3 September 2015

Birthdays
Ashley Boettcher b. 2000 (Aliens in the House, Aliens in the Attic)
Victoria Jones b. 1991 (Men in Black II)
Garrett Hedlund b. 1984 (Pan, TRON: Legacy, Eragon)
Paz de la Huerta b. 1984 (4:44 Last Day on Earth)
Christine Woods b. 1983 (The Walking Dead, FlashForward)
Nichole Hiltz b. 1978 (Alien Autopsy, Smallville, Buffy, Dude, Where’s My Car?)
Nick Weschsler b. 1978 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Roswell, Team Knight Rider)
Ashley Jones b. 1976 (FlashForward, True Blood)
Clare Kramer b. 1974 (Tales of Halloween, Big Ass Spider!, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Buffy)
Noah Baumbach b. 1969 (writer, The Fantastic Mr. Fox)
Charlie Sheen b. 1965 (Big Bang Theory, The Arrival, The Wraith, Amazing Stories)
Costas Mandylor b. 1965 (Saw, Hyenas, Immortally Yours, Beowulf, Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York, Dinocroc, Charmed, Andromeda, Last Exit to Earth)
Daniel Myrick b. 1963 (writer, The Objective, Solstice, The Blair Witch Project)
Holt McCallany b. 1963 (Heroes, Alien³)
Merritt Butrick b. 1959 died 17 March 1989 (Fright Night Part 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast, Why on Earth?, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Zapped!, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Kevin McCorkle b. 1958 (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Island, The X Files, Star Trek: Voyager)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet b. 1953 (director, Alien: Resurrection, The City of Lost Children)
Lou Richards b. 1951 (Growth, Charmed, Hulk, The X Files, Project U.F.O., Logan’s Run [TV])
Valerie Perrine b. 1943 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Superman, Slaughterhouse Five)
Pauline Collins b. 1940 (Doctor Who, Merlin)
Eileen Brennan b, 1932 died 28 July 2013 (Tales from the Crypt, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Babes in Toyland [TV])
Nora ‘Dodo’ Denney b. 1927 died 20 November 2005 (Splash, Tucker’s Witch, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Anne Jackson b. 1926 (The Shining)
Terry Wilson b. 1923 died 30 March 1999 (Escape to Witch Mountain, Westworld)
Cecil Parker b. 1897 died 20 April 1971 (Psycho-Circus, The Brain, The Man in the White Suit)
Pat O’Malley b. 1890 died 21 May 1966 (Twilight Zone, Invasion of the Body Snatchers)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Clare Kramer from Buffy and Merritt Butrick from the Star Trek movies. This year, it's Nora 'Dodo' Denny as Mrs. Teavee from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

2. Nepotism FTW. Charlie Sheen is a star in his own right now, but being Martin Sheen's son was definitely a boost to his early career.

3. Living Canadian free.  Did not find any Canadian actors on the list today.

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

Predictor: Morris L. Ernst in the 1955 book Utopia 1976

Prediction: By 1976, trucks may be propelled on special highways without drivers.

Reality: Ernst is very early with this one, assuming automatically driven cars were only twenty years away when he wrote this. The technology is possible today and will likely be accepted practice within ten years or so, though truck drivers may not just roll over and accept obsolescence so easily.
 

Never to be Forgotten: Dean Jones 1931-2015 Dean Jones, the clean-cut star of many Disney films, most notably the movies featuring Herbie the Love Bug, has died at the age of 84. Besides making films for Disney, Jones also starred in many films for the Christian audience. (Note that "clean cut" is sometimes misleading, as in Bob Crane's example.) He also had many roles on Broadway, including the original actor to play the lead Bobby in Stephen Sondheim's Company. His roles in genre include Scrooge and Marley, Special Report: Journey to Mars, Once Upon a Brothers Grimm and the Italian production Mr. Superinvisible.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

There are still a few weeks left of predictions from Anticipations and some of Wells' prophecies do not make him look like a scumbag.

