29 August 2014

Birthdays
Jay Ryan b. 1981 (Beauty and the Beast, Terra Nova, Legend of the Seeker, Xena, Young Hercules)
Emily Hampshire b. 1981 (Earthsea, Mutant X, MythQuest, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Earth: Final Conflict)
Dan Harris b. 1979 (writer, Superman Returns, X-Men 2)
John Hensley b. 1977 (Teeth, Witchblade)
Dante Basco b. 1975 (The Chronicle, Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights, Alien Nation: Body and Soul, Hook)
Carla Gugino b. 1971 (Sucker Punch, Race to Witch Mountain, Watchmen, Night at the Museum, Threshold, Sin City, Spy Kids, The One, Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature, Quantum Leap, ALF)
Rebecca De Mornay b. 1959 (The Shining [1997 TV], Beauty and the Beast [1987], Testament)
Lenny Henry b. 1958 (MirrorMask, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Bernard and the Genie)
Deborah Van Valkenburgh b. 1952 (Touch, The Event, Firestarter 2: Rekindled, Sorcerers, Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap)
Ellen Geer b. 1941 (Supernatural, Charmed, Carnivale, Practical Magic, Phenomenon, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast, Creator, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Bionic Woman)
Joel Schumacher b. 1939 (director, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, Flatliners, The Lost Boys, The Incredible Shrinking Woman)
Elliot Gould b. 1938 (Contagion, The Shining [1997 TV], Lois & Clark, Frogs!, Frog, The Twilight Zone [1986], Faerie Tale Theatre, The Devil and Max Devlin)
William Friedkin b. 1935 (director, Bug, Twilight Zone [1985], The Exorcist)
Charles Gray b. 1928 died 7 March 2000 (Firestar: First Contact, Tall Tales & Legends, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Beast Must Die, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Dick O’Neill b. 1928 died 17 November 1998 (Timecop, The Incredible Hulk, Wolfen, Wonder Woman, The UFO Incident, Gammera the Invincible)
Richard Attenborough b. 1923 died 24 August 2014 (Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, Jurassic Park, Doctor Doolittle)
Lane Bradford b. 1922 died 7 June 1973 (Land of the Giants, Batman, Lost in Space, My Favorite Martian, The Adventures of Superman, Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Zombies of the Stratosphere)
Barry Sullivan b. 1912 died 6 June 1994 (The Bionic Woman, The Invisible Man [1975], The Sixth Sense, The Immortal, Planet of the Vampires, Pyro… The Thing Without a Face)
Lurene Tuttle b. 1907 died 28 May 1986 (Amazing Stories, Testament, The Clonus Horror, I Dream of Jeannie, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, The Munsters, Twilight Zone)
George Macready b. 1899 died 2 July 1973 (The Return of Count Yorga, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, The Alligator People, The Monster and the Ape)

Last year, the Picture Slot went to Carla Gugino from Watchmen, a selection most heterosexual males would be happy to see me repeat. Not wanting to repeat, I would say Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park would be the next most iconic, but he died earlier this week, so that would also feel like a repeat. My choice for next most iconic is Charles Gray in... oh, please, don't tell me you don't recognize the film.

Seriously, don't tell me. I've always thought so highly of you and this would spoil it.

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

Predictor: Terminator 2, released 1991

Prediction: On 29 August 1997, Skynet becomes self-aware.

Reality: I used both Skynet predictions last year, the launch and the self awareness. I'm not keen on repeating predictions, but I make an exception in this case. I'm of the opinion that the great fear of the late 20th Century, all out nuclear war, has receded from the public's consciousness and the two fears that have replaced it are the fear of pandemics like Ebola or SARS and the fear of what will happen when computers surpass us and we work for them. Personally, I think the fear of what the climate will become is more realistic, but there is a lot of money spent trying to convince people that isn't real and a lot of people have bought into the idea that climate change isn't a big deal.

Looking one day ahead ... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another interruption in the regular schedule for an exact date, this time from a TV show.

Join us then ... IN THE FUTURE!
 

4 August 2014

 

