17 September 2015

Birthdays
Daniel Huttlestone b. 1999 (Into the Woods)
Ella Purnell b. 1996 (Maleficent, Kick-Ass 2, Intruders)
Augustus Prew b. 1987 (Kick-Ass 2)
Neill Blomkamp b. 1979 (director, Chappie, Elysium, District 9)
Bobby Lee b. 1972 (Paul)
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, Early Edition)
James Urbaniak b. 1963 (Agent Carter, Teen Wolf [TV], Futuremanity, The Venture Brothers, Futurestates, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
William Shockley b. 1963 (Reaper, 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, Americathon)
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)
Pat Crowley b. 1933 (Charmed, The Twilight Zone)
Anne Bancroft b. 1931 died 6 June 2005 (Dracula: Dead and Loving It)
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 TV], 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 died 14 March 2015 (writer, Death Race, Planet of the Vampires, The Outer Limits, The Time Travelers, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Angry Red Planet, Men Into Space, Reptilitcus)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I went with James Urbaniak from The Venture Bros. and Bruce Spence from Dark City. This year it's Roddy McDowall from The Twilight Zone. On a personal note, when my mom was young she used to model in the Bay Area and sometimes when a Hollywood star was in town without a dinner date, models would be asked to "escort", a much less smutty job back in the day. Roddy McDowall was visiting San Francisco and my mom had dinner with him. She had no idea he was gay, but he was very charming and made her feel part of the conversation. To this day, I will never hear a word spoken against Roddy McDowall, a lovely gentleman with manners. From what I've heard, MGM did great work training their stars in public relations, and McDowall was also a natural at it.

2. Nepotism FTW. John Ritter is now more famous than his father Tex Ritter, but the elder was a big damn deal when Westerns were the most important genre in Hollywood.

3. Spot the Canadian! I would say Tim Burd is only semi-spottable.

4. MST3K. Roddy McDowall was in Laserblast.

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

Predictor: Morris Ernst in the 1955 book Utopia 1976

Prediction: By 1976, the weather control business will be controlled by the federal government. We will not only predict to tornado but prick it to death. We will place rain where it is needed and move it from acres and people where it is unwelcome.

Reality: This is of course wrong, but it lets me use my favorite twin labels "Humans to nature: Be our bitch" and "Nature to humans: BITCH PLEASE".
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

H.G. Wells gets something right in 1901, but it's not as big a deal in the rest of the 20th Century.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

10 September 2015

Birthdays
Elyse Levesque b. 1985 (The Originals, SGU Stargate Universe, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Smallville, Flash Gordon, 2030 CE, MythQuest)
Harry Treadaway b. 1984 (Penny Dreadful [2014], Cockneys vs Zombies)
Luke Treadaway b. 1984 (Clash of the Titans)
Lindsay Maxwell b. 1981 (Supernatural, Hair of the Sasquatch, The Butterfly Effect 2, Deep Evil, Stargate SG-1, Seven Days)
Kyle Bornheimer b. 1975 (Agent Carter, Jericho)
Sebastian Gutierrez b. 1974 (writer, The Eye, Rise: Blood Hunter, Gothika, Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature)
Sarah Danielle Goldberg Madison b. 1974 died 27 September 2014 (Savage Planet, Jurassic Park III)
Ryan Phillippe b. 1974 (Invader, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare)
James Duval b. 1972 (Lazarus, Hercules Reborn, Evilution, Frog-g-g!, Donnie Darko, Independence Day)
Tim Plester b. 1970 (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Kick-Ass)
Johnathon Schaech b. 1969 (Sleepy Hollow [TV], Star-Crossed, The Legend of Hercules, Quarantine)
Jay Laga’aia b. 1963 (Daybreakers, Legend of the Seeker, Star Wars: Episodes II and II, Xena, Mysterious Island)
Colin Firth b. 1960 (Dorian Gray, A Christmas Carol [2009], Nanny McPhee)
Jim Meskimen b. 1959 (Big Bang Theory, Battlefield Earth, Seven Days, Team Knight Rider, The Journey of Allen Strange, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Apollo 13)
Stacey Nelkin b. 1959 (Fringe, Twilight Zone [1986], Halloween III: Season of the Witch)
Chris Columbus b. 1958 (director, Pixels, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Bicentennial Man)
Jim Jackman b. 1957 (Zombthology, My Stepmother Is an Alien, Spaceballs)
Kate Burton b. 1957 (Extant, Revolution, Grimm, Big Trouble in Little China, Alice in Wonderland [1983])
Fred Olen Ray b. 1954 (director, 135 films, some under the pseudonym Nicholas Medina, most direct to video, either bad sci-fi or soft-core porn, none worth watching)
Clark Johnson b. 1954 (666 Park Avenue, Re-Generation, Forever Knight, Murder in Space, Mazes and Monsters)
Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson b. 1954 (Sci-Fighter, Virtual Combat, Batman Forever, Cyber Tracker, Future Kick)
Stuart Milligan b. 1953 (Doctor Who, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Whoops Apocalypse, Outland)
Amy Irving b. 1953 (Zero Hour, Tuck Everlasting, Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s Lost Classics [1994], Rumplestiltskin, The Fury, Carrie)
Harry Groener b. 1951 (Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Star Trek: Enterprise, Buffy, Roswell, The Day the World Ended, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Charmed, Sleepwalkers, Star Trek: Voyager, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Judy Geeson b. 1948 (Charmed, Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion, Star Trek: Voyager, Horror Planet, Star Maidens, Space: 1999)
Bo Goldman b. 1932 (screenwriter, Meet Joe Black)
Philip Baker Hall b. 1931 (The Amityville Horror [2005], 3rd Rock from the Sun, Roswell, M.A.N.T.I.S., Ghostbusters II, The Goddess of Love, Man from Atlantis)
Gwen Watford b. 1927 died 6 February 1994 (Doomwatch, Taste the Blood of Dracula)
Edmond O’Brien b. 1915 died 9 May 1985 (Fantastic Voyage, Moon Pilot, 1984 [1956])
Robert Wise b. 1914 died 14 September 2005 (director, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Andromeda Strain, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Curse of the Cat People)
Bessie Love b. 1898 died 26 April 1986 (The Hunger, Vampyres, My Partner the Ghost, Battle Beneath the Earth, The Andromeda Breakthrough, The Lost World [1925])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to director Robert Wise and actor Harry Groener for his role on Buffy. While we have a few movie stars, I think the list is light on iconic stars in genre, so I went with Edmond O'Brien as Winston Smith in the American movie version of 1984.

WHICH IS NOT ICONIC BECAUSE THE MOVE SUCKED EGGS!

I do this today as a warning. The American versions of 1984, on TV with Eddie Albert and on the big screen with Edmond O'Brien, are just awful. The British versions, on TV in the 1950s with Peter Cushing and the movie from 1984 with John Hurt, actually understand Orwell's point. 

