31 October 2014

Birthdays
Willow Smith b. 2000 (I am Legend)
Jordan-Claire Green b. 1991 (Forgotten Pills, Wizards of Waverly Place, Power Rangers Time Force)
Justin Chatwin b. 1982 (Dragonball: Evolution, The Invisible, Lost, War of the Worlds, Taken, Mysterious Ways, Smallville)
Samaire Armstrong b. 1980 (Resurrection, Rise: Blood Hunter, The X-Files)
Eddie Kaye Thomas b. 1980 (Wonderfalls, The X-Files, The Rage: Carrie 2)
Erica Cerra b. 1979 (Eureka, Mega Cyclone, Rise of the Damned, Supernatural, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Blade:Trinity, Smallville, Warehouse 13, Reaper, Battlestar Galactica, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Jake 2.0, Dead Like Me)
Brian Hallisay b. 1978 (Awakening, Eastwick, Bionic Woman)
Piper Perabo b. 1976 (Looper, Carriers, The Prestige, George and the Dragon)
Johnny Whitworth b. 1975 (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Limitless, Gamer)
Keith Jardine b. 1975 (Gamer)
Nolan North b. 1970 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Haven)
Dermot Mulroney b. 1963 (Space Warriors)
Rob Schneider b. 1963 (Bedtime Stories, Click, The Animal, Little Nicky, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Judge Dredd, Demolition Man, Martians Go Home)
Peter Jackson b. 1961 (director, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong, The Frighteners)
Neal Stephenson b. 1959 (won the 1996 Hugo for The Diamond Age)
Michael J. Anderson b. 1953 (Charmed, Carnivale, Black Scorpion, This is How the World Ends, The Phantom Eye, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The X-Files, Deep Space Nine, Mannequin: On the Move, The Great Land of Small)
John Candy b.1950 died 4 March 1994 (The Rocket Boy, Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horrors, Splash, Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins)
Stephen Rea b. 1946 (Ruby Strangelove Young Witch, V for Vendetta, Underworld: Awakening, In Dreams, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, The Company of Wolves, Cry of the Banshee)
Norman Lovett b. 1946 (Evil Aliens, Red Dwarf)
Brian Doyle-Murray b.1945 (Supernatural, Bedazzled [2000], Multiplicity, Lois & Clark, Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters II, Scrooged)
David Ogden Stiers b. 1942 (Stargate: Atlantis, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, ALF)
Sally Kirkland b. 1941 (The Visitor from Planet Omicron, The Hunger [TV], The Incredible Shrinking Woman, The Incredible Hulk)
Ron Rifkin b. 1939 (Touch, Dragonfly, Wolf, Faerie Tale Theatre, Salvage 1, Silent Running)
Michael Landon b. 1936 died 1 July 1991 (I was a Teenage Werewolf)
Charles Cioffi b. 1935 (The X Files, Lois & Clark, Tucker’s Witch, Time After Time, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, Return to Earth)
Richard Gauthier b. 1931 (The Munsters Today, Freddy’s Nightmares, Knight Rider, Man from Atlantis, Wonder Woman, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Mr. Terrific, Bewitched)
Michael Collins b. 1930 (astronaut, orbited moon in Apollo 11)
Lee Grant b. 1925 (Defending Your Life, The Swarm, Damien: Omen II, Marooned)

Notes on the Birthday List.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, I went with Erica Serra because she's pretty, not because she has a particularly iconic role, though some might count Eureka. This year, it's Michael Collins, the guy who was in orbiter when Armstrong and Aldrin were on the moon. As for next year, the early front runner is John Candy from Spaceballs.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are three today and I think it's possible to get them all with a little knowledge and spotting the correct tell-tale show.

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

And to my readers, Happy Halloween! 
 

Predictor: The baseball experts at ESPN

Predictions: At the beginning of the playoffs, only 1 of 70 experts had the Giants as World Series champs.

Reality: In fairness, you had to go out on a limb to pick a wild card team to win the whole thing. The Giants were without Angel Pagan, and his replacements in left field were good on defense but not Pagan's equal in the batter's box. The experts were fairly convinced the National League was superior this year, but they were in love with the Nationals, who got smacked around by the Giants, and the Dodgers, who lost to the Cards.

Long story short: Sports prediction is hard, but the final record of the experts of 18.1% correct is really awful.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to 1893 once again, this time with modest facial hair but bold prediction.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

30 October 2014

 Birthdays
Janel Parrish b. 1988 (Heroes)
Eva Marcille b. 1984 (Smallville)
Clémence Poésy b. 1982 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Jon Foo b. 1982 (Tekken, Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Batman Begins)
Jeremy Raymond b. 1982 (Psych, Arrow, Star Trek Into Darkness, Alice [2009 TV])
Fiona Dourif b. 1981 (Curse of Chucky, True Blood)
Shaun Sipos b. 1981 (The Vampire Diaries, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Grudge 2, Smallville)
Sarah Carter b. 1980 (Falling Skies, Skinwalkers, Smallville, Haven, Dark Angel, Mindstorm, The Immortal)
Paul Telfer b. 1979 (The Vampire Diaries, Co-op of the Damned, Hercules [TV], Stargate SG-1)
James A. Woods b. 1979 (Being Human, Source Code, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Big Wolf on Campus)
Matthew Morrison b. 1978 (Space Station 76)
Maria Thayer b. 1975 (Night of the Living Deb)
Adam Copeland b. 1973 (Haven)
Peter New b. 1971 (Delete, Fringe, Smallville, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Stargate SG-1, Dead Like Me, Kingdom Hospital, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Dark Angel, Seven Days, Level 9)
Michael Broderick b. 1968 (Extant, Touch, Universal Dead, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Jericho, Invasion, Threshold)
Jack Plotnick b. 1968 (The Vortex, Supernatural, Wizards of Waverly Place, Dead Last, Mystery Men, Buffy)
Gavin Rossdale b. 1965 (Constantine [2005])
Russell Yuen b. 1965 (Warehouse 13, The Incredible Hulk [2008], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 10.5: Apocalypse, Left Behind: World at War, The Day After Tomorrow, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Big Wolf on Campus, Relic Hunter, Battlefield Earth, The Lost World)
Mark Steven Johnson b. 1964 (director, Ghost Rider, Daredevil)
Michael Beach b. 1963 (500 MPH Storm, Stargate: Atlantis, Knight Rider 2010, Quantum Leap, The Abyss)
David Yates b. 1963 (director, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Kristina Wagner b. 1962 (Double Dragon)
Jayne Heitmeyer b. 1960 (Upside Down, Black Swarm, Voodoo Moon, Snakeman, Andromeda, Earth: Final Conflict, Total Recall 2070, NightMan, The Lost World, The Hunger [TV])
Kevin Pollak b. 1957 (Vamped Out, The Lost Room, From the Earth to the Moon, Perversions of Science, Willow)Juliet Stevenson b. 1956 (The Enfield Haunting, Atlantis [TV 2013], The Secret of Moonacre, The Snow Queen, If…, Truly Madly Deeply, Living with Dinosaurs)
Charles Martin Smith b.1953 (Fringe, Left Behind: World at War, Kingdom Hospital, Deep Impact, The X-Files, Roswell, Tales from the Crypt, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, The Twilight Zone [1985], Starman)
Harry Hamlin b. 1951 (Deadly Nightmares, Space, Clash of the Titans)
Rusty Goffe b. 1948 (Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Mirrormask, U.F.O., Through the Dragon’s Eye, Willow, Flash Gordon, Star Wars, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Leon Rippy b. 1947 (Under the Dome, Eight Legged Freaks, The Thirteenth Floor, The Visitor, The Arrival, Stargate, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Universal Soldier, Moon 44, Quantum Leap, Werewolf, King Kong Lives, Maximum Overdrive, Firestarter, Tales of the Third Dimension)
Tim Kirk b. 1947 (artist)
Henry Winkler b. 1945 (Little Nicky)
Ed Lauter b. 1938 died 16 October 2013 (The Prometheus Project, Charmed, Highlander [TV], The X Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Rocketeer, Automan, Manimal, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, The Clonemaster, King Kong [1976])
Hamilton Camp b. 1934 died 2 October 2005 (Wishcraft, Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman [1993], Megaville, The Twilight Zone, Mork & Mindy, Evilspeak, Bewitched, The Son of Dr. Jekyll)
William Campbell b. 1923 died 28 April 2011 (The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, Shazam!, Star Trek)
Norman Bird b. 1920 died 22 April 2005 (Omen III: The Final Conflict, First Men in the Moon, My Partner the Ghost, Burn, Witch, Burn)
Jane Randolph b. 1915 died 4 May 2009 (Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein, The Curse of the Cat People, Cat People)
Ruth Gordon b. 1896 died 28 August 1985 (Voyage of the Rock Aliens, Rosemary’s Baby)

Notes on the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was William Campbell from Star Trek, this year Harry Hamlin from Clash of the Titans. Next year, the field is wide open.

