A Bit More Detail

Assorted Personal Notations, Essays, and Other Jottings

Posts Tagged ‘ireland

[BLOG] Some Friday links

  • Charlie Stross at Antipope shares an essay he recently presented on artificial intelligence and its challenges for us.
  • P. Kerim Friedman writes at {anthro}dendum about the birth of the tea ceremony in the Taiwan of the 1970s.
  • Anthropology net reports on a cave painting nearly 44 thousand years old in Indonesia depicting a hunting story.
  • Architectuul looks at some temporary community gardens in London.
  • Bad Astronomy reports on the weird history of asteroid Ryugu.
  • The Buzz talks about the most popular titles borrowed from the Toronto Public Library in 2019.
  • Caitlin Kelly talks at the Broadside Blog about her particular love of radio.
  • Centauri Dreams talks about the role of amateur astronomers in searching for exoplanets, starting with LHS 1140 b.
  • John Quiggin at Crooked Timber looks at what is behind the rhetoric of “virtue signalling”.
  • Dangerous Minds shares concert performance from Nirvana filmed the night before the release of Nevermind.
  • Bruce Dorminey notes new evidence that, even before the Chixculub impact, the late Cretaceous Earth was staggering under environmental pressures.
  • Myron Strong at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about how people of African descent in the US deal with the legacies of slavery in higher education.
  • Far Outliers reports on the plans in 1945 for an invasion of Japan by the US.
  • L.M. Sacasas at The Frailest Thing gathers together a collection of the author’s best writings there.
  • Gizmodo notes the immensity of the supermassive black hole, some 40 billion solar masses, at the heart of galaxy Holm 15A 700 million light-years away.
  • Russell Arben Fox at In Media Res writes about the issue of how Wichita is to organize its civic politics.
  • io9 argues that the 2010s were a decade where the culture of the spoiler became key.
  • The Island Review points readers to the podcast Mother’s Blood, Sister’s Songs, an exploration of the links between Ireland and Iceland.
  • Joe. My. God. reports on the claim of the lawyer of the killer of a mob boss that the QAnon conspiracy inspired his actions. This strikes me as terribly dangerous.
  • JSTOR Daily looks at a study examining scholarly retractions.
  • Language Hat shares an amusing cartoon illustrating the relationships of the dialects of Arabic.
  • Language Log lists ten top new words in the Japanese language.
  • Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the dissipation of American diplomacy by Trump.
  • The LRB Blog looks at the many problems in Sparta, Greece, with accommodating refugees, for everyone concerned.
  • Marginal Revolution links to a paper suggesting the decline of the one-child policy in China has diminished child trafficking, among other crimes.
  • Sean Marshall, looking at transit in Brampton, argues that transit users need more protection from road traffic.
  • Russell Darnley shares excerpts from essays he wrote about the involvement of Australia in the Vietnam War.
  • Peter Watts talks about his recent visit to a con in Sofia, Bulgaria, and about the apocalypse, here.
  • The NYR Daily looks at the corporatization of the funeral industry, here.
  • Diane Duane writes, from her own personal history with Star Trek, about how one can be a writer who ends up writing for a media franchise.
  • Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections considers the job of tasting, and rating, different cuts of lamb.
  • The Planetary Society Blog looks at a nondescript observatory in the Mojave desert of California that maps the asteroids of the solar system.
  • Roads and Kingdoms interviews Eduardo Chavarin about, among other things, Tijuana.
  • Drew Rowsome loves the SpongeBob musical.
  • Peter Rukavina announces that Charlottetown has its first public fast charger for electric vehicles.
  • The Russian Demographics Blog considers the impact of space medicine, here.
  • The Signal reports on how the Library of Congress is making its internet archives more readily available, here.
  • Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel considers how the incredibly isolated galaxy MCG+01-02-015 will decay almost to nothing over almost uncountable eons.
  • Strange Company reports on the trial and execution of Christopher Slaughterford for murder. Was there even a crime?
  • Strange Maps shares a Coudenhove-Kalergi map imagining the division of the world into five superstates.
  • Understanding Society considers entertainment as a valuable thing, here.
  • Denis Colombi at Une heure de peine announces his new book, Où va l’argent des pauvres?
  • John Scalzi at Whatever looks at how some mailed bread triggered a security alert, here.
  • Window on Eurasia reports on the massive amount of remittances sent to Tajikistan by migrant workers, here.
  • Arnold Zwicky notes a bizarre no-penguins sign for sale on Amazon.

