There was some brouhaha about virtual reality skating on the Viet Nam Veteran’s memorial in Tony Hawks Project 8. I can’t be sure about reactions to skating on the monument to fallen defenders in what the locals call the Homeland War in Croatia. Of course, it’s a different kind of memorial. The Wall is more like a giant tombstone, while this one is more of an undefined usable public space. I mean, you wouldn’t get mad at that little kid for laying on it, so skating on it isn’t that far of a stretch. Reminds me of a monument to capitalism in Michigan. More pictures at Big Creative Industries. – Thanks to Urban for the tip.

Call me old fashioned, but friend requests on FaceBook still kind of freak me out when I don’t have any idea who the person is. I always end up scoping out the person to make sure it’s skateboard related. I checked out Michel Skart Poulin and found some really cool cabinets he made by applying fancy veneers to a garden variety skateboards. More pictures at No Damn Good Skate outta Montreal. Congratulations, by the way. You can see some in person at Monde Ruelle gallery in Montreal.

This week’s shot of the week is a Pete Lewis photo of Dave Fitzpatrick hitting the love seat at Gabriel Park, frontside no less. As Dave Duncan would say (over and over and over again) that is no joke. I have to push like a mofo and heave myself over that thing, by which time I’ve lost all sense of poise and balance to invariable end up bailing on my backside attempts. Kudos, Fitz. Thanks to the revitalized Frontside Rock and Roll Review for the pic. Check out the Shot of the Week.

There are a few architectural relics left standing from the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York, but unfortunately the Kodak Pavilion isn’t one of them. This would have been at or near the height of the skateboard craze in the 60’s, so it;s possible a few pioneering street skaters may have gotten away with hitting the tranny. – Thanks to Bill Helene for the tip.

Bob Biniak died from complications related to a heart attack last Thursday. Top left photo courtesy of Glen E. Friedman. Board photo from Disposable. I might have to start reading my Google Alerts again.

Never fails. In the months to follow the publication of Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art there were a number of decks that I’d failed to find after years of searching that suddenly surfaced out of the dusty blue. Fortunately, I was able to go back and make a few of these key additions with subsequent reprints, but this time around with The Disposable Skateboard Bible there will be no such editorial shenanigans (well, aside from the one previously noted here).

For being labeled (one of) the so-called dark ages of skateboarding, the early 90’s saw the realease of some good skate videos. I had never seen the 1991 Life skateboards video titled “A Soldier’s Story,” but I realized it was sitting in a grocery bag of old videos GVK picked up at a yard sale or something. After watching this Sean Sheffy part I was so stoked I dug it up and popped it in the VCR. The copy I have has issues with the soundtrack, but it’s pretty strong video. My favorite part is still the Sean Sheffey bit, and at 17 years old, he was pretty impressive. Look for a mid air revert at about the 1:30 mark. I think that’s the first time I ever saw that move on a skateboard. On a snowboard with bindings a thousand times, but not on a skateboard. I hope the re-issue thing is going well for him. (Note: Mumble Link removed, original site is gone and appears to be malware now.) [Source: Fairways and Flips ]

The late 70’s gave birth to the plexiglass skateboard. They were fashion over function, more heavy but cool looking. I always wanted one. Somebody over at Pleasant Home made their own. There are no instructions, but I imagine it’s simple enough. Cut it out of thick plexiglass and heat up the tail with a torch and bend it over a pipe. My plexiglass working knowledge is limited to something I saw on TV once, or imagined I did, so take it with a grain of salt. I do know you need a extra fine tooth saw blade to cut it. I’m not sure how that works with a jigsaw though. The old plexiglass board I remember appeared to be molded rather than cut from a solid sheet. Maybe they weren’t technically plexiglass. I wonder if this board is too flexible. Come on Pleasant Home, let’s have a tutorial. That kicktail needs help.

The Wall Street Journal Online has a story about skateboard art, or more aptly, art on skateboards. Gotta give them props for the title “Skateboards Now Hang in Galleries, But Are They Wheelie Art?” Are they wheelie art? Good one. Not so much on the subtitle: “Painters Give Old Toys New Tricks—Teen Angst, Nude Portraits, Broken Bones.” Check out the Wall Street Journal for the article and accompanying video. – Thanks to Brian Susk for the tip.

I found this great flyer somewhere on the Interwebs™, but my spotlight comments got wiped out so I can’t credit the source. I’m sorry, so sorry… that I was, such a fool. I think this is from the early 70’s. UPDATE: Sidewalk Surfer is online. The web site says they’ve been in business since 1977