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Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel looks at the question of Betelgeuse going supernova, here.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers how black holes might, or might not, spit matter back out, here.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel notes a report suggesting the local excess of positrons is product not of dark matter but of nearby pulsar Geminga, here.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel lists some of the most distant astronomical objects so far charted in our universe, here.

The question of whether or not a god did create the universe, Ethan Siegel at Starts With A Bang suggests, remains open.

JSTOR Daily provides advice for users of Zotero and Scrivener, here.

JSTOR Daily looks at instances where product placement in pop culture went badly, here.

JSTOR Daily considers the import of a pioneering study of vulgar language in the context of popular culture studies, here.

JSTOR Daily looks at the--frankly terrible--policies of managing rival heirs in the Ottoman dynasty, here.

JSTOR Daily looks at generational divides on religion in the England of the early Protestant Reformation, here.

Marginal Revolution features a critical if friendly review of the new Emmanuel Todd book, Lineages of Modernity.

Marginal Revolution considers the problems of excessive consumer activism, here.

Marginal Revolution notes a new book looking at natural gas economics in Europe, here.

Marginal Revolution notes new evidence that YouTube algorithms do not tend to radicalize users, here.

Marginal Revolution notes the few countries where the average person was richer in 2009 than in 2019, notably Greece and Venezuela.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes that Betelgeuse is very likely not on the verge of a supernova, here.

Centauri Dreams looks at the mapping of asteroid Bennu.

Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber reposted, after the election, a 2013 essay looking at the changes in British society from the 1970s on.

The Dragon's Tales shares a collection of links about the Precambrian Earth, here.

Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about fear in the context of natural disasters, here.

Far Outliers reports on the problems of privateers versus regular naval units.

Gizmodo looks at galaxy MAMBO-9, which formed a billion years after the Big Bang.

io9 writes about the alternate history space race show For All Mankind.

JSTOR Daily looks at the posters used in Ghana in the 1980s to help promote Hollywood movies.

Language Hat links to a new book that examines obscenity and gender in 1920s Britain.

Language Log looks at the terms used for the national language in Xinjiang.

Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money takes issue with Jeff Jacoby's lack of sympathy towards people who suffer from growing inequality.

Marginal Revolution suggests that urbanists should have an appreciation for Robert Moses.

Sean Marshall writes, with photos, about his experiences riding a new Bolton bus.

Caryl Philips at the NYR Daily writes about Rachmanism, a term wrongly applied to the idea of avaricious landlords like Peter Rachman, an immigrant who was a victim of the Profumo scandal.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper looking at the experience of aging among people without families.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why the empty space in an atom can never be removed.

Strange Maps shares a festive map of London, a reindeer, biked by a cyclist.

Window on Eurasia notes how Mongolia twice tried to become a Soviet republic.

Arnold Zwicky considers different birds with names starting with x.

Anthropology.net notes a remarkably thorough genetic analysis of a piece of chewing gum 5700 years old that reveals volumes of data about the girl who chew it.

'Nathan Burgoine at Apostrophen writes an amazing review of Cats that actually does make me want to see it.

Bad Astronomy reports on galaxy NGC 6240, a galaxy produced by a collision with three supermassive black holes.

Caitlin Kelly at the Broadside Blog writes about the mechanics of journalism.

Centauri Dreams argues that the question of whether humans will walk on exoplanets is ultimately distracting to the study of these worlds.

Crooked Timber shares a Sunday morning photo of Bristol.

The Dragon's Tales notes that India has a launch date of December 2021 for its first mission in its Gaganyaan crewed space program.

Andrew LePage at Drew Ex Machina looks at the Saturn C-1 rocket.

Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog considers if the vogue for minimalism meets the criteria to be considered a social movement.

Far Outliers ?notes how, in the War of 1812, some in New England considered the possibility of seceding from the Union.

Gizmodo looks at evidence of the last populations known of Homo erectus, on Java just over a hundred thousand years ago.

