6 August 2013

Birthdays
Vera Farmiga b. 1973 (Source Code, The Conjuring)
Paolo Bacigalupi b. 1972 (won 2010 Hugo and Nebula for The Windup Girl)
M Night Shyamalan b. 1970 (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village, Unbreakable, etc.)
Catherine Hicks b. 1951 (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

Using the Cute Girl = Picture Slot formula again today, though both Ms. Farmiga and Ms. Hicks have successful careers that are better known for their work outside of sci-fi and fantasy. I chose Ms. Hicks over Ms. Farmiga because Star Trek IV is my favorite film in the series.

Many happy returns of the day to all concerned.

 

Prediction: First orbital passenger vessel is launched in 2011

Predictor: World of Ptavvs, Larry Niven, published 1966

Reality: Yet again, a prediction about the future of space travel from the era just before the first moon landing, the most optimistic time for sci-fi writers keen on manned missions.

Space tourism is still a long time off. If you've read about life in the space station, months without gravity is not the happy romp we all had hoped for. Several sci-fi writers realized zero gravity toilets would be a serious difficulty and likewise vomiting when in a space suit, but I can't recall any who thought about how bad dead skin cells would be.

 Blogger's note: This is the last Larry Niven for a while. I had done some research in his works for dates within the scope of this blog and found a few, but his gleeful prediction about the destruction of Mecca before 2025 has put him firmly in the "scumbag" category and I'd rather not see his face anymore.  There are still a bunch of Heinlein predictions and he'll be back next Tuesday.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We hear for the second time from our new Turn of the Century guy (19th to 20th, that is), T. Baron Russell.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 July 2013

Birthdays
Daniel Radcliffe b. 1989 (Harry Potter)
Charisma Carpenter b. 1970 (Angel, Buffy)
Woody Harrelson b. 1961 (The Hunger Games, Zombieland, A Scanner Darkly)

A nice selection of birthdays today. Charisma Carpenter certainly qualifies for the Cute Girl = Picture Slot criterion, but I decided instead to have a picture of young Daniel instead, here dressed up for his role in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying instead of his more famous role on film. I'm always happy when an actor with a career defining role can get a chance to do something else.

Many happy returns of the day to all.
  
 

Prediction: 7/20/1996: First manned landing on Mars (Harry Bedrosian, Christopher Luden, Abe Cooper) finds the remains of a Martian.

Predictor: The Eye of the Octopus, Larry Niven, published 1966

Reality: As little regard as I have for Niven, the small benefit of the doubt I will give him is that this was written in the late 1960s, the most optimistic era for the general concept of space travel before or since. In 1966, we hadn't reached the moon yet but it was on a real life "to do"list and it got done. In the minds of sci-fi folk, a moon base and then further exploration were the obvious and inevitable next steps, but the reality of budgets and lack of profitability got in the way.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

  Our time is finite, all things must pass and several other completely true cliches cannot change the sad fact we face tomorrow.

The last of the predictions of John Elfreth Watkins.
 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

9 July 2013

Birthdays
Georgie Henley b. 1995 (Narnia)
Linda Park b. 1978 (Enterprise)
Jimmy Smits b. 1955 (Star Wars)

Many happy returns to today's birthday boys and girls.

Movies released 
Predators released, 2010
Despicable Me released, 2010

Prediction: 2007: The moon is colonized when Jacob Hovestraydt founds Hovestraydt City

Predictor: Patchwork Girl by Larry Niven, published 1986

Reality: We all know the first moon colony will be called Gingrichistan.

Here's a fun fact. Heinlein reprints, Niven novels and the science fiction of Newt Gingrich are all published by Baen Books.

Here's a second fun fact. References to Newt Gingrich's alternate history book have been scrubbed from the Baen website.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

John Elfreth Watkins predicts the future of medicine... in the year 2000!
 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 June 2013

Birthday
Roger Ebert b. 1942 died 4 April 2013

As I wrote when he died earlier this year, Mr. Ebert started his writing career with a self-published fanzine called Stymie and wrote several published science fiction stories.

Movies released
Toy Story 3 released, 2010 

Prediction: 1989: First manned mission to Pluto ends in disaster, both crew members commit suicide by exposure.

Predictor: Larry Niven in Wait It Out, published in 1968

Reality: Dude, nobody but nobody is going to Pluto. It’s not even a planet anymore.

As I have written before, Hard SF writers love space exploration beyond all reason. They hoped the space race would be something like the era when men like Byrd and Scott and Amundsen made their names exploring the North and South poles, expeditions done much more for glory and scientific advancement rather than profit. The problem with that comparison is the difference in cost and time and danger. We are many technological advances away from making even a moon base make sense and interplanetary travel is many orders of magnitude tougher.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 
 
It's Wednesday and John Elfreth Watkins predicts the world of take-out food that will be enjoyed by the citizens of... the year 2000!

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE! 

28 May 2013

 Birthdays
Alexa Davalos b. 1982
Glenn Quinn b. 1970 died 3 December 2002

Both Ms. Davalos and Mr. Quinn are best know for their roles on the Joss Whedon show Angel. Ms. Davalos played Gwen Raiden, a mutant with an electric shock touch and Mr. Quinn was a first season regular as Doyle, a demon with psychic abilities.

