Thursday, June 30

The 30 Day Song Challenge, Days 6-10

We soldier on with the quest of 30 songs capturing 30 different emotions, feelings, and whatnot. Here's a look at days six through 10.

Day 6: A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere



As anyone who has read this within the last couple of days can attest to, A Hot Cup originated in Chicago. Therefore, if a song is about Chicago or heavily influenced by Chicago, it will remind a Chicagoan of their hometown. Lucky Boys Confusion do an admirable job of that with their song "City Lights."

Day 7: A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event



This one was ALL OVER the radio the entire summer between A Hot Cup's junior and senior years in high school. Team A (Aamir and A Mart) know what we mean. Summer basketball games would not have been the same without hearing this song forty times a day.

Day 8: A Song You Know All the Words To



Pretty self explanatory. A Hot Cup can flow like none other. All six voices in this song, too.

Day 9: A Song You Can Dance To



You can dance to any song if you really want, I'm not stopping you. But we'll go an alternate route and think of a song you can LINE dance to. Yessir! Gimme some Redneck Yacht Club! Yeehaw!

Day 10: A Song You Can Fall Asleep To



Doesn't get much easier than this, does it?

The 30 Day Song Challenge, Days 1-5

Awhile back, we started the 30 Day Song Challenge. In fact, it was actually on the first day of June, which would imply that the whole challenge ends tomorrow, June 30. Fortunately, A Hot Cup does not limit itself to conventional standards, and thus is only currently on Day 25. But a recap seemed to be in store, plus it's a fun way for all of our loyal readers to play along, so let's go through the whole challenge, five songs at a time.

Day 1- Your Favorite Song


Alkaline Trio - Time To Waste by euroasiate

As most people's (including yours truly's) musical tastes change quite constantly, A Hot Cup went an alternative route in making this selection. The song follows three criteria: 1) It is the most played on A Hot Cup's iTunes; 2) it is easy to play on guitar (but that drumming is intense!); and 3) the band is from Chicago, which is always a plus. Enjoy Alkaline Trio's "Time to Waste."

Day 2- Your Least Favorite Song



There are plenty of terrible options for this one, so A Hot Cup decided to choose more based off personality of the singer than anything else, since about 14% of all songs ever recorded could have been on this. This singer, just 18 years old, has already amassed a large cult following, had a popular show on The Disney Channel, and has buckteeth that just make your heart melt. She also has an annoying song that references Jay-Z, despite the fact she doesn't know who the rapper is and/or has never heard his music. And for that, we give our least favorite song to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus.

Day 3- A Song That Makes You Happy



This was true five years ago, and it's still true today: Reel Big Fish makes A Hot Cup happy, and their song "Good Thing" is too catchy to not enjoy. Throw this song on if you're feeling down, and BOOM! Suddenly you'll be feeling up. Apologies for the cartoonish video, it's all there is for this song online. Too bad.

Day 4- A Song That Makes You Sad



Please allow A Hot Cup to explain. 96% of the time when this song is heard, it's during karaoke. And regardless of what you and your drunk friends think, you are NOWHERE near the level of Freddie Mercury. And the fact that the room now has to listen through six minutes of you thinking you are makes everyone a little bit sad. But then you just watch the Wayne's World version of this song above, and everything is better.

Day 5- A Song That Reminds You of Someone



We keep it in the family for this one. Mother's Day wasn't that long ago, and A Hot Cup doesn't know of any better "mama" song than this one. You go, Boyz II Men!

The Taste, Part Two

As it is now nearly half a week since A Hot Cup partook in Taste festivities, the memory is failing. But highlights did include beignets, another piece of that delicious watermelon, and a mini-pork sandwich. There was also a red velvet cupcake sprinkled in--and while naming these places would be a lot easier if there was an easily accessible map online, none of these items are at multiple stations, so you can certainly find them. Be warned with the beignets, though--they go quickly, so you may have to wait a few minutes to get that deliciousness in your gullet. But it's oh so worth it.

Tuesday, June 28

A Hot Cup Review: The Taste of Chicago

Any fan of A Hot Cup knows the love for food that runs rampant throughout this blog. We even detailed as much with a nod to the Taste last year. With a return trip this past weekend, including Big D, Chabala, Briu and Hatevan, we'll roadmap the path taken during our glorious day in downtown Chicago.

The day started off, predictably, at Robinson's Ribs. It's become A Hot Cup tradition to begin with a boneless rib sandwich, and this year did not disappoint. There was a bit less rib than normal, but still enough to make a nice strong meal.

