Entries tagged with norden

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[URBAN NOTE] Seven city links: Pierrefonds, Edmundston, Saskatoon, Louisville, Belfast, Jerusalem ..

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.

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[BLOG] Some Saturday links

Adam Fish at anthro{dendum} compares different sorts of public bathing around the world, from Native America to Norden to Japan.

Charlie Stross at Antipope is unimpressed by the person writing the script for our timeline.

Architectuul reports on an architectural conference in Lisbon.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait shares stunning photos of the eruption of the Raikoke volcano in Kamchatka.

Centauri Dreams looks at what the Voyager spacecraft have returned about the edge of the solar system.

John Quiggin at Crooked Timber takes issue with the idea of bipartisanship if it means compromising on reality, allegorically.

The Crux counts the number of people who have died in outer space.

D-Brief notes that the Andromeda Galaxy has swallowed up multiple dwarf galaxies over the eons.

Dead Things notes the identification of the first raptor species from Southeast Asia, Siamraptor suwati.

The Dragon's Tales notes a paper tracing the origins of interstellar comet 2/Borisov from the general area of Kruger 60.

Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about the privilege allowing people access to affordable dental care.

Gizmodo tells how Alexei Leonov survived the first spacewalk.

io9 looks at the remarkable new status quo for the X-Men created by Jonathan Hickman.

Selma Franssen at the Island Review writes about the threats facing the seabirds of the Shetlands.

JSTOR Daily looks at what led Richard Nixon to make so many breaks from the American consensus on China in the Cold War.

Language Log notes an undergraduate course at Yale using the Voynich Manuscript as an aid in the study of language.

Abigail Nussbaum at Lawyers, Guns and Money explains her recent experience of the socialized health care system of Israel for Americans.

The LRB Blog looks at how badly the Fukuyama prediction of an end to history has aged.

The Map Room Blog shares a few maps of the new Ottawa LRT route.

Marginal Revolution notes a paper establishing a link between Chinese industries undermining their counterparts in Mexico and Mexican social ills including crime.

Sean Marshall reports from Ottawa about what the Confederation Line looks like.

Adam Shatz at the NYR Daily looks at the power of improvisation in music.

Roads and Kingdoms looks at South Williamsburg Jewish deli Gottlieb's.

Drew Rowsome reviews the new Patti Smith book, Year of the Monkey.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper looking as the factors leading into transnational movements.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers the question of the direction(s) in which order in the universe was generated.

Window on Eurasia shares a report noting the very minor flows of migration from China to Russia.

Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell looks at the politics in the British riding of Keighley.

Arnold Zwicky looks at some penguin socks.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: New York City, Pittsburgh, Montréal, Brande, Cork

Bloomberg notes that, while New York City is gaining jobs, it is losing residents because of its housing crisis.

CityLab takes a look at patterns of crime and race and violence in greater Pittsburgh.

La Presse notes that Montréal, picking up from neighbouring Laval, has started a process of public consultations to try to come up with a common image of the metropolis' future.

Guardian Cities notes that fashion giant Bestseller plans on building its skyscraper headquarters, 320 metres tall, in the rural Denmark town of Brande.

This Irish Examiner article, part of a series, considers how the Republic of Ireland's second city of Cork can best break free from the dominance of Dublin to develop its own potential.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Montréal, New York City, Atlanta, Barcelona, Copenhagen

Montréal may yet get a new park to commemorate victims of the Irish famine of the 1840s. CTV reports.

CityLab reports on the new spectacular Hudson Yards development in Manhattan.

The nightclubs of Atlanta in the 1990s played a critical role in that decade's hip-hop. VICE reports.

CityLab reports that, dealing with a housing crisis, city authorities in Barcelona have taken to finding the owners of empty buildings.

Guardian Cities reports on how civic authorities in Copenhagen hope to create an offshore archipelago, a sort of floating Silicon Valley.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Montréal, Tromsø, Marseilles, Brampton, Harbin

The different proposals for the future of McGill College Avenue in Montréal sound very interesting. Global News reports.

Ozy reports on how Tromsø, largest city in Arctic Norway, has found new energy thanks to tourism.

