Category Archive: Annoy
No Skateboarding Day
Don’t even think about it, OK? When you don’t want skateboarders messing up your planters with unsightly grind marks, or disturbing the Feng shui by loitering, this 20 foot long stencil ought to do the trick.
Fun to Draw Skateboard Action Part 2
This is the second and last installment of Fun to Draw Skateboard Action book. Along with the familiar misnomers and weird physics, the second half of the book features a couple of filler pages with some “totally rad” action and an exercise to match the safety equipment with the part of the body that it goes on.
Dome shot
It’s Earth Day, so if you want to listen to your old 7″ singles you might consider picking up one of these 45 Dome Shots, a collaboration with Maple XO and John Cardiel. Earth day?? This should have been a collab for Record Store Day.
Fun to Draw Skateboard Action
“Skateboard Action” was a popular title for kids books in the 80’s, as this is not the only book to use it. Skateboard Action from the Fun to Draw series was published in 1989 by Hamburger Press. The illustrations are by Ed Francis, so the blame for mislabeling has to go with the author Debra Rowley. It’s got 36 pages jam packed with goofy little fox on a skateboard cartoons and the typical 4 step drawing instructions you find in these things. The illustrator has the human figure basics down but occasionally has difficulty placing the figure in relation to ramps and coping. It’s as if someone went through a skateboard magazine and cut out the skateboarder from each photograph and the illustrator used them as a reference without knowing how they related to the real world. The illustrator’s take on aftermarket 80’s skate graphics and fashion is spot on and worth a chuckle. Part one of the installment after the jump.
Delayed bladder maturation in skateboarders
Congratualtions son, your photo is going to be used on some product packaging! Millions of people will see it and you’ll be famous! You’re looking at DryNites sleep diapers for rippers and bed wetters aged 8-15. They were spotted (tee hee!) in the Prisma supermarket in Kuopio, Finland. It’s a serious problem that some kids have. These are no doubt super helpful, but they didn’t need to traumatize the kid on the package. He’s surely going to be ridiculed, no matter how many radical (or upside down) skateboarding silhouettes are on the bag. The product is sold in 21 countries, but the US isn’t one of them. There are lots of active lifestyle and bedtime pics on the DryNites sites, but I can’t be expected to go through them thoroughly searching for skateboards because I have to go to the bathroom.
– Thanks to Nicolas Bouvy for the photo
Nonstop Hef Hop
Portland brewery Hopworks has traditionally been bike-centric in their marketing. Recently I heard they were trying to engage skateboarding more. I thought I saw an image of Sasquatch riding a skateboard a few weeks ago but I can’t find it. It might have had something to do with their Sasquatch Strong Ale or possibly Abominable Winter Ale. Now there’s Nonstop Hef Hop, featuring a bunch of “playtime” activities on the can, some more athletic than others, I mean seriously, corn hole? I have not seen this beer in the wild, but I’m looking forward to collecting the skateboard version of this can, even though the art direction in this series is a little sterile. What they really need to do is establish an advertising presence on some sort of local Portland-based skate blog, if such a thing exists.
– Thanks to Pete Lewis for the tip.
Sketchers Z Strap!
This is an old commercial for Sketchers Z Strap, but they still seem to run it every now and again. The 2D style animation is very low budget looking. I’m not sure if that’s an intentional nod to the Speed Racer era of japanimation or just a cost cutting measure. It’s most notable when the villain is in hot pursuit on his 6 wheeled monster skate. He looks al little bit like Oogie Boogie from the Nighmare Before Christmas, and he’s not really pushing, he’s just dragging that foot! In the climatic scene, our hero the ninja skateboarder shows off his vintage z-roller trucks.
Join the Skatewing Commanda’s Club
Bustyourbuns has the most comprehensive photos of a Skatewing for sale that I’ve ever seen. There’s a reserve still to be met, and hefty $73 shipping charge for this Australian skateboard, even though it ships from California. I’ve got the cheap-o plastic version of this 80’s wacky board, but the wooden one must be a thing to behold. I’m not sure if t’s the same skatewing being passed around or if it was a systematic falling of the manufacturer, but every one I’ve seen pictures of seems to have the same stress fractures covering the entire board. Apparently, the wings were designed by an Australian yacht racer who designed the first winged keel, and so this was some sort of attempt to cash in on his fame beyond the yachting world. Two things I did not know about the skatewing; the wheels were called B52 Wing Commanda’s, and you could join the Commanda’s Club. I guess they weren’t worried about trademark infringement with Sims B52 wheels, but were somehow adverse to using the proper spelling of “commander.” (Update: Sold for $123.50 + $72.89 shipping)
– Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.
Rollerboard, the craze that’s sweeping the nation!
Inline skate wheels on a plastic board, and it’s even got built in handles! I’m not sure what the two circular holes are for, maybe dislocating a finger? You can buy this piece of radicalness for $100, or just give your neighbor $50 to punch you in the face and you’ll still come out ahead!
– Thanks to… I can’t remember. But thanks.











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