[NEWS] Five science links: Homo sapiens and Neanderthal art, squirrel smarts, tree talk, SN 2016gkg

• The suggestion that there is a relationship between the acoustics of particular caves and the art that early humans painted on those cave walls is fascinating. National Geographic reports.
• The Neanderthals, archeologists working in Spain have determined, created art. The idea of a significant gap between their cognition and ours seems less and less likely. CBC reports.
• It turns out that the grey squirrels of North America may be smarter than the red squirrels of Great Britain. This may explain much about the greys’ success in the reds’ homeland. National Geographic reports.
• The idea of there being secret, easily overlooked, yet powerful communications networks connecting trees fascinates me. Vaster than empires and more slow, indeed. Quartz reports.
• Back in 2016, through sheer luck and an excellent amateur model, Argentine amateur astronomer Victor Buso happened to catch supernova SN 2016gkg in NGC 613 from the very start of the visible explosion. Popular Science reports.

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[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait looks at the remarkably enduring supernova iPTF14hls, which seems to have attained its longevity through massive amounts of antimatter.
• blogTO notes plans for the construction of a new public square in Chinatown, on Huron Street.
• James Bow shares a short story of his, set in a future where everyone has a guaranteed minimum income but few have a job.
• A poster at Crasstalk shares a nostalgic story about long-lost summers as a child in Albuquerque in the 1960s.
• Bruce Dorminey reports on Universe, a beautiful book concerned with the history of astronomical imagery.
• The Everyday Sociology Blog explores the latent and manifest functions of education for job-seekers.
• Far Outliers’ Joel talks about the Red Terror imposed by Lenin in 1918, and its foreshadowing of the future of the Soviet Union.
• Language Hat links to a lovely analysis of a Tang Chinese poem, “On the Frontier.”
• Language Log notes how the name of Chinese food “congee” ultimately has origins in Dravidian languages.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money takes note of the suspicious timing of links between the Trump family and Wikileaks.
• Marginal Revolution’s Tyler Cowen recounts his visit to an Amazon bookstore, and what he found lacking (or found good).
• The NYR Daily notes the continuing controversy over the bells of the church of Balangiga, in the Philippines, taken as booty in 1901 by American forces and not returned.
• The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer wonders why Canadian incomes and productivity have historically been 20-30% lower than those of the United States, and why incomes have lately caught up.
• Roads and Kingdoms considers the simple pleasures of an egg and cracker snack in the Faroe Islands.
• Strange Company considers the bizarre 1910 murder of Massachusetts lawyer William Lowe Rice.
• The Volokh Conspiracy notes an Australian publisher that suspended publication of a book in Australia for fear of negative reaction from China.
• Arnold Zwicky shares some photos of his orchids, blooming early because of warm temperatures.

[BLOG] Some Friday links

io9 looks at the surprising things we are continuing to learn from Tycho’s supernova, SN 1572. https://gizmodo.com/a-famous-supernovas-mysteries-are-still-unraveling-hund-1818816208

Anthrodendum has a thoughtful interview between two anthropologists about their experiences as ethnographers. https://savageminds.org/2017/09/25/explaining-ethnography-in-the-field-a-conversation-between-pasang-yangjee-sherpa-and-carole-mcgranahan/

Centauri Dreams reports on the LIGO/VIRGO detection of gravitational wave #GW170814 https://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=38557
D-Brief also notes the detection of #GW170814 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/09/27/gravitational-wave-virgo/
as does Starts With A Bang https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/09/27/ligo-virgo-detects-the-first-three-detector-gravitational-wave/

The Crux notes how ancient rocks on the Québec-Labrador frontier have preserved traces of very early life. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/09/27/earth-oldest-rocks-life/

D-Brief notes the potential discovery of a biomarker for CTE, something that may well help professional athletes. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/09/27/cte-biomarker/

Dangerous Minds looks at the time the Pet Shop Boys and Liza Minelli collaborated on an album. http://dangerousminds.net/comments/results_when_the_pet_shop_boys_met_liza_minnelli

The Dragon’s Gaze looks at evidence that a sub-Saturn gas giant is forming around T Tauri star TW Hydrae. http://thedragonsgaze.blogspot.ca/2017/09/tw-hydrae-is-forming-subsaturn-gas-giant.html

Hornet Stories looks at the four lessons a professor took from gay porn, about sexuality and its representation. https://hornetapp.com/stories/gay-porn-professor/

Language Log looks at how Joseon Korea once used the wrong Chinese dialect to talk officially to China. http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=34693

Lawyers, Guns and Money notes an odd defense of Hugh Hefner by a conservative. http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2017/09/hugh-hefner-good-now

The LRB Blog notes the oddly convention nature of Hugh Hefner. https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2017/09/28/august-kleinzahler/the-conventional-mr-hefner/

The Map Room Blog argues that faults found with fantasy maps actually reflect deeper issues with fantasy literature. http://www.maproomblog.com/2017/09/the-territory-is-not-the-map/

Marginal Revolution notes that IBM employs more people In India than in the United States.
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/09/india-fact-day-3.html

The NYR Daily notes a new art exhibition of work by Peter Saul dealing with Trump. http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/09/27/a-carnival-of-desecration-peter-saul-trump/

