28 August 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

18 August 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The word was “kink”.

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

Is it Wednesday already? That means a visit from our sensible friend George Sutherland.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

29 July 2015

Birthdays
Munro Chambers b. 1990 (Turbo Kid, A Wrinkle in Time)
Penny Bae Bridges b. 1990 (Space Jam)
Genesis Rodriguez b. 1987 (Moose Jaws, Tusk)
Tania Gunadi b. 1983 (Pixel Perfect, Haunted)
Allison Mack b. 1982 (Lost in Oz, Smallville, The Nightmare Room)
Dominic Burgess b. 1982 (The Leftovers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Doctor Who, Batman Begins)
Jeremy Beiler b. 1982 (Men in Black 3)
Megan Hayes b. 1980 (Sleepy Hollow, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, +1)
Rachel Miner b. 1980 (Supernatural, The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations, The X Files)
Lana Kinnear b. 1976 (Iron Man, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV)
Stephen Dorff b. 1973 (Immortals, Blade, Space Truckers)
Dileep Rao b. 1973 (Touch, Inception, Avatar, Drag Me to Hell)
Wil Wheaton b. 1972 (Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana, Sharknado 2: The Second One, Big Bang Theory, Eureka, The Guild, Neverland, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Invisible Man, Python, Deep Core, Flubber, Perversions of Science, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Monsters, The Curse, The Last Starfighter)
Graham McGrath b. 1971 (Krull, Frankenstein [1984 TV])
Mans Marlind b. 1969 (director, Underworld: Awakening)
Timothy Omundson b. 1969 (Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Jericho, Xena, Starship Troopers, Dark Skies, SeaQuest 2032)
Daniel Raymont b. 1969 (Alien: Resurrection)
Richard Steven Horvitz b. 1966 (Invader ZIM, Babylon 5, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Munsters Today)
Dean Haglund b. 1965 (The Icarus II Project, Atlantis Down, The X Files, The Lone Gunmen, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Sliders)
Alexandra Paul b. 1963 (Firequake, A.I. Assault, Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York, Cyber Bandits, Deadly Nighmares, Christine)
Kevin Spirtas b. 1962 (Daredevil, Quantum Leap, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood)
Brian Peck b. 1960 (Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], X-Men 2, X-Men, The Tick, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, Return of the Living Dead I, II and III)
Marcus Gilbert b. 1958 (Army of Darkness, Doctor Who)
Wendy Hughes b. 1952 died 8 March 2014 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Amerika)
Charles Hallahan b. 1953 died 25 November 1997 (Roswell, Warlock: The Armageddon, Cast a Deadly Spell, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Thing)
Mike Starr b. 1950 (Deep Space Nine, Millennium, Early Edition, James and the Giant Peach, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Freejack, Cat’s Eye)
Leslie Easterbrook b. 1949 (Lavalantula, House of the Witchdoctor, House, Halloween, The Munsters Today, Misfits of Science)
Ryan Cutrona b. 1949 (The X Files, Dark Skies, Millennium, Babylon 5, Alien Nation)
Charles Hallahan b. 1943 died 25 November 1997 (Space Jam, Roswell, Warlock: The Armageddon, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Thing [1982])
David Warner b. 1941 (Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Hogfather, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, Cyber Wars, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2003 TV], Planet of the Apes [2001], The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Total Recall 2070, Wing Commander, The Last Leprechaun, Perversions of Science, Beastmaster III, Babylon 5, Lois & Clark, Necronomicon: Book of Dead, The Lost World, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, My Best Friend is a Vampire, Frankenstein [1984 TV], Faerie Tale Theatre, The Company of Wolves, Cast a Deadly Spell, TRON, Time Bandits, Time After Time, The Omen)
Robert Fuller b. 1933 (The Brain from Planet Arous)
Lloyd Bochner b. 1925 died 29 October 2005 (Legend of the Mummy, Superboy, Millennium [1989], Manimal, Battlestar Galactica, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Starlost, The Dunwich Horror, Bewitched, The Green Hornet, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone)
Gordon Mitchell b. 1923 died 20 September 2003 (Evil Spawn, She [1982], Frankenstein ’80, The Giant of Metropolis, Atlas Against the Cyclops)
Frank Marth b. 1922 died 12 January 2014 (The Incredible Hulk, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Captain America, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Marooned, The Invaders, The Green Hornet, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian)
Chris Marker b. 1921 died 29 July 2012 (writer, La Jetee)
Melvin Belli b. 1907 died 9 July 1996 (Star Trek)
William Powell b. 1892 died March 5 1984 (Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid)
Maria Ouspenskaya b. 1876 died 3 December 1949 (Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Wolf Man)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Okay, in previous years I had Wil Wheaton and Lloyd Bochner in the Picture Slot. Wheaton had an iconic role and has become a major figure in nerd culture, while Bochner had the lead role on one the the greatest Twilight Zone episodes, To Serve Man. But seriously, this means I didn't give the Slot to David Warner two years running and I admit that's just wrong. I mean, could Wheaton or Bochner look like a bad-ass holding a colorized frisbee?

No, they could not. They aren't David Warner.

2. Spot the Canadians! Munro Chambers and Dean Haglund.

3. Wait... she's dead? Wendy Hughes died in March of last year and I didn't give her a Never to be Forgotten. I noted this glaring oversight last year on her birthday. This year, my brain adamantly refused to accept it had seen the memo about this.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Wendy Hughes, from a big fan. She is never to be forgotten, especially by the knucklehead writing this blog.

4. That's a long retirement. William Powell stopped acting in his 60s - Mister Roberts in 1955 - and lived into his 90s, never being tempted to get back on screen.

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


Movie released
Cowboys & Aliens released, 2011

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1902 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: In farming and horticulture the field of labour is not so narrowly localised as it is in mining. Work representing an expenditure of hundreds of thousands of pounds may be carried out in mines whose area does not exceed two or three acres; and it is therefore highly remunerative to concentrate mechanical power upon such enterprises in the most up-to-date machinery. But the farmer ranges from side to side of his wide fields, covering hundreds, or even thousands, of acres with his operations. He is better situated than the miner in respect of the economical and healthy application of horse-power, but far worse in regard to the immediate possibilities of steam-power and electrically-conducted energy. No one can feed draught stock more cheaply than he, and no one can secure able-bodied men to work from sunrise till evening at a lower wage. Yet the course of industrial evolution, which has made so much progress in the mine and the factory, must very soon powerfully affect agriculture… But the presence of a source of power which can easily be shifted about from place to place on the farm for the purpose of watering the ground must very soon suggest the applicability of the same mechanical energy to the digging or ploughing of the soil. It is from this direction, rather than from the wide introduction of steam-ploughs and diggers, that the first great impetus to the employment of mechanical power on the farm may be looked for. The steam-plough, no doubt, has before it a future full of usefulness; and yet the slow progress that has been made by it during a quarter of a century suggests that, in its present form--that is to say while built on lines imitating the locomotive and the traction-engine--it cannot very successfully challenge the plough drawn by horse-power.

Reality: Regular readers will know that Sutherland looked at the problems with internal combustion engines and pretty much discounted their further usefulness, and so predicted great futures for electric engines and steam engines. Even with this major stumbling block in his predictions, I still like the guy.
 
