[PHOTO] Five photo links: dysmorphia, D Niko Holmes, Joseph Wright, Ioana Cîrlig, Yıldız Moran

• The Guardian reports on how selfie dysmorphia is prompting some people to seek plastic surgery.
• The Island Review shares D Niko Holmes’ beautiful photos of Brtish Columbia’s Salt Spring Island.
• The Island Review notes the volcanic photography of Joseph Wright on Lanzarote.
• Wired shares the work of photographer Ioana Cîrlig in the factory towns of Romania.
• The NYR Daily looks at the work of pioneering Turkish photographer Yıldız Moran.

[ISL] Five #islands links: Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Nunavut, Vashon Island, St. Kilda, Sardinia

• In the wake of the disruptions caused by a recent massive winter storm, Le Devoir made the point that the Iles-de-la-Madeleine need better conditions to the mainland.
• The Island Review took a look at the work of Shona Main in Nunavut.
• CityLab took a look at how Vashon Island, in Puget Sound not far from Seattle, has to prepare for disasters in the reality that it might be cut off from support from the mainland.
• The Island Review shares some of the work, prose and art, of Brian McHenry on deserted St. Kilda.
• This OBC Transeuropa report looks at the Romanian immigrant shepherds of Sardinia.

[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly writes about eight of her favourite places, most but not all still around for others to enjoy.
• Centauri Dreams responds to the vast ancient proto-supercluster Hyperion, dating to a point in time just 2.3 billion years after the Big Bang.
• The Crux considers the advent of light in the very early universe, with the emergence of the first supermassive stars just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
• D-Brief notes the discovery of the youngest pulsar yet found in our galaxy, Kes 75 just 19 thousand light-years away and five hundred years old.
• JSTOR Daily takes a look at the history of explorer James Cook’s ship, the HMS Endeavour.
• Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution links to his latest Bloomberg View column about Saudi Arabia, about how the very weakness of the Saudi state makes Saudi Arabia appeal to the United States as a partner in a way that a solider Iran cannot.
• Matthew Phelan at the NYR Daily writes about the menace of ecofascism, of a sort of localist environmentalism that crosses over into nationalism and even militant xenophobia.
• Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog shares images of the newly-launched BepiColombo probe to Mercury, including some selfies.
• Drew Rowsome reports on A Night at the Bronze, a live version of the fame Buffy episode “Once More With Feeling” that will be staged Hallowe’en night at Buddies in Bad Times.
• Strange Company reports on the mysterious 1910 murder of actor Weldon Atherstone.
• Window on Eurasia notes how Moldova’s Orthodox Christians are torn between rival national churches based in Romania and Russia.

[BLOG] Some Sunday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait takes a look at the question of how far, exactly, the Pleiades star cluster is from Earth. It turns out this question breaks down into a lot of interesting secondary issues.
• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly starts an interesting discussion around the observation that so many people are uncomfortable with the details of their body.
• Centauri Dreams reports on the exciting evidence of cryovolcanism at Ceres.
• The Crux reports on new suggestions that, although Neanderthals had bigger brains than Homo sapiens, Neanderthal brains were not thereby better brains.
• D-Brief notes evidence that the ability of bats and dolphins to echolocate may ultimate derive from a shared gene governing their muscles.
• Bruce Dorminey notes that astronomers have used data on the trajectory of ‘Oumuamua to suggest it may have come from one of four stars.
• Far Outliers explores the Appalachian timber boom of the 1870s that created the economic preconditions for the famed feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys.
• Language Hat notes the unique whistling language prevailing among the Khasi people living in some isolated villages in the Indian state of Meghalaya.
• Lingua Franca, at the Chronicles, notes that the fastest-growing language in the United States is the Indian language of Telugu.
• Jeremy Harding at the LRB Blog writes about the import of the recognition, by Macron, of the French state’s involvement in the murder of pro-Algerian independence activist Maurice Audin in 1958.
• Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution praises the diaries of Mihail Sebastian, a Romanian Jewish intellectual alive during the Second World War
• The New APPS Blog takes a look at the concept of the carnival from Bakhtin.
• Gabrielle Bellot at NYR Daily considers the life of Elizabeth Bishop and Bishop’s relationship to loneliness.
• Jason Davis at the Planetary Society Blog describes how CubeSats were paired with solar sails to create a Mars probe, Mars Cube One.
• The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer considers some possible responses from the left to a conservative Supreme Court in the US.
• Roads and Kingdoms takes a look at the challenges facing the street food of Xi’an.
• Rocky Planet examines why, for decades, geologists mistakenly believed that the California ground was bulging pre-earthquake in Palmdale.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel examines how some objects called stars, like neutron stars and white dwarfs and brown dwarfs, actually are not stars.
• Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps notes how China and Europe stand out as being particularly irreligious on a world map of atheism.
• Window on Eurasia notes the instability that might be created in the North Caucasus by a border change between Chechnya and Ingushetia.
• Arnold Zwicky shares some beautiful pictures of flowers from a garden in Palo Alto.

