rfmcdonald | Entries tagged with links

I've a post up at Demography Matters noting the all-encompassing impact of COVID-19 on the world and its demographics, and promising that Demography Matters will persist in some form to address the different changes this virus has imposed on us all.

I’ve rediscovered the KLF after a decade and a half.

Why did I wait so long?

“All You Need Is Love”, indeed.

Watch on YouTube

The rescue of cats from the Newfoundland outport of Little Bay Islands, now abandoned, was a success. Global News reports.

Cats in Australia may be in a position to ravage vulnerable survivors of the wildfires. Wired reports.

The Purrsong Pendant is a new fitness tracker for cats. CNET reports.

Humans do need to be able to read the body language of cats, and not only to figure out when they are in pain. CP24 reports.

Is anyone surprised cats might eat human corpses? Newsweek reports.

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.

NOW Toronto looks at the Pickering nuclear plant and its role in providing fuel for space travel.

In some places like California, traffic is so bad that airlines actually play a role for high-end commuters. CBC reports.

Goldfish released into the wild are a major issue for the environment in Québec, too. CTV News reports.

China's investments in Jamaica have good sides and bad sides. CBC reports.

A potato museum in Peru might help solve world hunger. The Guardian reports.

Is the Alberta-Saskatchewan alliance going to be a lasting one? Maclean's considers.

Is the fossil fuel industry collapsing? The Tyee makes the case.

Should Japan and Europe co-finance a EUrasia trade initiative to rival China's? Bloomberg argues.

Should websites receive protection as historically significant? VICE reports.

Food tourism in the Maritimes is a very good idea. Global News reports.

Atlantic Canada lobster exports to China thrive as New England gets hit by the trade war. CBC reports.

The Bloc Québécois experienced its revival by drawing on the same demographics as the provincial CAQ. Maclean's reports.

Population density is a factor that, in Canada, determines political issues, splitting urban and rural voters. The National Observer observes.

US border policies aimed against migration from Mexico have been harming businesses on the border with Canada. The National Post reports.

The warming of the ocean is changing the relationship of coastal communities with their seas. The Conversation looks.

Archival research in the digital age differs from what occurred in previous eras. The Conversation explains.

The Persian-language Wikipedia is an actively contested space. Open Democracy reports.

Vox notes how the US labour shortage has been driven partly by workers quitting the labour force, here.

Laurie Penny at WIRED has a stirring essay about hope, about the belief in some sort of future.

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.

By at least one metric, New Brunswick now lags economically behind a more dynamic Prince Edward Island. CBC reports.

NOW Toronto looks at toxic fandoms. ("Stanning" sounds really creepy to me.)

This CityLab article looks at how the particular characteristics of Japan, including its high population density, helps keep alive there retail chains that have failed in the US.

MacLean's looks at Kent Monkman, enjoying a new level of success with his diptych Mistikôsiwak at the Met in NYC.

Can there be something that can be said for the idea of an Internet more strongly pillarized? Wired argues.

I reject utterly the idea of meaningful similarities between Drake and Leonard Cohen. CBC did it.

Toronto Life looks at the life of a Hamilton woman hurt badly by the cancellation of the basic income pilot, here.

Inspired by the death of Gord Downie, Ontario now has the office of poet-laureate. CBC reports.

Is Canada at risk, like Ireland, of experiencing two-tier health care? CBC considers.

A French immigrant couple has brought the art of artisanal vinegar to ile d'Orléans. CBC reports.

Shore erosion is complicating the lives of people along Lake Erie. CBC reports.

MacLean's notes how Via Rail making it difficult for people without credit cards to buy anything on their trains, hurting many.

Michelle Legro notes at Gen that the 2010s is the decade where conspiracy culture became mainstream.

This essay by Robert Greene at his blog talking about what history, and historians, can do in our era is thought-provoking.

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.

JSTOR Daily considers whether koalas are actually going extinct, here.

JSTOR Daily looks at the life and accomplishments of Alexander Von Humboldt, here.

JSTOR Daily looks at how a move to California doomed the Oneida Community, here.

JSTOR Daily considers how the genetically diverse wild relatives of current crops could help our agriculture, here.

JSTOR Daily looks at the devastating flood of Florence in 1966, here.

JSTOR Daily points out there is no template for emotional intelligence, here.

