6 September 2015

Birthdays
Rhys Ward b. 1989 (The Strain, The 100, My Babysitter’s a Vampire)
Lauren Lapkus b. 1985 (Jurassic World)
Tehmina Sunny b. 1980 (Extant, Heroes, Children of Men)
Blaze Berdahl b. 1980 (Aliens in the Family, Pet Sematary)
Matthew Horne b. 1978 (Sinbad, Vampire Killers, Fairy Tales)
Naomie Harris b. 1976 (National Theatre Live: Frankenstien, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Dinotopia, 28 Days Later…, The Tomorrow People)
Sarah Strange b. 1974 (ReGenesis, Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, First Wave, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Millennium, Sliders, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, The X Files, Neon Rider)
Idris Elba b. 1972 (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Prometheus, Thor, Pacific Rim, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, 28 Weeks Later, Ultraviolet, Space Precinct)
China Miéville b. 1972 (won 2010 Hugo for The City & the City)
Justina Machado b. 1972 (The Purge: Anarchy, Dragonfly, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Angel)
Dylan Bruno b. 1972 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Dead Zone, The Rage: Carrie 2)
Betsy Russell b, 1963 (Saw III throught VI, Superboy, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Michael Winslow b. 1958 (Lavalantula, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Robodoc, Lycanthrope, Harry and the Hendersons, Spaceballs, Gremlins)
Patti Yasutake b. 1953 (FlashForward, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Katherine Cannon b. 1953 (Seven Days, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Hidden, The Incredible Hulk, Battlestar Galactica, Future Cop)
Anne Lockhart b. 1953 (Surrogates, Bug Buster, Bionic Ever After, Quantum Leap, Freddy's Nightmares, Troll, AutoMan, Knight Rider, Voyagers!, E.T., The Incredible Hulk, Earthbound, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Battlestar Galactica, Project U.F.O., The Sixth Sense [1972])
Tommy Lee Wallace b. 1949 (director, Vampires: Los Muertos, It, Fright Night Part 2, Max Headroom, Twilight Zone [1985], Halloween III: Season of the Witch)
Keone Young b. 1947 (True Blood, Men in Black 3, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Invisible Man, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], Deep Space Nine, Small Wonder )
Jane Curtin b. 1947 (The Librarians, Cyberchase, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Coneheads)
Swoosie Kurtz b. 1944 (Heroes, Category 7: The End of the World, Lost, Harvey [TV movie])
Carol Wayne b. 1942 died 13 January 1985 (The Girl with Something Extra, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie)
Jo Anne Worley b. 1937 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Six Million Dollar Man, Captain Nice)
Sergio Aragones b. 1937 (writer/artist, Groo the Wanderer)
Jody McCrea b. 1934 died 4 April 2009 (The Monster That Challenged the World)
Paul Naschy b. 1934 died 30 November 2009 (A Werewolf in the Amazon, Night of the Werewolf, Mystery on Monster Island, Night of the Howling Beast, The Mummy’s Revenge, Vengeance of the Zombies, Count Dracula’s Great Love, Curse of the Devil, La Furia del Hombre Lobo, The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman, Las Noches del Hombre Lobo, Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror)
Max Schreck b. 1879 died 20 February 1936 (Nosferatu)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used pictures of Max Schreck and Idris Elba. This year, I had several options, including Sergio Aragones and Naomie Harris, but I decided to go all Star Trek nerd and use Patti Yasutake from her regular role as Nurse Ogawa.

2. Spot the Canadian! Sarah Strange was born north of the border.

3. Nepotism FTW. Anne Lockhart is the daughter of June Lockhart and grand-daughter of Gene Lockhart. Jody McCrea is Joel McCrea's son.

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

The Weekly Soapbox: Computers and Artificial Intelligence

Science fiction is often given credit for being prophetic, but the truth is not quite as flattering. Sci-fi is about telling stories, exciting adventures of imagination. Long before rockets were good enough to get us into orbit, science fiction stories had us traveling to other star systems, ignoring the problems of time and distance involved. On the other hand, the trajectory of computers and how quickly they would change, getting smaller, faster, cheaper and more practical, is a major technological advance of the past fifty years that sci-fi didn't quite get. An argument against my major theme might point to Asimov's robots or Frank Herbert's idea of mentats, people who can do what computers did after letting a computer think is made illegal, on the idea that we reached the Singularity and decided to walk away from it. But most of Asimov's robot stories as well as Herbert's Dune universe are set thousands or even tens of thousands of years in the future. Computers are a major part of our lives right now.

Here are my awards in different categories for the predictions about computer we have had on the blog.

Most paranoid
Arthur C. Clarke gets points for seeing how fast the computerized future would come, but nearly everything he wrote is a warning against it. Here I would single out the short story Dial F for Frankenstein and his screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Besides Clarke, the most paranoid depictions of computers come from movies like Colossus: The Forbin Project, the Terminator series and WarGames.

Most accurate or most prescient
Regular readers will know how I love to mock Robert A. Heinlein, but he got a few things right out of many, many speculations in his story The Door Into Summer, serialized in 1956 and turned into a novel in 1957. Most notable is Computer Aided Design or CAD, which he assumed would exist by the early 1970s.

Another very good prediction is from Lee De Forest in 1960, who forecast the development of computers used as medical diagnostic aides. OMNI Future Almanac will get a few mentions in overly-optimistic section, but one of their predictions published a few weeks ago about the computers of writer being connected by some wire over telephone lines to publishers was a very good guess in 1982.

But I give the last spot in this most complimentary category to T. Baron Russell in 1905, who predicted a combined typewriter/calculating machine that could create completely accurate ledgers. I'm sure Russell must have seen it a deluxe calculator, unable to envision computers or screens or spreadsheets or laser jet printers, but no one else from his era has an idea anything quite like this.

Most overly-optimistic
OMNI Future Almanac really went off the deep end sometimes with their computer predictions, falling in love with a fad like bio-rhythms to assume we might well have chips inside out heads by now. At a TED talk last decade, Bill Joy said high end computers would cost $10 in 2020, and while I can't say with complete confidence there won't be some crazy advances in the next five years, I don't hear anyone talking about what a wonderful prophet Bill Joy was these days.

As for the top spot in overly optimistic, Ray Kurzweil is the easy winner with his 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines, which made a number of very specific advances that would come to pass by 2009. Kurzweil is tech-savvy enough that almost nothing he predicted is actually impossible, though we are still very far away from reverse engineering the brain, his boldest prediction by far. His best calls are about "worn technology", self-driving cars and voice recognition technology, his worst are reverse engineering the brain and the popularity of 3-D chips, which are hard to build and have bad error rates.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of OMNI Future Almanac, Monday is their regular turn for predictions.

Join is then... IN THE FUTURE!

