6 May 2014

Birthdays
Dominic Scott Kay b. 1996 (Pirate of the Caribbean: At World’s End. They Call Him Sasquatch, Power Rangers Wild Force, Minority Report)
Freddie Boath b. 1991 (The Mummy Returns)
Adrianne Palicki b. 1983 (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, GI. Joe: Retaliation, Supernatural, The Robinsons: Lost in Space, Smallville)
Kyle Cassie b. 1976 (Fringe, Andromeda, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Jake 2.0, Stargate SG-1, Nightman)
Kavan Smith b. 1970 (Supernatural, Almost Human, Eureka, Red: Werewolf Hunter, Stargate [TV], The 4400, Battlestar Galactica, Blade: The Series, The Time Tunnel [2006], Jeremiah, Smallville, Mission to Mars, Escape from Mars, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Buffy)
Robert Floyd b. 1967 (Dark Angel, Sliders, Godzilla [1998])
George Clooney b. 1961 (Gravity, Spy Kids, Batman & Robin, From Dusk Till Dawn, Return to Horror High)
Carlos Lauchu b. 1961 (The Silencers [1996], Stargate)
Michael O’Hare b. 1952 died 28 September 2012 (Babylon 5, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, C.H.U.D.)
Gregg Henry b. 1952 (Dollhouse, Slither [2006], Star Trek: Enterprise, Firefly, Star Trek: Insurrection, M.A.N.T.I.S., Werewolf [TV])
Alan Dale b. 1947 (Dominion, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Once Upon a Time, Beauty and the Beast [TV movie], Lost, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Star Trek: Nemesis, The X-Files, The Lost World [TV], Space: Above and Beyond, Time Trax)
Richard Eyer b. 1945 (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The Invisible Boy, Invasion U.S.A.)
Jack Sharkey b. 1931 died 28 September 1992 (author, Ultimatum in 2050 A.D.)
Gordon C. Davies b. 1923 died 1994 (artist)
Orson Welles b, 1915 died 10 October 1985 (writer/actor, Necromancy, War of the Worlds [radio])

Today's list has two honest to Odin movie stars (George Clooney and Orson Welles), a lead actor in a long running show (Michael O'Hare from Babylon 5), several child actors (besides the youngest two on the list, Richard Eyer was a child star in the 1950s) a few Oh That Guys and one fabulous babe. I was tempted to put in a shot of Adrienne Palicki as Wonder Woman, but that show never got off the ground, sad to say. Forgoing all those picks, we have instead an illustration of Gordon C. Davies for the Starship Troopers wargame from the 1970s. He was very prolific and also did covers for books by Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Roger Zelazny and many others.


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

Movies released
Thor released, 2011  
 

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in the 1972 book 2010: Living in the Future, illustrations by Alasdair Anderson

Prediction:  The air all around the house is cleaned and correctly humidified every hour.

Reality: I don't know exactly how to grade this prediction. There were buildings with air filtration back when this book was written, but I would say that this prediction means everybody's modern homes would have such conveniences. I will grant that apartments and homes built after 1970 as a rule have fans and filters in the bathrooms and kitchens, but I'm not sure that counts as "cleaned and correctly humidified"everywhere. Perhaps out undead architect friend can weigh in on this. 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

This month will be the last featuring the predictions of our buddy from 1905 T. Baron Russell. Let's see how he envisions the 21st Century once again.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

Never to be Forgotten: Gordon Hessler 1930-2014

Gordon Hessler, a director of many science fiction, fantasy and horror films back in the 1960's and 1970s has died at the age of 83. Here he is pictured with the delectable Caroline Munro, the slave girl in his film The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, best known for special effects by Ray Harryhausen. (And also very well known for the costumes they poured Ms. Munro into. Yowza!)

Besides the Harryhausen film, he directed episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Wonder Woman. He also directed several horror movies starring Vincent Price, including one that has to be considered genre, Scream and Scream Again, starring the great triple threat of Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. On the less glamorous side of the ledger, it must be noted he also directed KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, which has been described as a live action version of a Scooby-Doo episode. (I'm guessing Gene Simmons plays the dog, given the length of his tongue.)

