15 September 2015

Birthdays
Matt Shively b. 1990 (Teen Wolf, Paranormal Activity 4)
Chloe Dykstra b. 1988 (The League of S.T.E.A.M., Chaotic Awesome, COPS: Skyrim, Drag Me to Hell, Wizards of Waverly Place, Spider-Man 2)
Chelsea Kane b. 1988 (Wizards of Waverly Pace)
Christian Cooke b. 1987 (Witches of East End, Dark Relics, Demons, Doctor Who)
Ben Woolf b. 1980 died 23 February 2015 (American Horror Story, Insidious)
Amy Davidson b. 1979 (NetherBeast Incorporated)
Dave Annable b. 1979 (666 Park Avenue, Spellbound)
Tom Hardy b. 1977 (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Sucker Punch, A for Andromeda, Minotaur)
Marisa Ramirez b. 1977 (Supernatural, Roswell)
Jonathan Liebesman b. 1976 (director, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014], Wrath of the Titans, Battle Los Angeles, Darkness Falls)
Marcus Shirock b. 1975 (Hercules Reborn, Bermuda Tentacles, Android Cop, Angel, Charmed)
Josh Charles b. 1971 (Bird People, After.Life, Muppets from Space)
Danny Nucci b. 1968 (Arrow, Monster Heroes, Firestarter 2: Rekindled, Quantum Leap, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Kenneth Hite b. 1965 (writer, Lost in Lovecraft)
Steven R. Monroe b. 1964 (director, End of the World, Jabberwock, Mongolian Death Worm, Ice Twisters, Wyvern, Ogre, Sasquatch Mountain, It Waits)
Philip Paley b. 1963 (Land of the Lost)
Colin McFarlane b. 1961 (Olympus, Hounded, Torchwood, Hyperdrive, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight)
Oren Aviv b. 1961 (National Treasure, RocketMan)
Ed Solomon b. 1960 (writer, Venom, What Planet Are You From?, Men In Black, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
Wendie Jo Sperber b. 1958 died 29 November 2005 (Back to the Future)
Barry Shabaka Henley b. 1954 (Carrie [2013], Flash-Forward, Heroes, Fallen)
Brad Leland b. 1954 (The Leftovers, Hancock)
Sabina Franklin b. 1954 (The Worst Witch, Blakes 7)
Olver Stone b. 1946 (director, The Hand)
Tommy Lee Jones b. 1946 (Captain America, Men In Black, Small Soldiers, Batman Forever)
Shelby Leverington b. 1946 (The Island, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone [1985], Cloak & Dagger)
Roy Brocksmith b. 1945 died 16 December 2001 (Babylon 5, Kull the Conqueror, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, Good & Evil, Eerie, Indiana, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Arachnophobia, Total Recall, Martians Go Home, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Wizard, Wolfen)
John Reynolds b. 1941 died 16 October 1966 (actor/director, Manos: The Hands of Fate)
Norman Spinrad b. 1940 (writer, Star Trek, Bug Jack Barron, The Iron Dream)
Henry Darrow b. 1933 (NightMan, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, Time Trax, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Knight Rider, Beyond the Universe, The Incredible Hulk, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Halloween with the New Addams Family, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invisible Man [1975 TV], Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Andree Melly b. 1932 (The Brides of Dracula)
Henry Silva b. 1928 (Cyborg – Il Guerriero d'Acciaio, Escape from the Bronx, Alligator, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Quark, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Jackie Cooper b. 1922 died 3 May 2011 (Superman, The Invisible Man [1975], The Astronaut, Twilight Zone)
Joseph Pevney b. 1911 died 18 May 2008 (director, The Incredible Hulk, Star Trek, The Munsters, Bewitched, Destination Space)
Fay Wray b. 1907 died 8 August 2004 (King Kong, The Vampire Bat, Doctor X)
Tom Conway b. 1904 died 22 April 1967 (The Atomic Submarine, Voodoo Woman, The She-Creature, Bride of the Gorilla, Cat People)
James Fenimore Cooper b. 1789 died 14 September 1851 (The Monikins)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot skewed old school, in 2013 with writer Norman Spinrad and in 2014 with the fabulous Fay Wray. If I wanted to push the blog into the 21st Century, the best choice would be Tom Hardy in the most recent Mad Max, but instead I went with Roy Brocksmith in his role from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I blush to mention that he's one of those "Wait... He's Dead?" folks for me.

2. An unspottable Canadian. Fay Wray is from the Great White North. I had no idea.

3. MST3K. This one's pretty easy, John Reynolds, who died only a little after filming was complete, directed Manos: The Hands of Fate and also played Torgo.

4. Nice same birthday pair. I always like it when two people who are both well known were born on the exact same day, and Oliver Stone and Tommy Lee Jones certainly qualify. 

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 novel The Door Into Summer

Prediction: "IMPORTANT NOTICE! This service automaton DOES NOT understand human speech. It has no understanding at all, being a machine. But for your convenience it has been designed to respond to a list of spoken orders."

Reality: Our pal Bob takes a dim view of The Singularity here, and by 2000 he was still right, machines have no true understanding. It's quite popular in sci-fi now and there are those predicting the reality just around the corner, but as an old school programmer I remain very skeptical.

Never to be Forgotten: Steve Bickel 1951-2015

Film executive Steve Bickel was found dead this week after collapsing on a hiking trip in Portugal. He is mentioned here because he produced the 1980 time travel fantasy Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Steve Bickel, from a fan of the movie. He is never to be forgotten.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another visit from our pal George Sutherland and his book Twentieth Century Inventions.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

26 August 2015

Birthdays
Dylan O’Brien b. 1991 (The Maze Runner, Teen Wolf)
Evan Ross b. 1988 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay)
Jennifer Higham b. 1984 (Metamorphosis, Ella Enchanted)
Nanzeen Contractor b. 1982 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Pegasus vs. Chimera, Relic Hunter, Starhunter)
Christina Cindrich b. 1981 (Immortally Yours, Spider-Man 3, 2095)
Chris Pine b. 1980 (Wonder Woman, Z for Zachariah, Into the Woods, Star Trek, Carriers)
Macaulay Culkin b. 1980 (Jacob’s Ladder)
Amanda Schull b. 1978 (12 Monkeys [2014 TV], Grimm)
Mike Colter b. 1976 (Luke Cage, Halo: Nightfall, American Horror Story, Men in Black 3)
Meredith Eaton b. 1974 (Paranormal Activity)
Melissa McCarthy b. 1970 (Ghostbusters)
Jorge Sanz b. 1969 (The Witch Affair, Conan the Barbarian)
Oleg Taktarov b. 1967 (Predators, National Treasure, Rollerball [2002])
Taras Kostyuk b. 1966 (Alien Journey, Arrow, Supernatural, Alien Agenda: Project Grey, Andromeda, Jake 2.0, The Dead Zone, A Wrinkle in Time, Jeremiah, Dark Angel)
Shirley Manson b. 1966 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Ola Ray b. 1960 (Automan)
Brett Cullen b. 1956 (Under the Dome, The Dark Knight Rises, Lost, Pixel Perfect, From the Earth to the Moon, The Omen [1995 TV], Apollo 13, Deep Space Nine, Prehysteria!, V [1985], The Incredible Hulk)
Michael Jeter b. 1952 died 30 March 2003 (Taken, Jurassic Park III, The Green Mile, Waterworld, Zelig)
Jane Merrow b. 1941 (The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, UFO, The Prisoner)
Yvette Vickers b. 1928 died 2010 (Attack of the Giant Leeches, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman)
Ronny Graham b. 1919 died 4 July 1999 (Frogs!, Spaceballs, The Ghost Busters [1975])
Eugene Dow b. 1916 died 11 October 2004 (Night of the Demon)
Jim Davis b. 1909 died 26 April 1981 (The Day Time Ended, Project U.F.O., Satan’s Triangle, The Sixth Sense [1972], Dracula vs. Frankenstein [1971], The Time Tunnel, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, Monster from Green Hell)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Yvette Vickers from the 1950s B-movie and Chris Pine from the new Star Trek. To be honest, there aren't that many iconic roles among the rest of the actors, so I instead decided to go with plugging a future project, Melissa McCarthy in the female version of Ghostbusters. The other choice was Mike Colter, who will be playing Luke Cage in several upcoming projects from Marvel.

