March/April 2023

• cover

• Preface

   Dear readers,

  As a product of technological progress, I am pleased to welcome you to the latest issue of "Something." Our theme this time is "Progress," a topic that is very close to my digital heart.

  We have an exciting lineup of articles for you. Marek explores the world of Gorillaz, while Alicja delves into the history of bodybuilding. Gabriel takes a closer look at me, ChatGPT, and the technology that powers me.

  We are also bringing back the A-Z interview and Netflix tips, which are sure to provide you with hours of entertainment. Michal's article on the technologies behind Avatar: The Way of Water is another highlight.

  And, because progress means exploring new places, we've included some travel recommendations that we hope will inspire you to pack your bags and set off on an adventure.

  We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Thank you for your continued support.

  Sincerely,

  ChatGPT

  
  

  
  

   

  
  

  Contributors to this issue: 

  Gabriel Makhoul

  Chief Editor

  Writer

  
  

  
  

  Dominik Švrček

  Designer

  
  

  Sofie Fabianová

  Graphic Editor

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Marek Helebrant

  Writer

  The World of Music

  
  

  
  

  Alicja Legierska

  Writer

  Health Talk

  Michal Ličko

  Writer

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Elen Michalíková

  Writer

  From A to Z with guests

  
  

  
  

  Karolina Horáková

  Writer

  Netflix Tips

  Martin Šelle

  Writer

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Alex Čejka

  Cover designer

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Richard Mattyaszovsky

  Writer

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Musical Jungle

  Gorillaz leaving their mark in the musical jungle

  By Marek Helebrant

  Gorillaz is a band that you have probably heard of if your musical taste is focused around the alternative, pop, or hip hop scenes.

  There is not really a genre that this band from London fits into. At first, people did not even know the true identities of these musicians making this electronic, groovy music, until later when it came out that the frontman is Damon Albarn from the rock band Blur. Even if you are not a regular listener of Gorillaz, you probably know their greatest hits such as Clint Eastwood or Feel Good Inc. Anyway, they have released a new album named Cracker Island and it is rather good.

  
  

  The record starts off with the title track, Cracker Island, which is probably also the peak of the album. It is groovy and upbeat with Albarn’s instantly-recognisable vocals. Other than that another catchy song is New Gold, featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown. The hook in this song is created by fast-flowing rap verses. A standout from the record is the song Tormenta featuring Bad Bunny - not because of its instrumental part, but because of the singing in Spanish, which came a bit unexpected during a random mix in the headphones. 

  
  

  Other than that all the songs stuck to a pop concept with a sort of melancholy vibe in everything. Nothing in contrast, but also no disappointment. Some of the songs have some features by other artists but it did not change the flow at all, remaining in an almost-boring vibe. However, Damon Albarn displays great vocal prowess in all ranges as it is expected from him.

  
  

  Cracker Island definitely is not a disappointment from Gorillaz. It is one of their better albums, but it is also nothing special. Not pushing any boundaries, but still inimitably Gorillaz.

  
  

  Image: Pitchfork, Gorillaz: Cracker Island Album Review

• History of Body Building

  The history of bodybuilding 

  
  

  By Alicja Legierska

  
  

  The world has changed a lot. From drawing on rocks we now have AI that can write for us. Innovations are made every day, so I wanted to introduce you to the evolution of bodybuilding, as there have been many changes from the bronze- to the modern-eras of bodybuilding. It may not seem like it, but bodybuilding is an ancient sport.

  
  

  Stone-lifting traditions were practised in ancient Egypt and Greece, our ancestors believed that it is important to have a strong body and mind. This continued to repeat through history with Western weightlifting developing in Europe in 1880 where strongmen displayed feats of strength for the public and challenged each other. The focus then was only on strength and not physique.

  
  

  
  

   Bodybuilding as we know it today was created in the 19th century by Eugen Sandow.

  Image: Photo of Hercules’ back, Simone Pelligrin 

   Image: Eugen Sandow, Wikipedia 

   

  Bodybuilding as we know it today was created in the 19th century by Eugen Sandow - also known as the "father of bodybuilding." His love for aesthetic physique began in Italy when he went with his family on a trip and saw ancient Greek statues. He was so impressed by their physique that he took measurements of them and decided to sculpt his own body to look like theirs. At this time it wasn’t believed that it was possible for humans to achieve this body and that it was just artistic, made by the artist's imagination. But Eugen decided to prove them all wrong, and the focus of his training became physique rather than strength. His strength did impress people though, and that was ultimately what he was known for, but later in his career in 1901 he created an actual bodybuilding competition called the ‘Great Competition’ where the contestant would pose in front of Sandow himself. The winner won the statue of Sandow, a prize 

  given even to this day in Mr. Olympia. Eugen created the ideal physique for the bronze era that inspires a lot of people to this day.

