7 November 2013

 Birthdays
Carl Steven b. 1974 died 31 July 2011 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Yunjin Kim b. 1973 (Lost)
Earl Boen b. 1945 (Terminator)

Very short birthday list today and no A-list actors. Carl Steven played Spock as a kid in the lamentable Star Trek III, Earl Boen was the psychologist Dr. Peter Silberman in the Terminator series and the Picture Slot goes to Yunjin Kim from Lost.

Carl Steven's story is very sad. He became addicted to prescription medications after a tonsillectomy, stole to support his addiction and was sent to jail in 2010, dying of a heroin overdose in prison about a year later.

Many happy returns to Mr. Boen and Ms. Kim.

Predictor: Jeane Dixon, reported in Popular Mechanics in 1966

Prediction:What will cars be like in 2016? The Automobile Club of Michigan, this year celebrating its 50th anniversary, wondered about this recently and approached widely publicized seer Jeane Dixon, asked her to gaze into her crystal ball and come up with a few answers. Fifty years from now, Miss Dixon predicted, cars will flit back and forth on cushions of air, the wheels retracting upon starting. They will be fueled by some exotic new compound yet to be developed; gasoline as we know it will have gone the way of the buggy whip. A radar-like device will guard against cars being involved in accidents.

Reality: Did Jeane Dixon crib "hovercraft" from Asimov's prediction of 1964? I'm not putting it past her. As for gasoline being obsolete, that has to count as a strike against her, but the radar-like device to avoid accidents is a solid hit, already advertised in fancy new cars.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Could gasoline go the way of the buggy whip? Cadillac unveils a prototype in 2009 that promises to counter petroleum's stranglehold on the world economy.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

9 September 2013

 Birthdays
Henry Thomas b.1971 (E.T.)
Jeffrey Alan Combs b. 1954 (Deep Space Nine)Angela Cartwright b. 1952 (Lost in Space)
Topol b. 1935 (Flash Gordon)
Margaret Tyzack b. 1931 died 25 June 2011 (2001, A Clockwork Orange)
Cliff Robertson b.1923 died 10 September 2011(Amazing Spider–Man)
Neil Hamilton b. 1899 died 24 September 1984 (Batman)

Several actors on the list today are best known for their work in genre, and in that group I would include the young man in the picture slot, Henry Thomas who played E.T.'s pal Elliott.

Many happy returns to the living.

Prediction: Homes will have inches deep "lakes" on the roof as a device for air conditioning.

Predictor: Popular Mechanics in 1928

Reality: We never got around to this. If you have 2500 square feet of roof surface, each inch of water adds about 1,000 pounds of weight, not inconsequential but not a deal breaker, either. The major problem I would imagine would be how much  difficulty this would add to the mosquito abatement problem.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

This week we get some exact dates from futurist novels of the 19th Century.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

5 August 2013

Birthdays
Alan Howard b. 1937
Mars Curiosity landed 2012

Mr. Howard has had a long career on stage and screen in Britain, and his one important role in a sci-fi or fantasy film is as the voice of the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I've always loved trivia like this, such as Clive Revill being the voice of the emperor in The Empire Strikes Back before the role was taken over by Ian McDiarmid.

Many happy returns of the day to Mr. Howard.

Regular readers will know I make fun of sci-fi at least as often as I commend it, but it was one year ago today that Curiosity landed on Mars and began to send back data. This is a lot of amazing technical achievements rolled into one small package and I inaugurate a new label "real science fiction". Congratulations to all the people who made this happen. This is what the future was supposed to look like.
  

Movie released
Rise of the Planet of the Apes released 2011

Prediction: "Still far from practical realization, the apparatus combines a portable television transmitter with a push button telephone. When the receiver is lifted, the image of the person making the call flashes on the screen. Fantastic as it may appear today, engineers believe that television telephones may become commonplace with a generation."

Predictor: Popular Mechanics in 1940, one of the many from the book The Future That Never Was, available on Amazon.

Reality: As you can see in the picture, they count this prediction as true because by 1960, TV phone technology worked, though they admit TV phones cannot be called commonplace even today.

Modern readers will also note two other unrealistic details. The woman is holding a receiver and she isn't naked.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We get the last prediction from Larry Niven. It's about space, it's wrong and it's more than a little boring, one of the main reasons he is being given the heave ho.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!  

21 July 2013

Birthdays
Rory Culkin b. 1989 (Signs)
Lana Wachowski b. 1965 (The Matrix, Cloud Atlas)
Robin Williams b. 1951 (Night at the Museum, Mork and Mindy)

Ms. Wachowski gets the Picture Slot because her career is more associated with genre films than are the careers of the two actors.

