24 March 2015

Birthdays
Keisha Castle-Hughes b. 1990 (Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Vampire, Legend of the Seeker, The Almighty Johnsons, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith)
Finn Jones b. 1988 (Game of Thrones, The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Nick Lashaway b. 1988 (In Time, The X Files)
Jeremy James Kissner b. 1985 (Brotherhood of Blood, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Sam Daly b. 1984 (Astronaut Wives Club)
Philip Winchester b. 1981 (Camelot, Fringe, Warehouse 13, Solomon Kane, Thunderbirds [2004])
Alison MacInnis b. 1980 (Power Rangers, Bewitched [movie], Tremors [TV])
Jud Tylor b. 1979 (Supernatural, Smallville, Andromeda)
Lake Bell b. 1979 (Surface)
Amanda Brugel b. 1978 (Orphan Black, Dark Matter, Warehouse 13, Category 6: Day of Destruction, Jason X, A Diva’s Christmas Carol)
Jessica Chastain b. 1977 (The Martian, Interstellar, Journeyman, Dark Shadows [2005])
Olivia Burnette b. 1977 (Jekyll Island, Quantum Leap)
Michelle Harrison b. 1975 (The Flash, Continuum, SGU Stargate Universe, Supernatural, Eureka, V, Fringe, The Invisible, Andromeda, Paycheck, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The YV Show, Poltergeist: The Legacy)
Alyson Hannigan b. 1974 (Buffy, Angel, Dead Man on Campus, Free Spirit, My Stepmother is an Alien)
Jim Parsons b. 1973 (The Big Bang Theory)
Charlie Creed-Miles b. 1972 (The Frankenstein Chronicles, The Fifth Element)
Gabriel Olds b. 1972 (The Event, Surrogates, Heroes, Charmed)
Megyn Price b. 1971 (Quantum Leap)
Lara Flynn Boyle b. 1970 (Hansel & Gretel Get Baked, Men in Black II, The Hidden Room, Poltergeist III, Amerika)
Kelly LeBrock b. 1960 (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice [2002], Weird Science)
Robert Carradine b. 1954 (Sharktopus vs. Petracuda, The Terror Experiment, Attack of the Sabertooth, Ghosts of Mars, Lycanthrope, Scorpio One, Dark Skies, Humanoids from the Deep, Escape from L.A., Lois & Clark, Birds of Prey, The Tommyknockers, Deadly Nightmares, Faerie Tale Theatre, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Kim Johnston Ulrich b. 1955 (Supernatural, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Rumplestiltskin, Highlander [TV], Lois and Clark, Werewolf [TV], The Charmings)
Patrick Malahide b. 1945 (Game of Thrones)
R. Lee Ermey b. 1944 (The Watch, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Jericho, Starship Troopers, The Frighteners, The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Tales from the Crypt, Body Snatchers [1993], Toy Soldiers, The Terror Within II, Deathstone, The Rift, Up from the Depths)
Lynn Borden b. 1937 died 3 March 2015 (Frogs)
William Smith b. 1933 (The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Boy with Green Hair, Atlantis the Lost Continent, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie, Piranha, Invasion of the Bee Girls, The Six Million Dollar Man, Planet of the Apes [TV], Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Logan’s Run [TV], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Conan the Barbarian, Hell Comes to Frogtown… and more third rate crap than you can shake a stick at)
Steve McQueen b. 1930 died 7 November 1980 (The Blob)
Norman Fell b. 1924 died 14 December 1998 (C.H.U.D. II – Bud the Chud, Out of this World, Twilight Zone [1986], Transylvania 6-5000, The Bionic Woman, The Invaders, Bewitched)
Murray Hamilton b. 1923 died 1 September 1986 (Whoops Apocalypse, The Amityville Horror, Damnation Alley, The Invaders, Way Out, Twilight Zone)
Gene Nelson b. 1920 died 16 September 1996 (director, Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie)
Martin Kosleck b. 1904 died 15 January 1994 (Batman, The Outer Limits, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Flesh Eaters, She Wolf of London, The Mummy’s Curse)
Ub Iwerks b. 1901 died 7 July 1971 (visual effects, Mary Poppins, The Birds, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Song of the South)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was occupied by Alyson Hannigan and Jim Parsons. There are plenty of other choices available that count as iconic, but again the Games of Thrones bug has gotten to me and I'm using Keisha Castle-Hughes as one of the Sand Snakes. It's hard to call her role iconic since she won't show up until this season, but the Sand Snakes were interesting characters in the book and I hope the show will do them justice as well.

