3 December 2014

 Birthdays
Jake T. Austin b. 1994 (Wizards of Waverly Place)
Dominique Jackson b. 1991 (My Parents Are Aliens, The New Worst Witch, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy [2005])
Michael Angarano b. 1987 (The Brass Teapot, Sky High)
Amanda Seyfried b. 1985 (Pan, Ted 2, In Time, Red Riding Hood, Jennifer’s Body, Solstice)
Brian Bonsall b. 1981 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Jenna Dewan Tatum b. 1980 (Witches of East End, American Horror Story, The Grudge 2, Dark Shadows [2005 TV movie])
Cuyle Carvin b. 1980 (Fat Planet, Dragon Day, Snake Club: Revenge of the Snake Woman, Captain Battle: Legacy War, Terminal Legacy, The Cold Equations, Alien Opponent, Assault of the Sasquatch)
Anna Chlumsky b. 1980 (Cupid, Early Edition)
Jonathan Cherry b. 1978 (WolfCop, House of the Dead, They)
Cristi Harris b. 1977 (Night of the Scarecrow, Night of the Demons 2)
Joseph Gatt b. 1974 (The 100, Teen Wolf, Game of Thrones, Star Trek Into Darkness, Wonder Woman, Thor, The Dark Path Chronicles, Saurian, Orpheus & Eurydice, Jason and the Argonauts [2000])
Joris Jarsky b. 1974 (Lost Girl, Haven, Survival of the Dead, The Incredible Hulk, Blindness, Stargate: Atlantis, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Mutant X, Vampire High)
Holly Marie Combs b. 1973 (Charmed, The Nightmare Room, The Craft)
Keegan Connor Tracy b. 1971 (Once Upon a Time, Embrace of the Vampire, V [2011], Eureka, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, The 4400, Jake 2.0, Dark Angel, Strange Frequency, Seven Days, NightMan, The New Addams Family)
Brendan Fraser b. 1968 (G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra, Inkheart, The Mummy, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Bedazzled [2001], Monkeybone, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, Encino Man)
Mark Deklin b. 1967 (Warehouse 13, Riverworld, Charmed)
Steve Harris b. 1965 (In Your Eyes, Minority Report)
Andrew Stanton (writer, John Carter, Toy Story, WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., A Bug’s Life)
Julianne Moore b. 1960 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Carrie [2013], Children of Men, Blindness, Evolution, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie)
Daryl Hannah b. 1960 (2047 – Sights of Death, Zombie Night, Shark Swarm, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story , My Favorite Martian [1999], Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, High Spirits, Clan of the Cave Bear, Splash, Blade Runner, The Fury)
Valerie Quennessen b. 1957 died 19 March 1989 (Conan the Barbarian)
Melody Anderson b. 1955 (Deadly Nightmares, Flash Gordon, Manimal, Battlestar Galactica, Logan’s Run [TV])
Steven Culp b. 1955 (Revolution, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Stargate: Atlantis, Star Trek: Enterprise, How to Make a Monster, Brimstone, James and the Giant Peach, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
Mel Smith b. 1952 died 19 July 2013 (The Princess Bride, Morons From Outer Space)
Eugene Clark b. 1951 (Space Riders: Division Earth, Aladdin and the Death Lamp, Land of the Dead, RoboCop: Prime Directives, Earth: Final Conflict, TekWar, Knight Rider 2000, Millennium, The Twilight Zone [1989], War of the Worlds [1988 TV])
Heather Menzies-Ulrich b. 1949 (Captain America, Logan’s Run [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, Ssssss)
Mary Alice b. 1941 (The Matrix Revolutions)
Don Calfa b. 1939 (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, Amazing Stories, The Return of the Living Dead, The Bionic Woman)
Len Lesser b. 1922 died 16 February 2011 (Frankenstein & the Werewolf Reborn!, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Werewolf Reborn!, Sorority Girls and the Creature from Hell, Amazing Stories, The Amazing Spider-Man [1977], Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Girl with Something Extra, Slither, Land of the Giants, Mr. Terrific, My Favorite Martian, The Munsters, The Outer Limits)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. Wait... he's dead? I put Mel Smith in the Picture Slot as a make-up post, since he died of a heart attack while this blog has been written and I did not give him his own Never to be Forgotten post. He was a British comic actor who paired with Griff Rhys Jones on a couple of TV shows, but likely best known to Americans in his small role from The Princess Bride. His experience shooting the film was painful, as it turned out he was allergic to the contact lens solution, unbeknownst both to him and the make-up guy. As a result, he never saw the finished film, which is a shame.

