25 December 2013

Birthdays
CCH Pounder b. 1952 (Avatar, Warehouse 13, End of Days, The X-Files, RoboCop 3, Quantum Leap)
Sissy Spacek b. 1949 (Carrie)
Rick Berman b. 1945 (writer, Star Trek)
Dick Miller b. 1928 (Small Soldiers, Weird Science [TV], Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, The Flash [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Amazing Stories, Gremlins, V; The Final Battle, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Howling, X; The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Little Shop of Horrors[1961], War of the Satellites, Not of this Earth, It Conquered the World)
Rod Serling b. 1924 died 6/28/1975 (writer, Twilight Zone)
Dean Ellis b. 1920 died 12 October 2009 (illustrator)

In an unusual twist, Everyone on the list today is older than I am and the deceased were born before my dad was. If I was in an "oh, that guy" mood, Dick Miller is a quintessential example. I could have also chosen a Dean Ellis illustration for those unfamiliar with the name, but instead it's Rod Serling. I wanted to make sure I got a picture of him in a dark suit and with a cigarette. You likely recognize the set where he is giving his intro to the episode. William Shatner and Patricia Breslin will sit at that booth during the episode, but on the other side.

Many happy returns of the day to the living, and to Rod Serling and Dean Ellis, thanks for all the memories.

And oh yeah, merry Christmas.
 
Movies released
Gulliver’s Travels released, 2010

Favorite predictions published in 2013

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein, making predictions about the second half of the 20th Century in 1950.


Prediction: Contraception and control of disease is revising relations between the sexes to an extent that will change our entire social and economic structure.

Reality: Regular readers will know I have mocked Heinlein mercilessly on multiple occasions, but there is Ridiculous Bob and there is Sensible Bob and this prediction is from the latter. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was a middle class badge of honor that a man's wife didn't have to work, but by the 1970s, that became tougher as the percentage of women in the workforce grew. Women weren't forced to marry to survive and they could choose when they wanted to get pregnant. To make this prediction in 1950, when The Pill isn't even in the laboratory yet, is a prediction to be proud of.

Good on ya, Bob.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Two predictions from the April 1956 issue of Amazing Stories, the 30th anniversary issue that includes many celebrities from several fields predicting life in the year 2000.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!