Ben "Jammin'" Verschoor
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benverschoor.bsky.social
Ben "Jammin'" Verschoor
@benverschoor.bsky.social
360 followers 500 following 1.3K posts
Professional Dilettante. Pretends to release things under Pyrexia Productions. Co-host of the Mise en Screen podcast. Writes film and other media criticism at
http://cinema-purgatorio.ghost.io
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benverschoor.bsky.social
We're lucky to have the Saturn version so excellently translated (MSX2 Snatcher translation is real rough), but it's a pity non-Japanese speakers will probably never get the original PC-98 version of Policenauts, which has fantastic pixel art at a higher resolution than the subsequent cel animation
December 1, 2025 at 7:04 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
I'd recommend Policenauts to anyone curious about pre-Metal Gear Solid Kojima or 90s adventure games, but be aware of the hoops you'll need to jump through
Widely considered the best version, the excellently translated Saturn port is the one I played, though not without difficulty. Saturn emulation is more demanding on a computer than the PlayStation, and setting it up involves placing some specific files with specific names in specific folders. If anything is out of place it just doesn't work, with no explanation. Patching the English text into Policenauts involves a similar song and dance. Once set up I encountered no problems, until literally the last five minutes, when a specific cutscene would fail to load every time I got to it. I had to ditch the old, unsupported emulator I had been using and figure out how to switch to the more stable one, and the process involved more specific file management jiggery-pokery. Once that was solved, in order to not have to start the game over I had to find a fan-made tool (KnightOfDragon's Saturn Save Converter), which required an old version of Microsoft's .NET to run, and which could take the in-game saves from the old emulator and spit out files that the new one could read. It was an enormous hassle, albeit oddly gratifying, an antidote to the passive consumption that is the norm in today's media.
December 1, 2025 at 6:57 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
The reams of text description can get in the way of the story, but I love that it's all there and that Policenauts' space colony is so fleshed out
And indeed Beyond Coast might be the most fully-realized world that Kojima has ever created. The shuttle Jonathan takes to the colony functions like an airliner, with standard passenger protocols for space adaptation sickness. He arrives on a massive rotating O'Neill cylinder orbiting around Lagrangian point L5, which the in-game glossary helpfully notes is, "where an object can theoretically maintain a stable orbit due to the gravitational forces of two larger objects." The Tokugawa Pharmaceutical offices occupy a skyscraper that extends up into the central point of Beyond Coast, where its centrifugal gravity is weakest and VIPs like to party. There are copious amounts of descriptive detail given over to Beyond's three waves of immigration from Earth, referred to as 'Home,' and the difference in accents and outlooks in colony- and terrestrially-born individuals.
December 1, 2025 at 6:55 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
It tells me there is no live message or phone support, then restarts the question process.
Your subscription will remain active until the end of the contracted period. I would like to speak to or email a real person. As previously mentioned, your invoice cannot be refunded. We are unable to engage in further conversation regarding this matter. Thank you for your understanding. Please connect me to a customer service representative. Totally get that you want to talk to someone! I’m here to help and can sort most things out right away. Just let me know what’s going on and I’ll jump in! I need to speak to a customer service representative. I understand your request to speak with someone directly. Currently, we do not offer phone or live chat support. However, I'm here to assist you with any questions or issues you may have regarding QR Code Generator. Please let me know how I can help! I need to speak to someone. An AI cannot solve my issue. Our Support Team will be happy to assist! Oops, something seems to have gone wrong. Here are some possible reasons: you have previously created a ticket your account is not connected to a paid subscription your request has been marked as solved and further ticket creation is no longer possible To whoever reads this, if I don't receive contact information for a real person I'm going to tell people not to use your service. Using misleading font sizes to trick customers into paying the wrong amount is scummy business. I understand your frustration and I'm here to help with any issues related to QR Code Generator. If you have any specific questions or need assistance with our services, please let me know how I can assist you further.
December 1, 2025 at 4:41 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
First it asks me for information, then when I give it it says it can't process the request. When I ask again, it says there's nothing to be done.
Hey there! I'm Cody, a virtual assistant. I'm happy to help you with any questions you have! How can I assist you today? I accidentally chose the wrong payment plan To continue, please authenticate your QR Code Generator Pro account so we can confirm your details and assist you further. You're now signed in You're now signed in Would you like me to create a Support ticket for you? Yes, please! Our Support Team will be happy to assist! Please provide any (further) information that helps our team solve your request: I meant to select the monthly payment option at $20 a month, and not the annual payment of $191.88. This was only a day ago, I haven't tried to use any undue benefits, so I would like to have the $191.88 refunded and charged $20 to continue my subscription on a monthly basis. Oops, something seems to have gone wrong. Here are some possible reasons: you have previously created a ticket your account is not connected to a paid subscription your request has been marked as solved and further ticket creation is no longer possible Then open a new ticket. As outlined in our Terms of Service, your invoice cannot be refunded. To discontinue automatic renewal, go to Billing → Cancel subscription. If you registered using Google and never set a password, you can create one under Account → My Account → Change password. Your subscription will remain active until the end of the contracted period.
December 1, 2025 at 4:41 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Shame on me for falling for this, I guess, but this combination of misleading UI, a TOS that offers no refunds, and no real customer service to speak of, should be illegal. Screengrabs of my attempt to get my money back and then to speak to an actual person below, but tl;dr: fuck QR Code Generator.
Plans & Pricing page for QR Code Generator dot com. Advanced listed as $15.99 per month in big bold lettering, annual charge $ 191.88 in small font, Starter listed as $19.99 per month in big bold lettering, monthly charge of $19.99 in small font, with an option to switch the display to an annual payment.
December 1, 2025 at 4:41 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
It is happening again.
Exterior of a red brick apartment building. In the middle window stands a white horse.
November 27, 2025 at 8:29 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Post a famous bathroom scene
Nicolas Cage in his underwear and a long-sleeved shirt with a tiger head on the chest, screaming bloody murder in a hypnotically orange bathroom in Mandy
November 24, 2025 at 5:57 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Text from the opening of Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail: "We apologize again for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked."
November 23, 2025 at 2:11 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
What's the opposite of a problematic fave? Someone who you know sucks and then you learn something that just vindicates your antipathy toward them anew? That's Deepak Chopra, woo grifter extraordinaire and close friend of Epstein
An email between Jeffrey epstein and Deepak Chopra, who is making plans to Skype with him and says he will take up Epstein's offer to visit his island or Santa Fe ranch.
November 21, 2025 at 7:22 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Not sure any of us want to know the backstory on this.
Email from Soon Yi Previn to Jeffrey Epstein, subject: Funny dog video of a dog gnawing at Donald Trump's hair.
November 21, 2025 at 6:59 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Selfie of a man in a gimp suit giving a thumbs up
November 21, 2025 at 3:00 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Scene from the V for Vendetta comic where fascist dictator Adam Susan asks his computer Fate if it loves him, with "Fate" replaced by "Grok" and "Please give me a sign" with "Please give me a Like"
November 20, 2025 at 3:09 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
This looks sick, but also I feel like the John Wick sequels, especially 2, already are 'what if gun-katta was visual art'
In a stark, sleek museum, a silhouetted John Wick takes aim while several goons lay dead at his feet. Behind him are a row of Greco-Roman sculptures ateither side, and between them Perseus Slaying Medusa.
November 12, 2025 at 2:06 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Saw-ligarchy: governance by a series of 'would you rather'-style dismemberments, while being moralized about how you deserve your suffering by a puppet that looks like Ayn Rand
Left: the puppet used by Jigsaw in the Saw horror films. Right: Ayn Rand.
November 10, 2025 at 1:12 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
My whole life and name have been leading up to this
Benjamin for Sure
November 9, 2025 at 12:42 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Having now seen what he looks like, I want Greg Bovino to be tailed by protesters yelling "Hail Saint Nick" and singing Christmas carols
Immigration ghoul Greg Bovino Steven Lockjaw from One Battle After Another
November 4, 2025 at 8:22 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Apropos of Cheney's death, this @anamariecox.bsky.social blog post has been burned into my memory for nearly two decades.

