14 January 2015

Birthdays
Grant Gustin b. 1990 (The Flash, Arrow)
Kacey Barnfield b. 1988 (World War Dead: Rise of the Fallen, Jabberwock, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Lake Placid 3)
Zach Gilford b. 1982 (The Purge: Anarchy, Rise: Blood Hunter)
Jordan Ladd b. 1975 (Awaken, Embrace of the Vampire)
Kevin Durand b. 1974 (The Strain, Garm Wars: The Last Druid, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Resident Evil: Retribution, I Am Number Four, Lost, Legion, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Kyle XY, Threshold, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Butterfly Effect, Dead Like Me, Taken, Andromeda, Dark Angel, Stargate SG-1)
Davis S. Hogan b. 1974 (Z Nation, Bigfoot, Grimm)
Katie Griffin b. 1973 (Annedroids, Earth: Final Conflict, Total Recall 2070, The Adventures of Sinbad, Forever Knight, RoboCop)
Jason Bateman b. 1969 (The Invention of Lying, Hancock, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Teen Wolf Two, Knight Rider)
LL Cool J b. 1968 (Rollerball [2002], Deep Blue Sea)
Emily Watson b. 1967 (The Water Horse, Equilibrium)
Kerri Green b. 1967 (The Goonies)
Mark Addy b. 1964 (Atlantis[TV], Game of Thrones, The Time Machine)
Steven Soderbergh b. 1963 (director, Solaris, Contagion)
Suzanne Danielle b. 1957 (Hammer House of Horror, Flash Gordon, Doctor Who)
Lawrence Kasdan b. 1949 (writer, Dreamcatcher, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi)
Carl Weathers b. 1948 (Sheriff Tom Vs. The Zombies, The Sasquatch Gang, Alien Siege, Predator, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Stuart Baird b. 1947 (director, Star Trek: Nemesis)
Vonetta McGee b. 1945 died 9 July 2010 (Brother Future, Repo Man, Blacula)
Marjoe Gortner b. 1944 (Otherworld, Food of the Gods, Starcrash)
Holland Taylor b. 1943 (Spy Kids, Strange Frequency, The Truman Show)
Faye Dunaway b. 1941 (The Gene Generation, Anonymous Rex, The Handmaid’s Tale, Supergirl)
John Castle b. 1940 (RoboCop 3, 1990, The Prisoner)
Tom Tryon b. 1926 died 4 September 1991 (I Married a Monster From Outer Space)
Warren Mitchell b. 1926 (A Christmas Carol [2000 TV], Jabberwocky, Moon Zero Two, Blood Beast from Outer Space, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Crawling Eye)
Guy Williams b. 1924 died 30 April 1989 (Lost in Space, Captain Sindbad, I Was a Teenage Werewolf)
Joe Seneca b. 1919 died 15 August 1996 (SeaQuest 2032, The Blob [1988], Amazing Stories)
Joseph Losey b. 1909 died 22 June 1984 (director, X the Unknown, The Boy with Green Hair )
Hugh Lofting b. 1886 died 26 September 1947 (author, Doctor Dolittle)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used Mark Addy from Game of Thrones and the writer Lawrence Kasdan. I could gone new school and used Grant Gustin, star of the new show The Flash, but instead I went old school with Guy Williams from Lost in Space. Other good options include Carl Weathers from Predator and Faye Dunaway from The Handmaid's Tale.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are two, they were born after 1970. With those hints, it's possible to find them.

3. MST3K. I know of two on the list: Warren Mitchell was in Moon Zero Two and Guy Williams was in I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Zombie Rotten McDonald has added one, since Mr. Mitchell was also in The Crawling Eye.

4. Wait... she's dead? I didn't know Vonetta McGee had died. Very pretty actress, her heyday was in the 1970s.

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

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: When they rose from the table after dinner Mr. Barrett expressed the hope that Mr. Smith would pass the evening with them and suggested that they go to the theatre. His daughter suggested the opera. Mr. Barrett thought Mr. Smith might like to hear that ancient classic Chantecler which was being given at Daly's.

"I like those old-fashioned simple things" said the host, "and in music I confess I do not understand the new composers beyond Strauss. Mother, will you join us?"

The aged Mrs. Barrett shook her head. "I will leave you. I have my own theatre, that of the old folks."

"My mother has a photocinematograph and is never tired of making it unroll the films on which her whole life is registered." said Mr. Barrett. "Daughter, put out the lights and put us in communication with the Old Theatre."

Mr.s Barrett had the telephototheatrophone in his house.

Reality: This is the last of the predictions from The New York World. Here our anonymous pal is predicting some sort of home theatre for playing films the owner has made and something else like television. The first one is not such a great leap forward in 1911, but predicting television is several technical advances away from the state of the art in 1911. We got similar predictions from the 1905 book A Hundred Years Hence and Looking Backward: 2000-1888, so while this is bold and correct, it is not completely original. The in joke here is that Chantecler, allegedly ancient, was a verse play released in 1910.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow is Thursday and we get another incorrect prediction from The Experts Speak. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

7 January 2015

 Birthdays
Liam Aiken b. 1990 (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Robert Sheehan b. 1988 (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Demons Never Die, Misfits, Season of the Witch, Ghostwood)
Haley Bennett b. 1988 (The Hole)
Lyndsy Fonseca b. 1987 (Agent Carter, Kick-Ass 1 &2, Hot Tub Time Machine, Heroes, Phil of the Future)
Brett Dalton b. 1983 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Lauren Cohan b. 1982 (The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural)
Tom Harper b. 1980 (director, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, The Borrowers, Demons )
Merritt Wever b. 1980 (Birdman, Signs)
Reggie Austin b. 1979 (The Omen [2006])
Dustin Diamond b. 1977 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Munsters Today, Purple People Eater)
Tyron Leitso b. 1976 (Wonderfalls, House of the Dead, Dinotopia, Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, Mysterious Ways, First Wave)
Jeremy Renner b. 1971 (The Avengers, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Thor, 28 Weeks Later, Angel)
David Yost b. 1969 (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Irrfan Khan b. 1967 (Jurassic World, The Amazing Spider-Man)
Nicolas Cage b. 1964 (Left Behind, National Treasure, Kick-Ass, Ghost Rider, Season of the Witch, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Knowing, Vampire’s Kiss)
Lester Speight b. 1963 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Meteor Man)
Mark Allen Shepherd b. 1961 (Deep Space Nine)
Linda Kozlowski b. 1958 (Village of the Damned [1995] )
Robert Longo b. 1953 (director, Johnny Mnemonic)
Erin Gray b. 1950 (Star Trek Continues, The Guild, Ghouls, Nuclear Hurricane, Jason Goes to Hell, Superboy, Deadly Nightmares, The Princess and the Dwarf, Starman [TV], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Anne Schedeen b. 1949 (ALF, The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O., Exo-Man, Embryo, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Steven Williams b. 1949 (Jack the Giant Slayer, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1, The X Files, SeaQuest 2032, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Wizards and Warriors)
Terry Moore b. 1929 (Mansion of Blood, Mighty Joe Young [1949 and 1998], Knight Rider, Death Dimension, Batman)
William Peter Blatty b. 1928 (author, The Exorcist)
Gene L. Coon b. 1924 died 8 July 1973 (writer, Star Trek)
Vincent Gardenia b. 1920 died 9 December 1992 (Little Shop of Horrors [1986], The Twilight Zone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Charles Addams b. 1912 died 29 September 1988 (cartoonist, The Addams Family)
Alan Napier b. 1903 died 8 August 1988 (Batman, Twilight Zone, Premature Burial, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Island of Lost Women, The Mole People, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Isle of the Dead, The Uninvited, The Invisible Man Returns, Cat People)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot featured Jeremy Renner from The Avengers and Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn on Deep Space Nine. This year, I could have gone old school with Alan Napier as Alfred from Batman or new school with Brett Dalton, agent Grant Ward from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Instead I split the difference and used a picture of Erin Gray as Wilma Deering from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. You might ask: Did her fabulous babe-osity have anything to do with the selection process? Let me answer your question with a question.

How long have you been reading the blog?

2. Faux Canadians and Stealth Canadians. Let me say that while there are many Canadian genre TV shows, the Big Four are Stargate, Supernatual, Smallville and The X-Files. Steven Williams shows up on three out of four, including the recurring role of Mr. X on The X-Files, but he was born in the States. He may have moved and established residence, but I don't have any information to back that up. I suspect he became a well-known face through the role as Mr. X and other shows wanted to hire him after that.  Our actual native-born Canadian is Tyron Leitso, though his credits are not as obviously Canadian.

