You might think it’s the ad copy from a marital aids catalog, but no, it’s a 1977 slogan from the makers of Squirt soda. This sticker was poached from Jason Liebig’s Flickr stream collection of pop culture. He’s the same guy responsible for putting all the vintage Christmas catalogs online, featured here on SnA. He must have a busy scanner.

Travis Pastrana has a show coming out on MTV. This looks like it might have been filmed for that. Yes, a mega ramp jump on a Big Wheel, with a back flip thrown in for good measure. Nutty. Watch the jump and a bonus vintage TV commercial for Big Wheels after the jump. Trike and Annoy! – Thanks to Sarib Khalsa for the tip.

Aside from electronics, these guys made some bitchin’ 10 speed bikes in the 70’s. It was always a little trippy to see a bike with the Panasonic logo, kind of like seeing a Harley Davidson with an AMF logo, (Bowl and destroy!) or I guess more like when the tire company Bridgestone made bikes. What’s the point? Ryan Sheckler has a signature headphone model with Panasonic. There’s a commercial on the web. I don’t know if it’s being shown on TV or not.

Jake Phelps, editor in chief of Thrasher magazine, was reportedly fired for his comments regarding a list of skaters he banned from the magazine.  In the first part of his series “Five Days of Hate,” Phelps repeatedly used homophobic references to describe Frank Hirata, and told viewers of a situation where he threatened the skater. “After yesterday’s random rant from a mad man, HSP decided to terminate Phelps to end this once and for all,” read the caption below a video of Phelps’ parting words to thrashermagazine.com’s viewers.  [Photo: Thrasher] (Note: I’m not buying it. I think there’s a high probability it’s a hoax. – K.Ed) Update: Definitely a hoax, although Phelps deserves an academy award for his acting job. – K.Ed

Pepsi ran a commercial during the Superbowl that featured a littel bit of skating and surfing. The idea was to contrast the old days and modern takes on different phenomenon. I think there’s even some footage of Gumby on skateboard. I know there is old and more recent episodes of Gumby riding a skateboard. It’s hard to tell because it looks like it’s been cropped at his front ankle.

Here’s a couple instances of skateboarding on the news. ABC’s Nightline picked up on the mortgage crisis story again. I hope mr Peacock is making some money off these news appearances. Nightline even manages to include the horrendous Jake Brown super slam footage in the segment. I hope Mr Brown is making money off that footage. Also up after the jump. Old Man Army got some coverage on a local Fox News affiliate. Watch it and you’ll briefly get to meet the site’s founders and catch some footage of someone in an (excellent) get up. They don’t say who he is, but he must be the OMA equivalent of GVK. – Thanks to Sarib and Orezona for the tip.

Since we’re talking about Jake Phelps, I thought I’d put up this photo I found in the June 1980 issue of Skateboarder, just a few short months before it became Action Now. I’ve got a September 1980 issue of Action Now, but I don’t know if it was the first. The June issue of Skateboarder has an ad saying a new type of action magazine was coming soon. In any case, this is none other than Kevin Thatcher, the original editor of Thrasher Magazine, appearing in one of the last issues of a magazine whose demise would soon find him employed making a replacement. Kevin once gave me an invaluable photography tip scribbled on note with a batch of negatives he sent back to me: “Use a faster shutter speed and your shots won’t be so blurry. – K.T.” I think of him every time my shutter speed dial slips below 1/400. I’ve looked through a few 1980 issues of Skateboarder, and they all have BMX coverage in them at that point already. While I was searching for an image of the June 1980 cover, I stumbled on the web site of the original photographer, Ted Terrebonne. Ted has 144…

This week, Thrasher Magazine’s editor in chief, Jake Phelps, is clearing the air on his famous list of five skaters that he permanently banned from the magazine. This week-long feature entitled “Five Days of Hate” details why Benji Galloway, Tony Farmer, Frank Hirata, Choppy Omega, and Billy Pepper were excluded from coverage. Love him or hate him, Phelps is maintaining his reputation as an outspoken and brutally honest figure in the skateboarding community.  Will his words expose injustices in skateboarding?  Or will he simply go on a  slanderous rampage?  This week will showcase Phelps in his true form. Above picture taken from thrashermagazine.com

The diffusion of skateboarding into the popular culture as a fashion trend always tweaked me but blue jeans and t-shirts were popularized by poseurs trying to look proletarian. Any thoughtless aping of an idea is to be despised. That said, I will admit to fascination with all aspects of the history of skateboarding. This looks like a well designed book about skate shoes. Great photographs of the shoes are juxtaposed with magazine layouts and ads. Based on the collection of the Museum of Skateboard History in Stuttgart, Germany which we posted about before. I found the book here but you can also find it at Amazon

I always thought Xeni Jardin seemed cool with that spiky while hair. Turns out she’s actually a punk rock survivor. She does an interview with Glen Friedman on Boing Boing TV. Looks like Glen Friedman had a show at Shepard Fairey’s gallery in LA. Fairey’s interview last week was pretty great too. I was wondering about the skate photos in the background. You tube version embedded after the jump.