It doesn’t open until June 4. Do not skate. The kids you see were subjected to extreme rendition and are currently being interrogated in a secret facility in Eastern Europe. If people start showing up there I’ll bet the local police will step up their efforts and write a few trespassing citations or haul a few guys in. Oh yeah, click the images to see them bigger.

You can usually tell when I don’t have a lot of time to devote to updates. Old pics fron the 80’s should be the tip off. About once a year our family would visit my grandparents in Florida, usually around spring break time. These pics were taken in Clearwater in the mid to late 80’s, by my mother or possibly my sister. Enlarged with fashion commentary after the jump.

Irrigon’s grand opening is just a month away – April 14, 2007 – according to SkateOregon, where you can view images of some test rides by the crew. Find more photos at the Skaters for Public Skateparks forum and at Dan’s Skate Pages. photos:top left and right – SkateOregon; bottom left: copinggrinder1 from SPS; bottom right: Dan Hughes

Ten guys working out there this morning plus a couple of inspectors – I had to shoot through the fence. Notice all the bricks are done. Click the picture for a larger view. Beautiful day here, I heard they have another pour today.

Rich from EPM sent over this shot of Mike Swim from you know where. I’ve been screwing with the site layout, so things may look wacky around here for a whle. Chances are if you reload the page in 10 seconds it will go back to normal. So no, we’re not suffering from web site eplipsy. Click to enlarge.

I was in a pub ordering a cider a couple of months ago and looked up at the TV and saw what appeared to be a Jeep commercial with Mike Vallely. The sound was turned off but I seem to remember Mike sitting in a drainage ditch (LA River scale) and a graphic that said “Mike V on skateboarding” or something like that. I haven’t seen it since, but I did find a web site called Sportskool.com that is essentially trick tips for all kinds of sports, most of them no-so-Extreme. Mike V. is the go-to guy for skateboarding, and Jeep Patriot is the sponsor. At one time this would have struck me as odd. Maybe Jeep is trying to capture the Mike V and the Rats demographic.

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article on Zach Wormhoudt of Wormhoudt Inc. titled Chairman of the Board. Get it? “Board” as in “skateboard.” Ah ha ha ha! Get it? Get it? Oh stop, you’re killing me. Oh wait, you don’t get it? Wormhoudt’s father built Santa Cruz’ infamous Derby Park which is the world’s oldest surviving skatepark. Everyone is a critic, as evidenced by this quote from the article: “I have nonskater friends who say, ‘You have the greatest job in the world!’ My friends who are skaters say, “I don’t envy you.’ ” It’s a decent article. Check it out. Update: Links fixed. [Photos Top: Chronicle/Mike Crane and Mike Kane, Bottom: Wormhoudt Inc.]