20 May 2015

Birthdays
Jack Gleeson b. 1992 (Game of Thrones, Batman Begins, Reign of Fire)
Nathaniel Brown b. 1988 (Enter the Void)
Chad Connell b. 1983 (Beauty and the Beast, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Lost Girl, Warehouse 13, ReGenesis)
Michaela McManus b. 1983 (Awake, The Vampire Diaries)
Matt Czuchry b. 1977 (Dark Shadows [2005 TV], Jake 2.0, Eight Legged Freaks)
Jason Cermak b. 1977 (Mutant World, Supernatural, Once Upon a Time)
Tahmoh Penikett b. 1975 (Strange Empire, Supernatural, Continuum, Man of Steel, Arrow, Haven, Jabberwock, Mortal Combat, Riverworld, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel)
Timothy Olyphant b. 1968 (I am Number Four, Dreamcatcher)
Stephanie Niznik b. 1967 (Lost, Star Trek: Enterprise, Spiders II: Breeding Ground, Star Trek: Insurrection, Sliders, Apollo 11)
Owen Teale b. 1961 (Game of Thrones, Torchwood, Doctor Who)
John Billingsley b. 1960 (True Blood, 2012, The Man from Earth, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Stargate SG-1, The X-Files)
Tony Goldwyn b. 1960 (Insurgent, Divergent, The 6th Day, From the Earth to the Moon, Vault of Horror I, Tales from the Crypt, Ghost, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI)
Bronson Pinchot b. 1959 (Meego, 3rd Rock From the Sun)
Matt McCoy b. 1958 (Touch, Abominable, Carnivale, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Little Bigfoot, The Apocalypse, Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter, Star Trek: The Next Generation, DeepStar Six)
Frank Medrano b. 1958 (Torchwood, Fallen)
Dean Butler b. 1956 (Buffy)
Dave Thomas b. 1949 (Coneheads)
Jon Amiel b. 1948 (director, Once Upon a Time, The Core)
Cher b. 1946 (The Witches of Eastwick)
David Proval b. 1942 (Brimstone, The Relic, The Phantom, Innocent Blood, Quantum Leap, The Monster Squad, Knight Rider)
Joan Staley b. 1940 (Batman, The Munsters, Valley of the Dragons)
Anthony Zerbe b. 1936 (Veritas, Prince of Truth, Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, Total Recall 2070, Star Trek: Insurrection, Asteroid [TV], The Dead Zone, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, The Omega Man)
James McEachin b. 1930 (2010, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Invisible Man, The Sixth Sense)
David Hedison b. 1927 (Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Knight Rider, Project U.F.O., Wonder Woman, The Cat Creature, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World, The Fly)
George Gobel b. 1919 died 24 February 1991 (Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], The Invisible Woman, The Day It Came to Earth)
Peter Copley b. 1915 died 7 October 2008 (The Color of Magic, Doctor Who, Gawain and the Green Knight, Five Million Miles to Earth, The Cosmic Monster)
Gardner Fox b. 1911 died 24 December 1986 (writer, DC Comics)
James Stewart b. 1908 died 2 July 1997 (Bell Book and Candle, Harvey)
Virginia Sale b. 1899 died 23 August 1997 (Slither, Topper [1937])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. For both of the past two years, I've had pictures of Jack Gleeson from Game of Thrones. Not wanting to repeat myself, there are a slew of actors with iconic roles here, including Tahmoh Penikett for Dollhouse or Battlestar Galactica, John Billingsley on Enterprise, Owen Teale from Game of Thrones, Cher from The Witches of Eastwick, Anthony Zerbe from The Omega Man and David Hedison from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, but I decided to go with the biggest movie star on the list, Jimmy Stewart from Harvey.

2. Spot the Canadians! If you don't know Dave Thomas is Canadian, you are a hoser, eh? Dean Butler had the just barely recurring role of Buffy's dad and he was born north of the border as well. He's by far the hardest to spot. Our younger Canucks, Chad Connell, Jason Cermak and Tahmoh Penikett, all have credit lists that either hint at their country of origin or shout it from the rooftops.

3. The Guy at the Door. This is one of those lists where we have no one who died young. We have people in their 70s and 80s and David Hedison turns 88 this year and good on him. I have to say, he has this nicely trimmed white beard now and he still looks like a million bucks. The blog is glad to give him special birthday wishes today.

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


Movie released 
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides released, 2011

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1901 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: Just as wheaten bread from being a luxury reserved for the rich has become the staple of food for all grades of society, so fruits which are now commonly regarded as an indulgence, although a very desirable addition to the food of the well-to-do, must, in a short time, become practically a necessity to the great mass of the people generally.

Reality: This is a great reminder of how much life changed in little ways as well as momentous ways during the 20th Century. Sutherland gets full points here and maybe a little bonus for reminding me of John Elfreth Watkins, still my favorite predictor, and his strange obsession with huge fruit.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Checking in on a prediction from 2014 that said "within a year..." I could say more, but that would be telling.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