3. The Guy at the Door. It doesn't happen every day, but it is true of this list. William Peter Blatty is alive, as is everyone younger than he is. Everyone older is dead. When this happens and I point it out, which is something of a jinx I suppose, I also send my best wishes for many happy returns.

Many happy returns to all the living on our list, especially William Peter Blatty, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: John Smith, our bachelor, gladly accepts an invitation to dine with friends. This evening he goes out to the house of Mr. Barrett, a widower who lives among the rhododendrons on the southern slope of Slide Mountain, with his centenarian mother and charming daughter.

As soon as he arrives Miss Barrett cooks the dinner with her own dainty fingers. For neither here nor in the palaces of the banker-princes are there servants any more. The fairy electricity has reduced culinary operations to a series of dainty gestures, very similar to those made by typewriters or pianists. All dishes are prepared in the dining-room, right at the table, by means of glittering precision instruments of copper and nickel.

Reality: For those unfamiliar with New York state geography, Slide Mountain is in the Catskills and John Smith can enjoy an evening there and get home to Manhattan because he has a flying car. As for no one having servants, most notably cooks, that isn't exactly true but the servant population has been reduced considerably. Push button cooking? Sounds like a microwave to me, though most people still have the kitchen and dining room separate from one another.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt our regular prediction schedule for a frightening dystopia filmed in 2010 about those bleak future days of 2019.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 December 2014

 Birthdays
Thomas Law b. 1992 (The World’s End)
Daniel Tay b. 1991 (Elf)
Emma Bell b. 1986 (The Walking Dead, Arrow, Supernatural, Dollhouse)
Shannon Woodward b. 1984 (Westworld [2015], The Haunting of Molly Hartley)
Brittany Gray b. 1985 (Reign, Lost Girl)
Douglas Tait b. 1978 (Alien Outpost, Grimm, Knights of Badassdom, Thor, Land of the Lost, Star Trek [2009], Zathura: A Space Adventure, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Katheryn Winnick b. 1977 (Radio Free Albemuth, Biohazardous, Relic Hunter, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Unknown)
Kate Hewlett b. 1976 (Debug, Stargate: Atlantis, Dark Water)
Milla Jovovich b. 1975 (Resident Evil, The Fourth Kind, Ultraviolet, The Fifth Element)
Steve Zissis b. 1975 (Her, Prototype)
Giovanni Ribisi b. 1974 (Ted, Avatar, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The X-Files, Twilight Zone [1985])
Marissa Ribisi b. 1974 (Pleasantville)
Sarah Paulson b. 1974 (American Horror Story, Serenity, American Gothic)
Rian Johnson b. 1973 (director, Star Wars: Episodes VIII and IX, Looper)
Claire Forlani b. 1971 (Camelot [2011], Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Mystery Men, Meet Joe Black)
Sean Patrick Thomas b. 1970 (American Horror Story, Reaper, The Burrowers, Halloween: Resurrection, Dracula 2000)
Laurie Holden b. 1969 (The Walking Dead, The Mist, Fantastic Four, The X Files, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Highlander [TV], TekWar: TekLab, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, The Martian Chronicles)
Matthew Harrison b. 1968 (Night at the Museum, Continuum, Almost Human, Chupacabra vs. the Alamo, Reaper, Watchmen, The 4400, Stargate: Atlantis, Smallville, Jake 2.0, Alienated, Thir13n Ghosts, Stargate SG-1, Mysterious Ways, Seven Days)
Leah Lail b. 1965 (Little Nicky, She-Wolf of London, They Came from Outer Space)
Hattie Hayridge b. 1959 (SuperBob, Lexx, Red Dwarf)
Bill Pullman b. 1953 (Torchwood, Alien Autopsy, Lake Placid, Independence Day, Casper, Brain Dead, Spaceballs)
Barry Livingston b. 1953 (The Sara Connor Chronicles, Roswell, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Sliders, Lois & Clark, Masters of the Universe)
Joel Brooks b. 1949 (The Big Bang Theory, Phil of the Future, Dark Realm, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Babylon 5: The River of Souls, Homeboys in Outer Space, Lois & Clark, Here Come the Munsters, Deep Space Nine, The Twilight Zone, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Wes Studi b. 1947 (Avatar, Mystery Men, Ice Planet, Deep Rising, Highlander [TV], The Flash [1990 TV])
Jayne Eastwood b. 1946 (Haven, Annedroids, Lost Girl, Dawn of the Dead, Code Name: Eternity, Videodrome, Harrison Bergeron, Maniac Mansion, Back to the Beanstalk, War of the Worlds)
Eugene Levy b. 1946 (Repli-Kate, Multiplicity, Harrison Bergeron, Maniac Mansion, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Splash)
Ernie Hudson b. 1945 (Wizardream, Torchwood, Heroes, Meteor, Stargate SG-1, Interceptor Force, The Crow, Tales from the Crypt, Ghostbusters, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, The Incredible Hulk, Man from Atlantis)
Bernard Hill b. 1944 (Outpost 11, Fairy Tales, Lord of the Rings, The Scorpion King)
Christopher Cazenove b. 1943 died 7 April 2010 (Charmed, Hammer House of Horror)
Marilyn Eastman b. 1943 (Living Dead, Night of the Living Dead)
Dave Madden b. 1931 died 16 January 2014 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Bewitched)
Armin Mueller-Stahl b. 1930 (Mission to Mars, The Thirteenth Floor, The X Files, Amerika)
Jacqueline Hill b. 1929 died 18 February 1993 (Tales of the Unexpected, Doctor Who, Out of This World)
Richard Long b. 1927 died 21 December 1974 (Twilight Zone, House on Haunted Hill)
Joan Woodbury b. 1915 died 22 February 1989 (The Time Travelers, King of the Zombies, The Bride of Frankenstein)

Notes from the birthday list. 

1. The Picture Slot. Last year, Milla Jovovich, this year Ernie Hudson. Using my usual "iconic" criterion, next year's contenders are Richard Long on the original Twilight Zone, Wes Studi from Mystery Men (yes, I'm the guy who liked that movie), Bill Pullman from Spaceballs or Independence Day and Giovanni Ribisi from Avatar.

2. Canadians walk amongst us.  We are hip deep in Canadians today and I don't expect anyone could get all eight. Matthew Harrison has the most typical C.V. from the 21st Century. Jayne Eastwood and Laurie Holden have resumes that include shows from last century as well. It's not hard trivia to know that SCTV was a Canadian show, so Eugene Levy should be no surprise. Three young actresses with short credit lists have tell-tale roles - Brittany Gray, Kate Hewlitt and Katheryn Winnick - are Canadian, Emma Bell is not.

3. Wait... he's dead? Wait... he's Canadian? I completely forgot that Dave Madden died this year, and I don't think I ever knew he was Canadian.

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


Movies released
TRON: Legacy released, 2010  
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King released, 2003

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: New York, which was once a tiny city bounded by Yonkers and the ocean. has swallowed its suburbs, eaten up the adjacent counties. It is no longer a city - it is an urban region. Around the monstrous nucleus, the centre of business and pleasure, wherein no one lives outside working hours, extends in every direction the garden city which the ancient hygenists used to preach. In this smiling city, filled with parks and gardens, the New Yorker lives, if he has a family. There are a few bachelors, like John Smith, who prefer to dwell on the upper floors of skyscrapers on the edge of the business centre, but all others must have their own houses. There is no home so humble that it is not tied to the universe by telegraph and telephone, wireless of course. The moving sidewalks and subterranean railroads take them to and fro, to say nothing of the aerobuses and aerotrains. All these pretty homes are heated, cooled and lighted by electricity and provided with automatic apparatus that relieve their inhabitants from work.  

Reality: Our writer is repeating himself to some extent in this paragraph, so I will repeat how much his view of the future has in common with The Jetsons, which would come along about fifty years later. His view of New York City could be debated. Most folks still think it's The Four Boroughs and Staten Island, a.k.a. The Land That Time Forgot, but there definitely has been urban sprawl. In the rest of his vision, the things he gets wrong are the business-only borough of Manhattan, the scarcity of bachelors and those staples of predictions, moving sidewalks, flying cars and robot servants. What he gets right is almost all homes with wireless telephones and if we change the telegraph to the Internet, the near universal connection there. In 1911, it would have been very hard to see how big a deal radio would become, and television is an even bigger leap of faith.

