[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Bad Astronomy notes the very odd structure of galaxy NGC 2775.
• Dangerous Minds reports on the 1987 riot by punks that wrecked a Seattle ferry.
• Bruce Dorminey reports on a new suggestion from NASA that the massive dust towers of Mars have helped dry out that world over eons.
• The Everyday Sociology Blog looks at how changing technologies have led to younger people spending more social capital on maintaining relationships with friends over family.
• This forum hosted at Gizmodo considers the likely future causes of death of people in coming decades.
• In Media Res’ Russell Arben Fox reports on the debate in Wichita on what to do with the Century II performance space.
• Joe. My. God. reports on the decision of Hungary to drop out of Eurovision, apparently because of its leaders’ homophobia.
• JSTOR Daily reports on the debunking of the odd theory that the animals and people of the Americas were degenerate dwarfs.
• Language Hat reports on how the classics can be served by different sorts of translation.
• Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money considers how Trump’s liberation of war criminals relates to folk theories about just wars.
• The LRB Blog reports from the ground in the Scotland riding of East Dunbartonshire.
• Marginal Revolution shares a paper suggesting that, contrary to much opinion, social media might actually hinder the spread of right-wing populism.
• The NYR Daily looks at the nature of the proxy fighters in Syria of Turkey. Who are they?
• Drew Rowsome interviews Sensational Sugarbum, star of–among other things–the latest Ross Petty holiday farce.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel explains why we still need to be able to conduct astronomy from the Earth.
• Strange Maps explains the odd division of Europe between east and west, as defined by different subspecies of mice.
• Window on Eurasia notes how Chinese apparently group Uighurs in together with other Central Asians of similar language and religion.
• Arnold Zwicky explores the concept of onomatomania.

[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait looks at the dusty spiral of galaxy M81, here.
• Crooked Timber reacts positively to the Astra Taylor short film What Is Democracy?
• D-Brief notes that, in the South Atlantic, one humpback whale population has grown from 440 individuals to 25 thousand, nearly completing its recovery from whaling-era lows.
• Dangerous Minds looks at The Iguanas, first band of Iggy Pop.
• The Dragon’s Tales looks at consideration in South Korea at building an aircraft carrier.
• Todd Schoepflin at the Everyday Sociology Blog looks at the division of labour within his family.
• Far Outliers looks at 17th century clashes between England and Barbary Pirates.
• JSTOR Daily looks at how antibiotics are getting everywhere, contaminating food chains worldwide.
• Victor Mair at Language Log looks at the evidence not only for an ancient Greek presence in Central Asia, but for these Greeks’ contact with China.
• Dan Nexon at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes that the attempt by Trump to get Ukraine to spy on his enemies was driven by what Russia and Hungary alleged about corruption in Ukraine.
• The LRB Blog looks at the transnational criminal network of the Hernandez brothers in Honduras, a source of a refugee diaspora.
• Marginal Revolution shares an argument suggesting that marriage is useful for, among other things, encouraging integration between genders.
• Sean Marshall looks at how the death of the Shoppers World in Brampton heralds a new urbanist push in that city.
• At the NYR Daily, Helen Joyce talks of her therapeutic experiences with psychedelic drugs.
• Drew Rowsome reviews the Toronto play The Particulars.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel considers if inflation came before, or after, the Big Bang.
• John Scalzi at Whatever has a short discussion about Marvel films that concludes they are perfectly valid.
• Window on Eurasia suggests that central Ukraine has emerged as a political force in post-1914 Ukraine.
• Arnold Zwicky considers the Indian pickle.

