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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
Inspiration from Lovecraft for fiction writers
Here I dig up yet another letter from HPL, to E. Hoffmann Price, from 1936: Glad you found the Mts. of Madness readable. That was my attempt to pin down the vague feelings regarding the lethal, desolate white south which … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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… the Hell? A new contender for stupidest pundit in print
The blogosphere is abuzz with Michael Medved’s op-ed at Townhall arguing how slavery in the U.S. wasn’t such a big deal and people shouldn’t make it out as such. Clearly he’s trying to win an award as the most idiotic … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Politics
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Lies, damned lies, and political polls: A cranky critique of a Political Animal post
This is a little belated, but I was a little troubled by a post on Kevin Drum’s blog at the Washington Monthly. The substance of the post is about interpretations of certain poll results: A recent New York Times poll … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Ukraine Travelogue, part 5: beautiful Kiev
I’m going to wrap up my discussion of the Ukraine with a collection of pictures, some panoramas, from its capital and largest city, Kiev. Lots of big pictures below the fold… (Note: some of the pics have been ‘squashed’ to … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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Quantum computing creeps forward
Researchers at Yale have apparently managed to take an important step forward in the development of quantum computers: they’ve gotten atoms to talk to each other coherently over a long distance. What is ‘quantum computing’? To understand this, we begin … Continue reading
Posted in Science news
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Founding father follies
While in Amsterdam, my girlfriend and I got into a political discussion with my post-doc advisor about the founding fathers of the United States. Basically, my advisor argued that the founding fathers (FFs) are treated essentially as religious figures, and … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
6 Comments
Darn! No alien invasion… yet!
I’m terribly disappointed. Last week, a story out of Peru had all the hallmarks of a good alien invasion story — a mysterious meteorite crashes near a small town in Peru, and local residents start to fall ill. (‘Personal Demon’ … Continue reading
Posted in Science news
2 Comments
Ukraine Travelogue, part 4: Building to impress
One thing that strikes you about traveling in Eastern Europe is that everything seems BIG. Buildings, monuments, and other things are not only built large, but somehow conspicuously large. For instance, here’s a photograph of one of the government buildings … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
5 Comments
Heroes returns! and driving shows into the ground
Rejoice, one and all, for Heroes returns on Monday with its season premiere. Truth be told, I’m only in the process now, on my trip to San Jose, of watching the DVDs of season one. Although many, many people whose … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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Ukraine Travelogue, part 3: This one blew my mind (updated)
So I was sitting in my Kiev hotel, watching local television, and I came across the following television show: This is undoubtedly a Ukrainian/Russian television show. Does it look familiar at all?
Posted in Entertainment, Travel
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Skulls in the Stars 