14 September 2015

Birthdays
Jessica Brown Findlay b. 1989 (Victor Frankenstein [2015], Winter’s Tale, Labyrinth [2012 TV])
Jesse James b. 1989 (Jumper, The Amityville Horror [2005], The Butterfly Effect, Angel, The X Files)
Andre de Vanny b. 1984 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Wicked Science, Hercules [2005 TV], Salem’s Lot)
Kristen Renton b. 1982 (Ghouls)
Mark Wells b. 1980 (Narnia, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow)
J.L. Reate b. 1979 (The Golden Child)
Brian Klugman b. 1975 (actor, Cloverfield, Good vs Evil, Wishmaster; writer, TRON: Legacy)
Christopher McCulloch [a.k.a. Jackson Publick] b. 1971 (Venture Brothers, The Tick)
Andrew Lincoln b. 1973 (The Walking Dead, Moonshot)
Kimberly Williams-Paisley b. 1971 (The Tenth Kingdom)
Pat Healy b. 1971 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Night Stalker [2006], Star Trek: Enterprise, Charmed, Angel)
Robert Ben Garant b. 1970 (Night at the Museum)
Niall Greig Fulton b. 1970 (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Cloud Atlas, Doctor Who)
Joon-ho Bong b. 1969 (director, Snowpiercer, The Host)
Tyler Perry b. 1969 (Star Trek)
Dan Cortese b. 1967 (Locusts: The 8th Plague, Demolition Man)
K.C. Martel b. 1967 (E.T., The Munsters’ Revenge, The Amityville Horror, Wonder Woman)
Michelle Stafford b. 1965 (Charmed, Vampires Anonymous)
Stephen Dunham b. 1964 died 14 September 2012 (Paranormal Activity 4, The Chronicle, The Mummy)
Radames Pera b. 1960 (Starman [TV], Project U.F.O., The Six Million Dollar Man, Shazam!)
Melissa Leo b. 1960 (Oblivion)
Callum Keith Rennie b. 1960 (Alphas, FlashForward, Battlestar Galactica, The X Files: I Want to Believe, Tin Man, Bionic Woman, The Invisible, Smallville, Supernatural, Blade: Trinity, Kingdom Hospital, The Butterfly Effect, Paycheck, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Mutant X, Dark Angel, Strange World, eXistenZ, Highlander [TV], Forever Knight, Timecop)
Haviland Morris b. 1959 (Aliens in the Family, Gremlins 2: The New Batch)
Mary Crosby b. 1959 (Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, Freddy’s Nightmares, The Ice Pirates, Automan)
Kirk Baltz b. 1959 (Birds of Prey, Level 9, Seven Days, NetForce)
Michael Bollner b. 1958 (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
Robert Wisdom b. 1953 (12 Monkeys [TV], The Dark Knight Rises, Supernatural, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Mighty Joe Young, Invader)
Howard Deutch b. 1950 (director, The Strain, True Blood, American Horror Story, Warehouse 13)
Sam Neill b. 1947 (The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box, Daybreakers, Merlin’s Apprentice, Sci Fi Inside: ‘The Triangle’, Bicentennial Man, Merlin [1998 TV], Event Horizon, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Jurassic Park, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Amerika, Omen III: The Final Conflict)
Rowena Morrill b. 1944 (graphic artist)
Nicol Williamson b. 1936 died 16 December 2011 (Spawn, The Exorcist III, Return to Oz, Venom, Excalibur)
Walter Koenig b. 1936 (Star Trek, InAlienable, Babylon 5, Moontrap, The Questor Tapes, The Starlost)
Harve Presnell b. 1933 died 30 June 2009 (Charmed, From the Earth to the Moon, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: Voyager)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I went with 21st Century works for the Picture Slot, Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead and Jackson Publick from The Venture Bros., with a picture of Hank Venture. But if I made this just about being iconic, Walter Koenig from Star Trek is hard to beat.

2. Spot the Canadians! K.C. Martel did a lot of work as a kid, not that much filmed in Canada. Callum Keith Rennie was born in the U.K., but moved to Canada when young. He has a very Canadian looking resume.

3. Nepotism FTW. Brian Klugman was the nephew of Jack Klugman, not sure how much that counts. Mary Crosby was Bing Crosby's kid from his second marriage. That certainly counts.

4. "and... he was an asshole." It's interesting to read biographies on imdb.com that cannot hide an actor's character flaws. With some folks like cowboy star Ken Maynard and singer Rudy Vallee, the assholishness is the main story. With Nicol Williamson, the writer wants to remind us first that he was really good and then, well yeah... he was an asshole.

5. Worse than The Guy at the Door. 1936 would be the cut-off point between the living and the dead on this list if it was not for Stephen Dunham, who died on his 48th birthday three years ago. Good looking guy, pretty wife... quite a shock.

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

Predictor: Power rankings for the 2015 National Football League season.

Prediction:

AFC East: New England
AFC North: Baltimore
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: Denver
Wild cards: Pittsburgh, Miami*

NFC East: Dallas
NFC North: Green Bay
NFC South: New Orleans*
NFC West: Seattle
Wild cards: Detroit, Philadelphia*


Reality: Most power rankings online are really a lot like the rankings from the end of the last season. The only changes predicted in the playoff line up are the Dolphins replacing the Bengals in the AFC, New Orleans winning the sucky NFC South instead of Carolina and Philadelphia getting the wild card instead of the Cardinals.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Once again, a look at the inventions of the late 20th Century from Robert A. Heinlein in the mid 1950s.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

13 August 2015

Birthdays
Sebastian Stan b. 1982 (The Martian, Ant-Man, Captain America, Labyrinth, Once Upon a Time, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Covenant)
Alex Gonzalez b. 1980 (X-Men: First Class)
Damien O’Hare b. 1977 (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Broken, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
Grégory Fitoussi b. 1976 (World War Z, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)
Jody Thompson b. 1976 (Sanctuary, Fringe, 2012, Smallville, Alien Trespass, Stargate: Atlantis, Reaper, Flash Gordon [TV], Painkiller Jane, The 4400, Stargate: SG-1, Blade: The Series, Supernatural, Andromeda, Mission to Mars, NightMan)
James Carpinello b. 1975 (The Punisher)
Michael Sinterniklaas b. 1972 (The Venture Bros. and a whole lot of other voice work I don’t count)
Crystal Allen b. 1972 (Anacondas: Trail of Blood, Anaconda III, Haven, Star Trek: Enterprise, Wolves of Wall Street)
David Monahan b. 1971 (The Dark Knight Rises, Supernatural, Angel, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Heike Makatsch b. 1971 (Resident Evil, Anatomy 2)
Moritz Bleibtreu b. 1971 (World War Z, Speed Racer, Run Lola Run)
Sean Hood b. 1966 (writer, The Legend of Hercules, Conan the Barbarian [2011], The Crow: Wicked Prayer, Cube2: Hypercube, Halloween: Resurrection)
Debi Mazar b. 1964 (Red Riding Hood [2006], The Tuxedo, Space Truckers, Batman Forever)
John Slattery b. 1962 (Ant-Man, Ted 2, The Adjustment Bureau, Iron Man 2, From the Earth to the Moon)
Tom Perrotta b. 1961 (writer/producer, The Leftovers)
Dawnn Lewis b. 1961 (The Burning Zone, Sliders)
Tony Alcantar b. 1960 (Arrow, Continuum, Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, Alice, Revolution [2009 TV Movie], Stargate SG-1, Fantastic Four, Dead Like Me, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Andromeda, Dark Angel, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Strange World)
Danny Bonaduce b. 1959 (Bigfoot, Shazam!, Bewitched)
Kathleen Gati b. 1957 (Alphas, Arrow, The Future, Carnivale)
Tom Davis b. 1952 died 19 July 2012 (writer, Coneheads)
Gene Day b. 1951 died 23 September 1982 (comic artist)
Jane Carr b. 1950 (Star Trek: Enterprise, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Babylon 5)
Lillian Hurst b. 1949 (True Blood, Lost, The X-Files)
Maria Rohm b. 1945 (Count Dracula [1970])
Kevin Tighe b. 1944 (Salem, Lost, The 4400, Strange World, Star Trek: Voyager, Escape to Witch Mountain, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Immortal [TV])
Raymond Serra b. 1936 died 20 June 2003 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I & II [1990 & 1991], Wolfen)
Pat Harrington Jr. b. 1929 (The Invisible Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, 2000 Years Later, The Munsters)
Buck Kartalian b. 1922 (My Favorite Martian [1999], Monster Squad, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes [1972], Octaman, Planet of the Apes [1968], Batman, The Munsters, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Neville Brand b. 1920 died 16 April 1992 (Man from Atlantis, Killdozer, Twilight Zone)
Kurt Kasnar b. 1913 died 6 August 1979 (Wonder Woman, Land of the Giants)
Tristam Coffin b. 1909 died 26 March 1990 (The Time Tunnel, Batman, The Crawling Hand, The Night the World Exploded, Creature with the Atom Brain, King of the Rocket Men)
John Beal b. 1909 died 26 April 1997 (Amityville 3-D, Ark II, Dark Shadows, The Vampire)
Alfred Hitchcock b. 1899 died 29 April 1980 (director, The Birds)
Bert Lahr b. 1895 died 4 December 1967 (The Wizard of Oz)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I had Dean Venture - voiced by Michael Sinterniklass - and Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion. While there are some well-known names, iconic folk are scarce. I could have gone with Kurt Kasnar from Land of the Giants, but he was my least favorite character on a very weak show, so instead I went with Alfred Hitchcock and a publicity still from The Birds, the only movie he made that I consider genre.

