12 September 2015

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

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

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

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

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

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

7 September 2015

Birthdays
Hugh Mitchell b. 1989 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
Evan Rachel Wood b.1987 (Westworld, True Blood, S1m0ne, American Gothic)
Alyssa Diaz b. 1985 (Grimm, The Last Ship, The Vampire Diaries, Revolution, Ben 10: Alien Swarm)
Josh Hammond b. 1979 (Lazarus: Day of the Living Dead, Piranha Sharks, Jeepers Creepers II, Alien Arsenal)
Devon Sawa b. 1978 (Creature of Darkness, Final Destination, Idle Hands)

Oliver Hudson b. 1976 (The Breed, 10.5: Apocalypse)
Noah Huntley b. 1974 (Dracula Untold, Snow White and the Huntsman, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 28 Days Later…, The Omega Code 2, Event Horizon)
Alex Kurtzman b. 1973 (writer, Venom, Van Helsing, Sleepy Hollow, Transformers, Star Trek, Fringe, Cowboys & Aliens, The Island, Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Shannon Elizabeth b. 1973 (Night of the Demons, Cursed, Thir13en Ghosts, Good vs Evil)
Tom Everett Scott b. 1970 (Beauty and the Beast, Race to Witch Mountain, Dead Man on Campus, An American Werewolf in Paris)
Monique Gabriela Curnen b. 1970 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Dark Knight, Journeyman, Anamorph, The Lady in the Water, Angel)
Diane Farr b. 1969 (Collision Earth, Roswell)
Angie Everhart b. 1969 (Bigfoot, Bugs, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Bordello of Blood, Last Action Hero)
Toby Jones b. 1967 (Agent Carter, The Hunger Games, Captain America, Snow White and the Huntsman, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Mist [2007])
W. Earl Brown b. 1963 (Knights of Baddassdom, American Horror Story, The X Files, Vanilla Sky, Charmed, Angel, Being John Malkovich, Deep Impact, Project: ALF, Vampire in Brooklyn)
Cliff Simon b. 1962 (Stargate)
Christopher Villiers b. 1960 (Triassic Attack, From Time to Time, Doctor Who, Ultraviolet)
Stewart Finlay-McLennan b. 1957 (Lost, National Treasure, E.A.R.T.H. Force)
Mira Furlan b. 1955 (Space Command Redemption, Lost, Babylon 5)
Doug Bradley b. 1954 (A Vampire’s Tale, Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes, Hellraiser, Dominator, Proteus, Nightbreed)
Corbin Bernsen b. 1954 (Vipers, They Are Among Us, Beings, Atomic Twister, Dead Above Ground, Spacejacked, Menno’s Mind, Inhumanoid, Aurora: Operation Intercept, Star Trek: The Next Generation, King Kong [1976])
Michael Emerson b. 1954 (Lost, Saw, The X Files)
Julie Kavner b. 1950 (Click, Revenge of the Stepford Wives)
Susan Blakely b. 1948 (My Mom’s a Werewolf, Twilight Zone [1987], Deadly Nightmares)
Dario Argento b. 1940 (director, The Sandman, Dracula 3D, Phenomena)
John Phillip Law b. 1937 died 13 May 2008 (Alienator, Barbarella, Golden Voyage of Sinbad)
Bruce Gray b. 1936 (Stargate SG-1, Charmed, Star Trek: Enterprise, Cube²: Hypercube, Earth: Final Conflict, Starship Troopers, Babylon 5, RoboCop [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Knight Rider)
Alan Steel b. 1935 died 5 September 2015 (3 Avengers, Hercules and the Treasure of the Incas, Hercules Against the Moon Men, Hercules Against Rome, Hercules and the Black Pirates, Hercules and the Masked Rider, Samson and the Slave Queen, Ursus, the Gladiator Rebel, The Fury of Hercules, The Giant of Marathon, Hercules Unchained)
Peter Lawford b. 1923 died 24 December 1984 (Bewitched, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Canterville Ghost)
Anthony Quayle b. 1913 (Holocaust 2000)
Roy Barcroft b. 1902 died 28 November 1969 (Rosemary’s Baby, Destination Inner Space, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula, Commando Cody, The Adventures of Superman, Zombies of the Stratosphere, Radar Men from the Moon, The Vampire’s Ghost, Flash Gordon)
George Waggner b. 1894 died 11 December 1984 (director, Batman, The Green Hornet, The Wolf Man, Man Made Monster)
Dr. John William Polidori b. 1795 died 24 August 1821 (author, The Vampyre: A Tale)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Quite a few well-known faces on today's list and in previous years I went with fabulous babes Evan Rachel Wood and Mira Furlan. Sad to say, we will have an obit for a fabulous babe down farther in the post, so instead I went with Doug Bradley as Pinhead from the Hellraiser series. 

2. Spot the Canadian! Only one I could find today, Devon Sawa, does not have a resume full of Canuck sci-fi, which makes him hard to spot.

3. Nepotism FTW. Oliver Hudson is the son of Goldie Hawn. 

4. MST3K. Birthday boy Alana Steel passed away two days ago, and some of his Hercules movies were given the treatment.

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

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Just as aircraft will be further enhanced by computer assistance, air traffic control will rely more heavily on computers to keep track of the aircraft in the area.

Reality: There are some things from the past that are more than a little terrifying when you sit down to think about them. The technology available for air traffic control even as recently as thirty years ago was archaic. Suffice it to say, this prediction gets full marks.
 

Never to be Forgotten: Judy Carne 1939-2015

A rough day for those of us who grew up on television in the 1960s. Judy Carne, best known for Love on a Rooftop and Laugh-In, died earlier this month in Northampton, where she was born. She was the first wife of Burt Reynolds. She is remembered here for a role on I Dream of Jeannie.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Judy Carne, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Never to be Forgotten: Martin Milner 1931-2015

Adding to the sad nostalgia for folks of a certain age is the death of Martin Milner, best known for Adam-12, Route 66 and The Sweet Smell of Success. His connections to genre include the TV version of RoboCop, The 1960 movie 13 Ghosts, the 1950 TV series On the Threshold of Space and most memorably for me, an episode of the original Twilight Zone.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from Heinlein's The Door Into Summer.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

