Happy birthday, Michael Fassbender!

Michael Fassbender, born April 2, 1977 in Heidelberg, Germany, has portrayed X-Men super-villain Magneto in four movies: X-Men: First Class; X-Men: Days of Future Past; X-Men: Apocalypse; and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. He has also appeared in the Alien franchise for which he received a Saturn nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Fassbender has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his performances in Steve Jobs and 12 Years a Slave. He has won 79 awards with a total of 161 nominations.

Michael Fassbender as Magneto

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor

Incredibly handsome and versatile actor, Oscar Isaac, born in Guatemala City, Guatemala March 8, 1979, has won numerous awards for his acting.  He won a Golden Globe and has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy.

He is best known for his portrayal Poe Dameron in the Star Wars movies, Episodes VII-IX.  He also starred as Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse and Dune as Duke Leto Atreides.

Now I have to start binge watching Moon Knight!

The Twilight Zone episode "The Midnight Sun" airs 1961

The tenth episode of the third season of The Twilight Zone, The Midnight Sun, aired November 17, 1961.  Norma (Lois Nettleton) and her neighbor Mrs. Bronson (Betty Garde) suffer from an increasingly oppressive heat wave, caused when the Earth falls out of orbit and begins getting nearer to the sun.  

The threat of nuclear apocalypse was a recurring theme in the Twilight Zone, since the Cold War was at its height during this time, but this episode is pure science fiction.  

It also has one of the best twists at the end of any episode.

"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" released 1961

Irwin Allen released his futuristic science-fiction disaster movie Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, July 12, 1961.  The film takes place aboard the Seaview, the roomiest submarine I've ever seen.  The Van Allen Belt is on fire and the nuclear sub is sent to find a solution or watch the world burn up.

It stars Barbara Eden, her real-life husband Michael Ansara, Peter Lorre and Frankie Avalon. 

Although it received mixed reviews, it was a success, making $7M on a $2M production.

Apocalypse (Not) Now - Earth passes through Halley's Comet tail 1910

Doomsdays come and doomsdays go.  On May 19, 1910, Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet and was expected to extinguish all life.  Weeks before astronomers had discovered cyanogen, a deadly poison in the comet's tail.  Prognosticators warned people that cyanogen would permeate the atmosphere and kill every living thing.  The good news was you could take a pill, which would protect you against the effects of the poison.  They didn't explain how you would protect yourself when the Pacific Ocean emptied into the Atlantic.

Oh, but the best way to escape the apocalypse was in a submarine!

















People awoke on May 20 and nothing had happened. Oh, well.  The world is scheduled to end December  21, 2012.  Oh, right.