Webby's Travel Blog - China
Written 5 days ago by PaulFinally I am getting around to clearing the backlog of travel blogs. Back blog if you will. I will start with my trip to Beijing, China. Back in November, my friend Paudi and I decided to go to Beijing for our next holiday. Some of his friends were going and we would meet up with them there. We had nothing planned and knew very little about the city we were going to. We organised for our hostel to pick us up at the airport, if you are going to Beijing I would recommend you do this. It can be a bit of a culture shock as nobody; especially the taxi drivers can speak English.
After recovering from our seven-hour flight, we went straight to an acrobatics show. I have to say I was really impressed by the performers. It was so well put together, and the stage and costumes were so well designed. Seeing such a large group of talented and skilled performers at work made me realise why the Olympic Games opening ceremony was such a huge success.
After this we decided to go for a few drinks, this turned into quite a few drinks. I have to give this night a special mention as it was one of the most random nights out I have ever had. There is a street called Bar Street, which has about ten bars in a row. So we bar hopped for the night, each bar stranger than the last. The first one was a trendy kind of karaoke bar. Here we all got our portraits sketched for about euro each. We then went on to the next bar, which had a female and male pole dancer onstage. That’s right a male pole dancer. However this was not really a seedy affair and I wouldn’t like you think that Beijing is full of sleazy strip bars as these are actually illegal in the country. This was just more like a small-scale acrobatics show in a bar.
When they were finished another guy and girl got up to sing some songs. The guy started rapping Hit ‘em Up by Tupac in Chinese, very strange. We met some lovely Chinese people who showed us a drinking game that involves throwing dice. A lot of the bars have dice and a cup on every table for these games. The next bar had a Michael Jackson tribute act. By this stage we were in love with the nightlife in Beijing.
This is partly due to fact that we were not expecting it. Drinking was not a big part of the culture here. However since the country has opened up to western influences, the young people have really embraced bar and club culture. There are great bars and clubs here playing brilliant music. Their beer is much lighter than ours, which meant we drank many, many Tsing Taos (the local brew), which is a lovely, light, crisp beer.
Now it was time to explore the city by day. It was very cold at this time of year so we had to wrap up warm, something we were not used to doing. To get anywhere we had to get the nice people working in the hostel to write out the address in Chinese to give to the taxi driver. Trying to learn any Chinese was very difficult because the drivers could not understand our accent. They did not even know what I meant by Tiananmen Square, which is the main landmark in the city. However the metro system is fantastic and very easy to use once you get used to it, especially since the Olympics as everything is in English now.
Tiananmen square is amazing. It is huge square in the middle of the city. There’s lots of history here as Chairman Mao is buried here and the student’s revolution of 1989 kicked off here. There are lots of universities around and students like to come up to tourists and practice their English. This was great but we were told to be wary of them as they have a reputation for bringing tourists to bars and leaving them with the bill.
Beijing is a great city to just walk around. There are so many beautiful parks and you never know what you will find. The retirement age in China is surprisingly young, 55 for women and 60 for men. The older Chinese folk seem to have a great time. They spend their days in parks, playing cards, singing and generally having a laugh. There was a craze sweeping China when we were there. Everywhere we went people were playing keepy uppy with this colourful, feathery thing. I ended up playing with this lovely old couple in the park.
Next was a trip to the Great Wall of China. I’m not going to tell you too much about this as the picture speak for them selves. We did a 10km trek along the wall. You have to be careful, as there are some steep parts with loose steps. People break their legs here all the time. It was nice to get out in to the country. The air was so fresh and clean compared to Beijing, the most polluted air in the world.
Out of all the places I have been to, I would probably recommend Beijing the most to other people. It is such a great city. There is so much history, the people are brilliant, food is delicious (dumplings especially) and there is so much to do. I can’t wait to go back to China and see some of the other cities.
