[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes that new astrometric data from Gaia has confirmed that Albiero, Beta Cygni, is only a visual binary, its two components being separated by perhaps dozens of light-years.


• Centauri Dreams notes the details of a new study suggesting the stars at the heart of globular cluster Omega Centauri are too closely packed to be able to support possibly life-bearing planets with stable orbits.


• The Crux examines the question of whether or not astronauts can remain psychologically healthy in deep space.


• D-Brief notes that the shallow stripes of the atmosphere of Jupiter might be explained by the planet's strong magnetic field.


• Cody Delistraty shares an essay of his on V.S. Naipaul and the difficulties many writers face returning home.


• Hornet Stories notes that some conservative Republicans in Texas would like to deal with same-sex marriage by stripping marriage benefits away from all couples.


• Language Hat notes some appearances of Eurasianism in Russian linguistics.


• Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes an Elizabeth Warren plan for corporate reform in the US.


• The LRB Blog notes a pop-up theatre being maintained by Good Chance Paris for refugees on the fringes of the French capital.


• The NYR Daily looks at the strength, and possible future attenuation, of anti-Haitian sentiment in the Dominican Republic.


• Jason Davis at the Planetary Society Blog shares some gorgeous Juno photos of Jupiter.


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers what happened in the early universe when antimatter was destroyed.


• Window on Eurasia notes the argument of one Russian journalist that Putin's maneuvering has made good relations with the West, and the United States, next to impossible for the foreseeable future.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: term limits, TTC and the Ex, downtown vs suburbs, pothole, King St

• At Spacing, John Lorinc argues that the poor record of Giorgio Mammoliti in dealing with the needs of his voters in Ward 7 is a good argument for term limits municipally.


• Transit Toronto takes a look at the routes used by Torontonians to visit the Ex, the CNE, and the history of these routes.


• May Warren suggests that the oversimplified "Three Torontos" paradigm, dividing the city cleanly between a well-off downtown elite and marginalized inner suburbs, is an oversimplification, over at the Toronto Star.


• CBC's As It Happens reports on the fact that, in a pothole at Rathnelly and Poplar Plains in South Hill, someone has planted tomatoes. Will the repair crews wait until they ripen?


• Ilya Bañares notes that data from May and June from the King Street pilot project suggest ridership is up and transit times down.

[NEWS] Five politics links: Canada, John A. MacDonald, France, Italy, Prague Spring

• Amanda Connelly at Global News last month took a look at the reasons why the Canadian common market has been, and will remain, so fragmented.


• Robert Alexander Innes at The Conversation makes the perfectly defensible argument, in relation to statues of John A. MacDonald, that while MacDonald should not be forgotten his anti-First Nations racism should likewise not be celebrated. History matters.


• VICE takes a look at the life and prospects of Louis Alphonse, Duc of Anjou and one of the claimants to the defunct French throne.


• The Local Italy notes that many of the populists of that country are outraged by comparisons between current immigrants to Italy and past emigrants from Italy. Those emigrants are different, you see.


• Michael Hauser at Open Democracy suggests that, if the Prague Spring in late 1960s Czechoslovakia been allowed to unfold, it might well have inspired many in West and East with a vision of a different model.

[MUSIC] Five music links: Q Lazzarus, Jake Shears, Madonna

• Spin shares the news, from fan Kelsey Zimmerman, that the singer of "Goodbye Horses", Q Lazzarus, is alive and well in Staten Island after three decades of silence.


• Hornet Stories raves over Jake Shears' self-titled solo debut album.


• Joe. My. God. shares the story, as he has every year since 2006, "Ricky Loves Madonna", remembering an early victim of HIV/AIDS and his Madonna fandom.


• Daryl Deino at Queerty writes about how Madonna, with her early opposition to homophobia and her engagement with HIV/AIDS, may have saved his life.


• Hornet Stories describes, and shows, the set of 20 Lego minifigures that Michigan artist Sam Hatmaker has designed for Madonna's 60th birthday today.

[MUSIC] Madonna,"The Power of Good-Bye"

The 1998 Madonna song "The Power of Good-Bye" , all shimmering electronica with subtle lyrics soulfully sung, bears consideration as perhaps the best song Madonna has ever had. Ray of Light is a really good album.

"Madonna - The Power Of Good-Bye" (Watch on YouTube)