Before I could congratulate MC on his 100th comic, he up and posted number 101. Who wants to see a hundred H.O.M.O.S.? Come on, it’s OK. You can admit it. We won’t judge you. What started out as a mere whim has become an obsession. Looking back at some of the early comics is like looking at the old Peanuts cartoons where all the characters are distorted looking. Oh wait, that’s because he has on occasion taken artistic liberties with a certain Charles E. Brown. Check it out.

I’ve seen pics of this spot in the mags over the years, and while they may have said Big O in some of the captions, they pretty much never said where the damn thing was, which is Montreal. It’s one of the more iconic skate spots, that’s for sure, especially since it’s not designed for skateboarding. Every time a picture would turn up I’d be surprised that it was still around and hadn’t been skate-stopped. Turns out it was going to be destroyed, but now it lives. MudScout Media is publishing a book about it called Pipe Fiends. If you are in Montreal on Dec. 15 you can go to the book launch from 8-12 pm at NEST (3673 St-Dominique, Montreal). If you are looking for more info, the Montreal Mirror has an article, SaveThePipe appears to be the de facto web presence, and Parfond.com currently has 62 (!) images in a gallery dedicated to the spot. Stop and think about the fact that such a small spot is important enough and has been around long enough to merit having it’s own book. Pretty amazing. Photo credits: The Color images are from MudScout and the b&w are from Parfond.com.

The ‘Skate To School’ auction for The Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship has 14 custom decks available for bidding until December 13th. Signed decks include: Dave Chappelle, Former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier, Ray Barbee, Shane MacGowan, as well as original painted decks by renowned skate artists. The The Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship honors the memory of the 15 year old Patrick Kerr,  a LOVE Park activist who was killed on his skateboard by a hit and run truck after LOVE was closed to skaters. Check out the auction which ends December 13. I’ve heard that Chappelle skates. I wonder if he brought his stick with him when he went to South Africa.

This is a great shot. Beer drinking while skating a pool… but then factor in the bottle. The legendary Thrasher photog and Drunk Injun, MoFo is selling some prints like this 1983 shot of Jay Alabamy at Doris’ Pool. The prices are reasonable, plus it’s history. This is also a good place to mention his massive 28 page feature in the new issue (Vol. 5 No. 3,) of Concrete Wave. Six of these pages are available for download from the Concrete Wave web site. If the kiddies don’t know who he is, that’s a good place to start.

Paul Smith is a UK designer. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t skate. His web site offers a really expensive limited edition skateboard that seems to be identical in every way to the non limited edition model except it costs an extra $300. Paul Smith isn’t the first designer, or the first Paul to get into limited edition skateboards.

We can debate the merits of culture if we want, but would this still be art if it was on a new school popsicle stick or a Chinese blank? No nosebone, no art? Would a lapper have made this a more complete piece? I don’t know. What is perfectly clear however, is that there is a designer named Hervé Matejewski who made this Toile de Jouy (Work of Joy?) skateboard and another gal named D, or Kristina or Lena who likes Hervé’s work. I can’t tell who the author is, the

Check out this hand painted skateboard made to look like a band aid. Another shot here. I’m surprised this hasn’t been done before as a commercial release. Looks good, but I wouldn’t want to tempt fate.

Here’s how it works: Famous skaters who are artists will make art (not love) on plaster casts of famous female skaters. Then you buy these artworks in an auction and the money goes to the Keep A Breast Foundation to raise money and awareness of breast cancer. Regardless of your sexual orientation, you are probably thinking “Sure, I like breasts and I’d like to do my part, but what am I going to do with a life size bust cast?” And somewhere the last work-safe content filter just added Skate and Annoy to their blacklist.

The October 13, 2006 Seattle Post Intelligencer reports in an article titled “Artists bring a fresh expression to skateboarding in ‘Pushin’ 5′ exhibit”: There was a time when Charles Peterson wasn’t afraid to send himself sailing down the sidewalk, four small wheels and a wooden plank beneath his feet… But these days, at 42, the renowned Seattle photographer no longer slips the skateboard beneath his feet. After all, the body doesn’t bounce like it used to. And when bones break, it means something — especially for a man who relies on unscathed arms and wrists and hands and fingers to go about making his art… “Practicing yoga is more my speed these days,” he said.

The email came to me in German, which I can’t read. We cover stuff from the U.K., so why not? Looks like there is a Claus Grabke retrospective in a traveling skateboarding art show. This one is in Stuttgart Germany, or I don’t know my geography. I like art. I like Claus Grabke. There was a really good interview with him in issue 57 of Juice magazine, including an interesting bit on his short stint with Powell, and how Peralta kept trying to mentor him, with Claus talking about how he already had a father and didn’t need another one.