2. Spot the Canadians. There are three and they were all born in the 1970s. Knock yourself out.

3. Nepotism FTW. Robert Carradine is of course a member of the Carradine clan.

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

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

Prediction: By 1960 work will be limited to three hours a day.

Reality: From what I've seen in my lifetime, that's about the average amount of work that actually gets done, but companies still make you hang around for eight.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another look at future technology from George Sutherland in 1901.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

8 October 2014

Birthdays
Bella Thorne b. 1997 (Amityville: The Awakening, Wizards of Waverly Place)
Molly C. Quinn b. 1993 (A Christmas Carol [2009])
Barbara Palvin b. 1993 (Hercules [2014])
Michael Obiora b. 1986 (Doctor Who)
Kristanna Loken b. 1979 (Painkiller Jane, BloodRayne, Terminator 3:The Rise of the Machines, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Sliders, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Aliens in the Family)
Martin Henderson b. 1974 (The Ring)
Matt Damon b. 1970 (Interstellar, The Zero Theorem, Elysium, Contagion, The Adjustment Bureau, The Brothers Grimm, Dogma)
Jeremy Davies b. 1969 (Constantine, Lost, Solaris, Teknolust)
Dylan Neal b. 1969 (Arrow, Haven, Smallville, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Stargate: Atlantis, Vampire Bats, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Relic Hunter, Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Maniac Mansion, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, War of the Worlds [1989 TV])
Emily Proctor b. 1968 (Lois & Clark)
Karyn Parsons b. 1966 (Gulliver’s Travels)
Peter Greene b. 1965 (Earthling, The Mask)
Ardal O’Hanlon b. 1965 (Doctor Who, My Hero)
Igor Jijikine b. 1965 (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Burr Steers b. 1965 (director, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)
Ian Hart b. 1964 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Simon Burke b. 1961 (Pitch Black)
Nancy Anne Sakovich b. 1981 (Category 6: Day of Destruction, Relic Hunter, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, The Hidden Room, Beyond Reality)
Brad Greenquist b. 1959 (Heroes, Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate SG-1, Charmed, Deep Space Nine, Conan [1997 TV], Star Trek: Voyager, Pet Sematary, Mutants in Paradise)
Steven Katz b. 1959 (writer, Shadow of the Vampire)
Darrell Hammond b. 1955 (Netherbeast Incorporated, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Michael Dudikoff b. 1954 (Zombie Break Room, Cyberjack, TRON [1982])
Terry Hayes b. 1951 (writer, From Hell, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
Sigourney Weaver b. 1949 (The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes, A Monster Calls, Vamps, The Cabin in the Woods, Avatar, The Village, Galaxy Quest, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Ghostbusters, Alien)
James Harper b. 1948 (Armageddon, The Burning Zone, Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap, Beauty and the Beast [1989 TV], Freddy’s Nightmares)
William Broyles b. 1944 (writer, The Polar Express, Planet of the Apes (reboot), Apollo 13)
R.L. Stine b. 1943 (writer, Goosebumps)
Chevy Chase b. 1943 (Hot Tub Time Machine, Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], Zoom, Last Action Hero, Memoirs of an Invisible Man)
Sue Randall b. 1935 died 26 October 1984 (My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone)
James Olson b. 1930 (Amityville II: The Possession, Project U.F.O., Battlestar Galactica [1978], The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Strange New World, The Andromeda Strain, Moon Zero Two)
Frank Herbert b. 1920 died 11 February 1986 (won 1966 Nebula for Dune)
Kirk Alyn b. 1910 died 14 March 1999 (Battlestar Galactica, Superman [1978 and 1948], Beginning of the End, When Worlds Collide)
Rouben Mamoulian b. 1897 died 4 December 1987 (director, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1931])

Last year, the Picture Slot went to Dune, still one of my favorite sci-fi books from my teenage years. This year, it's Sigourney Weaver, who has the triple threat of being an A List movie star with plenty of iconic roles in genre and of course a fabulous babe. Next year's choice is wide open. Matt Damon is to my mind the other major A List star here, but for iconic, I might pick Kristianna Loken from Terminator 3, Ian Hart from the first Harry Potter, James Olson from the original version of The Andromeda Strain or Kirk Alyn from Superman.