2. Canadians spotted! This is a tough set. Usually, Smallville is a tell-tale sign, but we have non-Canadians who showed up and Canadians who didn't. Here's the list. Jeremy Raymond, Shaun Sipos, Sarah Carter, James A. Woods, Adam Copeland, Peter New,  Russell Nguyen and Jayne Heitmeyer.

3. Wait... he's dead? Ed Lauter died last year, but I don't recall hearing about it. A great Oh That Guy actor, I thought about putting him in the Picture Slot in his role from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but decided against it.

4. The Guy at the Door. Morbid bastid that I am, I take note that everyone younger than Henry Winkler is alive and everyone older is dead. Winkler is not even 70. That's way too young to be The Guy at the Door.

5. Too soon at the party. Pity poor Mark Steven Johnson. He made two movies based on Marvel comic books and they both tanked. These days, they can make a movie about a minor book like Guardians of the Galaxy and make three quarters of a billion dollars worldwide. To be fair, Guardians is a lot of fun and I do not begrudge the filmmakers one penny of their success. Heck, I saw it twice and I'm too old to do that anymore.

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

In the year 2000!

Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.

Prediction: There will be almost no housekeeping problems. Temperature, humidity, and velocity of air in each part of the home will be kept automatically at comfortable levels, day and night. Smoke, dust, and harmful bacteria will be purged from the air before it enters. The reversible heat pump, based on the principle of a refrigeration unit, will cool homes in summer and heat them in winter.

Reality: Sounds like a clean room, not a home. Reversible heat pumps exist, but warming homes when the temperature gets below freezing is a difficult task that sucks up a lot of energy.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A final report on the ESPN experts' picks for the World Series.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

29 October 2014

Birthdays
India Eisley b. 1993 (Underworld: Awakening)
Carlson Young b. 1990 (True Blood, Heroes)
Cherlilyn Wilson b. 1988 (True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, I (heart) Vampires, Supernatural)
Janet Montgomery b. 1985 (Salem, Gothica [TV], Merlin)
Johnny Lewis b. 1983 died 26 Sept. 2012 (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, Smallville)
Chelan Simmons b. 1982 (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Kyle XY, Ogre, Stargate: Atlantis, Supernatural, The Collector, Zix:Level Two, Smallville, Wonderfalls, Snakehead Terror, Monster Island, Carrie [2002 TV movie], It [1990])
Ben Foster b. 1980 (30 Days of Night, X-Men: The Last Stand, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Punisher, FlashForward)
Andrew Lee Potts b. 1979 (Dracula [2013 TV], Primeval, True Bloodthrist, Alice [2009 TV], Strange)
Brendan Fehr b. 1977 (Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men: First Class, Roswell, NightMan, The New Addams Family)
Aksel Hennie b. 1975 (Hercules)
Gabrielle Union b. 1972 (FlashForward, Meet Dave, The Others, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Winona Ryder b. 1971 (Star Trek, S1m0ne, Alien: Resurrection, Dracula, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice)
Michael Daingerfield b. 1970 (Arrow, Smallville, Tooth Fairy, The 4400, Dark Storm, The Time Tunnel [2006], Clash of the Titans [2006 TV], Supernatural, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Catwoman, Kingdom Hospital, Dreamcatcher, Stargate SG-1, Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Raven)
Grayson McCouch b. 1968 (Gotham, Forbidden Island, Armageddon)
Rufus Sewell b. 1967 (Hercules, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature, Arabian Nights, Dark City)
Joely Fisher b. 1967 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Inspector Gadget, The Mask, Something is Out There)
Tim Minear b. 1963 (writer/producer, American Horror Story, Dollhouse, Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The X-Files, Lois and Clark, Strange World)
Finola Hughes b. 1959 (Charmed, Generation X)
Dan Castellaneta b. 1957 (Futurama, Super 8, Stargate: SG-1, Space Jam, Highlander [TV], ALF)
Deborah Reed b. 1950 (Troll 2)
Kate Jackson b. 1948 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Topper [TV movie], Dark Shadows)
Richard Dreyfuss b.1947 (Coma [2012 TV], Piranha 3D, Tin Man, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Bewitched)
Margaret Nolan b. 1943 (Mystery and Imagination, Witchfinder General)
Jack Shepherd b. 1940 (The Golden Compass)
Ralph Bakshi b. 1938 (Cool World, Lord of the Rings, Wizards, Fire and Ice, Spider-Man)
Michael Jayston b. 1935 (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997 TV], Highlander: The Final Dimension, Doctor Who, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], UFO)
Margaret Sheridan b. 1926 died 1 May 1982 (The Thing from Another World)
Robert Hardy b. 1925 (Harry Potter, The 10th Kingdom, Gulliver’s Travels [TV], Frankenstein [1994], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Supernatural [1977 TV mini-series], Gawain and the Green Knight)
Eddie Constantine b. 1913 died 25 February 1993 (Frankenstein’s Aunt, Alphaville)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. I will admit my willfulness with my Picture Slot selections for this date. Last year I went with Margaret Sheridan from the poster of The Thing from Another World and this year it's Rufus Sewell, star of Dark City, a film I loved. The thing is, there are two honest to Odin movie stars on this list with iconic roles, Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters and several roles for Winona Ryder. One of them will get the Picture slot in 2015. As for my choices in 2013 and 2014, I will invoke The First Rule of Blogging, coined by myself, which is "You're not the boss of me."

So there.


2. Spot the Canadians! Very tough today to get all three. I'll give two small hints. They are all born after 1968 and there is one actor whose resume looks Canadian but isn't, while a true Canadian has only a smattering of parts in Canadian genre productions.

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

 Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, writing in March 1911 about the first of February, 2011

Prediction: John Smith generally employs his afternoons in perfecting his education. He often goes to the Museum, wherein are preserved specimens of extinct animals such as horses, dogs, cats, sheep and chickens. He loves to study the day in which such beings were the companions of men.

For now, such progress have chemistry and mechanics made that man has no more need of animals. He has killed off some and neglected to foster the multiplication of others, so they disappeared. The whistle of machinery and the hum of motors have taken the place of the song of birds. The forests are deserted and the fields without moos, whinnies or larks.

Reality: This is not the only prediction of mass extinction we have had. John Elfreth Watkins and H.G. Wells wrote things like this, but not quite as complete a massacre. His idea that horses were becoming obsolete was an obvious trend by 1911, but thinking that animal lovers would allow dogs,  cats and horses to become extinct is a very strange misread of human nature.

Never to be Forgotten: Elizabeth Norment 1953-2014

Another sad obituary of someone dead much too young. Elizabeth Norment, best known for her role on the Netflix series House of Cards as Nancy Kaufberger, the executive assistant to Kevin Spacey's Francis Underwood, has died at the age of 61 from cancer. She is remembered here for her roles in Runaway, the 1984 sci-fi movie written and directed by Michael Crichton, and the Twilight Zone story Examination Day, from which the still on the left is taken. The episode is based on a short story by Henry Slesar and is still one of the creepiest pieces of sci-fi I have ever read.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Elizabeth Norment, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Thursday means Lee de Forest, who will be describing the home of the future for the next few weeks.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

28 October 2014

 Birthdays
Sierra McCormick b. 1997 (Land of the Lost, Supernatural)
Devon Murray b.1988 (Harry Potter)
Matt Smith b. 1982 (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Terminator: Genisys, Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Clone)
Michael Stahl-David b. 1982 (In Your Eyes, The Congress, Cloverfield)
Dwayne Cameron b. 1981 (Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers, Dark Knight, Amazon High)
Joaquin Phoenix b. 1974 (Her, The Village, Signs, Superboy, SpaceCamp)
Michael Dougherty b. 1974 (writer, Superman Returns, X2)
Greg Eagles b. 1970 (Teeth and Blood, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Black Scorpion, The Burning Zone)
Julia Roberts b. 1967 (Mirror Mirror, Mart Reilly, Hook, Flatliners)
Stephen Hunter b. 1968 (The Hobbit)
Chris Bauer b. 1966 (Tomorrowland, True Blood, Fringe, The Lost Room, Devil’s Advocate, Snow White: A Tale of Terror)
Jami Gertz b. 1965 (The Neighbors, The Lost Boys, Solarbabies)
Lauren Holly b. 1963 (Alphas, Lost Girl, Living with the Dead)
Daphne Zuniga (Spaceballs, The Fly II)
Jonathan Mostow b. 1961 (director, Terminator 3)
Annie Potts b. 1952 (Ghostbusters I & II, The Man Who Fell to Earth [TV movie], Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone [1985])
Joe R. Lansdale b. 1951 (writer, Bubba Ho-Tep, Batman, Jonah Hex)
Ian Marter b. 1944 died 28 October 1986 (Doctor Who, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Dennis Franz b. 1944 (City of Angels, The Fury)
George ‘Buck’ Flower b. 1937 died 18 June 2004 (Power Rangers, Wishmaster, Village of the Damned, Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II, Warlock: The Armageddon, Mirror Images, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Dragonflight, They Came from Outer Space [TV], Back to the Future Parts I & II, They Live, Mac and Me, Pumpkinhead, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Berserker, The Night Stalker, Starman, Escape from New York, The Fog, The Time Machine [TV movie], The Invisible Man [1975 TV])
Jane Alexander b. 1939 (Terminator Salvation, The Ring, Testament)
Suzy Parker b. 1932 died 3 May 2003 (Twilight Zone)
Joan Plowright b. 1929 (The Spiderwick Chronicles, George and the Dragon, Last Action Hero)
Elsa Lanchester b. 1902 died 26 December 1986 (Off to See the Wizard, Mary Poppins, Bell Book and Candle, Alice in Wonderland [1955 TV], Bride of Frankenstein)
John Boles b. 1985 died 27 February 1969 (Frankenstein [1931])

