13 September 2015

Birthdays
Robbie Kay b. 1995 (Heroes Reborn, Once Upon a Time, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Pinocchio)
Erin Way b. 1987 (Warehouse 13, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grimm, Alphas, I (Heart) Vampires)
Carol Anne Watts b. 1987 (Ant-Man, Frankenstein [2015])
Trevor Duke-Moretz b. 1986 (Big Bad Wolf)
Sean Brosnan b. 1983 (U.F.O.)
Robin Chalk b. 1981 (Moon)
Ben Savage b. 1980 (Aliens for Breakfast, Little Monsters)
Elizabeth Weinstein b. 1979 (Supernatural, Arrow, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Smallville, Goblin, Stargate SG-1)
Colin Trevorrow b. 1976 (director, Jurassic World, Safety Not Guaranteed)
Louise Lombard b. 1970 (Grimm, SGU Stargate Universe, Tale of the Mummy)
Jonathan Walker b. 1967 (Continuum, Supernatural, Fringe, The Thing [2011], V [2011], Smallville, Flash Gordon, Stargate SG-1, Land of the Dead, Tracker, The X Files, Cyberjack)
Louis Mandylor b. 1966 (616: Paranormal Incident, The Prometheus Project, Charmed)
Joel Beeson b. 1966 (Death Becomes Her)
Laura Stepp b. 1966 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Spawn)
Alfonso Freeman b. 1959 (Bad Blood I and II)
Isiah Whitlock Jr. b. 1954 (Europa Report, Enchanted, Gremlins 2: The New Batch)
Ann Dusenberry b. 1953 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Taryn Power b. 1953 (The Sea Serpent, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger)
Christine Estabrook b. 1952 (American Horror Story, Spider-Man 2, The X Files)
Raymond O’Connor b. 1952 (Buffy, Babylon 5, Breakfast of Champions, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Dr. Alien, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers)
Jean Smart b. 1951 (Project X)
Bruce Phillips b. 1951 (Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers R.P.M., Lord of the Rings, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Clyde Kusatsu b. 1948 (Dollhouse, Charmed, Babylon 5: Thirdspace, Godzilla [1998], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lois & Clark, ALF, The Powers of Matthew Star, Meteor, Dr. Strange)
Kathleen Lloyd b. 1948 (Babylon 5, Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone [1986], The Incredible Hulk, It Lives Again, The Car, The Sixth Sense)
Frank Marshall b, 1946 (producer, Jurassic World, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, The Sixth Sense, The Indian in the Cupboard, Amazing Stories, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Land Before Time, Arachnophobia, Hook, *batteries not included, Innerspace, Gremlins, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Poltergeist)
Dolly Read b. 1944 (The Kiss of the Vampire)
Richard Kiel b. 1939 died 10 September 2014 (Inspector Gadget, The Princess and the Dwarf, Superboy, Out of this World, Phoenix, Hysterical, Moonraker, The Humanoid, The Incredible Hulk, Land of the Lost, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, My Mother the Car, I Dream of Jeannie, The Human Duplicators, The Twilight Zone, Eegah, The Phantom Planet)
Don Bluth b. 1937 (director, Titan A.E., The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH)
Joe E. Tata b. 1936 (Charmed, Wonder Woman, Batman, Batgirl, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, The Outer Limits)
Barbara Bain b. 1931 (Millennium, The Visitor, Space: 1999, My Mother the Car)
Norman Alden b. 1924 died 27 July 2012 (K-PAX, They Live, Small Wonder, Back to the Future, The Greatest American Hero, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Planet of the Apes [TV], Batman, My Favorite Martian)
Scott Brady b. 1924 died 16 April 1985 (Gremlins, The Invisible Man [1975], The Mighty Gorga, Journey to the Center of Time, Destination Inner Space)
Maurice Jarre b. 1924 died 29 March 2009 (composer, Solar Crisis, Ghost, Solarbabies, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Dreamscape, Firefox, The Island at the Top of the World)
Roald Dahl b. 1916 died 23 November 1990 (author, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches)
Roy Engel b. 1913 died 29 December 1980 (Kingdom of the Spiders, The Invaders, My Favorite Martian, The Colossus of New York, Not of This Earth, Indestructible Man, It Came From Beneath the Sea, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Zombies of the Stratosphere, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Man from Planet X)
Reta Shaw b. 1912 died 8 January 1982 (Escape to Witch Mountain, Bewitched, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, I Dream of Jeannie, Lost in Space, Mary Poppins)
Mae Questel b. 1908 died 4 January 1998 (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Ruth McDevitt b. 1895 died 27 May 1976 (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Birds)
Daniel Defoe b.1660 died24 April 1731 (Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World of the Moon)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot belonged to fabulous babe Barbara Bain and Oh That Guy Clyde Kusatsu. I think Richard Kiel may be more iconic than either, but he died just before his birthday last year, so  didn't want to use his picture twice in so short a span.

2. Spot the Canadian! Usually, the Supernatural/Smallville Daily Double is a good sign someone was born north of the border, but it doesn't work perfectly. Elizabeth Weinstein is Canadian, but Jonathan Walker is British.

3. Nepotism FTW. Taryn Power is the daughter of Tyrone. Alonzo Freeman is the son of Morgan. Sean Brosnan is the son of Pierce.

4. MST3K. Picture Slotter Richard Kiel is in two films, The Human Duplicators and Eegah. We also have Roy Engel in The Indestructible Man. There may be others, I'm not sure.

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

The Weekly Soapbox: Global Warming

Just to be clear, I "believe" in global warming and mankind's part in it, much in the same way I "believe" in gravity. The effect of greenhouse gases is settled science and humans burning fossil fuels creates more greenhouse gases.

We've only had a few predictions on the blog about climate change and many of them have been about rising ocean levels, including a crazy high number from Paul Ehrlich, one of the most inaccurate regular predictors this blog has ever published. (Don't worry, I haven't forgotten Ray Kurzweil and FM-2030. I did write "one of the most", after all.) I wish we could fix the problem, but I'm not optimistic, and here are the reasons why.

1. Rising ocean levels are the least of our worries. There are some places on earth that now have to deal with rising waters, but they are currently far away from where the majority of people live. I expect the first thing we will notice effecting the lives of millions will be ecosystem changes that have nothing to do with the sea levels. We don't live close enough to nature to feel it when it goes bad - it's going bad in California right now, and all we are asked to do is take shorter showers and not water our lawns - but longer droughts and bigger wildfires in some areas, contrasted with heavier rains in other and temperatures not getting cold enough to put pests into their natural hibernation stage, are likely going to change how we live long before low level islands with lots of people flood. More than that, when these things happen, there will be people around to say it has nothing to do with a changing climate.

2. An enormous industry to pay for bullshit, which has already bought an entire political party. Do I need to name names? Okay, the petroleum industry and the Republicans. We've had scientific evidence that forced the government to limit the use of profitable products like aerosols, DDT and  asbestos, but those industries decided to change the way they did business. Petroleum is acting more like the tobacco industry, probably because their best scientists are telling them in private that there is no clean way to stay in business at the current level. The people lying about global warming are not just using the same tactics as the folks who lied for decades about the health risks of tobacco, in some cases they are the exact same people.

3. Humankind. Even a guy like me with no car is still sucking up energy keeping my computer and refrigerator on, and while I am consciously trying to improve the way I live, I'm not interested in going off the grid and only using the electricity I can create with solar panels and a bicycle generator. I think we can scale back, but I don't know if it will be enough. I'm turning 60 this year, so I will likely miss the worst of it. The generation of my grand-nieces and grand-nephews are probably going to have it very bad indeed.

