19 September 2015

Birthdays
Taylor Geare b. 2001 (Flashforward, Inception)
Katrina Bowden b. 1988 (Piranha 3DD, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil)
Danielle Panabaker b. 1987 (The Flash, Time Lapse, Arrow, Piranha 3DD, Grimm, The Crazies, Sky High)
Kevin Zegers b. 1985 (The Colony, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Vampire, Zoon, Dawn of the Dead, Smallville, Twice in a Lifetime, It Came from the Sky, Nico the Unicorn, Specimen, The X Files)
Lydia Hearst b. 1984 (Cabin Fever: Patient Zero)
Columbus Short b. 1982 (Quarantine, War of the Worlds)
Tanja Reichert b. 1980 (Relic Hunter, Poltergeist: The Legacy)
Adam Dunnells b. 1980 (Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., No Ordinary Family)
Jeremy Jordan b. 1973 (Storm of the Century)
Sanaa Lathan b. 1971 (Alien vs. Predator, Blade)
Kim Richards b. 1964 (Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No, Race to Witch Mountain, Project U.F.O., Return from Witch Mountain, The Car, Escape to Witch Mountain, The Picture of Dorian Gray)
Paul McGuigan b. 1963 (director, Victor Frankenstein, Push)
Cheri Oteri b. 1962 (Southland Tales, Inspector Gadget)
Carolyn McCormick b. 1959 (Spectropia, The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Enemy Mine)
Richard Ridings b. 1958 (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Merlin, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Relic Hunter, Highlander [TV], Red Dwarf, Erik the Viking, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire)
Kevin Hooks b. 1958 (director, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Supernatural, Alphas, Lost, Alien Nation [TV], V; actor, Innerspace )
Rex Smith b. 1955 (The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, Transformations, Faeries Tale Theatre)
David Bamber b. 1954 (Doctor Who)
Allan Havey b. 1954 (The Man in the High Castle, Hancock)
Ernie Sabella b. 1949 (Quantum Leap, Fright Night Part 2)
Jeremy Irons b. 1948 (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Color of Magic, Eragon, The Time Machine)
Tanith Lee b. 1947 died 24 May 2015 (writer, Tales of the Flat Earth, Animal Castle)
Randolph Mantooth b. 1945 (Battlestar Galactica, Project U.F.O.)
Mariangela Melato b. 1941 died 11 January 2013 (Flash Gordon)
Lloyd Haynes b. 1934 died 31 December 1986 (The Green Hornet, Batman, Star Trek)
David McCallum b. 1933 (Jeremiah, Team Knight Rider, VR.5, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, The Watcher in the Woods, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein: The True Story, The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War, The Outer Limits)
Antonio Margheriti b. 1930 died 4 Novmeber 2002 (director, Alien from the Deep, Treasure Island in Outer Space, Yor, the Hunter from the Future, Flesh for Frankenstein, Mr. Superinvisible, War of the Planets, Wild, Wild Planet, Assignment: Outer Space)
Kathie Browne b. 1930 died 8 April 2003 (Star Trek, Mr. Terrific, The Brass Bottle, My Favorite Martian)
Mel Stewart b. 1929 died 24 February 2002 (Bride of Re-Animator, Martians Go Home, Dead Heat, The Invisible Woman, Mr. Merlin, The Greatest American Hero, Tabitha)
Adam West b. 1928 (Monster Island, Black Scorpion, An American Vampire Story, Weird Science [TV], The Flash, Doin’ Time on Planet Earth, Zombie Nightmare, Time Warp, Warp Speed, Batman, Bewitched, The Outer Limits, Robinson Crusoe on Mars)
William Hickey b. 1927 died 29 June 1997 (Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Tales from the Crypt, Between Time and Timbuktu)
Rosemary Harris b. 1927 (Radio Free Albemuth, Spider-Man, The Boys from Brazil)
Damon Knight b. 1922 died 15 April 2002 (writer, To Serve Man)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous Picture Slotters were Adam West and Kathie Brown, and this year's winner is Carolyn McCormick as Minuet, a character that proved the old phrase "Riker will chase anything in a skirt with a pulse" gave him way too much credit, since she was just a holodeck character.

2. Spot the Canadian! Kevin Zegers has the kind of career the Canadian government hoped they would be able to produce when they required a quota of Canadian born on the shows produced in their country.

3. Nepotism FTW. Lydia Hearst is the daughter of Patty Hearst.

4. MST3K. Adam West was in Zombie Nightmare.

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

The Weekly Soapbox: The Swan Song

This will be the last post on this blog. I have enjoyed myself for the past thirty three months putting the lists and predictions together and making my little comments, but my interest has been waning for some time now. I had hoped to make it through the end of the year or at least to make a month long tribute to Back to the Future II, but I just can't find the time right now. I'm teaching more classes than I have for a while, which is very good for my bank account, but a little bit of a challenge in terms of time management. Not doing the blog will save me about an hour a day in research and writing.

I want to thank all the people who read the blog over the past few years and especially those who took the time to leave comments. We all know the standard Internet warning "Don't read the comments!", but in the successful blogs I've written, the main reason I continued them was because I wanted to read what my commenters would have to say. You guys (and gals) have been great.

I also enjoyed learning new things in my research, like today when I read that Patty Hearst's daughter is a supermodel (who knew?), but as much as I enjoy a good Fun Fact to Know and Tell, time constraints mean our little party is coming to an end.
  
Wishing all my readers safe and happy journeys... IN THE FUTURE!

18 September 2015

Birthdays
Chris Riggi b. 1985 (Vampires Suck)
Alison Lohman b. 1979 (Gamer, Drag Me to Hell, Beowulf, The Thirteenth Floor, Kraa! The Sea Monster)
Travis Schuldt b. 1974 (Fringe, Big Bang Theory)
James Marsden b. 1973 (Westworld, X-Men, Superman Returns, Enchanted)
Michael Landes b. 1972 (Lois & Clark)
Jada Pinkett Smith b. 1971 (Gotham, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded)
Carrie Genzel b. 1971 (Flashforward, Wizards of Waverly Place, Jennifer’s Body, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Watchmen, Flash Gordon [TV], Beyond Loch Ness, The 4400, Painkiller Jane, Smallville, Kyle XY, The Dead Zone, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1)
Tara Fitzgerald b. 1967 (Game of Thrones)
Holly Robinson Peete b. 1964 (Howard the Duck)
John Mann b. 1962 (Supernatural, Bionic Woman [2007], The Butterfly Effect 2, Battlestar Galactica, Underworld: Evolution, Catwoman, The Chronicles of Riddick, Smallville, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel, Strange Frequency, The Girl from Tomorrow Part Two: Tomorrow’s End)
James Gandolfini b. 1961 died 19 June 2013 (Fallen)
Andrew Airlie b. 1961 (Intruders [2014 TV], Once Upon a Time, Collision Earth, Caprica, Fringe, Reaper, The Butterfly Effect 2, Eureka, Supernatural, Neverwas, The 4400, Stephen Kings’ Dead Zone, Fantastic Four, Stargate SG-1, Smallville, Earth: Final Conflict, Mysterious Ways, Total Recall 2070, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X Files, M.A.N.T.I.S, The Odyssey, Nightmare Cafe)
Ken Thomas b. 1961 (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Sin City)
Jasmin Geljo b. 1959 (Hemlock Grove, Skinwalkers, Land of the Dead)
Tim McInnerny b. 1956 (Outlander [2014 TV], Doctor Who, Erik the Viking)
Anna Levine a.k.a. Anna Thompson b. 1953 (The Crow, Leonard Part 6)
Beth Grant b. 1949 (Mockingbird Lane, Futurestates, Jericho, Southland Tales, Wonderfalls, Evil Alien Conquerors, Donnie Darko, The X Files, Angel, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Doctor Doolittle, The Wizard)
Alan Roberts b. 1948 died 21 March 2008 (Dinosaurus!, The Space Children)
Nicholas Clay b. 1946 died 25 May 2000 (Merlin [TV], Highlander [TV], The Odyssey, Excalibur, Terror of Frankenstein)
Gailard Sartain b. 1946 (Existo, RocketMan)
Veronica Carlson b. 1944 (Freakshow, Old Drac, The Horror of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Must be Destroyed, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave)
Fred Willard b. 1939 (My Future Boyfriend, Wizards of Waverly Place, Stargate SG-1, Good vs Evil, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Superman 50th Anniversary, Out of This World, Salem’s Lot, Americathon, Space Force, Tabitha)
Frankie Avalon b. 1939 (Panic in Year Zero!, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
William O’Malley b. 1931 (The Exorcist)
Phyllis Kirk b. 1927 died 19 October 2006 (Twilight Zone, House of Wax)
Grayson Hall b. 1922 died 7 August 1985 (Dark Shadows)
Jack Warden b. 1920 died 19 July 2006 (Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], The Invaders, Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
June Foray b. 1917 (hundreds of voice acting credits, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Twilight Zone)
Harry Townes b. 1914 died 23 May 2001 (The Warrior and the Sorceress, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Ark II, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Sixth Sense, The Immortal, The Invaders, Star Trek, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Men Into Space)
Leon Askin b. 1907 died 3 June 2005 (Frightmare, Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls, Genesis II, My Favorite Martian, Mr. Terrific, The Outer Limits, Mistress of the World, Adventures of Superman, Son of Sinbad)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was given to June Foray, who turns 98 today, and the late Nicholas Clay from Excalibur. Today, I go a little more new school with Jada Pinkett Smith from Gotham.

