25 November 2014

 Birthdays
Katie Cassidy b. 1986 (Arrow, The Flash, A Nightmare on Elm Street [2010], Supernatural, Click)
Haley Webb b. 1985 (Beauty and the Beast, Teen Wolf)
Jordon Lawson b. 1982 (Rise of the Dinosaurs, Silent Night, Zombie Night, LG15: The Resistance, Lost, The Rage: Carrie 2)
Joel Kinnaman b. 1979 (RoboCop)
Jerry Ferrara b. 1979 (7500, Battleship)
Marianthi Evans b. 1977 (Defiance, Witchslayer Gretl)
Kristian Nairn b. 1975 (Game of Thrones)
Kenneth Mitchell b. 1974 (Astronaut Wives Club, Haven, Grimm, Meteor, Jericho, Odyssey 5)
Stefanie von Pfetten b. 1973 (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld, Eureka, Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, Jeremiah, Strange Frequency 1 & 2, Seven Days, First Wave)
Eddie Steeples b. 1973 (Zombie Apocalypse)
Christina Applegate b. 1971 (Prince Charming, Nowhere, Mars Attacks!, Amazing Stories, Jaws of Satan)
Jill Hennessy b. 1968 (Komodo, RoboCop 3, War of the Worlds [TV], Deadly Nightmares)
Matthew Sharp b. 1968 (10.5, Cypher, X-Men)
Joher Coleman b. 1968 (Earth Girls Are Easy)
Billy Burke b. 1966 (Revolution, Twilight Saga, Fringe, Komodo, VR.5, Deep Space Nine)
Dougray Scott b. 1965 (Hemlock Grove, Doctor Who, Sinbad [2012], The Day of the Triffids [2009], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2008 TV], Perfect Creature, Arabian Nights, Deep Impact, Highlander [TV])
Kevin Chamberlin b. 1963 (Heroes)
Darlanne Flugel b. 1958 (Pet Sematary II, Twilight Zone [1986], Battle Beyond the Stars)
Bruce Hopkins b. 1955 (Lord of the Rings, Cleopatra 2525, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena)
Mark Frost b. 1953 (writer, Fantastic Four, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Charlaine Harris b. 1951 (author, The Sookie Stackhouse Omnibus)
Kathy Silva b. 1948 (Soylent Green)
Joyce Cohen b. 1948 (Independence Day)
Tracey Walter b. 1947 (Mighty Joe Young [1998], Independence Day, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, Star Trek: The Next Generation, She Wolf of London, Not of This World, Freddy’s Nightmares, Alien Nation, Batman, ALF, Timestalkers, Amazing Stories, Conan the Destroyer, Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann, The Hand)
Jeff Doucette b. 1947 (Earth Fall, Dollhouse, Invasion, Carnivale, The Tick, Bedazzled, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Babylon 5: The River of Souls, Weird Science [TV], Mom and Dad Save the World, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], They Came from Outer Space, ALF, Alien Nation, Martians Go Home, Splash, Brave New World, Fairy Tales)
John Larroquette b. 1947 (Almost Human, Southland Tales, The Tenth Kingdom, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Cat People, Mork & Mindy, Altered States)
Michael Feast b. 1946 (Sleepy Hollow [1999])
Mary Jo Deschanel b. 1945 (Amazing Stories, 2010, The Right Stuff)
Paul Copley b. 1944 (Torchwood, The Worst Witch, A Christmas Carol [1977 TV])
Beverly Washburn b. 1943 (Spider Baby, Star Trek, Superman and the Mole-Men)
Matt Clark b, 1936 (Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, Lois & Clark, Back to the Future Part III, Buckaroo Banzai, The Terminal Man)
Kathryn Grant b. 1933 (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad)
Jeffrey Hunter b. 1926 died 27 May 1969 (Star Trek, The Green Hornet, Dimension 5)
Poul Anderson b. 1926 died 31 July 2001 (author, The Technic History series, Hoka, Tales of Known Space)
Noel Neill b. 1920 (Superman Returns, Superboy, Superman, Adventures of Superman, Invasion USA)
Ricardo Montalban b. 1920 died 14/1/2009 (Spy Kids, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Wonder Woman, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Alice Through the Looking Glass [1966])
Shelagh Fraser b. 1920 died 29 August 2000 (Star Wars, The Body Stealers, The Witches)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, Ricardo Montalban. This year, Kristian Nairn, best known to fans as Hodor on Game of Thrones. Next year is wide open, and in age spans all the way from Joel Kinnaman, the new RoboCop, to Shelagh Frasier as Aunt Baru from Star Wars and...

2. Wait, she's alive? Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in the TV versions of Superman was born in 1920 and she is still with us. She could easily get the nod in 2015, both iconic and a fabulous babe.

3. Five Canadians to spot. Getting all five is next to impossible, but I'll give you all a shot at it. They are born between 1965 and 1980, which narrows it down, but some have almost no tell-tale credits.

4. The Oh That Guys. Both Tracey Walter and Jeff Doucette turn 67 today, both of them have about 150 credits on imdb.com and it's a good bet you know their faces. John Larroquette, also turning 67, has about 100 credits, but I consider him a TV star instead of an Oh That Guy because of his time on Night Court.

5. Two others who deserve the Picture Slot. This day is an embarrassment of riches. Because I'm a Star Trek nerd, Jeffrey Hunter could be there. Because I'm a Harryhausen nerd, Kathryn Grant could get the nod.

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in his manifesto Up-Wing Priorities, published 1982

Prediction: We now want to design all areas of our evolution. We want biological freedoms. We want the freedom to spread out across the Universe. We want each of us to be alive a hundred years from now - a thousand years - a million - forever.

We want to spread a daring new optimism crystallizing from the obvious fact that for the first time in all the eons of life we are no longer blackholed within this microplanet - no longer trapped within fragile terminal bodies - that we are emerging as a triumphant new species - extraterrestrial and immortal.

We want to spread a new optimism and self-confidence stemming from the glaring fact that we who launch probes into interstellar reaches - we who flash signals to other beings across the Milky Way - we who decode light streaming in from the outbanks of the Universe over ten billion light-years away - can surely now mobilize our genius to accomplish anything.

We want to spread a new awareness that from here on we are resigned to nothing - consider no problems irreversible - no goals unattainable.

We want to spread the awareness that we are at lift off to a beautiful new age. There is a new Hope in the world.