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Matt Smith as the Doctor. This year, I went with the biggest movie star and her poster picture from Mirror Mirror. Next year, there are lots of possibilities, including Elsa Lanchester from The Bride of Frankenstein, Suzy Parker from the original Twilight Zone series (a model/actress, in her day possibly prettier than Julia Roberts), Annie Potts from Ghostbusters or Daphne Zuniga from Spaceballs. The only male who is even in the running is Joaquin Phoenix from Her.

2. We got plenty of nothing! Not only is today's birthday list Star Trek free, we are also devoid of Canadians. I expect this is going to be rare.

3. Oh That Bum. The busiest beaver among our birthday boys and girls today is George 'Buck' Flower, who started his career in 1970s soft porn but later became a character actor specializing in beggars, bums, winos and homeless men. Seriously, over 10% of his 158 roles are nameless, credited only as Drunk, Homeless Man, Wino, etc. You might think I am mocking him, but I always show respect to guys who make a living one role at a time. The only thing he had that was close to a regular paycheck was playing a character named Roy on the short-lived TV sitcom Flo. That's a hard way to keep food on the table and may he be blessed by Odin, Vishnu and the little Baby Jebus.

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

Movies released
In Time released 2011  

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Teledemocracy: All forms of leadership are intrinsically authoritarian - the differences are in degrees. Voting for leaders and representatives (who then make unilateral decisions for the people) is not democracy. Let us stop deluding ourselves. In our times democracy means direct participation in all decision making. This means voting not for leaders - but voting directly on issues.

Accelerators: Every week every month - or as often as necessary - people deploy their tranceivers to vote directly on issues. All sides of every issue are regularly telecast. Computer flashforwards of probable consequences of each scenario are simultaneously aired. (Because there are no struggles for leadership issues are depoliticized. The focus is on the merits of each plan.) Temporary committees (picked at random every month) supervise the referendums and implementation of decisions. In the age of two-way interactive telespheres leaders and representatives are as superfluous as scribes. By the first decade of the new century government will exist mainly in name as power will shift to the people via direct consensing.


Reality: Time to bring The Big Ugly Stick out of its burlap bag and give old FM-2030 a few well placed and well deserved whacks. I'm pretty sure FM stands for Frozen Moron, but I'd have to look that up. Just in case I got it right, I'm going to start using the nickname FroMo for this goofball.

Yet again, I have typed his stuff verbatim. I continue to be amazed the lengths to which he went to avoid using commas. But let us not be blinded by his bad punctuation and pompous neologisms. The real problems here are his incredibly bad ideas. Let's start with the first sentence about all leadership being authoritarian. Can you imagine what it must have been like inside his cult? I imagine a fascist dictatorship, don't you?

I live in California and the proposition system, first instituted in the days when the oil and railroad trusts owned the legislature, was meant to allow direct participation. Now, it is often a way for moneyed interests to get their way using a method cheaper than the outright bribery used so often today. In FM-2030's scenario, the problems we have now would be even worse. The rich would do everything they could to make sure their interests were protected, most notably by monopolizing the airwaves so their view would always be available. The temporary committee idea is a good way to make sure nearly no project taking a year or more to complete would ever be completed. As for the computer "flashforwards", who programs the computers? If some programmer's work in prediction is consistently wrong, who is the person who decides if he or she is sacked or not? If decisions were made by consensus, we'd probably have Ebola quarantine zones in every state and not a penny being spent to combat climate change.

Old FroMo has been steadily wrong time after time, but these two paragraphs are like the distilled essence of his arrogant bullshit.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Like with FroMo, I type the predictions from the 1911 New York World article verbatim. Unlike FroMo, I rarely want to bring the anonymous writer back to life and beat him senseless.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 October 2014

 Birthdays
Hunter Ansley Wryn b. 1994 (Snow White: A Deadly Summer, Serenity, Charmed)
Sebastian Gacki b. 1984 (Evil Feed, Supernatural, The Thaw, Flash Gordon [TV], Beyond Loch Ness, Smallville, Kyle XY)
Emilie Ullerup b. 1984 (Leprechaun: Origins, Almost Human, The Philadelphia Experiment [2012 TV], A Little Bit Zombie, Witchslayer Gretl, Supernatural, Sanctuary, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica)
Jamie Yeates b. 1983 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
Scott Fearn b. 1983 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Patrick Fugit b. 1982 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Dead Birds, Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!)
Tom Nagel b. 1980 (Volcano Zombies, Man of Steel, Dracula’s Curse, The Beast of Bray Road)
Monica Louwerens b. 1983 (The Vampire Diaries, Heroes, Phil of the Future, Power Rangers Wild Force, The Chronicle, The Invisible Man)
James Logan b. 1970 (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, No Ordinary Family, The X Files)
Peter O’Meara b. 1969 (Resident Evil: Extinction, Haven)
Jeff East b. 1957 (Pumpkinhead, Otherworld, Superman, The Day After)
Robert Picardo b. 1953 (Age of Tomorrow, Time Machine: The Rise of the Morlocks, SGU Stargate Universe, No Ordinary Family, Supernatural, Monsterwolf, Smallville, Ben 10: Race Against Time, Universal Remote, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Star Trek: Voyager, Seven Days, Small Soldiers, VR.5, Matinee, The Witches of Eastwick [TV], Innerspace, 976-EVIL, The Man Who Fell to Earth [1987 TV], Gremlins 2, Star Trek: First Contact, Stargate SG-1, Amazing Stories, Legend, The Howling)
Peter Firth b. 1953 (Total Recall 2070, Mighty Joe Young [1998], Highlander [TV], Lifeforce, The Picture of Dorian Gray [1976])
Ted Wass b. 1952 (director, Big Bang Theory, actor, The Canterville Ghost [1986])
Jayne Kennedy b. 1951 (Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Angus MacInness b. 1947 (Hellboy, Space Island One, Judge Dredd, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Outland, Superman II, Star Wars, Space:1999, Rollerball)
Ivan Reitman b. 1946 (director, Evolution, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Ghostbusters)
Carrie Snodgress b. 1945 died 1 April 2004 (The X Files, The Fury)
John Cleese b. 1939 (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Harry Potter, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Erik the Viking, Whoops Apocalypse, Time Bandits, Doctor Who)
Carolyn Craig b. 1934 died 12 December 1970 (House on Haunted Hill)
Ned Wertimer b. 1923 died 2 January 2013 (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Mork & Mindy, I Dream of Jeannie, Pinocchio [1968 TV], Santa Claus Conquers the Martians)
Ruby Dee b. 1922 died 12 June2014 (The Stand)
Leif Erickson b. 1911 died 29 January 1986 (Project U.F.O., Twilight’s Last Gleaming, The Evil Touch, The Six Million Dollar Man: Solid Gold Kidnapping, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], Invaders from Mars [1953])

Notes from the Birthday List.
1. The Picture Slot.  Last year, I used a picture of Robert Picardo as The Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager, and I argued with myself whether he should be used again. He is a very hard working Oh That Guy, especially in genre. I can't be sure if he's at the "Hey, it's Abe Vigoda" level of fame or the "Hey, it's that holographic doctor!" level. In any case, not wanting to repeat, I used a picture of John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick from the Harry Potter films.

2. Wait... she's dead? I have no recollection of reading that Carrie Snodgress died about ten years ago. Checking out her obits, I didn't know about her relationships with Neil Young or Jack Nitzsche. I did remember her name from Diary of a Mad Housewife.

3. Spot the Canadians! There are four Canadian residents on the list today, three born after 1964 and one born before. The oldest one is hard to spot. Answers in the comments.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Several black hole anomalies have been mentioned in astronomical journals, but none have been verified. There will be verification before 2000.

