[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Yesterday, James Bow celebrated the 16th anniversary of his blog.


• Centauri Dreams shares some of the latest probe imagery from the Kuiper Belt.


• D-Brief notes the amount of energy used in bitcoin mining in Iceland is set to surpass the energy used by Iceland's human population. This cannot be a viable trajectory.


• The Dragon's Tales notes the steady expansion of China's nascent space industry, with Wenchang on the southern island of Hainan being a particular focus.


• Drone360 notes that, in certain conditions, drones can make parcel deliveries at a lower environmental cost than traditional courier methods.


• io9 notes Wesley Snipes' observations as to why Blade is not more generally recognized as the first big superhero film.


• JSTOR Daily notes the various influences, from those of formal portraiture to African-American folk culture, in the recent Amy Sherald painting of Michelle Obama and her dress.


• Language Hat notes the publication of a new collection of the poems of Juan Latino, an African slave in 16th century Spain who went on to become a free man and leading poet.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the appalling treatment that many national parks in the US are going to experience, deprived of professional management and opened to development.


• Lingua Franca, at the Chronicle of Higher Education, notes how on Valentine's Day there is such a close and visible link between hearts and ashes.


• The LRB Blog notes outbursts of racism and fascism in Italy following a murder of an Italian by an immigrant.


• Leon Aron at the NYR Daily looks at the past century of millennarianism in the politics of countries on the edge, from Lenin to ISIS.


• Towleroad notes how Burberry has introduced the colours of the LGBTQ rainbow to its plaid in its February 2018 collection, as a fundraiser for charity.


• Window on Eurasia notes a demographer who predicts, on the basis of reliable demographic trends, a sharp uptick in the Muslim proportion of the Russian population in coming decades.