31 August 2014

Birthdays
Holly Earl b. 1992 (Dracula: The Dark Prince, Doctor Who, My Hero, Red Dwarf)
Ryan Kelley b. 1986 (Teen Wolf, Ben 10:Alien Swarm, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Smallville)
Leo Bill b. 1980 (Doctor Who, Alice in Wonderland, Jekyll, 28 Days Later…)
Mike Erwin b. 1978 (The Vampire Diaries, Hulk)
Marc Webb b. 1974 (director, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2)
Chris Tucker b. 1972 (The Fifth Element, The Meteor Man)
Zack Ward b. 1970 (Save the Supers, Warehouse 13, Dollhouse, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Transformers, Lost, Charmed, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Freddy vs. Jason, Sliders, Forever Knight, Maniac Mansion)
Daniel Bernhardt b. 1965 (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Creature, The Matrix Reloaded, Mortal Kombat: Conquest)
Todd Carty b. 1963 (Krull)
Julie Brown b. 1954 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Alien Avengers II, The Addams Family [1993], Quantum Leap, Earth Girls Are Easy, The Incredible Shrinking Woman)
Lowell Ganz b. 1948 (screenwriter, Robots, Splash)
Roger Dean b. 1944 (artist)
Larry Hankin b. 1940 (Weird Science, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, ALF, Amazing Stories, Faerie Tale Theatre, Doctor Dracula)
Jack Thompson b. 1940 (Man-Thing, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones)
Noble Willingham b. 1931 died 17 January 2004 (Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Tucker’s Witch, The Howling, Man from Atlantis)
James Coburn b.1928 died 18 November 2002 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Looker, Twilight Zone)
Richard Basehart b. 1914 died 17 September 1984 (Mr. Merlin, The Island of Dr, Moreau, Time Travelers, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Stan Bug, Twilight Zone)
Frederic March b. 1897 died 14 April 1975 (I Married a Witch, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

There are some well known names on the list, though not all have iconic genre roles. I was having difficulty picking a face, so I decided to go with an illustration from Roger Dean, best known for his albums covers for Yes. Dean is currently suing James Cameron, claiming the director copied ideas from his paintings for the look of Avatar. Cameron has already won several lawsuits in relation to his big hit movie. I'm not a lawyer, but I think Dean has a point. For me, the real crime is that Cameron is talking about making three sequels, slated to be released 2016, 2017 and 2018. Unfortunately, there is no legal recourse against this travesty.

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

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

Predictor: Daventry, Leonard. A Man of Double Deed. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965. New York: Berkley, 1967.

Prediction: A century after the Atomic Disaster of 1990, a cruel, technically sophisticated culture is deteriorating, as young people commit murders, seemingly at random. Games patterned after the ancient Roman model are popular, and actual war games for violent citizens are being arranged. A typical old-fashioned dystopia, with loveless free sex, synthetic food, and casual interplanetary travel. Unusual in depicting homosexuality as common. The author is British.

Reality: As usual, when the prediction looks like a plot summary, I'm lifting info from Professor Paul Brians' nuclear fiction website. I have to say I love the one-two punch of the last two sentences.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A new month begins and we get a return visit from an old friend.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

5 August 2014

Birthdays
Mars Curiosity landed 2012
Olivia Holt b. 1997 (Girl vs. Monster)
Ryan McDonald b. 1984 (Warehouse 13, Fringe, 2012)
Jesse Williams b. 1981 (The Cabin in the Woods)
Sophia Winkleman b. 1980 (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
Victor Cruz b. 1980 (Gotham, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Fringe)
Paul Kasey b. 1973 (Doctor Who, Being Human, The Sarah Jane Chronicles, Inkheart, Torchwood, 28 Days Later…, Blade II)
James Gunn b. 1970 (director, Guardians of the Galaxy, Slither [2006])
Jonathan Silverman (Jekyll, 12:01)
Mark Strong b. 1963 (John Carter, Green Lantern, Kick-Ass, Babylon A.D., Stardust)
Tawny Kitaen b. 1961 (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, They Came from Outer Space, Witchboard)
Maureen McCormick b. 1956 (I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched)
Natalie Trundy b. 1940 (Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Twilight Zone)
Larry Elmore b. 1948 (artist)
Alan Howard b. 1937 (Lord of the Rings)
John Saxon b. 1935 (From Dusk Till Dawn, Hellmaster, My Mom’s a Werewolf, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Prisoners of the Lost Universe, Battle Beyond the Stars, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Strange New World, Planet Earth, The Time Tunnel, Queen of Blood, Blood Beast from Outer Space)
Zakes Mokae b. 1934 died 11 September 2009 (The X Files, Waterworld, Outbreak, Vampire in Brooklyn, Knight Rider)
Joan Weldon b. 1933 (Them!)
Neil Armstrong b. 1930 died 25 August 2012 (first man to walk on the moon)
Don Matheson b.1929 died 29 June 2014 (Dragonflight, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space)
Parley Baer b. 1914 died 22 November 2002 (Star Trek: Voyager, Roswell, Quantum Leap, Time Trackers, Twilight Zone [1986], The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O., Bewitched, Land of the Giants, I Dream of Jeannie, The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, The Outer Limits, The Brass Bottle)
Reginald Owen b. 1887 died 5 November 1972 (Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Bewitched, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol [1938])

Since astronauts are trump this year, the Picture Slot decision was easy. If Neil Armstrong is removed from contention, my idiosyncratic top four would be Mark Strong (the closest we have to a 21st Century movie star on the list), John Saxon (not quite a movie star in his day, more of a TV/b-movie star), Parley Baer (a TV Oh That Guy whose 271 credits span from I Love Lucy to Star Trek: Voyager) and Reginald Owen (still my favorite live action version of Scrooge).