Reality: As I typed this, in my mind I heard Steve Martin singing "It's Impossible... to suck a Cadillac through a straw, it's just impossible." The distances of space are still daunting. Our lifespans are increasing some, but 100 is still rare and 1,000 is, well, impossible. Maybe we will be able to transmit our consciousness into machines that can be maintained indefinitely, but that's a very big maybe. Old FroMo was a snake oil salesman, and this quote here is the last dregs of the bottle. Next Tuesday, somebody else gets the Tuesday slot. I'm not going to miss him as much as I miss John Elfreth Watkins or Robert A. Heinlein, but his nonsense, neologisms and no comma punctuation were at least entertaining.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another exciting chapter of our story of the wonders of 2011 as seen from 1911.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 November 2014

 Birthdays
Noah Ringer b. 1997 (The Last Airbender, Cowboys & Aliens)
Nick Bateman b. 1986 (Space Janitors, My Babysitter’s a Vampire)
Nathan Kress b. 1982 (Video Game High School)
Jake Abel b. 1987 (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The Host, I Am Number Four, Supernatural, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Threshold)
Georgia King b. 1986 (Cockneys vs Zombies, Sinbad [TV], Merlin [TV])
Robert Kazinsky b. 1983 (True Blood, Pacific Rim)
Damon Wayans Jr. b. 1982 (Blankman)
Miranda Raison b. 1977 (Sinbad, Merlin, Doctor Who, Dark Realm)
Steven Pasquale b. 1976 (Coma [2012], Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem)
Chloe Sevigny b. 1974 (American Horror Story, Demonlover)
Goran Kostic b. 1971 (The Last Days on Mars, The Deep [TV 2010], Children of Men)
Peta Wilson b. 1970 (Superman Returns, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Highlander [TV])
Dan Bakkedahl b. 1969 (Gotham, Grimm)
Phil Buckman b. 1969 (An American Werewolf in Paris, Weird Science)
Romany Malco b. 1968 (No Ordinary Family, Gulliver’s Travels [2010], Level 9)
Owen Wilson b. 1968 (Night at the Museum 1 & 2, The Haunting, Breakfast of Champions, Armageddon, Anaconda)
John Campling b. 1966 (616, Narcopolis, The Zombie King, Apocalypse Z, Jack the Giant Killer, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Tim Guinee b. 1962 (Revolution, Fringe, Iron Man 1 & 2, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, Strange World, Level 9, Blade, Brave New World, Vampires)
Nick Chinlund b. 1961 (666 Park Avenue, Grimm, Wyvern, The Chronicles of Riddick, Buffy, The X Files)
Steven Moffat b. 1961 (writer, Doctor Who, Jekyll)
Elizabeth Perkins b. 1960 (From the Earth to the Moon, Big)
John Shepherd b. 1960 (Quantum Leap, Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning)
Shari Shattuck b. 1960 (Babylon 5, Goddess of Love, Freddy’s Nightmares, Knight Rider)
Kevin Nealon b. 1953 (Aliens in the Attic, Little Nicky, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Coneheads)
Alan Moore b. 1953 (author, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell)
Delroy Lindo b. 1952 (The Core, Devil’s Advocate, Congo, Beauty and the Beast [1987 TV])
Dennis Haskins b. 1950 (The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes, Twilight Zone [1987], Amazing Stories, The Greatest American Hero)
Michael Swanwick b. 1950 (won 1992 Nebula for Stations of the Tide)
Eric Pierpont b. 1950 (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Solar Flare, Surface, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Sliders, Babylon 5, Alien Nation [TV]. Deep Space Nine, Children of the Dark, Star Trek: Next Generation, Time Trax, Beauty and the Beast, Invaders from Mars)
Andrea Marcovicci b. 1948 (Amazing Stories, The Canterville Ghost, The Stuff, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk, The Hand)
Alan Dean Foster b. 1946 (novelizations of Star Trek, Star Wars, Alien, Alien Nation and many more)
Susan Sullivan b. 1942 (Dead Like Me, The Incredible Hulk [1977], Dark Shadows [1967])
David Hemmings b. 1941 died 3 December 2003 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Tales from the Crypt, Nightmare Classic, Faerie Tale Theatre, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1980 TV], Barbarella)
Brenda Vaccaro b. 1939 (Supergirl, Capricorn One)
Ian McCulloch b. 1939 (Doctor Who, Hammer House of Horror, Zombie Holocaust, Zombie, The Ghoul, I, Monster, It!)
Margaret Atwood b. 1939 (author, The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake)
Max Phipps b. 1939 died 6 August 2000 (Farscape, Sky Pirates, The Return of Captain Invincible, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Thirst, The Cars That Eat People)
John McMartin b. 1929 (Beauty and the Beast [TV])
Alan Shepard b. 1923 died 21 July 1998 (astronaut)
Imogene Coca b. 1908 died 2 June 2001 (Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Bewitched, It’s About Time)

Notes on the Birthday List.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Margaret Atwood and this year, when astronauts are trump, we have Alan Shepard, first American in space. There are plenty of choices for next year, though I would say the front runner is Eric Pierpont from the Alien Nation TV show, though I might go with MST3K.

2. What, no Canadians? Yes, it's surprisingly true. I didn't find a single Canadian in this very long list of artists. I'm surprised too.

3. They did genre? There are a lot of actors whose names I know that I didn't know did any genre, but I checked their imdb.com C.V. just in case. The biggest surprises for me were Brenda Vaccaro, Susan Sullivan, Andrea Marcovicci, Delroy Lindo and Kevin Nealon. People can get typecast, sometimes because of ethnicity or being comic actors or "soap opera actors" and never get roles in fantasy or sci-fi. I wasn't surprised by Imogene Coca, definitely a comic actress. I still remember the sitcom It's About Time, though I have made a valiant effort to forget it.

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

Movies released
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 released 2011
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire released 2005
Star Trek: Generations released 1994
Cherry 2000 released 1988

TV show premieres
Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Comedy Central, 1989 

Predictor: FM-2030 in his 1981 article Up-Wing Priorities


Prediction: 21st Century Values. Traditional values have issued from eons of scarcity - hardship -brief lifespans - insularity. Late 20th-century breakthroughs are formatting new environments which spawn new values and ideals. A 21st-century consciousness is surfacing increasingly free of Puritan guilt - shame - cynicism - self-denial.

What does the oldworld psychology of sacrifice mean in the new age of abundance? Entire generations are coming on line who have never known poverty and hardship -for whom abundance and comfort are the norm. The new consciousness views hardship as stunting - wealth as liberating.

What does age-old orientation to suffering mean at a time when medical breakthroughs are screening out physical and mental pain?

What does the work ethic mean in the age of intelligent technology which is taking over more and more of our work? The work ethic now slows down growth. The new Leisure ethic accelerates innovation and progress.

What does competitiveness mean in an age of plenty? Why do we need to know who is best at anything? Why contests? Why winners and losers? Why the Nobel prize the Pulitzer prize the Academy Awards? Systems that pit people against one another are oldworld and manipulative and must be boycotted. Competition saps everyone's energy. To hyperspeed ahead we need complementation of everyone's creativity.

What do religions and spiritualisms which demand child-like submission to deities and "higher authorities" mean at a time when vigorous new generations growing up in permissive open environments accept no authorities as final or absolute? At a time when out cosmic leaps are daily proving there are no permanent constraints - that we are free agents in the universe?

The greatest breakthrough of our age is unfolding in our self image. A new brand of revolutionary is fat emerging - fired up by entirely new dreams. Up-Wingers are not content with civil rights - equal rights - human rights. These freedoms are no longer enough. 


Reality: Let's start with what he gets right, since that is the much shorter list. This is a time of plenty compared to the past.

Now what he gets wrong. The idea that there are no permanent constraints is crap. When it comes to exploring the cosmos, the speed of light is a permanent constraint. Living creatures age and die, and the advances in medicine slow these processes down, but cannot stop them completely. When it comes to distances in space we can actually manage to travel, we have a limit to how much air and water there is.

I will agree with old Frozen Moron-2030 that competition at the levels we practice now is getting in the way of the progress of the species, but we can't just kill off all the billionaires, as iniviting a prospect as that is.

