12 September 2015

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

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

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

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

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

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

8 September 2015

Birthdays
Travis Nelson b. 1990 (Supernatural, Fringe, Meteor Storm, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil)
Justin Bradley b. 1985 (Being Human, Warm Bodies, Beastly)
Christine Weatherup b. 1983 (Star Kid)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas b. 1981 (Smallville)
Miles Jupp b. 1979 (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
Nate Corddry b. 1977 (Ghostbusters [2016], The Invention of Lying)
Larenz Tate b. 1975 (The Postman, The Twilight Zone [1985])
Martin Freeman b. 1971 (Captain America: Civil War, The Hobbit, The World’s End, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead)
Brooke Burke-Charvet b. 1971 (The Wraith)
David Arquette b. 1971 (The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Eight Legged Freaks, Muppets from Space, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Brian Huskey b. 1968 (This Is the End, Fright Night [2011], Meet Dave, Land of the Lost [2009])
Brad Silberling b. 1963 (director, Land of the Lost, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Casper)
Larry Zerner b. 1963 (Knights of Badassdom, Friday the 13th Part III)
Thomas Kretschmann b. 1962 (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Dracula [TV], Dracula 3D, FlashForward, Bionic Woman, King Kong, Frankenstein [2004 TV], Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Blade II, Relic Hunter, Total Recall 2070, Total Reality)
David Knell b. 1961 (Grimm, The Invisible Man, Total Recall, ALF, Splash, The Devil and Max Devlin)
Tom Tangen b. 1961 (Monkeybone, Donnie Darko, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Back to the Future)
Sonja Smits b. 1958 (Odyssey 5, TekWar, Videodrome)
Heather Thomas b. 1957 (Swamp Thing [TV], Cyclone, Zapped!)
Julian Richings b. 1955 (The Witch, Hellmouth, Orphan Black, Supernatural, Man of Steel, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Survival of the Dead, Saw IV, X-Men: The Last Stand, Skinwalkers, Re-Generation, Prince Charming, My Best Friend is an Alien, Highlander: The Raven, Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms, Cube, Mimic, RoboCop [TV], War of the Worlds [TV])
Clayton Norcross b. 1954 (Weird Science [TV], Defending Your Life)
Mark Lindsay Chapman b. 1954 (Charmed, Poltergeist: The Legacy, NightMan, Legend of the Mummy, The Burning Zone, Lois & Clark, Weird Science [TV], The Langoliers, Swamp Thing [TV], Max Headroom)
Willard Huyck b. 1945 (writer/director, Howard the Duck; writer, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Archie Goodwin b. 1937 died 1 March 1988 (writer, Marvel Comics and Warren Publications)
Michael A. Hoey b. 1934 died 17 August 2014 (director, The Navy vs. the Night Monsters)
Joe Kubert b. 1926 died 12 August 2012 (artist)
Peter Sellers b. 1925 died 24 July 1980 (Alice in Wonderland [1972 and 1966])
Harry Harris b. 1922 died 19 March 2009 (director, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space)
Harry Secombe b. 1921 died 11 April 2001 (Alice Through the Looking Box)
Frank Cady b. 1915 died 8 June 2012 (Monster Squad [TV], 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Next Voice You Hear…)
Alexander Mackendrick b. 1912 died 22 December 1993 (writer/director, The Man in the White Suit)
Brian Morrow b. 1911 died 11 May 2006 (Beauty and the Beast, Freddie’s Nightmares, Otherworld, The Greatest American Hero, The Bionic Woman, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Colossus: The Forbin Project, Star Trek, Bewitched, Lost in Space, The Invaders, Captain Nice, I Dream of Jeannie, Cyborg 2087, Atlantis, the Lost Continent, Twilight Zone)
William Fawcett b. 1894 died 25 January 1974 (I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Terrific, The Munsters, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, Twilight Zone, Commando Cody, Captain Video, Atom Man vs. Superman, Batman and Robin [1949])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I went Oh That Guy with Brian Morrow and noted the first episode aired of Star Trek. This year, I drag myself into the 21st Century with a picture of Martin Freeman from The Hobbit.

2. Spot the Canadians! Our two youngest on today's list, Travis Nelson and Justin Bradley, are both born north of the border, as is Sonja Smits. Julian Richings was born in Britain but moved to Canada in the 1980s.

3. Nepotism FTW. David Arquette is one of the multi-generational family of actors.

4. The Guy at the Door. On today's list, the cut-off year for the living and the dead is 1945, which is way too recent for my tastes. This means the blog gives special best wishes on his birthday to Willard Huyck, even though he is responsible for Howard the Duck.

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

TV show premieres 
Star Trek first aired, 1966

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

Prediction: The Times came to me by tube each morning, now that I was a solid citizen.

Reality: This scene takes place in 2000 and Heinlein is discussing newspaper delivery by pneumatic tube.

He gets no marks for this, but I do not judge him, because this failed prediction makes me sad.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another visit from out friend George Sutherland.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 August 2015

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

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

I know you are, but what am I?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

26 July 2015

Birthdays
Taylor Momsen b. 1993 (Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Hansel & Gretel)
Elizabeth Gillies b. 1993 (Animal)
Miriam McDonald b. 1987 (Orphan Black, Lost Girl, The Sea Beast)
Georgina Sherrington b. 1985 (The Worst Witch)
Mageina Tovah b. 1979 (American Horror Story, Spider-Man 2 and 3, Buffy)
Eve Myles b. 1978 (Torchwood, Doctor Who, Merlin)
Ben Cotton b. 1975 (iZombie, Olympus, Defiance, The 100, Continuum, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Battlestar Galactica, The Tomorrow People, Arrow, Fringe, Seeds of Destruction, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Stan Helsing, Kyle XY, Stargate: Atlantis, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], Bionic Woman, Flash Gordon [2007], Supernatural, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The 4400, The Chronicles of Riddick, Taken, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, Smallville, Strange Frequency, The Immortal)
Kate Beckinsale b. 1973 (Total Recall [2012], Underworld, Click, Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV])
Susse Budde b. 1973 (Cloverfield, Lost)
Spencer Wilding b. 1972 (Victor Frankenstein, Jupiter Ascending, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Legend of Hercules, Atlantis, Doctor Who, Wrath of the Titans, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Game of Thrones, The Golden Compass, Stardust, Eragon, Batman Begins, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
Olivia Williams b. 1968 (The Last Days on Mars, Dollhouse, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Sixth Sense, Jason and the Argonauts [TV], The Postman)
Jason Statham b. 1967 (Death Race, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Ghosts of Mars)
Jeremy Piven b. 1965 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Edge of Tomorrow, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde)
Sandra Bullock b. 1964 (Gravity, Premonition, The Lake House, Practical Magic, Demolition Man, Love Potion #9, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman)
Danny Woodburn b. 1964 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lavalantula, Mirror Mirror, Watchmen, Passions, Charmed, Angel, Conan [TV], Early Edition, Lois & Clark)
Kevin Spacey b. 1959 (Moon, Superman Returns, K-PAX)
Nana Visitor b. 1957 (Ted 2, Grimm, Torchwood, Friday the 13th [2009], Battlestar Galactica, They Are Among Us, Dark Angel, Deep Space Nine, The Spirit, The Twilight Zone [1985], Knight Rider)
Danny Bilson b. 1956 (writer, The Rocketeer, The Flash, Zone Troopers, Trancers)
Susan George b. 1950 (Computercide, Tales of the Unexpected, Tintorera: Killer Shark, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
Helen Mirren b. 1945 (Inkheart, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Faerie Tale Theatre, Twilight Zone [1985], 2010, Excalibur, A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Suzanna Leigh b. 1945 (Lust for a Vampire, tom thumb)
Kiel Martin b. 1944 died 28 December 1990 (The Ray Bradbury Theatre)
Celeste Yarnall b. 1944 (The Velvet Vampire, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Bewitched, Captain Nice)
Peter Hyams b. 1943 (director, Threshold, End of Days, The Relic, Timecop, Amazing Stories, 2010, Outland, Capricorn One)
Mick Jagger b. 1943 (Freejack, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Chino “Fats” Williams b. 1933 died 5 April 2000 (Weird Science, The Terminator, The Incredible Hulk)
Robert Colbert b. 1931 (Disaster in Time, Knight Rider, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, My Favorite Martian, Have Rocket – Will Travel)
Stanley Kubrick b. 1928 died 7 March 1999 (writer/director, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey)
James Best b. 1926 died 7 April 2015 (The Green Hornet, The Twilight Zone, The Killer Shrews, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
Jason Robards b. 1922 died 26 December 2000 (The Day After, Something Wicked This Way Comes, A Boy and His Dog)
Pat Walshe b. 1900 died 11 December 1991 (The Wizard of Oz)
Aldous Huxley b. 1894 died 22 November 1963 (author, Brave New World)

 Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. It was random chance that I decided to go birthday only today and get this really amazing birthday list. We are loaded down with household names - Kate Beckinsale (previous Picture Slotter), Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Helen Mirren, Mick Jagger, Stanley Kubrick, Jason Robards and Aldous Huxley, and a bunch of lesser known folk to the general public who count as iconic in genre, most notably Olivia Williams from Dollhouse, the second previous Picture Slotter Nana Visitor from Deep Space Nine and Robert Colbert from The Time Tunnel. On a less stellar list, I might even put in Celeste Yarnell from her Star Trek role. But instead it's Helen Mirren from Excalibur, the first role where I really noticed her.

I chose Ms. Mirren because it reminds me of what a fool in love can do. I had seen her before the 1980s, most notably in a late 1960s version of A Midsummer's Night Dream. It was a British cast, which pretty much automatically makes it a good cast, but it is remarkable how many people in it became much more famous over time: Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Ian Richardson, David Warner, Ms. Mirren and the reason I made sure I watched it, Diana Rigg, who was no longer on The Avengers and went back to the Royal Shakespeare Company. I was so smitten with Diana Rigg I barely noticed Helen Mirren existed. As I said, a fool in love.

2. Spot the Canadians. Today I will make it an exercise for the reader. There are two and both their credit lists give big hints. Knock yourselves out.

3. MST3K. I know The Killer Shrews got the treatment, as I always enjoyed the movies I had seen without sass talking robots first.

4. Notable deaths. I keep track of exact same birthdays when I can, but for exact same death days, Aldous Huxley and John F. Kennedy are about as famous as it gets. Keil Martin from Hill Street Blues died young, but I wasn't surprised when I saw it. I knew he was gone.

5. And just in case anybody asks. No, I still don't count Dr. Strangelove as genre.

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

Movie released
The Wolverine released, 2013

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's Monday and Robert A. Heinlein will start sharing the day with OMNI Future Almanac.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

13 July 2015

 Birthdays
Leo Howard b. 1997 (Conan the Barbarian [2011], G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)
Matt Weinberg b. 1990 (FreakyLinks, X-Men)
Colton Haynes b. 1988 (San Andreas, Arrow, Teen Wolf)
Steven R. McQueen b. 1988 (The Vampire Diaries, Piranha 3D, Minutemen, Threshold)
Chris Sheffield b. 1988 (The Last Ship, The Maze Runner, Transformers: Dark of the Moon)
Michael Mando b. 1981 (Orphan Black, The Colony, Lost Girl)
Fran Kranz b. 1981 (Bloodsucking Bastards, The Cabin in the Woods, Dollhouse, The Village, Donnie Darko)
Ashley Scott n. 1977 (Jericho, Lost, Birds of Prey, Dark Angel, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Ken Jeong b. 1969 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Vampires Suck)
Robert Gant b. 1968 (The Tomorrow People)
Peter Buchman b. 1967 (writer, Eragon, Jurassic Park III)
David X. Cohen b. 1966 (writer/producer, Futurama)
Kenny Johnson b. 1963 (Smallville, The Huntress, Blade, Sliders, The Burning Zone)
Michael Jace b. 1962 (Planet of the Apes [2001], Strange Days, Deep Space Nine)
Lance E. Nichols b. 1955 (The Fantastic Four [2015], Left Behind, American Horror Story, The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia, Creature, Swamp Shark, Green Lantern, Benjamin Button, Charmed, Buffy, Firestarter 2: Rekindled, The Invisible Man, K-PAX, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Alien Nation [TV], Project X, Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone [1985])
Gil Birmingham b. 1953 (Twilight, NightMan, Buffy, House II)
Rosemary Dunsmore b. 1952 (Orphan Black, Red: Werewolf Hunter, Lost Girl, ReGenesis, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Last Exit to Earth, RoboCop [TV], Total Recall [1990], Beauty and the Beast [1989 TV], Twilight Zone [1988])
Cheech Marin b. 1946 (Lost, Planet Terror, Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn, Ghostbusters II)
Harrison Ford b. 1942 (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Age of Adaline, Ender’s Game, Cowboys & Aliens, Blade Runner)
Robert Forster b. 1941 (Heroes, Dragon Wars: D-War, Alligator, The Black Hole)
Sir Patrick Stewart b. 1940 (X-Men, The Wolverine, Ted, Star Trek, Lifeforce, Dune, Excalibur)
David Westburg b. 1940 (The Amazing Captain Nemo, Once Upon a Brothers Grimm, Logan’s Run, Genesis II, Blacula)
Bob Crane b. 1929 died 29 June 1978 (Twilight Zone)
Rene Laloux b. 1929 died 14 March 2004 (director, Gandahar, Time Masters, Fantastic Planet)
Sidney Blackmer b. 1895 died 6 October 1973 (Rosemary’s Baby, The Outer Limits)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot(s). July 13th is one of those fairly easy decisions. You can argue for someone other than Sir Patrick Stewart or Harrison Ford, but I'm not listening. This year, I put them both up. These guys not only represent the two pillars of modern on-screen sci-fi, Star Trek and Star Wars, but they also have other iconic genre roles and successful careers even if you don't count their genre stuff. Nobody else here comes close.

2. Spot the Canadians! Usually, the Supernatural/Smallville daily double tells us we've got Canadians, but today it's the Orphan Black/Lost Girl pairing. Michael Mando and Rosemary Dunsmore are our pals from north of the border.

3. The Guys at the Door. The oldest living guys on the list just turned 75, the aforementioned Sir Patrick Stewart and the hard working David Westburg. While that is way too young to be The Guys at the Door, that's how this randomness works sometimes.

4. Nepotism more of less. Steven R. McQueen is the grandson of Coolest Person Ever Steve McQueen, but he was born eight years after his grand-dad died, so I don't know if it should count as nepotism.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, especially Sir Patrick Stewart and David Westburg, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published in 1982.

Prediction: The most visible educational development of the 1980s will be the widespread introduction of automated teaching devices that marry the medium of the videodisc to the microcomputer. Such systems will permit massive amounts of audio-visual information to be introduced to students at their own rate of learning.

Reality: Picking the laserdisc as the way of the future in 1982 is just as obvious as can be and dead fucking wrong at the same time. If I'm being generous, it's not unlike people thinking the pneumatic tube would be ubiquitous or our sensible friend George Sutherland thinking the internal combustion engine had too many drawbacks to ever be fixed.

But I'm not being generous. I love pneumatic tubes and George Sutherland's mistake are always forgiven, while laserdiscs in particular are complete junk in my book and I have bad memories of Philips deciding (briefly) they were going to enforce the patents they held on the CD-ROM. I'm glad the Internet swept that nonsense away, most especially Philips' blackmail threat.  