Emphasis on some.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

26 January 2015

Birthdays
Cameron Bright b. 1993 (Twilight Saga, Earth’s Final Hours, The 4400, X-Men: Last Stand, Ultraviolet, Stargate-SG1, The Butterfly Effect, Night Visions, Shadow Realm, Dark Angel)
Jacob Blair b. 1984 (Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds, Beauty and the Beast [2014], Underworld: Awakening, SGU Stargate Universe, V [2011], Hot Tub Time Machine, Fringe, 2012, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Andromeda Strain [2008], Battlestar Galactica: Razor, Bionic Woman)
Colin O’Donoghue b. 1981 (Once Upon a Time, The Rite)
Sara Rue b. 1979 (My Future Boyfriend, Eastwick, The Big Bang Theory, Idiocracy, The Ring)
Kelly Stables b. 1978 (Dragon Hunter, The Ring Two)
Hae-il Park b. 1977 (The Host)
Michael Power b. 1965 (Skookum: The Hunt for Bigfoot, The Dark Knight Rises)
Paul Johansson b. 1964 (Beauty and the Beast [2013], Berserker: Hell’s Warrior, Andromeda, First Wave, Highlander: The Raven, Carnival of Souls, Earth: Final Conflict)
Cathy Podewell b. 1964 (Night of the Demons)
Ellen DeGeneres b. 1958 (Coneheads)
Mimi Leder b. 1952 (director,The Leftovers, Almost Human, Deep Impact)
David Straithairn b. 1949 (Godzilla [2014], Alphas, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Brother From Another Planet, Iceman)
Michael McManus b. 1946 (Free Spirit, Knight Rider, Poltergeist, The Munsters’ Revenge, Captain America [1979], The Six Million Dollar Man, Monster Squad)
Kathryn Leigh Scott b. 1943 (Doctor Mabuse, Dark Shadows [2012 and 1966], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hammer House of Horror, The Incredible Hulk, Space: 1999)
Scott Glenn b. 1941 (Daredevil [2015], Sucker Punch, Tall Tale, The Right Stuff, The Keep, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV])
Roger Vadim b. 1928 died 11 February 2000 (director, Barbarella)
William Redfield b. 1927 died 17 August 1976 (Fantastic Voyage, Bewitched)
Joan Leslie b. 1925 (The Incredible Hulk)
Paul Newman b. 1925 died 26 September 2008 (Quintet, Tales of Tomorrow)
Anne Jeffreys b. 1923 (Mr. Merlin, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Topper [1955], Zombies on Broadway)
Philip José Farmer b. 1918 died 25 February 2009 (won 1972 Hugo for To Your Scattered Bodies Go)
Vito Scotti b. 1918 died 5 June 1996 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Small & Frye, The Ghosts of Buxley Hall, Halloween with the New Addams Family, Ark II, Monster Squad, The Bionic Woman, The Lost Saucer, The Six Million Dollar man: Solid Gold Kidnapping, Batman, The Munsters, The Addams Family, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone, Conquest of Space)
William Hopper b. 1915 died 6 March 1970 (20 Million Miles to Earth, The Deadly Mantis)
Dorothy Neumann b. 1914 died 20 May 1994 (Bewitched, The Terror, Twilight Zone, The Day the Earth Stood Still)
William Prince b. 1913 died 8 October 1996 (Monsters, The Greatest American Hero, The Cat from Outer Space, The Invisible Man [1975], The Stepford Wives, Inner Sanctum)
Charles Lane b. 1905 died 9 July 2009 (The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes [1995], Dark Shadows [1991], Otherworld, Strange Invaders, Bewitched, Twilight Zone, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, Mighty Joe Young)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The list today has one bona fide movie superstar, Paul Newman, but his work in genre wasn't iconic. Previously, I went with Oh That Guy Charles Lane (a very idiosyncratic choice, I'll admit) and the cover of Philip José Farmer's Hugo winning book, a much more easily defensible choice. This year, my main question was whether to go old school with Scott Glenn or really old school with William Hopper from on of his two 1950s monster movies. You can see the answer, with Glenn as Alan Shepard, sitting and waiting (and peeing) in the capsule while it is being prepped for launch. This is the scene where he gets his best line "Why don't you solve your little problems and light this candle!"

2. Spot the Canadians! There are three today, all born after 1960. Two are fairly obvious and the third is a little tricky. See what you can do.

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

Predictor: TheOMNI Future Almanac, published in 1982

Prediction: The wedding of cars and computers with increased driving efficiency under normal driving conditions of 60 miles an hour or less. By 2000, computer-assisted fuel flow and engine control will produce cars that average 100 miles per gallon.

The use of computer-controlled cars in urban centers will produce further savings by lessening traffic jams, reducing stopping to a minimum, dramatically decreasing accidents and increasing the life expectancy of a car to nearly twenty years. A reduction in pollution levels and a smoother flow in urban traffic patterns will restore quiet and order to the city.


Reality: All right, two separate predictions here. I don't know of any hybrid claiming 100 mpg even today in 2015. Also, "normal driving conditions of 60 miles per hour or less" is kind of quaint now.

