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[BLOG] Some Thursday links
Dec. 26th, 2019 11:51 am- 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.
Tags:
- africa,
- alternate history,
- astronomy,
- birds,
- blogs,
- canada,
- china,
- chinese language,
- cities,
- demographics,
- disasters,
- earth,
- english language,
- environment,
- former soviet union,
- ghana,
- history,
- humour,
- links,
- london,
- mass transit,
- migration,
- mongolia,
- oddities,
- ontario,
- physics,
- politics,
- popular culture,
- popular literature,
- science,
- social sciences,
- sociology,
- space science,
- television,
- united kingdom,
- war,
- west africa,
- xinjiang
- A historic bridge over the Credit River in Mississauga, happily, will not be demolished but instead will be repaired. CBC reports.
- Now that automobile production has stopped at the Oshawa General Motors plant, what will become of that city? CBC reports.
- The auditor-general of Ontario will investigate the claimed costs that led to the cancellation of the Hamilton LRT. Global News reports.
- A new bus route now connects London, Ontario, to Sarnia. Global News reports.
- Kingstonist reports that filming for the season finale of Star Trek: Discovery has just finished up in Kingston, at the pen.
- Joe Buongiorno writes at CBC Montreal at his, specifically Italian Canadian, experiences with the Jean Talon Market in Montréal.
- Le Devoir notes that many radio stations in Québec City are leading opposition to the proposed streetcar system.
[URBAN NOTE] Ten Montréal links
Dec. 19th, 2019 01:37 pm- MTL Blog shares this map of the Greater Montréal mass transit network, with a uniform design for all its networks, here.
- Exo commuters in Montréal are decidedly unhappy with the Exo chairperson for the unhelpful tips they gave. CTV News reports.
- Montréal has bought 140 acres of land in the West Island for its planned great park there. CTV News reports.
- Notre Dame East is set to be revamped as an urban boulevard. CTV News reports.
- Controversy over the Royalmount shopping complex grows. CBC reports.
- Montréal is reckoned by a Google team to be a major centre for game development. CTV News reports.
- A new fund seeks to increase the diversity of artists whose works are displayed in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. CTV News reports.
- Montréal mayor Valérie Plante promises to help out record stores fined for being opened past 5 on a weekend. CTV News reports.
- Royal LePage suggests that home values in Montréal will grow sharply in 2020, more than in any other major Canadian city. CTV News reports.
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- The town of Innisfil is looking forward to some very futuristic developments. Global News reports.
- Jeremy Deaton at CityLab reports on how, buffered by the Great Lakes, Buffalo NY may end gaining from climate change.
- The Ottawa chain Bridgehead Coffee has been sold to national chain Second Cup. Global News reports.
- Many of the more eye-raising installations in the Gay Village of Montréal have since been removed. CTV News reports.
- Warming huts for homeless people in Winnipeg were torn down because the builders did not follow procedures. Global News reports.
- Open Democracy looks at innovative new public governance of the city budget in Amsterdam, here.
- Singapore, located in a well-positioned Southeast Asia and with working government, may take over from Hong Kong. Bloomberg View makes the case.
- Guelph will be holding an open house to see what development will replace the Dolime Quarry. Global News reports.
- The town of Innisfil has extended its Uber subsidy program for people in need of transit. Global News reports
- Archeologists in Montréal have found a mass grave of Irish famine victims. CTV reports.
- The Québec town of Asbestos is changing its name so as to avoid the link, in English, with the toxic mineral. CTV reports.
- A subway, alas, would be too big for Québec City. Streetcars would work better. Le Devoir reports.
- Can a hyperloop be built to plug Edmonton together with Calgary? Global News considers.
- Richmond, British Columbia, has unveiled a cultural harmony strategy to help its diverse population get along. The National Post reports.
- Ending free coffee for municipal employees in the Québec community of Pierrefonds created massive controversy. CBC reports.
- The mayor of the Francophone city of Edmundston in New Brunswick has encouraged immigrant Québec students hurt by immigration changes to come to his community. CTV News reports.
- The price of crystal meth in Saskatoon is apparently as low as $3 a bag. Global News reports.
- Guardian Cities notes how Louisville, low on trees, is trying to regreen the city as a way to deal with rising temperatures.
