Sequels
Written 408 days ago by Gearóid
To start us off, a lovely dictionary definition. A sequel is “a narrative that is written after another narrative set in the same universe, especially a narrative that is chronologically set after its predecessors” [1]. When I say “sequel” in this blog, I mean a direct sequel, because if I start talking about a series, it could be never-ending!
So, sequels. The get-rich quick way of making films. Why bother being original when you can pop out another narrative with ready-made characters? Or so the argument goes. While many sequels fall into this category, there are quite a few that are better than their predecessor, with a better storyline, more rounded characters, and general improvements based on criticisms of the first film.
Sequels always have the immediate disadvantage of being compared to the film they’re succeeding. Many sequels that are considered to be poor would have likely fared well if critiqued separately. Some people are so attached to the first film that they refuse to enjoy its sequel. And then there are those films which were so bad, you’d wonder how they ever got a sequel.
I’m not going to dwell on the argument of whether a sequel should or should not be made, that can be done elsewhere. I’m going to look at some sequels that, in my opinion, are better than their predecessor, while putting others to the back of my mind.
The first that comes to mind is Terminator 2, given the recent release of another in the series that would be good for the case against sequels. But this, just the second in the series, was better than the first, darker and more brutal, and still very entertaining! On the opposite end of the violence spectrum, there’s Toy Story 2, which I enjoyed immensely (I have it on VHS somewhere!). I never thought much of the first, but I could watch this sequel over and over. It’s not strained as a sequel and you’d be hard pushed to find a bad word said about it.
Thinking of more sequels, I’m brought to comic book films, and the thought that the second film of all the recent ones is the best. X-Men 2 and Spiderman 2 were much better than the first ones, and Batman: The Dark Knight somehow improved on Batman Begins, which was a great film. A great case for sequels!
There are other sequels which are widely regarded as being as good or better than their sequels, but I am not in a position to judge them as I’ve either not seen them in a long time or at all. These include The Godfather Part 2, Return of the Jedi, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Please leave a comment if you have anything to say about these!
Though I’ve only talked about films here, I should point out that the inspiration for this blog came from playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a game that was better than the original in every way, something very rare. And the Sonic games have never reached that greatness since. Well, maybe briefly.
So, what do you think? Are these sequels better than their originals? Have I left out one you thought was good? Leave a comment!
— Gearóid
43 Things to Do This Summer
Written 502 days ago by Gearóid
As you may recall, I had a list of 43 things to do last summer. I posted my list on 43 Things, where I posted updates on my progress, and others cheered me on. Some goals were easy, some were ambitious, and some were downright ridiculous. In the end, I completed 24 of my 43 things, a 55.8% success rate. Clearly this is not good enough, and I need to do better! Above you can see the proof of my failure, the image that makes me want to do it right.
My apathy towards the list was the biggest problem, mostly because a lot of the things on it weren’t things I really wanted to do. Some were great, and I felt a fantastic sense of achievement in completing them. The epic clean-up of my room, followed by painting it a very cool green and blue was by far my favourite on the list and one of the first I completed. My next favourite was getting my Pokémon Pikachu pedometer to 1 million steps, a goal that took all summer, but brought with it a great sense of achievement. However, some other goals were a bit pointless, and rushed in just to fill the list up to 43 things.
This year, I am going to be better prepared. I have two months to prepare the list to end all lists, full of things I want to do by the end of the summer. But, of course, it’s no fun doing this all by myself, so I want as many people as possible to join in. That means you!
I’ve set up some guidelines on some basic types of goals that should be on your list, so you can have a successful summer. You can find them here, on my 43 Things page. You’ll be surprised how much you can achieve by putting a list up for everyone to see. It’s very encouraging when others are supporting you.
To join in, go to 43 Things and set up an account. Once you’ve done that, you can start putting stuff onto your list. My summer starts on May 20th, so that’s when I’ll start doing my things. Your summer can start whenever you want it to. And you don’t have to have 43 things on your list if you don’t want to, that’s just the maximum. Don’t put any goal on the list just for the sake of it. It’s better to have 10 goals you really want to do than 43 you don’t care about.
I’ll post another blog in the next few weeks as things progress. For now, if I’ve been convincing enough and you’ve decided to make a summer list, leave a comment with a link to your 43 Things page so we can cheer you on!
