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!

23 March 2015

 Birthdays
Vanessa Morgan b. 1992 (My Babysitter’s a Vampire)
Steven Strait b. 1986 (10,000 BC, Sky High, The Covenant)
Anastasia Griffith b. 1978 (Once Upon a Time)
Nicholle Tom b. b. 1978 (Gotham, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2006], Welcome to Paradox)
Michelle Monaghan b. 1976 (Source Code)
Keri Russell b. 1976 (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Dark Skies, Honey I Blew Up the Kid)
Jaume Collet-Serra b. 1974 (House of Wax [2005])
Melissa Errico b. 1970 (Frequency)
Marin Hinkle b. 1966 (The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Quarantine, Frequency)
Sarah Buxton b. 1965 (Freddy’s Nightmares, Otherworld)
Hope Davis b. 1964 (Real Steel, Flatliners)
John Pinnette b. 1964 died 5 April 2014 (The Punisher)
Jason Schombing b. 1963 (Supernatural, Alice [2009], Watchmen, Smallville, Tin Man, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Fantastic Four, Mutant X, Seven Days, Stargate SG-1, The New Addams Family, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, NightMan, Early Edition, Timecop, The X Files, I Still Dream of Jeannie)
Jenny Wright b. 1962 (Enchanted, The Lawnmower Man, Near Dark)
Charlene Ferenetz b. 1960 (Sabrina the Teenage Witch [Movie and TV], Mann & Machine)
Catherine Keener b. 1959 (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Where the Wild Things Are, Being John Malkovich, S1m0ne)
Amanda Plummer b. 1957 (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Vampire, Battlestar Galactica, The Vampyre Wars, Dark Skies, The Prophecy, Needful Things, Freejack, The Hidden Room, Tales from the Crypt)
Teresa Ganzel b. 1957 (Hexed, They Came from Outer Space, The Charmings, The Twilight Zone [1986], Transylvania 6-5000)
Sal Lizard b. 1955 (Young Blood: Evil Intentions, Hillbilly Bob Zombie, I Am Legend [2007])
Kim Stanley Robinson b. 1952 (won the 1993 Nebula for Red Mars, 1994 Hugo for Green Mars, 1997 Nebula for Blue Mars, 2012 Nebula for 2312)
John William Young b. 1951 (Frankenstein General Hospital)
Barbara Rhoades b. 1947 (Quark, Tabitha, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Ghost Busters [1975], Far Out Space Nuts, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Scream Blacula Scream, Bewitched)
Terry Alexander b. 1947 (Day of the Dead, Salvage 1, The Werewolf of Washington)
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough b. 1947 (won the 1990 Nebula for The Healer’s War)
Tony Burton b. 1937 (Poltergeist: The Legacy, Hook, The Shining, The Incredible Hulk, Gemini Man, The Invisible Man)
Kenneth Tobey b. 1917 died 22 December 2002 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Innerspace, The Twilight Zone [1986], Gremlins, Strange Invaders, The Howling, Galactica 1980, The Vampire, It Came from Beneath the Sea, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Thing from Another World)
Joan Crawford b. 1905 died 10 May 1977 (The Sixth Sense [1972], Trog, Night Gallery)
H. Beam Piper b. 1904 died 11 November 1964 (author, Little Fuzzy, Flight from Tomorrow)
Philip Ober b. 1902 died 13 September 1982 (I Dream of Jeannie, The Munsters, The Brass Bottle, Twilight Zone)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Michelle Monaghan, certainly fabulous but questionably iconic in genre, and Kenneth Tobey, who showed up in several 1950s monster movies. While we have an honest to Odin movie star in Joan Crawford, I think the writers on the list today are more iconic than the actors, so the Picture Slot goes to the three Mars books of Kim Stanley Robinson, each of which won either a Nebula or a Hugo, a rare feat for a trilogy. For example, George R.R. Martin currently has a total of... let me check... ZERO Hugos and ZERO Nebulas for the first five books of the Song of Ice and Fire.

2. Canadians, true and false. If you followed the standard operating procedure for Canadian spotting, the obvious choice is Jason Schombing, but he was born in Philadelphia and I can find no independent confirmation that he moved to Canada, though it certainly looks like he did. The native Canadians are Charlene Ferenetz and Vanessa Morgan, but their nationality is not made clear by their credit lists.

3. Nepotism FTW. Amanda Plummer is the daughter of Christopher Plummer, a Canadian, and Tammy Grimes, a Yank. Amanda was born in New York City and there is no sign of her claiming dual citizenship.

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


Movie released
The Hunger Games released, 2012

 Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published in 1982

Prediction: In the future, plants that stand in a farm field will be only one part of a carefully controlled agricultural chain. The husks will be used after harvest to make gasohol to run the machines that preserve the harvested crop. The water that nourished the plants will be carefully recaptured and used again the next season. Nutrients lacking in the soils will be provided by farmers growing genetically engineered plants in the off season that spew the need nutrients from their roots into the soil. The future farmer will be the model of efficiency and his farm a self-contained eco-system.


Reality: It's a little odd to read such a pro-environment prediction that speaks well of genetically engineered plants, but it was written thirty three years ago when there were more pro-science environmentalist types than there are today. According to the best information we have here in drought-stricken California, the modern farm is hardly self-contained and they want their water NOW and FUCK ALL THE REST OF YOU!

I may be paraphrasing.

Never to be Forgotten: Gregory Walcott 1928-2015 Gregory Walcott, who died this week at the age of 87, had 114 credits, both film and TV, starting in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. One of his luckiest breaks was to catch the eye of Clint Eastwood, who cast Walcott as the foil to Eastwood the star, destined of course to fail, regardless of whether Clint was the good guy or the bad guy. But as Walcott well knew and his obituaries prove, he is best remembered for being in Plan Nine from Outer Space, incorrectly billed as the Worst Film Ever Made. Fans of MST3K can likely name five films just as bad or worse, from Manos: The Hands of Fate to Red Zone Cuba, with a few Gamera films thrown in for good measure.