I blush to write this post is better late than never, because Mr. Hessler died in January. My contacts in the obit searching game just got around to posting this. Still, I am glad I got a chance to say good bye to Mr. Kessler her on the blog.

Belated best wishes to the family and friends of Gordon Hessler, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

5 May 2014

Birthdays
Clark Duke b. 1985 (Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine)
Henry Cavill b. 1983 (Batman vs. Superman, Man of Steel, Immortals, Stardust)
Vincent Kartheiser b. 1979 (In Time, Angel, The Indian in the Cupboard)
Don Payne b. 1964 died 26 March 2013 (writer, Thor: The Dark World, Thor, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
Manoj Sood b. 1962 (Continuum, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Watchmen, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Dead Like Me, Jake 2.0)
Richard E. Grant b. 1957 (Doctor Who, The Little Vampire, Dracula [1992], How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Warlock)
Lisa Eilbacher b. 1956 (Leviathan, Twilight Zone [1986], Man from Atlantis, Logan’s Run, The Amazing Spider-Man)
Roger Rees b. 1944 (Warehouse 13, The Invasion, The Prestige, Veritas: The Quest, The Scorpion King, M.A.N.T.I.S.)
John Rhys-Davies b. 1944 (Time Lapse, 100 Degrees Below Zero, Metal Hurlant Chronicles, Legend of the Seeker, Ferocious Planet, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, Anaconda, Lord of the Rings, Revelations, Chupacabra Terror, Star Trek: Voyager, Sliders, Cyborg Cop, The Lost World, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Goddess of Love, 1990)
Michael Palin b. 1943 (Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Brazil, Time Bandits, Jabberwocky)
Marc Alaimo b. 1942 (Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Total Recall, Freddy’s Nightmares, The Last Starfighter, Knight Rider, The Phoenix, The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Lance Hendrikson b. 1940 (Alien Rising, The Witches of Oz, Scream of the Banshee, The Genesis Code, Screamers: The Hunting, Pumpkinhead, Sasquatch Mountain, Abominable, Supernova, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, Dream Warrior, The X Files, Millennium, Super Mario Bros., Alien³, The Pit and the Pendulum, Beauty and the Beast, Near Dark, The Terminator, Piranha Part Two: The Spawning, The Visitor [1979], Damien: Omen II, Close Encounter of the Third Kind)
Michael Murphy b. 1938 (X-Men: The Last Stand, Batman Returns, Shocker, The Sixth Sense [TV], Count Yorga, Vampire)
Richard Schaal b. 1928 (Once Bitten, Song of the Succubus, Slaughterhouse-Five, I Dream of Jeannie)
Joseph Stefano b. 1922 died 25 August 2006 (writer, Swamp Thing, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Kindred, The Outer Limits)

No disrespect to Henry Cavill or Vincent Kartheiser, the new Superman and Angel's son Connor respectively, but the real competition for the Picture Slot today was among the guys over 70. John-Rhys Davis got the slot last year, and I could have gone with Michael Palin because I love Python so much or Marc Alaimo as the iconic Star Trek villain Gul Dukat, but instead you are looking at Lance Hendrikson, a very long career with a lot of work in genre. I don't know if he's still an Oh That Guy with the general public or has graduated to the "Hey, it's Lance Hendrikson!" level of fame, but I'm always happy to see him in a movie, even in some stinkers, and he's been in some, oh yes he has.

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

 

Predictors: The ESPN group of experts

Predictions: The outcomes of the first round of the NBA playoffs

Spurs-Mavericks (Spurs 85% favorite)
predicted: Spurs in 5
outcome: Spurs in 7

Thunder-Grizzlies (Thunder 76% favorite)
predicted: Thunder in 5
outcome: Thunder in 7

Clippers-Warriors (Clippers 75% favorite)
predicted: Clippers in 5
outcome: Clippers in 7

Rockets-Blazers (Rockets 74% favorite)
predicted: Rockets in 7
outcome: Blazers in 5

Pacers-Hawks (Pacers 83% favorite)
predicted: Pacers in 5
outcome: Pacers in 7

Raptors-Nets (50%-50%)
predicted: Raptors in 7 or Nets in 6
outcome: Nets in 7

Heat-Bobcats (Heat 95% favorite)
predicted: Heat in 5
outcome: Heat in 4

Bulls-Wizards (Bulls 68% favorite)
predicted: Bulls in 6
outcome: Wizards in 5

Keeping score: Now that Nate Silver and his number crunchers have joined ESPN, the info was put in a much more comprehensive format than last year.

