FatDave

But where does the performance end and the person begin? Ricky Gervais has always said the same thing and I agreed with him. But then when he started trans-bashing it became clear that it was no longer satire. I suppose the answer to my own question is this: the performance ends at the edge of the stage. The comic SHOULD be able to say what they want, but when the audience treats the show like the Nuremberg rally, then the comic needs to reassess the impact of their material.

After several re-reads I'm struggling to find where I said there was. Wait a minute, did you just get offended by something that wasn't even there? But I agree about the jokes that you'll remember for life. He was once, and still has the ability to be, an incredibly funny comedian. He has the writing skills to compete, to fill arenas instead of the back rooms of working men's clubs. But some people take being told they're wrong and turn it into a drive to stay the course and be proven right. His entire show now is based around the premise that him and his audience are sane and everybody else in the world have gone mad, with regular challenges to the councils which have banned his performance and the snowflake generation which refuses to laugh at a punchline which pokes at the embers of sexist, racist, homophobic, and transphobic stereotypes. I personally don't think he should be banned, I'm showing my disapproval by not going to see him again, and that's enough for me.

I went to see Chubby in Wath after the ban in Sheffield. Once again, I remember him being hilarious when I saw him as a kid. He had said in the press that he hasn't told a racist joke since the 80's and with the bans I thought it'd be my last chance to see him. He still has the dry sense of humour, I would certainly say he's a funny man, but it was clear two minutes in that his material hadn't evolved one bit. He has clever and dry delivery, some of his jokes are well written, but the middle aged and elderly white men who made up the audience was clearly as broad as his fan base could get. They all clapped and cheered at every racist and phobic line and nodded along in agreement like it was a political speech. It was pretty sad.

A few years ago I was telling my wife about the old Jim Davidson panto, Sinderella, and how it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. I managed to find it on YouTube and showed her it and I was so embarrassed about 15 minutes in that I stopped it. I'd expected the racism, sexism, and homophobia throughout, remembered bits from teenage viewings, but what I was most embarrassed about was that it just isn't funny anymore. But it's not offence that caused me to turn it off - no subject should be off limits to comedy if it's well done(search for Ralphie May on YouTube) - it's just clear that comedy has changed in the years since it was released. I genuinely couldn't figure out why I'd ever found it funny, it was that bad. People who say that PC has gone mad, usually accompany it with the old "you can't say anything these days" despite the fact that there are a few very successful comics saying exactly what they want and getting paid a lot for it. On top of that we live in a time of unprecedented freedom of speech, where billions have a platform to say anything they want, whether hate filled, untrue, or dangerous, every single day. It has never, in the history of our species, been easier to say anything you want. TL:DR There is no political correctness in comedy, it's just that the audience has evolved, and comedy has become smarter.

Coop is good, One Night Ultimate Warewolf, King Of Tokyo, Love Letter, Resistance.

Howdoo all. Not posted here in at least a yonk, and thought I'd pop in and have a butchers. I miss the monthly flash fiction competition, I was a regular contributor, and I don't think I've been on since it ended. I was wondering then who'd be interested in starting it back up? As I recall, the rules were that someone would set the topic (usually the winner of the previous month), and then entries would be in any literary form on that subject with a 500 word limit. The winner judged by the one who set the topic, with a little bit of feedback on each piece entered. I miss the challenge, and the practice. Would anybody else be interested in this?

I work at a place of education which deals in large government contracts. On site we have three large skips, two for "Mixed Recyclables" and one for "General Waste". These skips are all emptied once a week, so we produce a fair amount of waste. When the van comes to empty the skips, all three are tipped into the same vehicle. This is a regular practice. Am I missing something? Is there a way of sorting the rubbish from the recycling inside the lorry, or are they just pretending to recycle? The disposal company is a large one, and so if this is what they do here, then I reckon it's what they do all over.

I've added you on Origin. I play Battlefront mainly and loving it, but for some reason none of my mates play it.

Had a brilliant time yesterday, thanks for making me feel welcome guys. I felt pretty intimidated when I turned up, 'specially as I'm a newb to board/card games, and coming alone too, but if anybody else feels the same, let the guys on the door know you've never been and they'll put you at ease. I'll keep checking the website for the next event.

