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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a 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. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampire
One of the reasons I enjoy writing this blog is that it gives me an excuse to hunt down and read obscure horror classics that were nonetheless highly influential on the genre. Last night I finished reading such a classic … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
9 Comments
Ebert writes a mean ‘Poe’
A few days ago, it was noted that Roger Ebert had posted an article titled, “Creationism: Your questions answered“. The article gives a straight-faced accounting of creationist beliefs, which was somewhat shocking to many fans who were familiar with Ebert’s … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
3 Comments
Meeting the Scibloggers…
The fiancée and I just returned this afternoon from attending the NC Scienceblogs celebration in honor of the millionth scienceblogs comment! We spent a nice afternoon at the Asheboro Zoo with a great collection of people, including Coturnix, Dave and … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
6 Comments
Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Last Days of Pompeii
One of the fun things about blogging about both science and horror fiction is the unusual connections that one can find between them. On of my favorite science topics outside of physics is vulcanology, which is why I read blogs … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
1 Comment
The Republican war on intelligence
Back in 2004, I had the pleasure of hearing Hillary Clinton speak at the Optical Society of America Annual Meeting in Rochester, NY. After her prepared remarks, she took questions from the audience. One questioner asked about some Bush administration … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, General science, Politics
5 Comments
The Giant’s Shoulders #3 is up!
The third edition of The Giant’s Shoulders is up at Entertaining Research! It’s a smaller edition than the previous ones, but still has some very nice entries (mine included!). Thanks to Guru for putting it together! The next edition will … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Richard Wright of Pink Floyd dies
The music world has lost one of its greats: Rick Wright, keyboardist and founding member of Pink Floyd, died at 65 after a long battle with cancer. His contributions to the band were often dismissed, especially, it seems, by fellow … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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Richard Marsh’s A Metamorphosis
I continue with some reviews of the works of Richard Marsh, in celebration of the release of Valancourt’s edition of The Beetle. This time I discuss a book that is, as yet, only available through Google books, Richard Marsh’s A … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
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The LHC shakes things up — the nuts, that is
Since writing about the first official test of the LHC on September 10th, I’ve noticed I’m getting a significant amount of hits. This is a bit strange, since my post was pretty much the least informative post about the LHC, … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
9 Comments
Happy Birthday to Richard Kiel!
It would be horrible of me to let September 13th pass by and not note the birthday of the most excellent actor Richard Kiel! Kiel turns 69 today. Kiel, standing a daunting 7’2” tall, has made a career out of … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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Skulls in the Stars 