A Bit More Detail

Assorted Personal Notations, Essays, and Other Jottings

Posts Tagged ‘hiv/aids

[MUSIC] The JAMs, “All You Need Is Love”

I’ve rediscovered the KLF after a decade and a half.

Why did I wait so long?

“All You Need Is Love”, indeed.

Written by Randy McDonald

April 30, 2020 at 11:59 pm

[BLOG] Some Friday links

  • Architectuul looks at the Portuguese architectural cooperative Ateliermob, here.
  • Bad Astronomer Phil Plait looks at how white dwarf WD J091405.30+191412.25 is literally vapourizing a planet in close orbit.
  • Caitlin Kelly at the Broadside Blog explains</a< to readers why you really do not want to have to look for parking in New York City.
  • Centauri Dreams looks at the slowing of the solar wind far from the Sun.
  • John Holbo at Crooked Timber considers the gap between ideals and actuals in the context of conspiracies and politics.
  • The Dragon’s Tales reports on how the ESA is trying to solve a problem with the parachutes of the ExoMars probe.
  • Far Outliers reports on what Harry Truman thought about politicians.
  • Gizmodo reports on a new method for identifying potential Earth-like worlds.
  • io9 pays tribute to legendary writer, of Star Trek and much else, D.C. Fontana.
  • The Island Review reports on the football team of the Chagos Islands.
  • Joe. My. God. reports that gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy will compete for the United Kingdom in 2020.
  • JSTOR Daily looks at how early English imperialists saw America and empire through the lens of Ireland.
  • Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money does not like Pete Buttigieg.
  • The LRB Blog looks at the London Bridge terrorist attack.
  • The Map Room Blog shares a map of Prince William Sound, in Alaska, that is already out of date because of global warming.
  • Marginal Revolution questions if Cebu, in the Philippines, is the most typical city in the world.
  • The NYR Daily looks at gun violence among Arab Israelis.
  • The Planetary Society Blog considers what needs to be researched next on Mars.
  • Roads and Kingdoms tells the story of Sister Gracy, a Salesian nun at work in South Sudan.
  • The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper noting continued population growth expected in much of Europe, and the impact of this growth on the environment.
  • Strange Maps shares a map of fried chicken restaurants in London.
  • Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel explains why a 70 solar mass black hole is not unexpected.
  • John Scalzi at Whatever gives</a his further thoughts on the Pixel 4.
  • Window on Eurasia notes that, last year, 37 thousand Russians died of HIV/AIDS.
  • Arnold Zwicky starts from a consideration of the 1948 film Kind Hearts and Coronets.

[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

  • Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait shares a stunning photo taken by a friend of the Pleiades star cluster.
  • The Buzz, at the Toronto Public Library, shares a collection of books suitable for World Vegan Month, here.
  • Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber considers, with an eye towards China and the Uighurs, how panopticon attempts can stray badly on account of–among other things–false assumptions.
  • Gizmodo considers how antimatter could end up providing interesting information about the unseen universe.
  • Joe. My. God. reports from New York City, where new HIV cases are dropping sharply on account of PrEP.
  • JSTOR Daily shares a vintage early review of Darwin’s Origin of Species.
  • Language Hat examines the origins of the semicolon, in Venice in 1494.
  • Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money shares a critical report of the new Jill Lepore book These Truths.
  • The LRB Blog reports from the Museum of Corruption in Kyiv, devoted to the corruption of the ancient regime in Ukraine.
  • Marginal Revolution shares a new history of the Lakota.
  • The NYR Daily looks at the photography of Duane Michals.
  • The Russian Demographics Blog looks at population trends in Russia, still below 1991 totals in current frontiers.
  • Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel explains why some of the lightest elements, like lithium, are so rare.
  • Window on Eurasia shares the opinion of a Russian historian that Eastern Europe is back as a geopolitical zone.
  • Arnold Zwicky considers Jacques Transue in the light of other pop culture figures and trends.

[BLOG] Some Monday links

  • Bad Astronomer Phil Plait observes that a team may have discovered the elusive neutron star produced by Supernova 1987A, hidden behind a cloud of dust.
  • Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber shares a photo he made via the time-consuming 19th century wet-plate collodion method.
  • Drew Ex Machina’s Andrew LePage looks at the Apollo 12 visit to the Surveyor 3 site to, among other things, see what it might suggest about future space archeology.
  • Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog looks at the story of rural poverty facing a family in Waverly, Ohio, observing how it is a systemic issue.
  • George Dvorsky at Gizmodo looks at how Mars’ Jezero crater seems to have had a past relatively friendly to life, good for the next NASA rover.
  • Joe. My. God. reports on the latest ignorance displayed by Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter, this time regarding HIV.
  • JSTOR Daily looks at how Climategate was used to undermine popular opinion on climate change.
  • Language Hat links to an article explaining why so many works of classical literature were lost, among other things not making it onto school curricula.
  • Language Log shares a photo of a Muji eraser with an odd English label.
  • Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money suggests Pete Buttigieg faces a campaign-limiting ceiling to his support among Democrats.
  • The LRB Blog argues that Macron’s blocking of EU membership possibilities for the western Balkans is a terrible mistake.
  • The Map Room Blog shares a map depicting regional variations in Canada towards anthropogenic climate change. Despite data issues, the overall trend of oil-producing regions being skeptical is clear.
  • Marginal Revolution links to a paper examining the slowing pace of labour mobility in the US, suggesting that home attachment is a key factor.
  • Frederic Wehrey at the NYR Daily tells the story of Knud Holmboe, a Danish journalist who came to learn about the Arab world working against Italy in Libya.
  • Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel explains why thermodynamics does not explain our perception of time.
  • Understanding Society’s Dan Little looks at Electronic Health Records and how they can lead to medical mistakes.
  • Whatever’s John Scalzi shares a remarkable photo of the night sky he took using the astrophotography mode on his Pixel 4 phone.
  • Window on Eurasia shares an opinion that the Intermarium countries, between Germany and Russia, can no longer count on the US and need to organize in their self-defense.
  • Arnold Zwicky shares a photo of his handsome late partner Jacques Transue, taken as a college student.

