29 December 2014

Birthdays
Dylan Minnette b. 1996 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Awake, Let Me In, Lost, Supernatural)
Jane Levy b. 1989 (Evil Dead [2013])
Iain De Caestecker b. 1987 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Charlotte Riley b. 1981 (Edge of Tomorrow)
Danny McBride b. 1976 (This Is the End, Land of the Lost)
Jason Shane-Scott b. 1976 (666: Devilish Charm, Return of the Killer Shrews, The Pit and the Pendulum, Deadland, Charmed)
Shawn Hatosy b. 1975 (The Faculty)
Mekhi Phifer b. 1974 (Insurgent, Divergent, Torchwood, Dawn of the Dead)
Jude Law b. 1972 (Hugo, Contagion, Repo Men, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, eXistenZ, Gattaca)
Leonor Varela b. 1972 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Monster Wolf, Blade II, Stargate: Atlantis, Jeremiah)
Patrick Fischler b. 1969 (Grimm, Lost, Idiocracy, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Birds of Prey, Charmed)
Jennifer Ehle b. 1969 (RoboCop [2014], Contagion, The Adjustment Bureau)
Andy Wachowski b. 1967 (director, Sense8, Jupiter Ascending, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, The Matrix)
Alexandra Kamp-Groenveld b. 1966 (Vampire, Dracula 3000, Deep Freeze, 2001: A Space Travesty)
Dave McKean b. 1963 (director, Luna, MirrorMask)
Patricia Clarkson b. 1959 (The Maze Runner, Carrie [2002 TV], Wendigo, The Green Mile, Jumanji, Tales from the Crypt [1990 TV])
Brian Sergent b. 1959 (The Lord of the Rings; Fellowship of the Rings, The Ray Bradbury Theatre)
Paul Rudnick b. 1957 (writer, The Stepford Wives [2004], Addams Family Values)
M.H. b. 1955 (blogger)
Jon Polito b. 1950 (Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion, Rock Monster, The Chronicle, The Invisible Man [2000 TV], Good vs Evil, Millennium, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Tales of the Mummy, NightMan, Invasion, The Invaders [1995 TV], Blankman, The Crow, Tales from the Crypt, The Rocketeer, Highlander, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, C.H.U.D.)
Ted Danson b. 1947 (Living with the Dead, Loch Ness, Gulliver’s Travels, Tucker’s Witch, Creepshow, The Amazing Spider-Man [1979 TV])
Jon Voight b. 1938 (Dracula: The Dark Prince, National Treasure, Transformers, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Anaconda)
Barbara Steele b. 1937 (Dark Shadows [TV], Piranha, She Beast, Castle of Blood, Nightmare Castle, Castle of Blood, The Ghost, Pit and the Pendulum, Black Sunday)
Ed Flanders b. 1934 died 22 February 1995 (The Exorcist III, Tomorrow’s Child, Salem’s Lot)
Inga Swenson b. 1932 (Bay Coven, Earth II)
Bernard Cribbins b. 1928 (Doctor Who, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Space: 1999, Dalek’s Invasion of Earth 2150 A.D.)
Dina Merrill b. 1923 (Mighty Joe Young [1998], Tales of the Unexpected, Anna to the Infinite Power, Batman)
Mike Nussbaum b. 1923 (Men in Black, The X Files)
Viveca Lindfors b. 1920 died 25 October 1995 (Stargate, The Exorcist III, Frankenstein’s Aunt, Creepshow, The Hand, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Freda Jackson b. 1907 died 20 October 1990 (Clash of the Titans [1981], Blakes 7, The Valley of Gwangi, Monster of Terror, The Brides of Dracula)

Notes from birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was scream queen Barbara Steele. This year, it's Oh That Guy Jon Polito, who I remember from a lot of roles in Coen Brothers movies as well as The Chronicle, a low budget show produced by The Sci-Fi Channel back when they had a Friday night line-up. Next year has several good options including Jude Law, Iain De Caestecker from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Ted Danson from Gulliver's Travels.

