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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: Personal
RIP Fluff, 2011-2018
Losing a beloved animal friend is always hard, but it is even harder when they are taken from you too soon. Last night, unexpectedly, our beloved kitty Fluff passed away at the age of 6. He apparently passed very quickly, … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal
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Spoiler-filled The Last Jedi thoughts and open discussion thread (updated)
When I saw The Force Awakens two years ago, I needed a place to share my thoughts without sharing Star Wars spoilers all over the internet, and my blog turned out to be the perfect place to do it. The … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Personal, Science fiction
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Dr. SkySkull in Rome: Via Appia
Final part in a series of photo essays on my recent trip to Rome. Part 1 can be read here, Part 2 can be read here, Part 3 can be read here, and Part 4 can be read here. Sunday was our … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Travel
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Dr. SkySkull in Rome: the Vatican Museums
Part 4 of a series of photo essays on my recent trip to Rome. Part 1 can be read here, Part 2 can be read here, and Part 3 can be read here. On day 4 of our Rome adventure, we decided … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Travel
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Paintings I Love, Painting Is Love: A Storify
Somewhat despairing of all the relentlessly bad news in politics and the world, today I decided to post a series of beautiful paintings on twitter as a bit of an antidote. I invited anyone else to offer their own favorites, … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Personal
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10 years of Skulls in the Stars
I’ve been traveling a bit again lately and been rather busy with work, so I haven’t had much time to blog. I wanted to acknowledge, however, a rather significant milestone of this site: today officially marks the ten year anniversary … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Personal
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John Blackburn’s A Book of the Dead
If you’ve read my blog enough, you know that I occasionally write introductions for volumes released by the excellent Valancourt Books, in particular a lot of introductions to the work of the late John Blackburn (1923-1993), master of horror and … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller, Personal
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Dr. SkySkull in Rome: Colosseo and Palatino
Part 3 of a series of photo essays on my recent trip to Rome. Part 1 can be read here, and Part 2 can be read here. We got up early on day 3 in Rome to head to the Colosseum. … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, History of science, Personal, Travel
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Dr. SkySkull in Rome: Working and walking
Part 2 of a series of photo essays on my recent trip to Rome. Part 1 can be read here. Day 2 of our Rome trip was a combination of work and vacation. The choice of Rome as a destination … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Travel
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Dr. SkySkull in Rome: Walking the city
My recent trip to Europe was officially work-related, as I was an “opponent” in a PhD defense for a student of my former postdoc advisor in Amsterdam. We decided some time ago, however, to add a trip to Rome … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Travel
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