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Alec Coakley

@aleccoakley

🌐 Somewhere down the crazy river πŸ“”Spinoza 🎼 It's not dark yet, but it's getting there πŸ‘οΈ 'I don't believe in coincidences' Clotho πŸ” I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today

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Latest posts by Alec Coakley @aleccoakley

Did women do philosophy in the Middle Ages? When we think of the periods in European history when women were able to do philosophy, the Middle Ages may hardly come to mind as providing favourable conditions for this activity.

Upcoming online talk about women philosophers in the middle ages:

www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/did-w...

#philsky

09.03.2026 15:57 πŸ‘ 20 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
A saloon with signs up everywhere. 
Arkansas about 1935

And this time change with the clocks is fucked up. I am so tired.

A saloon with signs up everywhere. Arkansas about 1935 And this time change with the clocks is fucked up. I am so tired.

Morning Bluesky

09.03.2026 10:36 πŸ‘ 37 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

The MS of the Week is RIA MS 23 E 25, Lebor na hUidre / The Book of the Dun Cow.

This 12th century manuscript is best known for containing the oldest version of the TΓ‘in BΓ³ Cuailgne.

Visit @rialibrary.bsky.social to read more about this MS and explore highlights from the RIA Library’s collections.

09.03.2026 10:19 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
A stone circle in a green field with hills beyond

A stone circle in a green field with hills beyond

For #StandingStoneSunday The peaceful, rural stone circle of the Piper's Stones, Athgreany, Co. Wicklow in Ireland in 2019.

I first visited in autumn 1989 on a bike during my year off as an aspiring archaeologist waiting to go to uni.

πŸ“· My own, 2019

08.03.2026 06:42 πŸ‘ 130 πŸ” 17 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Why women have to queue for the toilet – and what it says about how cities are designed Even when both sides occupy the same area, men’s facilities can serve more users.

β€œToilets” - β€œa quiet but powerful indicator of who public space is really designed for, and whose bodies are still expected to adapt.”

Great article!
Thank you Belen Martinez

theconversation.com/why-women-ha...

07.03.2026 10:34 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Young Woman Being Harassed by a Man

Young Woman Being Harassed by a Man

This is Judith Leyster's amazing 1631 painting β€˜Young Woman Being Harassed by a Man’.

She was well known in her day but SURPRISE! her works were later misattributed either to Frans Hals, her local contemporary, or her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer.
www.thetimes.com/article/f41d...

06.03.2026 06:20 πŸ‘ 197 πŸ” 72 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 6
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I do love a ghost gable like this found near Ancoats in Manchester - but it's rarer still to find the intangible signs of the puff of smoke from the chimney...

03.03.2026 07:00 πŸ‘ 328 πŸ” 53 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
Ink drawing with pencil colours on white paper. A landscape made up of two flat plains and five hills, all striped like this: light blue, pink, faint pink, dark blue, purple, dark blue, faint pink, dark yellow and faint blue. Rising up from behind two of the hills is... kind of someone in a strange astronaut or divers getup? We see her from the shoulders up in white outfit that goes up over her thin neck and covers her head - there is a face hole, edged with the same sequence of colours as the hills. She has a calm expression and faces us, blue lipstick, grey shading and an eyepatch over one eye. The top of the head section of the outfit develops into another part exactly the same but a little smaller and the face hole is entirely taken up by a wide eye. Also, a thin stick stands on top of the woman's head, propping up a steaming hot purple cup of tea. Steam rises into the white sky.

Ink drawing with pencil colours on white paper. A landscape made up of two flat plains and five hills, all striped like this: light blue, pink, faint pink, dark blue, purple, dark blue, faint pink, dark yellow and faint blue. Rising up from behind two of the hills is... kind of someone in a strange astronaut or divers getup? We see her from the shoulders up in white outfit that goes up over her thin neck and covers her head - there is a face hole, edged with the same sequence of colours as the hills. She has a calm expression and faces us, blue lipstick, grey shading and an eyepatch over one eye. The top of the head section of the outfit develops into another part exactly the same but a little smaller and the face hole is entirely taken up by a wide eye. Also, a thin stick stands on top of the woman's head, propping up a steaming hot purple cup of tea. Steam rises into the white sky.