Cheerful bastid, ain't I?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Taking a look at the predictions for the NFL playoffs from the website fivethirtyeight.com.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

12 September 2015

Birthdays
Colin Ford b. 1996 (Under the Dome, Revolution, Supernatural, Jack and the Beanstalk, Journeyman, Smallville)
Alexia Fast b. 1992 (Supernatural, Tin Man, The 4400)
Alfie Allen b. 1986 (Game of Thrones)
Emmy Rossum b. 1986 (Comet, Dragonball: Evolution, The Day After Tomorrow)
Marty Adams b. 1981 (Hemlock Grove, Orphan Black, Dead Before Dawn 3D, Lost Girl, Repo Men, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Saw IV)
Ben McKenzie b. 1978 (Gotham)
Grace McEhlhinney b. 1974 (The Babadook)
Paul Walker b. 1973 died 30 November 2013 (Pleasantville, Tammy and the T-Rex, Timeline, Programmed to Kill, Monster in the Closet)
Gideon Emery b. 1972 (Daredevil, Grimm, Teen Wolf, True Blood, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
James Frey b. 1969 (author, I Am Number Four)
Louis C.K. (The Invention of Lying)
Darren E. Burrows b. 1966 (The Lone Gunmen, The X Files, Class of 1999, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Ramon Franco b. 1963 (Resident Evil: Extinction, The X Files, NightMan)
Amy Yasbeck b. 1962 (Dracula: Dead and Loving It, The Mask, Quantum Leap, Splash, Too, Werewolf, House: The Second Story)
Robert John Burke b. 1960 (Limitless, Witchblade, From the Earth to the Moon, Thinner, RoboCop 3)
Gregg Edelman b. 1958 (Spider-Man 2, The Manhattan Project)
Hans Zimmer b. 1957 (composer, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Man of Steel, Rise of the Undead, Batman Begins, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, Rango, Inception, The Ring, Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Space Rangers)
Peter Scolari b. 1955 (Gotham, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, From the Earth to the Moon, Lois & Clark, Ticks, The Twilight Zone [1988])
Joe Pantoliano b. 1951 (Sense8, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Roswell, The Matrix, Congo, Robot in the Family, Highlander [TV], Tales from the Crypt, Deadly Nightmares, Amazing Stories)
Christopher Neame b. 1947 (Star Trek: Enterprise, The Invisible Man [TV], Seven Days, The Apocalypse Watch, Sliders, Earth 2, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, The Flash, Superboy, Ghostbusters II, Beauty and the Beast, Bloodstone, Blakes 7, Dracula A.D. 1972, Lust for a Vampire, No Blade of Grass)
Milo Manara b. 1945 (artist)
Anne Helm b. 1938 (Amazing Stories, The Magic Sword)
Bill McKinney b. 1931 died 1 December 2011 (Hellborn, The Green Mile, It Came from Outer Space II, Back to the Future Part III, Galactica 1980, Strange New World, I Dream of Jeannie)
Ian Holm b. 1931 (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Day After Tomorrow, Simon Magus, eXistenZ, Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV 1998], The Fifth Element, Loch Ness, Frankenstein [1994], The Borrowers, Dreamchild, Brazil, Time Bandits, Alien, The Lost Boys [TV 1978])
Freddie Jones b. 1927 (Neverwhere, Dune, Firestarter, Krull, Firefox, Space:1999, Son of Dracula, Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV 1973], Old Drac, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed)
Stanislaw Lem b. 1921 died 27 March 2006 (author, Solaris, The Futurological Congress)
Edward Binns b.1916 died 4 December 1990 (Captain Nice, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone)
Mary Stewart b. 1916 died 9 May 2014 (author, The Merlin Trilogy)
Desmond Llewelyn b. 1914 died 19 December 1999 (Merlin [1993], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1980 TV], Moonraker, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Curse of the Werewolf, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Walter B. Gibson a.k.a. Maxwell Grant a.k.a. Edward S. Sullivan b. 1897 (writer, The Shadow, The Twilight Zone)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Excluding Alfie Allen from Game of Thrones and author Stanislaw Lem because they've already been in the Picture Slot, there are still plenty of good choices, including Joe Pantoliano from The Matrix and Ben McKenzie from Gotham, but I went with a somewhat gruesome photo of Ian Holm (is a ripped up android truly gruesome?) just as a reminder of how good the cast for the original Alien truly was.

2. Spot the Canadians and MST3K. Three of our youngest actors - Colin Ford, Alexia Fast and  Marty Adams - have Canadian looking resumes, but Colin Ford was born south of the border. Ann Helm does not have a Canadian looking resume, in large part because he career started before the Canadian genre boom, but she was in The Magic Sword, so we have an MST3K movie on today's list.

3. Wait... he's alive? They don't look that much alike when they are younger, but Freddie Jones and the late Aubrey Morris did look very similar (to me at least) when they got older, and I definitely have mixed them up more than once. Freddie Jones is also the father of actor Toby Jones, a fact I didn't know until this morning. Best birthday wishes, sir.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow I will get on The Weekly Soapbox.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

7 August 2015

Birthdays
Liam James b. 1996 (Fringe, 2012, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem)
Francesca Eastwood b. 1993 (Kids vs Monsters, Heroes Reborn)
Katherine Press b. 1988 (Captain America: The First Avenger)
Abbie Cornish b. 1982 (RoboCop, Sucker Punch, Limitless)
Brit Marling b. 1982 (I Origins, Another Earth)
Cirroc Lofton b. 1978 (Invasion, Deep Space Nine)
Alexandre Aja b. 1978 (director, Horns, Piranha 3D, The Hills Have Eyes [2006])
Charlize Theron b. 1975 (Mad Max: Fury Road, Prometheus, The Road, Hancock, Aeon Flux, The Astronaut’s Wife, The Devil’s Advocate, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest)
Hans Matheson b. 1975 (Clash of the Titans, The Mists of Avalon)
Michael Shannon b. 1974 (Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Jonah Hex, Bug, Vanilla Sky, Early Edition, Chain Reaction, Groundhog Day)
Greg Serano b. 1972 (Agent Carter, LA Apocalypse, Doomed Planet, Terminator Salvation, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Postman)
Sydney Penny b. 1971 (Hyper Sapiens: People from Another Star, Twilight Zone [1986])
Paula Jean Hixson b. 1968 (Being Human, Source Code)
Charlotte Lewis b. 1967 (Highlander: The Raven, Embrace of the Vampire, The Golden Child)
Harold Perrineau b. 1963 (Constantine, Lost, Demons, 28 Weeks Later, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded)
Ramon Estevez b. 1963 (Alligator II: The Mutation, The Dead Zone)
Brian Conley b. 1961 (Equilibrium, Cinderella: The Shoe Must Go On)
David Duchovny b. 1960 (The X Files, Evolution, Space: Above and Beyond)
Shannon Cochran b. 1958 (Fringe, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Ring, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Paul Dini b. 1957 (writer, a whole lot of TV cartoon shows)
Wayne Knight b. 1955 (Torchwood, Punisher: War Zone, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Space Jam, Jurassic Park, The Day After)
Caroline Aaron b. 1952 (What Planet Are You From?, Edward Scissorhands, The Brother from Another Planet)
Alexei Sayle b. 1952 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Solarbabies, Doctor Who, Whoops Apocalypse)
Graeme Blundell b. 1945 (Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith)
David Rasche b. 1944 (Men in Black 3, Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter, Wicked Stepmother)
John Glover b. 1944 (Agent Carter, Smallville, Heroes, Brimstone, Batman & Robin, Deep Space Nine, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, RoboCop 2, Scrooged, Twilight Zone [1986], The Incredible Shrinking Woman)
Tobin Bell b. 1942 (Saw, Revelations, Charmed, The X Files, Strange World, Stargate SG-1, Mann & Machine, Alien Nation)
Sue Lloyd b. 1939 died 20 October 2011 (U.F.O., Super Gran)
Steve Ihnat b. 1934 died 12 May 1972 (Star Trek, Countdown, I Dream of Jeannie, The Outer Limits, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Jerry Pournelle b. 1933 (author, The Mote in God’s Eye, The Man-Kzin Wars, Lucifer’s Hammer)
Edward Hardwicke b. 1932 died 16 May 2011 (She [2001], Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, Venom, Supernatural [1977 TV mini-series], H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Michael Masters b. 1929 died 2 December 2003 (Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Sixth Sense [1972], The Immortal)
Adrian Ricard b. 1924 (I, Robot, Lois & Clark, The Man with Two Brains, Gemini Man)
Jane Adams b. 1918 died 21 May 2014 (Adventures of Superman, Batman and Robin [1949], The Brute Man, House of Dracula)
Billie Burke b. 1884 died 14 May 1970 (The Wizard of Oz, Topper [1937])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I went fabulous with Charlize Theron and Billie Burke. We have some good Oh That Guy actors and some regulars from genre TV as well as important guest stars, but I decided to go with David Duchovny, who was actually a star of a show I think is important enough to have its own label, The X Files.

2. Spot the Canadian! The youngest person on the list - Liam James - was born north of the border. Hard to tell that just looking at his credits.

3. Nepotism FTW. I will not hem and haw about Francesca Eastwood or Ramon Estevez. Classic nepotism careers.

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

Movie released
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra released, 2009

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

Prediction: And for the rest, those swarms of black, and brown, and dirty-white, and yellow people, who do not come into the new needs of efficiency? Well, the world is a world, not a charitable institution, and I take it they will have to go. The whole tenor and meaning of the world, as I see it, is that they have to go. So far as they fail to develop sane, vigorous, and distinctive personalities for the great world of the future, it is their portion to die out and disappear.

Reality: Well obviously, if the people in those lands the British rape and pillage can't learn to steal everything not nailed down and act like it's God's plan, there is no place for them in the shiny new future.

