Friday, June 29

The Star Wars That I Used to Know

Everyone loves Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know." Despite it getting overplayed like cray, it's just super catchy and people still get excited when it comes on. Heck, I've even posted about an SNL Digital Short and a nerd grammar rap that both utilize the song. Thankfully, YouTuber teddiefilms has provided a nice little parody of the song, called "The Star Wars That I Used To Know." It stays true to the form of the video, with Darth Vader singing about the Star Wars franchise going downhill. Meanwhile, George Lucas (as Kimbra) defends his work. Good stuff all around.

Thursday, June 28

Carly Rae Jepsen, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots Perform "Call Me Maybe" With School Instruments

This title pretty much sums it up. Watch as lots of chaos ensues. The Roots get major bonus points for doing something like this, as the top comment notes: it "only makes them that much more awesome." And I agree. Good stuff.

Wednesday, June 27

Beauty and the BEAT!

YouTuber Todick Hall just released a video called "Beauty and the BEAT" featuring all sorts of semi-famous YouTubers and the like. Of note is my fellow Internet Icon contestant Jamar Johnson, who's the second person to say "What's good?" at the beginning. The main plot is Belle taking a stroll through the ghetto and running into a bunch of hoodrats. Very exciting stuff. Check it out!

Tuesday, June 26

Learning How to Act



Hey, friends! Sorry for the lack of updates over the past couple of weeks, but that's what moving will do to you. Not to fear, though! While the next week or so will still probably be a little slow (thanks to not having internet at home), we'll be sure to keep kickin' butt and takin' names. And by that I mean, you know, eventually I'll get back to posting more regularly.

In the meantime, enjoy this video - entitled "Learning How to Act from an Acting God" - created by my buddy Anthony Ma, who's gotten quite a few more subscribers on his YouTube channel since he was featured on Internet Icon, that quirky little reality show I'm a part of, as well. I won't spoil anything (though you can find out by watching that I.I. link), but both he and I had a shot at the Top 10. Which means that out of THOUSANDS of people, a FEW PRODUCERS found us funny enough to warrant coming out. Or maybe we just both lived near L.A. and they didn't want to comp travel expenses. Either/or.

Wednesday, June 20

Gentlemen's Rule - Pachanelly Canon



Goodness, this is a delightful little romp. Gentlemen's Rule, a 10-man, Chicago-based a capella group, has released the first video of their YouTube channel. It starts out with a pleasant serenade of Pachebel's "Canon," but soon things turn a little more urban. Before long, an entire wedding party is singing "Ride With Me" by Nelly. Even a pink band-aid under the eye makes an appearance. Quite fantastic. 

Tuesday, June 19

Oklahoma City Thunder Seriously Stupid Scouting Report



Well...there are 30 NBA teams, and I've now completed nine of them. The goal was to finish by the end of the playoffs. At this rate, I'll be happy to get a third done. Enjoy!

That's My Boy Trailer - Andy Samberg Cut

That's My Boy, the new crappy comedy Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg are in, was released this weekend. A couple weeks earlier, Samberg dropped his personal cut of the trailer. This is one of those stupid videos we tend to like here, and it's mostly just the South Park-esque voice that makes me laugh. But it gets 'er done, so check it out.

Monday, June 18

Ranking the Pokemon: #77- Wigglytuff

Sigh. I don't really know how to feel about Wigglytuff (seems like I've been saying that a lot lately regarding Pokes. There are too many mundane ones!). On the one hand, it reminds me of a marshmallow, which is awesome. It's also got ridiculous HP and decent Attack. On the other hand, its other stats are bad, and they should feel bad; Wiggly also learns NOTHING naturally, because you have to evolve it with a Moon Stone. Once that happens, fuhgettabout learning new things. Of course, the moves Jigglypuff learns naturally are awful, anyway, so you're not too screwed. 

Wiggler actually does learn a lot of good moves, but of course they're almost special attacks, and as I alluded to earlier, Wigglytuff's Special stat ain't all that. Now I have the "All That" theme song stuck in my head. So I guess Wigglytuff gets some bonus points for that. Not enough to get it out of the mediocre Pokes all stuck in the middle of this list, though.

Battling Grade: C

Man Gets Most Grueling Job Interview Ever



That's just not any man, though. It's my buddy Tom Murphy. You may remember Murph from a couple of internet-famous videos he's put up, where he's making tons of obscure references during the weather report. That was for WBKB-TV in Alpena, MI, but now he's taking his talents to central California. He recently appeared on Eyewitness News on KBAK-TV/KBFX-TV in Bakersfield, CA, and was subjected to one of the toughest job interviews I've ever seen. After answering a series of "This or That" questions (with some of the answers getting disapproving clucks from the other anchors), Murph is then subjected to a game of "Newsflash." Just like the Whose Line Is It Anyway? game of the same name, the other anchors give hints while a clueless Murph stands in front of a screen he can't see. After a few bad guesses, he finally gets the answer correct. And, like the anchors say, he's a good sport about it.

