27 June 2015

Birthdays
Chandler Riggs b. 1999 (The Walking Dead, Jesus H. Zombie)
Matthew Lewis b. 1989 (Harry Potter)
Ed Westwick b. 1987 (S. Darko, Children of Men)
India de Beaufort b. 1987 (Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire)
Sam Claflin b. 1986 (The Hunger Games, Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Lost Future)
Drake Bell b. 1986 (I [Heart] Vampires, Dragonworld: The Legend Continues)
Sam Hoare b. 1981 (An Adventure in Space and Time, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Golden Compass)
Courtney Ford b. 1978 (True Blood, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries, Alien Raiders)
Tobey Maguire b. 1975 (Spider-Man 1, 2 & 3, Pleasantville, Eerie, Indiana)
Christian Kane b. 1974 (The Librarians, Angel)
Stephen Barker Turner b. 1968 (Forever, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2)
J.J. Abrams b. 1966 (writer/director, Star Wars: Episode VII, Fringe, Star Trek, Super 8, Lost, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Armageddon)
Isabelle Adjani b. 1955 (Nosferatu the Vampire)
Julia Duffy b. 1951 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Voyagers!, Wizards and Warriors, Battle Beyond the Stars)
Ken Marshall b. 1950 (Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap, Krull)
James Daughton b. 1950 (Hologram Man, Weird Science [TV], V, The Incredible Hulk, Future Cop, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Sixth Sense [TV], Shazam!)
Paul Koslo b. 1944 (Stargate SG-1, The Flash, Xtro II, Solar Crisis, Robot Jox, Misfits of Science, The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Omega Man)
Sandra Smith b. 1940 (Star Trek)
George McCowan b. 1927 died 1 November 1995 (director, War of the Worlds [TV], The Shape of Things to Come, The Starlost, Frogs, The Invaders)
Wallace Earl Leven b. 1926 died 27 February 2012 (The Greatest American Hero, Time Express, The Six Million Dollar Man, Planet of the Apes, The Monster That Challenged the World)
Skelton Knaggs b. 1911 died 1 May 1955 (Captain Video, Master of the Stratosphere, House of Dracula, The Invisible Man’s Revenge)
Billy Curtis b. 1909 died 9 November 1988 (The Twilight Zone [1986], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Batman, The Angry Red Planet, Adventures of Superman, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Jungle Moon Men, Superman and the Mole Men, The Wizard of Oz)
John McIntire b. 1907 died 30 January 1991 (The Incredible Hulk, Twilight Zone)
Greta Schroder b. 1892 died 8 June 1980 (Nosferatu, The Golem)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Tobey Maguire, who turns 40 today, and Matthew Lewis, best known as Neville Longbottom. Continuing with the trend of iconic stuff from the 21st Century, today it's Chandler Riggs from his most famous role as Carl on The Walking Dead.

2. The Gal at the Door. It's a short list today. No one born after WW II died young, there is no one born in the 1930s and everyone born in the 1920s is gone. These three facts conspire to make Sandra Smith the Gal at the Door. Her most famous role was as Dr. Janice Lester on the third season Star Trek episode Turnabout Intruder, my second choice for the Picture Slot today. As always, special birthday wishes go out to anyone singled out by this odd demographic coincidence.

3. The Geezer Canadians. There are two Canadians on the list today, both of them born before 1950 so their credit lists don't have that much in the way of Canadian genre productions. They are the actor Paul Koslo and the director George McCowan.

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

Movies released
Transformers: Age of Extinction released, 2014 
WALL-E released, 2008
 

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

Prediction: We can already see the outlines of 1976 products. Telephone and telegraph lines are to give way to microwave radio. Electronic lighting will give safety on sea and land. Atomic batteries are not far off and Solar batteries will be commonplace.