2. Spot the Canadians! Three actors on the list self-identify as Canadian and their resumes give it away, Carrie Ganzel, John Mann and Andrew Airlie. Airlie was actually born in Scotland.

3. MST3K. The late Alan Roberts was in The Space Children.

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 1901 book Anticipations

Prediction: Never before in the world's history was the command of the sea worth what it is now.

Reality: In 1901, this was certainly true, but command of the air would surpass it much sooner than Wells anticipated.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow's Soapbox discusses the future - or lack of same - for the blog.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

16 September 2015

Birthdays
Kyla Pratt b. 1986 (Dr. Doolittle, Lois and Clark)
Max Minghella b. 1985 (Horns)
Madeline Zima b. 1985 (The Vampire Diaries, Heroes)
Michelle Lombardo b. 1983 (Click)
Alexis Bledel b.1981 (Parts Per Billion, Sin City, Tuck Everlasting)
Bingbing Fan b. 1981 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Iron Man 3 [Chinese version], The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom, Future X-Cops, Investiture of the Gods)
Amy Price-Francis b. 1975 (The Purge: Anarchy, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Earthstorm, Mutant X)
Ed Stoppard b. 1974 (Branded, Nanny McPhee Returns, Relic Hunter, The Little Vampire)
Amy Poehler b. 1971 (Southland Tales)
Doug Cockle b. 1970 (Captain America: The First Avenger, Reign of Fire)
Sean Frye b. 1966 (Real Genius, E.T.)
Kurt Busiek b. 1960 (writer, Conan, Avengers, Superman, Astro City)
Jayne Brook b. 1960 (The Robinsons: Lost in Space, Gattaca, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace)
Danny John-Jules b. 1960 (Red Dwarf, Starhyke, Blade II, The Tomorrow People, Little Shop of Horrors)
Mike Mignola b. 1960 (writer, Hellboy)
Jennifer Tilly b. 1958 (Bride of Chucky, The Haunted Mansion, Embrace of the Vampire)
Kurt Fuller b. 1953 (Supernatural, Superhero Movie, The 4400, Carnivale, Charmed, The Tick, Timecop, Moonbase, Virus, Quantum Leap, Ghostbusters II, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, The Running Man, Knight Rider)
Christopher Rich b. 1953 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Babylon 5, The Charmings)
Mickey Rourke b. 1952 (Immortals, Sin City, Iron Man II, They Crawl)
Ed Begley Jr. b. 1949 (Brave New World [TV], Kingdom Hospital, Bug, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Meego, Star Trek: Voyager, Project: ALF, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Batman Forever, Faerie Tale Theatre, Transylvania 6-5000, Voyager from the Unknown, Voyagers!, Cat People, Battlestar Galactica [1978], Wonder Woman)
Linda Henning b. 1944 (Sliders, Mork & Mindy, My Living Doll)
Jules Bass b. 1935 (director, The Wind in the Willows, The Last Unicorn, The Flight of Dragons, Return of the King, Jack Frost, The Hobbit, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Frosty the Snowman, Mad Monster Party?, The New Adventures of Pinocchio)
George Chakiris b. 1934 (Pale Blood, Superboy, Wonder Woman, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.)
Anne Francis b. 1930 died 2 January 2011 (Conan [1997], Mazes and Monsters, Wonder Woman, The Invaders, The Satan Bug, Twilight Zone, Forbidden Planet, The Rocket Man)
Jack Kelly b. 1927 died 7 November 1992 (The Incredible Hulk, The Bionic Woman, Batman, Forbidden Planet)
Peter Falk b. 1927 died 23 June 2011(The Lost World [2001 TV movie], The Princess Bride, Wings of Desire, Twilight Zone)
Morgan Woodward b. 1925 (The X-Files, Knight Rider, Battle Beyond the Stars, The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O., Logan’s Run [TV], Planet of the Apes [TV], Star Trek)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. There are some great names and faces here, but I already used Danny John-Jules from Red Dwarf and Anne Francis from Forbidden Planet. I feel a little awkward when we have a Guy (or Gal) at the Door, but this is the first time in quite a while the oldest person on the list is still alive, so I send out special birthday wishes to Morgan Woodward, who turns 90 today, one of many actors who had two different roles on the original Star Trek. He had plenty of work outside of genre as well, including one of the great non-speaking roles in talkies history in Cool Hand Luke as The Walking Boss.

2. Nepotism FTW. Two sons who would count: Ed Begley Jr. and Max Minghella, son of director Anthony Minghella.

3. Living Canadian and MST3K free! Two of our regular labels get a break today.

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

Predictor: George Sutherland in the 1902 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: As the telegraphic and telephonic wires are extended so as to traverse practically all the streets of every city, the fire-insurance companies will find it to their advantage to promote a simple plan, depending on the use of a combustible thread passing round little pulleys in the corners of all the rooms and finally out to the front, where an electrical "contact-maker" is fixed, so that on the thread being burnt and broken at any point in its circuit, an electric message will be at once sent along the nearest wire to the fire-brigade station and a bell set ringing both inside and outside the premises.

Reality: I give Mr. Sutherland points for cleverness here, but smoke detectors do this job and probably somewhat more efficiently.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We still have plenty of predictions from Morris Ernst's book Utopia 1976, and I hate to waste a testable prediction.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

12 September 2015

Birthdays
Colin Ford b. 1996 (Under the Dome, Revolution, Supernatural, Jack and the Beanstalk, Journeyman, Smallville)
Alexia Fast b. 1992 (Supernatural, Tin Man, The 4400)
Alfie Allen b. 1986 (Game of Thrones)
Emmy Rossum b. 1986 (Comet, Dragonball: Evolution, The Day After Tomorrow)
Marty Adams b. 1981 (Hemlock Grove, Orphan Black, Dead Before Dawn 3D, Lost Girl, Repo Men, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Saw IV)
Ben McKenzie b. 1978 (Gotham)
Grace McEhlhinney b. 1974 (The Babadook)
Paul Walker b. 1973 died 30 November 2013 (Pleasantville, Tammy and the T-Rex, Timeline, Programmed to Kill, Monster in the Closet)
Gideon Emery b. 1972 (Daredevil, Grimm, Teen Wolf, True Blood, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
James Frey b. 1969 (author, I Am Number Four)
Louis C.K. (The Invention of Lying)
Darren E. Burrows b. 1966 (The Lone Gunmen, The X Files, Class of 1999, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Ramon Franco b. 1963 (Resident Evil: Extinction, The X Files, NightMan)
Amy Yasbeck b. 1962 (Dracula: Dead and Loving It, The Mask, Quantum Leap, Splash, Too, Werewolf, House: The Second Story)
Robert John Burke b. 1960 (Limitless, Witchblade, From the Earth to the Moon, Thinner, RoboCop 3)
Gregg Edelman b. 1958 (Spider-Man 2, The Manhattan Project)
Hans Zimmer b. 1957 (composer, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Man of Steel, Rise of the Undead, Batman Begins, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, Rango, Inception, The Ring, Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Space Rangers)
Peter Scolari b. 1955 (Gotham, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, From the Earth to the Moon, Lois & Clark, Ticks, The Twilight Zone [1988])
Joe Pantoliano b. 1951 (Sense8, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Roswell, The Matrix, Congo, Robot in the Family, Highlander [TV], Tales from the Crypt, Deadly Nightmares, Amazing Stories)
Christopher Neame b. 1947 (Star Trek: Enterprise, The Invisible Man [TV], Seven Days, The Apocalypse Watch, Sliders, Earth 2, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, The Flash, Superboy, Ghostbusters II, Beauty and the Beast, Bloodstone, Blakes 7, Dracula A.D. 1972, Lust for a Vampire, No Blade of Grass)
Milo Manara b. 1945 (artist)
Anne Helm b. 1938 (Amazing Stories, The Magic Sword)
Bill McKinney b. 1931 died 1 December 2011 (Hellborn, The Green Mile, It Came from Outer Space II, Back to the Future Part III, Galactica 1980, Strange New World, I Dream of Jeannie)
Ian Holm b. 1931 (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Day After Tomorrow, Simon Magus, eXistenZ, Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV 1998], The Fifth Element, Loch Ness, Frankenstein [1994], The Borrowers, Dreamchild, Brazil, Time Bandits, Alien, The Lost Boys [TV 1978])
Freddie Jones b. 1927 (Neverwhere, Dune, Firestarter, Krull, Firefox, Space:1999, Son of Dracula, Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV 1973], Old Drac, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed)
Stanislaw Lem b. 1921 died 27 March 2006 (author, Solaris, The Futurological Congress)
Edward Binns b.1916 died 4 December 1990 (Captain Nice, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone)
Mary Stewart b. 1916 died 9 May 2014 (author, The Merlin Trilogy)
Desmond Llewelyn b. 1914 died 19 December 1999 (Merlin [1993], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1980 TV], Moonraker, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Curse of the Werewolf, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Walter B. Gibson a.k.a. Maxwell Grant a.k.a. Edward S. Sullivan b. 1897 (writer, The Shadow, The Twilight Zone)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Excluding Alfie Allen from Game of Thrones and author Stanislaw Lem because they've already been in the Picture Slot, there are still plenty of good choices, including Joe Pantoliano from The Matrix and Ben McKenzie from Gotham, but I went with a somewhat gruesome photo of Ian Holm (is a ripped up android truly gruesome?) just as a reminder of how good the cast for the original Alien truly was.