Birthdays
Lucinda Dryzek b. 1991 (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Doctor Who)
Meghan Markle b. 1981 (Fringe, Knight Rider [2009])
Abigail Spencer b. 1981 (Oz the Great and Powerful, Cowboys & Aliens)
David Lewis b. 1976 (Man of Steel, Supernatural, Fringe, Seeds of Destruction, Stonehenge Apocalypse, Zombie Punch, Wyvern, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], Smallville, Ba’al, Beyond Loch Ness, Eureka, The Butterfly Effect 2, Kyle XY, Alien Incursion, Stargate SG-1, Alienated, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dead Like Me, Halloween: Resurrection, Level 9, Lake Placid, Lexx, The New Addams Family, The X-Files)
Andy Hallett b. 1975 died 29 March 2009 (Angel, Buffy)
Michael DeLuise b. 1969 (Bloodsuckers, Lost, Stargate SG-1, 3rd Rock from the Sun, SeaQuest 2032, Tales from the Crypt, Encino Man, Amazing Stories)
Daniel Dae Kim b. 1968 (Insurgent, Lost, The Andromeda Strain, Spider-Man 2, Star Trek: Enterprise, Hulk, Momentum, Angel, Charmed, Crusade, Brave New World [TV movie], NightMan)
James Tupper b. 1965 (Resurrection, Toxic Skies)
Sebastian Roche b. 1964 (The Originals, Pegasus vs. Chimera, Grimm, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Fringe, Vamped Out, Beowulf, Charmed, Odyssey 5)
Lauren Tom b. 1961 (Supernatural, Threshold, Quantum Leap)
Bernard Rose b. 1960 (director, Candyman)
Billy Bob Thornton b. 1955 (The Astronaut Farmer, Armageddon, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown)
Donald Gibb b. 1954 (Hancock, Black Scorpion, Homeboys in Outer Space, Breakfast of Aliens, The X-Files, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], Quantum Leap, They Came from Outer Space, Transylvania 6-5000, Otherworld, Knight Rider, Conan the Barbarian)
Sara Botsford b. 1951 (Matty Hanson and the Invisibility Ray, Three Moons Over Milford, The Fog, Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, Total Recall 2070, Sliders)
Richard Belzer b. 1944 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Species II, The X-Files, The Invaders, Not of This Earth, The Puppet Masters, Lois & Clark, The Flash)
Don S. Davis b. 1942 died 29 June 2008 (Stargate, Flash Gordon, Supernatural, Beyond Loch Ness, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Andromeda, Atomic Train, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X-Files, M.A.N.T.I.S., Highlander [TV], Needful Things, Hook, Omen IV: The Awakening)
Martin Jarvis b. 1941 (Neander-Jin: he Return of the Neanderthal Man, Stargate: Atlantis, Space Island One, Space: Above and Beyond, Doctor Who, Taste the Blood of Dracula)
Tom Hennesy b. 1923 died 23 May 2011 (Revenge of the Creature)
Wesley Addy b. 1913 died 31 December 1996 (The Invaders, The Outer Limits)


Daniel Dae Kim isn't the only choice for the Picture Slot, but he is certainly a good one. He has a lot of roles in genre, including his best known role on Lost. Other options were Billy Bob Thornton, the only guy I'd call a movie star here, Don S. Davis, best known as General Hammond on multiple versions of the Stargate franchise, Donald Gibb, the big guy best known as Ogre in Revenge of the Nerds, and Andy Hallett, Lorne on Angel and last year's Picture Slot choice.

The big surprise today: Richard Belzer is 70. I don't know why some actors and celebrities get locked in a certain era for me, but Belzer is one of them. It seems so strange he is that old. I was also surprised at how many genre roles he has.

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

Predictor: Terminator 2, released 1991


Prediction: On 4 August 1997, Skynet is launched.

Reality: The idea that machines will take over is not new. One of the earliest sci-fi plays Rossum's Universal Robots (also known as R.U.R.) is about people becoming obsolete, and there are two famous films about computers and nuclear annihilation, Colossus the Forbin Project and WarGames. That said, the Terminator films are better known by far than any of the other films predicting The Singularity as an apocalypse. I made the decision early on as to what franchises would get labels of their own and the decisions were completely arbitrary. If I had to do it over again, I would probably give labels to both the Terminator and Alien franchises.

As for reality, drones are real now, but they are still run by people, not autonomous machines.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another interruption in the regular schedule, this time for an exact date from Philip K. Dick.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 June 2014

 Birthdays
Jadin Gould b. 1998 (Man of Steel, Battle Los Angeles)
Shefali Chowdhury b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Claudia Lee b. 1996 (Kick-Ass 2)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse b. 1989 (Kick-Ass, This is the End, Fright Night)
Ronnie Gene Blevins b. 1977 (True Blood, The Dark Knight Rises, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Josh Lucas b. 1971 (Space Warriors, Hulk)
Robert Rodriguez b. 1968 (director, Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn, Planet Terror, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D, Spy Kids, The Faculty)
Nicole Kidman b. 1967 (The Golden Compass, The Invasion, Bewitched [2005 movie], The Stepford Wives, The Others, Practical Magic, Batman Forever)
Chuck Wagner b. 1958 (Into the Woods, The Sisterhood, America 3000, Automan)
Miles O’Keefe b. 1954 (Waxwork, Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Ator the Fighting Eagle)
John Goodman b. 1952 (Speed Racer, The Borrowers, Fallen, C.H.U.D.)
Candy Clark b. 1947 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], The Blob [1988], Starman [TV], Amityville 3D, Q, The Man Who Fell to Earth)
Oliver Cotton b. 1944 (The Dark Knight Rises, Beowulf [1999], Space Precinct, Space: 1999)
John Mahoney b. 1940 (3rd Rock from the Sun, The Manhattan Project)
James Tolkan b. 1931 (Robo Warriors, Back to the Future, Masters of the Universe, Iceman, WarGames, Wolfen, The Amityville Horror, The Werewolf of Washington)
Martin Landau b. 1928 (Sleepy Hollow [1999 movie], The Adventures of Pinocchio, The X-Files, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, The Twilight Zone [1985, 1964, 1959], The Return, Meteor, The Fall of the House of Usher, Space: 1999, The Outer Limits)
Robb White b. 1909 died 24 November 1990 (writer, Thirteen Ghosts, House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler)