- Open Democracy considers if the DUP is about to lose its strongholds in Belfast.
- Guardian Cities looks at the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab, a place where Palestinians can access their metropolis (and their partners).
- CityLab shares photos of the wonderful new public library of Helsinki.
- The Ottawa Citizen suggests a recent audit of OC Transpo should have offered warnings of the Confederation Line problems to come.
- A project office has been set up for the extension of the Yellow Line in Longueuil and elsewhere on the south shore. CTV News reports.
- La Presse looks at the concerns of some artists in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie that they might be forced out by gentrification.
- That the Bay Building in downtown Winnipeg has been evaluated as being of little value offers an opening to Heritage Winnipeg. Global News reports.
- The New Brunswick government is forcing suburbs of Saint John to pay for city facilities that they also used. Global News reports.
- Short-term rentals are having a negative effect on real estate markets in Halifax. Global News reports.
- Downtown Lethbridge faces struggles to attract business. Global News reports.
- Work on the second stage of Ion expansion, south into Cambridge, will not even start until 2028, and is expected to cost at least $C 1.36 billion. Global News reports.
- This proposal for regular two-way GO Transit rail connections between Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, frankly, is desperately needed. The Record reports.
- A cyclist faces charges for careless driving leading to a collision with a LRT in Kitchener. CBC reports.
- A GoFundMe campaign for a woman hit by a train in Kitchener has raised more than $C14 thousand. The Record reports.
- A school bus driver has been charged for stopping his vehicle dangerously close to a rail crossing in Cambridge. The Record reports.
- Waterloo Region is a successful testbed for virtual doctor visits. The Record reports.
- The Charles Street bus terminal in downtown Kitchener is not going to be redeveloped for at least a couple of years. The Record reports.
- Waterloo Region hopes to create more than 600 affordable new homes, in five developments, over the next decade. CBC reports.
- The number of single food bank users in Kitchener-Waterloo has doubled over the past five years. CBC reports.
- Waterloo is spending $C 3 million to renovate and modernize a handsome old Carnegie Library. CBC reports.
- A pop-up in Kitchener, Vivid Dreams, is charging customers up to $C 20 to use one of a dozen backgrounds for their Instagram photos. CBC reports. A Kitchener woman, Heidi Bechtold, has a thriving new dog-related business, Complete K9. The Record reports.
- The new digital lab at the Kitchener Public Library sounds great! The Record reports.
- Andrew Coppolino at CBC Kitchener-Waterloo takes a look at some of the different cuisines and restaurants in Waterloo Region featuring noodles, here.
- Andrew Coppolino at CBC Kitchener-Waterloo looks at the pastel de nata, the Portuguese egg custard, as an emerging commercial snack in Waterloo Region.
- The mayor of Ottawa is suggesting freezing Confederation Line fare increases in light of the system's problems. Global News reports.
- La Presse looks at the problems faced by the Marché Jean-Talon, here.
- Greater Moncton, arguably the leading metropolis of New Brunswick, wants to double its intake of immigrants. Global News reports.
- Jamie Bradburn looks at Lafayette Park in Detroit, designed by Mies van der Rohe.
- Will Vancouver be connected to Washington State by a high-speed train route? Global News reports.
[URBAN NOTE] Five Montréal links
Nov. 6th, 2019 05:39 pm- Renovating the Oratoire St. Joseph will surely be costly. CTV News reports.
- CBC Montreal looks back to when the Montreal Expos seemed like they might not be bought.
- Le Devoir notes how, in Québec, the Liberals are concentrated on the islands of Montreal and in Laval, in their fortress.
- An old Montreal metro car has been repurposed as a hangout for Polytechnique students. CBC reports
- CBC Montreal reports on the proposal of Matt McLauchlin to name a plaza at Frontenac metro station after murdered activist Joe Rose. I like the idea.
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- People in Montréal will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to walk over the Champlain Bridge, scheduled for demolition in the near future. Global News reports.
- The Conversation looks at the mass tourism, after Joker, directed towards a flight of stairs in The Bronx, and what this means for cities.
- CityLab notes the deep upset of the numerous and influential Kurds of Nashville with Trump.