Several of the other actors had next to no career after Plan Nine, some because of actual death and others merely career death, but Walcott's career was unscathed by appearing in this turkey, as was Lyle Talbott's. (Note: I am not saying Plan Nine is good, I just question its ranking as the worst.) Walcott's other appearance in genre include  House II: Second Story, The Six Million Dollar Man, Land of the Lost, Gemini Man and The Invisible Man [1975].

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


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from John Langdon-Davies 1936 book A Brief History of the Future.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 January 2015

 Birthdays
Connor Widdows b. 1992 (Smallville, X-Men: The Last Stand, Battlestar Galactica, Taken, Dark Angel, Harsh Realm, So Weird, Millennium)
Chris Gauthier b. 1976 (Once Upon a Time, Eureka, Smallville, Watchmen, Supernatural, Reaper, Bionic Woman, The Butterfly Effect 2, Kyle XY, Zixx: Level Two, Stargate: Atlantis, Earthsea, Dead Like Me, Freddy vs. Jason, Dark Angel)
Amy Hargreaves b. 1970 (Brainscan)
Cindy Cheung b. 1970 (Futurestates, Lady in the Water, Spider-Man 2, Robot Stories)
Patton Oswalt b. 1969 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Caprica, Dollhouse, The Venture Brothers, Reaper)
Tamlyn Tomita b. 1966 (Resurrection, Teen Wolf, True Blood, Touch, Tekken, Heroes, Eureka, Stargate, The Day After Tomorrow, Robot Stories, FreakyLinks, Seven Days, The Burning Zone, The Last Man on Planet Earth, Highlander [TV], Time Trax, Babylon 5: The Gathering, Quantum Leap)
Alan Cumming b. 1965 (Riverworld, Tin Man, Son of the Mask, Spy Kids, X-Men 2, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Bridget Fonda b. 1964 (Snow Queen, Monkeybone, Lake Placid, Army of Darkness, Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound)
Julie Caitlin Brown b. 1961 (Sliders, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine)
Roy Fegan b. 1961 (The Meteor Man, Misfits of Science)
Susanna Thompson b. 1958 (Arrow, Dragonfly, Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Alien Nation: Dark Horizon, The X Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Frank Miller b. 1957 (writer/artist, Gotham, The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, Elektra, RoboCop 2 and 3)
Mimi Rogers b. 1956 (Ginger Snaps, The X-Files, Lost in Space [1998], Tales from the Crypt)
Peter Laird b. 1954 (writer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Richard Bremmer b. 1953 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Steve Leialoha b. 1952 (illustrator, Peter & Max)
Stewart Raffill b. 1942 (Tammy and the T-Rex, Mannequin: On the Move, Mac and Me, The Philadelphia Experiment, The Ice Pirates)
James Cromwell b. 1940 (American Horror Story, Surrogates, Impact, Spider-Man 3, I, Robot, Salem’s Lot, A Carol Christmas, Star Trek: Enterprise, Space Cowboys, The Green Mile, Deep Impact, Species II, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone [1985], Knight Rider, Earthlings)
Troy Donohue b. 1936 died 2 September 2001 (Omega Cop, Dr. Alien, Monster on the Campus, The Monolith Monsters)
Michael Craig b. 1928 (Doctor Who, Escape 2000, Mysterious Island [1961])
Sabu b. 1924 died 2 December 1963 (The Jungle Book, The Thief of Bagdad)
Mark Daniels b. 1912 died 23 April 1989 (director, The Wizard, Man from Atlantis, Planet Earth, Star Trek, Way Out)
Howard McNear b. 1905 died 3 January 1969 (Twilight Zone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Topper)
Lewis Carroll b. 1832 died 14 January 1898 (Alice in Wonderland, The Hunting of the Snark)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the picture slot has gone to Frank Miller and Alan Cumming, and I was debating with myself about who would go in this time. I wanted to acknowledge James Cromwell on his 75th birthday, but I wasn't sure his portrayal of Zephram Cochrane was quite iconic enough. I consider a few others as well, but in the end as you see, I decided on Lewis Carroll, both because he is an important writer in the history of fantasy and he was a mathematician as well, which scores many points in my book.

2. Where did all the young people go?  More sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV shows are being made now than any other time, so it's very common our birthday lists have a bunch of actors born in the 1980s and 1990s portraying young people in the productions. Today we only have Connor Widdows, who also happens to be our only natural born Canadian. The next youngest person is Chris Gauthier, born in the U.K. but moved to Canada, so his resume is full of credits from the usual Canuck sci-fi fare.

3. Where did Bridget Fonda go?  The Fonda family are several generations of well-known American actors and most of them keep acting as long as they could. Bridget Fonda's last role was in 2002, when she wasn't yet 40. Not unlike Phoebe Cates, Ms. Fonda decided to opt out of the business and be a wife and mother full time. I respect their decisions, but it is unusual.

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: Hollings-Gray, the only megacorp that invested heavily in agriculture, cheerfully adopted the self-deprecating acronym of HoG. The company’s specialty was “franchise farming”, buying the land, supplying standardized equipment and training and contracting with agribusinessmen at a guaranteed minimum price, sharing the profits with franchise holders. Their sheer size and capital resources allowed them to survive and prosper and eventually bankrupt many of their smaller rivals in the private sector.

Reality: "Franchise farming" sounds like a modern version of share-cropping. The real agri-business "megacorp" Monsanto has much stranger and more futuristic ways of dominating their industry by patenting genetically modified seeds and suing customers who want to save them for a later crop. Some left-leaning folk make Monsanto into a boogeyman and I'm not sure they are exaggerating that much.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from George Sutherland's 1901 book 20th Century Inventions. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

