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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
Happy birthday to G.W. Bailey!
I was watching The Closer the other night, and I was observing again how much I like the character of Lt. Provenza, and the actor G.W. Bailey who plays him. In a nice bit of synchronicity, it turns out that … Continue reading
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Roger Ebert on ‘death panels’ and the power of a phrase
If you don’t read Roger Ebert’s blog, you probably should. In recent years (and probably before that, but before blogs) he’s been writing some of the most thoughtful posts I’ve seen on a range of topics, from politics to science … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Politics
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Catching “The Wave”: still relevant
Watching crowds of lunatic extremists attempting to shut down any reasonable debate about healthcare by shouting down politicians at town halls and even bringing firearms to protests is reminiscent of the scare tactics that brownshirts used to secure power in … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment, Politics
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Biltmore Estate… and Rick Springfield!
This weekend, the wife and I took a trip up to Asheville, NC, to see the historic Biltmore Estate… and see a Rick Springfield concert! The trip was an absolute blast, and I thought I’d share some pictures of the … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Travel
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Hollywood: Now officially out of ideas
Okay, now I think we can make this official: Hollywood is completely out of novel ideas. We started to suspect that this was the case when they started remaking very old classics such as King Kong, but at least there … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment
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Happy birthday to Ray Harryhausen!
It’s a good time of year for birthdays: today is Ray Harryhausen’s birthday! If you don’t know who Ray Harryhausen is, you should be ashamed of yourself — he’s the undisputed master of special effects. Harryhausen pioneered the use of … Continue reading
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Happy birthday to Bruce Davison!
I’m out of town for a few days, and likely posting light, but I had to put in a short “happy birthday” to actor Bruce Davison! Davison, who has a distinguished air about him that screams, “upper echelon”, is often … Continue reading
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A happy birthday to Brian Cox!
I couldn’t let June 1 go by without acknowledging the birthday of one of the coolest character actors around: Brian Cox! Brian has had a remarkable career and done many roles, including but not limited to: Agamemnon in Troy, the … Continue reading
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“Sherlock Holmes” is a real film? Really?
I’ve known for a while that a new version of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson, has been in the works. Via The Little Professor, I finally got to see the trailer: WTF? … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment
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