- CityLab looks at how a Chicago magazine reflects the gentrification of large parts of that metropolis.
- Guardian Cities takes a look at what maps of Victorian London, mapping disparities of wealth and social dysfunction, reveal about the city now.
[BLOG] Some Friday links
Oct. 18th, 2019 08:09 pm- Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes how a photo of the Large Magellanic Cloud makes him recognize it as an irregular spiral, not a blob.
- Centauri Dreams celebrates the life of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.
- John Quiggin at Crooked Timber takes issue with one particular claim about the benefits of war and empire.
- The Crux looks at fatal familial insomnia, a genetic disease that kills through inflicting sleeplessness on its victims.
- D-Brief looks at suggestions that magnetars are formed by the collisions of stars.
- Dangerous Minds introduces readers to the fantasy art of Arthur Rackham.
- Cody Delistraty considers some evidence suggesting that plants have a particular kind of intelligence.
- The Dragon's Tales notes the expansion by Russia of its airbase in Hneymim, Syria.
- Karen Sternheimer writes at the Everyday Sociology Blog about the critical and changing position of libraries as public spaces in our cities.
- Gizmodo looks at one marvelous way scientists have found to cheat quantum mechanics.
- Information is Beautiful outlines a sensible proposal to state to cultivate seaweed a as source of food and fuel.
- io9 notes that, in the exciting new X-Men relaunch, immortal Moira MacTaggart is getting her own solo book.
- JSTOR Daily notes how the now-defunct Thomas Cook travel agency played a role in supporting British imperialism, back in the day.
- Language Log notes that the Oxford English Dictionary is citing the blog on the use of "their" as a singular.
- Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money considers the grounds for impeaching Donald Trump.
- The LRB Blog looks at the politics of Mozambique at the country approaches dangerous times.
- Sean Marshall notes the southern Ontario roads that run to Paris and to London.
- Neuroskeptic notes a problematic scientific study that tried to use rabbits to study the female human orgasm.
- Steve Baker at The Numerati looks at a new book on journalism by veteran Peter Copeland.
- The NYR Daily makes the point that depending on biomass as a green energy solution is foolish.
- The Planetary Science Blog notes a 1983 letter by then-president Carl Sagan calling for a NASA mission to Saturn and Titan.
- Roads and Kingdoms interviews photojournalist Eduardo Leal on his home city of Porto, particularly as transformed by tourism.
- Drew Rowsome notes the book Dreamland, an examination of the early amusement park.
- The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper considering, in broad detail, how the consequence of population aging could be mitigated in the labour market of the European Union.
- Strange Company reports on a bizarre poltergeist in a British garden shed.
- Window on Eurasia notes the new strength of a civic national identity in Kazakhstan, based on extensive polling.
- Arnold Zwicky, surely as qualified a linguist as any, examines current verb of the American moment, "depose".
Tags:
- africa,
- astronomy,
- blogging,
- blogs,
- book reviews,
- british empire,
- canada,
- cities,
- comics,
- democracy,
- demographics,
- english language,
- environment,
- former soviet union,
- futurology,
- gender,
- genetics,
- health,
- history,
- imperialism,
- in memoriam,
- internet,
- journalism,
- kazakhstan,
- libraries,
- links,
- military,
- national identity,
- oceans,
- oddities,
- ontario,
- physics,
- politics,
- popular culture,
- portugal,
- public art,
- russia,
- saturn,
- science,
- sexuality,
- space science,
- space travel,
- syria,
- titan,
- tourism,
- travel,
- united kingdom,
- united states
[BLOG] Some Tuesday links
Oct. 1st, 2019 05:58 pm- Bad Astronomer notes the latest news on interstellar comet 2/Borisov.
- The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly emphasizes how every writer does need an editor.
- Centauri Dreams notes how the gas giant GJ 3512 b, half the mass of Jupiter orbiting a red dwarf star closely, is an oddly massive exoplanet.
- Gina Schouten at Crooked Timber looks at inter-generational clashes on parenting styles.
- D-Brief looks at the methods of agriculture that could conceivably sustain a populous human colony on Mars.
- Bruce Dorminey argues that we on Earth need something like Starfleet Academy, to help us advance into space.