8 June 2015

Birthdays
Melanie Tonello b. 1992 (My Babysitter’s a Vampire, Resident Evil: Apocalypse)
Torrey DeVitto b. 1984 (The Vampire Diaries)
Maria Menounos v. 1978 (Paranormal Movie, Knight Rider [2009], Fantastic Four, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Nate Dushku b. 1977 (Dollhouse, Angel, Wolf Girl, Vampire Clan)
Eion Bailey b. 1976 (Once Upon a Time, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Mindhunters, Buffy)
Lexa Doig b.1973 (Continuum, Primeval: New World, Smallville, V, Supernatural, Eureka, Stargate SG-1, The 4400, Andromeda, Jason X, Earth: Final Conflict, TekWar)
Mark Feuerstein b. 1971 (In Your Eyes, Practical Magic)
Matt Kaminsky b. 1971 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Star Trek: Enterprise)
Kelli Williams b. 1970 (Earth 2, Quantum Leap, Beauty and the Beast)
David Sutcliffe b. 1969 (Mega Cyclone, Mutant X, Forever Knight)
Juliana Margulies b. 1966 (The Lost Room, The Mists of Avalon)
Kevin P. Farley b. 1965 (Roswell FM, Project Bigfoot, Paranormal Movie, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Frank Grillo b. 1963 (A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island, The Purge: Anarchy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Minority Report. Poltergeist: The Legacy)
Anthony Cistaro b. 1963 (Charmed, Witchblade, Angel, The Runestone)
Gary Trousdale b. 1960 (director, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Beauty and the Beast)
Bernard White b. 1959 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Touch, Quarantine, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded, The Scorpion King, The X-Files, Knight Rider)
Scott Adams b. 1957 (creator, Dilbert; actor, Babylon 5)
Griffin Dunne b. 1955 (The Android Affair, Amazing Stories, An American Werewolf in London)
Sonia Braga b. 1950 (Warehouse 13, Tales from the Crypt)
Kathy Baker b. 1950 (Edward Scissorhands, Amazing Stories, The Right Stuff)
Jack Sholder b. 1945 (director, Tremors [TV], Arachnid, Mortal Kombat: Conquest [TV], Generation X, The Omen [TV], Tales from the Crypt [TV], 12:01, The Hidden, Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge)
Colin Baker b. 1943 ( Star Trek Continues, Doctor Who, Blake’s 7)
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson b. 1941 (Swamp Thing [TV], Darkman, Prince of Darkness, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Supernaturals, Buckaroo Banzai, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Bernie Casey b. 1939 (Vegas Vampires, Babylon 5, Deep Space Nine, Time Trax, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Martian Chronicles, Ants, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Dr Black, Mr. Hyde)
James Darren b. 1936 (Deep Space Nine, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Millicent Martin b. 1934 (Return to Halloweentown, Max Headroom)
Joan Rivers b. 1933 died 4 September 2014 (Iron Man 3, Spaceballs)
Dana Wynter b. 1931 died 5 May 2011 (The Questor Tapes, Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
Kate Wilhelm b. 1928 (won 1977 Hugo for Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang)
Charles Tyner b. 1925 (Space, The Incredible Hulk, Evilspeak, Pete’s Dragon)
Myron Healey b. 1923 died 21 December 2005 (RoboCop [TV], Knight Rider, V, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Incredible Melting Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Land of the Giants, Varan the Unbelievable, Men Into Space, Adventures of Superman, Batman and Robin [1949])
Robert Preston b. 1918 died 21 March 1987 (The Last Starfighter)
George D. Wallace b. 1917 died 22 July 2005 (Minority Report, Buffy, The X-Files, Multiplicity, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Bionic Woman, Planet of the Apes, The Six Million Dollar Man, Forbidden Planet)
Robert F. Young b. 1915 died 22 June 1986 (author, Jonathan and the Space Whale)
John W. Campbell b. 1910 died 11 July 1971 (author, Who Goes There?; editor, Astounding Science Fiction, Analog)
C.C. Beck b. 1910 (creator, Captain Marvel)

Notes from the birthday list.

1. The Picture Slot. Three of the people on this list have already had the Picture Slot. Colin Baker got it for being The Doctor, George D. Wallace got it for being future Xander on Buffy and to distinguish him from other better known George Wallaces and Lexa Doig from Andromeda got it when I misread her birthday in 2013. While several of the writers on the list can be considered iconic, I decided to give the slot to the fabulous Dana Wynter from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

2. Canadians spotted. We have three Canadians on the list, the most obvious being the lovely Lexa Doig. Melanie Tonello and David Sutcliffe are not quite as obvious.

3. Nepotism FTW. We have two lesser known siblings who have appeared in movies and TV shows where their better known kin were the stars, Nate Dushku and Kevin P. Farley. Griffin Dunne is the son of writer Dominick Dunne, but I can't tell if that was a boon for him early in his career.

4. MST3K. I know The Incredible Melting Man got the treatment, there may be others on the list.

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

Movie released
Prometheus released, 2012

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Highly-specialized security officers will actively try to prevent computer crime, which could become a well-developed criminal art.

Reality: There were already hackers in the early 1980s, so this prediction wasn't a huge stretch, but that does not change the fact this prediction deserves full marks.

Never to be Forgotten: Richard Johnson 1927-2015

British actor Richard Johnson has died at the age of 87. He claims that he was offered the role of James Bond in Dr. No but turned it down. When asked of his opinion of Sean Connery, he felt the Scotsman was miscast, but it worked because the scripts played up the humor. Hard to argue with either of those points. Johnson worked steadily up until last year, much of the work on British television shows.


Mr. Johnson gets the nod on this blog for his roles in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Tales from the Crypt, Zombie, Space: 1999 and The Haunting.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A prediction was made last year about 2015 and we are going to check in on it.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

21 April 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to 1901 with our sensible pal George Sutherland.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

1 March 2015

Birthdays
Harry Eden b. 1990 (Peter Pan [2003])
Dominic Rains b. 1982 (Captain America; The Winter Soldier, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, FlashForward)
Alicia Leigh Willis b. 1978 (National Treasure: Book of Secrets, The Chronicle)
Jensen Ackles b. 1978 (Supernatural, Smallville, Dark Angel)
Luke Mably b. 1976 (28 Days Later…)
Mark-Paul Gosselar b. 1975 (Atomic Twister, Dead Man on Campus, Specimen, Twilight Zone [1986])
Jack Davenport b. 1973 (Pirates of the Caribbean, FlashForward, Ultraviolet, Immortality, Tale of the Mummy)
Cara Buono b. 1971 (Let Me In, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Cthulhu, From Other Worlds, Hulk)
Javier Bardem b. 1969 (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales)
Joshua Milrad b. 1968 (The Beastmaster)
Steve Marshall b. 1968 (Night of the Creeps)
Zach Snyder b. 1966 (director, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Sucker Punch, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead)
JD Cullum b. 1966 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Charmed, Sliders, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Manhattan Project)
Tim Daly b. 1956 (From the Earth to the Moon, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde)
Ron Howard b. 1954 (actor, Land of the Giants, Village of the Giants, Twilight Zone; director, Apollo 13, Willow, Splash)
Dougal Dixon b. 1947 (author, After Man)
Lana Wood b. 1946 (Tales from the Dark Fall, Captain America II: Death Too Soon)
Dirk Benedict b. 1945 (Earthstorm, Demon Keeper, Amazing Stories, Battlestar Galactica, Ssssss)
Roger Daltrey b. 1944 (Strange Frequency 2, Witchblade, The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, Highlander [TV], Sliders, Lois & Clark, Tales from the Crypt[TV])
Dennis Lipscomb b. 1942 died 30 July 2014 (Roswell, The Invisible Man, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Apollo 11, Lois & Clark, The X Files, SeaQuest 2032Amazing Stories, WarGames, The Day After, The Powers of Matthew Star, The Greatest American Hero)
David Weatherly b. 1939 (Lord of the Rings, Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Hercules, Xena, My Grandpa Is a Vampire)
Joan Hackett b. 1934 died 8 October 1983 (The Terminal Man, Twilight Zone)
Raymond St. Jacques b. 1930 died 27 August 1990 (Voodoo Dawn, They Live, Starman [TV], The Powers of Matthew Star, Voyagers!, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, Gemini Man, The Invaders, The Green Hornet)
Robert Clary b. 1926 (The Munsters Today)
Roger Delgado b. 1918 died 18 June 1973 (Doctor Who, The Champions, The Mummy’s Shroud, First Men Into Space, Quatermass II)
David Niven b. 1910 died 29 July 1983 (The Canterville Ghost)
Lionel Atwill b. 1885 died 22 April 1946 (House of Dracula, House of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Night Monster, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Man Made Monster, The Son of Frankenstein, Mark of the Vampire, The Vampire Bat, Doctor X)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In earlier years, the slot was filled by Zach Synder and an illustration by Dougal Dixon from his book After Man. Top choices for this year are Jensen Ackles, one of the two stars of Supernatural, Dirk Benedict from the original Battlestar Galactica, Roger Delgado, the first actor to play the role of The Master on Doctor Who, but instead I went extremely old school with Lionel Atwill, a British actor who did a boatload of Universal horror films in the 1930s and 1940s, though he was not in any of the four films that started the genre, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man and The Mummy. He is pictured here as Inspector Krogh from Son of Frankenstein, a man who lost an arm as a child when the original monster ripped it out of its socket. Mel Brooks parodied this role with Kenneth Mars playing a one-armed inspector in Young Frankenstein.