6 September 2015

Birthdays
Rhys Ward b. 1989 (The Strain, The 100, My Babysitter’s a Vampire)
Lauren Lapkus b. 1985 (Jurassic World)
Tehmina Sunny b. 1980 (Extant, Heroes, Children of Men)
Blaze Berdahl b. 1980 (Aliens in the Family, Pet Sematary)
Matthew Horne b. 1978 (Sinbad, Vampire Killers, Fairy Tales)
Naomie Harris b. 1976 (National Theatre Live: Frankenstien, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Dinotopia, 28 Days Later…, The Tomorrow People)
Sarah Strange b. 1974 (ReGenesis, Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, First Wave, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Millennium, Sliders, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, The X Files, Neon Rider)
Idris Elba b. 1972 (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Prometheus, Thor, Pacific Rim, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, 28 Weeks Later, Ultraviolet, Space Precinct)
China Miéville b. 1972 (won 2010 Hugo for The City & the City)
Justina Machado b. 1972 (The Purge: Anarchy, Dragonfly, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Angel)
Dylan Bruno b. 1972 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Dead Zone, The Rage: Carrie 2)
Betsy Russell b, 1963 (Saw III throught VI, Superboy, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Michael Winslow b. 1958 (Lavalantula, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Robodoc, Lycanthrope, Harry and the Hendersons, Spaceballs, Gremlins)
Patti Yasutake b. 1953 (FlashForward, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Katherine Cannon b. 1953 (Seven Days, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Hidden, The Incredible Hulk, Battlestar Galactica, Future Cop)
Anne Lockhart b. 1953 (Surrogates, Bug Buster, Bionic Ever After, Quantum Leap, Freddy's Nightmares, Troll, AutoMan, Knight Rider, Voyagers!, E.T., The Incredible Hulk, Earthbound, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Battlestar Galactica, Project U.F.O., The Sixth Sense [1972])
Tommy Lee Wallace b. 1949 (director, Vampires: Los Muertos, It, Fright Night Part 2, Max Headroom, Twilight Zone [1985], Halloween III: Season of the Witch)
Keone Young b. 1947 (True Blood, Men in Black 3, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Invisible Man, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], Deep Space Nine, Small Wonder )
Jane Curtin b. 1947 (The Librarians, Cyberchase, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Coneheads)
Swoosie Kurtz b. 1944 (Heroes, Category 7: The End of the World, Lost, Harvey [TV movie])
Carol Wayne b. 1942 died 13 January 1985 (The Girl with Something Extra, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie)
Jo Anne Worley b. 1937 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Six Million Dollar Man, Captain Nice)
Sergio Aragones b. 1937 (writer/artist, Groo the Wanderer)
Jody McCrea b. 1934 died 4 April 2009 (The Monster That Challenged the World)
Paul Naschy b. 1934 died 30 November 2009 (A Werewolf in the Amazon, Night of the Werewolf, Mystery on Monster Island, Night of the Howling Beast, The Mummy’s Revenge, Vengeance of the Zombies, Count Dracula’s Great Love, Curse of the Devil, La Furia del Hombre Lobo, The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman, Las Noches del Hombre Lobo, Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror)
Max Schreck b. 1879 died 20 February 1936 (Nosferatu)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used pictures of Max Schreck and Idris Elba. This year, I had several options, including Sergio Aragones and Naomie Harris, but I decided to go all Star Trek nerd and use Patti Yasutake from her regular role as Nurse Ogawa.

2. Spot the Canadian! Sarah Strange was born north of the border.

3. Nepotism FTW. Anne Lockhart is the daughter of June Lockhart and grand-daughter of Gene Lockhart. Jody McCrea is Joel McCrea's son.

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

The Weekly Soapbox: Computers and Artificial Intelligence

Science fiction is often given credit for being prophetic, but the truth is not quite as flattering. Sci-fi is about telling stories, exciting adventures of imagination. Long before rockets were good enough to get us into orbit, science fiction stories had us traveling to other star systems, ignoring the problems of time and distance involved. On the other hand, the trajectory of computers and how quickly they would change, getting smaller, faster, cheaper and more practical, is a major technological advance of the past fifty years that sci-fi didn't quite get. An argument against my major theme might point to Asimov's robots or Frank Herbert's idea of mentats, people who can do what computers did after letting a computer think is made illegal, on the idea that we reached the Singularity and decided to walk away from it. But most of Asimov's robot stories as well as Herbert's Dune universe are set thousands or even tens of thousands of years in the future. Computers are a major part of our lives right now.

Here are my awards in different categories for the predictions about computer we have had on the blog.

Most paranoid
Arthur C. Clarke gets points for seeing how fast the computerized future would come, but nearly everything he wrote is a warning against it. Here I would single out the short story Dial F for Frankenstein and his screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Besides Clarke, the most paranoid depictions of computers come from movies like Colossus: The Forbin Project, the Terminator series and WarGames.

Most accurate or most prescient
Regular readers will know how I love to mock Robert A. Heinlein, but he got a few things right out of many, many speculations in his story The Door Into Summer, serialized in 1956 and turned into a novel in 1957. Most notable is Computer Aided Design or CAD, which he assumed would exist by the early 1970s.

Another very good prediction is from Lee De Forest in 1960, who forecast the development of computers used as medical diagnostic aides. OMNI Future Almanac will get a few mentions in overly-optimistic section, but one of their predictions published a few weeks ago about the computers of writer being connected by some wire over telephone lines to publishers was a very good guess in 1982.

But I give the last spot in this most complimentary category to T. Baron Russell in 1905, who predicted a combined typewriter/calculating machine that could create completely accurate ledgers. I'm sure Russell must have seen it a deluxe calculator, unable to envision computers or screens or spreadsheets or laser jet printers, but no one else from his era has an idea anything quite like this.

Most overly-optimistic
OMNI Future Almanac really went off the deep end sometimes with their computer predictions, falling in love with a fad like bio-rhythms to assume we might well have chips inside out heads by now. At a TED talk last decade, Bill Joy said high end computers would cost $10 in 2020, and while I can't say with complete confidence there won't be some crazy advances in the next five years, I don't hear anyone talking about what a wonderful prophet Bill Joy was these days.

As for the top spot in overly optimistic, Ray Kurzweil is the easy winner with his 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines, which made a number of very specific advances that would come to pass by 2009. Kurzweil is tech-savvy enough that almost nothing he predicted is actually impossible, though we are still very far away from reverse engineering the brain, his boldest prediction by far. His best calls are about "worn technology", self-driving cars and voice recognition technology, his worst are reverse engineering the brain and the popularity of 3-D chips, which are hard to build and have bad error rates.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of OMNI Future Almanac, Monday is their regular turn for predictions.

Join is then... IN THE FUTURE!

3 September 2015

Birthdays
Ashley Boettcher b. 2000 (Aliens in the House, Aliens in the Attic)
Victoria Jones b. 1991 (Men in Black II)
Garrett Hedlund b. 1984 (Pan, TRON: Legacy, Eragon)
Paz de la Huerta b. 1984 (4:44 Last Day on Earth)
Christine Woods b. 1983 (The Walking Dead, FlashForward)
Nichole Hiltz b. 1978 (Alien Autopsy, Smallville, Buffy, Dude, Where’s My Car?)
Nick Weschsler b. 1978 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Roswell, Team Knight Rider)
Ashley Jones b. 1976 (FlashForward, True Blood)
Clare Kramer b. 1974 (Tales of Halloween, Big Ass Spider!, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Buffy)
Noah Baumbach b. 1969 (writer, The Fantastic Mr. Fox)
Charlie Sheen b. 1965 (Big Bang Theory, The Arrival, The Wraith, Amazing Stories)
Costas Mandylor b. 1965 (Saw, Hyenas, Immortally Yours, Beowulf, Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York, Dinocroc, Charmed, Andromeda, Last Exit to Earth)
Daniel Myrick b. 1963 (writer, The Objective, Solstice, The Blair Witch Project)
Holt McCallany b. 1963 (Heroes, Alien³)
Merritt Butrick b. 1959 died 17 March 1989 (Fright Night Part 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast, Why on Earth?, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Zapped!, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Kevin McCorkle b. 1958 (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Island, The X Files, Star Trek: Voyager)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet b. 1953 (director, Alien: Resurrection, The City of Lost Children)
Lou Richards b. 1951 (Growth, Charmed, Hulk, The X Files, Project U.F.O., Logan’s Run [TV])
Valerie Perrine b. 1943 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Superman, Slaughterhouse Five)
Pauline Collins b. 1940 (Doctor Who, Merlin)
Eileen Brennan b, 1932 died 28 July 2013 (Tales from the Crypt, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Babes in Toyland [TV])
Nora ‘Dodo’ Denney b. 1927 died 20 November 2005 (Splash, Tucker’s Witch, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Anne Jackson b. 1926 (The Shining)
Terry Wilson b. 1923 died 30 March 1999 (Escape to Witch Mountain, Westworld)
Cecil Parker b. 1897 died 20 April 1971 (Psycho-Circus, The Brain, The Man in the White Suit)
Pat O’Malley b. 1890 died 21 May 1966 (Twilight Zone, Invasion of the Body Snatchers)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Clare Kramer from Buffy and Merritt Butrick from the Star Trek movies. This year, it's Nora 'Dodo' Denny as Mrs. Teavee from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