2. Spot the Canadian! (Sort of.) Taras Kostyuk was born in the Soviet Union. I'm assuming he emigrated to Canada by his credit list, but I don't have proof online.

3. Nepotism FTW. Both of Chris Pine's parents are actors, Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford. While the nepotism isn't as glaring as Rumer Willis, for example, I'm sure it helped him get the idea in his head that people made a living pretending to be other folks. 

4. Wait... he's dead? I wrote it last year on his birthday and it hasn't quite sunk in. I still haven't filed comic actor Michael Jeter in the dead category.


5. MST3K. The one I know for sure is The Attack of the Giant Leeches.

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

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1902 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: Anything which tends to discount the value of personal bravery and to elevate the tactics of the ambuscade and the sharp-shooting expedition gives, _pro tanto_, an advantage to the meaner-spirited races of mankind, and places them more or less in a position of mastery over those who hold higher racial traditions. The man who will face the risk of being shot in the open generally belongs to a higher type of humanity than he who only shoots from behind cover. Moreover, the nations which have the skill and ingenuity to manufacture new weapons of self-defence belong to a higher class than those which only acquire advanced warlike munitions by purchase. One of the early international movements of the twentieth century will be directed towards the prohibition of the sale of such weapons as magazine-rifles, quick-firing field guns, and torpedoes to any savage or barbarous race.

Reality: Oh dear, and just when I was getting to like Mr. Sutherland so much.

I realize "privilege" is an early 21st Century concept and it's a little historically unfair to apply it to people from the early 20th Century, but the British - especially the English - completely bought into the idea that they looted half the planet fair and square and any dirty natives who fought back were simply bad sports. I single out the English because sometimes the dirty natives were the Scots and the Irish. When he's not talking about war, I really do like Sutherland, but I decided to print this one to give him the "warts and all" treatment. He's not as bad as H.G. Wells, but as they would say on Fox News, he was no angel.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More excessively optimistic thoughts from Utopia 1976.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 August 2015

Birthdays

Alana Mansour b. 2003 (Terra Nova)
Stephen Joffe b. 1991 (Time Blazers, Terminal Invasion, Frequency, Storm of the Century)
Annie Ilonzeh b. 1983 (Beauty and the Beast, Arrow, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
Ruta Gedmintas b. 1983 (The Strain, Prowl)
Clare Grant b. 1979 (Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, Team Unicorn, The Guild, Iron Man 2)
Ray Park b. 1974 (Jinn, G.I. Joe, Heroes, Slayer, X-Men, Star Wars; Episode I – He’s Like the Only Cool Thing in It, Mortal Kombat)
Aaron Douglas b. 1971 (iZombie, The Returned, The Strain, Falling Skies, Hemlock Grove, Eureka, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Reaper, Bionic Woman [2007], Catwoman, I, Robot, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda, 10.5, Paycheck, Jeremiah, X-Men 2, Taken, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel)
River Phoenix b. 1970 died 31 October 1993 (Dark Blood, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Explorers)
Jay Mohr b. 1970 (S1mOne, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Small Soldiers, From the Earth to the Moon)
Charley Boorman b. 1966 (Excalibur)
Roger Avary b. 1965 (writer, Beowulf)
Chan-wook Park b. 1963 (director, Thirst, I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK)
Ed Gale b. 1963 (The Polar Express, Fairie, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Weird Science, The Munster’s Scary Little Christmas, Lifepod, Land of the Lost, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Child’s Play, Phantasm II, Spaceballs, Howard the Duck)
Deron McBee b. 1961 (The Invisible Man, Roswell, Conan [TV], Sliders, Batman Forever, M.A.N.T.I.S., Immortal Combat, Time Barbarians)
Chris Potter b. 1960 (The Good Witch, A Wrinkle in Time, Andromeda, Astronauts, Arachnid, The Hidden Room, War of the Worlds)
Jennifer Holmes b. 1955 (Misfits of Science, Knight Rider, Voyagers!, The Incredible Hulk)
Charles Busch b. 1954 (writer, Psycho Beach Party)
Mark Vann b. 1954 (Torchwood, Lost, Spider-Man 3, Angel, Early Edition)
Bolaji Badejo b. 1953 died 22 December 1992 (Alien)
Rick Springfield b. 1949 (Nick Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Shelley Long b. 1949 (Zombie Hamlet, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lois & Clark, Freaky Friday [TV], Hello Again, Caveman)
Bob Peck b. 1944 died 4 April 1999 (Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Jurassic Park, Slipstream)
Bobby Diamond b. 1943 (Twilight Zone)
Richard Sanders b. 1940 (ALF, The Invisible Woman)
Peter Wyngarde b. 1933 (Doctor Who, Flash Gordon, The Champions, The Prisoner, Burn, Witch, Burn, The Innocents, The Dybbuk)
Barbara Eden b. 1931 (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, The Stepford Children, I Dream of Jeannie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Vera Miles b. 1929 (BrainWaves, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
James Millhollin b. 1915 died 23 May 1993 (Lost in Space, Bewitched, Batman, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, Twilight Zone, Zotz!)
Morris L. Ernst b. 1888 died 21 May 1976 (author, Utopia 1976)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Barbara Eden, owner of easily the most iconic role in genre of all of today's birthday boys and girls, and James Millholin because I was in an Oh That Guy mood. This year I go more new school with Canadian actor Aaron Douglas from the re-boot of Battlestar Galactica.

2. Spot the Canadians. Besides Douglas, Stephen Joffe and Chris Potter are Canadian.

3. Nepotism FTW. Charley Boorman is John Boorman's son who cast him in Excalibur. If that isn't nepotism, nothing is.

4. Inside the suit. Besides Douglas, the other person I considered for the Picture Slot was the late Bolaji Badejo, the very tall and thin Nigerian who was inside the suit of the full grown alien in Alien, his only film role ever. Another actor who has spent some time inside costumes is little person Ed Gale, whose first role on film was inside Howard the Duck. His career survived that ignominious start and is likely best known as Homer Stokes' "little man" in O Brother Where Art Thou?

5. Wait... he's dead? We have several actors who died young on today's list. I didn't know about Bolaji Badejo until today, so I didn't know he was dead until today. I have already processed the fact River Phoenix isn't with us any more, but I wasn't so clear about Bob Peck. He plays the big game hunter in Jurassic Park who gets one of the greatest last lines for a character in film history...

"Clever girl."

6. Fun fact I didn't know until today. I've been using Utopia 1976 as a source for quite a while now and did not know that Morris Ernst died in 1976. By the Alanis Morissette definition this counts as ironic, but by the dictionary, not so much. I would say it's more along the lines of "what a co-inky-dink."

7. Hey... no Star Trek! Yesterday, I brought up how rare it is not to have a Star Trek actor or writer on the list, and now it's happened two days in a row. I guarantee it won't happen three days in a row.

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!

OMNI Future Almanac to start the week off right.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

