[PHOTO] Model of Commerce Court

This model of Commerce Court stood in the lobby of skyscraper Commerce Court West on Doors Open.

[BLOG] Some history links

• Anthropology.net looked at the impact of megafloods on the downfal of pre-Columbian Cahokia.


• The Big Picture contrasted pictures of Berlin in 1945 with photos of the same scenes now.


• Patrick Cain mapped geology onto politics, drawing inspiration from one map showing Labour strength in old coal-mining areas in the United Kingdom to display another map showing how cotton-growing areas with their large black populations are pro-Democratic.


• Crooked Timber hosted Chris Bertram's memories of left-wing Paris in the 1970s and John Holbo's exploration of how Nazis were conservative revolutionaries.


• The Dragon's Tales wondered if there could be remnants of Theia in asteroidal debris, looks at human evolution, and notes the distinctive Neanderthal inner ear.


• Far Outliers examined at great length Comanche empire-building.


• Language Hat considers the imperial culture common to Romans, looks at conflicts over characters in written Japanese, considers Korean etymology starting with Arirang, and looks at the relationship between ethnogenesis and language.


• Languages of the World examined the dialects of northern England, claimed that Moroccan Arabic had a Roman heritage, and looked at the old Israeli-Iranian alliance.


• The Map Room's Jonathan Crowe linked to historical highway maps of Manitoba.


• The Russian Demographics Blog examined natural population change in England over a vast stretch of time.

Spacing Toronto looked at the great Toronto fire of 1904 and examined the city's role in the birth of personal computers.

• Torontoist examined how Toronto comemmorated the Armenian genocide.


• Understanding Society looked at philosophy in the French left after 1945.

[BLOG] Some space science links

• Centauri Dreams considers the prospects for habitable worlds at Tau Ceti considering the composition of planets and the star's evolution over time, considers the need for consistent observation in SETI programs, looks at possibly detectably volcanic 55 Cancri e, wonders if Fermi bubbles are detectable, considers stellar drift in the context of expanding interstellar civilizations, and looks at exoplanets with circular orbits.


• The Dragon's Gaze notes that Kapteyn's Star apparently does not support habitable-zone exoplanets, suggests that the superdense atmosphere of even a Venus analog could be eroded fairly quickly by a red dwarf, wonders if the G2 cloud at the galactic centre is a planetary embryo, wonders if water-rich asteroids have been detected impacting a white dwarf, and considers methane exoplanets.


• The Dragon's Tales wonders if the geysers of Enceladus feeds the E ring of Saturn, looks at thermal anomalies on Enceladus, imagines ways to detect Europa's tides by space probe flybys, and compares the arroyos of Mars and Earth.


• The Planetary Society Blog notes how radio astronomy can be contaminated by Earthly pollution, notes the society's recent lightsail launch, and looks at Ceres.

[BLOG} Some social science links

• The Cranky Sociologists consider a series of controversial videos examining issues of racism and discrimination in Auckland.


• Crooked Timber's Chris Bertram argues that European countries are responsible for migrant deaths in the Mediterranean.


• The Everyday Sociology Blog considers the international market in surrogate mothers.


• The Frailest Thing considers desire in the world of things, and examines the connections between machine work and the value of people.


• Kieran Healy notes the often wild guesses made by Americans at the population size of the United States.


• Language Hat notes the dislike of Russian aristocrats for the Russian language, and maps London's different languages.


• Language Log takes issue with a map of the languages of the world in regards to China, and looks at Cantonese usage in Hong Kong.


• Languages of the World considers Google Translate.


• Marginal Revolution examines China's ideological spectrum and notes a New Zealand database that can predict outcomes for young people.


• The New APPS Blog argues in favour of citing unpublished papers and praises the bravery of migrants.


• pollotenchegg maps the distribution of refugees in the Ukrainian government-controlled Donbas.


• The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer looks at recent fertility increases in post-graduate American women.


• The Russian Demographics Blog examined the changing nature of migration to and from Russia, looks at the demographic experiences over Belarus, considers the Russian HIV epidemic, and examines the link between fertility and economic shocks in the United States.


• Savage Minds examines a new book on the Bougainville conflict, looks at racism in Baltimore, and reacts to the earthquake in Nepal.


• Towleroad and the Volokh Conspiracy note that, properly analyzed, the data of Regnerus actually contradicts his claims about same-sex parents.


• Zero Geography looks at the hidden biases of geodata.

[BLOG] Some politics and economic links

• 3 Quarks Daily had a roundup of reactions to the PEN/Charlie Hebdo controversy.