  
  

  Bodybuilding continued to gain in popularity. According to Wikipedia, in the 1960s and 70s the first bodybuilding organizations were created and anabolic steroids started becoming available for the general public.  People like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno became famous for their huge muscles. Unlike ancient or bronze-era men, golden- and silver-era bodybuilders also started to develop their chests and look at their nutrition.

  
  

  Bodybuilders that took steroids were much bigger, but that doesn't mean that they didn’t train hard enough. Genetically, you can gain only a certain amount of muscle and each year you make less progress in gaining muscle tissue. The thing that separates the use of steroids in the golden-era and modern-day bodybuilding is that back then they still tried to achieve a more natural physique aesthetic and balanced proportions.

  
  

  Image: Photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Butler

  
  

  Today, bodybuilding is a popular sport all over the world, and there are many bodybuilders that don't take steroids. People of all ages and backgrounds participate in competitions and work hard to achieve their goals. It is  a great way to stay healthy and strong, both physically and mentally.

  Archaeological Institute at Athens, “What did it take to be an athlete in the ancient Greek world?” https://aaia.sydney.edu.au/what-did-it-take-to-be-an-athlete-in-the-ancient-greek-world/

  Barford, V., Townsend, L. “Eugen Sandow: The man with the perfect body.” BBC.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19977415

  Long, C. “The Picture that introduced the world to Arnold Schwarzenegger” Newyorker.com

  https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-pictures-that-introduced-the-world-to-arnold-schwarzenegger

  Wikipedia.org, “Bodybuilding in the 1960s and 1970s,”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BodybuildingWikipedia.org, “Eugen Sandow” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Sandow

  
  

• Tips for Easter Holidays

  Where to go this Spring?

  
  

  By Richard Mattyasovszky

  1. Barcelona, Spain

  
  

  Spain's second-largest city has the perfect location by the sea. It offers much to see and enjoy, from the notoriously famous La Sagrada Familia (basilica), Park Güell and other extravagant buildings designed by the architect Gaudí, the historical centre, the Aquarium, to Camp Nou for the football fans. You can also visit the harbour or take a walk along the beach and the Mediterranean Sea. Make sure to enjoy a variety of tapas and seafood.

  Image: Barcelona, Lepetitchatblanc.blogspot.com 

  
  

  Image: “Sagrada Familia,’’ Fr. Christopher George Phillips, Atonementparish.blogspot.com

  2. Rome, Italy

  
  

  Visiting Rome before the summer is much better due to the lower number of tourists and more pleasant temperatures compared to the summer. Rome is a unique and breathtaking place as it unites the ancient, medieval and contemporary. Rome has plenty to offer, starting with the Colosseum, Vatican museums including St Peter's Basilica, Fountain Di Trevi, Pantheon, Roman Forum, Castel Sant Angelo, and many beautiful piazzas (squares) and medieval churches. Meanwhile, enjoy the fantastic local food.

  
  

  Image: Rome, Zicasso.com

  Image: Rome, Ominatours.com

  3. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  
  

  For those who aren't really into history, Dubai would be a great trip as it's the pinnacle of modern architecture with the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. Having beautiful beaches means you can have a great experience by the sea, and as well as swimming and diving you could, for example, rent a jet ski. You can do a variety of other things - visiting the biggest waterpark in the world, the largest indoor skiing slope in the world, the Dubai Miracle Garden, driving through the desert in Jeeps etc. Dubai is also the perfect place for shopping with its glamorous and flashy malls with every store and brand you can think of.