Next week, we get his final flourish, his complete vision of the utopia he thought he deserved. I don't know yet who will replace old FroMo as our Tuesday regular, but that person or persons will be hard pressed to be more entertaining with their mistakes.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

I try to start a new national day of memorial, though I will likely be less successful than even FroMo.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

11 November 2014

 Birthdays
Ian Patrick b. 2002 (Looper)
Connor Price b. 1994 (Annedroids, The Good Witch’s Wonder, Being Human, Carrie [2013], Dino Dan: Trek’s Adventures, Alphas, Haven, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
Christa B. Allen b. 1991 (Detention of the Dead, Wizards of Waverly Place)
Rachel Sterling b. 1979 (True Blood, Surrogates)
Leonardo Di Caprio b. 1974 (Inception, Critters 3)
Adam Beach b. 1972 (Revolution, Cowboys & Aliens, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
David DeLuise b. 1971 (Abner, the Invisible Dog, Wizards of Waverly Place, Vampires Suck, Robodoc, Stargate SG-1, 3rd Rock form the Sun, Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles, Good vs Evil, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, SeaQuest 2032, Lois & Clark)
Alison Doody b. 1966 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
Jill Whitlow b. 1963 (Swamp Thing [TV], Freddy’s Nightmares, Night of the Creeps, Weird Science, Otherworld)
Demi Moore b. 1962 (The Butcher’s Wife, Ghost, Tales from the Crypt, Parasite)
Stanley Tucci b. 1960 (The Hunger Games, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Jack the Giant Slayer, Captain America, The Core, Monkey Shines)
Stephen Lee b. 1955 died 14 August 2014 (Threshold, Invasion, Dark Angel, Black Scorpion, Carnosaur 3: Primal Species, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Prehysteria!, Quantum Leap, The Pit and the Pendulum, RoboCop 2, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Dolls, Amazing Stories, WarGames)
Bill Moseley b. 1951 (Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D, Z Nation, House of the Witchdoctor, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Dead Souls, Exit Humanity, The Devil’s Tomb, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Halloween [2007], The Devil’s Rejects, Carnivale, Army of Darkness, Night of the Living Dead [1990], Freddy’s Nightmares, The Blob [1988], Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Endangered Species)
Vincent Schiavelli b. 1948 died 26 December 2005 (Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Buffy, Perversions of Science, Escape to Witch Mountain, The X Files, M.A.N.T.I.S., Highlander [TV], Batman Returns, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], Eerie, Indiana, Tales from the Crypt, Ghost, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Buckaroo Banzai)
Nancy Linehan Charles b, 1942 (Futurestates, Minority Report, Crusade, Space: Above and Beyond, Dracula [1992]))
Jonathan Winters b. 1925 died 11 April 2013 (Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Mork and Mindy, Twilight Zone)
John Guillermin b. 1925 (director, King Kong, King Kong Lives)
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. b. 1922 died 11 April 2007 (author)
Stubby Kaye b. 1918 died 14 December 1997 (Doctor Who, Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Robert Ryan b. 1909 died 11 July 1973 (Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, The Boy with Green Hair)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Kurt Vonnegut Jr. This year, I was sentimental and went with Jonathan Winters one role on Twilight Zone, starring opposite Jack Klugman, who was in multiple episodes. There are actual movie stars on the list - Leonardo di Caprio, Demi Moore, Robert Ryan - but they aren't genre movie stars exactly. Stanley Tucci and Vincent Schiavelli are the most likely Oh That Guys for 2015 and if I want to go fabulous babe, Allison Doody's role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is close to iconic.

2. Spot the Canadians. Two, both born after 1970. Good luck.

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

Movies released
Immortals, released 2011  

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction:
Globalism: In the age of global telecommunication – supersonics and world travel – global economy – nations exist mostly in name. In our times nationalism is a sure sign of backwardness. Nations are like peeing territories charted by dogs. Such territoriality is antifuture – you should be able to pee anywhere in the world.

Accelerators: More and more global infrastructures to accommodate global issues. Global referendums – global telecom networks and publications – global exchange programs – common markets and regional blocs – universal language (Unilang) – anything that will bring us together.

How can you the individual reinforce this process? For one thing publicly disavow nationality. What is your nationality? I am global. But where are you from? I am from Planet Earth. Such a stand can help spread the new consciousness. Live global: Each time you travel you make the world a little more intimate. The earlier children translive around the world the better the chances they will emerge as world people and globalize the rest. There are no more tourists or foreigners no internal affairs or national honor. This whole planet now belongs to all of us

Reality: Okay, I'll admit it. I'm twelve. I had a very hard time reading this passage because of how much I was thinking about the pee references.

And then there's the banishing of commas. I don't like the Oxford comma and I avoid the use of, the Shatner, COMMA!, but no commas makes stuff very hard to read.

Where do I agree with Frozen Moron 2030? Old FroMo is right about nationalism being a sign of backwardness. As for "I am from Planet Earth", I gave that cheese up when I was twelve. (Note: I am not really twelve now. but the first paragraph pee stuff did throw me off balance.) I looked up Unilang online to see if any remnant of his cult survives and in this case, the answer is no.

Let me close by saying this. Wherever I translive, it will be a place where the global infrastructure includes plumbing, and I don't care how antifuture my attitude is, if you hang out with me, there are several hard and fast rules about where you can pee.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to the 1911 story from the New York World, prediction the wonders of 2011.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 November 2014

Birthdays
Fivel Stewart b. 1996 (Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft)
Jean-Luc Bilodeau b. 1990 (Piranha 3DD, No Ordinary Family, Kyle XY, Supernatural)
Alexz Johnson b. 1986 (Haven, Smallville, So Weird)
Travis Van Winkle b. 1982 (The Last Ship, Transformers)
Justine Waddell b. 1976 (The Fall, Dracula 2000)
Warren Christie b. 1975 (Arrow, Alphas, Once Upon a Time, Apollo 18, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, 10.5)
Wendy Hoopes b. 1972 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
Miles Pollard b. 1972 (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Matthew McConaughey b. 1969 (Interstellar, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D, Reign of Fire, Contact, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation)
Samantha Smith b. 1969 (Supernatural, Transformers, Dragonfly, Dark Angel, What Planet Are You From?, Avalon: Beyond the Abyss)
Kiersten Warren b. 1965 (Fringe, The Astronaut Farmer, Bicentennial Man, NightMan, Independence Day)
Annabelle Gurwitch b. 1961 (Charmed, Encino Woman, Alien Nation [TV])
Ralph Macchio b. 1961 (Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Undead)
Ken Kirzinger b. 1959 (Psych, Fringe, Smallville, Stan Helsing, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Stargate, Journey to the Center of the Earth [2008 TV Movie], Supernatural, Andromeda, Freddy vs. Jason, Dark Angel, Futuresport, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, The X Files, Highlander [TV], Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
Markie Post b. 1950 (VR.5, The Greatest American Hero, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Incredible Hulk)
Noam Pitka b. 1938 (director, Space Jam)
Loretta Swit b. 1937 (Whoops Apocalypse, It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman)
Kate Reid b. 1930 died 27 March 1993 (The Andromeda Strain)
Doris Roberts b. 1925 (Mrs. Miracle, Aliens in the Attic, Faerie Tale Theatre, ‘Way Out)
Martin Balsam b. 1919 died 13 February 1996 (Twilight Zone [1987, 1986, 1963 and 1959], Murder in Space, Space, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Art Carney b. 1918 died 9 November 2003 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Firestarter, The Star Wars Holiday Special, Batman, Twilight Zone, Art Carney Meet the Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
Cameron Mitchell b. 1918 died 6 July 1994 (Demon Cop, Space Mutiny, Frankenstein Island, The Demon, The Incredible Hulk, Supersonic Man, Project U.F.O., Death in Space, Flight to Mars)
Leonardo Cimino b. 1917 died 3 March 2012 (Waterworld, M.A.N.T.I.S., The Monster Squad, V, Amityville II: The Possession, ‘Way Out)
Gig Young b. 1913 died 19 October 1978 (Twilight Zone)
Ian Wolfe b. 1896 died 23 January 1992 (Amazing Stories, Wizards and Warriors, Wonder Woman, The Terminal Man, THX 1138, Star Trek, The Invaders, The Green Hornet, Twilight Zone, The Lost World [1960])

Notes on the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Ian Wolfe from one of his Star Trek appearances and this year I was tempted to use another of the deceased actors in a role from the original Twilight Zone, but instead I decided to skew younger and use a still from the Interstellar movie now in theaters starring birthday boy Matthew McConaughey.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are four Canadians today, though technically Warren Christie was born in Northern Ireland. There is one Yank with a telltale show on the resume, so you have to spot the single non-Canadian of the likely suspects.

