[BLOG] Some Friday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait shares stunning photos of Jupiter and its moons taken from the Earth.


• The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly talks about the life lessons she has taken from her recent extended trip in Europe.


• Centauri Dreams notes the testing, by a European team, of the InflateSail intended to remove debris from Earth orbit.


• Crooked Timber takes a look at the historically messy interactions between democratic governance and economic policy.


• Dangerous Minds notes that Trump is making use of LGBT people as pawns. I wish the conclusion was less frighteningly convincing.


• The Dragon's Gaze links to a paper on a recent search for exomoons, including the possible detection of Kepler 1625b I.


• The Frailest Thing's Michael Sacasas considers what it means for a parent to look at their child in an era of technologically mediated vision.


• In Medias Res' Russell Arben Fox notes, from his personal experience, how Donald Trump just does not get scouting.


• Language Log shares a report of how a Chinese man with synesthesia sees written language.


• The LRB Blog notes how Isaiah Berlin predicted the Saudi-American alliance back in 1945.


• Marginal Revolution notes a recent decline in regional income convergence in the United States. Causes?


• The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer notes the politics that went into costly subway design changes in Mexico City. (Line 12 does look nice.)


• Strange Company notes the romance of the grave of the Mysterious Stranger in Alexandria, Virginia. Who was she?


• Unicorn Booty notes that Jinks Monsoon will be voicing a Steven Universe character and is out as non-gendered.


• Window on Eurasia notes growing controversy in Kyrgyzstan over a switch in Kyrgyz alphabets from Cyrillic to Latin.