Many happy returns to all.

 

Prediction: "Within twenty years, more than half the population of the United States will be living in automobile trailers!"

Predictor: Statistician Roger W. Babson in 1935, published in the pages of Popular Mechanics

Reality: Yeah, half the country were hobos in 1955. Little known fact.

Okay, I'm kidding, of course. Even counting the trailer parks that aren't truly mobile at the drop of a hat, I couldn't find any estimates that were over 10% of the population.

This is not the first prediction from Babson that was found in Popular Mechanics that has been published here. His prediction from 1928 was much more accurate about life in 1978 than this one from 1935 resembled 1955.

And here's a link to the Popular Mechanics book if you'd like to get a copy for your own bad self. It's a lot of fun to thumb through.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The third of four posts from OMNI Future Almanac on the future of medicine we can expect before the year 2000.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

14 July 2013

Birthdays
Matthew Fox b. 1966 (Lost, World War Z, Speed Racer)
Jane Espenson b. 1964 (writer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Jackie Earle Haley b. 1961 (Watchmen, A Nightmare on Elm Street)

Fox is the best known of the people listed, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Haley, a child actor whose career included a thirteen year hiatus.

He also played a creepy right-wing vigilante who is sent to prison for murder. For some reason, that story line resonates with me today.

Many happy returns to all.
 
Movies released
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice released, 2010
I Am Legend released, 2007

Prediction: By 1972, we will have installed radio and visual telescopes on the Moon.

Predictor: Popular Mechanics, 1967

Reality: 1967 was close to the height of the excitement for space exploration. As reasons go for wanting permanent bases on the Moon, this idea is as good as any and better than most. Still, the cost was prohibitive and we didn't do it.

Never to be Forgotten

Cory Monteith died yesterday, his body found in a hotel in Vancouver. He was 31 years old. His best known role by far is Finn Hudson on Glee, but a lot of his earlier career was in small roles on sci-fi TV shows like Stargate, Supernatural, Smallvile and Flash Gordon. It's very likely he will not be remembered for these parts, but his career is a textbook example of the people who plug along, taking lots of jobs and finally catching a huge break. In this day and age, a lot of those roles are going to be in sci-fi and fantasy.

I didn't follow Glee, but I knew who Mr. Monteith was. Reading his obituaries online, several mentioned that he had been treated for drug addiction when he was 19, which pre-dates any work on film, and he did check into rehab earlier this year.

I went to bed last night thinking about one kind of unfairness this world bestows on us, the stark reminder that the law does not promise justice. This morning, a very different kind of unfairness was the first news story of the day.

Best wishes to the family, friends and fans of Cory Monteith. May he never be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More from OMNI Future Almanac on the future of medicine we can expect before the year 2000.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 July 2013

Liv Tyler b. 1977
 Dominic Keating b. 1962 (Enterprise, Heroes)
Andre Braugher b. 1962 (Andromeda Strain, Fantastic Four)
David Prowse b. 1935 (Star Wars)

Liv Tyler gets the Picture Slot all dolled up as an elf, though next year I might very well go with Darth Vader. Andre Braugher has a long career with very little work in genre films, but I do love a same day/same year pair, and he shares that exact birthday with Mr. Keating, whose career is not quite as illustrious but with more work in sci-fi/fantasy.

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

Prediction: In 2016, our cars will be transported in pneumatic tubes.

Predictor: Popular Mechanics in 1957

Reality: What the what?!? I fully understand the coolness of pneumatic tubes, but for transporting cars? This would be a ridiculous waste of space and energy.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

I've been hunting through the Heinlein predictions, and I think I found one that isn't completely ridiculous.


I know, it's like the Museum of the Hard to Believe.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

17 June 2013

Birthdays
Louis Leterrier b. 1973 (director Hulk re-boot)
Thomas Haden Church b. 1960 (Spider Man 3, John Carter)

Church is better known for work in comedies, notably Sideways, but like most actors nowadays, he does have work in genre films. Many happy returns to both gentlemen.
 

Prediction and predictor: In 1942, Popular Mechanics predicts that dials on phones will be replaced by push buttons.

Reality: The public gets the first view of push button phones at the 1963 Seattle World's Fair. I can't give an exact date for the death of the dial phone, but that's one extinct technology I do not miss at all.