— Gearóid
Fake Dog Food #2: Gearóid's Porter Cake
Written 573 days ago by GearóidFor Christmas, New Year’s or, in fact, any occasion whatsoever, porter cake is quite delicious. It’s not one for the impatient amongst you though, it’s a cake that takes time (it won’t be ready to eat for a few days), but is worth it in the end!
This will take about 35 minutes to prepare and at least 2 hours’ baking, so make sure you put some time aside to make it!
You will need:
450g plain flour
375g brown sugar
225g butter / margarine
4 eggs
450g sultanas (or 225g sultanas + 225g raisins)
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
250ml Guinness
a few glacé cherries (optional)
9-inch cake tin
Mixing bowl
Saucepan
Wooden spoon
Electric mixer (optional — makes it easier)
First off, set the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340F / gas mark 3) so that it’ll be fully heated by the time you’re ready to put the cake in there. Grease the cake tin very well with margarine or butter. You can use old wrappers to line the tin too. You can’t over-grease a tin, so don’t be afraid. But if you don’t do it, your cake will stick to the tin and it’ll be ruined. So make sure you grease the tin!
Now, take a big bowl, and sieve the flour into it. Next put in the butter or margarine. I used margarine because I wanted to save the butter for spreading later, but either is good. Now mix these together until you have a breadcrumb-like mix. It helps if you soften up the butter in the microwave (try 450W for 1 minute). If you have an electric mixer, it makes this step a lot easier. If not, make sure your hands are clean, and just keep rubbing the mix between your palms until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Once you’ve got your breadcrumb-like mix, add all the other dry ingredients (sugar, raisins, mixed spice and cherries, but not the baking soda). Mix all this together with a wooden spoon, or an electric mixer if you have one.
Now, put the Guinness in the saucepan with the baking soda and heat it. Beat the eggs together, and add them to the saucepan just before the Guinness starts to boil. Leave for a few seconds and then pour the contents of the saucepan into the dry mix. Mix these all together using a wooden spoon or electric mixer.
Once you have all this mixed together, spoon it into your well-greased tin. Now put this in the oven for at least two hours. After two hours, put a metal skewer or knife into the cake. If it comes out clean (no bits of cake stuck to it), it’s done.
Leave it to cool, and wrap it up in tin foil. Now the hardest bit. Leave the cake for at least three days so the Guinness can soak in properly. If you eat it straight away, it won’t be very nice. But it’s worth the wait!
After three days, cut the cake, and butter it (told you I was saving the butter for later!). Best served with a nice cup of tea.
Enjoy!
— Gearóid
Ask Fake Dog #2: Ps, Qs, Google and the Lotto!
Written 607 days ago by GearóidWelcome to the second edition of Ask Fake Dog, where we answer questions that Wikipedia can’t help you with. We have a few questions this time, so let’s get right to it.
Noel asks, “What does the ‘q’ in ‘Mind your Ps and Qs’ stand for? I assume the P means ‘please’.”
Well, Noel, the origin of this phrase is highly debated, and many people have many different stories about what it actually means. These days, it has its own meaning, and what the ‘P’ and ‘Q’ stand for has become largely irrelevant.
Having said that, it would still be nice to know how exactly the phrase came about. Many sources give different origins and so it’s hard to pinpoint a particular one. I will go through a few of the supposed origins here and let you decide for yourself!
The first story tells that the phrase finds its origins in advice to young children when they were learning how to write. A lowercase ‘p’ and ‘q’ are mirror images of each other (as long as the ‘q’ doesn’t have a tail), and so could be mixed up. This story continues with the idea that on early printing presses, each letter had to be set manually, and orientated the correct way. Because of this it would be easy to get a ‘p’ and ‘q’ mixed up. However, this could be more easily done with ‘b’ and ‘d’, and this is what sets this story back. It certainly seems likely, but I find the following origin more convincing.
The second story is one you may well have heard before, and it is the one I believed before looking into it for this article. It says that barmen, when keeping an eye on their customers’ drinking for the night, would warn them to “mind your pints and quarts” when they began to get drunk. While this story actually has little historical evidence to prove it, it still seems like a reasonable explanation.
The final origin I found is quite similar to the original in that it refers to children learning the alphabet. Last year, the Oxford English Dictionary researched its origins thoroughly and found several references to Ps and Qs which related to learning the alphabet. The earliest reference is in a poem by Charles Churchill, published in 1763, which goes as follows: “On all occasions next the chair / He stands for service of the Mayor, / And to instruct him how to use / His As and Bs, and Ps and Qs.” It seems the only reason P and Q were chosen is because there are adjacent in the alphabet and “Qs” rhymes with “use”.
