Current TV is a “Network” made up of short video segments produced by their own resources as well as those in their community of viewers. I put network in quotes because I’ve never seen the channel or any of it’s shows. It sounds like something you’d read about in Wired magazine. A kind of a hybrid and hopefully higher quality YouTube with quality assurance department. You can even get paid if your content gets aired on TV. What does this grand experiment mean to you? Toyota is sponsoring a channel of “pods” (I wonder what “pods” refers to?) called Current Edge. Right now there are some good skateboarding segments up there, most notably the Texas Sized Ramps which covers the Death Star and Banana Farm, which you may have seen in the likes of Thrasher or some other mainstream rag. The Renegade Concrete pod on Marginal Way in Seattle is just OK, and the one on the Dublin Skate Scene seems a little generic, at least the first 20 seconds do because it craps out abruptly. [Source: Too Old To Skate]

Street boneless in a TV commercial? Yes, but it’s European, so maybe that explains it. Check out this fun commercial for Goodyear Eagle tires. You can almost taste the spring air in the first few moments. – Thanks to Eric Cherry for the tip. [Source: Flabber]

Hot Wheels Skate Freaks is a collection of skateboard toys that looks like it was designed in the 80’s. The figures appear to based on some Sizzler type technology they resurrected in some time around 2000 for skateboard toys. Watch this commercial with an Extreme™ voiceover and more Skate Freaks action after the jump.

From WLTX News in South Carolina:
Officer Who Shoved Skateboarder Gets Suspension

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP, WLTX) — The Charleston police officer seen on Internet video pushing a skateboarder over a bush at a city park has been suspended for ten days. Police Chief Greg Mullen says 49-year-old officer Willie Simmons used an unnecessary level of force. The 19-year-old skateboarder declined to file assault charges against Simmons.

The officer was taped pushing a skateboarder off his board at the Waterpark in downtown. The officer defended herself by saying that that skateboarding is illegal in Charleston. As a result, the 19-year-old injured his lower back and ankle.

Fascinating. Now watch it again.

Nothing much much funny I can write about cervical cancer. Here’s a commercial for a vaccination program using Gardasil. It features a female skater. Looks like she’s not using a stunt double. Hard to tell, the skating shots are at a distance. Anyone know this girl? Oh wait, I’ve got it. We’re glad to be able to provide this public health cervix to our female readers. Hold on, hold on! For all you female Clash fans, this is a public cervix announcement… with guitars!

Here’s some footage as shown on CNN of that kid in Charleston South Carolina getting pushed off his skateboard by a security guard. Nice form on that ollie to nose manual. Somebody sponsor that kid. The newscaster’s voiceover is amusing itself. “I think that’s called grinding. Well grind this buddy!” Classic. Watch the incident with bonus footage of the whiny taser kid being interviewed after the jump.

“It’s like skating across my face and down my heart,” said U.S. Air Force veteran Quincy Collins.

OK, that quote is kind of funny. However, in a case of life imitating video games, or as we like to call it Idiots imitating idiots, some skateboarders have “vandalized” a Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. Not the one in D.C., but the local one in Charlotte North Carolina. I say vandalized in quotes because the extent of the damage appears to be limited to dusty tire tracks. So while it might not be traditional defacement, it’s still very lame, and not too bright. If they ever get caught, I’m willing to bet that these rebels will claim they were inspired by Tony Hawk’s Project 8 video game. Watch the incriminating video and more after the jump.

It’s good to see that skateboarding on gravel is finally catching on. This picture is part of a feature called Day in Pictures from the international version of the BBC News. You can see it larger here, but you’ll have to manually select picture number 5 once you get there. More skateboarding in Iraq after the jump.

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.

This is golden. 80’s era footage of a skate park called Ramp City on a “Good Morning America” type show localized in Cleveland. Gary Lumpkin is the man on the scene. Lord. God. King. The banter between the hosts (not to mention the accents) and low key nature of this program has the Midwest stamped all over it. The skaters are good and the reporter is a good natured goof who really does his best, unlike some. Hear terms like hodad and youngster bandied about. Listen to the hosts go from genuinely concerned for the safety of the Lumpkin to Jackass-type encouragement in one sentence. Also, check out the incredibly corny (even for that time) canned background music during the second half of the location shoot. It’s almost a riff of a Keystone Cops movie. Highly recommended, it comes from a BMX site actually. The owner was a 16 year old BMX guy, although they conspicuously don’t explain where he got the money to open the place. I almost forgot the best part. Gary calls the ramp a half-tube.