2. Spot the Canadians! Kathleen Gati and Jodi Thompson were born north of the border, Tony Alcantar moved to Vancouver to get work.

3. This whole "tempus fugit" thing. Okay, I know The Partridge Family is 40 years ago, but it's a little strange to me that child star Danny Bonaduce is three years older than John Slattery, whose career over that past decade has been as "the grown-up", both on TV and in movies. It goes without saying that I older than both of them.

4. MST3K.  I know The Crawling Hand got the treatment, there might be others.

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

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

Prediction: Electricity usage in the United States doubles every 10 to 12 years.

Reality: Ernst overshoots this number by about a factor of two. If his numbers were right, 1976 should have seen an increase of about four times more energy used (between 3.6 to 4.6, depending on whether we use 10 or 12 as the doubling interval), but the best estimates I could find online said the electricity output in 1976 was about double 1955 instead of four times greater.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's H.G. Wells' turn again tomorrow. Will he be truly disgusting or merely appalling? He's definitely capable of both.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

7 June 2015

Birthdays
Jordan Fry b. 1993 (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Michael Cera b. 1988 (This is the End, Frequency, My Best Friend is an Alien)
Cathy Baron b. 1982 (In Time, Planet Terror)
Larisa Oleynik b. 1981 (Extant, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
John Edward Lee b. 1981 (Terminator Genisys, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2)
Virginie Le Brun b. 1980 (I, Frankenstein)
Anna Torv b. 1979 (Fringe, Frankenstein [TV, 2007])
Bill Hader b. 1978 (Her, The Venture Brothers, Men in Black 3, Paul, Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian)
Eric Weiner b. 1977 (Serenity)
Karl Urban b. 1972 (The Wonder, Almost Human, Walking With Dinosaurs 3D, Riddick, Star Trek, Dredd, Doom, The Chronicles of Riddick, Lord of the Rings, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Danielle Petty b. 1970 (Zombie Nation)
Dean DeBlois b. 1970 (writer/director, Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon)
Anthony Simcoe b. 1969 (Farscape, BeastMaster [TV], The Lost World [TV])
Francis Magee b. 1969 (Outlander, Game of Thrones, Amphibious Creature of the Deep)
Adam Buxton b. 1969 (Stardust)
Sarah Parish b. 1968 (Atlantis, Doctor Who, Merlin)
Judie Aronson b. 1964 (Deep Core, Weird Science, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Simon Day b. 1962 (The Incredible Adventures of Professor Braestawm, Pixelface, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Space Race)
Tarik Ergin b. 1961 (Star Trek: Voyager)
Bill Prady b. 1960 (producer, The Big Bang Theory)
Mark Ryan b. 1956 (Transformers, The Prestige, Conan [TV])
Nancy Spielberg b. 1956 (Horrorween)
William Forsythe b. 1955 (Inkubus, Halloween [2007], SharkMan, MorphMan, Mysterious Ways, Virtuosity)
Robert Trebor b. 1953 (Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Universal Soldier, My Demon Lover, The Purple Rose of Cairo)
Colleen Camp b. 1953 (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Last Action Hero, Tales from the Crypt, Wicked Stepmother, D.A.R.Y.L., Man from Atlantis, Isis, Battle for the Planet of the Apes)
Tammy Marihugh b. 1952 (Twilight Zone, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm)
Liam Neeson b. 1952 (Ted 2, The Dark Knight Rises, Battleship, Wrath of the Titans, The Chronicles of Narnia, Clash of the Titans, Batman Begins, Star Wars I: The One We Don’t Mention, Darkman, Krull, Excalibur)
Pamela Susan Shoop b. 1948 (Knight Rider, Halloween II [1981], Galactica 1980, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Incredible Hulk, Empire of the Ants, Wonder Woman, Gemini Man)
Michael Pennington b. 1943 (Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, Return of the Jedi, The Witches of Pendle)
Ronald Pickup b. 1940 (Atlantis, Young Dracula, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Supernova, Doctor Who)
Mike Pratt b. 1931 died 10 July 1976 (Shado, UFO, The Champions, Out of This World)
Reg Park b. 1928 died 22 November 2007 (Hercules the Avenger, Hercules, Prisoner of Evil, Samson in King Solomon’s Mines, Hercules in the Haunted World, Hercules and the Captive Women)
Jessica Tandy b. 1909 died 11 September 1994 (*batteries not included, Cocoon)
Hope Summers b. 1896 died 22 June 1979 (The Girl with Something Extra, Bewitched, Rosemary’s Baby, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, My Living Doll, The Return of Dracula)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous folks in the Picture Slot were Anthony Simcoe for Farscape and Liam Neeson from Clash of the Titans, one of his many iconic roles in genre. While Neeson is the biggest movie star here, Karl Urban is also an actor with several iconic genre roles and the one I chose was as Bones in the Star Trek reboot.

2. The assimilated Canadians. Our two folk born north of the border today have no roles in Canuck genre, so I would note ask you to spot them. They are actor Michael Cera and writer/director Dean DeBlois.

3. Nepotism FTW. Nancy Spielberg is the sister of Steven Spielberg and definitely counts. There are some folk here married to actors like Liam Neeson to Miranda Richardson and Jessica Tandy to Hume Cronyn, but I don't count marriage among equals as nepotism.

4. The Guy at the Door. It happened again, the odd demographic coincidence that all the dead are listed beneath all the living and in this case, British actor Ronald Pickup is the oldest living person on the list at 75, which is fairly young for this particular and somewhat morbid honor. As always, special birthday wishes go out to he Guy at the Door.

5. MST3K. Reg Park was a bodybuilding actor in the Italian Hercules films, including Hercules and the Captive Women, which was lampooned on MST3K. Park's other claim to fame is as the trainer and mentor of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in the 1957 book The Door into Summer

Prediction: Well, I was paid $21 a day (in 2000) and it kept me eating.

Reality: Our hero goes to sleep in 1970 and wakes up in 2000, where he has a very limited job skill set. Heinlein has admitted he had a problem with understanding cost of living increases, and since this would translate to $2.62 an hour, that is too low compared to the national minimum wage in 2000 of $5.15. (When Heinlein wrote the book, the minimum wage was $1.00 an hour.) If we cut Heinlein some slack and try to turn $2.12 in 1957 money into the roughly equal value in 2000, that would be closer to $16.75 an hour, which is also way off.

No points for Bob this week.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Monday rolls around again and it time for OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