Looking on day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

How are you fixed for Commie predictions? Well, even if you are topped off, we get another one tomorrow from John Langdon-Davies, Commie!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

25 April 2015

Birthdays
Allisyn Ashley Arm b. 1996 (Meet Dave)
Katherine Wallace b. 1990 (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Sara Paxton b. 1988 (The Innkeepers, Shark Night 3D, Wizards of Waverly Place, Return to Halloweetown, The Ruby Princess Runs Away, Soldier)
Jonathan Bailey b. 1988 (Doctor Who, Five Children and It, Alice Through the Looking Glass [1998 TV])
Heather Sossaman b. 1987 (Fairy Tales, 10.0 The Big One, Buffy)
Daniel Sharman b. 1986 (The Originals, Teen Wolf, Immortals)
Rik Young b. 1978 (Beowulf, Charmed, Children of Dune)
Ben Uttley b. 1978 (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
Marguerite Moreau b. 1977 (Lost, Smallville, Firestarter 2: Rekindled, Queen of the Damned, Mighty Joe Young [1998], 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Emily Bergl b. 1975 (Warehouse 13, Star Trek: Enterprise, Taken, The Rage: Carrie 2)
Jason Lee b. 1970 (Dreamcatcher, Vanilla Sky, Dogma, Perversions of Science)
Gina Torres b. 1969 (The Vampire Diaries, FlashForward, Serenity, Firefly, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded, Angel, Cleopatra 2525, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, M.A.N.T.I.S.)
Hank Azaria b. 1964 (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Mystery Men, Godzilla [1998], Tales from the Crypt)
Daniel Kash b. 1959 (Manhattan Undying, Bitten, The Strain, Orphan Black, RoboCop [2014], Alphas, Lost Girl, Repo Men, The Dresden Files, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, Diary of the Dead, Mutant X, Veritas: The Quest, Total Recall 2070, Virus, RoboCop [TV], Forever Knight, Nightbreed, War of the Worlds [TV], Aliens)
Clarissa Burt b. 1959 (The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter)
George Spartels b. 1954 (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
Ron Clements b. 1953 (director, The Princess and the Frog, Treasure Planet, Hercules, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid)
Peter Jurasik b. 1950 (Quantum Apocalypse, Sliders, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Babylon 5, TRON[1982])
Jeffrey DeMunn b. 1947 (The Walking Dead, The Mist, The X-Files, RocketMan, Phenomenon, The Blob [1988], Twilight Zone [1985], Resurrection)
Talia Shire b. 1946 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star, Prophecy, The Dunwich Horror)
Al Pacino b. 1940 (Angels in America, S1m0ne, The Devil’s Advocate)
Denny Miller b. 1934 died 9 September 2014 (Werewolf, Knight Rider, V, Voyagers!, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Incredible Hulk, Beyond Westworld, Battlestar Galactica. Dr, Scorpion, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Island at the Top of the World, I Dream of Jeannie)
Paul Mazursky b. 1930 died 30 June 2014 (actor, Twilight Zone)
Kay E. Kuter b. 1925 died 12 November 2003 (Charmed, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The X-Files, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast, V, The Twilight Zone [1986], The Last Starfighter, Far Out Space Nuts, I Dream of Jeannie, The Outer Limits, The Mole People)
Davy Kaye b. 1916 died 3 February 1998 (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Russ Conway b. 1913 died 12 January 2009 (The Space-Watch Murders, The Invaders, The Green Hornet, The Time Tunnel, The Munsters, The War of the Worlds, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, Flight to Mars, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man)
Paul Curran b. 1913 died 1 December 1986 (Jabberwocky)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was handed to Gina Torres from Firefly and Peter Jurasik from Babylon 5. Not wanting to repeat myself and looking for iconic roles, the guy from the most popular show should be Jeffrey DeMunn from The Walking Dead, but invoking The First Law of Blogging ("You're Not the Boss of me!"), I went with Hank Azaria as The Blue Raja from Mystery Men.

2. Nepotism FTW. Talia Shire is the sister of Francis Ford Copolla. When one sibling is notably more famous than the other and also gave the less famous sibling a big break, I definitely count it as nepotism.

3. Two Canadians, one dead, one spottable. Russ Conway's career took place long before producing shows in Canada was a big industry. The other Canadian has a credit list that makes him easy to spot.

4. The Guy at the Door.  Every day I make these lists and I check for the oldest living person. If no one younger than him (or her) is dead, that person in The Guy (or Gal) at the Door. Today it's Al Pacino, who is only 75. As always when there is someone At the Door, I send special best wishes for a long and healthy life to that person.


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

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

Prediction: The atom will not be employed to murder civilizations.

Reality: Most of the predictions in Ernst's book are extensions of his main thesis that Americans will have a 30 hour work week by 1976 and all the wonderful and morally uplifting things people will do with the extra time. Given his flawed thesis, many of the predictions also go awry, but this one stands on its own and (knock wood) we've gone sixty years and it's still the case.

Yay, correct optimism!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another trip into the late 20th Century courtesy of Robert A. Heinlein's 1956 book The Door Into Summer. 


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

21 April 2015

 Birthdays
Frank Dillane b. 1991 (Fear the Walking Dead, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Robbie Amell b. 1988 (The Flash, The Tomorrow People, Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins [TV])
Dylan Bruce b. 1980 (Orphan Black, Arrow)
James McAvoy b. 1979 (Victor Frankenstein, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: First Class, Wanted, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Children of Dune)
Dominic Zamprogna b. 1979 (2012, Smallville, Flash Gordon, Bionic Woman, Battlestar Galactica, Blade: The Series, Supernatural, Stargate: Atlantis, Odyssey 5, MythQuest, Tales from the Cryptkeeper)
Brian White b. 1975 (Beauty and the Beast [2013], Cabin in the Woods, Moonlight)
Charlie O’Connell b. 1975 (Zombie Family, DateaHuman.com, Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep, Dude, Where’s My Car, Sliders, The Magicians)
Jennifer Blanc b. 1974 (Malignant, Zombie Family, My Apocalypse, Dark Angel, Early Edition)
Sandy Jobin-Bevans b. 1972 (Run Robot Run, ReGenesis, Dawn of the Dead, PSI Factor: Tales of the Paranormal)
Rob Riggle b. 1970 (Dead Rising: Watchtower)
Toby Stephens b. 1969 (The Machine, Space Cowboys)
Joel de la Fuente b. 1969 (The Man in the High Castle, Hemlock Grove, The Adjustment Bureau, From Other Worlds, Brave New World, Space: Above and Beyond)
Christian Hoff b. 1968 (Millennium, Space: Above and Beyond, Encino Man, Quantum Leap)
Michelle Gomez b. 1966 (Doctor Who, Highlander: The Raven)
John Cameron Mitchell b. 1963 (Freddy’s Nightmares, The Stepford Children, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Roy Dupuis b. 1963 (Hemoglobin, Screamers)
Kate Vernon b. 1961 (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Voyager, Kindred: The Embraced)
Andie MacDowell b. 1958 (Muppets from Space, Multiplicity, Groundhog Day)
James Morrison b. 1954 (The X-Files, Seven Days, Prey, Millennium, Space: Above and Beyond, White Dwarf, Quantum Leap, Monsters, Werewolf, Automan)
Patti LuPone b. 1949 (Penny Dreadful, American Horror Story)
Rod Loomis b. 1942 (Stargate SG-1, Quantum Leap, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Beastmaster, Jason of Star Command)
Souleymane Cisse b. 1940 (director, Brightness)
George DiCenzo b. 1940 died 9 August 2010 (M.A.N.T.I.S., The Exorcist III, Back to the Future, Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Space Academy, Dark Shadows [1970])
Reni Santoni b. 1939 (Quantum Leap, Manimal)
Charles Grodin b. 1935 (The Incredible Shrinking Woman, King Kong [1976], Rosemary’s Baby, Captain Nice, My Mother the Car)
Ray Stewart b. 1932 (Space Raiders, Dark Shadows)
Silvana Mangano b. 1930 died 16 December 1989 (Dune, The Flying Saucer)
Dee Hartford b. 1928 (Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, Batman, The Time Tunnel, Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits)
Anthony Quinn b. 1915 died 3 June 2001 (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Last Action Hero, Treasure Island in Outer Space, The Magus, Sinbad, the Sailor)
Gilbert Taylor b. 1914 died 23 August 2013 (cinematographer, Flash Gordon, Dracula, Star Wars, The Omen)

Notes for the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. In 2013, the birthday list had just two names and I chose Kate Vernon for Battlestar Galactica. Last year, the list was longer and the Picture Slot went to James McAvoy, iconic in both the X-Men and Narnia film franchises. This year, I decided to go with Michelle Gomez in her recurring role as Missy from Doctor Who. There are some other well known names - Anthony Quinn, Patti LuPone, Andie MacDowell - but none are particularly iconic in genre. For fabulous babe-ness, Howard Hawks' former wife Dee Hartford would be a great choice and I snuck in a picture of her with Otto Preminger last December.  As pretty as she was, she wasn't truly iconic. Another fair choice would have been Dylan Bruce in his recurring role from Orphan Black.