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A prediction from the Edwardian era about how folks will dress in 1950.
  
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! 

30 May 2015

Birthdays
Jared Gilmore b. 2000 (Once Upon a Time)
Jake Short b. 1997 (Mighty Med, Jack and Janet Save the Planet)
Kevin Covais b. 1989 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Men in Black 3)
Will Peltz b. 1986 (In Time)
Adam Bond b. 1981 (Victor Frankenstein, Kick-Ass 2, Maleficent)
Blake Bashoff b. 1981 (Lost, Charmed, Minority Report)
Rachel Stirling b. 1977 (Doctor Who, Snow White and the Huntsman)
Omri Katz b. 1976 (Hocus Pocus, Matinee, Eerie, Indiana, Adventures in Dinosaur City)
Minae Noji b. 1973 (Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers Time Force)
Darren E. Scott b. 1972 (The Tomorrow People, Almost Human, Smallville, The 4400, Andromeda, Jeremiah, Dark Angel)
Duncan Jones b. 1971 (director, Source Code, Moon)
John Ross Bowie b. 1971 (The Big Bang Theory, Dark Minions, Heroes, Charmed)
Idina Menzel b. 1971 (Frozen, Enchanted)
David Dukas b. 1970 (District 9, Merlin: The Return)
Tammy Parks b. 1965 (Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds, Droid Gunner)
Mark Sheppard b. 1964 (Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Mysterious Island, Doctor Who, Xtinction: Predator X, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, The Middleman, Bionic Woman [2007]. Jake 2.0, Deep Shock, Firelfly, Charmed, Megalodon, Lost Voyage, The Chronicle, Star Trek: Voyager, Sliders, M.A.N.T.I.S., The X-Files)
Cynthia Gouw b. 1963 (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Freddy’s Nightmares)
Lynda Wiesmeier b. 1963 died 16 December 2012 (Teen Wolf)
Tonya Pinkins b. 1962 (Enchanted)
Kevin Eastman b. 1962 (writer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
James McGowan b. 1960 (Bitten, Total Recall [2012], Warriors of Terra, Mutant X)
Ted McGinley b. 1958 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Space Case)
Carrie Dobro b. 1957 (Crusade, Babylon 5, Hypernauts)
Colm Meaney b. 1953 (Childhood’s End, Alice, Stargate: Atlantis, Zenon: Z3, The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Stephen Toblowsky b. 1951 (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Heroes, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Lloyd in Space, The Day the World Ended, Roswell, Dead Last, Buffy, Groundhog Day, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Spaceballs, The Philadelphia Experiment)
Michael Piller b. 1948 died 1 November 2005 (writer, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Star Trek, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Meredith MacRae b. 1944 died 14 July 2000 (Eathbound)
David Ackroyd b. 1940 (Xena, Swamp Thing [TV], Exo-Man)
Joshua Bryant b. 1939 (The Lost Room, Starman [TV], The Powers of Matthew Star, Salem’s Lot, Man from Atlantis)
Michael J. Pollard b. 1939 (Tales from the Crypt, Eerie, Indiana, Superboy, Scrooged, Star Trek, Lost in Space)
Deanna Lund b. 1937 (Transylvania Twist, Superstition 2, Elves, The Incredible Hulk, Land of the Giants, Batman, Dimension 5)
Keir Dullea b. 1936 (Space Station 76, Alien Hunter, Witchblade, 2010, The Next One, Brain Waves, Brave New World, The Starlost, 2001: A Space Odyssey)
Ruta Lee b. 1935 (Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills, Mork & Mindy, Doomsday Machine, Twilight Zone, Adventures of Superman)
Clint Walker b. 1927 (The Serpent Warriors, Deadly Harvest, Snowbeast, Killdozer, Scream of the Wolf)
Hal Clement b. 1922 died 29 October 2003 (writer, Mission of Gravity, Star Light)
Franklin J. Schaffner b. 1920 died 2 July 1989 (director, The Boys from Brazil, Planet of the Apes)
Peter Leeds b. 1917 died 12 November 1996 (The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Land of the Giants, Mr. Terrific, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie, My Mother the Car, The Addams Family, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, The Atomic Kid, I Married a Witch)
Hugh Griffith b. 1912 died 14 May 1980 (Legend of the Werewolf, The Last Days of Man on Earth, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Abominable Dr. Phibes)
Mel Blanc b. 1908 died 10 July 1989 (over 1,000 credits, almost all voice work, most notable genre work, The Jetsons, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Duck Dodgers in the 24½ th Century, The Phantom Tollbooth)
Howard Hawks b. 1896 died 26 December 1977 (director [uncredited], The Thing from Another World)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The previous Picture Slotters are Keir Dullea from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Colm Meaney from Star Trek. There were still several other candidates today, including Omri Katz from Eerie, Indiana, John Ross Bowie from The Big Bang Theory and Deanna Lund from Land of the Giants, but I was in an Oh That Guy mood and chose Steven Toblowsky as Ned Ryerson from Groundhog Day.

2. Canadians, true and false. If I made Canadian detection a game today and the only hint was that there are three, many might choose Mark Sheppard, but that would be wrong. He was born in England and lives in Los Angeles, according to imdb.com. The correct answers are Darren E. Scott, James McGowan and Ruta Lee. The two guys are guessable, Ms. Lee is not.

3. Nepotism FTW. Mark Sheppard is the son of British Oh That Guy William Morgan Sheppard. Meredith MacRae was the daughter of Gordon MacRae. 

4. Wait... she's dead? We have several people on the list who died young. The name that is best known to me of those people is Meredith MacRae from Petticoat Junction. I was not aware at all that she was dead.

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

Movies released
Maleficent released, 2014
Dark Side of the Moon released, 1990

Predictor: Dark Side of the Moon released, 1990

Prediction: In 2022, the crew of a spaceship must survive after a mysterious systems failure.

Reality: In 1990, 2022 seemed like a long way away and regular space travel was just going to happen somehow. In 2015, it's not as far away anymore and having any space exploration outside of Earth orbit doesn't seem to be in the cards for a while.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another peek into the late 20th Century with Robert A. Heinlein in The Door Into Summer.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