The thing is... comprehensively presented or not, they kind of stunk the place out. Except for the Heat, a favorite who had an easier time than the experts predicted, all the favored teams had a harder battle than the prediction, either winning in seven games or losing earlier than that. They didn't get one prediction exactly on the money, which is worse than the expected value.

While these predictions were not from Silver's crew (they just found a way to format the given data), this sums up my ambivalence about him deciding to leave The New York Times to join ABC/Disney. Political polls, while not perfect, give data that can be used in a methodical way to make very accurate predictions, well over 95% in the long run. Predicting sports is still guesswork and the 75% right that we got here is about par for the course, maybe a little worse. Making more money to look like an idiot more often is not a trade-off I'd make personally.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Geoffrey Hoyle returns with his 1970s view of 2010.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

4 May 2014

 Birthdays
Alexander Gould b. 1994 (Supernatural, Dark Shadows [TV movie], The Day the World Ended)
Ashley Rickards b. 1992 (American Horror Story, Gamer)
Grace Phipps b. 1992 (Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Fright Night)
Jesse Moss b. 1983 (WolfCop, Extraterrestrial, Continuum, Seeds of Destruction, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Merlin and the Book of Beasts, The Uninvited, The Andromeda Strain, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The Collector, Jeremiah, Mysterious Ways, Level 9, Stargate SG-1, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [TV show], Highlander [TV])
Oscar Jaenada b. 1975 (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)
John Rawls b. 1972 (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Legend of the Seeker, 30 Days of Night)
Stevie Ray Dallimore b. 1967 (Ender’s Game)
Steve Barron b. 1956 (director, Merlin, Coneheads, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Anthony Hamilton b. 1952 died 29 March 1995 (Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, The Charmings, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Harry Winer b. 1947 (director, Invasion, Jake 2.0, Jeremiah, SpaceCamp, Tucker’s Witch, Mr. Merlin)
Richard Jenkins b. 1947 (The Cabin in the Woods, Let Me In, What Planet Are You From?, Wolf, The Witches of Eastwick)
Robin Cook b. 1940 (writer, Coma, Invasion, Virus)
Paul Gleason b. 1939 died 27 May 2006 (Abominable, Dark Skies, Lois & Clark, Wishman, Beauty and the Beast, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, The Invaders, Panic in Year Zero!)
Eric Sykes b. 1923 died 4 July 2012 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Theatre of Blood)
James Ellison b. 1910 died 23 December 1993 (I Walked with a Zombie, The Undying Monster)
Howard Da Silva b. 1909 died 16 February 1986 (The Outer Limits)
Luther Adler b. 1903 died 8 December 1984 (Twilight Zone)

No nice way to put this, but this list is not loaded down with star power. The young actresses are plenty pretty enough for the Pretty Girl = Picture Slot formula, but I'm not that aware of their work. We do have a whole bunch of Oh That Guy actors, though some of the deceased, notably Sykes, Da Silva and Adler, only did a smattering of work in genre in very long careers. So the Picture Slot goes to Richard Jenkins, probably best known as the dead dad on Six Feet Under, here shown as the Guy At The Office in The Cabin in the Woods.

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

Movies released
Marvel's The Avengers released, 2012

Predictor: Bill Nye the Science Guy

Prediction: The bike friendly, telecom accessible cities of the future. (Link to his video on YouTube)

Reality: Oh this would be so cherry. I have to agree with him that Portland and Seattle might make some of these things might actually happen and it might happen in Europe as well.

Star Wars Day: This in NOT the anniversary of the release of any of the movies, just some folks who like noticing that "May the Fourth" sounds like "May the Force". Some might wonder if I would stoop to such antics, but regular readers will know that using lame puns is not stooping for me, it's stretching.

Just so that's clear.