2. Spot the Canadians! We have two today. Elyse Levesque and Lindsay Maxwell.

3. Nepotism FTW.  Kate Burton is Richard Burton's daughter. It had to make a difference early in her career.

4. Awesome nickname, still not quite iconic in genre. Don "The Dragon" Wilson is iconic in martial arts, not so much on sci-fi and fantasy films.

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: The low estimate of the world’s population in 2000 is three billion.

Reality: This is a crazy number. The world population crossed three billion before 1960 and was over six billion in 2000. The only thing that would have done this is a truly horrific World War III and we have avoided that so far, though Glenn Beck tells me it's just around the corner.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We are running low on predictions from H.G. Wells' Anticipations, which suits me just fine because I lost patience with his scumbaggery quite some time ago.
  
Join us 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!

27 August 2015

Birthdays
Cainan Wiebe b. 1995 (Once Upon a Time, Falling Skies, Sucker Punch, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Supernatural, Tin Man, Sanctuary, The 4400, Dead Like Me)
Alexa Vega b. 1988 (The Remaining, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Tomorrow People, The Devil’s Carnival, Spy Kids, Repo! The Genetic Opera, NetForce)
Michelle Pierce b. 1987 (Battle Los Angeles, Transformers)
Kayla Ewell b. 1985 (Lucifer, The Vampire Diaries)
Jennifer Armour b. 1985 (Ghoul)
Patrick J. Adams b. 1981 (Orphan Black, Rosemary’s Baby [2014], FlashForward, Lost)
Trenton Rostedt b. 1980 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Walking Deceased, Revolution, The Starving Games, Grimm)
Aaron Paul b. 1979 (Birds of Prey, The X Files, K-PAX, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Bodie Olmos b. 1975 (Battlestar Galactica)
Darren Goldstein b. 1974 (Limitless)
Rhett Giles b. 1973 (Quantum Apocalypse, Beauty and the Beast [2009], Wovesbayne, Lost, Dracula’s Curse, King of the Lost World, Frankenstein Reborn, Way of the Vampire)
Joy and Leanna Creel b. 1970 (The Cell)
Monica Lacy b. 1970 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Cell)
Cheryl Fergison b. 1964 (Doctor Who)
Reece Shearsmith b. 1969 (An Adventure in Space and Time, The First Men in the Moon [2010 TV], Shaun of the Dead)
Clare Stansfield b. 1964 (Xena, Steel, The X Files, The Flash)
Dean Devlin b. 1962 (producer, The Librarian, Eight Legged Freaks, Godzilla [1998], Independence Day, Stargate)
Siobhan Redmond b. 1959 (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein)
Diana Scarwid b. 1955 (Heroes, Lost, Wonderfalls, From the Earth to the Moon, The X Files, Strange Invaders)
Peter Stormare b. 1953 (Arrow, The Zero Theorem, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Brothers Grimm, The Tuxedo, Armageddon, Minority Report, The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
Paul Rubens b. 1952 (Area 57, Mystery Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Batman Returns, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Gary Imhoff b. 1952 (Carnivale, The Green Mile, Buffy, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Charles Fleischer b. 1950 (Black Scorpion, Lois & Clark, Back to the Future Part II, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Knight Rider, A Nightmare on Elm Street)
Captain Kidd Brewer Jr. b. 1948 died 22 May 1990 (The Abyss, Piranha Part Two: The Spawning)
Barbara Bach b. 1947 (Caveman, The Great Alligator, The Humanoid, Screamers)
G. W. Bailey b. 1944 (Mannequin, Short Circuit, Runaway)
Tommy Sands b. 1937 (Babes in Toyland)
Janet MacLachlan b. 1933 died 11 October 2010 (The Thirteenth Floor, Pinocchio’s Revenge, Free Spirit, Beauty and the Beast, The Boy Who Could Fly, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invaders, Star Trek)
Ira Levin b. 1929 died 12 November 2007 (writer, Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil)
Hoke Howell b. 1929 died 9 May 1997 (Alien Species, Wizards of the Demon Sword, Alienator, The Greatest American Hero, Humanoids from the Deep, Project U.F.O., Kingdom of the Spiders, Bewitched, Lost in Space, The Munsters, My Living Doll)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous Picture Slot residents were Barbara Bach from Caveman and Alexa Vega from Spy Kids. While there are a few well-known names here, I decided to go with Paul Rubens from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which I count as genre because of the ghost story aspects. For those who might think I am making a mockery of a sci-fi/fantasy blog, I can only say:

I know you are, but what am I?

2. Spot the Canadians! Two Canadians today, Cainan Wiebe and Patrick J. Adams.

3. Nepotism FTW. Bodie Olmos. No more need be said.

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: The cost of irrigation and industrial water will be cut in half – a saving sufficient to let every person have a sailboat, allow out scientists to research to death the common cold or permit all our cities to build libraries and put on the shelves thousands of books.

Reality: I have not been able to find figures on the history of the cost of irrigation, but I am struck by Ernst's idea that somehow cost savings to the agriculture industry will somehow magically be re-distributed to people who want sailboats, scientific research or the public library system.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Will H.G. Wells be a jerk in tomorrow's prediction? Only one way to find out.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 August 2015