Reality: Full marks here. In 1994, the Hubble telescope verified a black hole in galaxy M87. Here is a link with more information.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to the regular schedule, which means the comma free musings of FM-2030, enormous prat.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

Never to be Forgotten:Marcia Strassman 1946-2014

 Marcia Strassman, the actress who first came to prominence as Gabe Kablan's wife in Welcome Back Kotter, has died at the age of 66. She is remember here at a sci-fi blog for her roles in Tremors [TV], Earth Minus Zero, Highlander, And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird, Brave New World, Time Express and the role pictured here in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. While she is not younger than I am, I am just getting used to the fact that people from TV in the 1960s are dying, and I am in no way comfortable with people who became famous in the 1970s passing away.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Marcia Strassman, from an adoring fan. She is never to be forgotten.

26 October 2014

Birthdays
Morgan Saylor b. 1994 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant)
Hal Ozsan b. 1976 (True Blood, Beauty and the Beast [2012], Cybergeddon Zips, Supernatural, Kyle XY, Roswell, FreakyLinks)
Mahesh Jadu b. 1982 (I, Frankenstein)
Wendy Clarice Jordan b. 1977 (Jurassic World)
Rosemary DeWitt b. 1973 (The Watch)
Seth MacFarlane b. 1973 (Ted, FlashForward, Tooth Fairy, Star Trek:Enterprise)
Chris Burns b. 1973 (The Walking Dead, Zombieland, Return of the Jackalope) Rupert Wyatt b. 1972 (director, Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
Lisa Ryder b. 1970 (Alphas, Andromeda, Jason X, Total Recall 2070, Earth: Final Conflict, Forever Knight)
Trevor White b. 1970 (World War Z, The Dark Knight Rises, Strange Frequency)
Robert Maillet b. 1969 (The Strain, Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds, Hercules [2014], Haven, Septic Man, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Pacific Rim, S.W.I.T.C.H., A Little Bit Zombie, Immortals, Merlin, Monster Brawl, Lexx)
David Eick b. 1968 (producer, Touch, Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, Them [2007 TV movie], Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, M.A.N.T.I.S., The Incredible Hulk)
Steve Valentine b. 1966 (The Big Bang Theory, Beauty and the Beast [2014], Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Wizards of Wavertly Place: The Movie, Spider-Man 3, FreakyLinks, Charmed, Good vs. Evil, Don't Look Under the Bed, Mars Attacks!)
Kelly Rowan b. 1965 (Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, Hook, War of the Worlds [TV])
Tom Cavanaugh b.1963 (The Flash, Snow 2: Brain Freeze, Beyond Reality)
Cary Elwes b. 1962 (Wonder Woman, The X Files, Shadow of the Vampire, From the Earth to the Moon, Ella Enchanted, Dracula [1992], The Princess Bride, The Bride)
Dylan McDermott b. 1961 (Automata, American Horror Story)
Patrick Breen b. 1960 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, Galaxy Quest, Men in Black, Angel, The Tick)
Ingrid Anderson b. 1960 (Hercules [1983])
Julie Dawn Cole b. 1957 (Galloping Galaxies!, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
Rita Wilson b. 1956 (From the Earth to the Moon, Teen Witch, The Day It Came to Earth)
Roger Allam b. 1953 (V for Vendetta, Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, Speed Racer)
Rondi Reed b. 1952 (The Astronaut's Wife)
Bob Hoskins b. 1942 died 29 April 2014 (Snow White and the Huntsman, Neverland, Doomsday, Wind in the Willows, Son of the Mask, The Lost World, Super Mario Bros., Hook, Brazil, Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Kenneth Johnson b. 1942 (writer, V, Alien Nation, The Incredible Hulk, The Bionic Woman, Steel, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Tilo Pruckner b. 1940 (Iron Sky, The NeverEnding Story)
Mary Black b. 1935 (Leprechaun: Origins, Man of Steel, The Beast of Bottomless Lake, Supernatural, Slither, The Fog, Elf, Dead Like Me, Level 9)
Ivor Francis b. 1918 died 22 October 1896 (Alien Zone, Man From Atlantis, The Six Million Dollar Man, Dark Shadows, I Dream of Jeannie)
Jackie Coogan b. 1914 died 1 March 1984 (The Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie, The Space Children)
Fred Graham b. 1908 died 10 October 1979 (The Giant Gila Monster)

The Picture Slot this year is Cary Elwes from The Princess Bride, one of the best dialogue movies made in my lifetime. Last year I used Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester and next year it's a toss-up between the late Bob Hoskins and Julie Dawn Cole as Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Spot the Canadian is way too tough today, as some non-Canadians show up in multiple Canuck productions and some Canadian show up in very few. The correct answers are Lisa Ryder, Trevor White, Robert Maillet, Kelly Rowan, Mary Black and Ivor Francis. Hal Ozan and Steve Valentine are not Canadian. As I wrote, this one was too tough.

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

Movies released
Cloud Atlas released, 2012

Predictor: Back to the Future, released 3 July 1985

Prediction: On 26 October 1985, Marty McFly takes Dr. Emmett Brown’s time machine back to 5 November 1955.

Reality: This movie was technically predicting the future, but only three months ahead. As you probably know, mankind has not ironed out all the bugs in the flux capacitor.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The weekly schedule returns tomorrow, just in time for anther prediction from the OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

25 October 2014

Birthdays
Conchita Campbell b. 1995 (The 4400, Supernatural, Zixx: Level Two)
Will Harris b. 1986 (Galyntine, In Time, Sky High)
John Robinson b. 1985 (Something Wicked, Transformers)
Mehcad Brooks b. 1980 (Creature, True Blood, Dollhouse)
Sarah Thompson b. 1979 (Angel, FreakyLinks)
Mariana Klaveno b. 1979 (True Blood)
Michael Weston b. 1973 (Coma [2012 TV], Gamer, Supernatural, Evil Alien Conquerors, Wishcraft, NightMan)
Persia White b. 1972 (The Vampire Diaries, Angel, Buffy, Weird Science [TV], Last Action Hero)
Craig Robinson b. 1971 (Rapture-Palooza, This is the End, Hot Tub Time Machine 1 & 2, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian)
Michael Soltis b. 1971 (Fringe, 10.5, X-Men 2, Smallville, Taken, Stargate SG-1)
Adam Goldberg b. 1970 (Christmas on Mars, Frankenstein [2004 TV], The Prophecy)
Michael Boatman b. 1964 (Warehouse 13, Quantum Leap)
Melinda McGraw b. 1963 (The Dark Knight, Journey Man, The X Files, House of Frankenstein)
Tracy Nelson b. 1963 (My Stepbrother is a Vampire!?!)
Darlene Vogel b. 1962 (Farscape, Back to the Future Part II)
Gale Anne Hurd b. 1955 (producer, The Walking Dead, Punisher, The Coven, Hulk, AEon Flux, Armageddon, Terminator, Tremors, Alien Nation, Aliens, The Abyss)
Glynis Barber b. 1955 (Highlander: The Return, The Apocalypse Watch, Red Dwarf, Blakes 7)
John Matuszak b. 1950 died 17 June 1989 (The Princess and the Dwarf, Superboy, The Charmings, The Ice Pirates, Caveman)
Mark L. Taylor b. 1950 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], Alien Nation [TV], Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Innerspace, Star Trek: Voyager, Arachnophobia, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone [1986], V: The Final Battle)
Leigh Christian b. 1945 (The Six Million Dollar Man, Beyond Atlantis)
Anthony Franciosa b. 1928 died 19 January 2006 (Twilight Zone [1989], Earth II)
Peter Dennis b. 1933 (Star Trek: Voyager)
Marion Ross b. 1928 (Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Outer Limits)
Billy Barty b.1924 died 23 December 2000 (The Munsters Today, Lobster Man from Mars, Willow, Masters of the Universe, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, Star Fairies, Legend, Dr. Shrinker, The Lost Saucer, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Bugaloos, The Undead, The Bride of Frankenstein)

Whit Bissell b. 1909 died 5 March 1996 (Project U.F.O., The Bionic Woman, Land of the Giants, The Invaders, I Dream of Jeannie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits, Men Into Space, Monster on the Campus, The Time Machine, Soylent Green, The Incredible Hulk [TV], The Time Tunnel, Star Trek, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Atomic Kid, Target Earth, Creature From the Black Lagoon)
Leo G. Carroll b. 1886 died 16 October 1972 (Tarantula, Topper, A Christmas Carol)

Last years Picture Slot was Sarah Thompson as Eve on Angel, because I'm a Whedonverse nerd and she's a Fabulous Babe to boot. This year, I went with Oh That Guy extraordinaire Whit Bissell. Next year is a toss-up, but the character actor choices are the most likely, John Matuszak, Mark L. Taylor, Billy Barty or Leo G. Carroll.

