During the finale of Men in Blazers they aired a TV commercial for the Mini Cooper Countryman featuring Tony Hawk hauling his kids out to a waterpark in the middle of the desert. While trying to find the commercial online saw that he had ditched Jeep and signed some sort of extended agreement with Mini USA last year, appearing in several videos. And thanks to longtime contributor Matthijs, I also had some pictures of a weird MINI Skater, which is small skateboard with a built in strap binding produced by the Mini Cooper parent company some time around 2002. And just when you thought you couldn’t get enough MINI skateboard action, MINI released some augmented reality glasses that pair with your MINI to provide enhanced safety and visibility. I am not making this up! Whenever there’s a need to illustrate dangerous pedestrian (no driving) behavior, you can bet you’ll find a skateboard or two, and even a dog.

Lactantia smart milk from Canada. Is that a missing skateboarder? Lactantia sounds like the name of a villainess in a Russ Meyer film. – Thanks to Kevin Live (Yes, I’m cleaning out my inbox)

This image came from TheTruth.com about a year ago. Another installment in the car as skateboard series, or in this case, model truck. Must have a skateboarder in charge of this setup, because instead of a straight 50-50 grind they went with an alley-ooo. – Thanks to Kevin Live for the tip, last year.

This not the first time skateboards have been used to sell feminine protection. Recall Stayfree Maxi Pads in 1978. Playtex has a print ad and a TV commercial in rotation for their Sport Ultra Thin line of pads. Who is this woman (Update: She is Nikki Rose Quinlan.) and where was this shot? Catch the commercial and the advert after the break. Somewhere in this post there’s a joke about helmets and pad nannies, but I can’t find it.

You’re looking at a propose multistory skatepark as part of the Folkestone Sports Park in the county Kent, England. It’s a proposed design, so it may ever see a groundbreaking ceremony. Still, it’s more than just theoretical architectural wanking from Guy Hollaway Architects, as the general projuct has some backing from Roger de Haan Charitable Trust. So while it has yet to be decided whether this particular vision gets built, something likely will. The bottom of the bowls will actually be the ceiling of the floor below, and the whole thing will be visible from the outside via (hopefully protected) glass walls. The only thing missing in my opinion is some sort of spiral track along the outside forming a skatepark recreation of a parking garage. Of course that might conflict with the boxing ring in the basement. I’m not sure why those two sports make any sense together. The design does seem to be more about architectural wanking, and I’ll be shocked if it actually gets built, but if it does it would be an amazing thing to have in any town. [Source: designboom] – Thanks to MC for the tip.

Thunder Cop joins us as number three in the Non-Fall Action series of craptacular skateboard toys. Part terminator, part CHiPs, all priceless. Well, not priceless actually, this battery powered skateboard toy from 1989 could have been yours for under $20 delivered. The figure is actually anatomically correct this time, so the real joy comes from the packaging from Feng DYI Enterprise Corp, which is still in business. The best part, the policeman pointing a gun at your face is riding a skateboard with a smiley face on it. Have a nice day!

Zach Friendly gets tattooed by his buddy Rusty. He may make poor life decisions, but at least he’ll get a free t-shirt out of the experience, and his face immortalized on Skate and Annoy. I’m very humbled. Thanks for your support Zach!

Bow before my arcane knowledge of useless skateboard related information. This Valterra Rad-isaurus looks suspiciously similar to Denver the Last Dinosaur. Both appear to be released in 1988, although I can’t tell for sure about the Valterra board, the copyright is hard to read. They both appear to be the similar species, and they both wear mohawks and sunglasses, but only the Rad-isaurus has pants. Denver is obscene! Won’t someone please think of the children? Follow me dear readers, and we will tackle the question that archeologists have been pondering for decades: “What happens when a group of pop-a-wheely, BMXer, fun-loving, skateboarding, and rock-music-listening contemporary kids open an ancient dinosaur egg?”

Tank treads on a skateboard. I don’t think this is a new Idea. I believe there was a motorized prototype or two (or three) quite a while ago. This promo video declares the Rockboard Descender as the future of skateboarding, which might be true provided you’re only interested in going downhill at relatively slow speeds. Those treads make this thing fast as a snail. That’s friction for you. If you really want to ride off road, just get those big oversized dirt wheels that have been around in one form or another since the 70’s. I’m actually very excited these are being mass produced. One day, one of them will turn up at the Good Will. – Thanks to Josh at BPA for the tip.

Jay Schmetz paints a lot of animals in domestic settings. In addition to a beaver brushing his teeth, he has also painted a fair amount of skateboarding creatures. Most of the animal shredders are dogs, but you’ll also find the occasional pig, cat, rabbit, elephant, cow, or sheep. If you become enamored of them you can buy various reproductions and originals. My two favorites are at the top. Something about an Elephant on a skateboard is already funny, but when you throw in a handstand… Well, that’s art!