ben
@benrich.bsky.social
composer with an unrelated day job. librarian in training. game design/audio/music hobbyist. used to teach in higher ed. he/him
… so I guess as far as I’m concerned, Subnautica 2 is DEAD dead
Let's see how being "AI first" is going for Krafton
aftermath.site/lets-see-how-b...
aftermath.site/lets-see-how-b...
November 13, 2025 at 6:49 PM
… so I guess as far as I’m concerned, Subnautica 2 is DEAD dead
we need this, as a society
October 1, 2025 at 3:06 AM
we need this, as a society
Myst was my first “immersive” experience in a game as a kid—the first game to transport me beyond the awareness that I was playing with a toy on the computer. I was hooked on the series that followed. they’re foundational to my personal journey of playing, studying, and creating games!
Thirty-two years ago today, Myst was released.
Happy Birthday, little guy!
🎂
Happy Birthday, little guy!
🎂
September 24, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Myst was my first “immersive” experience in a game as a kid—the first game to transport me beyond the awareness that I was playing with a toy on the computer. I was hooked on the series that followed. they’re foundational to my personal journey of playing, studying, and creating games!
they gotta let him direct one. his love of G would undo Emmerich’s hate
September 23, 2025 at 7:46 PM
they gotta let him direct one. his love of G would undo Emmerich’s hate
he’s an enemy of art and artists. he turned his 4K “remasters” into AI-smoothed sludge and he’s feeding the workers who have made his VFX-driven projects possible into the chipper to save money and push the use of tech he’s invested in
I’ll happily continue to ignore this series
I’ll happily continue to ignore this series
“I’d like to see the cost of VFX artists come down.” — ‘Avatar’ director and Stability AI board member James Cameron claims effects workers are too expensive, putting blockbusters and the VFX industry at risk.
www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/vfx-arti...
www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/vfx-arti...
James Cameron Says VFX Costs Threaten Future Of Blockbusters
In a recent interview, Stability AI board member James Cameron warned high budgets threaten theaters, urging cheaper VFX and new tech to cut costs.
www.cartoonbrew.com
August 28, 2025 at 8:26 PM
he’s an enemy of art and artists. he turned his 4K “remasters” into AI-smoothed sludge and he’s feeding the workers who have made his VFX-driven projects possible into the chipper to save money and push the use of tech he’s invested in
I’ll happily continue to ignore this series
I’ll happily continue to ignore this series
Reposted by ben
I'm not watching WAR OF THE WORLDS and I don't think you should either. Why? Because the bean counters at Amazon don't see hate-watching as a bad thing. In fact, they are playing to that.
You Won't Make Me Watch The Worst Non-Movie Of The Year
No, I'm not going to watch that movie everyone is saying is so awful that I have to see it. I'm not falling for that trap.
www.giantfreakinrobot.com
August 9, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I'm not watching WAR OF THE WORLDS and I don't think you should either. Why? Because the bean counters at Amazon don't see hate-watching as a bad thing. In fact, they are playing to that.
Would You Like To Know More?
August 7, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Would You Like To Know More?
since it’s being talked about, imo (personally) 1) all games are “art” and 2) player choice/a certain threshold of interactivity is not required to qualify as a game. “play” takes many forms. games as multimedia storytelling are valid even if they are completely linear and lack choice
August 4, 2025 at 12:52 AM
since it’s being talked about, imo (personally) 1) all games are “art” and 2) player choice/a certain threshold of interactivity is not required to qualify as a game. “play” takes many forms. games as multimedia storytelling are valid even if they are completely linear and lack choice
not good! people should not lose their livelihoods to “AI efficiencies”—and libraries and the orgs around them should be a bastion of information for and by humans. machine readable things like the semantic web etc. are only as good as they are useful to humans on both ends of the sharing of info
80 employees at OCLC were laid off due to "AI" and "federal budget cuts."
www.nbc4i.com/news/local-n...
www.nbc4i.com/news/local-n...
Dublin-based nonprofit lays off 80 central Ohio workers, cites AI and federal cuts
DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) — A Dublin-based organization that manages the Dewey Decimal System and partners with libraries worldwide has laid off dozens of central Ohio employees, citing the rise of…
www.nbc4i.com
July 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
not good! people should not lose their livelihoods to “AI efficiencies”—and libraries and the orgs around them should be a bastion of information for and by humans. machine readable things like the semantic web etc. are only as good as they are useful to humans on both ends of the sharing of info
so basically, the D’ni number system logic @cyan.com
If you ever thought that searching a library catalogue is complicated, be reminded: this is how a book (in manuscript or print) in octavo with five pages or more and less than ten was categorized in a sixteenth-century European collection (from Hernando Colón).