Mark Graham links to a new paper co-authored by him looking at how African workers deal with the gig economy.

io9 announces that the Michael Chabon novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is set to become a television series.

Joe. My. God. shares a report that Putin gave Trump anti-Ukrainian conspiracy theories.

JSTOR Daily considers what a world with an economy no longer structured around oil could look like.

Language Hat takes issue with the latest talk of the Icelandic language facing extinction.

Language Log shares a multilingual sign photographed in Philadelphia's Chinatown.

Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the document release revealing the futility of the war in Afghanistan.

The LRB Blog looks at class identity and mass movements and social democracy.

Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution suggests that, even if the economy of China is larger than the United States, Chinese per capita poverty means China does not have the leading economy.

Diane Duane at Out of Ambit writes about how she is writing a gay sex scene.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections reflects on "OK Boomer".

Roads and Kingdoms interviews Mexican chef Ruffo Ibarra.

Peter Rukavina shares his list of levees for New Year's Day 2020 on PEI.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a map indicating fertility rates in the different regions of the European Union.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains how quantum physics are responsible for vast cosmic structures.

Charles Soule at Whatever explains his reasoning behind his new body-swap novel.

Window on Eurasia notes how the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Paris show the lack of meaningful pro-Russian sentiment there.

Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell talks about his lessons from working in the recent British election.

Arnold Zwicky looks at a syncretic, Jewish-Jedi, holiday poster.

Claire Messud writes at the NYR Daily about two art exhibits concerned with borders.

Caitlin Chandler writes at the NYR Daily about the state of the experiment of Germany with mass reception and integration of refugees.

The NYR Daily explores the modern Russian history of state-sponsored murder outside of its frontiers.

Moroccan writer Hisham Aldi writes at NYR Daily about his relationship with Paul Bowles.

The NYR Daily reports on a remarkable exhibit at the Barbican in London of notable nightclubs in 20th century culture.

Bad Astronomy notes the remarkable burst of starbirth at the core of our galaxy one billion years ago, here.

Bad Astronomy shares a flyby video of the Mars moon of Phobos.

Bad Astronomer reports on a strange storm around the south pole of Jupiter, here.

Bad Astronomer reports on an outburst following a debris impact seen by TESS on comet 47P/Wirtanen.

Bad Astronomer notes the continuing debate over the dynamic nature of the spiral arms of galaxies.

Charlie Stross at Antipope shares an essay he recently presented on artificial intelligence and its challenges for us.

P. Kerim Friedman writes at {anthro}dendum about the birth of the tea ceremony in the Taiwan of the 1970s.

Anthropology net reports on a cave painting nearly 44 thousand years old in Indonesia depicting a hunting story.

Architectuul looks at some temporary community gardens in London.

Bad Astronomy reports on the weird history of asteroid Ryugu.

The Buzz talks about the most popular titles borrowed from the Toronto Public Library in 2019.

Caitlin Kelly talks at the Broadside Blog about her particular love of radio.

Centauri Dreams talks about the role of amateur astronomers in searching for exoplanets, starting with LHS 1140 b.

John Quiggin at Crooked Timber looks at what is behind the rhetoric of "virtue signalling".

Dangerous Minds shares concert performance from Nirvana filmed the night before the release of Nevermind.

Bruce Dorminey notes new evidence that, even before the Chixculub impact, the late Cretaceous Earth was staggering under environmental pressures.

Myron Strong at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about how people of African descent in the US deal with the legacies of slavery in higher education.

Far Outliers reports on the plans in 1945 for an invasion of Japan by the US.

L.M. Sacasas at The Frailest Thing gathers together a collection of the author's best writings there.

Gizmodo notes the immensity of the supermassive black hole, some 40 billion solar masses, at the heart of galaxy Holm 15A 700 million light-years away.

Russell Arben Fox at In Media Res writes about the issue of how Wichita is to organize its civic politics.

io9 argues that the 2010s were a decade where the culture of the spoiler became key.

The Island Review points readers to the podcast Mother's Blood, Sister's Songs, an exploration of the links between Ireland and Iceland.

