25 August 2015

Birthdays
Holly Gibbs b. 1997 (Nanny McPhee)
Angelica Mandy b. 1992 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Kaitlyn Hooper b. 1992 (Addams Family Values)
Keegan Joyce b. 1989 (Superman Returns)
Blake Lively b. 1987 (The Age of Adaline, Green Lantern, Sandman)
Rachel Bilson b. 1981 (Jumper, Buffy)
Alexis Raben b. 1980 (The Invasion)
Toni Wynne b. 1980 (Oz the Great and Powerful, American Horror Story, Zombie Roadkill, Spider-Man 3, 2095, The Spirithunter, Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat)
Kel Mitchell b. 1978 (The Thundermans, Mystery Men, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Alexander Skarsgård b. 1976 (Hidden [2014], True Blood, Battleship, Melancholia)
Donavon Stinson b. 1976 (Mighty Mighty Monsters, Snowmageddon, Eureka, Reaper, The X Files: I Want to Believe, Fantastic Four, Dark Angel)
Michelle Beaudoin b. 1975 (Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Neon Rider)
David Alan Basche b. 1968 (Real Steel, The Adjustment Bureau, War of the Worlds [2005])
Tom Hollander b. 1967 (About Time, Pirates of the Caribbean)
Brad Dryborough b. 1967 (Falling Skies, The Cabin in the Woods, Fringe, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Alien Trespass, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Stargate: Atlantis, Smallville, Alien Incursion)
Marti Noxon b. 1964 (writer/actor, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Fright Night, I Am Number Four, Angel, Buffy)
Blair Underwood b. 1964 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Event, Deep Impact, Gattaca, Knight Rider)
David Packer b. 1962 (Early Edition, Strange Days, RoboCop, V)
Joanne Whalley b. 1961 (Willow)
Billy Ray Cyrus b. 1961 (Sharknado 2)
Ally Walker b. 1961 (Kazaam, Witches of Eastwick [TV], Universal Soldier)
Ashley Crow b. 1960 (Supernatural, Heroes, Minority Report, Probe)
Tim Burton b. 1958 (director, Frankenweenie, Dark Shadows [2012], Alice in Wonderland, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Planet of the Apes, Sleepy Hollow [1999], Mars Attacks, Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Beetlejuice, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure)
Simon McBurney b. 1957 (Utopia, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Golden Compass)
Gene Simmons b. 1949 (Runaway, KISS Meets the Phantom in the Park)
John Savage b. 1949 (Sensory Perception, Demon Legacy, Bermuda Tentacles, Alien Rising, Dreamkiller, Fringe, Carnivale, Alien Lockdown, Dark Angel, They Nest, Star Trek: Voyager, Lost Souls, Firestorm, The X-Files, Carnosaur 2, Red Scorpion 2, Beauty and the Beast [1987 musical])
Michael Kaluta b. 1947 (artist, Bill the Galactic Hero)
Anthony Heald b. 1944 (X-Men: The Last Stand, The X Files, DeepRising, Tales from the Darkside)
John Badham b. 1939 (director, Supernatural, Heroes, Short Circuit, WarGames, Dracula [1979], The Sixth Sense)
Tom Skerritt b. 1933 (Ted, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [TV 2008], Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Fallen 2006 TV], Category 7: The End of the World, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Contact, Poltergeist III, The Twilight Zone [1986], SpaceCamp, The Dead Zone, Alien, The Devil’s Rain, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian)
Peter Gilmore b. 1931 died 3 February 2013 (Doctor Who, Warlords of the Deep, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Sean Connery b. 1930 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, DragonHeart, Highlander I & II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Time Bandits, Outland, Meteor, Zardoz, Darby O’Gill and the Little People)
Graham Jarvis b. 1930 died 16 April 2003 (Strange World, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], The X Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Munsters Today)
Bruce Allpress b. 1930 (Power Rangers Jungle Fury, The Water Horse, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Mel Ferrer b. 1917 died 2 June 2008 (Nightmare City, Eaten Alive, The Great Alligator, The Visitor, Screamers, The Amazing Captain Nemo, Logan’s Run, Wonder Woman, The World, The Flesh and the Devil)
Van Johnson b. 1916 died 12 December 2008 (Killer Crocodile, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Batman, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Brigadoon)
Michael Rennie b. 1909 died 10 June 1971 (The Invaders, Batman, Cyborg 2087, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, The Lost World, The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was occupied by Michael Rennie, certainly iconic in The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Blake Lively, back in 2013 when I wasn't quite so fussy about iconic and was more interested that day in fabulousness, which she certainly has. Today, being more strict about iconic roles, it's Alexander Skarsgård from True Blood. The other top choices would be Tom Skerritt from Alien and Sean Connery from several roles, but I likely would have chosen Zardoz 

2. Spot the Canadians! Graham Jarvis was born north of the border, but he was old enough that he had to venture south to find work early in his career. Of the three younger Canadians, Brad Dryborough's and Donavon Stinson's credit lists make it obvious, but Michelle Beaudoin's is not as clear.

