Jensen Ackles b. 1978 (Supernatural, Smallville, Dark Angel)
Luke Mayby b. 1976 (28 Days Later…)
Jack Davenport b. 1973 (Pirates of the Caribbean, FlashForward, UltraViolet)
Cara Buono b. 1971 (Let Me In, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Cthulhu, Hulk)
Zach Snyder b. 1966 (director, Sucker Punch, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, Man of Steel)
Ron Howard b. 1954 (actor, Land of the Giants, Village of the Giants, Twilight Zone, director, Apollo 13, Willow, Splash)
Dougal Dixon b. 1947 (author, After Man)
Dirk Benedict b. 1945 (Battlestar Galactica, Earthstorm, Sssss...)
David Weatherly b. 1939 (Lord of the Rings, Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Hercules, Xena, My Grandpa Is a Vampire)
Joan Hackett b. 1934 died 8 October 1983 (The Terminal Man, Twilight Zone)
For fans of genre younger than myself, Jensen Ackles might be the best known face as the star of Supernatural, and therefore deserving of the Picture Slot. For someone my age, the most iconic actor here would be Dirk Benedict as Starbuck on the original Battlestar Galactica. But I saw Dougal Dixon's name on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database this morning and I remembered how much I enjoyed his often creepy speculations as to how evolution would proceed after humans were gone from the earth, including this creature he called the Night Stalker, a flightless descendant from modern-day bats. The other surprise for me was discovering how young Joan Hackett was when she died. I liked her in a lot of stuff.
Many happy returns to all the living on the list, and to the late Joan Hackett, thanks for all the memories.
Prediction: I have been interested in the development of the Sunday press, which is comparatively recent. At first I was prejudiced against it, and would not permit any reading of these Sunday newspapers. Whether it is regrettable or not, I now realize that the Sunday press is a permanent institution, that thousands of religious people recognize and approve it, and that it can be made a power for vast good.
Reality: Sometimes these predictions from more than 100 years ago remind us what an odd time the past was. I grew up with the Sunday newspapers, color cartoons, the entertainment section, the full list of major league batting averages. It never occurred to me there was a time when Sunday papers weren't published and their existence was controversial, but clearly that was the case in the 1890s.
I should note that the Reverend Briggs had shocked the more conservative members of the Presbyterian Church by stating that there might have been errors in the Old Testament and that many of the prophecies had been reversed. He was tried for heresy and acquitted, but there was so much bad blood he left the Presbyters and finished his life as an Episcopalian.
I know, shocking, isn't it?
This month's splash page: I saw this picture while wandering the 'Net this week and I remember when I was a kid and anything that was biggest or fastest was considered progress. This huge blimp thing has been unveiled in Bedfordshire. It's about the size of a football field. The side mounted fans and the cockpit kind of look like the eyes and mouth of some huge helpless thing, but if you realize the fans aren't eyes, the cockpit looks like a single cyclops eye and the craft takes on a more sinister surveillance aspect.
Whichever way you think of it, it will be staring out at you for the rest of March from the top of the page.
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
Do you remember when the world ended in 2001? Me, neither! Still, you will find out details tomorrow, on a blog post published on Sunday. (I know, shocking!)
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
Jack Davenport was also in "Ultraviolet", a stylish 1998 British 6-episode series about a group of modern vampire hunters. And Dirk Benedict did a B-movie back at the beginning of his career called "Ssssss" that had an HG Wells vibe to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mr. Marshall, I've updated the list.
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