18 June 2015

Birthdays
Max Records b. 1997 (Where the Wild Things Are)
Willa Holland b. 1991 (Arrow, Legion)
Jacob Anderson b. 1990 (Game of Thrones, Demons Never Die, Primeval)
Renee Olstead b. 1989 (Space Cowboys)
Meaghan Rath b. 1986 (Being Human, 10.5: Apocalypse)
Richard Madden b. 1986 (Cinderella, Game of Thrones)
David Giuntoli b. 1980 (Grimm)
Kristina Klebe b. 1979 (Chillerama, Zone of the Dead, Halloween [2007])
Alana De La Garza b. 1976 (Forever, Charmed, Smallville, Mortal Kombat: Conquest)
Adam Grimes b. 1976 (The Last Exorcism, Star Trek: Enterprise, Buffy)
Robin Christopher b. 1965 (Deep Space Nine)
Kim Dickens b. 1965 (Fear the Walking Dead, FlashForward, Lost, Hollow Man)
Stephen Marcus b. 1962 (Speed Racer, The Color of Magic, Hogfather, Doctor Who, Starhunter, Cavegirl, Red Dwarf)
Ralph Brown b. 1957 (Agent Carter, Jack the Giant Slayer, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, Star Wars: Episode I – The One We Don’t Discuss, Alien³)
Dominic Guard b. 1956 (Doctor Who, The Watcher in the Woods)
Isabella Rossellini b. 1952 (The Phantom, Infected, Earthsea, Merlin [1998], Death Becomes Her)
Carol Kane b. 1952 (Gotham, Addams Family Values, Scrooged, The Princess Bride, Transylvania 6-5000)
Miriam Flynn b. 1952 (Evolution, Deep Space Nine, Buffy)
Steve Miner b. 1951 (director, Eureka, Day of the Dead, Smallville, Lake Placid, Halloween H20: 20 years Later, Friday the 13th II and III)
Mac McDonald b. 1949 (Red Dwarf, The Fifth Element, Gulliver’s Travels [1996 TV], The Tomorrow People, Nightbreed, Batman, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, The Empire Strikes Back, Rollerball)
Linda Thorson b. 1947 (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Tales from the Darkside)
Roger Ebert b. 1942 died 4 April 2013 (writer, critic)
Michael Sheard b. 1938 died 21 August 2005 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Doctor Who, Space, The Invisible Man, The Empire Strikes Back, Blakes 7, The Tomorrow People, Space: 1999)
George Hearn b. 1934 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Richard Boone b. 1917 died 19 January 1981 (The Last Dinosaur)
E.G. Marshall b. 1914 died 24 August 1998 (The Tommyknockers, Superman II, Vampire)
Nedra Volz b. 1908 died 20 January 2003 (ALF, Earth Girls Are Easy)
Keye Luke b. 1904 died 12 January 1991 (Gremlins, Superboy, Beauty and the Beast [1988 TV], Star Trek, Project X, The Green Hornet [1966 and 1940])

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Previous years, we had Keye Luke and Roger Ebert. I am ashamed to say I didn't even have Richard Madden on the list until year, but I have made up for that bad oversight by putting him in the Picture Slot.

Robb Stark and puppies! What could go wrong?

2. Canadian spotted. Meaghan Rath is Canadian, but with only two credits, she's hard to spot.

3. Nepotism FTW. Isabella Rossellini is the daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini. While the romance of her parents, who were both married to other people when they met, was quite the scandal in Hollywood at the time, I'm sure Ms. Rossellini's parentage opened some doors early in her career. That and her being a fabulous babe, of course.

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

Movie released
Toy Story 3 released, 2010

Predictor: ESPN's NBA experts

Prediction: The Warriors would beat the Cavaliers in six games for the championship.

