17 August 2014

Birthdays
Taissa Farmiga b. 1994 (American Horror Story)
Austin Butler b. 1991 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Aliens in the Attic)
Rachel Hurd-Wood b. 1990 (Solomon Kane, Dorian Gray, Peter Pan)
Brady Corbett b. 1988 (Melancholia, Thunderbirds)
Donnie Wahlberg b. 1969 (Saw II, III & IV, The Sixth Sense)
Helen McCrory b. 1968 (Penny Dreadful, Hugo, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Frankenstein [1994], Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles)
Andrew Koenig b. 1968 died 14 February 2010 (InAlienable, Deep Space Nine)
Don McKeller b. 1963 (Blindness, eXistenZ, RoboCop [Tv])
Larry B. Scott b. 1961 (Super Force, Hard Time on Planet Earth, SpaceCamp)
Nicholas Bell b. 1958 (I, Frankenstein, Wicked Science, Attack of the Sabertooth, The Lost World, Chameleon, The Genie from Down Under 2, Dark City, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Sky Trackers)
Tim Bagley b. 1957 (Zombieland [TV], Grimm, The Day After Tomorrow, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The X Files, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Robert Joy b. 1951 (Superhero Movie, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, The Hills Have Eyes [2006], Land of the Dead, Star Trek: Voyager, Fallen, The Dark Half, Maniac Mansion, Millenium, Amityville: 3-D)
Jennifer Rhodes b. 1947 (Charmed, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Night of the Demons 2, Quantum Leap)
Shane Briant b. 1946 (Farscape, The Lost World, Chameleon 2 and 3, Time Trax, Hawk the Slayer, Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, The Picture of Dorian Gray [1973])
Robert De Niro b. 1943 (Stardust, Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Frankenstein [1994], Brazil)
Franco Columbu b. 1941 (The Running Man, The Terminator, Conan the Barbarian)
Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman b. 1936 died 13 December 2007 (The X Files)
Glenn Corbett b. 1933 died 16 January 1993 (Automan, Land of the Giants, Star Trek)
Harve Bennett b. 1930 (writer, Time Trax, Star Trek II, III, IV and V, The Bionic Woman, The Invisble Man)
Ted Hughes b. 1930 died 29 October 1998 (author, The Iron Giant)
Julius Harris b. 1923 died 17 October 2004 (Eerie, Indiana, Darkman, Amazing Stories, The Incredible Hulk, King Kong [1976])
Evelyn Ankers b. 1918 died 29 August 1985 (The Invisible Man's Revenge, Son of Dracula, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man)

Robert De Niro is the biggest star on the list, but not for his work in genre, so no Picture Slot. I thought about Evelyn Ankers, arguably the first scream queen, but in the end I went with a picture from Star Trek, the late Glenn Corbett as Zephram Cochran. I understand the idea of reboots, but the casting of James Cromwell as Cochran in First Contact completely spoiled the movie for me. I like Cromwell as an actor, but somehow he's supposed to morph into Glenn Corbett at some point and that's just not possible.

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


Moies released
ParaNorman released, 2012
The Time Machine released, 1960

Predictor: Tiger’s Claw, published by Dale Brown in 2012

Prediction: In the Summer of 2014, cash rich China pushes the United States Navy out of the dominant position in the Pacific.

Reality: There's plenty of ridiculous saber rattling actually happening in 2014 from the Ukraine to Gaza to Ferguson, but none of it involves the American Navy being pushed out of the Pacific.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is it going to be Monday already again? Another OMNI Future Almanac prediction! Oh, goody!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 August 2014