2. Nepotism and not. Let's start from the top. Alicia Leigh Willis is no kin to Bruce Willis; her dad David Willis has done a few films, but she is likely better known than he is. JD Cullum is the son of John Cullum, a Broadway actor best known for Northern Exposure. Ron Howard's dad is Rance Howard, but the younger Howard is by far the more famous and is more a source of nepotism rather the recipient. Lana Wood was the sister of Natalie Wood, not quite as pretty a face but a much more va-va-voom figure. Her best known role is as Plenty O'Toole in Diamonds are Forever.

3. Wait... He's dead? I hadn't realized the African-American actor Raymond St. Jacques had died so young. Also, Dennis Lipscomb is a great Oh That Guy actor who died last year. He should definitely have earned a Never to be Forgotten post, but news of his death did not get to me.

4. Not the Canadian? Jensen Ackles has the one-two punch of Supernatural and Smallville, but he was born in the States. Given that Supernatural is now in its eleventh season, I wouldn't be surprised if he now lives in Canada, but he is not native born, nor is anyone on the list today.

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

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in the 1956 novel The Door Into Summer

Prediction: I wanted a gadget that could do anything inside the home – cleaning and cooking, of course, but also really hard jobs, like changing a baby’s diaper, or replacing a typewriter ribbon… I wanted a man and wife to be able to buy one machine for, oh, say about the price of a good automobile, which would be the equal of the Chinese servant you read about but no one in my generation had ever seen.

Reality: Bob's male privilege is seeping in here a little with this dig at "women's work" being something a single machine could easily master. And just because insulting one half the human population isn't quite enough for a good Heinlein paragraph, he also takes a slap at the Chinese.

Suffice it to say, Sensible Bob got the idea of CAD right, but Computer Aided Housework comes from Ridiculous Bob. 
 

This month's splash illustration. I was trying to think of what futuristic gizmo I hadn't featured at the top of the page in the many months this blog has been around. I had cars, flying cars, kid's toys, great illustrations by Syd Mead and others and then I thought... computers! We take them for granted in our lives, but the handy little gadget on which I'm typing this nonsense is so much more powerful than most sci-fi predicted it would be by now. So this month's splash illustration is the upper third of this computer screen design I found online, though I couldn't find the name of the artist. It's everything computers were expected to be: busy, flashy and almost completely incomprehensible without hours if not weeks of training. I think it screams "FUTURE!" or at least someone's idea of what it would be, which of course is the underlying concept of this blog, isn't it?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Three little words. OMNI Future Almanac. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 February 2015

Birthdays
Bryce Hodgson b. 1989 (Falling Skies, The Tomorrow People, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, X-Men 2, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Jeremiah, Stargate SG-1)
Colton James b. 1988 (Supernatural, The X-Files, The Cell, Sliders, House of Frankenstein [1997 TV], The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
Miko Hughes b. 1986 (The New Adventures of Pinkgirl and The Scone, Clockstoppers, Roswell, Spawn, Apollo 13, Natural Selection, Out of This World, Pet Sematary)
Josh Helman b. 1986 (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men: Days of Future Past)
Zach Roerig b. 1985 (The Vampire Diaries)
Jodie-Amy Rivera b. 1984 (Hocus Pocus)
Dichen Lachman b. 1982 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The 100, Being Human, Torchwood, The Guild, Dollhouse, Tyrannosaurus Azteca, Aquamarine)
Elodie Yung b. 1981 (G.I, Joe: Retaliation)
Adrienne Pickering b. 1981 (Knowing)
Daniel Cudmore b. 1981 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Twilight Saga, Fringe, Revolution, Stargate: SG-1, Merlin and the Book of Beasts)
Drew Barrymore b. 1975 (Donnie Darko, Batman Forever, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Babes in Toyland, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Cat’s Eye, Firestarter, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Altered States)
Craig Warnock b. 1970 (Time Bandits)
Joe Holt b. 1970 (Supernatural, Lake Placid 2, K-PAX)
Thomas Jane b. 1969 (The Punisher, Mutant Chronicles, Dreamcatcher, Deep Blue Sea, The Crow: City of Angels, Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], She-Wolf of London)
Jeri Ryan b. 1968 (Helix, Warehouse 13, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Star Trek: Voyager, Dracula 2000, Dark Skies, Time Trax, The Flash)
Rachel Dratch b. 1966 (Click)
Steve Spiers b. 1965 (Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, Inkheart, Eragon, Doctor Who, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Doctor Who, Star Wars: Episode I - Not Typing the Title)
Brian Anthony Wilson b. 1960 (Zombie Killers: Elephant’s Graveyard, Apocalypse Kiss, Limitless, The Happening, Shadow: Dead Riot, The Postman)
Kyle MacLachlan b, 1959 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Believe, Mysterious Island, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, The Invisible Man [TV movie], Roswell, Tales from the Crypt, The Hidden, Dune)
Gillian Barber b. 1958 (Witches of East End, 2012, Reaper, Supernatural, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The 4400, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, Mysterious Ways, The Immortal, The 6th Day, The New Addams Family, First Wave, Millennium, Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X Files, Sliders, Jumanji, Needful Things )
Robert Bathurst b. 1957 (Dracula [2013 TV], Whoops Apocalypse, Red Dwarf)
Nigel Planer b. 1953 (The Color of Magic, Hogfather, Brazil)
Ellen Greene b. 1951 (The Walking Dead, Heroes, The X-Files, Little Shop of Horrors)
Julie Walters b. 1950 (Harry Potter, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood)
John Ashton b. 1948 (King Kong Lives, The Twilight Zone [1985], The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Wonder Woman)
Bridget Turner b. 1939 died 27 December 2014 (The Color of Magic, Doctor Who, Hogfather)
Barry Dennen b. 1938 (Weird Science, They Came from Outer Space, The Munsters Today, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Tales from the Darkside, Amazing Stories, Superman III, Shock Treatment, The Shining, Wonder Woman, Monster Squad, Batman)
Joanna Russ b. 1937 died 29 April 2011 (author, Alyx series, The Female Man)
Elizabeth MacRae b. 1936 (Alien Zone, I Dream of Jeannie, The Incredible Mr. Limpet)
James Hong b. 1929 (R.I.P.D., The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Big Bang Theory, Charmed, Blade Runner, The X-Files, Tank Girl, Lois & Clark, The Shadow, Merlin, War of the Worlds [TV], Big Trouble in Little China, Manimal, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Outer Limits, Godzilla [1956])
Paul Dooley b. 1928 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Edward Gorey b. 1925 died 15 April 2000 (illustrator)
Reed Crandall b. 1917 died 13 September 1982 (illustrator, John Carter of Mars)
Dan Seymour b. 1915 died 25 May 1993 (Escape to With Mountain, Batman, My Mother the Car, My Favorite Martian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Return of the Fly, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Adventures of Superman)
Vaughn Taylor b. 1911 died 26 April 1983 (Bewitched, The Invaders, My Favorite Martian, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, The Wizard of Baghdad)
Sir John Mills b. 1908 died 23 April 2005 (Frankenstein [1992 TV], Quatermass, Dr. Strange)
Dwight Frye b. 1899 died 7 November 1943 (Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Vampire Bat, Frankenstein, Dracula)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous Picture Slotters have been the fabulous Jeri Ryan and the great character actor James Hong. There are a lot of good choices, but if I restrict our candidates to folks near the top of the bill, the contenders are Ellen Greene from Little Shop of Horrors, Drew Barrymore from E.T., Thomas Jane from The Punisher and the winner, Kyle MacLachlan from Dune. If I didn't go with that restriction, I would also consider character actor from the Universal horror movies Dwight Frye, illustrator Edward Gorey, Julie Walters from Harry Potter, Steve Spiers, a great British menacing thug and fabulous babe Dichen Lachmann from several Whedonverse series.