[BLOG] Five NYR Daily links (@nyr_daily)

  • Garry Wills writes at the NYR Daily about the history of impeachment, here.
  • David Rieff writes at the NYR about Peronism and the new president, in Argentina, here.
  • The NYR Daily looks at the disaster soon to be visited by Brexit on Northern Ireland, here.
  • Matt Seaton writes at the NYR Daily about what the recent British election reveals about the failing health of social democracy in England.
  • The NYR Daily looks at the new movie Atlantics, which looks at migration and Africa.

[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.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven city links: Guelph, Innisfil, Montréal, Asbestos, Québec City, Alberta, Richmond

  • Guelph will be holding an open house to see what development will replace the Dolime Quarry. Global News reports.
  • The town of Innisfil has extended its Uber subsidy program for people in need of transit. Global News reports</u.
  • Archeologists in Montréal have found a mass grave of Irish famine victims. CTV reports.
  • The Québec town of Asbestos is changing its name so as to avoid the link, in English, with the toxic mineral. CTV reports.
  • A subway, alas, would be too big for Québec City. Streetcars would work better. Le Devoir reports.
  • Can a hyperloop be built to plug Edmonton together with Calgary? Global News considers.
  • Richmond, British Columbia, has unveiled a cultural harmony strategy to help its diverse population get along. The National Post reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven city links: Gatineau, Montréal, Halifax, wild turkeys and monk parakeets, Venice, Kamza

  • The city of Gatineau is going to take land with constructions devastated by flooding and make it into a buffer zone. CBC reports.
  • There is controversy around the idea of naming a REM station in Montréal’s Griffintown neighbourhood after Bernard Landry. Global News reports.
  • Halifax has a third heritage district. Global News reports.
  • The wild turkey is now thriving in many American cities, in New Jersey’s Toms River and even in Washington D.C. CityLab reports.
  • The monk parakeet is thriving in European cities like Madrid and London. CityLab reports.
  • The Conversation suggests that Venice may yet benefit from the attention brought to its problems by the recent flooding.
  • Guardian Cities looks at the remarkably rapid construction of the city in Albania of Kamza, driven by (among other factors) remittances from emigrants.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven city links: Pierrefonds, Edmundston, Saskatoon, Louisville, Belfast, Jerusalem …

  • Ending free coffee for municipal employees in the Québec community of Pierrefonds created massive controversy. CBC reports.
  • The mayor of the Francophone city of Edmundston in New Brunswick has encouraged immigrant Québec students hurt by immigration changes to come to his community. CTV News reports.
  • The price of crystal meth in Saskatoon is apparently as low as $3 a bag. Global News reports.
  • Guardian Cities notes how Louisville, low on trees, is trying to regreen the city as a way to deal with rising temperatures.
  • Open Democracy considers if the DUP is about to lose its strongholds in Belfast.
  • Guardian Cities looks at the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab, a place where Palestinians can access their metropolis (and their partners).
  • CityLab shares photos of the wonderful new public library of Helsinki.

[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

  • Centauri Dreams notes how gas giants on eccentric orbits can easily disrupt bodies on orbits inwards.
  • Maria Farrell at Crooked Timber suggests that the political culture of England has been deformed by the trauma experienced by young children of the elites at boarding schools.
  • Dangerous Minds looks at the haunting art of Paul Delvaux.
  • The Everyday Sociology Blog looks at the work of Tressie McMillan Cottom in investigating for-profit higher education.
  • Far Outliers looks at Tripoli in 1801.
  • Gizmodo shares the Boeing design for the moon lander it proposes for NASA in 2024.
  • io9 shares words from cast of Terminator: Dark Fate about the importance of the Mexican-American frontier.
  • JSTOR Daily makes a case against killing spiders trapped in one’s home.
  • Language Hat notes a recovered 17th century translation of a Dutch bible into the Austronesian language of Siraya, spoken in Taiwan.
  • Language Log looks at the origin of the word “brogue”.
  • Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the payday lender industry.
  • Marginal Revolution notes a new biography of Walter Raleigh, a maker of empire indeed.
  • The NYR Daily looks at a new dance show using the rhythms of the words of writer Robert Walser.
  • Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel looks at how, in a quantum universe, time and space could still be continuous not discrete.
  • Strange Company looks at a court case from 1910s Brooklyn, about a parrot that swore.
  • The Volokh Conspiracy notes an affirmative action court case in which it was ruled that someone from Gibraltar did not count as Hispanic.
  • Window on Eurasia notes rhetoric claiming that Russians are the largest divided people on the Earth.
  • Arnold Zwicky looks at lizards and at California’s legendary Highway 101.