2. Spot the Canadians and MST3K. Three of our youngest actors - Colin Ford, Alexia Fast and  Marty Adams - have Canadian looking resumes, but Colin Ford was born south of the border. Ann Helm does not have a Canadian looking resume, in large part because he career started before the Canadian genre boom, but she was in The Magic Sword, so we have an MST3K movie on today's list.

3. Wait... he's alive? They don't look that much alike when they are younger, but Freddie Jones and the late Aubrey Morris did look very similar (to me at least) when they got older, and I definitely have mixed them up more than once. Freddie Jones is also the father of actor Toby Jones, a fact I didn't know until this morning. Best birthday wishes, sir.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow I will get on The Weekly Soapbox.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

9 September 2015

Birthdays
Mary-Jessica Pitts b. 1996 (Hancock)
Lauren Clinton b. 1993 (Bridge to Terabithia)
Kelsey Asbille Chow b. 1991 (The Amazing Spider-Man)
Jo Woodcock b. 1988 (Dorian Gray)
Josh Herdman b. 1987 (Wizards vs. Aliens, Harry Potter)
Amy Manson b. 1985 (Once Upon a Time, Atlantis, Being Human, Torchwood, Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud)
Julie Gonzalo b. 1981 (Vamp U)
Michelle Williams b. 1980 (Oz the Great and Powerful, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Timemaster, Species)
Maria Arce b. 1979 (Mortal Kombat: Conquest)
Goran Visnjic b. 1972 (Extant, The Deep, Elektra, Practical Magic)
Henry Thomas b.1971 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Cloak & Dagger, E.T.)
Eric Stonestreet b. 1971 (American Horror Story, The Island)
Rachel Hunter b. 1969 (Piranhaconda, MorphMan)
Julia Sawalha b. 1968 (Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Comic Relief: Doctor Who – The Curse of Fatal Death)
Alexandra Powers b. 1967 (Brimstone, Cast a Deadly Spell)
Adam Sandler b. 1966 (Pixels, Bedtime Stories, Click, Little Nicky, Coneheads)
David Bennent b. 1966 (Legend)
Michelle Johnson b. 1965 (Specimen, Death Becomes Her, Beaks: The Movie, Werewolf)
Charles Esten b. 1965 (The Postman, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Constance Marie b. 1965 (Early Edition)
Brenda Epperson b. 1965 (Bug Buster)
Kevin Grevioux b. 1962 (I, Frankenstein, Underworld, Charmed, Angel, Men in Black II, Planet of the Apes, Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy, Sliders, Batman Forever, The Mask, Deep Space Nine)
Hugh Grant b. 1960 (Cloud Atlas, The Lair of the White Worm)
Brent Stait b. 1959 (Fringe, Supernatural, TRON: Legacy, Stonehenge Apocalypse, Smallville, Blade: The Series, Stargate: Atlantis, The 4400, Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, Mysterious Ways, Seven Days, First Wave, Roswell: The Aliens Attack, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X Files, Highlander [TV], Neon Rider, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future)
Edward Hibbert b. 1955 (The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz, Loch Ness)
Jeffrey Alan Combs b. 1954 (Gotham, Elf-Man, Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, The Dunwich Horror, The 4400, Abominable, SharkMan, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, House on Haunted Hill, Deep Space Nine, Time Tracers, Perversions of Science, The Frighteners, Babylon 5, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, Doctor Mordrid, Trancers II, The Flash, Guyver, Robot Jox, Re-Animator, Beauty and the Beast, From Beyond, Re-Animator, The Man with Two Brains)
Janet Fielding b. 1953 (Doctor Who)
Angela Cartwright b. 1952 (Lost in Space [1998 and 1960s], Logan’s Run [TV])
Tom Wopat b. 1951 (Jonah Hex, Smallville)
Art LaFleur b. 1943 (Speed Racer, Night Stalker, Angel, A.J.’s Time Travelers, Space Rangers, Tales from the Crypt, Trancers I & II, The Blob, WarGames, The Invisible Woman, Jekyll and Hyde… Together Again, The Incredible Hulk)
Topol b.1935 (SeaQuest 2032, Flash Gordon)
Margaret Tyzack b. 1931 died 25 June 2011 (Quatermass, 2001, A Clockwork Orange)
Cliff Robertson b.1923 died 10 September 2011(Amazing Spider –Man)
James Hilton b. 1900 died 20 December 1954 (author, Lost Horizon)
Neil Hamilton b. 1899 died 24 September 1984 (Batman, The Munsters, The Outer Limits)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The list has a lot of famous names, but many of them aren't iconic in genre. Previous Picture Slotters were Henry Thomas from E.T. and Janet Fielding from Doctor Who. That still leaves a lot of good choices as far as I'm concerned, but I decided to go way old school with Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon from the 1960s Batman.

2. Spot the Canadian! Today, it's just Brent Stait and he has a very Canadian looking resume.

3. The Guy at the Door. On yesterday's list the cut-off year between the living and the dead was 1945, which is cutting it too close for my tastes. Today, the year is 1935 with Israeli actor Topol turning 80, another good choice for the Picture Slot as Dr. Zoltan in Flash Gordon. As always, the blog extends special birthday best wishes to anyone who has this odd demographic trait.


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

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1902 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: Not only will those subscribers who are connected by wire with central stations have the advantage of being called at any hour in the morning according to their intimated wishes, but such services as lighting the fires in winter mornings, so that rooms may be fairly warmed before they are entered, will be performed by electric messages sent from a central station.

Reality: Our sensible friend wants to use the power of radio - which he called wireless telephony - to do what alarm clocks and thermostats do for us at much less cost or trouble. No points for these.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction, likely overly-optimistic, from Utopia 1976.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

6 September 2015

Birthdays
Rhys Ward b. 1989 (The Strain, The 100, My Babysitter’s a Vampire)
Lauren Lapkus b. 1985 (Jurassic World)
Tehmina Sunny b. 1980 (Extant, Heroes, Children of Men)
Blaze Berdahl b. 1980 (Aliens in the Family, Pet Sematary)
Matthew Horne b. 1978 (Sinbad, Vampire Killers, Fairy Tales)
Naomie Harris b. 1976 (National Theatre Live: Frankenstien, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Dinotopia, 28 Days Later…, The Tomorrow People)
Sarah Strange b. 1974 (ReGenesis, Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, First Wave, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Millennium, Sliders, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, The X Files, Neon Rider)
Idris Elba b. 1972 (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Prometheus, Thor, Pacific Rim, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, 28 Weeks Later, Ultraviolet, Space Precinct)
China Miéville b. 1972 (won 2010 Hugo for The City & the City)
Justina Machado b. 1972 (The Purge: Anarchy, Dragonfly, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Angel)
Dylan Bruno b. 1972 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Dead Zone, The Rage: Carrie 2)
Betsy Russell b, 1963 (Saw III throught VI, Superboy, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Michael Winslow b. 1958 (Lavalantula, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Robodoc, Lycanthrope, Harry and the Hendersons, Spaceballs, Gremlins)
Patti Yasutake b. 1953 (FlashForward, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Katherine Cannon b. 1953 (Seven Days, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Hidden, The Incredible Hulk, Battlestar Galactica, Future Cop)
Anne Lockhart b. 1953 (Surrogates, Bug Buster, Bionic Ever After, Quantum Leap, Freddy's Nightmares, Troll, AutoMan, Knight Rider, Voyagers!, E.T., The Incredible Hulk, Earthbound, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Battlestar Galactica, Project U.F.O., The Sixth Sense [1972])
Tommy Lee Wallace b. 1949 (director, Vampires: Los Muertos, It, Fright Night Part 2, Max Headroom, Twilight Zone [1985], Halloween III: Season of the Witch)
Keone Young b. 1947 (True Blood, Men in Black 3, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Invisible Man, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], Deep Space Nine, Small Wonder )
Jane Curtin b. 1947 (The Librarians, Cyberchase, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Coneheads)
Swoosie Kurtz b. 1944 (Heroes, Category 7: The End of the World, Lost, Harvey [TV movie])
Carol Wayne b. 1942 died 13 January 1985 (The Girl with Something Extra, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie)
Jo Anne Worley b. 1937 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Six Million Dollar Man, Captain Nice)
Sergio Aragones b. 1937 (writer/artist, Groo the Wanderer)
Jody McCrea b. 1934 died 4 April 2009 (The Monster That Challenged the World)
Paul Naschy b. 1934 died 30 November 2009 (A Werewolf in the Amazon, Night of the Werewolf, Mystery on Monster Island, Night of the Howling Beast, The Mummy’s Revenge, Vengeance of the Zombies, Count Dracula’s Great Love, Curse of the Devil, La Furia del Hombre Lobo, The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman, Las Noches del Hombre Lobo, Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror)
Max Schreck b. 1879 died 20 February 1936 (Nosferatu)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used pictures of Max Schreck and Idris Elba. This year, I had several options, including Sergio Aragones and Naomie Harris, but I decided to go all Star Trek nerd and use Patti Yasutake from her regular role as Nurse Ogawa.

