29 September 2014

Birthdays
Shay Astar b. 1981 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Zachary Levi b. 1980 (Thor: The Dark World, Video Game High School, The Guild, Team Unicorn)
Alexis Cruz b. 1974 (Stargate)
Mackenzie Crook b. 1971 (Pirates of the Caribbean, Almost Human, Game of Thrones, Solomon Kane, Demons, The Brothers Grimm)
Natasha Gregson Wagner b. 1970 (The 4400, Vampires: Los Muertos, Buffy)
Russell Peters b. 1970 (Source Code)
Emily Lloyd b. 1970 (Riverworld)
Erika Eleniak b. 1969 (Absolute Zero, Dracula 3000, Bordello of Blood, The Blob [1988], E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial)
Luke Goss b. 1968 (Lost Time, Witchville, The Dead Undead, Tekken, Annihilation Earth, Fringe, Hellboy II, Frankenstein [TV 2004], Blade II)
Roger Bart b. 1962 (Grimm, The Event, The Stepford Wives)
Nicholas Briggs b. 1961 (Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood)
Ken Weatherwax b. 1955 (The Addams Family)
Cindy Morgan b. 1954 (Amanda and the Alien, Galaxis, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], Amazing Stories, Tron)
Martin Ferrero b. 1947 (The X Files, Jurassic Park, High Spirits, Mork & Mindy, The Incredible Shrinking Woman)
Donovan Scott b. 1946 (Babylon 5, Homeboys in Outer Space, Back to the Future Part III, Freddy’s Nightmares, Meet the Hollowheads, The Wizard of Speed and Time, Splash, Too, Faerie Tale Theatre, The Lost Satellite, The Incredible Shrinking Woman)
Patricia Hodge b. 1946 (The Cloning of Joanna May, Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang)
Roger Bannister b. 1945 (Phantasm, Zombie Family, Wishmaster)
Isla Blair b. 1944 (The Quatermass Experiment, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Doctor Who, Blakes 7, Alien Attack, Space: 1999, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors)
Ian McShane b. 1942 (Hercules, Jack the Giant Slayer, American Horror Story, Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, Babylon 5: The River of Souls, The Fantastic Journey [1977 TV], Space: 1999)
Madeline Kahn b. 1942 died 3 December 1999 (Slapstick [of Another Kind}, Simon, Young Frankenstein)
Larry Linville b. 1939 died 19 April 2000 (Lois & Clark, C.H.U.D.II- Bud the Chud, Earth Girls Are Easy, Misfits of Science, The Girl, The Gold Watch & Dynamite, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Sixth Sense)
Anita Ekberg b. 1931 (The Temptation of Doctor Antonio, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Cindy Morgan from TRON, iconic and pretty. This year it's Mackenzie Crook as the wildling warg, iconic and not so pretty. Next year, I'd the say the competitors are Ken Weatherwax from The Addams Family, the late Madeline Kahn from Young Frankenstein and Anita Ekberg from The Temptation of Doctor Antonio, the third possibility because... reasons.

2. The dead yet again. I remember that Madeline Kahn died and it was a sad day. On the other hand, I completely blanked about Larry Linville, who died from complications after surgery. Most people will remember him from M*A*S*H, but he did a lot work before and after, including being a regular on Mannix, a show I never watched.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Biofeedback-controlled games will become the most popular electronic games of the 21st Century. While player success with pinball machines was related to manual dexterity, this biofeedback machine will require the player to generate alpha and delta brainwaves on demand. As you hold this electronic pocket game in your hand, its sensors will constantly monitor your galvanic skin response and pulse rate. As the new games become more exciting, the machines will play harder. Great self-control will be demanded.


Reality: Biofeedback! Alpha and delta brainwaves! Galvanic skin response! I'm getting such a 1980s nostalgia rush, I might have to find my Walkman and Rubik's Cube.

No, wait.  Deep breaths... okay, it's passed.

