How very Randolph Carter of you! You're adding to the ever-increasingly population of imaginary cities modeled on SF.

The Colorado Plateau (at least the Utah corner of it) was lovely; I also really like Baja California, which looks a lot like what I've seen of Australia's scrubbier deserts. I have a wish list of non-US deserts I wanna visit, too, but most of those are in Africa...

Any leading contenders for desert destinations?

My little Claude retrospective, continued. These are from 2017 to 2025, when @calacademy.bsky.social threw him a month-long 30th hatchday party. (2/2)

I haven't seen the Patrick Stewart one, but I really love the Albert Finney "Scrooge." The 1971 animated version is probably my number two pick!

We plan to hold a public memorial in the near future, but in the meantime please share your memories of Claude and messages for his dedicated animal care team at [email protected] or to California Academy of Sciences, Attn: Digital Engagement, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118.

Ooh, good one! I note that's (briefly) included in the 1971 animated version, which somehow managed to hit all my personal checklist items even though it's only 25 minutes long.

100% agree! Anything else you'd put on that list? I'm fond of the Ghost of Christmas Present flying Scrooge out to the lighthouse, and Marley's jaw flopping open when he unties his head bandage...

And yes, ZZ is next!

I recall the artistic focus of this one was actually hand gestures. When you're holed up in a drafty classroom for 24 hours, that's the one item of reference you can be certain you'll have at your literal fingertips.

Awwwww! You're entirely too kind, Chris!

In the meantime, did the ending of "Dunbine" retroactively recolor your feelings about what Shahkti's doing at the end of "V Gundam"? Or is the awkward storytelling in the latter just an insurmountable hurdle?

This is all making me think I should quit procrastinating and watch "Ideon," which seems like it follows this train of thought to some kind of extreme conclusion...

Mm, and like in Norse mythology (at least what little information we have about it), the various worlds each have a specific role to play in a broader cosmic mechanism. That implies there's a purpose to *our* world and our lives in it - it's not just a dreary mess we should want to escape from.

Mm, maybe it's a natural response to the Bluesky ethos of "just block annoying randos." Because then you want to be sure you're not being one yourself!