Things get back to normal this month. Bargain Section? Check. Assorted Crap? Check. 5,000 words? Check. Lots of great looking decks and some surprises? Checkmate. But before we get to the meat I want to look at a couple of things that left me amazed and disgusted in November.

Ride the Giant is a big downhill event in Alberta, Canada that looks pretty fun except for the ICP soundtrack. PDXDownhill went to the event and put together a nice video, with the exception of the juggalo soundtrack. Did I mention how much I loathe ICP, even in an ironic context? – Thanks to JP for the tip.

The Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark are trying to raise money for a free public skatepark. One of the things they’ve organized is an entry into the Pepsi Refresh project, a very clever public relations scheme that still ultimately does do a lot of good for the public. Thing is, they don’t just give it away to anyone, they put it to a vote. What I want you to do is visit the project page and vote, it won’t cost you a nickel, and they’ve got a real chance to win. They’re ranked 16th right now. Andy MacDonald hailed from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and he graciously appeared in the projects YouTube video. Those other guys look familiar too… Check it out after the jump., but don’t forget to vote! I think you can vote once a day in December. (That being said, 30k to finalize a skatepark design? You guys need to find a good design/build firm to comp that design fee. Our readers can recommend a few…

Sure, you may be the Cara Beth Burnside of fingerboarding, but you still can’t get anyone to pay attention to anything besides your tits. I’m sorry. I tried to think of a more delicate way to put this, but I just couldn’t.

I ran into Egbert on the way out of Epic on Saturday. He was carrying a big cooler in through the front door. I asked him what it was for and he said “we’re gonna make sandwiches” like it was something everybody does at a skatepark. In reality, he had some sort of skit planned for this X-mas video, but Thomas NIchols had a freak accident and ended up breaking his arm after a flat bar mishap. Grover keeps trying to get me to ride that thing too. I’m glad I ignored him. Watch the Merde-ee Christmas vid after the jump, plus bonus footage of Nichols’ part in another vid for Auviq.

This is from a February, 1980 National Geographic article on the Apache Indian Reserve. Genius. Simple, yet effective. Pure. Enlarge-o-rama. – Thanks to Ryan Mann for the tip.

This installment of Time Lapse Theater is from the Bennett Project, courtesy of Conspiracy Skateboards and featuring the Team Pain crew. – Thanks to G.J. for the tip.

It’s the third annual Skate Like a Girl Wheels of Fortune at the Skatebarn in Renton, WA. Skate Like A Girl’s 3rd annual Wheels of Fortune girls skate contest will be going off on Sunday December 19th at Skatebarn (2900 Lind Ave SW, Renton, WA) just outside of Seattle, so MARK YOUR CALENDERS! We would love to see a ton of ladies from Portland make it out for this fun-filled day with a beginner, intermediate, and pro level ladies only competition/jam. TONS of prizes (and a cash purse for the Pro category), and lots of new skate friends to meet. This event brings out gals from all over the country including some of our Canadian neighbors up north and some X Games names like Amy Caron, Vanessa Torres and Tamara Drybrough. It’s an event NOT TO BE MISSED! More info to come on the event as the date draws nearer. Flyer and videos from the previous two years after the jump.

More tarp surfing, this time from the folks at the Mountain Dew ad agency. I haven’t actually seen this one on the air, but a few months ago there was an iPhone ad that featured an Iphone (duh!) playing a video of tarp surfing. Mountain Dew takes it to the next level by employing the largest tarp to date and combining it with a large bank in a ditch. – Thanks to Boy Ipoh for tip.

The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest was a 1986 retread of the original 60’s version of the show. Episode 16 of season 2 was titled Other Space and features hoverboard action. In the words of Grover, who unearthed this footage, “They hover the shit out of this episode.”