15 January 2015

Birthdays
Ryan Corr b. 1989 (Where the Wild Things Are)
Jessy Schram b. 1986 (Once Upon a Time, Falling Skies)
Victor Rasuk b. 1984 (Godzilla [2014])
Trent Ford b. 1989 (The Vampire Diaries, The Island, Smallville)
Zachary Bostrom b. 1981 (Power Rangers Time Force, Aliens for Breakfast, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], Twilight Zone [1987])
Aubree Miller b. 1979 (Ewoks: The Battle for Endor)
Eddie Cahill b. 1978 (Under the Dome, Haunted, Charmed)
Jimmy Smagula b. 1976 (The Island)
Ernie Reyes Jr. b. 1972 (Ninja Apocalypse, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Charmed, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Red Sonja)
Regina King b. 1971 (The Big Bang Theory, The Strain, Mighty Joe Young [1998])
Aonika Laurent b. 1971 (Fantastic Four)
Chad Lowe b, 1968 (Poltergeist: The Legacy, Target Earth, The Hunger [TV], Highway to Hell)
James Nesbitt b. 1965 (The Hobbit, The Deep, Fairy Tales, Jekyll)
Kelly Asbury b. 1960 (director, Shrek 2)
Mario Van Peebles b. 1957 (Highlander: The Final Dimension)
Andrea Martin b. 1947 (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Prince Charming, Meego, Harrison Bergeron, Deep Space Nine, Maniac Mansion, Innerspace)
Margaret O’Brien b. 1937 (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2015], Frankenstein in Love, Dead in Love, Tales from the Darkside, Death in Space)
Robert Silverberg b. 1935 (won 1972 Nebula for A Time of Changes)
Joanne Linville b. 1928 (Star Trek, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Phyllis Coates b. 1927 (Lois & Clark, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, The Incredible Petrified World, Topper, Invasion U.S.A., Adventures of Superman)
Maria Schell b. 1926 died 26 April 2005 (The Martian Chronicles, Superman [1978])
Thelma Carpenter b. 1922 died 14 May 1997 (The Wiz)
Frank Thornton b. 1921 died 16 March 2013 (Old Drac, Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World, The Tomb of Ligeia)
Lloyd Bridges b. 1913 died 10 March 1998 (Honey I Blew Up the Kid, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Battlestar Galactica, Rocketship X-M)
Torin Thatcher b. 1905 died 4 March 1981 (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Jack the Giant Killer)
Marjorie Bennett b. 1896 died 14 June 1982 (The Reluctant Astronaut, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula, My Living Doll, Mary Poppins, Twilight Zone, Have Rocket – Will Travel)
Ernest Thesiger b. 1879 died 14 January 1961 (A Christmas Carol [1951], The Man in the White Suit, The Bride of Frankenstein)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In past years, I used Torin Thatcher and James Nesbitt. This year it's Joanne Linville playing a Romulan commander from the original Star Trek series.

2. Not the Canadian! I found no Canadians on our list today. I fully expected Andrea Martin to be Canadian since she was a mainstay of SCTV, but she was born in Maine. Who knew?

3. MST3K. Lloyd Bridges was in Rocketship X-M. If there are other movies the show used on the list, I don't know them, but one of my readers might. (I was right. Zombie Rotten McDonlad remember Invasion U.S.A. and let me know. Thanks, ZRMcD.)

4. The Gal at the Door. Phyllis Coates, one of several actresses who played Lois Lane opposite George Reeves, is the oldest living birthday girl today and everyone younger than her is still alive. Special best wishes to her on her 88th birthday.

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

Movies released
The Book of Eli released, 2010  
 

Predictor: Morris Leopold Ernst in Utopia 1976, published 1969

Prediction:Foods will be sterilized by split-second exposures [to atomic radiation], thus extending the shelf life of fresh foods practically indefinitely. Fission rays will immunize seeds, oats and other grains against disease.

Reality: Most predictions from The Experts Speak are wrong, but in fact food irradiation has been used for many decades now, both for increasing shelf life and killing insect pests.

More importantly for the blog, I can now look up Utopia 1976 to see if it has any other usable predictions, right or wrong.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to 1902 to hear from a young H.G. Wells.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

15 October 2014

 Birthdays
Bailee Madison b. 1999 (Once Upon a Time, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Bridge to Terabithia)
Grace Van Dien b. 1996 (Sleeping Beauty)
Billy Unger b. 1995 (Lab Rats, Monster Mutt, No Ordinary Family, Jack and the Beanstalk, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, National Treasure: Book of Secrets)
Vincent Martella b. 1992 (The Walking Dead)
Chris Olivero b. 1984 (Séance: The Summoning, Kyle XY, Alien Arsenal)
Yoko Maki (The Grudge, Infection)
Robert Baker b. 1979 (True Blood, Our RoboCop Remake, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Virtually Heroes, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Devon Gummersall b. 1978 (Reeker, Earth vs. the Spider [2001], Roswell, Independence Day)
Paul Logan b. 1973 (Skookum: The Hunt for Bigfoot, Mega Piranha, Re-Generator, MegaFault, Aliens on Crack, Vampire in Vegas, Komodo vs. Cobra, Way of the Vampire, The Curse of the Komodo, Angel)
Matt Keeslar b. 1972 (Dollhouse, The Middleman, Jekyll, The Thirst, Dune [2000 TV movie], Psycho Beach Party)
Zak Orth b. 1970 (Revolution, Vamps, Fringe)
Dominic West b. 1969 (John Carter, From Time to Time, A Christmas Carol [1999 TV], Star Wars: Episode I – The One I Hate Typing, Punisher: War Zone)
Gotz Otto b. 1967 (Cloud Atlas, Iron Sky, Alien Autopsy, Deep Freeze, She [2001], Beowulf [1999])
Jeffrey Jacquet b. 1966 (Mork and Mindy, Return from Witch Mountain)
Kellie Flanagan b. 1959 (Star Trek)
Camila More b. 1957 (The Dark Side of the Moon, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)
Jayne Modean b. 1957 (Hard Time on Planet Earth, Werewolf, House II: The Second Story)
Tanya Roberts b. 1955 (Beastmaster, Sheena)
Jere Burns b. 1954 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Max Headroom)
Larry Miller b. 1953 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Frankenstein: The College Years)
Lynn Lowry b. 1947 (My Stepbrother Is a Vampire!?!, Ombis: Alien Invasion, Psychosomatika, Beyond the Dunwich Horror, Cat People, They Came from Within, I Drink Your Blood)
John Getz b. 1946 (Touch, Zenon: The Zequel, The Fly I and II, Wonder Woman)
Penny Marshall b. 1943 (director, Big, actor, Mork & Mindy)
Pete Haskell b. 1934 died 12 April 2010 (Robot Wars, Child’s Play, The Fantastic Seven, The Bionic Woman, Land of the Giants, The Green Hornet, The Outer Limits)
Virginia Leith b. 1932 (The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, On the Threshold of Space)
FM-2030 b. 1930 died 8 July 2000 (a.k.a. F.M. Esfandiary, author and futurist, UpWingers: A Futurist Manifesto)
Eileen Ryan b. 1927 (Eight Legged Freaks, Twilight Zone)
Nigel Green b. 1924 died 15 May 1972 (Gawain and the Green Knight, Countess Dracula, The Masque of the Red Death, Jason and the Argonauts, Ghost Squad)
Mark Lenard b. 1924 died 22 November 1996 (Star Trek, Otherworld, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Incredible Hulk, The Secret Empire, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Girl with Something Extra)
Jane Darwell b. 1879 died 13 August 1967 (Mary Poppins)