2. Spot the Canadians! Bryce Hodgson was born in Canada, but Colton James was not. James worked on casting Supernatural, but I find no info about him getting Canadian citizenship. Gillian Barber was born in the U.K., but moved to Vancouver.


3. When you are the first in a dynasty, it's not really nepotism, is it? Sir John Mills is the father of Juliet Mills and Hayley Mills

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

 

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein from the 1956 book The Door Into Summer.

Prediction: I had an idea for a gadget, a drafting machine, to be operated by an electric typewriter… This gizmo would let [engineers] sit down in a big easy chair and tap keys and have the picture unfold on an easel above the keyboard.

Reality: Heinlein is predicting what we know call Computer Aided Design or CAD for short and he thinks it will exist by 1970. Wikipedia gives the start of the technology as the mid-1970s, so I'm going give this full marks and it gets put in the Sensible Bob category. As much fun as it can be to mock Heinlein, fair is fair.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

FiveThirtyEight.com has their predictions for the acting Oscars, Best Picture and Best Director. Let's come back tomorrow and see how they did.
 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

12 January 2015

Birthdays
Nathan Gamble b. 1998 (The Hole, The Mist, The Dark Knight)
Luke Bromley b. 1944 (The World’s End, Torchwood)
Tiler Peck b. 1989 (Donnie Darko)
Will Rothhaar b. 1987 (Grimm, Battle Los Angeles, Fringe, Radio Free Albemuth, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Buffy)
Naya Rivera b. 1987 (Frankenhood)
Vanessa Johansson b. 1980 (Day of the Dead)
David Mitchell b. 1979 (author, Cloud Atlas)
Kaja Foglio b. 1970 (illustrator, Girl Genius)
Rachel Harris b. 1968 (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Star Trek: Voyager, SeaQuest 2032)
Chris Gartin b. 1968 (Transcendence, True Blood, M.A.N.T.I.S.)
Vendela Kirsebom Thomessen b. 1967 (Batman & Robin)
Olivier Martinez b. 1966 (Cybergeddon)
Barbara Scolaro b. 1966 (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion)
Rob Zombie b. 1965 (director, The Lords of Salem, Halloween I and II [2007 and 2009], The Devil’s Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses)
Simon Russell Beale b. 1961 (Penny Dreadful [2015], Into the Woods, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [2011 TV], Alice in Wonderland [1999 TV])
Oliver Platt b. 1960 (Gods Behaving Badly, X-Men: First Class, 2012, Bicentennial Man, Lake Placid, Tall Tale, Flatliners)
Wanda Cannon b. 1960 (Andromeda, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Code Name: Eternity, Earth: Final Conflict, My Secret Identity)
Ralf Moller b. 1959 (The Scorpion King, Mutant X, Relic Hunter. Andromeda, Conan [1998 TV], Batman & Robin, Universal Soldier)
John Lasseter b. 1957 (director, Cars 1 & 2, Toy Story 1 & 2, A Bug’s Life)
Rockne S. O'Bannon b. 1955 (writer, Constantine, Defiance, Revolution, V [2011], Farscape, Creature, Invasion, Alien Nation, SeaQuest 2032, Twilight Zone [1986], Amazing Stories)
Kirstie Alley b. 1951 (Village of the Damned, Deadly Nightmares, Runaway, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Quark)
Haruki Murakami b. 1949 (author, 1Q84, Sputnik Sweetheart)
Anthony Andrews b. 1948 (Tales from the Crypt, Nightmare Classics, Doomwatch)
Roger Ewing b. 1942 (Bewitched)
Geoffrey Hoyle b. 1941 (author, 2010: Living in the Future)
Bob Dishy b. 1934 (The Twilight Zone [1985])
Bruce Lansbury b. 1930 (writer, Swamp Thing, The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, The Powers of Matthew Star, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
House Peters Jr. b 1916 died 1 October 2008 (Twilight Zone, Target Earth, Red Planet Mars, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Batman and Robin [1949], King of the Rocket Men, Flash Gordon)
Ray Teal b, 1902 died 2 April 1976 (I Dream of Jeannie, The Twilight Zone, The Absent-Minded Professor, Men Into Space)
Jack London b. 1876 died 22 November 1916 (author, The Iron Heel)
Charles Perrault b. 1628 died 16 May 1703 (author, Mother Goose)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. To be honest, the only person on the list today I consider to have a truly iconic genre role is Kirstie Alley in The Wrath of Khan and I used her picture before. German bodybuilder Ralf Moller was Conan on the TV show, but I never saw it and I don't know how many people did. So I thought about the birthday folk who are not in front of the camera and decided Charles Perrault's Mother Goose is the most important work in the fantasy field.  

2. Spot the Canadian. Oliver Platt was born in Canada, but his father was a United States diplomat stationed there, so he does not have Canadian citizenship or a credit list that shows Canadian tendencies. There is one Canadian native and the credit list does give her nationality away, though it's mostly from last century. Good luck!

3. The Guy at the Door. Producer/writer Bruce Lansbury turns 85 today. Everyone younger than he is alive and everyone older is dead, though it should be noted that the next oldest person, House Peters Jr., was born 14 years earlier, a large gap. Ignoring the randomness of being born on January 12, he also has an older sister named Angela who is still with us. In any case, Lansbury is The Guy at the Door today and I send out special best wishes for many happy returns.

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

Predictor: Arthur C. Clarke in both 2001: A Space Odyssey [1968] and 2010: odyssey two [1982].

Prediction: On 12 January 1992, The HAL 9000 becomes operational.

Reality: First a technicality. The 1992 date is from the Kubrick movie and Clarke's sequel book. In Clarke's book adaption of the movie, the date is 12 January 1997.