2. Fun facts to know and tell. I think of Jennifer Ehle as being quintessentially British from her role as Elizabeth Bennett in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, but she was born in North Carolina. Her mother is the British actress Rosemary Harris. It's nice to see we have two people celebrating their 91st birthdays, the divine Dina Merrill and Mike Nussbaum, who I remember from early David Mamet films Things Change and House of Games.

3. Canadian free zone. It's rare but it happens.

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

Movies released
12 Monkeys released, 1995
 

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Moving sidewalks will not gain widespread acceptance as urban transportation until the Variflex Moving Sidewalk is developed for practical use in the early 1990s. This particular sidewalk function under a variable width, variable speed system. It travels at slightly faster than walking speed on approach and departure, but accelerates from about two miles an hour to over ten miles an hour at maximum speeds. Cross walks will have slow zones. More complex systems will add speed lanes, creating multiple sidewalk highways. They will replace sidewalks in shopping areas, airports and large public buildings.

Reality: Ummm... no. They exist in airports, they aren't multiple speeds. Maintaining them outside would be expensive. There are four popular ideas that pop up regularly in futuristic stories and predictions. I personally love flying cars and pneumatic tubes, but moving sidewalks and food in pill form hold no attraction for me.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from W. Warren Wagar's A Brief History of the Future.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

14 November 2014

Birthdays
Dimitri Leonidas b. 1987 (Sinbad, Doctor Who)
Brian Gleeson b. 1987 (Snow White and the Huntsman, Primeval)
Laura Ramsey b. 1982 (Venom, The Covenant)
Russell Tovey b. 1981 (Being Human, Doctor Who)
Michala Banas b. 1978 (Scooby-Doo, BeastMaster [TV], The Lost World [TV])
Chris Demetral b. 1976 (The Zeta Project, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Lois & Clark, Dolly Dearest, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Felicity Mason b. 1976 (Undead)
Olga Kurylenko b. 1979 (Vampire Academy, Oblivion)
Delphine Chaneac b. 1978 (Splice)
Gene Farber b. 1978 (X-Men: First Class, Virtuality)
Marcy Leeds b. 1977 (Beauty and the Beast [1989 TV], Near Dark)
Dana Snyder b. 1973 (Venture Brothers, Saul of the Mole Men)
Josh Duhamel b. 1972 (Transformers, The Picture of Dorian Gray)
Florina Kendrick b. 1966 (Dracula [1992])
Patrick Warburton b. 1964 (Ted 1 & 2, The Venture Brothers, Men in Black II, The Tick, Quantum Leap)
Harland Williams b. 1962 (RocketMan)
Laura San Giacomo b. 1962 (The Apocalypse, The Stand)
D.B. Sweeney b. 1961 (Touch, Swamp Shark, Universal Dead, Jericho, Harsh Realm, Spawn, Fire in the Sky)
Paul McGann b. 1959 (Doctor Who, Vampire Killers, Queen of the Damned, Alien 3)
Nannette Brown b. 1958 (Swamp Thing)
Sandahl Bergman b. 1951 (Sorceress II: The Temptress, TekWar: TekJustice, Freddy’s Nightmares, Programmed to Kill, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Red Sonja, Conan the Barbarian, She)
Gary Grubbs b. 1949 (Left Behind, Battleship, Wizards of Waverly Place, Angel, The Astronaut’s Wife, The X Files, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Time Trax, The Greatest American Hero)
Robert Ginty b. 1948 died 21 September 2009 (Programmed to Kill, Knight Rider, Warrior of the Lost World, Project U.F.O.)
Wendy Carlos b. 1939 (Composer, TRON, The Shining)
Kathleen Hughes b. 1928 (I Dream of Jeannie, It Came From Outer Space, Cult of the Cobra)
McLean Stevenson b. 1927 died 15 February 1996 (The Astronauts, The Cat from Outer Space)
Brian Keith b. 1921 died 24 June 1997 (Deep Space Nine, World War III, Meteor)
Ann Way b. 1915 died 13 March 1993 (Brazil, Jabberwocky)
Rosemary DeCamp b. 1910 died 20 February 2001 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Time Machine [1978 TV], 13 Ghosts)
William Stieg b. 1907 died 3 October 2003 (author, Shrek)

Last year, I used a picture of Brock Samson, voiced by the great Patrick Warburton. This year, actors who played the Doctor are trump, so we get the 8th Doctor Paul McGann. Next year, I'll probably go with Laura San Giacomo from The Stand or Sandahl Bergman from Conan.

