5 September 2013

Birthdays
Skandar Keynes b. 1991 (Narnia)
Carice Van Houten b. 1976 (Game of Thrones, Repo Men)
Paddy Considine b. 1974 (The World’s End)
Rose MacGowan b. 1973 (Charmed, Grindhouse)
Michael Keaton b. 1951 (Batman, Beetlejuice)
William Devane b. 1939 (The X-Files, Stargate SG-1, The Dark Knight Rises)

An all-actor list today and I put pretty Ms. Van Houten in the Picture Slot for the usual reasons. Being old, I can remember when fandom got their panties in a bunch because Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, and that worked out pretty well.

Many happy returns of the day to all concerned.

Prediction:September 2012: Army doctor Lt. Colonel Robert Neville is the last healthy human in New York City immune to a virus turning humans into vampires.

Predictor: I Am Legend, released 12/14/2007

Reality: Fans of sci-fi will know that I Am Legend and the 1970s movie The Omega Man were both based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend. Both movies give dates five or six years after the movie is released for the time frame of when the crap hits the fan. And since this paragraph is entitled "reality", it should be noted have avoided the zombie/vampire/gun-nut/Mayan apocalypses so far.

Atlantic Hurricane Season prediction update

This has been a quiet storm season so far. September 1 is the midway point and there have been only seven named storms so far, none of them reaching hurricane level. The current storm - titled Tropical Depression Seven in the illustration - has now become Tropical Storm Gabrielle and made landfall in Puerto Rico in the past few hours. As it goes back over the water, it is predicted to become the first hurricane of the season, which will set a record for the latest first hurricane. The track is currently moving away from the mainland of North America, but Bermuda may get hit early next week. Best wishes to everyone in the path.

As a reminder, the prediction was for 12 to 20 named storms this season, with 16 being the most likely. If the last three months are the same as the first three, the total will be 12. The Next update will be December 1.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet again the end of the world is predicted, this time for September 1994, though the predictor can hardly be said to be in the genre.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 July 2013

Birthdays
Roberto Orci b. 1973 (writer, Xena, Star Trek (reboot))
Josh Holloway b. 1969 (Lost)
Carlos Saldanha b. 1968 (co-director Ice Age)
Reed Diamond b. 1967 (Dollhouse)

In a situation like this, I often go with the Whedonverse actor in the picture slot, but even though I gave up on Lost well before the ending that disappointed many, there's no denying how popular it was during much of its run.

Movies released
The Dark Knight Rises released 2012

There was a time not so long ago that I saw nearly every big budget sci-fi and comic book movie that came out, but a few bad experiences cured me of this habit. For me, The Dark Knight was one of those bad experiences, so I didn't see The Dark Knight Rises.
  

Songs of the Future!

Prediction: The public discovers the world will end in 1977, five years in the future

Predictor: David Bowie in the song Five Years from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, released in 1972

Reality: The world didn't end, of course, but music fans will likely have noticed that I use the label "We've got ____ years/And that's all we've got" for all apocalypses with specific dates on them, which is the hook from Five Years.

Five Years is song one on side one on Ziggy and it's one of the best opening songs on an album of all time as far as I'm concerned. More than that, I once remember playing the album for a friend who asked if it was a greatest hits compilation.  For those of us who were listening to the radio in 1972 (a mere 41 years ago) the songs are that familiar and that good.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another bold prediction with a cool illustration from Popular Mechanics.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

10 February 2013

Birthdays
Elizabeth Banks b. 1974
Laura Dern b. 1967
Jerry Goldsmith b. 1929 died 7/21/2004

For importance to the genre, I should put up a picture of Jerry Goldsmith, vital to the Star Trek franchise, but I'm a dirty old man and pretty girls are trump, so I have this picture of Laura Dern from Jurassic Park, the great scene where she and Sam Neill see a living dinosaur for the first time.

I loved that on the big screen.

Movies released
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island released, 2012

For movies in the 21st Century, my criterion for including them is $100 million in box office. I may have to pump that up.

Prediction: In 1987, the Soviets invade Alaska, triggering an all-out nuclear assault on both sides.

Predictor: World War Three, a 1982 NBC mini-series starring David Soul, Brian Keith and Rock Hudson as The President.

Reality: The 1980s were the end of the Golden Age of entertainment based on the idea that OMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE ROASTING AND SCREAMING!

This was also the era of the lavish mini-series.

This wasn't one of them.

We avoided all-out toe-to-toe nuclear confrontation with the Russkies. There still might be all-out toe-to-toe nuclear confrontation with the Red Yellow Peril. (The Orange Peril? No, that's John Boehner's nickname.) But there's no profit in it, and both sides are definitely keen on profit, even though the Chinese call themselves Commie and scholars like Victoria Jackson consider Obama a Commie.

We're going to have to figure out another way to have an apocalypse. But don't worry, we are very clever and persistent.

Looking ahead one day... INTO THE FUTURE! Every other Monday, the OMNI Future Almanac gets a turn at bat and it is absolutely chock full. So much fun stuff.

Join me then... IN THE FUTURE!