We were so close to an all living list today! The name of Robb White on imdb.com was #94 on the birthday list and I usually don't check past #100, but the movies he wrote earned him a spot. My first choice for the Picture Slot was Oh That Guy James Tolkan, the principal in Back to the Future, but I'll wait for 2015, the year Back to the Future II is supposed to take place. Two actors I love, John Goodman and John Mahoney, were not in contention as far as I was concerned because they are so much better known for non-genre stuff. Instead I went with Nicole Kidman from The Golden Compass. There was a temptation to have Martin Landau from Space:1999 in the Picture Slot, because in my geezerhood I think of the show as iconic, but to be blunt, I always hated the show.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the late Robb White, scary stuff, dude! 


Movies released
Hulk released 2003

Predictor: James Axler in the Death Lands series of novels, first published in 1988

Prediction: The 20th of June 2001 is the war known as Doomsday

Reality: This is taken from a remarkably successful series of books set 100 years after the apocalypse. Yet again, we avoided an apocalyptic nuclear confrontation in 2001, but it's been a popular form of entertainment for much longer than I have been alive, and I'm old enough to remember Space:1999.

I know... scary.

As usual with all but the most popular nuclear war fiction, I know about it because I found it on Paul Brian's very useful website.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

1893 beckons once again.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 March 2014

 Birthdays
Nathalie Emmanuel b. 1989 (Game of Thrones)
Ethan Peck b. 1986 (In Time, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Selection)
Bryce Dallas Howard b. 1981 (Jurassic World, Twilight, Terminator Salvation, Hereafter, Spider-Man 3, Lady in the Water, The Village)
Jeff Wadlow b. 1976 (writer, Kick-Ass 2, X-Force)
Marc Menard b. 1975 (Lost, Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon)
Scott E. Miller (2012, Smallville, The Last Mimzy, The 4400, Supernatural, Stargate: Atlantis)
Daniel Craig b. 1968 (Cowboys & Aliens, The Golden Compass, The Invasion, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
Gates McFadden b. 1949 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Peter Straub b. 1943 (author, Ghost Story, The Talisman)
Gaye Brown b. 1941 (Into the Woods, An American Haunting, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, A Clockwork Orange, The Masque of the Red Death)
Richard Compton b. 1938 died 11 August 2009 (Director, The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen, Charmed, Sliders, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Sentinel, M.A.N.T.I.S., Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Otherworld)
John Cullum b. 1930 (Quantum Leap, The Day After)

Last year, the Picture Slot was Gates McFadden and given her iconic status in sci-fi, she would have been a good choice this year as well. But instead I went with Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones because I'm waiting anxiously for the new season and... she's purdy.

Many happy returns to all the living on our list and to the late Richard Compton, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: G.J. Barrett in City of the First Time, published in 1975 by Robert Hale [London].

Prediction: Three thousand survivors of a March 2001 Armageddon are threatened in their deep underground shelter by the progressive failure of seals in layers above them.

Reality: Worry about nuclear war has felt like such an antique concern, but with Putin sending troops into the Ukraine, the feeling is coming creeping back a little.

As always, most of the nuclear war fiction I publish as predictions comes from Paul Brian's terrific database, and I thank him for his work and for letting me use it.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Monday is OMNI Future Almanac Day! Yay!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

15 January 2014

 Birthdays
Regina King b. 1971 (The Big Bang Theory)
James Nesbitt b. 1965 (The Hobbit, The Deep, Jekyll)
Kelly Asbury b. 1960 (director, Shrek 2)
Robert Silverberg b. 1935
(won 1972 Nebula for A Time of Changes)
Joanne Linville b. 1928 (Star Trek, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Phyllis Coates b. 1927 (Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, Invasion U.S.A.)
Lloyd Bridges b. 1913 died 10 March 1998 (Rocketship X-M, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Battlestar Galactica)
Torin Thatcher b. 1905 died 4 March 1981 (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Jack the Giant Killer)
Ernest Thesiger b. 1879 died 14 January 1961 (The Bride of Frankenstein)

Today's birthday list is much more about the past than it is about today, so it's only fair the Picture Slot goes to Torin Thatcher, an "oh, that guy" actor who was on all four Irwin Allen shows in the 1960s as well as a Star Trek and as the bad guy in one of the Ray Harryhausen movies. Phyllis Coates was one of the Lois Lanes in The Adventures of Superman and Lloyd Bridges is best known for non-genre work in Airplane! or Sea Hunt depending on your age. I almost went with Joanne Linville in the Picture Slot, since she was the first woman on Star Trek to break the glass ceiling and sit in the captain's chair when she played a Romulan commander. Another iconic choice would have been Ernest Thesiger as Doctor Pretorious from The Bride of Frankenstein, the mad scientist who had a menagerie of tiny people in jars.

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

 Movies released
The Book of Eli released, 2010

Prediction: In 1904, devastating fires break out all around the world, destroying most of the countryside and several cities, including New York, London and Paris. They are caused by the over-reliance of nitrogen as a fertilizer.