Birthdays
Demi Lovato b. 1992 (From Dusk Till Dawn [TV])
Thomas Tulak b. 1984 (Hook)
Andrew Garfield b. 1983 (Amazing Spider-Man, Never Let Me Go, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Doctor Who)
Meghan Ory b. 1982 (Dead Rising: Watchtower, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Knight Rider [2008], Flash Gordon [2008], Painkiller Jane, Merlin’s Apprentice, Smallville, Vampire High, Dark Angel, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven)
Ben Barnes b. 1981 (Westworld, The Chronicles of Narnia, Dorian Gray, Stardust)
Ali Liebert b. 1981 (Paranormal Solutions Inc., Strange Empire, Lost Girl, Apollo 18, Fringe, Kyle XY, Fallen [TV mini-series], The 4400, Dead Like Me)
Corey Carrier b. 1980 (The Adventures of Pinocchio,The Witches of Eastwick)
Amy Adams b. 1974 (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Enchanted, Smallville, Buffy, Charmed, Psycho Beach Party)
Misha Collins b. 1974 (Supernatural, Stonehenge Apocalypse, Charmed)
Chaney Kley b. 1972 died 24 July 2007 (Darkness Falls, Buffy)
Jonathan Ke Quan b. 1971 (Encino Man, Tales from the Crypt, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
David Walliams b. 1971 (Doctor Who, Stardust)
Colin Cunningham b. 1966 (Falling Skies, Impact, Stargate, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Elektra, Andromeda, Smallville, Dark Angel, Strange Frequency, The 6th Day, The X-Files)
Duncan Bravo b. 1964 (Extant, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)
James Marsters b. 1962 (Witches of East End, Metal Hurlant Chronicles, Warehouse 13, Three Inches, Supernatural, Smallville, Caprica, Moonshot, Torchwood, Angel, Buffy, Strange Frequency)
Sophie Aldred b. 1962 (Doctor Who)
Ravil Isyanov b. 1962 (The Last Ship, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Fringe, Space Race, Arachnid, Buffy, Seven Days)
Geoffrey Blake b. 1962 (The Man in the High Castle, Beauty and the Beast [2014], The Event, Charmed, Mighty Joe Young, Contact, Apollo 13, Deep Space Nine, Critters 3, Alien Nation [TV], ALF, The Last Starfighter)
Ukee Washington b. 1958 (The Happening, Signs, Unbreakable)
Joan Allen b. 1956 (Death Race, Pleasantville, Twilight Zone [1986])
Jay Acavone b. 1955 (InAlienable, The Hills Have Eyes II, Stargate SG-1, Terminated 3, Charmed, The X Files, The Invisible Man, Sliders, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Dark Skies, Independence Day, Beauty and the Beast [1990], Werewolf [TV])
Peter Horton b. 1953 (Thoughtcrimes, Brimstone, From the Earth to the Moon, T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous, Children of the Corn)
Greg Bear b. 1951 (won 1995 Nebula for Moving Mars and 2001 Nebula for Darwin’s Radio)
Patrick Kilpatrick b. 1949 (The Zombinator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Minority Report, Roswell, Dark Angel, The X Files, Angel, Star Trek: Voyager, Charmed, Deep Space Nine, Timecop [TV mini-series], Beastmaster III, Babylon 5, The Stand, Lois & Clark, Time Trax, Class of 1999, The Toxic Avenger)
John Noble b. 1948 (Forever, Sleepy Hollow, Fringe, Stargate SG-1, Lord of the Rings, The Lost World, Time Trax)
Ray Wise b. 1947 (Night of the Living Deb, The Lazarus Effect, Agent Carter, Jurassic City, Big Ass Spider!, Nuclear Family, X-Men: First Class, Dollhouse, Pandemic, Reaper, Cyxork 7, Jeepers Creepers II, Charmed, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, RoboCop, Cat People, Swamp Thing)
Sylvester McCoy b. 1943 (The Hobbit, Doctor Who, Leapin’ Leprechauns!, Starstrider, Dracula [1979], Roberts Robots)
Anthony Ainley b. 1932 died 3 May 2004 (Doctor Who, The Land Time Forgot, The Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Champions)
Bernard Archard b. 1916 died 1 May 2008 (Krull, Doctor Who, The Horror of Frankenstein, Village of the Damned)
Alan Reed b. 1907 died 14 June 1977 (Batman, The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian, The Flintstones)
H.P. Lovecraft b. 1890 died 15 March 1937 (author, The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previously, I used pictures of H.P. Lovecraft and Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. Removing them from the competition still leaves a lot of actors with iconic roles, the top four in my book being Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, John Noble from Fringe, Jonathan Ke Quan as Short Round and the winner, James Marsters as Spike from Buffy.

2. Spot the Canadians! Meghan Ory and Alie Liebert were born north of the border, Colin Cunningham is one of those shiftless southerners who crossed the border to take work from honest Canadians.

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

Predictor: Morris Enrst in the 1955 book Utopia 1976

Prediction: One great authority estimates that by 1976, 6% of our energy will be produced by the sun.

Reality: One great authority should sit down and shut up. Solar has grown dramatically this decade, but that still means it’s gone from 0.2% to 1.1% in about five years.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Friday means another chance for all of us to think a little less of Herbert George Wells.
  
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!

6 August 2015

Birthdays
Romola Garai b. 1982 (The Last Days on Mars)
Karl Davies b. 1982 (Game of Thrones)
Adrianne Curry b. 1982 (Light Years Away)
Marisa Miller b. 1978 (R.I.P.D.)
Jennifer Lyons b. 1977 (Professor Creepy’s Scream Party, The Amazing Spider-Man, Return of the Killer Shrews, Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman)
Melissa George b. 1976 (Gothica [TV], 30 Days of Night, The Amityville Horror, Charmed, Dark City)
Soleil Moon Frye b. 1976 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Piranhas)
Jason Rogel b. 1976 (Swamp Shark, The Quick and the Undead)
Ever Carradine b. 1974 (Supernatural, Eureka, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Vera Farmiga b. 1973 (Source Code, Neverwas, Snow White: The Fairest of Them All)
Paolo Bacigalupi b. 1972 (won 2010 Hugo and Nebula for The Windup Girl)
Jason O’Mara b. 1972 (Terra Nova, Resident Evil: Extinction, Eastwick, Space Truckers)
Merrin Dungey b. 1971 (Once Upon a Time, Beyond, Good vs Evil, Deep Impact, Babylon 5)
M Night Shyamalan b. 1970 (director, After Earth, The Last Airbender, The Happening, The Lady in the Water, The Village, Signs, Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense)
Alan Cox b. 1970 (The Odyssey)
Michelle Yeoh b. 1962 (Babylon A.D., The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)
Leland Orser b.1960 (Revolution, Touch, Star Trek: Enterprise, Daredevil, Alien: Resurrection, Star Trek: Voyager, Invader, Escape from L. A., Deep Space Nine, The X Files, Eerie, Indiana)
Ian R. MacLeod b. 1956 (author, The Great Wheel, The Summer Isles)
Stepfanie Kramer b. 1956 (The Man with Two Brains, The Secret Empire)
Kevin Jarre b. 1954 died 3 April 2001 (writer, The Mummy)
Catherine Hicks b. 1951 (Child’s Play, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Tucker’s Witch)
Jack Klaff b. 1951 (Red Dwarf, Whoops Apocalypse, Space: 1999, Star Wars)
Dorian Harewood b. 1950 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Kyle XY, Stargate SG-1, Earth: Final Conflict, Time Trax, Solar Crisis, Amerika, Desire, the Vampire, Looker)
Michael Anderson Jr. b. 1943 (Highlander [TV], The Martian Chronicles, Logan’s Run, Land of the Giants)
Louise Sorel b. 1940 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Incredible Hulk, The Curse of Dracula, Star Trek)
Paul Bartel b. 1938 died 13 May 2000 (Good vs Evil, Escape from L.A., Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Amazing Stories, Munchies, Heartbeeps, Death Race 2000)
Peter Bonerz b. 1938 (director, ALF; actor The Addams Family)
Barbara Windsor b. 1937 (Alice in Wonderland [2010], Doctor Who, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Piers Anthony b. 1934 (author, Xanth)
Norman Barthold b. 1928 died 28 May 1994 (Capricorn One, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Westworld, My Favorite Martian)
Frank Finlay b. 1926 (Merlin [2008], The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, Lifeforce, A Christmas Carol, The Thief of Baghdad [1978 TV], Count Dracula, The Deadly Bees, Target Luna)
Robert Mitchum b. 1917 died 1 July 1997 (Scrooged)
Lucille Ball b. 1911 died 26 April 1989 (The Magic Carpet)
Charles Crichton b. 1910 died 14 September 1999 (director, Alien Attack, Space: 1999, The Day After Tomorrow [1976 TV movie])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I went with fabulous babes who fell for Capt. Kirk, Louise Sorel and Catherine Hicks, and this year I go with Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl, a novel I read earlier this year.