2. Spot the Canadian! Sarah Strange was born north of the border.

3. Nepotism FTW. Anne Lockhart is the daughter of June Lockhart and grand-daughter of Gene Lockhart. Jody McCrea is Joel McCrea's son.

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

The Weekly Soapbox: Computers and Artificial Intelligence

Science fiction is often given credit for being prophetic, but the truth is not quite as flattering. Sci-fi is about telling stories, exciting adventures of imagination. Long before rockets were good enough to get us into orbit, science fiction stories had us traveling to other star systems, ignoring the problems of time and distance involved. On the other hand, the trajectory of computers and how quickly they would change, getting smaller, faster, cheaper and more practical, is a major technological advance of the past fifty years that sci-fi didn't quite get. An argument against my major theme might point to Asimov's robots or Frank Herbert's idea of mentats, people who can do what computers did after letting a computer think is made illegal, on the idea that we reached the Singularity and decided to walk away from it. But most of Asimov's robot stories as well as Herbert's Dune universe are set thousands or even tens of thousands of years in the future. Computers are a major part of our lives right now.

Here are my awards in different categories for the predictions about computer we have had on the blog.

Most paranoid
Arthur C. Clarke gets points for seeing how fast the computerized future would come, but nearly everything he wrote is a warning against it. Here I would single out the short story Dial F for Frankenstein and his screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Besides Clarke, the most paranoid depictions of computers come from movies like Colossus: The Forbin Project, the Terminator series and WarGames.

Most accurate or most prescient
Regular readers will know how I love to mock Robert A. Heinlein, but he got a few things right out of many, many speculations in his story The Door Into Summer, serialized in 1956 and turned into a novel in 1957. Most notable is Computer Aided Design or CAD, which he assumed would exist by the early 1970s.

Another very good prediction is from Lee De Forest in 1960, who forecast the development of computers used as medical diagnostic aides. OMNI Future Almanac will get a few mentions in overly-optimistic section, but one of their predictions published a few weeks ago about the computers of writer being connected by some wire over telephone lines to publishers was a very good guess in 1982.

But I give the last spot in this most complimentary category to T. Baron Russell in 1905, who predicted a combined typewriter/calculating machine that could create completely accurate ledgers. I'm sure Russell must have seen it a deluxe calculator, unable to envision computers or screens or spreadsheets or laser jet printers, but no one else from his era has an idea anything quite like this.

Most overly-optimistic
OMNI Future Almanac really went off the deep end sometimes with their computer predictions, falling in love with a fad like bio-rhythms to assume we might well have chips inside out heads by now. At a TED talk last decade, Bill Joy said high end computers would cost $10 in 2020, and while I can't say with complete confidence there won't be some crazy advances in the next five years, I don't hear anyone talking about what a wonderful prophet Bill Joy was these days.

As for the top spot in overly optimistic, Ray Kurzweil is the easy winner with his 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines, which made a number of very specific advances that would come to pass by 2009. Kurzweil is tech-savvy enough that almost nothing he predicted is actually impossible, though we are still very far away from reverse engineering the brain, his boldest prediction by far. His best calls are about "worn technology", self-driving cars and voice recognition technology, his worst are reverse engineering the brain and the popularity of 3-D chips, which are hard to build and have bad error rates.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of OMNI Future Almanac, Monday is their regular turn for predictions.

Join is then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 September 2015

Birthdays
Gage Golightly b. 1993 (Teen Wolf, 5ive Days to Midnight)
Skandar Keynes b. 1991 (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Kat Graham b. 1989 (The Vampire Diaries)
Christina Ulloa b. 1982 (Charmed)
Nan Yu b. 1978 (Speed Racer, My DNA Says I Love You)
Carice Van Houten b. 1976 (Game of Thrones, Intruders, Repo Men, From Time to Time)
Paddy Considine b. 1974 (The World’s End)
Justin Nimmo b. 1974 (Power Rangers in Space, Pleasantville)
Rose MacGowan b. 1973 (Once Upon a Time, Conan the Barbarian [2011], Charmed, Grindhouse, Monkeybone, Encino Man)
Dweezil Zappa b. 1969 (Jack Frost, The Running Man)
Terry Ellis b. 1963 (Batman Forever)
Peter Wingfield b. 1962 (Alphas, Caprica, Stonehenge Apocalypse, 10,000 Days, Highlander [TV], Charmed, Smallville, Catwoman, Andromeda, X-Men 2, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge, Stargate SG-1)
Roberta Weiss b. 1961 (Tales from the Darkside, Deadly Nightmares, The Dead Zone)
Joseph Steven b. 1956 (Star Trek [2009], Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Scorpion King, K-PAX)
Michael Keaton b. 1951 (Birdman, RoboCop [2013], Jack Frost, Multiplicity, Batman, Beetlejuice)
Scott H. Reiniger b. 1948 (Dawn of the Dead [2004 and 1978])
Dennis Dugan b. 1946 (The Howling, Unidentified Flying Oddball, The Sixth Sense [1972])
Wim Wenders b. 1942 (director, Nosferatu the Vampire)
Raquel Welch b. 1940 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Mork & Mindy, Bedazzled, One Million Years B.C., Fantastic Voyage, Bewitched)
George Lazenby b. 1939 (Team Knight Rider, Superboy, Death Dimension)
William Devane b. 1939 (Interstellar, Leprechaun’s Revenge, The X-Files, Stargate SG-1, The Dark Knight Rises, Race to Space, Hollow Man, Space Cowboys, Timecop, Doomsday Rock, Virus, Timestalkers, Testament)
Alyce Andrece b. 1936 died 14 May 2005 (Star Trek, Batman)
Rhae Andrece b. 1936 died 2 March 2009 (Star Trek, Batman)
Frank Farmer b. 1932 (Ghost Ghirls, Team Knight Rider, The Burning Zone, The Invaders, Babylon 5, Wonder Woman, Capricorn One)
Bob Newhart b. 1929 (The Big Bang Theory, The Librarian, Elf)
Gloria Holden b. 1903 died 22 March 1991 (Dracula’s Daughter)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was filled by the twins Alyce and Rhae Andrece from the I, Mudd episode of Star Trek and Carice Van Houten from Game of Thrones. I could have gone with Michael Keaton from Batman, but continuing with the fabulous babe theme of previous years, it's Raquel Welch in the fur bikini from One Million Years B.C., possibly the most iconic picture from her career.

2. Not the Canadian and Spot the Canadian! Peter Wingfield has a lot of role in Canadian genre productions, but he was born in Great Britain and I have no information about him becoming a resident alien in Canada. His imdb.com bio is proudest of the fact that he has recently completed his studies to become a medical doctor, and good on him for that. Regular reader Abu Scooter informs me that Roberta Weiss is Canadian, a fact which I miss on the initial post.

Nepotism FTW. Dweezil Zappa.

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

Never to be Forgotten: Alan Steel (a.k.a. Sergio Ciani) 1935-2015

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Italy cranked out a lot of movies known collectively as "sword and sandal" in an attempt to cash in on the success of Biblical era costume dramas like Spartacus. The hero was always a bodybuilder, playing characters named Hercules, Machiste, Ursus, Goliath or Samson. While many of the bodybuilders like Steve Reeves and Reg Park were Americans, Sergio Ciani, whose screen name was Alan Steel, was born in Rome. While he was not always the lead, he appeared in 3 Avengers, Hercules and the Treasure of the Incas, Hercules Against the Moon Men, Hercules Against Rome, Hercules and the Black Pirates, Hercules and the Masked Rider, Samson and the Slave Queen, Ursus, the Gladiator Rebel, The Fury of Hercules, The Giant of Marathon and Hercules Unchained. Two of these were given the MST3K treatment.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Sergio Ciani, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Today's soapbox is postponed a day due to the holiday.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 September 2015

