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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
PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins: a lesson in ‘framing’
The blogs are all abuzz with a recent kerfuffle amongst PZ Myers of Pharyngula and Matt Nisbet of Framing Science. For those who haven’t been following it, a brief summary follows: PZ was ‘expelled’ from the soon-to-be-released creationist claptrap Expelled. … Continue reading
Posted in Science news
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A shout-out to some excellent horror publishers
Before I started writing this blog, I hadn’t actively hunted down new (and old) horror for some time. Older works were very hard to find and new books were often… lacking, to put it politely. I’ll have a rant about … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction, Horror
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Bloggin’ at the Airport…
Ugh. I’m waiting in an Ohio airport for a flight home. I just finished giving a talk on my research, which seemed to go over well – lots of questions and lots of compliments afterwards. This will be a less-than-24-hour … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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David Morrell’s Creepers
David Morrell is a name which is almost synonymous with ‘thriller’. His first novel, First Blood, spawned the character of John Rambo and gave Sylvester Stallone something to do on and off for twenty-five years. Morrell also has written books … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Concert report: Jonathan Coulton and Paul and Storm
The girlfriend and I spent the weekend in Atlanta to catch Jonathan Coulton in concert. The internet sensation responsible for Code Monkey and Re: Your Brains put on an excellent show, and even though the auditorium wasn’t filled, the audience … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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A better economy in 2009?
This made me laugh: CNN’s headline right now is “Americans confident in 2009 turnaround”, at least as far as the economy is concerned. The first thing that came to mind for me: what’s the one thing that absolutely must change … Continue reading
Posted in Silliness
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Relativity: Measuring the speed of light
When I was an undergraduate, one of my professors told the following funny (and probably apocryphal) anecdote (recalled from memory): A court case was being tried in New Mexico. A group of pornographers were charged with smuggling pornography from Mexico … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics, Relativity
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Happy birthday to Patrick McGoohan!
Through watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann, I’ve learned that today is Patrick McGoohan’s birthday! If you don’t know McGoohan, you should: he was the star and one of the driving forces behind The Prisoner television series, arguably the best and … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, writer of numerous books including the iconic 2001, passed away today in Sri Lanka at the age of 90. Reading various comments around the internet today, I almost get the feeling that Clarke will … Continue reading
Posted in Science news
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The War Prayer
Tomorrow marks the five-year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it this morning, but instead will link to the text of Mark Twain’s The War Prayer. Twain was a … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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Skulls in the Stars 