[PHOTO] Blue-grey backyard morning, 2 January

[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• Centauri Dreams celebrates the arrival, and successful data collection, of New Horizons at Ultima Thule, as does Joe. My. God., as does
  Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog. Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explained, before the New Horizons flyby of Ultima Thule, why that Kuiper Belt object was so important for planetary science.


• In advance of the New Year's, Charlie Stross at Antipope asked his readers to let him know what good came in 2018.


• Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber makes the argument that, in the event of a Brexit bitterly resented by many Labour supporters, the odds that they will support a post-Brexit redistributionist program that would aid predominantly pro-Brexit voters are low.


• Bruce Dorminey notes that many Earth-like worlds might be made uninhabitable over eons by the steady warming of their stars, perhaps dooming any hypothetical extraterrestrial civilizations on these planets.


• Far Outliers looks at the patterns of early Meiji Japan relations with Korea, noting an 1873 invasion scare.


• L.M. Sacasas writes at The Frailest Thing, inspired by the skepticism of Jacques Ellul, about a book published in 1968 containing predictions about the technological world of 2018. Motives matter.


• Imageo looks at the evidence from probes and confirms that, yes, it does in fact snow (water) on Mars.


• The Island Review interviews author Adam Nicolson about his family's ownership of the Hebridean Shiant Isles. What do they mean for him, as an author and as someone experience with the sea?


• JSTOR Daily looks at the long history of the human relationship with leather, as a pliable material for clothing of all kinds.


• Language Hat considers the possibility that the New Year's greeting "bistraynte", used in Lebanon and by Christians in neighbouring countries, might come from the Latin "strenae".


• Language Log notes the pressure being applied against the use of Cantonese as a medium of instruction in Hong Kong.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the many reasons why a considerable number of Latinos support Donald Trump.


• Bernard Porter at the LRB Blog comes up with an explanation as to Corbyn's refusal to oppose Brexit.


• Marginal Revolution notes the many problems involved with the formation of supply chains in Africa, including sheer distance.


• The NYR Daily has a much-needed reevaluation of the Jonestown horror as not simply a mass suicide.


• Author Peter Watts writes about a recent trip to Tel Aviv.


• At Out There, Corey Powell writes about how planetary scientists over the decades have approached their discipline, expecting to be surprised.


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel shared some top images collected by Hubble in 2018.


• Strange Company looks at the strange 1953 death of young Roman woman Wilma Montesi. How did she die, leaving her body to be found on a beach?


• Window on Eurasia notes how Circassian refugees in Syria are asking for the same expedited status that Ukrainian refugees have received.


• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell takes an extended look at the politics of 4G and Huawei and the United Kingdom and transatlantic relations over the past decade.


• Arnold Zwicky takes a look, in language and cartoons, at "Jesus fuck".

[URBAN NOTE] Six Toronto links: 1918/1919, subway, homicide, raccoons, ravines, books

• Jamie Bradburn looks at how the newspapers of Toronto in 1918 greeted the arrival of 1919.


• CBC Toronto notes that the question of uploading the subway--indeed, the question of what that means--will take top priority in Toronto in 2019.


• What will the homicide rate be in Toronto in 2019? The Toronto Star considers.


• The raccoons of Toronto deserve to be celebrated. The Toronto Star looks at this.


• Guardian Cities looks at the extent to which the unique ecologies of the Toronto ravine system are undergoing a slow-motion collapse, and considers what can be done to stop this.


• The Toronto Public Library's The Buzz shared the top book picks for 2018.