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Telecommunities: Industrial age cities have a great future - as museums. We should close them down and move out. What will replace cities? We have some early forerunners of 21st century telecommunitites: mobile communities - airparks - global festivals - global video events - space colonies.

A telecommunity can be instant - activated in day dismantled in hours. These new communities accomodate the increasing mobility of people - they are in effect liftoff/landing platforms. They are also fluid and modular - no stones bricks or concrete - nothing that will stay long enough to atrophy into tenements and ghettoes. Abundant solar energy means that these linkup spheres can be set up anywhere. Deploy only automated vehicles and modules that fly. Streets are obsolete. The new communities are completely telesphered: teleducation - telemedicine - teleshopping etc. The size is nonissue - they continuously expand contract transform as the people flow in and out. Telecommunites coalesce the new variables and can act as momentum swings to 21st-century life.

Reality: Can you imagine what it must have been like to hear this jerk talk? I get a headache just typing in two paragraphs of his verbatim. Let me correct that. A teleheadache that requires at least three teleaspirins.

The closest thing to his idea in Burning Man, which started in 1986, five years after he wrote this. But that's just a strange vacation idea and not a way of life for the whole planet 24/7.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
 
More verbatim typing for me,  but this time from the 1911 New York World predictions about 2011.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

28 October 2014

 Birthdays
Sierra McCormick b. 1997 (Land of the Lost, Supernatural)
Devon Murray b.1988 (Harry Potter)
Matt Smith b. 1982 (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Terminator: Genisys, Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Clone)
Michael Stahl-David b. 1982 (In Your Eyes, The Congress, Cloverfield)
Dwayne Cameron b. 1981 (Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers, Dark Knight, Amazon High)
Joaquin Phoenix b. 1974 (Her, The Village, Signs, Superboy, SpaceCamp)
Michael Dougherty b. 1974 (writer, Superman Returns, X2)
Greg Eagles b. 1970 (Teeth and Blood, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Black Scorpion, The Burning Zone)
Julia Roberts b. 1967 (Mirror Mirror, Mart Reilly, Hook, Flatliners)
Stephen Hunter b. 1968 (The Hobbit)
Chris Bauer b. 1966 (Tomorrowland, True Blood, Fringe, The Lost Room, Devil’s Advocate, Snow White: A Tale of Terror)
Jami Gertz b. 1965 (The Neighbors, The Lost Boys, Solarbabies)
Lauren Holly b. 1963 (Alphas, Lost Girl, Living with the Dead)
Daphne Zuniga (Spaceballs, The Fly II)
Jonathan Mostow b. 1961 (director, Terminator 3)
Annie Potts b. 1952 (Ghostbusters I & II, The Man Who Fell to Earth [TV movie], Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone [1985])
Joe R. Lansdale b. 1951 (writer, Bubba Ho-Tep, Batman, Jonah Hex)
Ian Marter b. 1944 died 28 October 1986 (Doctor Who, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Dennis Franz b. 1944 (City of Angels, The Fury)
George ‘Buck’ Flower b. 1937 died 18 June 2004 (Power Rangers, Wishmaster, Village of the Damned, Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II, Warlock: The Armageddon, Mirror Images, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Dragonflight, They Came from Outer Space [TV], Back to the Future Parts I & II, They Live, Mac and Me, Pumpkinhead, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Berserker, The Night Stalker, Starman, Escape from New York, The Fog, The Time Machine [TV movie], The Invisible Man [1975 TV])
Jane Alexander b. 1939 (Terminator Salvation, The Ring, Testament)
Suzy Parker b. 1932 died 3 May 2003 (Twilight Zone)
Joan Plowright b. 1929 (The Spiderwick Chronicles, George and the Dragon, Last Action Hero)
Elsa Lanchester b. 1902 died 26 December 1986 (Off to See the Wizard, Mary Poppins, Bell Book and Candle, Alice in Wonderland [1955 TV], Bride of Frankenstein)
John Boles b. 1985 died 27 February 1969 (Frankenstein [1931])

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Matt Smith as the Doctor. This year, I went with the biggest movie star and her poster picture from Mirror Mirror. Next year, there are lots of possibilities, including Elsa Lanchester from The Bride of Frankenstein, Suzy Parker from the original Twilight Zone series (a model/actress, in her day possibly prettier than Julia Roberts), Annie Potts from Ghostbusters or Daphne Zuniga from Spaceballs. The only male who is even in the running is Joaquin Phoenix from Her.

2. We got plenty of nothing! Not only is today's birthday list Star Trek free, we are also devoid of Canadians. I expect this is going to be rare.

3. Oh That Bum. The busiest beaver among our birthday boys and girls today is George 'Buck' Flower, who started his career in 1970s soft porn but later became a character actor specializing in beggars, bums, winos and homeless men. Seriously, over 10% of his 158 roles are nameless, credited only as Drunk, Homeless Man, Wino, etc. You might think I am mocking him, but I always show respect to guys who make a living one role at a time. The only thing he had that was close to a regular paycheck was playing a character named Roy on the short-lived TV sitcom Flo. That's a hard way to keep food on the table and may he be blessed by Odin, Vishnu and the little Baby Jebus.

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

Movies released
In Time released 2011  

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Teledemocracy: All forms of leadership are intrinsically authoritarian - the differences are in degrees. Voting for leaders and representatives (who then make unilateral decisions for the people) is not democracy. Let us stop deluding ourselves. In our times democracy means direct participation in all decision making. This means voting not for leaders - but voting directly on issues.

Accelerators: Every week every month - or as often as necessary - people deploy their tranceivers to vote directly on issues. All sides of every issue are regularly telecast. Computer flashforwards of probable consequences of each scenario are simultaneously aired. (Because there are no struggles for leadership issues are depoliticized. The focus is on the merits of each plan.) Temporary committees (picked at random every month) supervise the referendums and implementation of decisions. In the age of two-way interactive telespheres leaders and representatives are as superfluous as scribes. By the first decade of the new century government will exist mainly in name as power will shift to the people via direct consensing.


Reality: Time to bring The Big Ugly Stick out of its burlap bag and give old FM-2030 a few well placed and well deserved whacks. I'm pretty sure FM stands for Frozen Moron, but I'd have to look that up. Just in case I got it right, I'm going to start using the nickname FroMo for this goofball.