Damnit, I should really check this forum more often. Reckon I'll be there Sat from 4. I'll bring One Night Ultimate Werewolf

That's awesome news, congratulations. Put a link up, get a free plug, you'll find that people on here are quite supportive of each other and might well drum up some business for you.

http://bridgetwhelan.com/2015/01/05/write-for-bbc-radio/ This is an annual thing that I've only just heard of, think I'll enter this time, anybody up for it too?

You're right about that, and examples include Rowling, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Frank Herbert... And this - is about the worst advice I've ever seen on here. I feel we should all chip in for some kind of trophy. My first tip is, if you want to be a writer, read. If you want to write comedy, read comedy; if you want to write romance... you get the idea. Every book is a learning experience, even the bad ones. I would suggest starting here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Stephen-King/dp/1444723251/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421280279&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+king+on+writing. Even if you don't want to write horror, there's no denying that Stephen King is a great modern writer and knows what he's talking about. My second tip is, if you want to be a writer, write. I had an idea for a novel, and like you I was confident of its strength. Actually, I had several, and wrote outlines for most of them so that one day I'd get around to them. I wanted to tell my story, but didn't want to spend all the time becoming a decent writer. The bad news then is that if you want to write a book, chances are you'll have to write a lot of none-book projects before you get that book looked at by anybody that could make something happen with it. That realisation almost broke me. So here's the good news: during my learning of the craft of writing, I discovered my love for it. I dove straight into my first novel and made plenty of mistakes on the way, but then every novel stamped on a page has required several drafts to perfect, so don't worry about making mistakes you can rework later. Look for short story competitions; SF used to run a monthly one with a 500 word limit and I miss it dearly. Short stories, or rather flash fiction, are great exercises to make a writer more concise. Write about everything; record your dreams, have a nosey at conversations, describe the last person who walked past your house (what they were wearing, their body shape, the way they walk, anything different about them to other people. Try to imagine what they have in their pocket, where they're going, did they look at their watch? Maybe that's because they know that in a minute or two the police will discover the bodies...) Write it all and while you're doing it you might see a chunk of a character right there in front of you. If you like the way someone you meet laughs, or a figure of speech someone keeps using, jot it all down. Characters for me tend to be bits of dozens of people I see on telly, at work, and often enough in the mirror. I am currently studying creative writing, usually at work (security guard is THE best profession in which to be a writer) with a part time course from OCA. Look here - http://www.oca.ac.uk/courses/writing-courses.html - and don't dismiss the idea out of hand, I have taken a very reasonable student loan to pay for the course, and the rate of learning can be fast or steady as you like. As far as your story being overly complicated, try writing a synopsis (a google search will let you know how). If you can keep it under 125 words then chances are that it's fine. A couple of extra pointers which are essential from word one. Show, don't tell - this is the writer's mantra, and is what separates a story from a list of instructions. Don't say that the room was cold, show that she pulled the blanket tight around her shoulders; don't say he had a bad temper, show that he tutted then repeated himself slowly to the receptionist. When people wonder what makes a good writer, from what I can tell, story has very little to do with it; it's this that does it. My last tip is that you should write how you think. The first time I put finger to keyboard (the modern version of pen to paper) I began by saying that "...exquisite sensations of lightning fire drove the weariness from his arid mind". I thought I was dead clever anorl. Turns out that fancy, round the garden writing like that is no use to anybody. When people read they want to get it in one go. Nobody wants to have to redo the same sentence over and over because it's too complicated to sink in on a scan. Don't try to look like a writer, just write and you'll be a writer. Let us know how you get on.

I would most certainly be interested. I can visit and I can host, but I work a 3 days/3 nights/3 off pattern, so while my shifts are predictable, they aren't regular. I hope you can get this off the ground. That said, I check Facebook more than these forums, so by all means add me on there: allott.dave@yahoo.co.uk

I can relate. I used to play a fair bit of Battlefield3 on 360, and the only message I ever sent to anybody who'd killed me in game was to somebody who close range sniped me twice when I had an LMG. The message I sent was this, "kudos fella, good shooting." I think that some people are so soft in real life that they get all their pent up aggression out online. Bit pathetic really, and it gives gamers in general a bad name.