The Planetary Society Blog notes the Earth pictures taken by the OSIRIS-REx probe. http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2017/0928-earth-flyby-osiris-rex.html

The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer notes a worrying new analysis justifying an American strike on North Korea, despite Seoul. http://noelmaurer.typepad.com/aab/2017/09/the-hawks-make-their-case-to-fight-north-korea.html

Drew Rowsome notes an amusing-sounding mystery, Undercover, playing at the Tarragon. http://drewrowsome.blogspot.ca/2017/09/undercover-case-of-comic-mystery.html

Towleroad links to fascinating ethnographic work of LGBT members of American street gangs. How do they do it? http://www.towleroad.com/2017/09/gay-gang/

[BLOG] Some Monday links

• At Antipope, Charlie Stross considers the ways in which Big Data could enable an updated version of 1984.
• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait looks at all the ways in which this photo of galaxy NGC 5559 is cool, with a supernova and more.
• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly shares a week of her life as a professional writer.
• Crooked Timber looks at the potentially dominant role of racism as a political marker in the US.
• Far Outliers notes that the Confederacy’s military options circa 1864 were grim and limited.
• Language Log shares an example of a Starbucks coffee cup with biscriptal writing from Shenyang.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes that the Rohingya are being subjected to genocide. What next?
• Marginal Revolution notes the introduction of a new chocolate, ruby chocolate“.
• Personal Reflections’ Jim Belshaw has it with ideological divisions of left and right.
• The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer looks at the remarkably intemperate Spanish court decision that kicked off modern separatism in Catalonia.
• Charley Ross looks at the sad story of missing teenager Brittanee Drexel.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel notes that now is an excellent time to start highlighting the politics of climate change.
• Towleroad mourns New York City theatre star Michael Friedman.
• Window on Eurasia notes the ways in which Russia is, and is not, likely to use the military.
• Arnold Zwicky shares a map of the regional languages of France.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Acts of Minor Treason’s Andrew Barton features a photo of an astonishingly long lineup of buses in Ottawa. I thought Dufferin Street could be bad!
• Anthropology.net reports on a huge find of ancient hominin remains in South Africa.
• Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait reports on the new supernova in M82.
• Beyond the Beyond links to an approving review of a book on Internet art.
• The Big Picture has an extended photoessay of the Circassian minority in Sochi, remnant of mid-19th century ethnic cleansing.
• Centauri Dreams examines the study of the circumstellar disk of HD 142527, a distant star that apparently has a protoplanetary belt out 160 AU, far further than the Kuiper belt or any theory of planetary formation.
• The Language Log takes a look at the use of the word “iguana” to denote a shady character, tracing it to Florida and Charlie Crist.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the migration forced by free-trade agreements.
• Marginal Revolution reports that, to stave off a financial crisis, Argentina has begun limiting online shopping.
• The Planetary Society’s Emily Lakdawalla has more on the M82 supernova.
• Supernova Condensate examines the ocean planet and the trope’s use in science fiction. If anything, it may be underused!
• At Torontoist, John Barber despairs of a debate on transit in the upcoming Toronto mayoral election.
• Window on Eurasia suggests Russian neo-Nazi violence is becoming focused more against Central Asians than Caucasians.

[NEWS] Some Wednesday links

• Thanks to Michael for linking to a Slate photoessay drawing from years of photography of the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
• Universe Today notes that Fomalhaut C, a dim red dwarf companion to the brighter A, has a debris disk of its own.
• io9 notes a Type Ia supernova in neighbouring galaxy M82, 12 million light-years away.
• CBC reports a recent international survey suggesting that housing across big-city Canada isn’t especially affordable, and that Vancouver is worst.
• The Carthaginians actually did practice infant sacrifice, The Guardian reports.
• Conrad shared a report of anti-African racism in Delhi.
• Der Spiegel notes that France, most recently in Africa, is the only European power actively intervening anywhere. This has import for the European Union.

[BLOG] Some Friday links

• A Budding Sociologist or not, Dan Hirschman has a fascinating Q&A up with Canada-based economist Morten Jerven talking about the extent to which economic–and other–statistics in Africa are flawed.
• Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait notes the landmark discovery of a distant supernova, a Type 1A supernova 10.5 billion light years away (and 10.5 billion years in the past).
• Bag News Notes comments on the “Jew in a Box” display of a Berlin museum. Providing contemporary German museum-goers with a volunteer Jew to talk about their Jewish experiences may be well-intentioned, but it also has obvious negative echoes.
• Beyond the Beyond’s Bruce Sterling links to an interesting essay on the ethics of geoengineering.
• Eastern Approaches visits a desolate, impoverished town in Bulgaria.
• New APPS Blog takes on the ridiculous philosophizing of libertarian economist Steven Landsberg, who suggested that no harm is done to a person–a woman, naturally-who was raped while she was unconscious.
• Progressive Download’s John Farrell is quite unimpressed with the Vatican’s latest statement about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. Something peer-reviewed and new, not just a remining of old data, would be nice.
• Steve Munro talks about various developments in Toronto transit.
• Understanding Society’s Daniel Little takes a look at Jonathan Haidt’s theory about the natural origins of moral intuitions.