Reality: The prediction was exactly right and got 10 of a possible 10,  bringing the experts' total record for the playoffs to 113 points of 150 for a very respectable 75.3% correct. The consensus correctly picked 12 of 15 winners, and I gave half credit in one case because the consensus picked the Spurs over the Clippers in seven when it was actually the Clippers over the Spurs in seven, only off by a single game.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's time yet again to hear from H.G. Wells. Will he get something right? Will he shows us what a nasty bigot he was? You will know better tomorrow!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

17 June 2015

Birthdays
Manish Dayall b. 1983 (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
Arthur Darvill b. 1982 (Legends of Tomorrow, Doctor Who)
Scott Adkins b. 1976 (Metal Hurlant Chronicles, The Legend of Hercules, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Mutant X)
Heather Mazur b. 1976 (Journeyman, Night of the Living Dead [1990])
Joshua Leonard b. 1975 (Touch, Shark Night 3D, Dead in Love, The Shaggy Dog, The Blair Witch Project)
Joe Camareno b. 1974 (director, Revenge of the Bimbot Zombie Killers)
Matthew Senreich b. 1974 (writer, Robot Chicken)
Louis Leterrier b. 1973 (director, Clash of the Titans [2010], The Incredible Hulk)
Michael Showalter b. 1970 (Signs)
Will Forte b. 1970 (The Last Man on Earth)
Jason Patric b. 1966 (Powers, Frankenstein Unbound, The Lost Boys, Solarbabies)
Erin and Diane Murphy b. 1964 (Bewitched)
Greg Kinnear b. 1963 (What Planet Are You From?, Mystery Men, Blankman)
Thomas Haden Church b. 1960 (John Carter, Spider-Man 3, Zombie Roadkill, Idiocracy, Monkeybone, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight)
Jon Gries b. 1957 (Skinwalker Ranch, Supernatural, Lost, The Astronaut Farmer, Carnivale, Men in Black, The X-Files, Quantum Leap, The Twilight Zone, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Mark Linn-Baker b. 1954 (Alice at the Palace)
Joe Piscopo b. 1951 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Peter Lupus b. 1932 (Giant of the Evil Island, Challenge of the Gladiator, Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon, The Brass Bottle, Muscle Beach Party, Goliath and the Conquest of Damascus)
James Shigeta b. 1929 died 28 July 2014 (Space Marines, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, Deadly Nightmares, Tomorrow’s Child, The Greatest American Hero, The Questor Tapes, The Outer Limits )
Wally Wood b. 1927 died 2 November 1981 (artist)
Beryl Reid b. 1919 died 13 October 1996 (Doctor Who, Dr. Phibes Rises Again)
Ralph Bellamy b. 1904 died 29 November 1991 (Amazon Women on the Moon, Twilight Zone, Space, Search for the Gods, Rosemary’s Baby, The Invaders)
M.C. Escher b. 1898 died 27 March 1972 (artist)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot went to Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams from Doctor Who and Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman from Spider-Man 3. While there are some well-known names on the list from TV like Peter Lupus, Joe Piscopo and Mark Linn-Baker, there best known work wasn't in genre, so the Picture Slot goes to Erin Murphy (or perhaps her twin Diane) as Tabitha on Bewitched.

2. Living Canadian free. Nobody born north of the border today.

3. The Guy at the Door. When I first found James Shigeta's credits, his birth year was listed as 1934, but his obituary last year said he was born in 1929 and he was 85 at the time of his death. This means he was older than the oldest living person on today's list, Peter Lupus from Mission: Impossible and a whole lot of gladiator movies. As always when this demographic fluke happens on a list, special birthday wishes for The Guy at the Door.

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

Predictor: George Sutherland in his 1901 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: Drawings will also be dispatched by telegraph. For such purposes as the transmission of sketches from the scene of any stirring event, the first really practical application of drawing by telegraph will probably depend upon the use of a large number of code words divided into two groups, each of which, on the principles of co-ordinate geometry, will indicate a different degree of distance from the base line and from the side line respectively, so that from any sketch a correct message in code may be made up and the drawing may be reconstructed at the receiving end. Illustrated newspapers will in this way obtain drawings exactly at the same time as their other messages, and distant occurrences will be brought before the public eye much more vividly and more correctly than has ever hitherto been practicable. For special objects, also, photographs can be sent by telegraph through the use of the photo-relief in plaster of Paris, or other suitable material, which travels backwards and forwards underneath a pointer, the rising and falling of which is accurately represented by thick and thin lines--or by the darker and lighter photographic printing of a beam of light of varying intensity--at the other end, so that a shaded reproduction of the photograph is produced. Relief at the sending end is in this way translated into darkness of shade at the receiving end.

