ChatGPT (My First Use of It) [This post is under construction.]

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After submitting the following prompt: “Humorously render the image into a simplified cartoon character,” this is the resulting illustration.

 

 

 

To be sure, as I did not ask for a caricature, I was not surprised that the face did not resemble me. I also assumed that ChatGPT would zero in on my furrowed brow and knit eyebrows to produce an all too serious expression, which it did. So I prompted it to remove the stern glare and go a little lighter on the overall expression “Unknit the furrowed brow a smidge and make the face a tad more friendly and welcoming.”

The A.I. came back with this.

 

 

 

Okay, I suppose, but it lost the five-o’clock-shadow and white goatee in the process. On a side note I was intrigued by ChatGPT’s assumption that the sample was wearing a tee, which I was, but I just as easily could have been wearing a long sleeved sweatshirt. The cropping doesn’t permit one to know one way or the other. Ah, machine learning.

I then asked it to return the shadow.

Instead, next went and did this.

 

 

 

 Uh-oh, I didn’t ask for a more realistic depiction. Notice the five fingers, instead of the cartoon’s standard four. Unfortunately, when  I asked ChatGpt to simplify once again, the successive picture (not shown) only got further away from the original concept, that is to say the original intent. So, I ended the session. Maybe I should have prompted the A.I. to keep the style of the of the first two frames, but was already too late. Oh, well., on

 

 

 

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'The Farce of Things Unknown'

    One of the things I like to do, as you can tell from a few of my earlier posts, is to make video birthday cards for my family and dear friends. The artist, cartoonist, Mad Magazine-influenced humorist, and pop culture enthusiast in me simply can't resist. 

    So what can I do with the idea of "it being that time again" as Desiree Staley, her mom Twalla Staley, and Desiree's son, Braden, her mom's grandson are all having their birthdays in the space of less than a week of each other starting today?!

    Then I remembered the following scene from my favorite, television series of all time,'The Outer Limits'. Oh joy, the scene as is, was perfect, without my having to edit or alter a single frame, save for dropping in the appropriate fonts. Complete and concise the clip was, and tailor-made for the topic and humor upon which I chose to expand, to say nothing of being exactly ideal, framing and pacing wise, for the script!

    Voila!

 

 

 

On 'The Outer Limits' background video:

It's the opening tease to the first season's final episode, 'The Forms of Things Unknown' (airdate: May 4, 1964). That's Barbara Rush being led down the hallway by David McCallum. Vera Miles, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke also star.

The cinematography is by future Academy Award winner, Conrad Hall.

There were two versions of this teleplay shot, as one was for a pilot series, 'The Unknown' that never made air.

To that end, fans of composer Dominic Frontiere may instantly recognize the music heard here and slated for the failed pilot, but used, three years later, as the score for 'The Invaders' (1967) 

Lastly, the cake appearing at the end, is from artist Curtis Goldstein' Domestic Blisters series, and titled 'White Cake on Wheels' (2013 )

      Courtesy also to Morgan B's Knit Picks blog for the backdrop.

'Norman to Nueman (Self-Portrait to Parody)' [This post is still requires tags.]

    Just a little humor and a GIF I put together courtesy of Rockwell, Williams, and Mad.

 Images:

'Triple Self-Portrait' (1960) Norman Rockwell [Oil on canvas]

 'Mad Art' (2002) Richard A. Williams [Oil on canvas] Cover illustration for Mad Magazine's 'Mad Art: A Visual Celebration of the Art of Mad Magazine and the Idiots Who Create It.' (2002)

 

 

 

 

My Steel Trap Mind!

 

    I kid you not. It took me nine years to realize the pun underlying 'The Beatles', sixty one years to notice the spelling of 'Jonny Quest', and, until someone recently brought it to my attention, the pun in the following six letter word. 

 

    I tell you, nothing escapes me! I'm fast - not!

 

Perfectly encapsulated!

 

 

    

 

    Thank you Aron Ra.

    See Aron Ra's YouTube post.

 

 

ADDENDUM: On October 7, 2025, I met with my British friend, Trish Keefer for a belated birthday lunch at Bella Siena in Benicia. There, I related my not readily catching on to things, citing the example of "The Beatles" to her dumbfounded amazement! 

 

    "Until you told me, I had no idea whatsoever of the pun!" Trish revealed, sixty three years out! The Fab Four's deliberate English "Beat" music reference had slipped completely past her as well. Trish always assume the naming convention was merely tying into to the band's iconic haircut and nothing more.

 

    So that makes two of us with steel trap minds!