20 August 2015

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

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

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

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

Predictor: Morris Enrst in the 1955 book Utopia 1976

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

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

Friday means another chance for all of us to think a little less of Herbert George Wells.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

27 June 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

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

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

21 January 2015

Birthdays
Owen Best b. 1997 (TRON: Legacy, Smallville, Impact)
Jennifer Rae Daykin b. 1995 (Nanny McPhee)
Booboo Stewart b. 1994 (Dominion, Twilight Saga, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Space Warriors, Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft, 666: The Child)
Chanelle Peloso b. 1994 (Zapped [2014])
Keely Purvis b. 1992 (The Time Tunnel [2006], X-Men 2, Taken)
Craig Roberts b. 1991 (Being Human, Becoming Human, Young Dracula)
Jacob Smith b. 1990 (Hansel & Gretel [2002], Evolution’s Child, Small Soldiers, Meego)
Jeff Ballard b. 1987 (Grave Halloween, Forever 16, Supernatural, Snowmageddon, Painkiller Jane, Kyle XY, Smallville, Zolar, A Wrinkle in Time, Dark Angel, Mission to Mars)
Luke Grimes b. 1984 (True Blood)
Izabella Miko b. 1981 (Supernatural, Clash of the Titans)
Svetlana Khodchenkova b. 1983 (The Wolverine)
Jerry Trainor b. 1977 (Angel, Evolution, Donnie Darko)
Paul Anthony b. 1975 (Tomorrowland, The Flash, The Returned, Suck, Painkiller Jane, Stargate: Atlantis, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Blade: Trinity, Dead Like Me, Jake 2.0, Stargate SG-1, Strange Frequency, Dark Angel)
Luigia Zucaro b. 1971 (Dawn of the Dead)
Ken Leung b. 1970 (Lost, X_Men: The Last Stand, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence)
Karina Lombard b. 1969 (The 4400, Kull the Conqueror)
Matthew Willig b. 1969 (Grimm, Abelar: Tales of an Ancient Empire)
Todd Caldecott b. 1969 (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
John Ducey b. 1969 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Deep Impact, Rumplestiltskin [1995])
Charlotte Ross b. 1968 (Arrow)
Patrick Weil b. 1963 (Touch, Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred, Eastwick)
Michael Wincott b. 1958 (Alien: Resurrection, Strange Days, The Crow, An American Christmas Carol)
Geena Davis b. 1956 (Coma [2012], Transylvania 6-5000, The Fly, Beetlejuice, Earth Girls Are Easy, Knight Rider)
Robby Benson b. 1956 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Deadly Nightmares)
Trey Wilson b. 1948 died 16 January 1989 (Vampire Hookers)
Ann Wedgeworth b. 1934 (The Twilight Zone [1986], My Science Project)
Clive Donner b. 1926 died 7 September 2010 (director, A Christmas Carol [1984], The Thief of Baghdad [1978])
Steve Reeves b. 1926 died 1 May 2000 (Hercules, Hercules Unchained, The Thief of Baghdad, Goliath and the Barbarians, Topper [1953 TV])
Dean Fredericks b. 1924 died 30 June 1999 (The Phantom Planet, The Disembodied, Them!)
Telly Savalas b. 1922 died 22 January 1994 (Alice in Wonderland [1985], Capricorn One, The Twilight Zone)
John Doucette b. 1921 died 16 August 1994 (The Time Machine [1978 TV], Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Time Tunnel, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Sabu and the Magic Ring, Adventures of Superman, Batman and Robin [1949])
J. Carrol Naish b. 1896 died 24 January 1973 (Dracula vs. Frankenstein, I Dream of Jeannie, House of Frankenstein, The Monster Maker, Batman [1943])

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, Geena Davis was in the Picture Slot with a still from The Fly, though Beetlejuice was probably more iconic. This year, it's Steve Reeves from Hercules. While I admit to geezerhood, I challenge anyone to find an actor younger than Ms. Davis who had an iconic genre role.