Reality: Sutherland comes up with a couple of clever ideas for picture transmission, but the winning technology was the grid of dots that go from light to dark known as halftone, which was already in use as of 1880.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Now that the NBA championships are over, we give the experts their final grade.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 June 2015

Birthdays
Madisen Hill b. 1993 (The Last Man on Earth)
Nathan Parsons b. 1988 (The Originals, True Blood)
Abby Elliott b. 1987 (Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Debora Nascimento b. 1985 (The Incredible Hulk)
Missy Peregrym b. 1982 (Cybergeddon, Reaper, Heroes, Smallville, Andromeda, Jake 2.0, Dark Angel)
Dan Cade b. 1981 (Automata, Sinbad [2012], Intergalactic Combat, The Eliminator)
Sibel Kekilli b. 1980 (Game of Thrones)
Daniel Bruhl b. 1978 (Captain America: Civil War)
Tom Lenk b. 1976 (Witches of East End, The Cabin in the Woods, The Guild, Transformers, Angel, Buffy)
Fred Koehler b. 1975 (Grimm, Torchwood, Lost, Death Race, Journeyman, Taken, Charmed, FreakyLinks)
Joseph May b. 1974 (Dracula [TV], Revolution [TV movie], Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate: Atlantis, Dead Like Me, Resident Evil, Bugs)
Eddie Cibrian b. 1973 (Invasion, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
John Cho b. 1972 (Sleepy Hollow [TV], Star Trek, Total Recall [2012], FlashForward, Solaris, Earth vs. the Spider, Evolution)
Clifton Collins Jr. b 1970 (Transcendence, Pacific Rim, The Event, Star Trek, The Flash [1990], Freddy’s Nightmares)
Arnold Vosloo b. 1962 (Grimm, G.I. Joe, Fire & Ice, Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld, Endangered Species, The Mummy, Strange World, Progeny, American Gothic [TV], Darkman II and III, Steel Dawn, Gor)
James M. Connor b. 1960 (Watchmen, Meet Dave, Buffy, The X-Files, Futureworld)
John Franklin b. 1959 (Star Trek: Voyager, Tammy and the T-Rex, Addams Family, Beauty and the Beast, Children of the Corn)
Peter Vaughn-Clark b. 1957 (The Tomorrow People)
Laurie Metcalf b. 1955 (Big Bang Theory, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Making Mr. Right)
Bjorn Sunquist b. 1948 (Ragnarok, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow)
Brian Protheroe b. 1944 (Highlander [TV], Superman)
Joan Van Ark b, 1943 (Wonder Woman, Quark, The Last Dinosaur, The Six Million Dollar Man, Frogs)
Suzan Farmer b. 1942 (Blakes 7, UFO, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Monster of Terror)
Carole Ann Ford b. 1940 (Doctor Who, Day of the Triffids)
Lee Paul b. 1939 (Deadly Friend, Wonder Woman, The Island at the Top of the World)
Joyce Carol Oates b. 1938 (author, American Gothic Stories, Zombie)
Charles B. Pierce b. 1938 died 5 March 2010 (director, The Legend of Boggy Creek)
Michael Culver b. 1938 (The Empire Strikes Back, Space: 1999)
Bill Cobbs b. 1934 (Vampires in Venice, Oz the Great and Powerful, Star Trek: Enterprise, Lost, Demolition Man, The Brother from Another Planet)
Christopher Cary b. 1930 died 1 April 2000 (Watchers, Voyagers!, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Lifepod, Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Wonder Woman, Planet Earth, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, Batman)
Ramon Bieri b. 1929 died 27 May 2001 (Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Amazing Spider-Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Andromeda Strain)
Faith Domergue b. 1924 died 4 April 1999 (Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, It Came from Beneath the Sea, This Island Earth)
Phil Chambers b. 1916 died 16 January 1993 (The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Twilight Zone, The Mole People)
Anthony Sharp b. 1915 died 23 July 1984 (Gawain and the Green Knight, A Clockwork Orange, No Blade of Grass, The Andromeda Breakthrough)
Ilona Massey b. 1910 died 20 August 1974 (Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man)
Jack Albertson b. 1907 died 25 November 1981 (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Immortal, Land of the Giants, It’s About Time, Twilight Zone)
Barry Norton b. 1905 died 24 August 1956 (The She-Creature, Rocketship X-M, Zombies on Broadway, Dracula [1931 Spanish version])
Murray Leinster b. 1896 died 8 June 1975 (author, Exploration Team, A Logic Named Joe)
Stan Laurel b. 1890 died 23 February 1965 (A-Haunting We Will Go, Babes in Toyland)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In the past two years, the Picture Slot went to Sibel Kekilli from Game of Thrones. Not wanting to repeat myself but still in a fabulous babe mood, this year it's Faith Domergue, the actress "under contract" to Howard Hughes, if you get my drift. For me, the biggest movie star here is Stan Laurel, but the best choices for iconic in my book are Jack Albertson in Willy Wonka, Carole Ann Ford in Doctor Who, Tom Lenk from Buffy, Arnold Vosloo from The Mummy and John Cho from Star Trek.