Many commenters including myself have a soft spot for Time After Time, the 1979 movie where Malcolm McDowell plays young H.G.Wells as an adorable nerd with a time machine who falls in love with the equally adorable Mary Steenburgen. Reading Anticipations has put a damper on my love for that movie not unlike the steady stream of news over the past few months has made it hard to enjoy The Cosby Show.

Would I rather go back to happy ignorance or be stuck with the messy, ugly truth? What I'd rather do is live in a world when H.G. Wells and Bill Cosby aren't scumbags, but since that's not an option, I'd rather know the truth because I'm a grown-up.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Up on the soapbox on Saturday, feeling bad about part of the future we didn't get, or rather, we had for a while but let it slip away.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

30 July 2015

Birthdays
Joey King b. 1999 (Oz the Great and Powerful, The Dark Knight Rises, Battle Los Angeles, Jericho)Aml Ameen b. 1985 (Sense8, The Maze Runer)
Yvonne Strahovski b. 1982 (The Astronaut Wives Club, I, Frankenstein)
Martin Starr b. 1982 (Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, This Is the End, Futurestates, The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu, The Incredible Hulk, Roswell, Mysterious Ways, God vs Evil)
Lisa Wilhoit b. 1981 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Hook)
Jaime Pressly b. 1977 (Charmed, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, NightMan)
Christopher Ray b. 1977 (director, Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys, Mega Shark, Asteroid vs Earth, Almighty Thor, Reptisaurus)
Nikolai Kinski b. 1976 (Aeon Flux)
John Reardon b. 1975 (Continuum, Supernatural, The Philadelphia Experiment [TV], TRON: Legacy, Super Hybrid, Eureka, Painkiller Jane, Merlin’s Apprentice, Andromeda)
Hilary Swank b. 1974 (The Core, Buffy)
Christine Taylor b. 1971 (The Craft, Here Come the Munsters)
Christopher Nolan b. 1970 (director, Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Batman Begins)
Simon Baker b. 1969 (Land of the Dead, The Ring Two, Red Planet)
Terry Crews b. 1968 (Gamer, Terminator Salvation, Idiocracy, Click, The 6th Day)
Jason Watkins b. 1966 (Atlantis, Doctor Who, Psychoville, Being Human, The Golden Compass)
Kevin Blatch b. 1965 (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Flash Gordon [TV], Stargate SG-1, Dead Like Me, The Dead Zone, Seven Days, Millennium, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Strange Luck)
Vivica A. Fox b. 1964 (Sharknado 2: The Second One, Ella Enchanted, Tremors [TV], Batman & Robin, Independence Day)
Monique Gabrielle b. 1963 (Munchie, 976-Evil II, Transylvania Twist, The Return of Swamp Thing, Not of This Earth)
Laurence Fishburne b. 1961 (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, The Signal, The Colony, Predators, The Matrix, Cherry 2000, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
Richard Linklater b. 1960 (director, A Scanner Darkly)
Richard Burgi b. 1958 (The Green Inferno, Reaper, Firefly, Mann & Machine, The Flash)
Philip Davis b. 1953 (Being Human, Merlin [2011 TV], Doctor Who, Alien³, Howling V: The Rebirth)
Erwin Leder b. 1951 (Underworld)
Jean Reno b. 1948 (Rollerball [2002], Godzilla [1998], Le Dernier Combat)
Carel Struycken b. 1948 (Charmed, The Addams Family, Men in Black, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Witches of Eastwick, Ewoks: The Battle of Endor, The Prey, Bigfoot and Wildboy)
Arnold Schwarzenegger b. 1947 (Terminator, The 6th Day, End of Days, Batman & Robin, Last Action Hero, Total Recall, The Running Man, Red Sonja, Conan, Hercules in New York)
William Atherton b. 1947 (Defiance, Lost, Stargate SG-1, Headspace, Race to Space, The Crow: Salvation, Twilight Zone [1985], Ghostbusters)
Frances de la Tour b. 1944 (Into the Woods, Hugo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Alice in Wonderland [2010], The Book of Eli, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Peter Bogdanovich b. 1939 (Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women)
John P. Ryan b. 1936 died 20 March 2007 (Class of 1999, Faerie Tale Theatre, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, It Lives Again, Futureworld, It’s Alive)
Richard Johnson b. 1927 died 6 June 2015 (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Zombie, Space: 1999, The Haunting)
Victor Wong b. 1927 died 12 September 2001 (Poltergeist: The Legacy, Tremors, Beauty and the Beast, The Golden Child, Big Trouble in Little China)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. A fine list today, full of stars, fabulous babes, household names and folks with iconic roles. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Laurence Fishburne, both of them stars and both iconic. Taking them off the list, there are still plenty of choices, but I went with Carel Struycken as Lurch. It's a small coincidence that Ted Cassidy's birthday is tomorrow, but he won't be in The Picture Slot, as he has already had his turn.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are two, they are spottable, so I leave it as an exercise for the reader.

3. Nepotism FTW. Nikolai Kinski is Klaus's son.

4. The Guy at the Door. I did not know until this morning that Peter Bogdanovich had directed a cheap genre film early in his career under and assumed name. He is also the oldest living person on the list and everyone younger than him is still with us, so he is also The Guy at the Door at the tender age of 76. As always, the blog extends special best wishes for a long and happy life.
 
Many happy returns to all the living on the list, especially Peter Bogdanovich, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: Life Magazine, 1914

Prediction: The fashion trends of 1950

Reality: First things first. This version of Life has nothing to do with the iconic photo journalism magazine that began publishing in the late 1920s. This was a humor magazine from an earlier era.

The time frame is all wrong and men's fashion prediction is pretty bad, but from the 1960s on, there have been women's fashions at least as revealing as what the woman is wearing. The hair is a little outlandish, but only a little. Women smoking pipes in public is the one completely false note on the distaff side.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

H.G. Wells is back for another chance to damage his reputation as a pleasant human being.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

25 July 2015

Birthdays
Mason Cook b. 2000 (Mockingbird Lane, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D)
Preston Bailey b. 2000 (Children of the Corn [2009])
Andrew Caldwell b. 1989 (Transformers)
Linsey Godfrey b. 1988 (Altergeist, Wizards of Waverly Place, Surface)
Michael Welch b. 1987 (Z Nation, Twilight, Grimm, Day of the Dead, Stargate SG-1, Birds of Prey, The Invisible Man, The X-Files, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Kevin Buttimer b. 1987 (Ant-Man)
Shantel VanSanten b. 1985 (The Messengers, The Flash, Something Wicked, Beauty and the Beast [2013])
James Lafferty b. 1985 (Oculus, S. Darko)
Jay R. Ferguson b. 1974 (No Ordinary Family, Surface)
Jason Marin b. 1974 (Back to the Future)
Aaron Craven b. 1974 (The Flash, The Age of Adaline, 100,000 Zombie Heads, Supernatural, Continuum, Fringe, Smallville, Alien Trespass, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Stargate: Atlantis, Kyle XY, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
Michael C. Williams b. 1973 (The Objective, Altered, The Blair Witch Project)
David Denman b. 1973 (After Earth, Angel, The X-Files)
Miriam Shor b. 1971 (Bedazzled)
D.B. Woodside b. 1969 (Buffy)
Matt LeBlanc b. 1967 (Lost in Space [1998])
Elke Jeinsen b. 1966 (Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV)
Illeana Douglas b. 1965 (Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, The Coven, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Strange Frequency)
Iman b. 1955 (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Lynne Frederick b. 1954 died 27 April 1994 (Space: 1999, The Canterville Ghost, Phase IV, Vampire Circus, No Blade of Grass)
Nina Thomas b. 1952 (Doctor Who)
Janet Margolin b. 1943 died 17 December 1993 (Ghostbusters II, Planet Earth)
Pilar Seurat b. 1938 died 2 June 2001 (Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Todd Armstrong b. 1937 died 17 November 1992 (The Greatest American Hero, Jason and the Argonauts)
Paul Collins b. 1937 (The Breed, The Invisible Man [2000], Dead man on Campus, Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap)
August Schellenberg b. 1936 died 15 August 2013 (SGU Stargate Universe, Mysterious Ways, So Weird, Friday’s Curse, Deadly Nightmares)
Barbara Harris b. 1935 (Nice Girls Don’t Explode)
Ken Swofford b. 1933 (Max Headroom, Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Girl with Something Extra, The Andromeda Strain, The Intruders, Shadow on the Land)
Al Adamson b. 1929 died 2 August 1995 (Death Dimension, Doctor Dracula, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Brain of Blood, Horror of the Blood Monsters, Blood of Dracula’s Castle)
Jerry Paris b. 1925 died 31 March 1986 (director, The Munsters)
Estelle Getty b. 1923 died 22 July 2008 (Mannequin)
Woody Strode b. 1914 died 31 December 1994 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Kingdom of the Spiders, Batman)
Jack Gilford b. 1908 died 2 June 1990 (Cocoon, Anna to the Infinite Power, Caveman)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot, with extra "Wait... he's dead?" goodness. This is not a list weighed down with A-List stars. In previous years, I went full Whedonverse nerd with David Denman (the demon Skip from Angel) and D.B. Woodside, the hunky last principal of Sunnydale High on Buffy. This year, I go with Todd Armstrong, the star of Jason and the Argonauts, a movie I still love dearly. Starring in this movie did nothing for his career and he was upset that his voice was dubbed over after the fact. I don't blame him. I just found his name on imdb.com this year and I had not been cc:ed on the memo that he was dead.