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

Movies released
Rise of the Planet of the Apes released 2011
 

Predictor: Philip K. Dick in the 1958 short story Null-O

Prediction: As of August 5, 1969, the population of the world as been reduced to 3,000.

Reality: I'd say this is an odd little story by PKD, but almost all of his stuff is odd. The title is clearly a tweak of A.E. van Vogt's earlier novel The World of Null-A, a writer many people in sci-fi hated but Dick considered him an important influence. The basic plot is that people with no empathy make a concerted effort to locate others with no empathy and plan to make an improved world by wiping everybody else out.

This, of course, is nothing like the world we live in, unless you look at it through an odd lens, and then it does start to look like our world. This can be said of nearly all of the stories of PKD, a writer whose ideas linger in the brain long after the story is finished.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More random guesses from Herman Kahn. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

20 June 2014

 Birthdays
Jadin Gould b. 1998 (Man of Steel, Battle Los Angeles)
Shefali Chowdhury b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Claudia Lee b. 1996 (Kick-Ass 2)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse b. 1989 (Kick-Ass, This is the End, Fright Night)
Ronnie Gene Blevins b. 1977 (True Blood, The Dark Knight Rises, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Josh Lucas b. 1971 (Space Warriors, Hulk)
Robert Rodriguez b. 1968 (director, Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn, Planet Terror, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D, Spy Kids, The Faculty)
Nicole Kidman b. 1967 (The Golden Compass, The Invasion, Bewitched [2005 movie], The Stepford Wives, The Others, Practical Magic, Batman Forever)
Chuck Wagner b. 1958 (Into the Woods, The Sisterhood, America 3000, Automan)
Miles O’Keefe b. 1954 (Waxwork, Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Ator the Fighting Eagle)
John Goodman b. 1952 (Speed Racer, The Borrowers, Fallen, C.H.U.D.)
Candy Clark b. 1947 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], The Blob [1988], Starman [TV], Amityville 3D, Q, The Man Who Fell to Earth)
Oliver Cotton b. 1944 (The Dark Knight Rises, Beowulf [1999], Space Precinct, Space: 1999)
John Mahoney b. 1940 (3rd Rock from the Sun, The Manhattan Project)
James Tolkan b. 1931 (Robo Warriors, Back to the Future, Masters of the Universe, Iceman, WarGames, Wolfen, The Amityville Horror, The Werewolf of Washington)
Martin Landau b. 1928 (Sleepy Hollow [1999 movie], The Adventures of Pinocchio, The X-Files, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, The Twilight Zone [1985, 1964, 1959], The Return, Meteor, The Fall of the House of Usher, Space: 1999, The Outer Limits)
Robb White b. 1909 died 24 November 1990 (writer, Thirteen Ghosts, House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler)

We were so close to an all living list today! The name of Robb White on imdb.com was #94 on the birthday list and I usually don't check past #100, but the movies he wrote earned him a spot. My first choice for the Picture Slot was Oh That Guy James Tolkan, the principal in Back to the Future, but I'll wait for 2015, the year Back to the Future II is supposed to take place. Two actors I love, John Goodman and John Mahoney, were not in contention as far as I was concerned because they are so much better known for non-genre stuff. Instead I went with Nicole Kidman from The Golden Compass. There was a temptation to have Martin Landau from Space:1999 in the Picture Slot, because in my geezerhood I think of the show as iconic, but to be blunt, I always hated the show.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the late Robb White, scary stuff, dude! 


Movies released
Hulk released 2003

Predictor: James Axler in the Death Lands series of novels, first published in 1988

Prediction: The 20th of June 2001 is the war known as Doomsday

Reality: This is taken from a remarkably successful series of books set 100 years after the apocalypse. Yet again, we avoided an apocalyptic nuclear confrontation in 2001, but it's been a popular form of entertainment for much longer than I have been alive, and I'm old enough to remember Space:1999.

I know... scary.

As usual with all but the most popular nuclear war fiction, I know about it because I found it on Paul Brian's very useful website.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

1893 beckons once again.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 March 2014

 Birthdays
Nathalie Emmanuel b. 1989 (Game of Thrones)
Ethan Peck b. 1986 (In Time, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Selection)
Bryce Dallas Howard b. 1981 (Jurassic World, Twilight, Terminator Salvation, Hereafter, Spider-Man 3, Lady in the Water, The Village)
Jeff Wadlow b. 1976 (writer, Kick-Ass 2, X-Force)
Marc Menard b. 1975 (Lost, Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon)
Scott E. Miller (2012, Smallville, The Last Mimzy, The 4400, Supernatural, Stargate: Atlantis)
Daniel Craig b. 1968 (Cowboys & Aliens, The Golden Compass, The Invasion, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
Gates McFadden b. 1949 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Peter Straub b. 1943 (author, Ghost Story, The Talisman)
Gaye Brown b. 1941 (Into the Woods, An American Haunting, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, A Clockwork Orange, The Masque of the Red Death)
Richard Compton b. 1938 died 11 August 2009 (Director, The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen, Charmed, Sliders, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Sentinel, M.A.N.T.I.S., Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Otherworld)
John Cullum b. 1930 (Quantum Leap, The Day After)

Last year, the Picture Slot was Gates McFadden and given her iconic status in sci-fi, she would have been a good choice this year as well. But instead I went with Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones because I'm waiting anxiously for the new season and... she's purdy.