Apology: Yesterday in the preview, I called the folks who made the Popular Mechanics future book "those liars", which is meant as a joke but is not a fair representation. They didn't lie about anything, they just got some stuff wrong and as we see here, they also got some stuff completely correct.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Larry Niven gets another turn at bat. I'm going to assume it's about outer space and it isn't even close to correct.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 May 2013

Birthdays
Jack Gleeson b. 1992
Tahmoh Penikett b. 1975
Timothy Olyphant b. 1968
John Billingsley b. 1960
Anthony Zerbe b. 1936

From oldest to youngest, Zerbe was in The Omega Man, two of the Matrix films and one Star Trek  movie. Billingsley was Dr. Phlox on Enterprise. Olyphant is best known for Deadwood and Justified, but he was also in I Am Number Four. Penikett was on the reboot of Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse.

I chose Jack Gleeson for the Picture Slot because I feel sorry for the lad. Now 21, his role as Joffrey on Game of Thrones is the biggest role of his short career so far by a country mile, and people hate the character with a white hot hate, as all right thinking human beings should. I worry that he might get typecast, but his current plans are to go back to school and study with hopes of entering academia. I hope this works for him. 

And as always, I wish all our birthday boys many more happy returns of the day. 

Movies released
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides released, 2011  

Prediction: "This simple, practical, foolproof personal helicopter coupe is big enough to carry two people and small enough to land on your lawn. It has no carburetor to ice up, no ignition system to fall apart or misfire: instead, quiet, efficient ramjets keep the rotors moving, burning any kind of fuel from dime-a-gallon stove oil or kerosene to aviation gasoline."

Predictor: Popular Mechanics magazine, 1951

Reality: Usually I ask for an exact date on a prediction, but I liked the history provided by Gregory Benford in the book that collected these pictures and texts The Wonderful Future That Never Was. Benford relates that helicopter commuting was relatively popular for a few decades, though not in personal copters, instead in short hop heli-buses. There were several crashes, many in Los Angeles and in the San Francisco Bay Area, but the most spectacular was in New York City on May 16, 1977, when a helicopter tipped over while landing on the Pan Am building, the rotors chopping people lined up to board, and then the helicopter hung from the side of the building and one of the rotors fell to the street below.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow's prediction is not from science or science fiction, but it is an exact date for the end of the world, so it gets a place on the blog.


(Spoiler alert: The date has already passed and we are still here.)

 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

6 May 2013

Birthday
Michael O'Hare b. 1952 died 28 September 2012

Recall that Babylon 5 is roughly contemporary with Deep Space Nine. There are four regular cast members whose names appeared in the title sequence from Babylon 5 that are already dead. O'Hare and Jeff Conaway were 60 when they died, Andreas Katsulas was 59 and Richard Biggs was 54. Looking at the people whose names were in the title sequence of Deep Space Nine, all the actors are still alive.

Babylon 5 was a very unlucky show.
 
Movie released
Thor, released 2011

In the year 2000!
 
Prediction: 1968: Waltham engineers foresee this exciting possibility: "Wristwatches in the year 2000 will be used for more than time measurement. They will be total communications centers, containing devices not only for accurate timing but also for voice and vision communication and recording - they'll even contain simple miniaturized computers."

Predictor: The Wonderful Future That Never Was published in 2009 by Gregory Benford and the editors of Popular Mechanics

Reality: This is a pretty good call. In 2000, the digital wristwatch was still popular and capable of almost all the features mentioned, except possibly vision communication. Now, a little more than a decade later, cell phones have replaced wrist watches and all the features mentioned are possible.

Note: the picture shown is taken from the page where the prediction is made in the book, but of course computer watches have nothing to do with gears and pallets and double-jewel bearings.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!


I am running low on predictions from Robert A. Heinlein, so tomorrow I will bring in the guy who will soon be our regular Tuesday predictor, Larry Niven.

 
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 April 2013

Birthdays
Richard Marquand b. 1938 died 9/4/1987
Jeffrey Dean Morgan b. 1966

Richard Marquand is best known as the director of Return of the Jedi. Let's recall that he is the director and not the writer, so Ewoks are not completely his fault.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is best known to genre fans as The Comedian in Watchmen. Debate rages on as to whether he looks more like Robert Downey Jr. or Javier Bardem. In this picture, I'd go with Downey.

Prediction: By 1964, Television sets will be so thin you can mount one on a wall like a painting.

Predictor: General Electric scientists in 1954, quoted in Popular Mechanics

Reality: Closer than you might think. Although flat screens as actual TVs are first marketed in the late 1990s, engineers at the University of Illinois came up with the first plasma technology screens to be used with computers in... 1964. This is according to Wikipedia and other Internet sources, and of course, when have you ever read anything on the Internet that wasn't true?