Yet again, I have typed his stuff verbatim. I continue to be amazed the lengths to which he went to avoid using commas. But let us not be blinded by his bad punctuation and pompous neologisms. The real problems here are his incredibly bad ideas. Let's start with the first sentence about all leadership being authoritarian. Can you imagine what it must have been like inside his cult? I imagine a fascist dictatorship, don't you?

I live in California and the proposition system, first instituted in the days when the oil and railroad trusts owned the legislature, was meant to allow direct participation. Now, it is often a way for moneyed interests to get their way using a method cheaper than the outright bribery used so often today. In FM-2030's scenario, the problems we have now would be even worse. The rich would do everything they could to make sure their interests were protected, most notably by monopolizing the airwaves so their view would always be available. The temporary committee idea is a good way to make sure nearly no project taking a year or more to complete would ever be completed. As for the computer "flashforwards", who programs the computers? If some programmer's work in prediction is consistently wrong, who is the person who decides if he or she is sacked or not? If decisions were made by consensus, we'd probably have Ebola quarantine zones in every state and not a penny being spent to combat climate change.

Old FroMo has been steadily wrong time after time, but these two paragraphs are like the distilled essence of his arrogant bullshit.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Like with FroMo, I type the predictions from the 1911 New York World article verbatim. Unlike FroMo, I rarely want to bring the anonymous writer back to life and beat him senseless.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

14 October 2014

Birthdays
Roward Blanchard b. 2001(Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D)
Mia Wasikowska b.1989 (Only Lovers Left Alive, Alice In Wonderland)
Max Thieriot b. 1988 (Jumper, The Astronaut Farmer)
Mackenzie Mauzy b. 1988 (Forever, Into the Woods)
Daniel Clark b. 1985 (Earth: Final Conflict, My Best Friend Is an Alien, Goosebumps, Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension)
Ben Whishaw b. 1980 (The Zero Theorem, Cloud Atlas)
Nels Lennarson b. 1972 (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Tomorrow People, Horns, The Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, Smallville, The Andromeda Strain [2008], Bionic Woman [2007], Stargate: Atlantis, Blade: The Series, Painkiller Jane, Stargate SG-1, Strange Frequency, Andromeda)
Jon Seda b. 1970 (Twelve Monkeys)
Paul Fitzgerald b. 1970 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014], Fringe, Roswell)
Robert C. Cooper b. 1968 (producer, Stargate)
Steve Coogan b. 1965 (Night at the Museum, Around the World in 80 Days, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, Alice Through the Looking Glass [1998 TV movie], Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Tales from the Crypt, The Indian in the Cupboard)
Lori Petty b. 1963 (Route 666, The Hunger, Brimstone, Star Trek: Voyager, Tank Girl, Alien Nation [TV], Freddy’s Nightmares, Twilight Zone [1986])
Trevor Goddard b. 1962 died 7 June 2003 (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Hollywood Vampyr, The X-Files, Babylon 5, Mortal Kombat)
Greg Evigan b. 1953 (Invasion Roswell, Metal Tornado, Phantom Racer, Cerberus, Nightworld: Survivor, DeepStar Six, William Shatner’s TekWar, Deadly Nightmares, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Richard Christian Matheson b. 1953 (writer, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, It Waits, Tales from the Crypt, Amazing Stories, Knight Rider, The Powers of Matthew Star, The Incredible Hulk)
Harry Anderson b. 1952 (Lois & Clark, Harvey, It, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Darkside)
Rick Aviles b. 1952 died 17 March 1995 (Waterworld, The Stand, Ghost)
John Sumner b. 1951 (District 9, King Kong, Power Rangers R.P.M., Atomic Twister, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, The Tommyknockers)
Katy Manning b. 1949 (Doctor Who)
Gerard Murphy b. 1948 died 26 August 2013 (Batman Begins, Waterworld, Doctor Who)
Udo Kier b. 1944 (Iron Sky, Melancholia, Halloween [2007], BloodRayne, Headspace, Dracula 3000, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Blade, Shadow of the Vampire, End of Days, Armageddon, Modern Vampires, Johnny Mnemonic, SeaQuest 2032, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne, Suspiria, Spermula, Blood for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, Mark of the Devil)
Dyanne Thorne b. 1943 (Space, Wham! Bam! Thank You, Spaceman!, Blood Sabbath, Star Trek)
Roger Moore b. 1927 (The Man Who Wouldn’t Die, Moonraker)
Robert Webber b. 1924 died 19 May 1989 (Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land, The Outer Limits)
Jack Arnold b. 1916 died 17 March 1992 (director, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Holmes and Yo-Yo, Mr. Terrific, It’s About Time, World of Giants, Monster on the Campus, The Space Children, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Tarantula, It Came From Outer Space)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Udo Kier. He has been old and creepy for so long, it's hard to remember that he got his start as a pretty boy in an odd Eurotrash kind of way in Paul Morrissey's horror movies. (I say this with love.) It's comparable to Frank Langella, who hasn't aged particularly well, with the difference that Langella wasn't "kind of a pretty boy", he was drop dead gorgeous.

Last year it was Lori Petty from Tank Girl in the Picture Slot.  Next year, no idea. Mia Wasikowsha as Alice is a possibility, and if Into the Woods is a hit, Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel might be in.

2. Spot the Canadians! One is easy, the other not so much. (Hint: NOT Greg Evigan. He just shows up in a lot of crap.)

3. Better known as... Dyanne Thorne was the star of Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS, a great title of a not great movie. She played First Girl in Piece of the Action, the Star Trek episode my friend Michael Dresbach calls "Planet O' Gangsters". You might also remember other Planet O' episodes from the original show: Planet O' Nazis, Planet O' Native Americans, Planet O' Hippies, Planet O' Cowboys, etc. The underlying theme seemed to be "we're on the Paramount lot, we have these sets no one is using, why don't we save some money?"

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Teleconomics: To stream full blast to 21st-Century teleconomics we must speedup development of solar energy - nuclear fusion - hydrogen fuel. Energy is the central accelerator. Abundant energy means overflow food and limitless raw materials. The new wealth - particularly solar energy - in nonmonopolizable  and will reinforce global decentralization of wealth - information - power. The new abundance also accelerates development of intelligent technology which will cancel out subsistence work and labor force. Work will be transformed into a voluntary creative process, By 2010 the glut of energy will hasten phase out of money which in turn will help will help phase out profit and competition - conflicts of interest - imbalances of wealth - cycles of inflation/recession - exploitation. How absurd all this emphasis on finite resources and sacrifice at the very moment in evolution when we are opening up the infinite resources of the universe. We have superabundant resources to last us a million years - a billion years. Enough to last for as long as there is a Universe.

Reality: My new theory on FM-2030's punctuation choices is that he was abused by a comma in childhood. Clearly, he expected we were at the end of the fossil fuel age and something better was right around the corner. Hmm... not so much.

I do not understand how abundant energy translates into overflow food and limitless raw materials. You can't feed livestock on solar panels and ore and sand don't just magically turn into steel and glass. I should be able to find some positive feeling about the guy given what an optimist he was, but his slapdash ideas are like watching a really bad magician. The best thing about this section of his very inaccurate prediction essay is doesn't include any of his creepy free love crap.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another optimistic predictor who isn't nearly as creepy, the view of 2011 from an article in the 1911 New York World.  

