18 July 2015

Birthdays
Brody Nicholas Lee b. 1997 (Cloud Atlas)
Cody Benjamin Lee b. 1997 (Cloud Atlas, The Shiftling, Invasion)
Chace Crawford b. 1985 (The Haunting of Molly Hartley, The Covenant)
Rosalind Halstead b. 1984 (Dominion, Rage of the Yeti, The Day of the Triffids [2009])
Michael Huisman b. 1981 (The Age of Adaline, Orphan Black, Game of Thrones, World War Z)
Kristen Bell b. 1980 (Safety Not Guaranteed, Heroes)
Cathy Shim b. 1980 (Zomboobies, Heebie Jeebies, The Watch, The Revenant)
Kelly Reilly b. 1977 (Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball, A for Andromeda)
Valerie Cruz b. 1976 (Grimm, Alphas, True Blood, Dollhouse, The Dresden Files, Invasion)
Jed Whedon b. 1975 (writer, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog)
Sarah McLeod b. 1971 (The Lord of the Rings)
Patrick J. Dancy b. 1970 (S1m0ne, Brave New World)
Grant Bowler b. 1968 (Defiance, True Blood, Lost, The Lost World, On the Beach [2000], Farscape)
Andre Royo b. 1968 (Agent Carter, Fringe, Hellbenders, Heroes, The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Vin Diesel b. 1967 (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Last Witch Hunter, Pitch Black, Babylon A.D.)
Elizabeth McGovern b. 1961 (Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, Tales from the Crypt, The Handmaid’s Tale, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Lee Arenberg b. 1962 (Once Upon a Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek: Enterprise, Charmed, Dungeons & Dragons, Angel, Star Trek: Voyager, The Apocalypse, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Freaked, RoboCop 3, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Wizard, Martians Go Home)
Travis McKenna b. 1960 (Meego, Batman Returns, Quantum Leap, Twice Dead)
Anne-Marie Johnson b. 1960 (The X Files, Asteroid, Babylon 5, Robot Jox)
Gary Goddard b. 1954 (writer, Skeleton Warriors, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Masters of the Universe)
Margo Martindale b. 1951 (In Dreams, The Rocketeer)
James Faulkner b. 1948 (X-Men: First Class, Relic Hunter, Highlander [TV], The Martian Chronicles)
Tony Azito b. 1948 died 26 May 1995 (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, The Addams Family [1991])
Andy Anderson b. 1947 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, House of Wax, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Salem’s Lot, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, The Boy from Andromeda)
James Brolin b 1940 (Lost City Raiders, Category 7: The End of the World, Terminal Virus, The Amityville Horror, Capricorn One, Westworld, Batman, Fantastic Voyage, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Hampton Fancher b. 1938 (writer, Blade Runner)
Britt Leach b. 1938 (Quantum Leap, Amazing Stories, Weird Science, Wonder Woman)
Paul Verhoeven b. 1938 (director, Hollow Man, Starship Troopers, Total Recall, RoboCop, Deadly Nightmares)
Burt Kwouk b. 1930 (Spirit Warriors, I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle, Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People, Rollerball, Curse of the Fly)
Syd Mead b. 1933 (artist)
John Glenn b. 1921 (astronaut)
Marvin Miller b. 1913 died 8 February 1985 (Wonder Woman, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Green Hornet, Batman, Space Patrol, Red Planet Mars)
Hume Cronyn b. 1911 died 15 June 2003 (Cocoon, *batteries not included)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The previous Picture Slotters, astronaut John Glenn and visual futurist Syd Mead, are both clearly iconic and both are still with us, bless them. This year, I decided to go for a reference from the 21st Century. I thought about Jed Whedon from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Michael Huisman from Game of Thrones and Kirsten Bell from Heroes, but instead I went with Vin Diesel as Riddick.

2.  A Canadian amongst us. There's no way of telling Hume Cronyn is Canadian from his credits, but what good American family would name a boy Hume?

Ya cain't trusts 'em, I tell ya. 


3. Nepotism FTW.  Ken Houghton points out what I failed to mention when I first posted this, that Jed Whedon definitely gets some nepotism points beingthe younger brother of Joss Whedon.


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

Movies released
The Dark Knight released, 2008
Jurassic Park III released , 2001
 

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

Prediction: The plastic domed house with glass walls and plastic panels, plastic floors with ducts for air conditioning, and curtains of light between rooms is on the drawing boards for 1964.

Reality: And the drawing board is pretty much where it stayed. While not made of plastic, Eichler Homes made a big splash in California in the 1960s. They looked great, but no one thought about what a bitch it would be to clean that much glass and the tremendous amount of heat loss.

Just a couple firing neurons away from a really good idea.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Robert A. Heinlein makes another guess about the technology of the late 20th Century.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 July 2015

Birthdays
Perla Haney-Jardine b. 1997 (Spider-Man 3)
Austin Macdonald b. 1995 (Mr. Magorum’s Wonder Emporium, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, ReGenesis)
Jessica Amlee b. 1994 (Absolute Zero, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate: Atlantis, Jeremiah, Andromeda, Smallville, Dark Angel)
Cazi Greene b. 1993 (The Maze Runner)
Billie Lourd b. 1992 (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens)
Tom Cullen b. 1985 (Last Days on Mars)
Daniel Berge Halversen b. 1982 (Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead)
Melanie Thierry b. 1981 (The Zero Theorem, Babylon A.D.)
Mike Vogel b. 1979 (Under the Dome, Cloverfield)
Eric Winter b. 1976 (Witches of East End, Charmed)
Dagmara Dominczyk b. 1976 (They)
Cory Doctorow b. 1971 (writer, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom)
Jason Clarke b. 1969 (Terminator: Genisys [2015], Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Death Race, Farscape)
Alex Winter b. 1965 (The Borrowers, Freaked, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Lost Boys)
Santiago Segura b. 1965 (Pacific Rim, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Hellboy, Blade II)
Heather Langenkamp b. 1964 (American Horror Story, Star Trek Into Darkness, Perversions of Science, Shocker, Nightmare on Elm Street)
John Ventimiglia b. 1963 (Rosenkrantz and Guilderstern are Undead)
Robin Shou b. 1960 (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Mortal Kombat)
Tim Rose b. 1956 (Wizards vs. Aliens, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [TV], Howard the Duck, Return to Oz, Return of the Jedi, The Dark Crystal)
Margot Rose b. 1956 (Hollow Man, Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Freddy’s Nightmares)
J. Michael Straczynski b. 1954 (writer, Sense8, World War Z, Thor, Babylon 5, Jeremiah, The Twilight Zone [1980s], Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, She-Ra, He-Man)
David Hasselhoff b. 1952 (Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Anaconda III, Knight Rider, Click, 3rd Rock from the Sun, NightMan, Starcrash)
P.J. Soles b. 1950 (Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy, Little Bigfoot, Alienator, Knight Rider, Halloween, Carrie)
Catherine Schell b. 1944 (Doctor Who, Space: 1999, Moon Zero Two)
Donald Sutherland b. 1935 (The Hunger Games, Frankenstein [2004], Salem’s Lot, Space Cowboys, Virus, Fallen, The Puppet Masters, The Lifeforce Experiment, Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Castle of the Living Dead)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Donald Sutherland, kind of a hybrid movie star/character actor and Tim Rose, the poor baster who was stuck in teh Howard the Duck suit. I think the best known name not yet used is David Hasselhoff, but seriously, I just couldn't. So instead we have J. Michael Straczynski, who is currently tweeting about his new series Sense8, which he made with teh Wachowskis and is available on Netflix.

2. Spot the Canadians. It's not a tough bit of trivia to know Donald Sutherland was born in Canada. You might be able to spot Jessica Amlee by her credit list, but writer Cory Doctorow and young actor Austin Macdonald are doing their best to blend in.

3. Tempus fugit and the horse you rode in on. The other guy from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure turns 50 today. I don't remember whether he was Bill or Ted and I would like not being reminded, thank you very much. When I see a milestone like this, I get one of those "Jesus! How old am I then?" moments. I mean, I know how old I am, but just makes it sink in a little deeper.

4. MST3K. Two episodes of Space:1999 were turned into Cosmic Princess and mercilessly mocked by Joel and the bots.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the... wait a tick! Everyone's alive! Yay!