Many happy returns to all the living on our list and to the late Richard Compton, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: G.J. Barrett in City of the First Time, published in 1975 by Robert Hale [London].

Prediction: Three thousand survivors of a March 2001 Armageddon are threatened in their deep underground shelter by the progressive failure of seals in layers above them.

Reality: Worry about nuclear war has felt like such an antique concern, but with Putin sending troops into the Ukraine, the feeling is coming creeping back a little.

As always, most of the nuclear war fiction I publish as predictions comes from Paul Brian's terrific database, and I thank him for his work and for letting me use it.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Monday is OMNI Future Almanac Day! Yay!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

22 February 2014 - updated with Ragnarök!

 Birthdays
Bryce Hodgson b. 1989 (The Tomorrow People, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, X-Men 2, Stargate SG-1)
Dichen Lachman b. 1982 (Being Human, Torchwood, The Guild, Dollhouse, Tyrannosaurus Azteca, Aquamarine)
Drew Barrymore b. 1975 (Donnie Darko, Batman Forever, Cat’s Eye, Firestarter, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Altered States)
Thomas Jane b. 1969 (The Punisher, Mutant Chronicles, Dreamcatcher, Deep Blue Sea, The Crow: City of Angels, Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], She-Wolf of London)
Jeri Ryan b. 1968 (Helix, Warehouse 13, Star Trek: Voyager, Dracula 2000, Dark Skies, Time Trax)
Steve Spiers b. 1965 (Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, Inkheart, Eragon, Doctor Who, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Star Wars: Episode I)
Kyle MacLachlan b, 1959 (Believe, Mysterious Island, Timecode, The Invisible Man [TV], Roswell, Dune)
Nigel Planer b. 1953 (Hogfather, Brazil)
Ellen Greene b. 1951 (The Walking Dead, Heroes, The X-Files, Little Shop of Horrors)
Julie Walters b. 1950 (Harry Potter, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood)
Joanna Russ b. 1937 died 29 April 2011 (author, Alyx series, The Female Man)
James Hong b. 1929 (R.I.P.D., The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Big Bang Theory, Charmed, Blade Runner, The X-Files, Tank Girl, Lois & Clark, The Shadow, Merlin, War of the Worlds [TV], Big Trouble in Little China, Manimal, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Outer Limits, Godzilla [1956])
Paul Dooley b. 1928 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Edward Gorey b. 1925 died 15 April 2000 (illustrator)
Dwight Frye b. 1899 died 7 November 1943 (Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Vampire Bat, Frankenstein, Dracula)

Last year, before I had done as much research, Jeri Ryan was the Picture Slot. She would still be a perfectly good choice this year, both for being iconic and a fabulous babe. As a huge Whedonverse nerd, I could have gone with Dichen Lachman, also fabulous. The biggest career on the list is probably Drew Barrymore, and a picture from E.T or Firestarter would have been immediately recognizable to much of the nerd community, but I was in an Oh That Guy mood. Dwight Frye was a great Oh That Guy way back in the day, playing Renfield in the original Dracula and the assistant Fritz in the original talkie version of Frankenstein. But folks in the know will recognize James Hong, who has been around forever, going all the way back to voiceover work in the original Godzilla.

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

Predictor: Clarence W. Van Tilburg, contest winner for predictions of the 21st Century is the April 1956 issue of Amazing Stories, the magazine's 30th anniversary.

Explanation: This magazine was a great find last year, and thanks to my pal Alan Ponder for letting me rummage through his collection. As you can see on the cover, they got predictions from all kinds of people, not only Heinlein but Sid Caesar, Salvador Dali and pitcher Herb Score. I'm reprinting the predictions of Clarence W. Van Tilburg, with the realities in the parentheses.

Predictions (realities):
Medicine
1. Great strides in mental therapy. "Psi" professions operating on solid premises. (This is arguable, but anti-depressant drugs have been a great step forward)
2. Banking of human organs; artificial culture of tissues; universal extension of preventative medicine.  (Good calls here.)
3. Life expectancy 88 for women 80 for men in US and many other countries, world average 70. (A little high on all, and the male/female split has shrunk down quite a bit.)

World Politics
1. The big four: USA, USSR, China, India, India leader of the Asian Commonwealth from Iran to Malaya (I'd say it's USA, China and the Eurozone as the big three. Russia or India aren't bad choices for fourth place, but not at the same level.)
2. All Central America coalesced into a single political unit. (No.)

Science, Industry, Technology
1. Maximum work week in US and Canada: 20 hours (Oh, don't we wish!)
2. Top industry: Leisure (Close, but still behind petroleum.)
3. US and USSR have manned satellites and have reached the Moon. (He didn't guess the end of the USSR, but we do have manned stations and the US reached the moon. This was very sci-fi in 1956.)
4. Seas mined in earnest for rare elements and food. (Mainly, we drill for oil, but we do get a lot of fish from the sea.)
5. Desalted sea water used for irrigation and industrial purposes. (Costs still make this impractical.)
6. Direct conversion of sunlight into power and synthesis of food on commercial scales (Solar power yes; synthesis of food... well, it depends on how you feel about seaweed and tofu.)
7. Atomic power in world-wide use (We use much more than we did in 1956, but Three Mile Island and Chernobyl flattened out the growth curve quite a bit.)
8. Long-distance travel almost entirely by air at supersonic speeds (No. Just under supersonic is pretty much the industry standard.)
9. Privately owned helicopters commonly used, heliports on every large building (It's not quite the helicopter paradise envisioned by Van Tilburg, but they do get used regularly.)
10. Plastic glass and light metals common in building construction. (Absolutely true.)
11. Moving sidewalks common. (So sci-fi! So not true.)
12. Shortwave cooking common. (Microwaves, absolutely.)
13. Great increase in telescope range, boundaries of universe still unknown. (Completely so.)