New picture, featuring a sequence of colours I stole from a stripey towel I own.

02.03.2026 22:28 πŸ‘ 46 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

A shoe-in for best thread of the day.

28.02.2026 23:34 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

My colleague Travis LaCroix has a big piece in Psychological Inquiry with a load of commentaries in response. This thread summarises things.

27.02.2026 16:29 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Forgot one:
- The guy who wrote in a comment that he had 'circled back and re-hired a human assistant.'

LAUGH MY FUCKING ASS OFF.

26.02.2026 07:34 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
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25.02.2026 13:39 πŸ‘ 63 πŸ” 17 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
Six cows parade along the grass covered ramparts of an Iron Age hillfort with a tree filled landscape beyond

Six cows parade along the grass covered ramparts of an Iron Age hillfort with a tree filled landscape beyond

The Iron Age ramparts of Figsbury Ring hillfort #Wiltshire as enjoyed by a herd of inquisitive bovine quadrupeds

πŸ“· March 2022

#HillfortsWednesday

25.02.2026 07:49 πŸ‘ 211 πŸ” 33 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 2
A blurred image of a man wearing a hat and a light-colored shirt, sitting near a fence. The text below reads "MICHAEL NEWMAN, SURPRISINGLY NOT DEAD."

A blurred image of a man wearing a hat and a light-colored shirt, sitting near a fence. The text below reads "MICHAEL NEWMAN, SURPRISINGLY NOT DEAD."

He’s walked under a ladder
Told his wife to calm down
Saw a face in the sewer
And talked to the clown
He once finished a meal
And swam right away
He once met Chuck Norris
And pointed out the toupee
He’s taken expired Advil
And torn tags from a bed
He’s

24.02.2026 12:35 πŸ‘ 229 πŸ” 70 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 0

it was getting dicey there for a minute but ok we can keep the internet

24.02.2026 08:46 πŸ‘ 270 πŸ” 64 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 0

🎢

🎸 πŸ‡¨β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡±β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡ͺβ€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡»β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡ͺβ€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡±β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡¦β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡³β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡©β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹ . πŸ‡Έβ€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡¨β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡­β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡΄β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡΄β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡±β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹ 🎸
🎸 πŸ‡΄β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡«β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹ . πŸ‡·β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡΄β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡¨β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹πŸ‡°β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹β€‹ 🎸

@skrticx.bsky.social @tribe-xx.bsky.social

🎢

24.02.2026 07:45 πŸ‘ 31 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Bone and tooth necklace
Skara Brae
National Museum of Scotland

23.02.2026 16:32 πŸ‘ 97 πŸ” 20 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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LSE Press books are now available on JSTOR open access LSE Press is delighted to announce a new collaboration with JSTOR, providing access to open access books on the digital library’s widely accessed platform.

Good news for academic readers - LSE Press books are now available on @jstor.bsky.social open access! πŸ”“ πŸ“–

LSE Press’s recent partnership with @thoth-metadata.bsky.social has helped the Press extend its presence on a broader range of discovery platforms.

πŸ”Ž Read more: blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsepress/202...

23.02.2026 10:11 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
above the rooftops and tree line, large clouds that resemble mountains flipped upside-down blanket the sky

above the rooftops and tree line, large clouds that resemble mountains flipped upside-down blanket the sky

inverted mountains in the firmament

22.02.2026 00:17 πŸ‘ 45 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

my dad loves dusty springfield so i grew up listening to her i love dusty springfield so my kids have grown up listening to her and now they love dusty springfield and that’s what we call generational wealth

21.02.2026 14:23 πŸ‘ 308 πŸ” 50 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 0
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The Last Starfighter poster art by Charles deMar (1984)

21.02.2026 23:06 πŸ‘ 241 πŸ” 40 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 1
Painting of winter landscape, yellow sky.

Painting of winter landscape, yellow sky.