Joe. My. God. reports on the claim of the lawyer of the killer of a mob boss that the QAnon conspiracy inspired his actions. This strikes me as terribly dangerous.

JSTOR Daily looks at a study examining scholarly retractions.

Language Hat shares an amusing cartoon illustrating the relationships of the dialects of Arabic.

Language Log lists ten top new words in the Japanese language.

Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the dissipation of American diplomacy by Trump.

The LRB Blog looks at the many problems in Sparta, Greece, with accommodating refugees, for everyone concerned.

Marginal Revolution links to a paper suggesting the decline of the one-child policy in China has diminished child trafficking, among other crimes.

Sean Marshall, looking at transit in Brampton, argues that transit users need more protection from road traffic.

Russell Darnley shares excerpts from essays he wrote about the involvement of Australia in the Vietnam War.

Peter Watts talks about his recent visit to a con in Sofia, Bulgaria, and about the apocalypse, here.

The NYR Daily looks at the corporatization of the funeral industry, here.

Diane Duane writes, from her own personal history with Star Trek, about how one can be a writer who ends up writing for a media franchise.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections considers the job of tasting, and rating, different cuts of lamb.

The Planetary Society Blog looks at a nondescript observatory in the Mojave desert of California that maps the asteroids of the solar system.

Roads and Kingdoms interviews Eduardo Chavarin about, among other things, Tijuana.

Drew Rowsome loves the SpongeBob musical.

Peter Rukavina announces that Charlottetown has its first public fast charger for electric vehicles.

The Russian Demographics Blog considers the impact of space medicine, here.

The Signal reports on how the Library of Congress is making its internet archives more readily available, here.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers how the incredibly isolated galaxy MCG+01-02-015 will decay almost to nothing over almost uncountable eons.

Strange Company reports on the trial and execution of Christopher Slaughterford for murder. Was there even a crime?

Strange Maps shares a Coudenhove-Kalergi map imagining the division of the world into five superstates.

Understanding Society considers entertainment as a valuable thing, here.

Denis Colombi at Une heure de peine announces his new book, Où va l'argent des pauvres?

John Scalzi at Whatever looks at how some mailed bread triggered a security alert, here.

Window on Eurasia reports on the massive amount of remittances sent to Tajikistan by migrant workers, here.

Arnold Zwicky notes a bizarre no-penguins sign for sale on Amazon.

Window on Eurasia notes the post-Soviet collapse of the numbers of learners of the Russian language, here.

Window on Eurasia reports the claim of a Russian politician that in 1991, securing the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine was a bigger priority than trying for borders changes, here.

Window on Eurasia notes how Belarus cannot protect itself from Russia, here.

Window on Eurasia explains why the Soviet Union let the Armenians and Georgians keep their alphabets, here.

Window on Eurasia explains how Russia's naval and marine power is not doing well, here.

Garry Wills writes at the NYR Daily about the history of impeachment, here.

David Rieff writes at the NYR about Peronism and the new president, in Argentina, here.

The NYR Daily looks at the disaster soon to be visited by Brexit on Northern Ireland, here.

Matt Seaton writes at the NYR Daily about what the recent British election reveals about the failing health of social democracy in England.

The NYR Daily looks at the new movie Atlantics, which looks at migration and Africa.

Marginal Revolution considers if the CFA franc system is dying out, here.

Marginal Revolution shares a link to a paper quantifying the effects of the old boys club, here.

Marginal Revolution contrasts and compares the old NAFTA and the new USMCA, here.

Marginal Revolution notes how Germany has access to nuclear weapons, here.

Marginal Revolution looks at the high rate of consainguineous marriage in Saudi Arabia, here.

Architectuul looks at the Portuguese architectural cooperative Ateliermob, here.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait looks at how white dwarf WD J091405.30+191412.25 is literally vapourizing a planet in close orbit.

Caitlin Kelly at the Broadside Blog explains
Centauri Dreams looks at the slowing of the solar wind far from the Sun.

