February 2008

Thursday, February 28 2008

-I Need to Start a Hockey Blog
Posted at 1:18 AM by Brandon

God damn, that's all I have to say. God damn.



The ideal of an offensive juggernaut prevails in the Burgh, and it has resulted in my boy Colby Armstrong being thrown by the wayside along with Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, and a first round draft pick. Penguins GM, Ray Shero, made the move yesterday to acquire a potential rental player in Marian Hossa and also overpaid for veteran defenseman Hal Gill. No real good additions were made to the defense, and nothing was done to replace the loss of Gary Roberts' physicality on the forward lines. The only way this deal has potential for the Pittsburgh Penguins is if Marian Hossa continues to play a good two-way game despite his inevitable sputtering in the play-offs. Are the Penguins a better team today? Only on paper.

Here are other things that I've said today about this trade that I don't feel like typing again:

I'd like to reserve my opinion of this trade after I actually see how it pans out, I seriously can't believe the number of people here that are handing the Pens the Cup already. I just have a hard time penciling the Pens in for the Cup when you know for a fact that Hossa isn't the best play-off performer, but let's hope this deal pays off in a big way.

Realistically, we should at least be able to make it to the second round this year but beyond that it's hard to judge, and if Hossa doesn't resign here the price looks even more steep. A part of me can't stand the fact that the offensive juggernaut ideal still prevails here in Pittsburgh.

If you're sad that Colby left, it's something you're going to have to come to terms with and get over. Shero didn't want him here. I was a huge Armstrong fan, and unlike the majority of the posters on this board I'm not going to downplay his importance to make this trade look better. Defensive role players will always be undervalued here in the Burgh, players will always be judged by how many points they put up. It's as simple as that. Ray Shero finally got rid of the guy that he referred to as a "******* minor leaguer" and he's probably proud of it.

Getting Dupuis, a defensive player in the same mold and that is inconsistent offensively, has fewer points than Colby, and a worse +/- (but let's hope that's because he played for a bad team), and also a UFA at seasons end shows me that this part of the trade was mostly by Ray Shero for Ray Shero. You can't downplay the fact that Colby was a leader in the dressing room and that Ryan Whitney said that he is the glue that holds this team together. Ray Shero was willing to gamble with the chemistry of this team to get a guy that he didn't like out of town. Don't count on him coming back as long as Shero is GM either."
I've been a Pens fan forever, and a Colby fan since he was drafted in 2001 and I was completely stunned yesterday. I got online shortly after the 3:00 deadline, saw a headline that the Pens acquired Hossa and when I read the article my heart just sank.

I feel that I'm in a weird position because I live and breathe Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, but this just hurts. I didn't feel like watching the Pens play the Isles at all last night. Colby was a perfect fit on this team, and the more that I think about this trade the more frustrated I get.

For one, the trade reeks of Lemieux and his offensive juggernaut ideals, and you know the Pens ownership had to play a huge part in a blockbuster deal like this. Shero couldn't do something like this without their consent.

The fact that they get Pascal Dupuis, a guy with a similar skill set, reeks of Ray Shero's anti-Colby bias also. I'm not sure if you know, but there were reports last year that Shero referred to Colby as "that fucking minor leaguer," and it's no exaggeration that Colby was involved in nearly every trade rumor since Shero was hired as GM. IMO, the trade could have been made without Army and Dupuis included, but I think Shero took it as an opportunity and I guess you never know what Atlanta may have been demanding.

Shero also fed the media some bull about not wanting to mess with team chemistry at the deadline. He dealt the one player that Ryan Whitney pointed out in a Hockey News article as being the glue that held the team together and no one else was "even close" to Colby in that regard.

To be honest, I don't think that adding a guy like Hossa gets the Pens the Cup this year, and if he isn't signed before July 1st this deal is downright laughable.

Monday, February 25 2008

-Football - rejected Cardinal Connection article
Posted at 11:52 PM by JaredG

Why am I writing about football? I cannot stand football. For twenty-some years I've felt as if it is my patriotic duty as a man to watch, love football. To shout, "Go team go!" Heck, I didn't even watch the Super Bowl. I could care less. I've never been a team player.

I've never seen much need to wear jerseys or wave flags. I just don't get it, and it doesn't get me either. I remember trying out Little League when I was in 2nd grade. That lasted about a day. I thought all the people were idiots. I remember trying to lower my standards to get along with them. What an arrogant little prick I was.

Flags of course remind me of patriotism. Patriotism reminds me of what? The American flag. I remember late 2001 when all those people were waving around their Japanese made American flags with such national pride. For honor and freedom and country waving their slave labor produced symbol of liberty and justice. I didn't want to get on that bandwagon either.

So, I see the hypocrisy in everything, which makes me a critic, an idealist, and an outsider. But, I like it that way. I guess I'd rather be reading a modern prose translation of The Bhagavad-Gita than going to an 8o's theme party. Besides I've been through that stage in my life. I'd rather write a poem about the oneness of all mankind, and be contemplative, quiet. But, I can't avoid being a hypocrite myself.

