
Jason Clarke b. 1969 (Terminator: Genesis [2015], Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Death Race, Farscape)
Alex Winter b. 1965 (The Borrowers, Freaked, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Lost Boys)
Santiago Segura b. 1965 (Pacific Rim, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Hellboy, Blade II)
Heather Langenkamp b. 1964 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Perversions of Science, Shocker, Nightmare on Elm Street)
Robin Shou b. 1960 (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Mortal Kombat)
Tim Rose b. 1956 (Wizards vs. Aliens, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [TV], Howard the Duck, Return to Oz, Return of the Jedi, The Dark Crystal)
J. Michael Straczynski b. 1954 (writer, World War Z, Thor, Babylon 5, Jeremiah, The Twilight Zone [1980s], Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, She-Ra, He-Man)
David Hasselhoff b. 1952 (Anaconda III, Knight Rider, Click, 3rd Rock from the Sun, NightMan, Starcrash)
P.J. Soles b. 1950 (Alienator, Knight Rider, Carrie)
Catherine Schell b. 1944 (Doctor Who, Space: 1999, Moon Zero Two)
Donald Sutherland b. 1935 (The Hunger Games, Frankenstein [2004], Salem’s Lot, Space Cowboys, Virus, Fallen, The Puppet Masters, The Lifeforce Experiment, Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Castle of the Living Dead)

Last year, the Picture Slot went to Donald Sutherland, a guy who has been working longer than most of the people on the list have been alive. This year, I decided to feature the work of the puppeteer Tim Rose and his best known alter ego Admiral Ackbar. Next year, I'll likely feature J. Michael Straczynski, whose best work Babylon 5 is unfairly the object of scorn on the modern nerd touchstone show The Big Bang Theory.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and... hey! Everybody's alive! Yay!
 

Predictor:Moran, Daniel Keys. The Armageddon Blues. New York: Bantam, 1988.

Prediction: A young woman travels back in time from the 28th century to 1962 to forestall a nuclear Armageddon on July 17, 2007 known as The Big Crunch, a disaster which led to a prolonged nuclear winter and a five hundred year dark age. In her own time, women are warrior/hunters, and men are blamed for the war and are not allowed to fight. Radioactive fires still burn and mutants exist. She joins forces with a two-century old immortal who ultimately tries to trigger the war she is trying to prevent, as a means of ending his burdensomely long life.

Reality: Damn those two hundred year old immortals and their secret agenda!

As is often the case with our nuclear holocaust predictions, the description is lifted from the website of Paul Brians, a great resource I am glad I found.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Fridays are Edgar Cayce day here at the blog, still not as popular as Taco Tuesdays.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 July 2014

 Birthdays
Michelle Morgan b. 1981 (Stargate: Atlantis, Diary of the Dead, Fire Serpent)
Jayma Mays b. 1979 (Heroes)
Corey Feldman b. 1971 (Zombex, The Zombie King, Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys, Dark Realm, The Toxic Avenger IV, Sliders, The Lost Boys, Friday the 13th, Gremlins, Time After Time)
Will Ferrell b. 1967 (Land of the Lost [2009], Bewitched [2005])
Daryl Mitchell b. 1965 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Galaxy Quest)
Phoebe Cates b. 1963 (Drop Dead Fred, Gremlins 1 and 2)
Faye Grant b. 1957 (The Omen IV: The Awakening, V, Voyager from the Unknown, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk, The Greatest American Hero)
Jerry Doyle b. 1956 (Storm Watch, Sliders, Babylon 5)
Ann Turkel b. 1946 (The Hunger [TV], RoboCop [TV], Highlander [TV], Deep Space, Worlds Beyond, Knight Rider, Death Ray 2000, Humanoids from the Deep)
Richard LeParmentier b. 1946 died 15 April 2013 (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Superman II, Space: 1999, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Rollerball [1975], The People That Time Forgot)
Barnard Hughes b. 1916 died 11 July 2006 (The Lost Boys, TRON, Mr. Merlin, The UFO Incident, The Borrowers, Dark Shadows [TV], ‘Way Out)
Sonny Tufts b. 1911 died 4 June 1970 (Cat-Women of the Moon)
Mary Philbin b. 1902 died 7 May 1993 (The Phantom of the Opera [1925])

An abbreviated birthday list today and three of the performers have only one genre credit each. Last year I had Jerry Doyle in the Picture Slot, mainly because I'm still a fan of Babylon 5, but I decided to switch things up this year and go with Phoebe Cates. Of course the Fabulous Babe factor is part of the reason, but this is also my first opportunity to have a garish Japanese magazine cover featured on the blog.

Tell me how I can resist that one-two combination?

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

Movies released
Inception released, 2010
I, Robot released 16 July 2004

Predictor: Herman Kahn in the 1972 book Things to Come, published by the Hudson Institute

Prediction: Population growth is not accelerating, but slowing down and may even be topping out, although probably not before 1985.

Reality: Kahn was right about the growth rate slowing by 1972, but we still haven't come down to zero population growth, which would be necessary for the population itself to "top out". It's still a little hard for me to wrap my head around it, but the world population has doubled since I was in grade school back in the 1960s, from 3.5 billion to 7 billion.

According to the Wikipedia page which gives the world population in five year increments from 1950 to 2010, The biggest percentage jump was from 1960 to 1965, when the world population went up 11.84%. The good news is the five year growth rates have been falling fairly consistently. The bad news is the rate from 2005 to 2010 jumped up to 8.03%, a lot more than the 6.33% growth from 2000 to 2005. 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An exact date for a nuclear attack interrupts the regular schedule.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!