 Predictor: H.G. Wells in his 1901 book Anticipations

Prediction: If deterrent punishments are used at all in the code of the future, the deterrent will neither be death, nor mutilation of the body, nor mutilation of the life by imprisonment, nor any horrible things like that, but good scientifically caused pain, that will leave nothing but a memory.

Reality:I can't read this without thinking of the dialog.

"The booth for this one, Captain?"

"Yes... the booth."

And, oh yeah, the young H.G. Wells was not the lovable, wide eyed fellow played by Malcolm McDowell in Time After Time. Not to put too fine a point on it, he was an asshole.

Never to be Forgotten: "Diamond" Dave Somerville 1931-2015 I'm old enough to have been on newsgroups back when the Internet was all text. One of my favorite newsgroups,  alt.obituaries, still has a presence on Facebook. Ray Arthur, one of the regulars, pointed me in the direction of the passing of Dave Somerville, the original lead singer with The Diamonds, whose big hit was Little Darling. Besides that claim to fame, Somerville took acting classes and one of this fellow students was Leonard Nimoy. Somerville appeared on the Star Trek episode The Conscience of the King and was also on the 1970s TV show The Amazing Spier-Man, back when special effects barely deserved the description "special".

Best wishes to the family and friends of "Diamond" Dave Somerville, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from the very optimistic 1955 book Utopia 1976.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

10 July 2015

 Birthdays
Hector David Jr. b 1989 (Power Rangers Samurai, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Wyatt Russell b. 1986 (The Walking Dead: Webisodes, Cowboys & Aliens, Solider, Escape from L.A.)
Thomas Ian Nicolas b. 1980 (Halloween: Resurrection, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, A Kid in King Arthur’s Court, Harry and the Hendersons [TV])
Jeremy Ray Valdez b. 1980 (Constantine, The Nightmare Room)
Adam Croasdell b.1980 (Supernatural, Dark Realm)
Lucy Gaskell b. 1980 (Misfits, Being Human, Vampire Killers, Doctor Who, Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God)
Adrian Grenier b. 1976 (Goodbye World, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Chiwetel Ejiofor b. 1977 (Doctor Strange, The Martian, 2012, Children of Men, Serenity)
Peter Serafinowicz b. 1972 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Star Wars: Episode I – The One We Don’t Mention, Jack and the Beanstalk [TV 1998])
Jamie Glover b. 1969 (An Adventure in Space and Time, Jupiter Moon)
Fiona Shaw b. 1958 (True Blood, Harry Potter, Super Mario Bros.)
Sue Lyon b. 1946 (Alligator, The Astral Factor, The End of the World)
Ron Glass b. 1945 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Serenity, Firefly, Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space, The Twilight Zone [1985])
Robert Pine b.1941 (The Event, Journeyman, Star Trek: Enterprise, Black Scorpion, Star Trek: Voyager, Indepencdence Day, Quantum Leap, ALF, Knight Rider, Empire of the Ants, Munster, Go Home!)
Lawrence Pressman b. 1939 (Dr. Dolittle 2, Dark Angel, The X-Files, Mighty Joe Young [1999], Deep Space Nine, Man from Atlantis, Tucker’s Witch)
Tura Satana b. 1938 died 4 February 2011 (The Astro Zombies)
Nick Adams b. 1931 died 7 February 1968 (Mission Mars, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Monster of Terror, Frankenstein Conquers the World, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Susan Cummings b. 1930 (Twilight Zone)
George Clayton Johnson b. 1929 (writer, Logan’s Run, Star Trek, Twilight Zone)
William Smithers b. 1927 (The Amazing Spider-Man [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, Star Trek, The Invaders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Fred Gwynne b. 1926 died 2 July 1993 (Pet Sematary, The Mysterious Stranger, Harvey [1972 TV], The Munsters)
Earl Hamner Jr. b. 1923 (writer, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Joe Shuster b. 1914 died 30 July 1992 (writer/artist, Superman)
Thomas Gomez b. 1905 died 18 June 1971 (Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
John Wyndam b. 1903 died 11 March 1969 (author, Day of the Triffids, the Midwich Cuckoos)
Nikola Tesla b. 1856 died 7 January 1943 (inventor/writer)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, The Slot went to Peter Serafinowicz for being the voice of Darth Maul and Ron Glass as Shepherd Book on Serenity and Firefly. I truly love the work of Chiwetel Ejiofor in Children of Men and Serenity, but instead, for personal reasons, I went with Fred Gwynne out of the make-up that makes him iconic as Herman Munster.

Ever since I was a kid, I felt sorry for typecast actors, and for Fred Gwynne more than most. We can look at his picture and say he is not movie star pretty - see below for further proof - but he had a remarkable talent. I was really stunned by how good he was in drama when I saw him in Clifford Odet's Paradise Lost on PBS in the early 1970s, and in the late 1980s movie Ironweed, starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson and featuring Tom Waits, I was blown away by how beautiful his baritone voice was. The thing a suburban kid in California couldn't know was how much Broadway loved Fred Gwynne. He was a working actor his entire life. He didn't need my pity, but he certainly deserved my admiration and love.

2. Wait... he's alive? Earl Hamner's most famous work is as the creator of The Waltons, but he also wrote some genre as well. Because we have people who died very young like Nick Adams and relatively young like Fred Gwynne, Hamner is not the Guy at the Door, but I do want to show my respects to Mr. Hamner and hope him many happy returns.

3. Nepotism FTW. Regular commenter Jay M. points out that Wyatt Russell is the son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.

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 1901 book Anticipations

Prediction: In the present Empire of Germany there are no other great figures to balance the Imperial personage, and I do not see how other great figures are likely to arise.

Reality: I was reading an essay recently that re-told many stories about Kaiser Wilhelm being a Donald Trump sized asshole. I'm going to give Herbert a pass that he didn't foresee the rise of Hitler thirty after he published this book.

Never to be Forgotten: Omar Sharif 1932-2015

Movie star pretty. See Omar Sharif.

Like most honest to Odin movie stars from the 1950s and 1960s, Sharif didn't make any genre until later in his career, He is pictured here as Captain Nemo from the 1973 version of The Mysterious Island and he played a sorcerer in 1996 version of Gulliver's Travels. Commenter Jay M. also nominates Oh Heavenly Dog as genre, but like with angel stories, I'm idiosyncratic about what I count and what I don't with these type of films.


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


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Saturday means a visit from our (overly) optimistic pal Morris Ernst and his book Utopia 1976.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 June 2015

Birthdays
Connor Jessup b. 1994 (Falling Skies)
Kate Melton b. 1992 (Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins)
Louisa Connolly-Burnham b. 1992 (Wolfblood, House of Anubis)
Marielle Jaffe b. 1989 (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Isabella Leong b. 1988 (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)
Melissa Rauch b. 1980 (Big Bang Theory, True Blood)
Emmanuelle Vaugier b. 1976 (Lost Girl, Supernatural, Painkiller Jane, Unearthed, Andromeda, Smallville, Charmed, MythQuest, Mindstorm, Level 9, Shapeshifter, Saban’s Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Highlander [TV])
Joel Edgerton b.1974 (The Thing [2011], Star Wars: Episodes II and III)
Selma Blair b. 1972 (Hellboy, The Fog, Xena, Amazon High)
Martin Klebba b. 1969 (Ted 2, Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters on Main Street, Oz the Great and Powerful, Mirror Mirror, Project X, The Cape, Van Helsing, Charmed, Planet of the Apes)
David Dobkin b. 1969 (producer, R.I.P.D., Jack the Giant Slayer)
Terri Ivens b. 1967 (Piranhaconda, They Came from Outer Space, The Munsters Today)
Joss Whedon b. 1964 (writer, Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., In Your Eyes, The Cabin in the Woods, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Commentary! The Musical, Serenity, Angel, Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Titan A.E., Toy Story)
Billy Wirth b. 1962 (Charmed, Space Marines, Starlight, Body Snatchers, The Lost Boys)
Frances McDormand b. 1957 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, AEon Flux, Darkman, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Russell Mulcahy b. 1953 (director, Teen Wolf [TV], Resident Evil: Extinction, Mysterious Island [TV], Jeremiah, The Hunger [TV], Tale of the Mummy, Perversions of Science, The Shadow, Highlander I and II)
Lauren Shuler Donner b. 1949 (producer, X-Men, Deadpool, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Constantine, Ladyhawke)
Bryan Brown b. 1947 (On the Beach [TV], Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [TV])
Ted Shackelford b. 1946 (Space Precinct, The Twilight Zone [1988], Wonder Woman)
James Marcus b. 1942 (A Clockwork Orange, Doctor Who, UFO)
Miriam Karlin b. 1925 died 3 June 2011 (Children of Men, Jekyll & Hyde [1995 TV], A Clockwork Orange)
Larry Blyden b. 1925 died 6 June 1975 (The Twilight Zone)
Dennis Price b. 1915 died 6 October 1973 (Son of Dracula, Theatre of Blood, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], Dracula Contra Frankenstein, Vampyros Lesbos, The Horror of Frankenstein, Voodoo Blood Death, The Earth Dies Screaming, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man [TV], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [TV])
(Paul) Orban b. 1896 died 6 April 1974 (artist)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Melissa Rauch from The Big Bang Theory and Joss Whedon, a writer who gets his own label on this blog, which runs neck and neck for second place with The Twilight Zone. This year, I decided to feature the artwork of Paul Orban, a very prolific artist from the sci-fi magazines. This particular work looks like it was done on scratchboard, an all black surface where the artist scratches out the area that should be white. It was a very unforgiving medium and I don't know if anyone does it anymore. Since magazine illustrator is nearly an extinct profession, scratchboard magazine illustrator is even more strange and exotic now. (For the record, Orban did use other media.)