2. Wait... she's dead? Valerie Quennessen's best known role is probably in Summer Lovers, an obvious male wish fulfillment fantasy where an incredibly good looking guy (Peter Gallagher) on a Greek holiday with his incredibly good looking girlfriend (Darryl Hannah) is seduced by an incredibly good looking French girl (Quennessen) and everybody decides a threesome would be a lot of fun. She died in a car accident when she was 31. Very sad.

3. Better known as...  Some actors here are not best known in their genre roles. Len Lesser was Uncle Leo on Seinfeld. Heather Menzies-Ulrich started as a child actor in The Sound of Music. Steve Harris was a regular on Friday Night Lights and The Practice. Julianne Moore is one of the several movie stars on the list and I was a little surprised at how many genre roles she has done. I think audiences would probably recognize her more from The Big Lebowski, Boogie Nights, Far from Heaven, The Hours and Don Jon. For me, Anna Chlumsky's best known roles are in My Girl when she was a kid and her roles in the Armando Iannucci vehicles Veep and In the Loop. Amanda Seyfried was in Mamma Mia! and Veronica Mars among other big roles in major features.


4. Spot (some of) the Canadians. Of the six(!?!) Canadian born actors on the list, two have resumes that look Canadian and the other four are hard to spot. The only hint I'll give is that the oldest was born in the 1940s and the youngest in the 1970s. Good luck.

5. The candidates for next year's Picture Slot. Last year, Darryl Hannah was in the Picture Slot from Blade Runner. People who know my enthusiasms might think I would use a picture from another role, but it is not to be, as we have too many other good choices. Brian Bonsall played Worf's son Alexander on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and that counts as iconic. Brendon Fraser also has a lot of big roles in genre, and the most iconic is likely from The Mummy. But if I get into an iconic fabulous babe mood, then I can choose from Melody Anderson from Flash Gordon, Valerie Quennessen from Conan, Holly Marie Combs from Charmed or Amanda Seyfried from In Time or Red Riding Hood. There's plenty more pretty on the list, but regular readers know I can fussy about iconic.

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, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: (continuing last week's story of a worldwide search for an embezzler named Lafuite.)

Throughout the city the news was discussed. Soon a new dispatch was posted:

"3:15 P.M. - It is announced that an etheromobile disappeared twelve days ago from a garage in Brooklyn. Lafuite is believed to have taken possession of it at night to elude pursuit by taking refuge on the moon. If this prove true all hope of finding him must be abandoned. We do not possess thanks to the carelessness of the Government any means of arresting a man upon the surface of our satellite."

Yes the moon, 238,850 miles from the earth, a five months journey, is a safe refuge for the criminal. If the villain has twelve days' start he can never be caught and at the end of his journey he will have a whole world to himself.

The crowd is struck with admiration for the audacity of the criminal and half hopes this rumor may prove true. The whole city is excited. Vast crowds gather before the bulletin boards of the newspapers. More than 30,000 are assembled before that of The World, now an hourly paper. From the balcony a vast trumpet roars dispatches as they are received from all over the earth.

At 4:45 a shout goes up. The disappearance of the etheromobile has been explained. It is carrying a committee of four members of the University to observe meteorological phenomena. So Lafuite is still on earth.

At 5:30 a dispatch from Vera Cruz announces that a man corresponding to the description of Lafuite and traveling alone in an aeroplane descended in that city to get gasoline and food. He left again for the South at 300 miles an hour.

At last, at 6:05, a thunderous dispatch proclaimed that the defaulting cashier has just been arrested in a cafe in Buenos Aires, where he had been identified in spite of the fact he had shaved his beard off and was wearing black goggles.   

