I mean really… at least as far as different types of terrain goes. Hood River is definitely becoming Lincoln City East. My hat’s off to whoever is running the show over there. Good job. Mike Estes sent in eight shots of the new snake run-ish feature that looks like it wraps around hte back side of the park. There’s a shot from Carl Warren too. Actually, Carl also has a ton of earlier construction shots up as well. Hood River is a good place to be a skater.

Tiny scene report. Pier Park was jumping yesterday – old guys skating the bowl, young guys skating the street section, a young concrete rodeo type flipping units in the mid bowl, parents and their kids, neighboorhood urchins yelling threats and obscenities at one another down in the pipe. Grover had both of his kids with him. Probably the first time I’ve held a bottle for a feeding infant while riding to the skatepark. I snapped this one with my phone on the way out.

Stephanie Murdock sent in some pics of La Caverne from back in 2006 before it was what it became. Mostly interesting from a historical standpoint. I don’t know if everyone else appreciates the “in progress” type shots as much as I do, but I’m going to keep posting them anyway. Is it just me, or does this look like a stage set for the next Johnny Rad gig?

I can remember being stoked when Poweredge first came out in the late 80’s. It seemed like a little bit of Thrasher and a little bit of Transworld. More importantly, it was something different, and it seemed fresh and authentic and not just something cobbled together by outsiders jumping on a bandwagon. I remember meeting a couple of the Poweredge staff at a few of the higher profile skate events in the Midwest, and they were all friendly and without attitude. Needless to say, Poweredge folded in 1991. but like R.A.D. before it, Poweredge has shown up online. Right now it’s just some history and selected parts of the first issue. The interface is a bit wonky, but sometimes it’s better to forge ahead instead of waiting for another five years to pass while you make everything perfect. Believe me, I’ve been there. Check out Poweredge Magazine online. And on another note. The site has been relatively inactive lately because I’ve been ill and I’m finally recovering, so expect the pace to pick up. Thanks to everyone who contributed in my absence.

The Pine Log – The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University reports that student there have formed the second collegiate skateboard team. The team is looking forward to competing with UNC, the first University to have a skateboard team, in the spring.

“…It was rad as hell, kinked as f#@k, rough as an alcoholic tongue, but it was our spot!” – an anonymous creator of La Caverne In Marseille, France there lies a dark, dingy abandoned warehouse beyond the view of the common people. The telltale graffiti and discarded trash of society’s undesirable class littered this area, and as a result the former site of productivity seemed more like a cave than a building. It is no surprise that skaters, who are often associated with the mantra “Skate and Destroy,” would create a place to express their styles without the regulations of a system that failed to understand them. La Caverne’s beginnings operated in a similar fashion to the Grimm Brothers fairy tale “The Pied Piper of Hamelin;” the rat catcher enticed the rats.  The abandoned warehouse attracted artists from all over France, and a tagger by the name of Nours, who also skated, told his friends about it and the work began.

This week’s Shot of the Week is from September of this year. It’s Billy Coulon transferring from the perpendicular face of the low hip to the high wall in Newberg, Oregon. Rich at EPM has a better shot (and then some) from a different angle, I just happened to be standing there while he was shooting, so I poached him. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

From the website: Subhead Grip was founded by Jesse Milden. These products were inspired by years of riding skateboards and making custom grip tape designs. Jesse grew up riding around the block in Los Angeles. He has continued riding in Oregon, New York, Boston and now Seattle. Subhead Grip is designed and manufactured in Seattle, WA. $12 a pack (12 skulls for example or 4 strips with whales) – why didn’t we think of that? The website says they do custom orders! Came across this on Boing Boing

This makes me think of what Misfits album covers should have looked like. Now that I have thoroughly insulted this awesome graphic by comparing it to the Misfits… xXx Skateboards pumped out a few limited edition boards featuring some nice finishing. I really love this graphic, to the point of I’m considering getting it tattooed while I’m still single. Anyone know the artists name? Images courtesy of xXx Skateboards More after the jump.

Joesf Heffner has been sending in pictures of the progress on his quite involved learner’s project in DIY concrete. Here’s the next installment. Hey, guess what? It’s not all a cakewalk. It looks like they had a little bit of trouble with some unruly cement, but all’s well that ends well.