2. Spot the Canadians! Two Canadians today, the unspottable Connor Jessup (too few credits) and the completely spottable Emmanuelle Vaugier.

3. The Guy at the Door. It's a short list today with no one born in the 1930s and everyone born in the 1920s already dead. This means British actor James Marcus is the cut-off person between the living and the dead at the tender age of 73. As always when this demographic oddity shows up, the blog extends special best wishes to Mr. Marcus

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

Predictor: John Langdon-Davies in his 1936 book A Short History of the Future

Prediction: There will be compulsory education for all until twenty-one.

Reality: Well, ummm... no. As a college instructor, Langdon-Davies' plan would mean more work for me and I'm still against it. One of the things I like about teaching college compared to high school, besides not having to be heard over the raging hormones messing with the kids' brains, is that it is not compulsory, so the majority of the students have actually chosen to be there.

Never to be Forgotten: James Horner 1953-2015

A private plane crash has taken the life of film composer James Horner at the age of 61. As far as my research has been able to discover, the only other film composers of Horner's generation who have as much work in major productions are Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. (My friend the soundtrack expert Abu Scooter includes Thomas Newman, who is the right age with plenty of hit films he worked on, but not quite as prolific.) Most of his obits mention Titanic first, but his genre credits as conductor or composer include Star Trek New Voyages, The Amazing Spider-Man, Shoestring Space Opera, Avatar, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Bicentennial Man, Mighty Joe Young, Deep Impact, Jumanji, Apollo 13, Casper, The Rocketeer, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Cocoon, Willow, *batteries not included, Aliens, Amazing Stories, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Brainstorm, Krull, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Wolfen, The Hand, Battle Beyond the Stars and Humanoids from the Deep.

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

 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Wednesday rolls around and we hear from our sensible pal George Sutherland predicting the inventions of the 20th Century from the year 1901.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

3 June 2015

Birthdays
Lalaine b. 1987 (Buffy)
Brenden Jefferson b. 1986 (Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century)
Imogen Poots b. 1989 (Fright Night, 28 Weeks Later, V for Vendetta)
Lindsay Hollister b. 1977 (Blubberella)
Jason Jones b. 1973 (Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Phil the Alien, Mutant X, Terminal Invasion)
Patrick Rothfuss b. 1973 (author, The Kingkiller Chronicles)
James Purefoy b. 1964 (John Carter, Camelot, Solomon Kane, Frankenstein [2007, TV], Resident Evil, The Cloning of Joanna May)
Greg Thirloway b. 1961 (NightMan, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Big and Hairy, First Wave, The X Files, Sliders)
Suzie Plakson b. 1958 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast, My Stepmother is an Alien)
Scott Valentine b. 1958 (Harpies, Black Scorpion, Fallout, Mars, Carnosaur 3: Primal Species, Lois & Clark, The Unborn II, To Sleep with a Vampire, Deadly Nightmares, My Demon Lover, Knight Rider)
Clive Mantle b. 1957 (Game of Thrones, Alien³)
Erland van Lidth b. 1953 died 23 September 1987 (The Running Man)
Melissa Mathison b, 1950 (writer, The Indian in the Cupboard, Twilight Zone: The Movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial)
Robert Z’Dar b. 1950 died 30 March 2015 (La Femme Vampyr, Vampire Blvd., Night Realm, Frogtown II, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, The Flash [1991], A Gnome Named Norm, Cherry 2000)
John Rothman b. 1949 (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Enchanted, Dark Matter, Daredevil, From the Earth to the Moon, The Devil’s Advocate, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Ghostbusters)
John Dykstra b. 1947 (special effects, Godzilla, X-Men: First Class, Hancock, Spider-Man I and II, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, My Stepmother is an Alien, Invaders from Mars, Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Lifeforce, Firefox, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars: Episode IV, Silent Running)
Penelope Wilton b. 1946 (Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead, Alice Through the Looking Glass [1998, TV], The Borrowers)
Bill Paterson b 1945 (Outlander, Dirk Gently, Doctor Who, Sea of Souls, Ghostbusters of East Finchley, The Witches, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen)
Frank McRae b. 1942 (One Hell of a Guy, Asteroid [TV], Last Action Hero, Twilight Zone, Wonder Woman)
Edward Winter b. 1937 died 8 March 2001 (Weird Science, Superboy, Mistfits of Science, The Greatest American Hero, Project U.F.O.)
Marion Zimmer Bradley b. 1930 died 25 September 1999 (author, The Mists of Avalon, Darkover)
Tony Curtis b. 1925 died 29 September 2010 (Stargames, Lois & Clark, The Mummy Lives, Lobster Man From Mars, BrainWaves, The Manitou)
Colleen Dewhurst b. 1924 died 22 August 1991 (Twilight Zone [1988], The Boy Who Could Fly, Alice in Wonderland [1983], The Dead Zone)
Patrick Cargill b. 1918 died 23 May 1996 (The Prisoner)
Ellen Corby b. 1911 died 14 April 1999 (Batman, The Gnome-Mobile, Mr. Terrific, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Addams Family, My Living Doll, Visit to a Small Planet, Mighty Joe Young)
Maurice Evans b. 1901 died 12 March 1989 (The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything, The Canterville Ghost, The Six Million Dollar Man, Bewitched, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, The Body Stealers, Rosemary’s Baby, Planet of the Apes, Batman)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Suzie Plakson (iconic, fabulous, Klingon and Vulcan) and Erland van Lidth (iconic, deceased, lovely singing voice). This year, three of the best candidates were not on camera, the writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Patrick Rothfuss and special effects wizard John Dykstra, but in the end, I went with Maurice Evans, iconic both as Samantha's dad and as Dr. Zaius.

When you think about who Samantha Stevens' parents were, don't you think she should have had a much more posh accent? Just sayin'.

2. The Canadians amongst us. Greg Thirloway's credit list looks Canadian, but he isn't. The actual Canadians are Jason Jones from The Daily Show and Colleen Dewhurst.

3. Wait... he's dead? While he died very young, I have processed the fact that Erland van Lidth, best know for roles in Stir Crazy and The Running Man, is dead. On the other hand, the death of Edward Winter, best known as Colonel Flagg from M*A*S*H, has not completely sunk in yet for me.

4. Those two did that much genre? Ellen Corby was Grandma Walton. She was also in a lot of genre movies and TV. Colleen Dewhurst was an important stage actress, but she found time for a lot of genre work as well.

5. I missed a Never to be Forgotten. Robert Z'dar died this March. I saw his obit and checked the top of his credit list on imdb.com and decided incorrectly that he hadn't been in anything anyone had seen. That might be true of his late career, but  he was in some well known genre production in the 1980s and deserves a mention. Commenter Zombie Rotten McDonald also points out one of Z'Dar's direct to video efforts Future War got the MST3K treatment.

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

Movie released
X-Men: First Class released, 2011

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1901 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction:In the apparatus which will probably be in use during the twentieth century, each subscriber will have a dial carrying on its face the names and numbers of all those with whom he is in the habit of holding communication. This will be his "smaller dial," and beside it will be another, intended for only occasional use, through which, by exercising a little more patience, he may connect himself with any other subscriber whatever.