Reality: I love the writing style of this guy and his flights of imagination. The idea of newspapers printed hourly and headlines blaring out on loudspeaker is not what the world looks like, but in 1911 no one had an idea what radio would become with the next decade. I will note that his prediction of 300 mph planes was bold in his day, but many planes have cruising speeds from 400 to 600 mph. Compare that to his etheromobile to the moon, which is not supposed to be a rocket. A five month journey means it would be cruising at a breakneck average speed of... 65 mph! It gives the phrase "Are we there yet?" a whole new meaning.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We have only two more predictions from Lee de Forest, so enjoy them while you can.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 November 2014

Birthdays
Corin Nemec b. 1971 (Star Trek: Renegades, Extinction: Patient Zero, Robocroc, Rise of the Dinosaurs, Dragon Wasps, Supernatural, RoboDoc, The Sea Beast, My Apocalypse, Mansquito, Stargate SG-1, Smallville, Tales from the Crypt, The Stand, The Lifeforce Experiment, Solar Crisis)
Chris Addison b. 1971 (Doctor Who, Apocalypse 2012)
David Mattey b. 1969 (Alien Hunger, Wonder Woman [2011], Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], The Legend of Neil, Supernatural, Hancock, Strange Wilderness, Charmed, House of the Dead 2, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, The Toxic Avenger IV)
Pat Kilbane b. 1969 (Meet Dave, Day of the Dead, Evolution, Monkeybone, Star Patrol)
Sam Rockwell b. 1968 (Poltergeist [2015], Cowboys and Aliens, Iron Man 2, Moon, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Galaxy Quest, The Green Mile, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Seth Gilliam b. 1968 (The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Starship Troopers)
Leni Parker b. 1966 (Helix, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Gallidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension, Earth: Final Conflict, Laserhawk, Nico the Unicorn, Screamers)
Famke Janssen b. 1964 (Hemlock Grove, X-Men, The Wolverine, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Faculty, House on Haunted Hill, Deep Rising, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Tatum O’Neal b. 1963 (Faerie Tale Theatre)
Michael Gaston b. 1962 (Inception, Fringe, Jericho)
Tilda Swinton b. 1960 (The Zero Theorem, Snowpiercer, Only Lovers Left Alive, Chronicles of Narnia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Constantine [2005 movie, Teknolust, Vanilla Sky)
Robert Patrick b. 1958 (True Blood, From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], Bridge to Terabithia, Lost, Stargate: Atlantis, The X Files, Double Dragon, Last Action Hero, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Warlords from Hell, Future Hunters)
Jon-Erik Hexum b. 1957 died 18 October 1984 (Voyagers!)
Eugene Lipinski b. 1956 (Arrow, Fringe, Year of the Creature, Rollerball [2002], MythQuest, Animorphs, Highlander [TV], Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Outland, Superman II)
Nestor Serrano b. 1955 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sleepy Hollow [TV], Revolution, Fringe, The Day After Tomorrow, Witchblade, The X Files, The Indian in the Cupboard)
Armin Shimerman b. 1949 (Warehouse 13, Invasion, Tremors [TV], Charmed, The Tick, The Invisible Man, Buffy, Deep Space Nine, Sliders, The Lost World, Stargate SG-1, Beauty and the Beast, Alien Nation [TV])
Sam Shepard b. 1943 (The Right Stuff, Resurrection)
Harris Yulin b. 1937 (Buffy, The X-Files, Multiplicity, Loch Ness, Deep Space Nine, Ghostbusters II, Wonder Woman)
David Battley b. 1935 died 20 January 2003 (Krull, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
Victor Argo b. 1934 died 7 April 2004 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Wonder Woman, The Terminal Man)
Jan Shutan b. 1932 (Dracula’s Dog, Star Trek, The Outer Limits)
Jim Steranko b. 1930 (comic book artist)
Richard ‘Dick’ Davalos b. 1930 (Battle Beyond the Stars)
Kenneth Waller b. 1927 died 28 January 2000 (Doctor Who, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Alan Tilvern b. 1918 died 17 December 2003 (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Little Shop of Horrors, Superman, UFO, The Frozen Dead, Out of the Unknown, Doctor Who, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)Willoughby Gray b. 1916 died 13 February 1993 (The Princess Bride, Solarbabies, The Mummy [1959])
John McGiver b. 1913 died 9 September 1975 (Harvey [TV 1972], Bewitched, Mr. Terrific, I dream of Jeannie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, ‘Way Out)
General Sir John Hackett b. 1910 died 9 September 1997 (Author, The Third World War: August 1985)
Philip MacDonald b. 1900 died 10 December 1980 (author, Forbidden Planet)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot.  Last year, I had Famke Janssen in the Picture Slot and I think there would have been very few complaints if I repeated myself for her fiftieth (?!?) birthday, but I decided instead to look at the list and put up the youngest actor I consider to have an iconic role, so it's Sam Rockwell from Galaxy Quest, a movie now fifteen years old and one that holds up very well due to great writing and acting. I almost used Jan Shutan from her role on Star Trek, answer to the trivia question "When did Scotty ever get to be a horndog?", and she might get the nod next year, but there is plenty of competition.

