[BLOG] Some Monday links

• Anthropology.net notes a remarkably thorough genetic analysis of a piece of chewing gum 5700 years old that reveals volumes of data about the girl who chew it.
• ‘Nathan Burgoine at Apostrophen writes an amazing review of Cats that actually does make me want to see it.
• Bad Astronomy reports on galaxy NGC 6240, a galaxy produced by a collision with three supermassive black holes.
• Caitlin Kelly at the Broadside Blog writes about the mechanics of journalism.
• Centauri Dreams argues that the question of whether humans will walk on exoplanets is ultimately distracting to the study of these worlds.
• Crooked Timber shares a Sunday morning photo of Bristol.
• The Dragon’s Tales notes that India has a launch date of December 2021 for its first mission in its Gaganyaan crewed space program.
• Andrew LePage at Drew Ex Machina looks at the Saturn C-1 rocket.
• Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog considers if the vogue for minimalism meets the criteria to be considered a social movement.
• Far Outliers ?notes how, in the War of 1812, some in New England considered the possibility of seceding from the Union.
• Gizmodo looks at evidence of the last populations known of Homo erectus, on Java just over a hundred thousand years ago.
• Mark Graham links to a new paper co-authored by him looking at how African workers deal with the gig economy.
• io9 announces that the Michael Chabon novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is set to become a television series.
• Joe. My. God. shares a report that Putin gave Trump anti-Ukrainian conspiracy theories.
• JSTOR Daily considers what a world with an economy no longer structured around oil could look like.
• Language Hat takes issue with the latest talk of the Icelandic language facing extinction.
• Language Log shares a multilingual sign photographed in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.
• Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the document release revealing the futility of the war in Afghanistan.
• The LRB Blog looks at class identity and mass movements and social democracy.
• Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution suggests that, even if the economy of China is larger than the United States, Chinese per capita poverty means China does not have the leading economy.
• Diane Duane at Out of Ambit writes about how she is writing a gay sex scene.
• Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections reflects on “OK Boomer”.
• Roads and Kingdoms interviews Mexican chef Ruffo Ibarra.
• Peter Rukavina shares his list of levees for New Year’s Day 2020 on PEI.
• The Russian Demographics Blog shares a map indicating fertility rates in the different regions of the European Union.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel explains how quantum physics are responsible for vast cosmic structures.
• Charles Soule at Whatever explains his reasoning behind his new body-swap novel.
• Window on Eurasia notes how the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Paris show the lack of meaningful pro-Russian sentiment there.
• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell talks about his lessons from working in the recent British election.
• Arnold Zwicky looks at a syncretic, Jewish-Jedi, holiday poster.

[PHOTO] Four photography links: Sharbat Gula, Christine Estima, Stephen Wilkes, Saskatchewan

• Sharbat Gula, the Afghan refugee made famous as a girl by a Steve McCurry photo for National Geographic three decades ago, now has a home in her homeland. National Geographic reports.
• These photos by Christine Estima, taken with a disposable camera while swimming among the cenotes of Yucatán, are beautiful.
• Photographer Stephen Wilkes’ remarkable photo of Parliament Hill on 1 July 2017, blending multiple photos taken over a decade, is eye-catching. CBC has it.
• I personally think that organizing a photography club for at-risk youth in northern Saskatchewan is a great idea. Global News reports.