Looking on day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

As of May 4th, the future has already happened and we will look at how good the predictions were.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

3 May 2014

Birthdays
Danila Kozlovsky b. 1985 (Vampire Academy)
Rebecca Hall b. 1982 (Transcendence, Iron Man 3, The Prestige)
Christina Hendricks b. 1975 (Lost River, Firefly, Angel)
Joseph Kosinski b. 1974 (director, Oblivion, TRON: Legacy)
Kristin Lehman b, 1972 (The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda, Strange World, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The X Files, Forever Knight)
Rob Brydon b. 1965 (MirrorMask)
Peter Duncan b. 1954 (Flash Gordon, Space: 1999)
Caitlin Clarke b, 1952 died 9 September 2004 (The Stepford Husbands, Dragonslayer)
Larry Brandenburg b. 1948 (Charmed, Mighty Joe Young, SeaQuest 2032, Quantum Leap)
Ron Canada b. 1949 (Stargate SG-1, The X Files, Star Trek: Voyager, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Alex Cord b. 1933 (War of the Worlds [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, Genesis II)
Jeanne Bal b. 1928 died 30 April 1996 (Star Trek)

For Americans, the best known name on the list is likely Christina Hendricks. I had her in the Picture Slot last year and I don't recall any complaints. The decision this year was between several good Oh That Guy actors and several fabulous babes, so I picked Caitlin Clarke from her first role in Dragonslayer. Looking up her name on imdb.com, I wasn't aware she had died so young. The other deceased person on the list is Jeanne Bal, who played Nancy Crater on the Star Trek episode The Man Trap.

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

Movies released
Spider-Man released, 2002
Iron Man 3 released, 2013

   

Predictor: Andrew H. Green (1820-1903) comptroller of New City, making a prediction about 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exposition held in Chicago.

Prediction: The greatest city in American and the greatest city in the world in the Twentieth Century will be that comprised in the metropolitan district of New York.

Chicago will be the most gigantic of the internal cities of the United States, with a population numbering at about 3,000,000. But the New York of 1993 will have more than 8,000,000.

Reality: Well, it's nice to read someone who isn't a suck-up. We can all agree that is NOT the beard of a suck-up. Many predictions from the 1893 Exhibition touted Chicago to the skies, but Green was a major factor in civic improvements of New York, notably Central Park, and he was sure New York was not going to be surpassed.

As for his numbers, New York City is now over 8,000,000, but the 1950s to the 1990s was an era of contraction in the population, and in 1990 the population was barely over 7,000,000. (It's grown since and there are now over 8,000,000.) As for Chicago being the greatest city in the interior and a population of nearly 3,000,000, Green was right on the money. (It would have been very hard for him to predict the size of Los Angeles, but it doesn't count as an interior city.)

While his numbers are at least in the ballpark, his big miss is "greatest city in the world" status. There are many New Yorkers who would argue with some merit that New York is the world's most important city, but if we are discussing something clearly measurable like population, Green completely missed how populous the cities of Asia would become.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Instead of always having a nuclear war prediction every Sunday, I'm going to mix it up with a little something from Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 May 2014

Birthdays
Kay Panabaker b. 1990 (No Ordinary Family, Phil of the Future, Angel)
Thomas McDonell b. 1986 (The 100, Dark Shadows)
Matt Berry b. 1974 (Snow White and the Huntsman, Moon, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace)
Dwayne Johnson b. 1972 (Hercules [2014], G.I. Joe; Retaliation, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Tooth Fairy, Race to Witch Mountain, Southland Tales, The Scorpion King, The Mummy Returns, Star Trek: Voyager)
Christine Baranski b. 1952 (Into the Woods, The Big Bang Theory, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Addams Family Values)
David Suchet b. 1946 (Dracula [TV 2006], Wing Commander, Harry and the Hendersons)
Don Marshall b. 1936 (The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bionic Woman, The Thing with Two Heads, Land of the Giants, Mr. Terrific, Star Trek)
Bruce Glover b. 1932 (Die Hard Dracula, Warlock: The Armageddon, Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man, My Favorite Martian, Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster)
John Neville b. 1925 died 19 November 2011 (Odyssey 5, The X Files, The Fifth Element, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen)
Roscoe Lee Browne b. 1925 died 11 April 2007 (Swamp Thing [TV], Moon 44, Space, Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Logan’s Run, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Invaders)
Theodore Bikel b, 1924 (Babylon 5, The Burning Zone, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beauty and the Beast [TV], Knight Rider, The Amazing Spider-Man [TV], Twilight Zone)
Edward E. “Doc” Smith b. 1890 died 31 August 1965 (author, Lensman, Subspace, The Galaxy Primes)