Birthdays
Kara and Shelby Hoffman b. 2002 (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Zuleyka Silver b. 1991 (In Time, Touch)
Kerry James b. 1986 (The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, SGU Stargate Universe)
Sam Worthington b. 1976 (Avatar, Wrath of the Titans, Clash of the Titans, Terminator Salvation)
Edward Furlong b. 1977 (Star Trek: Renegades, The Zombie King, Arachnoquake, The Green Hornet, Night of the Demons, Dark Reel, Warriors of Terra, The Crow_ Wicked Prayer, Brainscan, Pet Sematary II, Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Jacinda Barrett b. 1972 (NightMan, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
James Preston Rogers b. 1972 (Alphas, Lost Girl, Death Warrior, Outlander)
Matthew Del Negro b. 1972 (Teen Wolf, Witches of East End, Eastwick, Stargate: Atlantis)
Alice Evans b. 1971 (Grimm, The Vampire Diaries, Lost, Highlander [TV])
Kevin Smith b. 1970 (writer/director, Tusk, Reaper, Dogma)
Cynthia Stevenson b. 1962 (Dead Like Me, Neverwas, From the Earth to the Moon, Max Headroom)
Mary-Louise Parker b. 1964 (R.I.P.D., The Spiderwyck Chronicles)
Olivier Gruner b. 1960 (Sector 4: Extraction, Re-Generator, One Night, Interceptor Force 1 and 2, Velocity Trap, Mars, Automatic)
Ken McLeod b. 1954 (author, The Fall Revolution)
Butch Patrick b. 1953 (Zombie Dream, Young Blood: Evil Intentions, The Munsters, Shazam!, Lidsville, The Phantom Tollbooth, I Dream of Jeannie, My Favorite Martian)
Joanna Cassidy b. 1945 (Heroes, Ghosts of Mars, Vampire in Brooklyn, The Tommyknockers, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Blade Runner)
Susan Denberg b. 1944 (Frankenstein Created Woman, Star Trek)
Max Wright b. 1943 (From the Earth to the Moon, Quantum Leap, ALF, Misfits of Science, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Isabel Allende b. 1942 (author, The City of the Beasts, The Infinite Plan)
Sandra Ellis Lafferty b. 1940 (The Hunger Games, The Vampire Diaries, The Prophecy 3, Conan [TV], Dark Skies, The Prophecy)
Wes Craven b.1939 (director, Vampire in Brooklyn, New Nightmare, The People Under the Stairs, Shocker, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The Twilight Zone [1985-6], Deadly Friend, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes I and II, Swamp Thing)
Peter O’Toole b. 1932 died 15 Dec 2013 (Phantoms, Supergirl, Stardust, Creator, High Spirits, Gulliver’s Travels, Ray Bradbury Theatre)
Bernard L. Kowalski b. 1929 died 26 October 2007 (director, Knight Rider, Sssssss, Attack of the Giant Leeches, Night of the Blood Beast)
Carroll O’Connor b. 1924 died 21 June 2001 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Theo Marcuse b. 1920 died 29 November 1967 (Star Trek, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone)
Nehemiah Persoff b. 1919 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, Logan’s Run, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invisible Man, Dracula, Land of the Giants, The Power, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone)
Gary Merrill b. 1915 died 5 March 1990 (Earth II, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Mysterious Island [1961])
Beatrice Straight b. 1914 died 7 April 2001 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Poltergeist, Wonder Woman)

Looking at the people in the Picture Slot recently, I've been favoring actors older than I am for the most part, so today I looked for iconic folks near the top of the list and decided on Edward Furlong from Terminator 2.  There are a lot of other excellent choices today, including Sam Worthington, Kevin Smith Butch Patrick, Joanna Cassidy, Wes Craven (last year's pick), Theo Marcuse and Nehemiah Persoff. There are several other famous names on the list whose roles in genre are not their best known work, so I didn't list them.

For me, the two big surprises are that Nehemiah Persoff is still alive at 95 - mazel tov, Mr. Persoff - and that Theo Marcuse died young. I think Marcuse's best known roles are as Korob in Star Trek and as Rip Torn's strongarm man Felix in The Cincinnati Kid. I must have known he died at one time, but I completely blanked on it when doing the research this morning.

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

Movies released
Signs released 2002  
 

Predictor: Dale Brown in The Day of the Cheetah, published 1989

Prediction: In August of 1994, a deeply planted KGB mole is ordered to steal the DreamStar XF-34 fighter, which is controlled by the pilot's thoughts.

Reality: Umm, Craig Thomas had a thought controlled fighter in the 1977 novel Firefox, only it was the Russkies who made it and Clint Eastwood who had to steal it (movie version, of course). I guess "the old switcheroo" makes this an original idea for Brown.

Sort of.

And sort of not.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We get a prediction from The Experts Speak, so you can be pretty sure it will be wrong.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 July 2014

