30 May 2015

Birthdays
Jared Gilmore b. 2000 (Once Upon a Time)
Jake Short b. 1997 (Mighty Med, Jack and Janet Save the Planet)
Kevin Covais b. 1989 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Men in Black 3)
Will Peltz b. 1986 (In Time)
Adam Bond b. 1981 (Victor Frankenstein, Kick-Ass 2, Maleficent)
Blake Bashoff b. 1981 (Lost, Charmed, Minority Report)
Rachel Stirling b. 1977 (Doctor Who, Snow White and the Huntsman)
Omri Katz b. 1976 (Hocus Pocus, Matinee, Eerie, Indiana, Adventures in Dinosaur City)
Minae Noji b. 1973 (Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers Time Force)
Darren E. Scott b. 1972 (The Tomorrow People, Almost Human, Smallville, The 4400, Andromeda, Jeremiah, Dark Angel)
Duncan Jones b. 1971 (director, Source Code, Moon)
John Ross Bowie b. 1971 (The Big Bang Theory, Dark Minions, Heroes, Charmed)
Idina Menzel b. 1971 (Frozen, Enchanted)
David Dukas b. 1970 (District 9, Merlin: The Return)
Tammy Parks b. 1965 (Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds, Droid Gunner)
Mark Sheppard b. 1964 (Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Mysterious Island, Doctor Who, Xtinction: Predator X, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, The Middleman, Bionic Woman [2007]. Jake 2.0, Deep Shock, Firelfly, Charmed, Megalodon, Lost Voyage, The Chronicle, Star Trek: Voyager, Sliders, M.A.N.T.I.S., The X-Files)
Cynthia Gouw b. 1963 (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Freddy’s Nightmares)
Lynda Wiesmeier b. 1963 died 16 December 2012 (Teen Wolf)
Tonya Pinkins b. 1962 (Enchanted)
Kevin Eastman b. 1962 (writer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
James McGowan b. 1960 (Bitten, Total Recall [2012], Warriors of Terra, Mutant X)
Ted McGinley b. 1958 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Space Case)
Carrie Dobro b. 1957 (Crusade, Babylon 5, Hypernauts)
Colm Meaney b. 1953 (Childhood’s End, Alice, Stargate: Atlantis, Zenon: Z3, The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Stephen Toblowsky b. 1951 (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Heroes, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Lloyd in Space, The Day the World Ended, Roswell, Dead Last, Buffy, Groundhog Day, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Spaceballs, The Philadelphia Experiment)
Michael Piller b. 1948 died 1 November 2005 (writer, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Star Trek, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Meredith MacRae b. 1944 died 14 July 2000 (Eathbound)
David Ackroyd b. 1940 (Xena, Swamp Thing [TV], Exo-Man)
Joshua Bryant b. 1939 (The Lost Room, Starman [TV], The Powers of Matthew Star, Salem’s Lot, Man from Atlantis)
Michael J. Pollard b. 1939 (Tales from the Crypt, Eerie, Indiana, Superboy, Scrooged, Star Trek, Lost in Space)
Deanna Lund b. 1937 (Transylvania Twist, Superstition 2, Elves, The Incredible Hulk, Land of the Giants, Batman, Dimension 5)
Keir Dullea b. 1936 (Space Station 76, Alien Hunter, Witchblade, 2010, The Next One, Brain Waves, Brave New World, The Starlost, 2001: A Space Odyssey)
Ruta Lee b. 1935 (Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills, Mork & Mindy, Doomsday Machine, Twilight Zone, Adventures of Superman)
Clint Walker b. 1927 (The Serpent Warriors, Deadly Harvest, Snowbeast, Killdozer, Scream of the Wolf)
Hal Clement b. 1922 died 29 October 2003 (writer, Mission of Gravity, Star Light)
Franklin J. Schaffner b. 1920 died 2 July 1989 (director, The Boys from Brazil, Planet of the Apes)
Peter Leeds b. 1917 died 12 November 1996 (The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Land of the Giants, Mr. Terrific, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie, My Mother the Car, The Addams Family, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, The Atomic Kid, I Married a Witch)
Hugh Griffith b. 1912 died 14 May 1980 (Legend of the Werewolf, The Last Days of Man on Earth, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Mel Blanc b. 1908 died 10 July 1989 (over 1,000 credits, almost all voice work, most notable genre work, The Jetsons, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Duck Dodgers in the 24½ th Century, The Phantom Tollbooth)
Howard Hawks b. 1896 died 26 December 1977 (director [uncredited], The Thing from Another World)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The previous Picture Slotters are Keir Dullea from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Colm Meaney from Star Trek. There were still several other candidates today, including Omri Katz from Eerie, Indiana, John Ross Bowie from The Big Bang Theory and Deanna Lund from Land of the Giants, but I was in an Oh That Guy mood and chose Steven Toblowsky as Ned Ryerson from Groundhog Day.

2. Canadians, true and false. If I made Canadian detection a game today and the only hint was that there are three, many might choose Mark Sheppard, but that would be wrong. He was born in England and lives in Los Angeles, according to imdb.com. The correct answers are Darren E. Scott, James McGowan and Ruta Lee. The two guys are guessable, Ms. Lee is not.

3. Nepotism FTW. Mark Sheppard is the son of British Oh That Guy William Morgan Sheppard. Meredith MacRae was the daughter of Gordon MacRae. 

4. Wait... she's dead? We have several people on the list who died young. The name that is best known to me of those people is Meredith MacRae from Petticoat Junction. I was not aware at all that she was dead.

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

Movies released
Maleficent released, 2014
Dark Side of the Moon released, 1990

Predictor: Dark Side of the Moon released, 1990

Prediction: In 2022, the crew of a spaceship must survive after a mysterious systems failure.

Reality: In 1990, 2022 seemed like a long way away and regular space travel was just going to happen somehow. In 2015, it's not as far away anymore and having any space exploration outside of Earth orbit doesn't seem to be in the cards for a while.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another peek into the late 20th Century with Robert A. Heinlein in The Door Into Summer.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