Roads and Kingdoms has some tips for visitors to the French Mediterranean city of Marseilles.

Sean Marshall examines the question of why property taxes in the Ontario city of Brampton are so high. Can anything be done about them?

Guardian Cities notes how the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, like much of China's old rest belt, is facing stagnant economic growth.

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[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait writes about the ephemeral nature and historically recent formation of the rings of Saturn.

Centauri Dreams hosts an essay looking at the controversies surrounding the arguments of Avi Loeb around SETI and 'Oumuamua.

D-Brief links to a new analysis of hot Jupiters suggesting that they form close to their stars, suggesting further that they are a separate population from outer-system worlds like our Jupiter and Saturn.

Colby King at the Everyday Sociology Blog takes a look at the sociology of the online world, using the critical work of Zeynep Tufekci as a lens.

L.M. Sacasas at The Frailest Thing makes a great point about the seemingly transparent online world: We might, like a protagonist in a Hawthorne story, confine ourselves falsely that we know everything, so becoming jaded.

JSTOR Daily notes how, in the early 20th century, US Park Rangers were actually quite rough and tumble, an irregular police force.

Language Hat looks at the overlooked modernist fiction of Dorothy Richardson.

Language Log examines the origins of the phrase "Listen up".

The LRB Blog visits a Berlin cemetery to note the annual commemoration there of the lives of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.

Marginal Revolution considers the proportion of centenarians on Okinawa, and considers if a carbohydrate-heavy diet featuring sweet potatoes is key.Tim Parks at the NYR Daily engages with the idea of a translation being an accomplishment of its own.

Roads and Kingdoms has a fascinating interview with Tanja Fox about the history and development of the Copenhagen enclave of Christiania.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel notes that early returns from New Horizons suggest Ultima Thule is a typical "future comet".

Strange Company shares the story of the haunting of 18th century Gael Donald Bán.

Towleroad shares the account by Nichelle Nichols of how her chance encounter with Martin Luther King helped save Star Trek.

Window on Eurasia notes the different quasi-embassies of different Russian republics in Moscow, and their potential import.

Arnold Zwicky, looking at penguins around the world, notices the CIBC mascot Percy the Penguin.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Québec City, Atlantic City, Wood Buffalo, London, Copenhagen

CityLab looks at the fight to resist the low-density urban sprawl of Québec City into surrounding farmland at Beauport.

CityLab looks at the vanished history of African-American tourism in Atlantic City.

The population of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta, around Fort McMurray, has fallen by 11% in the past few years. Global News reports.

Guardian Cities looks at how placemaking, the creation of innovation clusters attracting attention, is undermining social housing in London.

CityLab looks at the challenges faced by Copenhagen, with a questionable model of urban redevelopment set to climax in the production of artificial islands.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Hamilton, Halifax, Sydney, Kiruna, Kigali

CBC Hamilton reports on patterns of misconduct by members of armed forces units in the Hamilton, Ontario, area.

That the Cape Breton Post, main newspaper of that island, may no longer be printed in Halifax says much about that city's growing dominance of Nova Scotia (and, too, of Cape Breton's decline). CBC reports.

Building a new library on the waterfront of Sydney, in Cape Breton, might well anchor a wider revitalization of that city. CBC reports.

Guardian Cities shares the story of how the Swedish iron ore-mining town of Kiruna, facing subsidence, is literally moving kilometres away.

The Inter Press Services notes that the Rwandan capital of Kigali will have a downtown ecotourism park.

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[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

Centauri Dreams looks at the latest images of asteroid Bennu provided by the OSIRIS-REx probe.

The Crux notes the impact of genetic research on theories of language among the Neanderthals. If they were, as seems very likely, users of language, did their language use differ from that of homo sapiens sapiens?

D-Brief notes that climate change leads to changes in the microbiology of soils. (What effect would this have on the environment? Unknown, as of yet.)

The Dragon's Tales notes that the Indian aircraft Vikramaditya has just had its second refit completed.

Jonathan Wynn at the Everyday Sociology Blog looks at the social construction of geography. How are categories created, for instance?

Far Outliers looks at efforts to educate prisoners of war in the Second World War-era United States, to use them even as test-beds for a wider reeducation of their societies.