2. Spot the Canadian! Only one today, Missy Peregrym, not that hard to spot.

3. MST3K. Several choices today. The ones I know are The Mole People, Rocketship X-M and This Island Earth. Zombie Rotten McDonald points out The She-Creature and The Legend of Boggy Creek II also got riffed.

4. You learn something new every day... if you aren't careful. Barry Norton was an extra throughout his career, but in 1931 he was Juan Harker in the Spanish language version of Dracula, made in the U.S. and released just a few weeks after the Bela Lugosi version. Barry Norton is a pretty WASP-y sounding name, but he was born in Buenos Aires and was fluent in Spanish. I didn't know any part of this an hour ago.

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

Predictor: John Langdon-Davies in the 1936 book A Short History of the Future

Prediction: By 2000, every community will have adopted a planned birth-rate and population will be kept at a fixed level by state-controlled contraception, abortion and sterilization.

Reality: The fear of overpopulation has existed for quite a while, but it became most fashionable in the 1960s and after, so Langdon-Davies is a little ahead of his time here, though completely wrong. Forced population control only took place in Commie countries, the ones Commie Langdon-Davies might approve of.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another visit with our sensible pal George Sutherland.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

15 June 2015

Birthdays
Rachel Covey b. 1998 (Enchanted)
Ray Santiago b. 1984 (Ash vs. Evil Dead, Suburban Gothic, Touch, In Time)
Elizabeth Reaser b. 1975 (Twilight)
Neil Patrick Harris b. 1973 (American Horror Story, Beastly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Starship Troopers, Quantum Leap, Purple People Eater)
Greg Vaughan b. 1973 (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Charmed, Buffy)
Poppy Montgomery b. 1972 (Dead Man on Campus, Tammy and the T-Rex)
Jake Busey b. 1971 (From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], Charmed, Jeremiah, Starship Troopers, Contact, The Frighteners)
Ice Cube b. 1969 (Ghosts of Mars)
Courtney Cox b. 1964 (Bedtime Stories, Zoom, Cocoon: The Return, Misfits of Science, Masters of the Universe)
Helen Hunt b. 1963 (Trancers I and II, Project X, The Bionic Woman, Ark II)
Robin Curtis b. 1956 (Space: Above and Beyond, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek III and IV, Knight Rider)
Polly Draper b. 1955 (The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Deadly Nightmares, Tales from the Darkside)
Jim Belushi b. 1954 (The Tick, Retroactive, Last Action Hero, Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, Little Shop of Horrors)
Jim Varney b. 1949 died 10 February 2000 (Wilder Napalm, Dr, Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam)
Rick Rosenthal b. 1949 (director, Beauty and the Beast [2013], Haven, Smallville, Flash Gordon [2007 TV], The Dresden Files, Buffy, Witchblade, Halloween: Resurrection, Early Edition, The Witches of Eastwick [TV], Halloween II)
Nicola Pagett b. 1945 (Frankenstein: The True Story)
Joy Bang b. 1945 (Messiah of Evil, Night of the Cobra Woman)
Neal Adams b. 1941 (artist)
William Newman b. 1934 died 27 May 2015 (The Tick, Angel, VR.5, The Craft, The Stand, Leprechaun, Eerie, Indiana, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Silver Bullet)
Victor Lundin b. 1930 died 29 June 2013 (Babylon 5, Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Star Trek, Robinson Crusoe on Mars)
Herschell Gordon Lewis b. 1929 (director, Monster a Go-Go)
Richard Derr b. 1918 died 8 May 1992 (Automan, Project U.F.O., Star Trek, The Outer Limits, The Invisible Avenger, When Worlds Collide)
Henry Slate b. 1910 died 11 August 1996 (The Cat from Outer Space, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Pete’s Dragon)
James Robertson Justice b. 1907 died 2 July 1975 (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Spirits of the Dead, The Face of Fu Manchu)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot was given to Elizabeth Reaser from Twilight and Neil Patrick Harris from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. This year it goes to Robin Curtis, who took the role of Lt. Saavik away from Kirstie Alley in Star Trek III & IV.