2. Nepotism FTW. As you might guess, Ever Carradine is from the Carradine clan, daughter of Robert.

3. MST3K. The one I know for sure is The Deadly Bees with Frank Finlay

4. Today's surprises. I checked on Lucille Ball and Robert Mitchum expecting nothing, but she had one early in her career and he had one late.


5. Living Canadian free! One of those strange days.

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

Predictor: Morris L. Ernst in Utopia 1976, published in 1955

Prediction: As for water usage, with weather and rain control, the amount of water we need for irrigation will be what we make of it.

Reality: Controlling the weather is not quite as popular a prediction as flying cars or moving sidewalks, but this is definitely not the first prediction.

It doesn't make the prediction correct, but Mr. Ernst might be happy to know he's got company in his mistaken view.

Never to be Forgotten: George Cole 1925-2015
British actor George Cole, known best in his country as the star of a TV show Minder, has died at the age of 90. He is pictured here as the young Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol. His other genre credits include Mary Reilly, UFO and The Vampire Lovers.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Once again, I will the writings of the young H.G. Wells to ruin that charming view some of us had of him when Malcolm McDowell played Wells all those years ago.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 July 2015

Birthdays
Brody Nicholas Lee b. 1997 (Cloud Atlas)
Cody Benjamin Lee b. 1997 (Cloud Atlas, The Shiftling, Invasion)
Chace Crawford b. 1985 (The Haunting of Molly Hartley, The Covenant)
Rosalind Halstead b. 1984 (Dominion, Rage of the Yeti, The Day of the Triffids [2009])
Michael Huisman b. 1981 (The Age of Adaline, Orphan Black, Game of Thrones, World War Z)
Kristen Bell b. 1980 (Safety Not Guaranteed, Heroes)
Cathy Shim b. 1980 (Zomboobies, Heebie Jeebies, The Watch, The Revenant)
Kelly Reilly b. 1977 (Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball, A for Andromeda)
Valerie Cruz b. 1976 (Grimm, Alphas, True Blood, Dollhouse, The Dresden Files, Invasion)
Jed Whedon b. 1975 (writer, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog)
Sarah McLeod b. 1971 (The Lord of the Rings)
Patrick J. Dancy b. 1970 (S1m0ne, Brave New World)
Grant Bowler b. 1968 (Defiance, True Blood, Lost, The Lost World, On the Beach [2000], Farscape)
Andre Royo b. 1968 (Agent Carter, Fringe, Hellbenders, Heroes, The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Vin Diesel b. 1967 (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Last Witch Hunter, Pitch Black, Babylon A.D.)
Elizabeth McGovern b. 1961 (Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, Tales from the Crypt, The Handmaid’s Tale, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Lee Arenberg b. 1962 (Once Upon a Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek: Enterprise, Charmed, Dungeons & Dragons, Angel, Star Trek: Voyager, The Apocalypse, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Freaked, RoboCop 3, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Wizard, Martians Go Home)
Travis McKenna b. 1960 (Meego, Batman Returns, Quantum Leap, Twice Dead)
Anne-Marie Johnson b. 1960 (The X Files, Asteroid, Babylon 5, Robot Jox)
Gary Goddard b. 1954 (writer, Skeleton Warriors, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Masters of the Universe)
Margo Martindale b. 1951 (In Dreams, The Rocketeer)
James Faulkner b. 1948 (X-Men: First Class, Relic Hunter, Highlander [TV], The Martian Chronicles)
Tony Azito b. 1948 died 26 May 1995 (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, The Addams Family [1991])
Andy Anderson b. 1947 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, House of Wax, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Salem’s Lot, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, The Boy from Andromeda)
James Brolin b 1940 (Lost City Raiders, Category 7: The End of the World, Terminal Virus, The Amityville Horror, Capricorn One, Westworld, Batman, Fantastic Voyage, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Hampton Fancher b. 1938 (writer, Blade Runner)
Britt Leach b. 1938 (Quantum Leap, Amazing Stories, Weird Science, Wonder Woman)
Paul Verhoeven b. 1938 (director, Hollow Man, Starship Troopers, Total Recall, RoboCop, Deadly Nightmares)
Burt Kwouk b. 1930 (Spirit Warriors, I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle, Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People, Rollerball, Curse of the Fly)
Syd Mead b. 1933 (artist)
John Glenn b. 1921 (astronaut)
Marvin Miller b. 1913 died 8 February 1985 (Wonder Woman, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Green Hornet, Batman, Space Patrol, Red Planet Mars)
Hume Cronyn b. 1911 died 15 June 2003 (Cocoon, *batteries not included)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The previous Picture Slotters, astronaut John Glenn and visual futurist Syd Mead, are both clearly iconic and both are still with us, bless them. This year, I decided to go for a reference from the 21st Century. I thought about Jed Whedon from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Michael Huisman from Game of Thrones and Kirsten Bell from Heroes, but instead I went with Vin Diesel as Riddick.

2.  A Canadian amongst us. There's no way of telling Hume Cronyn is Canadian from his credits, but what good American family would name a boy Hume?

Ya cain't trusts 'em, I tell ya. 


3. Nepotism FTW.  Ken Houghton points out what I failed to mention when I first posted this, that Jed Whedon definitely gets some nepotism points beingthe younger brother of Joss Whedon.


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

Movies released
The Dark Knight released, 2008
Jurassic Park III released , 2001
 

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

Prediction: The plastic domed house with glass walls and plastic panels, plastic floors with ducts for air conditioning, and curtains of light between rooms is on the drawing boards for 1964.

Reality: And the drawing board is pretty much where it stayed. While not made of plastic, Eichler Homes made a big splash in California in the 1960s. They looked great, but no one thought about what a bitch it would be to clean that much glass and the tremendous amount of heat loss.