This makes me sad.


2. Spot the Canadians! We have two Canucks today, both somewhat spottable. Most folks who benefit form the Canadian genre production boom are born after 1970, which is true of Aaron Craven, but we also see some of those credits on First Nations actor August Schellenberg, who died a couple years back.

3. My favorite actors on the list, or Welcome to Geezers Anonymous. Jack Gilford was a great comic actor, Woody Strode was probably the best known African-American actor in the Westerns. Strode worked with both John Ford and Sergio Leone, and that is plenty good enough for me.

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

Movie released
Lucy released, 2014

The Weekly Soapbox: The End of Oil.

Instead of predictions on Saturday, because I am running low, instead I will write a little opinion piece on things that have have been predicted. The End of Oil has only shown up a few times on the blog, once from OMNI Future Almanac, once from Utopia 1976 and John Elfreth Watkins foresaw the end of coal. All the dates have come and gone - 2010, 1976 and 2000 - and we still have petroleum based fuel running the world.

OMNI Future Almanac's call wasn't a surprise. It was published in 1982 and Peak Oil was already an idea people were batting about. Utopia 1976 was written in 1955 and Watkins made his predictions in 1900, so they are more surprising. Why hasn't the sky fallen yet?

I found many graphs similar to the one shown here that credit "natural gas liquids" and "unconventional oil" as the main stop-gap, and both of those rely heavily on fracking.

You might assume from my generally leftist leanings that I will now say "Boo! Fracking!", but I honestly haven't made up my mind. I know there are bad things that have happened at fracking sites, but I don't know how common they are. I'd like to find a neutral site where I could find good data, but I haven't found that yet.

This is the real world. There are always trade-offs. It's important to understand what they are. 

I could just see who is lined up on both sides and decide to go with the folks I like, but I got suckered into the anti-vax point of view by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on The Daily Show last decade, so I no longer think that is good enough.

The pro-fracking types think of themselves as The Sensible People - and yes, I'm looking at you Joe Nocera - but they are keen on writing "if there is environmental damage, the companies should be made to clean it up."

Yes, they should. Also, people should not cheat on their spouses or taxes, shouldn't litter or have their phones on at the movies or the theatre.

But people do those things. And what's worse, polluting companies pay a shitload of money to lawyers to make sure they don't have to clean up their messes.

There are things getting better in the world, usually slowly, but there are also things getting slowly worse. If the people getting screwed finally realize they can afford pitchforks and torches, I will likely sympathize with their cause. The Sensible People will likely complain of their burns or their pitchfork wounds and I will listen politely, but then I will say "Perhaps this is a good time to look at what both sides have done wrong."

Okay, I'm off the soapbox for a week.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The first slow Sunday, with only a birthday list. In previous years, the 26th of July Picture Slot has belonged to fabulous babes. Will the streak continue?

Signs point to yes.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 July 2015

Birthdays
Perla Haney-Jardine b. 1997 (Spider-Man 3)
Austin Macdonald b. 1995 (Mr. Magorum’s Wonder Emporium, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, ReGenesis)
Jessica Amlee b. 1994 (Absolute Zero, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate: Atlantis, Jeremiah, Andromeda, Smallville, Dark Angel)
Cazi Greene b. 1993 (The Maze Runner)
Billie Lourd b. 1992 (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens)
Tom Cullen b. 1985 (Last Days on Mars)
Daniel Berge Halversen b. 1982 (Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead)
Melanie Thierry b. 1981 (The Zero Theorem, Babylon A.D.)
Mike Vogel b. 1979 (Under the Dome, Cloverfield)
Eric Winter b. 1976 (Witches of East End, Charmed)
Dagmara Dominczyk b. 1976 (They)
Cory Doctorow b. 1971 (writer, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom)
Jason Clarke b. 1969 (Terminator: Genisys [2015], Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Death Race, Farscape)
Alex Winter b. 1965 (The Borrowers, Freaked, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Lost Boys)
Santiago Segura b. 1965 (Pacific Rim, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Hellboy, Blade II)
Heather Langenkamp b. 1964 (American Horror Story, Star Trek Into Darkness, Perversions of Science, Shocker, Nightmare on Elm Street)
John Ventimiglia b. 1963 (Rosenkrantz and Guilderstern are Undead)
Robin Shou b. 1960 (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Mortal Kombat)
Tim Rose b. 1956 (Wizards vs. Aliens, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [TV], Howard the Duck, Return to Oz, Return of the Jedi, The Dark Crystal)
Margot Rose b. 1956 (Hollow Man, Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Freddy’s Nightmares)
J. Michael Straczynski b. 1954 (writer, Sense8, World War Z, Thor, Babylon 5, Jeremiah, The Twilight Zone [1980s], Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, She-Ra, He-Man)
David Hasselhoff b. 1952 (Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Anaconda III, Knight Rider, Click, 3rd Rock from the Sun, NightMan, Starcrash)
P.J. Soles b. 1950 (Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy, Little Bigfoot, Alienator, Knight Rider, Halloween, Carrie)
Catherine Schell b. 1944 (Doctor Who, Space: 1999, Moon Zero Two)
Donald Sutherland b. 1935 (The Hunger Games, Frankenstein [2004], Salem’s Lot, Space Cowboys, Virus, Fallen, The Puppet Masters, The Lifeforce Experiment, Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Castle of the Living Dead)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Donald Sutherland, kind of a hybrid movie star/character actor and Tim Rose, the poor baster who was stuck in teh Howard the Duck suit. I think the best known name not yet used is David Hasselhoff, but seriously, I just couldn't. So instead we have J. Michael Straczynski, who is currently tweeting about his new series Sense8, which he made with teh Wachowskis and is available on Netflix.

2. Spot the Canadians. It's not a tough bit of trivia to know Donald Sutherland was born in Canada. You might be able to spot Jessica Amlee by her credit list, but writer Cory Doctorow and young actor Austin Macdonald are doing their best to blend in.

3. Tempus fugit and the horse you rode in on. The other guy from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure turns 50 today. I don't remember whether he was Bill or Ted and I would like not being reminded, thank you very much. When I see a milestone like this, I get one of those "Jesus! How old am I then?" moments. I mean, I know how old I am, but just makes it sink in a little deeper.

4. MST3K. Two episodes of Space:1999 were turned into Cosmic Princess and mercilessly mocked by Joel and the bots.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the... wait a tick! Everyone's alive! Yay!

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

Prediction: If deterrent punishments are used at all in the code of the future, the deterrent will neither be death, nor mutilation of the body, nor mutilation of the life by imprisonment, nor any horrible things like that, but good scientifically caused pain, that will leave nothing but a memory.

Reality:I can't read this without thinking of the dialog.

"The booth for this one, Captain?"

"Yes... the booth."

And, oh yeah, the young H.G. Wells was not the lovable, wide eyed fellow played by Malcolm McDowell in Time After Time. Not to put too fine a point on it, he was an asshole.

Never to be Forgotten: "Diamond" Dave Somerville 1931-2015 I'm old enough to have been on newsgroups back when the Internet was all text. One of my favorite newsgroups,  alt.obituaries, still has a presence on Facebook. Ray Arthur, one of the regulars, pointed me in the direction of the passing of Dave Somerville, the original lead singer with The Diamonds, whose big hit was Little Darling. Besides that claim to fame, Somerville took acting classes and one of this fellow students was Leonard Nimoy. Somerville appeared on the Star Trek episode The Conscience of the King and was also on the 1970s TV show The Amazing Spier-Man, back when special effects barely deserved the description "special".