[BLOG] Some Sunday links

• Centauri Dreams takes a look at how stellar winds from red dwarfs complicate the habitability of planets in their circumstellar habitable zones.
• The Crux, noting the 75th anniversary of the atomic age, notes some non-nuclear weapons achievements of this era.
• D-Brief notes the exceptional strength of prehistoric women farmers.
• Daily JSTOR takes a look at the instantaneity and power–frightening power, even–of celebrity culture in an era where technology gives us access to the intimate details of their lives.
• Far Outliers notes that Pearl Buck, American author and missionary in China, actually was egalitarian and feminist.
• The Frailest Thing’s Michael Sacasas considers all those texts created in the past, of importance then and relevant even now, which have been forgotten. How can the canon be restored?
• Imageo shares photos of the eruption of Mount Agung, in Bali.
• Language Hat notes the intense interest of Roman Italy in all things Egyptian, including hieroglyphics. Where, exactly, was the like European interest in the cultures it colonized more recently?
• Language Log tries to find people who can identify the source language of a particular text. It seems Turkic …
• Lingua France talks about Robert Luis Stevenson and his opinions (and the blogger’s) about the weather of Edinburgh.
• Lovesick Cyborg notes the seriously destabilizing potential of roboticization on human employment. To what extent can improving education systems help?
• Tariq Ali at the LRB Blog talks about the latest religious-political crisis in Pakistan.
• The Map Room Blog links to an article describing a Vietnamese historian’s search for cartographic proof of his country’s claims in the South China Sea.
• The NYR Daily considers an interesting question: how, exactly, do you get an actor to act naturally for film? What strategies do filmmakers use?
• The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer notes a new genetic study hinting at a much greater survival of indigenous populations–women, at least–in Argentina than was previously suspected.
• Roads and Kingdoms notes an interesting effort to try to preserve and restore the older districts of Kabul.
• Seriously Science notes the exploration of the microbial life populating the coffee machine sludge of some inquisitive scientists.
• Window on Eurasia notes that substantially Russian-populated northern Kazakhstan is at risk of becoming a new Russian target, especially after Nazarbayev goes.
• Arnold Zwicky shares some thoughts on people of colour and the LGBTQ rainbow flag.

[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• At Antipope, Charlie Stross bets that barring catastrophe, the US under Trump will dispatch crewed circumlunar flights.
• D-Brief takes a look at the evolution of birds, through speculation on how the beak formed.
• Language Log looks at the ways Trump is represented, and mocked, in the languages of East Asia.
• Noting the death toll in a Mexico City sweatshop, Lawyers, Guns and Money reiterates that sweatshops are dangerous places to work.
• The NYR Daily notes the many structural issues likely to prevent foreign-imposed fixes in Afghanistan.
• Roads and Kingdoms reports from a seemingly unlikely date festival held in the depths of the Saudi desert.
• Rocky Planet reports that Mount Agung, a volcano in Indonesia, is at risk of imminent eruption.
• Drew Rowsome notes a new stage adaptation in Toronto of the Hitchcock classic, North by Northwest.
• Strange Company reports on how the Lonergans disappeared in 1998 in a dive off the Great Barrier Reef. What happened to them?
• Towleroad notes how Chelsea Manning was just banned from entering Canada.
• Window on Eurasia claims that the Russian language is disappearing from Armenia.
• Arnold Zwicky maps the usage of “faggot” as an obscenity in the United States.

[BLOG] Some Friday links

• Bad Astronomy shares photos of the ripple made by moon Daphnis in the rings of Saturn, as does the Planetary Society Blog.
• The Broadside Blog questions whether readers actually like their work.
• Centauri Dreams notes evidence for the discovery of a Jupiter-mass planet in the protoplanetary disk of TW Hydrae.
• Dangerous Minds links to the 1980s work of Lydia Lunch.
• Far Outliers reports on how the Afghanistan war against the Soviets acted as a university for jihadists from around the world.
• Kieran Healy looks at some failures of Google Scholar.
• Language Hat reports on a fascinating crowdsourced program involving the transcription of manuscripts from Shakespeare’s era, and what elements of pop history and language have been discovered.
• The LRB Blog compares Trump’s inauguration to those of Ronald Reagan.
• The Map Room Blog links to an exhibition of the maps of Utah.
• Understanding Society reports on a grand sociological research project in Europe that has found out interesting things about the factors contributing to young people’s support for the far right.
• Window on Eurasia reports on instability in the binational North Caucasian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, describes the spectre of pan-Mongolism, and looks at the politicization of biker gangs in Russia.

[BLOG] Some Monday links

• blogTO notes that a Vancouver nerd bar is opening up shop in Toronto.
• Dangerous Minds provides its readers with a take on an upcoming Tom of Finland biopic.
• The Dragon’s Tales notes that Enceladus seems altogether too hot and notes that dwarf planet Makemake seems to have a surprisingly uniform surface.
• Far Outliers looks at Afghanistan and Poland at the end of the 1970s.