As for reality, computers still aren't anything like HAL, but I consider HAL and Skynet important enough to have their "birthdays" commemorated every year. They are by no means the first examples in science fiction of machines overtaking humans and making us obsolete, but both are given exact dates, an important distinction as far as the blog is concerned, and both are still cultural touchstones.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The post-mortem for the picks from ESPN's 14 pro football experts of this weekend's four football games.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

10 October 2014

Birthdays
Aimee Teegarden b. 1989 (Star-Crossed, Legend of the Seeker)
Emer Kenny b. 1989 (Vampire Killers)
Lucy Griffiths b. 1986 (True Blood)
Aaron Himelstein b. 1985 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Journeyman)
Amber Scott b. 1984 (Hook)
Kassem Gharaibeh b. 1983 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, I <3 Vampires)
 Dan Stevens b. 1982 (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Vamps, The Turn of the Screw, Dracula [2006 TV], Frankenstein [2004 TV])
Jodi Lyn O’Keefe b. 1978 (The Vampire Diaries, Lost, The Big Bang Theory, Charmed, The Crow: Salvation, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later)
Trevor Eyster b. 1978 (Babylon 5, Alligator II: The Mutation, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Natalie Ramsey b. 1975 (Pleasantville)
Majan Neshat b. 1975 (RoboCop [2014], Fringe)
Chad Willett b. 1971 (Haven, Supernatural, Category 6: Day of Destruction, The Chronicle, Charmed, Poltergiest: The Legacy, The X Files)
Manu Bennett b. 1969 (The Hobbit, Arrow, Sinbad and the Minotaur, 30 Days of Night, Xena, BeastMaster [TV])
Bai Ling b. 1966 (The Lazarus Papers, Lost, Southland Tales, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Jake 2.0, Angel, The Crow, The Monkey King)
Martin Kemp b. 1961 (Strippers vs Werewolves, Tales from the Crypt, Embrace of the Vampire, The Outer Limits, Highlander [TV], Waxwork II; Lost in Time)
Bonita Friedericy b. 1961 (Paranormal Activity 3, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Alien Raiders, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Buffy)
Jodi Benson b. 1961 (Enchanted)
Bradley Whitford b. 1959 (The Cabin in the Woods, Bicentennial Man, Cloned, The X-Files)
Julia Sweeney b. 1959 (Clockstoppers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Coneheads, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Karen Kopins b. 1958 (Once Bitten, Amazing Stories, Creator, Knight Rider)
Jessica Harper b. 1949 (Minority Report, Starman [TV], Tales from the Darkside, Phantom of the Paradise)
Larry Lamb b. 1947 (Blood: The Last Vampire, Superman III, Superman)
Ben Vereen b. 1946 (Lois & Clark, Star Trek: the Next Generation, Intruders, Faerie Tale Theatre, Mary’s Incredible Dream)
Charles Dance b. 1946 (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Game of Thrones, Dracula Untold, Midnight’s Children, Underworld: Awakening, Space Truckers, The Last Action Hero, Alien³, The Golden Child)
Peter Coyote b. 1941 (FlashForward, The 4400, Return of the Living Dead, Phenomenon II, E.T., Sphere, The Twilight Zone, Deadly Nightmares, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann)
Laurel Cronin b. 1939 died 26 October 1992 (Hook)
Peter White b. 1937 (The X Files, Armageddon, Flubber, Deep Space Nine, Superboy, The Greatest American Hero)
Ron Feinberg b. 1932 died 29 January 2005 (A Boy and His Dog, It’s About Time)
Dana Elcar b. 1927 died 6 June 2005 (2010, Knight Rider, Small & Frye, Voyagers!, Galactica 1980, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, Gemini Man, The Sixth Sense, The Invaders, Dark Shadows [1967], ‘Way Out)
Richard Jaeckel b. 1926 died 14 June 1997 (Starman, Salvage 1, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, The Green Slime, The Time Tunnel, The Outer Limits)
Alice Nunn b. 1927 died 1 July 1988 (Misfits of Science, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Knight Rider, The Fury)
Ed Wood, Jr. b. 1924 died 10 December 1978 (director, Night of the Ghouls, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Bride of the Monster)
Janos Prohaska b. 1919 died 13 March 1974 (Star Trek, Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Charles Lloyd Pack b. 1902 died 22 December 1983 (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, The Reptile, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, The Revenge of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, Curse of the Demon, Enemy from Space, Vampire Over London)



Notes on the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Janos Prohaska as the mogatu on Star Trek. He spent most of his career in costumes. This year, a tip of the hat to Charles Dance, who was so very good as Tywin Lannister. George R.R. Martin said the one role that was completely sewn up before production started was Peter Dinklage as Tyrion, and it's understandable because there's no little person actor who is quite in his league right now, but honestly, Dinklage is much prettier that the Tyrion you find in the book. On the other hand, when I saw Charles Dance as Tywin, I could not imagine anyone else in that role. Ever.


2. Next year's Picture Slot. A whole lot of pretty at the top of the list, but not a whole lot of iconic genre roles. Dan Stevens, for example, is plenty pretty, but he's Matthew on Downton Abbey to most of his fans. If I go with my favorite actor, it's probably Oh That Guy Dana Elcar. If I get in an odd mood, it might be Ed Wood, Jr.


3. Spot the Canadian. Chad Willett. Seeing both Supernatural and The X Files together is a bit of a giveaway.


4. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure genre? I count it as genre because of Large Marge the trucker. Alice Nunn played Large Marge.


5. Ummm... imdb? Peter Coyote has done a LOT of narration and a bunch of it isn't listed on imdb.com, included all the stuff he's done for Ken Burns. That's just wrong.


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

Predictor: Editor in charge of business book at Prentice-Hall, circa 1957

Prediction: I have traveled the length and breadth of this country, and have talked with the best people in business administration. I can assure you on the highest authority that data processing is a fad and won’t last the year.

Reality: I'm only sad that we don't have an actual name to go with this one. It's as good as the guy at Decca passing on the Beatles because the guitar band fad was at an end.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to 1893 and a predictor whose name is still known to us today.

Also, fantastic facial hair.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

21 August 2014

 Birthdays
Maxim Knight b. 1999 (Falling Skies)
Hayden Panettiere b. 1989 (Heroes)
Robert Knox b. 1989 died 24 May 2008 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Laura Haddock b. 1985 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rage of the Yeti, Captain America: The First Avenger)
Nathan Jones b. 1969 (Mad Max: Fury Road, Conan the Barbarian [2011], Doom Runners)
Carrie-Anne Moss b. 1967 (The Matrix, Red Planet, Forever Knight)
Kim Catrall b. 1956 (Modern Vampires, Invasion, Split Second, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Big Trouble in Little China, City Limits, Mannequin, Tucker’s Witch, The Incredible Hulk, Logan’s Run [TV])
Walter Williamson b. 1946 (The Omega Code, Babylon 5)
Basil Poledouris b. 1945 died 8 November 2006 (composer, Starship Troopers, RoboCop 3, RoboCop, Cherry 2000, Amerika, Twilight Zone [1985], Conan the Barbarian, Tintorera: Killer Shark)
Loretta Devine b. 1949 (Supernatural)
Peter Weir b. 1944 (director, The Truman Show, The Cars That Eat People)
Clarence Williams III b. 1939 (Deep Space Nine)
Wilt Chamberlain b. 1936 died 12 October 1999 (Conan the Destroyer)
Tony Steedman b. 1927 died 4 February 2001 (Babylon 5, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Beauty and the Beast, The Charmings)
Anthony Boucher b. 1911 died 29 April 1968 (editor, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)

A list of random thoughts about today's list.

1. Last year it was Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix, this year it's Kim Catrall from Big Trouble in Little China. Long before Kim Catrall was mocked mercilessly for her role on Sex and the City, she was mocked mercilessly on Mystery Science Theater 3000.  Dr. Forester introduced City Limits with the line "This week's experiment is City Limits, with James Earl Jones in one of the worst movies he ever made and Kim Catrall in one of the best movies she ever made." That still makes me laugh.

2. The people with just one role. All the reasons are different. Maxim Knight is just a kid and who knows where his career will go. Hayden Panettiere hasn't gone back to genre since Heroes. Poor Robert Knox was killed in a bar brawl four days after his last scene was shot. Wilt Chamberlain only played a role other than himself in one movie. And then there's Loretta Devine and Clarence Williams III, each of them with over 100 credits and only one in sci-fi, not counting voice work. A lot of hard working black actors don't get cast in sci-fi or fantasy and they aren't the only ethnic group treated this way. If an Italian-American actor gets cast as a mobster, that's pretty much how his or her entire career will go. It's much the same for Hispanic actors who play gang members.