 Never to be Forgotten: Booth Colman 1923-2014

This Monday, veteran character actor Booth Colman died. His best known genre role was as Dr. Zauis in the TV version of Planet of the Apes, but he had many other roles on TV and in film, including Star Trek: Voyager, Galactica 1980, Project U.F.O., Time Travelers, The Invaders, I Dream of Jeannie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits, Moonfleet and Them! He was never a regular on a long running TV show, but instead one of those Oh That Guy actors who made a living one role at a time from the 1950s through the first decade of this century, 176 credits in all.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our new Thursday regular is actually a source we have already seen but not completely exhausted. My only promise is that most of the predictions will be wrong.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

10 December 2014

Birthdays
Raven-Symone b. 1985 (Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Doctor Dolittle)
Xavier Samuel b. 1983 (Frankenstein [2015], Twilight Saga)
Patrick John Fluger b. 1983 (Warehouse 13, The 4400)
Erik A. Williams b. 1979 (The Apocrypha, Teen Wolf, The Big Bang Theory, Rock ‘N Roll Vampire, Zombie Epidemic, The Hunger [TV], The Dark Knight)
Summer Phoenix b. 1978 (The Faculty, Swamp Thing [TV])
Emmanuelle Chiriqui b. 1977 (The Crow: Wicked Prayer, Jake 2.0, Futuresport, Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County, The Adventures of Sinbad, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Forever Knight, Harrison Bergeron)
Arnold Pinnock b. 1967 (Beauty and the Beast [2014 TV], Alphas, Lost Girl, Riverworld, Warehouse 13, The Incredible Hulk [2008], Category 6: Day of Destruction, Cypher, Odyssey 5, Relic Hunter, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Total Recall 2070)
Nia Peeples b. 1961 (Lavalantula, Andromeda, The Coven, Deadlocked: Escape from Zone 14, Highlander [TV], DeepStar Six)
Kenneth Brannagh b. 1960 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Frankenstein; director, Thor)
David-Paul Grove b. 1958 (Once Upon a Time, Stargate: Atlantis, Supernatural, Andromeda, Elf, The New Addams Family)
Michael Clarke Duncan b. 1957 Died 3 September 2012 (The Last Mimzy, The Island, Sin City, George and the Dragon, Daredevil, The Scorpion King, Planet of the Apes, The Green Mile, Breakfast of Champions, Armageddon, Weird Science [TV])
Susan Dey b. 1952 (Looker)
Fionnula Flanagan b. 1941 (Defiance, Lost, A Christmas Carol [2009], Star Trek: Enterprise/The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Beauty and the Beast [1990 TV], Voyagers!, The Bionic Woman)
Tisha Sterling b. 1944 (Breakfast of Champions, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], The Immortal, Batman[TV], Village of the Giants)
Tommy Kirk b. 1941 (The Education of a Vampire, Billy Frankenstein, Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds, Mars Needs Women, It’s Alive, Village of the Giants, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, Son of Flubber, Babes in Toyland, The Absent Minded Professor, The Shaggy Dog)
Mako b. 1933 died 21 July 2006 (Rise: Blood Hunter, Samurai Jack, Charmed, Bulletproof Monk, Highlander: The Final Dimension, RoboCop 3, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Faerie Tale Theatre, The Greatest American Hero, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk, Salvage 1, Wonder Woman, The Island at the Top of the World, The Time Tunnel, The Green Hornet, I Dream of Jeannie)
John Colicos b. 1928 died 6 March 2000 (Star Trek: Original Series/Deep Space Nine, Battlestar Galactica, War of the Worlds [1989 TV], Deadly Nightmares, The Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, The Starlost)
Barbara Nichols b. 1928 died 5 October 1976 (Batman, Twilight Zone)
Jean Byron b. 1925 died 3 February 2006 (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Batman, Invisible Invaders, Jungle Moon Men, The Magnetic Monster)
Harold Gould b. 1923 died 11 September 2010 (Lois & Clark, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, I Dream of Jeannie, The Invaders, The Green Hornet, The Satan Bug, Twilight Zone, The Man from Planet X)
Alexander Courage b. 1919 died 15 may 2008 (composer, Star Trek, Superman IV, Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space)
Hal Baylor b. 1918 died 5 January 1998 (A Boy and his Dog, Planet of the Apes [TV], Star Trek, The Invaders, Batman, My Favorite Martian, The Addams Family, Tobor the Great)
Anne Gwynne b. 1918 died 31 March 2003 (Teenage Monster, House of Frankenstein, Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe)
Mary Norton b. 1903 died 29 August 1992 (author, Bed Knobs and Broomsticks, The Borrowers)
Moyna MacGill b. 1895 died 25 November 1975 (My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone, Bride of the Gorilla, The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Lots of good choices for iconic folk on today's list, but geezer that I am, I'd say the youngest person here with an iconic genre role is Kenneth Brannagh in Harry Potter. Last year, I had a still of Tisha Sterling and Tommy Kirk together from Village of the Giants because... reasons. This year, it's John Colicos, a terrific Oh That Guy, or is he an Oh That Klingon? Next year, I'm not sure, but two of my favorite Oh That Guy actors, Mako and Michael Clarke Duncan, are the early favorites. I also love Harold Gould, but for me his iconic roles are in The Sting as Kid Twist and Love and Death as Woody Allen's rival.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are two Canadians and two impostors who look somewhat Canadian. See if you can tell the true from the false.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 
Movie released
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader released, 2010
 

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: Night falls upon the excited city. This is only a phrase, for there is no more night except in the rooms where men sleep. When the sun sets, myriads of electric moons make an artificial day as bright as the real, a terrestrial daylight that mounts into the sky and puts the stars to shame. The citizens of New York, mounted upon raid airships, go out with their families for fresh air in the Catskills and the Berkshire Hills, which have become city parks, full of crowds and music.

Reality: Umm... no. Because of the lack of flying cars, an afternoon jaunt to the Catskills or Berkshires in not a good use of time for most New Yorkers, both locations about 140 miles away from the city. Also, there is more light on the streets of most cities than there was 100 years back, but it's from electric street lamps, not artificial satellites whose light would blot out the stars.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We heard the swan song of Lee de Forest, one of many regular predictors who will be retiring in the next few weeks.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

3 December 2014

 Birthdays
Jake T. Austin b. 1994 (Wizards of Waverly Place)
Dominique Jackson b. 1991 (My Parents Are Aliens, The New Worst Witch, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy [2005])
Michael Angarano b. 1987 (The Brass Teapot, Sky High)
Amanda Seyfried b. 1985 (Pan, Ted 2, In Time, Red Riding Hood, Jennifer’s Body, Solstice)
Brian Bonsall b. 1981 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Jenna Dewan Tatum b. 1980 (Witches of East End, American Horror Story, The Grudge 2, Dark Shadows [2005 TV movie])
Cuyle Carvin b. 1980 (Fat Planet, Dragon Day, Snake Club: Revenge of the Snake Woman, Captain Battle: Legacy War, Terminal Legacy, The Cold Equations, Alien Opponent, Assault of the Sasquatch)
Anna Chlumsky b. 1980 (Cupid, Early Edition)
Jonathan Cherry b. 1978 (WolfCop, House of the Dead, They)
Cristi Harris b. 1977 (Night of the Scarecrow, Night of the Demons 2)
Joseph Gatt b. 1974 (The 100, Teen Wolf, Game of Thrones, Star Trek Into Darkness, Wonder Woman, Thor, The Dark Path Chronicles, Saurian, Orpheus & Eurydice, Jason and the Argonauts [2000])
Joris Jarsky b. 1974 (Lost Girl, Haven, Survival of the Dead, The Incredible Hulk, Blindness, Stargate: Atlantis, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Mutant X, Vampire High)
Holly Marie Combs b. 1973 (Charmed, The Nightmare Room, The Craft)
Keegan Connor Tracy b. 1971 (Once Upon a Time, Embrace of the Vampire, V [2011], Eureka, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, The 4400, Jake 2.0, Dark Angel, Strange Frequency, Seven Days, NightMan, The New Addams Family)
Brendan Fraser b. 1968 (G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra, Inkheart, The Mummy, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Bedazzled [2001], Monkeybone, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, Encino Man)
Mark Deklin b. 1967 (Warehouse 13, Riverworld, Charmed)
Steve Harris b. 1965 (In Your Eyes, Minority Report)
Andrew Stanton (writer, John Carter, Toy Story, WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., A Bug’s Life)
Julianne Moore b. 1960 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Carrie [2013], Children of Men, Blindness, Evolution, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie)
Daryl Hannah b. 1960 (2047 – Sights of Death, Zombie Night, Shark Swarm, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story , My Favorite Martian [1999], Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, High Spirits, Clan of the Cave Bear, Splash, Blade Runner, The Fury)
Valerie Quennessen b. 1957 died 19 March 1989 (Conan the Barbarian)
Melody Anderson b. 1955 (Deadly Nightmares, Flash Gordon, Manimal, Battlestar Galactica, Logan’s Run [TV])
Steven Culp b. 1955 (Revolution, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Stargate: Atlantis, Star Trek: Enterprise, How to Make a Monster, Brimstone, James and the Giant Peach, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
Mel Smith b. 1952 died 19 July 2013 (The Princess Bride, Morons From Outer Space)
Eugene Clark b. 1951 (Space Riders: Division Earth, Aladdin and the Death Lamp, Land of the Dead, RoboCop: Prime Directives, Earth: Final Conflict, TekWar, Knight Rider 2000, Millennium, The Twilight Zone [1989], War of the Worlds [1988 TV])
Heather Menzies-Ulrich b. 1949 (Captain America, Logan’s Run [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, Ssssss)
Mary Alice b. 1941 (The Matrix Revolutions)
Don Calfa b. 1939 (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, Amazing Stories, The Return of the Living Dead, The Bionic Woman)
Len Lesser b. 1922 died 16 February 2011 (Frankenstein & the Werewolf Reborn!, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Werewolf Reborn!, Sorority Girls and the Creature from Hell, Amazing Stories, The Amazing Spider-Man [1977], Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Girl with Something Extra, Slither, Land of the Giants, Mr. Terrific, My Favorite Martian, The Munsters, The Outer Limits)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. Wait... he's dead? I put Mel Smith in the Picture Slot as a make-up post, since he died of a heart attack while this blog has been written and I did not give him his own Never to be Forgotten post. He was a British comic actor who paired with Griff Rhys Jones on a couple of TV shows, but likely best known to Americans in his small role from The Princess Bride. His experience shooting the film was painful, as it turned out he was allergic to the contact lens solution, unbeknownst both to him and the make-up guy. As a result, he never saw the finished film, which is a shame.