Many actors on the list have credits in Canadian produced genre TV, but there is only one native Canadian on the list to spot. Answer in the comments.
 

 Five fun facts from 2015!

Predictor: Back to the Future, Part II released 22 March 1989

Prediction: In 2015, there will be a massive number of TV channels to chose from.

Reality: People really do have TV screens that big in their houses, though splitting into six sub-screens is not very common. The screen at the upper right is not just some smutty addition by an Internet photoshopper, that was really one of the options Marty could have chosen. While this is a comedy and many predictions were just there to be amusing, this one is pretty close to right on the money.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to the Future week ends with a date from the first film.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

24 October 2014

Birthdays
Eliza Taylor b. 1989 (The 100)
Daniel and Joshua Shalikar b. 1988 (Honey, I Blew Up the Kid)
Lincoln Lewis b. 1987 (After Earth, Aquamarine)
Oliver Jackson-Cohen b. 1986 (Dracula [2013 TV])
Tim Pocock b. 1985 (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Alycia Purrott b. 1983 (Supernatural, Power Rangers S.P.D.)
Katie McGrath b. 1983 (Jurassic World, Dracula [TV 2013], Merlin, Labyrinth [2012 TV])
Jemima Rooper b. 1981 (Atlantis [2013 TV], Frankenstein’s Wedding… Live in Leeds, A Sound of Thunder)
Dave Callahan b. 1977 (writer, Doom, Godzilla)
Amy Bailey b. 1975 (Dominion [2014], Supercollider, Boogeyman [2012 TV], Alice in Wonderland [2010])
James Babson b. 1974 (Solomon Kane, Hellboy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Children of Dune)
Catherine Sutherland b. 1974 (The Cell, Power Rangers)
Burgess Jenkins b. 1973 (Revolution, Coma, Vault of Darkness)
Raelee Hill b.1972 (Superman Returns, Farscape, The Lost World [TV], BeastMaster [TV])
Raul Esparza b. 1970 (666 Park Avenue, My Soul to Take)
Jacqueline McKenzie b. 1967 (The 4400, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Deep Blue Sea)
Rick Ravenello b. 1967 (Doomsday Prophecy, Smallville, Seven Days, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, Creature, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Doomsday Rock, Stargate SG-1)
Conrad Pla b. 1966 (Riddick, Alphas, ReGenesis, Mutant X, Lathe Of Heaven, Odyssey 5, Relic Hunter)
BD Wong b. 1960 (Jurassic World, Awake, The X Files, Jurassic Park)
Brad Johnson b. 1959 (Left Behind: World at War, Riverworld, Alien Siege, The Robinsons: Lost in Space, Mysterious Ways, Philadelphia Experiment II)
Douglas Brian and Steven M. Martin b. 1954 (The Addams Family, Addams Family Values)
Martin Campbell b. 1943 (director, Green Lantern)
F. Murray Abraham b. 1939 (Beauty and the Beast: A Dark Tale, Carnera: The Walking Mountain, Thir13en Ghosts , The Darkling, Muppets from Space, Star Trek: Insurrection, Last Action Hero, Journey to the Center of the Earth [1993 TV], BloodMonkey, Shark Swarm, Mimic)
S. William Hinzman b. 1936 died 5 February 2012 (Mimesis, It Came from Trafalgar, FleshEater, Night of the Living Dead)
John Winston b. 1933 (Max Headroom, Star Trek, The Time Tunnel)
Maggie Pierce b. 1931 died 5 April 2010 (My Mother the Car, My Favorite Martian, Tales of Terror)
Clifford Rose b. 1929 (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Doctor Who, Once Upon a Time [1973 TV])
Bob Kane b. 1915 died 3 November 1998 (artist, Batman)
Merian C. Cooper b. 1893 died 21 April 1973 (writer, King Kong, Mighty Joe Young)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. This list skews fairly young today and quite often, the younger actors do not have what I consider to be iconic roles. But Daniel and Joshua Shalikar The Kid in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Raelee Hill might have a chance next year because of my fondness for Farscape. Last year I used John Winston as Lt. Kyle, but this year it's S. William Hinzman in the role role that defined his career, Zombie from Night of the Living Dead. (Not much of a spoiler alert: He kills Barbara's boyfriend in the first scene.) I chose Mr. Hinzman because... well, I think regular readers will know why.

2. F. Murray Abraham: Not as sucky as I thought. Back on a previous blog, I had a competition for which good actor's career sunk the most and F. Murray Abraham won, largely on the fact he was in BloodMonkey and Shark Swarm. But apart from those two credits, there's not a lot more slumming in zero budget films for him. In the past few years, he's back to being in major motion pictures like Inside Llewyn Davis and The Grand Budapest Hotel and TV shows like Homeland and The Good Wife. My guess is he was really hard up for cash but got over it.  Good on ya, Mr. Abraham. 

3. Spot the Canadians! There are two, one who was born in the Great White North and another who emigrated. Answers in the comments.

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

 Five fun facts from 2015!

Predictor: Back to the Future, Part II released 22 March 1989



Prediction: Jaws 19 is promoted with a holographic shark that needs no projector.

Reality: Of course, Jaws 19 is a gag, so I won't grade down on that "prediction". As for the technology, it doesn't exist yet and if it ever does, the skins on the polygons will be way better.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Still using Back to the Future, Part II for a last prediction this year.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 October 2014

Birthdays
Taylor Spreitler b. 1993 (Category 5)
Brett DelBuono b. 1992 (Let Me In)
Sophie Oda b. 1991 (The Big Bang Theory)
Amandia Stenberg b. 1998 (Sleepy Hollow, The Hunger Games)
Jessica Stroup b. 1986 (Ted, True Blood, Reaper, The Hills Have Eyes II, Vampire Bats)
Briana Evigan b. 1986 (S. Darko)
Masiela Lusha b. 1985 (Dragonfyre, Blood: The Last Vampire)
Bradley Pierce b. 1982 (Star Trek: Voyager, Doom Runners, The Borrowers, Jumanji, Lois & Clark)
Olatunde Osunsanmi b. 1977 (director, Dark Moon, Falling Skies, The Fourth Kind)
Ryan Reynolds b. 1976 (R.I.P.D., Ted, Green Lantern, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Amityville Horror, Blade: Trinity, Big Monster on Campus, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The X Files)
Kate del Castillo b. 1972 (Grimm)
Grant Imahara b. 1970 (Star Trek Continues, Caper, Team Unicorn, Eureka, The League of S.T.E.A.M., The Guild)
Steve Wilder b. 1970 (Iron Man 3, Charmed, The Journey: Absolution)
Brooke Theiss b. 1969 (Catwoman, They Came from Outer Space, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master)
Travis Davis b. 1968 died 12 October 2009 (The Big Bang Theory, Friday the 13th [2009], The Chronicle, Space Marines)
Eric Shanower b. 1963 (writer, The Oz universe)
Beatie Edney b. 1962 (Highlander: Endgame, Highlander)
Sam Raimi b. 1959 (director, Oz the Great and Powerful, Drag Me to Hell, Spider-Man 1, 2& 3, Army of Darkness, Darkman, Evil Dead II, The Evil Dead; producer, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Legend of the Seeker)
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic b. 1959 (Halloween 2 [2009], Amazing Stories)
Dwight Yoakum b. 1956 (Under the Dome, Roswell)
Graeme Revell b. 1955 (composer, Gotham, Riddick, AEon Flux, The Fog, Sin City, Pitch Black, Grindhouse, Freddy vs. Jason, Daredevil, Lara Croft, Red Planet, Dune, Titan A.E., Bride of Chucky, The Crow: City of Angels, From Dusk Till Dawn, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Tank Girl, Until the End of the World, Child’s Play 2)
Ang Lee b. 1954 (director, Hulk)
Ira Steven Behr b. 1953 (producer, Outlander, Alphas, The 4400, Dark Angel, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Michael Rupert b. 1951 (A Boy and His Dog)
Jason Bostwick b. 1943 (Mutant Species, Future Zone, My Science Project, TRON, Shazam!)
Michael Crichton b. 1942 died 4 November 2008 (writer, Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Congo, Runaway, Looker, Coma, Westworld)
Stanley Anderson b. 1939 (S1m0ne, Roswell, Spider-Man, The X Files, Armageddon, The Shining [1997 TV], RoboCop 3)
Philip Kaufman b. 1936 (director, Invasion of the Body Snatchers[1978], writer, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Right Stuff)
Diana Dors b. 1931 died 4 May 1984 (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1980 TV], Hammer House of Horror, Theatre of Blood, The Amazing Mr. Blunden)
Ted Manson b. 1926 died 1 June 2008 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Larry Ward b. 1924 died 2/15/1985 (voice of Jabba the Hutt and Greedo, both uncredited)
Frank Sutton b. 1923 died 28 June 1974 (The Satan Bug, The Twilight Zone, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet)
Harold P. Warren b. 1923 died 26 December 1985 (actor/writer/director, Manos: The Hands of Fate)
Coleen Gray b. 1922 (The Sixth Sense, The Phantom Planet, The Leech Woman, The Vampire)
James Daly b. 1918 died 3 July 1978 (Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Hayden Rorke b.1910 died 19 August 1987 (Wonder Woman, I Dream of Jeannie, Twilight Zone)
Una O’Connor b. 1880 died 4 February 1959 (The Canterville Ghost, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year I had Greedo from Star Wars in honor of the late Larry Ward. This year it's the title shot from "Manos", The Hands of Fate, with Joel and the bots in the foreground, in honor of the film maker, the late Harold P. Warren. This was not the worst movie MST3K ever made fun of, but it's probably in the top ten. If you question whether MST3K should count as iconic, please don't bring it up in the comments. I've always thought so highly of you and this would spoil it.