2. Nepotism FTW. Charlie Sheen is a star in his own right now, but being Martin Sheen's son was definitely a boost to his early career.

3. Living Canadian free.  Did not find any Canadian actors on the list today.

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: By 1976, trucks may be propelled on special highways without drivers.

Reality: Ernst is very early with this one, assuming automatically driven cars were only twenty years away when he wrote this. The technology is possible today and will likely be accepted practice within ten years or so, though truck drivers may not just roll over and accept obsolescence so easily.
 

Never to be Forgotten: Dean Jones 1931-2015 Dean Jones, the clean-cut star of many Disney films, most notably the movies featuring Herbie the Love Bug, has died at the age of 84. Besides making films for Disney, Jones also starred in many films for the Christian audience. (Note that "clean cut" is sometimes misleading, as in Bob Crane's example.) He also had many roles on Broadway, including the original actor to play the lead Bobby in Stephen Sondheim's Company. His roles in genre include Scrooge and Marley, Special Report: Journey to Mars, Once Upon a Brothers Grimm and the Italian production Mr. Superinvisible.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

There are still a few weeks left of predictions from Anticipations and some of Wells' prophecies do not make him look like a scumbag.

Emphasis on some.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 September 2015

Birthdays
Gavin Casalegno b. 1999 (Teen Wolf)
Austin Abrams b. 1996 (The Walking Dead)
Kian Lawley b. 1995 (The Chosen [2015])
Allison Miller b. 1985 (Terra Nova, Blood: The Last Vampire)
Yani Gellman b. 1985 (Beauty and the Beast [2012], Monster Warriors, Jason X)
Tiffany Hines b. 1983 (Damien, Toxin, Meteor, Heroes)
Nicholas Pinnock b. 1973 (Monsters: The Dark Continent, Captain America: The First Avenger)
Shauna Sand b. 1971 (Dark Realm, Charmed)
Cynthia Watros b. 1968 (Video Game High School, Warehouse 13, Lost, Mars)
Kristen Cloke b. 1968 (Willard, The X Files, Millennium, Space: Above and Beyond, Quantum Leap, Megaville)
Salma Hayek b. 1966 (Tale of Tales, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Dogma, From Dusk Till Dawn)
Tuc Watkins b. 1966 (Warehouse 13, Infested, The Mummy, Harry and the Hendersons [TV])
Keanu Reeves b. 1964 (The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Scanner Darkly, Constantine, The Matrix, The Devil’s Advocate, Johnny Mnemonic, Dracula, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Babes in Toyland [1986 TV])
Linda Purl b. 1955 (True Blood, Mighty Joe Young, The Hidden Room, Time Travelers)
Mark Harmon b. 1951 (From the Earth to the Moon)
Mary Jo Catlett b. 1938 (Legend of the Mummy, ALF, Blood Beach)
Derek Fowlds b. 1937 (Frankenstein Created Woman)
Chuck McCann b. 1934 (Horrorween, They Call Him Sasquatch, Invasion, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Tick, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Sliders, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, C.H.O.M.P.S., Far Out Space Nuts)
Mel Stuart b. 1928 died 9 August 2012 (director, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Francis Matthews b. 1927 died 14 June 2014 (Out of the Unknown, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, The Revenge of Frankenstein)
Samuel A. Peeples b. 1917 died 27 August 1997 (writer, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Flash Gordon [TV], Jason of Star Command, Space Academy, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek)
Penny Santon b. 1916 died 12 May 1999 (Quantum Leap, Starman, Short Circuit, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Meinhardt Raabe b. 1915 died 9 April 2010 (The Wizard of Oz)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot belonged to our two movie stars, Salma Hayek and Keanu Reeves. With them out of the running, my vote for most iconic is the late Meinhardt Raabe as the Munchkin coroner.

2. The Guy at the Door. On today's list, comic actor Chuck McCann is the oldest living person and everyone younger is still with us. Special birthday wishes to him.

3. Living Canadian free! No Canadians to spot today.

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

Predictors: Michael Mann, Michael Kozar and Sonya Miller

Prediction: The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season will have between 5 to 10 named storms, with eight the most likely number.

Reality: We are halfway into the season and the sixth storm just got named. The only thing that can go wrong here is undershooting the mark, which is not impossible.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is our pal Morris Ernst likely to be wrong on the optimistic side? Well, his book is titled Utopia 1976, so the odds are good.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 September 2015

