Mars Ikeda
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marsikeda.bsky.social
Mars Ikeda
@marsikeda.bsky.social
330 followers 1.1K following 300 posts
Coder, artist and elder millennial. NYC, USA. Data communication & public service. Freelance cat dad. I'll guard the ship with my very life!
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marsikeda.bsky.social
Darwin approves!
A photo of a brown tabby cat with green eyes, pink nose, and white whiskers & chin looking at the camera while curled up on a fluffy blue cat bed.
November 18, 2025 at 6:31 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Ha, thanks! Much for me to consider as this is a real message i sent recently in our apartment group chat about our resident tabby, Darwin
Screenshot of a text chat. The text shows a cartoon emoji image of a tabby cat bursting through a brick wall not unlike the Kool-Aid man in 80s TV commercials. The caption reads "Darwin when he decides it's time for pets."
November 18, 2025 at 5:12 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
A cat with a similar lack of boundaries
A photo of a close-up of a brown tabby cat's face as he gets pets from the person he is sitting on the chest of. The cat has a pink nose and white whiskers. His eyes are partially closed and he is purring.
November 18, 2025 at 1:07 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Gaze upon The Lad (Darwin).
A close-up photo of a brown tabby cat's face as he receives a pet from the person he, cat, is sitting on the chest of. A second photo of the same brown tabby cat still being pretty but now his eyes are more closed. His nose is still pink and his whiskers, they still are many and white.
November 18, 2025 at 12:58 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Sorry for the ancient insta filter, but thought this Pic from a downtown Manhattan tech workspace I visited might be relevant.
Photo of a sign in all caps that reads "Privacy is Dignity." The letters are thick three-dimensional foam and blue. The background is orange and there is a wandering traveler plant vine hanging in front of the sign.
November 16, 2025 at 4:52 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Darwin is here for it!
Photo close-up of a brown tabby cat with big green eyes, pink nose, and a slightly open mouth.
November 2, 2025 at 5:48 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Courtesy @jjinandtonic.bsky.social
The character from the Sickos meme wearing a Sickos baseball jersey, S baseball hat, and holding a bat that reads "YES... HA HA HA... YES!"
November 2, 2025 at 4:07 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Maria Kasbas' post asking if dodgers and Jay's game are paying from the grave. It is directly above a post from Brendan Nyhan worrying himself saying he's dead saying he died again.
November 2, 2025 at 4:00 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
But did you get a Halloween early voting temporary tattoo? My voting place was lit!
Photo of NYC Halloween Early Voter 2025 sticker with pigeon in a witch's hat. Photo of Halloween Voter temporary tattoo, blue Manhattan votes early sticker, and early voting Board of Elections sticker.
October 31, 2025 at 10:53 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Scored the NYC Early Voter sticker Halloween version AND a pigeon temporary tattoo which was new this year (2nd picture)! Go Zohran!
Close-up photo of a round blue and orange "Zohran for New York City" on a street sign with graffiti and stickers. Photo of a hand holding a Halloween Voter 2025 NYC sticker in front of an early voting site sidewalk sign. The sticker has a pigeon in a witch's hat holding a pumpkin bucket in its beak. Photo of a Halloween Voter 2025 temporary tattoo, Manhattan Votes Early blue sticker with the Empire State Building, and the standard early voting Board of Elections sticker all on a white tabletop.
October 31, 2025 at 10:34 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
New proof of face selfie to make up for drawn cartoon profile pic. I'm real and a real fan of NYC public transit!
A dark-haired man with lighter-colored skin smiles at the camera. He wears glasses, a necklace with a green stone, a blue t-shirt and a green and blue flannel shirt. He is at a New York City bus stop at night and traffic is visible behind him.
October 19, 2025 at 3:37 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Darwin dreams deeply. Wishing all a peaceful night.
A brown tabby is sleeping in a blue pillow with a silver tree lamp that has LED bulbs providing a soft glow behind him. The cat's wires are closed tightly and he has one paw placed atop the other.
October 3, 2025 at 1:35 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
El Corazón is telling me to be strong and stick with Mamdani!
A black cat sitting on a small pizza box with her legs folded beneath her chest. She is looking of to the right and has greenish eyes. The box reads "fresh hot pizza."
September 23, 2025 at 6:50 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
New proof of life and face!
Close-up photo of an olive-skinned man with dark, shoulder-length hair that has a grey stripe in the front. He wears glasses and a striped green shirt.
August 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
El Corazón is here as well, for those who prefer a darker Disney Villain energy rather than Disney Prince.
A photo of a black cat on top of a black futon. The cat is viewed from the side and one of her back leg's black toe beans are visible. The other back leg is hanging off the futon. She has pointy ears and green eyes. Her expression is judgemental.
August 13, 2025 at 1:56 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Darwin knows it's a lot and wants the best for you, whether that's a pause to close your eyes and breathe, a water or bathroom break, a wish, a prayer, or gratitude.