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 September 2014

Birthdays
Anneliese van der Pol b. 1984 (Vampires Suck)
Keri Lynn Pratt b. 1978 (Smallville, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Anthony Mackie b 1978 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Real Steel, The Adjustment Bureau, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)
Warren Kole b. 1977 (Game of Assassins, The Avengers)
Faune A. Chambers b. 1976 (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Jaime Bergman b. 1975 (Angel, Soulkeeper)
Christopher Miller b. 1975 (writer, The Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Clone High)
Mateo Gil b. 1972 (writer, Vanilla Sky)
Crispin Bonham-Carter b. 1969 (Relic Hunter, Highlander [TV])
Christopher Peters b. 1968 (Zombie High, The Lost Boys)
Beatrice Ring b. 1965 (Zombie Flesh Eaters 2, Interzone)
Erik Dellums b. 1964 (Doctor Doolittle)
Alex Proyas b. 1963 (director, Knowing, I, Robot, Dark City, The Crow)
Janelle Brady b. 1962 (Teen Wolf Too, Class of Nuke ‘Em High)
Elizabeth Pena b. 1961 (Strangeland, It Came from Outer Space II, The Invaders, Jacob’s Ladder, *batteries not included)
Chi McBride b. 1961 (I, Robot, The Frighteners)
Jason Carter b. 1960 (Starship II: Rendezvous with Ramses, Vampire, Angel, Charmed, Good vs Evil, Babylon 5, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lois & Clark, She-Wolf of London)
Jason Alexander b. 1959 (The Voyages of Young Doctor Doolittle, Meteor, Star Trek: Voyager, Coneheads, Jacob’s Ladder)
Rosalind Chao b. 1957 (Forever, The Event, Freaky Friday, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Brimstone, What Dreams May Come, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Beauty and the Beast, Max Headroom, The Amazing Spider-Man [1979], The Incredible Hulk)
Maren Jensen b. 1956 (Deadly Blessing, Battlestar Galactica [1979])
Peter David b. 1956 (writer, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Marvel Comics)
David Jensen b. 1952 (Salem, This is the End, The Last Exorcism Part II, Looper, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Battleship, Creature, Battle Los Angeles, Jonah Hex, Journey to Promethea, Wolvesbayne, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Mist, Frankenstein [2004 TV])
Mary Kay Place b. 1947 (Being John Malkovich)
John Woo b. 1946 (director, Paycheck, The Robinsons: Lost in Space)
Paul Petersen b. 1945 (In the Year 2889, The Monolith Monsters)
Louise Latham b. 1922 (The X-Files, Earth 2, The Philadelphia Experiment, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], The Invaders)
Mickey Rooney b. 1920 died 6 April 2014 (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2015], Night at the Museum, Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights, Conan [TV], Eric the Viking, Twilight Zone, The Atomic Kid)
Walter Pidgeon b. 1897 died 25 September 1984 (The Neptune Factor, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Forbidden Planet)

Jason Carter as the Ranger Marcus from Babylon 5 is in the Picture Slot this year and the late Walter Pidgeon from Forbidden Planet was last year's choice. While there are some well-known actors like Jason Alexander and Mickey Rooney, for iconic roles in sci-fi, I'll probably go with Maren Jensen from Battlestar Galactica, Rosalind Chao from Star Trek or Anthony Mackie from The Winter Soldier. Thankfully, there are no "Wait... (s)he's Dead?" candidates While Mickey Rooney's death was just this year, it was a big news story and he lived to teh ripe old age of 93, so it's not a surprise typing it up. Everyone younger Rooney is still with us, including Louise Latham, who turns 92. Good on ya, Ms. Latham.

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Universal Life: We need to hasten the transition to universal telegenesis universal parenting universal life. Mating is no longer necessary to perpetuate the species. We can now reproduce through insemination - inovulation - telegenesis - in vitro births - in vitro cloning. As mating loses biological function family - marriage - coupling phase out. Humanity is decoupling. In our rapidly converging worlds we need to grow fluid and universal - able to connect with more and more people without getting blackholed in exclusive commitments.

Accelerators: Fertilize only those screened sex cells most likely to spawn healthy wholesome new lives. (Later we will mix most desirable elements of many people's cells.) Identities of those whose sex cells are selected for reproduction are never disclosed. Therefore the newborn belong to no specific parents. They lift off in mobilias - with many trans parents. Shared parenthood eases burdens on parents and reduces the child's early programming to lifelong painful traumas of imprinting and possessiveness.

As coupling phases out people flow within a global network of linkups. By 2010 exclusivity will have phased out. Whose child are you? Whose parents? Whose sister or brother? Who are you involved with? All these will be flashbacks from our tribal past. People will connect openly freely universally.


Reality: As I said before, I hate this guy's punctuation almost as much as I hate his arrogant ideas and neologisms. For some reason, he hated commas and decided the dash was a superior symbol.

As to his ideas on childbirth and child raising, I'm sure there are a few communes somewhere that practice his recommendations, but the vast majority of the planet still does that whole "kids raised by the biological parents whenever possible" thing. Then there's his eugenics creepiness and his "I want lots of commitment free sex" creepiness.

There's pretty much nothing I like about this guy.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's Wednesday and we get another installment of the optimistic view of 2011 from an anonymous writer in 1911 working for The New York World.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

16 September 2014

 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)

Last year, the Picture Slot was Anne Francis and who can blame me? This year, I went with Cat from Red Dwarf. Next year, who can say? I do like two of the Oh That Guys, Kurt Fuller and Morgan Woodward.

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Telebrain: How do we fastforward the human brain? Continued mapping of more and more of the brain. Implanted slow-release drugs to self-regulate moods and biochemical shift. Genetic engineering to regenerate aging brain cells – upgrade intelligence – deactivate vestigial parts of the brain.

Plug in/Plug off super microchip implants to amplify brain versatility and power. For example: millisec computations in the head with visual displays – instant access to info – hi-speed playback – simultaneous info retrieval/transmission. Implanted transceiver for direct brain to brain interface. Implanted sensors for continuous monitoring of all body functions and self-regulation of biorhythms and mood swings. By 2010 the human brain should emerge as a super telebrain – a powerful autonomous transceiver free of the animal body – able to connect with new replaceable bodies.

Reality: Remember last week when I had to begrudgingly admit the guy got some stuff right? This week, I don't have to begrudge anything, because nothing is as he predicted. The closest things might be FitBit and Google Glass, but they are wearable, not implanted. And biorhythms! Ah, it brings back memories.