2. What about the oldest person on the list in competition for the 2015 Picture Slot? Well, Alan Tilvern was R.K. Maroon in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Willoughby Gray was the king in The Princess Bride, both small roles in great films. I also might go with Oh That Old Stuffy Guy John McGiver. Granted, he was old enough to be my grandparent and played a grumpy adult in all his roles, but it seems strange to me he was only 61 when he died.

3. And all the rest. There are a lot of good choices for 2015 Picture Slot, including Tilda Swinton, Robert Patrick, Armin Shimerman and Harris Yulin, as well as the others already mentioned.

4. Canadian spotted! Today it was really tough, so I'm going to give it to you. As soon as you see Supernatural and Smallville on the same resume, you figure that has to be a Canuck, but the only true citizen of the Great White North on the list is... Leni Parker, who worked in slightly older shows from the 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Movies released
Megamind released, 2010
The Incredibles released, 2004
The Matrix Revolutions released 2003
 

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

Prediction: Entering the great hall of the museum, Mr. Smith attend the inaugural lecture of a course that is to trace the history of the conquest of the moon, It was in 1950 that a new Christopher Columbus, long foreshadowed by our story-writers, landed on our satellite. A vehicle was built, moved by apergy, that etheric force which counteracts the attraction of gravitation and enables a body to pass through interplanetary space. The car contained an abundant provision of oxygen in solid form, of which it was only necessary to melt a small piece in order to feed the lungs of the daring explorer for several days.

After six months of anxiety and hope this modern caravel landed its captain upon the moon at the bottom of an arid hollow which astronomers had called the Sea of Serenity. The man, in a diver’s suit, took several steps, took several steps outside his car, enough to gaze upon a vast amphitheatre, dazzling in the crude light and bristling with hard ridges and mineral efflorescence. He proved that this dead world was utterly uninhabitable.

Through the hermetically closed costume which covered him he could feel a glacial chill; his limbs swelled and gave him acute pain; death was lying in wait for him.

Hurriedly he started on his return voyage to the earth. Unfortunately the greater part of the stored oxygen had leaked out and spread itself over the surface of the moon, so that on the return trip he was obliged to put himself on short rations of air, as ancient mariners used sometimes to do with fresh water, and he arrived home half asphyxiated about a year after his departure.

Reality: Our 1911 correspondent nicked the anti-gravity to the moon idea from H.G. Wells' First Men in the Moon, published 1901. In real life, astronauts have had to go on short provisions due to accidents and survived the ordeal, most notably on the ill-fated Apollo 13 which managed to bring all three of the astronauts back to Earth alive.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Lee de Forest is back in the prediction biz with several ideas about the hypermodern home conveniences of the year 2000, some of which actually exist.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

12 December 2013

 Birthdays
Mayim Bialik b. 1975 (The Big Bang Theory, Pumpkinhead)
Jennifer Connelly b. 1970 (Hulk, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Inkheart, Labyrinth, Phenomena)
Madchen Amick b. 1970 (Witches of East End, Fantasy Island[reboot], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Sleepwalkers)
Sarah Douglas b. 1952 (Superman II, Conan the Destroyer, Stargate SG-1, Babylon 5, Beastmaster 2, V: The Final Battle, Space: 1999, The Last Days of Man on Earth)
Bill Nighy b. 1949 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Jack the Giant Slayer, Wrath of the Titans, Doctor Who, Total Recall [reboot], Underworld, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Phantom of the Opera)
Leslie Schofield b. 1938 (Star Wars: A New Hope, Doctor Who)
Eugene Burdick b. 1918 died 26 July 1965 (author, Fail-Safe, The 480)

I'm assuming people do not need the first five names on the list "explained". I always love a same day birth pair, and with Ms. Amick and Ms. Connelly, that's a whole lot of pretty. You could argue that Sarah Douglas in Superman II is not the most iconic genre role on the list, but then, you'd be arguing with me and... it's my blog.