JSTOR Daily explores some remarkable lumpy pearls, here.

JSTOR Daily notes an 1870 scare over the future of men, here.

JSTOR Daily reports on the staging of war scenes for the 1945 documentary The Battle of San Pietro, here.

JSTOR Daily considers the bioethics of growing human brains in a petri dish, here.

La Presse carries the concern of a Québec journalist that the decline of daily papers could have a catastrophic impact on the province's culture.

The Québec government would like financially-stressed newspaper group to form a coop. CTV News reports.

That the Toronto Star shut down its free Metro affiliates across Canada made the news in Halifax. CBC reports.

The closure of the Transcontinental Media printing plant in Borden-Carleton means that PEI no longer has a local printer for its media. CBC reports.

Sabrina Wilkinson writes at The Conversation about the increasingly tenuous nature of journalism in Canada, not least as an employer.

This Alex Migdal piece looks at how Guelph, Ontario, has fared since the closure of the Guelph Mercury daily.

This Wired obituary for Lil Bub, arguing that the time for the Internet to be a place fo whimsy is over, does make me sad.

Norwegian forest cats look amazing! The Dockyards has photos.

The Pallas cats newly in the Calgary Zoo are, rightfully, becoming big hits. Cottage Life has more.

Ottawa cat Smudge, already a meme hit, has become a celebrity. CBC Ottawa has more.

Unsurprisingly, cats bond with their owners in the same sort of way as dogs and even human infants. More here.

Happily, record numbers of cats are being adopted from shelters, given new homes. Global News reports.

Some few people are apparently good are deciphering the expressions of cats, 15% of the total in one study sample. VICE reports.

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.

Profile

rfmcdonald

My Website

Navigation

February 2021

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28

Syndicate

Page Summary

[DM] "A brief note on the blog and on COVID-19"
[MUSIC] The JAMs, "All You Need Is Love"
[CAT] Five #caturday links: Newfoundland, Australia, tracking, body language, bodies
[BLOG] Five Starts With A Bang links (@startswithabang)
[BLOG] Five JSTOR Daily links (@jstor_daily)
[BLOG] Five Marginal Revolution links (@margrev)
[BLOG] Some Thursday links
[NEWS] Twenty news links
[BLOG] Some Monday links
[NEWS] Fourteen links
[BLOG] Five NYR Daily links (@nyrdaily)
[BLOG] Five Bad Astronomy links (@badastronomer)
[BLOG] Some Friday links
[BLOG] Five Window on Eurasia links
[BLOG] Five NYR Daily links (@nyr_daily)
[BLOG] Five Marginal Revolution links
[URBAN NOTE] Ten JSTOR Daily links (@jstor_daily)
[NEWS] Six links on journalism in Canada: Québec, Halifax, PEI, Guelph ...
[CAT] Seven #caturday links: Lil Bub, Pallas cats, Smudge, adoptions, expressions
[BLOG] Some Friday links

Style Credit

Base style: Librarian's Dream by branchandroot
Theme: Pigeon Blue by dancing_serpent

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jan. 8th, 2026 06:48 am

A Bit More Detail

Assorted Personal Notations, Essays, and Other Jottings

Entries tagged with links

[DM] "A brief note on the blog and on COVID-19"

[MUSIC] The JAMs, "All You Need Is Love"

[CAT] Five #caturday links: Newfoundland, Australia, tracking, body language, bodies

[BLOG] Five Starts With A Bang links (@startswithabang)

[BLOG] Five JSTOR Daily links (@jstor_daily)

[BLOG] Five Marginal Revolution links (@margrev)

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

[NEWS] Twenty news links

[BLOG] Some Monday links

[NEWS] Fourteen links

[BLOG] Five NYR Daily links (@nyrdaily)

[BLOG] Five Bad Astronomy links (@badastronomer)

[BLOG] Some Friday links

[BLOG] Five Window on Eurasia links

[BLOG] Five NYR Daily links (@nyr_daily)

[BLOG] Five Marginal Revolution links

[URBAN NOTE] Ten JSTOR Daily links (@jstor_daily)

[NEWS] Six links on journalism in Canada: Québec, Halifax, PEI, Guelph ...

[CAT] Seven #caturday links: Lil Bub, Pallas cats, Smudge, adoptions, expressions