Randy has asked me to post stuff to Skate and Annoy for a while, and I’ve always been a big fan, so I figured it was about time we get started. So, he said why not start off with an introduction. Well, who the Fuck is Jim Gray? If you care, I’m a guy who was sitting on the deck watching when Tony Hawk and Christian Hosoi win contests and I got 29th and was stoked to get a good seat on the deck to watch the finals. I’m the guy who thought it would be really lame and confusing if skateboarding had 500 pro models instead of 50, and I think it is, maybe you think it’s awesome. I am  the kook who showed up in white plaid shorts and blue shoes to the black clothing only backyard pool party. I’m loved, I’m hated, I’m everything in between, but like you I have an opinion, and for some unknown reason, Randy thought it would be fun to have me rattle mine off now and then here on S&A. My daddy always told me opinions are like Assholes, everyone has one, some just stink more than others…… So, whether you  love…

Down in the basement! Although if this was in my basement it would be a different story. Check out this incredibly tight (transitioned) mini bowl in Nate Latimer’s basement.

Betonhausen is A D.I.Y. spot in Berlin funded by c-list energy drink. (But really, is there anything as an grade A energy drink?) It has an outdoor part that looks like it served as the concrete college. Check it out. They’ve added an indoor part as well, 3 videos after the jump. The best video in the series is part two, which features the construction, including huge chunks of styrofoam sculpted in place and used instead of fill dirt.

Pretty sure I’ve used that one (here) before. This is a pleasing form for a skateboard rack. I have to imagine it feels nice let those wheels down in that little cradle. The stress point at the mounting holes looks fragile. Check it out on Instructables. I use a chunk of 2×4 with two dowel rods inset at an angle.

Over a year ago MC drew a comic that mentioned the possibility of the backyard ledge spot. Domi Gammon had already built one in his… well, it’s his parent’s house and it looks like the front yard, actually. He built it so he’d have someplace to skate when he visited his parents. Looks super solid.

Contest, Fundraiser, BBQ at Brooklyn Street Skate Spot this Saturday, December 29th.

This week’s Shot of the Week features Larry Martin circa ’88 or ’89 out in the Mojave desert. There were better “skate shots” to pick from his batch, but I wanted to showcase the ramp and not necessarily the action or the photo. Here’s a little more on the subject from Larry: I built this ramp on poached land in the Mojave desert near Lancaster, Ca. around 88… I had moved there with my wife after living in Ventura/Fillmore Ca. all my life. There wasn’t many ramps in the Antelope Valley at that time. The Palmdale one from the “Great Desert Ramp Battle” was toast. So, I made some new street/ditch skater friends and enlisted them in my idea to just build a halfpipe in the desert for anyone/evryone, and hopefully the police would leave us alone. They did, and we had it for about a year/half before the High School party crowd ruined it. We cut the templates with a jig, but the rest was all done without power tools. The wood of course was scavenged. This was during the savings and loan scandal, and huge housing projects were closed everywhere in the valley. Signs were just the easiest,…

Brooklyn Street Skate Spot – Benefit / Contest / BBQ / Meeting of the minds…. on Saturday December 15th. Hope the weather holds out. Sponsored by no less than three local PDX skate shops Cal Skate, Shrunken Head, and Rip City. Maybe there will be a wrestling match in the cage at the top of the stairs too. EVENT POSTPONED

Why not make a simple longboard? It might do you some good to broaden your horizons a little. How’s yours coming MC? [Source: Make Projects]

… this is Doc Skaterock a.k.a. Flow writing from Germany. Kilwag asked me, if I wanted to be an author for sna, and hell yeah, I want to be a part of that site. What an honor, thank you Kilwag!! So what am I going to write here about? Skaterock? Yes! Skatesploitation? Yes! And for sure some other trash, too. We will see. For those who don´t know me so far, I´ve been writing about my passion Skaterock for more than one and a half decade now, starting with my own fanzine in 1996 (simply called “Skaterock”) and then writing and photographing for the German skatemag Boardstein from the beginning (2000) till the end of it (2008 or was it 2009?). This year I finished and self-published my book about what I dared to call “Vintage Skaterock”, the skateboard music that was performed and recorded before the term “Skaterock” was officially created. I hope you are also interested in that kinda stuff. Please fell free to comment, sent tips, leave feedback, give away your record collection…. … enjoy life! yours sincerely Dr. Skaterock