Leslie Schofield played a Death Star officer who told Grand Moff Tarkin the stolen plans could present a problem, only to be on the receiving end of serious Moff scoff.

Eugene Burdick, the only dead guy on today's list. wrote Fail-Safe and The 480, a political thriller that warns of people predicting the future using... computer simulations!

Yes, this is back in the punch card days. Scary!

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

Predictor: Isaac Asimov, asked to speculate about 2014 in honor of the 1964 World's Fair

Predictions, (interrupted with reality): Communications will become sight-sound and you will see as well as hear the person you telephone. The screen can be used not only to see the people you call but also for studying documents and photographs and reading passages from books. Synchronous satellites, hovering in space will make it possible for you to direct-dial any spot on earth, including the weather stations in Antarctica, shown in chill splendor as part of the '64 General Motors exhibit.

(Okay, let's just stop here for a moment. This is a tape measure home run. Not just picture phones but documents on the Internet and large scale com-sat networks. Very nice work, Mr. Asimov, really tip-top.)

(What could go wrong now? Well, Isaac gets a little space happy.)

For that matter, you will be able to reach someone at the moon colonies, concerning which General Motors puts on a display of impressive vehicles in model form with large soft tires intended to negotiate the uneven terrain that may exist on our natural satellite.

(Would soft tires make the most sense? Fixing a flat in a vacuum sounds like a major pain in the butt.)

Any number of simultaneous conversations between earth and moon can be handled by modulated laser beams, which are easy to manipulate in space. On earth, however, laser beams will have to be led through plastic pipes, to avoid material and atmospheric interference. Engineers will still be playing with that problem in 2014.

Conversations with the moon will be a trifle uncomfortable, by the way, in that 2.5 seconds must elapse between statement and answer (it takes light that long to make the round trip). Similar conversations with Mars will experience a 3.5-minute delay even when Mars is at its closest. However, by 2014, only unmanned ships will have landed on Mars, though a manned expedition will be in the works and in the 2014 Futurama will show a model of an elaborate Martian colony.

(Okay, space happy but not space crazy. No one stepping foot on Mars by 2014. Recall that Heinlein and Clarke had us all over the galaxy by the turn of the century. Isaac steals a point from Bob and ACC by being sensible.)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

TED Talks! Movers! Shakers! Game Changers! Clueless dorks!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

21 November 2013

 Birthdays
Jena Malone n. 1984 (Contact, Sucker Punch, Donnie Darko)
Alexander Siddig b. 1965 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Clash of the Titans)
Cherry Jones b. 1956 (Signs, The Village)
Harold Ramis b. 1944 (writer, Ghostbusters, Bedazzled, Groundhog Day)
Jeannot Szwarc b. 1939 (director, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Twilight Zone, Heroes, Smallville, Fringe, Supernatural)
Ingrid Pitt b. 1937 died 23 November 2010 (The Wicker Man, Doctor Who, Countess Dracula)
Christopher Tolkien b. 1924 (author, The Complete History of Middle-Earth)
Isaac Bashevis Singer b. 1902 died 24 July 1991 (author, The Golem, The Black Wedding, Satan in Goray)

The other person on the list besides Alexander Siddig considered for the Picture Slot was Ingrid Pitt, the biggest female star of the Hammer horror films. The Tolkien on the list is the son of J.R.R. Tolkien, a writer who decided to follow in dad's footsteps. The other prime example I can think of in the genre is Brian Herbert writing more Dune books after his dad Frank died.

Many happy returns to the living on the list. 

Movies released 
Rise of the Guardians released, 2012
Twilight released, 2008

Prediction: In 1964, a manned mission to the Moon launched by the United Nations finds the United Kingdom flag planted there, the moon claimed for Queen Victoria.