Best wishes to the family and friends of "Diamond" Dave Somerville, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from the very optimistic 1955 book Utopia 1976.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

16 July 2015

Birthdays
Taryn Southern b. 1986 (Battle Los Angeles)
Calum Gittins b. 1986 (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)
Rosa Salazar b. 1985 (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, American Horror Story)
Michelle Morgan b. 1981 (Supernatural, Dominant Gene, Stargate: Atlantis, Diary of the Dead, Fire Serpent)
Jayma Mays b. 1979 (Heroes)
Corey Feldman b. 1971 (Zombex, The Zombie King, Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys, Dark Realm, The Toxic Avenger IV, Sliders, The Lost Boys, Friday the 13th, Gremlins, Time After Time)
Will Ferrell b. 1967 (Land of the Lost [2009], Bewitched [2005])
Daryl Mitchell b. 1965 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Galaxy Quest)
Phoebe Cates b. 1963 (Drop Dead Fred, Gremlins 1 and 2)
Faye Grant b. 1957 (The Omen IV: The Awakening, V, Voyager from the Unknown, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk, The Greatest American Hero)
Jerry Doyle b. 1956 (Storm Watch, Sliders, Babylon 5)
Ruben Blades b. 1948 (Fear the Walking Dead, The X Files, Preator 2)
Ann Turkel b. 1946 (The Hunger [TV], RoboCop [TV], Highlander [TV], Deep Space, Worlds Beyond, Knight Rider, Death Ray 2000, Humanoids from the Deep)
Richard LeParmentier b. 1946 died 15 April 2013 (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Superman II, Space: 1999, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Rollerball [1975], The People That Time Forgot)
Jeremy Spenser b. 1937 (Fahrenheit 451, Beauty and the Beast [1952)
Barnard Hughes b. 1916 died 11 July 2006 (The Lost Boys, TRON, Mr. Merlin, The UFO Incident, The Borrowers, Dark Shadows [TV], ‘Way Out)
Sonny Tufts b. 1911 died 4 June 1970 (Cat-Women of the Moon)
Mary Philbin b. 1902 died 7 May 1993 (The Phantom of the Opera [1925])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Will Ferrell is the big star on the list, but he is not iconic in genre, so the Picture Slot has gone in previous years to Jerry Doyle from Babylon 5 and to Pheobe Cates from Drop Dead Fred. This year it goes to the late Richard LeParmentier as the choked General Motti from Star Wars. My favorite meme from this picture is Peter Cushing getting a thought bubble reading "Drama queen!"

2. Spot the Canadian! Yet again, I think the hint that there is only one makes our Canadian spottable my the well-informed public, which certainly describes my loyal readers.

3. Hey, no Star Trek! it is somehow fitting that a shot from a Star Wars film (who are we kidding? THE Star Wars film) is in the Picture Slot on a day when Star Trek has zero love.

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

Movies released
Inception released, 2010
I, Robot released, 2004
 

 Predictor: Andrew Carnegie in 1900, quoted in The Experts Speak

Prediction: To kill a man will be considered as disgusting in the Twentieth Century as we in this day consider it disgusting to eat one.

Reality: In his day, Andrew Carnegie was probably in the top 1% of the top 1% of the top 1%, which is to say one in a million when it comes to being crazy rich, but this is a noble sentiment, even if it is flat out wrong.

Never to be Forgotten: Aubrey Morris 1926-2015 Veteran British character actor Aubrey Morris, shown here in a publicity still from The Prisoner, had died at the age of 89. I have to admit that when an actor plays a very ill person like Morris did in Deadwood last decade, my brain decides he is gone, which wasn't true until today. Besides The Prisoner, Aubrey appeared in genre productions including Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature, The Others, Legend of the Mummy, Bordello of Blood, Babylon 5, Alien Nation, Beauty and the Beast, Lifeforce, The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy [TV], Space: 1999, A Clockwork Orange and Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Aubrey Morris, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another corker from H.G. Wells.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

25 June 2015

Birthdays
Mckenna Grace b. 2006 (Frankenstein [2015], The Vampire Diaries, Goodbye World)
Scott Terra b. 1987 (Daredevil, Eight Legged Freaks, Charmed)
Megan Burns b. 1986 (28 Days Later)
Busy Philipps b. 1979 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
La La Anthony b. 1979 (Monster Island)
Linda Cardellini b. 1975 (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Scooby-Doo, Dead Man on Campus, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Jeff Cohen b. 1974 (Amazing Stories, Tales from the Darkside)
Jason Lewis b. 1971 (Charmed)
Angela Kinsey b. 1971 (Zombie Basement)
Thomas Scharff b. 1970 (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters)
Erica Gimpel b. 1964 (True Blood, Babylon 5)
John Benjamin Hickey b. 1963 (The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Ricky Gervais b. 1961 (The Invention of Lying, Night at the Museum, Stardust)
Timur Bekmambetov b. 1961 (director, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Wanted, Day Watch, Night Watch)
Paris Themmen b. 1959 (Star Trek: Voyager, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Chloe Webb b. 1956 (Practical Magic, Ghostbusters II)
Michael McShane b. 1955 (Love in the Time of Monsters, Evil Alien Conquerors, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show)
Lina Romay b. 1954 died 15 February 2012 (Snakewoman, Killer Barbys vs. Dracula, Vampire Junction, Oasis of the Zombies, Female Vampire, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, The Daughter of Dracula)
Kene Holliday b. 1949 (The Philadelphia Experiment, The Incredible Hulk)
Michael Lembeck b. 1948 (director, Tooth Fairy)
Jimmie Walker b. 1947 (Super Shark, Monster Mash: The Movie, Guyver)
Roy Marsden b. 1941 (Doctor Who, Mysterious Island, Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, Space: 1999)
George Murdock b. 1930 died 30 April 2012 (Torchwood, Legend of the Phantom Rider, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files, Team Knight Rider, Apollo 11, Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Small Wonder, The Sword and the Sorceror, Battlestar Galactica [1978], The Invisible Man [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, The Sixth Sense [TV], Twilight Zone)
June Lockhart b. 1925 (Zombie Hamlet, Super Capers: The origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion, Lost in Space [1998 and 1965], Babylon 5, C.H.U.D.II – Bud the Chud, Amazing Stories , Troll, Strange Invaders, The Greatest American Hero, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Bewitched)
Peter Lind Hayes b. 1915 died 21 April 1998 (The Outer Limits, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T)
Sidney Lumet b. 1924 died 9 April 2011 (director, The Wiz)
George Orwell b. 1903 died 21 January 1950 (author, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Animal Farm)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot belonged to George Orwell. If we avoid repetition, the contest for 2015 would be between the late Oh That Guy George Murdock and the still living and fabulous June Lockhart. Happy 90th birthday, Miss Lockhart!

2. Nepotism FTW. Director Michael Lembeck is the son of actor Harvey Lembeck.

3. Living Canadian and MST3K free. I found no Canadians in my search today and don't know of any movies on the list that were skewered by the Best Brains gang.

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

Movies released
Rollerball released, 1975
Blade Runner released 1982

The original Rollerball was supposed to take place in 2018 and Blade Runner in 2019.

Rollerball was 40 years ago. Jesus, I'm a geezer.
 

Predictor: World Without End by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, published 2010

Prediction: In 2023, a street prostitute is injected with nanotechnology that allows her live forever, surviving the pandemic that kills all other humans.


Reality: This is an extremely depressing story about the last person on earth, written by a guy who committed suicide that same year. Nearly magical nanotech eight years from now seems unlikely.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

H. G. Wells is back, probably pompous, possibly deeply unpleasant.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

20 June 2015

Birthdays
Hulk released 2003
Jadin Gould b. 1998 (Man of Steel, Battle Los Angeles)
Claudia Lee b. 1996 (Kick-Ass 2)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse b. 1989 (Kick-Ass, This is the End, Fright Night)
Shefali Chowdhury b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Dreama Walker b. 1986 (Vamperifica, The Invention of Lying)
Collings Pennie b. 1985 (In Time)
Jobeth Wagner b. 1985 (True Blood, Hancock)
Kate Kelton b. 1978 (Haven, Growth)
Ronnie Gene Blevins b. 1977 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., True Blood, The Dark Knight Rises, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Tom Wlaschiha b. 1973 (Game of Thrones, The Sarah Jane Chronicles)
Josh Lucas b. 1971 (Space Warriors, Hulk)
Raymond Olubawale b. 1970 (Resident Evil)
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 (How to Talk to Girls at Parties, 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, Arachnophobia, C.H.U.D.)
Don Mantooth b. 1952 (Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Six Million Dollar Man)
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 (Penny Dreadful, The Dark Knight Rises, Beowulf [1999], Space Precinct, Space; 1999)
John McCook b. 1944 (David’s Dinosaur, Amazing Stories. Once Upon a Brothers Grimm)
John Mahoney b. 1940 (3rd Rock from the Sun, The Manhattan Project)
Wendy Craig b. 1934 (Out of the Unknown)
Brett Halsey b. 1933 (TekWar, Forever Knight, Automan, Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bionic Woman, Revenge of the Creature)
Danny Aiello b. 1933 (The Stuff)
James Tolkan b. 1931 (Early Edition, Robo Warriors, Back to the Future, Masters of the Universe, Iceman, WarGames, Wolfen, The Amityville Horror, The Werewolf of Washington)
Olympia Dukakis b. 1931 (The Librarian)
Bonnie Bartlett b. 1929 (Firefly, Stargate SG-1, SeaQuest 2032, The Wizard, V, Salem’s Lot)
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)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Robert Rodriguez and Nicole Kidman. This year, it was a toss-up between Martin Landau and today's winner, Tom Wlaschiha, who playes the Faceless Man Jaqen H'ghar on Game of Thrones.


