4 February 2015

 Birthdays
Bug Hall b. 1985 (Revolution, Arachnoquake, Charmed, The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas)
Dina Rosenmeir b. 1976 (The Gene Generation, Daredevil)
Sahar Knite b. 1975 (Game of Thrones)
Vincent Walsh b. 1972 (Lost Girl, ReGenesis, Mutant X, Space Truckers)
Rob Corddry b. 1971 (Hot Tub Time Machine, Rapture-Palooza, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World)
Gabrielle Anwar b. 1970 (The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mine, Mysterious Island, Flying Virus, Body Snatchers, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [1989], The Storyteller)
Brandy Ledford b. 1969 (Stargate, Andromeda, Smallville, The Invisible Man, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Welcome to Paradox, First Wave, Demolition Man)
Stig Henrik Hoff b. 1965 (The Thing [2011])
Jim O’Heir b. 1962 (Helen Keller vs Werewolves, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Star Trek: Voyager, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
John Gordon Sinclair b. 1962 (World War Z, Erik the Viking)
Jenette Goldstein b. 1960 (Star Trek: Generations, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Max Headroom, Aliens)
Adrienne King b. 1960 (Friday the 13th 1 & 2)
Mitchell Kosterman b. 1958 (Stargate SG-1, Smallville, Dark Angel, The X-Files, Sliders)
Michael Simkins b. 1958 (V for Vendetta)
Lisa Eichorn b. 1952 (About Time, Jericho, Swamp Thing [1992 TV], Moon 44)
Richard Lineback b. 1952 (Star Trek: Enterprise, The Stand, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Max Headroom, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Death Ray 2000)
Patrick Bergin b. 1951 (Berserker: Hell’s Warrior, Ella Enchanted, Smallville, Dracula [2002 TV], Amazons and Gladiators, Beneath Loch Ness, Merlin: The Return, The Lost World [1998], Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, Frankenstein [1992 TV])
Michael Beck b. 1949 (Crusade, Babylon 5, Megaforce)
John Schuck b. 1940 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek VI, Star Trek IV, Holmes and Yoyo)
George A. Romero b, 1940 (director, Survival of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead)
Gary Conway b. 1936 (Land of the Giants, I was a Teenage Frankenstein, The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent)
Collin Wilcox Paxton b. 1935 died 14 October 2009 (American Gothic, The Immortal [1970], Twilight Zone)
Jerry Adler b. 1929 (Quantum Leap)
Russell Hoban b. 1925 died 13 December 2011 (author, Riddley Walker)
Conrad Bain b. 1923 died 14 January 2013 (C.H.O.M.P.S., Dark Shadows [1969])
William Phipps b. 1922 (Tucker’s Witch, Time Express, Space Force, The Green Hornet, Batman, The Munsters, The Evil of Frankenstein, Twilight Zone, Men Into Space, The Snow Creature, The Twonky, Cat-Women of the Moon, War of the Worlds[1953], Invaders from Mars)
Ida Lupino b. 1918 died 3 August 1995 (The Food of the Gods, The Devil’s Rain, Batman, Twilight Zone)
William Talman b. 1915 died 30 August 1968 (The Invaders)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In 2014, the Picture Slot was given to Jenette Goldstein as the body building Marine in Aliens, her first screen credit. This year it's Gary Conway from the Irwin Allen show Land of the Giants. Conway was also a bodybuilder and posed tastefully naked in some Body Beautiful magazines early in his career. Fans of Galaxy Quest will remember the cast members joked about how long it took before Tim Allen's character was not wearing a shirt on their adventure. I don't recall the people in charge of Land of the Giants figuring out how to get Conway naked from the waist up, but he was still in very good shape when the show was filmed. It should be noted that in his day, bodybuilders were trying to look like Jack LaLanne, not Arnold Schwarzenegger.It should also be noted that Conway was in The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent, a movie that got the MST3K treatment.

Were I not going for a bodybuilding theme, other good choices here would be a poster of one of George A. Romero's many zombie films or the cover of Russell Hoban's excellent book Riddley Walker.

2. Spot the Canadians, two hint edition. There are three actors on today's list holding Canadian citizenship. You would have to be a Diff'rent Strokes trivia fiend to know Conrad Bain was born north of the border, so I'm giving his name away for free. That leaves two Canucks to be spotted. The other hint is that we have a faux Canadian lurking as well, plenty of credits but born in the U.S.A.  See if you can find the real and reject the fake.

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

 Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1901 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: The asphalt and macadam tracks which are now being laid down along the sides of roads for the convenience of cyclists, are the significant forerunners of an improvement destined to produce a revolution in road traffic during the twentieth century. When automobiles have become very much more numerous, and local authorities find that the settlement of wealthy or comparatively well-to-do families in their neighborhoods may depend very largely upon the question whether light road-motor traffic may be conveniently conducted to and from the nearest city, an immense impetus will be administered to the reasonable efforts made for catering for the demand for tracks for the accommodation of automobiles, both private and public.

Reality: I found out about this book because H.G. Wells gave it a tip of the hat in Anticipations. Both Wells and Sutherland predicted more paved roads, but Wells thought it would take a long time and mostly be privately funded. Sutherland doesn't give a time frame, but he does speculate the development will be publicly funded. Paved roads are so ubiquitous now it's a little strange for me to realize how recent a development they were.

Never to be Forgotten: Bridget Turner 1939-2014. Some obituaries I hear about in the main news, but others come to me from a group of obit fans on Facebook. The British actress Bridget Turner died back in December, but I first saw her death notice only yesterday. She had a long career on the stage and on British TV, but only appeared in genre productions in this century, once on Doctor Who and in two movies based on Terry Pratchett's works The Hogfather and The Color of Magic. I didn't see any of her early work. The first production on TV I saw with her in it was the 1995 version of Pride and Predjudice, where she played one of Mr. Darcy's domestic servants, Mrs. Reynolds.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Bridget Turner, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another corker from that treasure trove of bad predictions, The Experts Speak.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!