12 March 2015

 Birthdays
Will Cuddy b. 1992 (Grimm)
Jaimie Alexander b. 1984 (Thor, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ultradome, Kyle XY)
Samm Levine b. 1982 (Warehouse 13 , Vamped Out)
Aaron Farb b. 1982 (Powers, Revolution, Grimm)
Dave Eggers b. 1970 (screenwriter, Where the Wild Things Are)
Aaron Eckhart b. 1968 (I, Frankenstein, Battle Los Angeles, The Dark Knight, Neverwas, Paycheck, The Core, Aliens in the Family)
Tanveer K. Atwal (The Matrix Revolutions)
Titus Welliver b. 1961 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Touch, Grimm, Lost, Supernatural, Jericho, Star Trek: Voyager, Total Recall 2070 [TV], Kindred: The Embraced, The X-Files, Tales from the Crypt)
Courtney B. Vance b. 1960 (Final Destination 5, FlashForward, Space Cowboys, )
Jason Beghe b. 1960 (X-Men: First Class, The X-Files, Quantum Leap, Alien Nation [TV])
Chris Sanders b. 1960 (writer, The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast)
Lesley Manville b. 1956 (Maleficent, An Adventure in Space and Time, A Christmas Carol [2009])
Caren Kaye b. 1951 (Teen Witch, Out of This World, Amazing Stories, Monster Squad)
Laura Waterbury b. 12 March 1947 died 25 September 2013 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Mac and Me, Innerspace, the Twilight Zone [1985])
Liza Minnelli b. 1946 (Faerie Tale Theatre)
Jim Sharman b. 1945 (director, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment)
Gudrun Ure b. 1926 (The 10th Kingdom, Super Gran)
Harry Harrison b. 1925 died 15 August 2012 (author, Bill the Galactic Hero, The Stainless Steel Rat, Make Room! Make Room!)
Frank Campanella b. 1919 died 30 December 2006 (Salvage 1, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Captain Video)
Frank Overton b. 1918 died 24 April 1967 (Star Trek, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Takashi Shimura b. 1905 died 11 February 1982 (Godzilla [1977 and 1954], Kwaidan, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Mothra, The Mysterians, Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Godzilla Raids Again )
Alfred Abel b. 1879 died 3 December 1937 (Metropolis)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was given to the lovely Jaimie Alexander from Thor and the handsome Frank Overton from Star Trek. There are some well-known faces born this day who still have careers, but I decided to go old school and have a picture of Takashi Shimura as the paleontologist from the original Godzilla. In the United States in the 1950s, it was the rare genre movie that had a budget big enough to attract A-List actors, but Shimura was definitely A-List in Japan. He was one of Kurosawa's favorite actors and had the role as the leader of The Seven Samurai, the role Yul Brynner took on in the American remake The Magnificent Seven. While he does have eight roles in genre films, imdb.com lists 233 credits from the 1930s to the 1980s. He was a movie star and he was a good one.

2. Nepotism FTW. Frank Campanella was Joseph Campanella's older brother, I'm not sure how much either influenced the other's career. Liza Minnelli, on the other hand, I have no problem saying her career started with nepotism, but I also have no problem saying she made the best of it. I mean, she ain't Lorna Luft.

3. Living Canadian free. It happens occasionally and this is one of those occasions. My trip to imdb.com turned up zero folks born north of the border this day.

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

Movie released 
The Andromeda Strain released, 1971

Predictor: Leo Cherne, editor-publisher of Research Institute of America in 1955, qutoed in The Experts Speak

Prediction: By 1965, the deluxe open-road car will probably be 20 feet long, powered by a gas turbine, little brother to the jet turbine.

Reality: Well, by 1966, there was maybe one car that fit that description, though not in the real world. 20 feet long is a whole lotta car and I don't know of any production vehicles that used gas turbines. In the late 1960s there was a turbine car that qualified for the Indianapolis 500, but the technology didn't catch on.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to H. G. Wells and his 1902 book Anticipations.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!