[AH] Six #alternatehistory maps from Reddit: Irish, Canada, Alaska, Russia, Prairies, South Africa

  • This r/mapporn map shows the scale of the collapse of Irish as a spoken language across most of Ireland. Was this avoidable?
  • This r/imaginarymaps map shows a Canada where the 1837 rebellions were successful, with an autonomous Upper Canada and a Lower Canada with a Patriote state. Doable?
  • This r/imaginarymaps map depicts a common alternate history trope, that of an independent but culturally Russian Alaska. What would it take for this to happen?
  • This r/imaginarymaps map depicts a world where Eurasia, from Germany to Korea, was dominated by a successfully industrializing Russian Empire. Was this common fear of the belle époque actually achievable?
  • This r/mapporn map shows the different proposals for different territorial configurations of the Canadian Prairies. (I like the ones with north-south divisions.)
  • Was a single South Africa covering most of British Southern Africa with relatively liberal racial policies, as Jan Smuts wanted, actually achievable? r/imaginarymaps hosts the map.

[BLOG] Some Sunday links

  • Architectuul looks at the Porto architectural project Critical Concrete, here.
  • Bad Astronomer Phil Plait shares the evidence for our galaxy having experienced a phase as a quasar a quarter-million years long some 3.5 million years ago.
  • Author James Bow celebrates the end of his publicity tour for The Night Girl, including a controversy over cover art featuring the CN Tower.
  • Robert Zubrin at Centauri Dreams considers how we could detect energy from artificial singularities used for power and propulsion. (Is this how we find the Romulans?)
  • The Crux considers whether or not the new proposals for more powerful supercolliders in China and Europe are likely to produce new discoveries.
  • D-Brief explains why older generations so often look down on the young: The elders idealize their younger selves too much.
  • Dead Things notes new evidence, in the tracks of trilobites moving in line 480 million years ago, for early life being able to engage in collective behaviour.
  • io9 interviews Kami Garcia about her new YA book featuring venerable DC character Raven, remaking her for new readers.
  • The Island Review interviews David Gange about The Frayed Atlantic Edge, his book account of his kayak trip down the western coasts of Britain and Ireland.
  • JSTOR Daily explains why Martin Luther King Jr. thought so highly of jazz.
  • Eleanor Penny argues at the LRB Blog against taking Malthus, with his pessimism trending towards a murderous misanthropy, as a prophet for our times.
  • The NYR Daily looks at the play American Moor, which touches on the efforts of black actors to engage with Shakespeare.
  • Drew Rowsome reviews the new film The Flick, an old to old-style movies and theatres.
  • The Russian Demographics Blog shares a map depicting Hutterite migrations across early modern Europe.
  • Starts With A Bang shares new speculation that some evidence for dark matter might actually be a mistake in measurement.
  • Strange Maps notes the now mostly submerged continent of Greater Adria.
  • Window on Eurasia shares a suggestion that the deep Russophilia of many ordinary people in Belarus might support union with Russia.
  • Arnold Zwicky looks at the different meanings of “unaccompanied”.

[BLOG] Some Sunday links

  • The Crux looks at the australopiths, not-so-distant ancestors of modern humans.
  • Bruce Dorminey notes the interest of NASA in exploring the lunar subsurface, including lava tubes.
  • Far Outliers looks at the politicking of mid-19th century European explorers in the Sahel.
  • io9 notes that the new Joker film is getting stellar reviews, aided by the performance of Joaquin Phoenix.
  • JSTOR Daily explores how, to meet censors’ demands, Betty Boop was remade in the 1930s from sex symbol into housewife.
  • Language Log reports on an utter failure in bilingual Irish/English signage.
  • Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money shows that a history of slavery in the US (Canada too, I would add) must not neglect the enslavement of indigenous peoples.
  • Marginal Revolution notes a paper studying San Francisco looking at how rent control did not work.
  • The NYR Daily considers growing protest against air travel for its impact on global climate.
  • Drew Rowsome reviews the queer romance film Bathroom Stalls & Parking Lots.
  • Window on Eurasia notes how the influence of Russia in the former Soviet Union is undone by Russian imperialism.
  • Arnold Zwicky considers the striking imagery–originally religious–of “carnal weapons”.