Alan Colquhoun
@alancolquhoun.bsky.social
Pianist, philosopher, author, ethicist, metaphysician, moralist, aesthete...🇺🇦
I suppose wheelchair users should just trail through the muddy friction, or risk the road?
November 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I suppose wheelchair users should just trail through the muddy friction, or risk the road?
It's not even December yet!!
(Obviously his magic reindeer are in the garage)
(Obviously his magic reindeer are in the garage)
November 30, 2025 at 3:09 PM
It's not even December yet!!
(Obviously his magic reindeer are in the garage)
(Obviously his magic reindeer are in the garage)
Took a trip to the 'modern art' gallery this morning
Enjoyed Picasso, Hockney and plenty more besides
But mainly enjoyed just being out of the house for a bit...
Enjoyed Picasso, Hockney and plenty more besides
But mainly enjoyed just being out of the house for a bit...
November 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Took a trip to the 'modern art' gallery this morning
Enjoyed Picasso, Hockney and plenty more besides
But mainly enjoyed just being out of the house for a bit...
Enjoyed Picasso, Hockney and plenty more besides
But mainly enjoyed just being out of the house for a bit...
What my essay 'The Algorithmic Panda in the Room' foresaw - “the moment those traits are optimised out of political life, citizenship everywhere will have completed its metamorphosis into servitude” - is being fulfilled not just within Chinese borders but across the planetary network...
November 12, 2025 at 6:29 AM
What my essay 'The Algorithmic Panda in the Room' foresaw - “the moment those traits are optimised out of political life, citizenship everywhere will have completed its metamorphosis into servitude” - is being fulfilled not just within Chinese borders but across the planetary network...
Indeed it was (is)
That bracket fungus, in particular, is about half a meter across and it has already hollowed out one fallen tree (the one behind my head in the right hand photo), so it has clearly been mulching away, turning these trees into compost, for a while already...
That bracket fungus, in particular, is about half a meter across and it has already hollowed out one fallen tree (the one behind my head in the right hand photo), so it has clearly been mulching away, turning these trees into compost, for a while already...
November 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Indeed it was (is)
That bracket fungus, in particular, is about half a meter across and it has already hollowed out one fallen tree (the one behind my head in the right hand photo), so it has clearly been mulching away, turning these trees into compost, for a while already...
That bracket fungus, in particular, is about half a meter across and it has already hollowed out one fallen tree (the one behind my head in the right hand photo), so it has clearly been mulching away, turning these trees into compost, for a while already...
I love how older trees preserve stretched versions of carvings made by people in bygone days...
November 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I love how older trees preserve stretched versions of carvings made by people in bygone days...
Decided to take a stroll through Craiglockhart woods (for a change)
November 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Decided to take a stroll through Craiglockhart woods (for a change)
'Deceiver', fruiting under the birch in our front garden...
November 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
'Deceiver', fruiting under the birch in our front garden...
Last night's movie was Paris, je t’aime (2006)
I first saw this when it came out nearly twenty years ago, but it carries a very different meaning for me now...
I first saw this when it came out nearly twenty years ago, but it carries a very different meaning for me now...
November 8, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Last night's movie was Paris, je t’aime (2006)
I first saw this when it came out nearly twenty years ago, but it carries a very different meaning for me now...
I first saw this when it came out nearly twenty years ago, but it carries a very different meaning for me now...
To all those who like to pretend that (religious) tribalism isn't dangerous, I'd like to invite you to read between the lines of this passage
Ponder the putative "mystery"
Ask yourself: what could most plausibly explain the zealotry, given the symptoms alluded to?
Ponder the putative "mystery"
Ask yourself: what could most plausibly explain the zealotry, given the symptoms alluded to?
November 5, 2025 at 6:43 AM
To all those who like to pretend that (religious) tribalism isn't dangerous, I'd like to invite you to read between the lines of this passage
Ponder the putative "mystery"
Ask yourself: what could most plausibly explain the zealotry, given the symptoms alluded to?