8 November 2014

 Birthdays
Jessica Lowndes b. 1988 (The Devil’s Carnival, Altitude, Kyle XY)
Jared Kusnitz b. 1988 (Dance of the Dead, Doll Graveyard)
Samantha Droke b. 1987 (Eastwick)
Magda Apanowicz b. 1985 (Continuum, Snowmageddon, Team Unicorn, Caprica, Kyle XY, The Andromeda Strain [2008 TV], Bionic Woman [2007], The Butterfly Effect, Jeremiah)
Chris Rankin b. 1983 (Harry Potter)
Azura Skye b. 1981 (Grimm, American Horror Story, Buffy, Smallville)
Keir O’Donnell b. 1978 (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Ghosts/Aliens, FlashForward, Lost)
Jennifer Banko b. 1978 (Alien Nation [TV], Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood)
Jennifer Barbosa b. 1978 (Zombie Apocalypse)
Thom Fell b. 1976 (Highlander: The Source, An American Haunting)
Dania Ramirez b. 1975 (Heroes, Quarantine, X-Men: The Last Stand, Buffy)
Tara Reid b. 1975 (Sharknado 1 & 2, Incubus, The Crow: Silent Prayer, Good vs Evil, A Return to Salem’s Lot)
Jason Matthew Smith b. 1972 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek [2009], Charmed)
Gretchen Mol b. 1972 (The Thirteenth Floor, Godzilla [1998])
Ocean Hellman b. 1971 (Jeremiah, Mysterious Ways, Voyage of the Unicorn, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Highlander [TV])
Gonzalo Menendez b. 1971 (Grimm, The Dark Knight Rises, The Event, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Threshold, The Island, Sliders)
Parker Posey b. 1968 (The Eye, Superman Returns, Blade: Trinity, Frankenstein [2004 TV])
Kamar de los Reyes b. 1967 (Doomed Planet, The Cell, Total Recall 2070)
Bradley Gregg b. 1966 (Class of 1999, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Twilight Zone [1986], Explorers)
Leif Garrett b. 1961 (Superboy, Wonder Woman)
Megan Cavanaugh b. 1960 (Scrooge & Marley, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Tales from the Crypt)
Don McManus b. 1959 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Supernatural, Journeyman, Ben 10: Race Against Time, National Treasure, The Invisible Man, Star Trek: Voyager, Knight Rider 2010)
David Sherrill b. 1959 (Surface, Mars Attacks!, The Arrival, Buffy the Vampire Slayer [1992 movie], SuperForce, The Wraith)
Jeff Speakman b. 1958 (Escape from Atlantis, Scorpio One, Timelock)
Aidan Gillett b. 1958 (Shadow of the Vampire, The 10th Kingdom, The Borrowers)
Phil Fondacaro b.1958 (Land of the Dead, The Polar Express, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Sliders, The Creeps, Bordello of Blood, Tales from the Crypt, Mann & Machine, Quantum Leap, Superboy, Ghoulies II, Phantasm II, Troll, Willow, Invaders from Mars, Hard Rock Zombies, The Black Cauldron, Faerie Tale Theatre, Star Wars: Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi, Something Wicked This Way Comes)
Richard Curtis b. 1956 (writer, About Time, Doctor Who)
Randi Brooks b. 1956 (Terrorvision, Knight Rider, The Man with Two Brains, Wizards and Warriors)
John Musker b. 1953 (director, The Princess and the Frog, Treasure Planet, Hercules, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective)
Alfre Woodard b. 1952 (The Last Ship, True Blood, A Wrinkle in Time, K-PAX, Star Trek: First Contact, Special Report: Journey to Mars, Gulliver’s Travels, Scrooged, Faerie Tale Theatre, Tucker’s Witch)
Francois Petit b. 1951 (Mortal Kombat)
Ben Bova b. 1932 (editor, Analog, Omni)
Joe Flynn b. 1924 died 19 July 1974 (Now You See Him, Now You Don’t, I Dream of Jeannie, Captain Nice, Batman, Son of Flubber, Men Into Space, Twilight Zone, Indestructible Man)
Norman Lloyd b. 1914 (Seven Days, The Omen [1995 TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Amityville: The Evil Escapes [1989 TV], The Twilight Zone [1986])
Robert Strauss b. 1913 died 20 February 1975 (Mr. Terrific, The Green Hornet, Bewitched, My Mother the Car, The Munsters, 4D Man, The Atomic Kid)
June Havoc b. 1912 died 28 March 2010 (A Return to Salem’s Lot, The Outer Limits)
Bram Stoker b.1847 died 20 April 1912 (writer, Dracula)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Honestly, there are several well-known actors on the list (Tara Reid, Gretchen Mol, Parker Posey, Alfre Woodard, Joe Flynn, Norman Lloyd, Robert Strauss) who aren't well known for roles in genre. I picked Lloyd for two reasons, he turns 100 today (kudos!) and he was on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Dr. Galen, Picard's mentor from the Academy, and any Trek role is kinda sorta iconic. More than that, if it wasn't for the fact that Joe Flynn from McHale's Navy died at the age of 49, Norman Lloyd would be 100 AND The Guy at the Door, which is pretty remarkable. For folks who lived very long lives, we also have June Havoc, at one time known as Gypsy Rose Lee's sister and the woman in the Never to be Forgotten section below. In 2013, the Picture Slot was Ben Bova. In 2015, odds are I'll go with Bram Stoker.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are three today, all born after 1970. Good luck!

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, which special good wishes once again to Norman Lloyd, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.


Movies released
Thor: The Dark World released, 2013  

Predictor: Sidney Gorham Brock (1837-1918), mayor of Macon, Missouri, publisher of the Macon Republican newspaper, predicting life in America in 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago

Facial hair comments: Yep. That's the late 19th Century for sure.

Predictions (reality in parentheses):
By 1993, the social condition of the people will be such that there will be no suffering from the deprivation of the necessities of life. (No.)


Vice and immorality will have largely, if not all together, ceased to exist. (Strike two.)

There is no likelihood that the railroads and telegraphs will ever be managed by the state. (This is kinda sorta a hit. Amtrak exists, but private freight rail also still exists. The telegraph is still private and nearly completely obsolete.)

The people by this time will have become educated to such an extent that the vice of intemperance will largely cease. Saloons or public drinking places will probably no longer exist. (Yet another whiff.)

Much more attention will be paid to the reform of prisoners than to their punishment. (This guy us piling up the mistakes.)

Wealth will be more evenly distributed. (Comparing 1893 to 1993, this statement is correct, but the trend since is towards greater income inequality.)

There will be more friendly relations between employers and employees. (This is true. Labor riots were deadly back in the 19th Century, not so much today.)