[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

  • Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes a study suggesting the Milky Way Galaxy took many of its current satellite galaxies from another, smaller one.
  • The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly talks of the importance of having dreams.
  • Centauri Dreams shares a study explaining how the debris polluting the atmospheres of white dwarfs reveals much about exoplanet chemistry.
  • D-Brief notes that the intense radiation of Jupiter would not destroy potential traces of subsurface life on the surface of Europa.
  • Dangerous Minds looks at the strange musical career of Vader Abraham, fan of the Smurfs and of the Weepuls.
  • Aneesa Bodiat at JSTOR Daily writes about how the early Muslim woman of Haajar inspires her as a Muslim.
  • Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes how an influx of American guns destabilizes Mexico.
  • The LRB Blog looks at the American abandonment of the Kurds of Syria.
  • Marginal Revolution notes how many mass protests are driven by consumer complaints.
  • The NYR Daily has an interview with EU chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, on the future of sovereignty.
  • Strange Company looks at the Dead Pig War between the US and the UK on San Juan Island in 1859.
  • Towleroad features the defense of Frank Ocean of his PrEP+ club night and the release of his new music.
  • Understanding Society looks at the sociology of norms.
  • Window on Eurasia suggests Russia and Ukraine each have an interest in the Donbass being a frozen conflict.
  • Arnold Zwicky looks at the weird masculinity of the pink jock.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Hamilton, Kingston, Montréal, Saskatoon, Washington D.C.

  • Hamilton, Ontario, now has a wall open to public street art. Global News reports.
  • An early immigrant to Kingston, Ontario, explains what it was like to move to this eastern Ontario hub. Global News reports.
  • MTL Blog notes that Montréal mayor has cancelled the construction of a condo tower because it was not including social housing.
  • A museum exhibit in Saskatoon is offering free HIV testing and blood donation services in the fight against stigma. Global News reports.
  • Ellen Mauro at CBC explains to readers the movement to make Washington D.C. into the 51st American state.

Written by Randy McDonald

September 22, 2019 at 8:00 pm

[NEWS] Five sci-tech links: ISS internet, Maritimes, CRISPR, machine translation, Trabants

  • Universe Today looks at the impressive Internet speed of the ISS, 600 megabits a second, here.
  • The National Observer reports on how the infrastructure of the Maritimes will need to be able to handle climate change, here.
  • Wired reports on the partially successful effort in China to use CRISPR to cure HIV, here.
  • Technology Review looks at how machine learning can be used to translate lost languages and unknown scripts, like Linear A, here.
  • Atlas Obscura reports on how the Trabant car of East Germany keeps its fanbase, here.

[PHOTO] AIDS Memorial, verso, with alliums

AIDS Memorial, verso, with alliums #toronto #churchandwellesley #churchstreet #barbarahallpark #aidsmemorial #purple #allium #evening

Written by Randy McDonald

June 10, 2019 at 9:45 am

[BLOG] Five D-Brief links: microbiome, genetic engineering, elephant ivory, Moon, O’Neill colonies

  • D-Brief examines the importance of the microbiome in human beings.
  • D-Brief observes that the genetic engineering of two twins in China to make them resistant to HIV might also shorten their lifespans.
  • The poaching of elephants, happily, is decreasing as demand for ivory goes down worldwide. D-Brief reports.
  • D-Brief takes a look at the history of imagined landings on the Moon.
  • D-Brief looks at the long history of O’Neill colonies in popular culture, as imagined settlements in space itself.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Montréal links: 1989 and AIDS, Grand Prix, Molson Brewery, Village gay, Beaudry

  • Le Devoir looks back 30 years at the 1989 Montréal international conference on AIDS, and its lessons about patient activism.
  • CultMTL takes particular issue with the decadence of the Montréal Grand Prix, something that it thinks the city and the world should overcome.
  • CTV notes that the old site of the Molson Brewery is set to become a new residential neighbourhood.
  • Rue Sainte-Catherine est, heart of the gay village, is closed to all but pedestrian traffic this summer. CTV reports.
  • <li<The Beaudry Metro station, happily, has been reopened after months of repairs. CBC Montreal reports.