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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. -
Category Archives: Entertainment
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
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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
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Peanuts animator, and voice of Snoopy, Bill Melendez, dies at 91
Sadly, the producer/animator who brought us such classics as “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” has passed away at 91, of natural causes. He was also the very familiar voice of Snoopy in many of these specials, … Continue reading
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Camera-free Radiohead video! (updated)
(Update: I fixed the discussion on LIDAR speed detection, thanks to edweird’s observations in the comments.) This is pretty neat. Via Crooks & Liars, we have Radiohead’s new music video (embedded below the fold), for House of Cards, which uses … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Optics
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Avatar: The Last Airbender concludes!
Wow. I just finished watching the 2-hour series finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender. After a three-year run, the animated series ended on Saturday night. Simply amazing. This is definitely, in my opinion, one of the best television series I’ve … Continue reading
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Metropolis, complete at last (?)
Via Blake at Science After Sunclipse, I learn that a complete version of Fritz Lang’s silent masterpiece Metropolis has been found in Buenos Aires. I’m quite excited about this. For those who haven’t seen it, Metropolis is arguably the greatest … Continue reading
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“You realize, of course, that chaos theory predicts that your criminal plans will fail.”
This one’s a shocker: Chris Noth is leaving Law & Order: Criminal Intent, to be replaced by… Jeff Goldblum. On the other hand, Goldblum does have experience playing in a disturbing, psychological drama (and I don’t mean Independence Day).
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Happy Birthday to Bruce Campbell!!!
It would be terribly uncool of me to not acknowledge the birthday today of one of the coolest actors who has ever lived: Bruce Campbell! If you don’t know Bruce Campbell, you really should: he is probably most remembered for … Continue reading
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My favorite uses of “mood music” in television and movies
I recently rewatched the season finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and was struck by one particular scene, in which an FBI agent and a SWAT team move in to arrest a terminator, not knowing exactly what they’re dealing … Continue reading
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Iron Man: Pretty damn cool!
Me & the fiancée just got back from seeing Iron Man, and I gotta say: cool! A few observations: The director, Jon Favreau, is to Hollywood films what a closer is to a baseball team. At least, that’s what he’s … Continue reading
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