13 May 2015

Birthdays
Debby Ryan b. 1993 (Wizards of Waverly Place)
Candace Accola b. 1987 (The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Deadgirl)
Robert Pattinson b. 1986 (Twilight Saga, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Iwan Rheon b. 1985 (Game of Thrones, Misfits)
Samantha Morton b. 1977 (John Carter, Code 46, Minority Report)
Brian Smith b. 1977 (Big Bang Theory, The Wolfpack of Reseda)
Neil Hopkins b. 1977 (Lost, Witches of East End, Grimm, True Blood, Skyline, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The 4400, The Net 2.0, The Cabinet of Dr, Caligari [2005], Charmed, Birds of Prey)
Christopher Ralph b. 1977 (Warehouse 13)
Brian Geraghty b. 1975 (True Blood)
Bridgett Riley b. 1973 (Space Truckers, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Fana Mokoena b. 1971 (World War Z)
Imogen Boorman b. 1971 (Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Dreamchild, The Tripods)
Shon Greenblatt b. 1967 (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown)
Wanda Acuna b. 1966 (House of Frankenstein [1997 TV], Encino Man)
Stephen Colbert b. 1964 (Monsters vs. Aliens, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, The Venture Bros.)
Siobhan Fallon b. 1961 (Men in Black)
Anthony Ray Parker b. 1958 (Xena, The Matrix, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Koji Suzuki b. 1957 (writer, The Ring)
Mark Heap b. 1957 (The World’s End, Misfits, Stardust, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Zlatko Buric b. 1953 (2012)
Joe Johnston b. 1950 (director, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Wolfman, Jurassic Park III, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids)
Zoe Wanamaker b. 1949 (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Franklyn Ajaye b. 1949 (The Bionic Woman)
Stephen R. Donaldson b. 1947 (author, Thomas Covenant series)
Tim Pigott-Smith b. 1946 (Alice in Wonderland [2010], V for Vendetta, Clash of the Titans, Doctor Who)
Marv Wolfman b. 1946 (author, Blade)
Sam Anderson b. 1945 (Grimm, Lost, The Chronicle, Angel, NetForce, The X-Files, From the Earth to the Moon, Millennium, The Puppet Masters, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Alien Nation, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Charmings, Critters 2)
Senta Berger b. 1941 (When Women Had Tails)
Harvey Keitel b. 1939 (National Treasure, Little Nicky, From Dusk Till Dawn, Saturn 3, Dark Shadows)
Buck Taylor b. 1938 (Cowboys & Aliens, The Mist, Starman [TV], Timestalkers, My Favorite Martian)
Milton Johns b. 1938 (Knight School, The X Files, Stanley’s Dragon, Super Gran, The Empire Strikes Back, Doctor Who)
Zohra Lampert b. 1937 (The Exorcist III, Knight Rider, The Girl, The Gold Watch & Everything, The Girl with Something Extra)
Beverly Owen b. 1937 (The Munsters)
Roger Zelazny b. 1937 died 6/14/1995 (won 1966 Hugo for … And Call Me Conrad and1968 Hugo for Lord of Light)
Bea Arthur b. 1922 died 25 April 2009 (Futurama, The Star Wars Holiday Special)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In earlier years, The Picture slot went to Roger Zelazny and Robert Pattinson. This year it goes to Iwan Rheon as the dreadful Ramsay Snow, later Ramsay Bolton.

2. The Gals at the Door. The cutoff year between life and death on this list is 1937. Roger Zelazny is gone, but Beverly Owen and Zohra Lampert are still alive. As always when this quirk of the lists occurs, a special wish for many happy returns to both women.

3. One Canadian with one genre credit. Christopher Ralph's Canadian identity is impossible to spot just because he was on Warehouse 13.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, notably Beverly Owen and Zohra Lampert, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor:Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey, published 1962

Prediction: In 1971, The United States goes to war in Iran.

Reality: Notice it reads "in Iran" and not "with Iran". In 1962, most people thought that if we would have a war, it would be with the Russkies. Of course, they did not invade Iran and if they had when the Shah was alive, we probably would have tried to drive them out.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Back to the usual weekly schedule and a prediction from The Experts Speak. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 April 2015

Birthdays
Patrick Hurd-Wood b. 1995 (Solomon Kane, Peter Pan)
Sarah Gadon b. 1987 (Dracula Untold, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Antiviral, Mutant X)
Amanda Righetti b. 1983 (Captain America: The First Avenger, Friday the 13th)
Kett Turton b. 1982 (Forever, Gotham, The 100, Fringe, Primeval: New World, Wrath of the Titians, Supernatural, Blade: Trinity, Kingdom Hospital, Dead Like Me, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dark Angel, Smallville, Dead Last, Strange Frequency, So Weird, First Wave, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The X Files, Millennium)
Benjamin Ciaramello b. 1981 (War of the Worlds)
Collette Wolfe b. 1980 (Hot Tub Time Machine 1 & 2, Interstellar, Reaper)
Heath Ledger b. 1979 died 22 January 2008 (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Dark Knight, The Brothers Grimm)
Natasha Lyonne b. 1979 (4:44 Last Day on Earth, Blade: Trinity, Modern Vampires)
Jessica Napier b. 1979 (Ghost Rider, The Lost World)
Matthew MacCaull b. 1978 (Tomorrowland, iZombie, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Fringe, Riverworld, Snakehead Terror, Jeremiah)
James Roday b. 1976 (Gamer, Repli-Kate)
Claudette Mink b. 1971 (Fringe, Reaper, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Dead Like Me, Kingdom Hospital, Paycheck, Phenomenon II, Monkeybone, Andromeda, Sliders, NightMan, Conan, Welcome to Paradox, Earth: Final Conflict)
Barry Pepper b. 1970 (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Battlefield Earth, Sliders, Highlander [TV])
Xenia Seeburg b. 1968 (Lord of the Undead, Lexx, Total Recall 2070)
Lisa Hammer b. 1967 (The Venture Brothers, Frankenstein and the Creature from the Blood Cove)
David Cross b. 1964 (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Men in Black II, Small Soldiers)
Robbie Rist b. 1964 (Sharknado, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], The Munsters Today, The Wizard, Knight Rider, Galactica 1980, The Bionic Woman)
Robert Downey Jr. b. 1965 (Avengers, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, A Scanner Darkly, The Shaggy Dog, Weird Science)
A. Michael Baldwin b. 1963 (Phantasm I through IV, Voyagers!)
Ava Fabian b. 1962 (Lobster Man from Mars)
Hugo Weaving b. 1960 (The Hobbit, Cloud Atlas, Captain America: The First Avenger, Transformers, The Wolfman, Lord of the Rings, V for Vendetta, The Matrix)
Lorraine Toussaint b. 1960 (Forever, Dark Skies, M.A.N.T.I.S., Red Dwarf)
Phil Morris b. 1959 (Smallville, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Dark Planet, Babylon 5, Star Trek III; The Search for Spock, Star Trek)
Armin Rohde b. 1955 (Contagion, Run Lola Run, The Canterville Ghost [2005 TV], 666: In Bed with the Devil)
Mary-Margaret Humes b. 1954 (Time Trax, Eerie, Indiana, Manimal, Knight Rider)
Cherie Lunghi b. 1952 (Wizards vs. Aliens, The Canterville Ghost [1996 TV], Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Excalibur)
Tim White b. 1952 (artist)
Simone Griffeth b. 1950 (The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, Monster Squad, Death Race 2000)
Christine Lahti b. 1950 (Amerika, The Henderson Monster)
Dan Simmons b. 1948 (won 1990 Hugo for Hyperion)
Craig T. Nelson b. 1944 ( Creature, Poltergeist, Wonder Woman, Flesh Gordon, Scream Blacula Scream, The Return of Count Yorga)
Kenneth Mars b. 1935 died 12 February 2011 (Weird Science [TV], Lois & Clark, M.A.N.T.I.S., Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Twilight Zone [1986], Misfits of Science, Project U.F.O., Wonder Woman, Young Frankenstein)
Anthony Perkins b. 1932 died 12 September 1992 (Edge of Sanity, The Black Hole, On the Beach)
Andrei Tarkovsky b. 1932 died 29 December 1986 (director , Solaris [1972])
Peter Vaughan b. 1923 (Game of Thrones, Brazil, Time Bandits)
Peter Burton b. 1921 died 21 November 1989 (A Clockwork Orange)
David White b. 1916 died 27 November 1990 (Bewitched, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, The Amazing Spider-Man [1977], The Six Million Dollar Man, My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone)
Richard Coogan b. 1914 died 12 March 2014 (Captain Video and his Video Rangers)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The top three names on imdb.com for popularity today are Robert Downey Jr., Hugo Weaving and Heath Ledger, and they would be excellent candidates for the Picture Slot, each of them with at least one iconic role in genre. The thing is, I used all of them before, Ledger in 2013 when I incorrectly listed his birthday as April the 7th. Even with those three worthies gone, there are other iconic roles, and the top three remaining in my estimation are Kenneth Mars from Young Frankenstein, Xenia Seeburg for Lexx and Peter Vaughan from Game of Thrones. Usually in such a situation, the fabulous babe would be the massive favorite, but I want new Game of Thrones so bad, Vaughan gets the nod. Also, Mr. Vaughan is the oldest living person on the list, so good on him for that. Because there are people younger than him already gone, he is not The Guy at the Door.

2. Spot the Canadians! Today, we have four Canadians, all born after 1970 and all with at least one Canadian produced genre show in their credits. The hardest to spot is Sarah Gadon. Kett Turton, Claudette Mink and Matthew MacCaull are a little easier to recognize.

3. Nepotism FTW. He's made a good career for himself, but it is here noted that Phil Morris is the son of Greg Morris. Another son of an actor is Patrick Hurd-Wood, son of Philip Hurd-Wood. That family is in Great Britain and the father's career is not all that successful, so claims of nepotism are not quite as strong.

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

Movies released
The Adjustment Bureau released 2011
Captain America: The Winter Soldier released 2014
 

Predictor: J.P. Dolliver (1858-1910), Iowa politician

Prediction: Is it as sure as any future thing that the making of money - or, more properly, the accumulation of money - is to go on through the coming century. Nor does it take a very acute insight to perceive that we are approaching a time that will not be defined by the reforms proposed by state socialism. Rather, during this time, the products of labor, the fruits of genius, the dividends of investment and the spoils of commerce shall be more and more willingly put aside in generous plans by the rich as trust funds, involving a high stewardship, for the ultimate use of the community.