Here I am, sitting alone, reading about the oneness of everyone to reinforce my own superiority. Do I have problems or what? Well, I guess we're all in this boat together, hypocrites. This boat called life or eternity or whatever. But, I still don't give a shit about football.




-Knoxville, Johnny Knoxville
Posted at 12:15 PM by Brandon

You may have noticed that there is a new buzz about MTV's Jackass and it's stars. This past Saturday the cast and crew of Jackass took over MTV for twenty-four hours to show off new stunts and old antics. The live, 24 hour event at MTV studios let fans know they're not quite finished and served as a reunion to possibly promote a Jackass 3. I would consider myself a fan of the Jackass series, especially years ago when it was new and I was only about 16. I find physical and immature humor funny, but these days I'm more analytical and I'd like to question the motives of the one man that keeps pushing Jackass to the forefront: Johnny Knoxville.

Is Johnny Knoxville genuine? After Jackass 2, Johnny Knoxville revealed that he had a hard time letting go because he was "so hooked on doing stunts." The star of Jackass "was so desperate to shoot that he would film himself running into street signs just for the sake of additional footage."

First, let's know who we're talking about. "Johnny Knoxville" was born Philip John Clapp on March 11, 1971 in Knoxville, Tennessee. That makes Knoxville just a couple weeks short of his 37th birthday. I think that alone would surprise some people. He looks younger, but what kind of 37 year old really wants to be doing these kinds of stunts?

After graduating high school in 1989, he moved to California to become an actor. He appeared in commercials and as an extra in a couple films, you may have noticed him for a split second in Coyote Ugly. He attended acting school, but dropped out within two weeks. In other words, he didn't make it. After Knoxville didn't get the big break that he was hoping for, he started writing and pitching article ideas to magazines. No magazine would pick up his article ideas until the skateboarding magazine Big Brother liked his idea to test self-defense equipment on himself. Jeff Tremaine, creator of Big Brother would then go on to make Johnny Knoxville an executive producer of MTV's Jackass.

On the MTV series, Johnny Knoxville came off as the mysterious ring leader. You didn't know much about him, but you just knew he was the main guy. The intros at the beginning of each episode would have some random person saying "Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, welcome to Jackass!" and this gave everyone the impression that he was pretty much the lead bad ass. Looking back, he obviously put everything he had into his stunts, but he wasn't overly impressive. Unlike the rest of the crew, he couldn't skateboard and didn't take part in any activity like Urban Kayaking or Urban Snowboarding that would require some sort of balance or skill. His stunts, such as dropping a coffin out of the back of a hearse, would involve his acting ability. He didn't shy away from physical humor or pain either, and anytime a stunt involved someone getting hit in the crotch, Johnny Knoxville was available.

Case in point: This past Saturday Knoxville participated in an Evel Knievel tribute and ruptured his urethra trying to do a back flip on a motorbike. If you watched the Knievel trubute, it was painfully obvious that Knoxville had no idea how to even ride a tiny dirtbike, but you can't question the heart of a guy willing to tear his urethra in the name of comedy.


Knoxville's bloody pants.


I guess the point that I'm trying to get at is that Philip John Clapp, or Johnny Knoxville, is a bit of a misfit. I would expect someone so gung-ho about an Evel Knievel tribute to at least be able to keep their balance on a motorbike. Going back even further, everyone liked his original stunts for Big Brother, but he was obviously an outsider to the skateboarding scene. Either way, Johnny Knoxville is the one man that keeps pushing for more from Jackass. But what is his true motivation?

After starring in the Jackass TV series and movies, Knoxville was able to get roles in movies like Men in Black II, Walking Tall, Lords of Dogtown, The Dukes of Hazzard, and The Ringer. He will also be in the upcoming film Killshot, but as his fame slowly winds down and his roles become few and far between is Johnny Knoxville pushing Jackass back to the forefront for his own popularity?

Bam Margera looked particularly disinterested during parts of the takeover, even though he has said that if there is a new Jackass he has some "funny ideas for it." Perhaps this is where Johnny Knoxville is useful, or maybe even essential. Knoxville steps in as the leader, ready to burn the trail for the rest of the cast.

I can't help but think that there's something about Johnny Knoxville that is as fake as his stage-name. During the 24 hour takeover Knoxville's enthusiasm seemed forced and he came off as pretty annoying instead of a comedic front-man. Johnny Knoxville has made himself a name-brand and he is synonymous with the Jackass series. There's no doubt that if Jackass returns in one form or another, the "Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville" intros will return and his popularity will skyrocket again.

Again, I'm a huge fan of the Jackass series. Johnny Knoxville has done some great stunts in his time on the show and for Big Brother magazine. But when you have a failed actor as a lead guy for a stunt show, it's worth pondering if he actually enjoys it (at age 37) or if he is doing it to reclaim his 15 minutes.


Saturday, February 16 2008

-I Want My Money, Man!
Posted at 11:32 PM by Brandon

No great update or anything, I've been losing momentum on all of this unfortunately. College leaves little time for typing out posts and my birthday was last week. My mom and sister pulled some strings and got me an illegal birthday cake. It was an awesome black market birthday cake if you're a Pens fan. That night I went to Drovers Inn with Nikki and the crew, ate wings, drank beer and rocked out to Aqua. Fortunately, those pics haven't hit Facebook yet.

