23 October 2014

Birthdays
Taylor Spreitler b. 1993 (Category 5)
Brett DelBuono b. 1992 (Let Me In)
Sophie Oda b. 1991 (The Big Bang Theory)
Amandia Stenberg b. 1998 (Sleepy Hollow, The Hunger Games)
Jessica Stroup b. 1986 (Ted, True Blood, Reaper, The Hills Have Eyes II, Vampire Bats)
Briana Evigan b. 1986 (S. Darko)
Masiela Lusha b. 1985 (Dragonfyre, Blood: The Last Vampire)
Bradley Pierce b. 1982 (Star Trek: Voyager, Doom Runners, The Borrowers, Jumanji, Lois & Clark)
Olatunde Osunsanmi b. 1977 (director, Dark Moon, Falling Skies, The Fourth Kind)
Ryan Reynolds b. 1976 (R.I.P.D., Ted, Green Lantern, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Amityville Horror, Blade: Trinity, Big Monster on Campus, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The X Files)
Kate del Castillo b. 1972 (Grimm)
Grant Imahara b. 1970 (Star Trek Continues, Caper, Team Unicorn, Eureka, The League of S.T.E.A.M., The Guild)
Steve Wilder b. 1970 (Iron Man 3, Charmed, The Journey: Absolution)
Brooke Theiss b. 1969 (Catwoman, They Came from Outer Space, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master)
Travis Davis b. 1968 died 12 October 2009 (The Big Bang Theory, Friday the 13th [2009], The Chronicle, Space Marines)
Eric Shanower b. 1963 (writer, The Oz universe)
Beatie Edney b. 1962 (Highlander: Endgame, Highlander)
Sam Raimi b. 1959 (director, Oz the Great and Powerful, Drag Me to Hell, Spider-Man 1, 2& 3, Army of Darkness, Darkman, Evil Dead II, The Evil Dead; producer, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Legend of the Seeker)
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic b. 1959 (Halloween 2 [2009], Amazing Stories)
Dwight Yoakum b. 1956 (Under the Dome, Roswell)
Graeme Revell b. 1955 (composer, Gotham, Riddick, AEon Flux, The Fog, Sin City, Pitch Black, Grindhouse, Freddy vs. Jason, Daredevil, Lara Croft, Red Planet, Dune, Titan A.E., Bride of Chucky, The Crow: City of Angels, From Dusk Till Dawn, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Tank Girl, Until the End of the World, Child’s Play 2)
Ang Lee b. 1954 (director, Hulk)
Ira Steven Behr b. 1953 (producer, Outlander, Alphas, The 4400, Dark Angel, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Michael Rupert b. 1951 (A Boy and His Dog)
Jason Bostwick b. 1943 (Mutant Species, Future Zone, My Science Project, TRON, Shazam!)
Michael Crichton b. 1942 died 4 November 2008 (writer, Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Congo, Runaway, Looker, Coma, Westworld)
Stanley Anderson b. 1939 (S1m0ne, Roswell, Spider-Man, The X Files, Armageddon, The Shining [1997 TV], RoboCop 3)
Philip Kaufman b. 1936 (director, Invasion of the Body Snatchers[1978], writer, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Right Stuff)
Diana Dors b. 1931 died 4 May 1984 (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1980 TV], Hammer House of Horror, Theatre of Blood, The Amazing Mr. Blunden)
Ted Manson b. 1926 died 1 June 2008 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Larry Ward b. 1924 died 2/15/1985 (voice of Jabba the Hutt and Greedo, both uncredited)
Frank Sutton b. 1923 died 28 June 1974 (The Satan Bug, The Twilight Zone, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet)
Harold P. Warren b. 1923 died 26 December 1985 (actor/writer/director, Manos: The Hands of Fate)
Coleen Gray b. 1922 (The Sixth Sense, The Phantom Planet, The Leech Woman, The Vampire)
James Daly b. 1918 died 3 July 1978 (Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Hayden Rorke b.1910 died 19 August 1987 (Wonder Woman, I Dream of Jeannie, Twilight Zone)
Una O’Connor b. 1880 died 4 February 1959 (The Canterville Ghost, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year I had Greedo from Star Wars in honor of the late Larry Ward. This year it's the title shot from "Manos", The Hands of Fate, with Joel and the bots in the foreground, in honor of the film maker, the late Harold P. Warren. This was not the worst movie MST3K ever made fun of, but it's probably in the top ten. If you question whether MST3K should count as iconic, please don't bring it up in the comments. I've always thought so highly of you and this would spoil it.

As for next year, I might go with Ryan Reynolds from one of the big budget stinkers he's made, but it's more likely to be one of the now deceased actors and a role from 1960s TV, like James Daly or Hayden Rorke.

2. I'll be glad when you're dead, you rascal you. I am truly glad Michael Crichton is dead. I enjoyed his not very scientific thrillers like The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, but late in life he became a strident climate change denier. It was a very disappointing end to his career and I got the feeling the only way he was going to stop embarrassing himself was to die.