Okay. No Canadians today and for me, not a lot of drama in the Picture Slot. Last year it was Mark Lenard as Sarek, this year it's Nigel Green as Hercules from Jason and the Argonauts. He is nowhere near the most muscular Hercules on film, but he is my favorite. I still love that movie and I've seen it as an adult. A lot of things you loved as a kid don't hold up as well.

Next year, Virginia Leith from The Brain That Wouldn't Die is the front runner. As much fun as it would be having a picture of Tanya Roberts' cleavage, she doesn't trump Jan in the Pan.

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

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, writing in March 1911 about the first of February, 2011

Prediction: The flood from the factories pours out into the city, flows over the bridges, spreads out upon the terraces, humming with life. On the edge of the streets three sidewalks move at graduated speeds, in order that people may step from one to to the other without danger. That nearest the houses permits the promenaders to inspect the window displays in the shops. There is a sidewalk for those in a hurry and those who merely want to loaf. The latter has seats, telephones and little cafes upon it.

Appetiti guides Mr. Smith to a restaurant. No waiters are to be seen. He glances over the menu, which is a record of the progress of culinary chemistry, and selects for his luncheon two scrambled eggs with grated cheese, a beefsteak, a salad and strawberry ice cream. He speaks his order to the table as he would have done years ago to an attentive headwaiter.

The table opens and from the hollow arise a plate, bread, forks, wine and a steaming dish full of golden mass. Needless to say, no hen laid those eggs; they are an admirable composition of artificial albumen. No cow gave the milk from which the cheese was made; no vine grew the grapes to make this wine.

A periscope in the middle of the table reflects into the basement the image of this man and his luncheon, so that when he has finished the first course and pushes back his plate this vanishes instantly and is replaced by a fine synthetic beefsteak and artificial lettuce.

His meal costs him only a few cents. There is no waiter to tip, no cashier to pay. The price is fixed. On leaving he slips the amount into a slot by the door.


Reality: Boy, that sounds... unappetizing! We do have a lot more artificial ingredients on our plates not than they did back in 1911, but most eggs still come from hens and most cheese is made from cow's milk, though some is made from soy (ick!) or goat's milk (yay!). Wine, beef and lettuce all still come from the natural sources they did a hundred years ago, though as I stated before, there might easily be some artificial ingredients now they would not have had then.

It's not food in pill form and the disappearing plates aren't exactly pneumatic tubes, but this kind of antiseptic food prep "untouched by human hands" can be found in a lot of futurist predictions from the late 19th Century to today. For me, the point of getting out in public is to meet the public. Waiters and cashiers are a sign that it's a dining experience and not just fast food. 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 

Hearing again from Lee de Forest.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 September 2014