2. Oh Those Guys. We have some great character actors on the list. I don't count Telly Savalas because Kojak turned him into a household name. J. Carrol Naish has 222 credits on imdb.com, and while I remember his role as the hunchback Daniel in House of Frankenstein very well even though it's been more than fifty years since I saw it, I think that's more about my memory than his being truly iconic. John Doucette was a stocky bald guy who usually played a villain. If you are old enough, his face should be familiar, he has 284 credits on imdb.com/

3. Wait... he's dead?  Another familiar face whose name might escape you is Trey Wilson, who died 26 years ago at the age of 40. His best known role is Nathan Arizona in Raising Arizona. I was completely unaware he was gone and it makes me sad.

4. Canadians, the bold and the furtive. There are a lot of Canadians today, some with very few credits of any kind, some born too early to be able to exploit the modern sci-fi gold rush in Vancouver and Toronto. Jeff Ballard and Paul Anthony have credit lists that are typically Canadian, but Chanelle Peloso, Keely Purvis, Luigia Zucaro, Todd Caldecott and Michael Wincott are less obviously from The Great White North.

5. Hey, no Star Trek! I started this label because Star Trek is far and away the most popular label. I figured days without folks from Star Trek would be few and far between, but it's been pretty common in January.

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

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1901 book Twentieth Century Inventions: A Forecast

Prediction:The solar engine, if generally introduced, would be found more intermittent in its action than the windmill--excepting perhaps in a very few localities where there is a cloudless sky throughout the year. The windmill gathers up the power generated by the expansion of the air in passing over long stretches of heated ground, while a solar engine cannot command more of the sun's heat than that which falls upon the reflector or condenser of the engine itself. The latter machine may possibly have a place assigned to it in the industrial economy of the future, but the sum total of the power which it will furnish must always be an insignificant fraction.

Reality: According to Wikipedia, solar power accounts for about 0.85% of the world's energy as of 2015. This number is growing, but I would argue Sutherland is not incorrect so far with his "insignificant fraction" prediction.

Welcome our new pal George Sutherland to the fold. I found out about his book by reading H.G. Wells' Anticipations. I've just started reading his book and so far he seems very sensible, which likely means he will miss a lot of what gets invented in the 20th Century. The electron was discovered in 1897 and it took a while before it was completely accepted by the scientific community. When the Royal Society got around to celebrating J.J. Thomson's work, he gave the toast "Gentlemen, I give you the electron. May it be of no earthly use to anyone!"While this means Sutherland will have to make a huge leap to predict anything electronic, You can expect to read his predictions for the next couple months at least.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Yet another incorrect prediction from The Experts Speak.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