β€˜Midwinter spring is its own season
Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown,
Suspended in time, between pole and tropic.’ ~ Eliot, Little Gidding, Four Quartets.
@racheldeering.bsky.social very late for #BookWormSat unavoidably delayed partly by cake. 🍰 πŸ–ΌοΈ Monet

21.02.2026 17:54 πŸ‘ 40 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
Book ABOUT
Roses
S Reynolds Hole
Green cover, gold and black lettering, black borders, gold decorations of roses

Book ABOUT Roses S Reynolds Hole Green cover, gold and black lettering, black borders, gold decorations of roses

Book Cover of the Day:

20.02.2026 05:22 πŸ‘ 79 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I have to go now. My planet needs me.

20.02.2026 09:02 πŸ‘ 44 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Portrait format in acrylics on canvas. The bottom half is the stones and the top half is the farmland on a hill in the distance with a patchwork of green fields separated by hedgerows. The stones are all around a rectangular trough rendered so dark it's basically black, with stone slabs lining its sides, and all the other stones sort of radiating out from it. Many of the stones have a very pale blue, pink, or ochre top in the sun with dark grey on other parts and a very dark shadow side. Some of the pale grass around it is worn away to dirt, presumably from visitors walking on it. A short distance past it is a dark green hedge running horizontally across the painting, and it is beyond that we see the hill of farmland. In the top left there is a dip in the hill's horizon to give us a glimpse of a sliver of the ocean. The sky is a flat rich blue. Signed bottom right in dark red, Liam Daly

Portrait format in acrylics on canvas. The bottom half is the stones and the top half is the farmland on a hill in the distance with a patchwork of green fields separated by hedgerows. The stones are all around a rectangular trough rendered so dark it's basically black, with stone slabs lining its sides, and all the other stones sort of radiating out from it. Many of the stones have a very pale blue, pink, or ochre top in the sun with dark grey on other parts and a very dark shadow side. Some of the pale grass around it is worn away to dirt, presumably from visitors walking on it. A short distance past it is a dark green hedge running horizontally across the painting, and it is beyond that we see the hill of farmland. In the top left there is a dip in the hill's horizon to give us a glimpse of a sliver of the ocean. The sky is a flat rich blue. Signed bottom right in dark red, Liam Daly

Have a West Cork #painting. "Drombeg Fulacht Fiadh" was painted because I like things that are beside things. Also, much as I like cooking I like stones even more, and when arranged into things well, I'm beside myself. This is beside one of Ireland's best example of a stone circle. #art #SpeirGhorm

19.02.2026 21:42 πŸ‘ 57 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Our Ancient English Woodland

Our Ancient English Woodland

The forest keeps different time;
slow hours as long as your life,

as you venture their world: the green, shadowy, garlic air your ancestors breathed.

These grave and patient saints
who pray and pray
and suffer your little embrace.

Carol Ann Duffy - extracts from 'Forest'

19.02.2026 22:26 πŸ‘ 116 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Tooth worm - Wikipedia

It's weird that the first recorded descriptions of toothaches, from Sumerian cuneiform to Central American remedies to Pliny the Elder, up to the *18th century*, constantly mentioned worms.

People were *convinced* that dental pain was worms, for millennia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth_w...

19.02.2026 09:01 πŸ‘ 156 πŸ” 36 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 4
English bluebell leaf shoots

English bluebell leaf shoots

The awakening of our English Bluebells is a signal. Spring is coming

18.02.2026 17:32 πŸ‘ 195 πŸ” 26 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 1
Illustration from the first level of the Peter and Jane reading scheme books of the 1960s featuring a small boy going into a toy shop to buy a toy crane

Illustration from the first level of the Peter and Jane reading scheme books of the 1960s featuring a small boy going into a toy shop to buy a toy crane

The toy shop (1964)
Artist: Harry Wingfield

18.02.2026 19:39 πŸ‘ 255 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 2
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Wednesday

18.02.2026 08:04 πŸ‘ 4511 πŸ” 761 πŸ’¬ 50 πŸ“Œ 25