Reality: The last time income inequality was as bad as it is now in the United States was the 1890s when this grease weasel is writing his little suck-up to the wonderful rich. He was wrong about state socialism not stepping in. The government began to impose very high taxes on high incomes and decreed the destruction of monopolies. I don't want to slam philanthropy, but it doesn't change the fact that Bill Gates became the richest man in the world producing shit software and a lot more of the rich are like the Kardashians or the Hiltons, completely useless drains on our economy and civilization.

Not that I feel strongly about this,

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another lazy Sunday and we hear from Robert A. Heinlein predicting the stuff that will be invented in the second half of the 20th Century.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

27 March 2015

Birthdays
Holliday Grainger b. 1988 (Demons, Merlin, Roger and the Rottentrolls)
Brenda Song b. 1988 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Phil of the Future, The Nightmare Room)
Emily Ann Lloyd b. 1984 (Early Edition, Apollo 13)
Jason Narvy b. 1974 (Power Rangers)
Nathan Fillion b. 1971 (Thrilling Adventure Hour Live, The Big Bang Theory, Neil’s Puppet Dreams, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The Guild, The Venture Bros., Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Lost, Slither, Serenity, Firefly, Buffy, Dracula 2000)
Elizabeth Mitchell b. 1970 (Once Upon a Time, Revolution, V, Lost, Frequency)
Pauley Perrette b. 1969 (The Singularity Is Near, Satan Hates You, The Ring, Dead Last, Early Edition)
Kevin Corrigan b. 1969 (Fringe, Superboy, The Exorcist III)
Sandra Hess b. 1968 (Sliders, Highlander [TV], Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Beastmaster: The Eye of Braxus, Lois & Clark, SeaQuest 2032)
Talisa Soto b. 1967 (Elysium, Island of the Dead, Mortal Kombat)
Martin Weisz b. 1966 (director, The Hills Have Eyes II)
Quentin Tarantino b. 1963 (screenwriter, From Dusk Till Dawn)
Jeff Griggs b. 1963 (Power Rangers Time Force, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Babylon 5)
Adrian Rawlins b. 1958 (Harry Potter, Doctor Who)
Caroline Williams b. 1957 (Seed 2, Halloween II, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, They Came from Outer Space, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2)
Bairbre Dowling b. 1953 (Star Trek: Voyager, Zardoz)
Michael York b. 1942 (Megiddo: The Omega Code, One Hell of a Guy, Dark Planet, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, Not of this Earth, TekWar: TekLab, Space, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Logan’s Run)
Austin Pendleton b. 1940 (Wishcraft, Tales from the Crypt, Alice in Wonderland [1983], Simon)
June Wilkinson b. 1940 (Frankenstein’s Great Aunt Tillie, Batman[TV])
Julian Glover b. 1935 (Game of Thrones, Atlantis [TV], Alien Uprising, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Empire Strikes Back, Doctor Who, Blakes 7, Space: 1999, Five Million Miles to Earth)
Lorenzo Semple Jr. b. 1923 died 28 March 2014 (writer, Flash Gordon, King Kong, Batman [TV], The Green Hornet)
Dick King-Smith b. 1922 died 4 January 2011 (author, The Sheep-Pig)
Richard Denning b. 1914 died 11 October 1998 (Alice Through the Looking Glass [1966 TV], Creature with the Atom Brain, Target Earth, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Black Scorpion)
Carl Barks b. 1901 died 25 August 2000 (author, Scrooge McDuck, Gyro Gearloose)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was graced by Nathan Fillion and Michael York.  This year, it was a toss-up between Carl Barks, who gets my vote as the greatest writer of comic book adventure stories ever, and the winner, Julian Glover. Glover played Richard the Lionheart on Doctor Who, Grand Maester Pycelle on Game of Thrones and is pictured here as General Veers from The Empire Strikes Back. For an Oh That Guy, that's a heck of a lot of iconic.

2. A Canadian amongst us. Nathan Fillion is allowed to walk the streets of this great land of ours as free and easy as you please, despite the lowly circumstances of his birth in another (and therefore inferior) country placed by God north of ours, where there is only bitter cold and giant mosquitoes.

3. MST3K. The only one I'm sure of is Richard Denning in The Black Scorpion.

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

Movie released
Monsters Vs. Aliens released, 2009  
 

Predictor: H.G. Wells in his 1902 book Anticipations

Prediction: The stories the growing girl now prefers, and I imagine will in the future still prefer, deal mainly with the rich and free; the theatre she will prefer to visit will present the lives and loves of opulent people with great precision and detailed correctness; her favorite periodicals will reflect that life.

Reality: Just in case you got upset with H.G. Wells, bigot and totalitarian, meet H.G. Wells, mansplainer. Reading the entire passage from which this paragraph is taken, it's pretty clear Wells looked down on young women because they didn't buy H.G. Wells novels. Imagine his surprise at the success of young adult novels about sparkly vampires and cute girls who are really good with a bow and arrow.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's Saturday and 1893 beckons to us.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

10 March 2015

Birthdays
Emily Osment b. 1992 (Spy Kids 2 and 3, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Olivia Wilde b. 1984 (The Lazarus Effect, Her, TRON: Legacy, In Time, Cowboys & Aliens)
Rafe Spall b. 1983 (The World’s End, Life of Pi, Earthbound, Prometheus, Grindhouse, Dracula [TV], Shaun of the Dead)
Holly Winnard b. 1981 (The Battle for Earth, Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!, Hoodoo for Voodoo)
Edi Gathegi b. 1979 (Beauty and the Beast [2013], X-Men: First Class, Twilight)
Tara Cardinal b. 1978 (Relatively Super, Legend of the Red Reaper, Alien Rising, Apocalypse Z, Bite Nite, Robodoc, It’s Supernatural)
Bree Turner b. 1977 (Grimm, Duel on Planet Z)
Jon Hamm b. 1971 (Sucker Punch, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Charmed, Space Cowboys)
Paget Brewster b. 1969 (The Venture Brothers, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Cyxork 7, Star Patrol)
Jasmine Guy b. 1962 (Dead Like Me, The Vampire Diaries, Lois & Clark)
Andre Johnson b. 1961 (Age of Dinosaurs, 100 Degrees Below Zero, Spider-Man, Blade)
Scott Frank b. 1960 (writer, The Wolverine, Minority Report)
Sharon Stone b. 1958 (Catwoman, Sphere, Total Recall, Beyond the Stars, Badlands 2005)
Shannon Tweed b. 1957 (Homeboys in Outer Space, Deadly Nightmares)
Robert Llewellyn b. 1956 (Red Dwarf, MirrorMask)
Katherine Houghton b. 1945 (The Last Airbender)
Richard Gant b. 1944 (Charmed, Smallville, Godzilla [1998], Babylon 5, Lois & Clark, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
Bruce Joel Rubin b. 1943 (writer, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Last Mimzy, Deep Impact, Jacob’s Ladder, Ghost, Deadly Friend, Brainstorm)
Chuck Norris b. 1940 (Hellbound)
David Watson b. 1940 died 5 October 2014 (Project U.F.O., The Bionic Woman, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, The Time Tunnel)
Venetia Stevenson b. 1938 (The City of the Dead)
Pamela Mason b. 1916 died 29 June 1996 (Wonder Woman, The Navy vs. the Night Monsters)
Warner Anderson b. 1911 died 26 August 1976 (The Immortal, Destination Moon)
Richard Haydn b. 1905 died 25 April 1985 (Young Frankenstein, Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
Sam Jaffe b. 1891 died 24 March 1984 (Battle Beyond the Stars, The Bionic Woman, Batman, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Lost Horizon)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was awarded to the fabulous Olivia Wilde and Robert Llewellyn from Red Dwarf. Without the, there are a few well-known names - Chuck Norris, Sharon Stone, Jon Hamm - but I don't consider them genre iconic. We do have some great Oh That Guys, including our oldest Sam Jaffe and Richard Haydn, but I decided to skew a little younger and use Richard Gant in his role from Babylon 5.

2. Hey, no Star Trek... two days in a row. Yesterday, I wrote how rare a day without Star Trek actors is. Now we have two in a row. But using this to prove Star Trek really isn't a big deal over the past half century is like cherry picking data to say climate change isn't real. Star Trek is a big damn deal in genre.

3. One Canadian, hard to spot. Shannon Tweed was born north of the border, but isn't a regular in the genre TV business.

4. Nepotism aplenty. Some of these are just a matter of being related and not actual nepotism, but in any case, there's a bunch today. Listing oldest to youngest:

Pamela Mason was James Mason's wife. She worked with him on several projects, though I have no idea how she decided doing The Navy vs. the Night Monsters was a good idea.

Venetia Stevenson was married to Russ Tamblyn, then Don Everly. This is more a case of fabulous babe being in the circle of famous people and marrying one of them.