While it can't claim to be one of "the most popular electronic games of the 21st Century", the horror/adventure game Nevermind was released a few years back with a device that was strapped to your chest to check heart rate. If your heart rate went up, the game became more difficult. One problem designers saw during testing was that many players' heart rates increased as they reached the end of a level, not out of fear but out of happiness at completing a task. You can read more through this link.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The regular baseball season is over, so let's see how well the "experts" did at prediction the post season teams.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

14 July 2014

 Birthdays
Sean Flynn b. 1989 (Return of the Killer Shrews, Sliders)
Sarah Canning b. 1987 (The Vampire Diaries, Primeval: New World, Supernatural, Kyle XY, Smallville)
Kristy Wright b. 1978 (Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Lost World)
David Mitchell b. 1974 (Doctor Who)
Matthew Fox b. 1966 (Lost, World War Z, Speed Racer)
Jane Espenson b. 1964 (Writer/producer, Once Upon a Time, Torchwood, Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Buffy)
Jackie Earle Haley b. 1961 (RoboCop [2014], Dark Shadows [2012], A Nightmare on Elm Street [2010], Watchmen, Shazam!, Planet of the Apes [TV])
Jane Lynch b. 1960 (Paul, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, The X-Files, What Planet Are You From?, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Vladimir Kulich b. 1956 (Angel, The X-Files, M.A.N.T.I.S., Necromicon: Book of Dead, Highlander)
Stan Shaw b. 1952 (The X-Files, The Monster Squad)
Sid Haig b. 1939 (Zombex, The Inflicted, Mimesis, Creature, Halloween [2007], Night of the Living Dead 3D, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II, Werewolf [TV], Amazing Stories, Misfits of Science, Automan, Galaxy of Terror, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Jason of Star Command, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, The Six Million Dollar Man, Beyond Atlantis, Beware! The Blob, THX 1138, Star Trek, Batman)
Peter Duryea b. 1939 died 24 March 2013 (Star Trek, Bewitched, The Outer Limits)
Roosevelt Grier b. 1932 (The Thing with Two Heads, I Dream of Jeannie)
Laurie Mitchell b. 1928 (The Addams Family, Missile to the Moon, Queen of Outer Space, Attack of the Puppet People, Adventures of Superman, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)
Harry Dean Stanton b. 1926 (The Avengers, Alice, Alien Autopsy, The Green Mile, Faerie Tale Theatre, UFOria, Repo Man, Escape from New York, Alien)
Terry-Thomas b. 1911 died 8 January 1990 (Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, 2000 Years Later, Munster, Go Home!, tom thumb)
Zita Johann b. 1904 died 20 September 1993 (The Mummy [1932])
George Tobias b. 1901 died 27 February 1980 (Tabitha, Bewitched)
Martha Mansfield b. 1899 died 30 November 1923 (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde [1920])

Random thoughts about some of our birthday folk, in general order from youngest to oldest.

I love Mitchell and Webb, so David Mitchell is one the list for just one role.

Matthew Fox is probably the biggest "star" on the list because of Lost.

Jackie Earle Haley was in last year's Picture Slot.

I know Jane Lynch from her comedy stuff and was a little surprised how much genre work she has done, though there is comedy genre included.

Sid Haig is best known to horror fans for his work in Rob Zombie's movies. I often use Star Trek stills in the Picture Slot, but he was one of the Lawgivers in Return of the Archons and his face was covered the whole time so there was no chance to recognize him.

Peter Duryea was a deck officer on the Enterprise commanded by Christopher Pike.

Rosey Grier is better known as a football player, one of the L.A. Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line. He is the last survivor and the only one to make it to 80 years old. Good on ya, Mr. Grier.

1950s sci fi is a wave of nostalgia for me, so it was great to see Laurie Mitchell's name on today's list.

Trivia a a hobby for me so I may not be the best judge, but I think Harry Dean Stanton is at the "Hey, it's Abe Vigoda!" level of fame. The picture used here is from his role in Alien.

I knew George Tobias had been around for a long time before he was Mr. Kravitz in Bewitched, but I'm a little surprised he was older than my grandmother.

Zita Johann and Martha Mansfield were both female leads in their single appearances in genre. Poor Ms. Mansfield died at the age of 24 when her costume caught on fire.

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

Movies released
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice released, 2010
I Am Legend released, 2007

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Video games, so hot in the early 1980s, will plunge into obscurity by the middle years of the decade. TV game systems will disappear because the prices of home computers will fall so quickly. The final blow will be the emergence of interactive game "networks" over cable TV systems in the mid-1980s, providing an endless library of the latest games without the need for cassettes.

Reality: Um... no. It's true that home computers offer competition to standalone game boxes, but the prices of both dropped enough and the technology improved enough that both types of systems still thrive 30 years later. The whole cable TV game library never took off.

As is often the case, the prediction is bold but not particularly accurate.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

 Yet another prediction from Geoffrey Hoyle's 1972 children's book about life in 2010.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!