Links

Health and Social Policy

CDC: about 20 million new STI's in the US each year, costing the American healthcare system nearly $16 billion. Young people (ages 15-24) are particularly affected, accounting for half (50 percent) of all new STIs, although they represent just 25 percent of the sexually experienced population. - https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/3sati0/cdc_about_20_million_new_stis_in_the_us_each_year/ - This doesn’t surprise me and I blame the bizarre focus on birth control pills as “the” prophylactic. I get funny looks from the youth of today for the whole ‘no glove, no love’ thing. I do feel like shouting that kids are not the worst STD you can get, but I doubt that would get the message across better.

Language:

Languages Are Products of Their Environments - http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/11/04/langauge-environment-acoustics/#.VlJhs_nhDIU

English is not normal: No, English isn’t uniquely vibrant or mighty or adaptable. But it really is weirder than pretty much every other language - https://aeon.co/essays/why-is-english-so-weirdly-different-from-other-languages If you read just one of these articles this week, this should be the one. via nwhyte

Literature:

THE OBSESSIVELY DETAILED MAP OF AMERICAN LITERATURE'S MOST EPIC ROAD TRIPS - http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-obsessively-detailed-map-of-american-literatures-most-epic-road-trips

Miscellaneous:

I analyzed 10,000 Craigslist missed connections. Here’s what I learned. - http://www.vox.com/a/craigslist-missed-connections/i-analyzed-10-000-craigslist-missed-connections-here-s-what-i-learned

Do fish fart? Plus: angels dancing on the head of a pin (cont.) - http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2364/do-fish-fart-plus via nwhyte

Why do hammerhead sharks look like that? - http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151110-why-do-hammerhead-sharks-look-like-that?ocid=twert

12 Things We Learned From Terry Gilliam's Wild Memoir - http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/12-things-we-learned-from-terry-gilliams-wild-memoir-20151109

Meet King Bansah: Part-Time Monarch, Full-Time Auto Mechanic - http://www.vice.com/read/meet-king-bansah-part-time-monarch-full-time-auto-mechanic-v22n11

Music:

How to create the perfect cover version - http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/0adabb48-dcad-4c01-9fd2-68ccff6bf8e8 Obviously, YMMV, but interesting nonetheless.

Afghanistan's first female conductor - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34581264

Photography:

6 Photographers Shoot the Same Guy But He Gives Each of Them a Different Backstory - http://twistedsifter.com/2015/11/a-portrait-session-with-a-twist/ This is interesting, and unconscious biases of the people taking photographs (or say, writing news articles) should always be considered.

Politics:

Women in full-time jobs 'work for nothing' until 2016 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34764812

Myanmar election: Unusual candidates - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34696037

When disabled people took to the streets to change the law - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-34732084

Sport:

Sir Elton John is more than a sport fan, he's a sports fund - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/34746342 Which could be subtitled 'in which Elton John is awesome'.

Football:

Iceland: How a country with 329,000 people reached Euro 2016 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30012357

Player Focus: Donnarumma Justifying Mihajlovic Gamble at Milan - http://www.whoscored.com/News/9xckpehd8es63ukdls1riq/Show/Player-Focus-Donnarumma-Justifying-Mihajlovic-Gamble-at-Milan Not just about Baby Gigi! but also a fantastic story about Mihajlovic.

Rugby League:

St George Illawarra Dragons recruit Tyrone McCarthy's African mission - http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/st-george-illawarra-dragons/st-george-illawarra-dragons-recruit-tyrone-mccarthys-african-mission-20151113-gkybpm.html

Technology:

9 Emojis That Look Completely Different on Other Phones - http://mentalfloss.com/uk/trivia/35560/9-emojis-that-look-completely-different-on-other-phones via @TwistedSifter on twitter

Fic Recs

Doctor Who - Bail You Out by toestastegood

In which a post-'The Parting of the Ways' Jack meets a pre-'The Parting of the Ways' Ninth Doctor and it's all very Jack and cheerful longing and bittersweet and lovely.

Human Target - In came the cavalry by Cedricsowner

Heartwarming second season team fic. I love the way everyone rallies round Ilsa, doing their own, deeply twisted, version of 'are you alright?', only in a more practical and marginally criminal manner.

Love Actually - Impropriety by Miggy

Adorable post-film David/Natalie fic, which focuses on Natalie and the culture shock that's coming. And she continues to be her wonderful self. (Desperately trying not to give away the ending, which is utterly in keeping with the fist in the air yay! things that go on around the characters.)

Stargate: Atlantis Translation by Penknife

I love all the little details. Most importantly, Zelenka who is right about the language thing. And Atlantis not being able to translate things and how similar things aren't quite the same between cultures. And Ronon's voice. Great bit of fic.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - The Usurped Throne by Spycandy

Filmverse post-events fic. But cheerful and yet in character and I have a horrible feeling this is probably how something like this would go.