Reality: Even the things he gets right are more the outlines of 2015 than 1976. Microwave radio is a good description of cell phone reception, solar batteries are getting more commonplace every day and at an accelerating pace, but atomic batteries ain't happening and I'm not even sure what counts as "electronic lighting". LEDs perhaps?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Regular old Sunday tomorrow means another prediction from Robert A. Heinlein's The Door Into Summer.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

25 January 2015

 Birthdays
Tayler Marshall b. 2000 (Jack the Giant Slayer)
Poppy Rogers b. 1992 (Five Children and It, From Hell, The Tenth Kingdom)
Rupert Simonian b. 1991 (Peter Pan [2003])
Dustin Ingram b. 1990 (True Blood, Paranormal Activity 3, Sky High)
Tom Hopper b. 1985 (Knights of Badassdom, Merlin, Doctor Who)
Michael Trevino b. 1985 (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Charmed)
Charlie Bewley b. 1981 (Extant, The Vampire Diaries, The Twilight Saga)
Christine Lakin b. 1979 (The Frankenstein Theory, Race to Witch Mountain, Seven Days, Big Monster on Campus, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Mia Kirshner b. 1975 (Lost Girl, Defiance, The Vampire Diaries, The Crow: City of Angels, My Secret Identity, Dracula: The Series, War of the Worlds)
Kurt Evans 1974 (Arrow, Fringe, Watchmen, The Andromeda Strain [2008], Supernatural, The 4400, Stargate SG-1, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, Dead Like Me, Tru Calling, Andromeda, The X-Files)
Carlos Antonio b. 1972 (American Horror Story, Lost Tapes)
Johnny Green b. 1972 (Monster Man, Buffy, Twilight Zone [1986], Back to the Future)
Alex Nevil b. 1965 (Star Trek [2009], Star Trek: Enterprise, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lois & Clark, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero)
Don Mancini b. 1963 (screenwriter, Child’s Play, Tale’s from the Crypt)
Eugene Osment b. 1959 (Minority Report, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Dinah Manoff b. 1958 (Child’s Play, Mork & Mindy)
Jenifer Lewis b. 1957 (Mystery Men, Meteor Man)
Lynn Hancock b. 1951 (Evilspeak)
Diane Salinger b. 1951 (Salem, Carnivale, Charmed, Deep Space Nine, Mann & Machine, Batman Returns, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Creature)
John Terry b. 1950 (Lost, Hawk the Slayer)
Richard Poe b. 1946 (Gotham, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Leigh Taylor-Young b. 1945 (Deep Space Nine, Looker, Soylent Green)
Anita Pallenberg b. 1944 (4:44 Last Day on Earth, Barbarella)
Tobe Hooper b. 1943 (director, Djinn, Taken, The Others, Perversions of Science, Dark Skies, Tales from the Crypt, Freddy’s Nightmares, Amazing Stories, Invaders From Mars, Lifeforce, Poltergeist, Salem’s Lot)
John Owens b. 1942 (The Wolfman [2010], Dinotopia, Alice in Wonderland [1999], An American Werewolf in London, Doctor Who, Scrooge [1970])
Gregory Sierra b. 1941 (Vampires, Deep Space Nine, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, The X-Files, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Something Is Out There, The Munsters Today, The Greatest American Hero, The Clones, Beneath the Planet of the Apes)
Diana Hyland b. 1936 died 27 March 1977 (The Invaders, The Green Hornet, Hercules and the Princess of Troy, Twilight Zone)
Dean Jones b. 1931 (Once Upon a Brothers Grimm, The Love Bug, Mr. Superinvisible)
King Donovan b. 1918 died 30 June 1987 (Invasion of the Body Snatchers [1956], The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Magnetic Monster)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. No disrespect intended, but today's list is low on star power. The best known names are probably are probably Dean Jones and Gregory Sierra, but the closest either of them gets to iconic is Jones in The Love Bug, a movie I include somewhat grudgingly. The person who is most important to the genre is likely Tobe Hooper, but I couldn't decide on which of his film posters to use. Last year, the Picture Slot was Richard Poe, not a well known actor but iconic as Gul Evek, one of the first Cardassians shown on Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the spirit of that choice, the Picture Slot this year is given to King Donovan, the guy with the pitchfork in front in this production still from the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Apropos of the minimal star power on today's list, Donovan may be the least known actor in the picture. The women are the lovely Dana Wynter and Carolyn Jones and of course, the other guy is Kevin McCarthy, the star of the film.

2. Spot the Canadians! Our two Canadians are fairly easy to spot. The only hint I'll give is that they were both born after 1970. Good luck.

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

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in his 1956 book The Door into Summer

Predictions: I finally settled on the year 2000, a nice round number and only thirty years away. I was afraid that if I made it any longer I would be completely out of touch. The changes in the last thirty years (my own lifetime) had been enough to make a man’s eyes bug out – two big wars and a dozen little ones, the downfall of communism, the Great Panic, the artificial satellites, the change to atomic power – my when I was a kid they didn’t even have mulitmorphs.”