As for what life will be like when computer controlled cars are the norm, we will likely have a better idea in ten years or so. The decreasing accidents look like a safe bet, but the decrease on pollution and noise and the increase in car life expectancy are in "wait and see" mode.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another visit with W. Warren Wagar and his predictions about the New World Order in the early 21st Century.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

21 January 2014

Birthdays
Booboo Stewart b. 1994 (Twilight Saga, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft)
Izabella Miko b. 1981 (Clash of the Titans)
Svetlana Khodchenkova b. 1983 (The Wolverine)
Ken Leung b. 1970 (Lost, X_Men: The Last Stand, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence)
Michael Wincott b. 1958 (Alien: Resurrection, The Crow)
Geena Davis b. 1956 (Transylvania 6-5000, The Fly, Beetlejuice, Earth Girls Are Easy, Stuart Little)
Steve Reeves b. 1926 died 1 May 2000 (Hercules, Hercules Unchained, The Thief of Baghdad, Goliath and the Barbarians)
Telly Savalas b. 1922 died 22 January 1994 (The Twilight Zone, Capricorn One)

A short list today and the older actors on the list have more star power than the younger names. Geena Davis gets the Picture Slot this year, though next year it might be Steve Reeves. Telly Savalas did almost no work in genre films or TV, but because of my age and tastes, anyone who showed up even once starring on an original Twilight Zone episode with get their birthday noted here.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, and to Steve Reeves and Telly Savalas, thanks for all the memories.

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

Prediction: By 2009, intelligent roads and driverless cars will be in use, mostly on highways.

Reality: Kurzweil is tech-savvy, so his predictions are not impossible but usually premature. According to Wikipedia, driverless trucks were being used in mining operations last decade, but even now fifteen years out from his prediction, we are still a long way away from driverless cars on the freeways. I can understand how young people in technology today can have a libertarian streak in them, looking upon government as an unnecessary intrusion on innovation. In this case, even if driverless cars are ten times or one hundred times safer than humans, that would mean the number of accidents might be reduced from ten million a year to a million or one hundred thousand a year. That is still a heck of a lot of lawsuits.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Wednesdays mean a visit from our man on the spot in 1905, T. Baron Russell, boldly looking one hundred years ahead.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

28 November 2013

Birthdays
Alan Ritchson b. 1984 (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead b. 1984 (The Thing [2011], Grindhouse, Sky High, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)
Emun Elliott b. 1983 (Prometheus, Game of Thrones)
Daniel Henney b. 1979 (X-Men Origins Wolverine)
Ryan Kwanten b. 1975 (True Blood)
Maurissa Tancharoen b. 1975 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog)
Alfonso Cuarón b. 1961 (director, Gravity, Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
S. Epatha Merkerson b. 1952 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Ed Harris b. 1950 (Gravity, The Truman Show, Apollo 13, The Right Stuff)
Joe Dante b. 1946 (director, The Howling, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Gremlins, Innerspace, Small Soldiers)

The biggest movie star on the list is Ed Harris, but because I'm a Whedonverse fanboy, the Picture Slot goes to Maurissa Tancharoen, who is one of the show runners on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the bride of Jed Whedon, as well as having roles onscreen in Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible. I watched True Blood for a few seasons, but it bothered me how many of the characters in this very dangerous universe were just too damned stupid to live, and Ryan Kwanten's character had to be near the top of that list, which is not the actor's fault.

Many happy returns to everyone, and of course happy Thanksgiving to all the Yanks, both on the birthday list and reading the blog.

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

Prediction: Much effort will be put into the designing of vehicles with "Robot-brains", vehicles that can be set for particular destinations and that will then proceed there without interference by the slow reflexes of a human driver. I suspect one of the major attractions of the 2014 fair will be rides on small roboticized cars which will maneuver in crowds at the two-foot level, neatly and automatically avoiding each other.

Reality: Okay! Isaac gets an A for this one, a solid 9.5 of 10. He loses the half point for "at the two foot level", which implies a very high-riding hovercraft, which would have to make noise and send around clouds of dust like a super-sized leaf blower. Getting machines to drive is in its infancy - parallel parking and avoiding accidents - but the "get you to your destination" is used very regularly.

Nice work, Ike, if I can call you Ike. Oh, I can't. Oops, sorry, won't happen again.

Looking on day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Friday means TED talks, and we get a bold prediction from 1998 by Billy Graham.

Billy Graham? The preacher or the wrestler?

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