Predictor: First Men In The Moon, released 11/20/64

Reality: UN in space? Not bloody likely, mate.

First Men in the Moon is a Harryhausen film, but it's certainly not my favorite Harryhausen film. (In fact, I would suspect it is nobody's favorite Harryhausen film.)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Fridays now belong to TED talks predictions and we get one from Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher gave a TED talk?

All will be revealed in just one day... IN THE FUTURE!
 

14 October 2013

Birthdays
Roward Blanchard b. 2001(Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D)
Mia Wasikowska b.1989 (Alice In Wonderland)
Jon Seda b. 1970 (Twelve Monkeys)
Robert C. Cooper b. 1968 (show runner, Stargate SG-1)
Steve Coogan b. 1965 (Night at the Museum, Around the World in 80 Days, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief)
Lori Petty b. 1963 (Tank Girl, Star Trek: Voyager)
Greg Evigan b. 1953 (DeepStar Six, William Shatner’s TekWar)
John Sumner b. 1951 (District 9, King Kong)
Udo Kier b. 1944 (Iron Sky, Blade, Shadow of the Vampire, Armageddon)
Jack Arnold b. 1916 died 17 March 1992 (director, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Tarantula, It Came From Outer Space)
William Steig b. 1907 died 3 October 2003 (author, Shrek)

 A lot of choices for the Picture Slot today.I went with Ms. Petty as Tank Girl, but I could have gone with Ms. Wasikowska as Alice in the recent Tim Burton version or Udo Kier just because he is so odd looking. I was very tempted to go with Jack Arnold, a journeyman director who did a lot of work on TV after doing sci-fi movies in the 1950s. His list of credits is a good reminder of how far the genre has has come in my lifetime, from low budget movies of widely varying quality to movies with enormous budgets and widely varying quality.

Many happy returns of the day to the living on the list.

Prediction: 14 October 1899: Mr. Henry Cavor creates Cavorite, an anti-gravity material, allowing the first human expedition to the Moon.

Predictor: H. G. Wells, in First Men in the Moon, published 1901

Reality: I'm cheating with this one, since the book came out two years after the event is supposed to take place. Not really a prediction, is it?  In my defense, it's written by H.G. Wells and the event is travel to the moon, so it certainly qualifies as science fiction. I have at least one more "prediction" with an exact date that had already passed in my database that I haven't used yet, and my excuse next time will also be "well, the story obviously counts as sci-fi".

One of the things I like about Wells' book is how well drawn the character of Cavor is, a British eccentric that in many ways is the prototype for the nerdy scientist so common in the genre.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another exact date quoted from another book over 100 years old, this time most definitely counting as a prediction, from a writer not as well known as Wells is now, but very influential in his day.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

9 May 2013

Birthday
Rosario Dawson b. 1979

Ms. Dawson's best known roles are not in genre films, but she was in Sin City and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief...

Wait a second. Do I have to explain why I put a picture of Rosario Dawson up on my blog? No, my friend, I do not.

Many happy returns, Ms. Dawson.

Prediction: 1998: The Chinese make their third expedition to the moon.

Predictor: Arthur C. Clarke in 2001: A Space Odyssey, published 1968

Reality:  The Chinese did get into space in 2003 and their future plans include a manned space station and expeditions to the moon and Mars, many, many five year plans from now.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


An exact date from a movie.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 March 2013

Birthdays
Jake Lloyd b. 1989
Jolene Blalock b. 1975
Adriana Barraza b. 1956

Yes, the kid who played Darth Vader when his only super power was a nearly inhuman power to annoy is now 24.

Ms. Blalock played the Vulcan from Enterprise, the Star Trek vehicle that made me decide I was under no obligation to watch Star Trek vehicles any more.  It also had the absolute worst theme song of any TV shows or movies and the second place finisher isn't even close.

Sorry, none of this is her fault. Many happy returns, Ms. Blalock.

Prediction: 1978: Delos David Harriman buys the moon

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein, from The Man Who Sold The Moon, published 1951

Reality: Here is Heinlein writing about his two favorite things, space exploration and naked capitalistic greed. It turns out that in the real world, these are not two great tastes that go great together.