John Holbo at Crooked Timber considers the gap between ideals and actuals in the context of conspiracies and politics.

The Dragon's Tales reports on how the ESA is trying to solve a problem with the parachutes of the ExoMars probe.

Far Outliers reports on what Harry Truman thought about politicians.

Gizmodo reports on a new method for identifying potential Earth-like worlds.

io9 pays tribute to legendary writer, of Star Trek and much else, D.C. Fontana.

The Island Review reports on the football team of the Chagos Islands.

Joe. My. God. reports that gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy will compete for the United Kingdom in 2020.

JSTOR Daily looks at how early English imperialists saw America and empire through the lens of Ireland.

Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money does not like Pete Buttigieg.

The LRB Blog looks at the London Bridge terrorist attack.

The Map Room Blog shares a map of Prince William Sound, in Alaska, that is already out of date because of global warming.

Marginal Revolution questions if Cuba, in the Philippines, is the most typical city in the world.

The NYR Daily looks at gun violence among Arab Israelis.

The Planetary Society Blog considers what needs to be researched next on Mars.

Roads and Kingdoms tells the story of Sister Gracy, a Salesian nun at work in South Sudan.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper noting continued population growth expected in much of Europe, and the impact of this growth on the environment.

Strange Maps shares a map of fried chicken restaurants in London.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why a 70 solar mass black hole is not unexpected.

John Scalzi at Whatever gives his further thoughts on the Pixel 4.

Window on Eurasia notes that, last year, 37 thousand Russians died of HIV/AIDS.

Arnold Zwicky starts from a consideration of the 1948 film Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Bad Astronomer considers how a stellar-mass black hole of 70 solar masses got so unaccountably huge.

Alex Tolley at Centauri Dreams considers the colours of photosynthesis, and how they might reveal the existence of life on exoplanets.

The Dragon's Tales shares some links on humans in the Paleolithic.

Jonathan Wynn at the Everyday Sociology Blog considers the scripts of jokes.

Gizmodo reports on the repurposed China-Netherlands radio telescope operating from an orbit above the far side of the Moon.

JSTOR Daily considers the political rhetoric of declinism.

Language Log considers the controversy over the future of the apostrophe.

James Butler at the LRB Blog notes a YouGov prediction of a Conservative majority in the UK and how this prediction is not value-neutral.

Marginal Revolution shares a paper from India noting how caste identities do affect the labour supply.

Ursula Lindsay at the NYR Daily considers if the political crisis in Lebanon, a product of economic pressures and sectarianism, might lead to a revolutionary transformation of the country away from sectarian politics.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections looks at some of the many complicated and intermingled issues of contemporary Australia.

The Planetary Society Blog reports on the latest projects funded by the ESA.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel shares ten beautiful photos taken in 2019 by the Hubble.

Strange Company reports on the strange unsolved disappearance of Lillian Richey from her Idaho home in 1964.

Window on Eurasia shares a Russian criticism of the Ukrainian autocephalous church as a sort of papal Protestantism.

Arnold Zwicky considers the positive potential of homoeros.

Bad Astronomy notes the very odd structure of galaxy NGC 2775.

Dangerous Minds reports on the 1987 riot by punks that wrecked a Seattle ferry.

Bruce Dorminey reports on a new suggestion from NASA that the massive dust towers of Mars have helped dry out that world over eons.

The Everyday Sociology Blog looks at how changing technologies have led to younger people spending more social capital on maintaining relationships with friends over family.

This forum hosted at Gizmodo considers the likely future causes of death of people in coming decades.

In Media Res' Russell Arben Fox reports on the debate in Wichita on what to do with the Century II performance space.

Joe. My. God. reports on the decision of Hungary to drop out of Eurovision, apparently because of its leaders' homophobia.

JSTOR Daily reports on the debunking of the odd theory that the animals and people of the Americas were degenerate dwarfs.

Language Hat reports on how the classics can be served by different sorts of translation.

Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money considers how Trump's liberation of war criminals relates to folk theories about just wars.

