They go out of their way to explain what a kludge is so the title will make sense to viewers who don’t know what it means, but the real kluge in this case is titling the video “kluge” in order to avoid having to explain a Rube Goldberg machine. There is some skateboarding in this video, but it’s actually some of the least interesting parts.

[Source: ESPN]– Thanks to MC for passing the buck.

Near as I can tell, there’s no griptape on this skateboard collaboration between Neiman Marcus, Target, and designer Derek Lam.

Kick, push, coast in style. 10 Crosby Derek Lam skateboard boasts a smart two-tone graphic logo print on top. When you pop an ollie, you’ll show a flash of the underside, which features modern graphic geometric print.
7-ply Canadian maple deck with 10C logo-print grip deck and die-cut 10 Crosby Derek Lam logo.
Concave profile with rounded kick tail/nose for urban street cruising.
Lightweight and maneuverable.

All hardware (bolts, nuts, kingpin, washers) is golden anodized.
Red, white-walled 52mm polyurethane wheels feature the 10 Crosby Derek Lam logo.
Use of helmet is recommended for safety.
31 1/5″L x 8″W x 3 4/5″D.
Imported.

Imported you say? I wonder what exotic asian locale they used to make these props?

[Source: Saint Louis Today] – Thanks to Jonathan Harms for the tip.

Actually, you can. I get emails form advertising firms on a semi regular basis offering cold hard cash for a text link to a client’s web site. Usually it’s for automobile companies or something vaguely Extreme!™ related, but this last one I got was actually skateboard related. And since there was a “limited number of spots available to earn income today” I thought I’d go for it. Why do they want text links? Well it’s to boost search engine ranking. And so I bring you skatehut.co.uk. My dear readers, you are under no obligation to click on that link at all, as I’m pretty sure including will adversely affect the SEO rankings at Skate and Annoy. And that’s what $50 will get you.

P.S. I went to the site on a lark and clicked on the “Decks” link in the “Popular Categories” list on the left and got served a 404 error. sweet.

The rough translation of “muckefuck” is Germanic Europe slang for fake or substitute coffee, going back to one of the world’s many fine wars when coffee became unavailable. Muckefuck is also the name of a skateboard company that has branched out into wheels as well.

Speaking of fake coffee, some things are downright tasteless…

No. And neither does this kid. Check out Scholastic News Volume 69, #3. Click through to watch the video to watch an unintentionally funny video.

– Thanks to Avery for the tip.

Not for sale, or maybe for sale. These are one-offs. You can have your own custom made. Amusing that’s it’s old man Mascis that the artist chose to portray, becasue otherwise the skateboard would make no sense. I saw Dinosaur Jr at Tritos Uptown in Champaign, Illinois circa 1988 or so. Loudest show ever. Unfortunately, one of the most boring too. That might have been in my straight edge phase. It’s just a phase, not a set of rules kids. David Bowie is rad.

[Source: Paste Magazine] – Thanks to Eric for the tip.

I mean, I think that’s Mark Gonzales, but you can’t really see him. Something to do with Adidas.

– Thanks to Egbert for the tip.

In honor of Thanksgiving, here’s a cornucopia of counterfeit skateboards. There’s the Roger/Roskopp on the left, a Vallely ripoff that says “sports,” and tying in nicely, another World Industries knockoff, a generic Flameboy. The two on the left are from the same company, Rolls Racer. The funny thing about the Flameboy knockoff is that it’s a mid to late 90’s era (or later) graphic on a bad 80’s style board. The Flameboy was spotted in Peru of all places. (Thanks to Seth) The fake Vallely hails from the land of Ebay, and the Roskopp is from a French auction site. (Thanks to David Maes)

Sometimes no matter how grave or inappropriate the context may be, a skateboarder can’t help but see things through a certain lens. Israeli citizens seek shelter from Hamas rocket attacks. Let’s see you try and do that in a street plaza!

[Source: The Guardian] – Thanks to Jack Hadley for the tip.

This is a detail from an advert for the Sony Xperia Ion phone. It’s from the August 2012 edition of Wired Magazine, but the URL is already bad and there doesn’t appear to be an Ion in the Xperia lineup anymore. Shortest product lifecycle ever!