Methods and machinery of agriculture will be so improved as to provide for the immense population of 1993. (Okay, he's hitting his stride. The population change was immense and agriculture kept pace very well.)

People will be longer liver, due to better understanding of the nature of disease and improved treatment. (Absolutely correct once again.)

The tendency of the race will be towards comfort, leisure, luxury, cultivation, simplicity in dress and broader charity in all social relations. (I'm not sure he'd think much of the "cultivation" of folks in the 1990s, but I'd say all the rest of it can be marked as correct in comparison with life in the 1890s.)

Never to be Forgotten: Renee Asherson 1915-2014 

Renee Asherson died on the 30th October at the age of 99. She had a long career in film and on TV, starting in the 1940s in films starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. A lot of British actors can go an entire career without roles in genre, but not so Ms. Asherson. She was in The Others starring Nicole Kidman, Theater of Blood with Vincent Price and the 1961 British sci-fi film The Day the Earth Caught Fire. Like our birthday boy and girl Norman Lloyd and June Havoc, she lived to a rip old age and like Ms. Havoc, she was one fabulous babe.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is tomorrow Sunday already? Time for another nuclear war we didn't have.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
   

8 March 2014

 Birthdays
Freddie Prinze Jr. 1976 (Witches of East End, Scooby-Doo, Wing Commander)
Jed Ress b. 1970 (Galaxy Quest, Lake Placid, Crow: Stairway to Heaven [TV], The X-Files)
Aidan Quinn b. 1959 (Frankenstein [1994], The Handmaid’s Tale)
John Kapelos b. 1956 (Lost Girl, Category 7: The End of the World, Dead Like Me, Forever Knight, The Shadow, The Relic, The X-Files, Angel, Timecop, Lois & Clark, Quantum Leap, Weird Science)
Mickey Morton b. 1927 died 8 August 1993 (The Star Wars Holiday Special, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Star Trek)
Priscilla Lawson b. 1914 died 27 August 1958 (Flash Gordon)

A short list today, but several choices for iconic that have next to nothing to do with big career success. More than half the roles Priscilla Lawson played were uncredited, but she was Princess Aura in the Flash Gordon serial. Jed Ress was one of the aliens in Galaxy Quest. But instead we get Mickey Morton, a big guy whose main roles were as the giant who gets his ass kicked by the hero or heroine, here in the Star Trek episode The Gamesters of Triskelion. It's pretty much giant typecasting, isn't it? Personally, I blame David and Goliath for starting this ball rolling, though fairy tales certainly perpetuated this stereotype. It's time we checked our small, quick and clever privilege.

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

Movies released
Oz the Great and Powerful released, 2013

Predictor: Jeremiah M. Rusk, first Secretary of Agriculture from 1889 to 1893

Prediction: "Will our soil and methods of agriculture improve so as to provide food without difficulty for all our population in 1993?"


[Many] factors must be taken into account in estimating our possible future production. And we have not yet touched upon what inventive genius and science may discover in the interest of greater production and diminished waste in the next 100 years. But, in the light of what these agencies have accomplished in the past 100 years, I think I can relieve you mind of any anxiety. Your children or your children's children should not have to go hungry for want of sufficient productiveness of United States soil.

Reality: Full marks for Rusk here, both for the sensible prophecy and the very manly beard. I have trimmed his remarks a bit, and in the beginning of his essay he quotes someone as predicting a billion Americans in the 20th Century, a number he correctly thinks is way too high. I also like his tip of the hat to 19th Century technological progress. From our vantage point, the changes brought by the 20th Century clearly dwarf the progress made in the 19th, but especially in agriculture, huge strides forward began in the 1800s.

Looking one day ahead...INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt our regular schedule for a prediction from 2014 about 2014, but a lot less sensible than the thoughts of Jeremiah M. Rusk.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

9 January 2014

 Birthdays
Nina Dobrev b. 1989 (The Vampire Diaries, Never Cry Werewolf)
David Ellison b. 1983 (producer, World War Z, Star Trek Into Darkness, G.I. Joe: Retaliation)
Julia Dietze b. 1981 (Iron Sky)
Patrick Sabongui b. 1975 (Almost Human, Arrow, Warm Bodies, Sucker Punch, TRON: Legacy, Stargate: Atlantis, Caprica, The Cabin in the Woods)
Marco Sanchez b. 1970 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Super 8, Dollhouse, Star Trek: Enterprise, SeaQuest 2032)
Rhoda Griffis b. 1965 (The Hunger Games)
Joseph Culp b. 1963 (Cyxork 7, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Apollo 13, The Fantastic Four [1994])
Anthony Harrison b. 1961 (Fringe, Supernatural, Aliens vs, Predator: Requiem, The 4400, Smallville, White Noise, Dead Like Me, The Core. Strange World, The Sixth Day, The X-Files)
Imelda Staunton b. 1956 (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Psychoville)
J. K. Simmons b. 1955 (Spider-Man, Jennifer’s Body)
Vincent Grass b. 1949 (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
Susannah York b. 1939 died 15 January 2011 (Superman)
Paul Mantee b. 1931 died 7 November 2013 (Apollo 13, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Logan’s Run [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Batman, Robinson Crusoe on Mars)
Algis Budrys b. 1931 died 9 June 2008 (author, The Falling Torch, Rogue Moon, Who?)
Lee Van Cleef b. 1925 died 16 December 1989 (Escape from New York, Twilight Zone, It Conquered the World, Space Patrol, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
Karel Capek b. 1890 died 25 December 1938 (author, Rossum’s Universal Robots)

A long birthday list today with some well-known names - Imelda Staunton, J.K. Simmons, Susannah York, Lee Van Cleef - but most of them are better known for work outside of genre. The two actors best known for sci-fi are probably Paul Mantee, who starred in the now largely forgotten Robinson Crusoe on Mars and Julia Dietze, a German actress whose best known role in an English production is as the Nazi babe in Iron Sky. The Picture Slot goes to a poster from a production of Karel Capek's 1920 play Rossum's Universal Robots, which is the origin of the word we use so commonly today, which derives from the Czech word for "slave labor".