[AH] Five #alternatehistory maps from r/imaginarymaps: France, Austria, Slovenia, Japanese Empire

• This r/imaginarymaps map imagines an early medieval France that became not a notional kingdom but rather a decentralized empire, a Holy Roman Empire of the French Nation.
• This r/imaginarymaps map imagines a greater Austria that includes Slovenia.
• A Greater Slovenia, encompassing lands from Austria, Italy, and even Hungary, is the subject of this r/imaginarymaps map.
• Could an Austria divided in the Cold War be divided like this r/imaginarymaps map?
• This r/imaginarymaps map shows a Japanese Empire that survived until 1956, encompassing much of the Russian Far East as well as Manchuria and Korea.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait reports on Supernova 2018oh in nearby galaxy UGC 4780, a star that demonstrated a most unusual bump in its light curve. Did the explosion engulf a neighbouring star?
• Centauri Dreams reports on New Horizons as it approaches its next target, the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule.
• D-Brief notes new observations of a black hole suggesting that gas around them forms not a rigid donut shape but rather a looser fountain.
• Dead Things notes a new discovery that the icythosaur had blubber like modern cetaceans, demonstrating convergent evolution.
• Cody Delistraty writes about changing perceptions of painter Egon Schiele.
• Far Outliers notes how Japanese prisoners of war were often so surprised by good treatment that they reciprocated, by freely sharing information with interrogators.
• Hornet Stories notes that, at least on Reddit, RuPaul’s Drag Race is the most discussed show currently playing on television.
• Joe. My. God. notes that the Indian police was seeking two American evangelical Christian missionaries for aiding another to breach North Sentinel Island, both having fled the country.
• JSTOR Daily looks back to a 1963 paper on the effects of automation on society by Leon Megginson, finding that many of his predictions were correct.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes that it is a sad day for Hungary that its government was able to drive the Central European University out of Budapest into exile.
• At Lingua Franca, Roger Shuy takes a look at the dreaded PhD oral exam. (I know that seeing other students taking it was one thing putting me off from academia.)
• The LRB Blog takes a look at the disastrous state of politics in Honduras, with a corrupt leader deeply compromised by (among other things) a dependency upon the United States.
• The NYR Daily takes a look at the beautiful Tibetan Buddhist religious art on display in the Ladakh settlement of Alchi.
• Window on Eurasia notes a conference in Moscow taking a look at a Eurasianism based on a Slavic-Turkic synthesis.
• Arnold Zwicky takes a look at Santa Barbara in some of her many dimensions.

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes evidence that white dwarf Gaia J1738–0826 is eating its planets.
• Crux takes a look at the stars closely orbiting Sagittarius A* at the heart of the galaxy like relativity-proving S2.
• D-Brief notes a recent proposal for an unmanned probe to Uranus and Neptune.
• Dangerous Minds shows the eerily decomposing sculptures of Yuichi Ikehata.
• Bruce Dorminey explores the provocative idea of era in the early Moon where it was briefly habitable.
• Far Outliers explores the reasons why George Orwell has become so popular lately.
• Hornet Stories notes that Tom Daley has recently posed nude for a painting by the celebrated David Hockney.
• JSTOR Daily explores the reality behind the imminent arrival of the laser gun into militaries worldwide.
• Language Hat notes that the Austrian state of Vorarlberg sponsors an interesting contest, of performances of songs–including pop songs–in local dialect.
• The LRB Blog notes the severity of the forest fires in Greece, aggravated by climate change, systematic corruption, and recent austerity.
• The Planetary Society Blog shares photos of asteroid Ryugu taken by the Hayabusa2 probe.
• Roads and Kingdoms reports on a T-bone steak heavy breakfast lasting twenty hours in Bilbao.
• Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps notes a joke political party in Hungary that wants to make the country smaller.
• Window on Eurasia notes how the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Moscow is caught between its Ukrainian goals and its Russian links.

[NEWS] Five LGBTQ links: Martin Duberman, far right, activism, Andrew Holleran, Obergefell

• Masha Gessen at The New Yorker reports on the arguments of American queer historian Martin Duberman about mistakes that gay rights movement has made.
• Arshy Mann at Daily Xtra reports on how, in Russia and Poland and Hungary and now Brazil, homophobia is being used as a mobilizing tool by the far right.
• Them reports on a study suggesting LGBTQ people are twenty times as likely to be social activists as cishets. (The overall rates, though, are still low.)
• Mike Miksche writes at Them about the genesis of the famous Andrew Holleran novel Dancer from the Dance and its impact.
• Jonathan Adler at the Volokh Conspiracy points to a compelling argument at the Wall Street Journal why the Obergefell decision legalizing gay marriage nation-wide in the United States will not be revisited. (I hope.)