3 May 2015

 Birthdays
Zoe Belkin b. 1993 (Carrie)
Danila Kozlovsky b. 1985 (Vampire Academy)
Rebecca Hall b. 1982 (Transcendence, Iron Man 3, The Prestige)
Candace Hutson b. 1980 (Quantum Leap)
Christina Hendricks b. 1975 (Lost River, Firefly, Angel)
Dule Hill b. 1975 (10.5)
Jonas Ball b. 1975 (The Objective)
Joseph Kosinski b. 1974 (director, Oblivion, TRON: Legacy)
Kristin Lehman b, 1972 (The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda, Strange World, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X Files, Hemoglobin, Forever Knight)
Bobby Cannavale b. 1970 (Ant-Man)
Amy Ryan b. 1968 (Birdman, War of the Worlds, Quantum Leap)
Firdous Bamji b. 1966 (Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense)
Rob Brydon b. 1965 (Cinderella, MirrorMask)
Joseph J. Lawson b. 1962 (director, Age of Dinosaurs, Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future)
Jaron Lanier b. 1960 (author, Who Owns the Future?)
Timmy Cappello b. 1955 (The Lost Boys)
Peter Duncan b. 1954 (Aladdin and the Forty Thieves, Flash Gordon, Space: 1999, The Tomorrow People [1974])
Caitlin Clarke b, 1952 died 9 September 2004 (The Stepford Husbands, Dragonslayer)
Toni Naples b. 1952 (Sorceress, Munchie Strikes Back, Dinosaur Island, Munchie, Transylvania Twist)
Ron Canada b. 1949 (The Strain, Grimm, Stargate SG-1, The X Files, Star Trek: Voyager, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Larry Brandenburg b. 1948 (Charmed, Mighty Joe Young, SeaQuest 2032, Quantum Leap)
Chris Mulkey b. 1948 (Grimm, The Purge, Vampire Mob, Knight Rider [2008], Lost, K-9000, Beauty and the Beast [1987], Twilight Zone [1987], Runaway, Dreamscape, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann)
Alex Cord b. 1933 (War of the Worlds [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, Genesis II)
Jeanne Bal b. 1928 died 30 April 1996 (Star Trek)
Mary Carver b. 1924 died 18 October 2013 (Star Trek: Enterprise, The Visitor, Arachnophobia, Tales from the Darkside, Beyond Westworld, Twilight Zone)
Walter Slezak b. 1902 died 21 April 1983 (Batman, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Pinocchio [1957 TV], Sinbad, the Sailor)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In 2013, the birthday list only had Christina Hendricks and I used a picture of her as Saffron (or is it Yolanda?) from Firefly. In 2014, it was a picture of Caitlin Clarke from Dragonslayer. (I typed in her death date last year, but I'm still not completely used to it.) With those two removed from the competition, I consider Jeanne Bal's role from the original Star Trek series the most iconic, pictured here with an unidentified Canadian actor.

I kid. I'm a kidder.

2. Spot the Canadians! First off, Ron Canada is not Canadian. There are two Canadians. Zoe Belkin hasn't been in enough to be easily spottable, but the other Canadian, born in the 1970s, does have the telltale signs in the credit list.

3. Nepotism FTW. Rebecca Hall is a British actress. Her dad is Peter Hall, a film and stage director who lead the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s.

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

Movies released
Spider-Man released, 2002
Iron Man 3 released, 2013
 

Predictor: Oblivion, released 19 April 2013


Prediction: On May 3, 2017, the Odyssey crew is awakened from cryosleep to investigate a large tetrahedral object in orbit around the earth.

Reality: Most of the film's action takes place in the more distant future, but near the end of the film, there is a flashback to this scene that takes place in 2017. It assumes the space program is going to be pretty damn fancy two years from now and that doesn't seem very likely. More than that, during the scene, it's mentioned the Super Bowl was played "last night". There's no chance in hell that the Super Bowl is going to be moved from early February to early May in the next two years.

 Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The first round of the NBA playoffs is over and we check in on the ESPN experts' predictions.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

9 April 2015

Birthdays
Isaac Hempstead Wright b. 1999 (Game of Thrones)
Elle Fanning b. 1998 (Maleficent, Super 8, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lost Room, Taken)
Kristen Stewart b. 1990 (Snow White and the Huntsman, Twilight, Jumper, Zathura: A Space Adventure)
Leighton Meester b. 1986 (Surface)
Lili Mirojnick b. 1984 (Grimm, Cloverfield)
Arlen Escarpeta b. 1981 (Grimm, Extant, Friday the 13th)
Jay Baruchel b. 1982 (RoboCop, This is the End, Being Human, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, The Worst Witch, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Matthew Blackheart: Monster Smasher)
Matthew Bennett b. 1968 (The Strain, Orphan Black, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Seven Days, Total Recall 2070, Earth: Final Conflict. PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, The X-Files)
Jay Chandrasekhar b. 1968 (Warehouse 13, Knight Rider [2009])
Cynthia Nixon b. 1966 (The Outer Limits, Addams Family Values, The Manhattan Project)
Mark Pellegrino b. 1965 (The Returned, The Tomorrow People, Being Human, Revolution, Grimm, Supernatural, Lost, NYPD 2069, Astronauts, The X-Files, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Knight Rider 2010)
Fred Dekker b. 1959 (writer, Star Trek: Enterprise, RoboCop 3, The Monster Squad, House I and II)
Dennis Quaid b. 1954 (Legion, Pandorum, G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra, The Day After Tomorrow, Frequency, DragonHeart, Wilder Napalm, Innerspace, Dreamscape, The Right Stuff, Jaws 3-D)
Marty Krofft b. 1937 (producer, Land of the Lost, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Wonderbug, Dr, Shrinker, The Krofft Supershow, Far Out Space Nuts, The Lost Saucer, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Bugaloos, Lidsville, H.R. Pufnstuf)
Avery Schreiber b. 1935 died 7 January 2002 (Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Saturday the 14th Strikes Back, The Wizard, Twilight Zone [1985], Caveman, Galaxina, My Mother the Car)
Aubrey Woods b. 1928 died 7 May 2013 (Blakes 7, Z.P.G., Doctor Who, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Brad Dexter b. 1917 died 12 December 2002 (The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O.)
Michael Ward b. 1909 died 8 November 1997 (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell)
Robert Helpmann b. 1909 died 28 September 1986 (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Allen Jenkins b. 1900 died 20 July 1974 (Bewitched, Batman, Topper [1955])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Quite often, I have only a passing knowledge of the youngest folks on our list, but on the April 9 list, the previous Picture Slotters were Isaac Hempstead Wright from Game of Thrones and Kristen Stewart from Twilight, the youngest and third youngest people listed today. I considered the second youngest - Elle Fanning from Super 8 - for the Picture Slot today, but decided instead to go with Dennis Quaid in his role from The Right Stuff.

2. Nepotism or not? The two contestants for the Picture Slot today both have siblings who also act. I think Dakota Fanning is a little more famous than Elle, but both have about fifty credits to their names on imdb.com and I'm not exactly in the target demographic, so I might be wrong. As of 2015, I'd say Dennis Quaid is more famous than his brother Randy as an actor, but Randy is much more famous as a crazy person than Dennis is.

3. Canadians to spot or not. Jay Baruchel was born in Canada, but a lot of his credits are projects filmed in the States. Matthew Bennett, on the other hand, has a very Canadian looking resume, though he hasn't shown up on Smallville or Supernatural.