25 July 2015

Birthdays
Mason Cook b. 2000 (Mockingbird Lane, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D)
Preston Bailey b. 2000 (Children of the Corn [2009])
Andrew Caldwell b. 1989 (Transformers)
Linsey Godfrey b. 1988 (Altergeist, Wizards of Waverly Place, Surface)
Michael Welch b. 1987 (Z Nation, Twilight, Grimm, Day of the Dead, Stargate SG-1, Birds of Prey, The Invisible Man, The X-Files, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Kevin Buttimer b. 1987 (Ant-Man)
Shantel VanSanten b. 1985 (The Messengers, The Flash, Something Wicked, Beauty and the Beast [2013])
James Lafferty b. 1985 (Oculus, S. Darko)
Jay R. Ferguson b. 1974 (No Ordinary Family, Surface)
Jason Marin b. 1974 (Back to the Future)
Aaron Craven b. 1974 (The Flash, The Age of Adaline, 100,000 Zombie Heads, Supernatural, Continuum, Fringe, Smallville, Alien Trespass, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Stargate: Atlantis, Kyle XY, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
Michael C. Williams b. 1973 (The Objective, Altered, The Blair Witch Project)
David Denman b. 1973 (After Earth, Angel, The X-Files)
Miriam Shor b. 1971 (Bedazzled)
D.B. Woodside b. 1969 (Buffy)
Matt LeBlanc b. 1967 (Lost in Space [1998])
Elke Jeinsen b. 1966 (Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV)
Illeana Douglas b. 1965 (Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, The Coven, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Strange Frequency)
Iman b. 1955 (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Lynne Frederick b. 1954 died 27 April 1994 (Space: 1999, The Canterville Ghost, Phase IV, Vampire Circus, No Blade of Grass)
Nina Thomas b. 1952 (Doctor Who)
Janet Margolin b. 1943 died 17 December 1993 (Ghostbusters II, Planet Earth)
Pilar Seurat b. 1938 died 2 June 2001 (Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Todd Armstrong b. 1937 died 17 November 1992 (The Greatest American Hero, Jason and the Argonauts)
Paul Collins b. 1937 (The Breed, The Invisible Man [2000], Dead man on Campus, Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap)
August Schellenberg b. 1936 died 15 August 2013 (SGU Stargate Universe, Mysterious Ways, So Weird, Friday’s Curse, Deadly Nightmares)
Barbara Harris b. 1935 (Nice Girls Don’t Explode)
Ken Swofford b. 1933 (Max Headroom, Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Girl with Something Extra, The Andromeda Strain, The Intruders, Shadow on the Land)
Al Adamson b. 1929 died 2 August 1995 (Death Dimension, Doctor Dracula, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Brain of Blood, Horror of the Blood Monsters, Blood of Dracula’s Castle)
Jerry Paris b. 1925 died 31 March 1986 (director, The Munsters)
Estelle Getty b. 1923 died 22 July 2008 (Mannequin)
Woody Strode b. 1914 died 31 December 1994 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Kingdom of the Spiders, Batman)
Jack Gilford b. 1908 died 2 June 1990 (Cocoon, Anna to the Infinite Power, Caveman)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot, with extra "Wait... he's dead?" goodness. This is not a list weighed down with A-List stars. In previous years, I went full Whedonverse nerd with David Denman (the demon Skip from Angel) and D.B. Woodside, the hunky last principal of Sunnydale High on Buffy. This year, I go with Todd Armstrong, the star of Jason and the Argonauts, a movie I still love dearly. Starring in this movie did nothing for his career and he was upset that his voice was dubbed over after the fact. I don't blame him. I just found his name on imdb.com this year and I had not been cc:ed on the memo that he was dead.

This makes me sad.


2. Spot the Canadians! We have two Canucks today, both somewhat spottable. Most folks who benefit form the Canadian genre production boom are born after 1970, which is true of Aaron Craven, but we also see some of those credits on First Nations actor August Schellenberg, who died a couple years back.

3. My favorite actors on the list, or Welcome to Geezers Anonymous. Jack Gilford was a great comic actor, Woody Strode was probably the best known African-American actor in the Westerns. Strode worked with both John Ford and Sergio Leone, and that is plenty good enough for me.

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

Movie released
Lucy released, 2014

The Weekly Soapbox: The End of Oil.

Instead of predictions on Saturday, because I am running low, instead I will write a little opinion piece on things that have have been predicted. The End of Oil has only shown up a few times on the blog, once from OMNI Future Almanac, once from Utopia 1976 and John Elfreth Watkins foresaw the end of coal. All the dates have come and gone - 2010, 1976 and 2000 - and we still have petroleum based fuel running the world.

OMNI Future Almanac's call wasn't a surprise. It was published in 1982 and Peak Oil was already an idea people were batting about. Utopia 1976 was written in 1955 and Watkins made his predictions in 1900, so they are more surprising. Why hasn't the sky fallen yet?

I found many graphs similar to the one shown here that credit "natural gas liquids" and "unconventional oil" as the main stop-gap, and both of those rely heavily on fracking.

You might assume from my generally leftist leanings that I will now say "Boo! Fracking!", but I honestly haven't made up my mind. I know there are bad things that have happened at fracking sites, but I don't know how common they are. I'd like to find a neutral site where I could find good data, but I haven't found that yet.

This is the real world. There are always trade-offs. It's important to understand what they are. 

I could just see who is lined up on both sides and decide to go with the folks I like, but I got suckered into the anti-vax point of view by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on The Daily Show last decade, so I no longer think that is good enough.

The pro-fracking types think of themselves as The Sensible People - and yes, I'm looking at you Joe Nocera - but they are keen on writing "if there is environmental damage, the companies should be made to clean it up."

Yes, they should. Also, people should not cheat on their spouses or taxes, shouldn't litter or have their phones on at the movies or the theatre.

But people do those things. And what's worse, polluting companies pay a shitload of money to lawyers to make sure they don't have to clean up their messes.

There are things getting better in the world, usually slowly, but there are also things getting slowly worse. If the people getting screwed finally realize they can afford pitchforks and torches, I will likely sympathize with their cause. The Sensible People will likely complain of their burns or their pitchfork wounds and I will listen politely, but then I will say "Perhaps this is a good time to look at what both sides have done wrong."

Okay, I'm off the soapbox for a week.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The first slow Sunday, with only a birthday list. In previous years, the 26th of July Picture Slot has belonged to fabulous babes. Will the streak continue?

Signs point to yes.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

22 July 2015

Birthdays
Madison Pettis b. 1998 (The 4400, Jericho)
Selena Gomez b. 1992 (Wizards of Waverly Place)
Amy Paffrath b.1983 (The Purge: Anarchy, Gingerbread man vs Evil Bong, Zombies vs. Strippers, I Kissed a Vampiure, Hauntsville)
Clive Standen b. 1981 (Atlantis, Doctor Who)
Lauren Bittner b. 1980 (Paranormal Activity 3)
A.J. Cook b. 1978 (Bloodsuckers, Dead Like Me, Final Destination 2, Laserhawk)
Candace Kroslak b. 1978 (Knight Rider [2008], Planet of the Apes, Demonicus)
Franka Potente b. 1974 (American Horror Story, Run Lola Run)
Colin Ferguson b. 1972 (The Vampire Diaries, Caper, Haven, Eureka, Primeval: New World, Matty Hanson and the Invisibility Ray, Lake Placid 3, The Hunger [TV])
Oliver Robins b. 1971 (Poltergeist, Twilight Zone [1986])
Rhys Ifans b. 1967 (Dominion, The Amazing Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Nanny McPhee Returns, Little Nicky)
John Leguizamo b. 1964 (Kick-Ass 2, Repo Men, The Happening, Land of the Dead, Super Mario Bros.)
David Spade b. 1964 (ALF, Monsters)
Adam Godley b. 1964 (Powers, Battleship, Dollhouse, Merlin, The X Files: I Want to Believe, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Nanny McPhee, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Joanna Going b. 1963 (From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], Journeyman, Dark Shadows [1991])
Willem Dafoe b. 1955 (John Carter, 4:44 Last Day on Earth, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Daybreakers, Spider-Man, Control, Shadow of the Vampire, eXistenZ, Deadly Nightmares, The Hunger)
Tisa Farrow b. 1951 (Anthropophagus, Hunter of the Apocalypse, Zombie)
Alan Menken b. 1949 (music, Tangled, Hercules, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors)
Albert Brooks b. 1947 (Defending Your Life, Twilight Zone: The Movie)
J. Kenneth Campbell b. 1947 (The Huntress, Angel, Charmed, The Journey of Alan Strange, NightMan, Mars Attacks!, The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake, The Abyss, Wonder Woman)
Danny Glover b. 1946 (Toxin, Day of the Mummy, 2047 – Sights of Death, Space Warriors, Touch, 2012, Blindness, Earthsea, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, Predator 2, Tall Tales & Legends, Iceman, The Greatest American Hero)
Peter Jason b. 1944 (Robosapien: Rebooted, Planet Raptor, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2006], Alien Apocalypse, Raptor Island, Carnivale, Ghosts of Mars, Perversions of Science, Escape from L.A., Mortal Kombat, Congo, Village of the Damned, Quantum Leap, Arachnophobia, They Live, Alien Nation, Prince of Darkness, Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star, Amazing Stories, Dreamscape, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Captain Nemo, Shadow on the Land, Land of the Giants)
Nick Brimble b. 1944 (Greek Gods and Goddesses: Jason and the Argonauts, Loch Ness, Frankenstein Unbound, Cosmic Princess, Blakes 7, Space: 1999)
Vaughn Bodé b. 1941 died 18 July 1975 (artist, Cheech Wizard)
Terence Stamp b. 1938 (Smallville, Wanted, Elektra, Red Planet, Star Wars: Episode I – Such a Good Cast Wasted, The Hunger [TV], Alien Nation, The Company of Wolves, Superman I and II, The Thief of Baghdad [TV], HU-Man, The Mind of Mr. Soames)
Louise Fletcher b. 1934 (The Genesis Code, Heroes, Wonderfalls, Deep Space Nine, Brimstone, VR.5, Frankenstein and Me, The Stepford Husbands, Virtuosity, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Tales from the Crypt [TV], Deadly Nightmares, Shadowzone, Twilight Zone [1988], Invaders from Mars, Brainstorm, Strange Invaders, Mama Dracula, Exorcist II: The Heretic)
Perry Lopez b. 1929 died 14 February 2008 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Star Trek, The Time Tunnel, Creature from the Black Lagoon)
Orson Bean b. 1928 (Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe, Alien Autopsy, Being John Malkovich, Monsters, Innerspace, Twilight Zone)
Joseph Sargent b. 1924 died 22 December 2014 (director, Salem Witch Trials, Space, Tomorrow’s Child, Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Invaders, Star Trek)
James Whale b. 1889 died 29 May 1957 (director, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years I used the completely iconic Terence Stamp as Zod and the idiosyncratic choice of Peter Jason from They Live. I probably owe an apology to Franka Potente from Run Lola Run and Colin Ferguson from Eureka for skipping both of them, probably Loiuse Fletcher from Deep Space Nineas well. But my decision is to go with Williem Dafoe from Shadow of the Vampire is not idiosyncratic. I have no idea what goofy mood I was in a year ago.

