Winter swimming in a brook, air temperature -30C. Your body is fooled to think that it’s in mortal danger and it reacts accordingly with a rush of adrenaline.

Happy New Year from 68.4 Degrees N (Inari) in the land of darkness where the sun rises next week for the first time in ages.

My brother in law and his partner are driving northwards to visit the family. They send us this photo taken on the road of the skies above them. This has been a good year for the lights.

Winter solstice at 60°10′15″N 24°56′15″E (Helsinki): 9.23am ↑☀️↓ 3.12pm So not even six hours of overcast daylight. On the bright side, things can only get better.

Retirement days just got even better! Bought 2 (!) @interraileu.bsky.social passes for 2026. First trip to the sands of North Jutland, second to Berlin/Baltics. Reduced senior price, 1st class, with an additional -25% rebate that @wetpaint63.bsky.social (🙏🏻) brought to my attention.

The rest of the family has been doing this already for a month or so, but today I opened my winter sea swimming season with a dip in candlelight. Air +3C, water about the same.

The third assignment in my community college course focused on certain elements of cameraless #photography. I used household glassware as an extension of my lens.

Assignment 2 from this year’s community college course on abstract #photography.

📕📕NEW EDITION Research Methods in Law (Eds: Dawn Watkins & Mandy Burton) Feat. Terry Hutchinson, Fiona Cowie, Anthony Bradney, Steven Cammiss, Philip Handler, Geoffrey Samuel, Albert Sanchez-Graells, Vanessa E. Munro, Anthony Good & @panuminkkinen.bsky.social www.routledge.com/Research-Met...

While fellow crits are swarming in #Exeter, some of us are infiltrating into EU law circles in #Prague. Book coming out soon through #Hart.

Why #Oligarchy never disappears: power concentrates at the top, leaders gain knowledge, resources & connections, then detach from the people. @camilavergara.bsky.social & #ClaraMattei unpack how #SystemicCorruption works: youtu.be/UT0y1CRFfBA

I'm devastated by Conor Gearty's passing. His seminars were electrifying, his research courageous and inspirational, and as a doctoral supervisor he was never less than kind, diligent, and wise. It is such a huge loss. In this beautiful article, he left us some of his wisdom, humour, and humility.

As a ‘nephologist’ (i.e. a keen admirer of clouds) and a proud member of the #CloudAppreciationSociety, I have today participated in the annual cloud appreciation day by recording the skies above me.

Watch the full Forum for Real Economic Emancipation (FREE) Podcast with Clara Mattei & myself. We talked about representative democracy, oligarchy, expropriation w/o compensation, praxis, the need to bring art & music as part of political activity, and... youtu.be/UT0y1CRFfBA?...

Today our house celebrated its 70th anniversary, and the board of our condominium had organised a lovely garden party to mark the occasion (thanks!). 🥂 One occupant has lived here from the very beginning, so practically all her life. The word ‘community’ was often heard. 🙏🏻

In Finland and in Sweden, summer ends with lots of crayfish, dill and schnapps. Autumn is here.

Last weekend our house participated in the annual #LoviisaHistoricalHouses weekend. Despite the house being far from finished, we welcomed several hundreds of curious visitors and had lovely discussions with other fans of old houses. Next year again! #olosenpapantalo #LWT

We have a new and interesting neighbour living on our front yard: a giant funnel (aspropaxillus giganteus). Not poisonous, but barely edible. Smells of bitter almond. But it is vast!

@joshaw.bsky.social, congrats!

We're hiring two new roles on our legal team! 🎬 Abrams Legal Fellowship, providing legal assistance to documentary filmmakers. Apply by July 30. 📄 Paralegal, supporting our litigation and other legal programming. Apply by July 31. Learn more:

In #Bilbao accompanying @emiliakorkeaaho.bsky.social who is lecturing at @alemanno.bsky.social’s citizen lobbying summer school. No real work except a little writing, then leisurely walks in very pleasant temperatures and pintxos with wine.

The Transnational Association of Legal Scholars has reopened its Academy - this is a week-long, intensive, online training for a selected 16 grad students. criticallegalthinking.com/2025/07/14/c...

The first phase of renovating our second home in #Loviisa is nearly done. The old porch (left) has been demolished and replaced with the new angular one (right). The extension now also includes a proper wet room which allows us to spend nights there (in admittedly modest conditions).