4. Guy at the Door. The oldest living person on the list has no one younger who has died, so that makes Marty Krofft The Guy at the Door at 78 years old. I have to admit that the Krofft puppets creeped me out pretty bad when I was younger and still do today, so I will try to think kind thoughts of him by remembering Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. Wait, they were just silly. Pretty, but silly.

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

Predictor: Article in New Scientist magazine, 30 April 1964

Prediction: “The odds are now that the united States will not be able to honor the 1970 manned lunar landing date set by President Kennedy.”

Reality: The Mercury missions ended in 1963 and Project Gemini didn't get crews into space until 1965. I'm assuming this lull in progress made it seem to the writer that things were not going well. As history tells us, the landing happened in the summer of 1969.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Friday rolls around and it's H.G. Wells' turn again.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

11 December 2014

 Birthdays
Hailee Steinfeld b. 1996 (Ender’s Game)
Ashley Hinshaw b. 1988 (Agent Carter, True Blood, +1, Chronicle, Fringe)
Daniel Cerny b. 1981 (Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest)
Mos Def b. 1973 (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
Harry Jay Knowles b. 1971 (My Sucky Teen Romance, Ghosts of Mars, Monkeybone, The Faculty)
Max Martini b. 1969 (Zombie Basement, Pacific Rim, Taken, Level 9, Mysterious Ways, The Hunger [1999 TV], Contact)
Gary Dourdan b. 1966 (Impostor, Seven Days, Alien: Resurrection, Lois & Clark)
Ben Browder b. 1962 (The Adventures of Robo Rex, Arrow, Doctor Who, Stargate: SG-1, Farscape, Martian Law)
Kimberly Scott b. 1961 (Wonderfalls, K-PAX, Batman & Robin, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Batman Forever, Flatliners, The Abyss)
Tom Shadyac b. 1958 (director, Dragonfly, Frankenstein: The College Years)
Isabella Hoffman b. 1958 (Alphas, Firefly, Atomic Dog, Beauty and the Beast [1988 TV])
Bess Armstrong b. 1953 (True Blood, Tales from the Crypt, Jaws 3-D, Jekyll and Hyde… Together Again)
Teri Garr b. 1947 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Aliens for Breakfast, Adventures in Wonderland, Mom & Dad Save the World, Faerie Tale Theatre, Witches Brew, Dr. Franken, Once Upon a Brothers Grimm, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Young Frankenstein, The Girl with Something Extra, Star Trek, Batman)
Zenia Merton b. 1945 (Wizards vs. Aliens, The Sarah Jane Chronicles, Dinotopia, Space: 1999, Doctor Who)
Lynda Day George b. 1944 (The Amazing Captain Nemo, Day of the Animals, Wonder Woman, The Immortal, The Invaders, The Green Hornet)
Donna Mills b. 1940 (The Stepford Husbands, Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Anne Heywood b. 1931 (What Waits Below, The Brain)
Dick Tufeld b. 1926 died 22 January 2012 (Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Vampira b. 1922 Died 19 January 2008 (The Magic Sword, Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Vampira Show)
Liz Smith b. 1921 (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Christmas Carol [2000 TV], A Christmas Carol [1999 TV], Alice in Wonderland [1999 TV], High Spirits, A Christmas Carol [1984 TV], The Monster Club)
Eddie Firestone b. 1920 died 1 March 2007 (Knight Rider, Galactica 1980, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Project U.F.O., The Invisible Man [1975 TV], Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Shazam!, I Dream of Jeannie)
Marie Windsor b. 1919 died 10 December 2000 (Tales from the Darkside, The Incredible Hulk, Salem’s Lot, Project U.F.O., Batman, The Day Mars Invaded Earth, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Cat-Women of the Moon)
Jean Marais b. 1913 died 8 November 1998 (Beauty and the Beast [1946])
Val Guest b. 1911 died 10 May 2006 (Director, Space: 1999, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Enemy from Space, The Quatermass Xperiment)
David McMahon b. 1910 died 27 January 1972 (The Deadly Mantis, It Conquered the World, The Creature Walks Among Us, The War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing from Another World, The Monster That Challenged the World)
Paul Wegener b. 1874 died 13 September 1948 (The Golem)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Dick Tufeld, the voice of the robot from Lost in Space. I usually ignore voice work, but for the stars of the field I make exceptions. This year, it's Ben Browder from Farscape, a show on the Sci-Fi Channel that was better than almost everything else that channel produced at the turn of this century. The interesting selection of good looking alien women might have something to do with my opinion, but Lexx had a good looking cast and wasn't as good as Farscape by a long shot. As for next year, I'll probably go way old school with a picture from a movie made before I was born, either Jean Marais in Beauty and the Beast or Paul Wegener from The Golem.

2. Fun facts to know and tell. British actress Liz Smith was in three different productions of A Christmas Carol. In the two best known, she is Scrooge's housekeeper and she plays opposite Patrick Stewart in 1999 and George C. Scott in 1984. The 2000 version is an updated take on the story that aired in Britain and never made it to the states.

David McMahon has 136 credits listed on imdb.com, so he should be an Oh That Guy, but I'm going to say he isn't. His face does not ring a bell for me, though I saw every one of the 1950s sci-fi flicks he was in. How to explain this? It should be noted that in all movies and TV shows listed for him, he was uncredited in over 90. He was a bit player and the bits were usually really small.

When researching on imdb.com, I clicked on the names of Donna Mills and Lynda Day George because I remembered them as attractive TV actresses. I was actually surprised how many genre roles they had. I was also surprised at how many genre roles Teri Garr had, though I knew without looking that she was in Young Frankenstein, Close Encounters and Star Trek. She also is in the running for the 2015 Picture Slot.

3. No Canadians to spot today. It's rare, but it happens.

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

Movie released
Star Trek: Insurrection released 1998

Predictor: Lee de Forest in the New York Times, 25 February 1957

Prediction: “[Man will never reach the moon] regardless of all future scientific advances”.

Reality: Wait... what?

This is the last dance for our Thurdsay regular since last February, Dr. Lee de Forest. This prediction contradicts the very first prediction published under his name. What gives?