Fun trivia from this morning research: Sue Randall is best known as Miss Landers from Leave It To Beaver.

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

Movies released
Demolition Man released, 1993  

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

Prediction: The great co-operative societies absorbed the small factories and shops long ago. Each has a tower in which all branches of its industry are conducted. It is upon the terrace of one of these that John Smith's aerotaxi sets him don. It is called The Shoe House, for the elegant John Smith is a shoemaker in the morning. The extreme division of fortunes and labor abolished all idlers in this society, where every one takes his share of moderate work that is never tiring and even manual labor is no longer considered degrading.

The workshop is vast. His wall has fifty tiers of cells lighted from the outside - like the cells of a giant dove-cote a thousand feet high. Each cell contains one man or several men, but machinery does everything and the workman is only the intelligence that directs. .

On arriving, Mr. Smith registers his presence and goes to his own compartment, where he sits comfortably  in an arm chair at a table covered with instruments. Mirrors enable him to watch in the space occupied by the machines, which fill the center of the skyscraper from the cellar to the roof. From time to time he touches a spring, interrupts or opens a circuit or sends a message over the telephone, holding in his plump hand (as soft as that of a bureaucrat) the little lever which regulates the movement of a wheel one hundred feet in diameter that automatically performs the work formerly done by a hundred men.

Mr. Smith's every movement is registered by a dynamometer. Another machine registers the number of hours he is at work. These records are transmitted to a central machine which automatically calculates his salary.

When his attention is not immediately necessary he chats with distant persons, listens attentively though the microphone to the lectures of some professor at Columbia or Harvard is giving to his pupils.

The clocks of the city chime noon. The workman's day is over. A few hours have sufficed for a world of workers to produce whatever mankind needs in food, clothes, paper, light, heat, etc. for a day. A slot above his desk opens and John Smith's daily salary falls out. He is free for the rest of the day.
 

Reality: This is a strange mixture of the easy life in the future of The Jetsons with the creepy overtones of constant surveillance found in 1984 or Brazil. The idea that no work is degrading is an echo of Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, the very influential view of the future published in the late 1880s. The "listening to lectures" part is real enough now with YouTube, but most workplaces frown on such multitasking during business hours.

And of course, there's the three to four hour work day.  Hmm... not so much. And then there's the aerotaxi. Regular readers know my feelings about flying cars.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Keeping score on ESPN's baseball expert predictions so far. (Spoiler alert: not good.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