Joe. My. God. and Towleroad each respond to the untimely death of George Michael.

• Language Log explores the evolution of the term “dongle”.
• Marginal Revolution wonders if Donald Trump is guided by his thinking in the 1980s about a Soviet-American condominium.
• Torontoist looks at the Toronto’s century house plaques come to be.
• Window on Eurasia suggests Russian media outside of Russia are gaining in influence and talks about modern Russia as a new sort of “evil empire”.

[BLOG] Some Sunday links

• blogTO notes the growing concentration of chain stores on lower Ossington.
• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly describes her luck in interviewing a New York City firefighter.
• Citizen Science Salon reports on a citizen science game intended to fight against Alzheimer’s.
• Language Hat starts from a report about unsold Welsh-language Scrabble games to talk about the wider position of the Welsh language.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money shares the astounding news leaked about Donald Trump’s billion-dollar losses.
• Marginal Revolution links to a psychology paper examining the perception of atheists as narcissistic.
• Towleroad reports on the informative reality television series of the United States’ gay ambassador to Denmark.
• Window on Eurasia notes how Russia’s war in Aleppo echoes past conflicts in Chechnya and Afghanistan, and examines the position of Russia’s border regions.

[NEWS] Some Saturday links

• Bloomberg notes Venezuela’s hopes for an oil price at $US 50, looks at Labour keeping the current London mayor’s seat, observes the vulnerability of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and warns of a possible drought in the US Corn Belt.
• Bloomberg View notes the continuing fragmentation of the Orthodox Church, and suggests Putin might accept a partial ban on Russian athletes at the Olympics.
• CBC looks at Russia’s state-supported soccer hooliganism.
• MacLean’s notes Florida theme parks’ concerns re: alligator attacks, and notes how homophobia complicates the grieving process for survivors of the Orlando shooting victims.
• National Geographic looks at the logic chopping behind South Korea’s whale hunt, and observes that some coral reefs have coped.
• The National Post notes Russia’s professed interest in improved relations with Canada.
• Open Democracy frames the Orlando shooting in the context of an international campaign by ISIS.
• The Toronto Star suggests Portugal’s decriminalization of drugs is a model for Canada.

[NEWS] Some Tuesday links

• The Atlantic notes the import of the assassination of the head of the Taliban.
• The BBC observes Spotify has more revenues, but is still not making money.
• Bloomberg suggests Brexit would embolden central European populists and slow down growth, and looks at Coca Cola’s end of production in Venezuela.
• Bloomberg View suggests a new class of educated Chinese professionals will hurt middle-class wages.
• The CBC notes the lifting of the mandatory evacuation order for northern Alberta oil sands camps.
• Daily Xtra looks at the importance of Facebook in spreading knowledge to PrEP.
• Gizmodo notes the proliferation of cephalopods in the world’s oceans.
• The Miami Herald describes how desperate Venezuelans are turning to urban gardening.
• The National Post looks at Kevin O’Leary’s interest in Canadian politics.
• The Toronto Star reports on the lifting of the American arms sales embargo against Vietnam.
• Wired notes Grindr can still be hacked to identify users’ locations.

[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

• blogTO notes the quiet death of the payphone in Toronto.
• Centauri Dreams considers Centaurs as possible impactors.
• The Dragon’s Gaze notes the exotic materials likely to exist on super-Earths.
• The Dragon’s Tales notes a Taiwan presidential candidate opposed to union with China.
• Far Outliers notes the origins of the Soviet ethnofederal system.
• Joe. My. God. notes the questioning of Bowe Bergdahl’s Taliban captors as to whether Obama was gay.
• Marginal Revolution notes
• The Russian Demographics Blog takes a look at Russia’s Turkic minorities and polities, like Tatarstan, and how the anti-Turkish policies are playing there.
• Towleroad notes the Israeli lawmakers who boycotted the swearing-in of the first out gay member of the Knesset.
• Window on Eurasia notes how Tatarstan and Sakha are continuing their relationships with the Turkic world.