The LRB Blog reports from the ground in the Scotland riding of East Dunbartonshire.

Marginal Revolution shares a paper suggesting that, contrary to much opinion, social media might actually hinder the spread of right-wing populism.

The NYR Daily looks at the nature of the proxy fighters in Syria of Turkey. Who are they?

Drew Rowsome interviews Sensational Sugarbum, star of--among other things--the latest Ross Petty holiday farce.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why we still need to be able to conduct astronomy from the Earth.

Strange Maps explains the odd division of Europe between east and west, as defined by different subspecies of mice.

Window on Eurasia notes how Chinese apparently group Uighurs in together with other Central Asians of similar language and religion.

Arnold Zwicky explores the concept of onomatomania.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes the findings that the LISA Pathfinder satellite was impacted by hypervelocity comet fragments.

Centauri Dreams reports on what we have learned about interstellar comet Borisov.

Bruce Dorminey notes the ESA's Matisse instrument, capable of detecting nanodiamonds orbiting distant stars.

Gizmodo reports a new study of the great auk, now extinct, suggesting that humans were wholly responsible for this extinction with their hunting.

The Island Review links to articles noting the existential vulnerability of islands like Venice and Orkney to climate change.

Joe. My. God. reports on the claim of Tucker Carlson--perhaps not believably retracted by him--to be supporting Russia versus Ukraine.

Language Hat reports on the new Indigemoji, emoji created to reflect the culture and knowledge of Aboriginal groups in Australia.

Lawyers, Guns and Money notes one of the sad consequences of the American president being a liar.

James Butler at the LRB Blog writes about the optimism of the spending plans of Labour in the UK, a revived Keynesianism.

Marginal Revolution notes the exceptional cost of apartments built for homeless people in San Francisco.

Strange Maps looks at some remarkable gravity anomalies in parts of the US Midwest.

Towleroad notes the support of Jamie Lee Curtis for outing LGBTQ people who are homophobic politicians.

Understanding Society looks at organizations from the perspective of them as open systems.

Whatever's John Scalzi gives a generally positive review of the Pixel 4.

Arnold Zwicky notes the irony of sex pills at an outpost of British discount chain Poundland.

Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait shares a stunning photo taken by a friend of the Pleiades star cluster.

The Buzz, at the Toronto Public Library, shares a collection of books suitable for World Vegan Month, here.

Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber considers, with an eye towards China and the Uighurs, how panopticon attempts can stray badly on account of--among other things--false assumptions.

Gizmodo considers how antimatter could end up providing interesting information about the unseen universe.

Joe. My. God. reports from New York City, where new HIV cases are dropping sharply on account of PrEP.

JSTOR Daily shares a vintage early review of Darwin's Origin of Species.

Language Hat examines the origins of the semicolon, in Venice in 1494.

Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money shares a critical report of the new Jill Lepore book These Truths.

The LRB Blog reports from the Museum of Corruption in Kyiv, devoted to the corruption of the ancient regime in Ukraine.

Marginal Revolution shares a new history of the Lakota.

The NYR Daily looks at the photography of Duane Michals.

The Russian Demographics Blog looks at population trends in Russia, still below 1991 totals in current frontiers.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why some of the lightest elements, like lithium, are so rare.

Window on Eurasia shares the opinion of a Russian historian that Eastern Europe is back as a geopolitical zone.

Arnold Zwicky considers Jacques Transue in the light of other pop culture figures and trends.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait observes that a team may have discovered the elusive neutron star produced by Supernova 1987A, hidden behind a cloud of dust.

Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber shares a photo he made via the time-consuming 19th century wet-plate collodion method.

Drew Ex Machina's Andrew LePage looks at the Apollo 12 visit to the Surveyor 3 site to, among other things, see what it might suggest about future space archeology.

Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog looks at the story of rural poverty facing a family in Waverly, Ohio, observing how it is a systemic issue.

George Dvorsky at Gizmodo looks at how Mars' Jezero crater seems to have had a past relatively friendly to life, good for the next NASA rover.