So it’s up to you which of the three you believe to be the phrase’s true origin, be it confusion between lowercase p and q, men getting drunk in a bar, or children learning the alphabet. Be sure to leave a comment below!
For more supposed origins, see here and here!
Neil asks, “Is it true that they have fireman’s poles and slides in Google HQ?”
Indeed it is, Neil! Apparently there’s a rule that “no-one at Google is allowed to be more than 100 metres from food”! Take a look here!
Paul asks, “What happens if you win the lotto?”
The back of Lotto tickets hasn’t been changed in quite a while, and so a lot of the information is somewhat dated. The Lotto website has the most up-to-date information on it. What you do depends on what you win. For prizes up to Match 4 + Bonus (usually around €150), you can claim your prize at any shop that sells Lotto tickets. Some shops also pay out for everything up to the jackpot, but they’re only obliged to pay up to the 4 + Bonus. You can claim everything except the jackpot in a Post Office, because the National Lottery is actually run by An Post. For all these prizes, you can also post your ticket to the head offices in Dublin, which they emphasise “is at your own risk”, and really isn’t a good idea.
If you win the jackpot, you have to go the head offices on Abbey Street in Dublin, and there’s no other option. Their advice is that if you win, immediately sign the back of the ticket, and ring the Lotto offices to tell them you’ve won. This way, it’s going to be a lot harder for anyone to claim your prize if they rob the ticket. All the same, if you lose your ticket, you’re out of luck, because there’s no other way to get your prize. You have the choice to remain anonymous on claiming the jackpot, or you can have the big media thing if you want.
If you win the Euromillions, you claim it in the same way. However, if you buy a winning ticket in another country on holiday, then you have to travel back to that country to get your prize. A word of warning on that point, certainly!
That’s all for this edition of Ask Fake Dog. Coming next time, the origins of the Internet and more!
Be sure to ask your own question by leaving a comment, going on the message board, or on the contact page.
— Gearóid
Ask Fake Dog #1: Coors
Written 663 days ago by Gearóid
Welcome to a new, regular feature of the Fake Dog blog, Ask Fake Dog. If you have any questions and Wikipedia can’t help you, then ask us and we’ll investigate for you. You can ask a question by leaving a comment, going on the message board, or on the contact page.
Today we’re asked:
What ever happened to Coors?
This is probably more relevant to those in Ireland and the UK, but it could be more far-reaching. We shall find out!
The point being made is that the beer Coors (which I will refer to as Coors Original from now on to avoid confusion) does not seem to exist anymore, only Coors Light. If one goes into a pub these days, only Coors Light is available, and Coors Original is nowhere to be seen. Does the Coors Original still exist?
When many of us were young, we were familiar with Coors because they were the sponsors of Chelsea. Even a search for that old jersey brings up images of Coors Light and the new Chelsea jersey, but no sign of the old Coors. What’s going on? I went to Coors Brewers’ UK site to find out.
Their press releases only go back to the start of 2007, and Coors Original has certainly been absent for longer than that. Notably absent from their brands page is Coors Original. The only Coors-branded beer mentioned on the site is Coors Light. So now we know that it’s officially no longer available in the UK. A quick search shows that it’s still available in the US, as seen on the US Coors website, advertised as “the Banquet Beer”. That narrows down the investigation to just this side of the Atlantic.
Now that we know it’s no longer being sold over here, it’s time to figure out just when it stopped being sold. Let’s take a quick look at Coors’ history.
The Adolph Coors Company was formerly a holding company controlled by the heirs of founder Adolph Coors. Its principal subsidiary is the Coors Brewing Company. It was founded in 1873.
In 2002, Coors acquired the England and Wales-based business of Bass Brewers from Interbrew and created Coors Brewers Limited, the UK’s second largest brewer with more than 20% market share. From Wikipedia and Coors Brewers UK
The answer may lie in this take-overs. The US part of Coors merged with Molson and Miller in 2002 and 2005 respectively, but since Coors Original is still available there, it seems this is irrelevant to our investigation.
So let’s go back to 2002 and see what exactly happened with the Coors-Bass take-over.