Notice the date. This prediction is from 1957 and all the rest are from 1960. Clearly, he had a change of mind about space exploration. In three years time, he went from way too pessimistic to somewhat too optimistic, since he thought we'd have a permanent moon base by 2000.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

In the Picture Slot, a fabulous babe from a fabulous movie, one of my favorite genre films of the past twenty years.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 September 2014

 Birthdays
Allison Miller b. 1985 (Terra Nova, Blood: The Last Vampire)
Nicholas Pinnock b. 1973 (Monsters: The Dark Continent, Captain America: The First Avenger)
Cynthia Watros b. 1968 (Video Game High School, Warehouse 13, Lost, Mars)
Kristen Cloke b. 1968 (Willard, The X Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Quantum Leap, Megaville)
Salma Hayek b. 1966 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Dogma, From Dusk Till Dawn)
Tuc Watkins b. 1966 (Warehouse 13, Infested, The Mummy, Harry and the Hendersons [TV])
Keanu Reeves b. 1964 (The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Scanner Darkly, Constantine, The Matrix, The Devil’s Advocate, Johnny Mnemonic, Dracula, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Babes in Toyland [1986 TV])
Linda Purl b. 1955 (True Blood, Mighty Joe Young, The Hidden Room, Time Travelers)
Mark Harmon b. 1951 (From the Earth to the Moon)
Mary Jo Catlett b. 1938 (Legend of the Mummy, ALF, Blood Beach)
Derek Fowlds b. 1937 (Frankenstein Created Woman)
Chuck McCann b. 1934 (Invasion, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Tick, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Sliders, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, C.H.O.M.P.S., Far Out Space Nuts)
Mel Stuart b. 1928 died 9 August 2012 (director, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Samuel A. Peeples b. 1917 died 27 August 1997 (writer, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Flash Gordon [TV], Jason of Star Command, Space Academy, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek)
Penny Santon b. 1916 died 12 May 1999 (Quantum Leap, Starman, Short Circuit, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Meinhardt Raabe b. 1915 died 9 April 2010 (The Wizard of Oz)

Keanu Reeves is 50 and that's your "Damn, I must be old" moment for the day. While I liked A Scanner Darkly and the first Matrix, I can never convince myself that anything is going on between his ears. I've never really gotten over his horrible miscastings in Dangerous Liaisons, Dracula and Much Ado About Nothing.

Last year, the Picture Slot went to Salma Hayek and she might get it again next year because... purdy. The top contender if I decide on no repeats is Meinhardt Raabe, the Munchkin Coroner from The Wizard of Oz. That was not just his only genre credit, it was the only movie he made. He got his MBA and went into business. Good on ya, Mr. Raabe!

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in UpWingPriorities, published 1981

Prediction: Space Colonization: We must urgently accelerate colonization and exploration of the solar system and the universe beyond. Why is this a top priority? Because such a trajectory opens up a Pandora's Box of infinite space, infinite energy, infinite raw materials and infinite growth. Quickens transition beyond industrialism. Accelerates evolution from Earth-programmed animal/humans to post humans. Multiplies chances for interconnect with other intelligences which could instantly lightspeed us ahead a million years.

During these trans-century decades orbital societies offer excellent opportunities for clean rapid break from Earth conditions which for millenniums have perpetuated human suffering. Under no circumstances should we replicate Earth-like societies: no exclusive procreation or parenting, no families, schools, hospitals, or prisons, no money economies or subsistence work, no slaughter of animals for food, no leadership governments, no nations, no cemeteries. Orbital civilizations should start off with 2lst Century telespheres.

Reality: Okay, if Keanu Reeves is one kind of idiot, FM-2030 is another. If anyone took him seriously, he'd a more dangerous kind of idiot, but I can't find any trace of a cult that survived him, unlike Edgar Cayce for example.

He was at least clear that one of his goals was "I should be able to fuck and abandon anyone I want", a very common desire among people who start (or try to start) cults, and I guess he should get some credit for admitting it. On the other hand, he loses a heck of a lot of credit for using the phrase "a Pandora's Box of...". Dude, read the source. Opening a Pandora's Box is not a positive metaphor.

While I run a sci-fi blog, I will once again admit to being skeptical about space colonization. We are snugly placed on the only source of water and air for millions of miles (or kilometers for my non-Yankee readers)  in any direction. FM-2030 wasn't interested in making a profit in space exploration, but most people who make a huge capital expenditure would like to see something in return. There may be some way to make money in space exploration or being in orbit in my lifetime, but it hasn't happened yet.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We're about midway through the Atlantic hurricane season, so we'll check in on the prediction made earlier this year.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

19 August 2014

Birthdays
Tammin Sursok b. 1983 (Airship Dracula, Aquamarine)
Tania Nolan b. 1983 (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Legend of the Seeker)
Michelle Borth b. 1978 (Timer, Supernatural, Komodo vs. Cobra)
Callum Blue b. 1977 (Smallville, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Dead Like Me)
Tracie Thomas b. 1975 (Looper, Wonder Woman [2011], Grindhouse, Wonderfalls)
Ahmed Best b. 1973 (The Star Wars prequels)
Kyra Sedgwick b. 1965 (Gamer, Phenomenon, Amazing Stories)
Kevin Dillon b. 1965 (The Blob [1988])
Martin Donovan b. 1957 (The Lottery, The Haunting in Connecticut, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dark Shadows [2005])
Adam Arkin b. 1956 (Lake Placid, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Perversions of Science, The Hidden Room, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Twilight Zone [1985])
Peter Gallagher b. 1955 (The Gathering, House on Haunted Hill, High Spirits)
Jonathan Frakes b. 1952 (Star Trek, Roswell, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lois & Clark, Twilight Zone [1985])
Jim Carter b. 1948 (The Golden Compass, The Wind in the Willows [TV], Ella Enchanted, Dinotopia, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, The Little Vampire, The Witches, The Company of Wolves, Flash Gordon)
Gerald McRaney b. 1947 (Jericho, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Hansel & Gretel, The NeverEnding Story, The Incredible Hulk, The Aliens Are Coming, Logan’s Run [TV], The Brain Machine, The Fantastic Journey, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Christopher Malcolm b. 1946 died 15 February 2014 (Whoops Apocalypse, Labyrinth, Highlander, Superman III, The Empire Strikes Back)
Jill St. John b. 1940 (Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World)
Diana Muldaur b. 1938 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Incredible Hulk, Planet Earth, Star Trek, The Invaders)
L. Q. Jones b. 1927 (Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann, The Incredible Hulk, A Boy and His Dog, My Favorite Martian)
Angus Scrimm b. 1926 (Phantasm, The Nightmare Room, FreakyLinks, Munchie, Mindwarp, Subspecies, Transylvania Twist, Chopping Mall, Salvage 1, Project U.F.O.)
William Marshall b. 1924 died 11 June 2003 (Dinosaur Valley Girls, Sorceress, Amazon Women on the Moon, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Scream Blacula Scream, Blacula, Star Trek)
Gene Roddenberry b. 1921 died 24 October 1991 (creator, Star Trek, Andromeda, Planet Earth, The Questor Tapes, Genesis II)

There are several choices for The Picture Slot today. Last year it was Gene Roddenberry and I could have repeated the selection with a clear conscience. All the people I considered are older than 60, the only iconic genre role played by the young folks being poor Ahmed Best as J**-J** B****, the number one reason to hate the Star Wars prequels. That character will never be in the Picture Slot.

I thought about Angus Scrimm from Phantasm, but this is a very Star Trek day. I went with Jonathan Frakes this year, in part because he had so much more screen time than Diana Muldaur or William Marshall, and partly because I'm enjoying the new Twitter account Riker Googling, which is not being run by the actor, though it uses his likeness. My expectation is I will go with someone else in 2015.