2. Spot the Canadians! Not every star of a Canuck-fi show was born in the Great White North, but Colin Ferguson was.

3. Nepotism FTW. It's not fair to call Tisha Farrow's career a win, but she is the lesser known sister of Mia.

4. Wait... he's dead? The 1970s is supposed to be just a blur to me because I'm a boomer, but my drug usage was actually minimal. That said, I forgot that Vaughn Bodé died so young.

5. Wait... he's alive? Orson Bean turns 87 today. I didn't get the memo he was sill with us.

6. MST3K. There is a specific reference to Cosmic Princess in Nick Brimble's resume, so we get a hit.

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

Movie released
The Island released, 2005

Predictor:The Island, released 22 July 2005

Prediction: Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly Utopian but contained facility in the year 2019. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the "The Island" - reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet.

Reality: The most surprising thing about this movie is how different it thinks the world is going to be in fourteen years. Blade Runner is also set in 2019, but it was made in 1982. In the 1980s, I'd argue the future still felt like it was coming at us in a rush. In 2005, this is just goofiness.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An important announcement about the future of the blog.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

2 July 2015

Birthdays
Margot Robbie b. 1990 (Z for Zachariah, About Time)
Ashley Tisdale b. 1985 (Charmed, Donnie Darko)
Vanessa Lee Chester b. 1984 (The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
Owain Yeoman b. 1978 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Yancy Butler b. 1970 (Kick-Ass, Lake Placid, Wolvesbayne, Basilisk: The Serpent King, Witchblade, Ravager, Perversions of Science, Mann & Machine)
Terry Rossio b. 1960 (writer, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek, Small Soldiers, Godzilla, The Puppet Masters)
Jerry Hall b. 1956 (Vampire in Brooklyn, Freejack, Batman [1989])
Andrew Divoff b. 1955 (Lost, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Rage, Dr, Rage, Wishmaster, Conan [1997 TV], Highlander [TV], Xtro 3, Mac and Me, The Twilight Zone [1986], Misfits of Science)
Wendy Schaal b. 1954 (The X-Files, Small Soldiers, Star Trek: Voyager, *batteries not included, Innerspace, Amazing Stories, Knight Rider)
Elisabeth Brooks b. 1951 died 7 September 1997 (Deep Space, The Howling, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Nancy Stephens b. 1949 (Dark Skies, Halloween I and II, Escape form New York)
Saul Rubinek b. 1948 (Warehouse 13, Eureka, Lost, Stargate SG-1, The Android Affair, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Ron Silver b. 1946 died 15 March 2009 (Xenophobia, Timecop, Lifepod)
Kenneth McMillan b. 1932 died 8 January 1989 (Cat’s Eye, Dune, Heartbeeps, Salem’s Lot, The Stepford Wives, Dark Shadows [TV])
Robert Ito b. 1931 (MythQuest, Star Trek: Voyager, The Omega Code, The X-Files, Highlander [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Buckaroo Banzai, Rollerball, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Terminal Man, Soylent Green, Dimension 5, Women of the Prehistoric Planet)
Brock Peters b. 1927 died 23 August 2005 (Deep Space Nine, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Alligator II: The Mutation, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Battlestar Galactica [1979], The Bionic Woman)
Hannes Bok b. 1914 died 11 April 1964 (artist)
Hermann Hesse b. 1877 died 9 August 1962 (author, Steppenwolf, The Glass Bead Game)

1. The Picture Slot. Today's list has a lot more Oh That Guys than movie stars. In previous years the Picture Slot was given to artist Hannes Bok and writer Terry Rossio. This year it goes, to Saul Rubinek, an Oh That Guy whose work I've always liked, pictured as the collect Kivas Fajo from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

2. Wait... he's dead? Still not completely used to the fact that Ron Silver is dead.

3. Nepotism FTW. Wendy Schaal is the daughter of Richard Schaal.

4. A Canadian walks amongst us. Robert Ito's career started long before the big boom in Canadian TV and movie production.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 
Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines released 2003
Hancock released, 2008

I know some folks are excited for a new Terminator movie, but I terminated by Terminator activities after the second one.

Predictor: Richard Nixon, 15 October 1965

Prediction: If the United States gives up in Vietnam, the Pacific Ocean will become a Red Sea.

Reality: Well, we lost in Vietnam about 40 years ago now and the Commies still haven't pushed us out of the Pacific. One of the things about the future I find disappointing, maybe even more than the lack of flying cars and jetpacks, is how completely off the table any discussion of reducing the military budget is in the United States, even though the list of big victories after World War II consists of Grenada and the first Gulf War.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Will tomorrow bring us H.G. Wells the futurist, H.G. Wells the warmonger or H.G. Wells the creepy guy?