Predictor: Author Robert Barr in his short story Within an Ace of the End of the World, first published in April 1900, part of the collection Steampunk Prime, edited by Mike Ashley.

Reality: Science is cool and science is scary. We live in a world of wonders, but we rely on so much technology that no one person can possibly understand everything that is going on. Right now, most of our worries about the food supply are concerned with biological engineering. At the turn of the 20th Century, the big breakthroughs were new artificial fertilizers, which of course can be used as explosives as well, but only when mixed with other chemicals.

As always, the devil is in the details.

Reading as many doomsday scenarios as I do is equal parts reassuring and unsettling. Most of the worries of the past were completely unfounded and I get the feeling that most of the today's apocalyptic predictions are just as misguided. But then there's the sheer number of things that we get warned about. If one of the big ones is actually worse than we think, it could be hell in a handbasket time sooner than we realize.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is tomorrow Thursday already? That means another visit from Isaac Asimov. Oh, goody!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 October 2013

Birthdays
Saffron Burrows b. 1972 (Deep Blue Sea)
Spike Jonze b. 1969 (director, Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are)
Bill Condon b. 1955 (director, Twilight: Breaking Dawn)
Jeff Goldblum b. 1952 (Jurrassic Park, The Fly, Earth Girls are Easy, Buckaroo Banzai)
Jim Baen b. 1943 died 28 June 2006 (editor, publisher, founder of Baen Books)
Christopher Lloyd b. 1938 (Back to the Future, The Addams Family, Buckaroo Banzai, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Derek Jacobi b. 1938 (Underworld, The Golden Compass, Doctor Who)
Doris Lessing b. 1919 (author, Children of Violence, Canopus in Argos)
William F. Claxton b. 1914 died 11 February 1996 (director, The Night of the Lepus, Twilight Zone)
John Zaremba b. 1908 died 15 December 1986 (Earth vs. Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel)

Okay! Nice selection of birthdays with writers, directors, publishers and as always, actors. More than that, we have an exact same day pair remarkably successful careers, Christopher Lloyd and Derek Jacobi. Since we are in Back to the Future week, Christopher Lloyd is the obvious choice for the Picture Slot, though the argument could also be made for Jeff Goldblum. Next year, if I'm in as quirky a mood as I am today, you might see John Zaremba smiling out at you. He played scientists or military men in so many sci-fi movies and TV shows, if you are anywhere near my age you will definitely have a "Oh, that guy!" moment.

Many happy returns to all the living or our list.
 

Prediction: 22 October, 2012: Stanton Parish plans a worldwide event that will enhance those with Alpha abilities but kill most of the rest of mankind.

Predictor: The TV show Alphas, aired 22 October, 2012

Reality: This picture is kind of a spoiler if you haven't seen the show and it is also a cliffhanger that will likely never be resolved, since the show was canceled after two seasons. We see "the event" take place and everybody hit the ground, with only Gary, the autistic Alpha who can read electronic signals out of the air, able to get up. We see all the regular cast members and a large number of extras lying still on a subway platform, while Simon and Garfunkel's The Only Living Boy in New York plays over a scene with no dialogue.

Sorry this show didn't get a chance to go another season.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We go back to Back to the Future to look at the cool stuff that very likely is NOT awaiting us in 2015. (Sniff.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

5 October 2013

Birthdays
Jesse Eisenberg b. 1983 (Zombieland)
Ehren Kruger b. 1972 (writer, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon)
Guy Pierce b. 1967 (Iron Man 3, Prometheus, The Time Machine)
Daniel Baldwin b. 1960 (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Vampires)
Neil De Grasse Tyson b. 1958 (Nova)
Clive Barker b. 1952 (Hellraiser)
Duncan Regehr b. 1952 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Karen Allen b. 1951 (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Jeff Conaway b. 1950 died 27 May 2011 (Babylon 5)
Skip Homeier b. 1930 (Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Donald Pleasence b. 1919 died 2 February 1995 (THX 1138, Halloween, Escape from New York)
John Hoyt b. 1905 died 15 September 1991 (The Twilight Zone, Star Trek)

A mix of actors and authors today. Yet again, we have a Babylon 5 actor who is already dead, a very unlucky show. Hoyt was the doctor in the pilot of Star Trek starring Jeffrey Hunter. Karen Allen certainly qualifies in the Cute Girl = Picture Slot, but I went with celebrity astrophysicist Neil De Grasse Tyson instead.

Many happy returns of the day to the living.
 
Movies released
Frankenweenie released, 2012

Prediction: One of the few survivors of the Great Disaster of October 5, 1947 tells, in a series of disjointed flashbacks, of the chaotic horror which engulfed New York City in the wake of an atomic attack which also destroyed most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, if not the Earth.

Predictor: The Blast by Stuart Cloete, published in Collier's magazine, published in April 1947

Reality: This prediction makes me think about what the mindset must have been just after World War II. The Great War of 1914-18 was thought to be the last great conflagration, but a generation later there was an even bigger war and the consensus was that it was started by a madman. World War II ends with nuclear explosions, destruction so great it was hard to fathom. The United States was the only country with the technology, but no one thought that would last. If wars could only be started by madmen, Joseph Stalin was still around and portrayed by the media as a madman, and it wasn't hyperbole.