[BLOG] Some Sunday links

Many things accumulated after a pause of a couple of months. Here are some of the best links to come about in this time.

• Anthrodendum considers the issue of the security, or not, of cloud data storage used by anthropologists.
• Architectuul takes a look at the very complex history of urban planning and architecture in the city of Skopje, linked to issues of disaster and identity.
• Centauri Dreams features an essay by Ioannis Kokkidinis, examining the nature of the lunar settlement of Artemis in Andy Weir’s novel of the same. What is it?
• Crux notes the possibility that human organs for transplant might one day soon be grown to order.
• D-Brief notes evidence that extrasolar visitor ‘Oumuamua is actually more like a comet than an asteroid.
• Bruce Dorminey makes the sensible argument that plans for colonizing Mars have to wait until we save Earth. (I myself have always thought the sort of environmental engineering necessary for Mars would be developed from techniques used on Earth.)
• The Everyday Sociology Blog took an interesting look at the relationship between hobbies and work.
• Far Outliers looks at how, in the belle époque, different European empires took different attitudes towards the emigration of their subjects depending on their ethnicity. (Russia was happy to be rid of Jews, while Hungary encouraged non-Magyars to leave.)
• The Finger Post shares some photos taken by the author on a trip to the city of Granada, in Nicaragua.
• The Frailest Thing’s L.M. Sacasas makes an interesting argument as to the extent to which modern technology creates a new sense of self-consciousness in individuals.
• Inkfish suggests that the bowhead whale has a more impressive repertoire of music–of song, at least–than the fabled humpback.
• Information is Beautiful has a wonderful illustration of the Drake Equation.
• JSTOR Daily takes a look at the American women who tried to prevent the Trail of Tears.
• Language Hat takes a look at the diversity of Slovene dialects, this diversity perhaps reflecting the stability of the Slovene-inhabited territories over centuries.
• Language Log considers the future of the Cantonese language in Hong Kong, faced with pressure from China.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes how negatively disruptive a withdrawal of American forces from Germany would be for the United States and its position in the world.
• Lingua Franca, at the Chronicle, notes the usefulness of the term “Latinx”.
• The LRB Blog reports on the restoration of a late 19th century Japanese-style garden in Britain.
• The New APPS Blog considers the ways in which Facebook, through the power of big data, can help commodify personal likes.
• Neuroskeptic reports on the use of ayahusasca as an anti-depressant. Can it work?
• Justin Petrone, attending a Nordic scientific conference in Iceland to which Estonia was invited, talks about the frontiers of Nordic identity.
• Personal Reflections’ Jim Belshaw writes about what it is to be a literary historian.
• Drew Rowsome praises Dylan Jones’ new biographical collection of interviews with the intimates of David Bowie.
• Peter Rukavina shares an old Guardian article from 1993, describing and showing the first webserver on Prince Edward Island.
• Seriously Science notes the potential contagiousness of parrot laughter.
• Understanding Society’s Daniel Little t.com/2018/06/shakespeare-on-tyranny.htmltakes a look at the new Stephen Greenblatt book, Shakespeare on Power, about Shakespeare’s perspectives on tyranny.
• Window on Eurasia shares speculation as to what might happen if relations between Russia and Kazakhstan broke down.
• Worthwhile Canadian Initiative noticed, before the election, the serious fiscal challenges facing Ontario.
• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell points out that creating a national ID database in the UK without issuing actual cards would be a nightmare.
• Arnold Zwicky reports on a strand of his Swiss family’s history found in a Paris building.