2. Wait... she's dead? Valerie Quennessen's best known role is probably in Summer Lovers, an obvious male wish fulfillment fantasy where an incredibly good looking guy (Peter Gallagher) on a Greek holiday with his incredibly good looking girlfriend (Darryl Hannah) is seduced by an incredibly good looking French girl (Quennessen) and everybody decides a threesome would be a lot of fun. She died in a car accident when she was 31. Very sad.

3. Better known as...  Some actors here are not best known in their genre roles. Len Lesser was Uncle Leo on Seinfeld. Heather Menzies-Ulrich started as a child actor in The Sound of Music. Steve Harris was a regular on Friday Night Lights and The Practice. Julianne Moore is one of the several movie stars on the list and I was a little surprised at how many genre roles she has done. I think audiences would probably recognize her more from The Big Lebowski, Boogie Nights, Far from Heaven, The Hours and Don Jon. For me, Anna Chlumsky's best known roles are in My Girl when she was a kid and her roles in the Armando Iannucci vehicles Veep and In the Loop. Amanda Seyfried was in Mamma Mia! and Veronica Mars among other big roles in major features.


4. Spot (some of) the Canadians. Of the six(!?!) Canadian born actors on the list, two have resumes that look Canadian and the other four are hard to spot. The only hint I'll give is that the oldest was born in the 1940s and the youngest in the 1970s. Good luck.

5. The candidates for next year's Picture Slot. Last year, Darryl Hannah was in the Picture Slot from Blade Runner. People who know my enthusiasms might think I would use a picture from another role, but it is not to be, as we have too many other good choices. Brian Bonsall played Worf's son Alexander on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and that counts as iconic. Brendon Fraser also has a lot of big roles in genre, and the most iconic is likely from The Mummy. But if I get into an iconic fabulous babe mood, then I can choose from Melody Anderson from Flash Gordon, Valerie Quennessen from Conan, Holly Marie Combs from Charmed or Amanda Seyfried from In Time or Red Riding Hood. There's plenty more pretty on the list, but regular readers know I can fussy about iconic.

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

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: (continuing last week's story of a worldwide search for an embezzler named Lafuite.)

Throughout the city the news was discussed. Soon a new dispatch was posted:

"3:15 P.M. - It is announced that an etheromobile disappeared twelve days ago from a garage in Brooklyn. Lafuite is believed to have taken possession of it at night to elude pursuit by taking refuge on the moon. If this prove true all hope of finding him must be abandoned. We do not possess thanks to the carelessness of the Government any means of arresting a man upon the surface of our satellite."

Yes the moon, 238,850 miles from the earth, a five months journey, is a safe refuge for the criminal. If the villain has twelve days' start he can never be caught and at the end of his journey he will have a whole world to himself.

The crowd is struck with admiration for the audacity of the criminal and half hopes this rumor may prove true. The whole city is excited. Vast crowds gather before the bulletin boards of the newspapers. More than 30,000 are assembled before that of The World, now an hourly paper. From the balcony a vast trumpet roars dispatches as they are received from all over the earth.

At 4:45 a shout goes up. The disappearance of the etheromobile has been explained. It is carrying a committee of four members of the University to observe meteorological phenomena. So Lafuite is still on earth.

At 5:30 a dispatch from Vera Cruz announces that a man corresponding to the description of Lafuite and traveling alone in an aeroplane descended in that city to get gasoline and food. He left again for the South at 300 miles an hour.

At last, at 6:05, a thunderous dispatch proclaimed that the defaulting cashier has just been arrested in a cafe in Buenos Aires, where he had been identified in spite of the fact he had shaved his beard off and was wearing black goggles.   

Reality: I love the writing style of this guy and his flights of imagination. The idea of newspapers printed hourly and headlines blaring out on loudspeaker is not what the world looks like, but in 1911 no one had an idea what radio would become with the next decade. I will note that his prediction of 300 mph planes was bold in his day, but many planes have cruising speeds from 400 to 600 mph. Compare that to his etheromobile to the moon, which is not supposed to be a rocket. A five month journey means it would be cruising at a breakneck average speed of... 65 mph! It gives the phrase "Are we there yet?" a whole new meaning.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We have only two more predictions from Lee de Forest, so enjoy them while you can.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

26 November 2014

 Birthdays
Tamsin Egerton b. 1988 (Camelot, The Mists of Avalon)
Trevor Morgan b. 1986 (Vampire, Jurassic Park III, The Sixth Sense)
Buddy Quaid b. 1974 (Psycho Beach Party, DragonHeart)
Peter Facinelli b. 1973 (Twilight Saga, The Scorpion King, Supernova)
Frank Chiesrin b. 1973 (The Strain, Beauty and the Beast [2013 TV, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Odyssey 5, Witchblade, Big Wolf on Campus)
Adam Harrington b. 1972 (Supernatural, Smallville, Deep Evil, Jeremiah, Stephen King's Dead Zone, Andromeda, Stargate SG-1, Seven Days, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, NightMan, Welcome to Paradox)
Kristin Bauer van Straten b. 1966 (True Blood, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Star Trek:Enterprise, Galaxis, Lois & Clark)
Garcelle Beauvais b. 1966 (10.5: Apocalypse)
Scott Adsit b. 1965 (Time Trumpet, Charmed, Early Edition)
Jamie Rose b. 1959 (Weird Science [TV], Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Amazing Stories)
Joe Fowler b. 1955 (Independence Day)
Julien Temple b. 1953 (director, Earth Girls Are Easy)
Juanin Clay b. 1949 12 March 1995 (WarGames, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Mark L. Lester b. 1946 (Dragons of Camelot, Pterodactyl, Firestarter)
Daniel Davis b. 1945 (The Prestige, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Mark Margolis b. 1939 (American Horror Story, Immortals, Headspace, Daredevil, Infested, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap)
Tina Turner b. 1939 (Last Action Hero, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
Marian Mercer b. 1935 died 27 April 2011 (Harry and the Hendersons [TV])
Robert Goulet b. 1933 died 30 October 2007 (Beetlejuice)
Conrad Bachmann b. 1932 (The Astronaut's Wife, The Visitor, Team Knight Rider, Dark Skies, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, Tremors, Otherworld, Futureworld)
Daniel Petrie b. 1920 died 22 August 2004 (director, The Hidden Room, Cocoon: The Return, The Neptune Factor)
Henry Beckman b. 1921 died 17 June 2008 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The X Files, Poltergest: The Legacy, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Werewolf, The Lost Satellite, The Brood, The Lost Saucer, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Immortal, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Munsters, My Living Doll, The Satan Bug, Twilight Zone, Flash Gordon)
Frederick Pohl b. 1919 died 2 September 2013 (won 1977 Nebula for Man Plus, won 1978 Hugo and Nebula for Gateway)
Adele Jergens b. 1917 died 22 November 2002 (The Day the World Ended, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man)
Cyril Cusack b. 1910 died 7 October 1993 (The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Tales of the Unexpected, Fahrenheit 451)
Frances Dee b. 1909 died 6 March 2004 (I Walked with a Zombie)
Norbert Wiener b. 1894 died 18 March 1964 (Author, The Human Use of Human Beings)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Kristin Bauer van Straten from True Blood, this year it's Tina Turner from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Using my usual standard of iconic in genre, Peter Facinelli from The Twilight Saga is the favorite in 2015.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are three, one easy, one medium, the last a tough challenge.

