Someone on the East Coast asked me for advice in purchasing a video theme for a business promo video. One of the links they were considering (Colorful Holiday Memories) had stock footage from a local skatepark here in Tigard, Oregon. Plate of Shrimp.

GEM models was a toy company in England that made plastic figures of may varieties, soldiers, cowboys, indians, and sports figures. There is no definitive source of information on GEM, but the consensus is that they were around during the 50’s and 60’s. Most of these models were sculpted by a man name George Musgrave, a man who had his museum for a while, but again there’s very little information about (this specific) George Musgrave on the web, other than some audio tracks of him reading poetry on the youtube. His home town of Eastbourne has a 45 minute documentary on him (that might have appeared on the BBC) but amazingly, you have to download it. Why do we care about George Musgrave? Because in addition to the hundreds of action figures he sculpted, he also made these creepy little skateboarders. They aren’t inherently creepy, it’s just that if you take close up photos of any 40mm (1.6 inch) model and blow it up larger than life it will tend to look creepy, even if it isn’t a half a century old. While GEModels existed in the 50-60’s, George continued to sculpt for various other toy company and cake topper…

Remember the gold plated skateboard? Now you can watch the process. Yes, I’m phoning it in today.

It’s the September 13th, 2009 edition of Kids Scoop, which focuses on skateboarding. This is another buried treasure that was in the box that Danimal gave me with the kids braille skateboarding book. Lots of safety advice and fun activity after the jump, including the Great Skateboard Debate! No agendas at all, so wake up the kids and call Grandma.

Matt Christopher is the “#1 Sports Writer for Kids” according to his bio. Danimal sent me the braille addition of Skateboard Renegade that he rescued from the trash. Buzz cut or ponytail? Grunge look? Tattoo, body paint, or earring? How about none of the above? When Zach takes up skateboarding, he doesn’t realize that he’s expected to look a certain way — and cop a certain attitude, too. At least that what it seems like. But Zach just isn’t comfortable with any of these things; he wants to skateboard for the fun of it, and maybe take part in a few competitions. Will he be ostracized because he looks and acts so “normal”? Or will his decision to stay true to himself mark him as a renegade, the very attitude his skateboarding buddies will appreciate? Oh, the irony of being an outcast amongst outcasts for not embracing being a stereotype. I’m not sure why anyone would throw away a braille book, I would imagine the demand would exceed the supply, so this story must have been especially bad. See the Skateboard Renegade braille edition plus two other sighted edition covers after the jump.

You know those quizzes you see on Facebook, you love them right? Which member of the Beatles am I? Which character from Game of Thrones? Which Marvel Superhero? Which member of One Direction is going to have my baby? Well here at Skate and Annoy we’ve decided to step up and provide an invaluable public service by allowing you to take a quiz to determine which professional skater you are. This was a highly researched and painstakingly programed endeavor, and we know you will thank us once you’ve answered this important question in your life. (It should go without saying that this needs to be shared on Facebook as much as possible.) Which Pro Skater are you? TAKE THE QUIZ HERE.

Artist David Jablow has a whole series of suggestive doodle pad illustrations brought to illogical conclusions. In fact, he’s got a book you can buy. The one you’re about to see is skateboard related, of course. [Source: Aplus.com]

In a super transparent attempt to bolster public support for their name in the face of public opinion (at least in the rest of the nation) that is turning against them, the Washington Redskins offered to write a blank check for a skatepark the Fort Yuma Quechan (Kwatsan) Tribe had been planning. They even brought a “skatepark designer” with them to present a design that was festooned in red and gold. Tribal officials had little trouble sussing out the ulterior motives, and quickly turned them down. You can read the press release from Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry. I have to wonder which destible “skatepark designer” went along with this embarrassing scheme. Definitely not a “credit to his race.” Was it a real design/build firm? Come on S&A community, let’s uncover this. In the meantime, enjoy this gratuitous link to Wounded Knee Skateboards. [Source: Kissing Suzy Kobler – Native News Online] – Thanks to Adam Shahan for the tip.

I thought Bahne relaunched it’s brand for the serious downhill competitor, at least that’s what I remember from a previous decade when when I was an irregular contributor and advertising connoisseur of Concrete Wave magazine. I guess it didn’t pan out because Bahne seems to be engaged in the role of toy store supplier, or at best, close out items for sale at Costco. – Thanks to Stephen B for the tip.

Let’s see here… David Chappelle and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, back when they were both cool.