3. Nepotism FTW. Alexander Skarsgård is Skellan's son, which could not have hurt in his early career in his native Sweden. Rachel Bilson is Danny Bilson's daughter, also likely an advantage early on.

4. Something new for this blog. Someone on a birthday list stopped by and left a comment! Canadian Ted Ludzik wasn't aware a resume could look Canadian. I expect he found this blog by Googling himself.  Don't laugh, I'm sure you've self-Googled on a lonely evening 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 1957 book The Door Into Summer

Prediction: What do you ask after thirty years? I had plenty of questions, but the first I asked was “Doc, do they still have popcorn machines in the lobbies of movie theaters?”

“They did the last time I looked. I don’t get much time for such things. By the way, the word is “grabbie” now, not “movie”.

Reality: This is supposed to be a technological advance between 1970 and 2000 in Heinlein's fictional future. I thought he might be referencing William Castle and his practice of putting shocks in some seats for the movie The Tingler, but that is several years after Heinlein wrote this. More likely, he is referencing the phrase "feely" from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Could our sensible friend George Sutherland be as much of a chauvinist and bigot as his contemporary H.G. Wells? I'm sorry, dear readers, but tomorrow we will find out the signs point to yes.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

24 August 2015

Birthdays
Rupert Grint b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Chad Michael Murray b. 1981 (Agent Carter, Left Behind, The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghost of Georgia, House of Wax, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2)
Beth Riesgraf b. 1978 (Caper)
Alex O’Loughlin b. 1976 (Moonlight, The Invisible, Man-Thing)
James D’Arcy b. 1975 (Agent Carter, Jupiter Ascending, Cloud Atlas, Them [2007])
Kwesi Ameyaw b. 1975 (Continuum, Supernatural, Man of Steel, Once Upon a Time, Riverworld, Fringe, Stargate, Kyle XY, Fallen, Eureka, Blade: Trinity, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Jake 2.0, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Dead Like Me, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, Strange Frequency, The Lone Gunmen, The 6th Day)
Jennifer Lien b. 1974 (Star Trek: Voyager)
Barret Oliver b.1973 (Twilight Zone [1986], Tall Tales & Legends, Cocoon, D.A.R.Y.L., The NeverEnding Story, Jekyll and Hyde… Together Again, Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk)
Eric Edwards b. 1966 (Blade, Candyman)
Dana Gould b. 1964 (Mystery Men, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Jared Harris b. 1961 (Poltergeist [2015], The Quiet Ones, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Fringe, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Lost in Space [1998], Tall Tale)
Mark Protosevich b. 1961 (writer, Thor, I Am Legend, The Cell)
Steve Guttenberg b. 1958 (Lavalantula, Short Circuit, Cocoon 1 and 2, High Spirits, The Day After, The Boys from Brazil)
Stephen Fry b. 1957 (The Hobbit, The Borrowers, Alice in Wonderland [2010], V for Vendetta, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, MirrorMask, Doctor Who: Death Comes to Time, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride)
Kevin Dunn b. 1956 (Transformers, Lost, NYPD 2069, Small Soldiers, Godzilla [1998], Ghostbusters II)
Orson Scott Card b. 1951 (won 1986 Hugo and Nebula for Ender’s Game, won 1987 Hugo and Nebula for Speaker for the Dead)
Charles Rocket b. 1949 died 7 October 2005 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Star Patrol, The X-Files, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Hocus Pocus, Quantum Leap, Earth Girls Are Easy, Max Headroom)
Joe Regalbuto b. 1949 (Amazing Stories, Mork & Mindy)
Anne Archer b. 1947 (Nico the Unicorn, The Sixth Sense [1972])
Ronnie Blakley b. 1945 (A Return to Salem’s Lot, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Beyond Westworld)
Castulo Guerra b. 1945 (The Purge: Anarchy, Touch, Invasion, Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, Lois & Clark, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast [1987], Starman [TV])
Kenny Baker b. 1934 (Star Wars, U.F.O. [1993], Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [1989], Willow, Labyrinth, Time Bandits, Flash Gordon)
William Morgan Sheppard b. 1932 (April Apocalypse, Mysterious Island, Doctor Who, Legend of the Seeker, Star Trek [2009], Transformers, The Prestige, Charmed, Star Trek: Voyager, Timecop, American Gothic, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, Needful Things, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Max Headroom, Werewolf, The Day of the Triffids [1981], Hawk the Slayer)
Jimmy Gardner b. 1924 died 3 May 2010 (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, My Hero, The Company of Wolves, Doctor Who, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [1967], The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb)
Helena Carter b. 1920 died 11 January 2000 (Invaders from Mars)
James Tiptree, Jr. b 1915 died 19 May 1987 (author, Tales of the Quintana Roo, Up the Walls of the World)
Jorge Luis Borges b. 1899 died 14 June 1986 (author, The Book of Imaginary Beings, Labyrinths)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used pictures of Rupert Grint and Barret Oliver. The people I considered today were the authors Orson Scott Card and Jorge Luis Borges, the actress Jennifer Lein and the winner, Kenny Baker, the guy inside R2-D2.