Birthdays
Ellie Darcey-Alden b. 1999 (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2)
Peggy Nesbitt b. 197 (The Hobbitt)
Caitlin and Amanda Fein b. 1992 (The X Files, Deep Impact)
Carter Jenkins b. 1991 (Aliens in the Attic, The 4400, Surface)
Charlotte Frogner b. 1981 (Dead Snow 1 & 2)
Max Greenfield b. 1980 (American Horror Story, No Ordinary Family)
Wes Bentley b. 1978 (Interstellar, American Horror Story, The Hunger Games, Underworld: Awakening, Jonah Hex, Ghost Rider)
John Ruby b. 1977 (Touch, The Event)
Rasika Mathur b. 1976 (Rubberhead, Cloverfield)
Kai Owen b. 1975 (Torchwood, Being Human, Rocket Man)
Jason David Frank b. 1973 (Power Rangers, V.R. Troopers)
Francoise Yip b. 1972 (Sanctuary, Fringe, Caprica, Blood Ties, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Flash Gordon [TV], Andromeda, Blade: Trinity, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Smallville, Jeremiah, Mindstorm, RoboCop: Prime Directives, Earth: Final Conflict, Futuresport)
Ione Skye b. 1970 (Haunt, The Dead Zone)
Richard Speight Jr. b. 1970 (Supernatural, Jericho, Big Monster on Campus, Menno’s Mind, Hypernauts, Amanda & the Alien, Freddy’s Nightmares)
Noah Taylor b. 1969 (Edge of Tomorrow, Game of Thrones, Predestination, Pirates of the Caribbean: Secrets of the Dead Man’s Chest, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Simon Magus, Vanilla Sky)
Kristen Wilson b. 1969 (Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, Dr. Doolittle, Dungeons & Dragons)
Mo Brings Plenty b. 1969 (Cowboys & Aliens)
John DiMaggio b. 1968 (Futurama, Princess Mononoke, Adventure Time, among many others)
Phill Lewis b. 1968 (Wizards of Waverly Place, What Planet Are You From?, Buffy, Starman [TV])
Michael Bent b. 1965 (Threshold, Firefly)
Todd Sherry b. 1961 (Eastwick, Alien Autopsy, Charmed)
Annabel Schofield b. 1963 (Solar Crisis)
Damon Wayans b. 1960 (Blankman, Earth Girls Are Easy)
Domiziana Giordano b. 1959 (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles)
Patricia Tallman b. 1957 (InAlienable, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, Dark Skies, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Army of Darkness, The Flash, Night of the Living Dead [1990], Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs b. 1953 (Weird Science, Homeboys in Outer Space, Alien Nation)
Alan Blumenfeld b. 1952 (Touch, Heroes, Stargate: Atlantis, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Dark Side of the Moon, The Munsters Today, Beauty and the Beast [1988], Innerspace, Jason Lives, The Twilight Zone [1986], WarGames)
Judith Ivey b. 1951 (Rose Red, The Devil’s Advocate,Frogs!)
Michael Berryman b. 1948 (Apocalypse Kiss, Army of the Damned, Necrosis, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Conan, The X-Files, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, Wizards of the Demon Sword, Guyver, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Aftershock, ALF, Saturday the 14th Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Barbarians, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, My Science Project, Weird Science, The Hills Have Eyes, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze)
David St. James b. 1947 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Donnie Darko, My Favorite Martian [1999], Alien Avengers II, Alien: Resurrection, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Space: Above and Beyond, The Invaders [1995 TV movie], Lois & Clark, Monolith)
Cynthia Pepper b. 1940 (The Addams Family)
Bob May b. 1939 died 18 January 2009 (Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel)
Leonard Frey b. 1938 died 24 August 1988 (Earthlings)
Nicholas Worth b. 1937 died 7 May 2007 (Star Trek: Voyager, Starforce, The X Files, Sliders, Deep Space Nine, Timelock, Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II, Darkman, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, Swamp Thing, Coma, The Invisible Man [1975], The Six Million Dollar Man, Scream Blacula Scream)
Edward de Souza b. 1932 (The Golden Compass, She-Wolf of London, 1990, Doctor Who, The Kiss of the Vampire)
Dinsdale Landen b. 1932 died 29 December 2003 (Doctor Who, Morons from Outer Space, Out of This World)
Dick York b. 1928 died 20 February 1992 (Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
Howard Morris b. 1919 died 21 May 2005 (It Came from Outer Space II, Transylvania Twist, Splash, The Munsters’ Revenge, Space Academy, Twilight Zone)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Did you ever wonder if Darren Stephens worked with Don Draper?  Okay... it's just me.

Previous Picture Slotters were Patricia Tallman from Babylon 5 and Michael Berryman from The Hills Have Eyes. Two other actors I considered were John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender, and Bob May, who was the actor inside the robot on Lost in Space, though Dick Tufield did the voice.

2. Wait... they're dead? We have a bunch of actors born in the 1930s who are already dead. The two whose deaths I had quite processed are Leonard Frey and Nicholas Worth.

3. Spot the Canadian! Today we have Francoise Yip.

4. Nepotism FTW. Ione Ske is the daughter of Donovan Leitch.

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

Predictor: H.G. Wells in the 1901 book Anticipations

Prediction: The Japanese are a people quite abnormal and incalculable, with a touch of romance, a conception of honour, a quality of imagination, and a clearness of intelligence that renders possible for them things inconceivable of any other existing nation. I may be the slave of perspective effects, but when I turn my mind from the pettifogging muddle of the English House of Commons, for example, that magnified vestry that is so proud of itself as a club--when I turn from that to this race of brave and smiling people, abruptly destiny begins drawing with a bolder hand. Suppose the Japanese were to make up their minds to accelerate whatever process of synthesis were possible in China! Suppose, after all, I am not the victim of atmospheric refraction, and they are, indeed, as gallant and bold and intelligent as my baseless conception of them would have them be! They would almost certainly find co-operative elements among the educated Chinese...

Reality: This is about as complimentary as an Englishman of Wells' time can be about another nationality, and it's still incredibly condescending, most notably to the Chinese. We also have the history lesson of the Japanese making up their minds to "improve" the Chinese, and it wasn't quite the wonderful thing Wells had hoped for.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Saturday, another Weekly Soapbox.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 August 2015

Birthdays
Cainan Wiebe b. 1995 (Once Upon a Time, Falling Skies, Sucker Punch, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Supernatural, Tin Man, Sanctuary, The 4400, Dead Like Me)
Alexa Vega b. 1988 (The Remaining, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Tomorrow People, The Devil’s Carnival, Spy Kids, Repo! The Genetic Opera, NetForce)
Michelle Pierce b. 1987 (Battle Los Angeles, Transformers)
Kayla Ewell b. 1985 (Lucifer, The Vampire Diaries)
Jennifer Armour b. 1985 (Ghoul)
Patrick J. Adams b. 1981 (Orphan Black, Rosemary’s Baby [2014], FlashForward, Lost)
Trenton Rostedt b. 1980 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Walking Deceased, Revolution, The Starving Games, Grimm)
Aaron Paul b. 1979 (Birds of Prey, The X Files, K-PAX, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Bodie Olmos b. 1975 (Battlestar Galactica)
Darren Goldstein b. 1974 (Limitless)
Rhett Giles b. 1973 (Quantum Apocalypse, Beauty and the Beast [2009], Wovesbayne, Lost, Dracula’s Curse, King of the Lost World, Frankenstein Reborn, Way of the Vampire)
Joy and Leanna Creel b. 1970 (The Cell)
Monica Lacy b. 1970 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Cell)
Cheryl Fergison b. 1964 (Doctor Who)
Reece Shearsmith b. 1969 (An Adventure in Space and Time, The First Men in the Moon [2010 TV], Shaun of the Dead)
Clare Stansfield b. 1964 (Xena, Steel, The X Files, The Flash)
Dean Devlin b. 1962 (producer, The Librarian, Eight Legged Freaks, Godzilla [1998], Independence Day, Stargate)
Siobhan Redmond b. 1959 (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein)
Diana Scarwid b. 1955 (Heroes, Lost, Wonderfalls, From the Earth to the Moon, The X Files, Strange Invaders)
Peter Stormare b. 1953 (Arrow, The Zero Theorem, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Brothers Grimm, The Tuxedo, Armageddon, Minority Report, The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
Paul Rubens b. 1952 (Area 57, Mystery Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Batman Returns, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Gary Imhoff b. 1952 (Carnivale, The Green Mile, Buffy, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Charles Fleischer b. 1950 (Black Scorpion, Lois & Clark, Back to the Future Part II, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Knight Rider, A Nightmare on Elm Street)
Captain Kidd Brewer Jr. b. 1948 died 22 May 1990 (The Abyss, Piranha Part Two: The Spawning)
Barbara Bach b. 1947 (Caveman, The Great Alligator, The Humanoid, Screamers)
G. W. Bailey b. 1944 (Mannequin, Short Circuit, Runaway)
Tommy Sands b. 1937 (Babes in Toyland)
Janet MacLachlan b. 1933 died 11 October 2010 (The Thirteenth Floor, Pinocchio’s Revenge, Free Spirit, Beauty and the Beast, The Boy Who Could Fly, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invaders, Star Trek)
Ira Levin b. 1929 died 12 November 2007 (writer, Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil)
Hoke Howell b. 1929 died 9 May 1997 (Alien Species, Wizards of the Demon Sword, Alienator, The Greatest American Hero, Humanoids from the Deep, Project U.F.O., Kingdom of the Spiders, Bewitched, Lost in Space, The Munsters, My Living Doll)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous Picture Slot residents were Barbara Bach from Caveman and Alexa Vega from Spy Kids. While there are a few well-known names here, I decided to go with Paul Rubens from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which I count as genre because of the ghost story aspects. For those who might think I am making a mockery of a sci-fi/fantasy blog, I can only say:

I know you are, but what am I?

2. Spot the Canadians! Two Canadians today, Cainan Wiebe and Patrick J. Adams.

3. Nepotism FTW. Bodie Olmos. No more need be said.

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

Predictor: Morris L. Ernst in the 1955 book Utopia 1976

Prediction: The cost of irrigation and industrial water will be cut in half – a saving sufficient to let every person have a sailboat, allow out scientists to research to death the common cold or permit all our cities to build libraries and put on the shelves thousands of books.