14 October 2014

Birthdays
Roward Blanchard b. 2001(Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D)
Mia Wasikowska b.1989 (Only Lovers Left Alive, Alice In Wonderland)
Max Thieriot b. 1988 (Jumper, The Astronaut Farmer)
Mackenzie Mauzy b. 1988 (Forever, Into the Woods)
Daniel Clark b. 1985 (Earth: Final Conflict, My Best Friend Is an Alien, Goosebumps, Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension)
Ben Whishaw b. 1980 (The Zero Theorem, Cloud Atlas)
Nels Lennarson b. 1972 (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Tomorrow People, Horns, The Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, Smallville, The Andromeda Strain [2008], Bionic Woman [2007], Stargate: Atlantis, Blade: The Series, Painkiller Jane, Stargate SG-1, Strange Frequency, Andromeda)
Jon Seda b. 1970 (Twelve Monkeys)
Paul Fitzgerald b. 1970 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014], Fringe, Roswell)
Robert C. Cooper b. 1968 (producer, Stargate)
Steve Coogan b. 1965 (Night at the Museum, Around the World in 80 Days, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, Alice Through the Looking Glass [1998 TV movie], Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Tales from the Crypt, The Indian in the Cupboard)
Lori Petty b. 1963 (Route 666, The Hunger, Brimstone, Star Trek: Voyager, Tank Girl, Alien Nation [TV], Freddy’s Nightmares, Twilight Zone [1986])
Trevor Goddard b. 1962 died 7 June 2003 (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Hollywood Vampyr, The X-Files, Babylon 5, Mortal Kombat)
Greg Evigan b. 1953 (Invasion Roswell, Metal Tornado, Phantom Racer, Cerberus, Nightworld: Survivor, DeepStar Six, William Shatner’s TekWar, Deadly Nightmares, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Richard Christian Matheson b. 1953 (writer, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, It Waits, Tales from the Crypt, Amazing Stories, Knight Rider, The Powers of Matthew Star, The Incredible Hulk)
Harry Anderson b. 1952 (Lois & Clark, Harvey, It, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Darkside)
Rick Aviles b. 1952 died 17 March 1995 (Waterworld, The Stand, Ghost)
John Sumner b. 1951 (District 9, King Kong, Power Rangers R.P.M., Atomic Twister, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, The Tommyknockers)
Katy Manning b. 1949 (Doctor Who)
Gerard Murphy b. 1948 died 26 August 2013 (Batman Begins, Waterworld, Doctor Who)
Udo Kier b. 1944 (Iron Sky, Melancholia, Halloween [2007], BloodRayne, Headspace, Dracula 3000, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, Blade, Shadow of the Vampire, End of Days, Armageddon, Modern Vampires, Johnny Mnemonic, SeaQuest 2032, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne, Suspiria, Spermula, Blood for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, Mark of the Devil)
Dyanne Thorne b. 1943 (Space, Wham! Bam! Thank You, Spaceman!, Blood Sabbath, Star Trek)
Roger Moore b. 1927 (The Man Who Wouldn’t Die, Moonraker)
Robert Webber b. 1924 died 19 May 1989 (Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land, The Outer Limits)
Jack Arnold b. 1916 died 17 March 1992 (director, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Holmes and Yo-Yo, Mr. Terrific, It’s About Time, World of Giants, Monster on the Campus, The Space Children, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Tarantula, It Came From Outer Space)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Udo Kier. He has been old and creepy for so long, it's hard to remember that he got his start as a pretty boy in an odd Eurotrash kind of way in Paul Morrissey's horror movies. (I say this with love.) It's comparable to Frank Langella, who hasn't aged particularly well, with the difference that Langella wasn't "kind of a pretty boy", he was drop dead gorgeous.

Last year it was Lori Petty from Tank Girl in the Picture Slot.  Next year, no idea. Mia Wasikowsha as Alice is a possibility, and if Into the Woods is a hit, Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel might be in.

2. Spot the Canadians! One is easy, the other not so much. (Hint: NOT Greg Evigan. He just shows up in a lot of crap.)

3. Better known as... Dyanne Thorne was the star of Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS, a great title of a not great movie. She played First Girl in Piece of the Action, the Star Trek episode my friend Michael Dresbach calls "Planet O' Gangsters". You might also remember other Planet O' episodes from the original show: Planet O' Nazis, Planet O' Native Americans, Planet O' Hippies, Planet O' Cowboys, etc. The underlying theme seemed to be "we're on the Paramount lot, we have these sets no one is using, why don't we save some money?"

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

Predictor: FM-2030 in Upwing Priorities, published 1981

Prediction: Teleconomics: To stream full blast to 21st-Century teleconomics we must speedup development of solar energy - nuclear fusion - hydrogen fuel. Energy is the central accelerator. Abundant energy means overflow food and limitless raw materials. The new wealth - particularly solar energy - in nonmonopolizable  and will reinforce global decentralization of wealth - information - power. The new abundance also accelerates development of intelligent technology which will cancel out subsistence work and labor force. Work will be transformed into a voluntary creative process, By 2010 the glut of energy will hasten phase out of money which in turn will help will help phase out profit and competition - conflicts of interest - imbalances of wealth - cycles of inflation/recession - exploitation. How absurd all this emphasis on finite resources and sacrifice at the very moment in evolution when we are opening up the infinite resources of the universe. We have superabundant resources to last us a million years - a billion years. Enough to last for as long as there is a Universe.