As for next year, I might go with Ryan Reynolds from one of the big budget stinkers he's made, but it's more likely to be one of the now deceased actors and a role from 1960s TV, like James Daly or Hayden Rorke.

2. I'll be glad when you're dead, you rascal you. I am truly glad Michael Crichton is dead. I enjoyed his not very scientific thrillers like The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, but late in life he became a strident climate change denier. It was a very disappointing end to his career and I got the feeling the only way he was going to stop embarrassing himself was to die.

He did. I'm glad. I wrote it and I'm not taking it back.

3. Spot the Canadian. Not super obvious, but I think some will get it anyway.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories, with the exception of Michael Chrichton.
 

Five fun facts from 2015!

Predictor: Back to the Future, Part II released 22 March 1989

Prediction: Lawyers are abolished! (Click on picture for larger readable version.

Reality: Back to the Future, Part II is an action comedy and the idea of lawyers being abolished is played as a joke and to speed up the plot. Similarly, the hand held roofie was an easy way to write an extra character out of several scenes where the writers didn't see how to use her.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Back to the Future prediction.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 October 2014

Birthdays
Jonathan Lipnicki b. 1990 (The Little Vampire, Meego)
Kyle Gallner b. 1986 (The Walking Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street [2010], Jennifer’s Body, Smallville, The Haunting in Connecticut)
John Boyd b. 1981 (Touch, Fringe, Lady in the Water)
Michael Fishman b. 1981 (A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Little Bigfoot 2: The Journey Home)
Layla Roberts b. 1974 (Beowulf [1999], Armageddon)
Saffron Burrows b. 1972 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Perfect Creature, Deep Blue Sea, Wing Commander, Welcome II the Terrordome)
Spike Jonze b. 1969 (director, Her, Where the Wild Things Are, Being John Malkovich)
Jay Johnston b. 1968 (Men in Black II, Bicentennial Man, Jack Frost)
Valeria Golino b. 1965 (Escape from L.A.)
Suzanne Snyder b. 1962 (Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Return of the Living Dead II, Amazing Stories, Weird Science, The Last Starfighter)
Bill Condon b. 1955 (director, Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Parts 1 & 2, The Others, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh)
Jeff Goldblum b. 1952 (Cats & Dogs, Independence Day, Jurassic Park, Earth Girls are Easy, The Fly, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Transylvania 6-5000, Faerie Tale Theatre, Buckaroo Banzai, The Right Stuff, Threshold, Invasion of the Body Snatchers [1978])
John Howard b. 1952 (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Girl from Tomorrow)
Christopher Curry b. 1948 (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek: Voyager, Starship Troopers, Babylon 5, Quantum Leap, C.H.U.D.)
Annette Funicello b. 1942 died 8 April 2013 (Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, The Monkey’s Uncle, Babes in Toyland, The Shaggy Dog)
Jim Baen b.1943 died 28 June 2006 (editor, publisher, founder of Baen Books)
Catherine Deneuve b. 1943 (The Hunger, Donkey Skin, The Creatures)
Charles Keating b. 1941 died 9 August 2014 (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena)
Tony Roberts b. 1939 (Amityville 3-D)
Christopher Lloyd b. 1938 (Zodiac: Signs of the Apocalypse, Piranha 3DD, Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, The Witches of Oz, Fringe, Piranha 3D, Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], Knights of Bloodsteel, Tremors [TV], The Tick [2001], It Came from the Sky, Alice in Wonderland [TV 1999], My Favorite Martian [1999], Angels in the Outfield, The Addams Family [and Values], Back to the Future I, II & III, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Amazing Stories, Buckaroo Banzai, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Derek Jacobi b. 1938 (Cinderella [2015], The Golden Compass, Doctor Who, Underworld, Nanny McPhee, Jason and the Argonauts [2000 TV], The Medusa Touch)
Gary Vinson b. 1936 died 15 October 1984 (The Incredible Hulk, The Munsters’ Revenge, Battlestar Galactica, The Next Step Beyond, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invisible Boy)
Sheila Allen b. 1932 died 13 October 2011 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Prisoner, Children of the Damned)
Barboura Morris b. 1932 died 23 October 1975 (The Dunwich Horror, X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Wasp Woman, A Bucket of Blood, Teenage Cave Man)
James Grout b. 1927 died 24 June 2012 (Cyberzone, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Doris Lessing b. 1919 died 17 November 2013 (author, Children of Violence, Canopus in Argos)
Joan Fontaine b. 1917 died 15 December 2013 (The Witches, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Sidney Miller b. 1916 died 19 January 2004 (director, Mr. Terrific, The Addams Family, My Mother the Car, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock)
William F. Claxton b. 1914 died 11 February 1996 (director, The Canterville Ghost, The Night of the Lepus, Twilight Zone)
John Zaremba b. 1908 died 15 December 1986 (The Time Machine [1978 TV movie], Land of the Giants, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Munsters, Twilight Zone, Moon Pilot, Men Into Space, Frankenstein’s Daughter, The Night the World Exploded, Earth vs. Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Magnetic Monster)
Constance Bennett b. 1904 died 24 July 1965 (Topper [1937])

Nice long list today, plenty of choices for iconic roles. Christopher Lloyd had the Picture Slot last year and I could have picked him again since it's Back to the Future 2015 week, but we'll get enough pictures of him in the predictions. Did you know he has 191 credits on imdb.com?I knew he was prolific, but dayam! His co-birthday boy Derek Jacobi may be my favorite actor on the list, but iconic in genre... not so much. Jeff Goldblum has lots of iconic choices and is the front runner for next year, though if I get in a Oh That Guy mood, John Zaremba is a great Oh That Bald Guy for people my age.

But with all that hemming and hawing done, you are looking at a picture of Catherine Deneuve from The Hunger because... I am a heterosexual male.

We get a day off from Spot the Canadian! We are Canadian free, believe it or not.

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

Five fun facts from 2015!
 
Predictor: Back to the Future, Part II released 22 March 1989

Prediction: The weather will be controlled to the exact minute.

Reality: Oh, sure... humans screwing with the weather. It's more like it's always been, the weather screwing with humans, and it looks like the weather wants to play rougher.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from Back to the Future, Part II which I'm sure we'll see in about a year. (Not.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

21 October 2014

Birthdays
Mark Rendall b. 1988 (30 Days of Night, Time Warp Trio, ReGenesis, Tales from the Neverending Story)
Alex Kew b. 1986 (My Parents are Aliens)
Charlotte Sullivan b. 1983 (The Colony, Alice [2009], Smallville)
Matt Dallas b. 1982 (Life Tracker, Eastwick, Kyle XY, Way if the Vampire)
Will Estes b. 1978 (The Dark Knight Rises, Meego, Harry and the Hendersons [TV])
Nakia Burrise b. 1974 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Power Rangers)
Sasha Roiz b. 1973 (The Day After Tomorrow, Grimm, Warehouse 13, Caprica, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Land of the Dead, Mutant X)
Melora Walters b. 1960 (The Butterfly Effect, Twice Upon a Time)
Ken Watanabe b. 1959 (Godzilla, Inception, Batman Begins, Space Travelers)
Carrie Fisher b. 1956 (Big Bang Theory, Smallville, Hook, Drop Dead Fred, The Time Guardian, Amazing Stories, Frankenstein [1984 TV], Thumbelina, Star Wars)
Catherine Hardwicke b. 1955 (director, Twilight)
Tom Everett b. 1948 (FlashForward, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Journeyman, Space: Above and Beyond, Eerie, Indiana, Quantum Leap, Max Headroom, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Automan)
Everett McGill b. 1945 (Jekyll Island, Werewolf, Silver Bullet, Quest for Fire, Dune)
Paula Kelly b. 1943 (Peter Pan [1976 TV], Soylent Green, The Andromeda Strain)
Julie Parrish b. 1940 died 1 October 2003 (Captain Nice, Star Trek)
Jack Taylor b. 1936 (Conan the Barbarian, The Vampire’s Night Orgy, Horror of the Zombies, Female Vampire, Doctor Jekyll y el Hombre Loco, Count Dracula [1970], Succubus)
Ursula K. LeGuin b. 1929 (won 1970 Nebula and Hugo for The Left Hand of Darkness, won 1975 Nebula and Hugo for The Dispossessed, won 1991 Nebula for Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea, won 2009 Nebula for Powers)
Leonard Rossiter b. 1926 died 5 October 1984 (Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], 2001: A Space Odyssey)

A relatively short list today and for iconic people to put in the Picture Slot, I count three: Last year's winner Carrie Fisher, this year's winner Ursula K. LeGuin and the front runner for next year, Ken Watanabe. (If I was younger, I might include Matt Dallas, star of Kyle XY.) There are three Canadians to spot and Matt Dallas isn't one of them.