Reality: I have not been able to find figures on the history of the cost of irrigation, but I am struck by Ernst's idea that somehow cost savings to the agriculture industry will somehow magically be re-distributed to people who want sailboats, scientific research or the public library system.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Will H.G. Wells be a jerk in tomorrow's prediction? Only one way to find out.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

24 August 2015

Birthdays
Rupert Grint b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Chad Michael Murray b. 1981 (Agent Carter, Left Behind, The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghost of Georgia, House of Wax, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2)
Beth Riesgraf b. 1978 (Caper)
Alex O’Loughlin b. 1976 (Moonlight, The Invisible, Man-Thing)
James D’Arcy b. 1975 (Agent Carter, Jupiter Ascending, Cloud Atlas, Them [2007])
Kwesi Ameyaw b. 1975 (Continuum, Supernatural, Man of Steel, Once Upon a Time, Riverworld, Fringe, Stargate, Kyle XY, Fallen, Eureka, Blade: Trinity, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Jake 2.0, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Dead Like Me, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, Strange Frequency, The Lone Gunmen, The 6th Day)
Jennifer Lien b. 1974 (Star Trek: Voyager)
Barret Oliver b.1973 (Twilight Zone [1986], Tall Tales & Legends, Cocoon, D.A.R.Y.L., The NeverEnding Story, Jekyll and Hyde… Together Again, Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk)
Eric Edwards b. 1966 (Blade, Candyman)
Dana Gould b. 1964 (Mystery Men, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Jared Harris b. 1961 (Poltergeist [2015], The Quiet Ones, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Fringe, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Lost in Space [1998], Tall Tale)
Mark Protosevich b. 1961 (writer, Thor, I Am Legend, The Cell)
Steve Guttenberg b. 1958 (Lavalantula, Short Circuit, Cocoon 1 and 2, High Spirits, The Day After, The Boys from Brazil)
Stephen Fry b. 1957 (The Hobbit, The Borrowers, Alice in Wonderland [2010], V for Vendetta, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, MirrorMask, Doctor Who: Death Comes to Time, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride)
Kevin Dunn b. 1956 (Transformers, Lost, NYPD 2069, Small Soldiers, Godzilla [1998], Ghostbusters II)
Orson Scott Card b. 1951 (won 1986 Hugo and Nebula for Ender’s Game, won 1987 Hugo and Nebula for Speaker for the Dead)
Charles Rocket b. 1949 died 7 October 2005 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Star Patrol, The X-Files, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Hocus Pocus, Quantum Leap, Earth Girls Are Easy, Max Headroom)
Joe Regalbuto b. 1949 (Amazing Stories, Mork & Mindy)
Anne Archer b. 1947 (Nico the Unicorn, The Sixth Sense [1972])
Ronnie Blakley b. 1945 (A Return to Salem’s Lot, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Beyond Westworld)
Castulo Guerra b. 1945 (The Purge: Anarchy, Touch, Invasion, Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, Lois & Clark, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast [1987], Starman [TV])
Kenny Baker b. 1934 (Star Wars, U.F.O. [1993], Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [1989], Willow, Labyrinth, Time Bandits, Flash Gordon)
William Morgan Sheppard b. 1932 (April Apocalypse, Mysterious Island, Doctor Who, Legend of the Seeker, Star Trek [2009], Transformers, The Prestige, Charmed, Star Trek: Voyager, Timecop, American Gothic, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, Needful Things, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Max Headroom, Werewolf, The Day of the Triffids [1981], Hawk the Slayer)
Jimmy Gardner b. 1924 died 3 May 2010 (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, My Hero, The Company of Wolves, Doctor Who, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [1967], The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb)
Helena Carter b. 1920 died 11 January 2000 (Invaders from Mars)
James Tiptree, Jr. b 1915 died 19 May 1987 (author, Tales of the Quintana Roo, Up the Walls of the World)
Jorge Luis Borges b. 1899 died 14 June 1986 (author, The Book of Imaginary Beings, Labyrinths)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used pictures of Rupert Grint and Barret Oliver. The people I considered today were the authors Orson Scott Card and Jorge Luis Borges, the actress Jennifer Lein and the winner, Kenny Baker, the guy inside R2-D2.

2. Spot the Canadian! I'll give one hint. Today's lone Canadian is less than 50 years old.

3. Nepotism FTW. Jared Harris is the son of Richard Harris.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Skies crowded by personal planes, along with increased need for corporate material delivery and energy control, will make civilian aircraft carriers a necessity.

Reality: Yikes! This one is awful. But as I have written before, I kind of love the OMNI Future Almanac because they were not afraid to be bold. After last week's really good prediction about the Internet, we get a complete strikeout like this.

Not that it matters. I still love them.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tuesdays belong to Heinlein and his novel The Door Into Summer.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 August 2015

Birthdays

Alana Mansour b. 2003 (Terra Nova)
Stephen Joffe b. 1991 (Time Blazers, Terminal Invasion, Frequency, Storm of the Century)
Annie Ilonzeh b. 1983 (Beauty and the Beast, Arrow, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Ruta Gedmintas b. 1983 (The Strain, Prowl)
Clare Grant b. 1979 (Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, Team Unicorn, The Guild, Iron Man 2)
Ray Park b. 1974 (Jinn, G.I. Joe, Heroes, Slayer, X-Men, Star Wars; Episode I – He’s Like the Only Cool Thing in It, Mortal Kombat)
Aaron Douglas b. 1971 (iZombie, The Returned, The Strain, Falling Skies, Hemlock Grove, Eureka, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Reaper, Bionic Woman [2007], Catwoman, I, Robot, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda, 10.5, Paycheck, Jeremiah, X-Men 2, Taken, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel)
River Phoenix b. 1970 died 31 October 1993 (Dark Blood, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Explorers)
Jay Mohr b. 1970 (S1mOne, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Small Soldiers, From the Earth to the Moon)
Charley Boorman b. 1966 (Excalibur)
Roger Avary b. 1965 (writer, Beowulf)
Chan-wook Park b. 1963 (director, Thirst, I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK)
Ed Gale b. 1963 (The Polar Express, Fairie, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Weird Science, The Munster’s Scary Little Christmas, Lifepod, Land of the Lost, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Child’s Play, Phantasm II, Spaceballs, Howard the Duck)
Deron McBee b. 1961 (The Invisible Man, Roswell, Conan [TV], Sliders, Batman Forever, M.A.N.T.I.S., Immortal Combat, Time Barbarians)
Chris Potter b. 1960 (The Good Witch, A Wrinkle in Time, Andromeda, Astronauts, Arachnid, The Hidden Room, War of the Worlds)
Jennifer Holmes b. 1955 (Misfits of Science, Knight Rider, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk)
Charles Busch b. 1954 (writer, Psycho Beach Party)
Mark Vann b. 1954 (Torchwood, Lost, Spider-Man 3, Angel, Early Edition)
Bolaji Badejo b. 1953 died 22 December 1992 (Alien)
Rick Springfield b. 1949 (Nick Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Shelley Long b. 1949 (Zombie Hamlet, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Freaky Friday [TV], Hello Again, Caveman)
Bob Peck b. 1944 died 4 April 1999 (Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Jurassic Park, Slipstream)
Bobby Diamond b. 1943 (Twilight Zone)
Richard Sanders b. 1940 (ALF, The Invisible Woman)
Peter Wyngarde b. 1933 (Doctor Who, Flash Gordon, The Champions, The Prisoner, Burn, Witch, Burn, The Innocents, The Dybbuk)
Barbara Eden b. 1931 (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, The Stepford Children, I Dream of Jeannie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Vera Miles b. 1929 (BrainWaves, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
James Millhollin b. 1915 died 23 May 1993 (Lost in Space, Bewitched, Batman, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, Twilight Zone, Zotz!)
Morris L. Ernst b. 1888 died 21 May 1976 (author, Utopia 1976)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Barbara Eden, owner of easily the most iconic role in genre of all of today's birthday boys and girls, and James Millholin because I was in an Oh That Guy mood. This year I go more new school with Canadian actor Aaron Douglas from the re-boot of Battlestar Galactica.

2. Spot the Canadians. Besides Douglas, Stephen Joffe and Chris Potter are Canadian.

3. Nepotism FTW. Charley Boorman is John Boorman's son who cast him in Excalibur. If that isn't nepotism, nothing is.

4. Inside the suit. Besides Douglas, the other person I considered for the Picture Slot was the late Bolaji Badejo, the very tall and thin Nigerian who was inside the suit of the full grown alien in Alien, his only film role ever. Another actor who has spent some time inside costumes is little person Ed Gale, whose first role on film was inside Howard the Duck. His career survived that ignominious start and is likely best known as Homer Stokes' "little man" in O Brother Where Art Thou?

5. Wait... he's dead? We have several actors who died young on today's list. I didn't know about Bolaji Badejo until today, so I didn't know he was dead until today. I have already processed the fact River Phoenix isn't with us any more, but I wasn't so clear about Bob Peck. He plays the big game hunter in Jurassic Park who gets one of the greatest last lines for a character in film history...

"Clever girl."

