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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
Graham Masterton: Ghosts (and demons) of the past
I knew almost nothing about Graham Masterton’s work when I started this blog. I had read his very first novel, The Manitou, several years previously (and seen the charming yet silly movie version), but knew nothing else about his work. … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Horror Masters
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The pre-history of Einstein’s relativity
I’m planning to do a long-term series of posts on Einstein’s relativity, starting with the special theory and progressing to the general theory (if you don’t know what the difference is, that’s okay, ’cause I’m gonna explain it all, eventually). … Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Relativity
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Roy Scheider dies at 75
A bit of sad news, this morning: actor Roy Scheider has died at 75. Scheider had an impressive television and film career, which included two Oscar nominations. One of these nominations was for The French Connection, the magnificent crime thriller … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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What’s in a name, or a label, for Hillary?
Mrs. Bad Astronomy has written a guest post on her husband’s blog (h/t Science After Sunclipse) concerning the media’s tendency to refer to Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as simply “Hillary”. The conclusion drawn is that this represents, either consciously or … Continue reading
My NaNoWriMo novel: Finished at last!
I just had to write a brief post to celebrate: I finally, finally finished writing my NaNoWriMo project! For those who have been reading me for a while, you know that I officially completed NaNoWriMo’s 50k words by the 28th … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction
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A few bits of blog news!
I thought I’d mention a few points of blog interest. First, I’ve finally gotten myself a dedicated email address for my blog: skullsinthestars *that’at’thingy*skullsinthestars.com. Feel free to write with comments, criticisms, observations, or requests. Science blogging is hard! It takes … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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A short documentary about Steve Benen… (update!)
Via Kevin Drum, I came across a short (less than 7 minute) documentary about Steve Benen, who writes The Carpetbagger Report political blog and subs quite often on Crooks & Liars and Talking Points Memo. Steve is perhaps my favorite … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Scientists make ‘blackest’ material ever!
This was an interesting bit of science news from last week: according to an article on optics.org (free registration required), a research team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rice University has fabricated the ‘blackest’ material ever known, which reflects just … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
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Some unconventional vampire stories (updated)
When I was younger, I was heavily into role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. I also ventured occasionally into other RPGs, and one of the popular ones was (and still is) Vampire: The Masquerade, in which one plays an … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Robert E. Howard
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Skulls in the Stars 