Wednesday, May 1, 2013

1 May 2013


Birthdays
Julie Benz b. 1972
John Diehl b. 1950

Ms. Benz's best known role in the genre is as Darla on Buffy and Angel. Mr. Diehl's long successful career has only a view roles in big sci-fi hits, including Jurassic Park III and the original move version of Stargate. Many happy returns to them both.

Movies released
X-Men Origins: Wolverine released 2009  
 

In the year 2000!

Prediction:Telephones Around the World. Wireless telephone and telegraph circuits will span the world. A husband in the middle of the Atlantic will be able to converse with his wife sitting in her boudoir in Chicago. We will be able to telephone to China quite as readily as we now talk from New York to Brooklyn. By an automatic signal they will connect with any circuit in their locality without the intervention of a “hello girl”.

Predictor: John Elfreth Watkins in The Ladies' Home Journal, published in 1900

Reality: This is why I love John Elfreth Watkins. Sure, sometimes he gets all goofy about Big Fruit, but sometimes he hits one out of the park like this. Futurists from the turn of the century are very big on the telephone and expect it to become even more important as time goes on, but he correctly predicts a direct dial system, intercontinental calls and mobile phone, since he talks about a call from Chicago to a ship in the Atlantic, mobile phones.

In the last week of the year between Christmas and New Years, I'm going to go with a Best Of list. This one is certainly in the running.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We are starting to run low on Arthur C. Clarke predictions, so he will now share the Thursday slot for a few months with another Englishman who will become our Thursday regular for the rest of the year, Herbert G. Wells.
 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 comment:

  1. Sure, sometimes he gets all goofy about Big Fruit

    I love that sentence.

    ReplyDelete

Traveler! Have you news... FROM THE FUTURE?