Birthdays
Zendaya b. 1996 (Zapped [2014])
Michael Adamthwaite b. 1981 (The 100, Strange Empire, Nerds and Monsters, Arrow, Horns, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Fringe, Sucker Punch, Behemoth, Riverworld, Twilight: New Moon, Smallville, Reaper, Watchmen, Flash Gordon [TV], Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dead Like Me, 10.5, Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah)
Lara Pulver b. 1980 (Edge of Tomorrow, True Blood)
Camille Chen b. 1979 (Grimm, American Horror Story, Touch, Meteor [TV], Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over)
Justice Leak b. 1979 (The Vampire Diaries, Powers, Insurgent, Supergirl)
Adrienne Wilkinson b. 1977 (Star Trek: Renegades, Nobility, Charmed, Angel, Xena)
Jenae Altschwager b. 1976 (Alien Ecstasy, She Alien, Alien Sex Files 3, Click, The Island)
Scott Speedman b. 1975 (Underworld: Evolution, Underworld)
Burn Gorman b. 1974 (The Man in the High Castle, Forever, Game of Thrones, Pacific Rim, The Dark Knight Rises, Torchwood)
Jhonen Vasquez b. 1974 (Invader ZIM)
Maury Sterling b. 1971 (Extant, Coherence, Dollhouse, Charmed, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Dark Skies, Outbreak)
Ricardo Chavira b. 1971 (Warehouse 13, Piranha 3D)
Padma Lakshmi b. 1970 (Star Trek: Enterprise)
Zak Penn b. 1968 (writer, Pacific Rim 2, Alphas, The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men: The Last Stand, Elektra, X-Men 2)
James Nguyen b. 1966 (writer, Birdemic 1 and 2)
Michelle Meyrink b. 1962 (Nice Girls Don’t Explode, Real Genius)
Joe Jusko b. 1959 (artist, Marvel Comics)
Sachi Parker b. 1956 (Eerie, Indiana, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Alien Nation [TV], Scrooged, Back to the Future)
James Rebhorn b. 1948 died 21 March 2014 (Coma [2012], The Adventures of Pluto Nash, From the Earth to the Moon, Independence Day, Cat’s Eye)
Susan Backlinie b. 1946 (Quark)
Venita Wolf b. 1945 died 22 November 2014 (Star Trek)
Beau Starr b. 1944 (Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Final Days of Planet Earth, The 4400, Earth: Final Conflict, Relic Hunter, Total Recall 2070, Halloween 4 and 5, V, Knight Rider, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Zitto Kazann b. 1944 (The X Files, Angel, Charmed, Buffy, Sliders, Waterworld, The Flash, Werewolf [TV], Automan, Tucker’s Witch, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Don Stroud b. 1943 (Little Bigfoot, Babylon 5, The Alien Within, Carnosaur 2, Cyber Seeker, Frogtown II, Quantum Leap, Super Force, Hyper Space, The Powers of Matthew Star, The Incredible Hulk, The Amityville Horror)
C. J. Cherryh b. 1942 (won 1982 Hugo for Downbelow Station and 1989 Hugo for Cyteen)
Judy Levitt b. 1940 (InAlienable, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Moontrap, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
Lily Tomlin b. 1939 (The X Files, The Incredible Shrinking Woman)
Ron O’Neal b. 1937 died 14 January 2004 (Hyper Space, Beauty and the Beast [1987], Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, The Final Countdown, Brave New World)
Anne Ramsey b. 1929 died 11 August 1988 (Scrooged, Doctor Hackenstein, ALF, Deadly Friend, Knight Rider, Wonder Woman)
George Maharis b. 1928 (Superboy, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Logan’s Run [TV], Bionic Woman, Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby, Death in Space, Journey to the Unknown, The Satan Bug)
Yvonne De Carlo b. 1922 died 8 January 2007 (American Gothic, The Munsters)
Vittorio Gassman b. 1922 died 29 June 2000 (Quintet)
Richard Farnsworth b. 1920 died 6 October 2000 (Space Rage, Resurrection, Strange New World, Mighty Joe Young)
Betty Blythe b. 1893 died 7 April 1972 (She [1925])
Edgar Rice Burroughs b. 1875 died 19 March 1950 (author, John Carter)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The previous Picture Slotters were Yvonne De Carlo and Edgar Rice Burroughs. This year, it goes to Venita Wolf from the Star Trek episode The Squire of Gothos. I consider major guest roles on Star Trek to be iconic almost always and she's a fabulous babe as well, but the third reason she is getting a mention is that she died last year and it escaped my attention. She should have had a send-off.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Venita Wolf, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

2. Spot the Canadians! Did you know Yvonne De Carlo was from the Great White North? I didn't. We also have Michelle Meyrink, Scott Speedman and Michael Adamthwaite. Of all of these actors, only Adamthwaite's credit list gives away his nation of origin.

3. Nepotism FTW. Sachi Parker is Shirley MacLaine's daughter.

4. Okay... WTF? Justice Leak? This is a Washington scandal, not an actual person's name.

5. Stealth MST3K. Our Picture Slotter Venita Wolf was also in Catalina Caper, not genre but it did get the best Brains treatment.

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

Predictor: Robert A. Heinlein in his 1957 book The Door Into Summer

Prediction: I found that a helicopter bus was due to leave for the center of the city in twenty-five minutes.

Reality: Local public transit that flies... not so much. Heinlein thought it would be here by the year 2000.
 

 This month's splash illustration: This month, I took a section from the cover of one of Frank Miller's Dark Knight series, probably the most influential version of Batman to this day.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We take a look at the Atlantic hurricane season at the halfway mark in the season.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

28 August 2015

Birthdays
Quvenzhane Wallis b. 2003 (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Kyle Massey b. 1991 (Gotham)
Katie Findlay b. 1990 (After the Dark, Continuum, Crash Site, SGU Stargate Universe, Fringe)
Armie Hammer b. 1986 (Stan Lee’s Mighty 7, Mirror Mirror, 2081, Reaper)
Sarah Roemer b. 1984 (The Event, The Grudge 2)
Carly Pope b. 1980 (The Tomorrow People, Elysium, Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon, The 4400, 10.5: Apocalypse, Jake 2.0, NightMan)
Kelly Overton b. 1978 (True Blood, Beauty and the Beast [2012], Tekken, The Ring Two)
Amber Sainsbury b. 1978 (Fairy Tales, 30 Days of Night, Hex, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Nick E. Tarabay b. 1975 (Arrow, Believe, Star Trek Into Darkness)
Eugene Byrd b. 1975 (True Blood, American Horror Story, Eureka, Night Stalker [2006])
Kristin Booth b. 1974 (Orphan Black, Supernatural, ReGenesis, Total Recall 2070)
J. August Richards b. 1973 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, Warehouse 13, The 4400, Angel, Sliders, Space: Above and Beyond)
Stephanie Belding b. 1971 (Lost Girl, Eureka, Watchmen, Reaper, Earth: Final Conflict, eXistenZ)
Daniel Goddard b. 1971 (Immortally Yours, Dream Warrior, BeastMaster)
Jack Black b. 1969 (Ghost Ghirls, Gulliver’s Travels, King Kong, The X-Files, Waterworld, The Neverending Story III, Demolition Man)
Jason Priestley b. 1969 (Haven, Day of the Triffids [2009], Termination Point, Jeremiah, Quantum Leap)
Billy Boyd b. 1968 (Space Milkshake, The Witches of Oz, Glenn, the Flying Robot, Lord of the Rings, Seed of Chucky, Urban Ghost Story)
Amanda Tapping b. 1965 (Supernatural, Stargate, Space Milkshake, Sanctuary, Earthsea, The X Files, Flash Forward, Forever Knight)
Dermot Keaney b. 1964 (Atlantis [TV], Game of Thrones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Strange)
Melissa Rosenberg b. 1962 (writer, Twilight)
David Fincher b. 1962 (director, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alien³)
Jennifer Coolidge b. 1961 (Click, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Not of this Earth)
Emma Samms b. 1960 (The Little Unicorn, Humanoids from the Deep, Tales from the Crypt, Lois & Clark, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Arabian Adventure)
Brian Thompson b. 1959 (Flight of the Living Dead, Star Trek: Enterprise, Epoch: Evolution, Charmed, Birds of Prey, The X Files, Jason and the Argonauts [TV], Buffy, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, DragonHeart, Deep Space Nine, Weird Science, Kindred: The Embraced, Hercules, Star Trek: Generations, Doctor Mordred, Superboy, Alien Nation [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Alien Nation, Fright Night Part 2, Werewolf, Knight Rider, Otherworld, The Terminator)
John Allen Nelson b. 1959 (Knight Rider, Seven Days, Quantum Leap, Killer Klowns from Outer Space)
Daniel Stern b. 1957 (SeaQuest 2032, Little Monsters, Leviathan, C.H.U.D.)
Rick Rossovich b. 1957 (Legend of the Lost Tomb, Black Scorpion, Future Shock, Tales from the Crypt, The Terminator)
Luis Guzman b. 1956 (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Rise of the Damned, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, SeaQuest 2032, Innocent Blood, *batteries not included)
Vonda N. McIntyre b. 1948 (won 1979 Hugo and Nebula for Dreamsnake, won 1998 Nebula for The Moon and the Sun)
Alice Playten b. 1947 died 25 June 2011 (Pioneer 12, Legend, Disco Beaver from Outer Space, The Lost Saucer)
David Soul b. 1943 (Doctor Who: Death Comes to Time, Deadly Nightmares, World War III, Salem’s Lot, Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie)
Ken Jenkins b. 1940 (The X Files, Sliders, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Abyss, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Donald O’Connor b. 1925 died 27 September 2003 (Alice in Wonderland [1985 and 1983], The Bionic Woman, The Wonders of Aladdin)
Nancy Kulp b. 1921 died 3 February 1991 (Quantum Leap, Twilight Zone, Moon Pilot)
Jack Kirby b. 1917 died 6 February 1994 (artist, Marvel and DC comics)
Jack Vance b. 1916 died 23 May 2013 (author, The Dying Earth, Big Planet)
Simon Oakland b. 1915 died 29 August 1983 (Tucker’s Witch, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Starlost, Captain Nice, The Satan Bug, The Outer Limits, My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone)
Morris Ankrum b. 1897 died 2 September 1964 (X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, From the Earth to the Moon, Giant from the Unknown, Beginning of the End, The Giant Claw, Kronos, Zombies of Mora Tau, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Invaders from Mars, Red Planet Mars, Rocketship X-M)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used Jack Kirby and J. August Richards. There were several options for today - David Soul from Star Trek, Brian Thompson from any of a number of roles, Billy Boyd from Lord of the Rings, Jack Black from King Kong - but I decided to go with Quvenzhane Wallis facing off with the Auroch from the end of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are six today: Katie Findlay, Carly Pope, Kristin Booth, Stephanie Belding, Jason Priestley and Amanda Tapping.