- Colby King at the Everyday Sociology Blog looks at how the socio-spatial perspective helps us understand the development of cities.
- io9 looks at Proxima, a contemporary spaceflight film starring Eva Green.
- JSTOR Daily looks at how the intense relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia began in, and reflected, the era of Jim Crow.
- Language Hat notes a report suggesting that multilingualism helps ward off dementia.
- Language Log takes issue with the names of the mascots of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
- Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the emergence of a ninth woman complaining about being harassed by Al Franken.
- Marginal Revolution links to a new paper arguing that the Washington Consensus worked.
- The NYR Daily shares an Aubrey Nolan cartoon illustrating the evacuation of war children in the United Kingdom during the Second World War.
- At Out of Ambit, Diane Duane shares a nice collection of links for digital mapmakers.
- The Planetary Society Blog looks at how the European Space Agency supports the cause of planetary defense.
- Roads and Kingdoms interviews Kenyan writer Kevin Mwachiro at length.
- Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel reports on how a mysterious fast radio burst helped illuminate an equally mysterious galactic halo.
- Strange Company reports on the mysterious and unsolved death in 1936 of Canadian student Thomas Moss in an Oxfordshire hayrick.
- Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps notes how Mount Etna is a surpassingly rare decipoint.
- Understanding Society considers the thought of Kojève, after Hegel, on freedom.
- Window on Eurasia looks at the falling numbers of Russians, and of state support for Russian language and culture, in independent Central Asia.
- Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell looks at how individual consumer responses are much less effective than concerted collective action in triggering change.
- Arnold Zwicky reports on some transgender fashion models.
Russell Arben Fox at In Media Res listens to the Paul McCartney album Flaming Pie.
Tags:
- africa,
- agriculture,
- astronomy,
- blogs,
- borders,
- canada,
- central asia,
- chinese language,
- cities,
- crime,
- demographics,
- disasters,
- east africa,
- economics,
- family,
- former soviet union,
- futurology,
- gender,
- glbt issues,
- health,
- human rights,
- islands,
- italy,
- journalism,
- kenya,
- links,
- mars,
- middle east,
- multilingualism,
- oddities,
- olympics,
- popular culture,
- popular music,
- racism,
- russian language,
- saudi arabia,
- second world war,
- sociology,
- space science,
- space travel,
- technology,
- united kingdom,
- united states,
- writing
- CityLab looks at a new study examining the relationship between gentrification and new city parks.
- Guardian Cities looks at the hardest-working cities in the world, and wonders if that duration of work is a good idea.
- The Conversation looks at how population growth in Canada is increasingly concentrated in car-dependent suburbs.
- VICE looks at how arbitrary municipal borders in built-up areas can have nasty effects on the lives of people caught up by them.
- Rabble reports on how Canadian libraries are handling the opioid crisis.
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- Hamilton, Ontario, now has a wall open to public street art. Global News reports.
- An early immigrant to Kingston, Ontario, explains what it was like to move to this eastern Ontario hub. Global News reports.
- MTL Blog notes that Montréal mayor has cancelled the construction of a condo tower because it was not including social housing.
- A museum exhibit in Saskatoon is offering free HIV testing and blood donation services in the fight against stigma. Global News reports.
- Ellen Mauro at CBC explains to readers the movement to make Washington D.C. into the 51st American state.
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- The Ottawa Citizen reports on the first week of the Confederation Line LRT.
- The New Brunswick city of Moncton now has new affordable housing--20 units--for vulnerable people. Global News reports.
- CityLab looks at one photographer's perspective of the New York City skyline, changed by the 9/11 attacks.
- An alleyway in Calgary is being transformed by art. Global News reports.
- Birth tourism might become an election issue in the British Columbia city of Richmond. Global News reports.
- CBC Montreal notes how there is now a mural in memory of missing child Ariel Kouakou in a east-end Rosemont alley.
- CultMTL takes a look at an odd convenience store hidden in the basement of an apartment block near McGill University, here.
- CBC Montreal notes how mass transit is the top priority for mayor Valérie Plante, here.
- An archeological dig near Pointe Claire is revealing ruins dating back to the time of New France. Global News reports.
CBC Montreal looks at the new campus of the Université de Montréal, and controversy over its transformation of neighbourhoods.
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