It turns out that there’s a lot more to the take-over than what the Coors site lets on. The bidding process was heated, and held between many of the biggest and well-known worldwide brewers, including Heineken, who were the favourites to win the bidding war. However, Coors won the bid on Christmas Eve in 2001 and bought Bass Brewers for £1.2bn. Included in this deal were brands such as Carling, Worthington and Grolsch.
It seems that this take-over was critical for Coors’ success on this side of the Atlantic, as the brand wasn’t very well-known before the take-over. So why is Coors Original gone, but Coors Light left remaining?
It seems that even back in 2001, Coors Light was more popular than the original non-light version. Given that Coors was not a terribly popular brand to begin with, it’s fair to assume that sales of original were poor. Now remember that Coors were just after buying the rights to brew Carling, the UK’s number one lager and it starts to make sense.
If Coors Original wasn’t popular, but Carling was a big seller, what point is there in a brewer marketing both of them? It seems that Coors Original was phased out around the time that the company bought the rights to Carling, as Coors Original could be seen as a competing drink. Coors Light, on the other hand, is marketed at a different audience, with its main selling point being that it is a light beer. Coors Original had little to separate it from Carling, so it was dropped in favour of its lighter variety.
It’s disappointing to find that after all this, the answer to the question is so simple. However, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact date when this phasing out of Coors became official, and it doesn’t seem like we’ll know any time soon. But Fake Dog will keep searching!
So, to answer your question …
What ever happened to Coors?
It just wasn’t popular anymore!
Update: 9th October 2008
I emailed Coors two days ago when I was writing this blog in the hope that they might give me some information on the demise of Coors Original. They replied within 24 hours, which I was not expecting. Unfortunately there’s little information about Coors Original in it, but there’s some interesting info on Coors Light.
Hi Gearoid, thanks for the email.
Coors Brewers began brewing and distributing Coors Fine Light Beer, a 5% ABV premium lager based on the US Coors Light product, in 2003. In 2007 we made the switch to the ‘US recipe’, reducing the ABV to 4.5% and re-launching as Coors Light – with the same positioning and branding as Coors Light in the US, Canada, South America and all global markets.
You refer to the ‘Original Coors’ – which I’m guessing is the brand in the UK in the early 90’s (Chelsea sponsors etc) – this sat outside the portfolio of Bass Brewers (the former incarnation of Coors Brewers in the UK) and as such we don’t have information as to what decisions were taken with its UK distributors at that time.
As for the move from a 5% ‘Coors Fine Light Beer’ to the current 4.5% Coors Light – this was informed by increasing evidence of drinkers moving to lighter tasting products, and of a move away from stronger premium lagers. The move also enables better consistent branding and activities across the world.
Hope that helps some. Thanks again for your interest.
Cheers
Steve, Coors Light
So if Coors don’t even know when the original stopped being sold, it won’t be easy to find out!
Be sure to ask your own question by leaving a comment, going on the message board, or on the contact page.
— Gearóid
My Summer List
Written 767 days ago by GearóidFirst of all, let me apologise for not posting a blog in a long time. I’m quite unreliable at remembering passwords, as the other Fake Dog men will attest to. However, I am quite good at manipulating Fake Dog’s databases and now I have a new password! Though I did need two separate and confusing passwords before I got to that point. I don’t know how I come up with them!
Anyway, onto the purpose of this post. It’s a long summer without a job, apart from freelance web design. We’ll see how that goes, but in the meantime I need to keep myself occupied. I realised this quite a while ago, over a month before my summer holidays even began. I decided I needed a list of things to do over the summer, and remembered 43things, a site which I registered on over two years ago and never really used. I quite liked the idea of being able to post a list and then keep each one updated with entries, as well as people cheering me on (literally).
So I set about filling up my list with everything I could think of. The first goal, before any other goal was even put up, was to do all my things before the end of the summer. Over the next month the list started to fill up until I had the maximum 43 things which the site allows. I quite like this arbitrary number, as it seems like just the right amount of goals.
So now, with 74 days left in the summer, I’ve done 8 things and have 35 more to do. Some things take a lot longer than others, like painting and cleaning my room. Then some are quite simple, like making a Bebo skin. But they’re all things I want to do over the summer! I’m currently in the process of completing goal number 16, watch the first series of Jericho. Though the numbering changes as I complete goals, I have a copy of the original list with all the goals’ corresponding numbers.
Anyway, that’s enough explaining, you might as well just go check out the list and see what it’s all about. And I’m not the only one doing it either, be sure to check out Stephen’s and David’s too!
— Gearóid
