Local Seattle artists using the skateboard deck as a canvas. Opens August 14, 6-10 PM at True Love Art and Tattoo with DJ Fistfight and “refreshments.” Show runs through September 7th. Featured Artists: John Cristcitello, Kerstin Graudins, Scott Dalrymple, narboo, Claudio Duran, Starheadboy, Carolyn Hitt, Dave Enriquez, Benjamin Hubbard, Clifton Yates, Scarlet Luartes, Jesse Narens, Aaron Winnenberg, Jason Middleton, Chris Summerville, Chad Ronilo, Rhodora Jacob, TattooBeetle, Joey McChan, Ian Duca, Christopher Hunter, Ksera, Carlos Aguilar and several others. – Thanks to Heidi for the tip.

All good hearted people love Snoopy. Embroidered patch, year of origin unknown.

Since I don’t have $349 to burn I will not be purchasing this Hostess Twinkie store rack that would be a good way to display countless other questionable purchases I’ve made. Somehow or other Hostess managed to get a very Disney looking Pinocchio on there too. – Thanks to BPA for the tip.

Woody Woodpecker was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid. I especially liked the ones from the 40’s where Woody seemed a little insane, very similar to some portrayals of Daffy Duck from similar era. This 100 piece puzzle from Whitman, likely dates back to 1984, a time closer to a more homogenized Woody Woodpecker. That’s Splinter and Knothead on the skateboards. I believe this is Woody’s first appearance on Skate and Annoy. You just don’t see a lot of him on a skateboard.

Does anyone remember Awesome Earl in SkateRock, circa 1988? He was supposed to be the sart of a franchise, with many other adventures “coming soon.” It’s a curious title for a video game. I imagine somebody in marketing picked up a copy of thrasher and randomly appropriated a feature title. SkateRock is a side scroller where you are supposed to avoid obstacles in order to “Join the coveted ranks of the Slime Rat Skaters!” That quote comes from a the game description online, but it’s not actually listed anywhere in the packaging that comes with the version I have. Inside the box there’s nothing more than a 5.25″ floppy, a very short instruction page, and a warranty card. I didn’t actually own this game in 1988, It wouldn’t have run on my Apple IIe. I own it now because I have poor impulse control. Radical! Bigger photos, alternate covers and screen captures from game play after the jump.

A weird little play set, this Littlest Pet Shop Puppy Pal. Nothing says “play” like a puppy locked in a dog kennel. Don’t blame the seller, although for $14 I would want the complete set, even if it did date back to 1992. UPDATED

You say you’ve always wanted a skateboard in the shape of the New Museum in New York? Well your long wait is over, because Chapman Skateboards is producing a limited run of 150 of these boxy decks to be sold in the museum gift shop. They kind of look like a pixelated version of the old Skull Skates mutant. If you watch the video, you can see the deck is cruiser sized. Chapman decks are made in the USA, don’t cha know… I didn’t, actually. It’s probably an exciting collaboration for Chapman, but it’s a little hard to get excited about the deck shape if you’re not connected with the museum in some way, as a fan or a neighbor. I suppose you could use it to impress people without lying. “You know, I’m currently on the board of a museum in New York, they wanted me to buy it.” [Source: DesignBoom] – Thanks to MC for the tip.

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.