3. Wait... they're dead? I probably heard about Robert Goulet and Marian Mercer dying, but they both caught me by surprise when I clicked on their respective pages on imdb.com

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

 Movies released
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home released, 1986

Predictor:  Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: When John Smith left the Museum it was about 3 o'clock. He was struck by an unusual aspect of the streets. Sidewalks moved, unoccupied, scarcely a vehicle flew through the air. But a vast crowd was gathered in one of the squares ands all eyes were turned upon a white sheet that hung in a window. Suddenly, streams of ink began tracing letters upon the sheet and Smith read:

3 P.M. - In checking the accounts of a certain Lafuite, cashier of the Boston Bank, away on his vacation, a deficit of $3,000,000 has just been discovered. At this moment the portrait of the defaulter is being sent by wireless photography to all points of the world. It is known that he is not in New York.

Then the sheet was drawn up and an immense photograph of the dishonest cashier was shown. The crowd greeted it with hoots.

At this very moment this very portrait was being displayed in every city and town in the world, from the cold abode of the Esquimaux to that of the Tierra del Fuegans, from the island dots in the middle of the oceans to the highest peaks of Asia. It was also appearing of the receiving boards of ships upon the sea, of subterranean railroads and airships far above the clouds. It was appearing in the submarine abysses in which men were working or travelling or working. There was scarcely a human being who had not this picture before his eyes. Ah! How difficult has the profession of thief become! Throughout the city the news was discussed. Soon a new dispatch was posted...

Reality: I'm splitting this exciting story of crime into parts because there are enough predictions in this segment to discuss. Instantaneous worldwide transmission is possible in 2011, though the author doesn't guess at television as the means. Of course, practical TV transmission is still decades away, so it is not to the discredit of our author to know nothing of the actual method.

More than this, worldwide manhunts are not the reason for nearly universal viewership. Even the slo-mo O.J. chase was only an American show in terms of crime. Big audiences like this are usually caused by sporting events like the World Cup or maybe some natural disaster.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another look at life at home in the year 2000 by Dr. Lee de Forest in 1960.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

12 November 2014

Birthdays
Anne Hathaway b. 1982 (Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, Alice in Wonderland, Ella Enchanted)
Daisy McCrackin b. 1981 (The Unseen, Halloween: Resurrection, Angel)
Ryan Gosling b. 1980 (Young Hercules, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Frankenstein and Me)
Yvette Rachelle b. 1979 (Alien Encounter)
Ashley Williams b. 1978 (Warehouse 13)
Johnny Hawkes b. 1978 (Zombie Strippers!, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: the TV Show)
Radha Mitchell b. 1973 (Surrogates, Pitch Black)
Robert Lawrenson b. 1971 (Primeval: New World, Underworld: Awakening, Sanctuary, Smallville)
Craig Parker b. 1970 (Sleepy Hollow, Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers, Lord of the Rings, Xena: Warrior Princess, Young Hercules, The Tommyknockers)
Harvey Stephens b. 1970 (The Omen [1976 and 2006])
Daz Crawford b. 1968 (Star Seed, Grayson: Earth One, Hammer of the Gods, Blade II)
Alex Carter b. 1964 (Beauty and the Beast [2012], Haven, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Jericho, The Island, Veritas: The Quest, Earth: Final Conflict, Dark Angel, Early Edition, War of the Worlds [TV series])
Sam Lloyd b. 1963 (The Nightmare Room, Galaxy Quest, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Flubber [1997])
Karen Sheperd b. 1961 (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, America 3000)
Megan Mullally b. 1958 (Monkeybone, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Tall Tales and Legends)
Rhonda Shear b. 1954 (Earth Minus Zero, Frogtown II, Spaceballs, Galaxina)
Max Grodénchik b. 1952 (Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Insurrection, Sliders, Rumplestiltskin, Apollo 13, Tales from the Crypt, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Rocketeer)
Michael Bishop b. 1945 (won 1983 Nebula for No Enemy But Time)
Julie Ege b. 1943 died 29 April 2008 (The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, The Last Days of Man on Earth, Creatures the World Forgot)
Wallace Shawn b. 1943 (Vamps, Eureka, Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], Southland Tales, Stargate SG-1, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, My Favorite Martian [1999], The Meteor Man, Mom and Dad Save the World, The Princess Bride, Nice Girls Don’t Explode, Strange Invaders, Simon)
Dave Cockrum b. 1943 died 26 November 2006 (comic book artist, creator of Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler)
Michael Ende b. 1929 died 29 August 1995 (writer, The NeverEnding Story)
Kim Hunter b. 1922 died 11 September 2002 (Project U.F.O., The Evil Touch, Planet of the Apes and sequels)
Paul Maxwell b. 1921 died 19 December 1991 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Aliens, UFO, It!, How to Make a Monster, Blood of Dracula)
Richard Quine b. 1920 died 10 June 1989 (director, Project U.F.O., Bell Book and Candle)
Ray Kellogg b. 1919 died 26 September 1981 (The Invaders, The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Liam Dunn b. 1916 died 11 April 1976 (Young Frankenstein, The Girl with Something Extra, Genesis II, Captain Nice)

Notes on the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Harvey Stephens, Damien in The Omen. This year, we have the rare combination that the youngest person on the list is an honest to Odin movie star, one with iconic roles in genre movies and a fabulous babe to boot, so happy birthday Anne Hathaway. As for next year, I'm leaning towards Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride, still one of my favorite films.

 2. Spot the Canadians! There are four, all guys, but only one has a C.V. that gives his nationality away. The oldest, the late Paul Maxwell, did a lot of voice work for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, including Thunderbirds Are Go! and Fireball XL-5. Some folks, mainly Brits, are crazy with nostalgia for those puppet shows. They just creeped me the hell out.

I'll give the answers for the other three in the comments in the afternoon.

3. The Guy at the Door. Wallace Shawn turns 71 today, not particularly old by today's standards, but the two other folks who share the exact same birthday, comic book artist Dave Cockrum and fabulous Norwegian babe Julie Ege, did not make it to 71. Everyone younger than Shawn is alive and everyone older is dead.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, with special best wishes to Wallace Shawn, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: (Continuing the story of the exploration of the moon, starting in 1950): He opened the way. Crowds ventured to make the terrific voyage. Many never returned. Visionary persons suggest that, as weight counted for nothing in the ethermobile, tons of solidified air should be transported to be liberated on the moon, where, held by the attraction of gravitation, it would little by little form an atmosphere. Such a task would have taken centuries and impoverished our own supply of air. Instead of this, chemical reagents were employed which stated a chemical revolution on the moon and liberated vast quantities of oxygen that had been combined with minerals.

After many voyages and many experiments, a thin stratum of breathable air spread over the lower places on the surface. Slender though it was, it sufficed for vegetation of humble plants such as mosses and lichens, and though natural chemistry form vapor. From that time the dead moon was reborn; its atmosphere increased in volume through the sole agency of the respiration of the plants. Little by little the inhabitants of the earth noticed changes in the appearance of their satellite, now covered by fine, misty flakes, which broke up the light into exquisite twilight tints. It was at last possible to live there. The higher plants were now beginning to grow; the decay of vegetable matter was forming soil. A few small animals were taken there; then a whole Noah's Ark. These, by supplying organic matter, were contributing to make the moon at some later day habitable to man.

Matters have reached this stage now (2011), when John Smith is listening to the story in the Museum. If man has not yet taken possession of his colony, he has made many excursions to it and is accustoming himself to its severe climate. The species of animals that are now extinct upon the earth, save in a few zoos, are developing at liberty and transforming themselves naturally to adapt themselves to their new conditions of existence.


Reality: Getting real, we haven't tried to terraform the moon, but the writer has a pretty good idea of what the process would be like. The word terraform is said to have been coined in 1942 and one of the first scholarly attempts to nail down the process is written by Carl Sagan in the 1960s, but our scribe from 1911 gets high marks for vaguely describing something which has become real science in our day, though we haven't attempted it on any off world body yet.
  

