Someone on Madison Avenue is earning their paycheck. What are the odds of a skateboard blog picking up and posting something only marginally sideways related? I was skeptical when I got the email, but this Dos Equis commercial featuring “the most interesting man in the world; On rollerblading” actually made me snort. I need to learn how and when to use semicolons. Just say “Dos Equis.” – Thanks to Ash for the tip.

The Vancouver Sun reports that a civil suit against a guy who spray painted at a skatepark has resulted in an award of $6400 to the city.

Steve Jobs is the most respected and admired entrepreneur amongst the teenagers in U.S. according to a survey conducted by Junior Achievement. He beat out other celebrity entrepreneurs, most notably (in our case), Tony Hawk. Don’t feel bad for Tony. The folks at Honda motors admired him enough to use him in a film talking about competition and drive, designed to promote their new FCX Clarity fuel cell powered electric vehicle. You can watch the seven minute Race against Time after the jump. Plus, it’s not as if Tony hasn’t already appeared in several advertisements for Apple. [Source: CNet]

The Carvelles had a bunch of skateboard songs on their 1977 LP Skateboard Rampage. In fact, out of ten songs, only two are missing the word “skateboard” from the title. Two of those are on the very good This Is Skateboard Music collection. This song, L.A. Run isn’t on that collection. All Music doesn’t have an entry for the Carvells, but they appear to be a vehicle for a guy named Alan Carvell, who had a UK hit in the 60’s and sang backups and harmonies for many well known acts in the 70’s and 80s. This video is a 1977 appearance from Top of the Pops. Check out the stage for assorted skateboard props, a ringer in the audience, and gratuitous stock footage from the U.K.. Who are those guys? The Benji Board team has been suggested, since they are skating U.K. spots. Check it out after the jump. – Thanks to Eric Shea for the tip.

I think I was working on Grover’s miniramp when someone in the crew go the call that there was an upside down car in Burnside. I briefly contemplated going down to check it out, but even with supposed firsthand knowledge, it still seemed highly unlikely. Well, someone on the the Jalopnik blog checked it out. Jalopnik is the automotive branch of the Gawker Media blogging empire. You might have noticed a few links to their gadget site Gizmodo on select S&A posts. What happens when a car sits upside down for a period of time? Oil and other fluids start to leak out. Fun! Someone, somewhere, will blame this on BMXers. This is not the first car I’ve seen (secondhand) in Burnside. There’s video footage of some 90’s era hijinks on the punk wall. Holy cow! This site has been up for more than an hour,without being hacked and I’m actually making an update for the first time in a week. I’m testing the waters here, and I may have just jinxed it. – Thanks to Dave Arpin for the tip.

Well, I opened a can of worms with religion, so I might as well tackle present another hot topic, health care reform in the United States. Part two of a series from Austin Considine called Faces of American Health Care features a sobering look at former pro skater Lee Bender. Number two in a multi-part series: From the heartland, a look at a few of the real people adversely affected by our health care system today. Part two looks at Lee Bender, a former pro skater who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Despite comparatively good coverage he faces over $36,000 in debt for treatment over the last 18 months. According to the World Health Organization, health care in the United States ranks 37th in the world, based on quality and access, among other things. Skateboarders take a risk every time they skate. Insurance or lack of, is in the back of many of the minds of skaters who are living on their own. I’m not sure how to do it, but our health care system definitely needs reform. Health insurance is a racket and costs are out of control. – Thanks to Max Macias via Facebook for the tip.

Yeah, well. here it is. Honestly I didn’t listen to very much of it. I was so sick of this by the time I got to editing it. Basically, Ponch spends the episode trying to convince the kids they should get off the street and skate someplace safe. Eventually they end up taking the kids to a skatepark, in this case, SkaterCross. Happens all the time, right? The classic case of skate harassment. It looks like Estrada and the other dude (who shall perpetually be known as “the other dude”) had actually spent some time on skateboards.

Holy shit. The things I do for you people. I’ve been trying to get this damn episode of CHiPs ready for prime time on S&A for some time now. I rented the damn thing from the library. It got stuck in my computer’s DVD drive and absolutely would not come out. I got a new computer out of it, thanks to the Best Buy extended warranty. Seriously. The tech dudes said it would be too much work to take the iMac apart and get the drive out. Of course, the old one was only a week old. This was back in January, and I never got the disc back so I had to buy the whole season used off Amazon to avoid paying full retail for the replacement. I had a hard time digitizing this too. in the end, the only thing I could get for some reason was the Spanish voiceover. I’m not making this up. So enjoy the first installment of the “Neighborhood Watch” episode. Or rather, the skateboard related parts. I edited out the other unrelated bits like the drunk driving and insurance scam parts. Ponch and John cross paths with a troubled skateboarding youth caught in…

As seen in the Philidelphia Enquirer: A skateboarding paradise at FDR Park. 1,649 words on how much they love it. – Thanks to Doc Murdock for the tip.

From a random episode of Married With Children, thanks again to Josef Heffner. Not much else to do now. Uhmmmmm. Oh yeah, remember the old Christina Applegate skateboard.