2. Living Canadian Free! Director Rick Rosenthal has a slightly Canadian air to his resume, but he was born here and has never emigrated to the best of my knowledge.

3. MST3K. The one I know for sure is Monster A Go-Go, directed by gore master Herschell Gordon Lewis but not credited to him. Even he had standards, apparently.

4. Brush with greatness and Nepotism FTW. Polly Draper is best known for her work on thirtysomething. I worked at Activision with her younger sister Becky, who I think was the prettier of the two. (Picture Ali McGraw, but 5'11". Certainly made an impression on me.) Their father William Draper was one of the venture capitalists who started Activision, which I'm sure helped Becky get that first step into the door.

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

 Movies released
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer released, 2007
Batman Begins released, 2005

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: The Caspian and Aral Seas have begun to dry up because the rivers that once flowed into them are being used for irrigation. But the Soviets have the answer: just bring in new water by changing the flow of the Ob and Yenesi rivers and run them through 3,000 kilometers of canals. Environmentalists predict disaster.

Reality: Okay, let's review the truth so far. The Caspian Sea is really big and not dried up. The Aral Sea is just big and it has dried up. The Soviets talked big, but they couldn't back it up. The Ob and Yenesi still flow into the Arctic.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's a Tuesday and barring an interruption, we hear from our grumpy Commie pal John Langdon-Davies.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE! 

14 June 2015

Birthdays
Daryl Sabara b. 1992 (Zombie Basement, After the Dark, John Carter, Wizards of Waverly Place, Spy Kids, Roswell)
Evan Sabara b. 1992 (Spy Kids)
Lucy Hale b. 1989 (Supernatural, Wizards of Waverly Place, Bionic Woman [2007])
Kevin McHale b. 1988 (True Blood)
Torrance Coombs b. 1983 (Haven, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica)
Chauncey Leopoldi b. 1981 (Shadow Zone: The Undead Express, Casper)
Daniel Newman b. 1981 (The Dark Knight Rises, The Vampire Diaries, Heroes, Children of the Corn [TV], The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Surface)
Rochelle Davis b. 1980 (The Crow)
Pascale Hutton b. 1979 (Once Upon a Time, Continuum, Fringe, Sanctuary, Behemoth, Supernatural, The 4400, Smallville, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate: Atlantis, Fantastic Four, Dead Like Me, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed)
David Kopp b. 1978 (Blade: The Series, Freddy vs. Jason, Stargate SG-1, Mysterious Ways, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show)
Alexandra Castillo b. 1971 (Warehouse 13, Fringe, 2012, Mutant X, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Sixth Day)
Sophiya Haque b. 1971 died 16 January 2013 (Wanted, Fairy Tales)
Lara Wickes b. 1969 (Demon Island, The Hunger, Total Recall 2070, Big Wolf on Campus)
Traylor Howard b. 1966 (Son of the Mask, Lois & Clark)
James Gurney b. 1958 (author, Dinotopia)
Will Patton b. 1954 (Falling Skies, The Fourth Kind, The Punisher, The Mothman Prophecies, Armageddon, The Postman, VR.5, The Puppet Masters)
Jeremy Sinden b. 1950 died 29 May 1996 (Star Wars)
Harry Turtledove b. 1949 (author, The Guns of the South, Agent of Byzantium)
Antony Sher b. 1949 (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Wolfman, Erik the Viking, Superman II)
Joe Grifasi b. 1944 (Early Edition, Batman Forever, Splash)
Ben Davidson b. 1940 died 2 July 2012 (Conan the Barbarian)
Jack Bannon b. 1940 (The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invaders)
Marla Gibbs b. 1931 (The Meteor Man)
Sam Wanamaker b. 1919 died 18 December 1993 (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, The Day the Fish Came Out, The Outer Limits [1964])
Gene Barry b. 1919 died 9 December 2009 (War of the Worlds [2005 and 1953], Twilight Zone [1987], The 27th Day)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, The Picture slot went to the late Jeremy Sinden from Star Wars and Iain Glen, whose birthday I got wrong in 2013. This year, we have Gene Barry in his most famous genre role as Dr. Clayton Forrester (heh.) in The War of the Worlds.