L.M. Sacasas at The Frailest Thing, considering the idea of the society of the spectacle of Debord after the thoughts of Foucault, notes the early prediction of a fusion between surveillance and spectacle, of a fusion between the two.

Hornet Stories notes the anti-gay policies of the government of Tanzania government, arguing that country cannot be allowed to be a second Chechnya.

JSTOR Daily notes how the rhetoric of Richard Nixon helped pave the way for Donald Trump.

Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money argues that even if the Democratic Party loses today's elections in the United States, Americans should still have hope, should still work for a better future. I wish you all luck, myself.

The Map Room Blog looks at Stanford University's archive of the Maps of the Office of Strategic Studies.

Marginal Revolution links to a paper examining immigrant success in Sweden, noting the complicating picture of general success: Children of more deprived refugees do better than more favoured ones.

The NYR Daily looks at early feminist Ernestine Rose.

Roads and Kingdoms looks at the work of Cambodian architect Dy Preoung, who during the Khmer Rouge era managed to preserve his work on Angkor Wat.

Drew Rowsome looks at the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, focusing on its queer elements.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel examines how black holes actually do evaporate.

Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy notes the signal flaws with the argument that migrants should stay at home and fix their country. (What if they have no chance to, for instance?)

Window on Eurasia notes that the West has a vested interest in the survival of Lukashenka in Belarus, if only because a sudden liberalization could well lead to a Russian invasion.

Nick Rowe at the Worthwhile Canadian Initiative takes a look at "bicycle disequilibrium theory".

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[BLOG] Some Monday links

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait considers nearby galaxy NGC 6744, a relatively nearby spiral galaxy that may look like the Milky Way.

D-Brief notes the remarkable ceramic spring that gives the mantis shrimp its remarkably powerful punch.

Far Outliers notes how the north Korean port of Hamhung was modernized in the 1930s, but also Japanized, with few legacies of its Korean past remaining.

Joe. My. God. notes how the Trump administration plans to define being transgender out of existence. Appalling.

Alexandra Samuel at JSTOR Daily notes the ways in which the Internet has undermined the traditions which support American political institutions. Can new traditions be made?

Lawyers, Guns, and Money notes how the Trump's withdrawal from the INF treaty with Russia on nuclear weapons harms American security.

Rose Jacobs at Lingua Franca writes about ways in which derision, specifically of other nationalities, enters into English slang.

Marginal Revolution notes that, in an article surveying the Icelandic language, a report that sales of books in Iceland have fallen by nearly half since 2010.

The NYR Daily looks at two recent movies, one autobiographical and one fictional, looking at dads in space.

Jason Perry at the Planetary Society Blog reports on the latest imagery of the volcanoes of Io.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers the possibility that time travel might not destroy the universe via paradoxes.

Window on Eurasia suggests that the experience of post-Soviet Estonia with its two Orthodox churches might be a model for Ukraine.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Mississauga, Kahnawake, Madrid, Helsinki, Mumbai

Croatian-Canadian fans in Mississauga were definitely organized and ready to celebrate the Croatian team playing in the World Cup finals. Global News reports.

People in Kahnawake are looking forward to an upcoming powwow, as a celebration of indigenous culture and a vehicle for reconciliation. Global News reports.

CityLab notes the progress that environmental initiatives in Madrid have had in bringing wildlife back to the Spanish capital.

Politico Europe reports on the mood in Helsinki on the eve of the Trump-Putin summit there. Avoiding a repetition of Munich was prominent in locals' minds.

Namrata Kolachalam at Roads and Kingdoms reports from Mumbai on the negative environmental impact of a controversial statue of Marathi conqueror Shivaji on local fishing communities.

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[ISL] Five islands links: Toronto Islands, Cape Verde, Iceland, Ireland, Hainan

blogTO shares ten facts about the Toronto Islands.

Roads and Kingdoms reports on the experience of eating Cape Verdean cachupa in Lisbon.

The SBS reports on the facts making Iceland arguably the best country on the Earth in which to be a woman.

This extended Politico Europe article examining the consequences of a united Ireland, and the lack of preparation for such a now imaginable possibility, is still worth reading.