Many happy returns to all the living on our list, and to actors Paul Mantee and Lee Van Cleef and authors Algis Burdys and Karel Capek, thanks for the memories.

Predictor: Isaac Asimov in 1964, predicting the year 2014 in honor of the World's Fair being held in New York

Prediction: Ordinary agriculture will keep up with great difficulty and there will be "farms" turning to the more efficient micro-organisms. Processed yeast and algae products will be available in a variety of flavors. The 2014 fair will feature an Algae Bar at which "mock-turkey" and "pseudo-steak" will be served. It won't be bad at all (if you can dig up those premium prices), but there will be considerable psychological resistance to such an innovation.

Reality:  A lot of people online have discovered Asimov's predictions and are publishing some or all of them, and a lot of the commentary is along the lines of "ooh, wow, look how good this was."

Meh.

Again, this was a very popular view in sci-fi that food production was not going to keep up with population and that we'd have to rely on algae or yeast or eating insects just to produce enough calories. The reality is that we are doing a better job of feeding the 7 billion people alive today than we did feeding the 3.3 billion people alive in 1964, changing the basics of our diet very little, with the exceptions of sriracha (YAY!) and Tofurky (BOO!). That said, there are concerns that we have pushed agricultural production too hard, notably with antibiotics, pesticides and genetic modification. Time will tell if something like bee colony collapse or some other screw-up will put a serious strain on the food supply.

Cheerful bastid, ain't I?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

TED talks! Fabulous stuff just around the corner! Wait... did we pass the corner? I must have missed it.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

3 December 2013

Birthdays
Amanda Seyfried b. 1985 (In Time, Solstice)
Joseph Gatt b. 1974 (Thor, Star Trek Into Darkness)
Brendan Fraser b. 1968 (The Mummy, Inkheart, Monkeybone)
Steve Harris b. 1965 (Minority Report)
Julianne Moore b. 1960 (Children of Men, Blindness, The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
Daryl Hannah b. 1960 (Blade Runner, Clan of the Cave Bear, Splash, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, High Spirits, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story)
Melody Anderson b. 1955 (Flash Gordon, Manimal, Battlestar Galactica)
Mel Smith b. 1952 (The Princess Bride, Morons From Outer Space)
Mary Alice b. 1941 (The Matrix Revolutions)

An all actor list today, everybody is still alive and there are a few honest to Odin movie stars on the list, though several have only a handful of appearances in genre films. The Picture Slot goes to Daryl Hannah in her role as Pris in Blade Runner. Readers familiar with my work may note that I have shown uncharacteristic restraint here.

Many happy returns to all our birthday boys and girls.
 

Prediction: NASA plans to grow turnips on the moon in 2015

Predictor: Scientists at NASA Ames Research Center

Reality: This is from a news story last Friday. The Google Lunar X-Prize mission will also bring cress and basil in a temporary lunar "greenhouse" supplied with five days worth of air and a small water reservoir. It isn't made clear if the "five days worth of air" is measured in the use of oxygen by humans or plants. Compared to science fiction,  this is not bold or exciting, but it is an important step if we ever are going to make permanent extra-terrestrial bases. I'm pretty sure there have already been a lot of plant experiments on the various space stations.

This month's splash photo
This is a picture of the Martin P-12 Jetpack. Much bulkier than our standard mental image of a jetpack, it nevertheless actually exists and is in the process of being tested. I expect it is noisy as hell and hard to land.

Still... JETPACK! 


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Jack London returns with the exact date when war will begin between the United States and Germany.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 November 2013

Birthdays
Brandon Soo Hoo b. 1995 (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Ender’s Game)
Jon M. Chu b. 1979 (director, G.I. Joe: Retaliation)
Whit Hertford b. 1978 (Twilight Zone, Poltergiest II, Jurassic Park)
Michael Bailey Smith b. 1957 (The Hills Have Eyes, Men in Black II, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Star Trek: Voyager, The Fantastic Four)
Dale Brown b. 1956 (writer, Sky Masters, Day of the Cheetah, Shadow Command)
Lois McMaster Bujold b. 1949
(won 1989 Nebula for Falling Free)
(won 1991 Hugo for The Vor Game)
(won 1992 Hugo for Barrayar)
(won 1995 Hugo for Mirror Dance)
(won 2004 Hugo and Nebula for Paladin of Souls)
Jerry Wasserman b. 1945 (I, Robot, Watchmen, Supernatural, Dark Angel, The X-Files)
Steve Ditko b. 1927 (artist, Spider-Man, Dr, Strange)
Warren Stevens b. 1919 died 27 March 2012 (Forbidden Planet, Star Trek, Land of the Giants, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)

The writers and graphic artist on today's birthday list are better known than the actors in general. Dale Brown writes military techno-thrillers, often setting the action in the near future, Steve Ditko was an important artist from the very beginning of Marvel Comics and Lois McMaster Bujold has more Nebulas and Hugos for novels than Heinlein got in his career.

As for the actors, Brandon Soo Hoo and Whit Hertford started as child actors, Michael Bailey Smith often plays monsters under a lot of make-up, Jerry Wasserman has a very long career guest starring on TV shows, a tough way to make a living, which also describes most of the late Warren Stevens' career, who gets the Picture Slot for the role of the alien Rojan on the original Star Trek series.

Many happy returns of the birthday to all the living on our list.

Movies released
Wreck-It Ralph released, 2012
Monsters, Inc. released, 2001
 

Predictor: Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye, comic writer, founder of the Laramie Boomerang, columnist for the New York World, making predictions about the 20th Century in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition held in Chicago.

Predictions (realities in parentheses):

Politically, there will be a lot less money expended in electing officials. (Strike one, Mr. Nye.)

The government should own both railways and telegraphs. (Some railways, no telegraphs.)

I see no reason to hope that money will not accumulate in the hands of a few in the future, even more than in the past. (A tough sentence to diagram, but he gets the modern situation right. Wealth accumulation is getting to be more uneven, though in the middle of the 20th Century, this prediction would have to be considered incorrect.)

The laboring classes will always be oppressed. (Things definitely got better for workers after 1893, with the end of child labor, the 40 hour work week, workplace safety laws, etc. That said, there are a lot of working people who are getting stiffed, as the whole debate about fast food workers shows today.)

