Saturday, March 21, 2015

21 March 2015

Birthdays
Scott Eastwood b. 1986 (Texas Chainsaw 3D)
Sonequa Martin-Green b. 1985 (The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time)
Honorine Bell b. 1981 (A Guy, A Girl, A Space Helmet, The Thirst: Blood War, )
Sam Troughton b. 1977 (AVP: Alien vs. Predator)
Joseph Mawle b. 1974 (Sense8, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Awakening, Game of Thrones, Merlin[2009])
Laura Allen b. 1974 (Clown, Ravenswood, Awake, From Within, The 4400)
Vanessa Branch b. 1973 (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lost, The Invisible Man [TV], Star Trek: Voyager, The Cell)
Jaye Davidson b. 1968 (Stargate)
Karyn Kusama b. 1968 (director, Jennifer’s Body, Aeon Flux)
Greg Ellis b. 1968 (The Hobbit, Touch, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek [2009], Knight Rider [2008], Beowulf, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Brimstone, The X-Files)
Lara Lamberti b. 1967 (Aenigma, Red Sonja)
Phillip Troy Linger b. 1964 (The Hunger Games)
Matthew Broderick b. 1962 (The Stepford Wives [2004], Inspector Gadget, Godzilla [1998], Project X, Faerie Tale Theatre, WarGames, Ladyhawke)
Kathryn Greenwood b. 1962 (Wonderfalls, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, RoboCop [TV], Maniac Mansion)
Kassie Wesley DePaiva b. 1961 (Time Trax, Evil Dead II)
Sabrina Le Beauf b. 1958 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Gary Oldman b. 1958 (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, RoboCop, The Dark Knight Rises, Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Lost in Space [movie], The Fifth Element, Dracula)
Timothy Dalton b. 1944 (Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Hercules [2005 TV], Tales from the Crypt, Flash Gordon)
Lorene Yarnell Jansson b. 1944 died 29 July 2010 (Spaceballs, Wonder Woman)
Alex Courtney b. 1940 (Programmed to Kill, The Bionic Woman)
Kathleen Widdoes b. 1939 (The Invaders, Way Out)
Roger Hammond b. 1936 died 8 November 2012 (Bedazzled [2000], A Christmas Carol [1999], Ghostbusters of East Finchley, Morons from Outer Space, Doctor Who, Queen Kong)
Al Williamson b. 1931 died 12 June 2010 (illustrator, Flash Gordon)
James Coco b. 1930 died 25 February 1987 (The Stepford Children, Twilight Zone [1985], The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Alice in Wonderland [1983])
Cliff Norton b. 1918 died 25 January 2003 (Tabitha, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Terrific, It’s About Time, The Munsters, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll)
Peter Bull b. 1912 died 20 May 1984 (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, A Christmas Carol [1951], The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus [1947])
Gustav Frohlich b. 1902 died 22 December 1987 (Metropolis)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark from Game of Thrones and Gary Oldman from Harry Potter. Even with these two removed, there are plenty of good choices for iconic, including Timothy Dalton from Flash Gordon, Matthew Broderick from WarGames, Jaye Davidson from Stargate, or an illustration by the late great Al Williamson. But I decided on the late Lorene Yarnell, the woman who was inside the Dot Matrix robot in Spaceballs. I was not aware she was dead.

2. Spot the Canadian! If you know your 20th Century Canadian genre productions, today's solo Canuck should not be tough to find.

3. Nepotism FTW. Scott Eastwood started his career using his mother's name Reeves, but he's pretty much got his dad's face. He's Clint Eastwood's son.

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

Movie released
Divergent released, 2014  
 
Predictor: Hempstead Washburne 1852-1918, mayor of Chicago, asked to predict the world of 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition

Prediction: The political condition of the United States in 1993 will be very similar to that of the present. Railroads and telegraphs will be under public control. We will still be on the gold standard. Corporations will tend towards more perfect centralization, until the monopolies become so obnoxious that they will be regulated by federal and local statutes. The accumulation of wealth will continue, but laws will be enacted to regulate the amount of wealth that can be inherited. The laboring classes shall organize and become a large part of the middle class. It is not improbable that women will obtain the franchise in many states.

Reality: Washburne starts by saying it's business as usual, then proceeds to predict a much more liberal form of government than the one that was in place in 1893, with women's suffrage, successful labor unions, trust busting government and taxes that discourage a permanent class of inherited wealth. It is interesting to note that besides the gold standard and women's suffrage, Washburne's topics are still a big part of the liberal-conservative debate even 122 years later.

As for facial hair, it's a bold mustache, but the rest is pretty tame. He kind of looks like the actor Bruce McGill, doesn't he?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

I'm not keen on repeating myself this year on choices for the Picture Slot, but tomorrow looks like one of those days.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

5 comments:

  1. Washburne very much does look like Bruce McGill when McGill lets his mustache grow out.

    My vote for next year if you're still doing this is Timothy Dalton, who ALSO had an iconic Doctor Who role but the name got swallowed in the noise. He was Rassilon, the first and most powerful Time Lord ever ... but his role as Barin in Flash Gordon was a lot more fun. I haven't seen Penny Dreadful yet but I've heard good things about it.

    Ms. Greenwood is the Canadian, but I had to look her up to know which role she'd played in Wonderfalls, one of those series which got no support at all from its network (three guesses which network failed to give a fantasy/SF series any support).

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    1. I liked Wonderfalls as well. I remember the line "You can't speak! You don't have vocal chords!"

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    2. Wonderfalls had lots of great lines and bits. And one of its guest characters actually did a guest spot on a different TV show. The Muffin Buffalo lady showed up on an episode of Pushing Daisies, meaning Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls are in the same universe and there are two characters who look like Lee Pace. (A friend of mine got this really odd look in her eyes when I mentioned that.)

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  2. Oh, and my vote for tomorrow is Mary Tamm: iconic (Romana in Doctor Who) AND a "fabulous babe," who passed away in 2012.

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    Replies
    1. Well, if I don't go with the "obvious" choice tomorrow, I'll have to start a new label.

      Spite the Canadian!

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Traveler! Have you news... FROM THE FUTURE?