2. Hey, no Star Trek! Star Trek is far and away the most common label on the blog, but some days there are no Trek artists are celebrating birthdays. So far this month, it's happened about once a week.

3. MST3K. I know Revenge of the Creature got the treatment, there may be others.

4. Spot the Canadian! Kate Kelton is our lone Canadian today and she's hard to spot.

5. The Guy at the Door. Regular readers will know I feel somewhat awkward pointing out this demographic quirk when it happens, but today I can put a positive spin on it, or at least I think I can. Martin Landau is the oldest living person on the list and everyone younger than him is also alive. This includes a bunch of actors in their 80s, some of the best known names on the list. There is a nineteen year gap between Mr. Landau and the next oldest person, the writer Robb White, and it is completely unreasonable to expect Mr. White would live to be 106. So in terms of good news, no one on our list died young and the oldest person happens to be Martin Landau, to whom the blog extends its best wishes for him to enjoy many more happy, healthy years. 

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

Predictor: Morris L. Ernst in his 1955 book Utopia 1976

Prediction: Radio and television will no doubt continue to be part of effortless imbibing, but the difficulty of supplying over five billion new words a year to fill our demanding may well create a competitive disability.

Reality: The lion's share of Mr. Ernst's predictions are about uses of leisure time, and he believes Americans will have much more with a new 30 hour work week. More than that, he believes Americans will use the extra time in morally and physically uplifting ways, and he does not consider being in an audience uplifting. He gets some points for predicting the entertainment industry may effectively run out of things to say, but does not make the further prediction that movies and TV would make so many remakes and people would still watch them.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Sunday belongs to Robert A. Heinlein's The Door Into Summer, whose predictions are mostly about technological advances in the last half of the 20th Century.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

19 June 2015

Birthdays

Atticus Shaffer b. 1998 (The Unborn, Hancock)
Paul Dano b. 1984 (Looper, Cowboys & Aliens)
Aidan Turner b. 1983 (The Hobbit, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Being Human)
Lauren Lee Smith b. 1980 (Ascension, Ring of Fire [TV], Blade: The Series, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Mutant X, Dark Angel)
Zoe Saldana b. 1978 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rosemary’s Baby [2014 TV], Star Trek, Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
Ryan Hurst b. 1976 (Taken, The Postman)
Hugh Dancy b. 1975 (Ella Enchanted, Relic Hunter)
Bumper Robinson b. 1974 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Deep Space Nine, Enemy Mine)
Chelah Horsdal b. 1973 (Arrow, The Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Iron Invader, Stargate, Eureka, Alien Trespass, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, Bionic Woman, Battlestar Galactica, X-Men: The Last Stand, Smallville, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Andromeda)
Robin Tunney b. 1972 (End of Days, Supernova, The Craft, Frogs!)
Alan Van Sprang b. 1971 (Beauty and the Beast [2015], Immortals, Survival of the Dead, ReGenesis, Diary of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Starhunter, Mutant X, Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Raven)
Chris Larkin b. 1967 (Doctor Who, Mysterious Island [2005 TV], Highlander [TV])
Mia Sara b. 1967 (Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Birds of Prey, Lost in Oz, Jack and the Beanstalk: The True Story, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997 TV], Timecop, Time Trax, Legend)
Samuel West b. 1966 (The Frankenstein Chronicles, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Eternal Law, Dark Relic, Van Helsing, Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [1989 TV])
Kelly Reno b. 1966 (Amazing Stories)
Sadie Frost b. 1965 (Dracula [1992])
Andrew Lauer b. 1965 (Iron Man 3, Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer, King of the Lost World, Screamers)
Sean Marshall b. 1965 (Pete’s Dragon)
Kathleen Turner b. 1954 (Cinderella [2000 TV], Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Man with Two Brains)
Virginia Hey b. 1952 (Alien Armageddon, Farscape, The Return of Captain invincible, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
Phylicia Rashad b. 1948 (Gods Behaving Badly)
Salman Rushdie b. 1947 (author, Midnight’s Children, Haroun and the Sea of Stories)
Steve Ryan b. 1947 died 3 September 2007 (The X-Files, D.A.R.Y.L.)
Rosalba Neri b. 1939 (Lady Frankenstein)
Derren Nesbitt b. 1935 (UFO)
Pier Angeli b. 1932 died10 September 1971 (Octaman)
Diana Sowle b. 1930 (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Gena Rowlands b. 1930 (Parts per Billion, The Skeleton Key, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Robert Fyfe b. 1925 (Cloud Atlas, Xtro)
Louis Jourdan b. 1921 (Swamp Thing, Count Dracula [1977 TV])
Pat Buttram b. 1915 died 8 January 1994 (Back to the Future Part III, Knight Rider, The Munsters)
Julius Schwartz b. 1915 died 8 February 2004 (editor, DC Comics)
Harry Lauter b. 1915 died 30 October 1990 (Superbeast, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Land of the Giants, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Green Hornet, Batman: The Movie, My Favorite Martian, Earth vs. Flying Saucers, The Werewolf, Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Captain Midnight, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, The Day the Earth Stood Still)
George Voskovec b. 1905 died 1 July 1981 (Somewhere in Time)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I gave the Picture Slot to fabulous babe Zoe Saldana and fabulous babe Virginia Hey. Sensing a pattern yet? This year, it's Mia Sara, probably best known for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, here in a still from Legend.

2. Spot the Canadians! Three Canadians today, all somewhat spottable: Alan Van Sprang, Chela Horsdal and Lauren Lee Smith.

3. Wait... they're dead? The lovely Pier Angeli died very young back in the 1970s, so I've had over forty years to register the fact, but it hasn't sunk in yet.  I've had about eight years to find out Steve Ryan is dead, but today is the first I've heard of it to the best of my knowledge. His best known role was as J. Walter Weatherman on Arrested Development, the one armed guy George Bluth uses to teach his kids lessons. I had no idea he was gone and it's like writing a Never to be Forgotten post.

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

Movie released
Jason and the Argonauts released, 1963

Fifty two years ago and still one of the most memorable times I have ever spent in a movie theatre.

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

Prediction: It has become apparent that whole masses of human population are, as a whole, inferior in their claim upon the future, to other masses, that they cannot be given opportunities or trusted with power as the superior peoples are trusted, that their characteristic weaknesses are contagious and detrimental in the civilizing fabric, and that their range of incapacity tempts and demoralizes the strong. To give them equality is to sink to their level, to protect and cherish them is to be swamped in their fecundity.

Reality: I am repeating a passage from Anticipations today because it reminds me of the horror we saw unfold in Charleston. To be fair, Wells isn't exactly racist. He doesn't want to kill all the blacks or Jews, but if someone does meet his definition of "inferior", then death or sterilization is the best thing for them. Wells is more of a proud cultural bigot, casually condemning nationalities like the Irish and the Russians.

I re-broadcast this horrible passage again today because it really is in the same vein as the beliefs of the vile young man Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at a church in South Carolina. I would also compare this young man to Timothy McVeigh. Of course, Wells didn't kill multiple people, but all of three of these scumbags thought they were trying to educate us, teach us the hard lesson that to make the world a better place, huge numbers of people have to be killed. Wells didn't need to kill people to get the public's attention. He had a publisher glad to broadcast his awful theories. Roof and McVeigh thought of themselves as scholars, people who had studied why a race war was necessary.

I don't think Roof and McVeigh are mentally disturbed. They are evil. Wells backed away from a lot of the worst of his pronouncements as writers and critics tore his book apart, but the evil certainly had a hold of him for a while. 

How does this evil grow? In Roof's case, he lives in a state where the Confederate flag flies over the seat of government. He is soaking in evil and made an effort to learn more evil on his own. Here in California, a man named Byron Williams was convicted of attempted murder of four Highway Patrol officers in a 2010 shootout. Williams was stopped on his way to kill people at The Tides Foundation, a liberal nonprofit repeatedly attacked by Glenn Beck, another self-proclaimed scholar. Had he not driven in a dangerous manner, he likely would have arrived at the destination where the people he wanted to kill were working.

