Friday, April 3, 2015

3 April 2015

 Birthdays
Jackson Bond b. 1996 (The Invasion)
Hayley Kiyoko b. 1991 (The Vampire Diaries, Scooby Doo! [TV movies], Wizards of Waverly Place)
Jerry Messing b. 1986 (Addams Family Reunion)
Rebekah Kennedy b. 1984 (Season of the Witch)
Cobie Smulders b. 1982 (Avengers, Captain America, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Andromeda, Jeremiah, Smallville)
Alessandro Juliani b. 1978 (The 100, Almost Human, Man of Steel, Continuum, Eve of Destruction, Fringe, Smallville, Dinosaur Train, Riverworld, Alice [TV], Reaper, Battlestar Galactica, The Time Tunnel [2006], Stargate SG-1, Earthsea, Jeremiah, Welcome to Paradox)
Matthew Goode b. 1978 (Watchmen)
Philip Brodie b. 1975 (Dawn of the Dragonslayer, Zombie Diaries 2, Merlin [2010 TV], Young Dracula, My Hero)
Jacky Wu b. 1974 (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)
Jamie Bamber b. 1973 (Star Trek Continues, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, The Devil’s Tattoo)
Adam Scott b. 1973 (Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Piranha 3D, Wonderfalls, Star Trek: First Contact)
Catherine McCormack b. 1972 (28 Weeks Later, Shadow of the Vampire)
Ben Mendelsohn b. 1969 (The Dark Knight Rises, Farscape)
Jennifer Rubin b. 1962 (Amazons and Gladiators, The Wasp Woman, Screamers, Tales from the Crypt, The Twilight Zone [1987], A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
Eddie Murphy b. 1961 (Meet Dave, The Haunted Mansion, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Doctor Dolittle, Vampire in Brooklyn)
Elizabeth Gracen b. 1961 (Coherence, Charmed, Highlander [TV], Time Trax, The Flash [1991], The Death of the Incredible Hulk, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat)
David Hyde Pierce b. 1959 (Hellboy, Addams Family Values, Vampire’s Kiss, The Terminator)
Vanna Bonta b. 1958 died 8 July 2014 (Time Walker, The Beastmaster)
Alec Baldwin b. 1958 (Dr. Suess’ The Cat in the Hat, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, The Shadow, Beetlejuice)
Robin Mossley b. 1955 (Sanctuary, Reaper, Painkiller Jane, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, The 4400, Alienated, Jeremiah, Elf, Dead Like Me, The X Files, Highlander [TV])
Uri Gavriel b. 1955 (The Dark Knight Rises, The Mummy Lives)
Pat Proft b. 1947 (writer, The Star Wars Holiday Special)
Lamberto Bava b. 1944 (director, Demons 1 and 2, Devilfish)
Wayne Newton b. 1942 (Kingdom Hospital, Tales from the Crypt)
Eric Braeden b. 1941 (The Aliens Are Coming, Wonder Woman, Project U.F.O., The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Colossus: The Forbin Project)
Wolf Kahler b. 1940 (Cockneys vs Zombies, Loch Ness, Space, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Boys from Brazil)
Lawrence Dane b. 1937 (Phenomenon II, MythQuest, Stargate SG-1, The Time Shifters, Highlander: The Raven, Bride of Chucky, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Darkman II, Millennium, Bionic Showdown, Scanners, The Invaders)
Kevin Hagen b. 1928 died 9 July 2005 (Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, Twilight Zone)
Timothy Bateson b. 1926 died 16 September 2009 (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hogfather, My Hero, Relic Hunter, Merlin, Neverwhere, Doctor Who, The Evil of Frankenstein, The Day the Earth Caught Fire)
Marlon Brando b. 1924 died 1 July 2004 (Superman, The Island of Dr. Moreau)
Harry Landers b. 1921 (Star Trek, World of Giants)
Jan Sterling b. 1921 died 26 March 2004 (The Incredible Hulk, 1984 [1956])
Washington Irving b. 1783 died 28 November 1859 (author, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was held by folks best known for their roles in the 21st Century, the lovely Cobie Smulders and the handsome Jamie Bamber. With them removed from the list, my top two choices were Alec Baldwin from Beetlejuice and today's winner, Marlon Brando as Jor-El in Superman. Casting him was a big damn deal, but he really didn't have much to do.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are four today. Cobie Smulders did the TV circuit before she was cast as Maria Hill in the Marvel movies, Alessandro Jiuliani also has an easy to spot resume. The two others are older than our usual Canadian actors, Robin Mossley turning 60 and Lawrence Dane now 78.

3. Nepotism FTW. I'm not going to count Alec Baldwin as nepotism, since he's the most successful of the brothers. On the other hand, Lamberto Bava is Mario Bava's son, so he definitely deserves a mention.

4. Things I didn't know. I love to check movies for early roles from actors who became much better known, but I don't remember David Hyde Pierce in The Terminator. I may have to go back and watch the movie again. The second thing I didn't know was Vanna Bonta died last year. Because of her role in The Beastmaster, she should have clearly been given a Never to be Forgotten post, but I didn't know she was gone.

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


Predictor: H.G. Wells in his 1902 book Anticipations

Prediction: Many people, with their minds inspired by the number of editions which evening papers pretend to publish and do not, incline to believe that daily papers may presently give place to hourly papers, each with the last news of the last sixty minutes photographically displayed. As a matter of fact no human being wants that, and very few are so foolish as to think they do; the only kind of news that any sort of people clamours for hot and hot is financial and betting fluctuations, lottery lists and examination results; and the elaborated and cheapened telegraphic and telephonic system of the coming days, with tapes (or phonograph to replace them) in every post-office and nearly every private house, so far from expanding this department, will probably sweep it out of the papers altogether.

Reality: I'm going to give Wells a strong grade for this one. Instead of hourly different versions of newspapers, he was predicting the hottest news would be sent by telegraph or telephone. The earliest experiments with radio had happened in the 1890s, many years before Wells wrote this, but nearly everyone in the field saw the drawbacks overwhelming the advantages. By the 1920s, it was one of the most important and practical modern inventions, but I am hard pressed to find anyone at the turn of the century who was predicting this. Our friend Sutherland has an idea for the use of wireless telegraphy that didn't come to pass, though it is rather clever, and his predictions for wireless telephony are very limited.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It had to happen eventually and the day is growing nigh. There are only two prophecies left from our pals from 1893.
 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 comments:

  1. So Cobie Smulders is only two days younger than her (non-Canadian-born) husband.

    Not certain what can be done with that information.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Obviously, the man is a cradle robber preying on a young girl through some kind of mail order bride service for foreign assignations.

      He should be shunned by polite society.

      Delete
  2. David Hyde Pierce had one, maybe two lines, and it didn't really sound like the voice we're used to. He was the passenger in the semi which ran over the terminator and to whom the terminator said, "Get out." It's still worth watching "The Terminator" again since the new movie coming up apparently trashes its continuity while referencing it constantly.

    ReplyDelete

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