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Bad poetry with chatgpt

Supplementary material for E110 – Wee Free Men Pt 3.

Please write me a poem on The Tay Bridge Disaster

Oh, the night was dark and stormy,
As the train approached the Tay,
With passengers unaware,
Of the danger on their way.

The bridge stood tall and proud,
Spanning the water below,
But the wind was fierce and howling,
And the waves were starting to grow.

The train made its way across,
As the bridge began to sway,
And the passengers felt the fear,
As the structure gave way.

The water below was black,
And the screams were deafening loud,
As the train plunged into the depths,
And the tragedy unfolded.

The Tay Bridge Disaster,
A moment frozen in time,
A tribute to the power of nature,
And the fragility of mankind.

We remember those who lost their lives,
On that fateful winter’s night,
And honor the bravery of those,
Who fought to make things right.

May we learn from this tragedy,
And never forget the cost,
Of underestimating the forces of nature,
And the lives that can be lost.

Can you make it reminiscent of the style of William McGonagall?

Certainly, here’s a version that pays homage to the unique style of William McGonagall:

‘Twas a dark and stormy night,
The train was crossing Tay,
The passengers on board, so brave,
But they were doomed that day.

The bridge was high and proud,
It spanned the waters wide,
But the wind was fierce and howling,
And the waves were on the rise.

The train kept going forward,
As the bridge began to sway,
And passengers could hear the creaking,
As it gave way that day.

The water below was black,
And the screams were deafening loud,
As the train plunged into depths,
And tragedy did abound.

The Tay Bridge Disaster,
A moment we won’t forget,
The power of nature on display,
And lives that were lost, alas.

We mourn the ones who passed away,
On that fateful winter’s night,
And honor the brave who tried to save,
And make things right.

May we learn from this sad tale,
Of nature’s fury and might,
And always remember the cost,
Of lives that can be lost in the night.

Can you write a poem about Tan Lin in the style of William McGonagall?

Certainly! Here’s a poem about Tan Lin in the style of William McGonagall:

Oh, Tan Lin, the writer, so wise,
His work, it truly mesmerizes,
From poetry to essays profound,
His voice, it echoes all around.

He sees the world in a unique way,
And through his writing

Sorry, I meant Tam Lin

I see, my apologies! Here’s a revised poem about Tam Lin in the style of William McGonagall:

Oh, Tam Lin, a tale of old,
A Scottish legend, oft retold,
Of a fair maiden and a brave knight,
And a love that withstood dark night.

In Carterhaugh, the maiden went,
And there she met a handsome gent,
Tam Lin, a knight of fairy lore,
Who captured her heart evermore.

But Tam Lin was not all he seemed,
For he was bound by fairy fiends,
And only by a maiden fair,
Could he be freed from their cruel snare.

The maiden, with her love so true,
Took hold of Tam Lin, and held on through,
As fairy knights and maidens danced,
And the wind whistled and fate advanced.

But with her wit and steadfast heart,
The maiden won her love from the fairy’s part,
And Tam Lin was freed at last,
From the fairy queen’s hold, so fast.

Oh, Tam Lin, a tale so dear,
Of love and magic, and no fear,
A legend that will forever shine,
In the hearts and minds of all time.

Ray Bradbury telling us to explode

Picking up Zen in the Art of Writing, I found two instances of “go explode!” advice within the first few pages.

I have come up with a new simile to describe myself lately. It can be yours.

Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me.

After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together.

Now, it’s your turn. Jump!

Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing, Preface

The history of each story, then, should read almost like a weather report: Hot today, cool tomorrow. This afternoon, burn down the house. Tomorrow, pour cold critical water upon the simmering coals. Time enough to think and cut and rewrite tomorrow. But today—explode—fly apart—disintegrate! The other six or seven drafts are going to be pure torture. So why not enjoy the first draft, in the hope that your joy will seek and find others in the world who, reading your story, will catch fire, too?

Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing, The Joy of Writing

Terry Pratchett on Video Games

The various sources (articles, interviews, forum posts) I’ve found relating to Terry Pratchett’s views on video games.

Terry Pratchett – Going by the Book – PC Gamer 1993 interview – PDF

The E-Mail Interview – Terry Pratchett – PC Zone (January 1995) – PDF

‘Help! I’ve been spotted!’ Terry Pratchett on Thief, his favourite video game – The Guardian 

Thief newsgroup (Pratchett’s contributions) – alt.games.thief-dark-project

Terry Pratchett – Online Radio Interview with the Author – The Author Hour

The story behind the Oblivion mod Terry Pratchett worked on | Eurogamer.net 

A tribute to Terry Pratchett | PC Gamer 

Turning Terry Pratchett’s Discworld into Audiobooks [bit about theme music being inspired by Oblivion] – YouTube

Transcript: 1: The Colour of Magic Pt. 1 (Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry, Zlorf Flannelfoot)

>>Show notes

Soft open

Joanna: how are we going to reduce the reflected sound of underground spirits now, Francine?

—Divider sound effect—

Francine: how often do you think you reread Pratchett books? Like, without us being on a deadline like this?

Joanna: I tend to treat them like palette cleansers – like, it’s very rare I do like a full reread. But say I’ve just finished reading a trilogy or I’ve just read a particularly heavy book and a want something that’s not new afterwards then I’ll read like a Pratchett book or a couple of Pratchett books. So, I’ll read, say, a few books from the Guards, a few books from the Witches. What about you?

