This is a little old, and a little odd. There are already a few social apps and web sites out there for sharing skate spots and footage, and a couple for playing S.K.A.T.E., But the Nike SB App rolls them all into one and then some, giving new meaning to the term “tech skater.” Nyuk nyuk nyuk… The tagline is “Connect. Progress. Respect.” The app lets you play the game of S.K.A.T.E. worldwide, connect with other users, and accept challenges:

Step up to new challenges issued by Nike SB and our pro team to help you keep progressing. Share your footage and have the chance to get noticed by Nike SB, our team, and many more!

Then there’s something called a “trick tree”

Lose yourself in skateboarding’s endless creative process with our extensive Trick Tree, further inspiring you to learn and expand your skills. Watch the pros demonstrate with new filming and viewing techniques, and help expand the Trick Tree with your own footage.

The whole thing sounds marginally acceptable until you get to the point where you get to earn virtual badges, which is a little bit too much in the Dora the Explorer vein for me. The video promo features a remix of a Cocteau Twins song, so I’m not sure who this is aimed at, but it’s slick. That’s for sure. If you’re on an iOS device you can download it free from the App store. Imagine showing some kid in the 70’s how one day, other kids would be skateboarding, watching videos and entering contests with their phones. Actually, I think they showed this in the claymation scene of Skateboard Madness…

Rebelscum.com reports from the Agenda trade show that Santa Cruz is releasing some licensed Star Wars skateboards. It looks like some of them come packaged like little action figures. Santa Cruz will put out a skateboard with anything and everything on it. As weak as the idea of a Star Wars skateboard is, I really like the replica action figure packaging. That’s pretty good attention to detail. Check it out after the jump, as well as a Skate and Annoy exclusive insider pic of the limited edition, super technical slalom deck that will likely cost an arm and a leg.

This incredible Lego set (71006 – The Simpsons House) comes out in Februrary. Sure, it’s got Bart Simpson on a skateboard and a quarter pipe, but really this is just an excuse to post about Lego again. I just picked up the Everstorm robotic set, err.. for my kids. Haven’t had time to start it up yet. This Simpsons set looks pretty damned cool though, although Bart has droopy eyes for some reason. As expensive as it is ($199), I’m glad this isn’t some crappy Kre-o set. Those bricks are substandard grade ABS plastic with lousy manufacturing tolerances. Lego bricks “stick” for years while you’re lucky if a Kre-o bricks stays in place after a week. More photos at Gizmodo or on the Lego Facebook page. As of this time, there’s no mention of it on Lego.com. I can’t believe they don’t have a “news” section on their web site. I’m starting the timer now… one of the promo photos features Bart skitching behind the family car, and all that without a helmet too. Cue public outrage… now.

I wasn’t sure what this was supposed to be, possibly some sort of a sickly mole or something. But from behind it looks like a rabbit. I thought it was old at first, but it turns out it came out in 2011 as a kids meal toy at Burger King in conduction wight the movie Hop, so this is E.B..

Zac Efron skateboarding in a grocery store because he is just that desperate for more media attention. From the looks of his footwear, he must be on break from shooting a mummy movie. That’s a repro of a vintage skateboard that could probably be identified by one very bored S&A reader. US Weekly photo by Splash News.

– Thanks to Mrs. Kilwag for the tip.

This fake Kryptonics complete is even less well known than the first Kryptonics bootleg that I posted on S&A.  I had to check AOS  to find out that the original graphic came from a 1989 team deck, called ‘Footprint’. Also, I have never seen bootlegs with this shape and coloured grip. Kryptonics started to make crappy boards near the end of the 90s (I think around ’97), but this is definitely a bootleg, since the seller confirmed that he got it when he was a kid in the 80’s. Price: £0,99 on Gumtree!

Thanks to Nicola Rushent for the pictures.

I swear that’s not the plan for 2014, it’s just a coincidence. Spotted at a Vans store in the mall. The Vans, shoe shaped skateboard, complete with top and bottom graphics, including waffle sole.

5 years ago I found a weird looking board on Ebay. The wacky truck configuration and the fact that it was a promotional board for an auto parts manufacturer made me save the pictures. I just recently found an ad for Hooker Headers in the May, 1976 issue of Hot Rod that had a order form for the Hooker Headers skateboard, and amazingly enough, I was able to find those old pictures among the flotsam on my hard drive. It’s got a metal plate between the trucks, similar to the Flex-trol, but it also adds the ability to change your wheelbase on the fly. Hooker was positioning this as the “ultimate suspension system” for skateboards. Was it a way to build brand loyalty for kids to young to drive yet? I can’t imagine they had a longterm business model that involved skateboarding. Still, it was too expensive of a setup (manufacturing wise) to be purely promotional, especially considering that they offered three boards in two colors as well as the suspension system in two different configurations. Maybe someone at Hooker had a kid who skated. The brand is still around but it looks like it has been absorbed by Holley. You have to wonder if drag racer Bill Jenkins was pleased with having to share his ad space with a child’s toy. He received the nickname “The Grump” from his comrades on the track due to his no-nonsense attitude and general avoidance of chit-chatting with fellow racers.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader zeno01 and some scans from Matthijs we have a little more info on the origins of this board. See the Concrete Wave interview with Steve Alba after the advert.

UPDATE: Reader pics of a Hooker skateboard here.

Vintage 80’s Grin and Bear It comic, courtesy of Paul Graf. Too bad the skateboard is mostly out of frame.

Did you get one of these for x-mas? If so, you are one happy, radical dude.