3. Wait... she's dead? Alice Playten was a comic actress who did a lot of voice work. I remember her from Martin Mull's first album and from National Lampoon's Lemmings. I still haven't quite processed that she is dead.

4. MST3K. Morris Ankrum spent most of his career in Westerns, but he also made a lot of 1950s sci-fi, so many of them I saw when I was a kid watching TV in the 1960. Two of his movies got the Best Brains treatment, Beginning of the End and Rocketship X-M.

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 1901 book Anticipations

Prediction:  How will the New Republic treat the inferior races? How will it deal with the black? how will it deal with the yellow man? how will it tackle that alleged termite in the civilized woodwork, the Jew? Certainly not as races at all. It will aim to establish, and it will at last, though probably only after a second century has passed, establish a world-state with a common language and a common rule. All over the world its roads, its standards, its laws, and its apparatus of control will run. It will, I have said, make the multiplication of those who fall behind a certain standard of social efficiency unpleasant and difficult, and it will have cast aside any coddling laws to save adult men from themselves. It will tolerate no dark corners where the people of the Abyss may fester, no vast diffused slums of peasant proprietors, no stagnant plague-preserves. Whatever men may come into its efficient citizenship it will let come--white, black, red, or brown; the efficiency will be the test. And the Jew also it will treat as any other man. It is said that the Jew is incurably a parasite on the apparatus of credit. If there are parasites on the apparatus of credit, that is a reason for the legislative cleaning of the apparatus of credit, but it is no reason for the special treatment of the Jew. If the Jew has a certain incurable tendency to social parasitism, and we make social parasitism impossible, we shall abolish the Jew, and if he has not, there is no need to abolish the Jew. We are much more likely to find we have abolished the Caucasian solicitor.

Reality: Wells is listed as a socialist, but this version of race relations sounds a lot like the conservative argument for "color-blindness", which means other races, if lucky, can eventually become honorary white people.

So yet again, we find H.G. Wells is a scumbag.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

This month, I read Brave New World for the first time and I will give a book report. The ghost of Aldous Huxley will not be pleased.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

25 August 2015

Birthdays
Holly Gibbs b. 1997 (Nanny McPhee)
Angelica Mandy b. 1992 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Kaitlyn Hooper b. 1992 (Addams Family Values)
Keegan Joyce b. 1989 (Superman Returns)
Blake Lively b. 1987 (The Age of Adaline, Green Lantern, Sandman)
Rachel Bilson b. 1981 (Jumper, Buffy)
Alexis Raben b. 1980 (The Invasion)
Toni Wynne b. 1980 (Oz the Great and Powerful, American Horror Story, Zombie Roadkill, Spider-Man 3, 2095, The Spirithunter, Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat)
Kel Mitchell b. 1978 (The Thundermans, Mystery Men, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Alexander Skarsgård b. 1976 (Hidden [2014], True Blood, Battleship, Melancholia)
Donavon Stinson b. 1976 (Mighty Mighty Monsters, Snowmageddon, Eureka, Reaper, The X Files: I Want to Believe, Fantastic Four, Dark Angel)
Michelle Beaudoin b. 1975 (Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Neon Rider)
David Alan Basche b. 1968 (Real Steel, The Adjustment Bureau, War of the Worlds [2005])
Tom Hollander b. 1967 (About Time, Pirates of the Caribbean)
Brad Dryborough b. 1967 (Falling Skies, The Cabin in the Woods, Fringe, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Alien Trespass, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Stargate: Atlantis, Smallville, Alien Incursion)
Marti Noxon b. 1964 (writer/actor, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Fright Night, I Am Number Four, Angel, Buffy)
Blair Underwood b. 1964 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Event, Deep Impact, Gattaca, Knight Rider)
David Packer b. 1962 (Early Edition, Strange Days, RoboCop, V)
Joanne Whalley b. 1961 (Willow)
Billy Ray Cyrus b. 1961 (Sharknado 2)
Ally Walker b. 1961 (Kazaam, Witches of Eastwick [TV], Universal Soldier)
Ashley Crow b. 1960 (Supernatural, Heroes, Minority Report, Probe)
Tim Burton b. 1958 (director, Frankenweenie, Dark Shadows [2012], Alice in Wonderland, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Planet of the Apes, Sleepy Hollow [1999], Mars Attacks, Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Beetlejuice, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure)
Simon McBurney b. 1957 (Utopia, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Golden Compass)
Gene Simmons b. 1949 (Runaway, KISS Meets the Phantom in the Park)
John Savage b. 1949 (Sensory Perception, Demon Legacy, Bermuda Tentacles, Alien Rising, Dreamkiller, Fringe, Carnivale, Alien Lockdown, Dark Angel, They Nest, Star Trek: Voyager, Lost Souls, Firestorm, The X-Files, Carnosaur 2, Red Scorpion 2, Beauty and the Beast [1987 musical])
Michael Kaluta b. 1947 (artist, Bill the Galactic Hero)
Anthony Heald b. 1944 (X-Men: The Last Stand, The X Files, DeepRising, Tales from the Darkside)
John Badham b. 1939 (director, Supernatural, Heroes, Short Circuit, WarGames, Dracula [1979], The Sixth Sense)
Tom Skerritt b. 1933 (Ted, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [TV 2008], Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Fallen 2006 TV], Category 7: The End of the World, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Contact, Poltergeist III, The Twilight Zone [1986], SpaceCamp, The Dead Zone, Alien, The Devil’s Rain, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian)
Peter Gilmore b. 1931 died 3 February 2013 (Doctor Who, Warlords of the Deep, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Sean Connery b. 1930 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, DragonHeart, Highlander I & II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Time Bandits, Outland, Meteor, Zardoz, Darby O’Gill and the Little People)
Graham Jarvis b. 1930 died 16 April 2003 (Strange World, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], The X Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Munsters Today)
Bruce Allpress b. 1930 (Power Rangers Jungle Fury, The Water Horse, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Mel Ferrer b. 1917 died 2 June 2008 (Nightmare City, Eaten Alive, The Great Alligator, The Visitor, Screamers, The Amazing Captain Nemo, Logan’s Run, Wonder Woman, The World, The Flesh and the Devil)
Van Johnson b. 1916 died 12 December 2008 (Killer Crocodile, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Batman, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Brigadoon)
Michael Rennie b. 1909 died 10 June 1971 (The Invaders, Batman, Cyborg 2087, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, The Lost World, The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was occupied by Michael Rennie, certainly iconic in The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Blake Lively, back in 2013 when I wasn't quite so fussy about iconic and was more interested that day in fabulousness, which she certainly has. Today, being more strict about iconic roles, it's Alexander Skarsgård from True Blood. The other top choices would be Tom Skerritt from Alien and Sean Connery from several roles, but I likely would have chosen Zardoz 