27 April 2015

Birthdays
Emily Rios b. 1989 (Grimm, Almost Human)
Jane Hancock b. 1988 (The Flash, Mythos, Fringe)
William Moseley b. 1987 (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Laura Ortiz b. 1987 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Bite Me, Chillerama, The Hills Have Eyes)
Jenna Coleman b. 1986 (Doctor Who, Captain America: The First Avenger)
Jasmine Lowe b. 1986 (The Hunger Games, Vampiro)
Anna Skellern b. 1985 (Camelot, Siren, The Descent: Part 2)
Janet Lopez b. 1985 (Attack of the 30 Foot Chola, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Francis Capra b. 1983 (The Strain, Touch, Clear Skies 3, Heroes)
Ari Graynor b. 1983 (Fringe)
Brooke Long b. 1980 (Iron Man 2)
Sally Hawkins b. 1976 (Godzilla [2014])
Elle Downs b. 1973 (Hemlock Grove, Cybergeddon, Earth: Final Conflict, 2103: The Deadly Wake)
Andre Gower b. 1973 (10.0 Earthquake, The Monster Squad, The Wizard, Twilight Zone [1985], Knight Rider)
David Lascher b. 1972 (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch)
Mehmet Kurtulus b. 1972 (Equilibrium)
Elizabeth Marmur b. 1970 (Neverwhere, Forever Knight)
Matt Reeves b. 1966 (writer, Let Me In, Future Shock, director, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
Anna Chancellor b. 1965 (Penny Dreadful, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, FairyTale: A True Story, Jupiter Moon)
Lisa Wilcox b. 1964 (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures [TV], Star Trek: The Next Generation, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and 5, Something is Out There)
Russell T. Davies b. 1963 (showrunner, Wizards vs. Aliens, Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Min-sik Choi b. 1962 (Lucy)
Victoria Price b. 1962 (Edward Scissorhands)
James Le Gros b. 1962 (Phantasm II, *batteries not included, Solarbabies, Near Dark)
Eugenie Bondurant b. 1961 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Sorority House Vampires, Space Truckers, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Sheena Easton b. 1959 (TekWar, Highlander [TV])
Kevin McNally b. 1956 (Supernatural, Pirates of the Caribbean, Demons, Doctor Who)
John Shrapnel b. 1942 (Merlin, Alien Autopsy, The Tenth Kingdom, Invasion: Earth, Space: 1999)
Ned Wynn b. 1941 (The Absent Minded Professor, Son of Flubber)
Judy Carne b. 1939 (I Dream of Jeannie)
Sandy Dennis b. 1937 died 2 March 1992 (976-EVIL)
Casey Kasem b. 1932 died 15 June 2014 (Scooby-Doo, Homeboys in Outer Space, Battle of the Planets, Ghostbusters, Doomsday Machine, The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant, 2000 Years Later)
Robert Donner b. 1931 died 8 June 2006 (Alien Nation: Dark Horizon, Starman [TV], Mork & Mindy, The Incredible Hulk, Damnation Alley, Six Million Dollar Man)
Jack Klugman b. 1922 died 24 December 2012 (I Dream of Jeannie, Twilight Zone)
Colin Gordon b. 1911 died 4 October 1972 (UFO, The Prisoner, Doctor Who, Burn, Witch, Burn, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man, The Man in the White Suit)
Harry Stockwell b. 1902 died 19 July 1984 (The Werewolf of Washington)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot skewed young with Jenna Coleman from Doctor Who and William Moseley from Chronicles of Narnia. This year, I go unabashedly old school with Jack Klugman from one of his four appearances on the original Twilight Zone series. There are actors and writers whose work I like on the list, but when it comes to iconic, the choices are few.

2. Spot the Canadians. Jane Hancock and Elle Downs work in the Canadian genre industry, though they don't have quite enough credits to make it obvious.

3. Nepotism, but just a little win. Ned Wynn is Keenan Wynn's son. He did a few movies as a young man and decided being in front of the screen wasn't for him. Victoria Price is Vincent Price's daughter. Her only acting credit is in Edward Scissorhands.

4. Wait... they're dead? I did not realize Sandy Dennis died more than twenty years ago. I had Robert Donner listed last year, but I failed to note he was dead. He's probably best known for the recurring role of Exidor on Mork & Mindy.

5. Deserved a Never to be Forgotten. My Bad. When Casey Kasem died last year, I didn't bother looking up his credit list, but I should have. I probably wanted to avoid all the weirdness surrounding his final days. Of course, he was the voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo, but he also had on screen performances and guest shots as himself in several genre productions.

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

6. The Gal at the Door. Judy Carne turns 76 this year. It's odd to think of someone like her whose career highlighted her youth and vivacious personality as being the oldest living person on the list, but that is the situation. As always when pointing out this morbid coincidence, the blog offers special birthday wishes to The Gal at the Door.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Dr. Marvin Clein and his graduate student John Keefe produce a computer simulation to predict the top speeds for fastballs thrown by athletes of several heights and weights

6'3", 210 lbs: 105 mph
6'4", 218 lbs: 107 mph
6'5", 227 lbs: 108.5 mph
6'6", 236 lbs: 110 mph
6'8", 255 lbs: 112 mph
6'10", 275 lbs: 115 mph
7'0", 295 lbs: 117 mph


Reality: This prediction scores at least one point because the fastest fastball recorded by radar in major league history is 106 mph by Cuban born Aroldis Chapman, who is 6'4" and 215 lbs. As for bigger guys throwing even faster, that hasn't happened yet. For example, Randy Johnson was 6'10" and could throw 102 mph, but he only weighed 225 lbs. Most of the very tall pitchers had similarly slim builds. A good athlete standing seven feet tall and nearly 300 lbs. is more likely to choose basketball as his sport.

There are two pitchers from earlier eras who allegedly threw faster than Chapman, but were not recorded with radar guns. Nolan Ryan was supposed to have thrown 108 mph and Bob Feller 107 mph. Ryan was list as 6'2" and Feller at 6'0".

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another visit from John Langdon-Davies and his 1936 book A Short History of the Future. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 April 2015

Birthdays
Alex Ferris b. 1997 (Eureka, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Smallville, X-Men: The Last Stand, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1)
Dev Patel b. 1990 (The Last Airbender)
Aanastasia Baranova b. 1989 (Z Nation, Apocalypse CA, Rise: Blood Hunter)
Rachel Skarsten b. 1985 (Lost Girl, Beauty and the Beast, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, Birds of Prey)
Jesse Lee Sofer b. 1984 (In Time)
Aaron Hill b. 1983 (Creature, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
Isaiah Robinson b. 1983 (Hook)
Jamie King b. 1979 (Sin City, The Spirit)
Joanna Krupa b. 1979 (Planet of the Apes)
Kal Penn b. 1977 (Superman Returns, Son of the Mask, Angel, Sabina, The Teenage Witch, Buffy)
Gabriel Damon b. 1976 (Eerie, Indiana, RoboCop II, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Amazing Stories)
Barry Watson b. 1974 (My Future Boyfriend, Boogeyman, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman [1993])
Sonya Smith b. 1972 (Cyxork 7)
Andrew Kreisberg b. 1971 (writer, The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Warehouse 13, Fringe, The Vampire Diaries)
Scott Bairstow b. 1970 (Android Apocalypse, Tuck Everlasting, Harsh Realm, The Postman. The X Files)
Byron Thames b. 1969 (Chronicle, Star Trek: Enterprise, Monsters, Freddy’s Nightmares, The Powers of Matthew Star)
John Hannah b. 1962 (Atlantis [2013], The Mummy, Carnivale, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [2003], The Mummy and spin-offs)
Valerie Bertinelli b. 1960 (Faerie Tale Theatre, C.H.O.M.P.S.)
Mark Caven b. 1960 (Maleficent, I Love Mummy, Red Dwarf, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace)
Tim Blaney b. 1959 (Angel, Men in Black, Short Circuit)
Jan Hooks b. 1957 died 9 October 2014 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Coneheads, Batman Returns, Superman 50th Anniversary, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure)
Caroline Thompson b. 1956 (writer, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Addams Family, Edward Scissorhands)
Blair Brown b. 1946 (Forever, Fringe, Falling Skies, Dark Shadows [TV movie 2005], Smallville, The Astronaut’s Wife, Space, Altered States, Dracula [TV movie 1973])
Herve Villechaize b. 1943 died 4 September 1993 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Forbidden Zone, Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood)
Sheila Gish b. 1942 died 9 March 2005 (Highlander, The Ghostbusters of East Finchley, Worlds Beyond)
Sandra Dee b. 1942 died 20 February 2005 (The Sixth Sense [1972], The Dunwich Horror)
Lee Majors b. 1939 (Lightspeed, Jake 2.0, The Six Million Dollar Man & spin-offs, Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land)
Alan Oppenheimer b. 1930 (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Knight Rider, The Six Million Dollar Man, Westworld, Bewitched, Gamera the Invincible, I Dream of Jeannie)
Janet Blair b. 1921 died 18 February 2007 (The Outer Limits, Burn, Witch, Burn, One Touch of Venus [TV], A Connecticut Yankee, Once Upon a Time)
Simone Simon b. 1910 died 22 February 2005 (Cat People, Curse of the Cat People)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. This is one of those days when not wanting to repeat a previous Picture Slot and only wanting iconic characters becomes difficult. In 2013, when my research methods were very weak, the only name I had on the list was Kal Penn, so he got the slot. In 2014, I found a picture of both Lee Majors and Alan Oppenheimer from The Six Million Dollar Man. While there are some well-known names on the list, for my money the most iconic role other than Lee Majors is the robot Johnny Five from Short Circuit, voiced by Tim Blaney. I usually leave voice actors out, though I do make exceptions on occasion. Blaney happens to be a relative of a former roommate, so that factored into my decision as well.

