iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm deactivating—will probably reactivate at the end of October or something? Don't know. I can be reached through my blog in the unlikely event that you need me for something.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

...when I'm not working, at least. Anyway, I'm going to leave bluesky and social media for a bit, I think. And I'll stop reading the news too. I need to disconnect from this shit cyberpunk reality.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I've noticed that I've disengaged with the world over the last couple of years. I'm not working much on projects for other people anymore; I'm writing a couple of books, theoretically, but I'm not really working on them. I spend most of my time reading and learning new skills, for fun & escapism.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A planet getting hotter and hotter; skills deteriorating globally; governments flailing in the face of far-right thuggery; adults becoming less considerate of others as they get used to speaking gruffly with LLMs... It's hard to think positively about that world.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm in pessimistic mood. I think it's all the articles about globally poor PISA scores and all the discussion of the Children Who No Longer Read, and the bizarrely hot summer (it's still over 30°C most days, which is unusual in late September even here in Portugal). Feeling distinctly bearish.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

...and it's refreshing and interesting to see someone take the metaphysics of creation seriously, and approach the subject fearlessly, from a perspective I don't share.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I suppose I'd need to follow entirely different groups of people to find that. But metaphysics seems unpopular. I probably would have been dismissive when I was younger, but these days I'm interested in other people's views on these topics. I'm (back to) reading Augustine's Confessions at the moment

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Two good Popes, no denying it. I wonder where I'd be today if they'd been pontiffs when I was young. I follow a few of the religious folk on here—like Jay Hulme, whom I like a lot—but what interests me is how relatively little discussion there is of *belief* on here (there's more about practice).

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I think you're right, but the taboo also seems to apply to atheism and agnosticism as well—very little discussion or even mention of those. Seems like bad manners to bring it up.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Thanks for the recommendation! Looks good. I've got an annotated edition and translation of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā on my shelf, so I'll probably work through that, but every little helps

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I suppose you're right. Still, it's surprising (to me) that there's as little metaphysical speculation on social networks as there is. I'd have thought it would be something people would want to talk about.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It's interesting to me, btw, that social media sites, Bluesky particularly, don't tend to involve much discussion of religion. Religion's a controversial topic and it can be bad manners to bring it up—but the same is true of politics, and there's no such taboo there.

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Aves do Brasil @avesbrasil.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

🇧🇷Bandeirinha 🌎Discosura longicaudus Conservação: Pouco Preocupante O bandeirinha é uma ave Apodiforme da família Trochilidae. Também conhecido como beija-flor-bandeirinha e pavãozinho. 📷 Marlos Menêzes

Um beija-flor de porte pequeno encontra-se pousado verticalmente em um galho fino e seco, destacando-se pelo seu visual ornamental. A cabeça e o dorso apresentam uma plumagem verde-esmeralda vibrante e iridescente. A garganta e a parte superior do peito exibem um tom de verde mais denso e brilhante, delimitado por uma faixa estreita de cor branca. Abaixo, a região peitoral possui uma mancha de coloração acobreada ou ferrugínea, que se estende até as laterais. A cauda é o elemento mais característico: composta por duas penas retrizes centrais extremamente longas e finas, que terminam em pontas arredondadas e escuras, assemelhando-se a raquetes. O bico é curto, reto e escuro. A postura é ereta e atenta, com o olhar voltado para cima e para a direita. O fundo é um borrão suave em tons de verde e ocre, proporcionando um contraste que realça a nitidez da ave.
Atenção: O alt da imagem foi gerado automaticamente.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm not a believer, though; I don't think I accept the fundamental premises of Buddhist thought. I'm motivated more by historical / linguistic / philological curiosity than anything else.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Tbqh I'm surprised how far my learn-about-Buddhism journey has taken me. It started as an attempt to make sense of signs and labels at Buddhist temples in Japan last year. I learned a bit of Buddhist Chinese—and now I'm trying to make sense of Nāgārjuna. Temple-to-doctrine pipeline.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Or, I don't have any idea at all. Or something in between those two positions

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I think I might be ready to tackle the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā now (now that I have some idea of what Mādhyamaka is about)

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Finished reading this today and I can only recommend it. A very good introduction; changed my perspective on several topics. Otoh, I'm far from an expert in these things, so ymmv.

The cover of The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy by Jan Westerhoff, a publication in the "Oxford History of Philosophy" series by Oxford University Press.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Interesting—I wonder what it is about red trousers that makes rich Anglophones want to wear them

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Wearing red/pink trousers is upper-class-coded in the UK. I wouldn't wear them (too middle-class) but I have some more expensively educated friends who would.

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Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Hobby Stimulus Bill that sends a check for any hobby - glue sticks together, make bracelets, birdwatch, hone a skill, sing little songs, invent a language - but under the condition it doesn’t get filmed and posted or turned into an online money making endeavor for at least one calendar year

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I did end up buying a new fountain pen, in case anyone was wondering. I got a Pilot desk pen for under €20 including delivery. And it's exactly what I was looking for.

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Florian Louis @florianlouis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Fan Chuo - Le Livre des barbares 樊綽《蠻書》 Texte introduit, traduit et annoté par Alexis Lycas À paraître en novembre aux Belles Lettres

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Edward @fornbirkibeinn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I take the old fashioned view that the British government should not just shrug when the far right engages in piracy on the high seas.