Just a couple firing neurons away from a really good idea.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Robert A. Heinlein makes another guess about the technology of the late 20th Century.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

11July 2015

Birthdays
Kelsey Sanders b. 1990 (10,000 Days, Wizards of Waverly Place)
David Henrie b. 1989 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Monster Makers)
Rachael Taylor b. 1984 (666 Park Avenue, Transformers, Man-Thing)
Serinda Swan b. 1984 (The Tomorrow People, Creature, TRON: Legacy, Supernatural, Smallville, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Reaper, Beyond Loch Ness)
Hailey Dawn Birnie b. 1982 (Supernatural, Level Up, Smallville, Monster Warriors, Ultra)
Jonjo O’Neill b. 1978 (Constantine, Doctor Who)
Michael Rosenbaum b. 1972 (Smallville)
Greg Grunberg b. 1966 (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Big Ass Spider!, End of the World, Super 8, Heroes, Lost, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Hollow Man, Frankenstein: The College Years)
Greg Mottola b. 1964 (director, Paul)
Lisa Rinna b. 1963 (Nick Fury: Agent of Shield [TV movie 1998], Robot Wars)
Mark Lester b. 1958 (Farhenheit 451, Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space)
Sela Ward b. 1956 (The Day After Tomorrow)
Mindy Sterling b. 1953 (UFOria)
Stephen Lang b. 1952 (Avatar, Salem, Terra Nova, Conan the Barbarian [2011], Project X)
Tim De Zam b. 1952 (The Cabin in the Woods, Lost, Spider-Man, Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap)
Bruce McGill b. 1950 (No Ordinary Family, Deep Core. Area 57, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Timecop, Quantum Leap, Tales from the Crypt, The Man Who Fell to Earth [TV])
Tom Holland b. 1943 (director, Twisted Tales [TV], Thinner, The Langoliers, Amazing Stories, Fright Night)
John Stride b. 1936 (The Omen, Once Upon a Time)
Tab Hunter b. 1931 (The Six Million Dollar Man, Damn Yankees!)
David Kelly b. 1929 died 12 February 2012 (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Merlin of the Crystal Cave, Stardust, Whoops Apocalypse)
Yul Brynner b. 1920 died 10 October 1985 (Futureworld, Westworld, The Ultimate Warrior)
Cordwainer Smith b. 1913 died 6 August 1966 (Author, The Instrumentality of Mankind)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, Michael Rosenbaum from Smallville was used in the Picture Slot because a good Lex Luthor is always iconic and Sela Ward from The Day After Tomorrow, not quite so iconic but I do feel somewhat virtuous lusting after women my own age. This year it's the late Yul Brynner, who was definitely iconic in Westworld, playing a rip-off of his iconic character in The Magnificent Seven. As you can see, the big selling point on almost all the posters was a picture that made it clear "Yul Brynner is a freaking robot!"

And oh yeah, that font they use for WESTWORLD. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, that font just screamed "This is the future!". It is the extension of the MICR e13b font used for numbers on checks and my copy of Word doesn't have it available at all.

Sorry, people from the 1970s. This is the future calling and we like you to take your font back.


2. Spot the Canadians! As a tell-tale sign, showing up on both Smallville  and Supernatural is a pretty indication of Canadian birth, and that is true for our two young Canadians today, Serinda Swan and Hailey Dawn Birnie. On the other hand, being a regular on one of the Canuck sci-fi series is not a proof of Canadian origin, and Michael Rosenbaum was born in New York City.

3. The Guy at the Door. Yul Brynner died at 65 thirty years ago, which was not all that young at the time, though fairly young by today's standards. In any case, we have one of those lists where everyone younger the the oldest living person on the list is also still alive, which means 84 year old dreamy dreamboat Tab Hunter is the Guy at the Door. It is the standard operating procedure of the blog to send special birthday wishes to anyone who is in this random demographic position.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, most especially dreamy dreamboat Tab Hunter, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes released, 2014
Journey to the Center of the Earth released, 2008
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix released, 2007
 
 

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

Prediction: The matrix of our communal existence by 1976 will have shifted from elected officials to many millions of people united in a common purpose for the better park, playground, sewer system or art gallery of their city.

Reality: Or maybe even forcing the states to stop giving formal approval to the racist symbols of America's darkest era.

Oh, wait, that's 2015, not 1976. My bad.

Regular readers know that I chide Mr. Ernst almost always, but let me say that his view that Americans would have more leisure was noble, unlike Jeb Bush's idea that American workers should show some pride and work longer hours to sustain 4% growth rate. It would be nice if the American government would show some pride and give us a health care system that brought our life expectancy and infant mortality numbers in line with all the rest of the industrialized world, but we haven't and if we elect Republicans, we never will.

I say this to apologize to Mr. Enrst and hope that no Republican becomes president in 2016.

 

Never to be Forgotten: Roger Rees 1944-2015 Welsh actor Roger Rees has died at the age of 71 after a brief illness. His first big break was in the lead role of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby, an eight hour play based on one of Dickens' lesser known novels. Theatergoers had to go to the theater for two nights to see the whole play and it became a huge hit in both London and New York. On the strength of that performance, Rees was cast in his first genre film, the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott as Scrooge. Rees played the nephew Fred Holywell (pictured here) and was also the narrator. Appearance in other genre productions include Forever, Warehouse 13, The Invasion, The Prestige, Veritas: The Quest, The Scorpion King and M.A.N.T.I.S. His best known role in the U.S. is probably playing Robin Colcord on Cheers.

As a math guy, I really hate the myth of the Rule of Threes about celebrity obits, but there is not question that sometimes obituaries come in flurries. Rees is the sixth person to get a Never to be Forgotten mention on the blog this week. I certainly hope he is the last for a while, but there are no promises.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

 We get another guess for Robert A. Heinlein about the state of ate 20th Century technology.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 June 2015

Birthdays
Chandler Riggs b. 1999 (The Walking Dead, Jesus H. Zombie)
Matthew Lewis b. 1989 (Harry Potter)
Ed Westwick b. 1987 (S. Darko, Children of Men)
India de Beaufort b. 1987 (Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire)
Sam Claflin b. 1986 (The Hunger Games, Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Lost Future)
Drake Bell b. 1986 (I [Heart] Vampires, Dragonworld: The Legend Continues)
Sam Hoare b. 1981 (An Adventure in Space and Time, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Golden Compass)
Courtney Ford b. 1978 (True Blood, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries, Alien Raiders)
Tobey Maguire b. 1975 (Spider-Man 1, 2 & 3, Pleasantville, Eerie, Indiana)
Christian Kane b. 1974 (The Librarians, Angel)
Stephen Barker Turner b. 1968 (Forever, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2)
J.J. Abrams b. 1966 (writer/director, Star Wars: Episode VII, Fringe, Star Trek, Super 8, Lost, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Armageddon)
Isabelle Adjani b. 1955 (Nosferatu the Vampire)
Julia Duffy b. 1951 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Voyagers!, Wizards and Warriors, Battle Beyond the Stars)
Ken Marshall b. 1950 (Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap, Krull)
James Daughton b. 1950 (Hologram Man, Weird Science [TV], V, The Incredible Hulk, Future Cop, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Sixth Sense [TV], Shazam!)
Paul Koslo b. 1944 (Stargate SG-1, The Flash, Xtro II, Solar Crisis, Robot Jox, Misfits of Science, The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Omega Man)
Sandra Smith b. 1940 (Star Trek)
George McCowan b. 1927 died 1 November 1995 (director, War of the Worlds [TV], The Shape of Things to Come, The Starlost, Frogs, The Invaders)
Wallace Earl Leven b. 1926 died 27 February 2012 (The Greatest American Hero, Time Express, The Six Million Dollar Man, Planet of the Apes, The Monster That Challenged the World)
Skelton Knaggs b. 1911 died 1 May 1955 (Captain Video, Master of the Stratosphere, House of Dracula, The Invisible Man’s Revenge)
Billy Curtis b. 1909 died 9 November 1988 (The Twilight Zone [1986], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Batman, The Angry Red Planet, Adventures of Superman, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Jungle Moon Men, Superman and the Mole Men, The Wizard of Oz)
John McIntire b. 1907 died 30 January 1991 (The Incredible Hulk, Twilight Zone)
Greta Schroder b. 1892 died 8 June 1980 (Nosferatu, The Golem)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Tobey Maguire, who turns 40 today, and Matthew Lewis, best known as Neville Longbottom. Continuing with the trend of iconic stuff from the 21st Century, today it's Chandler Riggs from his most famous role as Carl on The Walking Dead.