Birthdays
Ella Purnell b. 1996 (Maleficent, Kick-Ass 2, Intruders)
Augustus Prew b. 1987 (Kick-Ass 2)
Neill Blomkamp b. 1979 (director, Elysium, District 9)
Ian Whyte b. 1971 (Hercules, Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans, Prometheus, Solomon Kane, Dragonball: Evolution, Aliens vs. Predator 1 & 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Malik Yoba b. 1967 (Alphas)
Tracy Dali b. 1966 (Paranormal Movie, Space Girls in Beverly Hills, The Scorpion King, Encino Man, Back to the Future Part II)
Bryan Singer b. 1965 (director, X-Men, Jack the Giant Slayer, Mockingbird Lane, Superman Returns)
Kyle Chandler b. 1965 (Super 8, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], King Kong [2005], Freddy’s Nightmares)
James Urbaniak b. 1963 (Teen Wolf [TV], Futuremanity, The Venture Brothers, Futurestates, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
William Shockley b. 1963 (Quantum Leap, Alien Nation [TV], Freddy’s Nightmares, RoboCop)
Dustin Nguyen b. 1962 (VR.5, SeaQuest 2032, Highlander [TV], Earth Angel)
Paul Feig b. 1962 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Zombie High)
Keith Cooke b. 1959 (Mortal Combat: Annihilation)
Aaron Lustig b. 1956 (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Day After Tomorrow, Charmed, Star Trek: Enterprise, Bedazzled, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Brimstone, The Relic, Pinocchio’s Revenge, Star Trek: Voyager, The Shadow, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Quantum Leap, Edward Scissorhands, Darkman, ALF, Alien Nation [TV], Ghostbusters II)
Tim Burd b. 1955 (Saw II through IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Mutant X, Odyssey 5, TekWar, Deadly Nightmares)
Cassandra Peterson b. 1951 (Elvira)
John Ritter b. 1948 died 11 September 2003 (Terror Tract, It Came From the Sky, Buffy, It)
Bruce Spence b. 1945 (I, Frankenstein, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Legend of the Seeker, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Peter Pan [2003], The Matrix Revolutions, Farscape, Queen of the Damned, BeastMaster [TV], Dark City, The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas, Halfway across the Galaxy and Turn Left, Hercules Returns, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, The Cars That Eat People)
Paul Benedict b. 1938 died 1 December 2008 (Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman[1993], the Twilight Zone [1987], The Addams Family, The Man With Two Brains)
David Huddleston b. 1930 (Jericho, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Capricorn One, The Sixth Sense [TV], Bewitched)
Roddy McDowall b. 1928 died 3 October 1998 (The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo, The Alien Within, Quantum Leap, Earth Angel, Doin’ Time on Planet Earth, Fright Night 1 and 2, The Wizard, Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Small& Frye, The Martian Chronicles, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Thief of Baghdad [1978 TY], Wonder Woman, The Cat from Outer Space, Laserblast, The Fantastic Journey, Embryo, Planet of the Apes [4 movies and the TV show], Journey to the Unknown, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Topper Returns [TV movie], It!, The Invaders, Batman, Twilight Zone)
Ib Melchoir b. 1917 (writer, Death Race, Planet of the Vampires, The Outer Limits, The Time Travelers, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Angry Red Planet, Men Into Space, Reptilitcus)

Last year I used James Urbaniak as Doc Venture and this year it came down to three choices: Roddy McDwall, Elvira and Bruce Spence. I chose Bruce Spence because I love Dark City so much.

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

 Predictor: Uncredited writer in The New York World, March 1911 in a piece called One Hundred Years Hence

Prediction:Feb. 1, 2011. Seven o’clock in the morning. The closed shutter prolongs the night. John Smith sleeps peacefully. Suddenly at his bedside the clapper of the phonograph-alarm trembles and produces sweetly harmonious sounds.

John opens his eyes. Reaching out his hand, he presses an electric button. Automatically the shutters open. The Window closes and the sunlight pours into the room.

John Smith’s chamber is furnished with taste and even with a certain amount of luxury, not because he is rich, but that in the 21st Century luxury costs little and no one is poor. The brass bed is no longer that heap of blankets, feathers, wool and hair against which hygienists used to rail. A metal mattress supports pneumatic cushions inflated with air, the temperature of which is regulated at pleasure. All is ready for his toilet and bath.

Through the room the air circulates freely, ceaselessly renewed by ingenious mechanism. Within the walls conduits of water, warmed by a central furnace, distribute everywhere equal heat in the cold season. In summer the same conduits serve to cool the air.

Mr. Smith, who lives on the forty-fifth floor of One Hundred Eighteenth Avenue, New York, has not yet risen. He is talking to the table beside his bed.

“I want a cup of synthetic cocoa, very hot.” he says.

In a few minutes the table opens and the aromatic breakfast appears before the eyes of the hungry man. This is no magic table; no spirit concealed in it. It is simply provided with a microphone by means of which Mr. Smith expresses his wants to the officials of the public alimentation service, which has its branches on the ground floor of every house of any importance.

Why drinking his chemically produced cocoa Mr. Smith listens to the morning papers. Every house with ‘modern conveniences’ communicates with a central information bureau which gives it at all hours the news. Slip a small coin into a slot and a speaking trumpet is uncovered, which at once begins in a sonorous voice to recite the telegrams of the night, the news items, the political news, the stock quotations, literary and dramatic criticisms. When Mr. Smith has heard enough of one article he presses an electric button and the voice tells him something else. This continues until his toilet is through.

Something of a dandy, Mr. Smith is dressed in a full tunic in the Grecian style, which sets off his powerful and youthful figure and allows perfect ease of movement. His shoes are polished by electric buttons.

Reality: Here's our new Wednesday regular and I would say he's pretty darned good. Let's go from beginning to end.

1. Alarm clock radios, not alarm clock phonographs. In 1911, radio is still pretty much wireless telegraphy instead of sound broadcasting.

2. Pneumatic cushion beds. They exist but they aren't the standard.

3. Central air and central heating. Not with water in the walls, but these do exist now.

4. Calling for food from a central kitchen in your apartment building, sent automatically. This is not the case. We don't have a "public alimentation service", though Starbucks seems like it in some cities.

5. Synthetic cocoa. There are a LOT more chemicals in food now than there were in 2011. In later predictions, our new guy will go off the deep end, but there is synthetic cocoa, though many of us wish there wasn't.

6. "Listening" to the morning paper. This is kind of like news radio, right? Notice this is the only section where our newspaper guy thinks about how Mr. Smith will pay for something. We don't get to fast forward through radio, but we can do it online. Once again, he couldn't know the technology, but he's not far off.

7. Guys don't wear tunics. Your legs should be really good to think about wearing a tunic. 

Never to be Forgotten:
Darrell Zwerling 1929-2014

Today we have two obits. Darrell Zwerling is best known as the water commissioner Mulray in Chinatown, but he is remembered here for roles in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Capricorn One and Doc Savage: Man of Bronze, where he is the not dead guy on the right. He kind of looks like Allan Arbus, the guy who played the psychiatrist on M*A*S*H, but obviously those are two different  guys.

