Here are some more construction pictures from the San Jose skatepark that is in progress, courtesy of Zach Wormhoudt, which allows Larry more time for his family. So far, this is hands down the most interesting skatepark construction site I’ve seen. There are more after the jump.

The Donald. Get it? No, get it? Went to Donald today for the first time in over a year. Had a lot of fun. It looks like they are getting ready to add something on to the mini pipe section. Met three guys up visiting from Santa Cruz. More pictures after the jump.

Somebody is a Jim Phillips (and Jason Jesse) fan in Germany. Either that, or Jim’s been traveling. Graffiti at Rheinaue skatepark in Bonn is a Flickr post uploaded by fraktalisman.

The new World’s Biggest Skateboard is official. The old one belonged to Tod Swank. An Australian named Grant Hicks (no relation) now holds the title. He sent in a few pics and some details you can see after the jump. And to clarify, Grant only said FU! to Tod figuratively.

From the forums at Skateboard.com.au comes these two different approaches to stopping skateboarding. The first one on the left is from Mother Nature who dumped a ton or two of sand on Bondi skatepark during recent storms. Bondi is a costal town, in case you haven’t guessed. On the right we have man made bureaucracy and the most elaborate skate stoppers I’ve ever seen. They don’t want kids grinding rails or even ollieing over them. For more pictures, follow the photo credits. [Photos: Snakeos and Morgs]

We’re starting a gallery of skateboard tattoos. Send in your pics if you want to be in it. Please include your name, the name of the tattoo artist (if you know it), the tattoo shop (if you know it), and approximately when the tattoo was new. Optionally, you can include a picture of yourself. I’m expecting to get a deluge of Independent and Thrasher tattoos, but don’t be afraid to send in the obscure, like this Natas panther Skate and Annoy hybrid. Skate and Annoy? WTF??? I found this buried an an email from 2005. House of Neil originally sent it to me, with the name “Friend of Wolfgang” attached to it. I’m pretty sure it’s just a coincidence. Friend of Wolfgang, care to chime in? On the right is a Bob Schmelzer graphic taken from his freestyle board. I’ll bet there aren’t to many Schmelzer tattoos out there.

BMX celebrity Rooftop is interviewed about Tony Hawk’s foray into entry level BMX bikes branded after the Boom Boom Huck Jam. I don’t follow BMX at all, but I recognize the name Rooftop, so he must be a celebrity. Catch one interview on Vital BMX and another on The Come Up. Thanks to Concretin for the tip off. Tony looks like he’s been listening to some Aphex Twin. [Photo: Vital BMX]

Figures, he’s on roller blades. I was following a link from a comment on officer hard-ass beating the rap. The link was from a site called Skate Theory that features a random picture popping up on the front page. On my first visit I happened to catch the pic above. It’s from 2001 when a friend of mine and former roommate dressed up as Captain Corporate America and crashed a Fourth of July parade in Urbana Illinois. I know the skateboarding link is tenuous at best, but the same guy also illustrated this skateboard company logo for me. You can read the full scoop on Captain Corporate America at Media Geek.

How telling that the day after our country celebrated our independence I end up making a flippant post about how the US government is helping to fund “extreme sports facilities” in El Salvador in hopes of combating violence amongst disaffected youth. As if Extreme!™ Democracy wasn’t enough (see Iraq). The News Blaze has an article titled Extreme Sports Offer Salvadoran Youth Refuge from Violence – United States provides extreme sports facilities to Salvadoran youth center. This popular rejection of violence is what the founders of Fundacion Salvador del Mundo (FUSALMO) hoped to see when they created a recreational facility for the youth of Soyapango in 2003… …In 2006, with a grant from the U.S. government, FUSALMO expanded its facilities to include extreme sports: bicycle motocross (BMX), skateboarding and break dancing. Break dancing and skateboarding? Sounds like 1987, not 2007. I guess skateboarding heals all wounds. I’m sure a few American-made prefab ramps will make up for the fact that the USA backed a bloody dictator for all those years. I can’t think of a better way to say “I’m sorry for the death squads and you know, those 30,000 executions. Let’s put this unpleasantness behind us with some method airs…

Happy Fourth of July. If you love your country, you’ll blow something up.