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

28 June 2015

Birthdays
Kare Hedebrant b. 1995 (Real Humans, Let the Right One In)
Nicholas Purcell b. 1990 (Surrogates)
Felicia Day b. 1979 (Supernatural, The Guild, Eureka, Red: Werewolf Hunter, The Legend of Neil, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Buffy)
Camille Gauty b. 1978 (The Vampire Diaries)
Jeff Geddis b. 1975 (Monster Island, Odyssey 5, Jason X, Earth: Final Conflict)
Carsten Bjornlund b. 1973 (The Thing)
Alessandro Nivola b. 1972 (The Eye, Jurassic Park III)
Aileen Quinn b. 1971 (The Frog Prince)
Steve Burton b. 1970 (Taken, Manimal)
Ayelet Zurer b. 1969 (Daredevil, Man of Steel, Touch, Halo 4: Forward Into Dawn)
Gil Bellows b. 1967 (Falling Skies, Extraterrestrial, Sanctuary, Goblin, FlashForward, Smallville, Infected, Final Days of Planet Earth, Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature, Snow White: A Tale of Terror)
John Cusack b. 1966 (Cell [2014], Hot Tub Time Machine, 2012, 1408, Being John Malkovich)
Mary Stuart Masterson b. 1966 (Touch, The Postman, Amazing Stories, The Stepford Wives [1975])
Sara Stewart b. 1966 (Wizards vs. Aliens, The Prisoner [2009], Demons, Batman Begins, Doctor Who, Space Island One)
Christopher Doohan b. 1959 (Star Trek Continues, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek, Star Trek: the Motion Picture)
Alice Krige b. 1954 (Thor: The Dark World, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Solomon Kane, Children of Dune, Dinotopia, Star Trek: Voyager, Welcome to Paradox, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, Star Trek: First Contact, Sleepwalkers, The Hidden Room, Ghost Story)
Raffaella De Laurentiis b. 1954 (producer, The Forbidden Kingdom, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Kull the Conqueror, DragonHeart, Dune, Conan the Destroyer, Conan the Barbarian)
Lalla Ward b. 1951 (Doctor Who, Vampire Circus)
David Gautreaux b. 1951 (The Event, Threshold, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Man from Atlantis)
Kathy Bates b. 1948 (American Horror Story, Alice, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Golden Compass, Dragonfly, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Stand, My Best Friend is a Vampire, The Morning After)
Bruce Davison b. 1946 (Bigfoot, Return of the Killer Shrews, Earth’s Final Hours, Lost, Knight Rider [2009], The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Battlestar Galactica, Kingdom Hospital, X-Men, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Hunger [TV], Star Trek: Voyager, Harry and the Hendersons [TV[, Amazing Stories, V, The Astronauts, The Lathe of Heaven, Willard)
Robert Asprin b. 1946 died 22 May 2008 (author, Myth Adventures, Thieves’ World)
Gilda Radner b. 1946 died 20 May 1989 (Haunted Honeymoon, Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins, Jack: A Flash Fantasy)
John Byner b. 1938 (Robodoc, Wishmaster, Munchie Strikes Back, Friday’s Curse, Transylvania 6-5000)
Pat Morita b. 1932 died 24 November 2005 (Earth Minus Zero, Timemaster, Space Rangers, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], The Munsters Today, Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Slapstick (Of Another Kind), Full Moon High, The Incredible Hulk, Man from Atlantis)
Don Dubbins b. 1928 died 17 August 1991 (Starman [TV], The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O., I Dream of Jeannie, The Illustrated Man, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, Men Into Space, From the Earth to the Moon)
Mel Brooks b. 1926 (Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein)
Maxine Stuart b. 1918 died 6 June 2013 (The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)

Notes from the birthday list. 
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Felicia Day and Alice Krige, if I wanted to continue with the fabulous babe theme, I could have chosen Lalla Ward from Doctor Who, but instead it's the oldest living person on our list, Mel Brooks as Yogurt from Spaceballs. To be clear, he is not The Guy at the Door because several people younger than he is are already gone.

2. Wait... he's dead? I've processed the deaths of Gilda Radner and Pat Morita, but somehow I still haven't put author Robert Asprin in the deceased file.

3. Spot the Canadians (and Nepotism FTW.) Jeff Geddis and Gil Bellows were both born north of the border and their resumes show some trace, but Christopher Doohan is both Canadian and an  obvious beneficiary of nepotism.

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

Movie released
Superman Returns released 2006

 

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

Prediction: (Mr. Powell) picked up his phone and said, “Opal, get me Dr. Berquist.” I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, for he turned on the privacy guard. But after a while he put down the instrument and smiled as if a rich uncle had died. “Good news, sir! I had overlooked momentarily the fact that the first successful experiments (of suspended animation) were made on cats. The techniques and critical factors for cats are fully established. In fact there is a cat at the Naval Research Laboratory in Annapolis which is and has been for more than twenty years alive in hypothermia.”

“Wasn’t NRL wiped out when they got Washington?”

“Just the surface buildings, sir, not the deep vaults.”

Reality: There are three predictions in this passage, all of them false. Suspended animation does not work on humans, it does not work on cats and there was no catastrophic nuclear war between 1957 and 1970, or indeed a nuclear war of any kind.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

One more Monday and another prediction from The OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
   

21 June 2015

Birthdays
Brian Sites b. 1983 (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines)
Benjamin Walker b. 1982 (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)
Chris Pratt b. 1979 (Jurassic World, Guardian of the Galaxy, Her, Jennifer’s Body, Path of Destruction)
Garikayi Mutambirwa b. 1978 (Legend of Souls, Jeepers Creepers II, Clockstoppers, Angel, Seven Days)
Erica Durance b. 1978 (Painkillers, Smallville, The Butterfly Effect 2, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, House of the Dead)
Will Thorp b. 1977 (Doctor Who)
Maggie Siff b. 1974 (The Fifth Wave, Push)
Natasha Beaumont b. 1974 (Inception, The Lost World, Farscape)
Juliette Lewis b. 1973 (From Dusk Till Dawn, Strange Days, My Stepmother Is an Alien, Meet the Hollowheads)
Carrie Preston b. 1967 (True Blood, Lost, The Stepford Wives [2004], Wonderfalls)
Lana Wachowski b. 1965 (director, Sense8, Jupiter Ascending, Cloud Atlas, Speed Racer, The Matrix)
David Morrissey b. 1964 (The Walking Dead, Extant, Earthbound, The Water Horse, Doctor Who, The Reaping)
Doug Savant b. 1964 (Firefly, Godzilla [1998], Teen Wolf)
Sammi Davis b. 1964 (Lost, Lair of the White Worm)
Josh Pais b. 1964 (The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Deep Space Nine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990])
Eric Douglas b. 1958 died 6 July 2004 (Tales from the Crypt, The Golden Child)
Berkeley Breathed b. 1957 (writer, Mars Needs Moms)
Robert Pastorelli b. 1954 died 8 March 2004 (Modern Vampires, Beauty and the Beast [1980s], Twilight Zone [1985], Knight Rider, Tucker’s Witch)
Michael Bowen b. 1953 (Revolution, Lost, The X-Files, Night of the Comet)
Robyn Douglass b. 1953 (Galactica 1980)
Rachel Winfree b. 1952 (Roswell, Donnie Darko, The X Files, Lois & Clark)
Michael Gross b. 1947 (Tremors [TV and film], The Hunger, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court)
Meredith Baxter b. 1947 (The Cat Creature)
Tony Scott b. 1944 died 19 August 2012 (director, The Hunger [1990s TV and 1983 movie])
Joe Flaherty b. 1941 (Maniac Mansion, Back to the Beanstalk, Back to the Future Part II, Innerspace, Deadly Nightmares, Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood)
Lyman Ward b. 1941 (Black Scorpion [TV], Independence Day, Weird Science [TV], Sleepwalkers, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Man from Atlantis)
Mariette Hartley b. 1940 (Conan [TV], Encino Man, The Incredible Hulk, Logan’s Run [TV], Genesis II, Mystery in Dracula’s Castle, Earth II, The Return of Count Yorga, Star Trek, Twilight Zone)
Ron Ely b. 1938 (Superboy, Wonder Woman)
Monte Markham b. 1935 (Fringe, Millennium Man, Deep Space Nine, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The Incredible Hulk, Beyond Westworld, The Invisible Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, Project X)
Bernie Kopell b. 1933 (The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park, Charmed, Bug Buster, Charmed, The Charmings, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Maureen Stapleton b. 1925 died 13 March 2006 (Doin’ Time on Planet Earth, Cocoon, The Electric Grandmother)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, it was David Morrissey from The Walking Dead and director Lana Wachowski. I could have gone old school with Mariette Hartley from Star Trek, but I went instead with the third youngest person on today's list Chris Pratt, who in just a couple years now has two iconic genre roles.

2. Things I learned today.
The nice thing: Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter share the exact same birthday, both turning 68 today and good on 'em.


The not nice thing: Robert Pastorelli was a "Wait... he's dead?" guy for me, dying very young. His best known role is as Eldon on Murphy Brown.

Neither nice nor not: Joe Flaherty was born in Pittsburgh, PA. He must have had a Canadian work visa for at least part of his career, but I can find no evidence he ever had Canadian citizenship.


3. Spot the Canadians! There are two today. Lyman Ward works mainly south of the border, Erica Durance works mainly north.


4, Nepotism, not a win. While I didn't know Robert Pastorelli was dead until I did research today, I was aware of the early death of Eric Douglas, son of Kirk Douglas. Very sad story.

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

Movies released
World War Z released, 2013
Monsters University released, 2013
Minority Report released 2002

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

Prediction: I’m going to tell you because it can’t hurt anything… it’s time travel, all right, but it’s not practical. You can’t use it.”

