This D.I.Y. spot in SE Portland only lasted a couple of weeks. The spot had been home to a wooden bench made by skaters for at least a year before this bank went up. The neighborhood reaction was positive, but obviously someone in the City of Portland wasn’t impressed. The builders opted for the “it’s better to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission” tactic, but it didn’t work out, obviously. I applaud the effort, but in this case the location was too ostentatious. Choose your renegade spots wisely kids. In a situation like this (a well used public park, already frequented by skaters) it would be advisable to get it sanctioned first. Write up a nice proposal. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but use a spell checker. Talk about the benefits and address negative concerns. Spin it as a community project. Get a petition signed by neighbors and park users, than take all this to the Parks department. The fact that you aren’t asking for money might help your chances. Stress the small overall size of the obstacle and minimal impact on the surroundings. Good luck! Thanks to… I’m not telling. That kid in the green shirt is…

Ryan Hass sent in shots of his setup and some boards he’s been screenprinting with the help of our DIY skateboard screenprinting tutorials. Oaq Wood is the name of the game. The last board pictured is a benefit board for BCSA.

It’s been about a year since we checked in on the Missouri DIY bowl called Herman’s Hole. There’s a web site called Skatelouis that has a nice read on the history of the project, as well as info on 1st anniversary party being held May 10th. Herman’s Hole has a MySpace page, and the Showmepools blog has some constructions pics as well. Stick around after the jump to watch the video. – Thanks to Tim Jamison and Bob Mechtly for the tip.

Sometimes I get depressed about all the petty bickering that goes on here concerning transition and street plazas, skateboard collecting, and whatever nonproductive mudslinging that surrounds a site with a name like Skate and Annoy. On other days I am pleasantly surprised with emails from people who have actually found the site useful and inspiring. Kyle Pratt of Team Nasty sent in some pictures after getting stoked by our DIY tutorial on screenprinting for skateboards. I’ve gotten quite a few responses from the articles, but rarely any pictures. Send in your pics if you actually follow any of our advice, and I’ll put them up. If you’re in the Morrisville, PA area, keep an eye out for these Team Nasty riders.

Here’s my video wrap up of our mini tour of southern Oregon skateparks that I made with Rich and MC on the occasion of Matt Kline’s BBQ session fundraiser for his bowl in Grants Pass Oregon. With apologies to Steve Grover, because I wouldn’t have brought my video camera if he hadn’t called me up and told me to shoot some “Spring Break” footage. When I lost the photos from this trip I was only able to avoid completely losing my mental health by the calming realization that I at least had some fun video footage. My apologies to the park locals who cooperated for the still photos. Chances are Rich might have some of you if you were in Winston, Matt’s Bowl, Myrtle Creek or Harrisburg. Yes, I am accepting donations towards a steadicam…

I had four different angles I was going to approach this from, but I couldn’t decide: 1 – When some men reach a certain age, they start to think about all the things they wanted in their youth, things that they equated with success in one’s life. For some men, it may be owning a Cadillac, or sailboat, or a house in a particular neighborhood… 2 – I hopped my neighbors fence last night, and that poser was digging a hole for a bowl he is supposedly going to build. He’s such a kook that I decided to blow it out before its even close to being finished… 3 – I went over to Mark’s house to take a picture of his hole. While I was there, I decided to see what he was digging in his back yard… 4 – A lot of people talk about what they are going to do all the time. Some people decide get up off the couch and actually do it…. Congratulations to MC for taking the plunge for his own backyard DIY concrete bowl! Expect to see many comics about the availability of shovel operators being inversely proportional to the amount of…

This week’s Shot of the Week is from Rich Burton’s fully functioning memory card. It’s Addikt Skateboards rider Shane Bell, a half hour or so before he broke his leg at Matt’s Bowl benefit BBQ in Grants Pass, Or. This is a cropped version of Rich’s shot. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

Road Trip! Matt Klein is throwing a party as a fundraiser for the expansion of his backyard skate oasis. We rode through there nine months ago on a skate trip. Matt is a great guy and the bowl is rad! I can’t wait check out his new additions. coincidentally there are a couple of new skateparks open down that way – Myrtle Creek and Winston. More BBQ details after the jump.

From the police blotter of the Salinas Californian, an item of interest. I wish they had photos. I wonder why we never hear about interior decorators breaking into abandoned buildings and fixing the place up: …a few throw pillows, some nice curtains…

It’s no big secret how skateboards are made anymore. Everybody knows that Chinese fairies magic them out from the woodland lairs of ancient dragons, but some people are still making them locally. Here’s a video from a French company called Rekiem. The basics are the same, but everyone does it slightly different. For instance, the guys (garcons?) at Rekiem are setting up some of their decks with the graphics already screened, as well as using the pad printing process (basically a big stamp) for the top layer. Check it out. [Source: Condense]