I cannot fairly compare Wells to Roof or McVeigh, but he can be compared to Beck. In the so-called marketplace of ideas, we let some horrible scumbags peddle their wares. For most of us, this stuff can be ignored or mocked, but what they write and say give aid and comfort to the enemies of our shared humanity. They are the wind under evil wings.

Here endeth the lesson.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

However silly, scolding and overly optimistic Morris L. Ernst could be, I'm confident tomorrow's prediction will not advocate racial or ethnic cleansing.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

18 June 2015

Birthdays
Max Records b. 1997 (Where the Wild Things Are)
Willa Holland b. 1991 (Arrow, Legion)
Jacob Anderson b. 1990 (Game of Thrones, Demons Never Die, Primeval)
Renee Olstead b. 1989 (Space Cowboys)
Meaghan Rath b. 1986 (Being Human, 10.5: Apocalypse)
Richard Madden b. 1986 (Cinderella, Game of Thrones)
David Giuntoli b. 1980 (Grimm)
Kristina Klebe b. 1979 (Chillerama, Zone of the Dead, Halloween [2007])
Alana De La Garza b. 1976 (Forever, Charmed, Smallville, Mortal Kombat: Conquest)
Adam Grimes b. 1976 (The Last Exorcism, Star Trek: Enterprise, Buffy)
Robin Christopher b. 1965 (Deep Space Nine)
Kim Dickens b. 1965 (Fear the Walking Dead, FlashForward, Lost, Hollow Man)
Stephen Marcus b. 1962 (Speed Racer, The Color of Magic, Hogfather, Doctor Who, Starhunter, Cavegirl, Red Dwarf)
Ralph Brown b. 1957 (Agent Carter, Jack the Giant Slayer, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, Star Wars: Episode I – The One We Don’t Discuss, Alien³)
Dominic Guard b. 1956 (Doctor Who, The Watcher in the Woods)
Isabella Rossellini b. 1952 (The Phantom, Infected, Earthsea, Merlin [1998], Death Becomes Her)
Carol Kane b. 1952 (Gotham, Addams Family Values, Scrooged, The Princess Bride, Transylvania 6-5000)
Miriam Flynn b. 1952 (Evolution, Deep Space Nine, Buffy)
Steve Miner b. 1951 (director, Eureka, Day of the Dead, Smallville, Lake Placid, Halloween H20: 20 years Later, Friday the 13th II and III)
Mac McDonald b. 1949 (Red Dwarf, The Fifth Element, Gulliver’s Travels [1996 TV], The Tomorrow People, Nightbreed, Batman, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, The Empire Strikes Back, Rollerball)
Linda Thorson b. 1947 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Tales from the Darkside)
Roger Ebert b. 1942 died 4 April 2013 (writer, critic)
Michael Sheard b. 1938 died 21 August 2005 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Doctor Who, Space, The Invisible Man, The Empire Strikes Back, Blakes 7, The Tomorrow People, Space: 1999)
George Hearn b. 1934 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Richard Boone b. 1917 died 19 January 1981 (The Last Dinosaur)
E.G. Marshall b. 1914 died 24 August 1998 (The Tommyknockers, Superman II, Vampire)
Nedra Volz b. 1908 died 20 January 2003 (ALF, Earth Girls Are Easy)
Keye Luke b. 1904 died 12 January 1991 (Gremlins, Superboy, Beauty and the Beast [1988 TV], Star Trek, Project X, The Green Hornet [1966 and 1940])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous years, we had Keye Luke and Roger Ebert. I am ashamed to say I didn't even have Richard Madden on the list until year, but I have made up for that bad oversight by putting him in the Picture Slot.

Robb Stark and puppies! What could go wrong?

2. Canadian spotted. Meaghan Rath is Canadian, but with only two credits, she's hard to spot.

3. Nepotism FTW. Isabella Rossellini is the daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini. While the romance of her parents, who were both married to other people when they met, was quite the scandal in Hollywood at the time, I'm sure Ms. Rossellini's parentage opened some doors early in her career. That and her being a fabulous babe, of course.

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

Movie released
Toy Story 3 released, 2010

Predictor: ESPN's NBA experts

Prediction: The Warriors would beat the Cavaliers in six games for the championship.

Reality: The prediction was exactly right and got 10 of a possible 10,  bringing the experts' total record for the playoffs to 113 points of 150 for a very respectable 75.3% correct. The consensus correctly picked 12 of 15 winners, and I gave half credit in one case because the consensus picked the Spurs over the Clippers in seven when it was actually the Clippers over the Spurs in seven, only off by a single game.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's time yet again to hear from H.G. Wells. Will he get something right? Will he shows us what a nasty bigot he was? You will know better tomorrow!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

10 June 2015

Birthdays
Kelly Vitz b. 1988 (Teenius, Sky High)
Mitch Ryan b. 1987 (Cabin Fever: Patient Zero)
Celina Jade b. 1985 (Arrow)
Susannah Fielding b. 1985 (Doctor Who)
Leelee Sobieski b. 1983 (Hercules [2005 TV])
Shanna Collins b. 1983 (The Haunting of Molly Hartley, War of the Worlds)
Toby Levins b. 1981 (The 100, Fear the Walking Dead, Falling Skies, Godzilla [2014], Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Tomorrow People, Almost Human, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, Fringe)
Jonathan Bennett b. 1981 (Smallville, Eastwick)
Melinda Sward b. 1979 (Supernatural)
Shane West b. 1978 (Salem, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Dracula 2000, Sliders, Buffy)
DJ Qualls b. 1978 (Man in the High Castle, Z Nation, Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, Lost, The Core)
Simon Fenton b. 1976 (A Night in Camelot, Matinee)
Mike Dopud b. 1968 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Continuum, Man of Steel, Battlestar Galactica, Beauty and the Beast [2012], Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Grimm, Warehouse 13, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Stargate, Smallville, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Supernatural, Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], Blade: The Series, BloodRayne, Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep, Jeremiah, Rollerball, Dark Angel, Seven Days, The New Addams Family [TV], Millennium [TV], Futuresport, Welcome to Paradox)
Elizabeth Hurley b. 1965 (The Tomorrow People, Wonder Woman [2011], Bedazzled, My Favorite Martian [1999])
Amy Yip b. 1965 (Robotrix, Erotic Ghost Story)
Andrew Niccol b. 1964 (director, The Host [2013], In Time, S1m0ne, Gattaca)
Vincent Perez b. 1964 (Queen of the Damned, The Crow: City of Angels)
Ben Daniels b. 1964 (Jack the Giant Slayer, Merlin, Doom)
Jeanne Tripplehorn b. 1963 (Waterworld)
Carolyn Hennesy b. 1962 (Hybrids, Acting Dead, True Blood, Once Upon a Time, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare)
Gina Gershon b. 1962 (Category 7: The End of the World, Voodoo Dawn, Twilight Zone [1987])
Timothy Van Patten b. 1959 (director, Game of Thrones)
Robert Clohessy b. 1957 (The Avengers, Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe, Lois & Clark)
Rich Hall b. 1954 (C.H.U.D. II – Bud the Chud)
Frankie Faison b. 1949 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Messengers, Prey, The Langoliers, Freejack, Maximum Overdrive, C.H.U.D., Cat People)
Randee Heller b. 1947 (ALF)
Mickey Jones b. 1941 (It Came From Outer Space II, Total Recall, Misfits of Science, V, Starman, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980)
Jurgen Prochnow b. 1941 (House of the Dead, Wing Commander, Judge Dredd, Terminus, Dune)
Alexandra Stewart b. 1939 (Highlander [TV], Deadly Nightmares)
Luciana Paluzzi b. 1937 (The Six Million Dollar Man: Solid Gold Kidnapping, Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, The Green Slime, Mr. Terrific, Hercules)
Maurice Sendak b. 1928 died 8 May 2012 (author/artist, Where the Wild Things Are)
Sunshine Parker b. 1927 died 17 February 1999 (Tremors, Werewolf [TV])
Lionel Jeffries b. 1926 died 19 February 2010 (Lexx, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, First Men in the Moon, The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Quatermass Xperiment)
Judy Garland b. 1922 died 22 June 1969 (The Wizard of Oz)
Garry Walberg b. 1921 died 27 March 2012 (King Kong [1976], The Andromeda Strain, The Immortal, Land of the Giants, The Invaders, Star Trek, Twilight Zone)
Lou Frizzell b. 1920 died 17 June 1979 (Project U.F.O., Devil Dog: The Hound from Hell, Capricorn One, Isis)
Barry Morse b. 1918 died 2 February 2008 (TekWar, Dracula: The Series, Twilight Zone [1988], Whoops Apocalypse, The Changeling, The Shape of Things to Come, Space: 1999, The Starlost, The Invaders, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, ‘Way Out)
Robert Eddison b. 1908 died 14 December 1991 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Storyteller, The Legend of King Arthur [1979], Out of the Unknown)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to writer Andrew Niccol because he was the only birthday boy I had back in 2013 before I figured out easy methods of research and Judy Garland in 2014 because The Wizard of Oz is still one of the best and most successful genre films of all time. I thought about Jurgen Prochnow from Dune and Maurice Sendak, but I went instead with Barry Morse from Space: 1999, still one of my all-time least favorite genre TV shows. It should be remembered that Space: 1999 was produced in that desperate era between the cancellation of Star Trek and the release of Star Wars, when sci-fi fans were starved for good options. I watched every week and this was definitely not a good option.