Joe. My. God. reports on the latest ignorance displayed by Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter, this time regarding HIV.

JSTOR Daily looks at how Climategate was used to undermine popular opinion on climate change.

Language Hat links to an article explaining why so many works of classical literature were lost, among other things not making it onto school curricula.

Language Log shares a photo of a Muji eraser with an odd English label.

Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money suggests Pete Buttigieg faces a campaign-limiting ceiling to his support among Democrats.

The LRB Blog argues that Macron's blocking of EU membership possibilities for the western Balkans is a terrible mistake.

The Map Room Blog shares a map depicting regional variations in Canada towards anthropogenic climate change. Despite data issues, the overall trend of oil-producing regions being skeptical is clear.

Marginal Revolution links to a paper examining the slowing pace of labour mobility in the US, suggesting that home attachment is a key factor.

Frederic Wehrey at the NYR Daily tells the story of Knud Holmboe, a Danish journalist who came to learn about the Arab world working against Italy in Libya.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why thermodynamics does not explain our perception of time.

Understanding Society's Dan Little looks at Electronic Health Records and how they can lead to medical mistakes.

Whatever's John Scalzi shares a remarkable photo of the night sky he took using the astrophotography mode on his Pixel 4 phone.

Window on Eurasia shares an opinion that the Intermarium countries, between Germany and Russia, can no longer count on the US and need to organize in their self-defense.

Arnold Zwicky shares a photo of his handsome late partner Jacques Transue, taken as a college student.

Architectuul visits the studio of Barbas Lopes Arquitectos in Lisbon, here.

Bad Astronomer takes a look at a new paper examining the effectiveness of different asteroid detection technologies, including nuclear weapons.

Centauri Dreams reports on a new study suggesting potentially habitable planets orbiting Alpha Centauri B, smaller of the two stars, could suffer from rapid shifts of their axes.

John Quiggin at Crooked Timber argues some polls suggest some American conservatives really would prefer Russia as a model to California.

Bruce Dorminey notes the discovery, by the Murchison Widefield Array in Australia, of 27 supernova remnants in our galaxy.

The Dragon's Tales shares a collection of links about stealth aircraft, here.

Gizmodo notes a new study suggesting that DNA is but one of very very many potential genetic molecules.

Language Hat shares a reevaluation of the Richard Stanyhurst translation of the Aeneid, with its manufactured words. Why mightn't this have been not mockable but rather creative?

Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money celebrated the 50th anniversary of the takeover of Alcatraz Island by Native American activists.

Chris Bertram writes at the LRB Blog, after the catastrophe of the Essex van filled with dozens of dead migrants, about the architecture of exclusion that keeps out migrants.

Marginal Revolution shares a comment looking at the fentanyl crisis from a new angle.

Jenny Uglow writes at the NYR Daily about a Science Museum exhibit highlighting the dynamic joys of science and its progress over the centuries.

Personal Reflections' Jim Belshaw takes a look at the question of how to prevent the wildfires currently raging in Australia. What could have been done, what should be done?

The Planetary Society Blog reports on proposals from China for two long-range probe missions to interstellar space, including a Neptune flyby.

Drew Rowsome reviews the wonderfully innocent Pinocchio currently playing at the Young People's Theatre.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel looks at the evidence for the universe, maybe, being closed.

Window on Eurasia notes that the Alexandria Patriarchate is the next Orthodox body to recognize the Ukrainian church.

Arnold Zwicky looks at irregular versus regular, as a queer word too.

(A day late, I know; I crashed after work yesterday.)

Antipope's Charlie Stross has a thought experiment: If you were superwealthy and guaranteed to live a long health life, how would you try to deal with the consequence of economic inequality?

Vikas Charma at Architectuul takes a look at the different factors that go into height in buildings.

Bad Astronomy notes S5-HVS1, a star flung out of the Milky Way Galaxy by Sagittarius A* at 1755 kilometres per second.