3 July 2014

Birthdays
Dean Cook b. 1985 (Powers, The Little Vampire, Highlander [TV])
Corey Sevier b. 1984 (Supernatural, Immortals, Age of the Dragons, Smallville, Metamorphosis, The Dresden Files, 2030 CE)
Brandon Jay McLaren b. 1981 (Dead Before Dawn 3D, Falling Skies, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Kyle XY, Smallville, Blade: The Series, Power Rangers S.P.D., Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed)
Olivia Munn b. 1980 (Iron Man 2)
Kevin Hart b. 1980 (This is the End, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire)
Ian Anthony Dale b. 1978 (American Horror Story, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, The Event, Tekken, Dollhouse, Charmed, Angel)
Patrick Wilson b. 1973 (Ant-Man, Space Station 76, Prometheus, Watchmen)
Shawnee Smith b. 1970 (The Island, Breakfast of Champions, Armageddon, The Shining [1997 TV], The X-Files, The Stand, The Blob [1988])
Connie Nielsen b. 1965 (Demonlover, Mission to Mars, Solider, The Devil’s Advocate)
Tommy Flanagan b. 1965 (Sin City, Alien vs. Predator)
Thomas Gibson b. 1962 (Category 6: Day of Destruction, The Lost Empire, Psycho Beach Party)
Tom Cruise b. 1962 (Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion, War of the Worlds, Minority Report, Vanilla Sky, Interview with the Vampire, Legend)
Rick Ducommun b. 1956 (Brimstone, Ghost in the Machine, Groundhog Day, Encino Man, Gremlins 2, Little Monsters, Spaceballs, Max Headroom)
Cork Hubbert b. 1952 died 28 September 203 (Charmed, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Sinbad of the Seven Seas, The Charmings, The Twilight Zone [1986], Legend)
Betty Buckley b. 1947 (The Happening, Carrie)
Michael Cole b. 1945 (It, Beyond Westworld, Wonder Woman)
Kurtwood Smith b. 1943 (Resurrection, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Deep Impact, Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, The X-Files, Star Trek VI, RoboCop)
Harrison Schmidt b. 1935 (walked on the moon)
Tom Stoppard b. 1937 (screenplay, Brazil)
Ken Russell b. 1927 died 27 November 2011 (The Lair of the White Worm, Altered States)
Tim O’Connor b. 1927 (The Burning Zone, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Sssssss, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, ‘Way Out)
Carol Ohmart b. 1927 (House on Haunted Hill, Men Into Space)
Rae Allen b. 1926 (Vampire Mob, Stargate, The Greatest American Hero)
George Sanders b. 1906 died 25 April 1972 (The Body Stealers, Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Village of the Damned, From the Earth to the Moon)
Franz Kakfa b. 1883 died 3 June 1924 (author, Metamorphosis)

This year, walking on the moon is trump, so Harrison Schmidt, the last guy to leave in 1972, gets the Picture Slot.

Walking on the moon! Yay!

Professor Schmidt is also a climate change denier associated with the Heartland Institute. Not so yay.

He's also appeared on the Alex Jones show. Shaking my head in sorrow and disgust.

Last year's picture slot was Tom Cruise (another shake of my head) and next year is wide open, though the front runners are several fabulous babes, Franz Kafka and Kurtwood Smith, who is at the "Hey, it's Red from That 70s Show!" level of fame.

You don't know him as Red from That 70s Show? Dumbass.

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

Movies released 
Despicable Me 2 released, 2013
The Amazing Spider-Man released, 2012
Transformers released, 2007
Men In Black released, 2002
Terminator 2 released, 1991
Back to the Future released, 1985

As you might surmise, July 3 is a very popular date to release what is often the last summer blockbuster.

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

Prediction: Automation, electronic equipment, and other machines will make it possible to increase production per worker, creating more leisure time and a constantly rising living standard. (Atomic processing plants, oil refineries, and others now can be operated in large part from a control panel.)

Reality: Well, this is a three parter. Increased production per worker is absolutely true, but in the United States, leisure time hasn't increased much since and the living standard has stagnated because... FREEDOM!!!1!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our new Friday regular comes in with his first prediction.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