6. Fun fact I didn't know until today. I've been using Utopia 1976 as a source for quite a while now and did not know that Morris Ernst died in 1976. By the Alanis Morissette definition this counts as ironic, but by the dictionary, not so much. I would say it's more along the lines of "what a co-inky-dink."

7. Hey... no Star Trek! Yesterday, I brought up how rare it is not to have a Star Trek actor or writer on the list, and now it's happened two days in a row. I guarantee it won't happen three days in a row.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

OMNI Future Almanac to start the week off right.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 August 2015

Birthdays
Dakota Goyo b. 1999 (Dark Skies, Real Steel, Thor, Ultra)
Dannielle Lozeau b. 1987 (Werewolf Rising, The Bell Witch Haunting, The Devil Girl of Devonshire, Legion, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Pretty Dead Things)
Jorge Diaz b. 1983 (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, True Blood)
Jennifer Finnigan b. 1979 (Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Big Wolf on Campus)
Brandon Quintin Adams b. 1979 (The Burning Zone, Ghost in the Machine, Quantum Leap)
James Corden b. 1978 (Into the Woods, Doctor Who, Gulliver’s Travels, Vampire Killers, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story)
Rodrigo Santoro b. 1975 (Westworld, Lost)
Cindy Valentine Leone b. 1975 (Teen Witch)
Kristen Wiig b. 1973 (Ghostbusters, The Martian, Paul)
Heidi Lenhart b. 1973 (Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, The Burning Zone)
Richard Armitage b. 1971 (The Hobbit, Captain America: The First Avenger, Star Wars: Episode I – Yes, Yes That One Again)
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje b. 1967 (Game of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World, The Thing [2011], G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Lost, The Mummy Returns, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [2001])
Ty Burrell b. 1967 (The Incredible Hulk [2008], National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Dawn of the Dead, Evolution)
Pamella D’Pella b. 1967 (Alien Nation: Millennium, Beauty and the Beast, ALF)
Alfred Gough b. 1967 (writer, Smallville, I Am Number Four, Spider-Man 2, Timecop)
Courtney Gains b. 1965 (Mimesis, Alien Encounter, Halloween [2007], Charmed, Superboy, Starman [TV], Misfits of Science, Back to the Future, Children of the Corn)
Andrew Wilson b. 1964 (Idiocracy, Merlin: The Return)
Lara Harris b. 1962 (American Horror Story, Demolition Man, Monsters)
Mark Williams b. 1959 (Doctor Who, Being Human, Harry Potter, Frankenstein’s Wedding… Live in Leeds, Stardust, The Borrowers, Red Dwarf)
Holly Hawkins b. 1959 (True Blood, Alice in Wonderland)
Colm Feore b. 1958 (Gotham, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Beauty and the Beast [2014 TV], Revolution, Thor, Battlestar Galactica, The Chronicles of Riddick, Storm of the Century, Creature [1998 TV], Forever Knight, Beyond Reality, War of the Worlds [TV])
Cindy Williams b. 1947 (Lois & Clark, UFOria, The Creature Wasn’t Nice, Beware! The Blob)
Valerie Harper b. 1939 (My Future Boyfriend)
Sylva Koscina b. 1933 died 26 December 1994 (The House of Exorcism, Uncle Was a Vampire, Hercules Unchained, Hercules)
John Lupton b. 1928 died 3 November 1993 (Shazam!, The Invaders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter)
Honor Blackman b. 1925 (Cockneys vs Zombies, Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, Tale of the Mummy, Doctor Who, Jason and the Argonauts, H. G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Ray Bradbury b. 1920 died 5 June 2012 (author, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles)
Alma Beltran b. 1919 died 9 June 2007 (Ghost, Knight Rider, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Cecil Kellaway b. 1893 died 28 February 1973 (Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone, Zotz!, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Harvey, The Luck of the Irish, I Married a Witch, The Invisible Man Returns)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Honor Blackman and Ray Bradbury, the previous two Picture Slotters, certainly count as iconic, but I could be accused of going old school, since they are both older than I am and their fame is from the 20th Century. This year, I go with Mark Williams, who is younger than I am and his fame is mostly from Harry Potter, a 21st Century product. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Richard Armitrage were other considered options.

2. Spot the Canadians! Dakota Goyo, Jennifer Finnigan and Cindy Valentine Leone.

3. I'm bad at guessing women's ages. As I wrote in my Yvonne Craig tribute, I thought she was a few years older than my older brother when she was just five years younger than my mom. Going the other direction, Melody Patterson, who also died this week but had no genre roles, was on F Troop and she was still in high school; I would have thought she was five to ten years older. And then we have Honor Blackman, still alive thank goodness, who was just shy of 40 when she had her two most famous roles here in the states in Jason and the Argonauts and Goldfinger. I would have guessed all those incorrectly.

4. MST3K. The lovely Sylva Koscina played Iole opposite the hunky Steve Reeves in both Hercules and Hercules Unchained.

5. Hey... no Star Trek! This was a long streak between Star Trek free days, the last one being on July 24.

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

Movie released
1990: The Bronx Warriors released, 1982

The Weekly Soapbox: Nuclear war

It's a very good time to note that the last time a nuclear bomb was used against an enemy was 70 years ago as of this month. Back then, the United States was involved in a costly and deadly war and we were the only ones with the bomb. We dropped two and the Japanese surrendered.

A few years later, we weren't the only ones with the bomb and the great fear of the second half of the Twentieth Century was born. If you read Command and Control, you'll see there were several accidents that might have resulted in nuclear explosions, but I must admit as I read it I thought it showed the multiple safeguards actually worked pretty well. There was also the Cuban missile crisis and several false alarms on both sides, but the scorecard is still clear: since nuclear weapons have been the property of more than one nation, they haven't been used.

Predictions of nuclear war are extremely common in movies and literature and even today, the spectre of nuclear terrorism is used to keep us afraid enough to keep up our truly insane defense spending. I for one, don't think the world is quite that dangerous, but I fully admit I could be suffering from confirmation bias. If something awful happens and I'm still alive, I will admit my error, but it would likely mean that I am wrong and Glenn Beck is right, and I really do seriously think that is awfully damned unlikely.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another lazy Sunday with just a birthday list. Could we have a Canadian (gasp!) in the Picture Slot? Signs point to yes.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

19 August 2015

Birthdays
Tristan Lake Leabu b. 1999 (Superman Returns)
Joseph Castanon b. 1997 (Jericho, Click)
Veronica Roth b. 1988 (writer, Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant)
Tammin Sursok b. 1983 (Airship Dracula, Aquamarine)
Tania Nolan b. 1983 (Grayson: Earth One, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Legend of the Seeker)
Mike Moh b. 1983 (True Blood, Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight)
Erika Christensen b. 1982 (FreakyLinks, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Michelle Borth b. 1978 (TiMER, Supernatural, Komodo vs. Cobra)
Callum Blue b. 1977 (Smallville, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Dead Like Me)
Tracie Thoms b. 1975 (Looper, Wonder Woman [2011], Grindhouse, Wonderfalls)
Ahmed Best b. 1973 (The Star Wars prequels)
Matthew Perry b. 1969 (L.A.X. 2194)
Kyra Sedgwick b. 1965 (Gamer, Phenomenon, Amazing Stories)
Kevin Dillon b. 1965 (Tales from the Crypt, The Blob [1988])
John Stamos b. 1963 (Tales from the Crypt, Alice in Wonderland [1985])
Stu “Large” Riley b. 1963 (Kick-Ass, The Adventures of Pluto Nash)
Tony Longo b. 1961 died 21 June 2015 (Hercules in Hollywood, Fangs, The X Files, They Came from Outer Space, Beauty and the Beast [1987], Hell Town, Splash, Small & Frye)
Martin Donovan b. 1957 (Ant-Man, The Lottery, The Haunting in Connecticut, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dark Shadows [2005])
Adam Arkin b. 1956 (Lake Placid, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Perversions of Science, The Hidden Room, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Twilight Zone)
Peter Gallagher b. 1955 (The Gathering, House on Haunted Hill, High Spirits)
Jonathan Frakes b. 1952 (Star Trek, Roswell, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lois & Clark, Twilight Zone [1985])
Randi Oakes b. 1951 (Battlestar Galactica)
Jim Carter b. 1948 (The Golden Compass, The Wind in the Willows [TV], Ella Enchanted, Dinotopia, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, The Little Vampire, The Witches, The Company of Wolves, Flash Gordon)
Gerald McRaney b. 1947 (Jericho, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Hansel & Gretel, The NeverEnding Story, The Incredible Hulk, The Aliens Are Coming, Logan’s Run [TV], The Brain Machine, The Fantastic Journey, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Christopher Malcolm b. 1946 died 15 February 2014 (Whoops Apocalypse, Labyrinth, Highlander, Superman III, The Empire Strikes Back)
Jill St. John b. 1940 (Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World)
Diana Muldaur b. 1938 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Incredible Hulk, Planet Earth, Star Trek, The Invaders)
L. Q. Jones b. 1927 (Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann, The Incredible Hulk, A Boy and His Dog, My Favorite Martian)
Angus Scrimm b. 1926 (Phantasm, John Dies at the End, The Nightmare Room, FreakyLinks, Munchie, Mindwarp, Subspecies, Transylvania Twist, Chopping Mall, Salvage 1, Project U.F.O.)
William Marshall b. 1924 died 11 June 2003 (Dinosaur Valley Girls, Sorceress, Amazon Women on the Moon, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Scream Blacula Scream, Blacula, Star Trek)
Gene Roddenberry b. 1921 died 24 October 1991 (creator, Star Trek, Andromeda, Planet Earth, The Questor Tapes, Genesis II)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. It's a very Star Trek day. Previous Picture Slotters were Gene Roddenberry and Jonathan Frakes, and Diana Muldaur could be used either from The Original Series or from Next Gen. Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man from Phantasm also counts as iconic, but I instead went with the late William Marshall, not his Star Trek role, but instead as Blacula. I liked this picture because of how much it looks like a frame from a comic book, much in the style of artist Gene Colan.

