When is an action figure not an action figure? When it’s life size, because then it’s a mannequin, or some sort of sex toy. Chalk this up to things I don’t understand, like sneaker fetishes. Coarse Toys makes some action figures, or collection figures? I don’t know what you are supposed to call them. Some of them are small (bottom row) but as you can see, some of them are life size. Creepy. See those shoes? Coarse “collaborates” with Vans. I’m not sure what that means, but I’m sure it involves some check writing. Check out Coarse Toys.

– Thanks to Bobcat for the tip.

N.F.P. Zine #1 was published (1985?) out of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan by Andy Rogers, Greg Fadell and John Shock, with photos by Davo or Dave-O. Issue number one is short and simple, and never actually explains what the “N.F.P.” stands for!

Pictured skaters: Mark Gonzales, Ralph Rogers, Chris “O.P.” Moore, Greg Fadell, Bill Danforth, Bill Tocco, Steve Caballero, Todd Bray, Bob “Boarder Patrol” Romero, Neil Blender, Bill Fergusson, Eric Grisham and Squid Dickman.

Spots: Surf Ohio mini ramp, Dude ramp, Endless Summer, Middletown, Sarnia Canada, St Louis arch competition, Richard school.

Highlights: Interview with Chris “O.P.” Moore. He talks about old skateparks like Surf & Turf in Milwaukee and Apple in Ohio, as well as the MESS and GLSA skate contest series and pros and ams of the day – Ray Underhill. “A look back at 1984”, Eric Grisham’s skatepark ID from Endless Summer skatepark. Mentions Jim Gray’s new board, mentions G&S trucks, but doubts their pros will ride them. Rumors: Will Jyme George (Surf Ohio & Cow Saktes) build a skatepark in Ohio? (In hindsight, the answer is no, but his protégé Rob Dyrdek certainly did..) The Zorlac team all riding for Alva.

Check out N.F.P. Zine #1

UPDATE: 80’s zine archive has moved. The new location features larger images and the ability to comment right on those pages, so comments on this post are closed. Link has been changed.

Tyler Chastain went by the West Linn skatepark and found it closed for repairs. They are replacing that missing fence and are going to reopen by thursday or friday, but then again they were originally supposed to be finished by the 14th. Don’t barge, cops are quick around there. What to do in the meantime? Check out these three pictures from a 2002 session. I swear I am senile because I think I’ve posted these already.

Boards, bikinis, bombs and boneheads is the working title for this post, but I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. I’ve got a mish mash of skateboarding action from Dubai and Israel. Some of it has more serious overtones, and some of it is stupidity. The rest falls in between.

While some braniacs write about skateboarding, others are using it to trick poor defenseless little kids into learning about math. Math and skateboarding just don’t mix. Ok, that’s not true. But since I can’t read this German public service advert about math, I have to make up something. Closer to home, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industryjust got a $2.9 million grant for a traveling exhibit called Access Algebra to stoke middle-school kids to “promote creativity and innovation and build math literacy… …focusing on math as a tool to create and invent everything from rap music to race cars to a skate park.” – Thanks to Dave Tobin for the tip. $2.9 million seems like a lot of dough. Maybe someone at the National Science Foundation needs to work on their math a little. The Germans are ahead of the game already. They’ve got a web site and a video trailer for what I guess is their math museum. I’ve heard they aren’t too good at math, all their answers come up Nien! (Sorry.)

[Source: Red Box via Skateboardgeruechte.de ]

This weeks SOTW is Casey Mcmaugh at a hush hush backyard DIY spot in California. How hush? The Walrus wouldn’t even give up the name of city! Photo by the ubiquitous MRZ. Check out the larger uncropped version.

There’s no better way to combat a buzzkill than enjoying a session in some unseasonably dry and warm weather. if you can’t actually go out and skate today, you can still enjoy some photos from a session at Pier Park last Saturday.

Are you pressing your own skateboard blanks with a vacuum press? If you are looking for a little less labor intensive method of constructing a mold, Ted over at Thin Air Press, home of the Roarockit has posted a lengthy set of illustrated instructions on how to make your own custom mold out of foam insulation. While his choice of shape and mold style may not appeal to you, the basic technique is still valuable if you want to make the next step in DIY skateboard construction with vacuum pressed boards. Sure beats the other method if you are still experimenting with your geometry. Check it out.

[Source: Ted on SnA comments]

I got a tip about this Cisco advert and managed to catch it on my DVR without realizing it, but I accidentally deleted it before I could digitize it. I was waiting to catch it again but it seems like it only aired on one week. Cisco commercials show up, but it’s always a different one. Since then, discussions have popped up all over. So I finally decided to pull it of the Cisco web site. There are additional spots that didn’t air on TV. I’ve put them all together in one vid so you don’t need to wait through the intermissions. Where to start on this… it’s too easy. The main thing they are trying to sell is the fact that with Cisco Networks you can be in touch with everyone on a project almost instantly, no matter where they are. Ironically, the ad agency who put his together couldn’t have been more out of touch with skateboarding culture or history. – Thanks to Tracy Sigler and Paige for the tip.

I’ve been making half hearted attempts to put together a Cannonball Run of Oregon skateparks for several years. The Cannonball Run is one of those ideas that sounds fun but is actually quite a chore if you decide to undertake it. Every time I would suggest it I would get a few non committal grunts or “that sounds annoying.” It turns out most people would rather spend their time actually skating instead of driving from spot to spot and having to leave just as you get warmed up. Leave it to MC to actually put the plan into motion. He tried one earlier this winter but kind of gave up half way through due to weather and lack of sunlight. In Washington a crew had a similar experience. When Old Man Army decided to give it a go in Arizona, MC picked up the torch and ran with it. It wasn’t publicized as an event on Skate and Annoy because Mark had planned to hit some private bowls on the way and didn’t want to bring the troops along. At the last minute (literally) I talked him into just hitting public parks for the sake of continuity. In the car he was still inclined to hit one well known private spot in particular because he was afraid we wouldn’t get to all sixteen. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. Heck, we could have easily squeaked in a seventeenth since we drove right by Oregon City on the way to West Linn.