10 June 2014

 Birthdays
Kelly Vitz b. 1988 (Sky High)
Celina Jade b. 1985 (Arrow)
Shane West b. 1978 (Salem, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Dracula 2000, Sliders, Buffy)
DJ Qualls b. 1978 (Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, Lost, The Core)
Mike Dopud b. 1968 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Continuum, Man of Steel, Battlestar Galactica, Beauty and the Beast [2012], Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Grimm, Warehouse 13, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Stargate, Smallville, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Supernatural, Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], Blade: The Series, BloodRayne, Kraken: Tentatcles of the Deep, Jeremiah, Rollerball, Dark Angel, Seven Days, The New Addams Family [TV], Millennium [TV], Futuresport, Welcome to Paradox)
Elizabeth Hurley b. 1965 (Wonder Woman [2011], Bedazzled, My Favorite Martian [1999])
Andrew Niccol b. 1964 (director, The Host, In Time, S1m0ne, Gattaca)
Ben Daniels b. 1964 (Jack the Giant Slayer, Merlin, Doom)
Jeanne Tripplehorn b. 1963 (Timecode, Waterworld)
Carolyn Hennesy b. 1962 (Acting Dead, True Blood, Once Upon a Time, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare)
Timothy Van Patten b. 1959 (director, Game of Thrones)
Robert Clohessy b. 1957 (The Avengers, Lois & Clark)
Frankie Faison b. 1949 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Messengers, Prey, The Langoliers, Freejack, Maximum Overdrive, C.H.U.D., Cat People)
Mickey Jones b. 1941 (It Came From Outer Space II, Total Recall, Misfits of Science, V, Starman, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980)
Jurgen Prochnow b. 1941 (Wing Commander, Judge Dredd, Terminus, Dune)
Maurice Sendak b. 1928 died 8 May 2012 (author/artist, Where the Wild Things Are)
Lionel Jeffries b. 1926 died 19 February 2010 (Lexx, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, First Men in the Moon, The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Quatermass Xperiment)
Judy Garland b. 1922 died 22 June 1969 (The Wizard of Oz)
Lou Frizzell b. 1929 died 17 June 1979 (Project U.F.O., Devil Dog: The Hound from Hell, Isis)
Robert Cummings b. 1919 died 2 December 1990 (My Living Doll, Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
Robert Eddison b. 1908 died 14 December 1991 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Storyteller, The Legend of King Arthur [1979], Out of the Unknown)

If the standard for the Picture Slot is being iconic, Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz or an illustration by Maurice Sendak are the two competitors here, and I went with Judy. I loved this movie so much and we had the album of the soundtrack that I played incessantly when I was a kid.  I would easily put it on my list of top musicals and top fantasy films, and I think it's hard not to put it on a top ten list of best films of all time.

A short note on something a little odd on the list. Mike Dopud has been in a jillion productions, several of which I have seen, and he has made close to zero impression on me. I think I might be able to pick him out of a crowd if I watched more Battlestar Galactica, but he isn't nearly as recognizable as several other names on the list, at least for me.

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

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in the 1972 book 2010: Living in the Future

Prediction: While you are at school in one room, your parents may be at work in another. People who do office work do it at home. To keep in close touch with other people in their office they use the vision phone. The vision desk is connected to their firm’s computer, which stores all the office files. With this close contact between everybody in the office, it is easy to work from home.

Wherever people work—in a factory or at home, or whatever else their job might be—they will work for only three days a week. The rest of the week they can do what they like. They can play football, learn a language, or train for a new job.

Reality: In comparison to 1972, more people work at home now than did then and computers are a big part of that, but it's clear Hoyle isn't thinking about personal computers but instead honking big mainframes. As for three days a week of work... who does he think we are, the French?

Frickin' commie.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

June will be our last month hearing from T. Baron Russell, our regular Wednesday contributor ever since we ran out of stuff from John Elfreth Watkins. (sniff.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

13 February 2014

Birthdays
Mena Suvari b. 1979 (American Horror Story, Day of the Dead)
Andrew Bryniarski b. 1969 (Dracula’s Guest, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Seven Mummies, Firefly, Scooby-Doo, Lois & Clark, Cyborg 3, Batman Returns, Street Fighter)
Kelly Hu b. 1968 (Arrow, Warehouse 13, The Vampire Diaries, Area 57, X-Men 2, Strange Days, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
Neal McDonough b. 1966 (Captain America: The First Avenger, Tin Man, The X-Files, Star Trek: First Contact, VR.5, Quantum Leap, Darkman)
Stephen Manley b. 1965 (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Henry Rollins b. 1961 (The Devil’s Tomb, Jack Frost, Johnny Mnemonic)
David Naughton b. 1951 (Beanstalk, Twilight Zone [1989], An American Werewolf in London, Planet of the Apes [TV])
Pernilla August b. 1958 (Star Wars: Episodes I and II)
Donald Sumpter b. 1943 (Game of Thrones, Being Human, The Sarah Jane Chronicles, Dracula [2006], Doctor Who)
Oliver Reed b. 1938 died 2 May 1999 (The Pit and the Pendulum, The House of Usher, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Gor, Venom, Condorman, Doctor Heckyl and Mr. Hype, The Curse of the Werewolf)
Barbara Shelley b. 1933 (Doctor Who, Five Million Miles to Earth, Dracula: Prince of Darkness [1966], The Gorgon, Village of the Damned, Blood of the Vampire)
Susan Oliver b. 1932 died 10 May 1990 (Star Trek, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
William Dozier b. 1908 died 23 April 1991 (producer, Batman, The Green Hornet)

Ahh, the original Star Trek. Your one stop shopping place for green slave girls.

