The ASPCA blog has a video of a skateboard being mobbed by a bunch of puppies. Kind of reminds me of the street section at the skatepark. Awwww ♥♥♥!!! Trish McMillan, ASPCA Director of Animal Behavior, took this footage while conducting a training session with the pups. She says she uses it with every new litter of pups they get in. “It gets them used to novelty, skateboard sounds and moving surfaces.” View the clip after the turn.

And good luck on your new job. I’m sure some hysterical nut is already falsely reporting that our new President is flashing gang signs, but he’s just showing some love to his Alma Mater’s high school marching band from Hawaii during the inauguration parade, just minutes ago. UPDATE: I’m a self confessed kook. Should have labeled the post Shaka.

Time Warp is a whole show on the Discovery Network based on the premise that a couple of guys have a really expensive ultra high speed video camera, and they shoot processes and show them as you’ve never seen them. So basically, it’s all kind of silly that they make such big deal out of it now that you can basically buy a point and shoot camera for under a grand that does the same thing. The camera man even makes a big deal about it being “ready for high speed” as if it’s some giant apparatus out of a Frankenstein movie that has to be charged by lightning. There’s the obligatory “host wipes out trying to skateboard” scene, as well as some very flowery descriptions of the act of skateboarding: The urban art of skateboarding is just that: An art. It combines the athleticism of gymnastics with the choreography of ice skating, with all of the in-your-face aggression of a street fight. Err… right. Greg Lutzka’ is the pro that skates for them. He seems like a likable guy on camera. They spend way too much time dissecting an ollie, and not enough time showing more complicated derivatives that…

Congrats to Juice, the magazine you love to wait (and wait) for, on celebrating their 15th year of publication with issue #65. That averages out to over 5 issues a year. They must have really cranked some out at one point, because I swear there were a few years in there where you were lucky to see one issue. I kid, only because I love… Hey, what’s on the cover? Mark Scott at Burnside! Steve Olson handled the interview honors and Portlander Dave Hupp handled the photos. Hey, who’s that on page 70? Why that’s our own (and his own) Mark Conahan! Jim Murphy manned the tape recorder and Portlander Bryce Kanights manned the camera. I think Bryce actually spends more time traveling then he does hanging out in Portland, but his couch is here, so he’s a local. It’s great to see the Northwest finally getting some coverage… Get your copy wherever Juice is sold. If you can’t find it, I happen to know the imaginary Portland rep for Juice.

The OC Weekly has six (count ’em) pages on Skitch Hitchcock, past and present, which includes highlights of other members of the Salt Creek Beach crew which includes a lot of surprising names. In the shot above left are Dale Smith, Skitch, and his brother Garrison. Aside from the now customary gripes about the Dogtown film, there’s a lot of interesting stuff in there, assuming you are interested in the roots of skateboarding or surfing. Remember the recent Skitch Hitchcock model we profiled? Turns out Skitch is battling liver cancer, and proceeds from the sale go to help him out with his medical bills. Skitch did a lot more than invent the gorilla grip. He was the first guy to land a full loop, and he dealt acid straight from the labs of Timothy Leary. Interesting guy for sure, and a nice tip of the iceberg view of OC skateboarding history. Hey, I guess we are one of the top three carriers of the old school flame. I feel compelled to note that the article is lacking in the usual stereotypical bungling that most newspapers exhibit when covering skateboarding. So yes, check out the OC Weekly feature. [Source: Boardistan]

All-star Batman and Robin #10 caused a stir when it was released in 2005, and it wasn’t because of Batgirls foul stance, rather the foul language in the comic whose transparent black censor blocks left the cursing clearly legible. Which begs the question, if you are going to censor it, why not just have the writers change the words outright instead of going through with the charade? It was only matter of time before the images were uploaded with the censor blocks removed. Iwas going to tell MC about this last night, but it turns out he already covered it. But I’ll bet he doesn’t know about the cover of Supergirl #1 that I found on Zaius Nation. 2025 Update: Two new Supergirl #1 covers added. – Thanks to Adam Shahan for the tip.

So we got mentioned on the SkateDaily Top 3. This time the list is for the top three web sites dedicated to old school. It’s a mixed blessing, because the publicity is great, but I hate being pigeonholed. I’ve been trying to expand our appeal since forever. Trouble is, old guys write about what they know, I guess. Check out who submitted it though, could that really be the Lonnie Toft? Speaking of old school, does the name Buddy Carr ring a bell? It’s a name that has been pretty much synonymous with Tracker Trucks since… yes, forever. Well Buddy has decided to join up with Bennett Truks in a move that would be earthshaking if it were say, 1979. I always wanted to try some Bennet Truks, but guys seriously, this brings up one of my pet peeves in the skateboarding industry: The logo should add “with a decade or two of abstinence” next to the “Established in 1975” tagline. I’m thinking of you too, Shut Skates. Regardless, you can read the press release on Silverfish or watch a somewhat recent video interview with Buddy Carr giving a tour of the Tracker factory, made by the (old school) German…

Here’s a cool advertising gimmick for skateboard lessons. It’s a sticker that when placed in a sink makes an optical illusion of a tiny guy skating. Come on, you’ve all done it before, either with a fingerboard or in your imagination. This sink would be rad if I was only 3 inches tall. Very cool idea, but probably more of a proof of concept. The original source received it blindly, and you have to think they wouldn’t last very long in a public bathroom. Maybe a little longer if they were stuck in a toilet bowl instead. [Source: AdGoodness via Motivators.com]

This is a couple of weeks old. I had decided to ignore it, but I was exploring the French-Canadian Versus Skatezine which has a heavy Don’t Do It Army presence. I decided to see what Birdo was up to, and it turns out the Don’t Do It campaign has branched out into the whole action sports industry. One of the first things I clicked on ended up targeting Nike’s entry into the snowboarding boot market, which in turn reminded me of the Winter Dew Tour commercials on TV that have an action sequence of Shaun White skateboarding and morphing into snowboarding. The Dew Tour has a new logo, perhaps coinciding with the creation of the Action Sports Alliance. Make no mistake about it, despite a name that sounds like an operation for activism, outreach, or a rider’s union, it’s a company jointly owned by NBC Sports and MTV. Alli is a global business that joins the former Action Sports Tour properties (AST) with Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross Championship and King of Wake series to create the most diverse and robust action-sports offering in the world. The new umbrella brand, which will continue to be co-owned by NBC Sports and…

Michael Goetz of The Skateboard Archives shot Chris Nukala at a renegade project and it showed up as Thrasher stoke of the day.