28 February 2014

 Birthdays
Georgina Leonidas b. 1990 (Harry Potter, Wizards vs. Aliens)
Karolina Kurkova b. 1984 (Rise of Cobra)
Alex Arsenault b. 1985 (Caprica, Supernatural, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil)
Natalia Vodianova b. 1982 (Clash of the Titans)
Ali Larter b. 1976 (Heroes, Resident Evil: Extinction, Final Destination I and II, House on Haunted Hill [1999])
Lemony Snicket b. 1970 (author, Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events)
Robert Sean Leonard b. 1969 (Falling Skies, My Friend Is a Vampire)
Rae Dawn Chong b. 1961 (Quest for Fire, Time Runner, Highlander [TV], Poltergeist: The Legacy, Pegasus Vs. Chimera)
Dorothy Stratten b. 1960 died 14 August 1980 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Galaxina)
Mark Ferguson b. 1961 (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, Xena, Hercules, Cleopatra 2525)
John Turturro b. 1957 (Transformers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon)
Bernadette Peters b. 1948 (The Martian Chronicles)
Walter Tevis b. 1928 died 8 August 1984 (author, The Man Who Fell to Earth)
John Carson b. 1927 (Doomsday, Doctor Who, 1990, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, Taste the Blood of Dracula, The Plague of the Zombies, Blood Beast from Outer Space)
Alfred Burke b. 1918 died 16 February 2011 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Blood Beast from Outer Space, Children of the Damned)
Sir John Tenniel b. 1820 died 1914 (illustrator, Alice in Wonderland)

Last year, before I did as much research on birthdays, the Picture Slot went to John Turturro, a good actor whose only genre work is in Transformer movies, which I readily admit I haven't seen. Next Year, I'll probably go with Ali Larter, who of course fits the Pretty Girl = Picture Slot criterion and is best known for work in the show Heroes. But this year, an illustration from Sir John Tenniel, whose illustrations of Lewis Carroll's work are clearly iconic and have been so now for nearly a century and a half, since Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865.

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

Predictor: Vint Cerf, Vice President of WorldCom

Prediction: By 2010, over half the sales of books will be e-books.

Reality: This is the last of the Wired Long Bets. Two of them had people on both sides of the bet, but the person who initiated the bet lost. There are three more with a person only on one side, and none have come true so far, including this one. Hardcovers still out sell e-books even today, though the market is growing.

So the Wired Long Bets record is 0 for 4 with one bet not over until 2020. That bet predicts a horrible biological warfare event, so I'm sure the predictor Sir Martin Rees will not mind me hoping the final record for all these prophets is 0 for 5.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A new month begins and we return to the 1890s for bold optimism and bolder facial hair.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!