[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• Bad Astronomy notes the wonders being witnessed by the Dawn probe in orbit of Ceres.


• Centauri Dreams notes the potential of effectively immortal interstellar probes.


• D-Brief notes the discovery of some genetic origins of loneliness.


• The Everyday Sociology Blog notes the connections and potential conflicts between concepts of race and the British royal family.


• Far Outliers shares the first part of the summary of an article examining contact between African and Japanese mercenaries in early modern Asia.


• Gizmodo wonders if Uranus' large axial tilt can be explained by some sort of massive collision.


• Hornet Stories likes the way that Pose, a show set in queer communities in New York City in the 1980s, deals with HIV.


• In the aftermath of the tumult regarding the New York Times' coverage of Batman and Catwoman, io9 offers the paper some tips on covering pop culture.


• JSTOR Daily shares a paper noting how and why, in belle époque Chicago, immigrant communities often sponsored Fourth of July celebrations.


• Language Hat deals with the convention of many writers in English to italicize foreign words. Why do this, again?


• Jonathan Freedland at the NYR Daily considers the import of the Fourth of July for the United States in 2018.


• Science and Food looks at liquid nitrogen gastronomy.


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers if the universe might be headed for a big rip.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Bombardier, Quayside, intersections, Scarborough, raccoons

• In the wake of the systematic welding faults in Bombardier's streetcars delivered to the TTC, what can be said but that Bombardier is a terrible vendor? Ben Spurr reports for the Toronto Star.


• This extended article by Nancy Scola at Politico of the immense Google operation at Quayside, its problems and its goals, is worth reading.


• Many Toronto intersections, I can personally testify, are frightening. (The junction of Annette and Dupont with Dundas West comes to my mind.) The Toronto Star reports.


• This Scarborough name sign does seem like it'd be fun to visit. NMOW Toronto reports.


• Poor Toronto raccoons: Our food, scavenged by them, is making them ill. The National Post reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Detroit, Metropolis, Seattle, Foster City, Kigali

• If ever I make it to Detroit, the John K King bookstore would surely be a must-visit. Atlas Obscura reports.


• Metropolis, Illinois, is celebrating Superman. Where better to do so? Wired reports.


• Seattle, like so many cities around North America, is apparently facing a gentrification that makes it increasingly uncomfortable for too many. Crosscut has it.


• The San Francisco Bay area community of Foster City faces imminent danger from rising sea levels. CBC reports.


• Decades after the horrors of the mid-1990s, dogs in the Rwandan capital of Kigali are starting to be treated as potential pets again. National Geographic reports.