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

Never to be Forgotten:
John Bardon 1939-2014

The other obit is for the British actor John Bardon, best known for East Enders. His genre credits include Polterguests, Gulliver’s Travels [TV] and One of our Dinosaurs is Missing.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt the regular schedule for a prediction from a movie... starring Doug McClure!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

29 July 2014

Birthdays
Allison Mack b. 1982 (Smallville)
Dominic Burgess b. 1982 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Doctor Who, Batman Begins)
Megan Hayes b. 1980 (Sleepy Hollow, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, +1)
Rachel Miner b. 1980 (Supernatural)
Stephen Dorff b. 1973 (Immortals, Blade, Space Truckers)
Dileep Rao b. 1973 (Touch, Inception, Avatar)
Wil Wheaton b. 1972 (Big Bang Theory, Eureka, The Guild, Neverland, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Invisible Man, Python, Deep Core, Flubber, Perversions of Science, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Monsters, The Curse, The Last Starfighter)
Graham McGrath b. 1971 (Krull, Frankenstein [1984 TV])
Timothy Omundson b. 1969 (Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Jericho, Xena, Starship Troopers, Dark Skies, SeaQuest 2032)
Richard Steven Horvitz b. 1966 (Invader ZIM, Babylon 5, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Munsters Today)
Dean Haglund b. 1965 (The Icarus II Project, Atlantis Down, The X Files, The Lone Gunmen)
Alexandra Paul b. 1963 (A.I. Assault, Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York, Cyber Bandits, Christine)
Brian Peck b. 1960 (Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], X-Men 2, X-Men, The Tick, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, Return of the Living Dead I, II and III)
Marcus Gilbert b. 1958 (Army of Darkness, Doctor Who)
Wendy Hughes b. 1952 died 8 March 2014 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Amerika)
Charles Hallahan b. 1953 died 25 November 1997 (Roswell, Warlock: The Armageddon, Cast a Deadly Spell, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Thing)
David Warner b. 1941 (Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Hogfather, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, Cyber Wars, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2003 TV], Planet of the Apes [2001], The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Total Recall 2070, Wing Commander, The Last Leprechaun, Perversions of Science, Beastmaster III, Babylon 5, Lois & Clark, Necronomicon: Book of Dead, The Lost World, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, My Best Friend is a Vampire, Frankenstein [1984 TV], Faerie Tale Theatre, The Company of Wolves, Cat a Deadly Spell, TRON, Time Bandits, Time After Time, The Omen)
Robert Fuller b. 1933 (The Brain from Planet Arous)
Lloyd Bochner b. 1925 died 29 October 2005 (Legend of the Mummy, Superboy, Millennium [1989], Manimal, Battlestar Galactica, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Starlost, The Dunwich Horror, Bewitched, The Green Hornet, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone)
Frank Marth b. 1922 died 12 January 2014 (The Incredible Hulk, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Captain America, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Marooned, The Invaders, The Green Hornet, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian)
Melvin Belli b. 1907 died 9 July 1996 (Star Trek)
Maria Ouspenskaya b. 1876 died 3 December 1949 (Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Wolf Man)

A lot of good choices today. Last year, having done less research, I only listed Wil Wheaton and David Warner, and the younger actor got the Picture Slot. When I woke up this morning, my first thought was to give David Warner his moment in the spotlight, but another iconic image came to mind when I saw Lloyd Bochner's name. So many Twilight Zone stories depend on the twist ending, and To Serve Man is certainly one of them. Bochner's does not say the line, he gets to react to it, standing in for all of us at home who were thinking "Holy crap!" This still captures the moment.
A quick note: two actors died this year on today's birthday list and I didn't hear about their deaths. Both Wendy Hughes and Frank Marth deserve to never be forgotten.

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

Movies released
Cowboys & Aliens, released 2011
 

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in his 1972 children's book, 2010: Living in the Future

Prediction: A large restaurant on the roof of the Sports and Social Center covers the roof and looks more like a garden than a restaurant.

It is sometimes hard to find people in this big area. So, to help you, there is a map at the entrance with all the sitting places marked on it. Look carefully and you can see where your family have marked their place.

At the table it is easy to order. You type what you want on the control panel fixed to the table. A few minutes later the tray comes along the conveyor belt close to the table. You can see that it is your tray because there is a flag stuck to it with your table number on it.

It is interesting to see how the food arrives in the giant kitchen. The kitchen is at the far end of the roof. Like the kitchen at home, it works by computer.

The restaurant kitchen serves thousands of people every day. It would take hundreds of deliveries by electric trucks to keep the refrigerators and deep freezers of the kitchen full. So the supplies are piped to it each day.

Whatever is needed in the restaurant is packed in special wrappers at a depot in the town. Everything is then placed in the pipe, which is filled with a special liquid, and pumped to the restaurant on the roof. The liquid allows packages of different weights to float. Otherwise small packages would float while large packages would sink and bang against the bottom of the pipe. When the packages reach the restaurant they are taken from the pipe, unwrapped, and put into the right containers.

The food is cooked the same way it is at home and sent along the conveyor belts to the customers.

Reality: Jeez, what a commie. Everybody eating at the the same restaurant. What does he think this place is, McDonalds?