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• Architectuul looks at how, in Communist Romania, postcards sent from the resorts ot the Black Sea coast were used to bolster the image of the regime.
• Bad Astronomy notes the evidence for a recent planetary collision in the young system of RW Aurigae A.
• Crux visits the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at present the main spaceport for human passengers on Earth.
• D-Brief notes how radial velocity methods can be used to quickly find exoplanets with relatively distant orbits around their star.
• Dead Things notes evidence that Neanderthals did make use of fire.
• Hornet Stories notes an interview given by Barry Humphries, the actor behind Dame Edna, in which he reveals pro-Trump and anti-trans opinions.
• At In Media Res, Russell Arben Fox grapples with the possibility of human technological civilization not being sustainable, not being natural.
• JSTOR Daily looks at how early modern alchemists imagined human beings might be created.
• Drew Rowsome celebrates the reappearance of Buddy Cole, the signature creation of Scott Thompson.
• Towleroad shares an extended interview with Steven Canals, the screenwriter behind Pose, talking about this series’ background and his goals.
• At the Volokh Conspiracy, Jonathan M. Adler deconstructs the argument of Michael Anton against birthright citizenship in the United States.
• At Worthwhile Canadian Initiative, Livio di Matteo wonders what Trump’s incessant political Russophilia has in common with the CoDominium of SF writer Jerry Pournelle, a Russian-American alliance aimed at dominating the world.

[BLOG] Some Sunday links

• Anthropology.net shares in the debunking of the Toba catastrophe theory.
• Architectuul features Mirena Dunu’s exploration of the architecture of the Black Sea coastal resorts of Romania, built under Communism.
• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly writes about the importance of sleep hygiene and of being well-rested.
• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes the filaments of Orion, indicators of starbirth.
• Centauri Dreams notes how solar sails and the Falcon Heavy can be used to expedite the exploration of the solar system.
• D-Brief notes the discovery of debris marking the massive flood that most recently refilled the Mediterranean on the seafloor near Malta.
• Lucy Ferriss at Lingua Franca uses a recent sickbed experience in Paris to explore the genesis of Bemelmans’ Madeline.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money noted recently the 15th anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq, trigger of a world-historical catastrophe.
• The LRB Blog hosts Sara Roy’s defense of UNRWA and of the definition of the Palestinians under its case as refugees.
• The NYR Daily notes how the regnant conservative government in Israel has been limiting funding to cultural creators who dissent from the nationalist line.
• Roads and Kingdoms uses seven food dishes to explore the history of Malta.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel explains why, even though dark matter is likely present in our solar system, we have not detected signs of it.
• Daniel Little at Understanding Society examines the field of machine learning, and notes the ways in which its basic epistemology might be flawed.
• Window on Eurasia notes how the dropping of the ethnonym “Mongol” from the title of the former Buryat-Mongol autonomous republic sixty years ago still makes some Buryats unhappy.

[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

‘Nathan Smith at Apostrophen points out that claiming to disagree with homosexuality while respecting gay people is nonsensical. https://apostrophen.wordpress.com/2018/01/11/queer-isnt-an-opinion/

Centauri Dreams notes the innovative cheap PicSat satellite, currently monitoring Beta Pictoris with its known exoplanet. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=39109

Corey Robin at Crooked Timber argues that Trump is shaky, weaker than American democracy. (Not that that is going that well, mind.) http://crookedtimber.org/2018/01/13/trumps-power-is-shakier-than-american-democracy/

The Crux points out the sentient, including emotions, of any number of animal species. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2018/01/11/animals-feelings-sentient/

Far Outliers notes some German commanders in western Europe who quickly surrendered to the Allies in the Second World War, and why they did that. http://faroutliers.blogspot.com/2018/01/quick-german-surrenders-in-west.html

Hornet Stories notes how a court decision dealing with a Romanian man and his American husband could lead to European Union-wide recognition of same-sex marriage. https://hornetapp.com/stories/european-union-gay-marriage/

JSTOR Daily notes how air pollution is a human rights issue. https://daily.jstor.org/why-air-pollution-is-a-socioeconomic-issue/

Language Hat notes how the use of the apostrophe in the newly Latin script-using Kazakh language is controversial. http://languagehat.com/apostrophe-catastrophe-in-kazakhstan/

Geoffrey Pullim at Lingua Franca shares a passage from Muriel Spark’s fiction depicting students’ reactions to learning foreign languages. https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2018/01/11/a-foreign-way-which-never-really-caught-on

The LRB Blog tells the story of Omid, an Iranian who managed to smuggle himself from his home country to a precarious life in the United Kingdom. https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2018/01/15/behzad-yaghmaian/omids-journey/