Ponder the putative "mystery"
Ask yourself: what could most plausibly explain the zealotry, given the symptoms alluded to?
This - from this morning's Economist - interested me, because who can really tell whether the Chinese marketplace is sufficiently free?
Boyu, like all Chinese entities, is ultimately controlled by the One Party under Xi
And its 'Social Credit System' can ensure compliance without overt violence
Boyu, like all Chinese entities, is ultimately controlled by the One Party under Xi
And its 'Social Credit System' can ensure compliance without overt violence
November 4, 2025 at 6:12 AM
This - from this morning's Economist - interested me, because who can really tell whether the Chinese marketplace is sufficiently free?
Boyu, like all Chinese entities, is ultimately controlled by the One Party under Xi
And its 'Social Credit System' can ensure compliance without overt violence
Boyu, like all Chinese entities, is ultimately controlled by the One Party under Xi
And its 'Social Credit System' can ensure compliance without overt violence
Taking advantage of the autumn sunshine...
November 2, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Taking advantage of the autumn sunshine...
After two years sans blooms, I've managed to revivify our orchid...
November 1, 2025 at 11:33 AM
After two years sans blooms, I've managed to revivify our orchid...
Getting ready for this evening's vet appointment (can you guess which leg still hurts?)
October 22, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Getting ready for this evening's vet appointment (can you guess which leg still hurts?)
Ukrainian hip hop has much the same effect...
October 20, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Ukrainian hip hop has much the same effect...
Those swans had 5 signets about two months ago, then down to two last week; now there's only one left
Nature, red in tooth and claw...
Nature, red in tooth and claw...
October 16, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Those swans had 5 signets about two months ago, then down to two last week; now there's only one left
Nature, red in tooth and claw...
Nature, red in tooth and claw...
Juvenile looking heron in Blackford Pond just now...
October 16, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Juvenile looking heron in Blackford Pond just now...
The 1951 Act’s Article 4 was brutally simple:
one Polish parent, and citizenship is automatic
No forms, no approvals
My mother did not apply to be Polish — she was Polish the moment she opened her eyes
one Polish parent, and citizenship is automatic
No forms, no approvals
My mother did not apply to be Polish — she was Polish the moment she opened her eyes
October 10, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The 1951 Act’s Article 4 was brutally simple:
one Polish parent, and citizenship is automatic
No forms, no approvals
My mother did not apply to be Polish — she was Polish the moment she opened her eyes
one Polish parent, and citizenship is automatic
No forms, no approvals
My mother did not apply to be Polish — she was Polish the moment she opened her eyes
My grandfather, Ignacy Wodecki, was Polish — his passport proof against bureaucratic amnesia
In 1954 my mother was born to him in Scotland, and Polish law enfolded her without ceremony or petition
In 1954 my mother was born to him in Scotland, and Polish law enfolded her without ceremony or petition
October 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM
My grandfather, Ignacy Wodecki, was Polish — his passport proof against bureaucratic amnesia
In 1954 my mother was born to him in Scotland, and Polish law enfolded her without ceremony or petition
In 1954 my mother was born to him in Scotland, and Polish law enfolded her without ceremony or petition
(from left to right) Toby myself and my younger brother...
October 9, 2025 at 12:23 PM
(from left to right) Toby myself and my younger brother...
Me (age 20) with 'Mindy' the budgerigar...
October 9, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Me (age 20) with 'Mindy' the budgerigar...
We each had our flu jab, about an hour ago...
October 9, 2025 at 10:58 AM
We each had our flu jab, about an hour ago...
'Sulphur tuft', in our garden, just now...
October 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM
'Sulphur tuft', in our garden, just now...
My view right now...
October 8, 2025 at 6:43 AM
My view right now...
Kotulka is a happy cat (obviously)
October 5, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Kotulka is a happy cat (obviously)