2. Nepotism or not. Charlie O'Connell is the brother of Jerry O'Connell. The main nepotistic event in their careers is Charlie being cast as Jerry's brother on Sliders.

3. Canadians to spot. There are five Canadians today. The two older ones, Roy Dupuis and Sandy Jovan-Bevins, are hard to spot. The three younger ones are a little easier and I leave it as an exercise to the reader.

4. Wait... he's dead? George DiCenzo is an Oh That Guy actor, possibly best known as Vincent Bugliosi in the TV movie version of Helter Skelter. He died five years ago of sepsis at the age of 70. I was not consciously aware of it.

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

Predictor: The Long Game, an episode from the first 21st Century season of Doctor Who, aired 21 April 2005

Prediction:In 2019, the microprocessor is replaced by SMT Single Molecular Transfer technology.

Reality: Well, tempus certainly has a way of fugit-ing, doesn't it? We are now ten years into the 21st Century re-boot of Doctor Who. As for the prediction, it's a small throwaway bit of exposition in a story that takes place much farther in the future. I can't be sure of what computer technology will look like in four years, but Moore's Law shouldn't take us down to the size of single molecules just yet.

 Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to 1901 with our sensible pal George Sutherland.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

9 April 2015

Birthdays
Isaac Hempstead Wright b. 1999 (Game of Thrones)
Elle Fanning b. 1998 (Maleficent, Super 8, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lost Room, Taken)
Kristen Stewart b. 1990 (Snow White and the Huntsman, Twilight, Jumper, Zathura: A Space Adventure)
Leighton Meester b. 1986 (Surface)
Lili Mirojnick b. 1984 (Grimm, Cloverfield)
Arlen Escarpeta b. 1981 (Grimm, Extant, Friday the 13th)
Jay Baruchel b. 1982 (RoboCop, This is the End, Being Human, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, The Worst Witch, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Matthew Blackheart: Monster Smasher)
Matthew Bennett b. 1968 (The Strain, Orphan Black, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Seven Days, Total Recall 2070, Earth: Final Conflict. PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, The X-Files)
Jay Chandrasekhar b. 1968 (Warehouse 13, Knight Rider [2009])
Cynthia Nixon b. 1966 (The Outer Limits, Addams Family Values, The Manhattan Project)
Mark Pellegrino b. 1965 (The Returned, The Tomorrow People, Being Human, Revolution, Grimm, Supernatural, Lost, NYPD 2069, Astronauts, The X-Files, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Knight Rider 2010)
Fred Dekker b. 1959 (writer, Star Trek: Enterprise, RoboCop 3, The Monster Squad, House I and II)
Dennis Quaid b. 1954 (Legion, Pandorum, G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra, The Day After Tomorrow, Frequency, DragonHeart, Wilder Napalm, Innerspace, Dreamscape, The Right Stuff, Jaws 3-D)
Marty Krofft b. 1937 (producer, Land of the Lost, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Wonderbug, Dr, Shrinker, The Krofft Supershow, Far Out Space Nuts, The Lost Saucer, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Bugaloos, Lidsville, H.R. Pufnstuf)
Avery Schreiber b. 1935 died 7 January 2002 (Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Saturday the 14th Strikes Back, The Wizard, Twilight Zone [1985], Caveman, Galaxina, My Mother the Car)
Aubrey Woods b. 1928 died 7 May 2013 (Blakes 7, Z.P.G., Doctor Who, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Brad Dexter b. 1917 died 12 December 2002 (The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O.)
Michael Ward b. 1909 died 8 November 1997 (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell)
Robert Helpmann b. 1909 died 28 September 1986 (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Allen Jenkins b. 1900 died 20 July 1974 (Bewitched, Batman, Topper [1955])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Quite often, I have only a passing knowledge of the youngest folks on our list, but on the April 9 list, the previous Picture Slotters were Isaac Hempstead Wright from Game of Thrones and Kristen Stewart from Twilight, the youngest and third youngest people listed today. I considered the second youngest - Elle Fanning from Super 8 - for the Picture Slot today, but decided instead to go with Dennis Quaid in his role from The Right Stuff.

2. Nepotism or not? The two contestants for the Picture Slot today both have siblings who also act. I think Dakota Fanning is a little more famous than Elle, but both have about fifty credits to their names on imdb.com and I'm not exactly in the target demographic, so I might be wrong. As of 2015, I'd say Dennis Quaid is more famous than his brother Randy as an actor, but Randy is much more famous as a crazy person than Dennis is.

3. Canadians to spot or not. Jay Baruchel was born in Canada, but a lot of his credits are projects filmed in the States. Matthew Bennett, on the other hand, has a very Canadian looking resume, though he hasn't shown up on Smallville or Supernatural.

4. Guy at the Door. The oldest living person on the list has no one younger who has died, so that makes Marty Krofft The Guy at the Door at 78 years old. I have to admit that the Krofft puppets creeped me out pretty bad when I was younger and still do today, so I will try to think kind thoughts of him by remembering Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. Wait, they were just silly. Pretty, but silly.

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

Predictor: Article in New Scientist magazine, 30 April 1964

Prediction: “The odds are now that the united States will not be able to honor the 1970 manned lunar landing date set by President Kennedy.”

Reality: The Mercury missions ended in 1963 and Project Gemini didn't get crews into space until 1965. I'm assuming this lull in progress made it seem to the writer that things were not going well. As history tells us, the landing happened in the summer of 1969.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Friday rolls around and it's H.G. Wells' turn again.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 March 2015