Our soil, with improved agricultural methods, should grow enough for an increased population. (Good call. Of course, in 1893, Mr. Nye would have been hard pressed to see how much population growth was coming.)

American literature, I hope, will be more realistic in 100 years. (Once again, Mr. Nye gets it right.)

Music and drama will have grown rapidly. (Another good call.)

Women will never want the right of suffrage. (Oooh, and things were going so well.)

I look to the perfection of the flying machine. (In 1893, this is a bold prediction.)

Our greatest city will be on the present site of Chicago. (Sucking up to the hosts doesn't make this one right.)

As for the most honored American in 1993, the people will not have forgotten George Washington. (Not a bad call, though Lincoln and Jefferson give him a run for his money.)

And I am also putting up a delicate little tribute to myself in the way of a mausoleum, which will keep me as green in the memory of those from whom I am liable to be snatched away at any moment. (Nye died in 1896 from meningitis at the age of 45. Dying so young, his catalog of books is not extensive and no book of his is as well remembered as Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn or Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary, humorists who were his contemporaries. Sorry, Mr. Nye.)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Ray Bradbury tells us how things are progressing up on Mars in 2002.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

19 October 2013

Birthdays
Jon Favreau b. 1966 (producer, Iron Man, Revolution)
Roger R. Cross b. 1966 (Continuum, Arrow, Eureka, The X Files)
Ken Stott b. 1954 (The Hobbit)
John Lithgow b. 1945 (Shrek, Third Rock from the Sun, Buckaroo Banzai, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Day After)
Jim Starlin b. 1949
Michael Gambon b. 1940 (Harry Potter)
Tor Johnson b. 1903 died 12 May 1971 (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Bride of the Monster)

While Michael Gambon as Dumbledore would be the most recognizable face to put in the Picture Slot, I was very tempted to go with Tor Johnson. In the end, my comic book loving inner child got the final say and we have a picture of artist Jim Starlin's greatest contribution to the Marvel Universe, the cosmic villian Thanos.

Many happy returns of the day to all the living on the list.
 

Predictor: Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) poet and author, asked for her predictions of 1983 on the occasion of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Predictions in italics (realities in parentheses):
In 1993, the government will have grown more simple... railroads and telegraphs will belong to the state, thus lessening the dangerous power of large monopolies and vast corporations. Otherwise, in less than a century, our boasted American freedom would cease to exist.

(Tee hee. It's funny to read "freedom", the worship word of the Tea Party, used to promote the thing they hate the most.)

Instead of prohibition, the control of alcohol and crime will be achieved by forbidding the offenders to propagate.

(Oh, yeah, because that will be so much easier to enforce. Welcome to the 21st Century, Mrs. Wilcox. What I just used is sarcasm. It has gained great popularity in the modern age.)

The Western United States will be irrigated and fertilized, furnishing food for all our population... Airships will facilitate travel, and the pneumatic tube will be the means of transporting goods.

(Okay, Mrs. Wilcox gets a few hits at last. The West doesn't produce all the food for the whole country, but it certainly produces a lot. By airships, she meant blimps, but let's still give her a point there. And, of course, any mention of pneumatic tubes scores a point in my book, regardless of their rarity today.)

America shall produce the greatest authors who shall be living in 1993. In musical achievement it will still be behind older countries.

(This is a matter of opinion and hard to judge. No one can say what Mrs. Wilcox would think about jazz, Broadway musicals and rock 'n' roll, but all of them are distinctly American in origin and have enjoyed worldwide popularity.)


(Except for jazz. Nobody likes jazz.)

The occult sixth sense will be the predominant element in medicine and theology...

(Okay, stopping you right there. Let's just say NO and move along.)

Woman will be financially independent of man, and this will materially lessen crime.

(Compared to 1893, this is certainly true in 1993.)


Men will learn the importance of proper prenatal conditions, and children will be reared with the same care now given colts, calves and dogs.

(Girl! Oh no, you didn't. I thought I had to introduce you to sarcasm. My bad.)


Government will establish colleges for the training of servants...

(Hmmmmmm... no. Next.)


If our men keep with our women in athletic development and in clean morals,the race will be larger and handsomer. Otherwise we shall produce splendid Amazons and pygmy men.

(The book I am getting these predictions from, Today Then, compiled by Dave Walter in 1992, used the phrase "Splendid Amazons and Pygmy Men" as the title for Ms. Wilcox's predictions. Nice to know I'm not alone in thinking that is a striking image.)

Chicago will be our greatest city because she knows she is not, and desires to be, and has the energy and zeal to become so.

(I think the denizens New York City would respectfully disagree. I might be wrong about the "respectfully" part.)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Sundays mean Ray Bradbury, giving us updates on the progress of the colonization of Mars.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

13 October 2013

Birthdays
Katia Winter b. 1983 (Sleepy Hollow)
Ashanti b. 1980 (Resident Evil, Buffy)
Jennifer Sky b. 1976 (Buffy, Xena, Cleopatra 2525)
Sacha Baron Cohen b. 1971 (Hugo)
Christopher Judge b. 1964 (Stargate, The Dark Knight Rises)
Hiro Kanagawa b. 1962 (Arrow, Caprica, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Smallville, Millennium [TV Series] )
Wayne Pygram b. 1959 (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Farscape)
Chris Carter b. 1956 (writer, The X-Files)
John Lone b. 1952 (Iceman)
William Zappa b. 1948 (Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
Melinda Dillon b. 1939 (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Harry and the Hendersons)

Long birthday list, everybody is still alive (yay!), and a tough decision for the Picture Slot. I would argue the biggest name in terms of genre is the writer Chris Carter and the biggest name in terms of show business in general is Sacha Baron Cohen. I could also go with Christopher Judge or Wayne Pygram because their characters are part of the iconic look of Stargate and Farscape respectively. I instead went with Jennifer Sky, not only because of the Pretty Girl = Picture Slot rule (d'uh!), but she also wrote an interesting op-ed in The New York Times last month about how much of an influence it was on her life to get a role on Xena: Warrior Princess.