(Seriously, this looks accurate.)

The illustration is from The Wonderful Future That Never Was, a collection of predictions from the pages of Popular Mechanics published before 1969 are collected in 2009.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tuesday is Robert A. Heinlein day, and he predicts the future of food. Will it be Ridiculous Bob or Sensible Bob?  Come back tomorrow to find out.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 April 2013

Birthdays
Sam Huntington b. 1982 
Samuel R. Delany b. 1942
(won 1967 Nebula for Babel-17)
(won 1968 Nebula for The Einstein Connection)
Grace Lee Whitney b. 1930

Mr. Huntington should not be confused with Sam Worthington of Avatar fame. Huntington played Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns and has a regular role on Being Human.

Regular readers will know that The Picture Slot usually goes to The Cute Girl, but with all due respect to Ms. Whitney, Yeoman Rand of Star Trek fame, I'm going with Mr. Delaney instead.

I mean, if I walk into a bar and The Most Interesting Man In The World and Samuel R. Delany are there, I don't care how many hot chicks are at the table, I think I want to talk to this guy.

Assuming he won't just bite my head off.
 

In the year 2000!

Prediction: When the housewife of 2000 cleans house she simply turns the hose on everything. Why not? Furnitre (upholstery included), rugs, draperies, unscratchable floors - all are made of synthetic fabric or waterproof plastic. After the water has run down the a drain in the middle of the floor (later concealed by a rug of synthetic fiber) she turns on a blast of hot air and dried everything. A detergent in the water dissolves any resistant dirt. Tablecloths and napkins are made of woven paper yarn so fine the untutored eye mistakes it for linen. She throws soiled "linen" into the incinerator. Bed sheets are of more substantial stuff, but she has only to hang them up an dwash them down with a hose when she puts the bedroom in order.

Predictor: Popular Mechanics' The Wonderful Future That Never Was available on Amazon or at your local bookstore, illustrator and author sadly uncredited


Reality: I am going to refuse to discuss reality, I love this illustration so much.  The thing I don't love is that Popular Mechanics released this book in 2009, scavenging work they already own and did an extremely spotty job giving credit to the original artists and writers.

Harumph!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 

Tuesday is Heinlein Day.  Will it be Sensible Bob or Ridiculous Bob? I know the probabilities though not the exact statement, so I'll bet it's going to be Ridiculous Bob.
  
Join me then... IN THE FUTURE! 

18 March 2013

Birthdays
Richard Biggs b. 1960 died 22 May 2004
Steve Kloves b. 1960
Brad Dourif b. 1950
Jack B. Sowards b. 1929 died 7/8/2007

The names today aren't exactly household, so a quick explanation. Steve Kloves wrote several of the Harry Potter screenplays, Brad Dourif is an actor best known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Deadwood, but shows up in genre films and TV including Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Babylon 5 and Dune. Jack B. Sowards wrote The Wrath of Khan.

The photo position goes to Richard Biggs, one of WAY too many regulars on Babylon 5 who is already dead, including Jeff Conaway and Andreas Katsulas. A very unlucky show, if you ask me.

Prediction: Fifty years hence, the milk bottle will probably be a museum relic, along with the ice wagon, the coal shovel and the ash can, and out milk and butter will be derived from kerosene instead of cows, while most of our other food will be served in concentrated or pill form.

Predictor: Roger W, Babson, internationally known statistician, 1928 in Popular Mechanics

Reality: OMG! Food in pill form! Along with moving sidewalks and flying cars, food in pill form is the third part of The Holy Trinity of Antique Futurism.

To be fair to Professor Babson, milk bottles and ice wagons were completely antiquated by 1978, and coal shovels and ash cans were not part of most people's homes, though coal burning was and is still part of our energy consumption, the more's the pity.

Illustration: The great Virgil Finlay created the magazine cover I use as today's visual aid. It's a cute idea that the isolated astronaut has covered up the pin-ups with pictures of chicken, beer and steak. It's also a little bit of a shame, because Finlay's fabulous babes are comparable to the best work of Vargas and Frazetta.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! 

Tuesday belongs to Robert A. Heinlein. Will it be Sensible Bob or Ridiculous Bob? Even I'm not sure yet, but it's always fun to find out.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 March 2013

Prediction: A working model of the interplanetary rocketport of the future at the moment the rocket departs.

Predictor: Popular Mechanics magazine, 1938

Reality: I break one of my rules today because I wanted to display a larger version of this month's splash illustration. No date is attached to when this rocketport will be available, but I love the the style of the painting and the vivid primary colors which remind me of the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons from about the same era. Note the ocean going ships in the foreground that give a sense of scale.