Of course, there are restaurants that serve thousands of people a day and deliveries are all by truck. It's kind of too bad, because the pipes are almost like pneumatic tubes, a favorite futuristic gimzo from the predictors of the early to mid 20th Century. More than that, automation in fast food kitchens is possible, but it's certainly not the standard yet.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Herman Kahn takes another crack at predicting the late 1970s and early 1980s from his vantage point in 1972. Not quite as bold as our usual predictors and not that much more accurate.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 May 2014

Birthdays
Jack Gleeson b. 1992 (Game of Thrones, Batman Begins, Reign of Fire)
Chad Connell b. 1983 (Beauty and the Beast, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Lost Girl, Warehouse 13, ReGenesis)
Matt Czuchry b. 1977 (Jake 2.0, Eight Legged Freaks)
Tahmoh Penikett b. 1975 (Supernatural, Continuum, Man of Steel, Arrow, Haven, Riverworld, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel)
Timothy Olyphant b. 1968 (I am Number Four, Dreamcatcher)
Stephanie Niznik b. 1967 (Lost, Star Trek: Enterprise, Spiders II: Breeding Ground, Star Trek: Insurrection, Sliders, Apollo 11)
John Billingsley b. 1960 (True Blood, 2012, The Man from Earth, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Stargate SG-1, The X-Files)
Tony Goldwyn b. 1960 (Divergent, The 6th Day, From the Earth to the Moon, Vault of Horror I, Tales from the Crypt, Ghost, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI)
Bronson Pinchot b. 1959 (Meego, 3rd Rock From the Sun)
Matt McCoy b. 1958 (Abominable, Carnivale, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Little Bigfoot, The Apocalypse, Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter, Star Trek: The Next Generation, DeepStar Six)
Jon Amiel b. 1948 (director, Once Upon a Time, The Core)
Cher b. 1946 (The Witches of Eastwick)
Anthony Zerbe b. 1936 (Veritas, Prince of Truth, Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, Total Recall 2070, Star Trek: Insurrection, Asteroid [TV], The Dead Zone, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, The Omega Man)
James McEachin b. 1930 (2010, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Invisible Man, The Sixth Sense)
David Hedison b. 1927 (Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Knight Rider, Project U.F.O., Wonder Woman, The Cat Creature, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World, The Fly)
Gardner Fox b. 1911 died 24 December 1986 (writer, DC Comics)

Oopsie! Should I have written SPOILER ALERT! before posting a picture of actor Jack Gleeson enjoying everybody's favorite scene he was in on Game of Thrones? Ah well, for those of you who haven't read the books and are waiting to catch up on the TV show, there's one more person who sat on the Iron Throne who won't be sitting on it any longer.

I would argue there is one movie star on the list, Cher, and she's not really a genre star. As for the other folks on the list who make their living in front of the camera, it's largely a collection of TV stars or Oh That Guys, some whose careers are somewhere in between.

Many happy returns to the living on the list and to our one deceased birthday boy Gardner Fox, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides released, 2011

Predictor: Author Geoffrey Hoyle in his 1972 children's book 2010: Living in the Future

Prediction: All the cooking is done automatically. It is controlled electronically by a small built-in computer. There is a control panel that looks like a typewriter. To order breakfast, you spell out what you want on the control panel. All kitchenware is disposable. Multiple ovens for cooking and keeping things warm.

Reality: We've had a lot of automated kitchen stuff, so Hoyle is not only inaccurate, he's also not original. It's also a little odd that in his world where room is so scarce that bathtubs and chairs don't exist, there is room to make everything disposable and energy enough for multiple ovens.

You didn't think this one all the way through, didya Geoff?

Looking one day ahead...INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt our regular schedule for a bold prediction ripped from the headlines.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

12 March 2014

Birthdays
Jaimie Alexander b. 1984 (Thor, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ultradome, Kyle XY)
Aaron Eckhart b. 1968 (I, Frankenstein, Battle Los Angeles, The Dark Knight, Paycheck, The Core, Aliens in the Family)
Titus Welliver b. 1961 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grimm, Lost, Jericho, Star Trek: Voyager, Total Recall 2070 [TV], The X-Files)
Jason Beghe b. 1960 (X-Men: First Class, The X-Files, Quantum Leap, Alien Nation [TV])
Chris Sanders b. 1960 (writer, The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast)
Jim Sharman b. 1945 (director, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment)
Harry Harrison b. 1925 died 15 August 2012 (author, Bill the Galactic Hero, The Stainless Steel Rat, Make Room! Make Room!)
Frank Overton b. 1918 died 24 April 1967 (Star Trek, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Alfred Abel b. 1879 died 3 December 1937 (Metropolis)

Last year, the Picture Slot belonged to the very pretty Jaimie Alexander, best known as Sif in the Thor movies, but this year it's the Oh That Guy actor Frank Overton, who besides being on Star Trek and The Twilight Zone (twice) had important supporting roles in big movies like Fail-Safe and To Kill a Mockingbird. Overton died at the age of 49, only about a month after his Star Trek episode aired. (This is the one where Spock and other members of the away team go all hippie/pacifist and Kirk can only break the spell by getting Spock to fight him. The best known line from this episode is Kirk's taunt that Spock belongs in a freak show, "right next to the dog-faced boy".)

I almost went with Alfred Abel, the top-billed actor in Metropolis, but he isn't the most iconic image. He plays the industrialist who runs the show, but the most famous images are the robot Maria, played by Brigette Helm, and the mad scientist, played by Rudolf Klein-Rogge. Both of them are definitely in the running for the Picture Slot on their birthdays.  

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

Movies released
The Andromeda Strain released, 1971
  

Predictor: T. Baron Russell from his 1905 book A Hundred Years Hence

Prediction: (People will see the) eating of dead bodies as very little better than cannibalism. Moreover, the constantly increasing demand of the new age upon bodily and nervous energies will call for nourishment suited to their supply. This, and the tastefulness of second-hand food, will banish all flesh from the bill of fare. Fish will be eaten longer than meat.

Reality: So, Russell not only wanted to get rid of alcohol and make coffee and tea difficult to buy, he was also some militant vegan.