 Birthdays
Jake Lloyd b. 1989 (Star Wars-Episode I: Don’t Make Me Type the Name, Apollo 11)
Tania Saulnier b. 1982 (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Slither, Supernatural, Smallville, Poltergeist: The Legacy)
Hanna Alstrom b. 1981 (Real Humans)
Samantha Thomson b. 1981 (Primer)
Jolene Blalock b. 1975 (Legend of the Seeker, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate SG-1, Jason and the Argonauts [TV], Good vs Evil)
Riki Lindhome b. 1979 (Big Bang Theory, Heroes, Buffy)
Kevin Cotteleer b. 1975 (Agent Carter, The Event, Men in Black II)
Eva Mendes b. 1974 (The Spirit, Holy Motors, Ghost Rider, Mortal Kombat: Conquest [TV])
Matt Lucas b. 1974 (Alice in Wonderland [2010], Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, The Wind in the Willows [2006], Shaun of the Dead, Captain V)
Lisa Robin Kelly b. 1970 died 15 August 2013 (Charmed, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X Files)
Paul Blackthorne b. 1969 (Arrow, Warehouse 13, A Christmas Carol [2009], The Dresden Files)
David Palffy b. 1969 (Blade: The Series, Bloodsuckers, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Jeremiah, House of the Dead, Replicant, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, The New Addams Family, NightMan, Millennium, The X Files)
John Fawcett b. 1968 (director, Orphan Black, Bitten, Lost Girl, The Dresden Files, Blade: The Series, Mutant X, Xena, Ginger Snaps, Space Cases)
Aasif Mandvi b. 1966 (The Last Airbender, Jericho, Spider-Man 2)
Jonathan Penner b. 1962 (The Tick, Coneheads)
David Fury b. 1959 (writer/actor, Fringe Terra Nova, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Lost, Angel, Buffy)
Talia Balsam b. 1959 (Early Edition, Tales from the Darkside, The Supernaturals)
Adriana Barraza b. 1956 (The Strain, Thor, Drag Me to Hell)
Penn Jillette b. 1955 (Babylon 5, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, VR.5, Lois & Clark)
Michael Warren b. 1946 (Buffy, Sliders, Invasion [1997 TV movie], Early Edition, Time Trax, Tales from the Darkside)
Murray Head b. 1946 (Gawain and the Green Knight)
Samantha Eggar b. 1939 (The Astronaut’s Wife, Mann & Machine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Demonoid: Messenger of Death, The Brood, Doctor Doolittle [1967])
Fred Williamson b. 1938 (Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption, Knight Rider [2009], Vegas Vampires, From Dusk Till Dawn, Warriors of the Wasteland, Warriors of the Lost World, 1990: The Bronx Warriors, Star Trek)
Dean Stockwell b. 1936 (The Dunwich Horror [1970 and 2009], Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, Star Trek: Enterprise, Phenomenon: The Lost Archives, CQ, They Nest, Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights, The Langoliers, Lois & Clark, Quantum Leap, The Twilight Zone [1989 and 1962], Dune, The Boy with Green Hair)
Dawn Richard b. 1936 (I Was a Teenage Werewolf)
Paul Sand b. 1935 (Sliders, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The X Files, Eerie, Indiana, Quantum Leap, Twilight Zone [1987], The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [1980], Wonder Woman, Once Upon a Brothers Grimm, Bewitched)
James Sikking b. 1934 (Morons from Outer Space, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Outland, Capricorn One, The Incredible Hulk, The Bionic Woman, Man From Atlantis, The Terminal Man, Six Million Dollar Man, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, The Invaders, My Favorite Martian, The Outer Limits)
Nicholas Smith b. 1934 (The Ghouls, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde [1973 TV], The Champions, Doctor Who, Pathfinders to Mars)
Jack Cassidy b. 1927 died 12 December 1976 (Bewitched)
James Noble b. 1922 (Elidor, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Virginia Christine b. 1920 died 24 July 1996 (The Invaders, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula, Twilight Zone, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Adventures of Superman, The Mummy’s Curse)
Ursula Reit b. 1914 died 9 November 1998 (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Rex Harrison b. 1908 died 2 June 1990 (Doctor Dolittle [1967], The Ghost and Mrs. Muir [1947], Blithe Spirit)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years i used Dean Stockwell and Jolene Blalock. Since I am trying not to repeat myself, as much as I hate the movie, I have to admit Jake Lloyd as Anakin is iconic. Other names are well known, but I'm going with this guy this year.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are three. They are spottable. Knock yourself out.

3. Nepotism or not? Talia Balsam, Roger Sterling's wive on Mad Men, is Martin Balsam's daughter. Murray Head is the older brother of Anthony Stewart Head. Jack Cassidy was married to Shirley Jones and is the father of David Cassidy and Shaun Cassidy. I'm not sure how much of a help to their careers these family relationships were.

4. Gone too soon. Speaking of Jack Cassidy, he died in a fire in his apartment, assumed to be started by a dropped cigarette. Lisa Robin Kelly, best know as the older sister on That's 70s Show, died in rehab.

5. Wait... he's alive? James Noble is best known as the governor on Benson. I clicked on his name on imdb.com because I recognized his picture and decided to check his credits. He played the governor on Benson. I was surprised both at how old he was and that he was still alive. Good on ya , Mr. Noble and many happy returns.

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

Predictor: The New York Times, 5 November, 1932, the Saturday before Election Day

Prediction: The re-election of President Hoover with at least 270 votes in the electoral college, four in excess of a majority, is predicted in a statistical study of vote percentages in several states, based on a poll taken by the Hearst publications.

Reality: FDR won the electoral college 472 to 59, and the popular vote by 7,000,000 when the total votes were less than 40,000,000. In other words, this one wasn't close. Modern methods should avoid this kind of screw-up, but Gallup in 2012 were sure the turnout would be more like the midterm in 2010 than the general election in 2008 and predicted Romney over Obama. Then again, Obama beat Romney, he didn't obliterate him, and better polling companies than Gallup had Obama leading all the way.

Seriously, not many companies go from the gold standard to crap and survive, but that description fits Gallup to a tee these days. If there weren't people who want to be lied to, Gallup would dry up and blow away.


 Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another dip into H.G. Wells' book Anticipations.

Join is then... IN THE FUTURE!

  

17 February 2015

Birthdays
Sasha Pieterse b. 1996 (X-Men: First Class, Heroes, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Stargate SG-1)
Bonnie Wright b. 1991 (Harry Potter)
Chord Overstreet b. 1989 (The Hole)
Ahna O’Reilly b. 1986 (The Vampire Diaries, DinoCroc)
Brooke D’Orsay b. 1982 (The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Big Bang Theory)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt b. 1981 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Looper, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Third Rock from the Sun, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Quantum Leap, Dark Shadows [1991])
Jason Ritter b. 1980 (The Event, Freddy vs. Jason)
Zachary Bennett b. 1980 (Orphan Black, Lost Girl, Cube Zero, The Hidden Room, Maniac Mansion, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, The Twilight Zone [1988])
Jackson Hurst b. 1979 (The Mist)
Rory Kinnear b. 1978 (Penny Dreadful, First Men in the Moon)
Kelly Carlson b. 1976 (Supernatural)
Jerry O'Connell b. 1974 (The Librarians, Space Station 76, Mockingbird Lane, Piranha 3D, Eastwick, Mission to Mars, Sliders, My Secret Identity)
Denise Richards b. 1971 (Starship Troopers, Tammy and the T-Rex, Lois & Clark, Eerie Indiana)
Dominic Purcell b. 1970 (The Flash, Ice Soliders, Primeval, Blade: Trinity, Equilibrium, BeastMaster [TV], The Lost World)
Jonathan Breck b. 1965 (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, Evilution, Jeepers Creepers, Spiders, Star Trek: Voyager)
Michael Bay b. 1965 (director, Transformers, Armageddon)
Angelica Page b. 1964 (Fairie, The Sixth Sense)
Michael Jordan b. 1963 (Space Jam)
Samuel Bayer b. 1962 (director, A Nightmare on Elm Street [2010])
Lou Diamond Phillips b. 1962 (Metal Tornado, Stargate Universe, Alien Express, Route 666, Supernova, Bats, Tales from the Crypt, Interface)
Carole Davis b. 1958 (Angel, Star Trek: Voyager, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Mannequin, Piranha Part Two: The Spawning)
Rene Russo b. 1954 (Thor, Outbreak, Freejack)
Don Coscarelli b. 1954 (director, Phantasm , The Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-Tep, John Dies at the End)
Garry Chalk b. 1952 (Tomorrowland, Monster Beach, Leprechaun: Origins, Godzilla [2014], Behemoth, Watchmen, The 4400, Supernatural, Flash Gordon, Painkiller Jane, Stargate SG-1, Eureka, Stephen King's the Dead Zone, Freddy vs. Jason, Seven Days, Millennium, Poletergeist: The Legacy, Sliders, M.A.N.T.I.S., The Omen [TV], Highlander [TV], I Still Dream of Jeannie, It, The Fly II, Deadly Nightmares)
Diane Chambers b. 1951 (The Coed and the Zombie Stoner, Sharknado, Zombie Night)
Mary Ann Mobley b. 1937 died 9 December 2014 (The Fantastic Journey, The Sixth Sense [1972])
Jim Brown b. 1936 (The Running Man, Mars Attacks!, Night Rider)
Alan Bates b. 1934 died 27 December 2003 (The Mothman Prophecies, The Ray Bradbury Theater)
Barry Humphries b. 1934 (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills, The Marsupials: The Howling III, Shock Treatment)
Hal Holbrook b. 1925 (The Event, Creepshow, The Fog, Capricorn One)
Kathleen Freeman b. 1919 died 23 August 2001 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, NightMan, Tales from the Crypt, The Munsters Today, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, ALF, The Canterville Ghost, Innerspace, Teen Wolf Too, Heartbeeps, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, I Dream of Jeannie, Batman, The Fly, Topper, The Magnetic Monster)
Andre Norton b. 1912 died 17 March 2005 (author, Witch World, Wizard's World, Star Man's Son 2250 A.D.)
Marc Lawrence b. 1910 died 27 November 2005 (End of Days, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, King of Kong Island, From Dusk Till Dawn, Wonder Woman, Doctor Who)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous Picture Slotters were Bonnie Wright and Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter series and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has a lot of iconic work in his still young career. The two top choices from the rest of list in my view were Jerry O'Connell from Sliders and Denise Richards from Starship Troopers. Is the winner a fabulous babe? Hmm, funny how often that works out. 

