I don’t know who this Franklin Mint Blog guy thinks he is, but he’s trampled all over about a weeks worth of posts for me in this entry called Skateboard Mania. He’s got the standards like Farrah, Skateboard, the movie, and the Wonder Woman episode. There’s the less known Stacy Peralta on Charlies Angels, and the even more obscure Jodie Foster movie Foxes, that has some skateboarding in it. He’s got the whole Sneakers and Lace Skateboardin’ USA album ripped from vinyl and ready for download. Well Mr. Smartypants, you missed something. Jodie Foster actually released a pseudo disco single where she kind of talks over a backing track. It’s pretty schlocky, but she mentions a skateboard in it. In any case, he did come up with a old picture of Brooke Shields lounging on a skateboard. I tip my hat to you. Excellent post. Be prepared to spend some time at the Franklin Mint Blog.

If you weren’t paying attention to the Wall Street Journal’s article on how Portland became the skateboarding capital of the world, you might have missed the tab with the interactive graphic that is supposed to display America’s Best Skateparks. The graphic is actully kind of cool, but predictably, you have to take their selection process with a grain of salt, and cringe a little when they show a BMX photo for the illustration of the Athens Ohio skatepark.

The Wall Street Journal want’s you to know that Portland, Oregon is Skateboarding Capital of the World. If only my father were alive to read that. Ruining my life, indeed! As soon as I get home from work tomorrow I’m going to actually read it. I’m up past my bedtime. Holy cow if it isn’t S&A reader and sporadic commenter, Tom Miller in one of the photos. Why can’t we enlarge that one? Where’s that Bush Beater we gave you? And no inside scoop either? Miller, Miller, why have you forsaken us? That’s OK. I’m still voting for you when you run for Mayor. – Thanks to Greg North for the tip.

There’s a teaser up for an upcoming Paul Rodriguez video at Nike SB. There are a couple of celebrity cameos. I enjoyed seeing Lance Mountain as one of the cops. Ice Cube makes and appearance too. It seems Paul Rodriguez is blowing up (even more). Boston.com says he’s “ramping up” his exposure. They’ve got a short interview with Paul that’s informal and somewhat interesting.

Back in June we reported on the Stardolls online Ryan Sheckler dress up doll. It looks like they’ve added Tony Hawk and Bam Margera too. Sheckles must have pitched a fit, because he’s been removed from the site, and hold on, in the short delay since I first found out about the new additions, Tony Hawk has been removed as well, but maybe that’s because his celebrity likeness looked more like the test tube spawn of John McEnroe and Jimmy Carter. [Source: Examiner.com]

This Rick Howard commercial for Lakai is pretty effing great. I had a hard time picking a still frame because I didn’t want to spoil it for you. Yeah, that’s quite a build up. I’d like to think that skateboard commercials would be this creative. It’s weird enough that there are actual skateboard commercials on TV, even if they are only on MTV, ESPN, or Fuel. And yes, I realize this isn’t actually a commercial for skateboards, rather skateboard shoes. Close enough. [Source: Boardistan]

Or the same one, I can’t speak Japanese. Actually, probably a different one than MVP’s Louie. He doesn’t use the cheater binding made out of a shoe. – Thanks to Stephanie Murdock for the tip.

He’s Bobcat! (Cue theme song.) Master of Sleestak, unicorn-lover, Seattle scenester and magick DJ. He’s being interviewed byJohn Doe Zine tomorrow at 5pm Pacific tomorrow (7-22-09), and you can call in to listen live. Get the details over here. John Doe zine has been doing a lot of these call-in phone interviews. It’s intriguing, and with Bobcat on the line, I’m going to check it out. If you want more I’ve got a stream of consciousness history of Seattle skateboarding coming up soon.

Check out the video for “I’m Over It” by Dinosaur Jr. Old Jay is engaged in some street skating in the vid, most likely with the help of a stunt double or two. Most music videos with skateboarding don’t go through the trouble of showing the band actually skating, even if they are posing tricks. He brought along one of his Alien Workshop Dinosaur Jr skateboards and a posse of BMX riders for the shoot. I like the vid, especially if it is posed. – Thanks to Peter Brown for the tip. [Source: The Village Voice]

I can’t recall the date exactly, but I’d say this was taken in 1990, or 91. There was a hipster nightclub in Chicago called Shelter. They would have all kinds of events and promotions, and since I was a partner in the silkscreen business that printed for them, I occasionally got to be involved behind the scenes in a minor way. For instance, I got to hang out with some the famous club kids from NYC, before they became famous murderers. Another event that I didn’t understand but certainly enjoyed, was the outdoor miniramp. Someone came up with the promotion to build a miniramp in the outdoor section of the club, whic was really large, if I recall correctly. The club was located in a sort of derelict industrial area, next to some railroad tracks, so noise wasn’t an issue. Originally I was actually supposed to build the damn thing, but somehow it got puled out from under me, and a guy named Sluggo took charge, which was kinfd of annoying as he was an employee of mine at the time. Sluggo? There are a few “Sluggos” in skateboarding scenes across the nation, this guy lives in Chicago. So they…