And if you weren't worried enough, magazines like LIFE and Collier's presented you with terrifying predictions and The New Yorker in 1946 published John Hersey's detailed account of the destruction of Hiroshima and the stories of six survivors.

I was born ten years after the war ended, and like all boomers I grew up with the knowledge of the nuclear stalemate, but the danger seemed remote. Considering this story comes out the same year as Heinlein's frantic warning, the danger must have felt a lot closer.


Once again, thanks to Paul Brians for his excellent database of fiction and essays about nuclear war.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Sunday usually belongs to Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, but we've had enough depressing stuff this weekend. Instead, we'll go back to 1893 and hear from labor leader T.V. Powderly. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 September 2013

 Birthdays
Alexis Bledel b.1981 (Sin City)
Kurt Busiek b. 1960 (Conan, Avengers, Superman, Astro City)
Mickey Rourke b. 1952 (Sin City, Iron Man II)
Anne Francis b. 1930 died 2 January 2011 (Forbidden Planet)
Jack Kelly b. 1927 died 7 November 1992 (Forbidden Planet)
Peter Falk b. 1927 died 23 June 2011 (The Princess Bride, Wings of Desire)
Morgan Woodward b. 1925 (Star Trek)


Lots of actors on today's list with Busiek being the only writer. The Cute Girl = Picture Slot rule is in effect, though the picture of Anne Francis is a publicity still from her TV show Honey West and not Forbidden Planet.

Prediction: Saturday, September 16: Nuclear war in Europe quickly spreads. At 3:38 pm, Kansas City and much of the Midwest are hit with nuclear bombs, causing widespread devastation.

Predictor: The Day After, ABC mini-series, aired 1983

Reality: No year is specified, but the next year when the 16th of September would fall on a Saturday would be 1989. It could also be 1978 if it supposed to have happened before the air date, but Jason Robards’ character says his daughter was conceived during the Cuban missile crisis, and she is clearly a twentysomething out on her own, not a teen still in high school.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

While I still have a few predictions left from Robert A. Heinlein, tomorrow will be our first time to hear from our new Tuesday regular Isaac Asimov with his list of predictions for 2014 made on the occasion of the 1964 World's Fair.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

7 Septmber 2013

Birthdays
Evan Rachel Wood b.1987 (True Blood)
Alex Kurtzman b. 1973(writer, Transformers, Star Trek)
Toby Jones b. 1967 (Harry Potter)
Mira Furlan b. 1955 (Lost, Babylon 5)
Michael Emerson b. 1954 (Lost)
John Phillip Law b. 1937 died 13 May 2008 (Barbarella, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad)

Given my age and interests, I think of Mira Furlan as the best known name on this list in terms of genre, but Babylon 5 has been off the air so long, it's becoming famous for being obscure. Younger fans will likely think of Michael Emerson from Lost as being the most recognizable person here. For outright pretty, you can't go wrong with Even Rachel Wood, who sits in the Picture Slot, but if I'm going to check my male heterosexual privilege, John Phillip Law was incredibly pretty in his heyday. He made his best known films after he was 30 and film makers did everything they could to make sure he took his shirt off.


Many happy returns to the living.
 

Prediction: Aliens called "Vulcanids" have monitored the Earth for millenia, occasionally capturing people and meddling in human affairs, to the extent of building the pyramids. On September 7, 1973, the human race is destroyed, along with most other life, by the premature detonation of Professor Vogel's thorium bomb.  

Predictor: World in Eclipse by William Dexter, published 1955

Reality: It's bad enough destroying humanity and most life on Earth, but by premature detonation? That's gotta be embarrassing.

So far, all the predictions I have used from the fictional nuclear holocausts found in the extensive research done by Professor Paul Brians have been on exact dates. Soon enough, his work will get a day of the week of its own, probably Saturdays. A problem with this is if he has Saturdays and Bradbury's Martian Chronicles has Sundays, the weekends are going to be incredibly depressing.  Regular readers will be waiting in hope of Mondays for Popular Mechanics or OMNI Future Almanac.

Thank Odin, Vishnu and the little baby Jebus I have predictions from the 1890s and T. Baron Russell in 1905 just to keep things optimistic.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Once again, it's Ray Bradbury's turn to tell us about the early encounters of Earthlings and Martians. If you haven't read the book, here's a general spoiler: Things don't go well.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 September 2013

Birthdays
Skandar Keynes b. 1991 (Narnia)
Carice Van Houten b. 1976 (Game of Thrones, Repo Men)
Paddy Considine b. 1974 (The World’s End)
Rose MacGowan b. 1973 (Charmed, Grindhouse)
Michael Keaton b. 1951 (Batman, Beetlejuice)
William Devane b. 1939 (The X-Files, Stargate SG-1, The Dark Knight Rises)

An all-actor list today and I put pretty Ms. Van Houten in the Picture Slot for the usual reasons. Being old, I can remember when fandom got their panties in a bunch because Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, and that worked out pretty well.

