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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
And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to…
Al Gore and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The award was won for their efforts to raise awareness about global warming. There’s a few interesting things to note about this award. First, it was barely a day … Continue reading
And the Physics Nobel Prize goes to…
Albert Fert and Peter Gruenberg, for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance. This is one of those prizes that’s pretty well-deserved, because giant magnetoresistance is now applied for data readout on pretty much every magnetic hard drive being produced, such as … Continue reading
Happy birthday to another horror giant
Several weeks ago was Roddy McDowell’s birthday; today is the birthday of another great actor of horror films. Happy birthday to Jodelle Ferland! If you haven’t heard of her, I’m not surprised; she’s only 13 years old today.
‘Old Europe’ vs. the United States
There was a nice article in the Washington Post today (h/t to Americablog) about the conventional wisdom view that ‘Old Europe’, i.e. the European Union, is stagnant and decadent. One hears this most from conservatives, who tout the transcendence of … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Travel
4 Comments
Why I love iTunes
I’ve been waiting for well over a year for Season 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender to appear on Nickelodeon. The season premiere date was shrouded in mystery until practically only a week before it actually appeared. Of course, I … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction
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The link between horror and comedy and the best horror/comedy films
Those who read and watch enough in the horror genre know that there’s an odd, difficult to quantify, connection between the genres of comedy and horror. This connection is what attracted me to horror in the first place several decades … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Horror
17 Comments
Hard drive woes (updated)
Mreh. I was welcomed at work this morning with a total hard drive failure. Of course, the way these things work, this happens to be the week that our local computer tech is off on vacation, so I’m forced to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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Bush to America’s children: Drop dead
Breaking news on CNN is that Bush has used his promised veto against expanding the S-CHIP program, which provides health insurance to children from poor families. The expansion would increase the level of coverage to families of marginally higher income, … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
2 Comments
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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