2. Wait... she's dead? We have a trio of folks born during World War II who are already dead. I remembered that Herve Villechaize was dead. (You will note I don't count Fantasy Island as genre. I was definitely a fan of genre when it came out and I knew it was more like Love Boat than Star Trek.) I really didn't follow Sheila Gish's career very closely. (By the was, she's British and not related to Lillian and Dorothy Gish.) But I certainly know the name Sandra Dee and was completely unaware she died ten years ago.

3. The Canadians, pre-spotted for your convenience. As often happens, though not always, young Canadians are on the shows that have been produced in Canada over the past few decades while older Canadians came to the States and worked here. Alex Ferris and Rachel Skarsten have credit lists that make their nationality clear, Scott Bairstow and Mark Caven, not so much.

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

Predictor: Lewis Mumford (1895-1990), cultural critic, quoted in 1932

Prediction: “[By 1982] Australia will be abandoned to the Japanese by its white inhabitants, who will return to an England capable of supporting by agriculture almost double its present population.”

Reality: Mumford was a cranky bastard who particularly hated cars and what they did to cities. While I guess he should get some small credit for that now, he was absolutely wrong about Australians giving up and equally wrong about the population of England, which grew by 25% from 1932 to 1982, not 100%.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The regular schedule gives us H.G. Wells on Fridays.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

 

21 March 2015

Birthdays
Scott Eastwood b. 1986 (Texas Chainsaw 3D)
Sonequa Martin-Green b. 1985 (The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time)
Honorine Bell b. 1981 (A Guy, A Girl, A Space Helmet, The Thirst: Blood War, )
Sam Troughton b. 1977 (AVP: Alien vs. Predator)
Joseph Mawle b. 1974 (Sense8, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Awakening, Game of Thrones, Merlin[2009])
Laura Allen b. 1974 (Clown, Ravenswood, Awake, From Within, The 4400)
Vanessa Branch b. 1973 (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lost, The Invisible Man [TV], Star Trek: Voyager, The Cell)
Jaye Davidson b. 1968 (Stargate)
Karyn Kusama b. 1968 (director, Jennifer’s Body, Aeon Flux)
Greg Ellis b. 1968 (The Hobbit, Touch, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek [2009], Knight Rider [2008], Beowulf, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Brimstone, The X-Files)
Lara Lamberti b. 1967 (Aenigma, Red Sonja)
Phillip Troy Linger b. 1964 (The Hunger Games)
Matthew Broderick b. 1962 (The Stepford Wives [2004], Inspector Gadget, Godzilla [1998], Project X, Faerie Tale Theatre, WarGames, Ladyhawke)
Kathryn Greenwood b. 1962 (Wonderfalls, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, RoboCop [TV], Maniac Mansion)
Kassie Wesley DePaiva b. 1961 (Time Trax, Evil Dead II)
Sabrina Le Beauf b. 1958 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Gary Oldman b. 1958 (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, RoboCop, The Dark Knight Rises, Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Lost in Space [movie], The Fifth Element, Dracula)
Timothy Dalton b. 1944 (Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Hercules [2005 TV], Tales from the Crypt, Flash Gordon)
Lorene Yarnell Jansson b. 1944 died 29 July 2010 (Spaceballs, Wonder Woman)
Alex Courtney b. 1940 (Programmed to Kill, The Bionic Woman)
Kathleen Widdoes b. 1939 (The Invaders, Way Out)
Roger Hammond b. 1936 died 8 November 2012 (Bedazzled [2000], A Christmas Carol [1999], Ghostbusters of East Finchley, Morons from Outer Space, Doctor Who, Queen Kong)
Al Williamson b. 1931 died 12 June 2010 (illustrator, Flash Gordon)
James Coco b. 1930 died 25 February 1987 (The Stepford Children, Twilight Zone [1985], The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Alice in Wonderland [1983])
Cliff Norton b. 1918 died 25 January 2003 (Tabitha, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Terrific, It’s About Time, The Munsters, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll)
Peter Bull b. 1912 died 20 May 1984 (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, A Christmas Carol [1951], The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus [1947])
Gustav Frohlich b. 1902 died 22 December 1987 (Metropolis)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark from Game of Thrones and Gary Oldman from Harry Potter. Even with these two removed, there are plenty of good choices for iconic, including Timothy Dalton from Flash Gordon, Matthew Broderick from WarGames, Jaye Davidson from Stargate, or an illustration by the late great Al Williamson. But I decided on the late Lorene Yarnell, the woman who was inside the Dot Matrix robot in Spaceballs. I was not aware she was dead.

2. Spot the Canadian! If you know your 20th Century Canadian genre productions, today's solo Canuck should not be tough to find.

3. Nepotism FTW. Scott Eastwood started his career using his mother's name Reeves, but he's pretty much got his dad's face. He's Clint Eastwood's son.

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

Movie released
Divergent released, 2014  
 

Predictor: Hempstead Washburne 1852-1918, mayor of Chicago, asked to predict the world of 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition

Prediction: The political condition of the United States in 1993 will be very similar to that of the present. Railroads and telegraphs will be under public control. We will still be on the gold standard. Corporations will tend towards more perfect centralization, until the monopolies become so obnoxious that they will be regulated by federal and local statutes. The accumulation of wealth will continue, but laws will be enacted to regulate the amount of wealth that can be inherited. The laboring classes shall organize and become a large part of the middle class. It is not improbable that women will obtain the franchise in many states.

