[BLOG] Some Friday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Centauri Dreams' Paul Gilster visits depictions of Europa in classic science fiction.


• The Dragon's Gaze links to a paper claiming that whether a planet of Earth's mass becomes Earth-like or a mini-Neptune depends not so much on the planet as on the characteristics of its nebula.


• The Dragon's Tales notes archeological analyses which suggest that Neanderthals were just as technologically capable of Homo sapiens.


• Joe. My. God. quotes from ex-ex-gay John Paulk, who describes the factors that led him to flirt with the ex-gay movement.


• Language Log's Victor Mair doesn't think Putonghua will become a world language because of its script. (Me, I think that's decidedly secondary.)


• Lawyers, Guns and Money starts a discussion on nuclear waste that's a bit too panicky for my liking.


• The Power and the Money notes that southern Brazil, like Argentina and Uruguay experienced sharp relative economic decline in the 20th century. This regional decline got missed in national statistics.


• Strange Maps' Frank Jacobs wonders why so many towns in the American South--especially Georgia--seem to be circular.


• Towleroad notes that prominent Russian homophobe and politician Vitaly Milonov is calling on Russia to abandon Eurovision on account of its queer associations.


• Transit Toronto notes a proposal to connect Toronto to London and Kitchener-Waterloo via high-speed train.


• Window on Eurasia suggests that the Russian private sector is being undermined and notes that Russians don't travel all that much.