2. Wait... he's dead? He died in 2014, so I should have given Christopher Malcolm a Never to Be Forgotten post, but his passing escaped my notice. His role best known for is as Eddie's ex-husband Justin, the father of Saffron, on Absolutely Fabulous.

3. Nepotism FTW. Kevin Dillon is the brother of Matt Dillon, a relationship I usually don't count. Adam Arkin is the son of Alan, a relationship I usually do count.  

4. Living Canadian free!  I didn't find anyone from north of the border today. That will happen from time to time.

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

Movies released
Spy Kids: All The Time In The World In 4D released 2011

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1902 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: A great advance in economy of fuel will take place when the household coal intended for cooking purposes is ground up together with the proper proportions of certain waste products of chemistry, so as to make a "smouldering mixture" which can be kept regularly supplied to a shallow or thin fire box by pressure applied from beneath or at the parts farthest away from the objects to be heated. An oven, for instance, may be surrounded by a "jacket" filled with ground smouldering mixture having a non-conducting insulator outside and a connection with a chimney. The heat from the fuel is thus kept in close proximity to the objects requiring to be cooked, and comparatively small waste results.

Reality: Sorry, Mr. Sutherland, the winners for cooking fuel are natural gas and electricity. I am not an engineer, but what you are describing sounds way messier than natural gas and a pilot light, though of course, there are risks to have so many pipelines around as well. 

 Never to be Forgotten: Bud Yorkin 1926-2015 Bud Yorkin, a producer and director best known for making TV comedies such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, What's Happening! and Maude, has died at the age of 89. He is mentioned here because he was an uncredited executive producer of Blade Runner. On imdb.com, his name was also attached to a new Blade Runner project, though it had no date released.

I'll admit I had to think if these two credits were enough to get a mention on a sci-fi blog, but in the end I decided it was worth it, largely on the basis of the importance of Blade Runner. If his one uncredited executive producer credit was for Krull or The Ice Pirates... meh.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Bud Yorkin, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Never to be Forgotten: Yvonne Craig 1937-2015 While I had to debate the inclusion of Bud Yorkin with myself, when I heard that Yvonne Craig died, there was no debate at all. A classically trained dancer, most of her early career in the 1950s and 1960s was in guest roles on TV shows. (She had six different roles in four years on Dobie Gillis, for example.) She got more exposure in supporting roles in two Elvis Presley movies, It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins.

Her two best known roles are as Marta on Star Trek (pictured here) and Barbara Gordon on Batman. (Genre fans might well count her third most famous role as her part in the awful Mars Needs Women opposite Tommy Kirk.) In interviews, she says she took the role in Batman to avoid being an Oh That Gal; reading the obituaries that have been published, it looks like it worked, as all of them mention that role first.

Miss Craig also tells the story that she is a large part of the reason Eartha Kitt was hired to be Catwoman in the third season. While it can be seen as a blow for racial equality, a major reason from a production standpoint was that if Julie Newmar continued in the role, it would stretch credulity seeing the 5'3" Batgirl kick the ass of 5'11" Catwoman, especially since Miss Newmar also had extensive dance training. It looked like more of a fair fight against the 5'4" Miss Kitt.

I have to admit reading of her death was like being on Count Rugen's torture device from The Princess Bride. It felt like months were taken off my life in the wink of an eye. Part of the horrible surprise was that I assumed she closer to Burt Ward's age, but in fact she was eight years older than him and eight years younger than Adam West. Whatever her age, I naturally had a crush on her when I was a lad and part of my childhood is gone.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Yvonne Craig, from a heartsick fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow, we get more sunny predictions from Morris Ernst in his book Utopia 1976.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 August 2015

Birthdays
Max Charles b. 2003 (The Strain, Constantine, White Space, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, True Blood)
Maia Mitchell b. 1993 (After the Dark)
Richard Harmon b. 1991 (The Age of Adaline, Continuum, The 100, Fringe, Caprica, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Smallville, Flash Gordon [TV], Jeremiah)
Mika Boorem b. 1987 (Mighty Joe Young, Jack Frost, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch)
Katie Lyons b. 1981 (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
Rhonda Dent b. 1978 (Helix, Almost Human, Supernatural, The 4400, Insecticidal)
Mizuo Peck b. 1977 (Night at the Museum, Witchblade)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner b. 1970 (American Horror Story, Jeremiah, Sliders)
Edward Norton b. 1969 (Birdman, The Invention of Lying, The Incredible Hulk)
Christian Slater b. 1969 (Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Beyond the Stars)
Brian Bendis b. 1967 (writer, Jessica Jones, Powers, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman)
Sarita Choudhury b. 1966 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Midnight’s Children, Lady in the Water)
Jorgen Langhelle b. 1965 (The Thing)
Craig Bierko b. 1964 (The Thirteenth Floor, Red Dwarf [TV Movie])
Adam Storke b. 1962 (The Invisible Man [TV], Prey, Death Becomes Her, Lifepod)
Glenn Plummer b. 1961 (Monsters in the Woods, Vegas Vampires, Saw II, The Day After Tomorrow, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Strange Days, Beauty and the Beast [TV])
Michael McCleery b. 1959 (Alien Space Avenger)
Reg E. Cathey b. 1958 (Fantastic Four, Grimm, Tank Girl, The Mask, Star Trek: Next Generation)
Madeleine Stowe b. 1958 (Impostor, Twelve Monkeys, The Amazing Spider-Man)
Dennis Leary b. 1957 (Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, Small Soldiers, Demolition Man)
Sergio Castellitto b. 1953 (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
Patrick Swayze b. 1952 died 14 September 2009 (George and the Dragon, Donnie Darko, Tall Tale, Ghost, Amazing Stories)
Teri McMinn b. 1951 (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Shirley Prestia b. 1947 died 6 October 2011 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Charmed, Babylon 5, Species, ALF)
Martin Mull b. 1943 (Eastwick, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Wonder Woman)
Robert Redford b. 1936 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Twilight Zone)
Gail Fisher b. 1935 died 2 December 2000 (Knight Rider)
Roman Polanski b. 1933 (director, Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers)
Anna Navarro b. 1933 died 27 December 2006 (Last Action Hero, Galactica 1980, Son of Sinbad, The Adventures of Hajji Baba)
Grant Williams b. 1931 died 28 July 1985 (Brain of Blood, The Outer Limits, The Munsters, The Monolith Monsters, The Incredible Shrinking Man)
Joan Taylor b. 1929 died 4 March 2012 (Men Into Space, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Earth vs. Flying Saucers)
Brian W. Aldiss b. 1925 (author, The Year Before Yesterday, Enigma; screenwriter, Brothers of the Head, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Frankenstein Unbound)
Shelley Winters b. 1920 died 14 January 2006 (Purple People Eater, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Pete’s Dragon, Batman)
Don Keefer 1916 died 7 September 2014 (Lois & Clark, Creepshow, Time Express, The Incredible Hulk, Sleeper, Star Trek, Bewitched, The Munsters, My Favorite Martian, ‘Way Out, Twilight Zone)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Robert Redford and Grant Williams have been in the Picture Slot previously, and when Don Keefer died last year, I had a picture of him from It's a Good Life, one of the iconic Twilight Zone episodes. If I go with the no repeat rule, Patrick Swayze from Ghost is likely the most iconic picture I can use.

2. Spot the Canadians! Both Rhonda Dent and Richard Harmon were born in Canada and are typical of the actors who gigs in Toronto and Vancouver. This is yet another example of government intervention that works to the benefit of the people of the country.

Gosh, I wonder if people might try that in the United States someday.

3. Wait... she's dead? And her, too? There are several people on the list who died young, most notably Patrick Swayze, but there are some today who I hadn't filed in the deceased category yet. They are Shirley Prestia, one of the original members of The Groundlings, and Gail Fisher, best known for her role on Mannix.

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

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in the 1957 book The Door Into Summer

Prediction: The changes in the language surprised me. Take one word used in innocence. A lady present was offended and only the fact that I was a Sleeper – which I hastily explained – kept her husband from giving me a mouthful of knuckles.

The word was “kink”.

Reality: The somewhat rude meaning of kink is the most common usage today, but no one will threaten you with bodily harm for using it in mixed company. You might be referring to Ray Davies, for example, and anyone who gets into a "mouthful of knuckles" mood when The Kinks are mentioned might well find me similarly offended.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is it Wednesday already? That means a visit from our sensible friend George Sutherland.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!