There were a lot of possible choices for the Picture Slot today. A cover from one of E.E. "Doc" Smith's countless novels would have worked, and I thought about John Neville as Baron Munchausen or Dwayne Johnson as The Scorpion King. But as you can see, it's Don Marshall from Land of the Giants. The success of Star Trek convinced Irwin Allen that he couldn't get away with all white casts anymore. I'd like to say there's been a lot of progress, but seeing the stink people raise when a comic book character is cast in a movie with an actor of a different race, I'm not sure that's true.

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

Movies released
X2:X-Men United released 2003
Iron Man released 2008
 

Predictor: Wohler's Associates, quoted by Timothy Lavin in Bloomberg's Quick Take

Prediction: The 3-D printing industry will top $6 billion by 2017, triple the level of sales in 2012.

Reality: The article has a chart that shows impressive growth, first breaking $1 billion in products and services in 2008 and $2 billion in 2012. I'm not sure the blog will still be around in 2017 - finding another 1,000 predictions that meet my finicky criteria is the big stumbling block - but if it is, I'll come back back to check this one out.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Next stop: 1893, and yes, there fill be facial hair.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

1 May 2014

 Birthdays
Ariel Gade b. 1997 (Meteor, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Invasion)
Emilia Clarke b. 1987 (Terminator: Genesis, Game of Thrones, Triassic Attack)
Jamie Dornan b. 1982 (Once Upon a Time)
James Badge Dale b. 1978 (World War Z, Iron Man 3)
Darius McCrary b. 1976 (Transformers, Vampires: Los Muertos)
Julie Benz b. 1972 (Defiance, No Ordinary Family, Supernatural, Locusts: The 8th Plague, Angel, Buffy, Roswell, Darkdrive, Sliders)
Kendrick Cross b. 1971 (Witches of East End, Iron Man 3, Teen Wolf [TV])
John Diehl b. 1950 (Almost Human, Singularity Principle, Jericho, Jurassic Park III, The X-Files, Stargate, The Dark Side of the Moon, Beauty and the Beast [TV], Escape from New York)
Dann Florek b. 1950 (From the Earth to the Moon, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch)
Stephen Macht b. 1942 (Sliders, Millennium, The Legend of Galgameth, Babylon 5, Trancers, Deep Space Nine, Highlander [TV], The Monster Squad, Galaxina, The Six Million Dollar Man)
Joy Harmon b. 1940 (Village of the Giants, Bewitched, Batman)
Terry Southern b. 1924 died 29 October 1995 (writer, Barbarella)
Glenn Ford b. 1916 died 30 August 2006 (Day of Resurrection, Superman, The Visitor)

As I have said before, Game of Thrones is trump while it is airing and Emilia Clarke as Danerys Stormborn is easily the most iconic role on today's list, especially for younger viewers. I used Julie Benz from Buffy last year before I did more research and I might use Joy Harmon from Village of the Giants next year because... reasons.

All that said, the one movie star on the list is Glenn Ford, but he only showed up in genre at the very end of his career.

Movies released
X-Men Origins: Wolverine released 2009

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: Downtown streets will have moving conveyor type sidewalks. They will carry you from one store or office to another-as you sit on a portable golf-type stool if you like.

Reality: Airports, yes, downtown streets, no. This is the seventh moving sidewalk prediction and they range in time from John Elfreth Watkins and T. Baron Russell at the beginning of the century to Asimov, Heinlein and others in the 1950s and 1960s. De Forest gets a goose egg on this one, and not even points for originality.

This month's splash photo: Norman Bel Geddes (1893-1958) designed the Futurama exhibit for General Motors' pavilion in the 1939 World's Fair. His streamlined shapes are a major influence on nearly all the futurists that came after him. He is also the father of the actress Barabara Bel Geddes and the author Joan Ulanov. As a tip of the hat to regular commenter Zombie Rotten McDonald, at least this design has windows, unlike the bus that was the April splash page.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We give Dr. Paul Ehrlich the week off to get a prediction for 2017 ripped from the business section this week.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!