A lot of less well known names on the list today. Andrew Bryniarski played Leatherface in the most recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, Steven Manley was the 17 year old Spock in Star Trek III, Pernilla August is Anakin Skywalker's mum, Barbara Shelley was a British scream queen back in the heyday of Hammer films, David Naughton had the title role in An American Werewolf in London. I often think of Oliver Reed as being at the same level of stardom as Albert Finney or Michael Caine, but his career took a much bumpier path. He's one of those actors that I'm always a little surprised to remember he's dead. I feel the same way about Raul Julia, for example.

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



 

Predictor: Isaac Asimov, predicting 2014 in honor of the 1964 World's Fair

Prediction: Mankind will suffer badly from the disease of boredom, a disease spreading more widely each year and growing in intensity. This will have serious mental, emotional and sociological consequences, and I dare say that psychiatry will be far and away the most important medical specialty in 2014. The lucky few who can be involved in creative work of any sort will be the true elite of mankind, for they alone will do more than serve a machine.

Indeed, the most somber speculation I can make about A.D. 2014 is that in a society of enforced leisure, the most glorious single word in the vocabulary will have become work!

Reality:  Hmm, not quite. It's interesting to see Asimov speak of psychiatry, because Heinlein really hated it. Work can be mind-numbingly boring, but that's always been true. As for enforced leisure, Americans work more hours than other major industrialized countries, but less hours than places like Mexico, Russia and Greece. And of course, as for the awful boredom, Asimov could not have foreseen the rise of the Internet, lolcats and Angry Birds to relieve us of these burdens.

This is the last of Asimov's predictions from 1964. Next week, there will be a new predictor in the Thursday slot.

Looking one day ahead... IN THE FUTURE!

Friday belongs to Wired Magazine's Long Bets. Tomorrow, a bleak prediction from Martin Rees that has yet to transpire.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

11 November 2013

 Birthdays
Connor Price b. 1994 (Alphas, Carrie)
Leonardo Di Caprio b. 1974 (Inception)
Demi Moore b. 1962 (Ghost)
Stanley Tucci b. 1960 (The Hunger Games, Captain America)
Vincent Schiavelli b. 1948 died 26 December 2005 (Buffy, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Batman Returns, The X-Files, Buckaroo Banzai, Ghost)
Jonathan Winters b. 1925 died 11 April 2013 (Twilight Zone, Mork and Mindy)
John Guillermin b. 1925 (director, King Kong, King Kong Lives)
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. b. 1922 died 11 April 2007 (Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle, The Sirens of Titan)
Stubby Kaye b. 1918 died 14 December 1997 (Doctor Who, Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

The Picture Slot choice was pretty easy today. As much as I love the work of Jonathan Winters, Stubby Kaye and Stanley Tucci, as big a movie star as Leonardo Di Caprio is, as pretty as Demi Moore is, the blog is still called This Day In Science Fiction and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is the boss here.

I might switch up my decision next year, but right now I'm thinking I won't.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list.

Movies released
Immortals, released 2011

In the Year 2000!
 
Prediction: Americans will be working a 20 hour work week with seven weeks vacation

Predictor: A 1965 Senate subcommittee, according to the website Mental Floss.

Reality: OMG! America has become France!

Well... as much fun as it is to bash the French, this is the sort of prediction that made sense when labor unions actually held some power in the country.

And, just maybe, they might have cribbed their notes from The Jetsons a little bit.

Looking on day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

From a major motion picture, a look into the dystopic future that awaits us in 2019.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!