2. Spot the Canadians. While Gary Chalk is older than the typical Canadian, his credit list has plenty of hints. Zachary Bennett is both the typical age and the typical credit list. Brooke D'Orsay, on the other hand, has most of her credits in movies and TV shot in California, though she was born north of the border.

3. Nepotism FTW. Rory Kinnear is Roy Kinnear's son. He has 49 credits in a lot of big budget stuff, but he is not yet the well known face his father became. In a similar situation, Jason Ritter is John Ritter's son, as commenter James Marshall IV was kind enough to point out.

4. Not actually MST3K. There are a couple troupes of former Mystery Science Theater cast members still out there riffing on movies. RiffTrax, which has Michael Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, did Starship Troopers live last year and I saw it it in a Hayward, CA theatre through the Fathom network. It was a lot of fun.

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

 Predictor: W. Warren Wagar in his 1991 book A Short History of the Future

Prediction: Governments, including Japan, Italy and Russia did not at first take kindly to the “meddling” ways of the Global Trade Consortium. When the Tokyo branch office of the GTC was raided in 2013, the cartel acted quickly to cut the flow of essential imports to Japan by 50 percent and threatened to take even more drastic measures if the office was not allowed to reopen in two weeks.

Reality: The theme of capitalism's complete victory in Wagar's book predicts a world where corporate aggression is much more blatant than what we actually see. In the world of today, governments are punished by other governments the way the European Union has forced Greece into austerity, not by global monopolies targeting specific governments.

Never to be Forgotten: Lesley Gore 1946-2015

The great singer/songwriter Lesley Gore has died of complications from cancer at 68. She is best known for the hits she recorded with Quincy Jones, It's My Party, Judy's Turn to Cry and You Don't Own Me. She and her Michael wrote music for the 1980 film Fame and their song Out Here on My Own was nominated for an Academy Award. She didn't write any of her biggest 1960s hits. She was also active in the LGBT community and came out as a lesbian in 2005. She is survived by her partner of 33 years, Lois Sasson.

She is remembered on this blog for her role on the Batman TV series as Catwoman's minion Pussycat, seen here with Burt Ward as Robin.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Lesley Gore, from a longtime fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to our sensible pal George Sutherland and his 20th Century Inventions.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
  

4 January 2015

 Birthdays
Maddie Hasson b. 1995 (Grimm)
Olivia Tennet b. 1991 ( Power Rangers R.P.M., Boogeyman, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Xena: Warrior Princess)
Lenora Crichlow b. 1985 (Being Human [U.K.], Doctor Who)
Kerry Condon b. 1983 (Believe, The Walking Dead)
Erin Cahill b. 1980 (Sleepy Hollow, Supernatural, Jekyll, Creature Unknown, Power Rangers Time Force)
Seth Grahame-Smith b. 1976 (writer, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dark Shadows [2012])
Jeremy Licht b. 1971 (Swamp Thing [TV], Twilight Zone: The Movie)
Josh Stamberg b. 1970 (Dark Skies, Legion. The Time Machine)
Julia Ormond b. 1965 (Witches of East End, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Exploding Sun)
Dave Foley b. 1963 (Eureka, Vampires Suck, Stargate: Atlantis, Netherbeast Incorporated, Sky High, The Tick, Monkeybone, From the Earth to the Moon, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy)
Julian Sands b. 1958 (Gotham, Smallville, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, Curse of the Ring, Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt, The Tomorrow Man, Witch Hunt, Warlock, Tale of a Vampire, Arachnophobia)
Gary Jones b. 1958 (Stargate, Supernatural, Painkiller Jane, Andromeda, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Highlander [TV], Sliders)
Matt Frewer b. 1958 (The Librarians, Witches of East End, Falling Skies, Orphan Black, Delete, Eureka, Supernatural, Alice, Weirdsville, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, Taken, PSI Factor, Apollo 11, Lawnmower Man 2, The Stand, Eerie, Indiana, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Max Headroom, Supergirl)
Ann Magnuson b. 1956 (Small Soldiers, The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas, Tank Girl, The Hunger)
Diana Ewing b. 1946 (The Girl with Something Extra, Star Trek)
John Bennett Perry b. 1941 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Independence Day, I Dream of Jeannie... 15 Years Later)
Jim Norton b. 1938 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Memoirs of an Invisible Man)
Richard Stahl b. 1932 died 18 June 2006 (Lois & Clark, Beware! The Blob, Slaughterhouse-Five)
Sorrell Booke b. 1930 died 11 February 1994 (Bigfoot and Wildboy, The Cat from Outer Space, Once Upon a Borthers Grimm, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Barbara Rush b. 1927 (Knight Rider, The Bionic Woman, Batman, The Outer Limits, It Came From Outer Space, When Worlds Collide)
Rosalie Crutchley b. 1920 died 28 July 1997 (Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, Creatures Time Forgot, The Prisoner, The Haunting, The Gamma People)
Sterling Holloway b. 1905 died 22 November 1992 (Twilight Zone, Adventures of Superman)
Jacob Grimm b. 1785 died 20 September 1863 (collector, Grimm’s Fairy Tales)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Matt Frewer. This year, it's Diana Ewing, a long tall drink of water who had a relatively short career, seen here from The Original Series episode The Cloud Minders. Every show is different, of course, but it does seem odd that I Dream of Jeannie had such a debate on whether or not to show Barbara Eden's navel when Star Trek did it as often as possible.

2. Canadians, native and transplants. Quite often, the Canadian actors on our birthday lists are under 40 or maybe just slightly over, but all the Canucks today are over 50. Dave Foley is the only one born in Canada. Matt Frewer is from Washington D.C. and Gary Jones is British, but both now live in Canada.

3. Wait... he's dead? Oh That Guy Richard Stahl was all over the TV screen in the 1970s and 1980s. His longest gig as a regular was on It's A Living, but he did lots of guest appearances on lots of shows, mainly sitcoms. I was completely unaware he died nine years ago.

4. Fun facts to know and tell. The Brothers Grimm did not write fairy tales, they collected them from around continental Europe. Their main scholarly work is Grimm's Law, which shows evidence that there was a language from which Latin and German both arose, with some sounds changing in the two branches. Completely separate fun fact. Jeremy Licht was a child actor and played Anthony in the It's a Good Life episode of Twilight Zone: The Movie.

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

Predictor:  National Intelligence Council's Global Trends 2015, published in 2000

Predictions: Here are the ones that haven't come to pass yet and are not likely to in the next twelve months.

A new state of Palestine

Iraq acquiring nuclear weapons (assumes Saddam in power)

Japan losing its position as the world's third-largest economy.
(Still nearly double the size of #4 Germany)

Ukrainians of all political stripes likely to opt for independence rather than reintegration into Russia’s sphere of influence.

Most technological advances in the next 15 years ... will not have substantial positive impact on the African economies. (According to The Atlantic article which quotes the study, cell phones have played a large part in stoking economic dynamism in sub-Saharan Africa.)

Europe's agenda will be to put in place the final components of EU integration. (with the Euro crisis, not so much.)