Is Hainan emerging as a test-bed for more liberal policies for China? QZ reports.

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[BLOG] Some Sunday links

Many things accumulated after a pause of a couple of months. Here are some of the best links to come about in this time.

Anthrodendum considers the issue of the security, or not, of cloud data storage used by anthropologists.

Architectuul takes a look at the very complex history of urban planning and architecture in the city of Skopje, linked to issues of disaster and identity.

Centauri Dreams features an essay by Ioannis Kokkidinis, examining the nature of the lunar settlement of Artemis in Andy Weir's novel of the same. What is it?

Crux notes the possibility that human organs for transplant might one day soon be grown to order.

D-Brief notes evidence that extrasolar visitor 'Oumuamua is actually more like a comet than an asteroid.

Bruce Dorminey makes the sensible argument that plans for colonizing Mars have to wait until we save Earth. (I myself have always thought the sort of environmental engineering necessary for Mars would be developed from techniques used on Earth.)

The Everyday Sociology Blog took an interesting look at the relationship between hobbies and work.

Far Outliers looks at how, in the belle époque, different European empires took different attitudes towards the emigration of their subjects depending on their ethnicity. (Russia was happy to be rid of Jews, while Hungary encouraged non-Magyars to leave.)

The Finger Post shares some photos taken by the author on a trip to the city of Granada, in Nicaragua.

The Frailest Thing's L.M. Sacasas makes an interesting argument as to the extent to which modern technology creates a new sense of self-consciousness in individuals.

Inkfish suggests that the bowhead whale has a more impressive repertoire of music--of song, at least--than the fabled humpback.

Information is Beautiful has a wonderful illustration of the Drake Equation.

JSTOR Daily takes a look at the American women who tried to prevent the Trail of Tears.

Language Hat takes a look at the diversity of Slovene dialects, this diversity perhaps reflecting the stability of the Slovene-inhabited territories over centuries.

Language Log considers the future of the Cantonese language in Hong Kong, faced with pressure from China.

Lawyers, Guns and Money notes how negatively disruptive a withdrawal of American forces from Germany would be for the United States and its position in the world.

Lingua Franca, at the Chronicle, notes the usefulness of the term "Latinx".

The LRB Blog reports on the restoration of a late 19th century Japanese-style garden in Britain.

The New APPS Blog considers the ways in which Facebook, through the power of big data, can help commodify personal likes.

Neuroskeptic reports on the use of ayahusasca as an anti-depressant. Can it work?

Justin Petrone, attending a Nordic scientific conference in Iceland to which Estonia was invited, talks about the frontiers of Nordic identity.

Personal Reflections' Jim Belshaw writes about what it is to be a literary historian.

Drew Rowsome praises Dylan Jones' new biographical collection of interviews with the intimates of David Bowie.

Peter Rukavina shares an old Guardian article from 1993, describing and showing the first webserver on Prince Edward Island.

Seriously Science notes the potential contagiousness of parrot laughter.

Understanding Society's Daniel Little t.com/2018/06/shakespeare-on-tyranny.htmltakes a look at the new Stephen Greenblatt book, Shakespeare on Power, about Shakespeare's perspectives on tyranny.

Window on Eurasia shares speculation as to what might happen if relations between Russia and Kazakhstan broke down.

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative noticed, before the election, the serious fiscal challenges facing Ontario.

Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell points out that creating a national ID database in the UK without issuing actual cards would be a nightmare.

Arnold Zwicky reports on a strand of his Swiss family's history found in a Paris building.

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[ISL] Five islands links: Kerguelens, Faroes, Hainan, Kuril Islands, Qatar

The albatross of France's sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands are facing pressure, alas. CNRS reports.

The New Yorker takes a look at Koks, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Faroes that takes rare advantage of local food.

The Chinese island-province of Hainan might be trying to position itself as an international tourism destination, but restrictions on the Internet continue. Quartz reports.

Is a bare majority of the Kuril Islands' population is of Ukrainian background? Window on Eurasia suggests it may be so.

The intensity of the desire of Saudi Arabia's government to literally make Qatar an island through canal construction worries me, frankly. VOX reports.