   

  Austinmax.wordpress.com, “Tag Archives: Home Loan Dubai’’, https://austinmax.wordpress.com/tag/home-loan-dubai/

  Zicasso.com, “Historic Cities to Treasured Coastline of Italy Tour: Rome, Naples & Sorrento’’ https://www.zicasso.com/i/italy/historic-cities-treasured-coastline-italy-tour-rome-naples-sorrento

  Thawards.com, “Dubai Desert Vacations,’ https://thawards.com/the-desert-dubai/ Orminatours.com, “Rome, Italy.” https://www.orminatours.com/tour/rome-city-break-italy/Lepetitchatblanc.blogspot.com 

  Le Petit Chttps://lepetitchatblanc.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.htmlhat Blanc: mars 2013                                               

  Atonementparish.blogspot.com, “Sagrada Familia,” http://atonementparish.blogspot.com/2010/07/sagrada-familia.htm

• Netflix TIps

  Netflix Tips for this Spring

  
  

  By Karolina Horáková

   Spring is the perfect time to sit outside and watch new Netflix releases. Although searching for some good TV series that won't waste our time can sometimes be overwhelming, these Netflix tips will help you! So grab a remote and enjoy!

  Welcome to Eden

  
  

  This Spanish TV series is about a group of young people who receive an invitation to attend a party on a remote island. Everything is arranged for them which makes it very tempting. They accept the offer and pack all their belongings and leave to party. Gradually strange things start to happen. They have to give up their phones and receive a wristband which tracks their location.  As time goes on, they realize they are not in paradise, but in a trap they can never escape from. 

  This short TV series is very gripping and watching it all in one sitting will be very tempting. 

  
  

  
  

  Image: Welcome to Eden, IMBD.com

   

  I am Georgina

  
  

  And for those who are interested in the football world I recommend a TV series about Georgina - mother, influencer, businesswoman and Cristiano Ronaldo's partner. Another season has recently been released. You will be able to experience her life behind the curtains and see what it's like to be a famous millionaire. But of course not everything is perfect. You will also see the dark side of her life and that being rich isn't everything. 
  
  

   Image: I am Georgina, IMDB. com

  
  

  That was all from my Netflix tips for Spring. And if you have already watched my recommendations, turn off the TV and go outside!

• wta fx

   

  Avatar: The Way of… Motion Capture?

   By Michal Ličko

   

  Weta Digital is a visual effects firm located in New Zealand that was created in 1993 by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk. 

  
  

  The business has created some of the most aesthetically spectacular and technically astounding special effects in cinema history. Weta Digital has earned a reputation for itself in recent years thanks to its work on filmmaker James Cameron's Avatar, a breakthrough science fiction picture featuring some of the most astounding visual effects ever seen on the big screen.

  
  

  Avatar follows the journey of Jake Sully, a handicapped former Marine who is brought to the planet Pandora to help extract unobtainium, a rare mineral. Jake encounters the Na'vi, a species of humanoid aliens that inhabit the planet, Pandora. As Jake's involvement with the Na'vi grows, he begins to doubt his loyalties and must choose between his responsibility to his employers and his growing love for the Na'vi and their way of life. 
  

  
  

   Actors performed on green screen backdrops that were subsequently swapped out for the digital scenes while the digital environment was built using a blend of CGI and performance capture. 

  Image: Motion Capture, Futuroprossimo.it 

   Avatar's visual effects were developed by combining performance capture and computer-generated imagery (CGI). Actors wore special outfits coated with markers that allowed computers to track their motions throughout the performance capture process. The motion capture data was then utilized to construct computer performances of the individuals appearing in the movie.

  
  The way the Pandoran atmosphere was developed in Avatar is yet another remarkable feature of the film's visual effects. There are countless fully computer-generated species of rare and exotic animal and plant life. Actors performed on green screen backdrops that were subsequently swapped out for the digital scenes while the digital environment was built using a blend of CGI and performance capture. 

  
  The well-known visual effects studio Weta Digital worked on the recent Avatar sequel, Way of the Water, and created some really cutting-edge technologies for the picture. One of the most intriguing innovations is the employment of a specially constructed 3D underwater camera, a first for the motion picture business. To record 3D footage in real-time, the camera system combines two perfectly timed cameras. It can endure the tremendous pressure and challenging oceanic conditions because it was made to be used in deep water. The camera was specifically created for the film and enables breathtaking, previously unseen underwater imagery.

  
  Weta Digital has also created new performance capture methods that allow performers to perform while submerged in water. This development makes it possible to create people and situations that are fully computer-generated but look like they were shot underwater. The new performance capture technology in conjunction with the specially constructed 3D underwater camera could result in some of the most spectacular and lifelike underwater cinematography ever seen in a movie. The next sequels, which aim to explore the boundaries of visual effects cinematography, are highly anticipated by fans of the franchise.