Bonus prediction: Ragnarök!

Predictor: Norse mythology, kind of

Reality:  Legend has it that three freezing winters in a row with no summers in between is the sign that the final battle of the gods will be fought, and the smart money is not betting on the gods. Of course, here in California we haven't had three freezing winters and we definitely had summers in 2013 and 2012, but in York, England they think their weather qualifies, so there you go.

York, England, your bloody whining has brought on the end of the universe. We hope you're happy with yourselves.

As for me, I'm still grading papers and preparing for midterms, so you know my general opinion of the situation.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We've had a few interruptions in the regular schedule on Sundays, but tomorrow it's another fun romp thinking about the nuclear wars we've avoided.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

15 January 2014

 Birthdays
Regina King b. 1971 (The Big Bang Theory)
James Nesbitt b. 1965 (The Hobbit, The Deep, Jekyll)
Kelly Asbury b. 1960 (director, Shrek 2)
Robert Silverberg b. 1935
(won 1972 Nebula for A Time of Changes)
Joanne Linville b. 1928 (Star Trek, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Phyllis Coates b. 1927 (Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, Invasion U.S.A.)
Lloyd Bridges b. 1913 died 10 March 1998 (Rocketship X-M, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Battlestar Galactica)
Torin Thatcher b. 1905 died 4 March 1981 (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Jack the Giant Killer)
Ernest Thesiger b. 1879 died 14 January 1961 (The Bride of Frankenstein)

Today's birthday list is much more about the past than it is about today, so it's only fair the Picture Slot goes to Torin Thatcher, an "oh, that guy" actor who was on all four Irwin Allen shows in the 1960s as well as a Star Trek and as the bad guy in one of the Ray Harryhausen movies. Phyllis Coates was one of the Lois Lanes in The Adventures of Superman and Lloyd Bridges is best known for non-genre work in Airplane! or Sea Hunt depending on your age. I almost went with Joanne Linville in the Picture Slot, since she was the first woman on Star Trek to break the glass ceiling and sit in the captain's chair when she played a Romulan commander. Another iconic choice would have been Ernest Thesiger as Doctor Pretorious from The Bride of Frankenstein, the mad scientist who had a menagerie of tiny people in jars.

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

 Movies released
The Book of Eli released, 2010

Prediction: In 1904, devastating fires break out all around the world, destroying most of the countryside and several cities, including New York, London and Paris. They are caused by the over-reliance of nitrogen as a fertilizer.

Predictor: Author Robert Barr in his short story Within an Ace of the End of the World, first published in April 1900, part of the collection Steampunk Prime, edited by Mike Ashley.

Reality: Science is cool and science is scary. We live in a world of wonders, but we rely on so much technology that no one person can possibly understand everything that is going on. Right now, most of our worries about the food supply are concerned with biological engineering. At the turn of the 20th Century, the big breakthroughs were new artificial fertilizers, which of course can be used as explosives as well, but only when mixed with other chemicals.

As always, the devil is in the details.

Reading as many doomsday scenarios as I do is equal parts reassuring and unsettling. Most of the worries of the past were completely unfounded and I get the feeling that most of the today's apocalyptic predictions are just as misguided. But then there's the sheer number of things that we get warned about. If one of the big ones is actually worse than we think, it could be hell in a handbasket time sooner than we realize.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is tomorrow Thursday already? That means another visit from Isaac Asimov. Oh, goody!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

29 December 2013

Birthdays
Jude Law b. 1972 (Hugo, Repo Men, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortuante Events, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, A.I., eXistenZ, Gattaca)
Leonor Varela b. 1972 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Blade II, Stargate:Atlantis)
Patrick Fischler b. 1969 (Grimm, Lost, Idiocracy, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Charmed)
Andy Wachowski b. 1967 (director, The Matrix, V for Vendetta, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas)
Dave McKean b. 1963 (artist, Sandman, Coraline, MirrorMask)
M.H. b. 1955 (blogger)
Jon Voight b. 1938 (Dracula: The Dark Prince, National Treasure, Transformers, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Anaconda)
Barbara Steele b. 1937 (Dark Shadows[TV], Piranha, She Beast, Castle of Blood, Nightmare Castle, Castle of Blood, The Ghost, Pit and the Pendulum, Black Sunday)

I was a little surprised at how much of Jude Law's career has been in genre films and considered putting him in the Picture Slot, but instead you are looking at a picture of the 1960s scream queen Barbara Steele.

Many happy returns of the day to all mentioned.

Movies released
Twelve Monkeys released, 1995
 
 

Prediction: Starting In 1996, a pandemic virus is released that forces the survivors to live underground.

Predictor: Twelve Monkeys released 29 December 1995

Reality: Like the plot of The Terminator, one man is sent back to the past to avoid an apocalypse. Since The Terminator was made in the 1980s, the great fear was nuclear war, but in Twelve Monkeys, made in the 1990s, the threat was some biological terror escaping from a lab.