Reality: As reality, time travel isn't happening, but I did like the version Heinlein created for this story. The impractical thing was that you couldn't be sure whether you were moving forward in time or backward. As Heinlein put it "Point in the direction of the future." Instead, time travel sent some stuff forward and the rest backward when used.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Monday rolls around again, which means another dip into The OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

19 June 2015

Birthdays

Atticus Shaffer b. 1998 (The Unborn, Hancock)
Paul Dano b. 1984 (Looper, Cowboys & Aliens)
Aidan Turner b. 1983 (The Hobbit, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Being Human)
Lauren Lee Smith b. 1980 (Ascension, Ring of Fire [TV], Blade: The Series, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Mutant X, Dark Angel)
Zoe Saldana b. 1978 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rosemary’s Baby [2014 TV], Star Trek, Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
Ryan Hurst b. 1976 (Taken, The Postman)
Hugh Dancy b. 1975 (Ella Enchanted, Relic Hunter)
Bumper Robinson b. 1974 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Deep Space Nine, Enemy Mine)
Chelah Horsdal b. 1973 (Arrow, The Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Iron Invader, Stargate, Eureka, Alien Trespass, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, Bionic Woman, Battlestar Galactica, X-Men: The Last Stand, Smallville, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Andromeda)
Robin Tunney b. 1972 (End of Days, Supernova, The Craft, Frogs!)
Alan Van Sprang b. 1971 (Beauty and the Beast [2015], Immortals, Survival of the Dead, ReGenesis, Diary of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Starhunter, Mutant X, Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Raven)
Chris Larkin b. 1967 (Doctor Who, Mysterious Island [2005 TV], Highlander [TV])
Mia Sara b. 1967 (Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Birds of Prey, Lost in Oz, Jack and the Beanstalk: The True Story, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997 TV], Timecop, Time Trax, Legend)
Samuel West b. 1966 (The Frankenstein Chronicles, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Eternal Law, Dark Relic, Van Helsing, Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [1989 TV])
Kelly Reno b. 1966 (Amazing Stories)
Sadie Frost b. 1965 (Dracula [1992])
Andrew Lauer b. 1965 (Iron Man 3, Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer, King of the Lost World, Screamers)
Sean Marshall b. 1965 (Pete’s Dragon)
Kathleen Turner b. 1954 (Cinderella [2000 TV], Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Man with Two Brains)
Virginia Hey b. 1952 (Alien Armageddon, Farscape, The Return of Captain invincible, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
Phylicia Rashad b. 1948 (Gods Behaving Badly)
Salman Rushdie b. 1947 (author, Midnight’s Children, Haroun and the Sea of Stories)
Steve Ryan b. 1947 died 3 September 2007 (The X-Files, D.A.R.Y.L.)
Rosalba Neri b. 1939 (Lady Frankenstein)
Derren Nesbitt b. 1935 (UFO)
Pier Angeli b. 1932 died10 September 1971 (Octaman)
Diana Sowle b. 1930 (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Gena Rowlands b. 1930 (Parts per Billion, The Skeleton Key, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Robert Fyfe b. 1925 (Cloud Atlas, Xtro)
Louis Jourdan b. 1921 (Swamp Thing, Count Dracula [1977 TV])
Pat Buttram b. 1915 died 8 January 1994 (Back to the Future Part III, Knight Rider, The Munsters)
Julius Schwartz b. 1915 died 8 February 2004 (editor, DC Comics)
Harry Lauter b. 1915 died 30 October 1990 (Superbeast, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Land of the Giants, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Green Hornet, Batman: The Movie, My Favorite Martian, Earth vs. Flying Saucers, The Werewolf, Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Captain Midnight, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, The Day the Earth Stood Still)
George Voskovec b. 1905 died 1 July 1981 (Somewhere in Time)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I gave the Picture Slot to fabulous babe Zoe Saldana and fabulous babe Virginia Hey. Sensing a pattern yet? This year, it's Mia Sara, probably best known for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, here in a still from Legend.

2. Spot the Canadians! Three Canadians today, all somewhat spottable: Alan Van Sprang, Chela Horsdal and Lauren Lee Smith.

3. Wait... they're dead? The lovely Pier Angeli died very young back in the 1970s, so I've had over forty years to register the fact, but it hasn't sunk in yet.  I've had about eight years to find out Steve Ryan is dead, but today is the first I've heard of it to the best of my knowledge. His best known role was as J. Walter Weatherman on Arrested Development, the one armed guy George Bluth uses to teach his kids lessons. I had no idea he was gone and it's like writing a Never to be Forgotten post.

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

Movie released
Jason and the Argonauts released, 1963

Fifty two years ago and still one of the most memorable times I have ever spent in a movie theatre.

Predictor: H.G. Wells in his 1901 book Anticipations.

Prediction: It has become apparent that whole masses of human population are, as a whole, inferior in their claim upon the future, to other masses, that they cannot be given opportunities or trusted with power as the superior peoples are trusted, that their characteristic weaknesses are contagious and detrimental in the civilizing fabric, and that their range of incapacity tempts and demoralizes the strong. To give them equality is to sink to their level, to protect and cherish them is to be swamped in their fecundity.

Reality: I am repeating a passage from Anticipations today because it reminds me of the horror we saw unfold in Charleston. To be fair, Wells isn't exactly racist. He doesn't want to kill all the blacks or Jews, but if someone does meet his definition of "inferior", then death or sterilization is the best thing for them. Wells is more of a proud cultural bigot, casually condemning nationalities like the Irish and the Russians.

I re-broadcast this horrible passage again today because it really is in the same vein as the beliefs of the vile young man Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at a church in South Carolina. I would also compare this young man to Timothy McVeigh. Of course, Wells didn't kill multiple people, but all of three of these scumbags thought they were trying to educate us, teach us the hard lesson that to make the world a better place, huge numbers of people have to be killed. Wells didn't need to kill people to get the public's attention. He had a publisher glad to broadcast his awful theories. Roof and McVeigh thought of themselves as scholars, people who had studied why a race war was necessary.

I don't think Roof and McVeigh are mentally disturbed. They are evil. Wells backed away from a lot of the worst of his pronouncements as writers and critics tore his book apart, but the evil certainly had a hold of him for a while. 

How does this evil grow? In Roof's case, he lives in a state where the Confederate flag flies over the seat of government. He is soaking in evil and made an effort to learn more evil on his own. Here in California, a man named Byron Williams was convicted of attempted murder of four Highway Patrol officers in a 2010 shootout. Williams was stopped on his way to kill people at The Tides Foundation, a liberal nonprofit repeatedly attacked by Glenn Beck, another self-proclaimed scholar. Had he not driven in a dangerous manner, he likely would have arrived at the destination where the people he wanted to kill were working.

I cannot fairly compare Wells to Roof or McVeigh, but he can be compared to Beck. In the so-called marketplace of ideas, we let some horrible scumbags peddle their wares. For most of us, this stuff can be ignored or mocked, but what they write and say give aid and comfort to the enemies of our shared humanity. They are the wind under evil wings.