Reality: Washburne starts by saying it's business as usual, then proceeds to predict a much more liberal form of government than the one that was in place in 1893, with women's suffrage, successful labor unions, trust busting government and taxes that discourage a permanent class of inherited wealth. It is interesting to note that besides the gold standard and women's suffrage, Washburne's topics are still a big part of the liberal-conservative debate even 122 years later.

As for facial hair, it's a bold mustache, but the rest is pretty tame. He kind of looks like the actor Bruce McGill, doesn't he?

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

I'm not keen on repeating myself this year on choices for the Picture Slot, but tomorrow looks like one of those days.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

13 March 2015

Birthdays
Amir Ali Said b. 1996 (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Kaya Scodelario b. 1992 (Maze Runner, Clash of the Titans, Moon)
George MacKay b. 1992 (Peter Pan [2003])
Harry Melling b. 1989 (Merlin [2010], Harry Potter)
Emile Hirsch b. 1985 (Speed Racer, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Gargantua, Early Edition, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Kindred: the Embraced)
Noel Fisher b. 1984 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014], Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Battle Los Angeles, A Wrinkle in Time, Killer Bees!, Final Destination 2, Andromeda, Ratz)
Rachel Bella b. 1984 (The Ring, Buffy, W.E.I.R.D. World)
April Matson b. 1981 (Kyle XY)
Danny Masterson b. 1976 (Haven, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Strange Frequency, Dracula 2000, The Faculty, Star Kid, Sliders, American Gothic)
Chris Ashworth b. 1975 (Space Warriors, Terminator Salvation, The Lost Room)
Common b. 1972 (Terminator Salvation, Wanted)
Kiara Hunter b. 1972 (Alien Incursion, Stargate SG-1, NightMan, Bordello of Blood, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, The X Files)
Annabeth Gish b. 1971 (FlashForward, Once Upon a Time, The X-Files, Race to Space, Steel)
Tracy Wells b. 1971 (Gremlins)
Tim Story b. 1970 (director, Fantastic Four, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer)
David Orth b. 1965 (Once Upon a Time, Fringe, 2012, Smallville, Fallen [2006], Supernatural, Stargate: Atlantis, Mutant X, The Lost World, Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend, Total Recall 2070, RoboCop [TV], The Hidden Room, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Deadly Nightmares)
Steve Bacic b. 1965 (The 100, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Smallville, Supernatural, Stargate: Continuum, Battlestar Galactica: Razor, Flash Gordon [TV], Blade: The Series [TV], Andromeda, X-Men 2, Dark Angel, The 6th Day, BeastMaster [TV], Earth: Final Conflict, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], The X-Files, Highlander [TV], M.A.N.T.I.S.)
John Turk b. 1962 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon)
Arturo Gil b. 1960 (Deadtime Stories, Saul of the Mole Men, Charmed, Monkeybone, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV], Third Rock from the Sun, Leprechaun 2, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Spaceballs)
Bruce Byron b. 1959 (The Mummy Returns, Ghostbusters of East Finchley)
Dana Delany b. 1956 (Battlestar Galactica)
Glenne Headly b. 1955 (Breakfast of Champions, The X Files, The Purple Rose of Cairo)
Robin Duke b. 1954 (Virtual Mom, Multiplicity, Groundhog Day, Maniac Mansion)
Deborah Raffin b. 1953 died 21 November 2012 (The Twilight Zone [1989], Dance of the Dwarfs)
William H. Macy b. 1950 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Jurassic Park III, Mystery Men, Pleasantville, WarGames, Somewhere in Time)
Leslie Parrish b. 1935 (Logan’s Run [TV]. The Giant Spider Invasion, Star Trek, Batman, Mission to the Moon)
Joseph Mascolo b. 1935 (The Incredible Hulk)
Grant Woods b. 1932 died 31 October 1968 (The Reluctant Astronaut, Star Trek, The Green Hornet, Batman)
Peter Breck b. 1929 died 6 February 2012 (I Still Dream of Jeannie, The Sword and the Sorcerer, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Outer Limits, The Crawling Hand)
L. Ron Hubbard b. 1911 died 24 January 1986 (author, Battlefield Earth)
Paul Stewart b. 1908 died 17 February 1986 (The Invisible Man [1975], The Sixth Sense [1972], City Beneath the Sea)
Paul Fix b. 1901 died 14 October 1983 (Battlestar Galactica [1979], The Six Million Dollar Man, Night of the Lepus, Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Dr. Cyclops)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. A long and interesting birthday list today, and as usual, I'm looking for iconic. Last year, I used Leslie Parrish from Star Trek because she's oh so pretty, but I'm trying not to repeat myself as much as possible. Young Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter would count, but I decided against him. I could go with L. Ron Hubbard, but I want to give that cult leader bastard as little oxygen as possible. Instead I went with William H. Macy as The Shoveler from Mystery Men, a movie often derided that I really enjoyed.

2. Hip deep in Canadians. There are five Canadians on today's list, Robin Duke, Steve Bacic, David Orth, Kiara Hunter and Noel Fisher. If you are fan of SCTV, you probably could have guessed Duke's place of birth and Bacic and Orth have plenty of tell-tale roles, but Hunter and Fisher are not as easy to spot.

3. Wait... she's dead? When I was doing the morning research, I clicked on Deborah Raffin's name not sure whether she did any genre work or not. I was completely unaware she had died of leukemia a few years back. Very sad.

4. MST3K. There are two movies here I know got the Best Brains treatment, The Crawling Hand with Peter Breck and The Giant Spider Invasion with Leslie Parrish.

5. No nepotism here. Annabeth Gish has a famous show business last name, but she is no relation to the silent screen sisters Dorothy and Lillian. 

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

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

Prediction: War in the future will be a question of preparation, of long years of foresight and disciplined imagination, there will be no decisive victory, but a vast diffusion of conflict--it will depend less and less on controlling personalities and driving emotions, and more and more upon the intelligence and personal quality of a great number of skilled men.

Reality: I'm giving Herb at least partial credit here, as the big wars of the 20th Century were undertakings much more vast than anything the 19th Century saw, but he has to get marked down for saying there would be no decisive victories.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's a regular Saturday, and we hear from our predicting pals from 1893.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!


