Friday, August 31

New York Man Proves Literally Anyone Can Become a Celebrity



Local New Yorker Brett Cohen was curious what being a celebrity was like. After some careful thought, he deduced that really, all you needed was to have a crowd around you and act important, and the respect and admiration would surely follow. The YouTube video explains more of the setup better than I can, so here it is below. Enjoy!

On the night of July 27th, 2012, a huge prank was pulled in New York City and this is the video of what took place. Brett Cohen came up with a crazy idea to fool thousands of pedestrians walking the streets of Times Square into thinking he was a huge celebrity, and it worked! Not only did it work, it caused quite a stir. This social experiment, of sorts, makes a profound statement about how modern culture is so attracted to pop culture, without any real credibility needed. 

He dressed up like a typical celebrity and was accompanied by an entourage of two professional bodyguards, two assistants, and photographers pretending to be paparazzi. While the assistants and photographers waited for Brett to exit the 49th street marquee at NBC Studios, they started a buzz that a "big star" was about to walk out, thus making it worth their while to wait and get a picture. Many asked the crew whom Brett was, and no answer was given. They were forced to either make something up, or just take a picture with him in hopes that their Facebook friends or Twitter followers might have a better idea. 

As the crew walked over to Times Square, the crowds around Brett grew on each consecutive block. Very few people even questioned who he was, where he was from, or what he does. Brett took pictures with nearly 300 people before the stunt ended. The video even includes interviews with people who had just taken a picture with Brett, and puts them in an awkward position when they're asked questions such as, "Where do you know Brett from?" and "What's your favorite movie he was in?" Many of them were overwhelmingly excited over Brett's walk through Times Square, and it showed.

Monday, August 27

New Madden Commercials With Ray Lewis and Paul Rudd are Fantastic

This year's iteration of EA Sports' NFL game, Madden '13, is supposedly chock full of new features, such as a "fluid" motion and all-new presentation. I'm super skeptical of Madden games, as they seem to always gain two new bugs for every one thing they improve. The NBA 2K series is, in my eyes, a way to continually better a game from year to year. Madden has yet to achieve that, although they're at least giving it some effort this year. Regardless, the ad campaign is pretty funny. It's got Paul Rudd and Ray Lewis as rivals from birth, essentially. And it's them cracking jokes and insults while playing the game. Here are a couple of the more mirthful ones.

New Ranking the Pokemon Episode



"With great power comes great responsibility." Those words were uttered at one point in the movie Spider-Man. That has nothing to do with anything, but it kind of applies to this. Now that I've got an audience that regularly gets excited about content, I gotta start producing! And a new episode of "Ranking the Pokemon" seems like a great way to do it. Of course, I have technical difficulties for a part of it, but what would a video be without 'em?

Friday, August 24

Ranking the Pokemon: #76- Kingler


It irritates me when Pokemon's stats don't match up with their type. Kingler's a perfect example of this. It has very high Attack and solid Defense, yet it's a Water-type, and its so-so Special leaves a lot to be desired. And, like Krabby, the King Crab learns the unique move Crabhammer, which is a less accurate, less powerful version of Surf. Unless the move hammers Kingler and turns it into edible crab meat, I don't really want to use it. Just like I don't really want to use Kingler when I have better water options available.

Battling Grade: C-

Previously: #77- Wigglytuff

Tuesday, August 21

New iPhone 5 Can Easily Be Confused For a Camera

Anytime a new Apple product comes out, you can bet there will be rumors aplenty to go along with it. Fortunately, comedian Adam Sacks has found a prototype that really captures the most important part of an iPhone: the ability to take pictures of food. In a very well-done parody starring Avery Monsen, we see just how incredible the new phone will be. Almost makes me forget about how sad and alone I am.

