Here at Skate and Annoy, we recognize that many of our readers, particularly in the Midwest, are facing a difficult time in the life of a skater: the preparation for winter. Many are squeezing sessions in before the snow, ice, or rain sets in. The winter alienates many riders who recognize snowboarding and snow skating, as pictured above from The Snow Life, as insufficient substitutes for skateboards.

Each year, skaters fall out of practice and even quit skateboarding after they recognize that their “summer legs” have atrophied into wonky and clumsy appendages by the end of the winter. Many tears are shed over the tremendous task of re-learning even simple maneuvers, such as ollies.

For those who are considering measures to simulate a real skateboarding experience, check this out. The folks at wikiHow.com were kind enough to the skateboard community to post an instructional on how to create a diy pseudo-skatespot in your own backyard. Unfortunately for skaters, however, this idea is crap.

This week’s Shot of the Week is Chris Miller going over the mouse hole at Pier Park, making it look effortless, and it comes to us from Rich Burton who has more shots from the same session EPM. Just yesterday Miller was still being talked about at Pier Park. I’d like to see him enter the Trifecta just once. Do you concur? Even though I know it’s incorrect, I’m getting a strong Gull Wing magnesium truck vibe from his setup. Must be the color of the trucks. This is a close up of the image, you can catch the full frame version after the jump.

Check out the Shot of the Week.

I am so lame. Every year, usually sometime during the winter, I think about all the moves I want to learn and make a mental note to work on them. Unfortunately, that’s about as far as I get. Sure, I learn some new tricks here and there, but not the basic ones I feel I should have in my “compulsory routine” such as backside airs and inverts. Well, I finally decided to make a concerted effort after shooting my mouth off about it. I started yesterday on September 1st, and by coincidence, September has 30 days in it. Originally I had planned “Inverts in 30 sessions,” but there was some incredulous heckling when I unveiled that plan. Something to the effect of it shouldn’t take me two years to learn inverts. Ha ha. So 30 days it is. I’ve been asking people for advice, sometimes on camera, and I’m going put together a little video documentation. I’m not sure if I’ll do it in installments or wait ’til the end. Common wisdom says to learn them low first. This picture (Thanks Rich) is misleading because it almost makes it look like I might land it. You can see the whole sad (not sad plant) truth after the jump. I feel I should add a bit of a disclaimer. I landed one, possibly two below coping handplants some time back in 1989 or so.

Day three of the Trifecta and I may actually be getting worse as a photographer instead of better. Half of these pictures look like they were taken underwater. I remember having some sort of technical issue with my camera acting up, but it’s been two weeks since I’ve looked at the pictures, and it’s all a blur, sometimes literally. I think I caught the equivalent of Gulf War Syndrome from the Trifecta. Trifecta Syndrome manifests itself in laziness, general malaise and increased frequency of excuses.

You may wonder why I chose such a mediocre action shot for this post. It’s true it’s not a great skate shot or particularly well exposed for that matter, but I do like the way you get a sense of all the eyes focusing on the skating, from the spectators to the photographers to the video camera boom.

Check out page one of Oregon Trifecta 2008: Battle Ground.

I’m never sure how to take the Exit skate shops. We met one of the owners several years back and had a very positive experience, but every time we’ve dealt with the staff from a business standpoint, we’ve had some negative interactions with a snotty, hipper-than-thou staff. We finally just gave up trying to deal with them. Admittedly, this was more than a couple of years ago, so maybe there have been changes. Every skateshop in Portland seems to have it’s own scene. There is some mixing, but some are quite insular. The Exit shops have been one we just haven’t interacted with much. I’ve always associated them with a particular type of skater, but this contest they are throwing in Salem makes me want to check out the scene. It’s the Skate Classic 5, and it looks like some loose semi dork session and 70’s inspired events that sound like a lot of fun. Saturday August 30th in Salem, Oregon at at Bush Park on the soap box derby track.

– Thanks to Estes and Colin for the tip.

I’m continuing the recent trend of having visitors from other states sending in photos of skate spots in my own geographical proximity that I am apparently too lazy to shoot on my own. This time it’s Hidehiko Fujiwara who went to Marginal Way and did some surveillance.

The ISM gallery hosted an opening for a skateboard-as-canvas art show called SK8OLOGY. The show featured the work of over 150 (!) artists, and now the boards are being auctioned off to benefit “Now That You Know, a non-profit organization that helps to provide ambitious girls from developing countries a secure environment for learning and growth. Proceeds will also contribute to benefiting the youth of our society through the artistic enrichment of our community.” There are 156 different boards up for auction in a variety of styles and mediums sure to appeal to different tastes. Prices start at $100, so check out the ISM SK8OLOGY auction.

Wy don’t we cover (fill in your favorite geographic locale) because we aren’t there. But if you are, we’d love to hear from you, as in the case with Davie Freeman who is in Okinawa, Japan. Mr Freeman sent some pics and a short write up. Enjoy.

Grind for Life is an organization that exists to provide financial and educational aid to cancer patients and their families. It was started by skateboarder and two time cancer survivor Mike Rogers, and it’s avery active organization. DC Shoes is sponsoring a high ollie contest on September 5th at ASR in the name of Grind for Life. There’s a $1500 winner take all purse, so you have to imagine that the event will somehow raise more than that for the organization. If you aren’t attending the event, you can always donate directly. If straight up cash donations aren’t your thing, you still have to skate, right? Why not pick up a t-shirt, skateboard deck, or even a set of Bones Wheels with the GFL logo. I believe Bones donates a couple bucks per set. It’s all at Grind for Life. Contest flyer after the jump.

Bart Simpson, naked on a skateboard. It’s a Simpsons Movie promotional tie in with 7-11. In case you aren’t aware, Bart rides a skateboard while naked in the film. It’s a plastic relief with a magnet that attaches to a special Slurpee straw. Certainly less expensive than this bit of movie memorabilia. Close up after the jump. The shirt is just something random from a hipster boutique.