 

27 February 2015

 Birthdays
Kate Mara b. 1983 (The Fantastic Four [2015], The Martian, Transcendence, American Horror Story, Iron Man 2, Zoom)
Juan Riedinger b. 1981 (Continuum, Sanctuary, Collision Earth, Fringe, Supernatural, Jennifer’s Body, Smallville, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Bionic Woman [2007], Fallen)
Nikki Amuka-Bird b. 1976 (Jupiter Ascending, Sinbad [2012], Torchwood, The Omen [2006])
Bingbing Li b. 1973 (Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Resident Evil: Retribution)
Richard Coyle b. 1972 (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ultra)
Julia Parker b. 1970 (A Girl, a Guy, a Space Helmet, Alien Armageddon)
Donal Logue b. 1966 (Gotham, Shark Night 3D, Blade, The X-Files, Night Rider, Robotrix)
Gregg Rainwater b. 1966 (Street Fighter)
Noah Emmerich b. 1965 (Super 8, The Walking Dead, The Truman Show, Last Action Hero)
Adam Baldwin b. 1962 (Day Break, The Thirst, Serenity, Firefly, Angel, Stargate SG-1, The X-Files, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Gargantua, From the Earth to the Moon, Independence Day, VR.5, Predator 2)
Grant Shaud b. 1961 (From the Earth to the Moon, Lois & Clark)
Timothy Spall b. 1957 (The Enfield Haunting, Upside Down, Harry Potter, Enchanted, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Vanilla Sky, The Hunger [TV], Red Dwarf, Gothic)
Angela Aames b. 1956 died 27 November 1988 (Automan, Likely Stories Vol. 4, Mork & Mindy)
Stephen Leigh b. 1951 (author, Dinosaur World, The Omega Egg, Wild Cards)
Mark Harrison b. 1951 (illustrator)
Debra Monk b. 1949 (The Brass Teapot, Devil’s Advocate)
Hajime Sorayama b. 1947 (illustrator)
Alan Fudge b. 1944 died 10 October 2011 (Dark Skies, Galaxis, M.A.N.T.I.S., Quantum Leap, Alien Nation, My Demon Lover, Twilight Zone [1986], Space, Knight Rider, Man from Atlantis, Capricorn One, Wonder Woman, Bug [1975])
Mary Frann b. 1943 died 23 September 1998 (Lois & Clark, Deadly Nightmares, The Incredible Hulk)
Charlotte Stewart b. 1941 (Tremors, Journey to the Center of the Earth [1990], UFOria, Eraserhead)
Howard Hesseman b. 1940 (Halloween II [2009], Level 9, The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Faerie Tale Theatre, Likely Stories Vol. 4, Americathon)
Bill Hunter b. 1940 died 21 May 2011 (On the Beach, Space: Above and Beyond, The Return of Captain Invincible, Doctor Who)
Barbara Babcock b. 1937 (Space Cowboys, Salem’s Lot, Logan’s Run [TV], The Sixth Sense [1972], Star Trek, The Green Hornet, The Munsters)
Van Williams b. 1937 (The Green Hornet, Batman)
Lynn Cartwright b. 1927 died 2 January 2004 (Far Out Space Nuts, The Wasp Woman, Queen of Outer Space)
William Demarest b. 1892 died 28 December 1983 (Twilight Zone, Son of Flubber)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years the Picture Slot used Adam Baldwin from Firefly and Timothy Spall from Harry Potter. There were several choices this year, including Donal Logue from Gotham or a Sorayama robot, but instead I went with Barbara Babcock from the Plato's Stepchildren episode of the original Star Trek. The general public might remember her better from her recurring role on Hill Street Blues. Kate Mara might become iconic as Sue Storm, but that has yet to be proven.

2. Spot the Canadians! If it was just Juan Reidinger, I would have made it a competition and put the answer in the comments later. He's easy to spot. But we also have Donal Logue, who has only a smattering of Canadian productions on his impressive resume.

3. Wait... they're dead? My first shock this morning on imdb.com was that Mary Frann, known best as Bob Newhart's wife on the show that took place in Vermont, died last century. I certainly paid attention to obits back then, but this had slipped my mind completely.We also have two other actors born in the 1940s who are already dead, the Australian Bill Hunter and the American TV character actor Alan Fudge. Youngest of all is Angela Aames, a busty starlet who died at the age of 32 over a quarter of a century ago. I know her best from the Cinemax show Likely Stories Vol. 4, which is of interest to My People and Our Agenda. I definitely didn't know she was gone.

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

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

Prediction: War is being drawn into the field of the exact sciences. Every additional weapon, every new complication of the art of war, intensifies the need of deliberate preparation, and darkens the outlook of a nation of amateurs. Warfare in the future, on sea or land alike, will be much more one-sided than it has ever been in the past, much more of a foregone conclusion. Save for national lunacy, it will be brought about by the side that will win, and because that side knows that it will win.

Reality: Umm, Herb... not so much. We have so many examples of wars in the 20th Century where the side that started it looked like they would win but failed to achieve their political ends, either because of underestimation of the other side's tenacity or overextending itself to fight several fronts at once.

Looking ahead one day... INTO THE FUTURE!

A prediction from 1893 from a name still known today.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

14 January 2015

Birthdays
Grant Gustin b. 1990 (The Flash, Arrow)
Kacey Barnfield b. 1988 (World War Dead: Rise of the Fallen, Jabberwock, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Lake Placid 3)
Zach Gilford b. 1982 (The Purge: Anarchy, Rise: Blood Hunter)
Jordan Ladd b. 1975 (Awaken, Embrace of the Vampire)
Kevin Durand b. 1974 (The Strain, Garm Wars: The Last Druid, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Resident Evil: Retribution, I Am Number Four, Lost, Legion, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Kyle XY, Threshold, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Butterfly Effect, Dead Like Me, Taken, Andromeda, Dark Angel, Stargate SG-1)
Davis S. Hogan b. 1974 (Z Nation, Bigfoot, Grimm)
Katie Griffin b. 1973 (Annedroids, Earth: Final Conflict, Total Recall 2070, The Adventures of Sinbad, Forever Knight, RoboCop)
Jason Bateman b. 1969 (The Invention of Lying, Hancock, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Teen Wolf Two, Knight Rider)
LL Cool J b. 1968 (Rollerball [2002], Deep Blue Sea)
Emily Watson b. 1967 (The Water Horse, Equilibrium)
Kerri Green b. 1967 (The Goonies)
Mark Addy b. 1964 (Atlantis[TV], Game of Thrones, The Time Machine)
Steven Soderbergh b. 1963 (director, Solaris, Contagion)
Suzanne Danielle b. 1957 (Hammer House of Horror, Flash Gordon, Doctor Who)
Lawrence Kasdan b. 1949 (writer, Dreamcatcher, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi)
Carl Weathers b. 1948 (Sheriff Tom Vs. The Zombies, The Sasquatch Gang, Alien Siege, Predator, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Stuart Baird b. 1947 (director, Star Trek: Nemesis)
Vonetta McGee b. 1945 died 9 July 2010 (Brother Future, Repo Man, Blacula)
Marjoe Gortner b. 1944 (Otherworld, Food of the Gods, Starcrash)
Holland Taylor b. 1943 (Spy Kids, Strange Frequency, The Truman Show)
Faye Dunaway b. 1941 (The Gene Generation, Anonymous Rex, The Handmaid’s Tale, Supergirl)
John Castle b. 1940 (RoboCop 3, 1990, The Prisoner)
Tom Tryon b. 1926 died 4 September 1991 (I Married a Monster From Outer Space)
Warren Mitchell b. 1926 (A Christmas Carol [2000 TV], Jabberwocky, Moon Zero Two, Blood Beast from Outer Space, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Crawling Eye)
Guy Williams b. 1924 died 30 April 1989 (Lost in Space, Captain Sindbad, I Was a Teenage Werewolf)
Joe Seneca b. 1919 died 15 August 1996 (SeaQuest 2032, The Blob [1988], Amazing Stories)
Joseph Losey b. 1909 died 22 June 1984 (director, X the Unknown, The Boy with Green Hair )
Hugh Lofting b. 1886 died 26 September 1947 (author, Doctor Dolittle)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, I used Mark Addy from Game of Thrones and the writer Lawrence Kasdan. I could gone new school and used Grant Gustin, star of the new show The Flash, but instead I went old school with Guy Williams from Lost in Space. Other good options include Carl Weathers from Predator and Faye Dunaway from The Handmaid's Tale.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are two, they were born after 1970. With those hints, it's possible to find them.