2. Spot the Canadians! I'll give you Alexandra Stewart, because she's hard to spot. There's one more, not hard to spot, though you might be fooled be a faux Canadian.

3. The Gal at the Door and MST3K. The oldest living person on the list is Italian beauty Luciana Paluzzi, now 78. Everyone younger than her is still with us. She was a Bond girl in Thunderball, but is remembered here for genre work, including two films that got the MST3K treatment, the original Hercules and The Green Slime.

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

Predictor: George Sutherland in the 1901 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: With the advance of municipalisation, and of intelligent collectivism generally, enterprises of public utility will be guarded from mere cut-throat commercial hostility much more sedulously in the twentieth century than they have been in the past.

Reality: Hey! Our sensible pal Mr. Sutherland is a Commie! I knew I liked him.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Because I'm trying not to repeat myself, I will NOT be using a picture of Peter Dinklage tomorrow, and I already feel some pangs about this.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

1 June 2015

Birthdays
Willow Shields b. 2000 (The Wonder, The Hunger Games)
Madison Smith b. 1990 (Supernatural, Evangeline, Chupacabra vs. the Alamo)
Taylor Handley b. 1984 (Toxin, Battle Los Angeles)
Craig Olejnik b. 1979 (Haven, Thir13en Ghosts, So Weird)
Sarah Wayne Callies b. 1977 (The Walking Dead)
Danielle Harris b. 1977 (Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D, Nuclear Family, Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2, Halloween I and II [21st Century], Charmed, Eerie, Indiana, Halloween 4 and 5 [20th Century])
Patrick Gilmore b. 1976 (Arrow, Continuum, Primeval: New World, Cabin in the Woods, Stargate, Fringe, 2012, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Supernatural, Eureka, The Last Mimzy, Final Days of Planet Earth, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
Kate Magowan b. 1975 (Stardust)
Melissa Sagemiller b. 1974 (Soul Survivors)
Heidi Klum b. 1973 (Ella Enchanted)
Rick Gomez b. 1972 (Transformers, Sin City, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990])
Paul Schrier b. 1970 (Power Rangers)
Teri Polo b. 1969 (The Hole, The Storm, Brimstone, Van Helsing Chronicles, House of Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera)
Lezlie Dean b. 1964 (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Girlfriend from Hell, Freddy’s Nightmares, 976-EVIL)
Mark Curry b. 1961 (Armageddon)
Lisa Hartman b. 1956 (Not of this World, Tabitha)
Robin Mattson b. 1956 (The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, Phantom of the Paradise, Island of the Lost)
Gemma Craven b. 1950 (Cinderella: The Slipper and the Rose)
Michael McDowell b. 1950 died 27 December 1999 (writer, Tales from the Crypt, Beetlejuice, Amazing Stories)
Powers Boothe b. 1948 (Sin City, The Avengers, Mutant Species, Red Dawn)
Jonathan Pryce b. 1947 (Game of Thrones, G.I. Joe, Clone, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Brothers Grimm, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Brazil)
Brian Cox b. 1946 (The Anomaly, An Adventure in Space and Time, Her, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Day of the Triffids, Doctor Who, Timewatch, X-Men 2, The Ring, Bug, Red Dwarf, The Cloning of Joanna May, Hammer House of Horror)
Robert Powell b. 1944 (Merlin of the Crystal Cave, Frankenstein [1984 TV], The Asphyx)
Rene Auberjonois b. 1940 (Warehouse 13, Stargate SG-1, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Deep Space Nine, Batman Forever, Eerie, Indiana, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Count, My Best Friend is a Vampire, Faerie Tale Theatre, Beyond Westworld, Wonder Woman, Man from Atlantis, The Bionic Woman, King Kong [1976], Brewster McCloud)
Cleavon Little b. 1939 died 22 October 1992 (Tales from the Crypt, ALF, Once Bitten, Once Upon a Brothers Grimm)
Morgan Freeman b. 1937 (Lucy, Transcendence, Oblivion, The Dark Knight, Conan the Barbarian [2011], War of the Worlds, Dreamcatcher, Deep Impact, Outbreak, Twilight Zone[1985])
Glenn Beck (no, not that one) b. 1935 (National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Doctor Who, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll)
Peter Masterson b. 1934 (The Stepford Wives, The Exorcist)
Edward Woodward b. 1930 died 16 November 2009 (Crusade, Gulliver’s Travels, Arthur the King, 1990, Bloodsuckers)
Andy Griffith b. 1926 died 3 July 2012 (Salvage 1)
Aubrey Morris b. 1926 (Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature, The Others, Legend of the Mummy, Bordello of Blood, Babylon 5, Alien Nation, Beauty and the Beast, Lifeforce, The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy [TV], Space: 1999, A Clockwork Orange, Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb, The Prisoner)
Richard Erdman b. 1925 (Out of This World, Small Wonder, Trancers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Terrific, The Brass Bottle, Twilight Zone, Aladdin and His Lamp)
John Randolph b. 1915 died 24 February 2004 (Superman 50th Anniversary, Voyagers!, King Kong [1976], Wonder Woman, Topper Returns, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, The Invaders, Seconds)
Mike Lally b. 1900 died 15 February 1985 (Coma, Future Cop, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Twilight Zone, The Adventures of Superman, Mighty Joe Young, The Return of Doctor X)
Frank Morgan b. 1890 died 18 September 1949 (The Wizard of Oz)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. There are a lot of excellent choices for The Picture Slot this fine morning. Frank Morgan from The Wizard of Oz and Rene Auberjonois from Deep Space Nine have already had their turns, but there are still a lot of choices that count as iconic, from as young as Sarah Wayne Callies on The Walking Dead to as old as two still living Oh That Guys, Aubrey Morris and Richard Erdman. Jonathan Pryce got my vote today and I was going to use a picture of him as High Sparrow from this year's cast of Game of Thrones, but I instead went with a picture from Brazil, a movie that still holds a soft spot for me.

2. Spot the Canadians! Four Canucks today, one very spottable and the others, not so much. Patrick Gilmore has the very typical credit list of a hard working Canadian genre actor, but Glenn Beck is a little too old to be typical and Craig Olejnik and Madison Smith haven't had enough roles.

3. Who is Mike Lally? I included Mike Lally on the list today because the movie from his resume that was on the list of birthdays page on imdb.com was Coma, a genre film from the late 1970s. He had an amazing 422 credits, nearly all of them uncredited. He was in big movies like Citizen Kane, Singin' in the Rain and It's a Wonderful Life, all as extras. He's not an Oh That Guy, but he kept a roof over his head from the early 1930s to the late 1970s just showing up and hitting his mark. His biography says he was one of the founders of the Actors Guild with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Ronald Reagan. I had never heard of him before, but his career was the big surprise of this morning's research.

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

Movies released

Snow White and the Huntsman released, 2012
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock released, 1984

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: By 2010, fashion designers say light and color will be transmutable elements in fashion fabrics. When one enters a room, one's clothing could change to match the decor. Outdoors, clothes could turn white or even be camouflaged by the local landscape. Some designers even foresee clothes changing color according to the way a person feels at a particular moment, like red for anger or grey for depression. 

Reality: Well, like jetpacks and flying cars, we didn't get clothes that change color depending on our moods. Unlike jetpacks and flying cars, I don't feel bad at all we didn't get clothes that change color depending on our moods.

 

This month's splash illustration: I saw the low budget sci-fi film Ex Machina and I liked it, so I thought I'd give it a little love on the blog this month. It was made for about $15 million, which is actually an awkward number for a budget these days. Small films tend to be made for less than $5 million and "middle budget" films tend to cost at least $30 million. The movie has been out for about two months, so I have no idea how long it will remain in the theaters, but if you can't catch it during its general release, rent it on video.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More Commie predictions from John Langdon-Davies, Commie.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!