When the correct number is reached the subscriber is in connection with the person with whom he desires to converse. If, however, the latter should be already engaged, a return impulse causes the bell of the first subscriber to ring.

Reality: Recall that when Sutherland writes this, all calls go through an operator. He is proposing direct dial - the details of which are credited to John von Neumann - and speed dial, which would become common in the 1970s and 1980s.

That's some mighty good thinking, Mr. Sutherland.

Never to be Forgotten: Jim Bailey 1938-2015

Jim Bailey, best known as a female impersonator with a lovely singing voice who did tributes to Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and others, died at the age of 77 this week, (imdb.com gave his birthday as 1948, but Wikipedia gave the date most news outlets are using.) I didn't think he would have any genre credits, but a quick check on imdb.com turned up two films, Vultures and The Day It Came to Earth.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Jim Bailey, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The results of the NBA Conference predictions and the predictions for the finals.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

12 April 2015

Birthdays
Peter DaCunha b. 2003 (The Listener, Alphas) Saoirse Ronan b. 1994 ( The Host [2013])
Brooklyn Decker b. 1987 (Battleship)
Diana Marshall-Green b. 1980 (Infestation) Jennifer Morrison b. 1979 (Once Upon a Time, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek [2009], The Chronicle, The Zeros)
Claire Danes b. 1979 (Stardust, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Princess Mononoke)
Amy Kerr b. 1979 (Haven, Outlander, Lexx)
Jared Turner b. 1978 (The Almighty Johnsons, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, 30 Days of Night) Jade Calegory b. 1976 (Alien Nation, Mac and Me)
Marley Shelton b. 1974 (The Lottery, Grindhouse, Dark Shadows [2005 TV], Sin City, Pleasantville, Warriors of Virtue, Hercules in the Underworld)
Christina Moore b. 1973 (True Blood, The Burning Zone)
Amr Waked b. 1973 (Lucy)
Shannen Doherty b. 1971 (Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys, Witchslayer Gretl, Charmed, Category 7: The End of the World, Voyagers!)
Nicholas Brendon b. 1971 (Coherence, Robot Ninja and Gay Guy, Buffy, Demon Island, Psycho Beach Party, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest)
Kelly Donovan b. 1971 (Buffy)
Tracy Vilar b. 1968 (K-PAX)
Michael Wiseman b. 1967 (The X-Files, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek: Voyager, Perversions of Science, Predator 2)
Mark Camacho b. 1964 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Punisher: War Zone, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, 10.5: Apocalypse, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, The Hunger, Space Cases, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde)
Magda Szubanski b. 1961 (The Golden Compass, Son of the Mask, Farscape, Babe, The Genie from Down Under)
Jay Baker b. 1961 (Deep Space Nine, The Incredible Hulk Returns)
Tracy Torme b. 1959 (writer, Carnivale, Odyssey 5, Sliders, Star Trek: the Next Generation)
Tom Noonan b. 1951 (12 Monkeys [2015], The Leftovers, Eight Legged Freaks, The Astronaut’s Wife, The X-Files, Early Edition, Last Action Hero, RoboCop 2, The Monster Squad, Wolfen)
David Cassidy b. 1950 (The Flash)
Tom Clancy b. 1947 died 1 Oct 2013 (author, Tom Clancy’s Net Force, The Sum of All Fears)
Ed O’Neill b, 1946 (The 10th Kingdom, W.E.I.R.D. World)
Charles Napier b. 1936 died 5 October 2011 (One Eyed Monster, The 4400, Dinocroc, Alien Species, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, Frogtown II, Future Zone, Alien from the Deep, The Incredible Hulk, Deep Space, Star Trek)
Alvin Sargent b. 1927 (screenwriter, Spider-Man 2 and 3)
Walt Gorney b. 1912 died 5 March 2004 (Friday the 13th 1 & 2, Day of the Animals, King Kong [1976])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Slot has been filled by Charles Napier in his role from Star Trek and Nicholas Brendon and his twin Brendon Donovan. If those two are removed, I'd say the next most iconic is Shannen Doherty from Charmed, but I do not care for the woman for many reasons, including the rumors of her nastiness on the set, her unfortunate politics and my view that she's not a very good actress. So instead we get Claire Danes from Stardust because I invoke the The First Rule of Blogging, which is You're Not the Boss of Me.

2. Canadians spotted! Not that easy to find on one's own, Peter daCunha, Amy Kerr and Mark Camacho were all born North of the Border.

3. Nepotism FTW. David Cassidy is the son of Jack Cassidy, but Shirley Jones is his stepmother, not his biological mother. As commenter James Marshall VI kindly pointed out, Tracy Torme is the son of singer Mel Torme, so he has to count as well.

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

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in his 1956 book The Door into Summer

Prediction: The torturing clang of an alarm clock went off. I shut the sadistic thing off and thanked God they had got rid of such horrible devices by 2001.

Reality: Some people still wake up to an alarm that has to be turned off, whether a buzz or a beep. To give Heinlein some credit, very few alarm clocks in the 21st Century actually have the old fashioned clanging bells that were standard before digital clocks became the norm.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Monday rolls around and that means another dip into the OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... INTO THE FUTURE!
  

3 March 2015

Birthdays
Suraj Partha b. 1997 (Ender’s Game)
Hayley Marie Norman b. 1989 (Hancock)
Andrea Brooks b. 1989 (iZombie, Supernatural, Primeval: New World, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Jessica Biel b. 1982 (Total Recall [2012], The Illusionist, Blade: Trinity, Next)
Mercedes Mason b. 1982 (666 Park Avenue, Quarantine 2: Terminal)
Isabella Calthorpe b. 1980 (The Prisoner [2009], Night Wolf)
Patrick Renna b. 1979 (Lavalantula, Dark Ride, Game Box 1.0, The Chronicle, The X Files, Beanstalk)
Charlie Brooker b. 1975 (writer, Black Mirror)
Jared Rushton b. 1974 (Pet Sematary II, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, Tales from the Darkside)
David Faustino b. 1974 (Robodoc, The X Files, The New Addams Family, Alien Nation: Millennium, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Julie Bowen b. 1970 (Lost, The Last Man on Planet Earth, An American Werewolf in Paris, Multiplicity)
Prof. Brian Cox b. 1968 (writer, The Science of Doctor Who)
Hope Marie Carlton b. 1966 (The Stand, Quantum Leap, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master)
Laura Harring b. 1964 (The Punisher, Little Nicky, Black Scorpion II: Aftershock, Alien Nation [TV]. Beauty and the Beast [1988])
Taylor Nichols b. 1959 (Godzilla [2014], Jericho, Jurassic Park III, FreakyLinks)
Miranda Richardson b. 1958 (Maleficent, Harry Potter, Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball, Southland Tales, Merlin’s Apprentice, Sleepy Hollow [2000], Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang, Alice in Wonderland [1999 TV], Merlin [1998], The Jim Henson Hour, The Storyteller)
Laura Ziskin b. 1950 died 12 June 2011 (producer, Spider-Man 1, 2, and 3)
Tim Kazurinsky b. 1950 (The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue, Betaville, Faerie Tale Theatre, Somewhere in Time)
Larry Pine b. 1945 (Tales from the Darkside, Q)
Estaban Maroto b. 1942 (illustrator)
Robert Shaye b. 1939 (Producer, The Mortal Instruments, The Golden Compass, The Last Mimzy, The Lord of the Rings, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Xtro, Critters)
Joe Conley b. 1928 died 7 July 2013 (Knight Rider, It’s About Time)
Barney Martin b. 1923 died 21 March 2005 (I Married a Monster, Splash, Too, Twilight Zone [1985], Small & Frye)
James Doohan b. 1920 died 20 July 2005 (Bug Buster, Homeboys in Outer Space, Knight Rider 2000, Jason of Star Command, Star Trek, Bewitched, The Satan Bug, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Space Command)
Harold J. Stone b. 1913 died 18 November 2005 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, Twilight Zone, The Invisible Boy)

Notes from the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. For the third year in a row, the Picture Slot for the 3rd of March is James Doohan, the toughest redshirt of them all. There are other actors known to the public here. Jessica Biel and Miranda Richardson are movies stars and fabulous babe, Harold J. Stone is a great Oh That Guy, Joe Conley was a regular on The Waltons, Tim Karuzinsky on SNL, Julie Bowen on Modern Family, David Faustino on Married... With Children, but none of those are genre. Part of my decision is based on nostalgia after Leonard Nimoy's death, but honestly, if iconic is trump, Doohan is light years ahead of everybody on this. It's just no contest.