— Paul
Fake Dog Loves #6: The Rock
Written 16 days ago by DaraIt’s been a while since I’ve written a blog under the Fake Dog Loves banner. Then, it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog in general. How the time flies when it’s measured in days. Looking back on the old Fake Dog Loves chapters, it’s hardly the comprehensive list of Fake Dog’s favourite things it was meant to be, though The Sweeney and Peep Show are still relevant to our collective interests. In any case, I thought I’d update the series with one of Fake Dog’s definitive, old favourites, The Rock.
I love The Rock. I do not refer to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (not in this case anyway), but rather his filmic namesake. My first recollection of The Rock (1996) is staying up to watch it on television one Sunday night at Nine O’ Clock on TV3 (a notable high point for the broadcaster). It was quite entertaining and, apart from Bond, is probably one of the first action films I remember seeing. I watched it a good many times in school, and added the script to my repertoire of quotes, without which I could scantily express myself. In later years, I was surprised to find that others, too, had been influenced by The Rock, and, indeed, the Cage Trinity of ’96/‘97 [see also: Face/ Off (1997), Con Air (1997)]. Things jumped up a notch when I learned Webby was a fan of The Rock. This led to many repeated viewings of the trinity within our house, and assured complete assimilation of the scripts into our everyday dialect. Foremost among them being The Rock.
The Rock was scripted by three writers with few other films to their IMDb names. They presumably put everything they had into this one – and it shows. It’s packed full of ridiculous plot, stereotyped characters, over-the-top action, and every line sounds suspiciously crafted to be a quote (nice work, lads). Nicolas Cage lets loose after his Oscar win and turns himself into an action hero, and Sean Connery essentially returns as James Bond Sr., much cooler and silvery than he was before. Yes, there are countless reasons to love The Rock. Gearoid and I made a video to convey but a slight few of them:
— Dara
Webby's Travel Blog - Sri Lanka
Written 140 days ago by PaulFirstly, apologies for my lack of activity on the site over the last two months. I’ve been doing some travelling and working as an English Teacher, as a result I’ve had limited access to the internet.
However, I’ve finally put up a little blog about my travels in Sri Lanka. Hope you enjoy. Sorry for all the pictures, there were just so many. It’s an amazing country with beautiful scenery and really nice people.After a four hour flight from Dubai, we were in Colombo, the capital. There’s not too much to see here so we drove in to the middle of the country to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. I couldn’t get over how green the countryside is. This is actually near where The Bridge over the River Kwai was shot.
Here we got to get really close to the elephants. There were hundreds of them.
From here, we went to Siguriya where we went on an elephant safari. This is a really beautiful part of the country, there’s so much history here.
This is Siguriya Rock, where the King of Sri Lanka lived. The rock is shaped to look like a lion. The king had 500 wives and he had pictures of them all painted on the walls. Some man!
We were staying in a nice hotel place but they wanted our rooms for other tourists so they offered us a jungle bungalow for the night. We weren’t sure at first, but it turned out be really cool. It was massive and it was right in the middle of the jungle. It also had a tree house to scout elephants and buffalo. Didn’t see any though. Here we had one of the maddest, most random nights ever. I consumed lots of Lion Lager (the local brew) and the spiciest food you could imagine. In Sri Lanka every thing is spicy, even ketchup. They have curry for breakfast, which is surprisingly quite refreshing in the morning.
After that, we went to Adam’s Peak, a big mountain in the middle of the country. It’s twice the size of Carrantuohill (the biggest mountain in Ireland.) We climbed it at night, in the rain, fighting off leaches. They’re horrible you have to burn them off or put salt on them or they’ll leave their teeth in you and they can get infected. I really can’t stress how horrible they are. You’re supposed to climb through the night and reach the top to see the sunrise over Sri Lanka. Apparently it’s breathtaking. For us though it was lashing rain. So we could barely see our hands in front of out faces. But this Buddhist monk made me the best cup of tea I’ve ever had and I rang a bell to signify the achievement.
It was tough but it was worth it for the views on the way down.
Finally after 4 days of heavy travelling and sightseeing, we went to Hikkaduwa to chill out on the beach. This was as laid back as you could get. Great food and surf (not that I did any). I did swim with massive turtles though. It was quite sad though because this area was devestated by the tsunami in 2004.