A 🧵 for #earlymodern #bookhistory
A 🧵 for #earlymodern #bookhistory
July 22, 2025 at 2:45 PM
so basically, the D’ni number system logic @cyan.com
love how they so subtly honored the American TriStar Zilla
July 15, 2025 at 3:42 AM
love how they so subtly honored the American TriStar Zilla
incredible piece of criticism
FFC review: SUPERMAN (2025), by Walter Chaw (@mangiotto.bsky.social). filmfreakcentral.net/2025/07/supe...
Superman (2025) - FILM FREAK CENTRAL
****/****starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegiwritten and directed by James Gunn by Walter Chaw I’m in the bag for Superman, I admit it. I grew up in a small town, Go...
filmfreakcentral.net
July 10, 2025 at 1:14 PM
incredible piece of criticism
it is distressing that “Processed by the Boys” not only remains relevant but has never been truer in its description of a police/surveillance state fueled by xenophobia and marketed as “cool and nice”
June 11, 2025 at 4:04 AM
it is distressing that “Processed by the Boys” not only remains relevant but has never been truer in its description of a police/surveillance state fueled by xenophobia and marketed as “cool and nice”
this is the tie-in that would get me to play
June 9, 2025 at 3:49 PM
this is the tie-in that would get me to play
Steam is almost correct. there is 1 perfect game, and it's Frog Detective, but there are 2 others: Frog Detective 2 and 3.
May 31, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Steam is almost correct. there is 1 perfect game, and it's Frog Detective, but there are 2 others: Frog Detective 2 and 3.
me when I download the Taco Bell app again
Ordering from the same place that gave me food poisoning three months ago
May 12, 2025 at 1:58 AM
me when I download the Taco Bell app again
I never considered that a pope could be from where I’m from. somehow it’s strange
May 8, 2025 at 5:34 PM
I never considered that a pope could be from where I’m from. somehow it’s strange
the Japanese Breakfast show was so good that I forgot to take a picture
May 3, 2025 at 5:36 AM
the Japanese Breakfast show was so good that I forgot to take a picture
I remember this cover story because it pushed me over the edge to cancel my Atlantic print subscription and seek out more progressive voices
In 2018 Jesse Singal's story about how scary it is that trans kids exist dominated the front page of the Atlantic while stories about the lethal effects of white supremacy and our lack of pandemic preparedness sat up in the corner.
April 11, 2025 at 8:49 PM
I remember this cover story because it pushed me over the edge to cancel my Atlantic print subscription and seek out more progressive voices
Reposted by ben
NEW: ALA is going to court to stop the President’s attempts to illegally dismantle the Institute of Museum & Library Services.
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)
April 8, 2025 at 1:57 AM
NEW: ALA is going to court to stop the President’s attempts to illegally dismantle the Institute of Museum & Library Services.
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)
it’s Christmas in Tinseltown!
March 3, 2025 at 12:54 AM
it’s Christmas in Tinseltown!
been thinking about “a thousand points of light” and “a kinder, gentler nation (machine gun hand),” how Young was calling out hypocrisy in that presidential rhetoric. they’ve all but dropped that benevolent moral superiority facade in favor of open authoritarianism. it’s just “machine gun hand” now
Thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers who worked at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. were given 15-minute time slots to gather their belongings and were escorted out of the building by federal officers on Thursday.
February 27, 2025 at 10:13 PM
been thinking about “a thousand points of light” and “a kinder, gentler nation (machine gun hand),” how Young was calling out hypocrisy in that presidential rhetoric. they’ve all but dropped that benevolent moral superiority facade in favor of open authoritarianism. it’s just “machine gun hand” now
this is among the biggest misses of the noms to me (of the films I’ve seen). subjectively, I think the cinematography is transcendent — objectively, it’s at the center of the language the filmmakers use to tell the story of Nickel Boys.
I don't know how I feel about NICKEL BOYS getting a Best Picture nom but no cinematography. Happy for the former but I'm livid about the latter. It just doesn't make sense.
January 24, 2025 at 12:35 AM
this is among the biggest misses of the noms to me (of the films I’ve seen). subjectively, I think the cinematography is transcendent — objectively, it’s at the center of the language the filmmakers use to tell the story of Nickel Boys.
my Oscars quibble: not being able to use more than “20% of preexisting themes” in a sequel score seems pretty arbitrary and unrealistic
January 23, 2025 at 2:37 PM
my Oscars quibble: not being able to use more than “20% of preexisting themes” in a sequel score seems pretty arbitrary and unrealistic