Heidi Kenney is taking the now familiar padded skateboards (1, 2, 3) to new levels. This is a plush skateboard she made as part of an exhibit that has long since ended at a gallery that isn’t really open. Yes, it’s old news, and only vaguely interesting in this context, but I’m cleaning house, and we love the crafty skating ladies.

Some skateboarders rallying support for a skatepark bond measure (Measure D) in Los Gatos, California had a bit of creative inspiration when the fashioned “Yes on D” signs out of broken skateboards and took to the streets to stump. this picture is from the Los Gatos Observer. Other skaters in Los Gatos experienced a little inspiration and possibly perspiration when they went on late night vigilante missions to “liberate” offending “No on D” signs. Unfortunately, someone destroyed a plant on one such mission, branding all skateboarders as “thuggish” and prompting neighbors to expect gangs of vegetation-hating freestylers overrunning the town. Even more unfortunate, some of the vigilantes may have been identified on video surveillance. Still even more unfortunate, the vote ended up going 2-1 against funding the skatepark. Opponents said it was too much money, and that the skateboarders might not use it. There is no silver lining in this cloud, but at least San Jose is only 12 miles away.

One more epic battle between skateboarders and BMX caught on video. Will it never end? Do we need to have a celebrity rap video made to stop the violence? [Source: Fat BMX – Yes!]

My favorite Mod band that never existed, More Modern Snakes are playing an all ages show tonight at Club Bump! – Errr… right. Here’s a focus-challenged shot of a small snake run feature in Wake Forest North Carolina, built by a company called Bluestone that I had never heard of until Danimal sent me the link. I guess he knows a guy who used to be on the crew. Their web site is pretty horrible (get someone who knows how to resize an image please!) but the parks look like they have potential from what little they show. Of particular interest is a facility in Mabank, Texas that is listed as private, but looks like it might be part of some residential community as opposed to being owned by one individual. There’s no real information so it’s anyone’s guess. Looks like Bluestone has worked a few locations in Pennsylvania (Monroeville, Southpark, Imperial) as well as Delaware, Ohio and Kingsport, Tennessee. I know we’ve got readers in these states, have any of you ridden these parks? What are these other modern snake runs I speak of? Why Lincoln City, Gabriel Park, and Naples.

In a surprising move, Concrete Wave has made a version of it’s photography retrospective book, “The Legacy of Warren Bolster” available as a free download on Silverfish Longboarding. Warren Bolster was a pioneering skate and surf photographer. The Concrete Wave Edition book had some production and layout issues that mostly disappear as a PDF. Of course, viewing them onscreen is not close to the tactile experience you get when flipping through a heavy book in your hands, but it’s free, and you can’t beat that. I’m not sure what the contractual ramifications were for releasing the book electronically for free. You may want to get it while you can. It’s a curious move to be sure, but one I can appreciate, and you should too. Check out this Steve Cathey photo from 1975. Look at his foot placement and body language. No matter what your age/discipline, you have to be able to respect that. Still available online is an interesting video interview with Warren shot shortly before the publication of his book. Also available are the last two issues of Concrete Wave Magazine, which is nice, but they really should take a page out of Thrasher’s book and release the…

I was in the skate park video taping my friend Tito (the small kid wearing black) when pell, my friends sister, and aweosme make-out artist, Pell gets on her skate bored and steals Titos spotlight Yes this is a weak post, but this short video totally made me laugh, all things considered. I guess I need to create a Friday T&A category. I got the idea from EPM.

A first glance at the web site for Penn State Industries makes it look like the company exists solely to supply a burgeoning cottage industry of making wooden pens. No, I’m not kidding! Hidden among the woodworking projects are two skateboard kits. Skateboard Project Kit. Here’s a chance for you to make “awesome” custom skateboards. Cut our formed, quality, 7 ply hardwood deck to shape, decorate and install a pair of trucks with wheels and they’re ready to skate. The deck comes with the truck holes pre-drilled, a laminated sandpaper top and a pattern to cut the form. Truck assemblies are made out of lightweight aluminum and include quality bearings and durable quality polyurethane wheels. Unlike some people, they have the decency to call griptape as it is. The “woodworking” aspects of this project seem pretty meager. Cut out the supplied outline and sand the edges. Must be a beginner project. Oh well, at least it’s not the Alan Parson’s Project. $50 for a complete (quality parts!) or $15 for just the deck at Penn State Industries. Why are we featuring this? This would have been highly unlikely ten years ago, and it’s pen-making supplies from a company based in…

Paranoid Park opens in Portland tonight. Gus Van Sant will introduce Friday’s 7PM show at Cinema 21. Gabe Nevins, who plays the lead part, will be hanging out for Q&A after the Saturday 7PM show. If you don’t get in to see the show, you can always watch the GVK of the casting session down at Burnside. (I don’t care what Grover says, I liked Elephant.) Oddly enough, the film is also showing on pay-per-view on the DirecTV in Portland and other markets as well. Burnside Paranoid Park Directed by Gus Van Sant Showing: One Week: March 21 – 27 Showtimes: Nightly 7:00, 8:55/late Fri-Sat 10:30 plus Sat-Sun (1:00), 3:00, 5:00 If I had a nickel for every time I saw a kid skating in the rain with an umbrella… I heard that Gus’ production was going to/did donate money to Burnside. Can anyone confirm this? – Thanks to Page for the tip.

Oregon just got one in Lincoln City, and we’re getting one in Portland later this year. Hell, they might be breaking ground as you read this. In Florida, they don’t have the hills that we do, so they have to make due. The Edge skatepark in Naples was finished a couple years ago. Team Pain is working on another one in St. Lucie, Florida right now. It’s actually mostly street terrain, but it does have a little snake in it. They have some construction pics of the work in progress on their news page. – Thanks to Tito for the pic.

A lot of kids are scared of bowls. Judi Oyama shared a quick note on some lessons she helped organize for local kids at the Santa Cruz Skate Park. (Judi goes with the official two word spelling of skate park, making me break with every other time “skatepark” has appeared on this site. How do we get that change adopted?) Skate class with my buds. We had 11 kids signed up 10 showed and we had 15 on the waiting list. This photo is classic. Gary was showing the kids how to kick turn. We had many of them dropping into the small pool and learning the basics. Thanks Gary Holl, Eric and Patty for the help. Cool photo. I offer help to kids if they ask or I think they might be receptive, but taking time out to organize a formal event for the benefit of kids is more than I’m willing to do. Fortunately for Judi (and park locals who don’t need lessons), they are only doing it once every couple of months.