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

Movies released
Spy Kids: All The Time In The World In 4D released, 2011
 

Predictor: FM-2030, born F. M. Esfandiary (1930-2000) from his 1981 magazine article Up-Wing Priorities

Prediction: Around 2010 the world will be at a new orbit in history. We will translive all over this planet and the solar sphere-at home everywhere. We will be hyperfluid: skim on land-swim in the deep oceans-flash across the sky. Family will have given way to Universal life. People will linkup/linkout free of kinship and possessiveness. We will stream ahead propelled by a cornucopia of abundance.

Reality: Okay, here's our new Tuesday regular, FM-2030, who is in the running for the biggest narcissist of any of the futurists who have been our regular contributors. Regular readers will know the competition is formidable to say the least. Cough-cough Heinlein cough Kurzweil. Get used to made-up words like "translive", "hyperfluid" and "linkout".

He changed his name to FM-2030 because he was sure he would live to be 100 by simply refusing to die. In reality, he didn't even make it to the year 2010, the year he predicted in the article I'm going to be using. Nature gave him pancreatic cancer, effectively refusing his refusal to die. He's cryogenically frozen. I'm sure you are shocked by this.

Back to specific realities. We tend to live in one place and we are still pretty much stuck on this planet. Most people live in family units instead of acting like Hugh Hefner. The cornucopia of abundance is getting closer to possible, but the people making huge fortunes based on scarce resources are fighting like starving jackals to keep the status quo in place.

Our previous Tuesday regular Geoffrey Hoyle wasn't particularly accurate, but I still thought his world of 2010 had a certain charm to it. If FM-2030 had any charm, it is clearly lost on me.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Oh wait, I made a short list of most narcissistic regular contributors and I forgot Herman Kahn!

My bad.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

26 June 2014

 Birthdays
Aubrey Plaza b. 1984 (Safety Not Guaranteed)
Jason Schwartzman b. 1980 (Bewitched [2005 movie], The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, S1m0ne)
Tory Mussett b. 1978 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Peter Pan [2003], The Matrix Reloaded)
Matt Letscher b. 1970 (Her, Radio Free Albemuth)
Chris O’Donnell b. 1970 (Batman & Robin, Batman Forever)
Steven Brand b. 1969 (Hellraiser: Revelations, Jurassic Attack, Alien Express, The Scorpion King)
Ian Tracy b. 1964 (Continuum, Man of Steel, Supernatural, Sanctuary, Sucker Punch, The 4400, Smallville, Elektra, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Taken, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Highlander [TV], The Adventures of Sinbad [TV], The X-Files, Timecop)
Mark McKinney b. 1959 (Space Riders: Division Earth, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang)
Lela Ivey b. 1958 (Pleasantville, The Addams Family [movie], Quantum Leap, She-Wolf of London, ALF, The Purple Rose of Cairo)
Gedde Watanabe b. 1955 (47 Ronin, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Armageddon, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Vamp)
David Brisbin b. 1952 (The X-Files, Buffy, From the Earth to the Moon, Dark Skies)
Robert Davi b. 1951 (Lost Time, Asteroid vs. Earth, Swamp Shark, Stargate: Atlantis, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, VR.5, Predator 2, The Powers of Matthew Star, The Incredible Hulk)
Michael Paul Chan b. 1950 (Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, The Invisible Man [TV], Good vs Evil, Batman & Robin, Lois & Clark, The Burning Zone, Batman Forever, Babylon 5, Alien Nation, Max Headroom)
Leo Rossi b. 1946 (The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, Mutant Species, Amazing Stories, Halloween II)
Clive Francis b. 1946 (Relic Hunter, A Clockwork Orange, Journey to the Unknown)
John Beasley b. 1942 (The Lost Room, Millennium [TV])
Edwin Hodgeman b. 1935 (Ultraman: Toward the Future, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
Richard X. Slattery b. 1925 died 27 January 1997 (Space, Monster Squad, Wonder Woman, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Invaders, Mr. Terrific, The Green Hornet)
Richard Bull b. 1924 died 3 February 2014 (Amazing Stories, The Andromeda Strain, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Bewitched, The Satan Bug, Men Into Space)
Peter Lorre b. 1904 died 23 March 1964 (The Raven, Tales of Terror, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)

A lot more Oh That Guy actors than A-list movie stars are celebrating birthdays today. I could have put Chris O'Donnell in the Picture Slot as Robin, but it's generally acknowledged the movies in which he played the Boy Wonder killed the franchise in the 1990s and didn't do his career much good either. A better choice would be Peter Lorre from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but instead I went with Oh That Guy Richard X. Slattery, who played lots of cops and military men throughout his career. The picture is from one of the many episodes where he played a cop on Bewitched. People if a certain age might remember him as Murph on Union 76 commercials.

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

THREE DAYS OF BLADE RUNNER!

Predictor: The movie Blade Runner, released 25 June 1982.

Prediction: There would be many jobs available on off world colonies in 2019.

Reality: In five years, we might have more space exploration than we have now, but a job boom that needs to advertise for workers seems nearly impossible.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

One more prediction from Blade Runner, this one closer to home.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 June 2014

 Birthdays
Madisen Hill b. 1993 (The Last Man on Earth)
Nathan Parsons b. 1988 (The Originals)
Debora Nascimento b. 1985 (The Incredible Hulk)
Missy Peregrym b. 1982 (Cybergeddon, Reaper, Heroes, Smallville, Andromeda, Jake 2.0, Dark Angel)
Sibel Kekilli b. 1980 (Game of Thrones)
Tom Lenk b. 1976 (Witches of East End, The Cabin in the Woods, The Guild, Transformers, Angel, Buffy)
Joseph May b. 1974 (Dracula [TV], Revolution [TV movie], Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate: Atlantis, Dead Like Me, Resident Evil, Bugs)
Eddie Cibrian b. 1973 (Invasion, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
John Cho b. 1972 (Sleepy Hollow [TV], Star Trek, Total Recall [2012], FlashForward, Solaris, Earth vs. the Spider, Evolution)
Clifton Collins Jr. b 1970 (Transcendence, Pacific Rim, The Event, Star Trek, The Flash, Freddy’s Nightmares)
Arnold Vosloo b. 1962 (G.I. Joe, Fire & Ice, Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld, Endangered Species, The Mummy, Strange World, Progeny, American Gothic [TV], Darkman II and III, Steel Dawn, Gor)
James M. Connor b. 1960 (Watchmen, Buffy, The X-Files, Futureworld)
John Franklin b. 1959 (Star Trek: Voyager, Tammy and the T-Rex, Addams Family, Beauty and the Beast, Children of the Corn)
Peter Vaughn-Clark b. 1957 (The Tomorrow People)
Laurie Metcalf b. 1955 (Big Bang Theory, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Making Mr. Right)
Bjorn Sunquist b. 1948 (Ragnarok, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow)
Joan Van Ark b, 1943 (Wonder Woman, Quark, The Last Dinosaur, The Six Million Dollar Man, Frogs)
Suzan Farmer b. 1942 (Blakes 7, UFO, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Monster of Terror)
Carole Ann Ford b. 1940 (Doctor Who, Day of the Triffids)
Joyce Carol Oates b. 1938 (author, American Gothic Stories, Zombie)
Michael Culver b. 1938 (The Empire Strikes Back, Space: 1999)
Bill Cobbs b. 1934 (Vampires in Venice, Oz the Great and Powerful, Star Trek: Enterprise, Lost, Demolition Man, The Brother from Another Planet)
Faith Domergue b. 1924 died 4 April 1999 (Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, It Came from Beneath the Sea, This Island Earth)
Phil Chambers b. 1916 died 16 January 1993 (The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Twilight Zone, The Mole People)
Anthony Sharp b. 1915 died 23 July 1984 (Gawain and the Green Knight, A Clockwork Orange, No Blade of Grass, The Andromeda Breakthrough)
Jack Albertson b. 1907 died 25 November 1981 (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Immortal, Land of the Giants, It’s About Time, Twilight Zone)
Murray Leinster b. 1896 died 8 June 1975 (author, Exploration Team, A Logic Named Joe)

