Dracula’s forefathers: Lord Ruthven, Varney and Carmilla

Posted on October 5, 2008 by skullsinthestars

The depiction of the vampire which we see in most of contemporary horror fiction has its roots in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897).  Of course, vampires have lurked in the shadows of folklore through recorded history, and Stoker drew upon that folklore in the development of his own tale.

It is worth noting, and not generally appreciated, though, that Dracula was not the first vampire in literature, nor even the first popular vampire in literature.  There were at least 3 precursors, or forefathers, to the modern vampire, stretching back to a dreary summer night in Lake Geneva in 1816, which also produced one of the other great monsters of literature.

Let’s take a look at each of these monsters, their origin, and a little of their influence on the character of “The Count”.

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Posted in Horror | 8 Comments

Don’t vote! Reverse psychology at its finest

Posted on October 2, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Via Americablog, I found this wonderful video which lays down the importance of voting… by having Hollywood-types encouraging you not to vote!  It’s nice to see a video which is entertaining and pointed simultaneously.  Posting this video is my way of passing along the message to ‘5 friends’:

P.S. I got my updated voter registration card in the mail yesterday, which prompted me to dance around, mocking the fiancée (whose new card has not yet arrived), “I get to vo-ote… you do not get to vote!”

Posted in Politics | 5 Comments

13 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #4!

Posted on October 2, 2008 by skullsinthestars

The start of a new month means it’s time for a reminder that there’s 13 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #4, to be held on October 15th at Second Order Approximation.  Entries can be submitted, as always, through blogcarnival.com.

Get cracking on those classic science entries!

Also, keep an eye on the TGS website; I’m planning a mini ‘contest’ to be held next month there, for the enterprising and artistic types…

Posted in General science, Science news | Leave a comment

Physics, guitars and pitch harmonics

Posted on September 30, 2008 by skullsinthestars

One of the fun parts about being a scientist is running across “day-to-day” phenomena which can be understood much better using a little bit of one’s knowledge.  One of these I’ve had bouncing around in my head for a while: the idea of ‘pitch harmonics’ on guitar.

I started playing the guitar about a year and a half ago on a whim.  Deciding that I spent too many evenings in front of the television doing nothing, I marched into the local music store and declared that I wanted to learn guitar, and needed the works: guitar, case, and lessons!  I have a really excellent instructor named Toby, and my knowledge of guitar has increased rapidly, if not my technique.

Anyway, what is a pitch harmonic?  Here’s a short audio clip of me playing the first few notes from Pearl Jam’s Jeremy (an .mp3 file):

If you can get past the quality of the guitar playing, you’ll notice that the last two notes of the riff have a completely distinct sound from the first few.  Those are the pitch harmonics, which are played differently on the guitar from other notes.  We discuss the physics of them below the fold…

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Posted in Physics | 19 Comments

John W. Campbell Jr.’s Who Goes There?

Posted on September 27, 2008 by skullsinthestars

I’ll be getting back to some physics posts this week — I promise!  In the meantime, I thought I’d step away from reading old, old classic horror of the 19th century for a bit and look to a different era: that of classic science-fiction/horror.  In the 1950s/1960s, a lot of horror movies with a science-fiction slant to them appeared in theaters.  Many people are aware of these classics — The Thing From Another World, The Day of The Triffids, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, for instance — but not as many people may be aware that each of these is based on an original written story.

I recently finished reading the 70-page novella by John W. Campbell Jr., Who Goes There? (1938), and I thought I’d share my impressions about it, as well as its relationship to the two movies based upon it, below.

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Posted in Entertainment, Horror | 6 Comments

Pictures of gas crisis in Soviet Carolinastan!

Posted on September 26, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Yesterday I complained about the gas shortage that’s hitting parts of the southeast, including the western Carolinas, really hard.  The Colonial Pipeline which provides the area with fuel has been operating at severely reduced capacity, because the refineries which feed it were shut down by the double-whammy of Gustav and Ike, and have been taking a looooooong time to get restarted.  The result has been gas stations with no gas and lines which, according to a German colleague of mine, are reminiscent of Soviet East Germany.