Francine: Do you know what, I’m not sure I’ve ever done a full read through from beginning to end. But I would go and read like three or four at a time maybe twice a year. Something like that.

Then I’d revisit the favourites another couple of times. Like Night Watch or… Maskerade I was really into reading like a lot at one point. And… oh, The Last Continent is I think my favourite next to Night Watch. In fact, I would flip between them depending on mood. Like, I think Night Watch is probably objectively the ‘better’ book, but The Last Continent is one of the few books that still makes me absolutely belly laugh as an adult.

Like, as a teenager I feel it was easier to get those belly laughs out. But now the book has to be incredibly funny to make me do that and The Last Continent still is, even after so many rereads.

01:36 Joanna: yeah, I have to say, I’m more likely to get the belly laugh from one I haven’t reread for a while. Because in something like Night Watch… or Monstrous Regiment was one I reread a lot, that’s a bit of a – I think I described it the other day as ‘I’ll hold a book up in front of my face and then a film plays’. I’ve read it so many times and I know all the beats and what happens.

But one I haven’t reread for a while will suddenly surprise me with a joke I’d forgotten, or one I’ve missed before and haven’t got. So, like,  I hold off on rereading Soul Music too much for that reason. Its one of my absolute favourites and I love it because “oh, that reference!”

Francine: Right, and you don’t want it to become just a movie playing in front of your eyes. Yeah. That’s why it’s been quite cool rereading this with a stack of post-it notes.

Joanna: and actually stop and think about what you’ve read and be like “is that something I can talk about? Is that worth talking about?”

Francine: yeah. And like whittling it down because it’s like… “oh, I love this line! Oh, I love this line!” like, if I’m reading a Pratchett book in the same room as Jack, I am unbearable because a) he does not really care for Discworld and b) knowing that fully, I will still read out passages every… hmm, two and a half minutes or so, probably?

[pause]

02:53 Francine: right, ok, let’s do, like, the podcast or something.

Joanna:  Oh, shall we make a podcast?

Francine: yeah, let’s make a podcast.

—Intro music—

Main episode

Joanna: Hello and welcome to The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret, a podcast in which we are reading and recapping every book from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series one at a time, in chronological order.

Joanna: I’m Joanna Hagan.

Francine: And I’m Francine Carrel.

Francine: The first book that we have read in an analytical fashion to regurgitate at you is The Colour of Magic, which is the first in a kind of – what’s it called – a couplet instead of a trilogy? Couplet. I like that, so let’s say that. Um, a couplet of books, The Colour of Magic and  The Light Fantastic, which were released in the early 80s.

Joanna: 1983, I think?

Francine: 1983 for The Colour of Magic. The book itself is split into almost four novellas. And so we’re going to do just the first one of those today, and then in the next episode the middle two, and then in the last episode probably, like, the last one.

Francine: The third episode, rather than the last. Unless we really get sick of each other in the next two hours.

Francine: So, yeah, the basic idea is to recap these books and chat about some concepts within and just try and get a different perspective on things?

Joanna: Yeah. Talk about why we love them; as much as this comes from a place of love, maybe highlight a couple of things that… could be done better or that… well, not could be done better.

Francine: You’re so reluctant to say that, but yes it’s OK to say “could be done better”, because he got better at writing! I’m sure he would go back and do it better if he had the chance.

Joanna: OK, yeah. Maybe look at it from a slightly different perspective.

00:04:38: Joanna: So, a note on spoilers for this podcast. This is a spoiler-light podcast, so obviously heavy spoilers for this book.

Francine: Yes. This is a spoiler podcast in that respect.

Joanna: Yes. However, for the series as a whole we’re going to avoid revealing any major future plot points and anything that happens in the final Discworld book, The Shepherd’s Crown, we won’t be revealing until we get there.

Francine: Yes. Because there are people who are holding off reading it for various reasons.

Joanna: And hopefully those people might come on the journey with us.

Francine: [laughing] Oh my god, you sounded so wanky.

Joanna: I was about to say it sounded wanky, God damn it, Francine. Right, so.

Francine: Yeah, sorry. Read the blurb.

Joanna: The Colour of Magic. On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There’s an avaricious but inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE of the planet…

Francine: Do you think that Pratchett wrote his own blurbs?

Joanna: Reading that? Nah.

Francine: Do you not think so?

Joanna: Would Pratchett refer to The Luggage as having “dear little legs”?

Francine: Hmm… no, I suppose not. I dunno, maybe if he’s trying to sound…

Joanna: The main reason I think he didn’t is that for some reason THE EDGE of the planet is in capitals, and at no point in the book is it ever referred to as THE EDGE, it’s always The Rim.

Francine: Oh, yeah, good point. Hmm. I believe you, then. If you have any knowledge to the contrary, listeners, then please @ Joanna. It’s fine, I don’t read them.

Things to go on a business card

Poet, Polymath and Soldier of Fortune

Planet Spanning Consciousness

Today’s Echo of Tomorrow’s Scream

Oraclette

Discworld Halloween 2015 – Bad Pictures of a Good Night

All right, yes. Fine. Look. It was 2015. I had a cheap phone. We were both drunk. Half of these were dug out of a WhatsApp backup folder. It’s the best I can do.

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