The reality of time travel is that it's very tough to accomplish and if it did work, it would take huge amounts of energy. You have to wonder how people living in a post-apocalyptic hellhole could pull it off.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another prediction from a 1990s movie, this one about what will happen in Los Angeles in the last days of 1999.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

13 November 2013

Birthdays
Aisha Hinds b. 1971 (Star Trek Into Darkness, True Blood, Dollhouse, Stargate SG-1)
Noah Hathaway b. 1971 (The Never Ending Story, Troll, Battlestar Galactica)
Gerard Butler b. 1969 (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life)
Whoopi Goldberg b. 1955 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Tracy Scoggins b. 1953 (Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lois and Clark)
Oskar Werner b. 1922 died 23 October 1984 (Fahrenheit 451)
Jack Elam b.1920 died 20 October 2003 (Twilight Zone)
Robert Louis Stevenson b. 1850 died 3 December 1894 (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

Several possible choices for the Picture Slot today, but I was in a Star Trek mood. Noah Hathaway as Atreyu was a possibility, Oskar Werner as Montag was another. Jack Elam was in a jillion Westerns and just one episode of Twilight Zone, but I loved his work and I loved that show, so he gets a nod on his birthday. I also have to say when I see a name like Robert Louis Stevenson and realize he died at the age of 44, it makes me wonder what the hell I've done with my time.

Many happy returns to the living on the list. 

Movies released
2012, escaped 2009
The Running Man released 1987
 

Prediction: In 2012, Solar storms cause warming in the earth’s core causing irreparable cracks, dooming all life on earth.

Predictor: 2012, escaped 2009

Reality: Roland Emmerich said this will be his last disaster movie, so we’ve got that going for us. While I might sometimes ponder what I've accomplished, this movie is now four years old and I've never seen it nor do I have plans to see it, so I haven't wasted my entire life.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The regular weekly schedule gives Thursday to Isaac Asimov, so we will be treated to another of his brainstorms from 1964 about the wonderful world of 2014.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 October 2013

Birthdays
Saffron Burrows b. 1972 (Deep Blue Sea)
Spike Jonze b. 1969 (director, Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are)
Bill Condon b. 1955 (director, Twilight: Breaking Dawn)
Jeff Goldblum b. 1952 (Jurrassic Park, The Fly, Earth Girls are Easy, Buckaroo Banzai)
Jim Baen b. 1943 died 28 June 2006 (editor, publisher, founder of Baen Books)
Christopher Lloyd b. 1938 (Back to the Future, The Addams Family, Buckaroo Banzai, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Derek Jacobi b. 1938 (Underworld, The Golden Compass, Doctor Who)
Doris Lessing b. 1919 (author, Children of Violence, Canopus in Argos)
William F. Claxton b. 1914 died 11 February 1996 (director, The Night of the Lepus, Twilight Zone)
John Zaremba b. 1908 died 15 December 1986 (Earth vs. Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel)

Okay! Nice selection of birthdays with writers, directors, publishers and as always, actors. More than that, we have an exact same day pair remarkably successful careers, Christopher Lloyd and Derek Jacobi. Since we are in Back to the Future week, Christopher Lloyd is the obvious choice for the Picture Slot, though the argument could also be made for Jeff Goldblum. Next year, if I'm in as quirky a mood as I am today, you might see John Zaremba smiling out at you. He played scientists or military men in so many sci-fi movies and TV shows, if you are anywhere near my age you will definitely have a "Oh, that guy!" moment.

Many happy returns to all the living or our list.
 

Prediction: 22 October, 2012: Stanton Parish plans a worldwide event that will enhance those with Alpha abilities but kill most of the rest of mankind.

Predictor: The TV show Alphas, aired 22 October, 2012

Reality: This picture is kind of a spoiler if you haven't seen the show and it is also a cliffhanger that will likely never be resolved, since the show was canceled after two seasons. We see "the event" take place and everybody hit the ground, with only Gary, the autistic Alpha who can read electronic signals out of the air, able to get up. We see all the regular cast members and a large number of extras lying still on a subway platform, while Simon and Garfunkel's The Only Living Boy in New York plays over a scene with no dialogue.

Sorry this show didn't get a chance to go another season.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We go back to Back to the Future to look at the cool stuff that very likely is NOT awaiting us in 2015. (Sniff.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

5 October 2013

Birthdays
Jesse Eisenberg b. 1983 (Zombieland)
Ehren Kruger b. 1972 (writer, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon)
Guy Pierce b. 1967 (Iron Man 3, Prometheus, The Time Machine)
Daniel Baldwin b. 1960 (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Vampires)
Neil De Grasse Tyson b. 1958 (Nova)
Clive Barker b. 1952 (Hellraiser)
Duncan Regehr b. 1952 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Karen Allen b. 1951 (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Jeff Conaway b. 1950 died 27 May 2011 (Babylon 5)
Skip Homeier b. 1930 (Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Donald Pleasence b. 1919 died 2 February 1995 (THX 1138, Halloween, Escape from New York)
John Hoyt b. 1905 died 15 September 1991 (The Twilight Zone, Star Trek)

A mix of actors and authors today. Yet again, we have a Babylon 5 actor who is already dead, a very unlucky show. Hoyt was the doctor in the pilot of Star Trek starring Jeffrey Hunter. Karen Allen certainly qualifies in the Cute Girl = Picture Slot, but I went with celebrity astrophysicist Neil De Grasse Tyson instead.

Many happy returns of the day to the living.
 
Movies released
Frankenweenie released, 2012

Prediction: One of the few survivors of the Great Disaster of October 5, 1947 tells, in a series of disjointed flashbacks, of the chaotic horror which engulfed New York City in the wake of an atomic attack which also destroyed most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, if not the Earth.