I have to say, as annoying as his made-up words are, his punctuation and grammar irritate every bit as much. I wrote this one out verbatim, just to show how much this guy loved dashes.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We meet our new regular Wednesday predictor.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

9 September 2014

 Birthdays
Kelsey Chow b. 1991 (The Amazing Spider-Man)
Josh Herdman b. 1987 (Harry Potter)
Julie Gonzalo b. 1981 (Vamp U)
Michelle Williams b. 1980 (Oz the Great and Powerful, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Timemaster, Species)
Rogelio T. Ramos b. 1976 (Spider-Man 3, Zombie Night)
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)
Julia Sawalha b. 1968 (Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Comic Relief: Doctor Who – The Curse of Fatal Death)
Adam Sandler b. 1966 (Bedtime Stories, Click, Little Nicky, Coneheads)
David Bennent b. 1966 (Legend)
Michelle Johnson b. 1965 (Specimen, Death Becomes Her, Beaks: The Movie, Werewolf)
Brenda Epperson b. 1965 (Bug Buster)
Charles Esten b. 1965 (The Postman, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Hugh Grant b. 1960 (Cloud Atlas, The Lair of the White Worm)
Bruce Stait b. 1959 (Fringe, Final Destination 5, Supernatural, Tron: Legacy, Stonehenge Apocalypse, Smallville, Blade: The Series, Stargate: Atlantis, The 4400, Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, First Wave, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X-Files, Highlander [TV], Omen IV: The Awakening, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future)
Jeffrey Alan Combs b. 1954 (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 1965], Logan’s Run [TV])
Tom Wopat b. 1951 (Jonah Hex, Smallville, Meteorites)
Jeffrey Alan Chandler b. 1944 died 19 December 2001 (Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Twilight Zone [1985], Knight Rider)
Art LaFleur b. 1943 (Speed Racer, The Santa Clause, Angel, Space Rangers, Trancers I & II, The Blob [1988], Zone Troopers, WarGames, Wizards and Warriors, 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 Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange)
Nick Ramus b. 1929 died 30 May 2007 (Harry and the Hendersons, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
Cliff Robertson b. 1923 died 10 September 2011(Amazing Spider –Man, Escape From L.A., Return to Earth, Charly, Batman, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Neil Hamilton b. 1899 died 24 September 1984 (Batman, The Munsters, The Outer Limits)

Last year, Henry Thomas got The Picture Slot. This year, it was a wide open field. Regular readers will know that iconic genre roles trump movie and TV stardom, so folks like Adam Sandler, Hugh Grant and Tom Wopat were not in the running this year and unlikely to be used in the future. The main choices were Michelle Williams from the Oz movie, Jeffrey Alan Combs from Deep Space Nine or Re-Animator, Angela Cartwright from Lost in Space, Topol from Flash Gordon, Cliff Robertson from a number of roles or Neil Hamilton from Batman. But this year I have a soft spot for Doctor Who, so we get Janet Fielding as the companion Tegan, sometimes known as "the mouth with legs".

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in UpWing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Telespheres: Let us speedup the orbit shift from industrialism to the new age. The world of telespheres is flowing from the confluence of breakthroughs in many areas: limitless energy, interactive telecommunication, ultra intelligent machines, biological and cultural revolutions, space colonization. These and other forces are recontexting life in fundamentally new ways. We are creating electronic environments that integrate all peoples and services. No one need remain waterholed near stationary centralized sources of learning, livelihood or decision making. You connect from wherever you are.

For example, the track beyond school is teleducation which facilitates transmission of continuous updated info to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Beyond hospital: preventative telemedicine.

Beyond bureaucracy: telemanagement and teleconference.

Beyond vindictive judicial systems: preventative crime telemonitor.

Beyond profit retailing: direct teleshopping from production decenters.

Beyond leadership government: teledemocracy via universal referendums…

Reality: One of the most annoying experiences possible is when someone you believe is an idiot is right, and I have to say FM-2030 gets several things right here. The "electronic environments that integrate all peoples and services" is the thing that lets you read my little musings, the Internet. That wasn't an obvious call in 1981. The "continuous [sic] updated info" describes Wikipedia, that are more people working from home, taking online classes and definitely shopping, but his awful neologism "decenters" as a noun instead of a verb, does a bad job describing the very centralized Amazon.com.

Here's what he gets wrong. He uses the word "waterholed" to talk about an old-fashioned way of doing things, but he misses that people really do need to be near sources of clean water and that's not going to change. Online education has to overcome the fact that most people aren't self-motivating enough to succeed without a lot of supervision. Hospitals aren't going away and preventative telemedicine only goes so far. We have telemonitors everywhere, as Ray Rice learned yesterday to his disadvantage, but we still have a vindictive judicial system, here in the "enlightened" United States more than anywhere if you measure incarceration rates. Just because people shop online, that does nothing to end "profit retailing", it just means people's spending does nothing to improve their own communities. As for teledemocracy and universal referendums, the election system in most democracies has done little to move forward into the 21st Century.

I promise that next week when we see his next prediction, FM-2030 will go back to being a useless prat.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Herman Kahn makes his final prediction from 1972 book. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

2 September 2014

 Birthdays
Allison Miller b. 1985 (Terra Nova, Blood: The Last Vampire)
Nicholas Pinnock b. 1973 (Monsters: The Dark Continent, Captain America: The First Avenger)
Cynthia Watros b. 1968 (Video Game High School, Warehouse 13, Lost, Mars)
Kristen Cloke b. 1968 (Willard, The X Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Quantum Leap, Megaville)
Salma Hayek b. 1966 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Dogma, From Dusk Till Dawn)
Tuc Watkins b. 1966 (Warehouse 13, Infested, The Mummy, Harry and the Hendersons [TV])
Keanu Reeves b. 1964 (The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Scanner Darkly, Constantine, The Matrix, The Devil’s Advocate, Johnny Mnemonic, Dracula, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Babes in Toyland [1986 TV])
Linda Purl b. 1955 (True Blood, Mighty Joe Young, The Hidden Room, Time Travelers)
Mark Harmon b. 1951 (From the Earth to the Moon)
Mary Jo Catlett b. 1938 (Legend of the Mummy, ALF, Blood Beach)
Derek Fowlds b. 1937 (Frankenstein Created Woman)
Chuck McCann b. 1934 (Invasion, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Tick, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Sliders, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, C.H.O.M.P.S., Far Out Space Nuts)
Mel Stuart b. 1928 died 9 August 2012 (director, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Samuel A. Peeples b. 1917 died 27 August 1997 (writer, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Flash Gordon [TV], Jason of Star Command, Space Academy, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek)
Penny Santon b. 1916 died 12 May 1999 (Quantum Leap, Starman, Short Circuit, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Meinhardt Raabe b. 1915 died 9 April 2010 (The Wizard of Oz)

Keanu Reeves is 50 and that's your "Damn, I must be old" moment for the day. While I liked A Scanner Darkly and the first Matrix, I can never convince myself that anything is going on between his ears. I've never really gotten over his horrible miscastings in Dangerous Liaisons, Dracula and Much Ado About Nothing.

Last year, the Picture Slot went to Salma Hayek and she might get it again next year because... purdy. The top contender if I decide on no repeats is Meinhardt Raabe, the Munchkin Coroner from The Wizard of Oz. That was not just his only genre credit, it was the only movie he made. He got his MBA and went into business. Good on ya, Mr. Raabe!

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in UpWingPriorities, published 1981

Prediction: Space Colonization: We must urgently accelerate colonization and exploration of the solar system and the universe beyond. Why is this a top priority? Because such a trajectory opens up a Pandora's Box of infinite space, infinite energy, infinite raw materials and infinite growth. Quickens transition beyond industrialism. Accelerates evolution from Earth-programmed animal/humans to post humans. Multiplies chances for interconnect with other intelligences which could instantly lightspeed us ahead a million years.

During these trans-century decades orbital societies offer excellent opportunities for clean rapid break from Earth conditions which for millenniums have perpetuated human suffering. Under no circumstances should we replicate Earth-like societies: no exclusive procreation or parenting, no families, schools, hospitals, or prisons, no money economies or subsistence work, no slaughter of animals for food, no leadership governments, no nations, no cemeteries. Orbital civilizations should start off with 2lst Century telespheres.

Reality: Okay, if Keanu Reeves is one kind of idiot, FM-2030 is another. If anyone took him seriously, he'd a more dangerous kind of idiot, but I can't find any trace of a cult that survived him, unlike Edgar Cayce for example.

