Maybe I don’t pay enough attention to the art scene. There is Xerox on the Inside of Your Eyelids, a traveling show of 80’s skate ‘zines opened October 1, 2008 in a small gallery at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. I just happened to spot it tonight when I was teaching a class. Somehow I missed the invite and I’m guessing it will come down this weekend. On the first Thursday of every month there is a mass gallery crawl in Portland and all the new shows open that night. If you want to see it I recommend you get down there in the next couple of days. PNCA 1241 NW Johnson St., Portland, OR 97209 More snaps of the installation after the turn.

I guess making a skatepark with foam for the backfill isn’t such a big deal after all. John Kehoe sent in some pictures of a park under a bridge in Holland outside of Amsterdam in a place called Koog a/d Zand. (?) It was built by a Dutch company called Carve in 2005. They cut the foam by passing a current through a wire stretched across wood, like a bow strung with a toaster element. RC geeks use the same method on a smaller scale for cutting wing and fuselage elements out of foam. Although, in a link from the first time we talked about this, some people just use a chainsaw. Pics from John Kehoe after the jump.

Apparently, four insecure jackasses felt the need to hassle someone they knew, repeatedly taunting and eventually beating up a kid and stealing his skateboard. The kid finally pulled out a knife and fought back. One of the attackers suffered some non life threatening injuries, and all four were arrested after the cop took everyone’s story, including onlookers (non-skaters) using the surrounding park. The upshot? If you watch the postage size video reminiscent of the internet circa 1998, you’ll see the commotion has scared off some younger kids from visiting the park again. Hooray! More skatepark for me! But seriously folks… It’s too bad that happened. Gabriel Park is one of the last places in Portland I would have expected that. Hey douchebags ands bullies, keep your quarrels and your lame asses out of the skateparks. Skatepark users, don’t stand for this crap. – Thanks to Welsh Pete and Troy Sliter for the tip. [Source – KGW NewsChannel 8, Portland]

Yeah, and I am one because I’m trying to keep SnA out of the content filters. But you get the idea. The OMSA ( Old Men Skateboard Association) writes history again by publishing the first ever Skateboard / Pin up / Porn Calendar. We shot a hot naked Woman who posed in front of some ripping Skaters at the OMSA and the Factory Pool. EVELINE, a Hungarian Porn Star is all naked, blond and shows it all. Not suitable under the age of 18 !!! The calendar is printed on high glossy paper in DIN A 4 Format which is about 210 mm x 0297 mm. It has 14 color pages and is limited to 400 Copies, which makes it highly collectible. Each Calendar is packed in a clear plastic bag. You can order your copy and get more info by writing an e-mail to: omsa1@web.de

Portland’s Ed Benedict skatepark is nearing completion. About two weeks to go according to the boss man on site. Poachers have been a problem so a security guard has been hired. Almost all the concrete has been poured, save about half of the short halfpipe section and a small part of a bank. There’s a lot of granite yet to be installed. It looks pretty amazing. I was overwhelmed when I was on site taking the pictures. Now that I’ve had a night to sleep on it, there’s only a few things that I would take issue with. Mind you, I haven’t ridden it yet. At one of hte entrances to the park there is a really nice looking wedge bank, but it looks like it’s not placed in a very practical spot for hitting both sides. Also, the rest of the banks could use a little variety as them seem to all be essentially the same pitch. Still, there are ledges galore and stairs and rails and gaps. Yes, there is already a line of guys camped out waiting to hit that launch ramp transfer. Portland’s first street plaza is sure to be a hit. Built by California Skateparks…

If you hear the words “foam” and “skatepark” together, you’d probably think of one of those tick learning pits, not a skatepark construction. I wouldn’t believe it if someone told me about it, but here are the pictures. Apparently, it’s common practice to use styrofoam (or some kind of poly foam) for fill in skateparks in Sweden. I don’t have any details besides these few pics from Placed to Ride, who were applying the theory to a skatepark in Gothenburg, Sweden. The building blocks can be seen here, and the finished result here. I guess it works. If anyone can explain the how and why, I’m all ears.

Joseph Brown sent in some pictures of the Coos Bay, Oregon skatepark under construction. Yowza! It looks like a deep one. More pics after the jump.

This week’s Shot of the Week was sent in from Kasey “KC” Stevenson, the same gal who suggested the Chicks with Sticks gallery. Turns out she was talking about girls, you know, actually skating. This is a close up of a shot from Randy’s old bowl in Valley Forge, PA. I guess the spot is dead now. You can vote for her pictures over at a site called Girls Learn to Ride. Don’t forget to check out the uncropped version of the Shot of the Week.

Seattle keeps tearing them down! Alternatively famous sex advice columnist Dan Savage is covering the death of the “Wall of Death” skate spot online for The Stranger. He’s documenting his correspondence with the city and the bureaucratic responses. Check out the hatefully crude skate stoppers! – Thanks to Adam Shahan for the tip.

You’ve all heard of the Goofy vs. Regular foot contest, but here’s an amusing twist. Skatepark of Baltimore “Baggy vs Tight” Skate Contest at the “Pants Ramp.” On Sunday, October 5th The S.O.B. held a skate contest on the pants ramp, Baggy pants skaters vs. Tight pants skaters. They had heats and eliminations narrowing it down to five riders representing each side then they squared off for the best run. The video is mostly useful for getting a look at the Pants ramp that was “accidentally” torn down by city officials. They must have got it put back up. – Thanks to Stepahanie Murdock for the tip.