2. Spot the Canadians! Graham Jarvis was born north of the border, but he was old enough that he had to venture south to find work early in his career. Of the three younger Canadians, Brad Dryborough's and Donavon Stinson's credit lists make it obvious, but Michelle Beaudoin's is not as clear.

3. Nepotism FTW. Alexander Skarsgård is Skellan's son, which could not have hurt in his early career in his native Sweden. Rachel Bilson is Danny Bilson's daughter, also likely an advantage early on.

4. Something new for this blog. Someone on a birthday list stopped by and left a comment! Canadian Ted Ludzik wasn't aware a resume could look Canadian. I expect he found this blog by Googling himself.  Don't laugh, I'm sure you've self-Googled on a lonely evening as well.

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

Predictor:Robert A. Heinlein in his 1957 book The Door Into Summer

Prediction: What do you ask after thirty years? I had plenty of questions, but the first I asked was “Doc, do they still have popcorn machines in the lobbies of movie theaters?”

“They did the last time I looked. I don’t get much time for such things. By the way, the word is “grabbie” now, not “movie”.

Reality: This is supposed to be a technological advance between 1970 and 2000 in Heinlein's fictional future. I thought he might be referencing William Castle and his practice of putting shocks in some seats for the movie The Tingler, but that is several years after Heinlein wrote this. More likely, he is referencing the phrase "feely" from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Could our sensible friend George Sutherland be as much of a chauvinist and bigot as his contemporary H.G. Wells? I'm sorry, dear readers, but tomorrow we will find out the signs point to yes.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 August 2015

Birthdays
Dakota Goyo b. 1999 (Dark Skies, Real Steel, Thor, Ultra)
Dannielle Lozeau b. 1987 (Werewolf Rising, The Bell Witch Haunting, The Devil Girl of Devonshire, Legion, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Pretty Dead Things)
Jorge Diaz b. 1983 (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, True Blood)
Jennifer Finnigan b. 1979 (Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Big Wolf on Campus)
Brandon Quintin Adams b. 1979 (The Burning Zone, Ghost in the Machine, Quantum Leap)
James Corden b. 1978 (Into the Woods, Doctor Who, Gulliver’s Travels, Vampire Killers, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story)
Rodrigo Santoro b. 1975 (Westworld, Lost)
Cindy Valentine Leone b. 1975 (Teen Witch)
Kristen Wiig b. 1973 (Ghostbusters, The Martian, Paul)
Heidi Lenhart b. 1973 (Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, The Burning Zone)
Richard Armitage b. 1971 (The Hobbit, Captain America: The First Avenger, Star Wars: Episode I – Yes, Yes That One Again)
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje b. 1967 (Game of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World, The Thing [2011], G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Lost, The Mummy Returns, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [2001])
Ty Burrell b. 1967 (The Incredible Hulk [2008], National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Dawn of the Dead, Evolution)
Pamella D’Pella b. 1967 (Alien Nation: Millennium, Beauty and the Beast, ALF)
Alfred Gough b. 1967 (writer, Smallville, I Am Number Four, Spider-Man 2, Timecop)
Courtney Gains b. 1965 (Mimesis, Alien Encounter, Halloween [2007], Charmed, Superboy, Starman [TV], Misfits of Science, Back to the Future, Children of the Corn)
Andrew Wilson b. 1964 (Idiocracy, Merlin: The Return)
Lara Harris b. 1962 (American Horror Story, Demolition Man, Monsters)
Mark Williams b. 1959 (Doctor Who, Being Human, Harry Potter, Frankenstein’s Wedding… Live in Leeds, Stardust, The Borrowers, Red Dwarf)
Holly Hawkins b. 1959 (True Blood, Alice in Wonderland)
Colm Feore b. 1958 (Gotham, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Beauty and the Beast [2014 TV], Revolution, Thor, Battlestar Galactica, The Chronicles of Riddick, Storm of the Century, Creature [1998 TV], Forever Knight, Beyond Reality, War of the Worlds [TV])
Cindy Williams b. 1947 (Lois & Clark, UFOria, The Creature Wasn’t Nice, Beware! The Blob)
Valerie Harper b. 1939 (My Future Boyfriend)
Sylva Koscina b. 1933 died 26 December 1994 (The House of Exorcism, Uncle Was a Vampire, Hercules Unchained, Hercules)
John Lupton b. 1928 died 3 November 1993 (Shazam!, The Invaders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter)
Honor Blackman b. 1925 (Cockneys vs Zombies, Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, Tale of the Mummy, Doctor Who, Jason and the Argonauts, H. G. Wells’ Invisible Man)
Ray Bradbury b. 1920 died 5 June 2012 (author, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles)
Alma Beltran b. 1919 died 9 June 2007 (Ghost, Knight Rider, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Cecil Kellaway b. 1893 died 28 February 1973 (Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, Twilight Zone, Zotz!, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Harvey, The Luck of the Irish, I Married a Witch, The Invisible Man Returns)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Honor Blackman and Ray Bradbury, the previous two Picture Slotters, certainly count as iconic, but I could be accused of going old school, since they are both older than I am and their fame is from the 20th Century. This year, I go with Mark Williams, who is younger than I am and his fame is mostly from Harry Potter, a 21st Century product. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Richard Armitrage were other considered options.

