We’ve weighed in on “The War on Blanks” before, but it keeps popping up, and looks like it’s going to be an industry focus in 2007. Personally, I can’t respect hypocrisy, which is what I see when a company says blanks are bad for the industry but Chinese manufacturing is good. It’s all about the profit margins. I think it’s a case where the industry has made it’s own bed and now doesn’t want to sleep in it. What I’d like to see is information on where these blanks coming from and how many different skateboard manufacturers actually exist. The quote coming from George’s mouth above is actually from Andrew Reynolds on the web site called “A World Without Pros.” More hypocrisy and links concerning the War on Blanks and the War on George Bush as expressed on skateboards after the jump.

Time Warner sold off 18 of it’s magazine titles, including the group that was responsible for Transworld Skateboarding. Swedish company The Bonnier Group was the winning bidder. Expect increased Per Welinder and Tony Magnuson coverage in the near future. Yes, this is going in my photoshop resume… Links to some actual legitimate news sources after the jump.

ESPN gathered a panel of experts to rate the difficulty of 60 sports based on 10 criteria. Skateboarding came in at 37, sandwiched between difficult distance swimming and sprints in track and field. Some noticeable more difficult sports include badminton and team handball while the easier sports include calf roping, golf and table tennis. Settling the argument once and for all, skateboarding ranked 16 sports harder than rollerskating (and presumably rollerblading), which tied with cheerleading. Gentlemen, start your pom pom jokes! Check it out: ESPN [ via About.com ] Bonus: A link to the artist that painted the center picture you’ve probably seen all over the web but assumed it was Photoshopped and not a painting.

Why is Rob Dyrdek on Forbes.com? It’s only five paragraphs titled Rob Dyrdek On Pro Skateboarding. It doesn’t talk about money or business except to say one year he only sold one board and got a $2 royalty check. (What was his 1991 pro model anyone? Anyone?) This is baffling. Someone must be drunk over in the editorial department. In the Games section (Why is there a games section in a business magazine?) you can find Dyrdek’s interview link two entries above a cockfight organizer.

My subscription ran out. A while ago. I haven’t bothered to renew it, and they let it slide for a couple of months. Now they want me back. On the same day I received two offers to renew my subscription. One from Thrasher, and one from a magazine subscription place that already knew I had a subscription. The Thrasher direct price, was of course lower per year by about $7 than the magazine subscription company. I don’t care about that, but I do find it kind of sleazy that Thrasher sells their subscription info to third parties.

Yeah, I don’t know what the hell that means either, but it’s a direct quote from the November issue of Teen Vogue, which has a crush on skateboarders. They’re so dreamy, you know?

Retarded UK video game magazine Edge declares Danny Way better than Tony Hawk. Well, at least it does in a short magazine graphic. The article is about an upcoming Danny Way video game called “Skate” which is also supposed to be Better than Tony Hawk.