[PHOTO] Two views, looking east from the Scotiabank Theatre

The great eastern window of the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, downtown in the middle of the Entertainment District and elevated several stories from street level, offers remarkable views of the Toronto skyline. I was there yesterday, taking one photo in the early evening, and one in the late evening as twilight blue settled down.

[BLOG] Some Friday links

• Architectuul has an extended long interview with architect Dragoljub Bakić, talking about the innovative architecture of Tito's Yugoslavia and his experiences abroad.


• Centauri Dreams remarks on how the new maps of Pluto can evoke the worlds of Ray Bradbury.


• The Crux answers an interesting question: What, exactly, is a blazar?


• D-Brief links to a study suggesting that conditions on Ross 128 b, the second-nearest potentially habitable planet, are potentially (very broadly) Earth-like.


• Dangerous Minds shows how John Mellencamp was, in the 1970s, once a glam rocker.


• The Finger Post shares photos from a recent visit to Naypyidaw, the very new capital of Myanmar.


• Gizmodo explains how the detection of an energetic neutrino led to the detection of a distant blazar, marking yet another step forward for multi-messenger astronomy.


• JSTOR Daily reports on the now-overlooked writer of supernatural fiction Vernon Lee.


• Language Log makes an argument that acquiring fluency in Chinese language, including Chinese writing, is difficult, so difficult perhaps as to displace other cultures. Thoughts?


• Lawyers, Guns and Money suggests that the decline of the neo-liberal world order is needed. My main concern is that neo-liberalism may well be the least bad of the potential world orders out there.


• Lingua Franca takes a look at how Hindi and Urdu, technically separate languages, actually form two poles of a Hindustani language continuum.


• The Map Room Blog links to a unique map of the London Underground that shows the elevation of each station.


• Rocky Planet notes that the continuing eruption of Kilauea is going to permanently shape the lives of the people of the Big Island of Hawai'i.


• Window on Eurasia notes that the Buddhists of Kalmykia want the Russian government to permit a visit by the Dalai Lama to their republic.


• Writing at Worthwhile Canadian Initiative, Livio Di Matteo notes that the Trump demand NATO governments spend 4% of their GDP on defense would involve unprecedented levels of spending in Canada.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Parkdale, Eglinton Avenue, police, Festival of Failure, South Core

CBC reports on a campaign by Parkdale tenants against a real estate broker, Nick Brewerton, who they claim is responsible for the decline of rooming houses there.

Merchants in the area of Eglinton Avenue hit by Metrolinx construction respond with a mixture of incredulity and anger to news of the lawsuit lodged against Metrolinx by contractors. CBC reports.

Toronto police have returned to a normal posture after yesterday's security alert. CBC reports.

The "Festival of Failure" ongoing for most of this month at Harbourfront Centre sounds very interesting. The Toronto Star reports.

Urban Toronto shares a stunning pair of photos, contrasting the South Core as seen form the CN Tower in 2010 and then in 2018. The difference between the two photos is remarkable.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Port Hope, Montréal, Shediac, Halifax, Vancouver

• Finally, the remediation of the low-level radioactive waste scattered around Port Hope is starting. Global News reports.


• Will Montréal bring back the Expos? Global News gauges opinion.


• I congratulate Shediac for winning the world record for the longest lobster roll. Global News reports.


• The new Glitter Bean Café in Halifax sounds like a fun queer-oriented coffee shop. Global News reports.


• Terry Glavin argues that the city government of Vancouver is being terribly negligent in allowing the city to be undermined by unregulated income flows. MacLean's has it.

[ISL] Five islands links: Machias Seal, Newfoundland and Labrador, Orkneys, Haiti

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• Global News outlines the state of the Machias Seal island territorial dispute between Canada and the United States.


• Faced with mounting costs owing to an aging and dispersed population, is Newfoundland and Labrador headed for bankruptcy? What would happen then? The National Post reports.


• The selection of names of beers from the new brewery of Dildo, NL, has been undertaken with great care. Global News reports.


• The Island Review shares an extract from the new book by Robin Noble about the Orkneys, Sagas of Salt and Stone. http://theislandreview.com/content/sagas-of-salt-and-stone-orkney-unwrapped-robin-noble-extract
  
• Ayanna Legros makes a compelling argument for the recognition of Haiti and Haitians as not being somehow foreign to their region, but rather for including them in Latin America.

[NEWS]

Masha Gessen at The New Yorker reports on the arguments of American queer historian Martin Duberman about mistakes that gay rights movement has made. https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/martin-duberman-on-what-the-gay-rights-movement-has-lost

Arshy Mann at Daily Xtra reports on how, in Russia and Poland and Hungary and now Brazil, homophobia is being used as a mobilizing tool by the far right. https://www.dailyxtra.com/the-global-far-right-is-riding-a-homophobic-wave-89429

Them reports on a study suggesting LGBTQ people are twenty times as likely to be social activists as cishets. (The overall rates, though, are still low.) https://www.them.us/story/study-finds-queer-folks-are-20x-more-likely-to-be-activists-than-cishets

Mike MIksche writes at Them about the genesis of the famous Andrew Holleran novel Dancer from the Dance and its impact. https://www.them.us/story/dancer-from-the-dance-andrew-holleran

Jonathan Adler at the Volokh Conspiracy points to a compelling argument at the Wall Street Journal why the Obergefell decision legalizing gay marriage nation-=wide in the United States will not be revisited. (I hope.) https://reason.com/volokh/2018/07/08/8-reasons-why-obergefell-wont-be-overtur

[NEWS] Five LGBTQ links: Martin Duberman, far right, activism, Andrew Holleran, Obergefell

• Masha Gessen at The New Yorker reports on the arguments of American queer historian Martin Duberman about mistakes that gay rights movement has made.


• Arshy Mann at Daily Xtra reports on how, in Russia and Poland and Hungary and now Brazil, homophobia is being used as a mobilizing tool by the far right.


• Them reports on a study suggesting LGBTQ people are twenty times as likely to be social activists as cishets. (The overall rates, though, are still low.)


• Mike Miksche writes at Them about the genesis of the famous Andrew Holleran novel Dancer from the Dance and its impact.


• Jonathan Adler at the Volokh Conspiracy points to a compelling argument at the Wall Street Journal why the Obergefell decision legalizing gay marriage nation-wide in the United States will not be revisited. (I hope.)