Katherine Houghton was Katherine Hepburn's niece and was cast in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. I count this as nepotism for sure.

Shannon Tweed is the mother of Gene Simmon's children. See Venetia Stevenson for the explanation, though no marriage was actually involved.

Rafe Spall is the son of Timothy Spall, which couldn't hurt in British show business.

Emily Osment is Haley Joel Osment's sister. I consider this more a case of same stage parents instead of actual nepotism.

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

Movie released
Mission to Mars released, 2000 
 

Predictor: W. Warren Wagar in the 1991 book A Short History of the Future

Prediction:In 2000, forces under nominal U.N. command fighting for the major industrialized nations and their corporate sponsors were fighting a pitched battle to achieve the final solution of the “South Asian” problem. Early in the year, Pakistan had launched two small nuclear missiles against India.

The world was not entirely at peace until October 2000, when Russia, Ukraine and Belarus finally became associate members of the European Community.


Reality: This is the last of the predictions I'm going to use from Professor Wagar's book. Two of his basic ideas are correct,  that capitalism was going to go hog wild once the Eastern Bloc was no longer communist and that trouble in the Muslim world was going to be important, but when it comes to actual historical facts, Wagar is way off. Next week, we will get a new regular feature on Tuesdays.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

What did the future of technology look like in 1901. Our pal George Sutherland tells us.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

8 February 2015

Birthdays
Anna Hutchinson b. 1986 (The Cabin in the Woods, Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers Jungle Fury)
Ashley Mulheron b. 1983 (The Task, Vampire Killers, Primeval)
Liam McIntyre b. 1982 (The Flash, The Legend of Hercules)
Dawn Olivieri b. 1981 (The Last Witch Hunter, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Heroes, Knight Rider [2009], Stargate: Atlantis)
Jim Parrack b. 1981 (Resurrection, True Blood, Battle Los Angeles, Supernatural)
Marc Wooton b. 1975 (Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel)
Seth Green b. 1974 (Buffy, The Venture Brothers, Greg the Bunny, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Delete, Iron Man 2, Heroes, Angel, Idle Hands, Weird Science [TV], Seaquest 2032, The X Files, Free Spirit, My Stepmother Is an Alien, Amazing Stories, Tales from the Darkside)
Brendan Wayne b. 1972 (Cowboys and Aliens, Angel)
Susan Misner b. 1971 (Gotham, Fringe, Night Stalker)
Stephanie Courtney b. 1970 (Angel)
Mary McCormack b. 1969 (K-PAX, Deep Impact)
Gary Coleman b. 1968 died 28 May 2010 (Homeboys in Outer Space, Amazing Stories, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
Ladislav Beran b. 1967 (Hellboy, Blade II)
Larry Clarke b. 1964 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Lost, Buffy)
Ethan Phillips b. 1955 (True Blood, The Island, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Werewolf [TV], The Twilight Zone [1986], Critters)
Mary Steenburgen b. 1953 (Elf, Gulliver’s Travels, Back to the Future Part III, Time After Time)
Carolyn Pickles b. 1952 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Through the Dragon’s Eye)
Brooke Adams b. 1949 (The Dead Zone, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Song of the Succubus)
Alex Diakun b. 1946 (Intruders, Supernatural, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Reaper, The X Files, Eureka, Andromeda, EarthSea, Stargate SG-1, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, MythQuest, NightMan, Millennium, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Deadly Nightmares, Firebird 2015 AD)
Roger Lloyd Pack b. 1944 died 15 January 2014 (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Interview with the Vampire, U.F.O., The Magus)
Nick Nolte b. 1941 (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Neverwas, Hulk, Breakfast of Champions)
John Williams b. 1932 (composer, Star Wars, Minority Report, Harry Potter, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, E.T., Dracula [1979], Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space)
Jack Larson b. 1928 (Superman Returns, Lois & Clark, Superboy, Adventures of Superman)
Jack Lemmon b. 1925 died 27 June 2001 (Bell Book and Candle)
Lana Turner b. 1921 died 29 June 1995 (Witches Brew, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1941], Topper [1937])
Bengt Ekerot b. 1920 died 26 November 1971 (The Seventh Seal)
Bill Finger b. 1914 died 18 January 1974 (writer, Batman, Green Lantern)
Myron McCormick b. 1908 died 30 July 1962 (Way Out)
Ray Middleton b. 1907 died 10 April 1984 (Damn Yankees [1967 TV], A Christmas Carol [1954 TV])
Lyle Talbot b. 1902 died 2 March 1996 (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe, Tobor the Great)
King Vidor b. 1894 died 1 November 1982 (director, The Wizard of Oz [Kansas scenes, uncredited])
Jules Verne b. 1828 died 24 March 1905 (author, From the Earth to the Moon, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, In the Year 2889)


Notes on the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. Previous awards of the Picture Slot have gone to Jules Verne and Seth Green. Today's list has some major movie stars and iconic actors, mainly from American TV, I decided to go with Bengt Ekerot in his most famous role in international cinema as Death in The Seventh Seal. If there actually is a personification of death, he (or she) does not seem to have been pleased with Mr. Ekerot's portrayal, since he died at the age of 51. That's not the youngest person to die on today's birthday list, since Gary Coleman was only 42.

2. Things I learned this morning. When I go to imdb.com, I don't click on every actor in the top 100. I do click on all the names in the top 10, though some of them come up empty. Today I found out that Gary Coleman and Lana Turner both had roles in genre, though I knew nothing of those parts until I saw them this morning.

I also didn't know King Vidor directed the Kansas scenes in The Wizard of Oz. I knew George Cukor had been given the director's gig, but was replaced. The movie has five directors listed on imdb.com, the guy who gets full credit Victor Fleming and also Cukor, Vidor, Norman Taurog and Mervyn LeRoy. Usually a movie with that many directors signals a production in serious trouble, not one of the greatest films ever made.

I also didn't know the name of Stephanie Courtney, the actress who plays Flo on those annoying insurance ads. I'm sure the job pays well, but that sort of type casting has to be the worst of all.

3. Spot the Canadian! Our lone Canuck is older than our usual suspects, but his credit list makes him an obvious candidate. Those are all the clues I will give.

4. MST3K. The movie is not one of his genre credits, but John Williams did the score for Daddy-O. One of the bots commented when his name was in the credits, "Johnny Williams! That's John Williams before he heard Stravinsky." 

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


Movies released
Gertie the Dinosaur released, 1914  
 

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in his 1956 book The Door Into Summer

Prediction: Here is where the Thorsen memory tubes came in… No need to go into theory of an electronic tube that even Bell Labs doesn’t understand too well, the point is that you can hook a Thorsen tube into a control circuit, direct the machine through an operation by manual control, and the tube will “remember” what was done and can direct the operation without a human supervisor a second time, or any number of times. For an automated machine tool this is enough. For a guided missile or Flexible Frank you add side circuits that give the machine “judgment”. Actually it isn’t judgment (in my opinion a machine can never have judgment); the side circuit is a hunting circuit, the programming of which says “look for so-and-so within such-and-such limits; when you find it, carry out your basic instruction.”

Reality: Heinlein predicts a type of programming that would be relatively simple compared to the real ones and zeros method used by the people in charge of making modern robotics work. I'd also like to comment on his parenthetical aside about machines and "judgment". The most famous definition of "Is a machine thinking?" is the Turing Test, where a machine that can fool a human into thinking it's human must be counted as intelligent. I prefer the less subjective definition of Frank Harary, a mathematician who worked at Los Alamos after the Manhattan Project. His definition of when a machine can be said to be thinking is when it solves a problem without checking a list of every possible answer.

Looking one day ahead...  INTO THE FUTURE!

Is tomorrow Monday again already? Time for more fun with the OMNI Future Almanac! Yay!

Join us then...  IN THE FUTURE!