The next stop was another sandwich, this time of the Vietnamese variety. The Noodle Vietnamese Cuisine provided a hearty selection of quality Vietnamese offerings, but the big highlight was the Bahn Mi Vietnamese Sandwich. It's essentially stir-fry on a bun, but that Vietnamese beef is so good, you'll forgive the simplicity.

After two sandwiches, it seemed dessert was in order, but on the walk to some of the sweet stands, the temptation of a cheap burger was too much. Big D and A Hot Cup split said burger, so it only cost two tickets apiece, or a dollar each. Sadly, even that may have been too pricey. While A Hot Cup cannot recall the name of the burger or the stand, if you see one for four tickets, please avoid.

Fortunately, the sugary stuff was right around the corner. Or rather, straight ahead, at the Chicago Sweet Connection Bakery. While all of the goodies looked...well...good, A Hot Cup chose to cool off a bit with an Oreo Parfait. Whipped cream, crumbled cake, and Oreo bits make up quite an amazing dish, and it was gobbled down quickly.

Just in time, too, because the group was descending on Texas de Brazil. A new offering at the Taste, this place specializes in Brazilian cuisine (as if the name didn't give it away), but sadly, there were no gauchos with skewers here. There was quality food at a good bargain, as four tickets (taste portion) netted A Hot Cup two solid pieces of chicken wrapped in bacon. After our mouths reformed themselves (they had melted from delicious euphoria), we moved onward to find some more treats, albeit after a brief rest. Because hey, you do have to rest if you're going to be partaking in the eating like we did.

Disappointment struck when it was discovered Original Rainbow Cone did not have their Rainbow Cake Roll. After disappearing for several years, it made a triumphant return last year, only to be displaced once again in 2011. Chabala thought it was worth waiting for just the generic rainbow cone, but the rest of us knew better, and took our talents to the Dominick's booth to get the best deal at the taste: a 2-ticket 1/2 slice of watermelon. And these are huge slices to begin with, so half of one is still quite hearty.

As we took a break to play some games, this post will take a break to allow you to digest a little bit. If you haven't already made it out to the Taste, definitely do so, since there is plenty to chow down.

Wednesday, June 22

Football Cops

Sometimes things come along that don't really have an explanation as to why they exist. All you know when you see it is that it's amazing, and you need to see more of it. So goes the new trailer for Football Cops, an excellent video starring Peyton and Eli Manning. This apparently will be a real thing, and it's doubtful anyone can wait for said real thing to happen. Enjoy the trailer below.

Tuesday, June 21

Funny Commencement Speeches

A big part of any graduating class is the commencement speech. Generally, universities will try to bring out the big guns when it comes to the grand finale of the college experience. Often, the speaker is a graduate of the university, but in this case that's not true.

The first video below features Conan O'Brien, who attended Harvard and gave rival Dartmouth their 2011 commencement speech, while Stephen Colbert, as he notes in his words to Northwestern University, had an incomplete in one of his courses and received a yellow slip of paper in lieu of a diploma. While both videos clock in at over 20 minutes, they are hilarious and worth watching. But if they weren't, they wouldn't be on this blog, would they?



Friday, June 17

Samuel Jackson...Read Me a Bedtime Story!

It's widespread knowledge that anything that Samuel L. Jackson is involved in is at least 3.8 times better than it would be if he was nowhere near the project. In this case, he's reading a children's book. The book, written by Adam Mansbach, is called Go the F*** to Sleep, and will most likely be given to parents with kids who simply will not fall asleep. But after hearing Jackson's soothing voice, it's nearly impossible to not drift off into a peaceful slumber.

Wednesday, June 15

Robin Williams is a Zelda Fan

Anyone that follows video game news knows The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is coming out on Sunday for the Nintendo 3DS. And as some entertainment fans may know, Robin Williams named his daughter after the game, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Watch below as Robin has some trouble remembering which Zelda he's talking about.

Baldwin Faces Krasinski Again

New Era is back with more hilarity. Alec Baldwin represents the Yankees, while John Krasinski represents the Red Sox. Both of them represent a hilarious rivalry between the two franchises, and Krasinski takes it to new levels here. Except it backfires a little bit. Too bad. Check out the hilarity below.

Monday, June 13

Mavs Fans React to NBA Finals Victory

As the final horn sounded on Game 6 of the NBA Finals, CNN had the cameras rolling in Dallas. While most fans weren't able to be at the American Airlines Arena in Miami to see their team pull off a stunning victory, that didn't stop them from parading in the streets back home. And as the Heat should learn, maybe hold off on the celebrating until AFTER something is accomplished.

Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks

After an incredible postseason run, the Dallas Mavericks can call themselves NBA champions. Dirk Nowitzki, despite a pretty porous 8-for-25 shooting performance in the deciding Game 6, won NBA Finals MVP. Check out his postgame interview with Stuart Scott below:

Saturday, June 11

Floating Drive-Thru Trick

Drive-thru windows at fast-food places are generally a lot of fun. You get to drive around your own personal road, and the reward is some lukewarm food to munch down on. This guy, Magic of Rahat, wants to add to that fun, and he is successful. He does a little "floating money" trick that wows the workers and the audience, and his explanations for how he does it are worthy of a chuckle as well. Check out his antics below.

Tuesday, June 7

Crazy Fields

Central Arkansas is joining the recent trend of changing up a field or court to be unique. Or maybe it's because Boise State has had so much luck with their blue turf, although A Hot Cup is more a fan of their basketball court. Then, Eastern Washington joined in on the fun with their "Make Your Eyes Bleed" red field. Finally, the Oregon Ducks, who normally make headlines for their flashy football uniforms, made a splash on the basketball court with a hideous new design.

All of those flashbacks lead up to the newest contributor to unique field designs, the Central Arkansas Bears. When not serving as the college of Scottie Pippen, Central Arkansas apparently comes up with a pretty cool field design. Check it out below.

More Krasinski vs. Baldwin Trash Talking

New Era is continuing the John Krasinski vs. Alec Baldwin commercial series it started at the beginning of this season, and the hilarity continues as well. For those who don't know the story, or didn't care to click that link that was so cleverly placed in this post, Krasinski is a big Red Sox fan, and Baldwin is a huge Yankees fan. Their trash talking has gone back and forth all season, and here's another installment of how a heated rivalry can, well, heat up. There have actually been a couple of commercials since, but this one takes the cake. And who knew Alec Baldwin had such a mean right hook?

Friday, June 3

NBA Finals Moments Recreated, Lego Style

Our Lego friends are back! Having graduated from college, the crew has moved onto the Top 5 NBA Finals moments. A Hot Cup would especially like to call out Dr. J's amazing up-and-under move, as well as Michael Jordan's final shot in a Bulls uniform. We applaud the effort of this, and getting the actual calls from the games only makes it better.

50 State Stereotypes in 2 Minutes

FunnyorDie has a nice little video up where Paul Jury goes through the stereotypes of each state in just under two minutes. Of course, it's to promote his new book, States of Confusion, but it also is pretty hilarious.

Now, A Hot Cup can only attest to a few of these, having lived in just three of the states. But for those three (Illinois, Florida, and California), these are spot on. Well done, Mr. Jury, well done.

Thursday, June 2

Sassy Gay Friend

Wouldn't life be easier if everyone had a sassy gay friend? Well, TheSecondCityNetwork has proposed that question, and the answer is a resounding "yes." Taking classic plays and stories from over the years and adding a sassy twist, the end result is pretty fantastic. Take a look for yourself at how Romeo and Juliet would be just a bit different if Juliet had a sassy gay friend to talk some sense into her.

The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Your Least Favorite Song

There are plenty of terrible options for this one, so A Hot Cup decided to choose more based off personality of the singer than anything else, since about 14% of all songs ever recorded could have been on this. This singer, just 18 years old, has already amassed a large cult following, had a popular show on The Disney Channel, and has buckteeth that just make your heart melt. She also has an annoying song that references Jay-Z, despite the fact she doesn't know who the rapper is and/or has never heard his music. And for that, we give our least favorite song to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus.

Wednesday, June 1

The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 1

Diet Pepsi Machine, a friend of A Hot Cup's, has embarked on a "30 Day Movie Challenge," watching a different movie every day to correspond with whatever is on the list given to him. Well, as A Hot Cup is more musically inclined than cinematically adventurous, he chose to partake in the "30 Day Song Challenge," the rules of which can probably be found somewhere on Facebook. Let's begin as most chronological challenges do, with Day 1.

Day 1: Your Favorite Song

As most people's musical tastes change quite constantly, A Hot Cup went an alternative route in making this selection. The song follows three criteria: 1) It is the most played on A Hot Cup's iTunes; 2) it is easy to play on guitar (but that drumming is intense!); and 3) the band is from Chicago, which is always a plus. Enjoy Alkaline Trio's "Time to Waste."


Alkaline Trio - Time To Waste by euroasiate