Technically, Game of Thrones is no longer on the air as of last night, but Sibel Kekilli gets the Picture Slot yet again, because... reasons. She is certainly not the only choice. As a Whedonverse nerd, I could put up a picture of Tom Lenk, John Cho is Sulu in the Star Trek re-boot, Laurie Metcalf plays Sheldon's mom on Big Bang Theory, Carole Ann Ford was one of the Doctor's companions, Faith Domergue was in a lot of 1950s monster movies and Jack Albertson's turn in Willy Wonka certainly counts as iconic. Arnold Vosloo is a great villain and Bill Cobbs is a great Oh That Guy.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Sometime in the early twenty first century, probably by 2010, the first space vacations will become a reality, say NASA officials. Although cramped and physically taxing, short stays in space aboard a space station should prove very alluring because of the danger - largely an illusion - and sheer excitement. At first, space tourism will be more of a novelty vacation. As space development continues and the fares decrease, astronomy and photography hobbyists will become the first serious space tourists.

Reality: There have been space tourists, all going up on Russian rockets. The danger is not largely an illusion and the Columbia disaster put a lot of plans on hold. There have been a total of seven space tourists according to Wikipedia: Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen, Anousheh Ansari, Charles Simonyi, Richard Garriott and Guy Laliberte. The first went up in 2001 and the most recent in 2009. Companies are planning more, but everything is still in the planning stages. OMNI Future Almanac gets close to full marks here, but the fares still make this a hobby for the very wealthy.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our Tuesday regular Geoffrey Hoyle looks boldly once more at the wonders that await in 2010.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

27 February 2014

Birthdays
Kate Mara b. 1983 (The Fantastic Four [pre-production], American Horror Story, Iron Man 2)
Bingbing Li b. 1973 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Resident Evil: Retribution)
Donal Logue b. 1966 (Shark Night 3D, Blade, The X-Files, Ghost Rider)
Noah Emmerich b. 1965 (Super 8, The Truman Show, Last Action Hero)
Adam Baldwin b. 1962 (Day Break, Serenity, Firefly, Angel, Stargate SG-1, The X-Files, Independence Day, VR.5, Predator 2)
Timothy Spall b. 1957 (Harry Potter, Enchanted, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortuante Events, Vanilla Sky, Red Dwarf, Gothic)
Stephen Leigh b. 1951 (author, Dinosaur World, The Omega Egg, Wild Cards)
Mark Harrison b. 1951 (illustrator)
Hajime Sorayama b. 1947 (illustrator)
Barbara Babcock b. 1937 (Salem’s Lot, Star Trek)
Van Williams b. 1937 (The Green Hornet)

Last year's Picture Slot was Timothy Spall, my favorite actor on the list and this year it goes to Adam Baldwin, who has my favorite role on the list as Jayne in Firefly and Serenity. For the record, Adam Baldwin is not one of the Baldwin brothers, though he does run his mouth every bit as much liberal hothead Alec or christian hothead Stephen. The others I considered for The Picture Slot were Barbara Babcock, who did a lot of voice work on Star Trek as well as her on screen appearances, and Van Williams. The thing about Van Williams is that he clearly wasn't the star of The Green Hornet. While there are shows where actors in allegedly minor roles became the focus like the Fonz on Happy Days or Urkel on Family Matters, Bruce Lee was never really promoted that way, but he is the only reason to ever watch an episode. Well, him and the cool car.  
 

In the year 2000!

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

Prediction: Men will have orbited around the earth and moon many times over. Space platforms outside the earth's atmosphere will be in use as relay stations. We will have landed on the moon and established a base there. Instrument-equipped missiles will be fired millions of miles into space, and will return to earth with data on the planets and other bodies of our solar system.

Reality: Meet our new Thursday regular, Lee de Forest. He did a lot of important work in the early years of AM radio and after FM overtook the earlier method for its much improved sound quality, de Forest became a tireless (and tiresome) self-promoter. Regardless of how he became well-known, back in the middle of last century he was one of the many people who decided to write down what he thought the 21st Century would look like, so here he is.

When he publishes this, Sputnik had already been launched but manned space travel is about a year away. This is a very strong prediction, except for the moon base and platforms as relay stations, which were very common assumptions back in the day. The other flaw in his vision of the future is that interplanetary craft would return with data. What they do, of course, is never return physically to earth, but instead send data back using radio transmissions. Kind of a big blind spot for the guy who calls himself "the father of radio".

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The last of the Wired Long Bets is reported and (spoiler alert) it's another bust.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

16 October 2013

Birthdays
Flea b. 1962 (Back to the Future: Part II)
Tim Robbins b. 1958 (War of the Worlds, Mission to Mars, Code 46)
David Greenwalt b. 1949 (writer, Buffy, Angel, Eureka, Grimm)
Barry Corbin b. 1940 (WarGames)

A short birthday list today, with the Picture Slot taken by Tim Robbins in a scene from Mission to Mars, yet another futuristic movie that gives us a date, which I will use in the future.

Best wishes to all our birthday boys.
 

Prediction: On 16 October 1997, the Robinsons are the first family sent off on the 96 year trip to Alpha Centauri at the “unimaginable” speed of light on Gemini 12

Predictor: Lost in Space, first aired 15 September 1965

Reality: Wow, that's a lot of odd goofs for a single sentence. Let's review, shall we?

1. The "unimaginable" speed of light cannot be reached by a space ship, but it can be imagined. Einstein imagined it, that's one of the reasons he's so famous.