3. Die young much? Of the deceased on today's list, Only Tony Steedman (Socrates in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) lived to see 70. When I was hunting names on isfdb.org this morning, I saw the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley was on their list, but I didn't include him. He died at 25. To think of the accomplishments of people dying that young is both impressive and depressing.

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: The atom and electron will be your doctor's servants. Electronic ""brains,"" for instance, will store knowledge of every symptom of every disease, making instantly available to physicians everywhere up-to-the-minute scientific findings which they could never hope to keep abreast of.

Reality: This is some good thinking on de Forest's part and it is 100% accurate. He couldn't be expected to know that computers would be most used for storing pictures of adorable cats and porn, but to grade him down for that would be completely unfair.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The Picture Slot will be a tip of the hat to My People and Our Agenda, he wrote somewhat cryptically. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

10 June 2014

 Birthdays
Kelly Vitz b. 1988 (Sky High)
Celina Jade b. 1985 (Arrow)
Shane West b. 1978 (Salem, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Dracula 2000, Sliders, Buffy)
DJ Qualls b. 1978 (Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, Lost, The Core)
Mike Dopud b. 1968 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Continuum, Man of Steel, Battlestar Galactica, Beauty and the Beast [2012], Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Grimm, Warehouse 13, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Stargate, Smallville, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Supernatural, Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], Blade: The Series, BloodRayne, Kraken: Tentatcles of the Deep, Jeremiah, Rollerball, Dark Angel, Seven Days, The New Addams Family [TV], Millennium [TV], Futuresport, Welcome to Paradox)
Elizabeth Hurley b. 1965 (Wonder Woman [2011], Bedazzled, My Favorite Martian [1999])
Andrew Niccol b. 1964 (director, The Host, In Time, S1m0ne, Gattaca)
Ben Daniels b. 1964 (Jack the Giant Slayer, Merlin, Doom)
Jeanne Tripplehorn b. 1963 (Timecode, Waterworld)
Carolyn Hennesy b. 1962 (Acting Dead, True Blood, Once Upon a Time, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare)
Timothy Van Patten b. 1959 (director, Game of Thrones)
Robert Clohessy b. 1957 (The Avengers, Lois & Clark)
Frankie Faison b. 1949 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Messengers, Prey, The Langoliers, Freejack, Maximum Overdrive, C.H.U.D., Cat People)
Mickey Jones b. 1941 (It Came From Outer Space II, Total Recall, Misfits of Science, V, Starman, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980)
Jurgen Prochnow b. 1941 (Wing Commander, Judge Dredd, Terminus, Dune)
Maurice Sendak b. 1928 died 8 May 2012 (author/artist, Where the Wild Things Are)
Lionel Jeffries b. 1926 died 19 February 2010 (Lexx, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, First Men in the Moon, The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Quatermass Xperiment)
Judy Garland b. 1922 died 22 June 1969 (The Wizard of Oz)
Lou Frizzell b. 1929 died 17 June 1979 (Project U.F.O., Devil Dog: The Hound from Hell, Isis)
Robert Cummings b. 1919 died 2 December 1990 (My Living Doll, Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
Robert Eddison b. 1908 died 14 December 1991 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Storyteller, The Legend of King Arthur [1979], Out of the Unknown)

If the standard for the Picture Slot is being iconic, Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz or an illustration by Maurice Sendak are the two competitors here, and I went with Judy. I loved this movie so much and we had the album of the soundtrack that I played incessantly when I was a kid.  I would easily put it on my list of top musicals and top fantasy films, and I think it's hard not to put it on a top ten list of best films of all time.

A short note on something a little odd on the list. Mike Dopud has been in a jillion productions, several of which I have seen, and he has made close to zero impression on me. I think I might be able to pick him out of a crowd if I watched more Battlestar Galactica, but he isn't nearly as recognizable as several other names on the list, at least for me.

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

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in the 1972 book 2010: Living in the Future

Prediction: While you are at school in one room, your parents may be at work in another. People who do office work do it at home. To keep in close touch with other people in their office they use the vision phone. The vision desk is connected to their firm’s computer, which stores all the office files. With this close contact between everybody in the office, it is easy to work from home.

Wherever people work—in a factory or at home, or whatever else their job might be—they will work for only three days a week. The rest of the week they can do what they like. They can play football, learn a language, or train for a new job.

Reality: In comparison to 1972, more people work at home now than did then and computers are a big part of that, but it's clear Hoyle isn't thinking about personal computers but instead honking big mainframes. As for three days a week of work... who does he think we are, the French?

Frickin' commie.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

June will be our last month hearing from T. Baron Russell, our regular Wednesday contributor ever since we ran out of stuff from John Elfreth Watkins. (sniff.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

3 June 2014

Birthdays
Brenden Jefferson b. 1986 (Holes, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century)
Imogen Poots b. 1989 (Fright Night, 28 Weeks Later, V for Vendetta)
Jame Purefoy b. 1964 (John Carter, Solomon Kane, Frankenstein [2007, TV], Resident Evil, The Cloning of Joanna May)
Suzie Plakson b. 1958 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast, My Stepmother is an Alien)
Scott Valentine b. 1958 (Harpies, Black Scorpion, Fallout, Mars, Carnosaur 3: Primal Species, Lois & Clark, The Unborn II, To Sleep with a Vampire, Deadly Nightmares, My Demon Lover, Knight Rider)
Clive Mantle b. 1957 (Game of Thrones, Alien³)
Erland van Lidth b. 1953 died 23 September 1987 (The Running Man)
Melissa Mathison b, 1950 (writer, The Indian in the Cupboard, Twilight Zone: The Movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial)
John Rothman b. 1949 (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Enchanted, Dark Matter, Daredevil, From the Earth to the Moon, The Devil’s Advocate, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Ghostbusters)
John Dykstra b. 1947 (special effects, Godzilla, X-Men: First Class, Hancock, Spider-Man I and II, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, My Stepmother is an Alien, Invaders from Mars, Alice in Wonderland [1985 – TV], Lifeforce, Firefox, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars: Episode IV, Silent Running)
Penelope Wilton b. 1946 (Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead, Alice Through the Looking Glass [1998, TV], The Borrowers)
Bill Paterson b 1945 (Doctor Who, Sea of Souls, Ghostbusters of East Finchley, The Witches, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen)
Frank McRae b. 1942 (Asteroid [TV], Last Action Hero, Twilight Zone, Wonder Woman)
Edward Winter b. 1937 died 8 March 2001 (Weird Science, Superboy, Misfits of Science, The Greatest American Hero, Project U.F.O.)
Marion Zimmer Bradley b. 1930 died 25 September 1999 (author, The Mists of Avalon, Darkover)
Tony Curtis b. 1925 died 29 September 2010 (Stargames, Lois & Clark, The Mummy Lives, Lobster Man From Mars, BrainWaves, The Manitou)
Maurice Evans b. 1901 died 12 March 1989 (The Canterville Ghost, The Six Million Dollar Man, Bewitched, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, The Body Stealers, Rosemary’s Baby, Planet of the Apes, Batman)

Quite the list today. Last year the Picture Slot went to Suzie Plakson as K'Ehleyr, not a bad choice at any time. I also thought about a cover from a Marion Zimmer Bradley book or Penelope Wilton from Doctor Who or Shaun of the Dead. 

The first name on the imdb.com birthday list was Tony Curtis and my first thought was he hadn't done any genre work, but of course I was wrong. I could have gone with Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius or Clive Mantle from Game of Thrones. But I bypassed all those great choices for the late Erland van Lidth, here in his costume as Dynamo in The Running Man. Van Lidth was a classically trained singer (he does a beautiful version of Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail) in the movie Stir Crazy) and studied computer science at MIT, but got into the movies because he was a wrestler.