When you actually type out a sentence explaining things, it sounds like the show had to be incredibly cheesy, but it was actually well written.

And Ms. Davalos gets the Picture Slot because, well, she's purdy.

Movies released
The Day After Tomorrow released 2004

You would think a movie named The Day After Tomorrow might give some exact dates that could be used for prediction, but no such luck.

Prediction: "Mecca will not survive the next quarter century. Weapons have become too powerful and too available, and Muslims have become too good at pissing people off."

Predictor: Larry Niven in the January 2000 issue of Science Fiction Age

Reality: Niven is a major science fiction writer and when he's writing fiction, he has a raging erection for space travel that no amount of reality can tame. I think that's why it's called "Hard SF", because it can't possibly be for being backed up by real science.

This statement was not in a fictional story. The editors of Science Fiction Age asked writers for predictions about the next millennium and this is the best Niven could come up with.

Let us start with the one poorly understood grain of truth this bigoted scumbag said. "Muslims have become too good at pissing people off."

Larry, buddy. That's Islamic terrorists, not just Muslims. If you called the KKK "white people" or the IRA "the Irish", you would be putting a whole lot of people in the same boat with a very small and disgusting minority. But I understand why you might do that, because you're a bigot.

The sad thing is, you are a stupid scumbag bigot who doesn't see how the world works very well. After you wrote this, a bunch of Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. and made a whole lot of headlines. The large majority of these terrorist were from Saudi Arabia, as was their leader Osama bin Laden and this made the United States attack... Afghanistan and Iraq.

You see, the people in control of the very big weapons don't share your particular bigotry or your lack of foresight. Do you think the destruction of Mecca would calm things down? Most people with working synapses realize it would make things worse, not better.

I am going to keep using Larry Niven's predictions about the future because he gave exact dates and that's what this blog is all about, but I just want to write it here for the record and to have it preserved for as long as the Internet is around.

Larry Niven is a turd from a tall cow's ass.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!



What can be done when we need a break from bigoted murderous stupidity? I foresee a three word solution.

John Elfreth Watkins.

Ah, my blood pressure is returning to normal just typing those words.

 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

7 May 2013

Birthday
Gene Wolfe b. 1931 (won Nebula for The Claw of the Conciliator)

Sci fi isn't all explosions and pretty girls. It always starts with the writing and today, the birthday we celebrate is a Nebula award winner. 

Movies released
Iron Man 2 released, 2010

Iron Man and Marvel's The Avengers are the reasons I want to see Iron Man 3. Iron Man 2 is the reason I don't want to see Iron Man 3. I'll let you know who prevails.

Prediction: 1983: Messenger VI probe visits Mercury and discovers life.

Predictor: Larry Niven in The Coldest Place, published 1964

Reality: Mariner 10 flew by in the mid 1970s, MESSENGER got to Mercury in 2008 and made orbit in 2011. Both are NASA probes. The internationally funded BepiColombo is set for launch in 2015, reaching Mercury in 2022. MESSENGER has found water in ice form as of November 2012. It’s remarkable, but it isn’t life. Just yet.

Over the next few months, Niven will be sharing the Tuesday slot with Heinlein.  Larry loves him some "Hard SF", which means stuff that is technically possible, like exploring the Solar System. In the 1960s, with NASA at its peak, a lot of writers assumed it would be just go-go-GO once we reached the moon, but the public wasn't amazed after the first time and as of now, no one can find a truly profitable reason to go into outer space, a fact which bums out a group of people diverse enough to include Neil deGrasse Tyson and Newt Gingrich.

Sorry, guys. "Hard SF" is even harder than it looks at first glance.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!



Wednesday is John Elfreth Watkins day, and he predicts the future of entertainment... IN THE YEAR 2000!

 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

30 March 2013

Birthdays
Juliet Landau b. 1965
Robbie Coltrane b. 1950

Ms. Landau, daughter of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, has worked with Tim Burton on genre films and played the eccentric vampire Drusilla on Buffy and Angel. Mr. Coltrane played Hagrid in the Harry Potter films.  Many happy returns to both.

Movies released
Spy Kids released, 2001

Over the next few months, there will be a lot more anniversaries of movie releases. I've set an arbitrary cut-off point of movies making at least $100 million, though I will break that rule for some famous failures and movies from before 1990 will not have to meet that standard.

 

Prediction: 1990: The “Project Gulliver” automated Mars Rovers land on Mars

Predictor: Ringworld: The Game published 1984

Reality: The first Mars rover landed after this game comes out is Sojourner in 1997.

Our current crop of regular predictors didn't make infinitely many statements, so all of them will eventually come to an end. Here is a new face to get used to, Larry Niven.  Niven made a lot of predictions with dates attached, many about space exploration. Technically, he did not write Ringworld: The Game, but it is certainly written with respect shown to his timeline of our progress to other planets and finally to exploring outside our solar system.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 



For the next few weeks, the Sunday slot will belong to the predictions from 1988 published in the Los Angeles Times Magazine about the exciting world of... 2013! Tomorrow: robots!  Lots and lots of robots!
 
Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!