Movies released
Strange Days released 1995

We will get some predictions from Strange Days later in the year, since the movie gives not only a year when it takes place, but also exact days, the end of 1999 and the beginning of 2000.

Prediction: December, 2001: Benjamin Driscoll, something like the Johnny Appleseed of Mars, plants trees with the intention of making the atmosphere more oxygen rich. The trees sprout to full height by the time he wakes up the next morning.

Predictor: Ray Bradbury in The Martian Chronicles, published in 1950

Reality: I remember way back on The Simpsons when Bart ran for class president against the chubby nerd Martin Prince. Martin's campaign promise was that the library would be stocked with the ABCs of science fiction, Asimov, Bester and Clarke.

His sickly little pal pipes up. "What about Ray Bradbury?"

Martin looks at his friend dismissively. "I'm familiar with his work."

Martin is representing the people who call the genre "SF" instead of "sci-fi", the people who like more science with their fiction. (Neil DeGrasse Tyson put out a tornado of tweets last week blasting the science of Gravity, but ended saying he still enjoyed it.) Bradbury was a storyteller, not a scientist, and in many chapters of The Martian Chronicles, it shows. A lot.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An exact date from H.G. Wells, not from The Shape of Things to Come and technically not from the future even from his point of view, but I'm letting that slide this time.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

28 September 2013

Birthdays
Kirsten Prout b. 1990 (Elektra, Twilight)
Naomi Watts b. 1968 (King Kong, The Ring)
Mira Sorvino b. 1967 (Mimic)
John Sayles b. 1950 (Brother From Another Planet, The Secret of Roan Inish)
Jeffrey Jones b. 1946 (Sleepy Hollow, Invader ZIM, The Twilight Zone, Beetlejuice, Howard the Duck)
J.T. Walsh b. 1943 died 27 Feb. 1998 (Pleasantville)
Marshall Bell b. 1942 (Total Recall, Starship Troopers)
Ronald Lacey b. 1935 died 15 May 1991 (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Red Sonja, Buckaroo Banzai)
Janet Munro b. 1934 Died 6 December 1972 (Darby O’Gill and the Little People, The Day the Earth Caught Fire)
William Windom b.1923 died 16 August 2012 (Star Trek, The Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman (remake))
Prosper Mérimée b. 1803 died 23 September 1870 (Le Venus d’Ille, Lokis, La Chambre bleue)

Wow, that's a long list of birthdays. Any of the actresses are easily pretty enough for the Pretty Girl = Picture Slot formula and if we were going with my favorite artist it would likely be the writer and director John Sayles, one of the true independent filmmakers working. Heck, William Windom in Star Trek wouldn't be such a bad choice, either, but instead I went with Ronald Lacey from Raiders of the Lost Ark because, if I can spoil a massive hit from thirty two years ago, the guy's a frickin' Nazi and his frickin' face melts, easily the most satisfying face melt in cinema history.

And then there's Prosper Mérimée, most famous for the story Carmen which became an iconic opera, but who also wrote horror stories and was involved in hoaxes, not unlike Edgar Allan Poe.

Many happy returns to all those still living.

Movies released
Looper released, 2012
 

Predictor: W.R. Grace, capitalist, answering a questionnaire sent out from the organizers of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, the world's fair held in Chicago.

Predictions: American farmers must find new places to grow wheat or we will be an importer instead of an exporter of wheat... American genius is going to show Europe how nutritive and desirable American corn is when properly cooked... but the greatest commercial developments will be in the relations between this country and the South American continent... in the next century, it may be possible to enter a palace car in New York City and ride it to Lima, Santiago, Rio de Janiero or Buenos Aires.

Reality: Grace was a big shot in the import/export business and one of his major concerns was imports from Peru, where he grew up when his father moved the family from Ireland. He was also the first Catholic mayor of New York City.

He's on the money about the growing of wheat. We found new lands for cultivation and we are not an importer. It's a little odd to read someone get defensive about the tastiness of corn, but it is originally a New World crop and the Portuguese introduced it to Africa before they brought it to Europe, though that was many centuries ago.

As for the Intercontinental Railroad, not so much, and certainly not staying in the luxurious comfort of a single palace car. Grace made his fortune trading between the Americas, but it wasn't the blueprint for most wealth in the 20th Century.

Looking on day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt our regular weekly schedule of predictions to tell you of an exact date for the end of the despotic reign of Barack Hussein Obama, the usurper who will be made to face the rule of law before the end of the year, oh, happy day!


(Seriously, there's some goofball who got quoted in an article who believes this.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

3 July 2013

Birthdays
Patrick Wilson b. 1973 (Watchmen, Prometheus)
Tom Cruise b. 1962

A good sign of how important genre movies have become is to look at Tom Cruise's career. He's always trying to make hits, though not always succeeding. That used to mean comedies and dramas. Now it's sci-fi.

Many happy returns to both gentlemen.

Movies released

The Amazing Spider-Man released, 2012
Transformers released, 2007
Men In Black released, 2002
Terminator 2 released, 1991
Back to the Future released, 1985

In the Year 2000!

Prediction: Oranges will grow in Philadelphia. Fast-flying refrigerators on land and sea will bring delicious fruits from the tropics and southern temperate zone within a few days. The farmers of South America, South Africa, Australia and the South Sea Islands, whose seasons are directly opposite to ours, will thus supply us in winter with fresh summer foods, which cannot be grown here. Scientists will have discovered how to raise here many fruits now confined to much hotter or colder climates. Delicious oranges will be grown in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Cantaloupes and other summer fruits will be of such a hardy nature that they can be stored through the winter as potatoes are now.

Predictor: John Elfreth Watkins in the 1900 edition of The Ladies' Home Journal

Reality: Again, Watkins overshoots on the agriculture advances.  Tropical fruits are much easier to grow in the tropics and while refrigeration and some methods of keeping fruit fresh have improved, the summer months are still the time to have the tasty melons.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


We interrupt our regularly scheduled weekday line-up for a prediction about July 4, 2008 from a movie some people consider the worst cinematic dreck of the 21st Century.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

26 June 2013

In the Year 2000!