I would have loved to have spent more time here. It was such a nice end to a pure class holiday. Stay tuned for more travel blogs in the future.
— Paul
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"Pulling a Webby"
Written 154 days ago by DaraWe’d love to claim it as a post-modern nuance, a Zack Morris for the ’00s, a sly wink in acknowledgment of the audience in the style of Groucho Marx. But the much simpler truth is: Webby likes to look at the camera when he’s not supposed to. Precisely, when it’s filming him. For a film graduate with a masters in Film Production and Direction, this really is a baffling occurrence. But, the camera is a strange presence. It changes everything when it’s turned on. Some people over-act, some people stiffen up, and others look at it.
Over the past few years and hundred or so tapes (that’s right!), we’ve encountered this phenomenon quite a bit. It wasn’t long before we coined the phrase “pulling a Webby” for this unique device of looking at the camera when you’re not supposed to. Most of these moments have been left on the editing floor, but a couple have found their way into Fake Dog Films. The most obvious ones are in Fake Dog’s Lost parody. These almost work with the lo-fi and deliberately amateur-looking style; It’s clearly not meant to be taken seriously, this man is looking at the camera.
After a lot of slagging, Webby became less receptive to our jokes about “pulling a Webby” all the time. Possibly, he felt unappreciated as an actor. Then, we decided to make our music video for Distance. In it, Webby plays a tree; a funny concept, but the bulk of the film rests on Webby’s face. It was dangerous. It could have been awash with Webbys. But, it was to be his proudest moment, and he delivered a fine performace. Webby was Jim Carrey, and this was his Truman Show. He re-appropriated the term; “Pulling a Webby” was now to give a powerful, serious performance, for someone mainly known as a comedy actor. And there would be be no Yes Man to follow.
Even with the respect of his piers and an intense performance under his belt, Webby continues to look at the camera when he’s not supposed to. And he’s gotten better at it too. A quick glance, two frames worth of eyebal, and then he’s back to the scene. Blink and you’ll miss it. Gearoid assures me there’s a “Webby” is Crackdown 2, but I can’t see it. And Webby shows no signs of stopping. Watching the raw footage from A Dog’s Life Episode 2, I can honestly say I’ve never seen so many “Webbys” on one project. And though it’s endlessly frustrating to see a perfectly good take ruined by a “Webby”, it’s still pretty funny.
— Dara
I Promised Myself I Wouldn't Cry
Written 201 days ago by PaulThis is just a note to let people that I am going away traveling for a year. Don’t fret too much though, Dara and Gearóid will still be here keeping things going. We’ve been working very hard over the last month making more films that will be released during the coming year. I’ll still be on the message board and contributing blogs about my adventures in foreign lands.
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who watched our films and supported us and said such nice things. It’s all really appreciated.
I’d also like to thank Dara and Gearóid for everything over the last 2 years. BFDFF – Best Fake Dog Friends Forever!
— Paul
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Everybody Is Doing The Fake Dog
Written 249 days ago by PaulIf you ever go to a concert, event or even just go out with the Fake Dog Men, you may notice us do a strange celebratory dance, do not be alarmed! This is The Fake Dog Dance. The origins of The Fake Dog Dance are often debated. Some say it’s a break dance gone wrong, others say it resembles a real dog cocking its leg for a wee.
The Fake Dog is lots of fun to do and we’re always adding new bits to it, I’m hoping it’ll be the new dance craze that will sweep the nation, much like The Rock The Boat or to a lesser extent The Macarena.
If you want to give it a go, help is at hand. Dara has very kindly offered to model the Fake Dog and show you how it’s done.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Easy as that! You may recognise the backdrop to Dara’s dance as the beach that Cannon and McGrath cleaned up after a reported crime-wave in the area in Crackdown 2.
So if you are ever at a famous landmark why not strike a pose and do The Fake Dog. Get someone to take a picture and be sure to post it on the message board. Happy Fake Dogging!
— Paul