2 February 2014

Birthdays
Sydni Beaudoin b. 1990 (Spawn)
Amadou Ly b. 1988 (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2)
Gemma Arterton b. 1986 (Clash of the Titans [2010], Hansel & Gretel – Witch Hunters, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time)
Emily Rose b. 1981 (Haven, Jericho)
Rich Sommer b. 1978 (Radio Free Albemuth, Vamped Out, The Storm)
Oz Perkins b. 1974 (Star Trek [2009], Wolf)
Tanya Clarke b. 1972 (Supernatural, American Horror Story, Repo Men)
Brittaney Bennett b. 1969 (Smallville, Earth: Final Conflict, Forever Knight, Highlander)
Doc Hammer b. 1966 (The Venture Bros.)
D.C. Douglas b. 1966 (Haunted Hathaways, Sharknado 2: The Second One, Star Trek: Enterprise, Future Force)
Michael T. Weiss b. 1962 (Bones [2001], Dark Shadows [1991])
Michael Talbot b. 1955 (Space [1985], Carrie)
Carol Ann Susi b. 1952 died 11 November 2014 (Big Bang Theory, Journeyman, Cats & Dogs, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Death Becomes Her. Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Barbara Sukowa b. 1950 (12 Monkeys [2015], Johnny Mnemonic, Space [1985])
Brent Spiner b. 1949 (Warehouse 13, The Big Bang Theory, Alphas, The Guild, Superhero Movie, Threshold, Star Trek, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Independence Day, Phenomenon, Twilight Zone [1986], Tales from the Darkside)
Farrah Fawcett b. 1947 died 25 June 2009 (Saturn 3, The Six Million Dollar Man, Logan’s Run, The Girl with Something Extra, I Dream of Jeannie)
Blake Clark b. 1946 (Rise of the Damned, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Little Nicky, The Mask, Tales from the Crypt, The Greatest American Hero)
Geoffrey Hughes b. 1944 died 27 July 2012 (Polterguests, Doctor Who)
Bo Hopkins b. 1942 (Phantoms, Deadly Nightmares, Tentacles)
David Jason b. 1940 (Hogfather, Danger Mouse)
Thomas M Disch b. 1940 died 4 July 2008 (author, Supernatural Minnesota, Camp Concentration, The Brave Little Toaster, My Life as a Child)
Jackie Burroughs b. 1939 (Into the Labyrinth, Re-Generation, Dead Like Me, Smallville, Food of the Gods II, Twilight Zone [1989], The Dead Zone [1983])
Duane Jones b. 1936 died 22 July 1988 (Night of the Living Dead)
Tony Jay b. 1933 died 13 August 2006 (The Burning Zone, Lois & Clark, Eerie, Indiana, Beauty and the Beast [1989], My Stepmother is an Alien, Whoops Apocalypse)
Robert Mandan b. 1932 (Weird Science [1998 TV], Deep Space Nine, Zapped!, Mr. Merlin)
Sheila Allen b. 1929 died 15 November 2013 (Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Elaine Stritch b. 1925 died 17 July 2014 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Cocoon: The Return)
Ayn Rand b. 1905 died 6 March 1982 (author, Anthem, Atlas Shrugged)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. For iconic roles in genre, Brent Spiner is the big name on this list and he was in the Picture Slot previously. I also used Duane Jones, the African-American actor from the original Night of the Living Dead. With those two retired from the competition, the field becomes less iconic to be sure. I was thinking of going with one of the characters voiced by Doc Hammer from The Venture Bros. because I'm a huge fan, but instead I went with Gemma Arterton (and her co-star Jeremy Renner) from the poster of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters because, well, she looks great.

2. Three Canadians, one native and two transplants. Jackie Burroughs and Tanya Clarke weren't born in Canada, but the emigrated there. Brittaney Bennett was born there.

3. Nepotism FTW. Commenter James Marshall VI suggested a new label dealing with nepotism when someone on the list has a much more famous family member and gets work because of the connection.  I like this idea and I'm calling it Nepotism FTW. There will be some cases in the gray area, but not this first one. Sheila Allen was Irwin Allen's wife. Take a look at her credits. Nepotism FTW.

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

Predictors: The pro football experts at ESPN

Prediction: The New England Patriots were favored by a consensus of 10-4 over the Seattle Seahawks.

Reality: It was a strange game and a close one at the end, but the Patriots pulled it out thanks to an interception on a play call that will be second guessed for years. (Actually, this is first guessing. Marshawn Lynch up the middle. If it fails on 2nd down, do it again on 3rd down, and 4th down if necessary.) Getting ten right and four wrong gives the expert panel a final score of 102-52 over the eleven playoff games, which rounds 66.2% correct. That might sound not very expert. But if you assume the games are tossups before they are played (not a great assumption, but an easy one) This score is in the 99.99th percentile in terms of lucky guessing. Trying to give a weighting which takes into account how well home teams do, if we said that average is about 60% right, getting 66% right is still in the 94th percentile on the bell curve. In other words, the experts deserved to be called experts in this case.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction of the early 21st Century from W. Warren Wagar's 1991 book A Short History of the Future.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 January 2015

 Birthdays
Connor Widdows b. 1992 (Smallville, X-Men: The Last Stand, Battlestar Galactica, Taken, Dark Angel, Harsh Realm, So Weird, Millennium)
Chris Gauthier b. 1976 (Once Upon a Time, Eureka, Smallville, Watchmen, Supernatural, Reaper, Bionic Woman, The Butterfly Effect 2, Kyle XY, Zixx: Level Two, Stargate: Atlantis, Earthsea, Dead Like Me, Freddy vs. Jason, Dark Angel)
Amy Hargreaves b. 1970 (Brainscan)
Cindy Cheung b. 1970 (Futurestates, Lady in the Water, Spider-Man 2, Robot Stories)
Patton Oswalt b. 1969 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Caprica, Dollhouse, The Venture Brothers, Reaper)
Tamlyn Tomita b. 1966 (Resurrection, Teen Wolf, True Blood, Touch, Tekken, Heroes, Eureka, Stargate, The Day After Tomorrow, Robot Stories, FreakyLinks, Seven Days, The Burning Zone, The Last Man on Planet Earth, Highlander [TV], Time Trax, Babylon 5: The Gathering, Quantum Leap)
Alan Cumming b. 1965 (Riverworld, Tin Man, Son of the Mask, Spy Kids, X-Men 2, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Bridget Fonda b. 1964 (Snow Queen, Monkeybone, Lake Placid, Army of Darkness, Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound)
Julie Caitlin Brown b. 1961 (Sliders, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine)
Roy Fegan b. 1961 (The Meteor Man, Misfits of Science)
Susanna Thompson b. 1958 (Arrow, Dragonfly, Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Alien Nation: Dark Horizon, The X Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Frank Miller b. 1957 (writer/artist, Gotham, The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, Elektra, RoboCop 2 and 3)
Mimi Rogers b. 1956 (Ginger Snaps, The X-Files, Lost in Space [1998], Tales from the Crypt)
Peter Laird b. 1954 (writer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Richard Bremmer b. 1953 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Steve Leialoha b. 1952 (illustrator, Peter & Max)
Stewart Raffill b. 1942 (Tammy and the T-Rex, Mannequin: On the Move, Mac and Me, The Philadelphia Experiment, The Ice Pirates)
James Cromwell b. 1940 (American Horror Story, Surrogates, Impact, Spider-Man 3, I, Robot, Salem’s Lot, A Carol Christmas, Star Trek: Enterprise, Space Cowboys, The Green Mile, Deep Impact, Species II, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone [1985], Knight Rider, Earthlings)
Troy Donohue b. 1936 died 2 September 2001 (Omega Cop, Dr. Alien, Monster on the Campus, The Monolith Monsters)
Michael Craig b. 1928 (Doctor Who, Escape 2000, Mysterious Island [1961])
Sabu b. 1924 died 2 December 1963 (The Jungle Book, The Thief of Bagdad)
Mark Daniels b. 1912 died 23 April 1989 (director, The Wizard, Man from Atlantis, Planet Earth, Star Trek, Way Out)
Howard McNear b. 1905 died 3 January 1969 (Twilight Zone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Topper)
Lewis Carroll b. 1832 died 14 January 1898 (Alice in Wonderland, The Hunting of the Snark)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the picture slot has gone to Frank Miller and Alan Cumming, and I was debating with myself about who would go in this time. I wanted to acknowledge James Cromwell on his 75th birthday, but I wasn't sure his portrayal of Zephram Cochrane was quite iconic enough. I consider a few others as well, but in the end as you see, I decided on Lewis Carroll, both because he is an important writer in the history of fantasy and he was a mathematician as well, which scores many points in my book.

2. Where did all the young people go?  More sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV shows are being made now than any other time, so it's very common our birthday lists have a bunch of actors born in the 1980s and 1990s portraying young people in the productions. Today we only have Connor Widdows, who also happens to be our only natural born Canadian. The next youngest person is Chris Gauthier, born in the U.K. but moved to Canada, so his resume is full of credits from the usual Canuck sci-fi fare.

3. Where did Bridget Fonda go?  The Fonda family are several generations of well-known American actors and most of them keep acting as long as they could. Bridget Fonda's last role was in 2002, when she wasn't yet 40. Not unlike Phoebe Cates, Ms. Fonda decided to opt out of the business and be a wife and mother full time. I respect their decisions, but it is unusual.

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

Predictor: W. Warren Wagar in his 1991 book A Short History of the Future

Prediction: Hollings-Gray, the only megacorp that invested heavily in agriculture, cheerfully adopted the self-deprecating acronym of HoG. The company’s specialty was “franchise farming”, buying the land, supplying standardized equipment and training and contracting with agribusinessmen at a guaranteed minimum price, sharing the profits with franchise holders. Their sheer size and capital resources allowed them to survive and prosper and eventually bankrupt many of their smaller rivals in the private sector.