Predictor: The Blast by Stuart Cloete, published in Collier's magazine, published in April 1947

Reality: This prediction makes me think about what the mindset must have been just after World War II. The Great War of 1914-18 was thought to be the last great conflagration, but a generation later there was an even bigger war and the consensus was that it was started by a madman. World War II ends with nuclear explosions, destruction so great it was hard to fathom. The United States was the only country with the technology, but no one thought that would last. If wars could only be started by madmen, Joseph Stalin was still around and portrayed by the media as a madman, and it wasn't hyperbole.

And if you weren't worried enough, magazines like LIFE and Collier's presented you with terrifying predictions and The New Yorker in 1946 published John Hersey's detailed account of the destruction of Hiroshima and the stories of six survivors.

I was born ten years after the war ended, and like all boomers I grew up with the knowledge of the nuclear stalemate, but the danger seemed remote. Considering this story comes out the same year as Heinlein's frantic warning, the danger must have felt a lot closer.


Once again, thanks to Paul Brians for his excellent database of fiction and essays about nuclear war.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Sunday usually belongs to Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, but we've had enough depressing stuff this weekend. Instead, we'll go back to 1893 and hear from labor leader T.V. Powderly. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 September 2013

 Birthdays
Alexis Bledel b.1981 (Sin City)
Kurt Busiek b. 1960 (Conan, Avengers, Superman, Astro City)
Mickey Rourke b. 1952 (Sin City, Iron Man II)
Anne Francis b. 1930 died 2 January 2011 (Forbidden Planet)
Jack Kelly b. 1927 died 7 November 1992 (Forbidden Planet)
Peter Falk b. 1927 died 23 June 2011 (The Princess Bride, Wings of Desire)
Morgan Woodward b. 1925 (Star Trek)


Lots of actors on today's list with Busiek being the only writer. The Cute Girl = Picture Slot rule is in effect, though the picture of Anne Francis is a publicity still from her TV show Honey West and not Forbidden Planet.

Prediction: Saturday, September 16: Nuclear war in Europe quickly spreads. At 3:38 pm, Kansas City and much of the Midwest are hit with nuclear bombs, causing widespread devastation.

Predictor: The Day After, ABC mini-series, aired 1983

Reality: No year is specified, but the next year when the 16th of September would fall on a Saturday would be 1989. It could also be 1978 if it supposed to have happened before the air date, but Jason Robards’ character says his daughter was conceived during the Cuban missile crisis, and she is clearly a twentysomething out on her own, not a teen still in high school.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

While I still have a few predictions left from Robert A. Heinlein, tomorrow will be our first time to hear from our new Tuesday regular Isaac Asimov with his list of predictions for 2014 made on the occasion of the 1964 World's Fair.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

10 September 2013

Birthdays
Chris Columbus b. 1958 (Gremlins, Harry Potter)
Harry Groener b. 1951 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Edmond O’Brien b. 1915 died 9 May 1985 (1984, Fantastic Voyage)
Robert Wise b. 1914 died 14 September 2005 (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Andromeda Strain, The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Two guys known for their work in front of the camera and two guys known for their work behind it today in the birthday list, and I give the Picture Slot to Robert Wise, though probably his best known work are two musicals West Side Story and The Sound of Music.

Best wishes to the living.

Movies released
Resident Evil: Afterlife released, 2010

Back in the day, I wrote video games for a living, but I am not that loyal to the genre. I don't even known how many Resident Evil computer games or movies have been made and I have no intention of ever playing or watching even one.
 

Prediction:10 Sept, 1988: Gabriel Weltstein, newly arrived in New York City, begins to write a series of letters to his brother Heinrich in Uganda. The population of New York City is 10,000,000, the largest city that has ever been in the world.

Predictor: Caesar's Column by Ignatius Donnelly (writing as Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D.), published 1890

Reality: New York was just over 7,000,000 in the late 1980s and is not the largest city in the world by population, well behind several cities in Asia and even Mexico City.

Caesar's Column was an "answer novel" to Edward Bellamy's popular work Looking Backward: 2000-1888. We will be getting another exact date prediction from Bellamy later this week. Looking Backward saw a socialist utopia, while Caesar's Column saw a dystopia of a corrupt wealthy class and the downtrodden masses. Donnelly was a successful writer in his day, but little remembered now. His most famous invention is the lost continent of Atlantis. While I can't be certain of his motives, he wrote Caesar's Column under a pen name probably to avoid the controversy that would arise from the book's deeply anti-Semitic nature. The cruel rich are almost entirely Jewish and even the uprising against them is seen as being incapable of Christian charity because the second in command is a Jew. As for a tale of exciting adventure, I'd give this one a pass. The hero is just too damned stupid to live, but the author lets him live anyway.

Not my favorite hours of research for this blog.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We are back to our regularly scheduled weekly fare tomorrow, another prediction about the 21st Century from T. Baron Russell, who was writing from the perspective of an Edwardian gentleman in 1905 London.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

7 Septmber 2013

Birthdays
Evan Rachel Wood b.1987 (True Blood)
Alex Kurtzman b. 1973(writer, Transformers, Star Trek)
Toby Jones b. 1967 (Harry Potter)
Mira Furlan b. 1955 (Lost, Babylon 5)
Michael Emerson b. 1954 (Lost)
John Phillip Law b. 1937 died 13 May 2008 (Barbarella, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad)

Given my age and interests, I think of Mira Furlan as the best known name on this list in terms of genre, but Babylon 5 has been off the air so long, it's becoming famous for being obscure. Younger fans will likely think of Michael Emerson from Lost as being the most recognizable person here. For outright pretty, you can't go wrong with Even Rachel Wood, who sits in the Picture Slot, but if I'm going to check my male heterosexual privilege, John Phillip Law was incredibly pretty in his heyday. He made his best known films after he was 30 and film makers did everything they could to make sure he took his shirt off.


