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The author of Skulls in the Stars is an associate professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
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Monthly Archives: October 2007
Some Halloween Treats…
Through Pharyngula, I found a link to The Little Professor, a blogger of Victorian stuff, who linked through a lovely website to some of her favorite ghost stories. (Following me so far?) This seemed like a good idea, so I … Continue reading
Yes, pirates exist in real-life
There’s been a couple of reports in the past few days about pirates operating off of the Somali coast. Several days ago, a U.S. destroyer pursued and fired upon a hijacked Japanese ship, sinking the pirate skiffs attached to it. … Continue reading
Unwanted love: An underused horror theme?
H.P. Lovecraft, in his essay Supernatural Horror in Literature, remarked that, “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” He was, in my opinion, completely correct. … Continue reading
Ramsey Campbell: The Nightmare Man
I thought I’d start my discussion of ‘Masters of Horror’ by talking about my favorite horror author of all time, and perhaps one of the most unappreciated horror authors ever. The shelves of your local bookstores, which no doubt carry … Continue reading
An interesting day
Today has been relatively interesting. First, I received an email that my physics textbook proposal was reasonably received by the publisher and I could have a contract within a month! I’ll post more on that when things are more certain. … Continue reading
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The more things change…
Most people are hopefully aware of the very strong religious right movement to incorporate creationism (the belief that God created the world and everything in it in its present form) in science classes as valid topic of study alongside evolution … Continue reading
Horror Masters: “Themes” of horror fiction writers
I’m planning to write little posts highlighting the works of a lot of the true masters of horror fiction, including a bit about them and what I consider to be their most enjoyable yarns. One aspect that I will address … Continue reading
Some of my favorite swordfights in film
One of the things I love to do is make lists. Often I’m doing this in my mind when I’m driving around town. Today, I got thinking about the best swordfights in movies: the sort of clashes of metal that … Continue reading
An interesting intersection of Lovecraft and relativity theory
My thesis advisor has often lamented the rise of email in society, mainly because the electronic correspondence isn’t as permanent as the written letter, and lots of interesting historical anecdotes can get lost. I delved into one of these recently … Continue reading
A ride on the Shanghai maglev train
I’ve been in a ‘magnet mood’ since I did my big post on the physics Nobel winners a week ago, and I thought it would be nice to show one of the most spectacular applications of magnetism – magnetic levitation … Continue reading