Reality: "Franchise farming" sounds like a modern version of share-cropping. The real agri-business "megacorp" Monsanto has much stranger and more futuristic ways of dominating their industry by patenting genetically modified seeds and suing customers who want to save them for a later crop. Some left-leaning folk make Monsanto into a boogeyman and I'm not sure they are exaggerating that much.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from George Sutherland's 1901 book 20th Century Inventions. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

9 December 2015

Birthdays
Cody Kennedy b. 1991 (Superpowerless, Piranha 3DD)
Joshua Sasse b. 1987 (Frankenstein’s Army)
Jolene Purdy b. 1983 (Under the Dome, Donnie Darko)
Simon Helberg b. 1980 (Big Bang Theory, Dr, Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, The Guild, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Jesse Metcalfe b. 1978 (Smallville)
Kevin Daniels b. 1976 (Smallville, The Island, Charmed, Buffy)
Reiko Aylesworth b. 1972 (Revolution, SGU Stargate Universe, Lost, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
Sebastian Spence b. 1969 (Continuum, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, Category 7: The End of the World, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Mutant X, Strange Frequency, Dark Angel, First Wave, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X Files)
Toby Huss b. 1966 (The Venture Brothers, R.I.P.D., Cowboys & Aliens, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Carnivale, Bedazzled)
Brad Savage b. 1965 (Mork & Mindy, Salem’s Lot, Return from Witch Mountain)
Felicity Huffman b. 1962 (The X Files)
Richard Brooks b. 1962 (Firefly, Good vs Evil, Brimstone, The Crow: City of Angels, Shocker, The Hidden, Teen Wolf)
Joe Lando b. 1961 (Earth Fall, A.I. Assault, Bloodsuckers, Blindness, Alien Nation: The Enemy Within, Beauty and the Beast [1990], Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
John Paragon b. 1954 (Deep Space Nine, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Pee-wee’s Playhouse)
John Malkovich b. 1953 (Warm Bodies, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, Jonah Hex, The Mutant Chronicles, Beowulf, Eragon, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shadow of the Vampire, Being John Malkovich, Mary Reilly, Making Mr. Right)
Michael Dorn b. 1952 (Ted 2, Castlevania: Hymn of Blood, Heroes, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Demon Seed)
Robert Winley b. 1952 died 21 October 2001 (Sliders, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Tales from the Crypt, Near Dark)
Michael Nouri b. 1945 (Legend of the Seeker, Star Trek: Enterprise, Captain America [1990], The Hidden, The Curse of Dracula [1979])
Neil Innes b. 1944 (Erik the Viking, Jabberwocky)
Beau Bridges b. 1941 (Stargate, 10.5 Apocalypse, RocketMan, Tales from the Crypt, Amazing Stories, Space, Alice In Wonderland [1985], Village of the Giants)
Dame Judi Dench b. 1934 (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Chronicles of Riddick)
Morton Downey, Jr. b, 1933 died 12 March 2001 (Predator 2)
Buck Henry b. 1930 (writer, Quark, Captain Nice)
John Cassavetes b. 1929 died 3 February 1989 (The Fury, Rosemary’s Baby, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Dick Van Patten b. 1928 (Lois & Clark, Spaceballs, Westworld, The Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Girl with Something Extra, Soylent Green, I Dream of Jeannie)
Kirk Douglas b. 1916 (Tales from the Crypt, The Final Countdown, Saturn 3, The Fury, Holocaust 2000, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Ulysses)
Bartlett Robinson b. 1912 died 26 March 1986 (Sleeper, The Invaders, My Mother the Car, Bewitched, The Munsters, Twilight Zone)
Margaret Hamilton b. 1902 died 16 May 1985 (Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Addams Family, 13 Ghosts, The Invisible Woman, The Wizard of Oz)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, I used Michael Dorn as Worf. This year I was moments away from using Margaret Hamilton from The Wizard of Oz. But the most remarkable thing about this list to me is Kirk Douglas turning 98, so we get a picture of him from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea when he was in his many, rugged prime. There are a lot of choices possible next year, and they range in age from Ms. Hamilton as the eldest and Simon Helberg as the youngest.

2. Spot the Canadian!  Like yesterday, we just have the one and the resume is fairly obvious.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, most especially living legend Kirk Douglas, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movie released
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe released, 2005
 

 Predictor: W. Warren Wagar in his 1991 book A Short History of the Future

Prediction: According to a study done in 1999, the total number of Iraqi dead in the 1991 Gulf War was 275,000.

Reality: Here Wagar knows the battle had taken place in the past for him, but the estimate was from the future. According to the best estimates I've found online, the number was between 25,000 and 35,000, so he's off by a factor of about 10.

Say hello to W. Warren Wagar, our new Tuesday regular. His history of the future is told from the point of view of someone in 2200 looking back. Wagar, who died in 2004, was a historian and in 1987 started this book. It was published in 1989, the year communism fell. He was embarrassed that the Commies were still a factor in the original edition, so he re-wrote the book in 1991. The predictions I'll be using are from that edition.

According to Wagar, capitalists pretty much get their way until 2044. He doesn't get a lot of stuff right on the money, but there are plenty of dates mentioned in the time period this blog is interested in, which means up to 2020. Sources of predictions are the short resource here at the blog, so I was happy to find this book. He's not as pompous as FM-2030 (Who could be?), but I hope people will find him amusing.

Never to be Forgotten: Ken Weatherwax 1955-2014

Yesterday was a very bad day for some guys about my age. Ken Weatherwax has four roles list on imdb.com. Three of them are as Pugsley Addams and the fourth is from Wagon Train, where he played Stout Boy. He left the biz after his stint on The Addams Family and by the obituary accounts, lived happily in obscurity, always glad to sign an autograph for anyone who recognized him. The cause of death was a heart attack.

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

 

Never to be Forgotten: Eddie Rouse 1954-2014

I wasn't aware of the work of Eddie Rouse until his obit was posted yesterday, but he had a role in the 2009 movie Pandorum and a role in the new HBO version of Westworld, which is filming now. His cause of death at the age of 60 was liver failure. He was definitely a working actor, but somewhat obscure. He had no Wikipedia page and imdb.com doesn't mention his birthday.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Eddie Rouse. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another trip back to 1911, where some newspaper writer predicts the wonders of 2011.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

14 November 2014

Birthdays
Dimitri Leonidas b. 1987 (Sinbad, Doctor Who)
Brian Gleeson b. 1987 (Snow White and the Huntsman, Primeval)
Laura Ramsey b. 1982 (Venom, The Covenant)
Russell Tovey b. 1981 (Being Human, Doctor Who)
Michala Banas b. 1978 (Scooby-Doo, BeastMaster [TV], The Lost World [TV])
Chris Demetral b. 1976 (The Zeta Project, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Lois & Clark, Dolly Dearest, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Felicity Mason b. 1976 (Undead)
Olga Kurylenko b. 1979 (Vampire Academy, Oblivion)
Delphine Chaneac b. 1978 (Splice)
Gene Farber b. 1978 (X-Men: First Class, Virtuality)
Marcy Leeds b. 1977 (Beauty and the Beast [1989 TV], Near Dark)
Dana Snyder b. 1973 (Venture Brothers, Saul of the Mole Men)
Josh Duhamel b. 1972 (Transformers, The Picture of Dorian Gray)
Florina Kendrick b. 1966 (Dracula [1992])
Patrick Warburton b. 1964 (Ted 1 & 2, The Venture Brothers, Men in Black II, The Tick, Quantum Leap)
Harland Williams b. 1962 (RocketMan)
Laura San Giacomo b. 1962 (The Apocalypse, The Stand)
D.B. Sweeney b. 1961 (Touch, Swamp Shark, Universal Dead, Jericho, Harsh Realm, Spawn, Fire in the Sky)
Paul McGann b. 1959 (Doctor Who, Vampire Killers, Queen of the Damned, Alien 3)
Nannette Brown b. 1958 (Swamp Thing)
Sandahl Bergman b. 1951 (Sorceress II: The Temptress, TekWar: TekJustice, Freddy’s Nightmares, Programmed to Kill, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Red Sonja, Conan the Barbarian, She)
Gary Grubbs b. 1949 (Left Behind, Battleship, Wizards of Waverly Place, Angel, The Astronaut’s Wife, The X Files, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Time Trax, The Greatest American Hero)
Robert Ginty b. 1948 died 21 September 2009 (Programmed to Kill, Knight Rider, Warrior of the Lost World, Project U.F.O.)
Wendy Carlos b. 1939 (Composer, TRON, The Shining)
Kathleen Hughes b. 1928 (I Dream of Jeannie, It Came From Outer Space, Cult of the Cobra)
McLean Stevenson b. 1927 died 15 February 1996 (The Astronauts, The Cat from Outer Space)
Brian Keith b. 1921 died 24 June 1997 (Deep Space Nine, World War III, Meteor)
Ann Way b. 1915 died 13 March 1993 (Brazil, Jabberwocky)
Rosemary DeCamp b. 1910 died 20 February 2001 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Time Machine [1978 TV], 13 Ghosts)
William Stieg b. 1907 died 3 October 2003 (author, Shrek)

Last year, I used a picture of Brock Samson, voiced by the great Patrick Warburton. This year, actors who played the Doctor are trump, so we get the 8th Doctor Paul McGann. Next year, I'll probably go with Laura San Giacomo from The Stand or Sandahl Bergman from Conan.