2. Spot the Canadian! I'll give one hint. Today's lone Canadian is less than 50 years old.

3. Nepotism FTW. Jared Harris is the son of Richard Harris.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Skies crowded by personal planes, along with increased need for corporate material delivery and energy control, will make civilian aircraft carriers a necessity.

Reality: Yikes! This one is awful. But as I have written before, I kind of love the OMNI Future Almanac because they were not afraid to be bold. After last week's really good prediction about the Internet, we get a complete strikeout like this.

Not that it matters. I still love them.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tuesdays belong to Heinlein and his novel The Door Into Summer.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 August 2015

Birthdays

Alana Mansour b. 2003 (Terra Nova)
Stephen Joffe b. 1991 (Time Blazers, Terminal Invasion, Frequency, Storm of the Century)
Annie Ilonzeh b. 1983 (Beauty and the Beast, Arrow, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Ruta Gedmintas b. 1983 (The Strain, Prowl)
Clare Grant b. 1979 (Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, Team Unicorn, The Guild, Iron Man 2)
Ray Park b. 1974 (Jinn, G.I. Joe, Heroes, Slayer, X-Men, Star Wars; Episode I – He’s Like the Only Cool Thing in It, Mortal Kombat)
Aaron Douglas b. 1971 (iZombie, The Returned, The Strain, Falling Skies, Hemlock Grove, Eureka, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Reaper, Bionic Woman [2007], Catwoman, I, Robot, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda, 10.5, Paycheck, Jeremiah, X-Men 2, Taken, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel)
River Phoenix b. 1970 died 31 October 1993 (Dark Blood, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Explorers)
Jay Mohr b. 1970 (S1mOne, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Small Soldiers, From the Earth to the Moon)
Charley Boorman b. 1966 (Excalibur)
Roger Avary b. 1965 (writer, Beowulf)
Chan-wook Park b. 1963 (director, Thirst, I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK)
Ed Gale b. 1963 (The Polar Express, Fairie, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Weird Science, The Munster’s Scary Little Christmas, Lifepod, Land of the Lost, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Child’s Play, Phantasm II, Spaceballs, Howard the Duck)
Deron McBee b. 1961 (The Invisible Man, Roswell, Conan [TV], Sliders, Batman Forever, M.A.N.T.I.S., Immortal Combat, Time Barbarians)
Chris Potter b. 1960 (The Good Witch, A Wrinkle in Time, Andromeda, Astronauts, Arachnid, The Hidden Room, War of the Worlds)
Jennifer Holmes b. 1955 (Misfits of Science, Knight Rider, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk)
Charles Busch b. 1954 (writer, Psycho Beach Party)
Mark Vann b. 1954 (Torchwood, Lost, Spider-Man 3, Angel, Early Edition)
Bolaji Badejo b. 1953 died 22 December 1992 (Alien)
Rick Springfield b. 1949 (Nick Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Shelley Long b. 1949 (Zombie Hamlet, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Freaky Friday [TV], Hello Again, Caveman)
Bob Peck b. 1944 died 4 April 1999 (Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Jurassic Park, Slipstream)
Bobby Diamond b. 1943 (Twilight Zone)
Richard Sanders b. 1940 (ALF, The Invisible Woman)
Peter Wyngarde b. 1933 (Doctor Who, Flash Gordon, The Champions, The Prisoner, Burn, Witch, Burn, The Innocents, The Dybbuk)
Barbara Eden b. 1931 (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, The Stepford Children, I Dream of Jeannie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Vera Miles b. 1929 (BrainWaves, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
James Millhollin b. 1915 died 23 May 1993 (Lost in Space, Bewitched, Batman, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, Twilight Zone, Zotz!)
Morris L. Ernst b. 1888 died 21 May 1976 (author, Utopia 1976)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Barbara Eden, owner of easily the most iconic role in genre of all of today's birthday boys and girls, and James Millholin because I was in an Oh That Guy mood. This year I go more new school with Canadian actor Aaron Douglas from the re-boot of Battlestar Galactica.

