The OC Register among others is reporting that one Huntington Beach skatepark will likely be shut down due to foul language, vandalism, and sexually degrading comments made to female athletes practicing at the nearby high school field. Way to keep it real guys. Ed Templeton is a local and he says he rarely sees bad behavior. Officials at the school want it gone and the parks district seems bent on relocation. The police station across the street says there are very few if any problems with the park. It’s looking more and more like a case of the people in power just wanting it gone. They claim keeping it open will cost $300,000 for maintenance. 300k? get out of town! It’s only a 6,200 square foot park that is essentially flat! You could almost build two of those parks for that amount of money in Portland. To be fair, part of that 300k would go to a bathroom facility. It’s hard to find decent pictures of this skatepark. After checking out a few on Socal Skateparks it looks like relocation (as long as it’s nearby) might be the best thing to happen to locals. The current park (albeit via the Interweb™) looks totally unremarkable and uninspired, but Templeton says it’s a landmark in skater’s circles. Really? I feel sorry for HB.

The city of Corpus Christi Texas banned the practice of “grinding” along their precious sea wall eight months ago, but so far have only handed out a few citations and the grinding continues. They’ve got themselves worked up in a lather to spend $50,000 on Skate Stoppers and consider an investment well spent to rid the sea walk of the evidence of grinding that is an “eyesore.” I’m sure the Skate Stoppers will eliminate all grinding. That’s money well spent, guys.
Now imagine if instead they could spend half that much money on building skateable ledges nearby for kids. Problem solved.

[Source: KRISTV.com]

I came across this web site (get your mind out of the gutter) while doing some, errrr, research. Gaybar Zine is a German web site that handles all your skate, BMX, graffiti and even struller needs. Kind of like a modern Action Now I guess. I’m not sure what the connection is with the Gaybar title. Maybe it’s one of those things where it means something different in German, Kind of like the time I was in Polland and saw an amusement park ride called the “Super Fahrt.” Anyway, I can’t hear the words “gay bar” without thinking of the Electric Six.

A concerned citizen at the Ed Benedict meeting last night busted the chops of Kyle from NewLine Skateparks about the fact that none of the skaters in his presentation were wearing helmets or safety equipment. I wanted to pipe up that I just think of it as evolution in action. It was too much to go into the helmets are aesthetically unappealing in photos and footage and since many skaters are all about the coverage… discussion.

Head injuries are no joke, I have been getting a lot of google alerts about skaters dying all over the country because they fell on their heads while skating. A skater died from head trauma wilsoning a transfer over a four foot spine at the Pt. Angeles skatepark. Your choice dude, we’ll miss you.

Here’s a story about skateboarding injuries including head trauma from a Connecticut hospital’s website.

More than 50,000 emergency department visits a year are related to skateboarding injuries. Most of the 1,500 people who are hospitalized have head injuries. Dr. William Horgan, a specialist board certified in both adult and pediatric emergency medicine, works in the Backus Hospital Emergency Department.

“Skateboarding injuries are very common and typically include wrist fractures and elbow dislocations,” Horgan said.

From CEO Health Line.

Listen to the podcast.

image – Bandeck – from thinkmo’s photos

I actually named my cat “Rerun” after the character in this show. At the time, 10 years ago, my girlfriend and I thought it was hilarious – the cat’s name, not the TV show. Now I’m married to that girl (Not That Girl) and our cat pees on my pads. The complete season two of What’s Happening is available on Amazon. Does anyone know if there is there any skateboarding these episodes? If you need audio to get in the What’s Happening!! mood, click here and scroll down.

[Source: Bobcat via Sleestak.net]

OK, I’m going to cop to not putting a lot of effort into SnA since the baby was born. The obvious lameness of this post title ought to give you a hint about how sleep deprivation is affecting me. Hopefully it’ll settle down with time. Here’s the first in a long line of quick and dirty posts.

At one point in time I was thinking about having a gallery of “No skateboarding” signs from around the world until I realized how boring it would likely be. Now it could contain at least two interesting signs. All those skateboarding bulldogs on YouTube are going to pissed off about this “No Skateboarding Dogs” sign spotted on Chuck Woodbury’s Roadside Journal. Yes, I know, the sign is meant to say “No Skateboarding, No Dogs,” but it’s amusing none the less. Second, we have this “Thou Shalt Not Skateboard” sign in front of the Claremont Presbyterian Church in the city of Ontario California, as reported by the Daily Bulletin. At least they have a sense of humor. Also attached, “No Skating or Grinding,” but Kickflipping is apparently allowed. And what is that middle symbol? No Moonwalking? And now for something completely unrelated, a spider on a skateboard. I am really losing it.

Hip hop skateboarders? Now I’ve seen everything. No seriously, I think this guy does a better job than most singing about skateboarding without making it sound silly.

According to the The Post Tribune article Doctor: Skateboarding can be fatal:

A taste for adventure can be fatal for skateboarders who practice their stunts without a helmet or hang onto the bumper of a car.

In a study of skateboarding injuries, one out of every five kids who were hospitalized needed help with feeding after they were released.

“Sometimes, these injuries can have long-lasting consequences. Not being able to feed yourself is not that cool,” said Dr. Kyran Quinlan at the University of Chicago.

In response to these findings, one local research group has funded further research. Results after the jump.

Ralph Lloyd-Davis has a blog called Skateboarding Now and Then that is an amusing exercise in pointing out some of the differences in skateboard business and culture over the years. Typically it’s two images, a “now” and a “then” with a title. In the case above, the post is titled “Happy Couples” with Rob Dyrdek as the common element. The “thens” are usually from the 80’s or 90’s. Sometimes it’s just one image and a link to a video on YouTube or another feature on a different site. The format of Skateboarding Now and Then leaves a little to be desired. For instance, when external videos or pages are used as they should be embedded or screen captured instead of just linked. Jumping out of the web page to see the punchline of the joke kind of ruins the flow. The posts aren’t updated very frequently, but maybe a little extra web traffic will help stoke Ralph to kick it up a notch. He’s got a good thing going and I’d like to see it fleshed out a little more. I’m not sure what else Ralph Lloyd-Davis has going on, but his name does turn up as an author on the UK skateboarding site Cross in the Crossfire. Ralph, if you are reading, Now and Then would be a good feature here on Skate and Annoy. Think of all the glory… Check out Skateboarding Now and Then.

Nobody has been able to successfully incorporate skateboarding into a fictional movie as a major plot device without making it corny. The 1978 movie Skateboard was probably the first attempt. It stars teen heartthrob Leif Garret in his pre coke binge and DUI days and also features Tony Alva as Tony Bluetile. Here’s a short clip of the archetypal sketchy outsider trying to hustle some teenage kids to form a skateboard team and make a quick buck. It’s very amusing, more so if you imagine our own Grover from GVK as the lead. The last time he tried to talk some teenagers into his van to go skateboarding he had to register his name with the neighborhood as an “offender.” Watch the clip after the jump.