2. The Canadians. Andrea Brooks was born in Canada, but the only telltale role is on Supernatural, which is not a proof of Canadian citizenship. The other Canadian is Jimmy Doohan, who is also a D-Day vet. The only other well known actor I've heard of who landed in Normandy that day is Charles Durning.

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

Predictor: Radio host Rick Wiles on 26 February 2015

Prediction: I sent out an urgent email on November 3, 2014, the day before the U.S. elections, I sent this out to our partners alerting them to what I expected would happen after Election Day in 2014. I said: ‘In the remaining weeks of 2014 and throughout 2015, Barack Obama will strike like a thunderbolt against all persons who dare to oppose his communist agenda. Persecution will come down on patriots, conservatives, and Protestant evangelical, Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians who speak against him. He will defy the U.S. Senate. He will consolidate power in Washington. He will rule by executive decrees. He will act like a “dictator in perpetuity.” He may even refuse to leave the White House in January 2017.'

Reality: My friend Michael Dresbach found this one on the website Rightwingwatch.org. When I read about guys like this and Alex Jones, I wonder just how deep the bullshit has to be for these guys to lose their gigs. I also wonder how many people are listening to this every day.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's another Wednesday in the regular schedule, so we get more of the predictions of our sensible pal from 1901, engineer George Sutherland.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

20 January 2015

Birthdays
Ciara Hanna b. 1991 (Power Rangers MegaForce, Blood Lake: The Attack of the Killer Lampreys)
Evan Peters b. 1987 (X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Days of Future Past, American Horror Story, Kick-Ass, Invasion [TV], Phil of the Future)
Pete Ploszek b. 1987 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014])
Olivia Hallinan b. 1985 (Torchwood, Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde)
Rukiya Bernard b. 1983 (Witches of East End, Primeval: New World, The Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, SGU Stargate Universe, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Eureka, Supervolcano, Relic Hunter)
Daniel Cudmore b. 1981 (Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Fringe, Twilight, X-Men, Revolution [2009 TV movie], Merlin and the Book of Beasts, Stargate SG-1)
Crystal Lowe b. 1981 (Primeval: New World, Almost Human, A Little Bit Zombie, Smallville, Hot Tub Time Machine, Supernatural, Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon, Stargate: Atlantis, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Stargate: Sg-1)
Ray Panthaki b. 1979 (World War Dead: Rise of the Fallen, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, 28 Days Later…)
Omar Sy b. 1978 (Jurassic World, X-Men: Days of Future Past)
Skeet Ulrich b. 1970 (Jericho, The Craft, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990])
Reno Wilson b. 1969 (The Chronicle, FreakyLinks, Good vs Evil, Sliders, Mighty Joe Young, Fallen)
Rainn Wilson b. 1966 (Robodog, Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen, The Last Mimzy, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Dominion, Dark Angel, Charmed, Galaxy Quest)
Francesca Buller b. 1964 (Farscape)
James Denton b. 1963 (The Good Witch, Undead or Alive: A Zombedy, Dark Skies, Sliders)
R. A. Salvatore b. 1959 (author, Forgotten Realms series)
Lorenzo Lamas b. 1958 ( Atomic Eden, Ghost Ghirls, Raptor Ranch, Sci-Fighter, Raptor Island, Deep Evil, The Immortal [2001 TV])
Ken Page b. 1954 (Charmed, Adventures in Wonderland)
Paul Stanley b. 1952 (Millennium, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park)
Daniel Benzali b. 1950 (Jericho, The X-Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast [1989], Whoops Apocalypse, Star Cops)
David Lynch b. 1946 (director, Dune, Eraserhead)
Dorothy Provine b. 1935 died 25 April 2010 (The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock)
Tom Baker b. 1934 (Doctor Who, The Wind in the Willows [2006 TV], Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Dungeons and Dragons, The Mutations, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Frankenstein: The True Story)
Buzz Aldrin b. 1930 (astronaut)
Peter Donat b. 1928 (The X-Files, Time Trax, Earth Star Voyager, Voyagers, Salvage 1, Future Cop, The Invisible Man [1975 TV)
Patricia Neal b. 1926 died 8 August 2010 (Ghost Story, The Day the Earth Stood Still)
DeForest Kelley b. 1920, died 11 June 1999 (Star Trek, Night of the Lepus)
Federico Fellini b. 1920 died 31 October 1993 (director, The Temptation of Dr. Antonio)
Michael Higgins b. 1920 died 5 November 2008 (Death Becomes Her, Angel Heart, The Stepford Wives, The Outer Limits)
Leon Ames b, 1902 died 12 October 1993 (Testament, Bewitched, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, Son of Flubber, The Absent-Minded Professor)
Colin Clive b. 1900 died 25 June 1937 (Mad Love, Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein)
A. Merritt b. 1884 died 21 August 1943 (author, The Moon Pool, Burn Witch Burn!)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. I may be chided for being a geezer, but I am of the opinion that this list is chock full of truly iconic folk and all of them were born more than eighty years ago. In 2013, I used DeForest Kelley, in 2014 it was Buzz Aldrin. If they are out of contention, I'm happy to go to the other side of The Pond with Tom Baker, who wins the Favorite Doctor polls consistently if the competition is restricted to the 20th Century incarnations. If I were picking fourth place, I would go super geezer with Colin Clive, Dr. Frankenstein in the most famous 1930s versions of the story. If I was in a fabulous babe mood, Patricia Neal or (ahem) Dorothy Provine would get the Picture Slot, but even someone with my peculiar interests can't argue they are as iconic as the four guys mentioned first.

2. Spot the Canadians! Let's go opposite of geezer with our young Canuck friends. There are three of them, all born after 1980. Good luck! There is an older one, Peter Donat, who I thought of as American because he worked at ACT in San Francisco many decades ago. Thanks to James Marshall VI for pointing out Donat.

3. I love a good exact same day pair. Ignoring identical twins, I love to find out that two very famous people share a birthday on the exact same day and year. My personal favorite is 12 February 1809, when Lincoln and Darwin were both born. Our best pair today is DeForest Kelley and Federico Fellini, both born in 1920. A character actor named Michael Higgins was also born 95 years ago, but he's not quite an Oh That Guy for me. The role I know him in is as Doc Wilson in State and Main.

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

Movie released
Underworld Awakening released, 2012
 

Predictor: W. Warren Wagar in the 1991 edition of his book A Short History of the Future.

Prediction: By the turn of the millennium, everyone used the phrase “the world revolution of 1989”. Comparisons to the French Revolution of 1789 were commonplace.

Reality: Wagar's day job was as a history professor and the changes of 1989 really threw him for a loop. He published his first version just as communism fell and figured that he had to re-write the whole thing, so the predictions here are from his 1991 version, which has as its over-riding theme the complete victory of capitalism until a catastrophe in the 2040s. (The catastrophe itself is too far in the future to be a topic on this blog.) While it certainly made a difference in global politics, Americans don't generally lump together the Berlin Wall falling and the Tienanmen Square protests. I went online to find comparisons of 1989 to 1789 and found one paper by a Northeastern history professor named Patrick Manning. I would not call the comparisons "commonplace".

Looking one day ahead...  INTO THE FUTURE!

A new source of predictions joins the line-up tomorrow.


Join us then...  IN THE FUTURE!

