I was at a children’s birthday party (you know, looking for dates) that was outside. I noticed one of the skate stoppers was a little loose, so as I sat there and made polite small talk I just kept wiggling. After I got it home I rummaged through a pile of allen wrenches I had left over from assorted trips to Ikea. It turns out I had a handful of them that were the right size. I tried to rig up a drill to make a small hole in the tip to accommodate the nipple (Hee hee!) but I couldn’t get it to work. All my bits were already chewed up and I couldn’t make a purchase in the small end. Somewhere, someone i China is manufacturing theses modified allen wrenches. Finding them on the internet is like looking for a needle in a haystack . I may give it another go with a new drill bit. Until then, Enlarge-o-rama.

The City of Poway has temporarily closed the skatepark due to “turnstyle construction” which is a weasel’s way of getting around the fact that they are installing biometric fingerprint ID scans as way restrict park usage for certain age groups during select times and of course “cut down on vandalism.” The scanner has a price tag of $5,700, but who knows what it will cost in red tape and overhead in the future. And what is the human cost? WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN. Oh my god, I think I’m going to be sick. We’ll sink with California, when it falls into the sea. See SIgn On San Diego for the full, sad tale.

– Thanks to Tito for the tip.

Spanish songs in Andalucia, sing of tight transitions in expensive private residential housing developments, designed by A-cero. Spanish bombs, yo te quiero infinito. Sotogrande!

[Source: CoolBoom] – Thanks to Urban for the tip.

I just got back from a trip to visit the guys at FELEM in Japan who are a Japanese skateboard distributor out in the Sashima County of Japan. It’s a 1 hour train ride on the Shonen-Shinjuku Line from Central Tokyo (Shinjuku) out into the middle of the Japanese Country.

Yeah, the concrete is smooth, but there’s a frog in the coping. It’s been about a year since we first posted on Herman’s Hole. The second skate jam campout at the Hole is May 7th & 8th… in MIssouri!

Here’s a pretty cool ad from Converse. It looks much better larger, on Ads of the World. Never actually seen it in a magazine. This isn’t even an add for Converse Skateboarding. Anybody that skates has probably worn Chuck Taylors at one point or another.

I’ve milked this single Diesel Fuel ramp shot to death now, but I think it’s gone now that Klutch and Jessamyn Patterson painted a mural on part of it. The piece is 35″ x 90″ and will be raffled at the show opening with $1 tickets. The winner will be announced at 9 PM.

Opening Friday, April 9, 2010 from 7-10 PM
Someone Gallery
2718 SW Kelly Avenue
Portland, OR

Music by Cars And Trains at 8PM and DJ monkeytek all night.

On Friday April 9th the HVW8 Art + Design Gallery will be hosting the Heel Bruise book launch for the last batch of Disaster zines. Celebrating its origins in counter culture youth movements and DIY bookmaking, the Disaster zine highlights the art of Lance Mountain, Thomas Yu, and SkyPage. The final edition comes signed and numbered with a Disaster zine tee shirt. Also on display will be a selection of new works from the three contributing artists, and sounds courtesy of Ras Dynamite (aka Lance C. Mountain).

HVW8 Production House
Art + Design Gallery
661 N Spaulding Ave
Los Angeles, Ca 90036

The Vodafone headquarters in Porto, Portugal, as seen in SpaceInvading.

– Thanks to Skate D for the tip.