2. Spot the Canadians! Dakota Goyo, Jennifer Finnigan and Cindy Valentine Leone.

3. I'm bad at guessing women's ages. As I wrote in my Yvonne Craig tribute, I thought she was a few years older than my older brother when she was just five years younger than my mom. Going the other direction, Melody Patterson, who also died this week but had no genre roles, was on F Troop and she was still in high school; I would have thought she was five to ten years older. And then we have Honor Blackman, still alive thank goodness, who was just shy of 40 when she had her two most famous roles here in the states in Jason and the Argonauts and Goldfinger. I would have guessed all those incorrectly.

4. MST3K. The lovely Sylva Koscina played Iole opposite the hunky Steve Reeves in both Hercules and Hercules Unchained.

5. Hey... no Star Trek! This was a long streak between Star Trek free days, the last one being on July 24.

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

Movie released
1990: The Bronx Warriors released, 1982

The Weekly Soapbox: Nuclear war

It's a very good time to note that the last time a nuclear bomb was used against an enemy was 70 years ago as of this month. Back then, the United States was involved in a costly and deadly war and we were the only ones with the bomb. We dropped two and the Japanese surrendered.

A few years later, we weren't the only ones with the bomb and the great fear of the second half of the Twentieth Century was born. If you read Command and Control, you'll see there were several accidents that might have resulted in nuclear explosions, but I must admit as I read it I thought it showed the multiple safeguards actually worked pretty well. There was also the Cuban missile crisis and several false alarms on both sides, but the scorecard is still clear: since nuclear weapons have been the property of more than one nation, they haven't been used.

Predictions of nuclear war are extremely common in movies and literature and even today, the spectre of nuclear terrorism is used to keep us afraid enough to keep up our truly insane defense spending. I for one, don't think the world is quite that dangerous, but I fully admit I could be suffering from confirmation bias. If something awful happens and I'm still alive, I will admit my error, but it would likely mean that I am wrong and Glenn Beck is right, and I really do seriously think that is awfully damned unlikely.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another lazy Sunday with just a birthday list. Could we have a Canadian (gasp!) in the Picture Slot? Signs point to yes.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

19 August 2015

Birthdays
Tristan Lake Leabu b. 1999 (Superman Returns)
Joseph Castanon b. 1997 (Jericho, Click)
Veronica Roth b. 1988 (writer, Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant)
Tammin Sursok b. 1983 (Airship Dracula, Aquamarine)
Tania Nolan b. 1983 (Grayson: Earth One, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Legend of the Seeker)
Mike Moh b. 1983 (True Blood, Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight)
Erika Christensen b. 1982 (FreakyLinks, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Michelle Borth b. 1978 (TiMER, Supernatural, Komodo vs. Cobra)
Callum Blue b. 1977 (Smallville, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Dead Like Me)
Tracie Thoms b. 1975 (Looper, Wonder Woman [2011], Grindhouse, Wonderfalls)
Ahmed Best b. 1973 (The Star Wars prequels)
Matthew Perry b. 1969 (L.A.X. 2194)
Kyra Sedgwick b. 1965 (Gamer, Phenomenon, Amazing Stories)
Kevin Dillon b. 1965 (Tales from the Crypt, The Blob [1988])
John Stamos b. 1963 (Tales from the Crypt, Alice in Wonderland [1985])
Stu “Large” Riley b. 1963 (Kick-Ass, The Adventures of Pluto Nash)
Tony Longo b. 1961 died 21 June 2015 (Hercules in Hollywood, Fangs, The X Files, They Came from Outer Space, Beauty and the Beast [1987], Hell Town, Splash, Small & Frye)
Martin Donovan b. 1957 (Ant-Man, The Lottery, The Haunting in Connecticut, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dark Shadows [2005])
Adam Arkin b. 1956 (Lake Placid, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Perversions of Science, The Hidden Room, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Twilight Zone)
Peter Gallagher b. 1955 (The Gathering, House on Haunted Hill, High Spirits)
Jonathan Frakes b. 1952 (Star Trek, Roswell, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lois & Clark, Twilight Zone [1985])
Randi Oakes b. 1951 (Battlestar Galactica)
Jim Carter b. 1948 (The Golden Compass, The Wind in the Willows [TV], Ella Enchanted, Dinotopia, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, The Little Vampire, The Witches, The Company of Wolves, Flash Gordon)
Gerald McRaney b. 1947 (Jericho, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Hansel & Gretel, The NeverEnding Story, The Incredible Hulk, The Aliens Are Coming, Logan’s Run [TV], The Brain Machine, The Fantastic Journey, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Christopher Malcolm b. 1946 died 15 February 2014 (Whoops Apocalypse, Labyrinth, Highlander, Superman III, The Empire Strikes Back)
Jill St. John b. 1940 (Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World)
Diana Muldaur b. 1938 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Incredible Hulk, Planet Earth, Star Trek, The Invaders)
L. Q. Jones b. 1927 (Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann, The Incredible Hulk, A Boy and His Dog, My Favorite Martian)
Angus Scrimm b. 1926 (Phantasm, John Dies at the End, The Nightmare Room, FreakyLinks, Munchie, Mindwarp, Subspecies, Transylvania Twist, Chopping Mall, Salvage 1, Project U.F.O.)
William Marshall b. 1924 died 11 June 2003 (Dinosaur Valley Girls, Sorceress, Amazon Women on the Moon, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Scream Blacula Scream, Blacula, Star Trek)
Gene Roddenberry b. 1921 died 24 October 1991 (creator, Star Trek, Andromeda, Planet Earth, The Questor Tapes, Genesis II)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. It's a very Star Trek day. Previous Picture Slotters were Gene Roddenberry and Jonathan Frakes, and Diana Muldaur could be used either from The Original Series or from Next Gen. Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man from Phantasm also counts as iconic, but I instead went with the late William Marshall, not his Star Trek role, but instead as Blacula. I liked this picture because of how much it looks like a frame from a comic book, much in the style of artist Gene Colan.

2. Wait... he's dead? He died in 2014, so I should have given Christopher Malcolm a Never to Be Forgotten post, but his passing escaped my notice. His role best known for is as Eddie's ex-husband Justin, the father of Saffron, on Absolutely Fabulous.

3. Nepotism FTW. Kevin Dillon is the brother of Matt Dillon, a relationship I usually don't count. Adam Arkin is the son of Alan, a relationship I usually do count.  

4. Living Canadian free!  I didn't find anyone from north of the border today. That will happen from time to time.

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

Movies released
Spy Kids: All The Time In The World In 4D released 2011

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1902 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: A great advance in economy of fuel will take place when the household coal intended for cooking purposes is ground up together with the proper proportions of certain waste products of chemistry, so as to make a "smouldering mixture" which can be kept regularly supplied to a shallow or thin fire box by pressure applied from beneath or at the parts farthest away from the objects to be heated. An oven, for instance, may be surrounded by a "jacket" filled with ground smouldering mixture having a non-conducting insulator outside and a connection with a chimney. The heat from the fuel is thus kept in close proximity to the objects requiring to be cooked, and comparatively small waste results.

Reality: Sorry, Mr. Sutherland, the winners for cooking fuel are natural gas and electricity. I am not an engineer, but what you are describing sounds way messier than natural gas and a pilot light, though of course, there are risks to have so many pipelines around as well. 