I've been working on getting this site going again in my spare time little by little, but some things just don't always work out the way you want them to. I'm still interested in flash animation, and I want to buy one of the newer versions, either Adobe Flash Basic or Flash Professional, but I don't have $400 to toss around to draw cartoons. I've been waiting to find a decent deal on Ebay.

A little over a week ago I extended an invitation to a former member of the site to return here to post, and he replied by asking me if I wanted to buy a motorcycle. A simple "no" would have been sufficient.

I run out of ideas easily, and I get less and less creative when I feel that I'm forced to do something. The top banner of this site is a perfect example. I have no desire to open up Photoshop and come up with something even halfway decent. The bland banner that you see now was intended to be temporary. Thanks to Kyle, I got in touch with an artist that he knows, showed her the site and told her what I thought I needed. She agreed to do it and even seemed pretty enthused, but I haven't heard back from her. It's been weeks. I'm still hoping I can have something done, but it seems like something should have happened by now.

So, it's rough trying to get a website going again. Things are pretty much hit or miss. We do have one new member though. He writes for the Wheeling Jesuit newspaper and he said he'd probably be working on something for the site soon.

I've switched servers and set up a new video sharing website. However, judging by the recent spam comments, there will no doubt be some videos but not a whole lot of sharing. Videos are a huge thing right now. I don't necessarily feel like I'm jumping the bandwagon, but I feel that they could definitely serve a purpose. If I have a video, I'll post it. What the hell can it hurt? Car videos, hockey videos, prank videos etc. Which brings me to the point of this post:

The Peanut Butter Thief's mother (my sister) owes me $400. In the original post about the Peanut-Butter Thief, I said that I had 10-15 pranks to pull on her for letting her little hellion run rampant through the house doing whatever she pleased. Well, I'm a smart man. I know not to fuck with someone that owes you $400, at least not until that money is past due. I told her I would give her to March 1st and she has known about this for months. If that date passes by and I don't have $400 in my hand, the shit will hit the fan in a good, entertaining sort of way. So, in a way, I really want my $400, but then again, the new video site could use a jump start. She doesn't have long! Here's the official countdown to March 1st when the shenanigans will begin:

Update: Damn! She paid me! Well, not quite. She paid me about half of what I was owed. Please check back later for the prank video, we've got some plans in the works.

It's 2008-3-1 00:00:00 GMT+00:00 past the deadline.


Also, I got a call last night. It looks like I'm going to be playing a little adult league hockey over spring break (Feb 26). Those videos will be posted here also.


Wednesday, February 6 2008

-Child Left Behind
Posted at 9:44 PM by Kyle

John Marshall High School has lowered its standards yet again; however, I'm not complaining. I'm a screw up when it comes to high school. I was a straight A student up until 6th grade. When I started middle school I had mostly B's and maybe a few C's here and there, but once I hit high school I had a C-D average.

Well, to get back to the point, it seems my school is trying their hardest to pass their students. They are literally making it almost impossible to fail. For visual aide for this, here is my report card.

As you can see in my English and business computer class I received two F's, and before that meant you failed the semester. Now the school has changed the grading scale so that a C cancels out the two F's.

I guess that means that when students grades go down, so does the school's expectations. I'm one of those kids that gets bad grades, and I even think this is ridiculous. I guess that the school board doesn't care that these kids are our future. Do they really want these uneducated people taking care of them when they get older...apparently so.


-Guests Can Now Submit Posts
Posted at 2:15 PM by Brandon

You may have noticed some updates to the site lately. I've been working on organizing the content and I've made a few modifications to the layout, nothing major there. The top banner should only be temporary also, I'm hoping.

The biggest change that I've made to the site is something that I've tried before with mixed success. Guests to the site can now submit their posts to be added to the main page. I had better take the time now to explain how all of this is going to work before I get any submissions.

First, we are always looking for new contributors to the site. We are hoping that giving visitors the opportunity to submit posts will be a positive thing that could result in future full-time members. However, you have to understand that there is a review process. When you submit a post, it will not automatically appear on the main page. One of the current members will have to review your post and then add it to the main page.

Posts can not be overly vulgar in nature, and they cannot contain pornographic material or spam. If any of these things are included in your post, it will be deleted. You can expect your post to be checked within 24 hours.

Also, be aware that if your post does make it on to the main page, you will not instantly be considered a member of the site. We want members that can give good content on a consistent basis, one post is not enough. If you've written a few posts that we like, we'll have no problem making you a member. Just be aware that once you submit a post it will become the property of BreadCrumbINT.com and can be posted to the main page whether or not you are upgraded to a full-time member.

Last, please register using a valid Email address. If we like what you've written, we will need to be able to contact you to make you a member. Also, if your post does not make it to the main page, we may want to contact you to tell you why it didn't make it so that you have the opportunity to change it. Again, if your post contains pornographic material, spam, or excessive vulgar, it will simply be deleted.

Enjoy.