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.

Targeted advertising is nothing new. Google keeps track of what you search for and shows you ads based on what it thinks you might be inclined to buy. It’s old hat, but this weekend I saw an interesting application. As I waited to click through the pre-roll ad on a Portland Timbers video, the content caught my attention. Lately I’ve been getting a few skateboard related pre-rolls. I can’t remember for what exactly, it might have been Vans, Converse SG, or possibly Levis with skateboarding, but this one was different. It was a amateur video montage of a kid skateboarding. Low and behold it’s Schaeffer McLean, the same kid form the janky indoor ramp video. I watched the whole thing (Well 99%) waiting for the product placement or a call to action but it never came. The web link associated with the video took me to Schaeffer’s Youtube user page, which is written in the third person, so one has to assume it’s run by his parents. Those video ads aren’t free, someone has to pay for them. So what is he selling? There are two possibilities, either he’s trying to drive traffic to the user channel and generate revenue through inline ad views, or he’s looking for sponsorship opportunities. It might just be the first paid “Sponsor Me” advertisement, but how many team managers are scouring YouTube for unsolicited new team members? I suppose there is a third less cynical option. Maybe the parents just want to (pay to) share their child’s love of skateboarding with the world.

Dead at 65, original drummer and producer for the Ramones. Legs McNeil of Punk Magazine and co-author of Please Kill Me remembers Tommy and the brudders in Spin Magazine.

[Source: New York Times]

At first, maybe only marginally skateboard related, but upon closer inspection, this would be like the orthopedic shoes and braces that Forest Gump wore, effectively making it impossible to push mongo. Mongo-bashing aside, here’s the scoop. In 2008 Tomáš Moravec modified a pallet in Bratislava, Slovakia to run on the tram tracks. Unfortunately there’s no close up of his wheel setup. (UPDATE: Close up added) We’ve got plenty of light rail and wood pallets in Portland, I’m just saying…

[Source: For the Win via Reddit]

The Daily Mail has photos of a backyard skatepark allegedly built on the property of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Boy do I hate the Daily Mail, they’re always blowing out spots. I’m definitely not telling them about the next pool I find. I know these guys are absurdly rich but this seems like overkill, considering their kids are’t likely to progress to a point where they’re able make use of things like a cradle. What I mean is that it’s hard to progress in the isolation those kids are likely to be skating in. Am I off base here? It looks pretty nice though. Maybe they’ll be hiring pro skaters as tutors. If not, I here GVK is available. Someone out there knows who built this. Is it you?