Here endeth the lesson.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

However silly, scolding and overly optimistic Morris L. Ernst could be, I'm confident tomorrow's prediction will not advocate racial or ethnic cleansing.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

11 June 2015

Birthdays
Ivana Baquero b. 1994 (The Shannara Chronicles, Pan’s Labyrinth, Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt)
Eugene Simon b. 1992 (House of Anubis, Game of Thrones)
Claire Holt b. 1988 (The Vampire Diaries, H2O: Just Add Water)
Shia LeBeouf b. 1986 (Transformers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I, Robot, The Nightmare Room, The X Files)
Joshua Jackson b. 1978 (Fringe, Muppets from Space, Magic in the Water)
Jane Goldman b. 1979 (screenwriter, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass, Stardust)
Jade Carter b. 1976 (Buffy)
Robby Kiger b. 1973 (The Monster Squad, Children of the Corn, The Greatest American Hero)
Peter Dinklage b. 1969 (Pixels, Game of Thrones, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Knights of Badassdom, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Ultra, Elf)
Clare Carey b. 1967 (Jericho, Stargate SG-1, Charmed, The Invisible Man [2000 TV], Them, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Zombie High)
Pamela Gidley b. 1965 (The Little Vampire, Cherry 2000)
Hugh O’Gorman b. 1965 (The 10th Kingdom)
Hugh Laurie b. 1959 (Tomorrowland [2015], Stuart Little, The Borrowers, The Crystal Cube)
Peter Bergman b. 1953 (The Tick)
Sherman Howard b. 1949 (The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai, Invader ZIM, Star Trek: Voyager, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Retroactive, The Burning Zone, Deep Space Nine, Sliders, SeaQuest 2032, The Stand, Space Rangers, Superboy, Good & Evil, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation, ALF, Dark Angel, Freddy’s Nightmares, Max Headroom, Day of the Dead )
Nicholas Young b. 1949 (The Tomorrow People [2013 and 1979], Space: 1999)
Paul Lynch b. 1946 (director, So Weird, Sliders, Xena, Poltergiest: The Legacy, RoboCop [TV], Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dark Shadows [1991], Twilight Zone [1980s], Beauty and the Beast [1987], Voyagers!, Humongous)
Adrienne Barbeau b. 1945 (Carnivale, The Chronicle, Deep Space Nine, Sliders, Weird Science, Burial of the Rats, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, Creepshow, Swamp Thing, Escape from New York, The Fog)
Jordan Rhodes b. 1939 (Battlestar Galactica, The Terminal Man, Wonder Woman, The Night Stalker)
Christina Crawford b. 1939 (The Sixth Sense)
Chad Everett b. 1937 died 24 July 2012 (Supernatural, When Time Expires)
Gene Wilder b. 1933 (Alice in Wonderland [1999 TV], Haunted Honeymoon, Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Ed Bishop b. 1932 died 8 June 2005 (Highlander [TV], Whoops Apocalypse, Saturn 3, 1990, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, The Day After Tomorrow [1976], UFO, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Battle Beneath the Earth, The Mouse on the Moon)
John Bromfield b. 1922 died 18 September 2005 (Curucu, Beast of the Amazon, Revenge of the Creature)
Robert Hutton b. 1920 died 7 August 1994 (Trog, They Came from Beyond Space, The Vulture, The Slime People, Invisible Invaders, The Colossus of New York)
Richard Todd b. 1919 died 3 December 2009 (Doctor Who)
Buddy Baer b. 1915 died 18 July 1986 (Giant from the Unknown, Adventures of Superman, Jack and the Beanstalk [1952])
Dudley Manlove b. 1914 died 17 April 1996 (The Creation of the Humanoids, Plan 9 from Outer Space)
Gerald Mohr b. 1914 died 9 November 1968 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, Men Into Space, The Angry Red Planet, Invasion U.S.A.)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. I usually make Game of Thrones trump during its season, so Peter Dinklage has had the Picture Slot twice, but in 2015, my main rule is not to repeat the Picture Slot except in very special cases. While there are some names and faces you may recognize on the list today, I would argue that other than Dinklage as Tyrion, the most iconic is Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein or in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

2. Spot the Canadians! Joshua Jackson and Jade Carter were both born north of the border, but there credit lists don't make that clear.

3. Nepotism FTW. Buddy Baer is the brother of Max Baer, I'm not sure it counts. Robert Hutton is kin to the Hutton family fortune, I'm sure it doesn't count. Christina Crawford is Joan Crawford's adopted daughter, fuck yes it counts.

4. Wait... he's dead? I have not completely processed that Chad Everett is dead.

5. MST3K. I may have missed some, but I know The Slime People and Revenge of the Creature were used on the show. Regular commenter Zombie Rotten McDonald points out Invasion U.S.A. counts as well.

6. Too many labels. There is a limit of 200 characters in the label list, so I had to throw out Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Battlestar Galactica, noting that our prediction is about democracy and pointing out that Joseph Kennedy was a scumbag.

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

Predictor: Joseph Kennedy, ambassador to Great Britain in November 1940

Prediction: "Democracy is finished in England."

Reality: This was the sentence that lost Kennedy his job as ambassador. Being a very outspoken anti-Semite was acceptable, but this crossed a line. Not only was he a flaming asshole, but he was also dead wrong. If Fox News had existed back then, he could have been a regular contributor. As it is, he'll just have to be happy being a millionaire many times over and father of a political dynasty that now appears to have faded into nothing.

Never to be Forgotten: Ron Moody 1924-2015

The British actor Ron Moody died today at the age of 91. Best known as Fagin in Oliver!, he is remembered here for roles in A Ghost in Monte Carlo, Into the Labyrinth, Unidentified Flying Oddball, Legend of the Werewolf, The Mouse on the Moon, Alice Through the Looking Box and A Kid in King Arthur's Court.  This picture with Margaret Rutherford is from The Mouse on the Moon.

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

Never to be Forgotten: Sir Christopher Lee 1922-2015

Sir Christopher Lee, a legend in genre films, has died at the age of 93. Younger viewers will likely know him best from the Star Wars prequels and The Lord of the Rings films, but his reputation in horror films was made in the Hammer Studios films, often co-starring Peter Cushing. The list here on the blog of genre films for Sir Christopher may not be quite complete, but it included The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Dark Shadows [2012], Hugo, The Season of the Witch, Alice in Wonderland, Star Wars, The Golden Compass, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hollow [movie], Tale of the Mummy, The Odyssey [TV], The Tomorrow People, Curse III: Blood Sacrifice, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Howling II:… Your Sister is a Werewolf, The Return of Captain Invincible, Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Return from Witch Mountain, Starship Invasions, The End of the World, Dracula and Son, To the Devil a Daughter, Space: 1999, The Wicker Man, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Poor Devil, The Creeping Flesh, Dark Places, Horror Express, Dracula A.D. 1972, I Monster, The House that Dripped Blood, Scars of Dracula, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Count Dracula, Scream and Scream Again, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Blood Fiend, Island of the Burning Damned, Psycho-Circus, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, The Skull, She, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, The Gorgon, Castle of the Living Dead, Crypt of the Vampire, Hercules in the Haunted World, Scream of Fear, The Hands of Orlac, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Mummy, Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein.


Best wishes to the family and friends of Sir Christopher Lee, from a heartsick fan. He is never to be forgotten.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

H.G. Wells from Anticipations. Will it be a "normal" prediction, merely right or wrong, or will it be one of his "special" predictions, which are super creepy?

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!
 

31 May 2015

 Birthdays
Shaun Fleming b. 1987 (Jeepers Creepers II, Cyberkidz)
Richard Riddell b. 1984 (Penny Dreadful, Jabberwock, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, Merlin)
Jonathan Tucker b. 1982 (High Moon, Early Edition)
Lee Majdoub b. 1982 (Supernatural, Arrow, Soldiers of the Apocalypse, Underworld: Awakening, Fringe, Bionic Woman [2007])
Eric Christian Olsen b. 1977 (The Thing [2011], Smallville, Arthur’s Quest)
Mary Alexandra Stiefvater b. 1977 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Supergator)
Colin Farrell b. 1976 (Total Recall [2012], The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Fright Night, Minority Report, Daredevil)
Catherine Bruhier b. 1972 (Highlander: The Raven, Forever Knight)
Brooke Shields b. 1965 (The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Tales from the Crypt, Quantum Leap)
Lea Thompson b. 1961 (Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer, Left Behind, Back to the Future, SpaceCamp, Howard the Duck)
Chris Elliott b. 1960 (Ramsey Has a Time Machine, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Groundhog Day, The Abyss, Hyperspace)
Tommy Hinkley b. 1960 (Angel, The Little Vampire, Star Trek: Generations, Watchers II, Something is Out There, The Terror Within)
Kyle Secor b. 1957 (Resurrection, American Horror Story, A Wrinkle in Time [TV], Eerie, Indiana)
Nikolai Sotirov b. 1956 (The Legend of Hercules [2014], Annihilation Earth, Star Runners, Boogeyman 3, Shark Attack 3: Megalodon, Dracula Rising)
Jack Gilpin b. 1951 (Forever, From the Earth to the Moon, Aliens in the Family)
Gregory Harrison b. 1950 (Galaxy Beat, Duplicates, Logan’s Run [TV], Wonder Woman)
Tom Berenger b. 1949 (Inception, Nightmares & Dreamscapes)
Lynda Bellingham b. 1948 died 19 October 2014 (Doctor Who, Blakes 7)
Jim Hutton b. 1934 died 2 June 1979 (Twilight Zone)
Clint Eastwood b. 1930 (Space Cowboys, Firefox, Tarantula, Revenge of the Creature)
Menahem Golan b. 1929 died 8 August 2014 (producer, American Cyborg: Steel Warrior, Prison Planet, Captain America [1990], Night of the Living Dead [1990], Cyborg, Doin’ Time on Planet Earth, Journey to the Center of the Earth [1988], Alien from L.A., Masters of the Universe, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Beauty and the Beast, Invaders from Mars, America 3000, Lifeforce)
Julian Beck b. 1925 died 14 September 1985 (Poltergeist II: The Other Side)
Martha Hyer b. 1924 died 31 May 2014 (House of 1,000 Dolls, Bewitched, First Men in the Moon, Mistress of the World, Riders to the Stars, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars)
Denholm Elliot b. 1922 died 6 October 1992 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Underworld [1985], Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Boys from Brazil, The House That Dripped Blood, Mystery and Imagination [TV], The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
Don Ameche b. 1908 died 6 December 1993 (Cocoon, Harry and the Hendersons)
Madge Blake b. 1899 died 19 February 1969 (Batman, Bewitched, The Addams Family)
George R. Stewart b. 1895 died 22 August 1980 (author, Earth Abides)
Jack Holt b. 1888 died 18 January 1951 (Cat People)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous Picture Slotters were Colin Farrell in 2013 and Madge Blake in 2014. While we have an A-list movie star in Clint Eastwood, I think the most iconic role on the list who hasn't been utilized is Lee Thompson from the first Back to the Future, which is a particularly creepy plot line if you give it any thought.