 Birthdays
Hannah Murray b. 1989 (Game of Thrones, Dark Shadows [2012 movie])
Kim Jackson b. 1981 (Iron Sky, Scooby-Doo)
Elizabeth Thai b. 1979 (Man of Steel, Arrow, Eureka, Fringe, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Dresden Files, The 4400, Smallville, Andromeda)
Liv Tyler b. 1977 (The Leftovers, Space Station 76, The Incredible Hulk, The Lord of the Rings, Armageddon)
Colin Patrick Lynch b. 1968 (Serenity, Firefly, Angel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Ritchie Coster b. 1967 (Let Me In, The Dark Knight)
Dominic Keating b. 1962 (Beowulf, Heroes, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Immortal, Good vs Evil, Buffy, Poltergeist: The Legacy)
Andre Braugher b. 1962 (The Andromeda Strain [2008 TV], The Mist, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Salem’s Lot, Frequency)
Dale Midkiff b, 1959 (Flight of the Living Dead, Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion, Time Trax, Pet Sematary)
Alan Ruck b. 1956 (Zombie Night, Fringe, Eureka, The Happening, InAlienable, Stargate: Atlantis, From the Earth to the Moon. Star Trek: Generations)
Robby the Robot built 1955 (Earth Girls are Easy, Gremlins, Mork & Mindy, Wonder Woman, Project U.F.O., Space Academy, Ark II, Lost in Space, The Addams Family, Twilight Zone, The Invasion of the Neptune Men, The Invisible Boy, Forbidden Planet)
Dan Aykroyd b. 1952 (Evolution, Coneheads, Ghostbusters, My Stepmother Is and Alien, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Twilight Zone: The Movie)
Brian George b. 1952 (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Big Bang Theory The 4400, Andromeda, Star Trek: Voyager, The X-Files, Lois & Clark, Deep Space Nine, Weird Science [TV], Poltergeist: The Legacy, Here Come the Munsters, Quantum Leap, Martians Go Home)
Deborah Harry b. 1945 (Anamorph, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Videodrome)
Genevieve Bujold b. 1942 (The Adventures of Pinocchio, Coma)
David Prowse b. 1935 (Star Wars, The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy [TV], Jabberwocky, Gulliver’s Travels [1977], Space: 1999, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, The Tomorrow People [1973 TV], Doctor Who, Vampire Circus. A Clockwork Orange, The Horror of Frankenstein)
Jean Marsh b. 1934 (An Adventure in Space and Time, The Tomorrow People [1994 TV], A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Doctor Who, Willow, Return to Oz, The Changeling [1980], UFO, Unearthly Stranger, Twilight Zone)

A lot of interesting choices for The Picture Slot today, including Darth Vader, Beldar Conehead, Mr. Koothrapali, Gilly from Game of Thrones, Jean Marsh as the android from The Twilight Zone and last year's pick, Arwen from Lord of the Rings. But when I saw that imdb.com counted today as the birthday of Robby the Robot, I decided to give big old bucket of bolts his time in the spotlight.

Anne Francis in a short skirt had nothing to do with the decision.

One of the paragraphs above contains a lie.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and... hey, everybody's alive!  Yay!

Movies released
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs released 2009
The Last Airbender escaped 2010

Predictor: Dale Brown in 2011's A Time for Patriots

Prediction: Summer 2013: After the stock market crashes in 2012, president Kenneth Phoenix starts austerity in the United States, causing armed citizens to attack the government.

Reality: Umm... I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Dale has got his worldview on all bass ackwards. For the most part, armed citizens are all for austerity because.... FREEDOM!!!!1!!1!!

This is what he gets for writing a story that doesn't start with big shit blowing up, blowing up real good!
 

This month's splash illustration: This is a still from Ray Harryhausen's Earth vs. Flying Saucers, still one of my favorite spaceship designs ever put on film.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another interruption of the weekly schedule, this one involving giant robots. Fun!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