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

Movies released
X-Men: First Class released, 2011  

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in the 1972 book 2010: Living in the Future
 
Prediction: At nine o’clock it is time for school. Inside a large closet in your bedroom there is a vision phone and vision desk. As soon as you dial your school number, the screen lights up, and there is your teacher.

The vision phone is a telephone that allows you to see the person you are talking to. He or she can see you, too.

School work would be impossible without the vision desk. When the teacher writes a sum on the blackboard, the figures are shown on the desk. To answer the question you take your electronic pen and start writing on the desk. If the teacher sees that you are going wrong, he or she can correct you. All the school work that is done on the vision desk is recorded on a giant school computer.

Reality: I do love the illustration of the giant school computer. We do have some distance learning, of course, but for the most part it's at the college level and the teacher isn't electronically peeking over every student's shoulder. Vision phones, vision desks and electronic pens are real technology, but the whole package didn't quite get put together in this configuration.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

June will be the last month of predictions for our Edwardian pal T. Baron Russell.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

2 June 2014

 Birthdays
Sterling Beaumon b. 1995 (Lost, Heroes)
Stephan Bender b. 1989 (Superman Returns)
Amber Marshall b. 1988 (Fallout Asylum, Dark Oracle, Resident Evil: Apocalypse)
Jewel Staite b. 1982 (Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Mothman, Stargate: Atlantis, Serenity, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Firefly, The Immortal, Honey I Shrunk the Kids: TV Show, Flash Forward, The X-Files, Sanctuary, Kyle XY, Supernatural, Thralls)
James Ransome b. 1979 (Jericho, The American Astronaut)
Morena Baccarin b. 1979 (V, Serenity, Firefly, Stargate SG-1, Sands of Oblivion)
Dominic Cooper b. 1978 (Dracula Untold, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dead Man Down, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Devil’s Double, Jericho, From Hell)
Nikki Cox b. 1978 (Eerie, Indiana, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Justin Long b. 1978 (Idiocracy, The Sasquatch Gang, Galaxy Quest)
Zachary Quinto b. 1977 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek, American Horror Story, Heroes, Charmed)
Leah Cairns b. 1974 (Interstallar, The Tomorrow People, Mega Cyclone, Battlestar Galactica)
Wentworth Miller b. 1972 (Resident Evil, Underworld, Dinotopia, Buffy)
Anthony Montgomery b. 1971 (Enterprise, Charmed, Stargate SG-1)
Joel Tobeck b. 1971 (Power Rangers, 30 Days of Night, Mee-Shee: The Water Giant, The Lord of the Rings, Cleopatra 2525, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Mysterious Island, My Grandpa is a Vampire)
Sean Chapman b. 1961 (Hellraiser I and II)
Liam Cunningham b. 1961 (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Merlin, Clash of the Titans, Blood: The Last Vampire, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Police 2020)
Dennis Haysbert b. 1954 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Thirteenth Floor, K-9000, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Galactica 1980, The Incredible Hulk)
Kevork Malikyan b. 1943 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Thief of Baghdad [TV], Doctor Who)
Charles Haid b. 1943 (The Dreamer of Oz, Nightbreed, Deadly Nightmares, The Twilight Zone, Wonder Woman, Altered States, The Amazing Spider-Man)
Stacy Keach b. 1941 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Man with the Screaming Brain, Galaxy Hunter, Future Fear, Escape form L.A., Amanda & the Alien, Class of 1999, Project U.F.O.)
Sally Kellerman b. 1937 (Deadtime Stories, Faerie Tale Theatre, Slither, The Invaders, Star Trek, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Robert Tessier b. 1934 died 11 October 1990 (Future Force, Amazing Stories, Manimal, The Sword and the Sorcerer, The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Star Crash, The Velvet Vampire)
Charles “Pete” Conrad b. 1930 died 8 July 1999 (Apollo 12 moonwalker)
Thomas Hill b. 1927 died 20 April 2009 (The NeverEnding Story I and II, V: The Final Battle, Wizards and Warriors, Firefox, World War III, Quintet)
Milo O’Shea b. 1926 died 2 April 2013 (Beauty and the Beast, Theatre of Blood, Barbarella)
Lester del Rey b. 1915 died 10 May 1993 (author, The Year After Tomorrow, Into Thy Hands)

Okay, let's start with the Picture Slot. Guys who walked on the moon are trump this year, no debate.

If not for Pete Conrad, I might have gone with Liam Cunningham from Game of Thrones, or one of the many fabulous babes, most notably Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite or Sally Kellerman, or I don't know... how about Spock? There's also a passel of actors better known for non-genre roles Like Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer, Charles Quaid as Renko on Hill Street Blues, Justin Long as the Mac in the Mac & PC ads, and James Ransome as Ziggy Sobotka on The Wire.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: In 2010, the first portable biochip interface computer model will be demonstrated. A high-speed biochip interface will be patented. The chip will be implanted near crucial nerve bundles in one side of the chest with a plug that lies on the skin surface. A thin wire will run from the chip to the computer, which can be kept in any convenient pocket. The chip will pick up, average and translate brain waves recorded through residual ganglia vibration.

Reality:  Um... once the brain waves are picked up, what are we going to do with them?

Being as generous as I can, this kinda sorta is like the FitBit stuff that records activity like heartbeat and respiration. But brain waves are still a foreign language to us in terms of practical use and translation into anything that makes sense.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our British pal Geoffrey Hoyle will also take a look at 2010, probably predicting technology that is more in the ball park.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 April 2014

Birthdays
Paulie Litt b. 1995 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Speed Racer, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Rooney Mara b. 1985 (Her, A Nightmare on Elm Street)
Nicholas D’Agosto b. 1980 (Heroes, Supernatural, Psycho Beach Party)
Jennifer Garner b. 1972 (Elektra, Daredevil, Dude, Where’s My Car)
Henry Ian Cusick b. 1967 (The 100, Fringe, Lost)
William Mapother b. 1965 (American Horror Story, Another Earth, Lost, Threshold, I <3 Vampires, Minority Report, Vanilla Sky)
Sean Bean b. 1959 (Percy Jackson, Game of Thrones, The Island, Lord of the Rings)
Kristine Sutherland b. 1955 (Buffy, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids)
Roddy Piper b. 1954 (They Live, RoboCop [TV], Highlander, Superboy, Hell Comes to Frogtown)
David Bradley b. 1942 (Harry Potter, The World’s End, Game of Thrones, The Strain, An Adventure in Space and Time, Doctor Who, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Sarah Jane Chronicles)
Ron Miller b. 1933 (producer, TRON, The Watcher in the Woods, The Black Hole, The Cat from Outer Space, Escape to Witch Mountain, Son of Flubber)
Michael Forest b. 1929 (Seven Days, King Kong Lives, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Viking Women and the Sea Serpent, The Deadly Mantis)
William Holden b. 1918 died 16 November 1981 (Damien: Omen II)
Paul Langton b. 1913 Died 15 April 1980 (Twilight Zone, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Invisible Invaders, The Cosmic Man)

A lot of tempting choices for the Picture Slot today. Michael Forest was Apollo on the original Star Trek, Kristine Sutherland was Buffy's mom and easily pretty enough for Pretty Girl = Picture Slot, as are Rooney Mara and Jennifer Garner, but I was in a Games of Thrones mood, so we get a picture of Ned Stark on the Iron Throne. David Bradley plays Walder Frey on the show, host of the infamous Red Wedding. It's hardly a spoiler to say that in the books and on the TV series, anyone can die at any time.

Many happy returns to the living on the list (which includes Sean Bean, an actor who is still alive even though most of the characters he plays get killed) and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 

Predictor: Byte Magazine, April 1980 issue

Prediction: wrist watch sized computers

Reality: Ha! This picture has been popping up several places on the Internet in the past week, usually with some "lookit how stoopid!" snark included. I'm certain the illustration was meant to be tongue in cheek, because you would need a tiny typist shrunk down to use the keyboard, unless... in the future we will be able to type using the POWER OF OUR MINDS!