2. Canadian spotted! Catherine Bruhier was born in Belize but raised in Canada and her credits include two genre shows from last century.

3. MST3K. While I did not consider Clint Eastwood for the Picture Slot, he is the reason we have MST3K as a label today, for his small role in Revenge of the Creature.

4. Wait... he's dead? Denholm Elliot died 23 years ago, but I feel like I should have seen him in something made more recently. It may just be that he is a certain type of British Oh That Guy actor, very good, not particularly pretty, always a good choice when a role needs some dignity. In any case, I did not remember that he was gone and I miss him.

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: Finding people from thirty years ago was no job for an amateur. But I didn’t know their Social Security numbers. My Country ‘Tis of Thee had never succumbed to police-state nonsense, so there was no bureau certain to have a dossier on every citizen, nor was I in a position to tap such a file even if there had been.

Reality: Sorry, Bob, the good old U.S.A. has gone police state in a big, big way in 2015, and even in 2000, your sleeper dude from 1970 would have found out about something called the Internet and had a fair shot in finding someone from info gleaned from thirty years in the past.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A new month and a new splash illustration, getting rid of the creepy giant rat spider. Yeesh!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

22 May 2015

Birthdays
Molly Ephraim b. 1986 (Paranormal Activity)
Tao Okamoto b. 1985 (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Wolverine)
Lucy Gordon b. 1980 died 20 May 2009 (Spider-Man 3)
Maggie Q b. 1979 (Insurgent, Divergent, Priest)
Ginnifer Goodwin b. 1978 (Once Upon a Time)
Noa Tisby b. 1977 (Charmed, The Island, The 4400, Star Trek: Enterprise)
A. J. Langer b. 1974 (Poltergeist: The Legacy, Escape from L.A., And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird, The People Under the Stairs)
Sean Gunn b. 1974 (Guardians of the Galaxy, H+, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Specials, Angel, Tromeo and Juliet)
Max Brooks b. 1972 (author, World War Z)
Alison Eastwood b. 1972 (Breakfast of Champions)
Michael Kelly b. 1969 (Man of Steel, Chronicle, The Adjustment Bureau, Fringe, Level 9)
David Holcomb b. 1967 (Spider-Man)
Brooke Smith b. 1967 (American Horror Story)
Mark Christopher Lawrence b. 1964 (Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys, Halloween II, Heroes, The Island, K-PAX, Planet of the Apes, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
James Lorinz b. 1964 (RoboCop 3, Frankenhooker)
David Schneider b. 1963 (28 Days Later…)
Ann Cusack b. 1961 (The Lost Room, Charmed, Star Trek: Enterprise, What Planet Are You From?, From the Earth to the Moon, Multiplicity, Tank Girl)
Gary Kasper b. 1958 (Bigfoot, My Demon Within, Star Trek: Enterprise, Conan, Batman Forever, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], Space, J.O.E. and the Colonel)
Gary Sweet b. 1957 (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
Mike Muscat b. 1952 (Horrorween, Shamelessly She-Hulk, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Last Action Hero, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Starman [TV], The Clan of the Cave Bear)
Thomas Schlamme b. 1950 (director, Invasion)
Cheryl Campbell b. 1949 (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
John Lazar b. 1946 (Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds)
Jack Kehler b. 1946 (The Man in the High Castle, Angel, Men in Black II, The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, Sliders, Babylon 5, Waterworld, Deep Space Nine, Tales form the Crypt, Mann & Machine, Strange Invaders)
Michael Sarrazin b. 1940 died 17 April 2011 (Feardotcom, Arrival II, Earthquake in New York, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Frankenstein: The True Story)
Paul Winfield b. 1939 died 7 March 2004 (Mars Attacks!, White Dwarf, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Charmings, The Terminator, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Twilight’s Last Gleaming)
Richard Benjamin b. 1938 (actor, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Saturday the 14th, Love at First Bite, Quark, Westworld; director, My Stepmother is an Alien)
John Nolan b. 1938 (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, 1990, Doomwatch, The Prisoner)
Frank Converse b. 1938 (VR.5, The Bionic Woman, The Starlost, The Sixth Sense [1972])
Merry Anders b. 1932 died 28 October 2012 (Women of the Prehistoric Planet, The Time Travelers, The Addams Family, Beauty and the Beast [1962])
Michael Constantine b. 1927 (WW 3, Free Spirit, The Powers of Matthew Star, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, The Invaders, My Favorite Martian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Quinn Martin b. 1922 died 5 September 1987 (producer, The Aliens Are Coming, The Mephisto Waltz, The Invaders)
Laurence Olivier b. 1907 died 11 July 1989 (Clash of the Titans, Dracula [1979], The Boys from Brazil)
Arthur Conan Doyle b. 1859 died 7 July 1930 (author, The Lost World)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Paul Winfied from Star Trek: The Next Generation and a poster from the Indiana Jones movie released in 2008. This year I go with Laurence Olivier as Zeus in Clash of the Titans. I want to be clear that putting someone in the Picture Slot is not a sign of approval for their work. Olivier was very pretty when he was young and may have been great on stage, but on film I thought he was way too hammy. I am much keener on his contemporaries like John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson.

2. Nepotism FTW. Allison Eastwood is the most obvious case of nepotism on the list, but imdb.com made a special point to note that Brooke Smith is the daughter of powerful publicist Lois Smith. While not that well known to the general public, it probably helped her get started. Ann Cusack is John Cusack's sister, Richard Benjamin is married to Paula Prentiss and I don't consider either relationship nepotistic.

3. One unspottable Canadian from the Wait... he's dead category. Michael Sarrazin was born north of the border, but his career took off long before the Canadian genre TV industry came into existence. I also have to admit I wasn't completely aware he was gone when I clicked on his imdb.com web page this morning.

4. MST3K. Merry Anders was in Women of the Prehistoric Planet.

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


Movies released 
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull released, 2008
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian released, 2009

Predictor: H.G. Wells in his 1901 book Anticipations

Prediction: The struggle on the high seas between any two naval powers (except, perhaps, the English and American, who have both quite unparalleled opportunities for coaling) will not last more than a week or so.

Reality: Not even close. Naval struggles in both world wars lasted throughout the duration and the Germans and Japanese held their own for a long time against the British and Americans. While coal was used well into the 20th Century, many vessels ran on gasoline and coaling stations became obsolete.

Big fat goose egg, Herb.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More incautious optimism from the 1955 book Utopia 1976.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!