[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Bad Astronomy notes the wonders being witnessed by the Dawn probe in orbit of Ceres.


• Centauri Dreams notes the potential of effectively immortal interstellar probes.


• D-Brief notes the discovery of some genetic origins of loneliness.


• The Everyday Sociology Blog notes the connections and potential conflicts between concepts of race and the British royal family.


• Far Outliers shares the first part of the summary of an article examining contact between African and Japanese mercenaries in early modern Asia.


• Gizmodo wonders if Uranus' large axial tilt can be explained by some sort of massive collision.


• Hornet Stories likes the way that Pose, a show set in queer communities in New York City in the 1980s, deals with HIV.


• In the aftermath of the tumult regarding the New York Times' coverage of Batman and Catwoman, io9 offers the paper some tips on covering pop culture.


• JSTOR Daily shares a paper noting how and why, in belle époque Chicago, immigrant communities often sponsored Fourth of July celebrations.


• Language Hat deals with the convention of many writers in English to italicize foreign words. Why do this, again?


• Jonathan Freedland at the NYR Daily considers the import of the Fourth of July for the United States in 2018.


• Science and Food looks at liquid nitrogen gastronomy.


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers if the universe might be headed for a big rip.