13 January 2015

 Birthdays

Beau Mirchoff b. 1989 (The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex, I Am Number Four, The Grudge 3)
Julian Morris b. 1983 (Once Upon a Time, Cry_Wolf, Something Wicked)
Ruth Wilson b. 1982 (The Prisoner [2009] )
Liam Hemsworth b. 1990 (The Hunger Games, Knowing)
Jill Wagner b. 1979 (Teen Wolf [2014 TV], Splinter, Stargate: Atlantis, Blade: The Series )
Orlando Bloom b. 1977 (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Pirates of the Caribbean)
Michael Pena b. 1976 (Ant-Man, The Martian, Battle Los Angeles, Roswell)
Nicole Eggert b. 1972 (Devil Winds, Amanda and the Alien, Annihilator, The Clan of the Cave Bear, I Dream of Jeannie… Fifteen Years Later)
John Asher b. 1971 (Space Cowboys, Weird Science [TV], Double Dragon, The Haunted)
Traci Bingham b. 1968 (Black Scorpion, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight)
Patrick Dempsey b. 1966 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Enchanted, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997], Outbreak, The Stuff)
Bill Bailey b. 1965 (Doctor Who, Nanny McPhee Returns, Spaced)
Penelope Ann Miller b. 1964 (Robosapien: Rebooted, The Relic, The Shadow, Tales from the Darkside)
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss b. 1961 (Troll)
Dwight H. Little b. 1956 (director, Sleepy Hollow, From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], Tekken, Dollhouse, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, The X Files, Strange World, Millennium, Freddy’s Nightmares, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers)
John McNaughton b. 1950 (director, The Borrower)
Malcolm Story b. 1948 (New Worlds, Jekyll, Star Trap. The Princess Bride)
Richard Moll b. 1943 (Jurassic: Stoned Age, Ghost Shark, Smallville, Evolution, Spiders II: Breeding Ground, Big Monster on Campus, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Weird Science [TV], Galaxis, Babylon 5, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Beanstalk, Highlander [TV], The Munsters Today, Monsters, Wicked Stepmother, Survivor, Ragewar, Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Through the Magic Pyramid, Mork & Mindy, Evilspeak, House [1986], Caveman, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Carol Cleveland b. 1942 (Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Old Drac, Moon Zero Two)
William B. Davis b. 1938 (Continuum, Singularity Principle, Behemoth, Something Evil Comes, Caprica, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1, The X-Files, Kingdom Hospital, Snakehead Terror, Smallville, Andromeda, Mythquest, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Sliders, Omen IV: The Awakening, It [TV Mini-series], Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, The Dead Zone)
Billy Gray b. 1938 (The Vampyre Wars, Werewolves on Wheels, Adventures of Superman, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Navy vs. the Night Monsters)
Rip Taylor b. 1935 (Virtual Combat, The Charmings, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters)
Ron Goulart b. 1933 (writer, Flash Gordon, TekWar, Vampirella)
Jon Cypher b. 1932 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The Invaders [1995], RoboCop [TV], Spontaneous Combustion, Probe, Masters of the Universe, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, The Food of the Gods)
Charles Nelson Reilly b. 1931 died 25 May 2007 (Millennium, The X Files, Amazing Stories, Lidsville, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir)
Ian Hendry b. 1931 died 24 December 1984 (Damien: Omen II, Supernatural [1977 TV], Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, Theatre of Blood, Tales from the Crypt, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, Children of the Damned, Alice Through the Looking Box, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Frances Sternhagen b. 1930 (The Mist, Tales from the Crypt, Communion, Prototype, Outland)
Gregory Walcott b. 1928 (House II: Second Story, The Six Million Dollar Man, Land of the Lost, Gemini Man, The Invisible Man [1975 TV], Plan 9 from Outer Space)
David Sheiner b. 1928 (Automan, Manimal, The Amazing Spider-Man [1978 TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Invaders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet)
Rosemary Murphy b. 1925 died 5 July 2014 (The Visitor, [1998 TV], The Hand, ‘Way Out)
Gwen Verdon b. 1925 died 18 October 2000 (Cocoon, Damn Yankees!)
Robert Stack b. 1919 died 14 May 2003 (Butt-Ugly Martians, )
Osa Massen b. 1916 died 2 January 2006 (Rocketship X-M, Cry of the Werewolf)
Jeff Morrow b. 1907 died 26 December 1993 (Twilight Zone [1986 and 1960], Octaman, The Giant Claw, Kronos, The Creature Walks Among Us, This Island Earth)
Clark Ashton Smith b. 1893 died 14 August 1961 (author, Hyperborea, The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Today we have a lot of choices. In 2013, when I hadn't done as much research, I went with Liam Hemsworth, who is not as well known as his brother Chris, but still has an important role in The Hunger Games. Last year it was William B. Davis in his most famous role as The Smoking Man. This year I went with Orlando Bloom, and honest to Odin movie star in his iconic role Legolas. If I wanted to go old school, Jeff Morrow was in a lot of 1950s monster movies.

2. Canadian spotted! Sometimes an actor will gain fame in a genre role and get a lot of work on the Canadian sci-fi shows regardless of nationality. As I stated earlier, William B. Davis got famous on The X-Files and then gets a lot more work in Canada. The thing is, he's actually Canadian as well as iconic. Good on ya, Mr. Davis.

3. Fun Facts to know and tell. In The Celluloid Closet, a film about gays on film, they talk about The Sissy Man role, a guy who is never said to be gay directly, but acts in a flamboyant manner. This was popular in the era before homosexuality could even be mentioned on film. We have two great Sissy Men born today, Rip Taylor and the late Charles Nelson Reilly.

On a different note, the arc of some actors' careers is from big budget films and then slipping into smaller budget films or TV, while others start in small budget stuff then catch a big break. On the other hand, we have Gregory Walcott, whose credit list is pretty much in reasonably budgeted TV and films, but also showed up inexplicably in Plan 9 From Outer Space. Go figure. 

4. Hey... no Star Trek! Usually, this happens a few times a month. In October, there were four. We are less than halfway through January and we already have three.

5. MST3K. There may be others, but I know This Island Earth was the movie used in the feature film episode and Rocketship X-M was also an episode, which contain one of my favorite lines "Well, thank you, Mr. White Male Reality!" This was long before mansplaining became a thing. Zombie Rotten McDonald has added Moon Zero Two as well.

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

Predictors: The ESPN group of fourteen pro football experts

Predictions (Reality):

Seattle over Carolina: (14 right, 0 wrong)
New England over Baltimore: (11 right, 3 wrong)
Indianapolis over Denver: (1 right, 13 wrong)
Green Bay over Dallas: (7 right, 7 wrong)

Tally: 33 right, 23 wrong
This week, the experts got the same overall percentage as last week 58.9% right. More than that, they got there in pretty much the same way. There were three games where the consensus was very strong and one of those games was an upset. In the fourth game, there was nearly no consensus, so it made little difference to the overall score which team came out on top, The overall totals of 66-46 puts this group in the 97th percentile of guessers if we assume the odds are even that either team could win, which is not a perfect assumption but good enough for our needs. This compares very well with the baseball experts' guesses for the playoffs, but they stunk the place out because the World Series had two wild card teams, the Giants and the Royals.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to 1911 to see the predictions for 2011.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

11 January 2015

Birthdays
Claire Julien b. 1995 (The Dark Knight Rises)
Devin Ratray b. 1977 (Agent Carter, R.I.P.D., Supernatural, Surrogates, Little Monsters)
James Huang b. 1977 (Skyline, Lost)
Rockmond Dunbar b. 1973 (Alien Raiders, Good vs Evil, Earth 2)
Marc Blucas b. 1972 (They, Buffy, Pleasantville)
Amanda Peet b. 1972 (Gulliver’s Travels, 2012, The X Files: I Want to Believe)
Konstantin Khabenskiy b. 1972 (World War Z, Wanted, Night Watch, Day Watch)
Ryctor b. 1971 (BeastMaster [2001 TV])
Kyle Richards b. 1969 (The Watcher in the Woods, Time Express, Halloween, The Car, Escape to With Mountain)
Derek Riddell b. 1967 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Doctor Who, Making Astronauts)
Shelly Sweeney b. 1966 (Godzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla 2000, Godzilla vs. Destroyah, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla)
Olivia Barash b. 1965 (Repo Chick, Dr. Alien, Repo Man, Through the Magic Pyramid, The Incredible Hulk)
Jason Connery b. 1963 (Alien Strain, The Thirst: Blood War, Lightspeed, Smallville, Merlin [1998 TV], Doctor Who)
Melanie Hill b. 1962 (Merlin [2011], Stardust, From Hell)
Alyson Reed b. 1958 (Journeyman, The X-Files)
Phyllis Logan b. 1956 (Invasion: Earth, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1984])
John Sessions b. 1953 (Outlander, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Whoops Apocalypse)
Bille Brown b. 1952 died 13 January 2013 (The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
Sondra Currie b. 1947 (Ganymede Pan, Alien Nation: Dark Horizon, RoboCop [TV], They Came from Outer Space, Misfits of Science, Voyager from the Unknown, The Incredible Hulk, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, )
Felix Silla b, 1937 (Batman Returns, Spaceballs, Star Trek, Return of the Jedi, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Brood, Battlestar Galactica, The Manitou, Demon Seed, Bewitched, Lidsville, H.R. Pufnstuf, Planet of the Apes, The Addams Family)
Melvyn Hayes b. 1935 (The Flesh and the Fiends, The Curse of Frankenstein, Quatermass II)
Angela Paton b. 1930 (The X Files, Sliders, Star Trek: Voyager, Groundhog Day, Quantum Leap, Flatliners)
Rod Taylor b. 1930 died 7 January 2015 (Kaw, The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy, The Birds, The Time Machine, Colossus and the Amazon Queen, Twilight Zone, World Without End)
Mitchell Ryan b. 1928 (Dark Skies, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Judge Dredd, Mann & Machine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dark Shadows [1967], ‘Way Out)
Jerome Bixby b. 1923 died 28 April 1998 (writer, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Fantastic Voyage, It! The Terror from Beyond Space)
Robert C. O’Brien b. 1918 died 5 March 1973 (author, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH)
Nick Cravat b. 1912 died 29 January 1994 (The Island of Dr. Moreau [1977], Twilight Zone)
Don ‘Red’ Barry b. 1912 died 17 July 1980 (Project U.F.O., The Swarm, Doctor Dracula, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Land of the Giants, Batman, The Munsters, Frankenstein 1970)
Lionel Stander b. 1908 died 30 November 1994 (Wicked Stepmother, Adventures of Pinocchio [1972 TV])

