7 January 2015

 Birthdays
Liam Aiken b. 1990 (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Robert Sheehan b. 1988 (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Demons Never Die, Misfits, Season of the Witch, Ghostwood)
Haley Bennett b. 1988 (The Hole)
Lyndsy Fonseca b. 1987 (Agent Carter, Kick-Ass 1 &2, Hot Tub Time Machine, Heroes, Phil of the Future)
Brett Dalton b. 1983 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Lauren Cohan b. 1982 (The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural)
Tom Harper b. 1980 (director, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, The Borrowers, Demons )
Merritt Wever b. 1980 (Birdman, Signs)
Reggie Austin b. 1979 (The Omen [2006])
Dustin Diamond b. 1977 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Munsters Today, Purple People Eater)
Tyron Leitso b. 1976 (Wonderfalls, House of the Dead, Dinotopia, Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, Mysterious Ways, First Wave)
Jeremy Renner b. 1971 (The Avengers, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Thor, 28 Weeks Later, Angel)
David Yost b. 1969 (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Irrfan Khan b. 1967 (Jurassic World, The Amazing Spider-Man)
Nicolas Cage b. 1964 (Left Behind, National Treasure, Kick-Ass, Ghost Rider, Season of the Witch, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Knowing, Vampire’s Kiss)
Lester Speight b. 1963 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Meteor Man)
Mark Allen Shepherd b. 1961 (Deep Space Nine)
Linda Kozlowski b. 1958 (Village of the Damned [1995] )
Robert Longo b. 1953 (director, Johnny Mnemonic)
Erin Gray b. 1950 (Star Trek Continues, The Guild, Ghouls, Nuclear Hurricane, Jason Goes to Hell, Superboy, Deadly Nightmares, The Princess and the Dwarf, Starman [TV], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Anne Schedeen b. 1949 (ALF, The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O., Exo-Man, Embryo, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Steven Williams b. 1949 (Jack the Giant Slayer, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1, The X Files, SeaQuest 2032, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Wizards and Warriors)
Terry Moore b. 1929 (Mansion of Blood, Mighty Joe Young [1949 and 1998], Knight Rider, Death Dimension, Batman)
William Peter Blatty b. 1928 (author, The Exorcist)
Gene L. Coon b. 1924 died 8 July 1973 (writer, Star Trek)
Vincent Gardenia b. 1920 died 9 December 1992 (Little Shop of Horrors [1986], The Twilight Zone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Charles Addams b. 1912 died 29 September 1988 (cartoonist, The Addams Family)
Alan Napier b. 1903 died 8 August 1988 (Batman, Twilight Zone, Premature Burial, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Island of Lost Women, The Mole People, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Isle of the Dead, The Uninvited, The Invisible Man Returns, Cat People)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot featured Jeremy Renner from The Avengers and Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn on Deep Space Nine. This year, I could have gone old school with Alan Napier as Alfred from Batman or new school with Brett Dalton, agent Grant Ward from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Instead I split the difference and used a picture of Erin Gray as Wilma Deering from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. You might ask: Did her fabulous babe-osity have anything to do with the selection process? Let me answer your question with a question.

How long have you been reading the blog?

2. Faux Canadians and Stealth Canadians. Let me say that while there are many Canadian genre TV shows, the Big Four are Stargate, Supernatual, Smallville and The X-Files. Steven Williams shows up on three out of four, including the recurring role of Mr. X on The X-Files, but he was born in the States. He may have moved and established residence, but I don't have any information to back that up. I suspect he became a well-known face through the role as Mr. X and other shows wanted to hire him after that.  Our actual native-born Canadian is Tyron Leitso, though his credits are not as obviously Canadian.

3. The Guy at the Door. It doesn't happen every day, but it is true of this list. William Peter Blatty is alive, as is everyone younger than he is. Everyone older is dead. When this happens and I point it out, which is something of a jinx I suppose, I also send my best wishes for many happy returns.

Many happy returns to all the living on our list, especially William Peter Blatty, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: John Smith, our bachelor, gladly accepts an invitation to dine with friends. This evening he goes out to the house of Mr. Barrett, a widower who lives among the rhododendrons on the southern slope of Slide Mountain, with his centenarian mother and charming daughter.

As soon as he arrives Miss Barrett cooks the dinner with her own dainty fingers. For neither here nor in the palaces of the banker-princes are there servants any more. The fairy electricity has reduced culinary operations to a series of dainty gestures, very similar to those made by typewriters or pianists. All dishes are prepared in the dining-room, right at the table, by means of glittering precision instruments of copper and nickel.

Reality: For those unfamiliar with New York state geography, Slide Mountain is in the Catskills and John Smith can enjoy an evening there and get home to Manhattan because he has a flying car. As for no one having servants, most notably cooks, that isn't exactly true but the servant population has been reduced considerably. Push button cooking? Sounds like a microwave to me, though most people still have the kitchen and dining room separate from one another.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt our regular prediction schedule for a frightening dystopia filmed in 2010 about those bleak future days of 2019.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!