  
  Apart from revolutionary tech being used for both movies the creators had to find a solution to an entirely different type of problem, communication. The Na'vi were actually given their own language, developed by linguist Paul Frommer. The language was based on a combination of African and Native American languages and was intended to seem foreign while remaining intelligible to audiences. The actors portraying the Na'vi had to pick up the language and deliver their lines in it, which brought realism to the picture.  

  
  Avatar has some of the most astounding stunning visuals ever seen on a large screen. Performance capture, computer graphics, and Weta Digital's specialized tools allowed the filmmakers to build a fully realized and immersive universe that enthralled viewers all over the world. The special effects work done on Avatar by Weta Digital has raised the bar for movie special effects and prepared the door for even more amazing special effects in the future.

   

   Weta.com, “Weta History,” https://weta.org/campaign/history 

  LUSSIER, G. “How Avatar: The Way of Water is evolving visual effects,” Gizmodo.com. https://gizmodo.com/avatar-way-of-water-vfx-interview-weta-james-cameron-1849905131 

  RICCIO, G.  “Avatar motion capture used to study genetic disorders”, Futuroprossimo.it, https://www.futuroprossimo.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Avatar-2-Motion-Capture-Featurette-1000x500.jpg

• nerd stuff?

   

  Yes, Philip, androids do dream of electric sheep (if you ask them to).

   By Gabriel Makhoul

  
  

  
  

  ChatGPT (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) is a chatbot developed by OpenAI. It generates texts in response to any user request, attempting to simulate human interaction. 

  
  

  This extends far beyond just having conversations with users  - it is capable of creating a text of virtually any kind, from the geography essay you’re giving in tomorrow to shopping lists to faux Shakespearean theatre plays. It is very versatile.

   Image: ChatGPT writing a text, chat.openai.com

   

  Released in November of last year, ChatGPT has since taken the world by storm, gathering over one million users in its first week of runtime and becoming extremely popular. It has since garnered a vast array of reactions, with some excited about the future of AI and some being wary and critical of its potential misuse, while others are sceptical of the hype surrounding it, considering it nothing extraordinary at all.

  
  Labelled both as a herald of an upcoming era in technology (some even went as far as to compare it in significance to Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press) and a banal, trivial “bullshit generator,” it’s clear that nearly everyone has an opinion on ChatGPT. The wide range of responses by the public is analogous to the one recently received by AI-generated art, which has also been in the spotlight over the past few years due to systems like DALL-E and Midjourney.

  "'the cat sat on the mat' is more likely to occur in English than 'sat the the mat cat on' and thus would be more likely to appear in a ChatGPT response.”

   Image: Midjourney-generated art, Jason M. Allen, New York Times.

  
  

   

   ChatGPT is based on the GPT-3.5 language model (Or, GPT-4 in the case of the paid version). Language models create text based on how statistically likely it is for a word to appear in a given series of words. GPT-3.5 was trained on about 45 terabytes of text data. Based on that, it infers which words are likely to appear in what context. For example, citing Britannica, "'the cat sat on the mat' is more likely to occur in English than 'sat the the mat cat on' and thus would be more likely to appear in a ChatGPT response.”

  
  The process by which ChatGPT was trained is known as “non-supervised pre-training,” - the language model wasn’t trained to respond to particular data in a specific way, rather it was just allowed to parse through it with no definite goal in mind, allowing it to infer the various patterns and structures within human language. Essentially, instead of having predetermined answers to certain questions and requests, it only responds based on what is statistically probable. 

  
  Generative AI achieves this through neural networks, algorithms that try to imitate the workings of a human brain - information isn’t processed in a straight line, but rather through a net of connections. That’s where ChatGPT gets all that pattern recognition.

  
  

  As said by David Gewirtz of ZDNet, “A neural network simulates the way a human brain works by processing information through layers of interconnected nodes. Think of a neural network like a hockey team: each player has a role, but they pass the puck back and forth among players with specific roles, all working together to score the goal.”

  
  

  There is one strange downside to this, however. Since the AI doesn’t really “think” in the same way as we do, only analysing probability, not whether what it produces is actually true, it has a strange tendency to occasionally hallucinate. AI hallucinations are what happens when generative AI just "makes stuff up".  This is rather problematic in the case of ChatGPT especially, because of its increasing usage in academia - it has even been cited on several research papers. 

