9 July 2015

Birthdays
Georgie Henley b. 1995 (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Toby Kebbell b. 1982 (The Fantastic Four [2015], Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Wrath of the Titans, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time)
Jamie King b. 1981 (Lost City Raiders, Vampire Diary)
Linda Park b. 1978 (Infestation, Star Trek: Enterprise, Jurassic Park III, Spectres)
Fred Savage b. 1976 (The Wizard, Little Monsters, The Princess Bride, The Twilight Zone [1986], The Boy Who Could Fly)
Enrique Murciano b. 1973 (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, 666 Park Avenue, Star Trek: Enterprise)
Scott Grimes b. 1971 (DreamKeeper, Frogs!, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Critters 1 & 2, Frog, Twilight Zone [1985])
David O’Hara b. 1965 (Cowboys & Aliens, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Wanted, Doomsday)
K. Todd Freeman b. 1965 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014], The Dark Knight, Buffy)
Kevin Nash b. 1959 (Almighty Thor [TV], Genesis [TV movie]. The Punisher, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Swamp Thing [TV], Super Force, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze)
Tim Kring b. 1957 (writer/producer, Touch, Heroes)
Kelly McGillis b. 1957 (Z Nation)
Philip Martin Brown b. 1956 (Sleepy Hollow [movie])
Tom Hanks b. 1956 (Cloud Atlas, The Polar Express, The Green Mile, From the Earth to the Moon, Apollo 13, Big, Splash, Mazes and Monsters)
Jimmy Smits b. 1955 (Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones, The Tommyknockers)
Kim Hector b. 1953 (The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Chris Cooper b. 1951 (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
Ray Baker b. 1948 (Heroes, Path of Destruction, Alien Siege, Holes, Area 52, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Tomorrow Man, Freaked, Total Recall [1990], C.H.U.D.)
O.J. Simpson b. 1947 (Capricorn One)
Dean R. Koontz b. 1945 (author, Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein, Odd Thomas)
Soledad Miranda b. 1943 died 18 August 1970 (Vampiros Lesbos, Count Dracula [1970], Pyro… The Thing Without a Face)
Edy Williams b. 1942 (Bad Girls from Mars, Dr. Alien, Lost in Space, Batman, The Brass Bottle, Twilight Zone)
Richard Roundtree b. 1942 (Knight Rider [2009], Speed Racer, Heroes, Vegas Vampires, Blade: The Series, Painkiller Jane, Theodore Rex, Beauty and the Beast [1989])
Brian Dennehy b. 1938 (The 4400, Category 6: Day of Destruction, NetForce, Cocoon, Ants)
James Hampton b. 1936 (Superboy, Teen Wolf 1 and 2, Otherworld, The Greatest American Hero, World War III, The Cat from Outer Space)
Vince Edwards b. 1928 died 11 March 1996 (Andy Colby’s Incredible Adventure, Return to Horror High, Tales from the Darkside, Space Raiders, Knight Rider)
Martin Garner b. 1927 died 28 September 2001 (Alien Nation [TV], Tales from the Crypt, Beauty and the Beast, Twilight Zone: The Movie)
Ed Ames b. 1927 (The Starlost)
Susan Cabot b. 1927 died 10 December 1986 (The Wasp Woman, The War of the Satellites, Viking Women and the Sea Serpent)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot.The previous folk in the Picture Sot were Linda Park, the double threat of being fabulous and a regular on a Star Trek series, even if it was Enterprise, and K.Todd Freeman, Mr. Trick on Buffy. Regular readers will know that being a movie star is not the quickest way into The Picture Slot, and the biggest star here is Tom Hanks. I like Tom Hanks and he is a local boy. A friend of mine from my Atari days went to high school with Hanks. Hanks saw Jason and the Argonauts at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland and he loved it and so did I. We may have been in the same audience. I would even say his roles in The Green Mile and Apollo 13 are iconic.

But I ask you: In any of his genre films, did he have a line as good as "Is this a kissing book?" No, he did not so the Picture Slot goes to Fred Savage.

I am willing to listen to counter-arguments for Hanks or any of several others, but you should recall the First Rule of Blogging ("You aren't the boss of me!") may be invoked.

2. O.J. Simpson? Really? Yeah, I had to. I saw his name and already knew he was in Capricorn One, so he was a shoo-in.

3. Living Canadian free! No Canadians found today, the second time this week.

4. MST3K. I know The Viking Women vs. the Sea Serpent for sure and I think that's all we've got. 


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

Movies released 
Predators released, 2010
Despicable Me released, 2010

Predictor: Alexander Hamilton in 1787, commenting on the newly finished Constitution of the United States, quoted in The Experts Speak.

Prediction: “A shilly-shally thing of milk and water, which could not last.”

Reality: Treasury secretary Jack Lew has his heart set on putting a woman on the $10 instead of the $20, so I thought I'd give Hamilton a little blog love. It's easy to say he's wrong and the Constitution did last, but it only lasted because we say it's lasted. If some bold racist from the South said they were going to count black folks as 3/5 of people when redistricting, strict constructionists would have to take their side if they really meant what they said, but they won't because their alleged reasons are so much jiggery-pokery.

And if you want to mark the murder of the Constitution, though we decided not to bury the corpse, leaving us with some sort of zombie founding document, consider when the Supreme Court told asshole Andrew Jackson (lionized by the Democratic Party) he couldn't mess with the Cherokee but he did anyway, citing the fact the Supreme Court didn't have an army to back up what it wrote.

So I'm giving Hamilton half credit here. Yes, it lasted, but he's right that it was shilly-shally.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Can H.G. Wells ever get full marks on a prediction ever again from this blog? Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!