He did. I'm glad. I wrote it and I'm not taking it back.

3. Spot the Canadian. Not super obvious, but I think some will get it anyway.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories, with the exception of Michael Chrichton.
 

Five fun facts from 2015!

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

Prediction: Lawyers are abolished! (Click on picture for larger readable version.

Reality: Back to the Future, Part II is an action comedy and the idea of lawyers being abolished is played as a joke and to speed up the plot. Similarly, the hand held roofie was an easy way to write an extra character out of several scenes where the writers didn't see how to use her.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Back to the Future prediction.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 August 2014

 Birthdays
Alana Mansour b. 2003 (Terra Nova)
Annie Ilonzeh b. 1983 (Beauty and the Beast, Arrow, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Clare Grant b. 1979 (Team Unicorn, The Guild)
Ray Park b. 1974 (Jinn, G.I. Joe, Heroes, Slayer, X-Men, Star Wars; Episode I – He’s Like the Only Cool Thing in It, Mortal Combat: Annihilation)
Aaron Douglas b. 1971 (The Strain, Falling Skies, Hemlock Grove, Eureka, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Reaper, Bionic Woman [2007], Catwoman, I, Robot, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda, 10.5, Paycheck, Jeremiah, X-Men 2, Taken, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel)
River Phoenix b. 1970 died 31 October 1993 (Dark Blood, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Explorers)
Jay Mohr b. 1970 (S1mOne, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Small Soldiers, From the Earth to the Moon)
Roger Avary b. 1965 (writer, Beowulf)
Ed Gale b. 1963 (The Polar Express, Fairie, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Weird Science, Lifepod, Land of the Lost, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Child’s Play, Phantasm II, Spaceballs, Howard the Duck)
Deron McBee b. 1961 (The Invisible Man, Roswell, Conan [TV], Sliders, Batman Forever, M.A.N.T.I.S., Immortal Combat, Time Barbarians)
Jennifer Holmes b. 1955 (Misfits of Science, Knight Rider, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk)
Charles Busch b. 1954 (writer, Psycho Beach Party)
Mark Vann b. 1954 (Torchwood, Lost, Spider-Man 3, Angel, Early Edition)
Shelley Long b. 1949 (Zombie Hamlet, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Freaky Friday [TV], Hello Again, Caveman)
Bob Peck b. 1944 died 4 April 1999 (Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Jurassic Park, Slipstream)
Bobby Diamond b. 1943 (Twilight Zone)
Barbara Eden b. 1931 (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, The Stepford Children, I Dream of Jeannie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Vera Miles b. 1929 (BrainWaves, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
James Millhollin b. 1915 died 23 May 1993 (Lost in Space, Bewitched, Batman, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, Twilight Zone, Zotz!)

Last year, the picture slot was Barbara Eden and no heterosexual male could fault me on that choice. Early my research this morning, I was leaning towards Aaron Douglas, a Canadian actor who has done a heck of a lot of genre shot in Canada and is likely best known for Battlestar Galactica. I also considered Ray Park as Darth Maul, but I had already used his picture celebrating the birthday of Peter Serafinowicz, the actor who did Darth Maul's voice. (I'll rectify that mistake next year.) But late in the game I stumbled upon the name James Millhollin. It's been about two weeks since I had an Oh That Guy in the Picture Slot, and for those who clamor for fabulous babes, we have a double dose of Anne Francis, so that base is also covered. This is a production still from a Twilight Zone episode. Longtime readers will know how much respect I show to the original Twilight Zone.

In descriptions of James Millhollin, the words nervous, fidgety and fussy show up regularly. He is compared to other character actors from earlier generations, including Edward Everett Horton and Franklin Pangborn. One source I found came right out and said it: Sissyman. In the excellent documentary The Celluloid Closet, they have a segment about sissymen in films and on TV, a regularly used comic foil long before any character could express an interest in the same gender. I still remember Harvey Fierstein's comment in the movie. "I love sissymen. I AM a sissyman!"

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

Predictor: Abram Dittenhoefer (1836-1919), lawyer, predicting the 20th Century in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition held in Chicago.

Prediction: "Since I have been at the bar, I have noticed the growth of the tendency to divide the law into specialties. It is not so very long ago that every lawyer accepted all sorts of practice... I think, early in the next century, the majority of lawyers will become specialists."

Reality: Okay, let's start with fashion. The bushy mustache, the pince-nez, the uncomfortable collar. He's got the whole 19th Century thing down pat.

His prediction is very specific and as far as i can find, completely correct. Browsing around the web, I found a Wisconsin law journal that gave the percentage of general practice lawyers in that state at about 10% in the 1990s and shrinking. I don't know that Mr. Dittenhoefer is correct in saying every lawyer was a general practitioner when he was young, but let's agree that the category has shrunk from a vast majority to a small minority in the 100 years after his prediction. Good on ya, Abram!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We get another prediction from The Experts Speak.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!