2. Nepotism, not a win. One twin goes up, one twin goes down. Daryl Sabara has a career of sorts, Evan not so much. While Daryl was on of the stars of the Spy Kids franchise, Evan played "Creepy Kid" in the 3D installment.

3. Spot the Canadians! Lara Wickes is not easy to spot, but all four of the Canadians born after 1970 I think can be sussed out. See what you can do.

4. Hey, no Star Trek! Star Trek is the most popular label by a very wide margin, but every once in a while we get a day with no birthdays from that franchise. Today is the second such day this month.

5. What constitutes dying young? Football player/actor Ben Davidson was 72 when he died three years ago. Nowadays, that's younger than average for Americans. Star Wars actor Jeremy Sinden and Bollywood lovely Sophiya Haque both died in their forties from cancer. No question that constitutes dying young.

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

Movies released
Man of Steel released, 2013
X-Men released 2001

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

Prediction: They made the predictable fuss about taking a cat into the room and an autobellhop is not responsive to bribes – hardly an improvement.

Reality: Bob was pretty sure any job he considered beneath him was going to be done by a machine by 2000. We are automating a lot of jobs, but not quite as many as Heinlein thought we would.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It's Monday again, and another dip into that reliable source The OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

13 June 2015

Birthdays
Kodi Smit-McPhee b. 1996 (X-Men: Apocalypse, Let Me In, The Road, Nightmares & Dreamscapes)
Aaron Taylor-Johnson b. 1990 (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Godzilla, Kick-Ass, The Illusionist)
Josh Brodis b. 1990 (Teen Wolf [TV])
Irina Gorovaia b. 1989 (The Butterfly Effect)
Kat Dennings b. 1986 (Suburban Gothic, Thor)
Mary-Kate Olsen b. 1986 (Beastly)
Phillip Van Dyke b. 1984 (Halloweentown I & II, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997, The Fantastic Four [1994])
Ian Alda b. 1984 (Touch, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
Chris Evans b. 1981 (Snowpiercer, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Avengers, Eastwick)
Ethan Embry b. 1978 (Once Upon a Time, The Witches of Oz, Timeline, FreakyLinks, Evolver)
Lisa Vidal b. 1965 (Grimm, American Horror Story, The Event, Star Trek [2009])
Kathy Burke b. 1964 (Doctor Who)
Ally Sheedy b. 1962 (Kyle XY, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Strange Frequency, Short Circuit, WarGames)
Tim Allen b. 1953 (Zoom, Galaxy Quest)
Richard Thomas b. 1951 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, The Invaders [1995 TV], It, Battle Beyond the Stars)
Stellan Skarsgård b. 1951 (Cinderella, Thor, The Avengers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Exorcist: The Beginning, King Arthur [2004], Deep Blue Sea)
Belinda Bauer b. 1950 (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, RoboCop 2, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire)
Ann Druyan b. 1949 (writer, Contact)
Simon Callow b. 1949 (Outlander [TV], Doctor Who, Chemical Wedding)
Joe Roth b. 1948 (producer, Maleficent, Oz the Great and Powerful, Snow White and the Huntsman, Alice in Wonderland [2010], Tall Tale)
Whitley Strieber b. 1945 (author, Hunger, The Wolfen, War Day, Communion)
