Andy Jenkins of Mel Bend fame among other things has a vinyl figure of Wrench Pilot character Lettus Bee taking faceplant. Limited to 500 pieces and costing $100 (!??), I suppose people would be upset if you called it a “plastic toy.” It’s pretty cool actually, but not a hundred bucks cool. Too rich for my blood. MOre pics after the jump. [Source: Sublimited]

From WLTX News in South Carolina: Officer Who Shoved Skateboarder Gets Suspension CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP, WLTX) — The Charleston police officer seen on Internet video pushing a skateboarder over a bush at a city park has been suspended for ten days. Police Chief Greg Mullen says 49-year-old officer Willie Simmons used an unnecessary level of force. The 19-year-old skateboarder declined to file assault charges against Simmons. The officer was taped pushing a skateboarder off his board at the Waterpark in downtown. The officer defended herself by saying that that skateboarding is illegal in Charleston. As a result, the 19-year-old injured his lower back and ankle. Fascinating. Now watch it again.

OK, We might lose a few readers with this post, but the Zombie Jesus pro model from Creature made me chuckle. It reminded me of those equally tasteless but funny rock concert t-shirts from the 80’s that said “Adolf Hitler World Tour.” The best part was on the back where it listed the tour dates and locations. The England entry said “Cancelled.” I’m actually kind of surprised Creature is selling these. I’m guessing they hope to avoid too much controversy by keeping them limited to 500 pieces. Or possibly, the artwork is so crappy, that’s all they think they can sell. This board gets an “A” for the concept and a “C minus, minus” for execution. Really. It looks like hell. Actually, the only thing keeping this board from being completely uninteresting (aside from the whole blasphemy thing) is the marketing. It’s being released on Good Friday and You can’t “Passover” this insanse-o limited release.

The premiere issue of Craft Magazine featured artist Jenny Hart supposedly embroidering a skateboard. I actually have this issue, It’s not really embroidered, she just drills and laces the edge like a souvenir indian belt. Actually that might be pretty cool for grabs, like one of those steering wheel covers from Pep Boys. Not so good for slides though. To her credit, she points that out in the article. Pretty good magazine. From O’Reilly those tech publishers who also produce Make.

I received more spam from Chinese skateboard manufacturer. Not very remarkable except for a few things. The first thing I noticed was a picture of an assembly line for completes. Are those children or small women on the line? Look at the shot of the factory. I swear those are soldiers guarding the entrance to the plant. Also interesting, you can buy blanks for under $6. American skateboard manufacturing is doomed.

Do you want to see a dead guy skate vert? (I don’t mean Ben Pappas. ) Gunther von Hagens looks more like a character in a bad movie than he does a scientist, but he started the Institute for Plastination to preserve bodies in clear plastic. His latest traveling exhibition is called Body Worlds 3 and it features a creepy looking skateboarder inverted. Is that a frontside invert? You can even buy posters of a dead guy skating vert, and I don’t mean Jeff Phillips.

No these aren’t more laser cut skateboards again, but a few house cleaning links to skateboard art, including a Paul Schmitt program at a technical school, embroidered skateboards, and one show in Kansas that looks like it was held in Twin Peaks.

Keeping in mind that some kinks need to be worked out… is this design more or less annoying than it used to be? Comments? Suggestions?

Less than breaking news I need to clear off of the hard drive. People have been motorizing skateboards since the 70’s. Most of those contraptions resulted in big clunky boards, but someone has moved the motor off the board. This is the Skate Scepter, what the inventor calls a “Motorized Skater Assist.” Basically, it’s a weed eater that pushes you on your board. To be fair, they appear to be well designed. They even have a disk brake! Might be fun to goof around with, but not for the kind of scratch that they cost. You can check the web site for pictures and video. And, because these type of companies tend to go out of business quickly. I’ve archived aome pictures for posterity. [Source: Absolute Gadget]

That pool shot looks real. Quick, what’s wrong with these pictures? Check out this hardcore documentary after the jump. Skateboarding was never the same again.