Reality: My new theory on FM-2030's punctuation choices is that he was abused by a comma in childhood. Clearly, he expected we were at the end of the fossil fuel age and something better was right around the corner. Hmm... not so much.

I do not understand how abundant energy translates into overflow food and limitless raw materials. You can't feed livestock on solar panels and ore and sand don't just magically turn into steel and glass. I should be able to find some positive feeling about the guy given what an optimist he was, but his slapdash ideas are like watching a really bad magician. The best thing about this section of his very inaccurate prediction essay is doesn't include any of his creepy free love crap.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another optimistic predictor who isn't nearly as creepy, the view of 2011 from an article in the 1911 New York World.  

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 June 2014

Birthdays
Yuya Ozeki b. 1996 (The Grudge)
Troye Sivan b. 1995 (X-Men: Origins: Wolverine)
Sophie Lowe b. 1990 (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, After the Dark)
Ellary Porterfield (Video Game High School)
Amanda Crew b. 1986 (The Haunting in Connecticut, Final Destination 3, Smallville)
Marc Pickering b. 1985 (Sleepy Hollow [1999])
Navi Rawat b. 1977 (FlashForward, Undead or Alive: A Zombedy, Angel, Thoughtcrimes, Roswell)
Chad Allen b. 1974 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Charmed, Total Recall 2070)
Mark Walberg b. 1971 (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Ted, The Happening, Planet of the Apes)
Susan Lynch b. 1971 (From Hell, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles)
Ron Livingston b. 1967 (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Timecop)
Douglas O’Keeffe b. 1966 (The Andromeda Strain, Smallville, Mutant X, Andromeda, Dark Angel, Seven Days, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The Adventures of Sinbad [TV], Specimen, Forever Knight, Johnny Mnemonic)
Ken Hudson Campbell b. 1962 (Bewitched [2005], Breakfast of Champions, Armageddon, Groundhog Day)
Daniel von Bargen b. 1955 (S1mOne, Universal Soldier: The Return, The Faculty, The X-Files, The Postman, Thinner, Lord of Illusions, RoboCop 3)
Nancy Stafford b. 1954 (Babylon 5, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare, Quantum Leap, Q)
Kathleen Kennedy b. 1953 (producer, Star Wars: Episodes VII, VIII, IX, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Last Airbender, Indiana Jones, War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Sixth Sense, The Indian in the Cupboard, Congo, Back to the Future, Gremlins, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, *batteries not included, Innerspace, Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Poltergeist, E.T. the Extraterrestrial)
Mark Harelik b. 1951 (TIMER, The Big Bang Theory, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, Angel, Star Trek: Voyager)
John Bach b. 1946 (Legend of the Seeker, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Lord of the Rings, Farscape, The Lost World, Young Hercules, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mysterious Island [TV], Time Trax)
Robert Lansing b. 1928 died 23 October 1994 (Bionic Showdown, Automan, Island Claws, Empire of the Ants, The Astronaut, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, 4D Man)
John Abbott b. 1905 died 24 May 1996 (Slapstick (Of Another Kind), Holmes and Yo-Yo, 2000 Years Later, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Lost in Space, The Munsters, Cry of the Werewolf)

I know that using stills from the original series of Star Trek is something of a cliche on this blog, but the show was on in syndication for so long that I can argue that every major guest star is iconic. Here is a scene from Errand of Mercy with John Abbott playing opposite an unidentified Canadian actor.

I kid. I'm a kidder.

For me, the saddest name on the list is Daniel von Bargen, who has been so good in so many roles, notably on Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle and O Brother Where Art Thou? He attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head in 2012 but survived. He was depressed over losing his leg to diabetes and the prospect of losing toes on the remaining leg. Hard luck stories don't get much worse.