All's well that ends well, though. Murph did, in fact, get the job out in Bakersfield, and is starting there in a couple of weeks. Congrats, buddy.

Saturday, June 16

Seriously Stupid Scouting Report: Dallas Mavericks


Once again, we're back with more of the same. The immensely(ish) popular "Seriously Stupid Scouting Reports" have returned, this time in the form of the Dallas Mavericks. We'll probably knock out the OKC Thunder next, since, you know, they're the only team playing right now that we haven't done (since we HAVE finished the Heat). And we're topical if anything. Kind of. Usually a few days late. I doubt we'll hit our goal of "finish all of these by the time the playoffs roll around," but hey, you never know!

Ray Clay Announces Wedding Party

Ray Clay, best known as the public address announcer for the Chicago Bulls during the Jordan era, is keeping himself quite busy these days. How so, you may ask? Well, he's now introducing the bridal party at some random wedding. With lines like "At groomsman, six feet, from Bloomington, Illinois..." it's like you're right back at the United Center. There's some awkward clapping involved, too. Wins all around.

Thursday, June 14

E3 Review, Part 1: Swag and Tours




I was more than excited to visit E3 for the second straight year. Between the multiple Street Passes my Nintendo 3DS would get (and if I had remembered you can only get 10 at a time and checked everyone in, I would have gotten way more than the 55 or so I ended up with) and having the opportunity to check out a ton of new, unique games, this was going to be a cool opportunity. My buddy Chris and I (later joined by our pal Alex) wandered through the booths, and had quite a bit of fun doing so.

The Swag

Freebies were not in high amounts at this year's E3; most places giving away things had extensively long lines, as well. The opportunity to get Orville ears (not even Mickey ones!) would have taken about an hour, and ditto for a chance to sit in Captain Spock's chair between some booth babes. No matter. It's fun getting free stuff, but as I was moving to Austin in a couple of days (the main reason for the lack of posts lately), I didn't really need a lot more stuff that I would have to fit into my boxes. Check out the video for highlights of the goodies.

Rubicon Booth Tour


My first tour was of the Rubicon booth, a company I had heard of, but didn't know much about. They're partnering with Koch Media to release five games (with more to come) under the Deep Silver label. I got to check out a pair of them, Narco Terror and Miner Wars 2081


Narco Terror was definitely my favorite of the two games. It reminded me a lot of Dynamite Cop, in that it combines a lot of destruction with a sort of frenetic atmosphere most commonly seen in movies and games from the 80s (like the original Duke Nukem game). The campaign supports co-op play for up to two players, and the online version will allow players to drop in or drop out whenever, which is always a nice feature. It's got different modes to play as: I played mostly on foot, but there are also opportunities to fly in a helicopter and a plane, harkening us back to the days of River Raid on the Atari 2600. I wouldn't consider myself an expert at these types of games, but I definitely like playing them. I think Narco Terror, which is due out in Fall 2012 for both PC and as a digital download on consoles, will be a really fun game worth checking out.



Miner Wars 2081 (and its MMO counterpart, which I believe was being called Miner Wars Arena) falls on the other end of the spectrum. While Narco Terror allowed you to pretty much pick up and play and destroy things, Miner Wars requires far more setup time. Set in a futuristic world, the game allows you to create a universe from scratch, adding asteroids and minerals amongst other obstacles. You can then fly your ship into other sectors, firing your lasers at enemies (if you're the more violent type) or drilling for the precious resources in other asteroids (if you're more of a pacifist). Miner Wars also boasts six degrees of freedom, which lets users move up and down, forward and back, and right and left all at once. It's incredibly detailed and seemed like it would take a little while to really get into the swing of things. But there's a ton to do in this game, and creation types who pay attention to every minute detail will absolutely eat this game up. Miner Wars 2081 is due out at the end of 2012, and the MMO features are due out soon after.


I also wanted to give a big thanks to Brian from Rubicon and Ansel from Keen Software House for taking me through these demos and being very accommodating. These games may not be very well known yet, but if the rest of their teams are like the two who gave me the tour, they certainly have a bright future ahead of them.

Wednesday, June 13

Tay Zonday Sings "Call Me Maybe"



You remember Tay Zonday, right? He of "Chocolate Rain" internet fame? Well, thanks to the the power of...well, the internet, Zonday is back, this time doing his rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." The top comment has it right: this sounds like Carly Rae after 30 years of smoking, but it's still very entertaining. Zonday messes up the words near the bridge, but no matter, he calls himself out on it and then does a little doo-wop style singing. There's so much win in here, it's remarkable.