2. The Gal at the Door. It's a short list today. No one born after WW II died young, there is no one born in the 1930s and everyone born in the 1920s is gone. These three facts conspire to make Sandra Smith the Gal at the Door. Her most famous role was as Dr. Janice Lester on the third season Star Trek episode Turnabout Intruder, my second choice for the Picture Slot today. As always, special birthday wishes go out to anyone singled out by this odd demographic coincidence.

3. The Geezer Canadians. There are two Canadians on the list today, both of them born before 1950 so their credit lists don't have that much in the way of Canadian genre productions. They are the actor Paul Koslo and the director George McCowan.

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

Movies released
Transformers: Age of Extinction released, 2014 
WALL-E released, 2008
 

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

Prediction: We can already see the outlines of 1976 products. Telephone and telegraph lines are to give way to microwave radio. Electronic lighting will give safety on sea and land. Atomic batteries are not far off and Solar batteries will be commonplace.

Reality: Even the things he gets right are more the outlines of 2015 than 1976. Microwave radio is a good description of cell phone reception, solar batteries are getting more commonplace every day and at an accelerating pace, but atomic batteries ain't happening and I'm not even sure what counts as "electronic lighting". LEDs perhaps?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Regular old Sunday tomorrow means another prediction from Robert A. Heinlein's The Door Into Summer.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

20 June 2015

Birthdays
Hulk released 2003
Jadin Gould b. 1998 (Man of Steel, Battle Los Angeles)
Claudia Lee b. 1996 (Kick-Ass 2)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse b. 1989 (Kick-Ass, This is the End, Fright Night)
Shefali Chowdhury b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Dreama Walker b. 1986 (Vamperifica, The Invention of Lying)
Collings Pennie b. 1985 (In Time)
Jobeth Wagner b. 1985 (True Blood, Hancock)
Kate Kelton b. 1978 (Haven, Growth)
Ronnie Gene Blevins b. 1977 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., True Blood, The Dark Knight Rises, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Tom Wlaschiha b. 1973 (Game of Thrones, The Sarah Jane Chronicles)
Josh Lucas b. 1971 (Space Warriors, Hulk)
Raymond Olubawale b. 1970 (Resident Evil)
Robert Rodriguez b. 1968 (director, Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn, Planet Terror, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D, Spy Kids, The Faculty)
Nicole Kidman b. 1967 (How to Talk to Girls at Parties, The Golden Compass, The Invasion, Bewitched [2005 movie], The Stepford Wives, The Others, Practical Magic, Batman Forever)
Chuck Wagner b. 1958 (Into the Woods, The Sisterhood, America 3000, Automan)
Miles O’ Keefe b. 1954 (Waxwork, Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Ator the Fighting Eagle)
John Goodman b. 1952 (Speed Racer, The Borrowers, Fallen, Arachnophobia, C.H.U.D.)
Don Mantooth b. 1952 (Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Candy Clark b. 1947 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], The Blob [1988], Starman [TV], Amityville 3D, Q, The Man Who Fell to Earth)
Oliver Cotton b. 1944 (Penny Dreadful, The Dark Knight Rises, Beowulf [1999], Space Precinct, Space; 1999)
John McCook b. 1944 (David’s Dinosaur, Amazing Stories. Once Upon a Brothers Grimm)
John Mahoney b. 1940 (3rd Rock from the Sun, The Manhattan Project)
Wendy Craig b. 1934 (Out of the Unknown)
Brett Halsey b. 1933 (TekWar, Forever Knight, Automan, Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bionic Woman, Revenge of the Creature)
Danny Aiello b. 1933 (The Stuff)
James Tolkan b. 1931 (Early Edition, Robo Warriors, Back to the Future, Masters of the Universe, Iceman, WarGames, Wolfen, The Amityville Horror, The Werewolf of Washington)
Olympia Dukakis b. 1931 (The Librarian)
Bonnie Bartlett b. 1929 (Firefly, Stargate SG-1, SeaQuest 2032, The Wizard, V, Salem’s Lot)
Martin Landau b. 1928 (Sleepy Hollow [1999 movie], The Adventures of Pinocchio, The X-Files, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, The Twilight Zone [1985, 1964, 1959], The Return, Meteor, The Fall of the House of Usher, Space: 1999, The Outer Limits)
Robb White b. 1909 died 24 November 1990 (writer, Thirteen Ghosts, House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler)

