What follows is an experiment using Chat GPT to work as a scriptwriter. I started with this as a prompt, to initiate a response: You are a script writer, with an expertise in writing dialogue. Can you write a screenplay from this short story, including dialogue for the characters? FADE IN: EXT. GLASGOW –...
Imagine a world where advertising is a delight, spam email was a treat, and unsolicited approaches via social media were always welcome. Believe it or not, that’s precisely what the people and companies marketing to you are hoping to achieve. Not that you are an undiscerning moron, who knows no better, but rather that despite...
For most of the last 2 hours I have laughed so hard, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Interspersed with that, I had more tears, or at least the threat of them, that I manfully tried to blink off. As you may well know, I love stand-up comedy. Just in the last week I’ve...
So I can claim credit afterwards, or get pilloried for being so wrong, here are my predictions / preferences for the Oscar Awards, being held later tonight. I’m not big on awarding prizes for artistic endeavour, but for as long as they will have them, the industry will make a big deal of it. Suffice...
Have you ever wondered why there are credits at the end of movies and TV shows? Maybe it’s obvious to you, as there have always been credits, but not to me. Sure, I wouldn’t mind knowing the names of the cast and perhaps the director, but why do they insist on telling us the names...
Given my experience with the NORAs, I am intrigued by awards events. Add to that my fascination with stand-up comedy, and the increasingly prestigious Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards 2012 event, at the Edinburgh Festival, was a date I couldn’t afford to miss. I know the organiser, John Fleming, fairly tenuously via Facebook, so offered to...
I am not a generous person, ask anybody. At least not with cash anyway. I love a bargain, and more than anything, always look for value for money. So please don’t mistake this story for an attempt to put myself in a good light. I think I was an idiot. Remember 10 years ago,...
I agree that Jimmy Carr hasn’t done anything wrong, morally or otherwise, and should not be castigated for keeping within the law. It was outrageous that the Prime Minister should choose one person to name in this way. As with any tax system, there are a myriad of allowances, incentives, penalties and pitfalls. HMRC are...
Perhaps The Police (my wife Luciana’s favourite band) knew this was coming, when they named their 1983 album Synchronicity. I am now seriously struggling to keep a plethora of devices and databases synchronised with each other, and could do with a little help. I’ve been doing this since my first Palm Pilot in 1998, and...
Like many teenagers, I tried my hand at playing an instrument and being in a band. I was in several bands actually, but most were severely held back by my inability to play drums to even a mediocre standard. I liked playing drums, and still do, but just not enough to dedicate any serious time...
