28 December 2013

Birthdays
Thomas Dekker b. 1987 (Star Trek: Generations, Village of the Damned, Star Trek: Voyager, Heroes, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, A Nightmare on Elm Street [2010])
Beau Garrett b. 1982 (TRON: Legacy, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)
Sienna Miller b. 1981 (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Stardust)
Noomi Rapace b. 1979 (Prometheus)
Joe Manganiello b. 1976 (True Blood, Spider-Man)
Denzel Washington b. 1954 (The Book of Eli, Virtuosity)
Dame Maggie Smith b. 1934 (Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee Returns, Hook, Clash of the Titans)
Nichelle Nichols b. 1933 (Star Trek)
Stan Lee b. 1922 (Marvel Comics)
Lew Ayres b. 1908 died 30 December 1996 (Donovan’s Brain, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Questor Tapes, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Damien: Omen II, Battlestar Galactica)
F.W. Murnau b. 1888 died 11 March 1931 (director, Nosferatu)

A long and varied list today of birthdays today. A lot of the good looking young people who have been in genre films and TV this century and two honest to Odin movie stars in Denzel Washington and Dame Maggie Smith. For my money, the two genre icons are Nichelle Nichols and Stan Lee, and as often happens when I allegedly flip a coin, pretty wins. I do love the story about Nichols considering quitting and being talked out of it by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who knew how important it was to have such a hopeful view of the future.

Many happy returns of the day to all the living on our list, and to Lew Ayres and F.W. Murnau, thanks for all the memories.
  

Favorite predictions published in 2013

Prediction: World War III will be fought with intercontinental missiles. The entire conflict will be over in 36 hours with millions of lives lost on both sides, though America will emerge victorious.

Predictor: General Henry "Hap" Arnold, reporting to his superiors in 1945, the findings illustrated and published in the November 19th, 1945 issue of LIFE magazine.

Reality: This prediction does not have a date of any kind assigned to it, which is usually a prerequisite on this blog. I decided to include it when it was kindly forwarded to me by Professor Ian Abrams of Drexel University because it is the start of the nuclear anxiety that was so strong in the global consciousness of the last half of the 20th Century. When Arnold wrote this, we were the only country with nuclear technology and intercontinental ballistic missiles had not been developed yet, but that situation changed soon enough. As luck would have it, all out, toe to toe nuclear confrontation with the Russkis never took place, though people were honestly and rightfully terrified by the Cuban Missile Crisis. More than that, there were several false alarms and accidents that happened during the Cold War that could have been disastrous.

This is the third time I've mentioned this prediction this year. Let's hope it isn't like Candyman. As a pre-caution, I was not looking in a mirror when I made the mentions.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We return to previously unpublished predictions tomorrow with a warning of a pandemic that would send the human population underground.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 December 2013

 Birthdays
Laurence Belcher b. 1995 (X-Men: First Class, Doctor Who)
Emilie de Ravin b. 1981 (Once Upon a Time, Lost, The Hills Have Eyes, Roswell, BeastMaster [TV])
Aaron Stanford b. 1975 (The Hills Have Eyes, X2, X-Men:The Last Stand)
Heather O’Rourke b. 1975 died 1 February 1988 (Poltergeist I, II and III)
Thomas Wilson Brown b. 1972 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids)
 A lot of the younger names on today's birthday list are best known for their work as child actors, including Heather O'Rourke, the little girl in the Picture Slot who tragically died at the age of 12 from a heart attack. Emilie de Ravin is probably the best known face on the list from her work on TV.

Best birthday wishes to all the living on the list and best wishes to the family and friends of Heather O'Rourke, who died much too soon.

Favorite predictions published in 2013

Prediction: In 2012, young people will get all their music from computers the size of industrial washing machines.