The Canadian on the list has no telltale roles. Harland Williams works out of Los Angeles, mostly in comedies.

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

Predictor: H. G. Wells in his 1902 book Anticipations

Prediction: There is, however, one conceivable means of transit that is not simply frequent but continuous, that may be joined or left at any point without a stoppage, that could be adapted to many existing streets at the level or quite easily sunken in tunnels, or elevated above the street level, and that means of transit is the moving platform, whose possibilities have been exhibited to all the world in a sort of mean caricature at the Paris Exhibition.

Reality: Ah, moving sidewalks! It's been a couple months since we've had a moving sidewalks prediction, and my answer is as always, ah hellz no!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We jump back to 1893, a time of facial hair, optimism and nearly no understanding of the environment.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

24 September 2014

Birthdays
Nicole Leduc b. 1999 (Jennifer’s Body, Supernatural, Kyle XY)
Spencer Treat Clark b. 1987 (The Last Exorcism Part II, Superheroes, Unbreakable)
Grey Damon b. 1987 (Star-Crossed, American Horror Story, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, True Blood)
Brit Morgan b. 1987 (True Blood, The Middleman)
Jessica Lucas b.1985 (Evil Dead [2013], Cloverfield, 2030 CE, Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge, Seven Days)
Lara Jean Chorostecki b. 1984 (Lost Girl, Beauty and the Beast [2012], Antiviral)
Justin Bruening b. 1979 (Wonder Woman [2011], Knight Rider [2009])
Ian Bohen b. 1976 (Teen Wolf, Beauty and the Beast [2014], The Dark Knight Rises, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Weird Science [TV])
Marc Guggenheim b. 1970 (writer, The Flash, Green Lantern, Arrow, Percy Jackson, FlashForward)
Megan Ward b. 1969 (Dark Skies, Joe’s Apartment, Encino Man, Trancers II)
Kelly Jo Minter b. 1966 (A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, The Lost Boys)
Kieran Mulroney b. 1965 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Seven Days, From the Earth to the Moon, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
John Logan b. 1961 (writer, Hugo, Star Trek: Nemesis)
Kevin Sorbo b. 1958 (Piranha Sharks, The Guild, Paradox, Andromeda, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Kull)
Brad Bird b. 1957(director, Tomorrowland, The Incredibles, The Iron Giant)
Rick Zumwalt b. 1951 died 19 March 2003 (Timecop, Batman Returns, Rockula, Freddy’s Nightmares, Tales from the Crypt, Werewolf)
Harriet Walter b. 1950 (Fairy Tales, The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns)
Phil Hartman b. 1948 died 28 May 1998 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Small Soldiers, Coneheads)
Ian Stewart b. 1945 (writer, The Science of Discworld)
Kenneth Tigar b. 1942 (The Avengers, Fringe, The X Files, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Quantum Leap, The Flash, ALF, Phantasm II, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Knight Rider, Project U.F.O., Wonder Woman, Man from Atlantis)
Sven-Ole Thorsen b. 1944 (Kull the Conqueror, Last Action Hero, Nemesis, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, The Running Man, Predator, Red Sonya, Conan the Destroyer, Conan the Barbarian)
Jim Henson b. 1936 died 16 May 1990 (writer, Dinosaurs, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth)
John Brunner b. 1934 (won 1969 Hugo for Stand on Zanzibar)
Arthur Malet b. 1927 died 18 May 2013 (Hook, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, Wonder Woman, Halloween, Heaven Can Wait, Young Frankenstein, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, Munster, Go Home!, Mary Poppins)
Bert I. Gordon b. 1922 (director, Empire of the Ants, The Food of the Gods, Necromancy, Village of the Giants, The Magic Sword, Earth vs. the Spider, War of the Colossal Beast, Attack of the Puppet People, The Amazing Colossal Man, The Cyclops, Beginning of the End, King Dinosaur)
F. Scott Fitzgerald b. 1896 died 21 December 1940 (writer, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Horace Walpole b. 24 September 1717 died 2 March 1797 (author, The Castle of Otranto)