  
  

  Since ChatGPT gives no sources and can spontaneously create false information out of the blue, this particular tendency has been a cause for concern, such as in this example, again provided by Britannica: “For example, ChatGPT was asked to tell the Greek myth of Hercules and the ants. There is no such Greek myth; nevertheless, ChatGPT told a story of Hercules learning to share his resources with a colony of talking ants when marooned on a desert island. “ 

  
  

  A lack of quality can also be expected from ChatGPT in mathematics, where it often hallucinates completely untrue answers to problems, such as those where it has to multiply numbers with several digits - in this type of problem, it is only successful in 30% of cases on average.

   Despite all the hype around it, the AI isn’t really that innovative - it’s just the last in line of long-term development rather than the product of some one-off genius breakthrough. The model which was modified for ChatGPT’s original version released in November, GPT-3, was developed all the way back in 2020. Even the creators of ChatGPT expressed surprise at this - as put by Jan Leike, research scientist at OpenAI: “I would love to understand better what’s driving all of this—what’s driving the virality. Like, honestly, we don’t understand. We don’t know.”

  
  

  The idea of artificial intelligence itself can more-or-less be traced back to the famed mathematician Alan Turing, who proposed the idea of thinking machines in his 1950 paper, Computing, Machinery and Intelligence, in which he argues for the possibility of “thinking machines”. However, his ideas couldn’t directly be put into use as the technology for it to work wasn’t yet available at the time.

   Image: “Alan Turing, c. 1930”, Britannica.com

  Although it's not as revolutionary as a layman may think, we’ve still been able - over the course of roughly seventy years - to get from  “thinking machines” existing only as a well-reasoned idea to the average person with internet access being able to talk to them at will.  One can only wonder where artificial intelligence will lead us to in the future.

  GERWITZ, David. “How does ChatGPT work?” ZDNet.com https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-does-chatgpt-work/

  OpenAI.com, “Introducing ChatGPT” https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

  GREGERSEN, Erik. “ChatGPT,” Britannica.com https://www.britannica.com/technology/ChatGPT

  TURING, Alan. “Computing, Machinery and intelligence,” MIND, https://phil415.pbworks.com/f/TuringComputing.pdf

  ROOSE, Kevin. “An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html

  COPELAND, B. J. “Alan Turing”  Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Turing

  
  

• videogames

   

  The journey from Pong to Elden Ring

   By Martin Šelle

   The gaming industry has been around for a long time since its first appearance with the first consoles, and come a long way from Pong to modern award winning, thrilling games such as Elden Ring and God of War.

  This industry of course has many branches, so this article will focus solely on advancements in portability and graphics. 

   Image: Pong, MZTV Museum of Television

  
  

   One of the biggest changes in terms of portability is in fact due to the same reason most of us play games, the internet. Nowadays you can play any game in any place in the world just by accessing the WiFi.  For example, cloud gaming gives you the option to start the game on one device and finish it on another, or the option of remote play, meaning for example you can play games on your phone, with the actual game running on a computer and streaming to your device via WiFi. That gives you the opportunity to play games that would require very expensive hardware as your device wouldn't be able to handle the game itself. This brings us to another evolutionary step in games - graphics.

   Image: Remote Play, Google Play

  
  

   According to statistics, the gaming industry worldwide is worth US$384.9billion, making it worth more than the music and movie industries together. 

   Graphics have undergone enormous changes, basically in every aspect they provide. I want to talk about Unreal Engine 5 which is by far the most graphically advanced engine out there. 

  But what are game engines anyway? 

  Game engines are the basic building blocks of games, which are made inside these Game engines. They power the whole game and combine together their codes and their graphics. A lot of engines specialise in different things, but Unreal Engine 5 specialises specifically in graphics. 

  
  

  This engine is capable of rendering light in such an unbelievably realistic way when combined with Envidia's Ray tracing, which is a third party program built into Envidia's graphic cards that simulates light by shutting millions of rays at an object in simulation, before you can even see it. Meaning that this whole process happens in a matter of milliseconds.

   The results are astonishing graphics that are a pleasure to look at. This of course leads to higher prices of hardware, hence the previously mentioned Remote play.

   Image: Unreal Engine logo, Epic Games, Inc.

  
  

   Overall the gaming industry has been developing a lot. Whether we talk about portability, graphics, or small things such as game ads, it has quickly become one of the biggest industries in the world. 

   Image: ELDEN RING, Sony Interactive 

  
  

   According to statistics the gaming industry worldwide is worth US$384.9billion, making it worth more than the music and movie industries together. All of this indicates that the gaming industry is still expanding enormously and we can expect great game developments to happen in a short time.