2. Spot the Canadians. Besides Douglas, Stephen Joffe and Chris Potter are Canadian.

3. Nepotism FTW. Charley Boorman is John Boorman's son who cast him in Excalibur. If that isn't nepotism, nothing is.

4. Inside the suit. Besides Douglas, the other person I considered for the Picture Slot was the late Bolaji Badejo, the very tall and thin Nigerian who was inside the suit of the full grown alien in Alien, his only film role ever. Another actor who has spent some time inside costumes is little person Ed Gale, whose first role on film was inside Howard the Duck. His career survived that ignominious start and is likely best known as Homer Stokes' "little man" in O Brother Where Art Thou?

5. Wait... he's dead? We have several actors who died young on today's list. I didn't know about Bolaji Badejo until today, so I didn't know he was dead until today. I have already processed the fact River Phoenix isn't with us any more, but I wasn't so clear about Bob Peck. He plays the big game hunter in Jurassic Park who gets one of the greatest last lines for a character in film history...

"Clever girl."

6. Fun fact I didn't know until today. I've been using Utopia 1976 as a source for quite a while now and did not know that Morris Ernst died in 1976. By the Alanis Morissette definition this counts as ironic, but by the dictionary, not so much. I would say it's more along the lines of "what a co-inky-dink."

7. Hey... no Star Trek! Yesterday, I brought up how rare it is not to have a Star Trek actor or writer on the list, and now it's happened two days in a row. I guarantee it won't happen three days in a row.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

OMNI Future Almanac to start the week off right.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 August 2015

Birthdays
Dakota Goyo b. 1999 (Dark Skies, Real Steel, Thor, Ultra)
Dannielle Lozeau b. 1987 (Werewolf Rising, The Bell Witch Haunting, The Devil Girl of Devonshire, Legion, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Pretty Dead Things)
Jorge Diaz b. 1983 (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, True Blood)
Jennifer Finnigan b. 1979 (Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Big Wolf on Campus)
Brandon Quintin Adams b. 1979 (The Burning Zone, Ghost in the Machine, Quantum Leap)
James Corden b. 1978 (Into the Woods, Doctor Who, Gulliver’s Travels, Vampire Killers, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story)
Rodrigo Santoro b. 1975 (Westworld, Lost)
Cindy Valentine Leone b. 1975 (Teen Witch)
Kristen Wiig b. 1973 (Ghostbusters, The Martian, Paul)
Heidi Lenhart b. 1973 (Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, The Burning Zone)
Richard Armitage b. 1971 (The Hobbit, Captain America: The First Avenger, Star Wars: Episode I – Yes, Yes That One Again)
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje b. 1967 (Game of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World, The Thing [2011], G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Lost, The Mummy Returns, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [2001])
Ty Burrell b. 1967 (The Incredible Hulk [2008], National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Dawn of the Dead, Evolution)
Pamella D’Pella b. 1967 (Alien Nation: Millennium, Beauty and the Beast, ALF)
Alfred Gough b. 1967 (writer, Smallville, I Am Number Four, Spider-Man 2, Timecop)
Courtney Gains b. 1965 (Mimesis, Alien Encounter, Halloween [2007], Charmed, Superboy, Starman [TV], Misfits of Science, Back to the Future, Children of the Corn)
Andrew Wilson b. 1964 (Idiocracy, Merlin: The Return)
Lara Harris b. 1962 (American Horror Story, Demolition Man, Monsters)
Mark Williams b. 1959 (Doctor Who, Being Human, Harry Potter, Frankenstein’s Wedding… Live in Leeds, Stardust, The Borrowers, Red Dwarf)
Holly Hawkins b. 1959 (True Blood, Alice in Wonderland)
Colm Feore b. 1958 (Gotham, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Beauty and the Beast [2014 TV], Revolution, Thor, Battlestar Galactica, The Chronicles of Riddick, Storm of the Century, Creature [1998 TV], Forever Knight, Beyond Reality, War of the Worlds [TV])
Cindy Williams b. 1947 (Lois & Clark, UFOria, The Creature Wasn’t Nice, Beware! The Blob)
Valerie Harper b. 1939 (My Future Boyfriend)
Sylva Koscina b. 1933 died 26 December 1994 (The House of Exorcism, Uncle Was a Vampire, Hercules Unchained, Hercules)
John Lupton b. 1928 died 3 November 1993 (Shazam!, The Invaders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter)
Honor Blackman b. 1925 (Cockneys vs Zombies, Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, Tale of the Mummy, Doctor Who, Jason and the Argonauts, H. G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Ray Bradbury b. 1920 died 5 June 2012 (author, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles)
Alma Beltran b. 1919 died 9 June 2007 (Ghost, Knight Rider, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Cecil Kellaway b. 1893 died 28 February 1973 (Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone, Zotz!, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Harvey, The Luck of the Irish, I Married a Witch, The Invisible Man Returns)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Honor Blackman and Ray Bradbury, the previous two Picture Slotters, certainly count as iconic, but I could be accused of going old school, since they are both older than I am and their fame is from the 20th Century. This year, I go with Mark Williams, who is younger than I am and his fame is mostly from Harry Potter, a 21st Century product. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Richard Armitrage were other considered options.

