A Lot More Sirius Than You Think

Today is the traditional date of the helical rising of the "Dog Star" Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, as well the traditional opening of the Dog Days. Which means it's the perfect time to get together and talk about Sirius and the long history of worship of it.

Warning: for such a bright and beautiful star, the adoration for it can get a lot more serious than you think.

Secret Star Trek Returns

To celebrate Captain Kirk going up into nowhere-even-close-to-outer-space in the DeMolay Cock-Rocket, I've reposted the Secret Star Trek series, which are some of the most popular and most requested essays in the decade-and-a-half history of The Secret Sun.

Insane in the Ghislaine: The Janus Twins

Say, did you hear about the rich guy who was obsessed with sex and weird science? 

The guy who turned his posh digs into a orgiastic fuckpad where minors were reportedly sexually abused? The guy who was plugged into networks of prominent scientists and luminaries from entertainment and the world of letters? 

AstroGnostic: "You're a Nine"

I'm one of those weirdos who likes to listen to director's commentaries on DVDs. I've listened to all of the X-Files commentaries, which usually seem to be focused on the technical aspects of production and not so much the stories, which can be a bit frustrating.

The Nines: You're Not Who You Think You Are

I've been getting these weird emails from Genebase telling me about these people whose DNA profile most closely matches my own (the Y-chromosome, at least). Strangely, their names are all almost stereotypically Irish, first and last.

Secret Star Trek: Charlie is 17

For a concept created by a self-confessed atheist, there are a hell of a lot of gods in Star Trek. I've been watching selected episodes of Deep Space Nine in a state of utter disbelief (the show is unvarnished religious drama of a very strange variety) but the very same themes we see in that show are abundant in the original series as well. 

Heroes: The Nine (Wonders of the World)

Hayden Panettierre did a little impromptu striptease on the set of Heroes (you can see the whole thing here). As eye-catching as that is, there was something else I found a bit more interesting- where she was doing it.

Secret Star Trek: Sisk-O-Bama and the Council of Nine

Following the smash success of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Paramount created a new spinoff series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The story took place on a space station abandoned by the Cardassians, who had occupied a planet known as Bajora. The planet was crucial since it guarded an interdimensional wormhole that allowed intergalactic travel. 

You can call it a Stargate if you like. Same difference.