Many happy returns of the day to all concerned.

Prediction:September 2012: Army doctor Lt. Colonel Robert Neville is the last healthy human in New York City immune to a virus turning humans into vampires.

Predictor: I Am Legend, released 12/14/2007

Reality: Fans of sci-fi will know that I Am Legend and the 1970s movie The Omega Man were both based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend. Both movies give dates five or six years after the movie is released for the time frame of when the crap hits the fan. And since this paragraph is entitled "reality", it should be noted have avoided the zombie/vampire/gun-nut/Mayan apocalypses so far.

Atlantic Hurricane Season prediction update

This has been a quiet storm season so far. September 1 is the midway point and there have been only seven named storms so far, none of them reaching hurricane level. The current storm - titled Tropical Depression Seven in the illustration - has now become Tropical Storm Gabrielle and made landfall in Puerto Rico in the past few hours. As it goes back over the water, it is predicted to become the first hurricane of the season, which will set a record for the latest first hurricane. The track is currently moving away from the mainland of North America, but Bermuda may get hit early next week. Best wishes to everyone in the path.

As a reminder, the prediction was for 12 to 20 named storms this season, with 16 being the most likely. If the last three months are the same as the first three, the total will be 12. The Next update will be December 1.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet again the end of the world is predicted, this time for September 1994, though the predictor can hardly be said to be in the genre.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

29 August 2013

Birthdays
Carla Gugino b. 1971 (Spy Kids, Watchmen, Sin City)
Daniel Keyes b. 1927 (won 1967 Nebula for Flowers for Algernon)
Joel Schumacher b. 1939 (Batman Forever, Batman and Robin)
Richard Attenborough b. 1923 (Jurassic Park)

Today's Picture Slot = yes, I'm a heterosexual male.

I was surprised at how few films Joel Schumacher made, given his awful reputation. Almost all the scorn people pour on him is for nearly killing the Batman franchise. I would like to say to all those sci-fi fans currently on the fainting couch because Ben Affleck will be the next Batman, take a closer look at the writer and director of the next film, because it's those guys who will make it work or make it a mess. Blaming George Clooney and Val Kilmer for the awfulness of the 1990s Batman movies misses the point by a mile.

Many happy returns to everyone on the list.

Prediction: On the 29th of August, 1997, Skynet becomes self-aware at 2:14 am.

Predictor: Terminator 2, released 1991

Reality: In the movies, improvements in computer technology are almost never a good idea. Whether it's  Colossus: The Forbin Project or 2001: A Space Oddysey or Terminator, smarter computers usually spell trouble for somebody. As a counterexample, we have War Games. Personally, my favorite smart computer is Marvin the Paranoid Android from the Hitchhiker's Guide series, brilliantly competent and bored out of his mind.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another French postcard from early in the 20th Century predicting the year 2000.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 August 2013

Birthdays
Edward Norton b. 1969 (Hulk re-boot)
Grant Williams b. 1931 died 28 July 1985 (The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters)

The late Grant Williams gets the Picture Slot today. I could have chosen the still from the same scene where his perky wife played by Randy Stuart towers over him, but that just seemed too self-indulgent, if you get my drift.

Mr. Norton has had a very successful career, but very few sci-fi or fantasy roles. Many happy returns of the day to him.

 

Prediction: August 1977: Dr. Robert Neville injects himself with an experimental vaccine that will stop him from becoming an albino mutant vampire and believes himself the last man on earth

Predictor: The Omega Man (1971)

Reality: And if you want the vaccine, you can take it from his cold, dead hands.

Despite disco, polyester and the Ford Pinto, mankind in fact survived the 1970s.

Coincidence: I could have chosen any date in August to put this prediction - next year I'll put it on August 1, the released date of the movie - but by having The Incredible Shrinking Man and The Omega Man mentioned in the same post, this means a Daily Double for the late great Richard Matheson, who wrote The Shrinking Man and I Am Legend, the novels from which these movies were adapted.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We look at the first of a great set of predictions about nuclear powered transportation, found by Zombie Rotten McDonald, a great friend to this blog.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
   

17 August 2013

Birthdays
Helen McCrory b. 1968 (Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter)
Harve Bennett b. 1930 (producer and writer for Star Trek)
Glen Corbett b. 1933 died 16 January 1993 (Zephram Cochran on the original series of Star Trek)

What kind of parents would name a boy Draco? Well, a mom named Narcissa and a dad is named Lucius, so that gives you a clue.

Harve Bennett has writing and producing credits on Star Trek  movies two through five, which means two good ones and two bad ones. I think he still deserves a lot of credit for The Wrath of Khan, the movie that saved the Star Trek series. As good as the original Star Wars movies were, science fiction films needed at least two money making franchises back in the late 1970s and early 1980s or the entire genre could have sputtered to a halt.

As a fan of the Original Series, it was strange to see what the writers made out of Zephram Cochran in Star Trek: First Contact. James Cromwell doesn't look like Glen Corbett in the least and his version didn't have a perpetual stick up his posterior.

Many happy returns to the living.