Many happy returns to the living.
 

Prediction: Aliens called "Vulcanids" have monitored the Earth for millenia, occasionally capturing people and meddling in human affairs, to the extent of building the pyramids. On September 7, 1973, the human race is destroyed, along with most other life, by the premature detonation of Professor Vogel's thorium bomb.  

Predictor: World in Eclipse by William Dexter, published 1955

Reality: It's bad enough destroying humanity and most life on Earth, but by premature detonation? That's gotta be embarrassing.

So far, all the predictions I have used from the fictional nuclear holocausts found in the extensive research done by Professor Paul Brians have been on exact dates. Soon enough, his work will get a day of the week of its own, probably Saturdays. A problem with this is if he has Saturdays and Bradbury's Martian Chronicles has Sundays, the weekends are going to be incredibly depressing.  Regular readers will be waiting in hope of Mondays for Popular Mechanics or OMNI Future Almanac.

Thank Odin, Vishnu and the little baby Jebus I have predictions from the 1890s and T. Baron Russell in 1905 just to keep things optimistic.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Once again, it's Ray Bradbury's turn to tell us about the early encounters of Earthlings and Martians. If you haven't read the book, here's a general spoiler: Things don't go well.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

6 September 2013

Birthdays
Idris Elba b. 1972 (Prometheus, Thor)
China Miéville b. 1972 (won 2010 Hugo for The City & the City)
Patti Yasutake b. 1953 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Max Schreck b. 1879 died 20 February 1936 (Nosferatu)

Elba is likely better known as Stringer Bell on The Wire and Ms. Yasutake was Nurse Ogawa, but I gave the Picture Slot to Max Schreck in his iconic role in the silent vampire movie that pre-dated Dracula.

Many happy returns to the living.

 

Prediction and predictor: In 1992, Harold Camping publishes a book 1994? that predicts a strong likelihood Christ will return in September 1994.

Reality: Camping made a huge spectacle of himself in 2011, but he had already made a smaller similar mistake in the early 1990s. There's even a question mark in the title, but I remember seeing a few bumper stickers on cars in the Bay Area. (Camping's Family Radio network is headquarted in Oakland.) It's easy to mock Camping and he obviously has earned it, but I think it would be wrong to call him a charlatan. He spent almost all his fortune in 2011 getting the word out.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An exact date for the end of the world, this time with nukes in 1974.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 September 2013

Birthdays
Skandar Keynes b. 1991 (Narnia)
Carice Van Houten b. 1976 (Game of Thrones, Repo Men)
Paddy Considine b. 1974 (The World’s End)
Rose MacGowan b. 1973 (Charmed, Grindhouse)
Michael Keaton b. 1951 (Batman, Beetlejuice)
William Devane b. 1939 (The X-Files, Stargate SG-1, The Dark Knight Rises)

An all-actor list today and I put pretty Ms. Van Houten in the Picture Slot for the usual reasons. Being old, I can remember when fandom got their panties in a bunch because Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, and that worked out pretty well.

Many happy returns of the day to all concerned.

Prediction:September 2012: Army doctor Lt. Colonel Robert Neville is the last healthy human in New York City immune to a virus turning humans into vampires.

Predictor: I Am Legend, released 12/14/2007

Reality: Fans of sci-fi will know that I Am Legend and the 1970s movie The Omega Man were both based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend. Both movies give dates five or six years after the movie is released for the time frame of when the crap hits the fan. And since this paragraph is entitled "reality", it should be noted have avoided the zombie/vampire/gun-nut/Mayan apocalypses so far.

Atlantic Hurricane Season prediction update

This has been a quiet storm season so far. September 1 is the midway point and there have been only seven named storms so far, none of them reaching hurricane level. The current storm - titled Tropical Depression Seven in the illustration - has now become Tropical Storm Gabrielle and made landfall in Puerto Rico in the past few hours. As it goes back over the water, it is predicted to become the first hurricane of the season, which will set a record for the latest first hurricane. The track is currently moving away from the mainland of North America, but Bermuda may get hit early next week. Best wishes to everyone in the path.

As a reminder, the prediction was for 12 to 20 named storms this season, with 16 being the most likely. If the last three months are the same as the first three, the total will be 12. The Next update will be December 1.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet again the end of the world is predicted, this time for September 1994, though the predictor can hardly be said to be in the genre.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 August 2013

Birthdays
Helen McCrory b. 1968 (Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter)
Harve Bennett b. 1930 (producer and writer for Star Trek)
Glen Corbett b. 1933 died 16 January 1993 (Zephram Cochran on the original series of Star Trek)

What kind of parents would name a boy Draco? Well, a mom named Narcissa and a dad is named Lucius, so that gives you a clue.

Harve Bennett has writing and producing credits on Star Trek  movies two through five, which means two good ones and two bad ones. I think he still deserves a lot of credit for The Wrath of Khan, the movie that saved the Star Trek series. As good as the original Star Wars movies were, science fiction films needed at least two money making franchises back in the late 1970s and early 1980s or the entire genre could have sputtered to a halt.