"If he had feelings, I'm sure they'd be hurt by this."

swampland.time.com/2007/03/13/d...
18 percent approval. Wow. Just… wow. If he had feelings, I’m sure they’d be hurt by this. UPDATE: I used to joke that Cheney was so disliked he was actually less popular than torture. I have been making this joke for so long, I actually had forgotten the numbers. (My memory being Libby-like in the first place.) Turns out saying that Dick Cheney is less popular than torture is like saying slugs are less popular than ice cream. Well, like a gross flavor of ice cream. I could only find a 2004 poll handy, but it says sixty-three percent of Americans say torture should never be used, leaving a tantalizing 37 percent who apparently are okay with it. Cheney wishes for 37 percent! UPDATE: Commenter “space” makes an excellent point: “In fairness to torture, it might be more popular if Cheney wasn’t dragging down its poll numbers.”
November 4, 2025 at 7:20 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
You may think three tech companies paying each other to stay afloat is just robbing Peter to pay Paul, but
October 31, 2025 at 3:19 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Oh my god
For now, money is still pouring into the AI industry. But there’s also something circular about these investments. To wit: OpenAI has agreed to pay $300 billion to Oracle for new computing capacity, Oracle is paying Nvidia tens of billions of dollars for chips to install in one of OpenAI’s data centers, and Nvidia has agreed to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as it deploys Nvidia chips. Attempts to illustrate these circular investments have produced a series of byzantine charts that one software engineer referred to on X as “the technocapital hyperobject at the end of time.” The consensus seems to be that although this is legal, it likely cannot go on forever.
October 30, 2025 at 11:09 PM
benverschoor.bsky.social
October 12, 2025 at 6:08 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Pete Postlethwaite never gave a bad performance and elevated every movie he was in
Alien³ William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet Inception The Town
October 12, 2025 at 5:37 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Quote skeet this post with someone you wish was still alive
October 12, 2025 at 5:30 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Bas Rutten should option his origin story for a martial arts movie, Bully of Bullies

tim.blog/2022/09/19/b...
So she had so much work with me, I never wanted to bother with her that I was bullied, because I’m pretty sure that if my dad would’ve known, I don’t think he would’ve said, “Take him off.” I believe he would’ve said, “Keep him on there, because this is good for him.” But that’s where everything came from, because then I realized, “Wait a minute, that was easy.” So now I went after the bullies, all these bullies. I literally made a list. I went to every single one of them, I had a — and other kids in school who got bullied, guess who took care of that problem? Now I was the bully, the bully guy. I took care of all the bullies, so. And that was it. My mom and dad, they took me off, what I said, from taekwondo. But then, when I was 20, I moved out of the house. Immediately, I started doing karate, not realizing it was not full contact. So then I started Thai boxing within six months, and then, within three months, I started competing in Thai boxing. And one thing led to another, and bada bing, bada boom, now I’m here, talking to you.
October 12, 2025 at 5:09 AM
benverschoor.bsky.social
Gotta love PTA getting Leo to do his own meme in the context of armed revolutionaries
Leonardo DiCaprio, pointing. You know the one.
October 4, 2025 at 12:20 PM