We are more than sixty years past his publication date and no one has figured out the profit generating enterprise that can only be done in outer space.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! Wednesday is John Elfreth Watkins Day and he foresees the future of photography. I've said it before, I'll say it again, for a guy from 1900 he was really good at this stuff.

 Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 February 2013

Birthdays
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Dichen Lachman b. 1982

Jeri Ryan b. 1968

Julie Walters b. 1950

That's a Whedonverse/Star Trek/Harry Potter trifecta for ya, you betcha! Some people may disagree with my selection of just a facial portrait of the lovely Ms. Ryan, but so many of the body shots of her as Seven of Nine lack subtlety, if you get my drift.

Many happy returns to all three actresses.

Today's predictions from the 1956 30th Anniversay issue of Amazing Stories come from their contest winner Clarence W. Van Tilburg.  He made a passel of predictions, so instead of spooning them out one by one, I give all of them here with a reality check after each one in italics and parentheses.

Medicine
1. Great strides in mental therapy. "Psi" professions operating on a solid premises. (He means psychiatry and psychology. We definitely have better drug choices and the definitions of mental illness are certainly improving.)
2. Banking of human organs; artificial culture of tissues; universal extension of preventative medicine.  (Good calls.)
3. Life expectancy 88 for women 80 for men in US and many other countries, world average 70. (A little high on all, but in the ballpark. The male-female dichotomy has shrunk instead of expanded.)

World Politics
1. The big four: USA, USSR, China, India, India leader of the Asian Commonwealth from Iran to Malaya. (Bold, but not quite right. In 1956, it still wasn't obvious how well Germany and Japan would in the next fifty years. India is a leader in the developing world to be sure, but there is no Asian Commonwealth.)
2. All Central America coalesced into a single political unit. (Swing and a miss.)

Science, Industry, Technology
1. Maximum work week in US and Canada: 20 hours. (Don't we wish?)
2. Top industry: Leisure. (Not as big as oil or food production.)
3. US and USSR have manned satellites and have reached the Moon. (Yes on the manned satellites, only the US made it to the Moon with a manned expedition.)
4. Seas mined in earnest for rare elements and food. (Certainly more than in 1956, but not as much as many people hoped. Petroleum isn't that rare. Yet.)
5. Desalted sea water used for irrigation and industrial purposes. (Some, but not much.)
6. Direct conversion of sunlight into power and synthesis of food on commercial scales. (Yes on solar power and there are a lot of synthetic ingredients in food.)
7. Atomic power in world-wide use. (Yes.)
8. Long-distance travel almost entirely by air at supersonic speeds. (Yes to almost all, supersonic, not so much.)
9. Privately owned helicopters commonly used, heliports on every large building. (It's close enough to get the Flying Cars HELLZ YEAH label. Regular readers will know how I feel about discussing reality and flying cars in the same sentence.)
10. Plastic glass and light metals common in building construction. (True enough.)
11. Moving sidewalks common. (That's a swing and a miss.)
12. Shortwave cooking common. (We call it microwave. Definitely a hit.)
13. Great increase in telescope range, boundaries of universe still unknown. (Exactly right.)

 Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! More from Amazing Stories, a couple of pointy headed intellectuals take their shot, and one of them gives a description of a vague thing that could just be the Internet.  That's a terrific guess from the vantage point of 1956.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

31 January 2013

 Birthday
Justin Timberlake b. 1981

He is better known for his music career and his best known film role is probably in The Social Network, but Justin has been in speculative fiction films including In Time and Southland Tales.

Prediction: Moon base CLAVIUS is completed in 1994

Predictor: Arthur C. Clarke from 2001: A Space Odyssey, published 1968

Reality: This was at the height of the excitement about landing on the moon. A lot of people were sure this was just the beginning.

Then again, a lot of people back then were sure that Joe Namath was just a loudmouth playboy and the New York Jets couldn't possibly beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

I know that as a nerd I am supposed to be excited about the conquest of space, but any place where you have to bring your own water and air because there is absolutely none to be had is not a good place to visit.

That place is actively trying to kill you. No water, no air... that's a dealbreaker in my book.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! Yet another French postcard from 1900 where people are underwater and acting like jerks... in the Year 2000!

I'm beginning to detect a pattern.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!