On the left, an illustration from a series called “Vince & Leo” by Dan Pagan, imagining Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci as modern day graffiti artists in Brooklyn. On the right is an illustration from a series called “Skateboarding is a Crime” by Gerhard Human. Hand printed, numbered and signed editions of 30 will be sold with all proceeds going to aid development of skateparks in South Africa. – Thanks to MC for the tip.

This year’s entry into the next great skateboard fabrication method comes from N2R Skate, which is a side venture from a company that has been making boat hulls using a sandwiched composite technology from a Swedish company named DIAB. It’s apparently used in private jets, boats, skis, trains, submerged water vehicles, and now skateboards. The main advantage they are pushing is that this would be the last longboard you’d ever need to buy, since it’s virtually indestructible and is 25% lighter than standard longboards. To be sure, they show these boards taking some incredible abuse with the implied assumption that the performance would not be effected as a result. They drive a car over the board, which is not that big of a deal considering I’ve seen an Uncle Wiggley wood/fiberglass composite board survive an encounter like that during the 80’s. However, some of the other puncture tests are pretty impressive. Of course this technology comes with a price tag. Remember, this is for yachts and race cars. During the kickstarter phase they are offering a “strongly discouted price” of 179€ or 242$ for the deck alone. Pictures and videos after the jump.

Skateboarding4Life reports that the long running Peek Skateboards indoor skatepark in Düsseldorf, Germany is on the brink of being shut down because the land lord wants to use the space. It looks like a great space that has seen a lot of use. There is a web site (in German) set up to focus efforts to document and hopefully save the park. Video montage after the jump. – Thanks to Chris Eggers for the tip.

This issue is 68 pages! Just reading it takes a long time, let alone scanning and reformatting it. It must have cost a small fortune to print and taken months to compile. Stop Skate Harassment #4 is an impressive time capsule of 1983 skate/punk culture. I don’t know how many issues came out, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they gave it up after this one.

Sk8face has been kicking around the web for a long time. I became aware of it back in 2008. I had just sort of assumed the project had fizzled out, but they’ve been working on it steadily. Now they are turning to Kickstarter to fund post production. If you’re scratching your head, Sk8face is a video documentary on skateboard graphics. The list of interviews is impressive. They’ve posted something like 35 micro excerpts on the Sk8face web site as well, including one with our Smithsonian friend Betsy Gordon.

As a young kid in the mid 80s I thought Hot Wheels cars were cooler and fresher than the ones from Matchbox and Majorette (Mattel already introduced Hot Wheels in 1968, but little did I know). This crazy thing here looks like the first skateboard you would give your kid to make him say farewell to his kiddie toys and let him go out to play in the real world.  Still, I don’t think I would have been too happy with this as a kid, because we knew about Hot Wheels, but we also heard about Powell, Vision and Santa Cruz, so I guess you can’t fool a kid with crappy skateboards! More pics after the jump. Look at the difference in size between the front and the back truck, this really gives it the look of a racing car. Both trucks seem to have the old school truck pattern, but I think the deck is pretty recent though:

It’s like France central over here… These pictures from Skateparks de Paris are about two years old. Doesn’t look like they update that often… but hey, it looks beautiful. Here in America, we like to hide our skateparks away from any foot traffic, preferably adjacent to an empty baseball field on the outskirts of town. My chapeau is off to whoever approved this.

Progress report on the Eugene, Oregon skatepark from the Register Guard.

Although it may look like outtakes from Macho Taildrop, Le Skate Moderne is a short clip about a two of skaters in rural France who live on a farm. There’s not a lot of actual information, instead it seems to concentrate cinematography. I can’t tell if the clothes are costumes or not, it seems a little like an affectation. Also, these guys seem to have a pretty good sized crew for being out in the middle of the country. All in all though, it’s very well made. – Thanks to Bevilacqua for the tip.

Simon Woodstock with his ‘Sweet 16-wheeler’ in the Travel Lodge Pool at Lake Cunningham Skatepark during the Indy Truck 30 Year Rally. Lonnie Toft pioneered the 8-wheeler in the 70s and is still keeping the spirit alive with Toft designs.. [Photo: Bryce Kanights]