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[BLOG] Some Friday links

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait takes a look at how contemporary lunar probes are prospecting for ice deposits on the dry Moon.

Centauri Dreams notes new models for the evolution of the orbit of the early Moon, and how this could well have influence the environment of the young Earth.

Crooked Timber takes issue with the idea that sponsoring women's entrepreneurship, rooted in the belief that women are limited by their income, is enough to deal with deeper gender inequity.

D-Brief notes that a brain implant--specifically, one making use of deep brain stimulation--actually can significantly improve memory in implantees.

Gizmodo notes that extrasolar objects like 'Oumuamua may well have played a significant role in interstellar panspermia, introducing life from one system to another.

At In A State of Migration, Lyman Stone does the work and finds out that the Amish are not, in fact, destined to eventually repopulate the US, that despite high fertility rates Amish fertility rates have consistently fell over time, influenced by external issues like the economy.

JSTOR Daily has a thought-provoking essay taking a look at the feedback loops between envy and social media. Does social media encourage too narrow a realm of human achievements to be valued?

Language Hat notes a new book, Giorgio Van Straten's In Search of Lost Books, noting all those texts which once existed but have since gone missing.

Lawyers, Guns and Money, noting the strongly negative reaction to Katie Roiphe's essay in Harper's against feminism, takes care to note that "disagreement" is not at all the same thing as "silencing".

The NYR Daily looks at the many ways in which Sweden has been taken as a symbol for progressivism, and the reasons why some on the right look so obsessively for signs that it is failing.

At the Planetary Society Blog, Casey Dreier writes about the ways in which the Falcon Heavy, if it proves to be as inexpensive as promised, could revolutionize the exploration of (for instance) outer system ocean worlds like Europa and Enceladus.

Drew Rowsome quite likes Rumours, a performance of the famous Fleetwood Mac album of that name, at Toronto's Coal Mine Theatre.

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[PHOTO] Twenty photos of Vikings: The Exphibition (#vikingsto)

Vikings: The Exhibition, currently at the Royal Ontario Museum, provides a great overview of the civilization of the Norse. The Vikings' military history is deemphasized in favour of a perspective focused on their material artifacts and their experiences as a trading civilization. I strongly recommend it.

Vikings! #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #latergram

Crowd #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #latergram

"Where did the Vikings live?" #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #maps #europe #canada #vinland #latergram

Trade goods #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #sweden #tradegoods #blacksea #redsea #ireland #coptic #latergram

Irish cross #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #sweden #ireland #cross #latergram

Buddha in miniature #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #sweden #buddha #buddhism #statue #latergram

Pendant, Thor's hammer #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #sweden #scania #thor #hammer #pendant #jewelry #latergram

Showing signs of hard living #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #skeleton #latergram

Drinking horn #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #drinkinghorn #latergram

Replica boat #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #boats #latergram

Beads #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #beads #jewelry #bronze #glass #gold #latergram

Pendant, Thor's hammer with crosses #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #pendant #jewelry #thor #hammer #cross #latergram

Valkyrie pendants #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #sweden #vikings #pendant #jewelry #valkyrie #latergram

Ghost ship, with nails (3) #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #sweden #vikings #boats #nails #latergram

Assorted jewelry #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #scandinavia #jewelry #latergram

In glass #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #glass #latergram

Coinage #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #coins #coinage #money #latergram

Rune stone, copy #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #rune #runestone #sweden #latergram

Reconstructed Viking sail pattern #toronto #royalontariomuseum #vikingsto #vikings #boats #sail #latergram

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[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

At Antipope, Charlie Stross examines the connections between bitcoin production and the alt-right. Could cryptocurrency have seriously bad political linkages?

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes GW170680, a recent gravitational wave detection that is both immense in its effect and surprising for its detection being normal.

Centauri Dreams reports on a new study suggesting hot Jupiters are so large because they are heated by their local star.

Crooked Timber counsels against an easy condemnation of baby boomers as uniquely politically malign.

Daily JSTOR notes one paper that takes a look at how the surprisingly late introduction of the bed, as a piece of household technology, changed the way we sleep.

Dangerous Minds shares a 1968 newspaper interview with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, talking about Charlie Manson and his family and their influence on him.