Monday, August 20

More Behind the Scenes Hijinks


Any fan of A Hot Cup knows I was recently in an internet reality show, entitled Internet Icon. The finale was just shot the other day, and a very touching tribute to the top 2 contestants was created. Fortunately, I was equipped with a Flip Cam and caught a bunch of behind the scenes footage. A lot of it might go over your head if you haven't been following the show, but if you HAVE, then boom. We gotchoo.

Thursday, August 16

Good Luck Getting This Song Out of Your Head



Oh, The Gregory Brothers, you've done it again. The auto-tuning group has delivered their best gem since the infamous "Bed Intruder Song." 

A recently released video by Daym Drops  featured the titular character gushing over Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I'm a big fan of the establishment, as well, so I understand Daym's enthusiasm. I'm just glad he was so passionate, or else we wouldn't have this auto-tune remix. Absolutely marvelous, and SO catchy.

Tuesday, August 14

The Onion Taking 'Sex House' to New Heights





Satirical website The Onion is involved in a bevy of shows this summer, but none is more interesting than "Sex House." The site (and newspaper) is perfect at toeing the line between sounding completely farcical and getting you to think "Hey, maybe there can be a reality show where the main goal is to have sex."

Of course this show continues that trend. The characters are all a wacky bunch, too. Whether it's a married man with two kids, an 18-year-old virgin, or a gay black guy who is understandably upset about there being no other gay people on the show, you'll be sure to find someone to root for. Or detest. Either/or.

Check out Episode 5 above, and if it's something you dig, you can start right here on the series. Definitely some entertaining stuff.


Sunday, August 12

KFC's Colonel Sanders is a Fan of All People, Gay or Straight





It's been near impossible to avoid hearing about the controversy surrounding Chick-Fil-A and its "anti-gay" stance. Real big shocker, too, considering the company is notoriously Christian, conservative and closed on Sundays.

In any case, perhaps you wondered what other chicken-based fast-food places thought about gay people. KFC's own Colonel Sanders (portrayed by John Goodman in this great Funny or Die video) wants you to know that he 100% supports gay folks. Straight ones, too. In fact, he views all of us as just money gobblers, and being on earth for 140 years has given him a lot of perspective.

Was it ironic there was a commercial involving Roseanne before this video played, either? No, no it was not. Enjoy!

Saturday, August 11

Chat Me Maybe?



Thanks to my buddy Rubes for bringing this to my attention...yes, it's another "Call Me Maybe" video, but this one might be the best yet. It's a YouTuber in drag lip syncing to the song during a sea of Chat Roulette videos. I didn't even know Chat Roulette still existed, and I can't even imagine how difficult this must have been to edit. No doubt Steve Kardynal  saw his fair share of penises while making this one, since I assume that's still an issue with the webcam-based site. But there are a lot of good sports here, which always helps.

It says on Kardynal's YouTube page: "Today you need to smile. You need to smile so big it hurts your cheeks." Watching this is a good start.

Tuesday, August 7

Usain Bolt Wins the 100 in Lego Form

                   
                   
                   
                   
                

I've always been a big fan of these Lego stop-motion videos. This one shows off Usain Bolt's thrilling victory in the 100 meters. Highlights include Bolt kissing the ground while photographers buzz around him at the finish line, action replays from different angles, and Asafa Powell pulling up lame and finishing last. The only thing missing is the bottle that was thrown before the race.

Monday, August 6

10 Types of Olympic Viewers



With the Olympics in full swing, it seems like the perfect time for a little self-promotion. Check out...well, me as I delve into the 10 different types of Olympic fans. Take note! Which one are you?

Wednesday, August 1

Olympic Swimmers Perform "Call Me Maybe"


OK...we get it already. It's a catchy song. This is probably one of the more entertaining lip syncs, though. The Olympic swimmers of 2012 take a stab at "Call Me Maybe." 

My favorite part is on the plane - amazing how many empty seats there are for the performers to just fall into! No word yet on if this has actually helped the swimmers in their events, but hey, it's worth a shot.