2. 96 years to Alpha Centauri. If the ship could travel at the speed of light, it's less than five light years to Alpha Centauri, so the round trip should be in the 10 year range.

3. It's 1997 and we are only up to Gemini 12? By the time this show aired, Gemini 5 had already happened. There really was a Gemini 12 in 1966 - Lovell and Aldrin - and that was the last one before the Apollo series started. The reason that series of flights were called Gemini is because of two man crews. (The Apollo series would have three man crews.) A crew made up of six people, a robot and a stowaway needs a different name.

Update: Friend of the blog Leo Lincourt notes that a bunch of what is said in this sentence, taken from the pilot episode, is fixed in the second episode. The ship is called the Jupiter 2, its name for the rest of the series, and the trip is supposed to take five years to Alpha Centauri.

So now the only problems are that we didn't have anything like this technology in 1997 and even traveling at more than half of the speed of light presents a lot of nasty engineering problems we aren't even close to solving.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

H.G.Wells is our regular contributor on Thursdays, but since he got a shout out this week from First Men in the Moon, we will hear from one of our pre-empted regulars, Isaac Asimov, once again writing in 1964 about the wonders of 2014.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

6 August 2013

Birthdays
Vera Farmiga b. 1973 (Source Code, The Conjuring)
Paolo Bacigalupi b. 1972 (won 2010 Hugo and Nebula for The Windup Girl)
M Night Shyamalan b. 1970 (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village, Unbreakable, etc.)
Catherine Hicks b. 1951 (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

Using the Cute Girl = Picture Slot formula again today, though both Ms. Farmiga and Ms. Hicks have successful careers that are better known for their work outside of sci-fi and fantasy. I chose Ms. Hicks over Ms. Farmiga because Star Trek IV is my favorite film in the series.

Many happy returns of the day to all concerned.

 

Prediction: First orbital passenger vessel is launched in 2011

Predictor: World of Ptavvs, Larry Niven, published 1966

Reality: Yet again, a prediction about the future of space travel from the era just before the first moon landing, the most optimistic time for sci-fi writers keen on manned missions.

Space tourism is still a long time off. If you've read about life in the space station, months without gravity is not the happy romp we all had hoped for. Several sci-fi writers realized zero gravity toilets would be a serious difficulty and likewise vomiting when in a space suit, but I can't recall any who thought about how bad dead skin cells would be.

 Blogger's note: This is the last Larry Niven for a while. I had done some research in his works for dates within the scope of this blog and found a few, but his gleeful prediction about the destruction of Mecca before 2025 has put him firmly in the "scumbag" category and I'd rather not see his face anymore.  There are still a bunch of Heinlein predictions and he'll be back next Tuesday.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We hear for the second time from our new Turn of the Century guy (19th to 20th, that is), T. Baron Russell.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 July 2013

Birthdays
Daniel Radcliffe b. 1989 (Harry Potter)
Charisma Carpenter b. 1970 (Angel, Buffy)
Woody Harrelson b. 1961 (The Hunger Games, Zombieland, A Scanner Darkly)

A nice selection of birthdays today. Charisma Carpenter certainly qualifies for the Cute Girl = Picture Slot criterion, but I decided instead to have a picture of young Daniel instead, here dressed up for his role in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying instead of his more famous role on film. I'm always happy when an actor with a career defining role can get a chance to do something else.

Many happy returns of the day to all.
  
 

Prediction: 7/20/1996: First manned landing on Mars (Harry Bedrosian, Christopher Luden, Abe Cooper) finds the remains of a Martian.

Predictor: The Eye of the Octopus, Larry Niven, published 1966

Reality: As little regard as I have for Niven, the small benefit of the doubt I will give him is that this was written in the late 1960s, the most optimistic era for the general concept of space travel before or since. In 1966, we hadn't reached the moon yet but it was on a real life "to do"list and it got done. In the minds of sci-fi folk, a moon base and then further exploration were the obvious and inevitable next steps, but the reality of budgets and lack of profitability got in the way.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

  Our time is finite, all things must pass and several other completely true cliches cannot change the sad fact we face tomorrow.

The last of the predictions of John Elfreth Watkins.
 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

13 July 2013

Birthdays
Fran Kranz b. 1981 (Dollhouse)
Gil Birmingham b. 1953 (Twilight)
Cheech Marin b. 1946 (Spy Kids)
Harrison Ford b. 1942 (Star Wars)
Sir Patrick Stewart b. 1940 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Today presents a difficult decision. Harrison Ford or Sir Patrick Stewart? Star Wars or Star Trek?

Kingdoms have swayed in the balance of simpler decisions.

But this year, I found out a few things about Sir Patrick that give him the nod in the first 13th of July this blog will celebrate.

He does charitable work for two causes, ending domestic violence and helping people with post traumatic stress disorder. Here's a video from a comic convention where he talks to the crowd about why.

Sir Patrick is a wonderful mensch as well as an A-Number-1 Tip-Top Actor. Many happy returns to everyone on the list.

(Thanks to Laura Eakins for pointing out an earlier error on my part. My data base erroneously had Mr. Ford's birthday on 14 July.)

Songs of the Future!

For the next few Saturdays, this blog will celebrate popular songs that predicted future events, with dates included that have already passed or will happen soon. With this last criterion, a song like In the Year 2525 is not going to be included.


Song and songwriter: Marathon by Jacques Brel, 1968, English lyrics by Mort Shuman and Eric Blau

Lyric:
And the Seventies flash and the Eighties bang
And the Nineties whimper and the century hangs
Robots working in the cotton fields
Vacations on Venus just a tourist deal
Fornication on tape, instant happiness...

Reality: The predictions about the decades are vague, but flash, bang and whimper sound like a war and its aftermath. This is written at a time of great nuclear anxiety, but as we know, there wasn't a big nuclear war and with any luck there won't be one.

So let's go with the specific predictions.

Robots working in the cotton fields: Big machines driven by humans, yes. Robots, no.
Vacations on Venus: No. Way too hot and a poisonous atmosphere.
Fornication on tape: Video taped porn? Yeah, absolutely.
Instant happiness: There are mood-altering drugs that could be called "instant happiness", but they don't work in all cases.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The next few Mondays will be predictions from OMNI Future Almanac, so I'll be handing Sunday chores over to Popular Mechanics.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

6 July 2013

 Birthdays
Jennifer Saunders b. 1958 (Shrek 2, Coraline)
Geoffrey Rush b. 1951 (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Sylvester Stallone b. 1946 (Demolition Man, Dredd, Death Race 2000)
Burt Ward b. 1945 (Batman)

Except for Burt Ward, all these actors are better known for their work outside the genre. I often fail to include actors whose only work is in voiceover, which is the situation for Jennifer Saunders, but I have a soft spot for Absolutely Fabulous.