The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly shares photos from two Manhattan walks of hers, taken in non-famous areas.

Centauri Dreams looks at habitability for red dwarf exoplanets. Stellar activity matters.

Maria Farrell at Crooked Timber shares words from a manifesto about data protection in the EU.

Dangerous Minds shares photos from Los Angeles punks and mods and others in the 1980s.

Bruce Dorminey notes a ESA report suggesting crew hibernation could make trips to Mars easier.

Gizmodo notes that the Hayabusa2 probe of Japan is returning from asteroid Ryugu with a sample.

Imageo shares photos of the disastrous fires in Australia from space.

Information is Beautiful reports on winners of the Information is Beautiful Awards for 2019, for good infographics.

JSTOR Daily explains how local television stations made the ironic viewing of bad movies a thing.

Kotaku reports on the last days of Kawasaki Warehouse, an arcade in Japan patterned on the demolished Walled City of Kowloon.

Language Hat notes how translation mistakes led to the star Beta Cygni gaining the Arabic name Albireo.

Language Log reports on a unique Cantonese name of a restaurant in Hong Kong.

Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money links to an analysis of his suggesting the military of India is increasingly hard-pressed to counterbalance China.

The LRB Blog notes the catastrophe of Venice.

Marginal Revolution notes a paper suggesting states would do well not to place their capitals too far away from major population centres.

Justin Petrone at North! remarks on a set of old apple preserves.

The NYR Daily looks at how the west and the east of the European Union are divided by different conceptions of national identity.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections reports from his town of Armidale as the smoke from the Australian wildfires surrounds all. The photos are shocking.

Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog lists some books about space suitable for children.

Drew Rowsome reviews the Canadian film music stand, inspired by the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper noting that, in Switzerland, parenthood does not make people happy.

The Signal notes that 1.7 million phone book pages have been scanned into the records of the Library of Congress.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains the concept of multi-messenger astronomy and why it points the way forward for studies of astrophysics.

Strange Maps looks at how a majority of students in the United States attend diverse schools, and where.

Strange Company explores the mysterious death of Marc-Antoine Calas, whose death triggered the persecution of Huguenots and resulted in the mobilization of Enlightenment figures like Voltaire against the state. What happened?

Towleroad hosts a critical, perhaps disappointed, review of the major gay play The Inheritance.

Understanding Society's Daniel Little looks at the power of individual people in political hierarchies.

Window on Eurasia shares an opinion piece noting how many threats to the Russian language have come from its association with unpopular actions by Russia.

Arnold Zwicky explores queens as various as Elizabeth I and Adore Delano.

Bad Astronomer notes a new study explaining how climate change makes hurricanes more destructive.

Centauri Dreams shares a mosaic photo of the sky with Alpha Centauri highlighted.

The Crux shares a paper explaining why the bubonic plague rarely becomes mass epidemics like the Black Death of the 14th century.

D-Brief notes the new ESA satellite ARIEL, which will be capable of determining of exoplanet skies are clear or not.

Gizmodo consults different experts on the subject of smart drugs. Do they work?

JSTOR Daily explains why Native Americans are so prominent in firefighting in the US Southwest.

Language Log looks at evidence for the diffusion of "horse master" between speakers of ancient Indo-European and Sinitic languages.

Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the election of Chesa Boudin as San Francisco District Attorney.

The LRB Blog considers the apparent pact between Farage and Johnson on Brexit.

Marginal Revolution looks at a paper examining longer-run effects of the integration of the US military on racial lines in the Korean War.

The NYR Daily looks at how Big Pharma in the US is trying to deal with the opioid epidemic.

The Signal explains how the Library of Congress is expanding its collections of digital material.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains how future generations of telescopes will be able to directly measure the expansion of the universe.

The Volokh Conspiracy explains why DACA, giving succor to Dreamers, is legal.

Window on Eurasia notes that, after a century of tumult, the economy of Russia is back at the same relative ranking that it enjoyed a century ago.

Arnold Zwicky reports on an old butch cookbook.

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