Notes on the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. I used Jim Henson last year, and deciding not to repeat myself, I have to admit that the most iconic actor in genre born this day is Kevin Sorbo, though I find his politics appalling. He makes the professional atheists look good, and that takes some work. But at near the end of the top 100 birthday list on imdb.com was Bert I. Gordon, a.k.a. Mr. B.I.G., maker of many cheesy films and often interested in making things big, like insects, rats, spiders and people. I was honestly surprised he was still alive at 92, so I chose a poster from one of his films. Those in the know can be certain I did not choose this film at random.

2. The dead. Both Jim Henson and Phil Hartman died way too early, but they don't qualify for "Wait... He's Dead?" status with me because I can't forget they are gone. Rick Zumwalt died young, a big bald wrestler/biker type who I never quite remember from role to role. Arthur Malet, on the other hand, died at 85 last year and he had a lot of great roles over the years. As for the people born before the 20th Century began, I include Fitzgerald because Benjamin Button was made into a film and The Castle of Otranto is considered the first gothic novel.

3. Oh That Guys. Besides the late Arthur Malet, Kenneth Tigar is a quintessential Oh That Guy. Take a look at his pictures and you'll see what I mean. I've seen his work in possibly dozens of movies and TV shows and I never quite put a name with his very recognizable face. (Heck, he played six different roles on Barney Miller and I watched that show all the way to the end.) Sven-Ole Thorsen also has a lot of roles, many of them in Schwarzenegger films. I would guess he's a fellow gym rat.

4. The writers.  If I decided not to go with some movie or TV show, I might use Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar in the Picture Slot next year.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list (even Kevin Sorbo), and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga-Hoole released, 2010  
 

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

Prediction: What vehicle shall Mr. Smith take to his business? The railway then runs under every street? The moving sidewalk that passes before all the shop fronts? Shall he go on foot over the innumerable bridges which unite at all the building at all heights? He decides upon an aerotaxi, which he can procure from the roof of his apartment building.

The sky resembles the harbor of a great port in which multitudes of vessels are moving in every direction. Aerocabs with polished hoods buzz about like big beetles. The ventripotent Tottenville-Poughkeepsie aerobus passes like a flash in a whirlwind. As it is scarcely 8 o’clock few private airships, with solemn footmen in livery and gauntlets, are seen. But many clerks mounted on old-model, second hand Bierots hasten to their morning work.

Upon a biplane of archaic model, which looks like a flying bureau, they mount a cripple sandwich man, who scatters handbills as he dodges about in the crowd with all the skill of the New York street arab.

The use of balloons has not been abandoned: those cumbrous bladders inflated with flammable gas, those dangerous toys with which our ancestors used to allow themselves to float, not yet knowing how to fly. They are to be seen everywhere but without aeronauts. Reduced in size and always captive, they serve as buoys and marks, bearing the names of the several streets below or of the landing stations. Like baskets, great incandescent electric lights are hung from them to illuminate the air routes at night. And then there are the advertising balloons, launched from the roofs of the great stores like soap bubbles, which float in all directions to announce the great white sale here or the bargains in furniture there.

Mr. Smith mounts a cab which has come to a stop besides the terrace. Off he goes over New York. Some of the small antiquated buildings of the early 20th Century still exist – the Metropolitan Tower, the Public Library and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. But these once magnificent structures are insignificant now in this forest of fifty-story buildings, with their spacious roof terraces, built to last out of steel and cement, proof against fire and earthquakes. These gigantic structures are studios, factories, shops, hotels. Manhattan Island is the heart of the city, It is covered from one end to the other with these buildings in which nothing but business is done, for no one lives on Manhattan any more.

