[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

[rfmcdonald]

• BlogTO notes that some politicians want Toronto to submit a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Please, no.


• Centauri Dreams' Paul Gilster examines the electric sail propulsion concept mentioned for a prototype space probe to Uranus.


• The Dragon's Tales links to a paper wondering if a brown dwarf in the WD0137-349 is being irradiated by its companion white dwarf.


• Far Outliers notes the oil rush occurring in different parts of the Middle East in 1913.


• Joe. My. God. shares the news that Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin, noteworthy for his homophobic statements including a desire to burn non-heterosexuals alive, has quit his job as creative director for an Apple-affiliated cellphone manufacturer. He blames teh gays.


• Language Log's Victor Mair celebrates the 108th birthday, on the 13th of this month, of Zhou Youguang, the man who invented the pinyin Latinization.


• At Lawyers, Guns and Money, Scott Lemieux observes that a tendency among some Republicans to liken anything they like to slavery doesn't play well among non-white voters.


• Savage Minds' Rex links to a mass of interesting public-domain anthropology studies.


• Strange Maps shares some fascinating maps about the distribution, by region and by depth, of bivalves in the North Sea.


• Torontoist notes that mayoral candidate David Soknacki wants to restore the Scarborough light rail plan.


• Towleroad notes that the popularity of slash fan fiction concerning the protagonists of the hit show Sherlock in China may be indicating a sea change in Chinese opinions on LGBT issues and people.


• Window on Eurasia observes, after some American scholars, predictions as to the sorts of Russian (and other post-Soviet) urban settlements that might disappear by 2050. (Small cities and one-industry cities are vulnerable.)