Peter Benson b. 1943 (Merlin [1998 TV], Doctor Who, Hawk the Slayer, Cry of the Banshee)
Malcolm McDowell b. 1943 (The Black Hole [2015], Zombex, Vamps, The Philadephia Experiment [TV], Antiviral, The Book of Eli, Halloween I & II [21st Century], Suck, Heroes, Doomsday, Firestarter II; Rekindled, Island of the Dead, Star Trek: Generations, Lexx, 2103: The Deadly Wake, Tank Girl, Class of 1999, Moon 44, Cat People, Time After Time, A Clockwork Orange)
Sam Groom b. 1938 (Otherworld, The Incredible Hulk, Salvage 1, The Bionic Woman, Time Travelers, The Time Tunnel)
Ralph McQuarrie b. 1929 died 3 March 2012 (production designer, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, E.T., Cocoon)
Paul Lynde b. 1926 died 10 January 1982 (Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Munsters, Son of Flubber)
Rex Everhart b. 1920 died 13 March 2000 (Friday the 13th 1 & 2, Superman [1978], ‘Way Out)
Ben Johnson b. 1918 died 8 April 1996 (Cherry 2000, The Swarm, Mighty Joe Young)
Mary Wickes b. 1910 died 22 October 1995 (Tabitha, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters)
Larry Keating b. 1896 died 26 August 1963 (The Incredible Mr. Limpet, When Worlds Collide)
Basil Rathbone b. 1892 died 21 July 1967 (Queen of Blood, Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, The Magic Sword)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Some days are feast and others famine. This one has many choices. Earlier Picture Slotters were Malcolm McDowell and Kat Dennings, and the even with them removed, there are a lot of good choices. Two of my favorite actors on the list, Basil Rathbone and Simon Callow, are not that iconic in genre to my mind. Tim Allen, not a favorite actor of mine, is iconic (and very good) in Galaxy Quest. Others I considered were Paul Lynde from Bewitched and Ally Sheedy from WarGames, but I decided to go with the guy who is the biggest movie star currently, Chris Evans as Captain America.

2. Nepotism FTW. Ian Alda is Robert Alda's grandson and Alan Alda's nephew.

3. Living Canadian Free! I did not find anyone born north of the border today. Go figure.

4. The Guy at the Door. Sam Groom, mainly a TV actor, turns 77 today, and he is the oldest living person on the list and everyone younger than him is alive. As always when this demographic fluke happens, the blog sends out special birthday wishes.

5. MST3K. There may be more than one, but the one I know for sure is The Magic Sword with Basil Rathbone.


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

Movies released
The Incredible Hulk released,  2008
How to Train Your Dragon 2 released, 2014

Predictor: Morris L. Ernst in Utopia 1976, published in 1955

Prediction: Increasingly, man is less interested in the fires of hell than in an electric stove in his home, and the music of the angels in heaven does not sound as clear as a Toscanini-led orchestra.

Reality: Ernst had an insular life among the snooty in New York City. Taken literally, households with electric stoves likely do not outnumber Christian households because a gas stove is a perfectly good option and Jesus has more fans than Toscanini. Taken figuratively, interest in cool gadgets is more widespread than interest in religion.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Speaking of cool gadgets, Robert A. Heinlein will likely have some cool gadget planned for the late 20th Century in his 1957 book The Door Into Summer.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