Via Mashable

Monday, June 11

Ranking the Pokemon...Video Style!

As fans of this blog no doubt know, the Ranking the Pokemon section is the most substantial and popular part. So why not turn it into an aural exercise as well, with a little visual guide to take you from #151 to #1. Join me on my channel, JosephCurrency, as we go on the adventure you know you'll love.


Sunday, June 10

NBA Postgame Fashion Choices




Team Coco is at it again! A recent Late Night with Conan O'Brien (I think, although this may just be web-only) took a look at the fashion decisions and wacky outfits NBA players are wearing these playoffs. Although I'm pretty sure the Kevin Durant backpack has not been sighted this year. In any case, Team Coco adds a few players of its own with some...questionable garb. Questionable, but hilarious. I'm really glad they included the glasses without lenses, which absolutely just look stupid. Well done, Team Coco!

Friday, June 8

How to Go On a Date (Gentlemen's Edition)


Fans of A Hot Cup know the intrepid narrator of this blog will occasionally dabble in the YouTube scene. Whether it's trying his shot at the YouTube version of American Idol (check back here on Tuesday for the first episode) or simply making a video for all to enjoy, there's some goodness to be found.

That goodness continues with "How to Go On a Date (Gentlemen's Edition)," a video shot, written, produced and acted in by my buddy Andy. It also features myself and a few other friends, Lish and Derek. In fact, all of those people were met via said YouTube American Idol contest. And they all have their own pages, so in addition to checking out/subscribing to mine (and this one too), be sure to visit Andy's, Derek's and Lish's pages, as well. Shameless promotion FTW!  

Thursday, June 7

David Beckham Plays Beethoven With His Feet

Samsung has made an ad for their new Galaxy phone by having David Beckham kick soccer balls into a wall of drums, with each drum having a different timbre. Since Becks has an accurate enough leg, the drums are arranged as such that each hit produces notes that, when combined together, eventually play Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." I'm sure it's staged, but it's still pretty impressive.

Tuesday, June 5

Ranking the Pokemon: #78- Gastly

Ugh. Remember when I said I'd try to finish these within a year? Yeah, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, Joey. But we will continue to make the effort until it's been 365 days and I still have like 56 more Pokes to go. Oh well.

There is some progress, however! With Gastly here, we have now gotten through all of the first-years, and even some of the lesser second-years and unevolveds. This is very exciting stuff.

I remember tearing through Pokemon Stadium's Petit Cup, which only allowed you to use first-years (and possibly unevolveds, I don't remember). But the rental Gastly was just a beast. You could easily sweep teams using just this noxious ball of, well, gas. It has amazing Special and Speed for a first-year, so much so that they're decent even if you're fighting someone that's completely evolved. Then you find out that the gasbag can learn all sorts of awesome moves, like Confuse Ray, Psychic, Thunderbolt and Explosion; and decent moves, like Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Night Shade and Mega Drain. And then it's game over. Sometimes it really is as simple as that.

The biggest issue I have with Gastly (and all the Ghost types, for that matter), is that all sorts of official Nintendo documentation (the player's guide, for instance, and even the game itself) seem to suggest that Ghost types are super-effective against Psychics, which would make Ghosts possibly the second best type, right? Well, in Generation I, that's not true. It legitimately may be a bug in the game--Ghosts ARE in fact supposed to be strong against Psychics, and are from the second series of games. But in Gen. I? Nope. Granted, there are only three Ghost moves in the whole game (and just one that can actually do variable damage, and that move, Lick, is bad), but still, it would have been nice if Nintendo and Game Freak weren't liars.

The other problem is that every Ghost in Generation I is also Poison, so...Psychics own them anyway. But Ghosts will handle everyone else, especially Normal and Fighting types, who can't even damage Ghosts. Fantastic.

Battling Grade: B

Barack Obama Sings "Call Me Maybe"

Here's the latest installment in the "People With Way Too Much Time On Their Hands" category. YouTuber baracksdubs (so yes, there are more than one of these) has put together a compilation of clips set to the music of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," so it appears that the U.S. President is singing along to the megahit. And while it's really only the first verse and chorus, this is still incredibly well done. And nearly as catchy as the original. Nearly.

Monday, June 4

Music Video: "Days Go By" by The Offspring



With Days Go By, the 9th studio album from The Offspring, due out later this month, the band released a music video for the lead single of the same name. I'm still not sure how I feel about this song--I definitely think it's one of their weaker singles, and just kind of a little bland. But I really like the way the music video is shot, with all sorts of interloping and juxtaposed images. Check it out!

Saturday, June 2

Audience Member Makes Smoothest Gesture Ever



Sometimes we put up stupid videos here, and this one is no exception. I don't even know what show this is from, but during a quick cut to the audience, a man points and turns toward the camera with a suave smugness that makes me laugh. And in some cases, that's all we need.