Darwin believes in you in this moment.

Darwin is so happy you're here.
Photo of a brown tabby cat sitting on top of a tattered black leather chair. Cat is facing the camera with his paws hanging over the side of the chair. He has large pointy ears, big green eyes, white whiskers, white chin, white stripe in the middle of his chest, and a hopeful expression. There are bookcases behind him.
August 13, 2025 at 1:34 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Reminds me of my favorite recent essay on AI in college at Lithub.

lithub.com/what-happene...
For homework, I had asked them to use AI to propose a topic for the midterm essay, which addressed their relationship to technology. Most students had reported that the AI-generated essay topics were fine, even good. Some students said that they liked the AI’s topic more than their own human-generated topics. But the students hadn’t compared notes: only I had seen every single AI topic. Here are some of the essay topics I had them read aloud: Navigating the Digital Age: How Technology Shapes Our Social Lives, Learning, and Well-Being Navigating the Digital Age: A Personal Reflection on Technology Navigating the Digital Age: A Personal and Peer Perspective on Technology’s Role in Our Lives Navigating Connection: An Exploration of Personal Relationships with Technology From Connection to Disconnection: How Technology Shapes Our Social Lives From Connection to Distraction: How Technology Shapes Our Social and Academic Lives From Connection to Distraction: Navigating a Love-Hate Relationship with Technology Between Connection and Distraction: Navigating the Role of Technology in Our Lives I expected them to laugh, but they sat in silence. When they did finally speak, I am happy to say that it bothered them. They didn’t like hearing how their AI-generated submissions, in which they’d clearly felt some personal stake, amounted to a big bowl of bland, flavorless word salad.
August 13, 2025 at 12:37 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Awake candidate Darwin appreciates your support and has provided literature in the form of the best photo of him doing a sploot. 🗳 🐈
A photo of a brown tabby cat sitting on his lower back with his back legs splayed out to either side. He has green eyes and a doleful look on his face.
August 9, 2025 at 3:22 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
I'm trying to imagine how truly wild a similar cat election would get in NYC. We have so many intense cat parents (inclusive of poster) and graphic designers both pro & casual.

Because he's currently closest to me, Darwin is setting up an exploratory committee.
A close-up photo of a brown tabby cat sleeping on a blue pillow with his tail under his chin and one of his paws with visible beans close to the camera.
August 8, 2025 at 10:52 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Checked the quote skeets on this and they did not disappoint, so I joined the club (thanks El Corazón 🐈‍⬛).
A photo of a black cat sitting on a blue pillow with one paw outstretched with her claws visible. She has green eyes and an intense look.
August 7, 2025 at 11:21 PM
marsikeda.bsky.social
I adopted a stray piece of void in chaos gremlin form and she is a better journalist than Chris Cuomo! Void Power!
Photo of black cat on a blue pillow showing her murder mittens. She has green eyes and her ears are turned to the sides.
August 7, 2025 at 1:05 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Darwin is so boop-able!
Photo of a brown tabby cat's face close-up. He has a pink nose and white chin. His eyes are closed blissfully and his mouth is opened slightly because he is purring.
August 7, 2025 at 12:33 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Darwin is here. You're welcome.
Photo of a brown tabby cat sitting on his lower back with his back legs splayed out to either side. He has a doleful look and green eyes. Photo of a close-up on the face of a brown tabby cat with a pink nose and white chin. His eyes are closed blissfully and his mouth is partially open as he purrs. His whiskers are black and white.
August 5, 2025 at 10:35 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
I kind of did this in 2018 for the New Yorker Public Library's Literary Halloween Costume party! I was the illustrated figure on the first edition of 👨‍🚒🔥 Fahrenheit 451. My boyfriend was Templeton from Charlotte's Web 🐀.

Fahrenheit 451 - Wikipedia share.google/ZxvvoUDbMTBN...
Two people in the New York Public Library main branch in Manhattan, standing in a marble hallway. On the left is a person with a newspaper costume holding their arm in front of their face. The costume has orange flames on the head and arms. The right figure wears a rubber rat mask and a leather jacket plus a crossbody bag decorated with candy wrappers.
August 5, 2025 at 8:34 AM
marsikeda.bsky.social
Sketched Teddy Roosevelt for my sketchbook in Edel Rodriguez's Harman Honors graphic novel class at CUNY Baruch.
Sketch of Teddy Roosevelt's face done in brown pencil. A mistake on the right eye has been patched over with paper. Black and white photograph of Teddy Roosevelt seated at Sagamore Hill; was used as reference for sketch.
February 22, 2025 at 3:05 AM