These buildings are tied to each other at almost every story by suspension bridges, which give the city the aspect of fifty cities superimposed, each filled with moving multitudes.

Reality: Boy, this guy sure loves the flowery language. Ventripotent means big bellied. Street arab is archaic for homeless person. Cumbrous is awkward because of size.

Let's start with what he gets right. The skyline of Manhattan now is nothing like the skyline in 1911. Fifty story skyscrapers are not at all uncommon.

And then there's the rest. Air traffic the way he describes it would be an invitation to extinction. Except for stunt pilots like the Blue Angels, most aircraft keep a wide berth of open space around them. He does mention flying cars, and it is the blog's policy not to mention reality and flying cars together, but the space wouldn't be filled up like some great harbor.

People still live in Manhattan. The buildings aren't connected by walkways at every floor. We don't have moving sidewalks everywhere.

It's remarkable how much his picture of the future is like The Jetsons, which was made fifty years after this.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's Thursday already and another prediction from Dr. Lee de Forest.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 May 2014

 Birthdays
Ariel Gade b. 1997 (Meteor, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Invasion)
Emilia Clarke b. 1987 (Terminator: Genesis, Game of Thrones, Triassic Attack)
Jamie Dornan b. 1982 (Once Upon a Time)
James Badge Dale b. 1978 (World War Z, Iron Man 3)
Darius McCrary b. 1976 (Transformers, Vampires: Los Muertos)
Julie Benz b. 1972 (Defiance, No Ordinary Family, Supernatural, Locusts: The 8th Plague, Angel, Buffy, Roswell, Darkdrive, Sliders)
Kendrick Cross b. 1971 (Witches of East End, Iron Man 3, Teen Wolf [TV])
John Diehl b. 1950 (Almost Human, Singularity Principle, Jericho, Jurassic Park III, The X-Files, Stargate, The Dark Side of the Moon, Beauty and the Beast [TV], Escape from New York)
Dann Florek b. 1950 (From the Earth to the Moon, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch)
Stephen Macht b. 1942 (Sliders, Millennium, The Legend of Galgameth, Babylon 5, Trancers, Deep Space Nine, Highlander [TV], The Monster Squad, Galaxina, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Joy Harmon b. 1940 (Village of the Giants, Bewitched, Batman)
Terry Southern b. 1924 died 29 October 1995 (writer, Barbarella)
Glenn Ford b. 1916 died 30 August 2006 (Day of Resurrection, Superman, The Visitor)

As I have said before, Game of Thrones is trump while it is airing and Emilia Clarke as Danerys Stormborn is easily the most iconic role on today's list, especially for younger viewers. I used Julie Benz from Buffy last year before I did more research and I might use Joy Harmon from Village of the Giants next year because... reasons.

All that said, the one movie star on the list is Glenn Ford, but he only showed up in genre at the very end of his career.

Movies released
X-Men Origins: Wolverine released 2009

In the year 2000!

Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.

Prediction: Downtown streets will have moving conveyor type sidewalks. They will carry you from one store or office to another-as you sit on a portable golf-type stool if you like.

Reality: Airports, yes, downtown streets, no. This is the seventh moving sidewalk prediction and they range in time from John Elfreth Watkins and T. Baron Russell at the beginning of the century to Asimov, Heinlein and others in the 1950s and 1960s. De Forest gets a goose egg on this one, and not even points for originality.

This month's splash photo: Norman Bel Geddes (1893-1958) designed the Futurama exhibit for General Motors' pavilion in the 1939 World's Fair. His streamlined shapes are a major influence on nearly all the futurists that came after him. He is also the father of the actress Barabara Bel Geddes and the author Joan Ulanov. As a tip of the hat to regular commenter Zombie Rotten McDonald, at least this design has windows, unlike the bus that was the April splash page.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We give Dr. Paul Ehrlich the week off to get a prediction for 2017 ripped from the business section this week.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

