Here's some trivia from seven years ago. This email forward from 1999 stated that Gap, Inc. was "confident" that their merchandise was Y2K compliant "and will operate perfectly in the years to come," particularly the zippers. That's right: the zippers and their "operating system" were Y2K compliant. Or at least that's what you were lead to believe...

Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, is a Japanese-based zipper manufacturer that has stamped their brand name "YKK" on their pull tabs (are you looking at your pants right now?) since 1994, which to the amusement of millennium enthusiasts meant they were quite the forward-thinkers. Actually, the company was founded in 1934 at a time when the fashion industry was just beginning to laud the novel fastener over the traditional button. Today, YKK's factory in Macon, Georgia is the world's largest, producing over 7 million zippers a day. And net sales steadily rise each year, ensuring the zipper's future... at least until the next pop-culture scare.

Learn more about zippers...

After a review of the upcoming films on IMDB, I think this might just be a season worth spending at the cinema. Let's future-cast for a bit, shall we?

Leading the pack is Stranger Than Fiction with Marc Forster's newfound channeling of Michael Gondry, where an IRS auditor (Will Ferrell) finds himself living within the confines of a famous author's narrative whims (Emma Thompson), and a black comedy ensues. Meanwhile, Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy are back with all the usual suspects (plus Ricky Gervais!) with their new mockumentary about the Hollywood obsession with awards shows: For Your Consideration.

Period pieces fill the next chapter of my fall at the movies: Copying Beethoven with Ed Harris and Diane Kruger seems the most promising, even if the industry is panning it with comparisons to Immortal Beloved. (Speaking of controversial reviews, it's high time to go see Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette before it leaves theaters.) Now technically, The Fountain is a science fiction piece, but as it spans one thousand years, I think it's safe to lump it in this category. Regardless of its genre, Darren Aronofsky's masterwork has the potential to land at the top of my list, but we'll have to revisit that come Thanksgiving weekend.

One of the more fascinating 21st-century trends is the incredible laundry list of famous actors lending their voices to animated films, and this season's family flicks are no exception: Happy Feet touts Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Brittany Murphy, Hugo Weaving, and a posthumous performance by Steve Irwin. Charlotte's Web counters with Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, Cedric the Entertainer, Oprah Winfrey, John Cleese, Kathy Bates, Reb McEntire, André Benjamin, Thomas Haden Church, Jennifer Garner, and Robert Redford.

I'll do my best to follow-up, faithful reader, and revisit this topic after the holidays. Until then, see you at the movies...

Previous film future-casts: Ahh, Summer and Finding Your Place in the New World.