The Map Room Blog shares a newly-updated map of “Trumpworld” the world as seen by Donald Trump. http://www.maproomblog.com/2018/01/trumpworld/

Marginal Revolution notes research indicating that dolphins have a grasp on economics, and what this indicates about their sentience. http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/01/dolphin-capital-theory.html

The Planetary Society Blog notes how the upcoming Europa Clipper probe will be able to analyze Europa’s oceans without encountering plumes of water. http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2018/20180111-no-plumes-no-problem.html

The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer suggests that, with the declining import of informal rules in American politics, a future Democratic-majority Congress might be able to sneak through statehood for Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. http://noelmaurer.typepad.com/aab/2018/01/breaking-norms-by-adding-states.html

Rocky Planet reports on the disastrous mudflows that have hit southern California after the fires. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/rockyplanet/2018/01/12/mudflows-devastate-parts-of-southern-california/

Drew Rowsome praises new horror from Matt Ruff. http://drewrowsome.blogspot.com/2018/01/lovecraft-country-matt-ruffs-multi.html

Peter Rukavina talks about his positive experiences with a walk-in mental health clinic on the Island. https://ruk.ca/content/i-went-mental-health-walk-clinic-and-so-can-you

Strange Company talks about the bizarre 1982 disappearance of one Donald Kemp. Did he even die? http://strangeco.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-strange-exit-of-donald-kemp.html

Towleroad notes that Peter Thiel is trying to buy Gawker, perhaps to destroy its archives. http://www.towleroad.com/2018/01/gawker-peter-thiel/

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• D-Brief notes that the opioid epidemic seems to be hitting baby boomers and millennials worst, of all major American demographics.
• Hornet Stories shares one timetable for new DC films following Justice League.
• Joe. My. God. notes a case brought by a Romanian before the European Court of Justice regarding citizenship rights for his American spouse. This could have broad implications for the recognition of same-sex couples across the EU, not just its member-states.
• Language Hat reports on a journalist’s search for a village in India where Sanskrit, ancient liturgical language of Hinduism, remains the vernacular.
• The Map Room Blog links to a review of an intriuging new book, Nowherelands, looking at ephemeral countries in the 1840-1975 era.
• The NYR Daily looks at the textile art of Anni Albers.
• The Planetary Society Blog explores the navigational skills of the Polynesians, and their reflection in Moana.
• Roads and Kingdoms reports on the widespread jubilation in Zimbabwe following the overthrow of Mugabe.
• Rocky Planet notes that Öræfajökull, the largest volcano in Iceland if a hidden one, has been showing worrying signs of potential eruption.
• Drew Rowsome reports on House Guests, an art installation that has taken over an entire house at Dundas and Ossington.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel looks at the story of how the quantum property of spin was discovered.
• Window on Eurasia suggests new Russian policies largely excluding non-Russian languages from education are causing significant problems, even ethnic conflict.
• Arnold Zwicky considers music as a trigger of emotional memory, generally and in his own life.

[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

• Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait notes that the Curiosity rover is detectable from Mars orbit.
• blogTO shares some of the vintage 1980s photos of gritty Toronto in a new book by Avard Woolaver.
• The Big Picture shares photos of tea from its homeland in China.
• Imageo shares stunning photos of Jupiter originally taken by the Juno probe.
• Language Hat links to the new online version of the Australian National Dictionary.
• The LRB Blog shares an appalling story of a British university that wants to hire an academic to develop a course for 10 pounds an hour.
• The NYR Daily looks at the films of Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.
• Starts with a Bang’s Ethan Siegel examines the Pillars of Creation of the Eagle Nebula. How long will they last?
• Torontoist shares photos from the Toronto Pride parade.
• John Scalzi at Whatever talks about being a late convert to the joys of Harry Potter.
• Window on Eurasia reports on Stalin’s desire to drain the Caspian Sea, the better to exploit offshore oil and irrigate Kazakhstan.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Beyond the Beyond’s Bruce Sterling notes the terminal problems of Livejournal.
• blogTO names five up-and-coming Toronto neighbourhoods.
• Centauri Dreams looks at asteroids and other bodies in space that might be natural vehicles for travelling between planets.
• Crooked Timber links to a grim analysis of the prospects for the United Kingdom’s Labour Party.
• The Dragon’s Gaze links to a paper suggesting a search for Beta Pictoris b as it transits its star.
• Marginal Revolution looks at the importance of Chuck Norris in Ceaucescu’s Romania.
• Savage Minds looks at reasons why anthropologists have failed to join in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
• Torontoist notes the generally low quality of jobs created recently in Toronto.
• Window on Eurasia links to two scenarios for Russia’s collapse, looks at conflicts in Russia-Belarus relations, and considers two Estonian novels recently published regarding Russian invasions.