Movies released

ParaNorman released, 2012
The Time Machine released, 1960
 

Prediction: On August 17, 1966, atomic bombs hit London, triggering a volcanic eruption

Predictor: the movie The Time Machine, (1960)

Reality: The idea that we were going to be nuked was common in popular entertainment from 1950s until at least the 1980s. The idea that there were dormant volcanoes in London, not so much.

How were we supposed to know we were in London of the future in a scene that lasts just a few minutes? There was an overground monorail and Alan Young as a fallout shelter official wore a metallic suit.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from yet another movie that puts the apocalypse six years into the future.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 August 2013

 Birthdays
Evanna Lynch b. 1991 (Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter)
James Cameron b. 1954 (Aliens, Avatar, The Terminator)
Julie Newmar b. 1933 (Batman, Star Trek, My Living Doll)

Happy 80th birthday to Miss Newmar, the quintessential combination in Hollywood of tall and va-va-voom back when I was a lad. Happy birthdays to Ms. Lynch and Mr. Cameron as well.

Prediction: 16 August 2000: A comet, now split into two deadly parts by a nuclear explosion meant to destroy it, hits the earth and causes untold destruction

Predictor: Deep Impact released 8 May 1998

Reality: Unlike Armageddon, the plan to stop the big rock is not 100% successful. This is the one with Tea Leoni, Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman, not to be confused with 2004's Post Impact, which went straight to DVD.

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet again, a movie gives an exact date for everything going to hell in a handbasket.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

4 August 2013

Birthdays
Andy Hallett b. 1975 died 29 March 2009 (Angel)
Daniel Dae Kim b. 1968 (Lost, Star Trek, Angel, Spider-Man 2, Hulk, Crusade (Babylon 5 spinoff))

Mr. Kim's career has a lot of work in genre TV and film, but I gave Andy Hallett the Picture Slot because I liked the character of Lorne better and I was very sad when he died four years ago.

Many happy returns to Mr. Kim.

Movies released
Terminator 2, 1991

Prediction: On August 4,1997 Skynet is launched.

Predictor: Terminator 2, released 1991

Reality: This is not the first film to predict everything would go to hell exactly six years after the movie's release date. We will get another such prediction later this month from a movie made in the 1960s.

As I look at science fiction from the past, whether it's on the page or on the screen, the predictions about computers are clumsy. Before 1973 and the development of the the microprocessor, very few writers get the idea of how small computers will be or how useful in everyday life. Though I mock him mercilessly, Heinlein deserves a lot of credit for his 1950 prediction for small portable phones by 2000. He didn't know the guts of the things would be computers, but I won't quibble about that. Arthur C. Clarke predicted HAL in the late 1960s, but HAL was still an enormous object. After 1973, a lot of the predictions about computers are clumsy in the other direction, assuming artificial intelligence or virtual reality would happen a lot sooner than they have.

Blogger's note: The date from the original Terminator of the year the solider and the cyborg are being sent back is 2029, so that date is a little too far in the future for the purposes of this blog. 2020 is my forward limit, 2025 maybe if the prediction is really good.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from the pages of Popular Mechanics.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

27 July 2013

Birthdays
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau b. 1970 (Game of Thrones)
Julian McMahon b. 1968 (Fantastic Four, Charmed)

Many happy returns to Jaime Lannister and Doctor Doom, an odd couple if there ever was one.

Release dates

Planet of the Apes (reboot) released 27 July 2001
The Guild, episode 1 of season 1 released, 2007 

Felicia Day and company started a series about a group of online game players interacting with one another in real life as well six years ago today. It has had quite an impact on the way original stories are presented to the public. Best wishes to Ms. Day, her cast and crew.

As for Tim Burton, his career is checkered at best and his Planet of the Apes is one of his many films best forgotten, in my never humble opinion.
 

Songs of the Future!

Prediction:
Cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over,
Oops out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999

Predictor: Prince in the lyrics of 1999, recorded 1982

Reality: A lot of people got all antsy about the change of the calendar, but we survived it pretty well. Even if the song was not prophetic, I do nominate side one of this album as the best single side of vinyl of all time. In order, the tracks are:

1999
Delirious
Little Red Corvette

Seriously, if a compilation calls itself The Best of Prince and it doesn't have all three of those songs, it's not the best of Prince.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another exact date from the racist fantasy The Turner Diaries.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 July 2013

Birthdays
Roberto Orci b. 1973 (writer, Xena, Star Trek (reboot))
Josh Holloway b. 1969 (Lost)
Carlos Saldanha b. 1968 (co-director Ice Age)
Reed Diamond b. 1967 (Dollhouse)

In a situation like this, I often go with the Whedonverse actor in the picture slot, but even though I gave up on Lost well before the ending that disappointed many, there's no denying how popular it was during much of its run.

Movies released
The Dark Knight Rises released 2012

There was a time not so long ago that I saw nearly every big budget sci-fi and comic book movie that came out, but a few bad experiences cured me of this habit. For me, The Dark Knight was one of those bad experiences, so I didn't see The Dark Knight Rises.
  

Songs of the Future!

