It’s funny how this column comes together. It’s different every month. Last month for example it took me about 3 weeks to put it all together. I’d do one section, wait to get motivated for a week, force myself to do a few decks, then come back a few days later and do some more. But some months like this one everything just flows and I crank out the whole thing in a couple of days. It feels much better this way; you get in a flow and just ride it out. Hours go by without noticing it. It’s good. Hopefully you guys enjoy them all, but this one feels extra special somehow. Of course the decks that get featured have a lot to do with that too. It’s tough to find new stuff to say when you’re featuring a Hawk birdclaw for the 50th time. So you might notice that there are no Hawks, no Natas and no McGill decks featured this month. That was half by chance and half by choice. I hope you don’t miss them!

Check Out eBay Watch: January 2010.

In Tony Hawk’s book Occupation: Skateboarder he mentions that when his very first pro model was released in 1982 it wasn’t exactly a top seller. Hell, if anything, it was a bottom dweller. To add insult to injury the market for skateboards back then was nonexistent at best, so to not have a remotely popular model translated to mere pennies on the royalty dollar—more precisely, 85 cents, the whopping sum total of which Tony claimed to represent one of his earliest royalty check payments as a paid professional skateboarder.

A while back we had a Shot of the Week taken in a living room bowl known as the Blue Tile Lounge. It’s located in Charleston South Carolina, which is my new favorite part o f the country, even though I haven’t been there in about 20 years. I dunno, it seems like something is brewing down there. If you’re not moving to Oregon to skate, consider South Carolina. Steve Aycock, the photographer, put together a short interview with the proprietors, which I’m liberally sprinkling with his photos.

Slovenian reader Urban Kravos sent in a link to his web site where among other things like stencil art, he’s got a gallery of his apartment that is a work in progress making sure his girlfriend never asks to move in with him. (Sorry, Urban, couldn’t resist!) Kravos is an architect by trade but has been skating since age 7, and decided to surround himself with what he loves.

I’ve been also making skateboards for my hobby since 1999, first from birch plywood and about two years ago I started with vacuum technic. I’ve seen that you already found two of my friends from Slovenia, Ali Jusovic and Konan. The skateboard scene here is really small compared to the states, and everybody knows each other, and of course we all skate together when we find time…For us it is the best scene in the world, but I guess everybody thinks so about their skate surroundings. The best thing is, that we don’t actually have any good public skateparks, except that shity modular wood year 1995 type, but some riders are really good and creative, just look at Almir…And I actually don’t know anybody, that would like to be a professional skateboarder, we just take for what it is meant to be, FUN. We do other things to make a living and enjoy skateboarding just like it was, when we were kids. For me it is some sort of meditation, when I want some peace from eveyday life.

The static web site is… fairly static, but his blog gets updated more regularly.

Well that’s what I get for sitting on my hands. I had planned a little photo feature of the D.I.Y. project known as Wasteland, courtesy of Steve Aycock, but before I got around to it, the property owners demolished the spot. The Charleston City Paper has an article on how it all went down. Check out Steve’s (AKA SCphotog) Wasteland flickr stream for a wide range of shots including construction in progress.

Don’t forget to check out the full frame shot of Corey Dowds as Shot of the Week.

The Dept. will be hosting the ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE Contest Sunday Feb. 14th. Mike and Justin over at Shrunken Head Skateboards are the masterminds behind this unique event that promises to be a departure from any contest you’ve experienced in the past. All your favorites in LOCAL PORTLAND SKATEBOARDING will be representing. Face it, you more than likely don’t have a valentine so there should be no good reason you don’t check this out. For more info hit up those guys at shrunkenheadskateboards.com.

Well shave our heads bald and put on a yellow t-shirt with a crooked black stripe. We feel like Charlie Brown becasue we weren’t even invited.

I was at an open house for a kindergarden earlier this week and they were talking about their progress in attaining International Baccalaureate certification, which necessitated this fabulous graphic demonstrating a balanced approach to education.

Waiter enters stage left and approaches the center table.

Waiter: I believe this is the Bridgestone tire commercial with a skateboarder looping a full pipe that we spoke of earlier.

Male Patron: Yes, but this is obviously made from upside down footage flipped over and merged with another shot.

Female Patron: The give away is the reflection on the ceiling. I want to speak to the manager.

When he’s not busy skating, Jason Greene makes things out of old skateboards. Yeah, so does your uncle, my neighbor, and my sister’s dog, but I’ve never seen a slingshot made from a skateboard. Tops, maybe, but not a slingshot. Chairs, yes, but made from several and not one small sized for a little future ripper. I wish I would have thought of that one for my kids. Actually, my two year old might still fit on that. Check it out on Etsy.

I think we’ve mentioned a few rocket powered skateboards before, and now we’re giving you the tools to do it yourself. OK, not giving you the tools, you need to buy the book. Aside from skateboards, author Dan Pollino is involved in amateur rocketry with engines on a much powerful scale. He’ll teach you how to make those rockets too, which is good because quite frankly, the engines on the skateboard don’t look nearly as impressive on video as they do in the stills. But then again, who want’s to stand on top of a notoriously unstable explosive? Might as well make it somewhat, uh, safe.

– Thanks to Eric Shea for the tip.