The Canadian on the list has no telltale roles. Harland Williams works out of Los Angeles, mostly in comedies.

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

Predictor: H. G. Wells in his 1902 book Anticipations

Prediction: There is, however, one conceivable means of transit that is not simply frequent but continuous, that may be joined or left at any point without a stoppage, that could be adapted to many existing streets at the level or quite easily sunken in tunnels, or elevated above the street level, and that means of transit is the moving platform, whose possibilities have been exhibited to all the world in a sort of mean caricature at the Paris Exhibition.

Reality: Ah, moving sidewalks! It's been a couple months since we've had a moving sidewalks prediction, and my answer is as always, ah hellz no!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We jump back to 1893, a time of facial hair, optimism and nearly no understanding of the environment.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

17 September 2014

Birthdays
Ella Purnell b. 1996 (Maleficent, Kick-Ass 2, Intruders)
Augustus Prew b. 1987 (Kick-Ass 2)
Neill Blomkamp b. 1979 (director, Elysium, District 9)
Ian Whyte b. 1971 (Hercules, Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans, Prometheus, Solomon Kane, Dragonball: Evolution, Aliens vs. Predator 1 & 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Malik Yoba b. 1967 (Alphas)
Tracy Dali b. 1966 (Paranormal Movie, Space Girls in Beverly Hills, The Scorpion King, Encino Man, Back to the Future Part II)
Bryan Singer b. 1965 (director, X-Men, Jack the Giant Slayer, Mockingbird Lane, Superman Returns)
Kyle Chandler b. 1965 (Super 8, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], King Kong [2005], Freddy’s Nightmares)
James Urbaniak b. 1963 (Teen Wolf [TV], Futuremanity, The Venture Brothers, Futurestates, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
William Shockley b. 1963 (Quantum Leap, Alien Nation [TV], Freddy’s Nightmares, RoboCop)
Dustin Nguyen b. 1962 (VR.5, SeaQuest 2032, Highlander [TV], Earth Angel)
Paul Feig b. 1962 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Zombie High)
Keith Cooke b. 1959 (Mortal Combat: Annihilation)
Aaron Lustig b. 1956 (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Day After Tomorrow, Charmed, Star Trek: Enterprise, Bedazzled, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Brimstone, The Relic, Pinocchio’s Revenge, Star Trek: Voyager, The Shadow, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Quantum Leap, Edward Scissorhands, Darkman, ALF, Alien Nation [TV], Ghostbusters II)
Tim Burd b. 1955 (Saw II through IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Mutant X, Odyssey 5, TekWar, Deadly Nightmares)
Cassandra Peterson b. 1951 (Elvira)
John Ritter b. 1948 died 11 September 2003 (Terror Tract, It Came From the Sky, Buffy, It)
Bruce Spence b. 1945 (I, Frankenstein, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Legend of the Seeker, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Peter Pan [2003], The Matrix Revolutions, Farscape, Queen of the Damned, BeastMaster [TV], Dark City, The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas, Halfway across the Galaxy and Turn Left, Hercules Returns, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, The Cars That Eat People)
Paul Benedict b. 1938 died 1 December 2008 (Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman[1993], the Twilight Zone [1987], The Addams Family, The Man With Two Brains)
David Huddleston b. 1930 (Jericho, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Capricorn One, The Sixth Sense [TV], Bewitched)
Roddy McDowall b. 1928 died 3 October 1998 (The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo, The Alien Within, Quantum Leap, Earth Angel, Doin’ Time on Planet Earth, Fright Night 1 and 2, The Wizard, Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Small& Frye, The Martian Chronicles, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Thief of Baghdad [1978 TY], Wonder Woman, The Cat from Outer Space, Laserblast, The Fantastic Journey, Embryo, Planet of the Apes [4 movies and the TV show], Journey to the Unknown, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Topper Returns [TV movie], It!, The Invaders, Batman, Twilight Zone)
Ib Melchoir b. 1917 (writer, Death Race, Planet of the Vampires, The Outer Limits, The Time Travelers, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Angry Red Planet, Men Into Space, Reptilitcus)

Last year I used James Urbaniak as Doc Venture and this year it came down to three choices: Roddy McDwall, Elvira and Bruce Spence. I chose Bruce Spence because I love Dark City so much.

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

 Predictor: Uncredited writer in The New York World, March 1911 in a piece called One Hundred Years Hence

Prediction:Feb. 1, 2011. Seven o’clock in the morning. The closed shutter prolongs the night. John Smith sleeps peacefully. Suddenly at his bedside the clapper of the phonograph-alarm trembles and produces sweetly harmonious sounds.

John opens his eyes. Reaching out his hand, he presses an electric button. Automatically the shutters open. The Window closes and the sunlight pours into the room.

John Smith’s chamber is furnished with taste and even with a certain amount of luxury, not because he is rich, but that in the 21st Century luxury costs little and no one is poor. The brass bed is no longer that heap of blankets, feathers, wool and hair against which hygienists used to rail. A metal mattress supports pneumatic cushions inflated with air, the temperature of which is regulated at pleasure. All is ready for his toilet and bath.

Through the room the air circulates freely, ceaselessly renewed by ingenious mechanism. Within the walls conduits of water, warmed by a central furnace, distribute everywhere equal heat in the cold season. In summer the same conduits serve to cool the air.

Mr. Smith, who lives on the forty-fifth floor of One Hundred Eighteenth Avenue, New York, has not yet risen. He is talking to the table beside his bed.

“I want a cup of synthetic cocoa, very hot.” he says.

In a few minutes the table opens and the aromatic breakfast appears before the eyes of the hungry man. This is no magic table; no spirit concealed in it. It is simply provided with a microphone by means of which Mr. Smith expresses his wants to the officials of the public alimentation service, which has its branches on the ground floor of every house of any importance.

Why drinking his chemically produced cocoa Mr. Smith listens to the morning papers. Every house with ‘modern conveniences’ communicates with a central information bureau which gives it at all hours the news. Slip a small coin into a slot and a speaking trumpet is uncovered, which at once begins in a sonorous voice to recite the telegrams of the night, the news items, the political news, the stock quotations, literary and dramatic criticisms. When Mr. Smith has heard enough of one article he presses an electric button and the voice tells him something else. This continues until his toilet is through.

Something of a dandy, Mr. Smith is dressed in a full tunic in the Grecian style, which sets off his powerful and youthful figure and allows perfect ease of movement. His shoes are polished by electric buttons.

Reality: Here's our new Wednesday regular and I would say he's pretty darned good. Let's go from beginning to end.

1. Alarm clock radios, not alarm clock phonographs. In 1911, radio is still pretty much wireless telegraphy instead of sound broadcasting.

2. Pneumatic cushion beds. They exist but they aren't the standard.

3. Central air and central heating. Not with water in the walls, but these do exist now.

4. Calling for food from a central kitchen in your apartment building, sent automatically. This is not the case. We don't have a "public alimentation service", though Starbucks seems like it in some cities.

5. Synthetic cocoa. There are a LOT more chemicals in food now than there were in 2011. In later predictions, our new guy will go off the deep end, but there is synthetic cocoa, though many of us wish there wasn't.

6. "Listening" to the morning paper. This is kind of like news radio, right? Notice this is the only section where our newspaper guy thinks about how Mr. Smith will pay for something. We don't get to fast forward through radio, but we can do it online. Once again, he couldn't know the technology, but he's not far off.

7. Guys don't wear tunics. Your legs should be really good to think about wearing a tunic. 

Never to be Forgotten:
Darrell Zwerling 1929-2014

Today we have two obits. Darrell Zwerling is best known as the water commissioner Mulray in Chinatown, but he is remembered here for roles in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Capricorn One and Doc Savage: Man of Bronze, where he is the not dead guy on the right. He kind of looks like Allan Arbus, the guy who played the psychiatrist on M*A*S*H, but obviously those are two different  guys.

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

Never to be Forgotten:
John Bardon 1939-2014

The other obit is for the British actor John Bardon, best known for East Enders. His genre credits include Polterguests, Gulliver’s Travels [TV] and One of our Dinosaurs is Missing.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt the regular schedule for a prediction from a movie... starring Doug McClure!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!