Episode 21 of season 20 of the Simpsons, titled “Coming to Homerica” aired last Sunday night. I didn’t catch it, but fortunately Jake Ferranti, AKA Jakeandannoy tipped me off. About 10 minutes into the episode on Norwegian immigrant paranoia, Bart and Milhouse encounter some Ogdenville skaters of Norwegian descent. Jake thought this might have been a tip of the hat to Per Welinder, but Per is from Sweden, so who knows. Maybe it was a nod to the European ski jumpers and not freestylers.

Here’s a couple photos from the camera phone of Jason Schomaker. It’s a 100% naturally occurring, totally organic skate stopper, and it’s not what you think. Find out what it is after the jump.

Long distance skateboard treks for causes and world records are popular these days. I remember someone in the 80’s tackled the cross-USA skate in Thrasher. There have been guys in Australia, The UK, and another guy who spread his out over different countries. In a handful of days Serge Berig will begin skating from Annapolis, Maryland to San Francisco, California in a partnership with the American Breast Cancer Foundation to promote awareness of breast cancer, and as an aside, environmentally friendly transportation modes. Details at the official blog or catch the flyer after the jump.

I know this is a long shot, but has anyone heard the rumor that people are skating in the pools of homes that are in foreclosure? This is a close up of a shot of Broken Magazine editor Nick Gates taken in San Clemente, California, as shot by Peanut. Issue #9 of Broken is available for download. Yes, I’m going to make you click on through to see the full frame shot. Check out the Shot of the Week.

We love to help out our less fortunate neighbors in such skateboard repressive states as, uh, California? From the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC): As many of you know, IASC has been working tirelessly for many years to change the laws affecting California’s public skateparks.  We were previously able to extend the bill which protects public skateparks, but in doing so, had to make some concessions in the bill. Recently IASC has been working to remove the outdated clause under which skateparks must require elbow and knee pads to be worn while skating in public skateparks. That’s right, according to state law, you must wear elbow and knee pads at public skateparks. I know thi law isn’t enforced everywhere, but it still needs to go. Apparently the repeal has passed the State Assembly 76-0, which is stellar news, but it still has to pass through the senate. If you live in California and want to find out how how to help the effort, visit the IASC site for details. However, If you want some super stylish kneepads, check out these licensed Speed Racer knee pads with clear caps that double as Speed’s visor. Pretty cool actually, especially in combination…

Yo, loyal viewers. Here is just the opposite of the big pool party (Protec) in California, The second Burnside non-test. No stars, no free guitars, just local skate studs and mall graders. This thing really felt like some sort of family reunion. Even though I do not ride there that much anymore, people are always welcoming. I was only there for about a half hour so I am sure I missed a ton of good footage, but here is what I captured. P.S. What is Q’s secret for such a strong looking body?

There had been rumors a year or so back that the next Tony Hawk game was being developed with a prosthetic skateboard device a la Guitar Hero, but it’s finally been confirmed. The game trailer is up on the official site – THRide.com, after the game’s official name, Tony Hawk Ride. There aren’t any details on pricing, or anything else, really. Game Trailers TV has has the, uh, game trailer and a super short interview with Tony and the new developer, but the trouble is it’s split into two chapters with some unrelated stuff in between. Chapter one is where you watch Tony sidestep the popularity of the competitor “Skate.” Chapter three is where you watch the developer sidestep the popularity of Skate. Whatever, unless they kooked the game play completely, this thing has the makings of being a huge, huge hit. The board senses motion, whether or not you have a hand over it, etc… It’s free standing and not connected to anything. Pop a wheelie or a 180 and it’s reflected on screen. I’m just wondering what the aftermarket options will be for peripheral add-ons, like, say, trucks and wheels? Oh wait… The game comes out June 2,…

More skateboarding vid caps sent in from Joesf Heffner. This time the flick is called Hooper, starring (duh!) Burt Reynolds. There’s also a bonus shot of some terrain that ought to be familiar to anyone whose seen the Bones Brigade Video Show. There’s an actual skate shot of Neil Blender hitting it in an old Tracker advert on Freakbeatfuzz.

He may not know how to work his computer to send more photos, but it looks like he’s getting a handle on his camera. Two more Colin Walsh (Rules!) shots of Tim Johnson and Anthony Ciotti at Johns’s Bowl last weekend, after the jump.

Well folks, sadly, the rumors were unfounded. You can read the bad news here, but the current tenants of the Turf Skatepark’s burial ground aren’t going anywhere. Why can’t the lousy economy do something nice for skaters outside of California? Turf Locals, now you’ve got time to set a plan in motion.