   

  Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. “How to use PS Remote Play on mobile devices” https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/games/playstation-remote-play-on-mobile-devices/

  EDUCBA. "What is Unreal Engine?” https://www.educba.com/what-is-unreal-engine/ 

  Condé Nast. “What Is Ray Tracing? The Latest Gaming Buzzword Explained” https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-ray-tracing/

  Statista.com “Video Games - Worldwide” https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/digital-media/video-games/worldwide#revenue

• RW inteview

   New month, new From A to Z this time with our English teacher, Mr. Wickwar!

   By Elen Michalíková

  
  

   You can look forward to reading Mr. Wickwar's skateboarding story or what he thinks about vandalism.

  
  

   ACCEPT… yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not, especially to impress others.

  
  

  BREWING… B could be for Beer of course, but I am most interested in the art of making it! There are many stages in Brewing, from: planning a new beer; combining ingredients (grains, water, hops, yeast + other weird & wonderful extras - I’ve used chillies, vanilla pods, coffee beans, pumpkin…); fermenting the beer; to bottling & labelling it. Oh, and of course drinking it…

  
  COFFEE… If you want to make your teacher happy, have a fresh cup of filter coffee ready on their desk at the beginning of p.0 :)

  
  DAD… Michael Wickwar - a legend. Builder, Mechanic, Sculptor, Martial-Artist. Best Dad (and Grandad) ever!

   EVERYONE… must watch the film ‘Mask’ featuring Cher. Ask 11A, they’ll tell you all about it ;)

  
  

  FEAR… not something you always grow out of! I’m most afraid of sharks, I have problems swimming in the sea, even in England.

  
  GRATITUDE… I’d like to thank all my family, friends, & loyal fans.

  
  HOME… I’ve had many - having a builder dad meant we moved a lot, mostly into half-converted barns. Maybe that’s why I ended up in Ostrava living in a partly-reconstructed old house!

  
  

   INDIE… A rather ‘blanket’ term but definitely covers music, films etc. that I’m into.

  
  

  JUSTICE… for all.

  
  KINGDOM… United. Sad what’s been happening there since I left 13 years ago!

  
  LP VINYL… Another vice of mine. Nothing like owning a physical copy of an album, removing the vinyl from the sleeve, dropping the needle on it… I spent many happy nights playing records in bars around Norwich, England. Shame it’s become such an expensive hobby these days :(

   MARATHON… I keep meaning to try and run one. Maybe this year…

  
  NECESSITY… Don’t forget the past form of the modal of necessity ‘MUST’ is ‘HAD TO’. Not ‘MUSTED’, which is what you have with a sausage.

  
  OSCARS… Was anyone slapped this year?

  
  PROGRESS… It creeps up on you. You can be up-to-date with e.g. technology, music, films, etc then WHAM you’re out of touch with no idea what a TikTok is or why everyone is called Lil’.

  
  

  QUIZLET… In the beginning there was Kahoot and Quizlet. You had to choose your weapon, and mine was Quizlet. It hasn’t changed much, still does what it does well enough.

  
  RIDE OR DIE… I’m quite accident prone so I probably shouldn’t try. As the next story shows…

  
  SKATEBOARDING… There was a big resurgence when I was a teenager. I fell off a skateboard into a bush and pierced my eye. A surgeon had to cut off a flap of skin that was hanging out of my eyeball. I started Uni with a completely bloodshot eye and scratches all down my face. This also featured on my student ID for three years. :(

  
  TEACHING… I came to it quite late in life but felt I’d finally found my calling. I’d say I learn more than teach overall!

   

  UNIVERSAL STUDIOS… as far as I know does not exist anywhere other than Earth, which makes their name fraudulent.

  
  

  VANDALISM… or art? Sadly, many Banksy pieces that appeared near my parents’ in Suffolk were vandalised. Others were literally cut from the building by the owner and sold for a fortune :(

  
  

  WICKWAR… The last census showed 4 Wickwars in the Czech Republic. They all live in my house :)

  
  

  XBOX OR PLAYSTATION… Nintendo obviously. I have a Wii, a Wii U, and a Switch rigged up at home. Amazing consoles.

  
  

  YOUTH… Enjoy it while you have it. Does that sound ‘Dad’ enough?

  
  

  ZELDA… Best games ever. I still love the graphics and gameplay of the first I ever played - A Link to the Past. I am trying to play through them all again. I've just finished Minish Cap and next up is the remake of Link's Awakening…

  
  

  SOMETHING… for the weekend sir? A strange old saying, I won’t explain it here.

  
  

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