He was at least clear that one of his goals was "I should be able to fuck and abandon anyone I want", a very common desire among people who start (or try to start) cults, and I guess he should get some credit for admitting it. On the other hand, he loses a heck of a lot of credit for using the phrase "a Pandora's Box of...". Dude, read the source. Opening a Pandora's Box is not a positive metaphor.

While I run a sci-fi blog, I will once again admit to being skeptical about space colonization. We are snugly placed on the only source of water and air for millions of miles (or kilometers for my non-Yankee readers)  in any direction. FM-2030 wasn't interested in making a profit in space exploration, but most people who make a huge capital expenditure would like to see something in return. There may be some way to make money in space exploration or being in orbit in my lifetime, but it hasn't happened yet.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We're about midway through the Atlantic hurricane season, so we'll check in on the prediction made earlier this year.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

26 August 2014

Birthdays
Dylan O’Brien b. 1991 (The Maze Runner, Teen Wolf)
Jennifer Higham b. 1984 (Metamorphosis, Ella Enchanted)
Nanzeen Contractor b. 1982 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Pegasus vs. Chimera, Relic Hunter, Starhunter)
Chris Pine b. 1980 (Into the Woods, Star Trek, Carriers)
Amanda Schull b. 1978 (12 Monkeys [2014 TV], Grimm)
Mike Colter b. 1976 (American Horror Story, Men in Black 3)
Meredith Eaton b. 1974 (Paranormal Activity)
Oleg Taktarov b. 1967 (Predators, National Treasure, Rollerball [2002])
Brett Cullen b. 1956 (Under the Dome, The Dark Knight Rises, Lost, Pixel Perfect, From the Earth to the Moon, The Omen [1995 TV], Apollo 13, Deep Space Nine, Prehysteria!, V [1985], The Incredible Hulk)
Michael Jeter b. 1952 died 30 March 2003 (Taken, Jurassic Park III, The Green Mile, Waterworld, Zelig)
Jane Merrow b. 1941 (The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, UFO, The Prisoner)
Yvette Vickers b. 1928 died 2010 (Attack of the Giant Leeches, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman)
Jim Davis b. 1909 died 26 April 1981 (The Day Time Ended, Project U.F.O., Satan’s Triangle, The Sixth Sense, Dracula vs. Frankenstein [1971], The Time Tunnel, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, Monster from Green Hell)

To be blunt, there is one movie star on this list and so far, he has one iconic role, though that may change depending on how well Into the Woods is received. Last year, I had Yvette Vickers in the Picture Slot because she's a fabulous babe, she was in one particular movie and the strange and newsworthy events of the discovery of her body in her home long after her death, so no exact date is given. The other surprises in this research: I'd never heard the last name Contractor before and I forgot that Michael Jeter was dead.

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in UpWingPriorities, published 1981

Prediction: Physical Immortality: The most basic and urgent problem facing us is death. All other human constraints are derivative. Death casts a pall over all of life. So long as we are terminal we cannot enhance the basic quality of life. So long as there is death no one is free.

Accelerators: Slow down aging through genetic and cellular intervention. Telemonitor every person for continuous protection from internal and external hazards. Reformat our terminal bodies into versatile telebodies with easy plug in replacement parts. Facilitate freefly to reduce gravitational wear and tear and rapidly break away from natural disasters. Provide universal cryonic suspension in case of unavoidable death. Spread a Psychology of Immortality - the will to live forever.


Reality: Wait... The Affordable Care Act does NOT provide universal cryonic suspension? Thanks, Obama!

We are going to be visited by the frozen ghost of FM-2030 on Tuesdays well into November. (He died in 2000 and is in cryogenic storage, naturally.) He considered his ideas so new and exciting that he had to make up words like telemonitor, telebodies and freefly just to express them. We've had some predictors I didn't care for. Notably, the racist, murderous scumbag Larry Niven comes to mind. But for pure pompous asshattery, FM-2030 is to Ray Kurzweil as Babe Ruth is to Hank Greenberg. They are both pretty stunning, but one of them is in a category by himself.

(Note: I mocked FM-2030 for making up words, but my spell checker doesn't recognize "asshattery". Google, on the other hand, knows it is a common modern slang term. I didn't make it up.)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Herman Kahn makes yet another shot in the dark prediction about the 1970s and 1980s.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

19 August 2014

Birthdays
Tammin Sursok b. 1983 (Airship Dracula, Aquamarine)
Tania Nolan b. 1983 (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Legend of the Seeker)
Michelle Borth b. 1978 (Timer, Supernatural, Komodo vs. Cobra)
Callum Blue b. 1977 (Smallville, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Dead Like Me)
Tracie Thomas b. 1975 (Looper, Wonder Woman [2011], Grindhouse, Wonderfalls)
Ahmed Best b. 1973 (The Star Wars prequels)
Kyra Sedgwick b. 1965 (Gamer, Phenomenon, Amazing Stories)
Kevin Dillon b. 1965 (The Blob [1988])
Martin Donovan b. 1957 (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 [1985])
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])
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, 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)

There are several choices for The Picture Slot today. Last year it was Gene Roddenberry and I could have repeated the selection with a clear conscience. All the people I considered are older than 60, the only iconic genre role played by the young folks being poor Ahmed Best as J**-J** B****, the number one reason to hate the Star Wars prequels. That character will never be in the Picture Slot.

I thought about Angus Scrimm from Phantasm, but this is a very Star Trek day. I went with Jonathan Frakes this year, in part because he had so much more screen time than Diana Muldaur or William Marshall, and partly because I'm enjoying the new Twitter account Riker Googling, which is not being run by the actor, though it uses his likeness. My expectation is I will go with someone else in 2015.

Many happy returns to 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: FM-2030, born F. M. Esfandiary (1930-2000) from his 1981 magazine article Up-Wing Priorities

Prediction: Around 2010 the world will be at a new orbit in history. We will translive all over this planet and the solar sphere-at home everywhere. We will be hyperfluid: skim on land-swim in the deep oceans-flash across the sky. Family will have given way to Universal life. People will linkup/linkout free of kinship and possessiveness. We will stream ahead propelled by a cornucopia of abundance.

Reality: Okay, here's our new Tuesday regular, FM-2030, who is in the running for the biggest narcissist of any of the futurists who have been our regular contributors. Regular readers will know the competition is formidable to say the least. Cough-cough Heinlein cough Kurzweil. Get used to made-up words like "translive", "hyperfluid" and "linkout".

He changed his name to FM-2030 because he was sure he would live to be 100 by simply refusing to die. In reality, he didn't even make it to the year 2010, the year he predicted in the article I'm going to be using. Nature gave him pancreatic cancer, effectively refusing his refusal to die. He's cryogenically frozen. I'm sure you are shocked by this.

Back to specific realities. We tend to live in one place and we are still pretty much stuck on this planet. Most people live in family units instead of acting like Hugh Hefner. The cornucopia of abundance is getting closer to possible, but the people making huge fortunes based on scarce resources are fighting like starving jackals to keep the status quo in place.

Our previous Tuesday regular Geoffrey Hoyle wasn't particularly accurate, but I still thought his world of 2010 had a certain charm to it. If FM-2030 had any charm, it is clearly lost on me.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Oh wait, I made a short list of most narcissistic regular contributors and I forgot Herman Kahn!

My bad.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!