Predictor: Archie comics, 1972

Reality: I love the Jetsons feel to the clothing styles in this one, and Archie using a hip 1970s term like "grooving". This one was sent to me by regular reader Leo Lincourt, and it happens to be his birthday today. Happy birthday, Leo!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

One last prediction on my list of favorites this year.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

26 December 2013

 Birthdays
Zach Mills b. 1995 (Super 8, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium)
Kit Harington b. 1986 (Game of Thrones)
Temuera Morrison b. 1960 (Star Wars: Episodes II & III, The Island of Dr. Moreau)
Jon Kilik b. 1956 (producer, The Hunger Games, Pleasantville)
Akihiko Hirata b. 1927 died 25 July 1984 (Godzilla, Rodan, The Mysterians, The H-Man, Mothra, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Atragon, Ghidorah, Ultraman, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla)
Shirley Patterson (aka Shawn Smith) b. 1922 died 4 April 1995 (It! The Terror from Beyond Space, World Without End, The Land Unknown, Batman [1943])
Elisha Cook Jr. b. 1903 died 18 May 1995 (Rosemary’s Baby, Star Trek, Salem’s Lot, Blacula, Batman [1966], Adventures of Superman)

Okay! It's St. Stephen's Day and we survived Christmas! The birthday list has more than a few choices for the coveted Picture Slot. For famous right now, Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, Ned Stark's bastard who knows nothing, would be the obvious choice. For the "Oh, That Guy" selection, Elisha Cook Jr. started out in the 1930s in character roles and worked for decades with a few roles in genre, probably the best known of those as the lawyer who defends Kirk from a court martial on Star Trek. But instead I went with the Japanese "Oh, That Guy" Akihiko Hirata, who plays the "I have a bad feeling about this" scientist in the original Godzilla and goes on to roles in about a dozen sci-fi and giant monster movies over the next twenty years. (Note: this is the only movie where he wore an eye patch, if I recall correctly.)

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

Favorite predictions published in 2013

Three predictions from two contributors to the 30th Anniversary issue of Amazing Stories, dated April 1956.


Hubert J. Schlafly (engineer): Systematic information will be in a form instantly available for response to remote inquiry.

Reality: He didn't say how exactly, but that's not a bad description of the Internet with a search engine. 

Gen. Carlos Romulo (Philippine delegate to the United Nations): Colonialism will have ended... I might be able to talk to Manila from New York with something I have in my pocket.

Reality: Colonialism is pretty much over and a cell phone can call internationally. 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The 1970s version of Archie Andrews looks at being a teen... in 2012!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

25 December 2013

Birthdays
CCH Pounder b. 1952 (Avatar, Warehouse 13, End of Days, The X-Files, RoboCop 3, Quantum Leap)
Sissy Spacek b. 1949 (Carrie)
Rick Berman b. 1945 (writer, Star Trek)
Dick Miller b. 1928 (Small Soldiers, Weird Science [TV], Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, The Flash [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Amazing Stories, Gremlins, V; The Final Battle, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Howling, X; The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Little Shop of Horrors[1961], War of the Satellites, Not of this Earth, It Conquered the World)
Rod Serling b. 1924 died 6/28/1975 (writer, Twilight Zone)
Dean Ellis b. 1920 died 12 October 2009 (illustrator)

In an unusual twist, Everyone on the list today is older than I am and the deceased were born before my dad was. If I was in an "oh, that guy" mood, Dick Miller is a quintessential example. I could have also chosen a Dean Ellis illustration for those unfamiliar with the name, but instead it's Rod Serling. I wanted to make sure I got a picture of him in a dark suit and with a cigarette. You likely recognize the set where he is giving his intro to the episode. William Shatner and Patricia Breslin will sit at that booth during the episode, but on the other side.

Many happy returns of the day to the living, and to Rod Serling and Dean Ellis, thanks for all the memories.

And oh yeah, merry Christmas.
 
Movies released
Gulliver’s Travels released, 2010

Favorite predictions published in 2013

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein, making predictions about the second half of the 20th Century in 1950.


Prediction: Contraception and control of disease is revising relations between the sexes to an extent that will change our entire social and economic structure.