Prediction:Vegetables Grown by Electricity. Winter will be turned into summer and night into day by the farmer. In cold weather he will place heat-conducting electric wires under the soil of his garden and thus warm his growing plants. He will also grow large gardens under glass. At night his vegetables will be bathed in powerful electric light, serving, like sunlight, to hasten their growth. Electric currents applied to the soil will make valuable plants grow larger and faster, and will kill troublesome weeds. Rays of colored light will hasten the growth of many plants. Electricity applied to garden seeds will make them sprout and develop unusually early.

Predictor: John Elfreth Watkins in 1900, published in The Ladies' Home Journal

Reality: It can be done, but it's expensive. For crops with average rates of return, it's often not profitable, but for something like marijuana it makes sense.

Or so I have been told. No first hand info.  NSA, please don't put me on any list, it's just a waste of resources.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


Arthur C. Clarke is talking about space travel again. Odds are he won't be right.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 April 2013

Birthday
Kal Penn b. 1977

Best known for the Harold and Kumar movies, Mr. Penn was also in Superman Returns, which earns him a birthday mention on this blog and a wish for many happy returns of the day.
 

In the Year 2000!

Predictions:
Fish and yeast will become our principal sources of proteins. Beef will be a luxury; lamb and mutton will disappear.

We'll all be getting a little hungry by and by.

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in 1950

Reality: It was the common assumption that population growth would outpace the food supply and everyone would feel the pain. I'm a little surprised that a writer as pro-capitalist as Heinlein wouldn't realize that people with money would always have enough to eat. It's also interesting to compare the 1950s writers to the 1900s writers. John Elfreth Watkins is completely confident that advances in agriculture will create miracles and wonders, while middle century sci-fi writers didn't share that conviction. I don't know anybody who predicted that obesity would become a serious problem among the poor, which is not surprising because it's so counter-intuitive.

I still have a lot of Heinlein predictions in the pipeline, but if I'm as generous as I possibly can be, only one of them is even close to correct. If nothing changes, Wednesday will be spent staring at the this ridiculous sportscoat unless I make a change.  To that end, I'm now going to have Heinlein share the Tuesday spot with another hard SF writer who made a lot of predictions with dates in his work, Larry Niven. I don't promise that Niven's predictions are any more accurate, only that is sartorial choices are not as disturbing.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Wednesday means John Elfreth Watkins or at least it does for another month or two. Tomorrow, he looks at the future of education... in the year 2000!
 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 March 2013

Birthdays
Nathan Fillion b. 1971
Adrian Rawlins b. 1958

Nathan get to be Picture Boy today. His best known genre work is all in the Whedonverse, a bad guy on Buffy, Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible's SingAlong Blog and of course Captain Mal Reynolds on the TV show Firefly and the movie Serenity.

Mr. Rawlins plays Harry Potter's father James in the movies.

In the year 2000!

Predictor: John Elfreth Watkins in The Ladies' Home Journal, 1900

Predictions (Reality):The milkweed will have been developed into a rubber plant. Cheap native rubber will be harvested by machinery all over this country. (Both the Germans and the American tried during WW II. Neither succeeded.)

Plants will be made proof against disease microbes just as readily as man is to-day against smallpox. (This has taken place.)

The soil will be kept enriched by plants which take their nutrition from the air and give fertility to the earth. (Epiphyte plants existed even in Watkins' day.)

Sugar cane will produce twice as much sugar as the sugar beet now does. Cane will once more be the chief source of our sugar supply. (There are more acres of sugar beets vs. cane in the U.S., but both are now outstripped in the sweetener market by high fructose corn syrup, an invention from the second half of the 20th Century.)

Strawberries and cranberries will be grown upon tall bushes.  (Not so much. These plants still hug the ground.)

Melons, cherries, grapes, plums, apples, pears, peaches and all berries will be seedless. (Seedless melons, apples and grapes exist, as do seedless oranges. Cherries, peaches and plums have pits. Harder to get rid of pits.)


Figs will be cultivated over the entire United States. (The best sources say the West Coast, Utah and Texas.)

Not the best hit to miss ratio for our pal John Elfreth this week. Some agricultural problems are harder to crack than others.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Thursday is Arthur C. Clarke's turn, where he predicts the speeds of spaceships in the early 21st Century.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 March 2013

Birthdays
David Thewlis b. 1963
Chris Wedge b, 1957 (director, Ice Age)
John De Lancie b. 1948

Damn. The guy who played Q is 65. This wins the daily contest for "What's the first thing today that will make me feel really old?"

Many happy returns, Mr. De Lancie. You were really good on Breaking Bad as well.

 

In the Year 2000!

Prediction: Peas as Large as Beets.
Peas and beans will be as large as beets are to-day.
Strawberries as Large as Apples will be eaten by our great-great-grandchildren for their Christmas dinners a hundred years hence. Raspberries and blackberries will be as large.
One will suffice for the fruit course of each person.
Cranberries, gooseberries and currants will be as large as oranges. One cantaloupe will supply an entire family.
Roses will be as large as cabbage heads.
Violets will grow to the size of orchids.
A pansy will be as large in diameter as a sunflower.
A century ago the pansy measured but half an inch across its face.

Predictor: John Elfreth Watkins in The Ladies' Home Journal, published in 1900

Reality: Hmm. Okay, this is disturbing. My historical man crush seems to have a thing for Big Fruit.

Not that I'm judging.  Longtime readers of my original blog are fully aware that I am the last person who should judge these sorts of things.

Still, that's a whole lotta Big Fruit. Big Flowers, too.

I talked to my historian friend Jodi who put this in perspective. Back in the late nineteenth century, Luther Burbank and George Washington Carver were among the Heroic Scientists bringing us a better tomorrow. Larger plants and longer growing seasons were a big part of the exciting innovations of the day and as usual, Watkins isn't making stuff up out of whole cloth but extrapolating the recent developments of his era one hundred years into the future.

These examples are taken from three separate predictions Watkins made about agriculture. I'll publish the rest of the agricultural predictions next week, the ones that aren't fixated on largeness.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 

Thursdays belong to Arthur C. Clarke, this time taking a date from his fiction instead of his published predictions.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!