5 December 2013

 Birthdays
Nick Stahl b. 1979 (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Sin City, Carnivale)
Amy Acker b. 1976 (Angel, Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, Dollhouse, Grimm, Warehouse 13)
Lisa Marie b. 1968 (Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks!, Planet of the Apes, Dominion)
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo b. 1967 (director, 28 Weeks Later)
Walt Disney b. 1901 died 15 December 1966 (producer, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The Absent Minded Professor, Son of Flubber)
Fritz Lang b. 1890 died 2 August 1976 (director, Metropolis, Woman in the Moon)

Only six names today, all from movies or TV. I was tempted to put a poster from Metropolis in the Picture Slot, but instead it's Amy Acker because I'm such a Whedonverse fanboy, a reminder that with Joss Whedon, sometimes characters die and they come back, but not quite all the way.

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

Prediction: For short-range travel, moving sidewalks (with benches on either side, standing room in the center) will be making their appearance in downtown sections. They will be raised above the traffic. Traffic will continue (on several levels in some places) only because all parking will be off-street and because at least 80 per cent of truck deliveries will be to certain fixed centers at the city's rim. Compressed air tubes will carry goods and materials over local stretches, and the switching devices that will place specific shipments in specific destinations will be one of the city's marvels.

Reality: After a pretty good showing last week, Asimov goes back to some sci-fi cliches that never really took off, moving sidewalks and pneumatic tubes. I'm fond of pneumatic tubes, but long distance moving sidewalks outside of airports are just another reason not to exercise and I'm not a fan.

 

Though in this case, I'm willing to make an exception. In Trondheim, Norway, there is a "bicycle lift" installed on a steep hill which has been in operation for about 20 years now. Based on ski lift technology, a single trolley track is operated with a key card. When activated, a small metal plate appears and the bike rider puts his or her right foot on it and is propelled pleasantly up the hill.

As an old fat guy who rides a bike, usually on level ground or very modest hills at the most around Oakland and the East Bay, I think this is a great idea. Bike riding hasn't quite reached the critical mass in my neck of the woods for this to be something city planners would think of, but I could see this idea catch on.

Good on ya, Trondheim!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Friday means TED Talks predictions. If you are one of those people excited and impressed by TED Talks, I think if you stop by every Friday for just a few weeks, I can cure you of that.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

30 November 2013

 Birthdays
Clémence Poésy b. 1982 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Fiona Dourif b. 1981 (True Blood)
Sarah Carter b. 1980 (Falling Skies)
Mark Steven Johnson b. 1964 (director, Ghost Rider, Daredevil)
David Yates b. 1963 (director, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Charles Martin Smith b. 1953 (The X-Files, Starman)
Harry Hamiln b. 1951 (Clash of the Titans)
Rusty Goffe b. 1948 (Harry Potter, Flash Gordon, Mirrormask, Star Wars)
Leon Rippy b. 1947 (Stargate, Under the Dome, Star Trek:The Next Generation, Universal Soldier)
Tim Kirk b. 1947 (artist)
Hamilton Camp b. 1934 died 2 October 2005 (Star Trek: Voyager, Twilight Zone, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman)
William Campbell b. 1923 died 28 April 2011 (Star Trek)
Ruth Gordon b. 1896 died 28 August 1985 (Rosemary’s Baby)

Lots of actors on the birthday list today. Any of the young actresses at the top of the list would qualify for the Pretty Girl=Picture Slot formula, but for iconic roles in genre, it was either William Campbell or Harry Hamlin and I picked Star Trek over Harryhausen. Perseus will get his turn next year. 

Predictor: T. Baron Russell, A Hundred Years Hence, published 1905

Prediction: Cities will be provided with moving street-ways, always in action at two or more speeds; and we shall have learned to hop on and off the lowest speed from the stationary pavement, and from the lower speeds to the higher, without danger.

Reality: Moving sidewalks yet again. The show up in sci-fi stories, I remember them from Harlan Ellison's "Repent, Harlequin!" said the Ticktock Man in particular, but they were really popular in the predictions from the early 1900s, including a Hildebrand's German Chocolate postcard and one from my man crush John Elfreth Watkins. I'm not against escalators and moving walkways in airports are really useful when you are carrying luggage, but outdoors and exposed to the elements is probably not a good idea, apart from the fact that it discourages walking, an excellent exercise.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An earthquake prediction from a scientist in 2004 gets a big swing and a miss.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

22 February 2013

Birthdays
-->

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!