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

In the year 2000!

Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.


Prediction: Devices which will catch and store energy from the sun's rays will make solar heating, lighting, and power a reality. Solar energy in some regions may be cheaper and more practical than nuclear power!

Reality: The exclamation point is part of a direct quote and in 2000, this statement was arguable, but in 2014, I would have to give de Forest full points. Yay, correct predictions! He was on a bad losing streak for so long there.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of bad losing streaks, Paul Ehrlich made some predictions after The Population Bomb was published and they are up to his usual standards.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

14 November 2013

 Birthdays
Chris Demetral b. 1976 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne)
Dana Snyder b. 1973 (Venture Brothers)
Josh Duhamel b. 1972 (Transformers)
Patrick Warburton b. 1964 (The Tick, The Venture Brothers)
Paul McGann b. 1959 (8th Doctor, Alien 3)
Gary Grubbs b. 1949 (Angel, The X Files)
Kathleen Hughes b. 1928 (It Came From Outer Space, Cult of the Cobra)
William Stieg b. 1907 died 3 October 2003 (author, Shrek)

There's a great Scream Queen publicity still of Kathleen Hughes I might put in the Picture Slot next year, but this year... Brock Samson. Besides the Venture Brothers, my next favorite role on the list is Gary Grubbs as Fred Burkle's dad Roger on Angel.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list.

Predictor: Isaac Asimov in 1964, asked to predict 2014 on the occasion of the World's Fair in New York.

Prediction: An experimental fusion-power plant or two will already exist in 2014. Large solar-power stations will also be in operation in a number of desert and semi-desert areas -- Arizona, the Negev, Kazakhstan. In the more crowded, but cloudy and smoggy areas, solar power will be less practical. An exhibit at the 2014 fair will show models of power stations in space, collecting sunlight by means of huge parabolic focusing devices and radiating the energy thus collected down to earth.

Reality: Fusion is one of those things that is always just a few years in the future. Solar power works better at a small scale, like panels on a roof. As for heat rays from outer space, that sounds like a big screw-up waiting to happen if the geosynchronous satellite got a little out of whack. Still, this is much better work than his underground suburbs and hovercraft.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A new feature is going to take over the regular Friday chores... predictions from TED talks!

Do you get the feeling they are going to suck? Oh, regular reader, you are way ahead of me.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

23 February 2013

Birthdays
Dakota Fanning b. 1994
Kelly Macdonald b. 1976
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry b. 1932 died 12/18/2008  

I love Kelly Macdonald's work, but most of it is not in the sci-fi genre. Ms. Roddenberry, on the other hand, did little else but work on sci-fi TV shows, so she earns a photo.
 

What life will be like... in the year 2001!

Predictor: Leo Cherne (Executive Director, Research Institute of America)
Everyone has access to free power created by solar, atomic energy will be widespread...
The average American will have a 24 hour work week, 6 hours a day four days a week...

Predictor: Hubert J. Schlafly (engineer)
Systematic information will be in a form instantly available for response to remote inquiry...
By 2001, we may be in the dot and dash stage of the electrical transmission of solid matter.

Reality: Solar power is not in the universal access phase and atomic power had some big setbacks. People don't have 24 hour work weeks, except those unlucky bastards working at companies trying to deny them access to health care, so Dr. Cherne lays a big goose egg.

Mr. Schlafly on the other hand gives a pretty good description of the Internet in the statement I underlined. He doesn't say exactly how it will take place and the word "computer" is nowhere to be found, but that isn't surprising. 1956 is akin to the Dark Ages when it comes to computers. As for the electrical transmission of matter, we are a long way away from replicators, but maybe we could count 3D printers as the early starting point, "the dot and dash" stage as Schlafly puts it.

Just don't expect one to give you "Earl Grey tea, hot" anytime soon. Just sayin'.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE! The editor of Radio & Television News gets a lot of stuff wrong and a UN delegate from the Philippines gets a lot of stuff right.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!