Reality: This prediction reminds me of the work of Herman Kahn, who didn't do such a great job of predicting the 1970s and 1980s, even though "serious" people paid attention. To be fair, it would have been very hard to predict a terror attack so large that it would completely change American foreign policy and a global economic crisis as bad as anything in a century.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Many Republicans predicted dire economic consequences if Obama was re-elected. Let take a tally now before the Republican controlled Congress has a chance to fuck things up, as is the Republican wont.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

19 October 2014

Birthdays
Samuel Honywood b. 1996 (Nanny McPhee)
Kevin Alves b. 1991 (How to Build a Better Boy, Warehouse 13)
Samantha Munro b. 1990 (Lost Girl)
Gillian Jacobs b. 1982 (Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The Box, Fringe)
Benjamin Salisbury b. 1980 (S1m0ne)
Desmond Harrington b. 1976 (Astronaut Wives Club, The Dark Knight Rises, TIMER, Taken)
Tony Crane b. 1972 (S1m0ne, Wishmaster, Out of This World)
Chris Kattan b. 1970 (Undead or Alive: A Zombedy, Monkeybone)
Anna Galvin b. 1969 (Witches of East End, Almost Human, Supernatural, Girl Vs. Monster, SGU Stargate Universe, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Caprica, Smallville, Kyle XY, The Andromeda Strain, Tin Man, Eureka, The Genie from Down Under 1 & 2, Timecop, Scavengers)
Amy Linker b. 1966 (D.A.R.Y.L.)
Jon Favreau b. 1966 (director, Revolution, Cowboys & Aliens, Iron Man 1 & 2, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Elf; actor, Iron Man 1, 2 & 3, John Carter, Elf, Daredevil, Deep Impact)
Roger R. Cross b. 1966 (The Strain, Continuum, Orphan Black, Fringe, Arrow, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Bionic Woman, The 4400, The Chronicles of Riddick, Star Trek: Enterprise, Eureka, The X-Files, X-Men 2, Taken, Relic Hunter, Andromeda, First Wave, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Stargate SG-1, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, Cloned, Highlander, Strange Luck, Sliders, M.A.N.T.I.S.)
Tiriel Mora b. 1958 (The Wolverine, King Kong, Queen of the Damned, Stepsister from Planet Weird, Farscape, Time Trax, Future Schlock)
Ken Stott b. 1954 (The Hobbit)
Bill Martin Williams b. 1954 (American Horror Story, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Jonah Hex)
Annie Golden b. 1951 (The American Astronaut, Twelve Monkeys)
Jim Starlin b. 1949 (comic book artist)
Philip Pullman b. 1946 (writer, The Golden Compass)
Kenneth Washington b. 1946 (Westworld, Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie)
John Lithgow b. 1945 (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Tales from the Crypt, Third Rock from the Sun, Harry and the Hendersons, Amazing Stories, 2010, Buckaroo Banzai, Faerie Tale Theatre, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Day After)
Desmond Barrit b. 1944 (A Christmas Carol [1999 TV], Alice Through the Looking Glass [1998 TV])
Simon Ward b. 1941 died 20 July 2012 (Supergirl, The Monster Club, Holocaust 2000, Bram Stoker’s Dracula [1974 TV], Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed)
Michael Gambon b. 1940 (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Omen [2006], Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sleepy Hollow [1999], Mary Reilly)
Tony Lo Bianco b. 1936 (Endangered Species, Twilight Zone [1985])
Shelby Grant b. 1936 died 25 June 2011 (Fantastic Voyage, Batman)
Robert Reed b. 1932 died 12 May 1992 (Galactica 1980, Wonder Woman)
George Nader b. 1921 died 4 February 2002 (Beyond Atlantis, The Human Duplicators, Robot Monster)
Bob Sweeney b. 1918 died 7 June 1992 (director, Starman [TV], Misfits of Science)
David Lewis b. 1916 died 11 December 2000 (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Girl with Something Extra, Batman, Bewitched, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Absent-Minded Professor, Captain Video and his Video Rangers)
Robert Beatty b. 1909 died 3 March 1992 (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Superman III, Tales of the Unexpected, Blakes 7, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Doctor Who, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Tor Johnson b. 1903 died 12 May 1971 (The Beast of Yucca Flats, Night of the Ghouls, Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Unearthly, Bride of the Monster, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, The Canterville Ghost)

Last year, the Picture Slot was filled by an illustration by Jim Starlin, because I was a Marvel nerd in a younger incarnation. This year it's Michael Gambon, in what I consider the most iconic role on the list. Next year? John Lithgow and Tor Johnson are early betting favorites.

As for Spot the Canadian!, the two twentysomething Canucks, Kevin Alves and Samantha Munro, are hard to spot because of how few roles they have had in genre. The two fortysomethings, Anna Galvin and Roger R. Cross, are more easily detected, but they were born in Australia and Jamaica, respectively.

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

Predictor: Knowing, released 20 March 2009

Prediction: On 19 October 2009, a giant solar flare destroys all life on earth.

Reality: The science behind this is pretty weak, but what should we expect from a movie starring Nicolas Cage?  In the hundreds of millions of years life has been on earth, none of the large extinction events is blamed on solar flares, or coronal mass ejections, another way the sun spits and belches. Our atmosphere has been able to absorb most of the energy of such events in the past.

The real danger would be to the electrical grid. If a flare as strong as the 1859 event happened now, it could knock out power around the world. The webpages where I read about this did not make it clear for how long the power would be out.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We are going to be getting a lot of interruptions of the schedule this month, but tomorrow we will get OMNI Future Almanac, our regular Monday morning pick me up.

Join us then... INTO THE FUTURE!

25 September 2014

Birthdays
Nicole Fugere b. 1986 (The New Addams Family)
Jordan Gavaris b. 1985 (Orphan Black, Curse of Chucky)
Rossif Sutherland b. 1978 (Reign, Dead Before Dawn 3D, Timeline)
Joel David Moore b. 1977 (Forever, Shark Night 3D, Chillerama, Avatar, Angel, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Clea DuVall b. 1977 (American Horror Story, The Event, Virtuality, Heroes, Carnivale, Ghosts of Mars, How to Make a Monster, The Astronaut’s Wife, The Faculty, Buffy, Little Witches)
Charlotte Ayanna b. 1976 (The Insatiable, The Thirst, The Rage: Carrie 2, Weird Science [TV])
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras b. 1973 (House on Haunted Hill, Mortal Kombat, Last Action Hero)
Catherine Zeta-Jones b. 1969 (The Phantom)
Hal Sparks b. 1969 (Lab Rats, Spider-Man 2, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Lois & Clark, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, Frog)
Will Smith b. 1968 (After Earth, Hancock, Men in Black, I,Robot, I am Legend, Independence Day)
Simon Barry b. 1966 (writer, Continuum)
Jason Flemyng b. 1966 (X-Men: First Class, Primeval, Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, Solomon Kane, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Quatermass Experiment [2005], Seed of Chucky, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alice in Wonderland [1999 TV], Deep Rising)
Gordon Currie b. 1965 (Left Behind, Earth: Final Conflict, Mutant X, Code Name: Eternity, First Wave, Highlander: The Raven, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Blood & Donuts, Forever Knight, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
Maria Doyle Kennedy b. 1964 (Orphan Black)
Mikael Persbrandt b. 1963 (The Hobbit)
Tate Donovan b. 1963 (No Ordinary Family, SpaceCamp)
Aida Turturro b. 1962 (Deep Blue Sea)
Beth Toussaint b. 1962 (Fortress 2, legend [1995 TV], Babylon 5, Project Shadowchaser II, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Monsters)
Heather Locklear b. 1961 (Firestarter)
Ian Reddington b. 1957 (Doctor Who, Highlander)
Michael Madsen b. 1957 (2047 – Sights of Death, Infected, BloodRayne, Sin City, Frankenstein [2004 TV], Vampires Anonymous, Species I & II, Quantum Leap, Deadly Nightmares)
Christopher Reeve b, 1952 died 10 October 2004 (Smallville, Village of the Damned, Faerie Tale Theatre, Somewhere in Time, Superman)
Colin Friels b. 1952 (Dark City, Space: Above and Beyond, Darkman)
Mark Hamill b. 1951 (Star Wars, Virtually Heroes, 3rd Rock from the Sun, SeaQuest 2032, Village of the Damned, Time Runner, The Flash, Guyver, Amazing Stories)
Jack Bender b. 1949 (director, Under the Dome, Alphas, Lost, Carnivale, Child’s Play 3)
Mimi Kennedy b. 1948 (No Ordinary Family, Twilight Zone [1986])
Felicity Kendal b. 1946 (Doctor Who)
Louisa Moritz b. 1946 (Galaxis, The Incredible Hulk, Death Race 2000)
Robert Walden b. 1943 (Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe, Capricorn One)
Michael Douglas b. 1944 (Ant-Man, Coma [1978])
Steve Forrest b. 1925 died 18 May 2013 (Team Knight Rider, Amazon Women on the Moon, Captain America, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Sixth Sense [TV], Twilight Zone)
Betty Ballantine b. 1919 (editor and publisher)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Big Three. Last year it was Christopher Reeve, this year it's Will Smith. If it's iconic roles in genre as the criterion, Mark Hamill should get the shot next year.