3. MST3K. I know of two on the list: Warren Mitchell was in Moon Zero Two and Guy Williams was in I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Zombie Rotten McDonald has added one, since Mr. Mitchell was also in The Crawling Eye.

4. Wait... she's dead? I didn't know Vonetta McGee had died. Very pretty actress, her heyday was in the 1970s.

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

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: When they rose from the table after dinner Mr. Barrett expressed the hope that Mr. Smith would pass the evening with them and suggested that they go to the theatre. His daughter suggested the opera. Mr. Barrett thought Mr. Smith might like to hear that ancient classic Chantecler which was being given at Daly's.

"I like those old-fashioned simple things" said the host, "and in music I confess I do not understand the new composers beyond Strauss. Mother, will you join us?"

The aged Mrs. Barrett shook her head. "I will leave you. I have my own theatre, that of the old folks."

"My mother has a photocinematograph and is never tired of making it unroll the films on which her whole life is registered." said Mr. Barrett. "Daughter, put out the lights and put us in communication with the Old Theatre."

Mr.s Barrett had the telephototheatrophone in his house.

Reality: This is the last of the predictions from The New York World. Here our anonymous pal is predicting some sort of home theatre for playing films the owner has made and something else like television. The first one is not such a great leap forward in 1911, but predicting television is several technical advances away from the state of the art in 1911. We got similar predictions from the 1905 book A Hundred Years Hence and Looking Backward: 2000-1888, so while this is bold and correct, it is not completely original. The in joke here is that Chantecler, allegedly ancient, was a verse play released in 1910.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow is Thursday and we get another incorrect prediction from The Experts Speak. 

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

10 January 2015

 Birthdays
Emily Meade b. 1989 (The Leftovers, Fringe)
Alex Meraz b. 1985 (Twilight Saga)
Josh Ryan Evans b. 1980 died 5 August 2002 (Poltergeist: The Legacy)
Sarah Shahi b. 1980 (Supernatural)
Antonio Cupo b. 1978 (Supernatural, Taken, Andromeda, Dark Angel, The Immortal [2000 TV])
Kathrin Kuhnel b. 1988 (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters)
Trini Alvarado b. 1967 (Fringe, The Frighteners)
Tony Gardner b. 1964 (Cockneys vs Zombies, Jekyll, My Parents are Aliens)
Julie Moran b. 1962 (Independence Day, Xena, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Mark Venturini b. 1961 died 14 February 1996 (Space Rangers, Knight Rider, Return of the Living Dead, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning)
Evan Handler b. 1961 (Lost)
Janet Jones b. 1961 (The Beastmaster)
Fran Walsh b. 1959 (screenwriter, The Hobbit, King Kong [2005], Lord of the Rings, The Frighteners)
James Lapine b. 1949 (playwright, Into the Woods)
Lally Cadeau b. 1948 (ReGenesis, Twilight Zone [1989], Videodrome, Threshold [1981])
Teresa Graves b. 1948 died 10 October 2002 (Old Drac)
Jeff Jones b. 1944 died 19 May 2011 (artist)
Shelly Novack b. 1944 died 27 May 1978 (Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
William Sanderson b. 1944 (True Blood, Lost, Cyber Wars, The Low Budget Time Machine, Jumanji [TV], Babylon 5, The X-Files, Mann & Machine, Sometimes They Come Back, Mirror Mirror [1990], The Twilight Zone [1988], Knight Rider, Blade Runner)
Walter Hill b. 1942 (producer, Prometheus, Aliens vs. Predator, Perversions of Science, Bordello of Blood, W.E.I.R.D. World, Tales from the Crypt)
Sal Mineo b. 1939 died 12 February 1976 (Escape form the Planet of the Apes, The Immortal [1971 TV])
Douglas Hickox b. 1929 died 25 July 1988 (director, The Giant Behemoth, Theatre of Blood)
Bernard Lee b. 1908 died 16 January 1981 (Moonraker, A Christmas Carol [1977 TV], Beauty and the Beast [1976 TV], Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, The Champions, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors)
Ray Bolger b. 1904 died 15 January 1987 (Battlestar Galactica, Babes in Toyland, The Wizard of Oz)
Francis X. Bushman b. 1883 died 23 August 1966 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Batman, The Phantom Planet)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The blog began in January 2013 and in the first few months, I often had very short birthday lists. Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson's collaborator, got the nod in 2013 and William Sanderson was featured in 2014. I'm of the opinion that Sanderson is the only actor on this list with an iconic genre role, so instead I honor James Lapine, playwright of Into the Woods. I use the poster from the original Broadway cast here. I did see the recent movie version and enjoyed it, but all good stills had the word "Disney" plastered on them, and I want to give that company as little free publicity as possible. 

2. Wait... she's dead? Doing the research each morning is an exercise in mortality. While all the people on the list born before World War I saw a fair number of birthdays, then we have the deceased starting with director Douglas Hickox, born in 1929.

Douglas Hickox: dead at 59
Sal Mineo: dead at 37
Shelly Novack: dead at 34
Teresa Graves: dead at 54
Mark Venturini: dead at 35
Josh Ryan Evans: dead at 22

Josh Ryan Evans was a little person actor. He died of heart failure at 22, very sad. The two names I knew here without prompting are Sal Mineo and Teresa Graves. I remembered that Mineo died young, but I never processed that Teresa Graves was gone. It's like fresh news, and bad fresh news at that.

3. The Museum of the Hard to Believe: The Canadian actor who was never on Supernatural. On a lighter note, we have two young actors who were on Supernatural, but neither was born in Canada. Our sole representative from The Great White North is Lally Cadeau, who worked with Canadian director David Cronenberg.

4. Hey... no Star Trek! If you look over at the labels, you'll see that Star Trek shows up more than a hundred times more than the second most popular label Whedonverse. But we do get days with no actors or writers from Star Trek celebrating birthdays, and today is one of those days.

5. MST3K. I didn't realize how long Francis X. Bushman worked. He was a huge star in the 1920s, but just a working actor once talkies came in. He was in The Phantom Planet, which Mike and the bots skewered in Season 9.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories. Too many of you were gone too soon.

Predictor: Edwin Checkley, (1847-1911) physical culturalist, asked to predict the world of 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition.

Prediction: It gives me great satisfaction to predict that a marked change will take place in the science of medicine. By 1993 doctors will prescribe no more than one third of the drugs they now think necessary. The true relation of the muscular system, and their combined influence on the nervous system, will become more fully and generally understood. The combined action of the patient's mind and muscles will be depended on to prevent, allay and cure disease, instead of drugs.