Never to be Forgotten: Carol Ann Susi 1952-2014

An obit appeared yesterday for Carol Ann Susi, the voice of Howard's mother on The Big Bang Theory. She had a brief illness and died at the age of 62. I usually don't count voice work, but I do make exceptions and her role certainly is worth an exception. In front of the camera, she had roles in the genre productions Journeyman, Cats & Dogs, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Death Becomes Her and the 1970s TV show Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Best wishes to all the family and friends of Carol Ann Susi, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Could we get two consecutive days with a fabulous babe in the Picture Slot? The signs look good.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 November 2014

Birthdays
Corin Nemec b. 1971 (Star Trek: Renegades, Extinction: Patient Zero, Robocroc, Rise of the Dinosaurs, Dragon Wasps, Supernatural, RoboDoc, The Sea Beast, My Apocalypse, Mansquito, Stargate SG-1, Smallville, Tales from the Crypt, The Stand, The Lifeforce Experiment, Solar Crisis)
Chris Addison b. 1971 (Doctor Who, Apocalypse 2012)
David Mattey b. 1969 (Alien Hunger, Wonder Woman [2011], Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], The Legend of Neil, Supernatural, Hancock, Strange Wilderness, Charmed, House of the Dead 2, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, The Toxic Avenger IV)
Pat Kilbane b. 1969 (Meet Dave, Day of the Dead, Evolution, Monkeybone, Star Patrol)
Sam Rockwell b. 1968 (Poltergeist [2015], Cowboys and Aliens, Iron Man 2, Moon, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Galaxy Quest, The Green Mile, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Seth Gilliam b. 1968 (The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Starship Troopers)
Leni Parker b. 1966 (Helix, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Gallidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension, Earth: Final Conflict, Laserhawk, Nico the Unicorn, Screamers)
Famke Janssen b. 1964 (Hemlock Grove, X-Men, The Wolverine, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Faculty, House on Haunted Hill, Deep Rising, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Tatum O’Neal b. 1963 (Faerie Tale Theatre)
Michael Gaston b. 1962 (Inception, Fringe, Jericho)
Tilda Swinton b. 1960 (The Zero Theorem, Snowpiercer, Only Lovers Left Alive, Chronicles of Narnia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Constantine [2005 movie, Teknolust, Vanilla Sky)
Robert Patrick b. 1958 (True Blood, From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], Bridge to Terabithia, Lost, Stargate: Atlantis, The X Files, Double Dragon, Last Action Hero, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Warlords from Hell, Future Hunters)
Jon-Erik Hexum b. 1957 died 18 October 1984 (Voyagers!)
Eugene Lipinski b. 1956 (Arrow, Fringe, Year of the Creature, Rollerball [2002], MythQuest, Animorphs, Highlander [TV], Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Outland, Superman II)
Nestor Serrano b. 1955 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sleepy Hollow [TV], Revolution, Fringe, The Day After Tomorrow, Witchblade, The X Files, The Indian in the Cupboard)
Armin Shimerman b. 1949 (Warehouse 13, Invasion, Tremors [TV], Charmed, The Tick, The Invisible Man, Buffy, Deep Space Nine, Sliders, The Lost World, Stargate SG-1, Beauty and the Beast, Alien Nation [TV])
Sam Shepard b. 1943 (The Right Stuff, Resurrection)
Harris Yulin b. 1937 (Buffy, The X-Files, Multiplicity, Loch Ness, Deep Space Nine, Ghostbusters II, Wonder Woman)
David Battley b. 1935 died 20 January 2003 (Krull, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
Victor Argo b. 1934 died 7 April 2004 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Wonder Woman, The Terminal Man)
Jan Shutan b. 1932 (Dracula’s Dog, Star Trek, The Outer Limits)
Jim Steranko b. 1930 (comic book artist)
Richard ‘Dick’ Davalos b. 1930 (Battle Beyond the Stars)
Kenneth Waller b. 1927 died 28 January 2000 (Doctor Who, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Alan Tilvern b. 1918 died 17 December 2003 (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Little Shop of Horrors, Superman, UFO, The Frozen Dead, Out of the Unknown, Doctor Who, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)Willoughby Gray b. 1916 died 13 February 1993 (The Princess Bride, Solarbabies, The Mummy [1959])
John McGiver b. 1913 died 9 September 1975 (Harvey [TV 1972], Bewitched, Mr. Terrific, I dream of Jeannie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, ‘Way Out)
General Sir John Hackett b. 1910 died 9 September 1997 (Author, The Third World War: August 1985)
Philip MacDonald b. 1900 died 10 December 1980 (author, Forbidden Planet)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot.  Last year, I had Famke Janssen in the Picture Slot and I think there would have been very few complaints if I repeated myself for her fiftieth (?!?) birthday, but I decided instead to look at the list and put up the youngest actor I consider to have an iconic role, so it's Sam Rockwell from Galaxy Quest, a movie now fifteen years old and one that holds up very well due to great writing and acting. I almost used Jan Shutan from her role on Star Trek, answer to the trivia question "When did Scotty ever get to be a horndog?", and she might get the nod next year, but there is plenty of competition.

2. What about the oldest person on the list in competition for the 2015 Picture Slot? Well, Alan Tilvern was R.K. Maroon in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Willoughby Gray was the king in The Princess Bride, both small roles in great films. I also might go with Oh That Old Stuffy Guy John McGiver. Granted, he was old enough to be my grandparent and played a grumpy adult in all his roles, but it seems strange to me he was only 61 when he died.

3. And all the rest. There are a lot of good choices for 2015 Picture Slot, including Tilda Swinton, Robert Patrick, Armin Shimerman and Harris Yulin, as well as the others already mentioned.

4. Canadian spotted! Today it was really tough, so I'm going to give it to you. As soon as you see Supernatural and Smallville on the same resume, you figure that has to be a Canuck, but the only true citizen of the Great White North on the list is... Leni Parker, who worked in slightly older shows from the 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Movies released
Megamind released, 2010
The Incredibles released, 2004
The Matrix Revolutions released 2003
 

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, writing in March 1911 about the first of February, 2011

Prediction: Entering the great hall of the museum, Mr. Smith attend the inaugural lecture of a course that is to trace the history of the conquest of the moon, It was in 1950 that a new Christopher Columbus, long foreshadowed by our story-writers, landed on our satellite. A vehicle was built, moved by apergy, that etheric force which counteracts the attraction of gravitation and enables a body to pass through interplanetary space. The car contained an abundant provision of oxygen in solid form, of which it was only necessary to melt a small piece in order to feed the lungs of the daring explorer for several days.

After six months of anxiety and hope this modern caravel landed its captain upon the moon at the bottom of an arid hollow which astronomers had called the Sea of Serenity. The man, in a diver’s suit, took several steps, took several steps outside his car, enough to gaze upon a vast amphitheatre, dazzling in the crude light and bristling with hard ridges and mineral efflorescence. He proved that this dead world was utterly uninhabitable.

Through the hermetically closed costume which covered him he could feel a glacial chill; his limbs swelled and gave him acute pain; death was lying in wait for him.

Hurriedly he started on his return voyage to the earth. Unfortunately the greater part of the stored oxygen had leaked out and spread itself over the surface of the moon, so that on the return trip he was obliged to put himself on short rations of air, as ancient mariners used sometimes to do with fresh water, and he arrived home half asphyxiated about a year after his departure.