8 June 2014

Birthdays
Torrey DeVitto b. 1984 (The Vampire Diaries)
Eion Bailey b. 1976 (Once Upon a Time, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Mindhunters, Buffy)
Lexa Doig b.1973 (Continuum, Primeval: New World, Smallville, V, Supernatural, Eureka, Stargate SG-1, The 4400, Andromeda, Jason X, Earth: Final Conflict, TekWar)
Mark Feuerstein b. 1971 (In Your Eyes, Practical Magic)
Juliana Margulies b. 1966 (The Lost Room)
Bernard White b. 1959 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded, The X-Files, Knight Rider)
Scott Adams b. 1957 (creator, Dilbert, actor, Babylon 5)
Griffin Dunne b. 1955 (The Android Affair, Amazon Women on the Moon, Amazing Stories, An American Werewolf in London)
Sonia Braga b. 1950 (Warehouse 13)
Cathy Baker b. 1950 (Edward Scissorhands, Amazing Stories, The Right Stuff)
Jack Sholder b. 1945 (Tremors [TV], Arachnid, Mortal Kombat: Conquest [TV], Generation X, The Omen [TV], Tales from the Crypt [TV], 12:01, The Hidden, Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge)
Colin Baker b. 1943 (Doctor Who, Blake’s 7)
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson b. 1941 (Swamp Thing [TV], Darkman, Prince of Darkness, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Supernaturals, Buckaroo Banzai, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Bernie Casey b. 1939 (Vegas Vampires, Babylon 5, Deep Space Nine, Time Trax, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Amazon Women on the Moon, The Martian Chronicles, Ants, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Dr Black, Mr. Hyde)
James Darren b. 1936 (Deep Space Nine, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Dana Wynter b. 1931 died 5 May 2011 (The Questor Tapes, Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
Kate Wilhelm b. 1928 (won 1977 Hugo for Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang)
Myron Healey b. 1923 died 21 December 2005 (RoboCop [TV], Knight Rider, V, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Incredible Melting Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Land of the Giants, Varan the Unbelievable, Men Into Space, Adventures of Superman, Batman and Robin [1949])
Robert Preston b. 1918 died 21 March 1987 (The Last Starfighter)
George Wallace b. 1917 died 22 July 2005 (Minority Report, Buffy, The X-Files, Multiplicity, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Bionic Woman, Planet of the Apes, The Six Million Dollar Man, Forbidden Planet)
Robert F. Young b. 1915 died 22 June 1986 (author, Jonathan and the Space Whale)
John W. Campbell b. 1910 died 11 July 1971 (author Who Goes There?, editor, Astounding Science Fiction, Analog)
C.C. Beck b. 1910 (creator, Captain Marvel)

Where to start?

Writers: John W. Campbell as an editor could is considered by many the most influential many in early sci-fi. C.C. Beck came up with Captain Marvel, Kate Wilhelm won a Hugo and Scott Adams Dilbert is easily as important to nerd culture as The Big Bang Theory.

Actors younger than I am: Lexa Doig is the quintessential young Canadian sci-fi actress. So much stuff is shot in Canada and that country has rules about how many non-Canadian roles are handed out. This has been a boon to her career and... she's purdy.

Actors older than I am: Colin Baker is the Sixth Doctor. To paraphrase Whoopi Goldberg, Bernie Casey is the proof there will be black people in the future. Dana Wynter was an amazing fabulous babe, as is Sonia Braga, but it was the two Oh That Guy actors who got me to thinking, and I chose George Wallace, sometimes billed as George D. Wallace, shown here from Buffy, claiming to be the future Xander Harris, warning the present Xander away from marriage. I feel a little sorry for a guy who is the third most famous person sharing the same name, especially since he is older than the segregationist politician or the black comic and came to prominence in his career much earlier than either. Having a genre career that stretches from Forbidden Planet to Minority Report is remarkable.

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

Movies released
Prometheus released, 2012
 

Predictor: Dale Brown in Sky Masters, published 1991

Prediction: 8 June 1994: A Chinese frigate is hit and they sink a Filipino oil rig in retaliation.

Reality: All Dale Brown predictions are the same. Bad shit happens and America really needs guys who are really good at blowing big shit up while flying super cool planes. None of his predictions have come anywhere close to true yet. Thankfully.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another interruption in the weekly schedule for a prediction from 2008 about cool stuff happening this decade.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

12 February 2014

 Birthdays
Enver Gjokaj b. 1980 (Marvel’s the Avengers, Dollhouse, Witches of East End, The Walking Dead)
Christina Ricci b. 1980 (After.Life, Speed Racer, The Gathering, Sleepy Hollow [movie], Casper, Addams Family, Addams Family Values)
Darren Aronofsky b. 1969 (director, The Fountain, Pi)
Josh Brolin b. 1968 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Men in Black 3, Jonah Hex, Planet Terror, Hollow Man, Mimic)
Raphael Sbarge b. 1964 (Once Upon a Time, Heroes, Dollhouse, Dark Skies, Independence Day, Star Trek: Voyager, SeaQuest 2032, Carnosaur, Quantum Leap)
John Michael Higgins b. 1963 (Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Evan Almighty, Blade: Trinity, Bicentennial Man, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], Weird Science [TV], Vampire’s Kiss)
Zach Grenier b. 1954 (RoboCop [2014], Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Star Trek: Enterprise, The X Files)
Simon MacCorkindale b. 1952 died 14 October 2010 (Earth: Final Conflict, Poltergeist: The Legacy [TV], Manimal, The Quatermass Conclusion)
Michael Ironside b. 1950 (Ice Soldiers, Meltdown on the Ice Planet, X-Men: First Class, Smallville, Lake Placid 3, Terminator Salvation, Mutants, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Ignition, Mindstorm, Starship Troopers, SeaQuest 2032, Highlander II: the Quickening, Total Recall, Watchers, V, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Scanners)
Ray Kurzweil b. 1948 (author, The Age of Spiritual Machines, The Singularity is Near)
Maud Adams b. 1945 (Rollerball)
Richard Lynch b. 1940 died 19 June 2012 (Halloween [2007], Charmed, Highlander [TV], Necromicon: Book of Dead, Star Trek: Next Generation, Super Force, Alligator II: the Mutation, Invasion Force, Manimal, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bionic Woman)
Joe Don Baker b. 1936 (Mars Attacks!, Congo)
Lincoln Kilpatrick b. 1931 died 18 May 2004 (Fortress, The Greatest American Hero, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man, Soylent Green The Omega Man)
Lorne Greene b. 1919 died 11 September 1987 (Battlestar Galactica)