Reality: Okay, this paragraph kind of lands us in the middle of the story. Our hero is alive in 1970 and he is going to sleep in suspended animation until 2000. That means the past 30 years are 1940 to 1970. His predictions are another big war to rival World War II (wrong), communism's fall (a few decades too early), the Great Panic (no big economic downturn in that era), the artificial satellites (true and the book was written before Sputnik), the change to atomic power (at least partial credit here) and "multimorphs" on most sci-fi refer to shapeshifters (crazy wrong). With as many as he got right and the ones that have become true in the past sixty years, I'll say this one is more Sensible Bob than Ridiculous Bob. 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from the Old Faithful of all my sources, The OMNI Future Almanac. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

7 September 2014

 Birthdays
Hugh Mitchell b. 1989 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
Evan Rachel Wood b.1987 (True Blood, S1m0ne, American Gothic)
Devon Sawa b. 1978 (Creature of Darkness, Final Destination, Idle Hands)
Monique Gabriela Curnen b. 1977 (Touch, Contagion, The Dark Knight, Journeyman, Lady in the Water)
Noah Huntley b. 1974 (Dracula Untold, Snow White and the Huntsman, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 28 Days Later…, The Omega Code 2, Event Horizon)
Alex Kurtzman b. 1973 (writer, Venom, Van Helsing, Sleepy Hollow, Transformers, Star Trek, Fringe, Cowboys & Aliens, The Island, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Shannon Elizabeth b. 1973 (Night of the Demons, Cursed, Thir13en Ghosts, Good vs Evil)
Tom Everett Scott b. 1970 (Beauty and the Beast, Race to Witch Mountain, Dead Man on Campus, An American Werewolf in Paris)
Diane Farr b. 1969 (Collision Earth, Roswell)
Angie Everhart b. 1969 (Bigfoot, Bugs, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Bordello of Blood, Last Action Hero)
Toby Jones b. 1967 (The Hunger Games, Captain America, Snow White and the Huntsman, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Mist [2007])
W. Earl Brown b. 1963 (American Horror Story, The X Files, Vanilla Sky, Charmed, Angel, Being John Malkovich, Deep Impact, Project: ALF, Vampire in Brooklyn)
Cliff Simon b. 1962 (Stargate)
Christopher Villiers b. 1960 (Triassic Attack, From Time to Time, Doctor Who, Ultraviolet)
Stewart Finlay-McLennan b. 1957 (Lost, National Treasure, E.A.R.T.H. Force)
Mira Furlan b. 1955 (Space Command Redemption, Lost, Babylon 5)
Doug Bradley b. 1954 (A Vampire’s Tale, Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes, Hellraiser, Dominator, Proteus, Nightbreed)
Corbin Bensen b. 1954 (Vipers, They Are Among Us, Beings, Atomic Twister, Dead Above Ground, Spacejacked, Menno’s Mind, Inhumanoid, Aurora: Operation Intercept, Star Trek: The Next Generation, King Kong [1976])
Michael Emerson b. 1954 (Lost, Saw, The X Files)
Julie Kavner b. 1950 (Click, Revenge of the Stepford Wives)
Dario Argento b. 1940 (director, The Sandman, Dracula 3D, Phenomena)
John Phillip Law b. 1937 died 13 May 2008 (Alienator, Barbarella, Golden Voyage of Sinbad)

A relatively young list today and only John Phillip Law is dead. He did have some iconic roles and he was awfully darned pretty, but he didn't get the Picture Slot nod. Last year, I had Evan Rachel Wood from True Blood in the Picture Slot, this year Mira Furlan as the pre-transformation version of Delenn from Babylon 5. As for next year, I can't say who will be in the Picture Slot next year, but Doug Bradley as Pinhead from the Hellraiser series of movies will certainly be considered.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the late John Phillip Law, thanks for all the memories.   

Predictor: Henry Luce, founder of the Time/Life empire, speaking in 1956.

Prediction: By 1980, all ‘power’ – electric, atomic, solar – is likely to be virtually costless.