Reality: Regular readers will know I have mocked Heinlein mercilessly on multiple occasions, but there is Ridiculous Bob and there is Sensible Bob and this prediction is from the latter. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was a middle class badge of honor that a man's wife didn't have to work, but by the 1970s, that became tougher as the percentage of women in the workforce grew. Women weren't forced to marry to survive and they could choose when they wanted to get pregnant. To make this prediction in 1950, when The Pill isn't even in the laboratory yet, is a prediction to be proud of.

Good on ya, Bob.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Two predictions from the April 1956 issue of Amazing Stories, the 30th anniversary issue that includes many celebrities from several fields predicting life in the year 2000.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

24 December 2013

 Birthdays
Stephenie Meyer b. 1973 (author, Twilight/New Moon)
Carmen Moore b. 1972 (Stargate SG-1, Wolf Lake, Andromeda, The 4400, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Eureka, Flash Gordon, Caprica, Supernatural)
Mark Millar b. 1969 (writer, Kick-Ass, Wanted)
Nicholas Meyer b. 1945 (director, Time After Time, Star Trek II, The Day After, Star Trek VI)
Fritz Leiber b. 1910 died 5 September 1992
(won 1958 Hugo for The Big Time and 1965 Hugo for The Wanderer)

A short list of birthdays with a preponderance of writers for a change, and the Picture Slot goes to the most highly regarded of the writers, the late Fritz Leiber, instead of the most financially successful, She Who Will Not Be Named. The one actress, Carmen Moore, has something in common with many actors who get a lot of appearances on 21st Century sci-fi TV shows. She's Canadian. This is not surprising given how many lower budget shows are filmed in Canada these days.

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

Favorite predictions published in 2013

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


Prediction: Giant guns will shoot twenty-five miles or more, and will hurl anywhere within such a radius shells exploding and destroying whole cities. Such guns will be armed by aid of compasses when used on land or sea, and telescopes when directed from great heights. Fleets of air-ships, hiding themselves with dense, smoky mists, thrown off by themselves as they move, will float over cities, fortifications, camps or fleets. They will surprise foes below by hurling upon them deadly thunderbolts. These aerial war-ships will necessitate bomb-proof forts, protected by great steel plates over their tops as well as at their sides. Huge forts on wheels will dash across open spaces at the speed of express trains of to-day. They will make what are now known as cavalry charges. Great automobile plows will dig deep entrenchments as fast as soldiers can occupy them. Rifles will use silent cartridges. Submarine boats submerged for days will be capable of wiping a whole navy off the face of the deep. Balloons and flying machines will carry telescopes of one-hundred-mile vision with camera attachments, photographing an enemy within that radius. These photographs as distinct and large as if taken from across the street, will be lowered to the commanding officer in charge of troops below.

Reality: Welcome to a five day retrospective of this year's predictions. Regular readers should not be surprised to be looking at a picture of my man crush John Elfreth Watkins. He does not technically count as "science fiction" because he was a museum curator and not an author, but I open up the prediction section to anyone willing to speculate about the future that is now the past or is only a few years away. I'm not sure if I found him on a wild Google hunt or got his name from one of the many very helpful bookstore employees or reference librarians who have been such a wonderful resource for me.

There are several very good predictions from Watkins, though regular readers will recall he went a little overboard on what the great advances in agriculture would look like. This one in particular predicts a lot of stuff that is not in existence in 1900, including "flying machines", effective submarine fleets, tanks, aerial surveillance and very long range artillery. For this and other predictions, John Elfreth Watkins was my favorite of the early weekly "regular contributors". His Wednesday regular spot has been taken over by a contemporary, the British writer T. Baron Russell from his 1905 book A Hundred Years Hence. I haven't been able to find out as much about Russell as I found out about Watkins; for example, I haven't been able to find a photograph of Russell. I haven't made all five selections for favorites yet, but so far Russell is not on the list. Sadly, Russell is to Watkins as Shemp is to Curly, as Kenney Jones is to Keith Moon. We will never love the replacement as much.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another weekly regular gets on the year end list. Yes, we are going to hear from Sensible Bob one more time.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!