Ari passed away this day quite a few years ago. Still miss him.

At the London Conference in Critical Thought 2025 with friends and colleagues like @bernardkeenan.bsky.social from our media-theoretical project. Thanks to the organisers (🙏🏻 Shomo et al).

The renovation in #Loviisa continues. Today’s revelation under the wood panels: historical layers of old wallpaper dating from the early 20th century. Under the well-preserved floral tapestry (20s?) is the original green paper. Bakelite switch from the 50s.

Rants of a retired man #1. Why do people like barnacle geese? In addition to them pooping all over the terrain, they’re basically just oversized chucks with a splash of colour. Unlike Canada geese which they are often mistaken for. The latter are properly geese: majestic, swan-like, dramatic.

This is the first ever weekend at our coastal summer house in Loviisa. It’s all still a construction site, but the cava on the new bright veranda tastes twice as good. We watch our neighbours’ cats hunting for voles (good!), and we listen to the jackdaws fighting it out in the damson trees.

Today before officially retiring next week my colleagues organised a sending-away do for me. I never realised I had so many good friends in the workplace. The handbound Festschrift also includes greetings from all over the world and is a work of art in itself. How lucky I’ve been. Thank you all.

Gaza | Yli 1 600 tutkijaa vaatii Suomea tunnustamaan Palestiinan www.hs.fi/politiikka/a...

Join us this Thursday and Friday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of @LSEHumanRights. I will be in a panel with Banu Bargu and Brenna Bhandar, talking about Human Rights ‘from Below’: Dignity, Democracy & Class Struggle Register here 👇 www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/hu...

The local #hanami celebrations usually take place in early May (too cold in April). Today we head to a nearby park for the picnic. The 🌸 trees were originally a gift from the Japanese community in Helsinki.

Spending the countdown to my retirement (3-2-1-0 days) over the early May bank holiday weekend in beautiful #Brighton together with my dear friend @glasshousebooks.bsky.social #ColinPerrin who I hadn’t seen in quite a while.

This year there are several exhibitions across Finland celebrating the Lapp artist #ReidarSärestöniemi (1925-1981). This large one in #Rovaniemi was certainly great: unlike the one in #Helsinki at #Didrichsen, no queuing to get in!

A sigh of relief even if the Social Democrats could only win by drifting to the right. Overall losses for current government coalition, wins for opposition parties. Parliamentary elections in 2027.

My first book is out on 27 May with @mitpress.bsky.social. It offers a media history of the power to intercept communications in Britain from the foundation of the Post Office to the (near) present, and the changing relationship between law, sovereignty, and media.

More attacks on academic freedom… this time at University of British Columbia. Pls read this exceptionally well drafted open letter which is open for signing. I did. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The full story. 👇🏻

We are hiring a two year Teaching and Research Fellowship at Grade 7 in the area of Artificial Intelligence, Data and the Rule of Law. 1/3

We have a new Danish-style neighbourhood bakery called ‘Bolle’. First queued 30 mins before it opened, then 30 mins to the counter. The cardamom roll alone made it worth it.

The Law School at the University of Strathclyde is recruiting a Reader in Public Law (closing date 15 April) (full time, on an open-ended basis). www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMI746/r...

This morning my mum (standing, yours truly sitting right, photo from early 60s) passed away peacefully at the age of 90. Despite the pains that plagued her last years, she managed to hold on to her brilliant sense of humour. I got along well with both my parents, but I was always a ‘mother’s boy’.

I am happy to share that my article 'Republican Constitutional Thought: Elitist and Plebeian Interpretations of the Mixed Constitution' published in HPT has been making some waves in the field so it was made Open Access by the publisher. Download for free. 👇 www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/i...

International Women’s Day in Helsinki: ‘With love and rage, for every woman!’

’The reason of those best able to have their way is always the best: We now show how this is true.’

You really should apply! Ikerbasque also supports research on DEI and related issues. If you find yourself unwelcome at home, build yourself a new nest.

Teaching a two-week course in legal theory to a cohort of 50 undergraduates in our bilingual Vasa unit on the western coast. A nice place to visit too: sometimes decent weather, always great restaurants.

vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric... new phd post in my research program, please share!