14 July 2013

Birthdays
Matthew Fox b. 1966 (Lost, World War Z, Speed Racer)
Jane Espenson b. 1964 (writer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Jackie Earle Haley b. 1961 (Watchmen, A Nightmare on Elm Street)

Fox is the best known of the people listed, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Haley, a child actor whose career included a thirteen year hiatus.

He also played a creepy right-wing vigilante who is sent to prison for murder. For some reason, that story line resonates with me today.

Many happy returns to all.
 
Movies released
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice released, 2010
I Am Legend released, 2007

Prediction: By 1972, we will have installed radio and visual telescopes on the Moon.

Predictor: Popular Mechanics, 1967

Reality: 1967 was close to the height of the excitement for space exploration. As reasons go for wanting permanent bases on the Moon, this idea is as good as any and better than most. Still, the cost was prohibitive and we didn't do it.

Never to be Forgotten

Cory Monteith died yesterday, his body found in a hotel in Vancouver. He was 31 years old. His best known role by far is Finn Hudson on Glee, but a lot of his earlier career was in small roles on sci-fi TV shows like Stargate, Supernatural, Smallvile and Flash Gordon. It's very likely he will not be remembered for these parts, but his career is a textbook example of the people who plug along, taking lots of jobs and finally catching a huge break. In this day and age, a lot of those roles are going to be in sci-fi and fantasy.

I didn't follow Glee, but I knew who Mr. Monteith was. Reading his obituaries online, several mentioned that he had been treated for drug addiction when he was 19, which pre-dates any work on film, and he did check into rehab earlier this year.

I went to bed last night thinking about one kind of unfairness this world bestows on us, the stark reminder that the law does not promise justice. This morning, a very different kind of unfairness was the first news story of the day.

Best wishes to the family, friends and fans of Cory Monteith. May he never be forgotten.

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