Today a major emergency shipment came into the region from refineries in the Atlantic, but since most people were running almost on empty this has still resulted in long lines.  I finally ventured out today and got myself into a reasonably short gas line — only 20 cars ahead of me — and managed to fill up.  I took a couple of cellphone pictures to give a feel for the fun…

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Posted in ... the Hell? | 2 Comments

‘Fusion Man’ tools across the Channel

Posted on September 26, 2008 by skullsinthestars

I’ve previously mentioned the exploits of Yves Rossy, aka “Fusion Man”, a daredevil who had successfully built and tested a jet-powered wing.  Now, according to CNN, Rossy has taken a flight across the English Channel!  The 22-mile flight from Calais to Dover took less than 15 minutes to accomplish.  Information about Rossy and his wing can be found at his official website.

The National Geographic Channel will be airing a special on the flight tonight.

Posted in Sports | Leave a comment

Obama earns the crucial “Nobel Laureates in Science” demographic

Posted on September 25, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Via ERV, I learn that a collection of 61 American Nobel Laureates in Science have gotten together to wholeheartedly endorse Barack Obama.  Their “Open Letter to the American People” can be read here.

It’s an impressive list.  It is noted at the link that this is group is larger than the groups which endorsed Kerry and Gore.  And, just to give you a taste of the accomplishments of the authors, from my physics perspective:

  • Charles H. Townes (Physics, 1964): “for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle”
  • Leon Neil Cooper (Physics, 1972): “for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory”
  • Nicolaas Bloembergen (Physics, 1981): “for their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy”
  • Robert Wilson (Physics, 1978): “for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation”

The Boston Globe mentions the endorsement here, which seems to have been otherwise lost in the hysterical reporting on McCain’s disingenuous “break”.

This unprecedented support is not surprising; as Tom at Swans on Tea noted, McCain has already apparently declared a desire to freeze research funding until the politicians can bring their infinite wisdom to bear on the worthiness of the research.

A little name-dropping: the two Nobel winners I’ve personally met (very briefly) are on the list: Leon Lederman and James Cronin.  I was not surprised at all to see Lederman on the list; he’s generally awesome.

Posted in Science news | Leave a comment

Stations, stations everywhere, but not a drop of gas

Posted on September 25, 2008 by skullsinthestars

I’ve been a little distracted from blogging for the past week by the gas crisis that has settled slowly but inexorably over the region.  Parts of the southeast have been in the midst of a massive gas shortage since Hurricane Ike shut down the refineries which supply it more than a week ago.  Only a trickle of fuel is entering the region now, and it is being rationed amongst various stations.  A station which gets gas gets half-mile-long lines along with it, and a new supply can sell out within hours.  A report from Charlotte, NC on the situation can be read here.  The frightening thing is that nobody seems to know for sure when things will return to at least a semblance of normalcy: a day?  two days?  a week?

Fortunately, I only teach one day a week, so I’ve been working from home most days to conserve gas.  I also drive a hybrid Civic (purchased with some foresight on my part in 2004), and am able to get farther on a tank than most people.  Even that, though, is running low.  If this crisis continues for a few more days, I think cities in the region are going to start looking a bit like ghost towns.

I’m a little baffled by the fact that a smaller version of this event happened in 2005, when Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.  One would think that officials would have seen the possibility of an even more severe disruption and taken steps to diversify the gas supply.

Posted in ... the Hell? | 3 Comments

James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampire

Posted on September 24, 2008 by skullsinthestars

One of the reasons I enjoy writing this blog is that it gives me an excuse to hunt down and read obscure horror classics that were nonetheless highly influential on the genre.  Last night I finished reading such a classic that I’ve been eager to read for years, James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampire (1845):

“Varney” is perhaps the greatest example of the ‘Penny Dreadful‘ publications of 19th century Britain.  It was originally released as a weekly serial, and the complete version was later printed in one complete volume in 1847.  Until recently, the only way that a reader could enjoy Varney’s exploits was through poor quality photoreproductions of the original volume.  In 2007, Zittaw Press released the first new, retypeset version of the story, edited and annotated by über-scholar Curt Herr of Kutztown University.  The new edition corrects typesetting and spelling errors (as much as is humanly possible), includes a detailed introduction, explanatory footnotes, reproductions of original illustrations, and additional analysis and examples of penny dreadfuls at the end of the volume.

I give a discussion of penny dreadfuls, and my thoughts on Varney and its influence on vampire lore, below the fold.

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Posted in Horror | 9 Comments