Reality: Our 1911 correspondent nicked the anti-gravity to the moon idea from H.G. Wells' First Men in the Moon, published 1901. In real life, astronauts have had to go on short provisions due to accidents and survived the ordeal, most notably on the ill-fated Apollo 13 which managed to bring all three of the astronauts back to Earth alive.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Lee de Forest is back in the prediction biz with several ideas about the hypermodern home conveniences of the year 2000, some of which actually exist.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

29 October 2014

Birthdays
India Eisley b. 1993 (Underworld: Awakening)
Carlson Young b. 1990 (True Blood, Heroes)
Cherlilyn Wilson b. 1988 (True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, I (heart) Vampires, Supernatural)
Janet Montgomery b. 1985 (Salem, Gothica [TV], Merlin)
Johnny Lewis b. 1983 died 26 Sept. 2012 (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, Smallville)
Chelan Simmons b. 1982 (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Kyle XY, Ogre, Stargate: Atlantis, Supernatural, The Collector, Zix:Level Two, Smallville, Wonderfalls, Snakehead Terror, Monster Island, Carrie [2002 TV movie], It [1990])
Ben Foster b. 1980 (30 Days of Night, X-Men: The Last Stand, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Punisher, FlashForward)
Andrew Lee Potts b. 1979 (Dracula [2013 TV], Primeval, True Bloodthrist, Alice [2009 TV], Strange)
Brendan Fehr b. 1977 (Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men: First Class, Roswell, NightMan, The New Addams Family)
Aksel Hennie b. 1975 (Hercules)
Gabrielle Union b. 1972 (FlashForward, Meet Dave, The Others, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Winona Ryder b. 1971 (Star Trek, S1m0ne, Alien: Resurrection, Dracula, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice)
Michael Daingerfield b. 1970 (Arrow, Smallville, Tooth Fairy, The 4400, Dark Storm, The Time Tunnel [2006], Clash of the Titans [2006 TV], Supernatural, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Catwoman, Kingdom Hospital, Dreamcatcher, Stargate SG-1, Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Raven)
Grayson McCouch b. 1968 (Gotham, Forbidden Island, Armageddon)
Rufus Sewell b. 1967 (Hercules, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature, Arabian Nights, Dark City)
Joely Fisher b. 1967 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Inspector Gadget, The Mask, Something is Out There)
Tim Minear b. 1963 (writer/producer, American Horror Story, Dollhouse, Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The X-Files, Lois and Clark, Strange World)
Finola Hughes b. 1959 (Charmed, Generation X)
Dan Castellaneta b. 1957 (Futurama, Super 8, Stargate: SG-1, Space Jam, Highlander [TV], ALF)
Deborah Reed b. 1950 (Troll 2)
Kate Jackson b. 1948 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Topper [TV movie], Dark Shadows)
Richard Dreyfuss b.1947 (Coma [2012 TV], Piranha 3D, Tin Man, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Bewitched)
Margaret Nolan b. 1943 (Mystery and Imagination, Witchfinder General)
Jack Shepherd b. 1940 (The Golden Compass)
Ralph Bakshi b. 1938 (Cool World, Lord of the Rings, Wizards, Fire and Ice, Spider-Man)
Michael Jayston b. 1935 (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997 TV], Highlander: The Final Dimension, Doctor Who, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], UFO)
Margaret Sheridan b. 1926 died 1 May 1982 (The Thing from Another World)
Robert Hardy b. 1925 (Harry Potter, The 10th Kingdom, Gulliver’s Travels [TV], Frankenstein [1994], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Supernatural [1977 TV mini-series], Gawain and the Green Knight)
Eddie Constantine b. 1913 died 25 February 1993 (Frankenstein’s Aunt, Alphaville)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. I will admit my willfulness with my Picture Slot selections for this date. Last year I went with Margaret Sheridan from the poster of The Thing from Another World and this year it's Rufus Sewell, star of Dark City, a film I loved. The thing is, there are two honest to Odin movie stars on this list with iconic roles, Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters and several roles for Winona Ryder. One of them will get the Picture slot in 2015. As for my choices in 2013 and 2014, I will invoke The First Rule of Blogging, coined by myself, which is "You're not the boss of me."

So there.


2. Spot the Canadians! Very tough today to get all three. I'll give two small hints. They are all born after 1968 and there is one actor whose resume looks Canadian but isn't, while a true Canadian has only a smattering of parts in Canadian genre productions.

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

 Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, writing in March 1911 about the first of February, 2011

Prediction: John Smith generally employs his afternoons in perfecting his education. He often goes to the Museum, wherein are preserved specimens of extinct animals such as horses, dogs, cats, sheep and chickens. He loves to study the day in which such beings were the companions of men.

For now, such progress have chemistry and mechanics made that man has no more need of animals. He has killed off some and neglected to foster the multiplication of others, so they disappeared. The whistle of machinery and the hum of motors have taken the place of the song of birds. The forests are deserted and the fields without moos, whinnies or larks.

Reality: This is not the only prediction of mass extinction we have had. John Elfreth Watkins and H.G. Wells wrote things like this, but not quite as complete a massacre. His idea that horses were becoming obsolete was an obvious trend by 1911, but thinking that animal lovers would allow dogs,  cats and horses to become extinct is a very strange misread of human nature.

Never to be Forgotten: Elizabeth Norment 1953-2014

Another sad obituary of someone dead much too young. Elizabeth Norment, best known for her role on the Netflix series House of Cards as Nancy Kaufberger, the executive assistant to Kevin Spacey's Francis Underwood, has died at the age of 61 from cancer. She is remembered here for her roles in Runaway, the 1984 sci-fi movie written and directed by Michael Crichton, and the Twilight Zone story Examination Day, from which the still on the left is taken. The episode is based on a short story by Henry Slesar and is still one of the creepiest pieces of sci-fi I have ever read.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Elizabeth Norment, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Thursday means Lee de Forest, who will be describing the home of the future for the next few weeks.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

15 October 2014

 Birthdays
Bailee Madison b. 1999 (Once Upon a Time, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Bridge to Terabithia)
Grace Van Dien b. 1996 (Sleeping Beauty)
Billy Unger b. 1995 (Lab Rats, Monster Mutt, No Ordinary Family, Jack and the Beanstalk, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, National Treasure: Book of Secrets)
Vincent Martella b. 1992 (The Walking Dead)
Chris Olivero b. 1984 (Séance: The Summoning, Kyle XY, Alien Arsenal)
Yoko Maki (The Grudge, Infection)
Robert Baker b. 1979 (True Blood, Our RoboCop Remake, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Virtually Heroes, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Devon Gummersall b. 1978 (Reeker, Earth vs. the Spider [2001], Roswell, Independence Day)
Paul Logan b. 1973 (Skookum: The Hunt for Bigfoot, Mega Piranha, Re-Generator, MegaFault, Aliens on Crack, Vampire in Vegas, Komodo vs. Cobra, Way of the Vampire, The Curse of the Komodo, Angel)
Matt Keeslar b. 1972 (Dollhouse, The Middleman, Jekyll, The Thirst, Dune [2000 TV movie], Psycho Beach Party)
Zak Orth b. 1970 (Revolution, Vamps, Fringe)
Dominic West b. 1969 (John Carter, From Time to Time, A Christmas Carol [1999 TV], Star Wars: Episode I – The One I Hate Typing, Punisher: War Zone)
Gotz Otto b. 1967 (Cloud Atlas, Iron Sky, Alien Autopsy, Deep Freeze, She [2001], Beowulf [1999])
Jeffrey Jacquet b. 1966 (Mork and Mindy, Return from Witch Mountain)
Kellie Flanagan b. 1959 (Star Trek)
Camila More b. 1957 (The Dark Side of the Moon, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)
Jayne Modean b. 1957 (Hard Time on Planet Earth, Werewolf, House II: The Second Story)
Tanya Roberts b. 1955 (Beastmaster, Sheena)
Jere Burns b. 1954 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Max Headroom)
Larry Miller b. 1953 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Frankenstein: The College Years)
Lynn Lowry b. 1947 (My Stepbrother Is a Vampire!?!, Ombis: Alien Invasion, Psychosomatika, Beyond the Dunwich Horror, Cat People, They Came from Within, I Drink Your Blood)
John Getz b. 1946 (Touch, Zenon: The Zequel, The Fly I and II, Wonder Woman)
Penny Marshall b. 1943 (director, Big, actor, Mork & Mindy)
Pete Haskell b. 1934 died 12 April 2010 (Robot Wars, Child’s Play, The Fantastic Seven, The Bionic Woman, Land of the Giants, The Green Hornet, The Outer Limits)
Virginia Leith b. 1932 (The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, On the Threshold of Space)
FM-2030 b. 1930 died 8 July 2000 (a.k.a. F.M. Esfandiary, author and futurist, UpWingers: A Futurist Manifesto)
Eileen Ryan b. 1927 (Eight Legged Freaks, Twilight Zone)
Nigel Green b. 1924 died 15 May 1972 (Gawain and the Green Knight, Countess Dracula, The Masque of the Red Death, Jason and the Argonauts, Ghost Squad)
Mark Lenard b. 1924 died 22 November 1996 (Star Trek, Otherworld, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Incredible Hulk, The Secret Empire, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Girl with Something Extra)
Jane Darwell b. 1879 died 13 August 1967 (Mary Poppins)

Okay. No Canadians today and for me, not a lot of drama in the Picture Slot. Last year it was Mark Lenard as Sarek, this year it's Nigel Green as Hercules from Jason and the Argonauts. He is nowhere near the most muscular Hercules on film, but he is my favorite. I still love that movie and I've seen it as an adult. A lot of things you loved as a kid don't hold up as well.

