The Benton County Skateboarding Alliance, Inc (BCSA) is putting on the 2nd annual Art & Music Benefit 2009 in March at the Odd Fellows Hall. The BCSA needs art for the show (sale/silent auction). This event is a fundraiser for the new skate bowl addition to the Eric Scott McKinley skatepark in Corvallis. Artists must donate at least 51% of art sales to the skatepark fund. For further information, email the BCSA at bcskateboardingalliance@gmail.com or call 541-829-9005.

That bowl in the upper right hand corner is a new one that Dreamland is going to add to the existing Corvallis skatepark, that is as soon as they raise the money. We’re also adding BCSA to our rotating Public Service ad spots in the side bar.

I don’t have a fondness or any sense of nostalgia for freestyle skateboarding, but I grudgingly watched one of these vids, and ended up enjoying them. People have posted some vids of Cristobal Bahamonde under the title “Rodney Mullen’s son?” something that Cristobal has countered by posting the same vid under the tittle “I’m not Rodney Mullen’s son.” Those freestyle contests of the 80’s might have been more entertaining if Cristobal had been around to give Rodney some competition. The web link in the video was dead when I posted this. I’m not sure what language that is, and I don’t know where Cristobal is from. The videos have some straight up freestyle and some hybrid street skating. I’ve never seen Mullen kickflip into a pogo like Bahamonde can. Maybe Rodney’s done it before though, like I said, I don’t follow his history. Regardless, Cristobal Bahamonde has some chops. Watch them after the jump.

– Thanks to John Aguilar for the tip.

Time Warp is a whole show on the Discovery Network based on the premise that a couple of guys have a really expensive ultra high speed video camera, and they shoot processes and show them as you’ve never seen them. So basically, it’s all kind of silly that they make such big deal out of it now that you can basically buy a point and shoot camera for under a grand that does the same thing. The camera man even makes a big deal about it being “ready for high speed” as if it’s some giant apparatus out of a Frankenstein movie that has to be charged by lightning. There’s the obligatory “host wipes out trying to skateboard” scene, as well as some very flowery descriptions of the act of skateboarding:

The urban art of skateboarding is just that: An art. It combines the athleticism of gymnastics with the choreography of ice skating, with all of the in-your-face aggression of a street fight.

Err… right. Greg Lutzka’ is the pro that skates for them. He seems like a likable guy on camera. They spend way too much time dissecting an ollie, and not enough time showing more complicated derivatives that would really benefit from a super slow motion presentation. The skateboarding part starts around the eight minute mark, just after the scantily clad fire breathing girls. There are a few commercial breaks in there as well. Check it out.

– Thanks to Mac for the tip.

Public skateparks should be open 24-7, and free to boot, but that’s a different rant altogether. Dan Hughes made a road trip recently, and ran into a bunch of padlocks.

Sure, we may rib him a little on some of his endorsement choices, but Tony Hawk’s record on advancing the sport and and promoting concrete skateparks is unimpeachable. The Tony Hawk Foundation has just funded the printing of a revised edition of the very valuable Public Skatepark Development Guide which can be yours for the price of shipping. Check out the press release after the jump.

House of Neil sent me a couple pictures of him skating on the Wallasey (UK) seafront in the fall of 1984. The weather looks ominous. Are there tank traps on the other side of that wall? I love looking at grainy old skate photos. What board are you riding there Neil? Larger versions after the jump.

Satori Movement is joining Sector 9 in the alternative-based urethane market, but it looks like Satori has raised the bar a little. These wheels combine a core made out of recycled plastic with a riding surface made out of 50% bio oils, and are guaranteed against flat spots. If you recall, Sector 9 doesn’t name the amount of soy-based urethane in their product. Satori doesn’t specifically say it uses soy, referring to vegetable oils instead, so maybe these wheels smell like french fries! You can find out when the wheels become available in February. Check out Satori Movement for more details. We’re running out of adjectives for environmentally friendly urethane compounds. I should trademark GreenThane, EnvirotThane, EarthoThane…

This is a shot from October of 2006. It’s been cropped to fit horizontally. It’s Mike McCarley, one of the owners of Shrunken Head Skateboards. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

As we were pulling up to the park yesterday I remarked how small this park seems now, compared to the vast expanse it felt like when it first opened. Battle Ground, Washington has a lot to offer, at least in terms of skateparks. I took some photos yesterday, catch them after the jump.

Congrats to Juice, the magazine you love to wait (and wait) for, on celebrating their 15th year of publication with issue #65. That averages out to over 5 issues a year. They must have really cranked some out at one point, because I swear there were a few years in there where you were lucky to see one issue. I kid, only because I love… Hey, what’s on the cover? Mark Scott at Burnside! Steve Olson handled the interview honors and Portlander Dave Hupp handled the photos. Hey, who’s that on page 70? Why that’s our own (and his own) Mark Conahan! Jim Murphy manned the tape recorder and Portlander Bryce Kanights manned the camera. I think Bryce actually spends more time traveling then he does hanging out in Portland, but his couch is here, so he’s a local. It’s great to see the Northwest finally getting some coverage… Get your copy wherever Juice is sold. If you can’t find it, I happen to know the imaginary Portland rep for Juice.