2. Spot the Canadians! Dakota Goyo, Jennifer Finnigan and Cindy Valentine Leone.

3. I'm bad at guessing women's ages. As I wrote in my Yvonne Craig tribute, I thought she was a few years older than my older brother when she was just five years younger than my mom. Going the other direction, Melody Patterson, who also died this week but had no genre roles, was on F Troop and she was still in high school; I would have thought she was five to ten years older. And then we have Honor Blackman, still alive thank goodness, who was just shy of 40 when she had her two most famous roles here in the states in Jason and the Argonauts and Goldfinger. I would have guessed all those incorrectly.

4. MST3K. The lovely Sylva Koscina played Iole opposite the hunky Steve Reeves in both Hercules and Hercules Unchained.

5. Hey... no Star Trek! This was a long streak between Star Trek free days, the last one being on July 24.

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

Movie released
1990: The Bronx Warriors released, 1982

The Weekly Soapbox: Nuclear war

It's a very good time to note that the last time a nuclear bomb was used against an enemy was 70 years ago as of this month. Back then, the United States was involved in a costly and deadly war and we were the only ones with the bomb. We dropped two and the Japanese surrendered.

A few years later, we weren't the only ones with the bomb and the great fear of the second half of the Twentieth Century was born. If you read Command and Control, you'll see there were several accidents that might have resulted in nuclear explosions, but I must admit as I read it I thought it showed the multiple safeguards actually worked pretty well. There was also the Cuban missile crisis and several false alarms on both sides, but the scorecard is still clear: since nuclear weapons have been the property of more than one nation, they haven't been used.

Predictions of nuclear war are extremely common in movies and literature and even today, the spectre of nuclear terrorism is used to keep us afraid enough to keep up our truly insane defense spending. I for one, don't think the world is quite that dangerous, but I fully admit I could be suffering from confirmation bias. If something awful happens and I'm still alive, I will admit my error, but it would likely mean that I am wrong and Glenn Beck is right, and I really do seriously think that is awfully damned unlikely.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another lazy Sunday with just a birthday list. Could we have a Canadian (gasp!) in the Picture Slot? Signs point to yes.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

21 August 2015

Birthdays
Maxim Knight b. 1999 (Falling Skies)
Hayden Panettiere b. 1989 (Heroes, Aliens in the Family)
Robert Knox b. 1989 died 24 May 2008 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Elarica Gallacher b. 1989 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Kiami Davael b. 1986 (Conan [1998])
Laura Haddock b. 1985 (SuperBob, Guardians of the Galaxy, Rage of the Yeti, Captain America: The First Avenger)
Alicia Witt b. 1975 (The Librarians, Curse of the Ring, Vanilla Sky, Dune)
Nathan Jones b. 1969 (Mad Max: Fury Road, Conan the Barbarian [2011], Doom Runners)
Carrie-Anne Moss b. 1967 (Jessica Jones, Frankenstein [2015], The Matrix, Red Planet, Matrix [1993], Forever Knight, Deadly Nightmares)
Kim Catrall b. 1956 (Creature, Modern Vampires, Invasion, Split Second, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Big Trouble in Little China, City Limits, Mannequin, Tucker’s Witch, The Incredible Hulk, Logan’s Run [TV])
Loretta Devine b. 1949 (Supernatural, Anna to the Infinite Power)
Walter Williamson b. 1946 (The Omega Code, Babylon 5)
Basil Poledouris b. 1945 died 8 November 2006 (composer, Starship Troopers, RoboCop 3, RoboCop, Cherry 2000, Amerika, Twilight Zone [1985], Conan the Barbarian, Tintorera: Killer Shark)
Peter Weir b. 1944 (director, The Truman Show, The Cars That Eat People)
Clarence Williams III b. 1939 (Millennium, Deep Space Nine, Tales from the Crypt)
Wilt Chamberlain b. 1936 died 12 October 1999 (Conan the Destroyer)
Tony Steedman b. 1927 died 4 February 2001 (Babylon 5, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Beauty and the Beast, The Charmings)
Jack Weston b. 1924 died 3 May 1996 (Short Circuit 2, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Twilight Zone, Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers)
Anthony Boucher b. 1911 died 29 April 1968 (editor, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Not all that long a list today, but certainly not short on the iconic. Previous Picture Slotters were Carrie-Anne Moss for The Matrix and Kim Catrall from Star Trek, and continuing with the fabulous babe theme, today it's Hayden Panettiere from Heroes.

2. One hard to spot Canadian and an explanation. Carrie-Anne Moss is Canadian. You will see she is in The Matrix and Matrix. The one without the definite article is a 1993 TV show about a hitman that comes back from the dead.