Prediction: The public discovers the world will end in 1977, five years in the future

Predictor: David Bowie in the song Five Years from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, released in 1972

Reality: The world didn't end, of course, but music fans will likely have noticed that I use the label "We've got ____ years/And that's all we've got" for all apocalypses with specific dates on them, which is the hook from Five Years.

Five Years is song one on side one on Ziggy and it's one of the best opening songs on an album of all time as far as I'm concerned. More than that, I once remember playing the album for a friend who asked if it was a greatest hits compilation.  For those of us who were listening to the radio in 1972 (a mere 41 years ago) the songs are that familiar and that good.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another bold prediction with a cool illustration from Popular Mechanics.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

4 July 2013

Birthdays
Eva Marie Saint b. 1924 (Superman Returns)
Ted Elliott b. 1961 (co-writer with Terry Rossio of the Pirates of the Caribbean series)

Looking on imdb.com, I could only find one credit in Ms. Saint's long and illustrious career that could count as genre, and it's in a movie that has already been re-booted.

But seriously, if I have a choice for the picture slot and it's between a fabulous babe and a writer, can that even be called a choice at all?

I think not.

Many happy returns to Ms. Saint and Mr. Elliot.

Prediction: On 4 July 2008, action star Boxer Santaros, former pornstar/reality show star Krysta Now and twins Ronald and Roland Taverner hold the key to the future in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles.

Predictor: Southland Tales released 14 November 2007

Reality: I have met people who will defend this film, but the guy who wrote it also made Donnie Darko and I don't know anyone who thinks this was a step up.  The movie is counted as a 2006 release because it aired at Cannes that year, but it was pulled and re-tooled after a vicious critical reception.

There are some kinda sorta predictions about the future in the script, the one I remember best is the idea that California is a battleground state in the 2008 election. Regardless of your political persuasion, that would have to be called a failed prediction.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another French postcard from the early 1900s predicting life in the year 2000!
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

16 June 2013

Birthdays
Sibel Kekilli b. 1980 (Game of Thrones)
Tom Lenk b. 1976 (Buffy, Angel)
John Cho b. 1972 (Star Trek reboot)
Bill Cobbs b. 1934 (Brother From Another Planet, Star Trek: Enterprise, Oz the Great and Powerful, Night at the Museum)

Prediction: 16 June 1990: a disease created by biological warfare experts escapes from a lab. Called the “superflu” by authorities and given the nickname “Captain Trips” by the public, within weeks it kills over 98% of the world’s population.

Predictor: Steven King in The Stand - complete and uncut, published in 1990

Reality: This is not so much a prediction as a plot device. For his many devoted fans, King puts the time period just a few weeks away from the publishing date, so they can get the creepy thrill of thinking the end is just around the corner. The dates in the earlier version are different and had already passed.

Two comments.

1. Damn, this is a big book. I mean, George R.R. Martin looks at this thing and says, "What, they couldn't find you an editor, either?"

2. Captain Trips. Would people give an extinction level plague a jokey nickname? I know it references Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and King is making a symbolic statement that the dead should be grateful they don't have to live through the crap storm that's coming after, but I just don't buy that people would be in the least bit lighthearted about this.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's time for another dip into the great technological paradise those liars at Popular Mechanics promised us.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

8 June 2013

Birthdays
Colin Baker (6th Doctor) b. 1943
Kate Wilhelm b. 1928
(won 1977 Hugo for Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang)

In the 20th Century, I proudly stated "Yes, I'm a nerd, but I never watched Doctor Who." If I ever flipped past a channel and saw a guy wearing this suit, could you blame me for not stopping?

I watched and enjoyed the first season of the 21st Century reboot with Christopher Eccleston, but I didn't last long into the David Tennant years, more from disappointment with the writing than disappointment with the acting.

In any case, happy birthday to Mr. Baker and Ms. Wilhelm and many happy returns of the day.


Movies released
Prometheus released, 2012  

Prediction: In 1988, the Rapture will take place.

Predictor: Hal Lindsey and C.C. Carlson, The Late Great Planet Earth, published 1970

Reality: If any science fiction fans are offended by the inclusion of the completely non-scientific fiction of Hal Lindsey, my only defense is that I'm a sucker for exact dates. Lindsey's original calculation was a biblical generation was 40 years and the countdown started from the 1948 creation of the modern state of Israel.

Of course, 1988 came and went and Lindsey, who is still alive by the way, stood by his story. Steven Sizer, a critic of Lindsay's, wrote this on his website that summarizes the work.
 
"By 1994, while persisting in his belief that Jesus meant this present generation, Lindsey had begun to prevaricate and lengthen a 'biblical generation' since Jesus had not returned by 1988 as he had confidently predicted. Based on his revised calculations Lindsey claimed Jesus would return some time between now and 2067."

2067. Hmm. If that had been his original date, I never would have printed it. If I was going that far, I'd get to talk about The Jetsons (2062) and the date of first contact on Star Trek (2063), which are both more fun than Lindsey and actually fit into the category of science fiction.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


Yet another future date from the mind of Irwin Allen. (Regular readers will know I use the phrase "the mind of Irwin Allen" loosely, as most of his dates and ideas seem to have been pulled out of another part of his anatomy.)

 Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!