This little bit of would be viral social marketing has been pretty heavy handed, the pr firm has been sending clumsy emails trying to grease the wheels before the event. The whole thing is just so awkward and forced, but here it is on Skate and Annoy, so it worked on some level. I know that the auto makers in Detroit are in a tight spot, but maybe the money would be better spent trying to design a car that doesn’t look like a half a turd on wheels instead of paying Rob Dydrek to do a barrel roll over a skateboard and call it Extreme™. I just looked at some other pictures of the Chevy Sonic online and I guess it doesn’t look half bad sometimes. Looks like they’re going after the rice burner racers.

Lego Skater Girl, from minifigure series 6. “Who cares what anybody thinks? I skate for me!” Some Minifigures skate for fame. Others skate for thrills. But for the Skater Girl, it’s all about having fun! It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about her skating skills as long as she can feel two things: the wind whipping through her streaked hair, and her custom-painted board beneath her feet. But sometimes the more you try to avoid attention, the more of it you end up getting. Thanks to her carefree attitude, the Skater Girl has gained a huge fandom devoted to discussing all of her latest skateboarding tricks and stunts. But she doesn’t care – they can say whatever they want, and she’ll just keep on doing her own thing her own way! I’m not sure what’s up with that outfit. She looks liek some sort of goth Ronald McDonald. – Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

This one goes out to Colin. A German commercial for McDonalds. [Source: Buzzfeed] – Thanks to Andrew Wahl for the tip.

So when I first saw the video I thought it might be a spoof, but it turns out it’s really for sale, and patented in a partnership with the University of South Florida. There’s something to be said for coming up with an absurd idea and then seeing it to fruition. Classic video footage after the jump. Highlights include using a skate case to carry a small netbook, which sounds like an excellent idea. There’s a regular popsicle stick version and a longboard version that holds, you know, “…two composition books deep in there as well as many pencils.” Witness campus cruising, acid drops and even kickflips! Are we being chased by a rattlesnake? Nah, that’s just Dilbert and his Skate Case full of many pencils. AmMazing soundtrack on the first video. Buy yours from Looshes Labs. – Thanks to Boy for the tip.

Niche niche niche niche. Skateboarding is dead, so I’m going after the Nietzsche markets. Ba-dum-bump! But seriously folks… I can’t remember how I found Bitter Bushings, literally like 10 minutes ago. I did manually type in the web address so I must have read it somewhere. Then only thing skateboard related within arm’s length of my current location is a copy of Skate Slate (ahem) Longboarder magazine. Something compelled me to check out these bushings that are made for cold weather. Bitter Bushings hail from Canada, which makes sense. Does it seem like snake oil or another pointless “invention?” Owner Clint McLean certainly takes a no-nonsense approach in his demo vid. I doesn’t hurt that he looks like a lumberjack either. He takes two identical setups, popsicle sticks with Indy’s, and put’s them both in a giant freezer to simulate cold weather. One has Bitter Bushings and the other doesn’t. One turns afterwards and the other doesn’t. I’d like get more information on the development process he went through because the lack of detail or background makes it seem like the skateboarding equivalent of cobbler’s elves delivered them in the wee hours of the night. In case, if they actually work,…

I’m pretty sure a 10 minute search of skateboard vector clip art will turn up this illustration somewhere on the web. I can imagine the editor explaining the concept at the meeting. See, the content is going be exciting, I mean really exciting and hip. You know, something the kids are going to want to text message to all their friends, so we want the cover to reflect that, right? But we want it to be as cheap as humanly possible. – Thanks to Danimal for the pic.

This is an ad for a Kramer Floyd Rose Sustainer Guitar that ran in a 1989 issue of an unnamed music magazine. I only know this because I have poor impulse control. This guy is at the height of 80’s fashion, ho-ho street plant and neon yellow shirt with the sleeves and sides cut off. Totally bitchin. Thanks for nothing Kvon!

I drove by Burnside Brewery a couple weeks ago and the idea occurred to me to make a post about or at least find some way to mention it. The brewery is pretty close to the bridge, but that’s really not enough to warrant a post. ESPN reports that skatepark founders Mark Scott, Chuck Willis, and Sage Bolyard have been meeting with the founders of Burnside Brewing Company working out the details of a Burnside Skatepark brew with a portion of the proceeds going to the skatepark. Does anyone know if Nike is donating money from sales of Air Burnside shoes?

I dunno, he looks more like a Lego Harry Potter figure reject. “This is the perfect spot for an awesome new stunt!” To the Street Skater, the whole city is one big skate park. No matter where in town he may be, everything around him looks like just the right location for his next mind-blowing skateboarding stunt. People all over the city are used to seeing the Street Skater rolling up and down stairs, along railings, through fountains and even across the branches of the city park’s trees. He’s such a familiar sight that the streets just wouldn’t be the same without him and his famous skateboard! Check it out wherever Lego is/are sold. – Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

I’m sure he’d hate being called that, but it might be true. Fingerboarder Magazine(?!) has a video preview of an interview with the always entertaining Lance Mountain to be published in their upcoming second issue. You should watch it if you A: Like Skateboarding. B: Like fingerboarding C: Hate fingerboarding, or D: Enjoy Lance Mountain. Any answer is correct. I’m still surprised about the rabid fingerboarding culture in Europe, Japan wouldn’t have surprised me.