3. MST3K. Usually I look through the credits of the older actors when trying to find movies that got the Best Brains treatment, but of course today the actress that appeared in a movie on that show is Kim Catrall.

Are you singing along with Crow T. Robot in your head right now? Because I am.

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: Every man will be soberly and intelligently setting about the particular thing he has to do [in time of war], even the rich shareholding sort of person, the hereditary mortgager of society, will be given something to do, and if he has learnt nothing else he will serve to tie up parcels of ammunition or pack army sausage. Very probably the best of such people and of the speculative class will have qualified as cyclist marksmen for the front, some of them may even have devoted the leisure of peace to military studies and may be prepared with novel weapons.

Reality: If we have learned anything from reading these gleanings from Anticipations, we have learned that Wells hates a lot of types of people. Here, he is hating on the idle rich and because I share his distaste, I don't mind so much. Still, turning these people into "cyclist marksmen" seems overly cruel, since it seems like a class of soldier who would get slaughtered rather easily on the 20th Century battlefield.
 

Never to be Forgotten: Ellen Albertini Dow 1914-2015 Ellen Albertini Dow died at the age of 101. I am embarrassed to say she died in May and I just noticed, but better late than never. She taught acting and dancing for decades before she went in front of a camera for the first time in the 1980s. Best known as the rapping granny in The Wedding Singer, she is remembered here for The Invited, Good vs Evil, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Carnival of Souls, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Space Case, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Freddy’s Nightmares, Beauty and the Beast [1987 TV], Munchies and Twilight Zone [1986].

Best wishes to the family and friends of Ellen Albertini Dow, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.   

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Saturday is the Weekly Soapbox and this week I have a few cheery thoughts about nuclear war.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 August 2015

Birthdays
Demi Lovato b. 1992 (From Dusk Till Dawn [TV])
Thomas Tulak b. 1984 (Hook)
Andrew Garfield b. 1983 (Amazing Spider-Man, Never Let Me Go, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Doctor Who)
Meghan Ory b. 1982 (Dead Rising: Watchtower, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Knight Rider [2008], Flash Gordon [2008], Painkiller Jane, Merlin’s Apprentice, Smallville, Vampire High, Dark Angel, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven)
Ben Barnes b. 1981 (Westworld, The Chronicles of Narnia, Dorian Gray, Stardust)
Ali Liebert b. 1981 (Paranormal Solutions Inc., Strange Empire, Lost Girl, Apollo 18, Fringe, Kyle XY, Fallen [TV mini-series], The 4400, Dead Like Me)
Corey Carrier b. 1980 (The Adventures of Pinocchio,The Witches of Eastwick)
Amy Adams b. 1974 (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Enchanted, Smallville, Buffy, Charmed, Psycho Beach Party)
Misha Collins b. 1974 (Supernatural, Stonehenge Apocalypse, Charmed)
Chaney Kley b. 1972 died 24 July 2007 (Darkness Falls, Buffy)
Jonathan Ke Quan b. 1971 (Encino Man, Tales from the Crypt, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
David Walliams b. 1971 (Doctor Who, Stardust)
Colin Cunningham b. 1966 (Falling Skies, Impact, Stargate, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Elektra, Andromeda, Smallville, Dark Angel, Strange Frequency, The 6th Day, The X-Files)
Duncan Bravo b. 1964 (Extant, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)
James Marsters b. 1962 (Witches of East End, Metal Hurlant Chronicles, Warehouse 13, Three Inches, Supernatural, Smallville, Caprica, Moonshot, Torchwood, Angel, Buffy, Strange Frequency)
Sophie Aldred b. 1962 (Doctor Who)
Ravil Isyanov b. 1962 (The Last Ship, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Fringe, Space Race, Arachnid, Buffy, Seven Days)
Geoffrey Blake b. 1962 (The Man in the High Castle, Beauty and the Beast [2014], The Event, Charmed, Mighty Joe Young, Contact, Apollo 13, Deep Space Nine, Critters 3, Alien Nation [TV], ALF, The Last Starfighter)
Ukee Washington b. 1958 (The Happening, Signs, Unbreakable)
Joan Allen b. 1956 (Death Race, Pleasantville, Twilight Zone [1986])
Jay Acavone b. 1955 (InAlienable, The Hills Have Eyes II, Stargate SG-1, Terminated 3, Charmed, The X Files, The Invisible Man, Sliders, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Dark Skies, Independence Day, Beauty and the Beast [1990], Werewolf [TV])
Peter Horton b. 1953 (Thoughtcrimes, Brimstone, From the Earth to the Moon, T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous, Children of the Corn)
Greg Bear b. 1951 (won 1995 Nebula for Moving Mars and 2001 Nebula for Darwin’s Radio)
Patrick Kilpatrick b. 1949 (The Zombinator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Minority Report, Roswell, Dark Angel, The X Files, Angel, Star Trek: Voyager, Charmed, Deep Space Nine, Timecop [TV mini-series], Beastmaster III, Babylon 5, The Stand, Lois & Clark, Time Trax, Class of 1999, The Toxic Avenger)
John Noble b. 1948 (Forever, Sleepy Hollow, Fringe, Stargate SG-1, Lord of the Rings, The Lost World, Time Trax)
Ray Wise b. 1947 (Night of the Living Deb, The Lazarus Effect, Agent Carter, Jurassic City, Big Ass Spider!, Nuclear Family, X-Men: First Class, Dollhouse, Pandemic, Reaper, Cyxork 7, Jeepers Creepers II, Charmed, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, RoboCop, Cat People, Swamp Thing)
Sylvester McCoy b. 1943 (The Hobbit, Doctor Who, Leapin’ Leprechauns!, Starstrider, Dracula [1979], Roberts Robots)
Anthony Ainley b. 1932 died 3 May 2004 (Doctor Who, The Land Time Forgot, The Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Champions)
Bernard Archard b. 1916 died 1 May 2008 (Krull, Doctor Who, The Horror of Frankenstein, Village of the Damned)
Alan Reed b. 1907 died 14 June 1977 (Batman, The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian, The Flintstones)
H.P. Lovecraft b. 1890 died 15 March 1937 (author, The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previously, I used pictures of H.P. Lovecraft and Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. Removing them from the competition still leaves a lot of actors with iconic roles, the top four in my book being Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, John Noble from Fringe, Jonathan Ke Quan as Short Round and the winner, James Marsters as Spike from Buffy.

