[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• blogTO notes the Distillery District’s Toronto Light Festival.
• Border Thinking Laura Agustín looks at migrants and refugees in James Ellroy’s The Black Dahlia.
• Centauri Dreams suggests that Perry’s expedition to Japan could be taken as a metaphor for first contact.
• The Dragon’s Gaze links to a report about how brown dwarf EPIC 219388192 b.
• The LRB Blog notes the use of torture as a technique of intimidation.
• Marginal Revolution looks at China’s very heavy investment in Laos.
• The NYRB Daily examines violence and the surprising lack thereof in El Salvador.
• Personal Reflections’ Jim Belshaw touches on the controversies surrounding Australia Day.
• Transit Toronto reports the sentencing of some people who attacked TTC officers.
• Window on Eurasia argues that a Putin running out of resources needs to make a deal.