1 February 2014

Birthdays
Lee Thompson Young b. 1984 died 19 August 2013 (Smallville, FlashForward, The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Sara Malakul Lane b. 1983 (Sharktopus, 100 Degrees Below Zero, 12/12/12)
Rachelle Lefevre b. 1979 (Under the Dome, Twilight)
Rutina Wesley b. 1979 (True Blood)
Michael C. Hall b, 1971 (Gamer, Paycheck)
Brandon Lee b. 1965 died 31 March 1993 (The Crow)
Linus Roache b. 1964 (Batman Begins, The Chronicles of Riddick)
Bill Mumy b. 1954 (Lost in Space, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Elisabeth Sladen b. 1946 died 19 April 2011 (Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Bibi Besch b. 1940 died 7 September 1996 (Tremors, The Day After, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Sherman Hemsley b. 1938 died 24 July 2012 (Lois & Clark, Alice in Wonderland, The Twilight Zone, The Incredible Hulk [TV])
Peter Sallis b. 1921 (Wallace and Gromit)
Andrea King b. 1919 died 22 April 2003 (Red Planet Mars, The Beast with Five Fingers)
George Pal b. 1908 died 2 May 1980 (director, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, The Time Machine, tom thumb, Atlantis, the Lost Continent)

This is an unlucky birthday list to be sure. Fourteen names listed and eight are dead, including two actors who never made it to their thirtieth birthdays, Lee Thompson Young and Brandon Lee, and two actresses who died before they were sixty five, Elisabeth Sladen and Bibi Besch.

Last year I had a picture of Bill Mumy from his Lost in Space days and i vowed I'd use a picture of him from Babylon 5 instead.  I make no promise for next year's Picture Slot except that it's someone else's turn.

Predictor: Felix L. Oswald (1845-1906), physician and naturalist, asked to make predictions about 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exposition held in Chicago.

Predictions (reality): A few years ago, Prime Minister William Gladstone predicted the United States would have 600,000,000 inhabitants. There is no reason to believe the population of our present national territory will exceed 300,000,000. (Good call. The Census listed 280,000,000 in 2000.)

Politically our federation of states will comprise Canada and Mexico. (Um... no.)

North of the Tennessee River, Sambo Africanus will vanish as soon as the increase of population brings him in competition with European immigrants. (Racist much?)

On the Rio Grande, the aborigines and Ethiopians may coalsce against the north. Caucasian races and the struggle for supremacy will involve frequent appeals to the arbitrament of force. (I actually cut some stuff worse than this. The guy was a disgusting bigot.)

To conclude with a few miscellaneous predictions: (Please, please, please don't be about race relations.)

The problem of aerial investigation will be solved within the next 20 years. (I'm guess he means heavier than air flight. He gets this right.)

Transcontinental mails will be forwarded by means of pneumatic tubes. (Wow, he gets the math of population growth right AND he mentions pneumatic tubes. Does this make up for his racist horseshit? Not in my book. He's still a scumbag.)

In 1993 millions of houses will be artificially cooled in summer, as they are now heated in winter. (Another point for Oswald. Geez, how I wish he had kept his views on the races to himself. He did pretty well otherwise.)

This month's splash page: The Aeromobil is yet another prototype of a flying car, this one being made in Slovakia. Of course, what we really want is a contraption as easy to use as George Jetson's. This thing looks like it would be bitch to land and the when the front wheels touched, the pilot would be bounced into the top of the transparent cockpit cover and the fenders could easily damage the front tires.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another story of nuclear war to cheer up our Sunday reading.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!