Michael Bay's lost weekend at CES in Las Vegas

He wasn’t being asked to deliver a soliloquy on the nature of art

Michael Bay on stage with Samsung VP Joe Stinziano at the Consumer Electronic Show (AFP/Getty Images)

It may surprise you to know that I am not a fan of the films of Michael Bay. His Transformers films make his earlier work look nuanced. Given that his earlier work is Pearl Harbor, that’s saying something. But even I assumed he knew what he did for a living. Then, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this weekend, his teleprompter failed him, and he was left unable to answer questions.

Just to clarify, he wasn’t being asked to deliver a soliloquy on the nature of art. The questions were hardly Paxmanesque: “Where do you get your unbelievable ideas?” He replied, “As a director, I…” before the teleprompter gave out and it became clear that he had no idea where he got his ideas from.

He bravely declared, “I’ll try and wing it,” but couldn’t then remember anything about himself or his work, even the words, “Big robots. Loud stuff happening.”

Even someone who willingly works with Shia LeBoeuf should be able to speak off the cuff about their job. Sadly for Michael Bay, what happened in Vegas hasn’t stayed in Vegas.

Big, sad eyes – cunning doggy brain

Scientists at Portsmouth University have discovered that rescue dogs may be smarter than we thought. The dogs have worked out that we’re more likely to adopt them if they’re cute. They were rehomed quickest when they made big eyes at prospective adopters, making themselves look puppyish and sad.

In other words, dogs have us licked. They know that if they want a new home, it’s better to be adorable than to sit loftily at the back of the cage, ignoring us. After all, if you find that behaviour cute, you’d be adopting a cat.