In reality, this points out an important limitation of technology miniaturization, which is how to make input/output work. The texting generation have decided that two thumb typing is an acceptable method of input, but cell phones have stopped shrinking because the market wants a reasonably sized screen.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our regular weekly schedule is interrupted once more for an exact date from a post-nuclear apocalypse... with nightclubs!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 
 

15 April 2014

Birthdays
Maisie Williams b. 1997 (Game of Thrones)
Emma Watson b. 1990 (Harry Potter, This is the End)
Alice Braga b. 1983 (I Am Legend, Elysium, Predators, Repo Men, Blindness)
Seth Rogen b. 1982 (This is the End, Paul, The Green Hornet, Donnie Darko)
Luke Evans b. 1979 (The Hobbit, Dracula Untold, Immortals, Clash of the Titans [2010])
Richard Whiteside b. 1968 (The Hobbit, Avatar)
Kamala Lopez b. 1964 (Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Total Recall)
Thomas F. Wilson b. 1959 (Back to the Future, Zoom, Lois & Clark, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Emma Thompson b. 1959 (Men in Black 3, Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee, I am Legend)
Glenn Shadix b. 1952 died 7 September 2010 (Carnivale, Planet of the Apes [2001], Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Multiplicity, Demolition Man, Beetlejuice)
Sam McMurray b. 1952 (Lake Placid 2, The Tick, Addams Family Values, Hard Time on Planet Earth, C.H.U.D.)
Robert Walker Jr. b. 1940 (The Six Million Dollar Man, Beware! The Blob, Death in Space, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Star Trek)
Elizabeth Montgomery b. 1933 died 18 May 1995 (Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
Jean Willes b. 1923 died 3 January 1989 (The Munsters, Twilight Zone, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Adventures of Superman, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars)
Michael Ansara b. 1922 died 31 July 2013 (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, I Dream of Jeannie, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, The Time Tunnel, Bewitched, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Hans Conried b. 1917 died 5 January 1982 (The Cat from Outer Space, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Lost in Space, The Monster That Challenged the Word, The Twonky, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.)
John Williams b. 1903 died 5 May 1983 (Battlestar Galactica, Twilight Zone, Visit to a Small Planet)

Let me clear up one thing early. John Williams, the actor born in 1903, is not John Williams the composer, who is very much alive. Williams the actor was a tall distinguished Englishman with a lovely moustache whose best known work is in non-genre films like Sabrina and Dial M for Murder.

As for the Picture Slot... iconic much? The people I count for iconic genre roles on this list are Michael Ansara, Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Walker Jr. for Star Trek, Emma Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson as Biff in Back to the Future, Emma Watson and the actual person in the Picture Slot, Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on Game of Thrones. I put this picture of her with Sophie Turner who plays her older sister Sansa to point out an interesting tidbit. These two actresses are one year apart in age, Maisie now 17 and Sophie just turned 18 in February. The characters are supposed to be several years apart.

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

Predictor: Ray Kurzweil in The Age of Spiritual Machines, published 1999

Prediction: By 2009, there is increasing interest in massively parallel neural nets, genetic algorithms and other forms of "chaotic" or complexity theory computing.

Reality: It's hard to call this one true or false because it predicts "increasing interest". There has been interest in the field since the 1980s. Going online, I see a hell of a lot of scholarly papers from journals and damn little advertising from companies actually implementing a massively parallel neural net.

The biggest problem I see here is managing the software project that makes this thing work. Once technology becomes the engine of a hugely profitable industry sector, the evolutionary steps tend to be incremental instead of drastic like this one.

This is the last prediction from Kurzweil's book I'll be using. Regular readers will get the distinct impression that I consider Kurzweil a prat, to use a mildly offensive British slang term. Regular reader Lockwood gave a link to a story about futurologists printed in The New Statesman. In it, we discover that Kurzweil got a job at Google based on his books.

I wonder if it would make sense to write a sci-fi story about a planet being run by con men, top to bottom on the food chain. It might read too much like the business section of the newspaper, and competing with newspapers does not sound like the way to make a buck these days.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

T. Baron Russell is back, baby.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

25 March 2014

Birthdays
Seychelle Gabriel b. 1991 (Falling Skies, The Last Airbender, The Spirit)
Kiowa Gordon b. 1990 (Twilight Saga)
Aly Michalka b. 1989 (Phil of the Future)
Sean Faris b. 1982 (Supernatural, Free Runner, The Vampire Diaries, Ghost Machine, Smallville)
Lee Pace b. 1979 (The Hobbit, Guardians of the Galaxy, Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies)
Lark Voorhies b. 1974 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Small Wonder)
Laz Alonzo b. 1974 (Avatar)
Kari Matchett b. 1970 (Invasion, Plague City: SARS in Toronto, Wonderfalls, Cube, Cube2, Earth: Final Conflict, Poltergeist: The Legacy, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Forever Knight)
Sarah Jessica Parker b. 1965 (Mars Attacks!, Hocus Pocus)
Brenda Strong b. 1960 (Starship Troopers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Craft, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Spaceballs)
Peter O’Brien b. 1960 (Doctor Who, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America, Relic Hunter, The Lost World, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord, Time Trax)
Bonnie Bedelia b. 1948 (Flowers for Algernon [2000], Needful Things, The Boy Who Could Fly, Salem’s Lot)
Richard O'Brien b. 1942 (Elvira’s Haunted Hills, Dungeons & Dragons, Dark City, Flash Gordon, Shock Treatment, The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
D.C. Fontana b. 1939 (writer, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Logan’s Run [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man)
Sylvia Anderson b. 1937 (writer, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons from Mars, Space:1999, UFO, Joe 90, Stingray, Fireball XL5, Supercar)
James Lovell b. 1928 (astronaut, twice to the moon, never stood on it)
Roberts Blossom b. 1924 died 8 July 2011 (The Twilight Zone[1980s], Tales from the Darkside, Resurrection, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Slaughterhouse-Five)
Patrick Troughton b. 1920 died 28 March 1987 (The Omen, Space: 1999, Doctor Who, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Scars of Dracula, The Gorgon, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)

This year, if I get a birthday of an astronaut, the Picture Slot decision is easy. Last year, I had a picture of D.C. Fontana, true to my Star Trek nerd roots. (If you want a quick explanation of the difference in quality between Star Trek and Space:1999, looking at the work of our two birthday girls D.C. Fontana and Sylvia Anderson gives you a good idea of the lay of the land.) If I ignore the Pretty Girl = Picture Slot criterion, my top two choices for next year will be Richard O'Brien as Riff-Raff and Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor.

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

Predictor: Ray Kurzweil in his 1999 book The Age of the Spiritual Machines

Prediction: Computers can recognize their owner's face from a picture or video.

Reality: This prediction takes a little parsing. He writes this in 1999 and facial recognition software had already had some breakthroughs in the late 1990s and improved significantly in the first ten years of this century.

To be precise, the prediction is about computers recognizing their owner's face. This might be a security procedure in some very high tech place where secrecy is at a premium, but it's certainly not an everyday feature of the computers sitting on multiple millions of desks in people's homes and offices. So it is fair to say some computers were able to do this in 2009, but this technology already existing in 1999 when he wrote this. I'm going to say this prediction is about facial recognition becoming an everyday thing a lot of people us, so I call this one a failure.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

T. Baron Russell gets pre-empted by Nate Silver, predicting the outcome of the election in November. People who know me well know how much I love Nate Silver. People who don't know me will find out my true feelings tomorrow.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!