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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
The Lost Skeleton Walks Among Us! (hopefully)
Proving once again that you can’t keep a good undead down, at least not the first or second time, it was recently announced that there will be a third film in the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (soon-to-be) trilogy! Being that … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Silliness
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My favorite video games of all time (an incomplete list)
It is not much of an exaggeration to say that I’ve been playing video games since the beginning. I was one of those kids who spent tons of time in arcades throwing away quarter after quarter, and our family owned … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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Artologica at ScienceOnline (and online)!
Update: Michele will be showing off her work tonight, Friday the first of February, in the Marriott hotel lobby between 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm! This week I’m attending ScienceOnline 2013, the yearly online science communication conference in Raleigh, NC. … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, General science
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Invaders from Mars! Reports from the 1938 invasion
Note: One of a couple of Halloween-themed posts for the season! While researching a post for my new Tumblr “Science Chamber of Horrors“*, I ended up reading the October 31st, 1938 edition of The Evening Independent newspaper of St. Petersburg, … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment, History of science
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Movie sequels that completely miss the point
The recent release of the prequel “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” got me thinking about the very odd sequels to the original 1968 “Planet of the Apes” and about sequels in general. Sequels are common in both literature … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment
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“The Wicker Tree?” (Updated)
This one was an immediate WTF moment for me: Robin Hardy, the writer/director of the original version of the film The Wicker Man (1973), is “reimagining” his film as The Wicker Tree, slated for release sometime this year: For those … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment, Horror, Robert E. Howard
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Captain America has a tradition of social commentary
If you haven’t seen it yet, the most recent issue of the Marvel Comics series Captain America has drawn the ire of teabaggers because of its negative portrayal of them. Via Yahoo news, Since 1941, Captain America has been one … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment, Politics
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Mythbusters were scooped — by 130 years! (Finger in the barrel)
During my first evening in San Antonio, I sequestered myself in my hotel room to polish up my presentation. Fortunately, there was a Mythbusters marathon on the Discovery Channel at that time, so I was able to keep myself marginally … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, History of science, Physics
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Happy birthday to Bill Nighy!
Even as busy as I am, I can’t resist taking a moment to wish happy birthday to one of the coolest actors out there, in my humble opinion: Bill Nighy! Nighy has been acting since the late 1970s, though he … Continue reading
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