I get the strong feeling if we were alive concurrently, we wouldn't be pals.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our new Thursday regular Lee de Forest gets another prediction about the year 2000 right from his vantage point in 1960.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

7 Oct 2013

Birthdays
Shawn Ashmore b. 1979 (X-Men)
Aaron Ashmore b. 1979 (Smallville, Warehouse 13, Lost Girl)
Dylan Baker b. 1959 (Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Cell)
Howard Chaykin b. 1950 (American Flagg!)

A short list of birthdays today. The Ashmore twins have done very little work together, but both were on Smallville, Aaron several times as Jimmy Olsen and Shawn twice as Eric Summers. Shawn played Iceman in several of the X-Men series. I put Dylan Baker in the Picture Slot because I know more of his work, though very little of it is in genre films.

Many happy returns of the day to our birthday boys.

Prediction: Gadgetry will continue to relieve mankind of tedious jobs. Kitchen units will be devised that will prepare "automeals," heating water and converting it to coffee; toasting bread; frying, poaching or scrambling eggs, grilling bacon, and so on. Breakfasts will be "ordered" the night before to be ready by a specified hour the next morning. Complete lunches and dinners, with the food semiprepared, will be stored in the freezer until ready for processing.

I suspect, though, that even in 2014 it will still be advisable to have a small corner in the kitchen unit where the more individual meals can be prepared by hand, especially when company is coming.

Predictor: Isaac Asimov in 1964, making predictions about 2014 for publication coinciding with the 1964 World's Fair in New York.

Reality: If he had just stopped with that first sentence, Asimov would have been credited with a hit. If he had included the second sentence, modern coffee machines could have given him some semblance of correctness. But the automatic kitchen making meals is not a reality fifty years after he predicted it. (It should be noted that similar predictions were made in the L.A. 2013 article published in 1988.)

I'd like to write, "wait until next week, Isaac gets better", but I'm taking his predictions in order and it's a while before he really nails one directly on the head.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The first of two exact date predictions from Demolition Man, celebrating its twentieth anniversary tomorrow.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!  

24 July 2013

Birthdays
Anna Paquin b. 1982 (X-Men, True Blood)
Summer Glau b. 1981 (Angel, Dollhouse, Firefly/Serenity, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The 4400)
Rose Byrne b. 1979 (X-Men: First Class, 28 Weeks Later)

Yet again, a whole lot of pretty to choose from, but because of my partiality to Joss Whedon (and his not subtle tip of the hat to the great Frank Frazetta in this framing), I'm going with Ms. Glau as River Tam in Serenity.

And as always, I wish many happy returns of the day to all concerned.
 

Prediction: There will be no wild animals except in menageries. Rats and mice will have been exterminated. The horse will have become practically extinct. A few of high breed will be kept by the rich for racing, hunting and exercise. The automobile will have driven out the horse. Cattle and sheep will have no horns. They will be unable to run faster than the fattened hog of today. A century ago the wild hog could outrun a horse. Food animals will be bred to expend practically all of their life energy in producing meat, milk, wool and other by-products. Horns, bones, muscles and lungs will have been neglected.

Predictor: John Elfreth Watkins in a 1900 issue of The Ladies' Home Journal

Reality: It's a sad day here at the blog, because this is the last of the predictions from John Elfreth Watkins. No longer will the tinted photo of 1900's version of The Most Interesting Man in the World be looking out at us every Wednesday morning. I do have his replacement lined up, but quite honestly, though T. Baron Russell gets some stuff right, it just won't be the same. As my tribute to him, I have included the label Never To Be Forgotten. When I select the Predictions of the Year and present them between Christmas and New Year's, I'm sure we'll see him again.

And, oh yeah, the reality check. We still have plenty of wild animals and it's a good thing too. Cattle and sheep still have horns. The lives of food animals can be pretty miserable, but this prediction is way, way off. Sorry to see Mr. Watkins leave the field with such a disappointing result.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


We hear from H.G. Wells again from The Shape of Things to Come.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 
 

19 June 2013

Birthdays
Paul Dano b. 1984 (Looper, Cowboys and Aliens)
Aidan Turner b. 1983 (Kili in The Hobbit)
Zoe Saldana b. 1978 (Avatar, Star Trek)

Is there any chance Mr. Dano or Mr. Turner will get a shot at the Picture Slot the next time June 19th rolls around?

No. Not one chance in Hell. Many happy returns of the day to all three of these actors.

 

Movies released
Jason and the Argonauts released, 1963

Fifty years ago, I saw this movie on the big screen at the Grand Lake theater in Oakland, California. It is still one of the most memorable movie going experiences of my life. By today's special effects standards, it doesn't look real, but to my mind that is actually the point. It looks magical. Lots of scenes of giant gods and puny mortals, battles with a giant bronze statue, the skeleton army and several other magical beasts.

Great pacing, great visuals and wonderful music by Bernard Herrmann are just a few of the treats in this movie. Fifty years ago, this was a movie "made for kids" and Serious Film People wouldn't even consider discussing it as they would A Serious Film.

Simply put, they are wrong. Jason and the Argonauts was an important step forward in the history of cinema and still a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

Here's to Ray Harryhausen, who died earlier this year. He will never be forgotten.

In the year 2000!