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🌎🐎John Hyphen🎮🤠 @johnhyphen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

thinking about the phrase "dutch courage", and it's incredibly odd, because if you've ever met any dutch people you have probably noticed that they are not really inhibited in any way that stops them doing or saying whatever they like

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Acting the Fulemin @actingthefulemin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

there are 70 million people for whom this is the biggest song in the world. they watch comedies called like "Wives of Jim" that have run for nine seasons. they're usually pretty affable in person. in 2024 they severed the fate of humanity because of egg prices

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Edward w @edwardw2.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

another miracle tale of guanyin, involving a buddhist optical toy edwardwhite.mataroa.blog/blog/miracle...

edwardwhite.mataroa.blog

Miracle tales of Guanyin: A child is saved from drowning — edwardwhite

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andrew phillips @herfst.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

nn msy sꜣw ‘no one is born wise’ —Maxims of Ptaḥḥotep, Prisse Papyrus 5,6 (ca. 2000 BCE)

Egyptian text in Hieratic script on papyrus

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Tammy Lai-Ming Ho @myetcetera.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

We invite writers to review 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑃𝑜𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑌𝑢 𝑋𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑗𝑖 (OUP, 2025),trans. Lucas Klein, for @asiancha.bsky.social:"... one of the most interesting poets in premodern Chinese literature." If you're interested, please send an email to editors@asiancha.com. 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...

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Chris Boyd @paperghost.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

there is no sensible reason why a 5 year spouse visa cost us a little over fourteen grand. none whatsoever. and that's before you break it down to the addition of renewals every 30 months, the health surcharge, the endless price hikes, the final kick in the teeth for ILR (three grand! to settle!)

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

All languages are hard! *And* time-consuming.

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The British state: "Oh, you got married, did you? Well, congratula...oh, it's with a foreign citizen? Well, that's not very good, my friend. Please pay us a lot of money"

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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

What’s really peculiar about the “rapture” theology is that it’s based on a really convoluted and selective reading of scripture, dates back no further than the 19th C, is rejected by the Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformed, and is basically contradicted by the Apostle’s Creed. But…

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The autumnal equinox is only a few days away. BL Add 18856; Guyart des Moulins, Bible historiale; c.1420 CE; France, Central (Paris); f.5v @blmedieval.bsky.social

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I'm not a believer in occult things but I thought this would be a good Halloween-y read, and I'm sure it'll expand my vocabulary in interesting ways.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Picked this up yesterday in the bookshop at the local mall—a new publication of Fernando Pessoa's writings on secret societies and the occult. 'As above, so below' in Portuguese is the rather wordier "o que está em cima é como o que está em baixo".

The cover of "Escritos Ocultistas" (Occult Writings), a collection of fragments by Fernando Pessoa on occult topics, including theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, and other things of that nature. Published by Assírio & Alvim.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Rad flick! Glad we waited for the discourse to die down, and I don't want to add to it. But we both enjoyed it a lot.

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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

In 1585, the Englishman John White, governor of one of the very first North American colonies, made a series of exquisite watercolour sketches of the native Algonkin people alongside whom the settlers would try to live. @ResObscura explores... publicdomainreview.org/essay/p...

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

To be honest, if 20-year-old me knew anything at all about the world of 2026, I doubt he'd worry about *me* very much. I expect he'd start formulating a plan to assassinate at least one Anglophone politician. None of this should come to pass

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Apparently still an idiot today ("unless" should be "under", of course)

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Well, who knows? It doesn't matter really. I was an idiot back then.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I was twenty then. I wonder what twenty-year-old me make of my life today... I'm sure he'd be a bit disappointed. But not in everything. I've managed to make an unorthodox life work unless less-than-ideal circumstances.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

My mum's family's from Cahersiveen, and the fort's just down the road. It's said to be one of Ireland's best preserved early medieval fortifications.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

18 years ago, on Cahergall ringfort, Co. Kerry en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahergall

A blond man standing on the dry stone masonry rampart of an early medieval Irish fort, body facing the camera, head turned away to the right-hand side of the image, wearing jeans and a raincoat, hair a little wild; soft grey sky and a bit of green hillside in the background.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Think we'll probably watch The Odyssey tomorrow...

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

If I post enough about Tupi, the name will become more familiar, interest will increase, and more people will find out about the language and its history. So I hope.

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Alex West @ajw87.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Unfortunately, this isn't the sharing-interesting-things website; it's the sharing-Important-things-people-in-their-thirties+-care-about website. NATO and Swedish elections and misery and that sort of thing. But Tupi is interesting anyway.

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Aves do Brasil @avesbrasil.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

🇧🇷Gavião-caracoleiro 🌎Chondrohierax uncinatus Conservação: Pouco Preocupante O gavião-caracoleiro é uma ave accipitriforme da família Accipitridae, também conhecido como gavião-bico-de-gancho, bico-de-anzol, anzoleiro e quequé. 📷 Cláudio Dias Timm

Uma ave de rapina de porte médio repousa empoleirada em um galho fino e diagonal. O topo da cabeça apresenta um tom de cinza-azulado, que desce até a nuca, contrastando com a face, onde se destaca um anel periocular esbranquiçado e íris amarela vívida. Entre o olho e o bico curto, curvo e escuro, há uma mancha alaranjada. O peito e o ventre são marcados por um padrão denso de listras horizontais marrons sobre um fundo claro, enquanto as penas do dorso e das asas exibem um azul-acinzentado profundo. A cauda, visível abaixo, é clara com faixas escuras. Suas garras, amareladas e fortes, prendem-se firmemente ao tronco úmido. A postura é atenta, com o corpo inclinado e a cabeça voltada para a direita. O ambiente é composto por folhagens verdes desfocadas, com iluminação natural filtrada que cria contrastes de luz e sombra.
Atenção: O alt da imagem foi gerado automaticamente.

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