[BLOG] Some Monday links

• At Anthrodendum, Elizabeth Marino takes issue with what she identifies as the naively and fiercely neoliberal elements of Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now.
• Anthropology.net’s Kambiz Kamrani takes a look at an innovative study of the Surinamese creole of Sranan Tongo that uncovers that language’s linguistic origins in remarkably fine detail.
• Architectuul examines the architecture of Communist-era Hungarian architect István Szábo
• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes the nearly naked black hole at the heart of galaxy ZwCl 8193, 2.2 billion light-years away.
• The Big Picture shares photos from the 2018 Paralympics in South Korea.
• Gerry Canavan has an interesting critical take on Star Trek: Discovery. Is it really doing new things, or is its newness just superficial?
• Centauri Dreams considers the impact the spectra of red dwarfs would have on biosignatures from their worlds.
• Russell Darnley takes a look at Australia’s Darling River, a critical watercourse threatened by extensive water withdrawals.
• Inkfish notes that patterns of wear on the tusks of elephants indicate most are right-handed.
• Joe. My. God. links to a study suggesting a relationship between Trump rallies and violent assaults.
• JSTOR Daily links to a paper examining why people drink Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day.
• Language Hat takes a look at the use of Xhosa as the language of Wakanda.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money mourns Alfred Crosby, the historian whose work examined the epidemiological and ecological changes wrought by contact with the Americas.
• The Map Room Blog links to a map showing indigenous placenames in Canada.
• In the aftermath of the death of Stephen Hawking, Out There had a lovely idea: what nearby major stars emitted life than arrive at the moment of his birth? Hawking’s star is Regulus, and mine was (nearly) Arcturus.
• Marginal Revolution suggests AI will never be able to centrally plan an economy because the complexity of the economy will always escape it.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel examines Stephen Hawking’s contribution to the study of black holes.
• Supernova Condensate shares a list of moons, fictional and otherwise, from Endor on down.

[BLOG] Some Monday links

• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly takes a look at the concept of resilience.
• D-Brief notes the many ways in which human beings can be killed by heat waves.
• The Dragon’s Gaze notes a claim for the discovery of a new pulsar planet, PSR B0329+54 b, two Earth masses with an orbit three decades long.
• The Frailest Thing’s Michael Sacasas argues that, in some was, online connectivity is like a drug.
• Hornet Stories considers the plight of bisexuals in the closet.
• Language Hat considers the origins of the family name of Hungarian Karl-Maria Kertbeny, the man who developed the term “homosexuality”, and much else besides.
• The NYR Daily looks at how the item of soap was a key component behind racism and apartheid in South Africa.
• Progressive Download’s John Farrell notes a new book, The Quotable Darwin.
• Peter Rukavina takes a look at 18 years’ worth of links on his blog. How many are still good? The answer may surprise you.
• Understanding Society considers the insights of Tony Judt on the psychology of Europeans after the Second World War.
• John Scalzi at Whatever considers, in Q&A format, some insights for men in the post-Weinstein era.
• Window on Eurasia looks at how boundaries in the Caucasus were not necessarily defined entirely by the Bolsheviks.
• Arnold Zwicky considers various odd appearances of pickles in contemporary popular culture.

[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• Beyond the Beyond notes an image of a wooden model of Babbage’s difference engine.
• James Bow talks about the soundtrack he has made for his new book.
• Centauri Dreams considers ways astronomers can detect photosynthesis on exoplanets and shares images of Fomalhaut’s debris disk.
• Crooked Timber looks at fidget spinners in the context of discrimination against people with disabilities.
• D-Brief notes that Boyajian’s Star began dimming over the weekend.
• Far Outliers reports on a 1917 trip by zeppelin to German East Africa.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money argues that there is good reason to be concerned about health issues for older presidential candidates.
• The NYRB Daily reports on Hungary’s official war against Central European University.
• The Russian Demographics Blog notes the origins of modern immigration to Russia in internal Soviet migration.
• Savage Minds shares an ethnographer’s account of what it is like to look to see her people (the Sherpas of Nepal) described.
• Strange Maps shares a map speculating as to what the world will look like when it is 4 degrees warmer.
• The Volokh Conspiracy argues that the US Congress does not have authority over immigration.
• Window on Eurasia suggests Russia’s population will be concentrated around Moscow, compares Chechnya’s position vis-à-vis Russia to Puerto Rico’s versus the United States, and looks at new Ukrainian legislation against Russian churches and Russian social networks.
• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell notes how Evelyn Waugh’s writings on the Horn of Africa anticipate the “Friedman unit”, the “a measurement of time defined as how long it will take until things are OK in Iraq”.