I don’t read Thrasher with any sort of regularity anymore, sometimes I flip through it at the hippie grocery store in my neighborhood. however, I bought the last issue so I could check out an alleged Naked Raygun interview. Since I had already bought the cow instead of stealing the milk for free, (or maybe I was there to buy milk) I read the rest of it and was really surprised. A couple features caught my attention, especially a China/Vietnam tour diary by Michael Burnett. I had it in the back of my head to make a rainy day post about how I might start reading Thrasher more regularly. Cue plate of shrimp coincidence. Michael Burnett is having a book release/photo show/reading at Cal’s Pharmacy in Portland tomorrow, July 11th from 7-10 with live music by Yes Father. The book appears to be called… The Outskirts of Awesome. DISCLAIMER: I took the liberty of replacing the original photo on the official flyer with a different picture I poached from his web site. Artists really love it when you appropriate and mess with their vision. Don’t let them tell you any different. Even if they seem like they are getting irate about it, they’re really just pulling your leg. I know this for certain because I went to art school. Just give them a knowing wink. It can be our secret. Check out the official flyer after the jump.

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Here’s part two of the remnants of the Indy tour visting Pier Park. Don’t forget about part one.

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Yesterday I had plans to meet up with an out-of-state friend of mine who was in town to skate some Portland area parks. I had assorted obligations for most of the day, but I definitely wanted to hook up for his last session at least. I got a text message that he was headed from Gabriel Glenhaven to Pier Park, so that’s where we were going to meet. A short while later I got the text message above. I have to be honest, my first thought was negative. I wanted to skate with my friend and not watch the Indy tour circus. That’s not a dig at Independent or their team, I just figured the park would be jam packed full of onlookers and there would be a heated session going on - meaning we’d have to stick to other parts of the park or go elsewhere if we wanted to actually skate. When MC showed up for the carpool and said he hoped the Indy team wanted to skate street… So how did it go? MC via email:

Any good shots? That was fun, much better than a Trifecta style blowout.

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One of my pet peeves in the industry is when magazines devote a huge spread to (Fill in favorite skateboard team) goes on tour to (Fill in exotic or mundane location). I mean how lame is that when a magazine can’t be bothered to come up with their own ideas so they end up having five pages of product placement advertising under the guise of editorial content, not to mention a full page advert from one of the same spots in the feature. That’s why, when I heard Colin Sharp was going to join his team in Sweden for a week in the middle of their tour, I practically begged him to bring a camera and shoot some pictures. You won’t find a Bacon advertisement anywhere on Skate and Annoy, unless you count the 10% of the time they show up at the top of every page… I thought I was going to be getting some awesome Malmo contest overage… but I got this tour diary instead. I kid, but only because I love. If you think this post graphic looks disgusting, you should see the version with the blue and yellow bacon. My Thanks to Colin for taking the time and making the effort. Geez, Mason, couldn’t you have gotten another crappy summer job after you got back from Sweden?

Read Colin Sharp’s Bacon Goes To Sweden.

Sleestock 2008. So I got hurt rumor has it Finley knocked himself out and got hauled off in an ambulance, he wins. I would have liked to get more footage but circumstance dictated otherwise. Enjoy this stuff I am going to to visit the vicodin couch. Party off.

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I don’t know what happened, but this was originally supposed to be a Grindline project. There are two appropriate area web presences that should have this info: one is mum, the other appears to be defunct. The city of San Francisco still has outdated information that they are dispensing to the Portero neighborhood community. If anyone knows what went down, please spill the beans. And remember, it’s gotta be true if you read it on the Interwebs™. Jeff “Ffej” Hedges sent in some pictures of Dreamland’s latest, the recently opened skatepark in San Francisco. He also pointed me to a link with some atmosphere (Notice I didn’t say lifestyle) shots from opening day posted by Greg Smith aka Schmitty from Thrasher. I wonder if Jeff has outgrown the “Ffej” references? I’m going to assume he hasn’t until I hear otherwise from him. Check his pics after the jump.

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A potential meeting of tribes, if you will. Longboarders converge on the Burnside (the skatepark) after bombing Burnside, the hill. It starts at the crack of dawn, which is why you probably won’t see any coverage here, even though it sounds like a lot of fun. My wife gets to sleep in on her birthday. Check out Eastside Longboards for more details.

[Source: Enemy Combatant]

I don’t get “Go Skateboarding Day,” but this kid in the shot above certainly does. Carl Warren went to eight different skateparks on GSD and took a bunch of photographs. Update: Ugh. Follow this link then hit the link that says “go skateboarding day 2008″

Word from Portland Parks is that the official opening day for Gabriel skatepark is July 11, 2008 – a short 16 days from now but in fact it may open for skating sooner than that. Stay tuned for more details.

update: No word on early opening. They still need to do some hydroseeding. There is a Portland Tribune article that talks about the budget woes. Enjoy the complaining about the city spending money on anything and a particularly uniformed shot at the new mayor, even though Parks is Saltzman’s bailiwick, in the comments.

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Lincoln City locals love their park, but unfortunately for them, so does everyone else. This weekend is gong put their patience to the test as the park is hosting both the annual Sleeestock, which is a weekend of debauchery and skateboarding, as well as an appearance by the 30th anniversary Independent Trucks tour on Sunday. Alas, my wife’s birthday is this weekend and she’s got visitors coming in from out of town, so I will be watching the kids and you’ll have to skate in the gravel parking lot without me. How do you type the sound effect for a whip?