12 June 2015

Birthdays
Cody Horn b. 1988 (Demonic)
Abbey Lee b. 1987 (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Luke Youngblood b. 1986 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Dave Franco b. 1985 (Other Space, Warm Bodies, Fright Night)
Jeremy Howard b. 1981 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Haunted Mansion, Buffy, Men in Black II, Galaxy Quest)
Kenzo Lee b. 1980 (Extant, Monarch of the Moon)
Richard Ayoade b. 1977 (The IT Crowd, The Watch, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace)
Jason Mewes b. 1974 (Zombie Hamlet, Netherbeast Incorporated, Dogma)
Rick Hoffman b. 1970 (Knight Rider [2009], Battleship, The Day After Tomorrow, What Planet Are You From?)
Gordon Michael Woolvert b. 1970 (Supernatural, Andromeda, Sliders, Mysterious Island, Forever Knight, Maniac Mansion, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future)
Sarah Trigger b. 1968 (Pet Sematary II, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey)
Frances O’Connor b. 1967 (Once Upon a Time, Timeline, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Bedazzled [2000])
Cathy Tyson b. 1965 (The Serpent and the Rainbow)
Paula Marshall b. 1964 (Haunted Hathaways, W.E.I.R.D. World, Warlock: The Armageddon, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Superboy, The Flash [1990])
Patrice Martinez b. 1963 (Beetlejuice)
Tim DeKay b. 1963 (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Monster Ark, The 4400, Carnivale, Invasion, SeaQuest 2032)
Eamonn Walker b. 1962 (Unbreakable)
Paul Schulze b. 1962 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Roswell)
Scott Thompson b. 1959 (Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, Star Trek: Voyager, Millennium)
Jenilee Harrison b. 1958 (They Came from Outer Space)
Timothy Busfield b. 1957 (Sleepy Hollow, Revolution, Terminal Error, Lois and Clark)
Ella Joyce b, 1954 (Bubba Ho-Tep, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Gary Farmer b. 1953 (Mutant X, Forever Knight, Route 666, The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon)
Roger Aaron Brown b. 1949 (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Supernatural, Dark Skies, Galaxis, RoboCop 2, Alien Nation, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Near Dark, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Incredible Hulk)
Len Wein b. 1948 (writer, Swamp Thing)
Jim Nabors b. 1930 (Knight Rider, The Lost Saucer, The Addams Family Fun House)
Alberto De Martino b. 1929 died 2 June 2015 (writer, Holocaust 2000, Hercules vs. the Giant Warriors)
Henry Slesar b. 1927 died 2 April 2002 (author, 20 Million Miles to Earth)
Jim Siedow b. 1920 died 20 November 2003 (Amazing Stories)
Uta Hagen b. 1919 died 14 January 2004 (The Twilight Zone [1986], The Boys from Brazil)
Irwin Allen b. 1916 died 2 November 1991 (producer/writer/director, Aliens from Another Planet, The Swarm, City Beneath the Sea, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. The list today has a lot of well-known actors, just not well-known for genre. In 2013, before I learned a good research method, I had no birthdays on 12 June and the Picture Slot when to an exact day prediction about Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants. In 2014, I decided to use Irwin Allen's picture. This year, I decided to go with Abby Lee from Mad Max: Fury Road. I don't think she's iconic, but in my defense, she IS fabulous and her name is at the top of the popularity list on imbd.com among all the birthday folk.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are three today. Gary Farmer is a First Nations actor born north of the border, Scott Thompson got his first fame on the Canadian show Kids in the Hall and Gordon Michael Woolvert has a very Canadian looking resume, as well he should.

3. Nepotism more or less. Dave Franco is James Franco's less known brother.

4. A Missed Never to be Forgotten. I did not see the obit for writer Alberto De Martino earlier this month, but he wrote in genre and deserved a mention. My bad.

5. The Guy at the Door. Had Mr. Martino survived, he would have been the Guy at the Door. As it is, the oldest person on our list is Jim Nabors, now 85. As always, special birthday wishes to The Guy at the Door.

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

Movie released
This is the End released, 2013

Predictor: H.G. Wells in his book Anticipations

Prediction: The Russia of to-day is indeed very little more than a vast breeding-ground for an illiterate peasantry, and the forecasts of its future greatness entirely ignore that dwindling significance of mere numbers in warfare which is the clear and necessary consequence of mechanical advance.

Reality: Ah, another bracing look into the mind of Herbert George Wells, British bigot! He was absolutely convinced warfare would be all about cool gadgets in the 20th Century, and he certainly gets at least partial credit there, but as we have seen time and again, war is about breaking a country's will to fight. The Soviet Union in WW II had "mere numbers" and approximately 20 million of them died in that war and they did not surrender. Even the Germans didn't have an answer for that.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another prediction from Utopia 1976, probably loaded with optimism and short on accuracy.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!