Notes from the birthday list.
Today we are Canadian free, so the notes on the birthday list will concern The Picture Slot. Last year it was Felix Silla, the little person actor inside the costumes of Cousin Itt on The Addams Family and Twiki on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I considered Marc Blucas from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mitchell Ryan as Riker's dad on ST:TNG, but instead decided to go with another yet another guy in a costume, Nick Cravat as the gremlin on the well known Twilight Zone episode. Cravat was short at 5'3", but not technically a little person. He started his career as an acrobat in a circus act with Burt Lancaster. Lancaster was loyal to Cravat, who often showed up in his films. Lancaster also put Cravat's kids through college. They worked together at the Federal Theater Project in the 1930s and ran afoul of some right-wing politicians, but neither of them were asked to name names.

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

 Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in the 1956 book The Door Into Summer


Prediction:(In 1970) Los Angeles traffic was too fast and too slashingly murderous for me to be really happy under automatic control.

Reality: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I want to give a shout out to reader Lockwood DeWitt to tipped me off to this Heinlein novel. The first part of the novel takes place in 1970 when our hero decides to go into suspended animation until the year 2000. Heinlein predicts plenty of changes in what to him are the near future and the far future and I'll be sharing tidbits from this book every Sunday for many months to come.

Heinlein in 1956 predicted self-driving cars were about 15 years away. They were actually more like 60 years away. I give him partial credit here, since it's pretty close to a done deal now. A lot of his other stuff is completely off base.

 Never to be Forgotten: Taylor Negron 1957-2015

Taylor Negron, the actor and stand-up comic, died yesterday from cancer at the age of 57. The role all the online obituaries mention is that he was the pizza delivery guy in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He also played pretty much the same role in the genre comedy Vamps, as well as appearing on the TV shows Wizards of Waverly Place, Good vs Evil and Faerie Tale Theatre. My fondest memory of him is early in his stand-up career discussing his Puerto Rican ethnicity and going into this strange riff about all dusky people being the same to some white folks. "I'm every actor who ever played Lionel Jefferson." was the last line. I can still laugh thinking about that.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Taylor Negron, from a fan. He died much too young and he is never to be forgotten.

Never to be Forgotten: Anita Ekberg 1931-2015

Anita Ekberg, the Swedish beauty queen best known for her role in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, died this morning at the age of 83 after a long illness. She is mentioned here for two roles, her first screen credit as a voluptuous guard in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, famously misnamed since they actually go to Venus, which is assumed to be all female. Her other fantasy role was in Fellini's The Temptation of Doctor Antonio, where she plays a billboard-sized version of herself come to life to torment a prude who wants the advertisement taken down.

Ekberg got her start in show business by winning the Miss Sweden pageant in 1950. While it's never been a liability to be blonde and voluptuous in show business, Anita came to fame in the era of Marilyn Monroe's greatest success and lots of movie makers were looking for "the next Marilyn". It's interesting to note how much Fellini used her. He had an obsession with big, busty women that shows up in several films including his semi-autobiographical Amarcord, but in real life Fellini married the elfin Giulietta Masina in 1943 and stayed married to her until his death in 1993.

Longtime readers will know I am a connoisseur of giant woman movies and TV. The Temptation of Doctor Antonio had the best production values of any of the movies and Anita's character had the most fun playing with and tormenting her little man.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Anita Ekberg, from an admiring fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow, the regular weekly schedule is interrupted for an exact date I believe bears repeating.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!   

28 December 2014

Birthdays
Mackenzie Rosman b. 1989 (Ghost Shark, Fading of the Cries, The Tomb)
Andrew Jenkins b. 1988 (Supernatural, Stormworld, Zombie Punch)
Thomas Dekker b. 1987 (Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street [2010], Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Star Trek: Generations, Village of the Damned, Star Trek: Voyager)
Hannah Toiton b. 1987 (Penny Dreadful, Sinbad, The Lost Future, Genie in the House)
Adam Gregory b. 1987 (Dystopia: 2013, 17 Again, The Wizards of Waverly Place)
Beau Garrett b. 1982 (TRON: Legacy, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Unearthed)
Sienna Miller b. 1981 (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Stardust)
Vanessa Ferlito b. 1980 (Spider-Man 2)
Bree Williamson b. 1979 (Haven, Mutant X, Odyssey 5, Earth: Final Conflict)
Noomi Rapace b. 1979 (Prometheus 1 and 2)
Joe Manganiello b. 1976 (True Blood, Spider-Man 1 and 3)
Brendan Hines b. 1976 (The Middleman, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Angel)
Seth Meyers b. 1973 (Journey to the Center of the Earth)
Elaine Hendrix b. 1970 (Kids vs. Monsters, Futurestates, The Chronicle, The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas)
Josephine Byrnes b. 1966 (The Matrix Reloaded, The Lost World [2001 TV], Thunderstone)
Terri Garber b. 1960 (SnakeHead Swamp, Quantum Leap, Twilight Zone [1988])
Phil Abrams b. 1959 (The Big Bang Theory, Lost, The Island, Birds of Prey, Roswell, The X-Files)
Denzel Washington b. 1954 (The Book of Eli, Virtuosity, Heart Condition)
Dame Maggie Smith b. 1934 (Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee Returns, From Time to Time, The Secret Garden, Hook, Clash of the Titans)
Nichelle Nichols b. 1933 (The Cabonauts, Heroes, Surge of Power, Good vs Evil, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, Star Trek, The Supernaturals)
Martin Milner b. 1931 (RoboCop [TV], 13 Ghosts, Twilight Zone, On the Threshold of Space)
Pamela Duncan b. 1924 died 11 November 2005 (The Undead, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger)
Andrew Duggan b. 1923 died 15 May 1988 (A Return to Salem’s Lot, Frankenstein Island, Wonder Woman, A Fire in the Sky, The Time Machine [1978 TV Movie], The Bionic Woman, It Lives Again, Project U.F.O., It’s Alive, The Invaders, The Incredible Mr. Limpet)
Stan Lee b. 1922 (Marvel Comics)
Kim Chan b. 1917 died 5 October 2008 (The Fifth Element, Robot in the Family)
Charles Maxwell b. 1913 died 7 August 1993 (Star Trek, My Favorite Martian, World of Giants, Adventures of Superman)
Lew Ayres b. 1908 died 30 December 1996 (Donovan’s Brain, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Questor Tapes, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Damien: Omen II, Battlestar Galactica)
F.W. Murnau b. 1888 died 11 March 1931 (director, Nosferatu)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Yesterday, I whined that there weren't a lot of iconic people whose birthday was two days after Christmas. I'm not whining today. Last year used Nichelle Nichols, absolutely iconic and a fabulous babe to boot and none could say nay. (Fun fact to know and tell: At 16, she was a singer with the Duke Ellington orchestra.) This year, I give a tip of the hat to the oldest living birthday boy here, Stan Lee, now 92 and looking pretty darned good. As for next year, I would argue Dame Maggie Smith from Harry Potter is the most iconic person I haven't used yet, but that means shutting out A-list movie star Denzel Washington. The list also has two great Oh That Guys, Andrew Duggan and Lew Ayres. I wouldn't be adverse to using a poster of Nosferatu to honor F.W. Murnau and among the younger folk,  I'd say Joe Manganiello from True Blood is most iconic.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are two. I give the hint that they are both born after 1975.