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

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

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

13 June 2015

Birthdays
Kodi Smit-McPhee b. 1996 (X-Men: Apocalypse, Let Me In, The Road, Nightmares & Dreamscapes)
Aaron Taylor-Johnson b. 1990 (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Godzilla, Kick-Ass, The Illusionist)
Josh Brodis b. 1990 (Teen Wolf [TV])
Irina Gorovaia b. 1989 (The Butterfly Effect)
Kat Dennings b. 1986 (Suburban Gothic, Thor)
Mary-Kate Olsen b. 1986 (Beastly)
Phillip Van Dyke b. 1984 (Halloweentown I & II, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997, The Fantastic Four [1994])
Ian Alda b. 1984 (Touch, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
Chris Evans b. 1981 (Snowpiercer, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Avengers, Eastwick)
Ethan Embry b. 1978 (Once Upon a Time, The Witches of Oz, Timeline, FreakyLinks, Evolver)
Lisa Vidal b. 1965 (Grimm, American Horror Story, The Event, Star Trek [2009])
Kathy Burke b. 1964 (Doctor Who)
Ally Sheedy b. 1962 (Kyle XY, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Strange Frequency, Short Circuit, WarGames)
Tim Allen b. 1953 (Zoom, Galaxy Quest)
Richard Thomas b. 1951 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, The Invaders [1995 TV], It, Battle Beyond the Stars)
Stellan Skarsgård b. 1951 (Cinderella, Thor, The Avengers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Exorcist: The Beginning, King Arthur [2004], Deep Blue Sea)
Belinda Bauer b. 1950 (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, RoboCop 2, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire)
Ann Druyan b. 1949 (writer, Contact)
Simon Callow b. 1949 (Outlander [TV], Doctor Who, Chemical Wedding)
Joe Roth b. 1948 (producer, Maleficent, Oz the Great and Powerful, Snow White and the Huntsman, Alice in Wonderland [2010], Tall Tale)
Whitley Strieber b. 1945 (author, Hunger, The Wolfen, War Day, Communion)
Peter Benson b. 1943 (Merlin [1998 TV], Doctor Who, Hawk the Slayer, Cry of the Banshee)
Malcolm McDowell b. 1943 (The Black Hole [2015], Zombex, Vamps, The Philadephia Experiment [TV], Antiviral, The Book of Eli, Halloween I & II [21st Century], Suck, Heroes, Doomsday, Firestarter II; Rekindled, Island of the Dead, Star Trek: Generations, Lexx, 2103: The Deadly Wake, Tank Girl, Class of 1999, Moon 44, Cat People, Time After Time, A Clockwork Orange)
Sam Groom b. 1938 (Otherworld, The Incredible Hulk, Salvage 1, The Bionic Woman, Time Travelers, The Time Tunnel)
Ralph McQuarrie b. 1929 died 3 March 2012 (production designer, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, E.T., Cocoon)
Paul Lynde b. 1926 died 10 January 1982 (Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Munsters, Son of Flubber)
Rex Everhart b. 1920 died 13 March 2000 (Friday the 13th 1 & 2, Superman [1978], ‘Way Out)
Ben Johnson b. 1918 died 8 April 1996 (Cherry 2000, The Swarm, Mighty Joe Young)
Mary Wickes b. 1910 died 22 October 1995 (Tabitha, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters)
Larry Keating b. 1896 died 26 August 1963 (The Incredible Mr. Limpet, When Worlds Collide)
Basil Rathbone b. 1892 died 21 July 1967 (Queen of Blood, Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, The Magic Sword)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Some days are feast and others famine. This one has many choices. Earlier Picture Slotters were Malcolm McDowell and Kat Dennings, and the even with them removed, there are a lot of good choices. Two of my favorite actors on the list, Basil Rathbone and Simon Callow, are not that iconic in genre to my mind. Tim Allen, not a favorite actor of mine, is iconic (and very good) in Galaxy Quest. Others I considered were Paul Lynde from Bewitched and Ally Sheedy from WarGames, but I decided to go with the guy who is the biggest movie star currently, Chris Evans as Captain America.

2. Nepotism FTW. Ian Alda is Robert Alda's grandson and Alan Alda's nephew.

3. Living Canadian Free! I did not find anyone born north of the border today. Go figure.

4. The Guy at the Door. Sam Groom, mainly a TV actor, turns 77 today, and he is the oldest living person on the list and everyone younger than him is alive. As always when this demographic fluke happens, the blog sends out special birthday wishes.

5. MST3K. There may be more than one, but the one I know for sure is The Magic Sword with Basil Rathbone.


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

Movies released
The Incredible Hulk released,  2008
How to Train Your Dragon 2 released, 2014

Predictor: Morris L. Ernst in Utopia 1976, published in 1955

Prediction: Increasingly, man is less interested in the fires of hell than in an electric stove in his home, and the music of the angels in heaven does not sound as clear as a Toscanini-led orchestra.

Reality: Ernst had an insular life among the snooty in New York City. Taken literally, households with electric stoves likely do not outnumber Christian households because a gas stove is a perfectly good option and Jesus has more fans than Toscanini. Taken figuratively, interest in cool gadgets is more widespread than interest in religion.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of cool gadgets, Robert A. Heinlein will likely have some cool gadget planned for the late 20th Century in his 1957 book The Door Into Summer.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

6 June 2015

Birthdays
Ellie Kendrick b. 1990 (Game of Thrones, Being Human)
Paula Brancati b. 1989 (The Good Witch’s Wonder, Painkiller Jane)
Daniel Logan b. 1987 (Star Trek Continues, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Helena-Alexis Seymour b. 1985 (Beauty and the Beast [2015], Birdman, Warehouse 13, Being Human)
Antonia Prebble b. 1984 (Salem, The Cure, The Almighty Johnsons, Power Rangers)
Lyndie Greenwood b. 1983 (Sleepy Hollow, Lost Girl)
Cassie Shea Watson b. 1983 (Tekken, Living/Dead)
Philip McGinley b. 1981 (Game of Thrones, Prometheus)
Judith Barsi b. 1978 died 25 July 1988 (The Twilight Zone 1985])
Jonathan Nolan b. 1976 (writer, Westworld [2015], Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight)
Stacy Keenan b. 1975 (Lois and Clark)
Danny Strong b. 1974 (actor, Buffy, Pleasantville, 3rd Rock from the Sun; writer, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay)
Sonya Walger b. 1974 (FlashForward, Lost, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear)
Scott Peat b. 1974 (Dead Season, Transformers)
Paul Giamatti b. 1967 (San Andreas, Amazing Spider-Man 2, John Dies at the End, Lady in the Water, Paycheck, Planet of the Apes, Doctor Doolittle)
Jason Isaacs b. 1963 (Harry Potter, Awake, Elektra, Peter Pan, Resident Evil, Soldier, Armageddon, Event Horizon, DragonHeart, Highlander [TV])
Wes Johnson b. 1961 (The Invasion)
Lisabeth Shatner b. 1961 (writer, TekWar )
Amanda Pays b. 1959 (Spacejacked, The X-Files, The Flash [2015 and 1990], Leviathan, Max Headroom, The Kindred)
Danny Webb b. 1958 (Humans, Being Human, Doctor Who, Space Precinct, Alien³)
Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith b. 1955 died 25 October 2002 (Independence Day, Parasite, Laserblast, The Incredible Melting Man, Phantom of the Paradise, Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural)
Sandra Bernhard b. 1955 (The Apocalypse, Highlander, Tales from the Crypt)
William Armstrong b. 1954 (The Dark Knight, A Sound of Thunder)
Harvey Fierstein b. 1954 (Kull the Conqueror, Independence Day)
Gary Graham b. 1950 (Star Trek: Renegades, Star Trek: Axanar, Universal Dead, InAlienable, Star Trek: Enterprise, Alien Nation, Star Trek: Voyager, M.A.N.T.I.S., Necromicon: Book of Dead, Robot Jox, The Incredible Hulk)
Robert Englund b. 1947 (Lake Placid vs. Anaconda, Zombie Mutation, Lake Placid: The Final Chapter, Strippers vs Werewolves, Supernatural, Zombie Strippers!, Heart Stopper 2001 Maniacs, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy vs. Jason, Charmed, Python, Urban Legend, Wishmaster, The Vampyre Wars, Sliders, Babylon 5, Knight Rider, V, Manimal, Galaxy of Terror)
Erica Hagen b. 1946 (Wonder Woman, Land of the Lost, Soylent Green)
David Dukes b. 1945 died 9 October 2000 (Sliders, Time Trax, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Twilight Zone)
Richard Paul b. 1940 died 25 December 1998 (Beanstalk, Robo Cop [TV], Out of This World, Amazing Stories, Space Force, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Holmes and Yo-Yo)
Billie Whitelaw b. 1932 died 21 December 2014 (Merlin [1998 TV], The Cloning of Joanna May, Supernatural [1977], Space: 1999, The Omen, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [TV, 1968])
Walter Abel b. 1898 died 26 March 1987 (The Human Duplicators)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Ellie Kendrick (no relation to Anna Kendrick) from Game of Thrones and Alex Doig, whose birthday I transcribed incorrectly in 2013. If I gave the slot based on fame and my favorite actor here, Paul Giamatti would win on both counts, but I don't think he has an iconic role in genre yet. There are two great villains born today, Robert Englund as Freddy and Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, but instead I went with Danny Strong from Buffy, who has had a very successful career in the 21st Century as a screenwriter, and good on him.

