5 June 2015

Birthdays
Yuya Ozeki b. 1996 (The Grudge)
Troye Sivan b. 1995 (X-Men: Origins: Wolverine)
Sophie Lowe b. 1990 (The Returned, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, After the Dark)
Ellary Porterfield (Video Game High School)
Amanda Crew b. 1986 (The Age of Adaline, The Haunting in Connecticut, Final Destination 3, Smallville)
Marc Pickering b. 1985 (Sleepy Hollow [1999])
Jonathon Trent b. 1984 (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
Mike Fisher b. 1980 (Transformers)
Navi Rawat b. 1977 (FlashForward, Undead or Alive: A Zombedy, Angel, Thoughtcrimes, Roswell)
Liza Weil b. 1977 (Dragonfly, Stir of Echoes)
Mark Worden b. 1976 (Star Trek: Enterprise, 10.5, StargateSG-1, Deep Space Nine, Space: Above and Beyond)
Chad Allen b. 1974 (Total Recall 2070, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Charmed, Total Recall 2070)
Mark Wahlberg b. 1971 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Ted, The Happening, Planet of the Apes)
Susan Lynch b. 1971 (From Hell, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, The Secret of Roan Inish)
Christian Boeving b. 1969 (Apocalypse Z, Daredevil, Andromina: The Pleasure Planet, Batman & Robin)
Ron Livingston b. 1967 (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Timecop)
Douglas O’Keeffe b. 1966 (The Andromeda Strain, Smallville, Mutant X, Andromeda, Dark Angel, Seven Days, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The Adventures of Sinbad [TV], Specimen, Forever Knight, Johnny Mnemonic)
David H. Hickey b. 1963 (From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], Serum, Sin City)
Ken Hudson Campbell b. 1962 (Bewitched [2005], Breakfast of Champions, Armageddon, Groundhog Day)
Jeff Garlin b. 1962 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Dead Last, Robocop 3)
James Isaac b. 1960 died 6 May 2012 (Skinwalkers, Jason X)
Nancy Stafford b. 1954 (Babylon 5, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare, Quantum Leap, Q)
Kathleen Kennedy b. 1953 (producer, Star Wars: Episodes VII, VIII, IX, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Last Airbender, Indiana Jones, War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Sixth Sense, The Indian in the Cupboard, Congo, Back to the Future, Gremlins, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, *batteries not included, Innerspace, Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Poltergeist, E.T. the Extraterrestrial)
Mark Harelik b. 1951 (Awake, TiMER, The Big Bang Theory, Heroes, Angel, Star Trek: Voyager)
Daniel von Bargen b. 1950 died 1 March 2015 (S1mOne, Universal Soldier: The Return, Universal Soldier: The Return, The Faculty, The X-Files, The Postman, Thinner, Lord of Illusions, RoboCop 3)
Malcolm Sinclair b. 1950 (V for Vendetta)
John Bach b. 1946 (Legend of the Seeker, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Lord of the Rings, Farscape, The Lost World, Young Hercules, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mysterious Island [TV], Time Trax)
Robert Lansing b. 1928 died 23 October 1994 (Bionic Showdown, Automan, Island Claws, Empire of the Ants, The Astronaut, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, 4D Man)
Peggy Stewart b. 1923 (Flashforward, Terror in the Wax Museum, Twilight Zone, The Vampire’s Ghost)
Estelle Reiner b. 1914 died 25 October 2008 (The Man with Two Brains)
Herb Vigran b. 1910 died 29 November 1986 (Galactica 1980, Bewitched, The Reluctant Astronaut, It’s About Time, I Dream of Jeannie, The Brass Bottle, The Vampire, World Without End, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Topper, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man)
John Abbott b. 1905 died 24 May 1996 (Slapstick (Of Another Kind), Holmes and Yo-Yo, 2000 Years Later, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Lost in Space, The Munsters, Cry of the Werewolf)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In 2013, it was Mark Walberg, largely because the list was so short. In 2014, I used a picture of John Abbott from his guest role on Star Trek. This year, it's Robert Lansing in his guest role from Star Trek as Gary Seven, the guy they hoped would have a spin-off series.

2. Spot the Canadians. Not easy to spot today, so here they are: Amanda Crew, Mike Fisher, Mark Worden.

3. Nepotism FTW. Estelle Reiner was Carl Reiner's wife. Many of her roles were in his projects. Mike Fisher is a hockey player who married Carrie Underwood. imdb,com says he's an actor, but he has exactly one role so far.

4. I miss Daniel von Bargen. It's so sad things went so badly for him. He was a great actor.

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

Predictor: H.G. Wells in his 1901 book Anticipations

Prediction: But these days of the happy-go-lucky optimist are near their end. War is being drawn into the field of the exact sciences. Every additional weapon, every new complication of the art of war, intensifies the need of deliberate preparation, and darkens the outlook of a nation of amateurs. Warfare in the future, on sea or land alike, will be much more one-sided than it has ever been in the past, much more of a foregone conclusion. Save for national lunacy, it will be brought about by the side that will win, and because that side knows that it will win.

Reality: In point of fact, starting a war in the 20th Century and continuing into the 21st Century has generally been a bad idea. With a few exceptions like the Chinese invasion of Tibet, most wars of aggression have been in the past hundred years or so have been somewhere between costly and disastrous. Consider Iraq's invasion of Kuwait or the American invasion of Iraq. The aggressor "won" at least at first, but either lost decisively before it was done or got a situation that wasn't worth the cost.

I have to admit Wells' phrase "happy-go-lucky optimist" reminds me of Donald Rumsfeld. I have tried to wean myself from the culture of outrage, largely because it's so damned exhausting. But thinking about Rumsfeld for just a few minutes can get my blood boiling. Not unlike Sepp Blatter, the world would be a better place if Donald Rumsfeld died in prison.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of happy-go-lucky optimists, we get another dip into Morris Ernst's Utopia 1976. At least he's not a war monger.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!