 Best wishes to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 

Predictor: Leonard Fischer in Let Out the Beast, published in 1950 by News Stand Library, Toronto.

Prediction: In 1963 a worldwide drought causes a famine, leading to a nuclear war in 1965 between the superstates of Americanada and Europasia. The novel focuses almost exclusively on a reporter and his fiance, struggling to survive in the devastated urban landscape. As the title indicates, the book's theme is the gradual emergence of the bestial nature of the protagonist as civilization crumbles. Beginning as a decent, heroic defender of pure womanhood, he evolves into the notorious leader of a marauding tribe devoted to rape and pillage. After his first wife dies (he later acquires five), he turns savage and is hunted down by an armed expedition seeking to reestablish civilization. At the end of the novel he is depicted as apelike. The narrative does not conclude with his death, however. Even this relentlessly grim tale ends on a hopeful note by depicting a peace loving group led by a kindly old guru, the reporter's former editor, who used to write bloodthirsty editorials advocating war.

Reality: Ooh, we could play Spot the Canadian publisher, but I gave too much of a spoiler. Why don't we ever have post-apocalyptic heaven-holes, places where folks figure out they can live together and be decent to one another? Ah, well, such is life.

As regular readers will know when the plot summaries are this detailed, I nicked this prediction from Professor Paul Brians great nuclear holocaust database. I still have plenty more of his work, but I'm going give the blog a little rest from the weekly doom and gloom, though I will be bringing it back by and by. As of next Sunday, we will have a new Sunday regular predictor who is, in fact, a previous regular everyone will recognize.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's Monday yet again, and I get the treat of dipping into the OMNI Future Almanac to see what they thought life in the early 21st Century would look like.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

14 December 2014

Birthdays
Max Topplin b. 1989 (Carrie [2013], Dead Before Dawn 3D, Please Kill Mr. Know It All, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Haven, Fringe, The Incredible Hulk [2008])
Vanessa Hudgens b. 1988 (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Sucker Punch, Beastly)
Joe Rokicki b. 1985 (Jack Frost)
Sophie Monk b. 1979 (Click, Monster!)
Patrick O’Brien Dempsey b. 1978 (Thor)
Martin Christopher b. 1977 (Fringe, Sanctuary, Stargate, Supernatural, Painkiller Jane, Eureka, Night at the Museum)
KaDee Strickland b. 1975 (The Grudge, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, The Stepford Wives [2004], The Sixth Sense [1999])
Thuy Trang b. 1973 died 3 September 2001 (The Crow: City of Angels, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Miranda Hart b. 1972 (Hyperdrive)
Michael Stoyanov b. 1970 (Space Station 76, The Dark Knight, Mom and Dad Save the World, Quantum Leap, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Archie Kao b. 1969 (The Hill Have Eyes II, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy)
Natascha McElhone b. 1969 (The Truman Show, Solaris, Feardotcom)
Ted Raimi b. 1965 (Attack of the 50ft Cheerleader, Legend of the Seeker, Supernatural, Planet Raptor, Spider-Man, The Man with the Screaming Brain, Odyssey 5, Invader ZIM, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Apollo 11 [TV], American Gothic, SeaQuest 2032, Army of Darkness, Candyman, Darkman, ALF, Alien Nation, Evil Dead I and II, Shocker)
Peter Murnik b. 1965 (Touch, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Armageddon, Quantum Leap)
Rebecca Gibney b. 1964 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Salem’s Lot [2004], Farscape, The Lost World, Sabrina, Down Under, Time Trax)
Don Franklin b. 1960 (Journeyman, Seven Days, Asteroid, SeaQuest 2032, Somewhere in Time)
Debbie Lee Carrington b. 1959 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mighty Joe Young [1998], Perversions of Science, Men in Black, Mom and Dad Save the World, Batman Returns, Total Recall, Spaced Invaders, Harry and the Hendersons, Howard the Duck, Invaders From Mars, Amazing Stories, Earthlings, Return of the Jedi)
Celia Weston b. 1951 (American Horror Story, Under the Dome, The Invasion, The Village, Hulk, K-PAX)
Paul Zaloom b. 1951 (Beakman’s World)
Vicki Michelle b. 1950 (C.O.O.L.I.O. Time Travel Gangster, Queen Kong, Space: 1999, Virgin Witch)
Dee Wallace b. 1948 (Zombie Killers: Elephant’s Graveyard, Grimm, Robocroc, My Stepbrother is a Vampire!?!, Aliens from Uranus, Warehouse 13, Soupernatural, The House of the Devil, Halloween [2007], Abominable, The Frighteners, Alligator II: The Mutation, Critters, The Twilight Zone [1985], Cujo, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Howling, Man from Atlantis, The Hills Have Eyes, The Stepford Wives)
Lynn Marie Stewart b. 1946 (Here Come the Munsters, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse)
Patty Duke b. 1946 (Amityville: The Evil Escapes, Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], Journey to the Unknown, 4D Man)
Stewart Brand b. 1938 (writer, Space Colonies, The Media Lab)
Lee Remick b. 1935 died 2 July 1991 (Faerie Tale Theatre, The Medusa Touch, The Omen, Damn Yankees! [1967 TV Movie])
Lewis Arquette b. 1935 died 10 February 2001 (Little Nicky, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman [1993], Tales from the Crypt, Quantum Leap, ALF, The Incredible Hulk, Man From Atlantis)
George Furth b. 1932 died 11 August 2008 (The Munsters Today, The Man with Two Brains, Megaforce, Sleeper, I Dream of Jeannie, Batman)
Joe Brooks b. 1923 died 5 December 2007 (Gremlins, Exo-Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Munsters)
Elyse Knox b. 1917 died 15 February 2012 (The Mummy’s Tomb)
Laurence Naismith b. 1908 died 5 June 1992 (Scrooge [1970], The Valley of Gwangi, The Invaders, Camelot, Jason and the Argonauts, Village of the Damned, Vampire Over London)
Frances Bavier b. 1902 died 6 December 1986 (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, I had a picture of Natascha McElhone because... purdy. This year I'd like to give props to Dee Wallace, also purdy and the owner of a remarkable career. She has 211 credits on imdb.com and only a handful are voice work. She did have a few years as a regular on a few TV shows, but none of them were long lasting hits. It's not impossible for an actress to start working in her twenties and keep working into her sixties, but most who have accomplished that became stars like Meryl Streep or Bernadette Peters. Dee Wallace has done it the hard way, role by role, sometimes in big budget stuff, sometimes in small. Good on ya, Dee.

Next year, I can't say who will be in the Picture Slot. If I'm in an Oh That Guy mood, Ted Raimi is possible, if I want another fabulous babe I might sneak in Vanessa Hudgens from the quickly forgotten Sucker Punch, or I might go Oh That Girl and fabulous babe with Debbie Lee Carrington, one of the best known little person actresses.


2. Wait... she's dead? I had Lee Remick's name on last year's list but I failed to mark down that she died over twenty years ago. If I ever knew it - and I'm an obit fan, so I should have known it - the fact completely slipped my mind.

3. Spot the Canadians! There are two. I'll give the hint that both were born after 1975. Good luck.

4. Hey... no Star Trek! It does happen, but not that often. In just over two months of noting the Star Trek free days, this is the seventh.

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

Movies released
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey released, 2012
I Am Legend released, 2007
King Kong released, 2005

 

Predictor: Philip K. Dick in Breakfast at Twilight, published first in the July 1954 issue of Amazing Stories

Prediction: A family has been bounced forward in time seven years to 1980 to a U.S. devastated by a nuclear war and invaded by Russian troops. The holocaust has gradually evolved out of a series of conflicts beginning with the Korean War. Russian robot-controlled bombardments are systematically destroying the entire country. When the family's house is bombed they are bounced back into their own time, but realize it is futile to warn their disbelieving contemporaries of the war they know is coming.

Reality: Once again, the vast majority of nuclear war stories I have found come from Paul Brians' great database and I thank him yet again.All I will add to the synopsis Professor Brians wrote is that as usual, PKD loves to play around with questions about the natural of reality.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Monday, another dip into the gift that keeps on giving, The OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!