A long and varied list today. If I was a total Joss Whedon nerd (and I'm close, but not quite) I'd probably have a picture of Enver Gjokaj from Dollhouse up. If I was looking for the biggest movie star today, I'd have Josh Brolin in the Picture Slot. It's an easy argument to have a picture of Lorne Greene from the original Battlestar Galactica, but I decided to go with Michael Ironside from the gloriously cheesy Starship Troopers.

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

Prediction: On Feb. 12 1997, Americans destroy two Iranian missile emplacements on Iran’s revolution Day.

Predictor: Shadows of Steel by Dale Brown, published 1996

Reality: Brown makes a big plot point of the fact that attacking the Iranians on their Revolution Day is going to make them really mad, like they would probably just an act of war slide if it was any other day. (Of course, in Brown books we are totally the good guys and this attack was in retaliation to Iranian provocation.)

Except... Revolution Day in 1997 was on February 11.

Oopsie.

To be fair, if you want to know about the cool features of any American fighter aircraft, Dale Brown is your go-to guy. If you want to change the Gregorian Calendar dates to Islamic and vice versa, you might want to look it up online instead.

Never to be Forgotten: Christopher Barry 1925-2014

Doctor Who fans are mourning the passing of Christopher Barry, who directed over forty episodes of the show from 1963 to 1979, a time span in which four actors played the Doctor, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. You can read more about his work here.

Best wishes to the family, friends and fans of Christopher Barry. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The swan song from Isaac Asimov's 1964 prediction list. (sniff.)

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

3 February 2014

 Birthdays
Terry Chen b. 1975 (Elysium, Continuum, Arrow, Battlestar Galactica, Cabin in the Woods, V [2010]. I, Robot, The Chronicles of Riddick, Smallville, Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever, Dark Angel, Stargate SG-1)
Warwick Davis b. 1970 (Doctor Who, Jack the Giant Slayer, Harry Potter, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars: Episode I, Leprechaun, Willow, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi)
Frederic Lehne b. 1959 (American Horror Story, The Dark Knight Rises, Supernatural, Lost, The X-Files, Sliders, Babylon 5)
Susanne Benton b. 1948 (A Boy and his Dog)
Stephen McHattie b. 1947 (2012, Fringe, Watchmen, The 4400, Star Trek: Enterprise, Lexx, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The X-Files, Quantum Leap, Beauty and the Beast)
Paul Auster b. 1947 (author, Travels in the Scriptorium, Moon Palace)
Marshall Efron b. 1938 (THX 1138)
Victor Buono b. 1938 died 1 January 1982 (Man From Atlantis, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
John Fiedler b. 1925 died 2005 (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Star Trek, Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
James Michener b. 1907 died 16 October 1997 (author, Space)

For my money, the main choices for the Picture Slot on a given February 3 is a three way contest between Warwick Davis, Victor Buono and quintessential Oh That Guy John Fiedler. Davis was in the slot last year and Buono as King Tut is staring out at us today. I think that makes next year's choice relatively easy.

Beyond that, I should mention that Paul Auster and James Michener, our two authors on today's list, are usually not thought of as genre writers, but both their names are up on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and if I know a name on that list, it usually makes the cut.

Many happy returns of the day to all the living, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: Dale Brown in Shadow Command, published 2008

Prediction: February 2009: A Russian missile downs an American satellite and U.S. president Joseph Gardner cancels the space program

Reality: Here is the first of many predictions with dates from techno-thriller writer Dale Brown. Almost all the predictions can be classified as "At some date in the near future, some very bad thing happens and the solution is bomber pilot Patrick McLanahan." As of yet, no very bad thing Dale Brown has thought of has actually come to pass.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

  Ray Kurzweil is back. The odds are good that he will be wrong about the progress of technology by 2009 and I will mock him for it.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!