4 January 2015

 Birthdays
Maddie Hasson b. 1995 (Grimm)
Olivia Tennet b. 1991 ( Power Rangers R.P.M., Boogeyman, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Xena: Warrior Princess)
Lenora Crichlow b. 1985 (Being Human [U.K.], Doctor Who)
Kerry Condon b. 1983 (Believe, The Walking Dead)
Erin Cahill b. 1980 (Sleepy Hollow, Supernatural, Jekyll, Creature Unknown, Power Rangers Time Force)
Seth Grahame-Smith b. 1976 (writer, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dark Shadows [2012])
Jeremy Licht b. 1971 (Swamp Thing [TV], Twilight Zone: The Movie)
Josh Stamberg b. 1970 (Dark Skies, Legion. The Time Machine)
Julia Ormond b. 1965 (Witches of East End, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Exploding Sun)
Dave Foley b. 1963 (Eureka, Vampires Suck, Stargate: Atlantis, Netherbeast Incorporated, Sky High, The Tick, Monkeybone, From the Earth to the Moon, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy)
Julian Sands b. 1958 (Gotham, Smallville, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, Curse of the Ring, Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt, The Tomorrow Man, Witch Hunt, Warlock, Tale of a Vampire, Arachnophobia)
Gary Jones b. 1958 (Stargate, Supernatural, Painkiller Jane, Andromeda, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Highlander [TV], Sliders)
Matt Frewer b. 1958 (The Librarians, Witches of East End, Falling Skies, Orphan Black, Delete, Eureka, Supernatural, Alice, Weirdsville, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, Taken, PSI Factor, Apollo 11, Lawnmower Man 2, The Stand, Eerie, Indiana, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Max Headroom, Supergirl)
Ann Magnuson b. 1956 (Small Soldiers, The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas, Tank Girl, The Hunger)
Diana Ewing b. 1946 (The Girl with Something Extra, Star Trek)
John Bennett Perry b. 1941 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Independence Day, I Dream of Jeannie... 15 Years Later)
Jim Norton b. 1938 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Memoirs of an Invisible Man)
Richard Stahl b. 1932 died 18 June 2006 (Lois & Clark, Beware! The Blob, Slaughterhouse-Five)
Sorrell Booke b. 1930 died 11 February 1994 (Bigfoot and Wildboy, The Cat from Outer Space, Once Upon a Borthers Grimm, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Barbara Rush b. 1927 (Knight Rider, The Bionic Woman, Batman, The Outer Limits, It Came From Outer Space, When Worlds Collide)
Rosalie Crutchley b. 1920 died 28 July 1997 (Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, Creatures Time Forgot, The Prisoner, The Haunting, The Gamma People)
Sterling Holloway b. 1905 died 22 November 1992 (Twilight Zone, Adventures of Superman)
Jacob Grimm b. 1785 died 20 September 1863 (collector, Grimm’s Fairy Tales)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Matt Frewer. This year, it's Diana Ewing, a long tall drink of water who had a relatively short career, seen here from The Original Series episode The Cloud Minders. Every show is different, of course, but it does seem odd that I Dream of Jeannie had such a debate on whether or not to show Barbara Eden's navel when Star Trek did it as often as possible.

2. Canadians, native and transplants. Quite often, the Canadian actors on our birthday lists are under 40 or maybe just slightly over, but all the Canucks today are over 50. Dave Foley is the only one born in Canada. Matt Frewer is from Washington D.C. and Gary Jones is British, but both now live in Canada.

3. Wait... he's dead? Oh That Guy Richard Stahl was all over the TV screen in the 1970s and 1980s. His longest gig as a regular was on It's A Living, but he did lots of guest appearances on lots of shows, mainly sitcoms. I was completely unaware he died nine years ago.

4. Fun facts to know and tell. The Brothers Grimm did not write fairy tales, they collected them from around continental Europe. Their main scholarly work is Grimm's Law, which shows evidence that there was a language from which Latin and German both arose, with some sounds changing in the two branches. Completely separate fun fact. Jeremy Licht was a child actor and played Anthony in the It's a Good Life episode of Twilight Zone: The Movie.

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

Predictor:  National Intelligence Council's Global Trends 2015, published in 2000

Predictions: Here are the ones that haven't come to pass yet and are not likely to in the next twelve months.

A new state of Palestine

Iraq acquiring nuclear weapons (assumes Saddam in power)

Japan losing its position as the world's third-largest economy.
(Still nearly double the size of #4 Germany)

Ukrainians of all political stripes likely to opt for independence rather than reintegration into Russia’s sphere of influence.

Most technological advances in the next 15 years ... will not have substantial positive impact on the African economies. (According to The Atlantic article which quotes the study, cell phones have played a large part in stoking economic dynamism in sub-Saharan Africa.)

Europe's agenda will be to put in place the final components of EU integration. (with the Euro crisis, not so much.)

Reality: This prediction reminds me of the work of Herman Kahn, who didn't do such a great job of predicting the 1970s and 1980s, even though "serious" people paid attention. To be fair, it would have been very hard to predict a terror attack so large that it would completely change American foreign policy and a global economic crisis as bad as anything in a century.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Many Republicans predicted dire economic consequences if Obama was re-elected. Let take a tally now before the Republican controlled Congress has a chance to fuck things up, as is the Republican wont.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!