Going OT a little, sorry, but in the spirit of fun like Japov's Blimp...

Having fun with ChatGPT...

So looking at Japov's avatar I had the thought, "man, he sure looks like a haggard Nostradamus, he could easily have a side hustle at a Renaissance Fair of some kind..."

So I fed that and a couple other ideas into ChatGPT. I was surprised at how many details ChatGPT added. I found the results curious enough to post them here.

Here's my exact prompt:

Write a short story about a man they called "Pong Master Tony." They called him that because he was one of the first video game geniuses to dominate the game for over a decade. Write about his eventual decline. Write about how he now works at The Renaissance Fair, reading Tarot Cards, dressed in a black cape and wizard hat, with all the Tarot stuff scratched out and Bible Verses in their place. Describe him as looking like a cross between Nostradamus and a rock singer, choose whomever you like. Add some details. Make the story funny and absurdist, in the style of Russell Edson and Woody Allen circa "Without Feathers."

Here's what ChatGPT spat out, with just a few edits on my account, mainly making new paragraphs:

Once upon a time, there was a man named Pong Master Tony. He looked like a cross between Nostradamus and the lead singer from Black Oak Arkansas, I forget his name.

Tony was the king of video games, dominating the virtual world for over a decade. But one day, he woke up and realized he had become a middle-aged man living in his mom's basement, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and old video game consoles. He knew he needed to change his life, so he decided to become a Tarot card reader at The Renaissance Fair.

He dressed up in a black cape and wizard hat, with all the Tarot stuff scratched out and Bible verses in their place. He even had a Bible verse tattooed on his forehead, just in case people forgot why they were there. People would come to his tent, hoping to get a glimpse of the legendary Pong Master. But instead, they got a dose of his Tarot cards with the original words scratched out with a felt pen and Bible quotes in their place.

One day, a young mother came to Pong Master Tony with her sick child. The child was pale and sweating, and she had no idea what was wrong with her. Pong Master Tony took the cards and began shuffling them, his fingers moving faster than a greased pig. As he laid out the cards, he saw a vision of a dark figure lurking in the child's body, feeding off her energy.

He knew exactly what to do. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny joystick, a remnant from his gaming days. He plugged it into the child's wrist and began playing a game of Pong inside her body. The dark figure tried to keep up, but Pong Master Tony was too quick. He defeated it, and the child's body was instantly cured. The crowd erupted in applause, and Pong Master Tony felt a new sense of purpose.

He decided to use his Tarot readings to help people in need, and he became known as Tarot Master Tony. His days of dominating the arcade were long gone, and he knew that he had found his true calling in life. In fact, people would come from all over just to get a glimpse of the former Pong Master. He even had a theme song, which he would sing as he shuffled his cards."I'm Tarot Master Tony, I'll show you the way. With Bible quotes and a joy stick, hey man, what can I say?."

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Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 02/24/23 07:28 PM.
Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choice
Fortune depends on the tone of your voice

-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)
from the song "Songs of Love"
from the album "Casanova" (1996)