2. The wild card next year. Because I'm a big fan of Orphan Black, if I can get a good still picture of Jordan Gavaris and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Felix and Mrs. S.), that would be two for the price of one.

3. Well known but not for genre. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are A-list movie stars, but they have avoided sci-fi and fantasy for the most part. Other faces that Americans will know from TV are Robert Walden from Lou Grant, Heather Locklear from more shows than I can list, Aida Turturro from The Sopranos. None of these people are going to be in the Picture Slot, even though Zeta-Jones and Locklear are clearly fabulous babes.

4. Wait... how many credits? Michael Madsen has 241 credits. Mark Hamill has 262. The thing is, the vast majority for Hamill are voice work. It's really for actors to have over 200 unless they are primarily voice actors. I had no idea Madsen had been that busy. If he can keep this pace up, he'll end up with as many as John Carradine. Very impressive work ethic.

5. Wait... she's still alive? A very happy birthday to Betty Ballantine. The sci-fi and fantasy market owes a great debt to the paperbacks published by Ballantine Books.

6. Wait... he's dead?  I wasn't aware Steve Forrest had died. He was 87 when he died last year, but I don't know how I missed the obit. On the other hand, Christopher Reeve died very young but I remember that very well.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to Mr. Forrest and Mr. Reeve, thanks for all the memories.
 

In the Year 2000!
 
Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.

Prediction: New discoveries will make the waters of wretchedness recede from every corner of civilization. Our limitless oceans will be "farmed" for nutritive products. Refining of salt water into fresh will be widespread and inexpensive.

Reality: The "limitless oceans" was an idea that cropped up a lot back in the day, but they aren't limitless and it's hard to farm a place you are using as a dump. With islands of floating plastic in the Atlantic and Pacific and large increases in ocean temperature due to global warming, the ocean as a source of food for all mankind hasn't panned out that well. As for desalination, it's still expensive and rare.

Not your best work, Lee.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Fridays belong to The Experts Speak, so you can expect something completely wrong to start your weekend.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 September 2014

Birthdays
Chase Ellison b. 1993 (The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, The Tooth Fairy)
Tom Felton b. 1987 (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Night Wolf, Harry Potter, Bugs, The Borrowers)
Tatiana Maslany b. 1985 (Orphan Black, Alphas, 2030 CE)
Erin Marie Hogan b. 1985 (Hold Your Breath, The Battle of Hogwarts, FemVamp.Com, Spacebong Beach Babes)
Godfrey Gao b. 1984 (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones)
Laura Vandervoort b. 1984 (Bitten, Haven, Riverworld, Mutant X, Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire, The Dresden Files, Smallville, V, Ted)
Billie Piper b. 1982 (Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who)
MyAnna Buring b. 1979 (Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Witchville, Vampire Killers, The Omen [2006], Doctor Who)
Emilie Autumn b. 1979 (The Devil’s Carnival)
Chad Michael Collins b. 1979 (Once Upon a Time, Lake Placid 2)
Michael Graziadei b. 1979 (The Lottery, Grimm, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., American Horror Story, Boogeyman 2)
Daniella Alonso b. 1978 (Revolution, Knight Rider [2009], Stargate: Atlantis, The Hills Have Eyes II)
Chad Todhunter b. 1976 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, True Blood, Good vs Evil, Buffy, Poltergiest: The Legacy, Sliders, The Odyssey)
Mireille Enos b. 1975 (World War Z)
Bob Sapp b. 1973 (JourneyQuest, Conan the Barbarian [2011], Frankenhood, Elektra, Devilman)
Lawrence Gilliard Jr b. 1971 (The Walking Dead)
Elizabeth Bear b. 1971 (author, The Promethean Age, New Amsterdam)
Ira Heiden b. 1966 (Timelock, Lois & Clark, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
Stuart Fratkin b. 1963 (Tremors [TV], Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Godzilla [1998], Sliders, Prehysteria!, They Came from Outer Space, Quantum Leap, Alien Nation [TV], Freddy’s Nightmares, Dr. Alien, Werewolf, Teen Wolf Too)
Bonnie Hunt b. 1961 (The Green Mile)
Catherine Oxenberg b. 1961 (Sharktopus vs. Mermantula, Sleeping Beauty, The Time Shifters, The Omega Code, K-9000, The Lair of the White Worm)
Scott Baio b. 1960 (Out of this World, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Zapped!)
Shari Belafonte b. 1954 (Babylon 5: Thirdspace, Mars, Beyond Reality, Time Walker)
Larry Anderson b. 1952 (Star Trek: Insurrection, Martians Go Home, Freddy’s Nightmares, Night Rider, Dr. Strange, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Jim Byrnes b. 1948 (V [2010], Highlander, Supernatural, Jake 2.0, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Starlight, Omen IV: The Awakening)
Paul Le Mat b. 1945 (Chrome Angels, Conan [1997 TV], Twilight Zone [1988], Deadly Nightmares, Strange Invaders)
Frazer Hines b. 1944 (Outlander, Doctor Who, X: The Unknown)
Toni Basil b. 1943 (Rockula, Village of the Giants)
Asa Maynor b. 1936 (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Twilight Zone, Man Beast)
Fay Weldon b. 1931 (author, The Cloning of Joanna May, Wolf: The Mechanical Dog)
Eugene Roche b. 1928 died 28 July 2004 (The Chronicle, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Star Trek: Voyager, Roswell, Mr. Merlin, Slaughterhouse-Five)
Samuel A. Peeples b. 1917 died 26 August 1997 (writer, Star Trek)
Martha Scott b. 1912 died 28 May 2003 (Doin’ Time on Planet Earth, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman)
John Houseman b. 1902 died 31 October 1988 (The Fog, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Rollerball)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black, probably the most virtuoso acting work on TV today. Not wanting to repeat myself, this year we get Billie Piper from Doctor Who. Longtime readers know how the complaint department works.

2. Typecasting. I used to feel bad for actors who were typecast, but the sad truth is that casting directors like making easy decisions. I've seen interviews with Tom Felton, who will likely have the words Draco Malfoy in the first sentence of his obituary in the last half of this century. Felton has that lovable cheeky British lad vibe about him, but he's probably a villain for the rest of his days. I saw him recently in Belle. He played the bad guy. As I said to my sister, "He has an easy sneer."

3. Wait... he's dead? I have to admit I had forgotten Eugene Roche died ten years ago. While Tom Felton has the most iconic genre role I haven't used yet, Eugene Roche was a great Oh That Guy.

4. Wait... he's 43? Lawrence Gilliard Jr played D'Angelo Barksdale on The Wire. If you told me he was ten years younger than he actually is, I would have believed you.

Tempus has that nasty habit of fugiting on us, don't it?

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

Movies released
Children of Men released 2006
 

Predictor: Children of Men, released 22 September 2006

Prediction: In 2027, the youngest person on earth, 18 year old Diego Ricardo, is killed.

Reality: Usually I don't use dates beyond 2020, or sometimes 2025 in a pinch, but this prediction really says the human race goes infertile in 2009. Of course, that didn't happen, and mass infertility is one of the least likely ways humans are going to go extinct, but still, I enjoyed this movie.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

FM-2030 is back. Did you miss him?

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!