29 January 2013

Prediction

1955 San Francisco replaces the cable cars with moving stairways.

from The Roads Must Roll by Robert A. Heinlein, published 1940

Reality: Sci fi writers love the moving sidewalk and moving road, but "moving stairway" is just another way of saying escalator.

Cable cars are cool. Escalators are dull. They would have to take up sidewalk space instead of road space. You think tourists are going to wait in line to ride escalators from Market Street to Fisherman's Wharf?

Ahh, hellz no, as we say in Oakland.

There is no way San Francisco would ever give up part of its unique flavor for such a boring idea.

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!  

John Elfreth Watkins envisions a high speed railway system linking East Coast to West, making a trip from New York to San Francisco in less than 24 hours ... in the year 2000!

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!

25 January 2013

In the Year 2000!

Prediction: The public will be transported in comfort on moving sidewalks.

Predictor: Hildebrands German Chocolate, circa 1900

Reality: Futurists loved the moving sidewalk/road almost as much as they loved the flying car. Remember that The Jetsons had moving walkways everywhere. (Sadly, the year given for The Jetsons was 2062, 100 years after the show's airdate, so it's too far in the future to be useful by the rules of this blog, either dates already past or in the near future.)

In any case, while the technology is very easy, you rarely see moving sidewalks outdoors and exposed to the elements, and the main use is in large airports, not on city streets.

Observation: As always, I love the style and wonderful use of colors by this illustrator, whose name I have not been able to track down yet.


Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE! Archie Andrews gets to see what it will be like to be a teen... in 2012!


Yes, that Archie Andrews. Sorry, neither Betty or Veronica join him on this fantastic voyage.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 January 2013

Walter Michael Miller b. 1923 died 1/9/1996
 (won 1961 Hugo for A Canticle for Leibowitz)

Miller is something of a one hit wonder, but his one hit is very highly regarded. A World War II vet, he was involved in the battle of Monte Cassino, where a Benedictine abbey was bombed, a traumatic experience for him.

After the success of Leibowitz which was completed in 1959, Miller became a recluse. A started a follow-up book Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman but did not finish it. Terry Bisson completed it and it was released in 1997, a year after Miller's death by suicide in 1996.

In the Year 2000!
 
Prediction: There Will Be No Street Cars in Our Large Cities.

All hurry traffic will be below or high above ground when brought within city limits. In most cities it will be confined to broad subways or tunnels, well lighted and well ventilated, or to high trestles with “moving-sidewalk” stairways leading to the top. These underground or overhead streets will teem with capacious automobile passenger coaches and freight with cushioned wheels. Subways or trestles will be reserved for express trains. Cities, therefore, will be free from all noises.

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

Reality: Okay, I'll admit it. Now that I'm getting into the swing of things with this blog, I look forward to Wednesdays. No disrespect to Robert A. Heinlein or Arthur C. Clarke, but Watkins is a much better looking guy, a man who knew how to rock the soul patch without looking like a hipster.

This is the first mention of the moving sidewalk on this blog. It may not inspire awe like flying cars do, but it is a very common prediction, as you will see in the weeks to come. Technically, he is talking about "moving sidewalk" stairways, which we now call escalators. These are much more common than moving sidewalks on flat surfaces, which are limited to large airports for the most part.

Watkins was writing in 1900, but he doesn't get any points here for being a tremendous visionary. The earliest working models of escalators were built in the 1890s.

As for shifting vehicle traffic around so that our metropolitan lives would be quiet and serene... not so much. We city dwellers are still second class citizens when we are not in our automobiles, but overall we've gotten used to it.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! We get another Arthur C. Clarke prediction for the Year 2000 from the 1964 BBC TV show Horizon, with an admonishment that when the modern world passes us by as a species, we should be good sports like the Cro-Magnon and the Neanderthal.


Wait... were they good sports?  I'll have to look that up.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!