born 17 February 1970

Bret Culp, Dunnville, Ontario, visual effects supervisor

Dominic Purcell, Wallasey, England, Australian actor

Hiroaki Samura, birthplace unspecified, Japanese writer

Jonathan Brown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of the inventor of the Steadicam

Ken Rance, Minneapolis, Minnesota, writer

Kia Jam, birthplace unspecified, American producer

Krisztina Bíró, Budapest, Hungary, actress

Marcos Bernstein, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, writer/director

Mari Posti, Helsinki, Finland, actress

Mathieu Lauffray, Paris, France, concept designer

Matt Wallin, Los Angeles, California, digital compositor/Cremaster cycle expositor

Paul Whitthorne, Tucson, Arizona, actor

Stephen Salvati, birthplace unspecified, Irish Ph.D/black belt/Dracula enthusiast

Theodor Halacu-Nicon, Constantza, Romania, director

Tim Mahoney, Omaha, Nebraska, musician

Wojciech Socha, Koszalin, Poland, TV actor

Zeddy Lawrence, London, England, writer/parrot owner

I never watched the Fox network’s “Prison Break”; furthermore I was shocked to see that the autumn-to-spring TV season had so collapsed as a concept that “Prison Break” may still actually be on the air…? It’s hard to tell. Dominic Purcell, a star of that show, even though he’s forty today, seems to have the best shot at future stardom of this group. He could be a late-blooming Angry George Clooney of the 010’s if he plays his cards just right.

Big props to Garrett Brown for inventing the Steadicam, and for having a son instead of a daughter to lug that thing around for a second generation. (As a digression within a digression, the NBA slam dunk contest has gotten so boring that watching last week’s show the only enjoyment I got, practically, was watching the Steadicam operator, who moves and dresses like a beatnik StaPuft Marshmallow Man. He’s been a favorite around my house for years, but he’s now pushing maximum density.)

Some other favorites today include this Irish mountebank, and this friend of Matthew Barney. The entire concept of a behind-the-scenes making-of documentary about the Cremaster cycle seems misguided, but I’m glad somebody tried.

The champ today is Marcos Bernstein. I don’t know if he’ll ever get the chance to go Hollywood, but I’m intrigued that his directorial debut is a Rear Window remake with Fernanda Montenegro in the Jimmy Stewart role. I predict that bodes well.