Reality: For a guy who amassed a remarkable fortune and considerable social and political influence, Luce seems a little vague on the basic concepts of capitalism. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, if atomic had turned out to be safer and solar had advanced more quickly than it did, they might have been more cost effective than fossil fuel powered plants and brought the prices down. It should be remember that in 1956, the cost of fossil fuels weren't as expensive as they would be in later years when adjusted for inflation. I might give him a half point for optimism, but 0.5 of 10 is still a failing grade.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yes, it's OMNI Future Almanac day!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

22 May 2014

 Birthdays
Tao Okamoto b. 1985 (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Wolverine)
Lucy Gordon b. 1980 died 20 May 2009 (Spider-Man 3)
Maggie Q b. 1979 (Divergent, Priest)
Ginnifer Goodwin b. 1978 (Once Upon a Time)
Noa Tisby b. 1977 (Charmed, The Island, The 4400, Star Trek: Enterprise)
Max Brooks b. 1972 (author, World War Z)
Michael Kelly b. 1969 (Chronicle, The Adjustment Bureau, Fringe, Level 9)
Mark Christopher Lawrence b. 1964 (Halloween II, Heroes, The Island, K-PAX, Planet of the Apes, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
David Schneider b. 1963 (28 Days Later…)
Gary Sweet b. 1957 (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
Mike Muscat b. 1952 (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Last Action Hero, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Starman [TV], The Clan of the Cave Bear)
Cheryl Campbell b. 1949 (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Michael Sarrazin b. 1940 died 17 April 2011 (Feardotcom, Arrival II, Earthquake in New York, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Frankenstein: The True Story)
Paul Winfield b. 1939 died 7 March 2004 (Mars Attacks!, White Dwarf, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Charmings, The Terminator, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Twilight’s Last Gleaming)
Richard Benjamin b. 1938 (actor, Love at First Bite, Quark, Westworld, director, My Stepmother is an Alien)
John Nolan b. 1938 (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, 1990, Doomwatch, The Prisoner)
Quinn Martin b. 1922 died 5 September 1987 (producer, The Aliens Are Coming, The Mephisto Waltz, The Invaders)
Laurence Olivier b. 1907 died 11 July 1989 (Clash of the Titans, Dracula [1979], The Boys from Brazil)
Arthur Conan Doyle b. 1859 died 7 July 1930 (author, The Lost World)

 When it comes to iconic roles on this list, my top two would be Olivier as Zeus in Clash of the Titans or Paul Winfield as Captain Dathon in the episode Darmok. I chose the one I liked better. I'm sure I read the news when it happened, but I was surprised to find that both Paul Winfield and Michael Sarrazin are dead.

Many happy returns to the living on the list and to the dead, Darmok and Jalad, watching old movies.

Movies released
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull released, 2008
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian released, 2009

In the year 2000!

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

Prediction: Nuclear energy will be a practical power source for industry, autos, ships, missiles, trains, and planes. One "shot" of atomic fuel will last years. even decades. A single atomic battery will produce all the electricity needed for years in homes or factories in isolated regions.

Reality: Take de Forest away from his field of communications and his track record is pretty bad, as in almost at Paul Ehrlich levels of stink. He's right about atomic energy on ships - at least in the Navy - but autos, missiles, trains and planes... not so much. One little slip-up and your home or factory will be in a really isolated region for a couple of decades.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of Paul Ehrlich levels of bad, we still have a few more swings and misses from the so-called expert.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

24 April 2014

 Birthdays
Jack Quaid b. 1992 (The Hunger Games)
Austin Nichols b. 1980 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Surface, The Day After Tomorrow, Sliders)
Rebecca Mader b. 1977 (Once Upon a Time, Warehouse 13, Iron Man 3, Fringe, Alphas, No Ordinary Family, Lost)
Eric Balfour b. 1977 (Haven, No Ordinary Family, Skyline, Dinoshark, Rise of the Gargoyles, The Chronicle, Buffy)
Noah Danby b. 1974 (Bitten, Beauty and the Beast, Riddick, Lost Girl, Warehouse 13, Eureka, Painkiller Jane, Stargate SG-1, Alien Incursion, Smallville, The 4400, Andromeda, Mutant X, Witchblade, Lexx)
Eric Kripke b. 1974 (writer, Supernatural, Revolution, Boogeyman)
Damon Lindelof b. 1973 (writer, World War Z, Star Trek Into Darkness, Lost)
Melinda Clarke b. 1969 (The Vampire Diaries, Reaper, Firefly, Tremors [TV], Charmed, Star Trek: Enterprise, Spawn, Sliders, Xena, Return of the Living Dead III)
Rory McCann b. 1969 (Game of Thrones, Season of the Witch, Clash of the Titians, Solomon Kane)
Aiden Gillen b. 1968 (Game of Thrones, The Dark Knight Rises)
Stacy Haiduk b. 1968 (True Blood, Heroes, The Attack of the Sabertooth, The X-Files, Charmed, Kindred: The Embraced, SeaQuest 2032, Superboy)
Djimon Hounsou b. 1964 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Push, Eragon, The Island, Constantine, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Stargate)
Glenn Morshower b. 1959 (Revolution, After Earth, Transformers, X-Men: First Class, Dollhouse, Charmed, The Island, Category 6: Day of Destruction, Star Trek: Enterprise, Buffy, Strange World, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Godzilla [1998], Millennium, The X-Files, Dark Skies, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap)
Steven Lisberger b. 1951 (writer, TRON)
Michael Parks b. 1940 (Grindhouse, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sorceress)
Jill Ireland b. 1936 died 18 May 1990 (Star Trek, My Favorite Martian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Richard Donner b. 1930 (director, Timeline, Superman, The Omen, Ladyhawke, Twilight Zone)
William Castle b. 1914 died 31 May 1977 (director, Zotz!, 13 Ghosts, The Tingler, House on Haunted Hill)