The Everyday Sociology Blog takes a look at the opioid epidemic and the way that it is perceived.

At A Fistful of Euros, Alex Harrowell suggests that the unsolvable complexities of Northern Ireland may be enough to avoid a hard Brexit after all.

The LRB Blog describes a visit to a seaside village in Costa Rica where locals and visitors try to save sea turtles.

Lingua Franca reflects on the beauty of the Icelandic language.

The Map Room Blog shares an awesome map depicting the locations of the stars around which we have detected exoplanets.

Marginal Revolution notes the ill health of North Korean defectors, infected with parasites now unseen in South Korea.

Roads and Kingdoms reports on the revival of fonio, a West African grain that is now starting to see successful marketing in Senegal.

Spacing reviews a fascinating book examining the functioning of urban villages embedded in the metropoli of south China.

Strange Company reports on the mysterious 1920 murder of famous bridge player Joseph Bowne Elwell.

Towleroad reports on Larnelle Foster, a gay black man who was a close friend of Meghan Markle in their college years.

Window on Eurasia notes that, although Ukraine suffered the largest number of premature dead in the Stalinist famines of the 1930s, Kazakhstan suffered the greatest proportion of dead.

Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell has a photo essay looking at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport, still years away from completion and beset by many complex failures of its advanced systems. What does the failure of this complex system say about others we may wish to build?

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[BLOG] Some Thursday links

D-Brief notes that the opioid epidemic seems to be hitting baby boomers and millennials worst, of all major American demographics.

Hornet Stories shares one timetable for new DC films following Justice League.

Joe. My. God. notes a case brought by a Romanian before the European Court of Justice regarding citizenship rights for his American spouse. This could have broad implications for the recognition of same-sex couples across the EU, not just its member-states.

Language Hat reports on a journalist's search for a village in India where Sanskrit, ancient liturgical language of Hinduism, remains the vernacular.

The Map Room Blog links to a review of an intriuging new book, Nowherelands, looking at ephemeral countries in the 1840-1975 era.

The NYR Daily looks at the textile art of Anni Albers.

The Planetary Society Blog explores the navigational skills of the Polynesians, and their reflection in Moana.

Roads and Kingdoms reports on the widespread jubilation in Zimbabwe following the overthrow of Mugabe.

Rocky Planet notes that Öræfajökull, the largest volcano in Iceland if a hidden one, has been showing worrying signs of potential eruption.

Drew Rowsome reports on House Guests, an art installation that has taken over an entire house at Dundas and Ossington.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel looks at the story of how the quantum property of spin was discovered.

Window on Eurasia suggests new Russian policies largely excluding non-Russian languages from education are causing significant problems, even ethnic conflict.

Arnold Zwicky considers music as a trigger of emotional memory, generally and in his own life.

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[NEWS] Three links about technology and environment: lithium in Chile, Norway oil, CO2 into stone

The intricacies of law in Chile are complicating the exploitation of the country's vast lithium reserves. Bloomberg reports.

Norway is faced with the question of how, or even if, it can ethically exploit its hydrocarbon fuel reserves. Bloomberg reports.

Can the transformation of carbon dioxide from the air into carbon-neutral stone be an answer to climate change? Quartz reports.

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[BLOG] Some Friday links

Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait notes that the most plausible explanation for Tabitha's Star, KIC 8462852, exists in partial eclipses of the star by dust clouds.

D-Brief notes that the giant stick insects of Lord Howe Island did survive in their forced diaspora.

The Dragon's Gaze takes a look at Kelt-9b, a planet so close to its star that it is literally melting away.

Language Hat looks at a website set up by inhabitants of the Faroe Islands to translate Faroese.

The LRB Blog shares some of the past appearances of Nobel-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro in the pages of the LRB.

Neal Ascherson at the NYR Daily looks at the mechanism of the referendum, in Scotland and Catalonia and elsewhere.

The Planetary Society Blog looks at the import of Mike Pence's promise to send Americans to the Moon again.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel looks at how the cosmic phenomenon of inflation explains the entire modern universe.

Window on Eurasia suggests Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov is trying to establish himself as a Russian political figure.