What do you call a kid who can skate like that? You call that kid a Cracker Jack. I totally forgot about this jingle until I watched the commercial, and it all came back to me. I never saw this particular Cracker Jack commercial, but I remember others with the same song. This series of commercials aired around 1978. Assuming the kid skating is the same one they use in the closeup, someone ought to be able to identify him. – Thanks to Wes for the tip.

Adam Crofts sent me a beat up copy of the Keane Brothers debut album from 1977 because it had skateboard on the cover. I listened to it, hoping that the song Keep On Rollin’ was skateboard related, but it wasn’t. The album is a truly awful mix of 70’s disco, soul, rock, country and bubblegum. It’s a freaking awesome train wreck. I noticed the producer also had the last name Keane, so I figured this was a showbiz father trying to get rich off his kids, and that this was probably the last time anyone ever heard of the Keane Brothers, if anyone ever heard of them at all. Of course I was wrong. The Keane Brothers had one of those variety shows that were all over the 70’s like flies on shitty music, and they appeared on the Tonight Show and the Mike Douglas Show. On top of that, the opening sequence of their variety show prominently features the Keane brothers on skateboards.

California Sunday Magazine has an interesting piece on Jake Phelps that seems to have en done with some degree of cooperation from the Phelper. Some of the best parts are the sort of snide, deconstructive observations on the spectacle of skateboarding, such as observations that Thrasher is more like Vogue for degenerates than the skateboarder’s bible, and skateboarding has more in common with pornography than professional sports. “Skateboarding probably has more in common with pornography: Talented people are paid to be filmed doing something they’re good at, or at least insane enough to try.” There’s even a brief mention of Schwing! magazine as if their readers would know what that was. It’s long, and a bit nihilistic, and you’ll earn more about SOTY than you’ll care too, but even if you hate Phelps, it’s a good read. Check it out in California Sunday Magazine.

This is advert for Vibe, an iOS app that Adobe can’t seem to decide whether or not to promote it as theirs or not. What does it do? It makes short videos with semi-automated cuts between selected stills and videos from your library, and adds a soundtrack to it. Then you can share it. Super. It’s a free app, and the sharing is meant to happen on the usual social media platforms, so you have to wonder what Adobe gets out of this.

Restless Years is pale ale from Evanston Illinois’ Temperance brewery. Aside from skateboards on a beer can, they have bragging rights as Evanston’s first and oldest brewery, dating “way back” to 2013. – Thanks to Neil “I’d obviously rather be drinking than writing Ebay Watch” for the pics.

Soloshot is a great piece of technology for those who can make use of it. It’s a camera mount that will track a radio tag for up to 2000 meters. Basically you wear it and your camera mount will pan and swivel to follow you. You can get one that is just a base that you add your own camera to, or they sell one integrated that also allows for automatic zooming. You can program camera moves into it. This sounds like a paid product placement, but it isn’t. Cool technology for sure, but not so useful for skate footage. If it works well and you need this kind of thing, excellent. As far as using it for skateboarding? I suppose if your friends are tired of shooting you… but as you know, good skate footage usually requires more intimate angles. That might be why the skateboarding part of the promo video only lasts about a second. I still want this, but have no idea what I would use it for.

These Extreme Sports Valentines brought to you by the Dollar Store and printing facilities somewhere in Indonesia feature the holy triumvirate of skateboarding, freestyle motocross and… rock climbing. It’s a pretty weak showing for Valentines Day, but don’t be dismayed because this year they’re still making those “You’re Cool” Snoopy chocolate-filled hearts.

The inside of this freebie Chipmunks themed activity book unfolds to show a poster of said chipmunks getting radical on skateboards. Target stores gave these away in 1990. This is the only appearance of skateboards in the publication. [Source: Cult Oddities]

The February 2016 issue of AARP Magazine has a print piece that augments the Sisters of Shred video. 50 Reasons to love Being 50. [Via – Claudia Hoag on FB]

Vogue Magazine asks the question “How the Thrasher Tee Became Every Cool Model’s Off-Duty Staple,” pointing out various models who have appropriated skateboard culture, and even those like Natalie Westling that actually skateboard. Everyone knows that Steve Olson is the original skateboarding model. [Vogue Photos from top left: Jerome Chrome – Vans – Phil Oh ]