Reality: Umm... not so much. It was a little surprising to find a bodybuilder among the "prominent Americans" asked to predict the future in 1893, but there were a lot of health fads at the turn of the century, John Harvey Kellogg and his corn flakes among the best known. What Checkley couldn't foresee was how much better medicine would become in the 20th Century, since much of what was prescribed in his day is considered quackery today. There is more to his prediction, but it's mostly just nagging, not unlike Jack LaLanne was in modern times. To LaLanne's credit, he lived to be 95, while Checkley didn't make it to 65.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our "new" regular Sunday predictor will be well known to regular readers of the blog and to science fiction fans in general. A hint? Sensible or ridiculous. (Spoiler: mostly ridiculous.)


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

14 December 2014

Birthdays
Max Topplin b. 1989 (Carrie [2013], Dead Before Dawn 3D, Please Kill Mr. Know It All, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Haven, Fringe, The Incredible Hulk [2008])
Vanessa Hudgens b. 1988 (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Sucker Punch, Beastly)
Joe Rokicki b. 1985 (Jack Frost)
Sophie Monk b. 1979 (Click, Monster!)
Patrick O’Brien Dempsey b. 1978 (Thor)
Martin Christopher b. 1977 (Fringe, Sanctuary, Stargate, Supernatural, Painkiller Jane, Eureka, Night at the Museum)
KaDee Strickland b. 1975 (The Grudge, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, The Stepford Wives [2004], The Sixth Sense [1999])
Thuy Trang b. 1973 died 3 September 2001 (The Crow: City of Angels, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Miranda Hart b. 1972 (Hyperdrive)
Michael Stoyanov b. 1970 (Space Station 76, The Dark Knight, Mom and Dad Save the World, Quantum Leap, Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Archie Kao b. 1969 (The Hill Have Eyes II, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy)
Natascha McElhone b. 1969 (The Truman Show, Solaris, Feardotcom)
Ted Raimi b. 1965 (Attack of the 50ft Cheerleader, Legend of the Seeker, Supernatural, Planet Raptor, Spider-Man, The Man with the Screaming Brain, Odyssey 5, Invader ZIM, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Apollo 11 [TV], American Gothic, SeaQuest 2032, Army of Darkness, Candyman, Darkman, ALF, Alien Nation, Evil Dead I and II, Shocker)
Peter Murnik b. 1965 (Touch, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Armageddon, Quantum Leap)
Rebecca Gibney b. 1964 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Salem’s Lot [2004], Farscape, The Lost World, Sabrina, Down Under, Time Trax)
Don Franklin b. 1960 (Journeyman, Seven Days, Asteroid, SeaQuest 2032, Somewhere in Time)
Debbie Lee Carrington b. 1959 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mighty Joe Young [1998], Perversions of Science, Men in Black, Mom and Dad Save the World, Batman Returns, Total Recall, Spaced Invaders, Harry and the Hendersons, Howard the Duck, Invaders From Mars, Amazing Stories, Earthlings, Return of the Jedi)
Celia Weston b. 1951 (American Horror Story, Under the Dome, The Invasion, The Village, Hulk, K-PAX)
Paul Zaloom b. 1951 (Beakman’s World)
Vicki Michelle b. 1950 (C.O.O.L.I.O. Time Travel Gangster, Queen Kong, Space: 1999, Virgin Witch)
Dee Wallace b. 1948 (Zombie Killers: Elephant’s Graveyard, Grimm, Robocroc, My Stepbrother is a Vampire!?!, Aliens from Uranus, Warehouse 13, Soupernatural, The House of the Devil, Halloween [2007], Abominable, The Frighteners, Alligator II: The Mutation, Critters, The Twilight Zone [1985], Cujo, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Howling, Man from Atlantis, The Hills Have Eyes, The Stepford Wives)
Lynn Marie Stewart b. 1946 (Here Come the Munsters, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse)
Patty Duke b. 1946 (Amityville: The Evil Escapes, Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], Journey to the Unknown, 4D Man)
Stewart Brand b. 1938 (writer, Space Colonies, The Media Lab)
Lee Remick b. 1935 died 2 July 1991 (Faerie Tale Theatre, The Medusa Touch, The Omen, Damn Yankees! [1967 TV Movie])
Lewis Arquette b. 1935 died 10 February 2001 (Little Nicky, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman [1993], Tales from the Crypt, Quantum Leap, ALF, The Incredible Hulk, Man From Atlantis)
George Furth b. 1932 died 11 August 2008 (The Munsters Today, The Man with Two Brains, Megaforce, Sleeper, I Dream of Jeannie, Batman)
Joe Brooks b. 1923 died 5 December 2007 (Gremlins, Exo-Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Munsters)
Elyse Knox b. 1917 died 15 February 2012 (The Mummy’s Tomb)
Laurence Naismith b. 1908 died 5 June 1992 (Scrooge [1970], The Valley of Gwangi, The Invaders, Camelot, Jason and the Argonauts, Village of the Damned, Vampire Over London)
Frances Bavier b. 1902 died 6 December 1986 (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, I had a picture of Natascha McElhone because... purdy. This year I'd like to give props to Dee Wallace, also purdy and the owner of a remarkable career. She has 211 credits on imdb.com and only a handful are voice work. She did have a few years as a regular on a few TV shows, but none of them were long lasting hits. It's not impossible for an actress to start working in her twenties and keep working into her sixties, but most who have accomplished that became stars like Meryl Streep or Bernadette Peters. Dee Wallace has done it the hard way, role by role, sometimes in big budget stuff, sometimes in small. Good on ya, Dee.

Next year, I can't say who will be in the Picture Slot. If I'm in an Oh That Guy mood, Ted Raimi is possible, if I want another fabulous babe I might sneak in Vanessa Hudgens from the quickly forgotten Sucker Punch, or I might go Oh That Girl and fabulous babe with Debbie Lee Carrington, one of the best known little person actresses.


2. Wait... she's dead? I had Lee Remick's name on last year's list but I failed to mark down that she died over twenty years ago. If I ever knew it - and I'm an obit fan, so I should have known it - the fact completely slipped my mind.

3. Spot the Canadians! There are two. I'll give the hint that both were born after 1975. Good luck.

4. Hey... no Star Trek! It does happen, but not that often. In just over two months of noting the Star Trek free days, this is the seventh.

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

Movies released
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey released, 2012
I Am Legend released, 2007
King Kong released, 2005

 

Predictor: Philip K. Dick in Breakfast at Twilight, published first in the July 1954 issue of Amazing Stories

Prediction: A family has been bounced forward in time seven years to 1980 to a U.S. devastated by a nuclear war and invaded by Russian troops. The holocaust has gradually evolved out of a series of conflicts beginning with the Korean War. Russian robot-controlled bombardments are systematically destroying the entire country. When the family's house is bombed they are bounced back into their own time, but realize it is futile to warn their disbelieving contemporaries of the war they know is coming.

Reality: Once again, the vast majority of nuclear war stories I have found come from Paul Brians' great database and I thank him yet again.All I will add to the synopsis Professor Brians wrote is that as usual, PKD loves to play around with questions about the natural of reality.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another Monday, another dip into the gift that keeps on giving, The OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!