Bank Holiday Monday Linkdump

I haven't done quite as much internetting as normal the past week and a bit, mainly with my all-too-brief trip to Canada wreaking havoc on my body clock, quite unexpectedly, several days after I landed back on home soil to find the city I've called home for the past 12 years was attacked by a terrorist.  I may or may not have more to say on that subject in due course, though I don't really know what.  I attended the vigil in Albert Square on Tuesday evening, just as the crowd broke out into a spontaneous chant of "Manchester! Manchester! Manchester!" which I suppose sums the whole thing up as well as anyone ever could.  There's an eerie calm in the city centre; some tension with the noticeable increase in police presence - some of it heavily armed - Victoria Station and most of Corporation Street remain inaccessible, and there's a growing stack of flowers and other tributes around the edge of the Arena.  It's tempting to want to make sense of the whole thing, but of course it doesn't make sense; to find meaning in evil, but of course there isn't any.

Links concerning the attack:

Reactions to Manchester Bombing Show How Anti-Muslim Bigots Are “Useful Idiots” for ISIS at The Intercept

Useful idiots in their own context (we all have our part to play) the Ministry of "Defence" confirmed that the picture of a bomb with "Love from Manchester" written on it was genuine, and came from a plane to be launched in Cyprus, from which previous airstrikes against ISIS have been launched.  Lovely bombs make the bad people go away.

But to the point.  Some other links:

Articles:

Happiness research shows the biggest obstacle to creativity is being too busy at qz.com

The new Blue Frontier - an enticing update on "seasteading" at The European

Meet the Frugal Millennials Planning for Decades of Retirement at The Walrus

How the gig economy is ruining our lives at The Idler

Finland's basic income experiment is already making people feel better after just four months at World Economic Forum

Shocking Photographs of People Lying in 7 Days Worth of Their Trash at boredpanda.com

More and More Women Are Opting Out of Motherhood at vegan anarchist primitivist

Music:

There's an dusty corner of the blogosphere dedicated to music that is actually good or interesting (and sometimes both).  Lots of great music blogs haven't been updated for years, but that's fine because they still exist, and many of their links are still active, leaving you more than enough aural rabbit holes to tumble down.  no longer forgotten music is posting prolifically, and has a nice big juicy blogroll that I suggest you get your teeth into.

Have a pleasant bank holiday Monday.  Imagine if banks took a lot more holidays.  One  a week, say.  I don't think that would be so bad.