Many happy returns to all concerned.

Prediction: The Americans will not get into outer space until 1962, though the project was first presented to Congress in 1944.

Predictor: James Blish, They Shall Have Stars, published in 1956

Reality: I can't find the evidence of presentation in 1944, but 1962 is a damned good prediction. Alan Shepard gets into space in 1961, but the first earth orbit by an American is by John Glenn in 1962.

It should be noted that Blish is making this prediction a year before Sputnik.

Blish wrote a series of books about the future, but only They Shall Have Stars deals with years that have already passed or are just a few years away. The rest are centuries away, so not interesting as predictions we can verify or disprove.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Blish makes another remarkably close prediction, this time about demographics in 2010. He then screws the pooch by misinterpreting the numbers, but the first part is really top notch.

 Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

29 June 2013

Birthday
Ray Harryhausen b. 1920 died 5/5/2013

Regular readers will know I wrote an appreciation of Harryhausen  when he died, but besides his work with stop-motion animation, he did a lot to improve the state of the art with moving mattes, which he used to have giants and little people interact. In Jason and the Argonauts, the most action packed scene of this kind is when Poseidon protects the Argo from being destroyed by crashing rocks, the ship sailing under the giant god's outstretched arm. For me, the most memorable scene is Jason visiting the gods on Mount Olympus, and the conversation between tiny Jason and the awe-inspiring goddess Hera, Honor Blackman filling out a titanic toga like nobody's business.

IBIMB, as the young people say.

Movies released
Ted released, 2012
Transformers: Dark of the Moon released, 2011
War of the Worlds released 2005

It could be argued that Ted is just a comedy, but I consider the fantasy element strong enough to place it in the genre category.

Prediction:1978: Traveling to the future, the time travelers endanger a mission to Mars.

Predictor: The Time Tunnel, aired in 1966

Reality: The show is part of the era when optimism for space travel was at its peak. NASA was sending people into space preparing for the moon landing. It was hard to foresee that the moon missions after Neil Armstrong's first step would feel like weaker and weaker sequels diluting the franchise.

Not unlike Shrek.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


A prediction from James Blish about the future of religion.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 June 2013

Birthdays
Matthew Lewis b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Christian Kane b. 1974 (Angel)
J.J. Abrams b. 1966

I didn't read all the books, so I was happily surprised by the awesomeness of Neville Longbottom in the last movie.

Movies released
WALL-E released, 2008

Prediction:2001: Frank Poole is the first man to reach the surface of Saturn.

Predictor: Arthur C. Clarke in 2001: A Space Odyssey 

Reality: Poole doesn't enjoy it much, being dead and all.

Yet again, sci-fi loves them some space travel, but humans don't agree all that much.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's German chocolate postcard time again. Yummy!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

18 June 2013

Birthday
Roger Ebert b. 1942 died 4 April 2013

As I wrote when he died earlier this year, Mr. Ebert started his writing career with a self-published fanzine called Stymie and wrote several published science fiction stories.

Movies released
Toy Story 3 released, 2010 

Prediction: 1989: First manned mission to Pluto ends in disaster, both crew members commit suicide by exposure.

Predictor: Larry Niven in Wait It Out, published in 1968

Reality: Dude, nobody but nobody is going to Pluto. It’s not even a planet anymore.

As I have written before, Hard SF writers love space exploration beyond all reason. They hoped the space race would be something like the era when men like Byrd and Scott and Amundsen made their names exploring the North and South poles, expeditions done much more for glory and scientific advancement rather than profit. The problem with that comparison is the difference in cost and time and danger. We are many technological advances away from making even a moon base make sense and interplanetary travel is many orders of magnitude tougher.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 
 
It's Wednesday and John Elfreth Watkins predicts the world of take-out food that will be enjoyed by the citizens of... the year 2000!

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE! 

15 June 2013

 Birthday
Elizabeth Reaser b. 1975

Ms. Reaser is best known in genre films as Esme Cullen in the Twilight series.

Movies released

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer released,  2007
Batman Begins released 2005

When I was a kid, the Fantastic Four was the comic title I looked forward to the most each month. It's a damn shame the FF movies have been so crap. I kind of liked Batman Begins because Ra's Al-Ghul is Batman's most interesting villain, but unfortunately the next movie had to have The Joker in it and the series went downhill from there.
 

Prediction: In 1981, the Titan Station is established on the moon of Saturn of the same name. No further space exploration happens until 2013.

Predictor: James Blish, They Shall Have Stars, published 1956

Reality: I'm going to give Blish some props here, though clearly we haven't established any bases even on our own moon. Most sci-fi writers not just assume space exploration, but assume it's going to be zoom, zoom, zoom, bigger, better, faster every year. Blish sees that's it's going to be start then stop, moving at a weird jerky pace. He also takes some basic math into account and realizes that we need to increase human life expectancy for space travel outsideour solar system to make any sense at all.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An exact date from Stephen King. As you might expect, it does not bode well for the human race in general.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

12 June 2013

Prediction: 12 June 1983: An atmospheric disturbance captures the small commercial spacecraft Spindrift when coming back from low earth orbit on a trip to London.

Predictor: Land of the Giants, debuted 1968

Reality: All four of the Irwin Allen sci-fi shows - Lost In Space, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel and Voayage to the Bottom of the Sea - were supposed to take place in the 20th Century. I will admit that I was only a regular viewer of Land of the Giants. The reason for this less than optimal use of my time can be found through this link to page on my first blog.

Colour me disappointed.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from Arthur C. Clarke. There's only a few left from him and almost all about about space exploration. It's no secret he was keen on space exploration.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

11 June 2013

Birthdays
Shia LeBeouf b. 1986
Peter Dinklage b. 1969

This year, the picture slot goes to Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Will I play fair and go with a picture of Mr. LeBeouf next year?

Aw, hellz no, as we say in Oakland. Unless research finds a really cute girl who shares a birthday with these two worthies, next June 11 will be a different picture of Tyrion.

Many happy returns to both.

In the year 2000!

Prediction: By the end of this century mankind will have explored this solar system, and the first ship intended to reach the nearest star will be a-building.

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in his set of predictions from 1950

Reality: I've said this before, it will be said again. You will have to pry the idea of interstellar space travel from the cold, dead hands of the Hard SF crowd.

Hard SF was supposed to take real science into account. But here's some real science. We can't go faster than the speed of light. Getting to even a measurable fraction of the speed of light would mean a ship that is hard to steer or slow down and needs some kind of infallible protection from collision with even tiny objects. Solve all those problems and it still takes at least years to get to the nearest star - probably more like centuries - with no promise that there is anything of value there.

Hey! Ghost of Ridiculous Bob! Is that hard science easy enough for ya?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our regularly scheduled Wednesday programming is interrupted by an exact date. June 12, 1983, an exciting prediction from the mind of Irwin Allen!

 Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!