2. Spot the Canadians! Meghan Ory and Alie Liebert were born north of the border, Colin Cunningham is one of those shiftless southerners who crossed the border to take work from honest Canadians.

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

Predictor: Morris Enrst in the 1955 book Utopia 1976

Prediction: One great authority estimates that by 1976, 6% of our energy will be produced by the sun.

Reality: One great authority should sit down and shut up. Solar has grown dramatically this decade, but that still means it’s gone from 0.2% to 1.1% in about five years.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Friday means another chance for all of us to think a little less of Herbert George Wells.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

19 August 2015

Birthdays
Tristan Lake Leabu b. 1999 (Superman Returns)
Joseph Castanon b. 1997 (Jericho, Click)
Veronica Roth b. 1988 (writer, Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant)
Tammin Sursok b. 1983 (Airship Dracula, Aquamarine)
Tania Nolan b. 1983 (Grayson: Earth One, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Legend of the Seeker)
Mike Moh b. 1983 (True Blood, Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight)
Erika Christensen b. 1982 (FreakyLinks, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Michelle Borth b. 1978 (TiMER, Supernatural, Komodo vs. Cobra)
Callum Blue b. 1977 (Smallville, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Dead Like Me)
Tracie Thoms b. 1975 (Looper, Wonder Woman [2011], Grindhouse, Wonderfalls)
Ahmed Best b. 1973 (The Star Wars prequels)
Matthew Perry b. 1969 (L.A.X. 2194)
Kyra Sedgwick b. 1965 (Gamer, Phenomenon, Amazing Stories)
Kevin Dillon b. 1965 (Tales from the Crypt, The Blob [1988])
John Stamos b. 1963 (Tales from the Crypt, Alice in Wonderland [1985])
Stu “Large” Riley b. 1963 (Kick-Ass, The Adventures of Pluto Nash)
Tony Longo b. 1961 died 21 June 2015 (Hercules in Hollywood, Fangs, The X Files, They Came from Outer Space, Beauty and the Beast [1987], Hell Town, Splash, Small & Frye)
Martin Donovan b. 1957 (Ant-Man, The Lottery, The Haunting in Connecticut, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dark Shadows [2005])
Adam Arkin b. 1956 (Lake Placid, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Perversions of Science, The Hidden Room, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Twilight Zone)
Peter Gallagher b. 1955 (The Gathering, House on Haunted Hill, High Spirits)
Jonathan Frakes b. 1952 (Star Trek, Roswell, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lois & Clark, Twilight Zone [1985])
Randi Oakes b. 1951 (Battlestar Galactica)
Jim Carter b. 1948 (The Golden Compass, The Wind in the Willows [TV], Ella Enchanted, Dinotopia, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, The Little Vampire, The Witches, The Company of Wolves, Flash Gordon)
Gerald McRaney b. 1947 (Jericho, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Hansel & Gretel, The NeverEnding Story, The Incredible Hulk, The Aliens Are Coming, Logan’s Run [TV], The Brain Machine, The Fantastic Journey, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Christopher Malcolm b. 1946 died 15 February 2014 (Whoops Apocalypse, Labyrinth, Highlander, Superman III, The Empire Strikes Back)
Jill St. John b. 1940 (Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World)
Diana Muldaur b. 1938 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Incredible Hulk, Planet Earth, Star Trek, The Invaders)
L. Q. Jones b. 1927 (Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann, The Incredible Hulk, A Boy and His Dog, My Favorite Martian)
Angus Scrimm b. 1926 (Phantasm, John Dies at the End, The Nightmare Room, FreakyLinks, Munchie, Mindwarp, Subspecies, Transylvania Twist, Chopping Mall, Salvage 1, Project U.F.O.)
William Marshall b. 1924 died 11 June 2003 (Dinosaur Valley Girls, Sorceress, Amazon Women on the Moon, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Scream Blacula Scream, Blacula, Star Trek)
Gene Roddenberry b. 1921 died 24 October 1991 (creator, Star Trek, Andromeda, Planet Earth, The Questor Tapes, Genesis II)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. It's a very Star Trek day. Previous Picture Slotters were Gene Roddenberry and Jonathan Frakes, and Diana Muldaur could be used either from The Original Series or from Next Gen. Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man from Phantasm also counts as iconic, but I instead went with the late William Marshall, not his Star Trek role, but instead as Blacula. I liked this picture because of how much it looks like a frame from a comic book, much in the style of artist Gene Colan.