 Never to be Forgotten: Bud Yorkin 1926-2015 Bud Yorkin, a producer and director best known for making TV comedies such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, What's Happening! and Maude, has died at the age of 89. He is mentioned here because he was an uncredited executive producer of Blade Runner. On imdb.com, his name was also attached to a new Blade Runner project, though it had no date released.

I'll admit I had to think if these two credits were enough to get a mention on a sci-fi blog, but in the end I decided it was worth it, largely on the basis of the importance of Blade Runner. If his one uncredited executive producer credit was for Krull or The Ice Pirates... meh.

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

Never to be Forgotten: Yvonne Craig 1937-2015 While I had to debate the inclusion of Bud Yorkin with myself, when I heard that Yvonne Craig died, there was no debate at all. A classically trained dancer, most of her early career in the 1950s and 1960s was in guest roles on TV shows. (She had six different roles in four years on Dobie Gillis, for example.) She got more exposure in supporting roles in two Elvis Presley movies, It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins.

Her two best known roles are as Marta on Star Trek (pictured here) and Barbara Gordon on Batman. (Genre fans might well count her third most famous role as her part in the awful Mars Needs Women opposite Tommy Kirk.) In interviews, she says she took the role in Batman to avoid being an Oh That Gal; reading the obituaries that have been published, it looks like it worked, as all of them mention that role first.

Miss Craig also tells the story that she is a large part of the reason Eartha Kitt was hired to be Catwoman in the third season. While it can be seen as a blow for racial equality, a major reason from a production standpoint was that if Julie Newmar continued in the role, it would stretch credulity seeing the 5'3" Batgirl kick the ass of 5'11" Catwoman, especially since Miss Newmar also had extensive dance training. It looked like more of a fair fight against the 5'4" Miss Kitt.

I have to admit reading of her death was like being on Count Rugen's torture device from The Princess Bride. It felt like months were taken off my life in the wink of an eye. Part of the horrible surprise was that I assumed she closer to Burt Ward's age, but in fact she was eight years older than him and eight years younger than Adam West. Whatever her age, I naturally had a crush on her when I was a lad and part of my childhood is gone.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Yvonne Craig, from a heartsick fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow, we get more sunny predictions from Morris Ernst in his book Utopia 1976.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 August 2015

Birthdays
Max Charles b. 2003 (The Strain, Constantine, White Space, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, True Blood)
Maia Mitchell b. 1993 (After the Dark)
Richard Harmon b. 1991 (The Age of Adaline, Continuum, The 100, Fringe, Caprica, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Smallville, Flash Gordon [TV], Jeremiah)
Mika Boorem b. 1987 (Mighty Joe Young, Jack Frost, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch)
Katie Lyons b. 1981 (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
Rhonda Dent b. 1978 (Helix, Almost Human, Supernatural, The 4400, Insecticidal)
Mizuo Peck b. 1977 (Night at the Museum, Witchblade)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner b. 1970 (American Horror Story, Jeremiah, Sliders)
Edward Norton b. 1969 (Birdman, The Invention of Lying, The Incredible Hulk)
Christian Slater b. 1969 (Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Beyond the Stars)
Brian Bendis b. 1967 (writer, Jessica Jones, Powers, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman)
Sarita Choudhury b. 1966 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Midnight’s Children, Lady in the Water)
Jorgen Langhelle b. 1965 (The Thing)
Craig Bierko b. 1964 (The Thirteenth Floor, Red Dwarf [TV Movie])
Adam Storke b. 1962 (The Invisible Man [TV], Prey, Death Becomes Her, Lifepod)
Glenn Plummer b. 1961 (Monsters in the Woods, Vegas Vampires, Saw II, The Day After Tomorrow, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Strange Days, Beauty and the Beast [TV])
Michael McCleery b. 1959 (Alien Space Avenger)
Reg E. Cathey b. 1958 (Fantastic Four, Grimm, Tank Girl, The Mask, Star Trek: Next Generation)
Madeleine Stowe b. 1958 (Impostor, Twelve Monkeys, The Amazing Spider-Man)
Dennis Leary b. 1957 (Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, Small Soldiers, Demolition Man)
Sergio Castellitto b. 1953 (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
Patrick Swayze b. 1952 died 14 September 2009 (George and the Dragon, Donnie Darko, Tall Tale, Ghost, Amazing Stories)
Teri McMinn b. 1951 (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Shirley Prestia b. 1947 died 6 October 2011 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Charmed, Babylon 5, Species, ALF)
Martin Mull b. 1943 (Eastwick, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Wonder Woman)
Robert Redford b. 1936 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Twilight Zone)
Gail Fisher b. 1935 died 2 December 2000 (Knight Rider)
Roman Polanski b. 1933 (director, Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers)
Anna Navarro b. 1933 died 27 December 2006 (Last Action Hero, Galactica 1980, Son of Sinbad, The Adventures of Hajji Baba)
Grant Williams b. 1931 died 28 July 1985 (Brain of Blood, The Outer Limits, The Munsters, The Monolith Monsters, The Incredible Shrinking Man)
Joan Taylor b. 1929 died 4 March 2012 (Men Into Space, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Earth vs. Flying Saucers)
Brian W. Aldiss b. 1925 (author, The Year Before Yesterday, Enigma; screenwriter, Brothers of the Head, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Frankenstein Unbound)
Shelley Winters b. 1920 died 14 January 2006 (Purple People Eater, Alice in Wonderland [1985], Pete’s Dragon, Batman)
Don Keefer 1916 died 7 September 2014 (Lois & Clark, Creepshow, Time Express, The Incredible Hulk, Sleeper, Star Trek, Bewitched, The Munsters, My Favorite Martian, ‘Way Out, Twilight Zone)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Robert Redford and Grant Williams have been in the Picture Slot previously, and when Don Keefer died last year, I had a picture of him from It's a Good Life, one of the iconic Twilight Zone episodes. If I go with the no repeat rule, Patrick Swayze from Ghost is likely the most iconic picture I can use.

2. Spot the Canadians! Both Rhonda Dent and Richard Harmon were born in Canada and are typical of the actors who gigs in Toronto and Vancouver. This is yet another example of government intervention that works to the benefit of the people of the country.

Gosh, I wonder if people might try that in the United States someday.

3. Wait... she's dead? And her, too? There are several people on the list who died young, most notably Patrick Swayze, but there are some today who I hadn't filed in the deceased category yet. They are Shirley Prestia, one of the original members of The Groundlings, and Gail Fisher, best known for her role on Mannix.

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

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

Prediction: The changes in the language surprised me. Take one word used in innocence. A lady present was offended and only the fact that I was a Sleeper – which I hastily explained – kept her husband from giving me a mouthful of knuckles.

The word was “kink”.

Reality: The somewhat rude meaning of kink is the most common usage today, but no one will threaten you with bodily harm for using it in mixed company. You might be referring to Ray Davies, for example, and anyone who gets into a "mouthful of knuckles" mood when The Kinks are mentioned might well find me similarly offended.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Is it Wednesday already? That means a visit from our sensible friend George Sutherland.
  
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!