Nice long birthday list today. Two Game of Thrones regulars, which right now is trump when it comes to The Picture Slot. Aiden Gillen got the honors last year so this year it's Rory McCann as The Hound. Special note is given to Glenn Morshower, a bald and husky Oh That Guy who plays a lot of cops and military officers. In the latest Transformers movie - which I haven't seen - his character is named Gen. Morshower, which I'm guessing is a little joke by the writer who realized he had seen this actor plenty of times before. As for the older folks on the list, it's been a long time since I thought about Jill Ireland, Charles Bronson's lovely wife who died so young 24 years ago. That was definitely my first "Jeez, I'm old!" moment of the morning.

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

In the year 2000!

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

Prediction:  Atomic-powered missiles will carry freight and mail between cities-and continents-within minutes. Jets and missiles will be commonplace for passenger flights.

Reality: Umm... no. I've read several mid-century sci-fi stories recently and earthbound rocket travel was a really popular idea. In the movies, rockets landed on alien worlds just as easy as you please, but in the real world that has to pay attention to pesky stuff like physics, landing a tall tube in an upright position is really hard.

And then there's atomic-powered missiles! If he hadn't mentioned jets, this would have been a big goose egg for de Forest.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Even when Lee de Forest screws up, Dr. Paul Ehrlich shows up on Fridays to make him look like a genius in comparison.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

29 October 2013

 Birthdays
India Eisley b. 1993 (Underworld: Awakening)
Johnny Lewis b. 1983 died 26 Sept. 2012 (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem)
Ben Foster b. 1980 (X-men: The Last Stand, 30 Days of Night)
Gabrielle Union b. 1972 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Winona Ryder b. 1971 (Edward Scissorhands, Dracula, Star Trek, S1m0ne, Alien:Resurrection, Beetlejuice)
Rufus Sewell b. 1967 (Dark City)
Tim Minear b. 1963 (writer/producer, American Horror Story, Dollhouse, Angel, Firely, Wonderfalls, The X-Files, Lois and Clark)
Finola Hughes b. 1959 (Charmed)
Dan Castellaneta b. 1957 (Futurama, Super 8, Stargate: SG-1)
Richard Dreyfuss b.1947 (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Piranha 3D)
Ralph Bakshi b. 1938 (Lord of the Rings, Wizards, Fire and Ice)
Margaret Sheridan b. 1926 died 1 May 1982 (The Thing from Another World)
Robert Hardy b. 1925 (Harry Potter)

Quite a selection of birthdays today. The best known names are Winona Ryder and Richard Dreyfuss, while Ralph Bakshi is the best indicator of how far the genre has progressed when you consider his low budget animated Tolkien compared to this century's mega-blockbusters. My favorite movie on the list is Dark City, and so I considered choosing Rufus Sewell, but instead I chose the late Margaret Sheridan, famous for her scream on the poster for The Thing From Another World.

A note about the late Johnny Lewis. He is best known for Sons of Anarchy. The gory circumstances of his death can be found on his Wikipedia page.