Next year, Virginia Leith from The Brain That Wouldn't Die is the front runner. As much fun as it would be having a picture of Tanya Roberts' cleavage, she doesn't trump Jan in the Pan.

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

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, writing in March 1911 about the first of February, 2011

Prediction: The flood from the factories pours out into the city, flows over the bridges, spreads out upon the terraces, humming with life. On the edge of the streets three sidewalks move at graduated speeds, in order that people may step from one to to the other without danger. That nearest the houses permits the promenaders to inspect the window displays in the shops. There is a sidewalk for those in a hurry and those who merely want to loaf. The latter has seats, telephones and little cafes upon it.

Appetiti guides Mr. Smith to a restaurant. No waiters are to be seen. He glances over the menu, which is a record of the progress of culinary chemistry, and selects for his luncheon two scrambled eggs with grated cheese, a beefsteak, a salad and strawberry ice cream. He speaks his order to the table as he would have done years ago to an attentive headwaiter.

The table opens and from the hollow arise a plate, bread, forks, wine and a steaming dish full of golden mass. Needless to say, no hen laid those eggs; they are an admirable composition of artificial albumen. No cow gave the milk from which the cheese was made; no vine grew the grapes to make this wine.

A periscope in the middle of the table reflects into the basement the image of this man and his luncheon, so that when he has finished the first course and pushes back his plate this vanishes instantly and is replaced by a fine synthetic beefsteak and artificial lettuce.

His meal costs him only a few cents. There is no waiter to tip, no cashier to pay. The price is fixed. On leaving he slips the amount into a slot by the door.


Reality: Boy, that sounds... unappetizing! We do have a lot more artificial ingredients on our plates not than they did back in 1911, but most eggs still come from hens and most cheese is made from cow's milk, though some is made from soy (ick!) or goat's milk (yay!). Wine, beef and lettuce all still come from the natural sources they did a hundred years ago, though as I stated before, there might easily be some artificial ingredients now they would not have had then.

It's not food in pill form and the disappearing plates aren't exactly pneumatic tubes, but this kind of antiseptic food prep "untouched by human hands" can be found in a lot of futurist predictions from the late 19th Century to today. For me, the point of getting out in public is to meet the public. Waiters and cashiers are a sign that it's a dining experience and not just fast food. 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 

Hearing again from Lee de Forest.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

8 October 2014

Birthdays
Bella Thorne b. 1997 (Amityville: The Awakening, Wizards of Waverly Place)
Molly C. Quinn b. 1993 (A Christmas Carol [2009])
Barbara Palvin b. 1993 (Hercules [2014])
Michael Obiora b. 1986 (Doctor Who)
Kristanna Loken b. 1979 (Painkiller Jane, BloodRayne, Terminator 3:The Rise of the Machines, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Sliders, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Aliens in the Family)
Martin Henderson b. 1974 (The Ring)
Matt Damon b. 1970 (Interstellar, The Zero Theorem, Elysium, Contagion, The Adjustment Bureau, The Brothers Grimm, Dogma)
Jeremy Davies b. 1969 (Constantine, Lost, Solaris, Teknolust)
Dylan Neal b. 1969 (Arrow, Haven, Smallville, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Stargate: Atlantis, Vampire Bats, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Relic Hunter, Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Maniac Mansion, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, War of the Worlds [1989 TV])
Emily Proctor b. 1968 (Lois & Clark)
Karyn Parsons b. 1966 (Gulliver’s Travels)
Peter Greene b. 1965 (Earthling, The Mask)
Ardal O’Hanlon b. 1965 (Doctor Who, My Hero)
Igor Jijikine b. 1965 (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Burr Steers b. 1965 (director, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)
Ian Hart b. 1964 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Simon Burke b. 1961 (Pitch Black)
Nancy Anne Sakovich b. 1981 (Category 6: Day of Destruction, Relic Hunter, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, The Hidden Room, Beyond Reality)
Brad Greenquist b. 1959 (Heroes, Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate SG-1, Charmed, Deep Space Nine, Conan [1997 TV], Star Trek: Voyager, Pet Sematary, Mutants in Paradise)
Steven Katz b. 1959 (writer, Shadow of the Vampire)
Darrell Hammond b. 1955 (Netherbeast Incorporated, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Michael Dudikoff b. 1954 (Zombie Break Room, Cyberjack, TRON [1982])
Terry Hayes b. 1951 (writer, From Hell, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
Sigourney Weaver b. 1949 (The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes, A Monster Calls, Vamps, The Cabin in the Woods, Avatar, The Village, Galaxy Quest, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Ghostbusters, Alien)
James Harper b. 1948 (Armageddon, The Burning Zone, Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap, Beauty and the Beast [1989 TV], Freddy’s Nightmares)
William Broyles b. 1944 (writer, The Polar Express, Planet of the Apes (reboot), Apollo 13)
R.L. Stine b. 1943 (writer, Goosebumps)
Chevy Chase b. 1943 (Hot Tub Time Machine, Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], Zoom, Last Action Hero, Memoirs of an Invisible Man)
Sue Randall b. 1935 died 26 October 1984 (My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone)
James Olson b. 1930 (Amityville II: The Possession, Project U.F.O., Battlestar Galactica [1978], The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Strange New World, The Andromeda Strain, Moon Zero Two)
Frank Herbert b. 1920 died 11 February 1986 (won 1966 Nebula for Dune)
Kirk Alyn b. 1910 died 14 March 1999 (Battlestar Galactica, Superman [1978 and 1948], Beginning of the End, When Worlds Collide)
Rouben Mamoulian b. 1897 died 4 December 1987 (director, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1931])

Last year, the Picture Slot went to Dune, still one of my favorite sci-fi books from my teenage years. This year, it's Sigourney Weaver, who has the triple threat of being an A List movie star with plenty of iconic roles in genre and of course a fabulous babe. Next year's choice is wide open. Matt Damon is to my mind the other major A List star here, but for iconic, I might pick Kristianna Loken from Terminator 3, Ian Hart from the first Harry Potter, James Olson from the original version of The Andromeda Strain or Kirk Alyn from Superman.

Fun trivia from this morning research: Sue Randall is best known as Miss Landers from Leave It To Beaver.

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

Movies released
Demolition Man released, 1993  

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, writing in March 1911 about the first of February, 2011

Prediction: The great co-operative societies absorbed the small factories and shops long ago. Each has a tower in which all branches of its industry are conducted. It is upon the terrace of one of these that John Smith's aerotaxi sets him don. It is called The Shoe House, for the elegant John Smith is a shoemaker in the morning. The extreme division of fortunes and labor abolished all idlers in this society, where every one takes his share of moderate work that is never tiring and even manual labor is no longer considered degrading.

The workshop is vast. His wall has fifty tiers of cells lighted from the outside - like the cells of a giant dove-cote a thousand feet high. Each cell contains one man or several men, but machinery does everything and the workman is only the intelligence that directs. .

On arriving, Mr. Smith registers his presence and goes to his own compartment, where he sits comfortably  in an arm chair at a table covered with instruments. Mirrors enable him to watch in the space occupied by the machines, which fill the center of the skyscraper from the cellar to the roof. From time to time he touches a spring, interrupts or opens a circuit or sends a message over the telephone, holding in his plump hand (as soft as that of a bureaucrat) the little lever which regulates the movement of a wheel one hundred feet in diameter that automatically performs the work formerly done by a hundred men.

Mr. Smith's every movement is registered by a dynamometer. Another machine registers the number of hours he is at work. These records are transmitted to a central machine which automatically calculates his salary.

When his attention is not immediately necessary he chats with distant persons, listens attentively though the microphone to the lectures of some professor at Columbia or Harvard is giving to his pupils.

The clocks of the city chime noon. The workman's day is over. A few hours have sufficed for a world of workers to produce whatever mankind needs in food, clothes, paper, light, heat, etc. for a day. A slot above his desk opens and John Smith's daily salary falls out. He is free for the rest of the day.
 

Reality: This is a strange mixture of the easy life in the future of The Jetsons with the creepy overtones of constant surveillance found in 1984 or Brazil. The idea that no work is degrading is an echo of Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, the very influential view of the future published in the late 1880s. The "listening to lectures" part is real enough now with YouTube, but most workplaces frown on such multitasking during business hours.

And of course, there's the three to four hour work day.  Hmm... not so much. And then there's the aerotaxi. Regular readers know my feelings about flying cars.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Keeping score on ESPN's baseball expert predictions so far. (Spoiler alert: not good.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!