Prediction:Ready-cooked meals will be bought from establishments similar to our bakeries of today. They will purchase materials in tremendous wholesale quantities and sell the cooked foods at a price much lower than the cost of individual cooking. Food will be served hot or cold to private houses in pneumatic tubes or automobile wagons. The meal being over, the dishes used will be packed and returned to the cooking establishments where they will be washed. Such wholesale cookery will be done in electric laboratories rather than in kitchens. These laboratories will be equipped with electric stoves, and all sorts of electric devices, such as coffee-grinders, egg-beaters, stirrers, shakers, parers, meat-choppers, meat-saws, potato-mashers, lemon-squeezers, dish-washers, dish-dryers and the like. All such utensils will be washed in chemicals fatal to disease microbes. Having one’s own cook and purchasing one’s own food will be an extravagance.

Predictor: John Elfreth Watkins in a 1900 issue of The Ladies' Home Journal

Reality: Watkins loses a point or two, but he gets a lot right as well. His love for pneumatic tubes can be compared to the Hard SF's love for space travel, but the basic idea of delivery food is exactly true and the size of the kitchens is at least somewhat true. Having a cook is an extravagance, purchasing one's own food isn't. You can't eat out every night.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


It's H.G. Wells' turn at bat tomorrow, predicting the future of gambling.


I've got five bucks that says he's wrong. (Add General Ackbar's favorite line here.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 April 2013

Birthday
Kal Penn b. 1977

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

In the Year 2000!

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

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

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in 1950

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

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

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

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

3 April 2013

Birthdays
Cobie Smulders b. 1982
Alessandro Juliani b. 1978
Matthew Goode b. 1978
Jamie Bamber b. 1973
Marlon Brando b. 1924 died 1 July 2004

Predictable Dirty Old Man that I am, the picture slot goes to the Cute Girl. Ms. Smulders best known work in genre is in last year's The Avengers.  Juliani and Bamber were both on Battlestar Galactica, Matthew Goode is a British actor who was in Watchmen and Brando is on the list for playing Jor-El in the Superman series starring Christopher Reeve.

(Blogger's note: Just recently, I got to thinking about Alan Moore's Watchmen, and I realized Rorschach keeps a journal with dates.  The problem is that Watchmen does not take place in the future, but in an alternate past. It's published 1986 and 1987 and the journal entries are from 1985,  so it doesn't fit my needs. Grr.)

In the Year 2000!
 
Prediction:  No Foods will be Exposed. Storekeepers who expose food to air breathed out by patrons or to the atmosphere of the busy streets will be arrested with those who sell stale or adulterated produce. Liquid-air refrigerators will keep great quantities of food fresh for long intervals.

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


Reality: Food exposed to the fresh air is still allowed, especially with fruits and vegetables, but uncooked meats in stores are usually behind glass or wrapped in plastic. Food safety is a much bigger deal now than it was in 1900 and refrigeration is now widespread. Still, it's not a crime to have an open air market and violations of food safety are punished with fines instead of jail time.

If I were grading this, it's probably a B+.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 

Our usual weekly schedule will be interrupted for several days in honor of a very important diary in speculative fiction that starts "April 4, 1984. Last night to the flicks. All war films."
 
Join me then... IN THE FUTURE! 

18 March 2013

Birthdays
Richard Biggs b. 1960 died 22 May 2004
Steve Kloves b. 1960
Brad Dourif b. 1950
Jack B. Sowards b. 1929 died 7/8/2007

The names today aren't exactly household, so a quick explanation. Steve Kloves wrote several of the Harry Potter screenplays, Brad Dourif is an actor best known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Deadwood, but shows up in genre films and TV including Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Babylon 5 and Dune. Jack B. Sowards wrote The Wrath of Khan.

The photo position goes to Richard Biggs, one of WAY too many regulars on Babylon 5 who is already dead, including Jeff Conaway and Andreas Katsulas. A very unlucky show, if you ask me.

Prediction: Fifty years hence, the milk bottle will probably be a museum relic, along with the ice wagon, the coal shovel and the ash can, and out milk and butter will be derived from kerosene instead of cows, while most of our other food will be served in concentrated or pill form.

Predictor: Roger W, Babson, internationally known statistician, 1928 in Popular Mechanics

Reality: OMG! Food in pill form! Along with moving sidewalks and flying cars, food in pill form is the third part of The Holy Trinity of Antique Futurism.

To be fair to Professor Babson, milk bottles and ice wagons were completely antiquated by 1978, and coal shovels and ash cans were not part of most people's homes, though coal burning was and is still part of our energy consumption, the more's the pity.

Illustration: The great Virgil Finlay created the magazine cover I use as today's visual aid. It's a cute idea that the isolated astronaut has covered up the pin-ups with pictures of chicken, beer and steak. It's also a little bit of a shame, because Finlay's fabulous babes are comparable to the best work of Vargas and Frazetta.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 

Tuesday belongs to Robert A. Heinlein. Will it be Sensible Bob or Ridiculous Bob? Even I'm not sure yet, but it's always fun to find out.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 February 2013

 In the Year 2000!

Prediction: In the future suburb of Totenville, such great things lie in store for you.

You'll eat food from sawdust...
shop by picture-phone...
and cook on a solar range!

Predictor: Popular Mechanics, 1950

Reality: Let's take them from bottom to top, right to left, leaving the best for last.

Cook on a solar range? Not yet.

Shop by picture-phone? More likely on the Internet, but in 2000 the phone and the Internet were pretty near inseparable.

Eat food from sawdust? Well, it's your place and if you want, you can order something on the phone from Big Fascist Pizza (Domino's, Papa John's, take your pick), but if I have a vote, I vote no.

Just sayin'.

Once again, this and so much more can be found in the 2009 book from the publishers of Popular Mechanics, The Wonderful Future That Never Was, available in paperback from Amazon.

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!  In 1947, Robert A. Heinlein finds a way to celebrate You Have Official Permission To Freak The Fuck Out Day.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!