1 October 2014

 Birthdays
Jurnee Smollett-Bell b. 1986 (True Blood)
Sonja O’Hara b. 1986 (Dollhouse)
Olga Fonda b. 1982 (The Vampire Diaries, Real Steel)
Rupert Friend b. 1981 (The Zero Theorem)
Sarah Drew b. 1980 (Supernatural, Wonderfalls)
Katie Aselton b. 1978 (Revolution)
Danielle Bisutti b. 1976 (Beauty and the Beast [2014 TV], Curse of Chucky, Wizards of Waverly Place, Charmed)
Sherri Saum b. 1974 (Heroes, Charmed)
Taris Tyler b. 1972 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Wolverine, Real Steel, Superman Returns, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars)
Stephen Lord b. 1972 (Penny Dreadful, Once Upon a Time, Judge Dredd)
Charles Edwards b. 1969 (Batman Begins)
Cindy Margolis b. 1965 (Conan [1997 TV], Earth Minus Zero)
Ted King b. 1965 (Charmed, Blade, Timecop, The X Files)
Esai Morales b. 1962 (Caprica, Jericho, The Hunger [TV], Freejack, The Twilight Zone [1989])
Elizabeth Dennehy b. 1960 (Hancock, Charmed, Gattaca, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Randy Quaid b. 1950 (Blade: The Series, Category 7: The End of the World, Category 6: Day of Destruction, 5ive Days to Midnight, The Adventure of Pluto Nash, The Day the World Ended, The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, Bug Buster, Independence Day, Frankenstein [1992 TV], Martians Go Home, The Wraith, Heartbeeps)
Stephen Collins b. 1947 (Revolution, Falling Skies, No Ordinary Family, Deadly Nightmares, The Henderson Monster, Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
Richard Corben b. 1940 (artist)
Lelia Goldoni b. 1936 (Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
Julie Andrews b. 1935 (Tooth Fairy, Mary Poppins, Cinderella [TV])
Richard Harris b. 1930 died 25 October 2002 (Harry Potter, Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Gulliver’s Travels [1977])
Lawrence Harvey b. 1928 died 25 November 1973 (The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm)
George Peppard b. 1928 died 8 May 1994 (Battle Beyond the Stars, Damnation Alley)
Tom Bosley b. 1927 died 19 October 2010 (The Fallen Ones, Little Bigfoot 2: The Journey Home, Out of This World, Wicked Stepmother, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], Bewitched, Alice in Wonderland [1955 TV])
James Whitmore b. 1921 died 6 February 2009 (The Relic, Planet of the Apes, The Invaders, Twilight Zone, Them!, The Next Voice You Hear)
Lonny Chapman b. 1920 died 12 October 2007 (Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Birds)
Everett Sloane b. 1909 died 6 August 1965 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone)
Richard Loo b. 1903 died 20 November 1983 (The Incredible Hulk, The Sixth Sense, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
George Coulouris b. 1903 died 25 April 1989 (The Last Days of Man on Earth, A Clockwork Orange, No Blade of Grass, The Prisoner, Doctor Who, Pathfinders to Mars)
Abraham Sofaer b. 1896 died 21 January 1988 (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Journey to the Center of Time, The Time Tunnel, The Outer Limits, Captain Sindbad, Twilight Zone, Things to Come)

Last year, the Picture Slot was given to Stephen Collins from the first Star Trek movie, which in its day was nearly as disappointing as Episode 1 of Star Wars was for a later generation. This year it's Richard Harris as Dumbledore. Next year, I'm not sure. I might go with Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins or Elizabeth Dennehy from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Stuff I learned researching today: Taris Tyler is Hugh Jackman's stand-in and sometimes also gets small roles in the movies he makes with Jackman.

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: All chimneys have disappeared. Electric light, heat and power have long since done away with the use of steam, even for cooking. From the height at which Mr. Smith is flying he looks down upon the avenues of trees and flowers through which circulate the moving sidewalks. There is no dust, neither are there wagons or horses.

Suddenly a platoon of flying police dashes into the cloud of airships, making a lane among them for a giant that darkens the horizon. A siren booms and a majestic shadow soars over the city. It is the express aerial Atlantic line Paris-New York, which settles like an albatross to discharge its passengers upon a vast landing stage where Central Park was a hundred years ago.


Reality: Our predictor is certainly bold and while not 100% correct, he does get some stuff right. Electricity is the major power source, though it isn't all alone. Chimneys are rarer and wagons and horse are gone from city life. His idea of how air traffic would work is pretty much a recipe for daily catastrophes, and of course there isn't just one trans-Atlantic airliner a day. Also, as much land as airports need, the public would have raised holy hell if it was decided Central Park should go away.

This month's splash illustration: Wandering around the Net yesterday, I stumbled upon a couple of illustrations from a 1965 comic book that listed expert predictions for the future. In November, I'll use a different prediction from teh same source.

Not quite as much fun as the Atom Bomb Ring with atoms smashed to smithereens, but I still find it charming.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The ESPN experts trot out their post-season predictions.



Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!