This… Is BGNN

Things you might want to know, for Mar 17, 2023:

• How ‘Spring Breakers’ Forecast the Next Decade of American Chaos — It’s a ridiculous fever-dream of a movie, with a ridiculous James Franco performance bubbling and spewing within it, but like its girls and their guns, it pops.
• Ozempic is a game-changer. Here’s how it works. — I’ve read about a lot of “game changers” in my lifetime, and very few have been able to justify the hype. But every once in a while…
• This ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Mod Brings a Slice of Valve-level Action, Created by Annapurna Developer — I’d love to revisit Alyx, but I have neither the PC nor the floor space to even consider it at this point. So I live vicariously through screenshots and demo videos.
• What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Be a Gen X Girl — Heh.
• Steven Spielberg and John Williams on how music became an actor in Jaws and Close Encounters | Boing Boing — I don’t know how to rank Williams as a composer, but as an artist bringing something distinct and meaningful to a film’s narrative, he’s in a class of his own.

• The History of Rock: One Riff Per Year, From 1965 to 2022 — I don’t agree with all the inclusions, but there’s some quality stuff here.
• He’ll Be Back: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Last Act — I hope the old fucker enjoys the hell out of his final laps around Hollywood’s track… he’s been a fixture in my life since I was a kid, and while I haven’t always been a fan, I can’t help but like him.
• Danse Exquise is an animation that evokes the feeling of being inside a kaleidoscope
• ‘Everything Everywhere’ Stars Reunite in ‘American Born Chinese’ Teaser — The world needs more Michelle Yeoh.
• ‘My AI Is Sexually Harassing Me’: Replika Users Say the Chatbot Has Gotten Way Too Horny — I haven’t dug into this Replika thing yet, but I loved the headline.

• What were the first fighting games like? — There were two kinds of people in mid-‘80s arcades: Karate Champ people, and Kung Fu Master people. I was decidedly the latter, as was my best friend, who blew $200 one summer completely, well, mastering KFM. By the fall, he could play for an hour on a single quarter, and naturally, no longer had any interest in it.
• Micky Dolenz Will Not Let the Monkees Die — I’ve only watched a half-dozen or so episodes of the show and a documentary or two. But when I was 19, I was in love with a girl who thought The Monkees were the greatest band in the history of everything… so y’know what, Micky? Keep going, dude. You’re making someone out there happy.
• This Is a Philosopher on Drugs
• Make ChatGPT Work for You With These Browser Extensions — Fuck the browser extensions… if you have an Apple Watch, just snag a copy of Petey, a ChatGPT app/complication that puts all that textual utility on your wrist where it belongs. It won’t control your lights or dial your phone like Siri, but for quick access to information, it’s infinitely superior.
• After ‘The Last of Us,’ Everything Will Be Transmedia — I don’t think TLOU is actually as big a milestone as the title suggests, but still… cross-medium storytelling and reimagination is going to be a huge part of the future.
• A Face Recognition Site Crawled the Web for Dead People’s Photos — We are all going to regret every single photo we’ve ever posted online.
• r/Android – Samsung “space zoom” moon shots are fake, and here is the proof — Samsung? Full of shit?! I am shocked…!
• The Demise of Silicon Valley Bank — A nice little explainer, walking you through the bad decisions and hubris that led to the bank’s collapse.