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

 

Predictor: Harold Camping

Prediction: On 21 October 2011, the world is destroyed five months after the righteous have been taken bodily into heaven.

Reality: This is the last time I will take the corpse of Dr. Harold Camping out of the ground and give it some well-deserved abuse. There have been several people who have predicted the end of the world, missed the date and tried again. Camping is the only one I know of who made a bigger media splash after he struck out a few times.

I am mystified by the folks who swallow this stuff. While it does not rise to the level of a mathematical proof, the inductive evidence is overwhelmingly convincing that we are all going to die. There are some folks who would prefer to believe "OMG! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" for reasons unclear to me.

While the cliche is that "sex sells", we see that in politics, "fear sells". A tweet from Gallup this week stated that 16% of Americans believe that either they or a family member will die of Ebola. To me, that seems every bit as dumb as believing in The Rapture, but I don't live in their world and I'm not constantly flooded with the fearmongering. I have breakfast a few times a month at a diner near my house that has CNN on a big TV. While not as scaremongering as Fox News, CNN still wants to keep its viewers alarmed and worried about the world. 30 minutes of CNN every month is more than enough for me, thanks very much.

 

Splash illustration for the rest of October: This is the date, except no substitutes. One year from today, Doc Brown, accompanied by Marty McFly and his girlfriend, travel from 1985 to Oct. 21, 2015. The idea in the first two films is that we get three snapshots at intervals of 30 years, 1955, 1985 and 2015. For the rest of the week, we will get predictions from Back to the Future Part 2 and one from Back to the Future.

Oops, I spoiled my INTO THE FUTURE and IN THE FUTURE gag. Obviously, I have to plan ahead.

I promise to do so... IN THE FUTURE!

Never to be Forgotten:Lynda Bellingham 1948-2014

Lynda Bellingham, a beloved figure in her native Great Britain, died yesterday at the age of 66 in London from complications from colon cancer. The obituaries always mention that she played the mom on a twenty year ad campaign for Oxo buillion cubes. Americans are most likely to remember her from All Creatures Great and Small and her role on Doctor Who as the Grand Inquisitor in the series that ran in 1986. She was also on Blakes 7, a show whose title feels like it's missing an apostrophe.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Lynda Bellingham, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

20 October 2014

Birthdays
Galadriel Stineman b. 1990 (True Blood, Ben 10: Alien Swarm)
Adam Butcher b. 1988 (Wolves, Mirror Mirror, Hell Hounds, ReGenesis, Super Rupert)
Rose McIver b. 1987 (iZombie, Hercules, Legend of the Seeker, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Power Rangers R.P.M., Once Upon a Time)
Alona Tal b. 1983 (Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D, Powers, Supernatural, Knight Rider [2009])
Katie Featherston b. 1982 (Paranormal Activity, Psychic Experiment)
Niall Matter b. 1980 (Constantine, Primeval: New World, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Watchmen, Beyond Loch Ness, Stargate: Atlantis)
Sam Witwer b. 1977 (Being Human, Grimm, The Walking Dead, Gamer, Smallville, The Mist, Battlestar Galatica, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Dark Angel)
Sheeri Rappaport b. 1977 (Xena, Little Witches)
Natalie Gregory b. 1975 (The Wizard, Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV])
Kenneth Choi b. 1971 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America: The First Avenger, Heroes, Roswell, Deep Core, Halloweentown)
Snoop Dogg b. 1971 (Hood of Horror, Bones)
William Zabka b. 1965 (Hot Tub Time Machine, Mindstorm, Python, Interceptor Force, To the Ends of Time, The Greatest American Hero)
Viggo Mortensen b. 1958 (Lord of the Rings, The Road, The Prophecy, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III)
Danny Boyle b.1956 (director, 28 Days Later, A Life Less Ordinary)
Thomas Newman b. 1955 (composer, Side Effects, WALL-E, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Finding Nemo, The Green Mile, Meet Joe Black, Amazing Stories, Otherworld)
Bill Nunn b. 1953 (Spider-Man, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh)
William Russ b. 1950 (Demons, Stargate SG-1, SeaQuest 2032, V, The Right Stuff)
George Harris b. 1949 (Sinbad [2012 TV], Harry Potter, Starhunter, Gulliver’s Travels [1996], Raiders of the Lost Ark, Flash Gordon, Peter Pan [1976 TV])
Alan Ackles b. 1948 (Supernatural, Benji Zax & the Alien Prince)
George Wyner b. 1945 (Touch, Journeyman, Stargate SG-1, Strange World, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Postman, Devil’s Advocate, Quantum Leap, Spaceballs)
Anneke Wills b. 1941 (Doctor Who)
Jerry Orbach b. 1935 died 28 December 2004 (Universal Soldier, Deadly Nightmares, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Michael Dunn b. 1934 died 29 August 1973 (The Mutations, House of the Damned, The Werewolf of Washington, Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Anton Diffring b. 1918 died 20 May 1989 (Doctor Who, The Beast Must Die, Mark of the Devil Part II, Fahrenheit 451, Circus of Horrors, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
John Anderson b. 1922 Died 7 August 1992 (Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Starman [TV], Voyagers!, The Greatest American Hero, Project U.F.O., The Incredible Hulk, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], The Satan Bug, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Rex Ingram b. 1895 died 19 September 1969 (A Thousand and One Nights, The Thief of Bagdad)
Bela Lugosi b. 1882 died 16 August 1956 (Plan 9 from Outer Space, Bride of the Monster, Vampire Over London, Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein, Zombies on Broadway, Return of the Ape Man, Return of the Vampire, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Ape Man, Night Monster, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Invisible Ghost, Devil Bat, The Human Monster, The Son of Frankenstein, The Invisible Ray, Mark of the Vampire, The Return of Chandu, The Black Cat, Island of Lost Souls, Chandu the Magician, White Zombie, Dracula)

Notes on the Birthday List.
1. The Picture Slot. Plenty of iconic roles to choose from, though from my geezer perspective Viggo Mortensen is the youngest of the iconic actors. Last year, I used Bela Lugosi. Next year I'm really not sure, there are five more good choices to my mind.

2. The Gal at the Door. One of the iconic choices is Anneke Wills, companion on Doctor Who and the oldest living person on the list at only 73 years old. All my best wishes to her.

3. Spot the Canadian! There are a few folks with credits on Canadian produced sci-fi shows, but only one was actually born in Canada. Answer in the comments.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Enormous lasers can do damage in two ways: A continuous beam can cut a hole through nearly any surface and rapid pulses can beat a hole in a target mechanically. The handicap is the enormous amount of energy required. Moreover, using a laser at great distances as planned in the "Star Wars" Strategic Defense Initiative requires astonishing marksmanship. The most practical use would be as an anti-satellite weapon by blinding the satellite's extremely sensitive electronic eyes.


Reality: If governments are messing with one another's satellites, they certainly aren't blabbing to The New York Times. Whenever I read about lasers as weapons, I remember the Gahan Wilson cartoon from ages ago with a mad scientist in the background crumpling up a copy of the Wall Street Journal, while his hunchbacked assistant explains to a visitor "General Electric has beat him out on his death ray and he's simply furious!"