As for reality, the blast from a interplanetary rocket exhaust would not be as neatly contained as is shown here.  Once the engines get past the top of the firing barrel, the heat would spread out, effecting everything below it. Anyone on that ship below better be inside because the heat would be vicious.

This illustration, which sadly has no attribution to the artist, is from the 2009 book The Wonderful Future That Never Was, a compendium of predictions from Popular Mechanics magazine made before 1969. It is available at Amazon through this link or you could order it from your local brick and mortar bookshop. I'm sure they would appreciate the business.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! Tuesday is Heinlein's turn.  Will we be hearing from The Sensible Heinlein or The Ridiculous Heinlein?  Tune in tomorrow to find out.

 Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 February 2013

 In the Year 2000!

Prediction: In the future suburb of Totenville, such great things lie in store for you.

You'll eat food from sawdust...
shop by picture-phone...
and cook on a solar range!

Predictor: Popular Mechanics, 1950

Reality: Let's take them from bottom to top, right to left, leaving the best for last.

Cook on a solar range? Not yet.

Shop by picture-phone? More likely on the Internet, but in 2000 the phone and the Internet were pretty near inseparable.

Eat food from sawdust? Well, it's your place and if you want, you can order something on the phone from Big Fascist Pizza (Domino's, Papa John's, take your pick), but if I have a vote, I vote no.

Just sayin'.

Once again, this and so much more can be found in the 2009 book from the publishers of Popular Mechanics, The Wonderful Future That Never Was, available in paperback from Amazon.

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!  In 1947, Robert A. Heinlein finds a way to celebrate You Have Official Permission To Freak The Fuck Out Day.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!

21 January 2013

Prediction for 1941: The modern city is virtually noise free, thanks to silent riveting machines, more melodious auto horns and quieter subways. Building of the future will be soundproof, just as they are now built to be fireproof.

Predictor: Edward F. Brown, director of the noise-abatement commission of New York City in 1931

Reality: Let's see, what does a rivet machine have to do? Just shoves a large piece of metal into another piece of metal or a slab of concrete.  That shouldn't take much energy or effort, now should it?

Oh, wait... just remembering some basic physics... Yeah, this should take a lot of energy and effort. Silent riveting machines didn't show up on the director's time table.

Another great prediction from The Wonderful Future That Never Was, the 2009 book produced by Popular Mechanics culling their predictions from 1969 and earlier. If you like early to mid-20th Century futurism, you should get a copy of this one for yourself. There's lots of great stuff that doesn't give specific dates so you won't see it quoted here, but the pictures and text are still a lot of fun. Click on this link to get the book on Amazon.com or order it at your favorite local bookstore.

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!  Robert A. Heinlein in 1950 gets one completely right about the changing relations between the sexes  ... in the year 2000!

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!

7 January 2013

Birthdays

Jeremy Renner b. 1971
Mark Allen Shepherd b. 1961  (Morn on Deep Space Nine)

1967: Flying cars powered by four fan like rotors will be available to the public.

Predictor: the July 1957 issue of Popular Mechanics.

Ahh, doesn't it feel a little better now? The air seems cleaner, food tastes better, the birds are singing in tune.

Flying cars. It's almost like being in love.

For the early part of this year, Monday predictions will belong to the magazines. Most of these magazine predictions will come from Popular Mechanics and Omni. Popular Mechanics is still in print, but Omni is long gone. In 2009, Popular Mechanics published a book of their future predictions made before 1969 titled The Wonderful Future That Never Was.

Here is a link to an Internet slideshow from the book.

Here is a link to the Amazon page where you can buy it. 

I will be scavenging the Omni Future Almanac ruthlessly since it is out of print, but the Popular Mechanics book is in print - available in paperback as well - so all I'm going to do is pull pictures and dates from it and write my own text. If you love antique futurism, you should get a copy of this book for your own bad self. Every time I use a picture, there will be a link to purchase. I haven't been in touch with the authors, I'm doing this on my own because I think it's the right thing to do.

There are also some terrific pictures with no exact date attached to them which I will be using for the monthly splash graphic, the position just under the blog title now occupied by the illustration by Syd Mead, loved by all sentient beings, from the storyboards for Blade Runner. For example, the 1940s "cars of the future" are both fat and sleek at the same time. Great stuff.

Reality: It is the express policy of this blog never to discuss reality and flying cars at the same time. So it is written and so it shall be. Amen.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! Robert A. Heinlein boldly tells us of his visions from 1950 about... the year 2000!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!