2. Spot the Canadians! William Armstrong was born north of the border, but his credit list shows a lot of work on British shows. We also have three women born in the 1980s, Paula Brancati, Helena-Alexis Seymour and Lyndie Greenwood.

3. Nepotism FTW. Writer Jonathan Nolan often works with his better known brother, the director Christopher Nolan, but I'm not sure this kind of situation actually counts as nepotism. As for Lisabeth Shatner... definitely nepotism.

4. The premature dead. I wasn't aware of child actor Judith Barsi's work. The poor girl was killed by her father, who also killed her mother and then himself. My brain has processed the death of Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, but for Oh Those Guys David Dukes and Richard Paul, not so much.

5. MST3K. The Best Brains gang did give the business to The Human Duplicators.

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

Movie released
Edge of Tomorrow released, 2014

Predictor: Morris Ernst in the 1955 book Utopia 1976

Prediction: Our fossil-fuel supply may last until 1976, but scarcely beyond that date if our desires are to be for material things that require energy for creation.

Reality: I usually chide Mr. Ernst for his optimism or his fussy opinions about what is uplifting and what isn't, but this time he loses points for pessimism. We've had plenty of predictions of The End of Oil and The End of Coal, but they aren't here yet and I for one would be hard pressed to even guess what decade will see them fall into minority status compared to other energy sources. The only prediction I would make in this regard is that coal will fade before crude oil, at least in the United States where the environmental costs are beginning to be factored in.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We dip into the technological wonderland of the late 20th Century envisioned by Robert A. Heinlein in The Door Into Summer. 


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

23 May 2015

Birthdays
Devin Douglas Drewitz b. 1989 (Smallville, X-Men 2, Taken, Jeremiah, Dark Angel)
D.J. Cotrona b. 1980 (From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], G.I. Joe: Retaliation)
Lane Garrison b. 1980 (From Dusk Till Dawn, The Event)
Kelly Monaco b. 1976 (Idle Hands)
Sebastina Cordero b. 1972 (director, Europa Report)
John Ortiz b. 1968 (Aliens vs. Predator:Requiem)
H. Jon Benjamin b. 1966 (The Venture Bros, Lucy: Daughter of the Devil)
Melissa McBride b. 1965 (The Walking Dead, The Mist, American Gothic, Mutant Species)
Karen Duffy b. 1961 (Last Action Hero)
Linden Ashby b. 1960 (Teen Wolf [TV], Iron Man 3, Anacondas: Trail of Blood, Resident Evil: Extinction, Mortal Kombat, Werewolf [TV])
Drew Carey b. 1958 (Lois & Clark, Coneheads)
Mark Arnold b. 1957 (Chronicles of Syntax, Alien Encounter, Teen Wolf)
Patricia and Cyb Barnstable b. 1951 (Quark)
O-Lan Jones b. 1950 (Mars Attacks!, The X Files, Edward Scissorhands, Martians Go Home, The Right Stuff)
Andrew Burt b. 1945 (Super Gran, Doctor Who, Gulliver in Lilliput, Blakes 7)
Joan Collins b. 1933 (Star Trek, Faerie Tale Theatre, Future Cop, The Fantastic Journey, Space: 1999, Batman)
Barbara Barrie b. 1931 (Dead Like Me, Tucker’s Witch, The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Laura Devon b. 1931 died 19 July 2007 (The Invaders, Twilight Zone)
Ted Jordan b. 1924 died 30 March 2005 (Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Bill McCutcheon b. 1924 died 9 January 2002 (Mr. Destiny, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Johnny Jupiter)
James Blish b. 1921 died 29 July 1975 (won 1959 Hugo for A Case Of Conscience)
Betty Garrett b. 1919 died 12 February 2011 (Trail of the Screaming Forehead, Mr. Merlin)
Scatman Crothers b. 1910 died 22 November 1986 (Twilight Zone: The Movie, Deadly Eyes, Zapped!, The Shining, The Incredible Hulk, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched)
Herbert Marshall b. 1890 died 22 January 1966 (The Fly, Gog)
Douglas Fairbanks b. 1883 died 12 December 1939 (The Thief of Bagdad)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was given to Joan Collins from Star Trek and James Blish. This year, the Picture Slot moves into the 21st Century with Melissa McBride in her best known role as Carol from The Walking Dead.

2. A Canadian to Spot. There is just one Canadian on the list today. It is left as an exercise for the reader to spot this individual.

3. The Gal at the Door. The cutoff year for today is 1931. Laura Devon was born that year and is already gone as is everyone older. Barbara Barrie was also born 84 years ago today and is still with us, and the same can be said for everyone born after 1931. As always when we have this demographic split, special birthday wishes to Ms. Barrie.

4. MST3K. Comic actor Bill McCutcheon was in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and his career survived it.

5. Wait... he (or she) made genre? Sometimes when researching, I click on an actor's imdb.com homepage because I recognize the name, not because I know some specific role in sci-fi or fantasy. The actors who surprised me with qualifying roles today are Herbert Marshall, Betty Garrett, Drew Carey and Kelly Monaco.

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

Movie released
X-Men: Days of Future Past released, 2014

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

Prediction: In 1929, the purchase of pets was $25 million and stayed steady through the next decade. By 1952, it had climbed to $60 million. By 1976, this substitute outlet for affection, domination or company is likely to diminish as loneliness declines.

Reality: Let me give Mr. Ernst a little credit. He did a lot of research in 1955 that wasn't easy before the Internet and Google.

And now let me hit him with the Big Ugly Stick. According to the Humane Society, pet ownership has grown steadily and outpaced the growth in the population. He has his strong opinions on what constitutes Good Things and Bad Things and has put pets in the Bad Things category. I don't own a pet and haven't for several decades, but I would never disparage someone for having a pet. (Too many pets is a different situation.)

He got this one wrong and insulting many readers in the process. If I gave negative points, I would give it for this clumsy and condescending attempt.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another guess about the future of technology from Robert A. Heinlein's The Door Into Summer. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!