Predictor: Isaac Asimov, who was asked by promoters of the 1964 World's Fair to predict the wonders of 2014

Prediction: The appliances of 2014 will have no electric cords, of course, for they will be powered by long- lived batteries running on radioisotopes. The isotopes will not be expensive for they will be by- products of the fission-power plants which, by 2014, will be supplying well over half the power needs of humanity. But once the isotype batteries are used up they will be disposed of only through authorized agents of the manufacturer.

Reality: Umm... no. Atomic energy might very well be the main reason the public doesn't trust pointy-headed scientists. (Well, that and their complete failure to give us flying cars.) I'm more in favor of use of atomic energy that most left-wing types - especially thorium based reactors - but the more news that comes about Fukushima, the less confident I become.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to the Wednesday schedule and that means T. Baron Russell and his collection of predictions from 1905.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

25 October 2013

Birthdays
Sarah Thompson b. 1979 (Angel)
Craig Robinson b. 1971 (This is the End, Hot Tub Time Machine)
Gale Anne Hurd b. 1955 (producer, The Walking Dead, The Incredible Hulk, Terminator, Tremors, Alien Nation, Aliens, The Abyss)
John Matuszak b, 1950 died 17 June 1989 (The Ice Pirates, Caveman)
Mark L. Taylor b. 1950 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Innerspace, Star Trek:Voyager, Arachnophobia, Star Trek:The Next Generation)
Billy Barty b.1924 died 253 December 2000 (Willow, Legend)
Peter Dennis b. 1933 (Star Trek:Voyager)
Whit Bissell b. 1909 died 5 March 1996 (The Time Machine, Soylent Green, The Incredible Hulk [TV], The Time Tunnel, Star Trek, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Atomic Kid, Target Earth, Creature From the Black Lagoon)
Leo G. Carroll b. 1886 died 16 October 1972 (Tarantula)

Today's birthday list is loaded down with "Hey, it's that guy!" actors, most notably Whit Bissell, a very good character actor with 304 film and TV credits to his name, including non-genre classics like The Caine Mutiny and The Magnificent Seven. The most influential person on the list is the producer Gale Anne Hurd, but because this week has only one Pretty Girl in the Picture Slot and because I'm a sucker for the Whedonverse, Sarah Thompson as Eve on Angel is looking out at you from inside your computer.

Many happy returns to the living on the list.
 

Five fun facts from 2015!

Prediction: Cold fusion reactors the size and shape of coffee machines

Predictor: Back to the Future: Part II, released 22 November 1989

Reality: Well, this would be a wonderful solution to nearly all our problems. A cheap, clean, effectively unlimited supply of energy that runs on garbage.It doesn't exist, of course, but if it did, who could possibly be against it?

I'd wage that if the Koch brothers didn't control over the half the market, they'd work like hell to make sure it didn't get off the ground.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our list of Back to the Future: Part II predictions is interrupted by a prediction from the first Back to the Future.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

23 February 2013

Birthdays
Dakota Fanning b. 1994
Kelly Macdonald b. 1976
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry b. 1932 died 12/18/2008  

I love Kelly Macdonald's work, but most of it is not in the sci-fi genre. Ms. Roddenberry, on the other hand, did little else but work on sci-fi TV shows, so she earns a photo.
 

What life will be like... in the year 2001!

Predictor: Leo Cherne (Executive Director, Research Institute of America)
Everyone has access to free power created by solar, atomic energy will be widespread...
The average American will have a 24 hour work week, 6 hours a day four days a week...

Predictor: Hubert J. Schlafly (engineer)
Systematic information will be in a form instantly available for response to remote inquiry...
By 2001, we may be in the dot and dash stage of the electrical transmission of solid matter.

Reality: Solar power is not in the universal access phase and atomic power had some big setbacks. People don't have 24 hour work weeks, except those unlucky bastards working at companies trying to deny them access to health care, so Dr. Cherne lays a big goose egg.

Mr. Schlafly on the other hand gives a pretty good description of the Internet in the statement I underlined. He doesn't say exactly how it will take place and the word "computer" is nowhere to be found, but that isn't surprising. 1956 is akin to the Dark Ages when it comes to computers. As for the electrical transmission of matter, we are a long way away from replicators, but maybe we could count 3D printers as the early starting point, "the dot and dash" stage as Schlafly puts it.

Just don't expect one to give you "Earl Grey tea, hot" anytime soon. Just sayin'.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! The editor of Radio & Television News gets a lot of stuff wrong and a UN delegate from the Philippines gets a lot of stuff right.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!