• City of Brass notes the role of the Nation of Islam in keeping the peace in Baltimore.


• Crooked Timber considers if the British Labour Party might gain by creating a separate Scottish Party, and wonders what British Euroskepticism means for Ireland.


• The Dragon's Tales notes the new importance of immigration from China and India for the United States, looks at China's negotiating of a naval base with Djibouti, wonders if Russia while buy Chinese naval vessels, and notes the Ukrainian capture of two Russian soldiers.


• A Fistful of Euros argues that Greece, for all of its faults, is facing doom in order to consolidate the Eurozone.


• Geocurrents' Martin Lewis examines the Latin American political spectrum.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money wonders what a Korean war might look like, examines the risks faced by Indonesian migrants, and looks at the India-Bangladesh border.


• The Map Room's Jonathan Crowe shares an unduly controversial map of shrinking sea ice in the Canadian Arctic.


• Marginal Revolution notes that immigration does not undermine institutions, wonders about the need for Scottish separatism, examines the myth of abandoned British austerity, wonders how to fix Ukraine, and suggests urbanization can boost economic growth.


• Personal Reflections' Jim Belshaw reflected on the Indonesian executions.


• Registan predicts political crisis in Kyrgyzstan.


• Towleroad notes
  
• The Volokh Conspiracy considers Iranian attacks<
  /u> on a ship registered to the American protectorate of the Marshall Islands and Libyan attacks on a ship registered to New Zealand's Cook Islanders.


• Window on Eurasia argues that the European Union's Eastern Partnership has failed, looks at Ukrainian hostility to Russians fighting in the Donbas, argues Russian cannot hold the Baltic States, looks at Russian Muslim demographic boosterism, notes the decline of Russian in southern Kazakhstan, looks at Armenia's alignment of its Muslim institutions with Iran, notes the plight of Ukrainian refugees and returning Donbas fighters in Russia, and notes Russia's loss of influence in Ukraine.


• The Financial Times' The World notes Polish concern over the Night Wolves, a Russian motorocycle gang.


• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell argues that British Labour should rebuild by opposing things and not working on the more difficult task of finding new policies.

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[BLOG] Some pop culture links

• The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly talked about her social networks, and about the need to have faith in one's abilities and to be strong.
  
• C.J. Cherryh describes her visit to Grand Coulee Dam.


• Crooked Timber notes the ways in which Ian Macleod is actually a romantic writer.


• The Crux looks at the controversy over the siting of a new telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea.


• Cody Delistraty wonders if social rejection is needed for creative people.


• The Everyday Sociology Blog looks at how difficult it is for Americans with criminal records to get jobs.


• Mathew Ingram notes how young Saudis can find freedom on their phones for apps.


• Language Hat suggests that a computer's word analysis has identified a lost Shakespeare play.


• Personal Reflection's Jim Belshaw linked to his local history columns.


• Otto Pohl notes the culinary links between Ghana and Brazil.


• Peter Rukavina remembers the fallen elms of Charlottetown and reports on innovative uses of Raspberry Pi computers.


• The Search reports on format migration at Harvard's libraries.


• Mark Simpson notes homoeroticism on British television.


• Speed River Journal's Van Waffle describes his discovery of wild leeks.


• Towleroad notes an Austrian magazine's printing of a limited edition with ink including HIV-infected blood, notes a gay Mormon's defense of his life to his church, and observes an Argentine judge who thought it acceptable to give a man who raped a possibly gay child a lighter sentence because of the child's presumed orientation.


• The Volokh Conspiracy notes the repeal of blasphemy laws in Norway and examines the questionable concept of Straight Pride.

[URBAN NOTE] Some Toronto links

• blogTO reported on a Tibetan restaurant in Parkdale and on a new Icelandic bakery.


• James Bow does not like the new pavillion of Robarts Library.


• Steve Munro considers the complexities of the eastern Gardiner Expressway's fate and shares photos of a work train on the Prince Edward Viaduct.


• Spacing Toronto shares John Lorinc's argument in favour of tearing down the east Gardiner, looks at a talk show set on the TTC, and notes the extension of the Spadina subway to York.


• Torontoist looks at racism in Toronto policing and wants to remove the Gardiner.


• Transit Toronto notes that the TTC is searching for licensed musicians.

[FORUM] What have you been reading lately?

Are you reading fiction or non-fiction? Print books or e-books? Anything at all.

Indulge my curiosity, if you would, and discuss.