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

This week is all about interrupting or regular schedule, or to use the latest jargon I hate, this week is disruptive.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

19 October 2014

Birthdays
Samuel Honywood b. 1996 (Nanny McPhee)
Kevin Alves b. 1991 (How to Build a Better Boy, Warehouse 13)
Samantha Munro b. 1990 (Lost Girl)
Gillian Jacobs b. 1982 (Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The Box, Fringe)
Benjamin Salisbury b. 1980 (S1m0ne)
Desmond Harrington b. 1976 (Astronaut Wives Club, The Dark Knight Rises, TIMER, Taken)
Tony Crane b. 1972 (S1m0ne, Wishmaster, Out of This World)
Chris Kattan b. 1970 (Undead or Alive: A Zombedy, Monkeybone)
Anna Galvin b. 1969 (Witches of East End, Almost Human, Supernatural, Girl Vs. Monster, SGU Stargate Universe, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Caprica, Smallville, Kyle XY, The Andromeda Strain, Tin Man, Eureka, The Genie from Down Under 1 & 2, Timecop, Scavengers)
Amy Linker b. 1966 (D.A.R.Y.L.)
Jon Favreau b. 1966 (director, Revolution, Cowboys & Aliens, Iron Man 1 & 2, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Elf; actor, Iron Man 1, 2 & 3, John Carter, Elf, Daredevil, Deep Impact)
Roger R. Cross b. 1966 (The Strain, Continuum, Orphan Black, Fringe, Arrow, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Bionic Woman, The 4400, The Chronicles of Riddick, Star Trek: Enterprise, Eureka, The X-Files, X-Men 2, Taken, Relic Hunter, Andromeda, First Wave, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Stargate SG-1, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, Cloned, Highlander, Strange Luck, Sliders, M.A.N.T.I.S.)
Tiriel Mora b. 1958 (The Wolverine, King Kong, Queen of the Damned, Stepsister from Planet Weird, Farscape, Time Trax, Future Schlock)
Ken Stott b. 1954 (The Hobbit)
Bill Martin Williams b. 1954 (American Horror Story, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Jonah Hex)
Annie Golden b. 1951 (The American Astronaut, Twelve Monkeys)
Jim Starlin b. 1949 (comic book artist)
Philip Pullman b. 1946 (writer, The Golden Compass)
Kenneth Washington b. 1946 (Westworld, Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie)
John Lithgow b. 1945 (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Tales from the Crypt, Third Rock from the Sun, Harry and the Hendersons, Amazing Stories, 2010, Buckaroo Banzai, Faerie Tale Theatre, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Day After)
Desmond Barrit b. 1944 (A Christmas Carol [1999 TV], Alice Through the Looking Glass [1998 TV])
Simon Ward b. 1941 died 20 July 2012 (Supergirl, The Monster Club, Holocaust 2000, Bram Stoker’s Dracula [1974 TV], Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed)
Michael Gambon b. 1940 (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Omen [2006], Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sleepy Hollow [1999], Mary Reilly)
Tony Lo Bianco b. 1936 (Endangered Species, Twilight Zone [1985])
Shelby Grant b. 1936 died 25 June 2011 (Fantastic Voyage, Batman)
Robert Reed b. 1932 died 12 May 1992 (Galactica 1980, Wonder Woman)
George Nader b. 1921 died 4 February 2002 (Beyond Atlantis, The Human Duplicators, Robot Monster)
Bob Sweeney b. 1918 died 7 June 1992 (director, Starman [TV], Misfits of Science)
David Lewis b. 1916 died 11 December 2000 (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Girl with Something Extra, Batman, Bewitched, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Absent-Minded Professor, Captain Video and his Video Rangers)
Robert Beatty b. 1909 died 3 March 1992 (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Superman III, Tales of the Unexpected, Blakes 7, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Doctor Who, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Tor Johnson b. 1903 died 12 May 1971 (The Beast of Yucca Flats, Night of the Ghouls, Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Unearthly, Bride of the Monster, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, The Canterville Ghost)

Last year, the Picture Slot was filled by an illustration by Jim Starlin, because I was a Marvel nerd in a younger incarnation. This year it's Michael Gambon, in what I consider the most iconic role on the list. Next year? John Lithgow and Tor Johnson are early betting favorites.

As for Spot the Canadian!, the two twentysomething Canucks, Kevin Alves and Samantha Munro, are hard to spot because of how few roles they have had in genre. The two fortysomethings, Anna Galvin and Roger R. Cross, are more easily detected, but they were born in Australia and Jamaica, respectively.

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

Predictor: Knowing, released 20 March 2009

Prediction: On 19 October 2009, a giant solar flare destroys all life on earth.

Reality: The science behind this is pretty weak, but what should we expect from a movie starring Nicolas Cage?  In the hundreds of millions of years life has been on earth, none of the large extinction events is blamed on solar flares, or coronal mass ejections, another way the sun spits and belches. Our atmosphere has been able to absorb most of the energy of such events in the past.

The real danger would be to the electrical grid. If a flare as strong as the 1859 event happened now, it could knock out power around the world. The webpages where I read about this did not make it clear for how long the power would be out.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We are going to be getting a lot of interruptions of the schedule this month, but tomorrow we will get OMNI Future Almanac, our regular Monday morning pick me up.

Join us then... INTO THE FUTURE!

18 October 2014

Birthdays
Tyler Posey b. 1991 (Teen Wolf, Smallville)
Zac Efron b.1987 (Firefly)
Freida Pinto b. 1984 (Immortals, Rise from the Planet of the Apes)
Tod Fennell b. 1984 (Warm Bodies, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The 4400, Big Wolf on Campus, The Worst Witch, Goosebumps, Brainscan)
Shawna Loyer b. 1979 (Thir13en Ghosts)
Xun Zhou b. 1974 (Cloud Atlas)
Joy Bryant b. 1974 (Virtuality, Spider-Man 2)
Erin Moran b. 1960 (Galaxy of Terror)
Jean Claude Van Damme b. 1960 (U.F.O., Universal Soldier, Timecop, Cyborg)
Corinne Bohrer b. 1958 (Star Kid, The Flash, Free Spirit, The Powers of Matthew Star, Zapped!)
David Twohy b. 1955 (director, Riddick, The Chronicles of Riddick, Pitch Black, Disaster in Time)
Arliss Howard b. 1954 (True Blood, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Wilder Napalm, Twilight Zone [1985], The Day After, The Incredible Hulk)
Chuck Lorre b. 1952 (show runner, The Big Bang Theory)
Pam Dawber b.1951 (Stay Tuned, Faerie Tale Theatre, The Twilight Zone [1985], Mork and Mindy, The Girl, The Gold Watch & Everything)
Joe Morton b. 1947 (Coma [TV mini-series], Terminator 2, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Paycheck, Thoughtcrimes, Smallville, Dragonfly, The X-Files, The Astronaut’s Wife, Challenger, Brother from Another Planet)
Howard Shore b.1946 (music, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbitt, eXistenZ)
Dawn Wells b. 1938 (Meego, ALF, The Invaders)
Peter Boyle b. 1935 died 12 December 2006 (Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Species II, Doctor Doolittle, The X-Files, Los & Clark, The Shadow, Solar Crisis, Young Frankenstein, Slither)
Calvin Lockhart b. 1934 died 29 March 2007 (Predator 2, The Beast Must Die)
Inger Stevens b. 1934 died 30 April 1970 (Twilight Zone, The World, the Flesh and the Devil)
George C. Scott b. 1927 died 22 September 1999 (The Exorcist III, A Christmas Carol, Firestarter, Beauty and the Beast [TV movie])
Klaus Kinski b. 1926 died 23 November 1991 (Vampire in Venice, Nosferatu the Vampire, Timestalkers, Creature, Deadly Knightmares, Faerie Tale Theatre, Android, Lifespan, Lover of the Monster, The Hand That Feeds the Dead)
Boris Sagal b. 1923 died 22 May 1981 (World War III, The Omega Man, Twilight Zone)
Anthony Dawson b. 1916 died 8 January 1992 (Ghoulies II, The Curse of the Werewolf)

There's a lot of movie stars and TV stars on our list today and plenty of iconic roles, though the list is Star Trek free. Last year, I went with Pam Dawber as Mindy and still being in a fabulous babe mood, this year it's Inger Stevens from her most famous Twilight Zone episode. Next year I can't say, but Peter Boyle and Klaus Kinski are having a classic Frankenstein vs. Dracula battle in my head right now.

This would be a truly unfair day to ask readers to play Spot the Canadian! Joe Morton has the resume of a Canadian, but was born in New York City. Tod Fennell is the actual Canadian.

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

Predictor: The baseball experts at ESPN

Prediction: 3 of 70 experts had the Royals in the World Series and 1 of 70 had the Giants.

Reality: I'm going to make an excuse for this truly pathetic showing by the experts, because both these teams were wild cards. It has happened one time before that two wild card teams made the World Series, back in 2002 when the Giants lost to the Angels. (The NFL has a longer wild card history, but never have wild card teams from each conference made it to the Super Bowl.)

But now we get to the grade. The experts have gotten 20.2% of their predictions correct, which is awful. One expert has the Giants winning it all and two favor the Royals. No matter the outcome, the correct pick percentage has to fall to around 18%, or if we put in in batting average numbers, either .183 or .181, which means below the Mendoza Line. There's no way to make this sound like an accomplishment.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The weekly schedule is interrupted for an exact date from a movie.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!