As a fan of the Original Series, it was strange to see what the writers made out of Zephram Cochran in Star Trek: First Contact. James Cromwell doesn't look like Glen Corbett in the least and his version didn't have a perpetual stick up his posterior.

Many happy returns to the living.

Movies released

ParaNorman released, 2012
The Time Machine released, 1960
 

Prediction: On August 17, 1966, atomic bombs hit London, triggering a volcanic eruption

Predictor: the movie The Time Machine, (1960)

Reality: The idea that we were going to be nuked was common in popular entertainment from 1950s until at least the 1980s. The idea that there were dormant volcanoes in London, not so much.

How were we supposed to know we were in London of the future in a scene that lasts just a few minutes? There was an overground monorail and Alan Young as a fallout shelter official wore a metallic suit.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from yet another movie that puts the apocalypse six years into the future.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 August 2013

 Birthdays
Evanna Lynch b. 1991 (Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter)
James Cameron b. 1954 (Aliens, Avatar, The Terminator)
Julie Newmar b. 1933 (Batman, Star Trek, My Living Doll)

Happy 80th birthday to Miss Newmar, the quintessential combination in Hollywood of tall and va-va-voom back when I was a lad. Happy birthdays to Ms. Lynch and Mr. Cameron as well.

Prediction: 16 August 2000: A comet, now split into two deadly parts by a nuclear explosion meant to destroy it, hits the earth and causes untold destruction

Predictor: Deep Impact released 8 May 1998

Reality: Unlike Armageddon, the plan to stop the big rock is not 100% successful. This is the one with Tea Leoni, Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman, not to be confused with 2004's Post Impact, which went straight to DVD.

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet again, a movie gives an exact date for everything going to hell in a handbasket.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

27 July 2013

Birthdays
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau b. 1970 (Game of Thrones)
Julian McMahon b. 1968 (Fantastic Four, Charmed)

Many happy returns to Jaime Lannister and Doctor Doom, an odd couple if there ever was one.

Release dates

Planet of the Apes (reboot) released 27 July 2001
The Guild, episode 1 of season 1 released, 2007 

Felicia Day and company started a series about a group of online game players interacting with one another in real life as well six years ago today. It has had quite an impact on the way original stories are presented to the public. Best wishes to Ms. Day, her cast and crew.

As for Tim Burton, his career is checkered at best and his Planet of the Apes is one of his many films best forgotten, in my never humble opinion.
 

Songs of the Future!

Prediction:
Cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over,
Oops out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999

Predictor: Prince in the lyrics of 1999, recorded 1982

Reality: A lot of people got all antsy about the change of the calendar, but we survived it pretty well. Even if the song was not prophetic, I do nominate side one of this album as the best single side of vinyl of all time. In order, the tracks are:

1999
Delirious
Little Red Corvette

Seriously, if a compilation calls itself The Best of Prince and it doesn't have all three of those songs, it's not the best of Prince.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another exact date from the racist fantasy The Turner Diaries.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 July 2013

Birthdays
Roberto Orci b. 1973 (writer, Xena, Star Trek (reboot))
Josh Holloway b. 1969 (Lost)
Carlos Saldanha b. 1968 (co-director Ice Age)
Reed Diamond b. 1967 (Dollhouse)

In a situation like this, I often go with the Whedonverse actor in the picture slot, but even though I gave up on Lost well before the ending that disappointed many, there's no denying how popular it was during much of its run.

Movies released
The Dark Knight Rises released 2012

There was a time not so long ago that I saw nearly every big budget sci-fi and comic book movie that came out, but a few bad experiences cured me of this habit. For me, The Dark Knight was one of those bad experiences, so I didn't see The Dark Knight Rises.
  

Songs of the Future!

Prediction: The public discovers the world will end in 1977, five years in the future

Predictor: David Bowie in the song Five Years from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, released in 1972

Reality: The world didn't end, of course, but music fans will likely have noticed that I use the label "We've got ____ years/And that's all we've got" for all apocalypses with specific dates on them, which is the hook from Five Years.

Five Years is song one on side one on Ziggy and it's one of the best opening songs on an album of all time as far as I'm concerned. More than that, I once remember playing the album for a friend who asked if it was a greatest hits compilation.  For those of us who were listening to the radio in 1972 (a mere 41 years ago) the songs are that familiar and that good.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another bold prediction with a cool illustration from Popular Mechanics.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

4 July 2013

Birthdays
Eva Marie Saint b. 1924 (Superman Returns)
Ted Elliott b. 1961 (co-writer with Terry Rossio of the Pirates of the Caribbean series)

Looking on imdb.com, I could only find one credit in Ms. Saint's long and illustrious career that could count as genre, and it's in a movie that has already been re-booted.

But seriously, if I have a choice for the picture slot and it's between a fabulous babe and a writer, can that even be called a choice at all?

I think not.

Many happy returns to Ms. Saint and Mr. Elliot.

Prediction: On 4 July 2008, action star Boxer Santaros, former pornstar/reality show star Krysta Now and twins Ronald and Roland Taverner hold the key to the future in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles.

Predictor: Southland Tales released 14 November 2007

Reality: I have met people who will defend this film, but the guy who wrote it also made Donnie Darko and I don't know anyone who thinks this was a step up.  The movie is counted as a 2006 release because it aired at Cannes that year, but it was pulled and re-tooled after a vicious critical reception.

There are some kinda sorta predictions about the future in the script, the one I remember best is the idea that California is a battleground state in the 2008 election. Regardless of your political persuasion, that would have to be called a failed prediction.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another French postcard from the early 1900s predicting life in the year 2000!
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!