2. Wait... he's dead? He died in 2014, so I should have given Christopher Malcolm a Never to Be Forgotten post, but his passing escaped my notice. His role best known for is as Eddie's ex-husband Justin, the father of Saffron, on Absolutely Fabulous.

3. Nepotism FTW. Kevin Dillon is the brother of Matt Dillon, a relationship I usually don't count. Adam Arkin is the son of Alan, a relationship I usually do count.  

4. Living Canadian free!  I didn't find anyone from north of the border today. That will happen from time to time.

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

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

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1902 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: A great advance in economy of fuel will take place when the household coal intended for cooking purposes is ground up together with the proper proportions of certain waste products of chemistry, so as to make a "smouldering mixture" which can be kept regularly supplied to a shallow or thin fire box by pressure applied from beneath or at the parts farthest away from the objects to be heated. An oven, for instance, may be surrounded by a "jacket" filled with ground smouldering mixture having a non-conducting insulator outside and a connection with a chimney. The heat from the fuel is thus kept in close proximity to the objects requiring to be cooked, and comparatively small waste results.

Reality: Sorry, Mr. Sutherland, the winners for cooking fuel are natural gas and electricity. I am not an engineer, but what you are describing sounds way messier than natural gas and a pilot light, though of course, there are risks to have so many pipelines around as well. 

 Never to be Forgotten: Bud Yorkin 1926-2015 Bud Yorkin, a producer and director best known for making TV comedies such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, What's Happening! and Maude, has died at the age of 89. He is mentioned here because he was an uncredited executive producer of Blade Runner. On imdb.com, his name was also attached to a new Blade Runner project, though it had no date released.

I'll admit I had to think if these two credits were enough to get a mention on a sci-fi blog, but in the end I decided it was worth it, largely on the basis of the importance of Blade Runner. If his one uncredited executive producer credit was for Krull or The Ice Pirates... meh.

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

Never to be Forgotten: Yvonne Craig 1937-2015 While I had to debate the inclusion of Bud Yorkin with myself, when I heard that Yvonne Craig died, there was no debate at all. A classically trained dancer, most of her early career in the 1950s and 1960s was in guest roles on TV shows. (She had six different roles in four years on Dobie Gillis, for example.) She got more exposure in supporting roles in two Elvis Presley movies, It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins.

Her two best known roles are as Marta on Star Trek (pictured here) and Barbara Gordon on Batman. (Genre fans might well count her third most famous role as her part in the awful Mars Needs Women opposite Tommy Kirk.) In interviews, she says she took the role in Batman to avoid being an Oh That Gal; reading the obituaries that have been published, it looks like it worked, as all of them mention that role first.

Miss Craig also tells the story that she is a large part of the reason Eartha Kitt was hired to be Catwoman in the third season. While it can be seen as a blow for racial equality, a major reason from a production standpoint was that if Julie Newmar continued in the role, it would stretch credulity seeing the 5'3" Batgirl kick the ass of 5'11" Catwoman, especially since Miss Newmar also had extensive dance training. It looked like more of a fair fight against the 5'4" Miss Kitt.

I have to admit reading of her death was like being on Count Rugen's torture device from The Princess Bride. It felt like months were taken off my life in the wink of an eye. Part of the horrible surprise was that I assumed she closer to Burt Ward's age, but in fact she was eight years older than him and eight years younger than Adam West. Whatever her age, I naturally had a crush on her when I was a lad and part of my childhood is gone.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Yvonne Craig, from a heartsick fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow, we get more sunny predictions from Morris Ernst in his book Utopia 1976.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!