Three bits of iPhone related skateboard news at once. First up, Apple’s advertisement for the video shooting and editing (!) capabilities of the the new iPhone. Check it out here. Somebody built a nice miniramp for that hurricane wall studio setup. I wonder what happened to it afterwards. Next up, Made for Skate has launched an iPhone app version of their collection of skateboard shoe history. Aside from the massive historical archives at your fingertips, you also get free updates, a store locator, etc… If you are obsessively into skate shoes, this would seem to be your go to app. Not bad for two bucks. Made for Skate web site has been recently updated with new pictures from their ongoing exhibitions, and wallpapers for your desktop and phones. Lastly, there is an iPhone app called Go SK8 that is the high tech equivalent of those hand held golf counters or ball, strike out clickers that little league baseball umpires use. It does more than just keep track of your letters, it will also randomly pick your tricks. You can choose three different skill levels and three different terrain types (flatground, rails and transition) I suppose that would be a good…

Skateboarding has spawned some interesting cottage industries. I just found a guy making fingerboard skate obstacles under the name Stone Tech Ramps. The halfpipe, bowls and street obstacles are made out of some sort of resin that must be lightweight. You can see a kid above lifting up one of the massive bowls without a problem. The scale of the ramps vs. the Tech Decks have tipped further towards gigantic. There’s a wide variety of obstacles, and you can easily spot his earlier work where he didn’t quite have the casting method down. The stairs and would-be sharp edges have the appearance of rock left under a waterfall for 50 years. Prices are pretty high. That half pipe will run you $95 and one custom bowl has a buy it now of $165! Smaller obstacles start around $16. These are hand crafted, one of a kind toys, but still, that’s a lot of coin. Check out a hilarious “review” by a nonpartisan source. It’s a kid whose “friend’s uncle” makes these things. Stick with the whole thing, it’s great how he bashes the Tech Deck gear, using sounds as a benchmark. he’s a regular Billy Mays in training.

More Farrah Fawcett skateboarding action. Toys from the past. I’d seen the officially licensed “Jill” doll from Farrah’s Charlie’s Angels days, as seen above left. Reader Hung Chang also found this knockoff “Sport Girl” doll that features a cartoon drawing of Farrah.

Traveling across the country in their van, the Pepsi-Cola skateboard team prepares to visit another city and show them what skateboarding is all about. Careening down the concrete; dodging in and out of man-made obstacles; letting it all hang out; pushing it tot the edge and back again… that’s skateboarding! It’s a fad that’s grown into a lifestyle for millions of young people nationwide. Pepsi-Cola has been instrumental in skateboarding’s growth, as their team of professionals have introduced skateboarding at cities everywhere across the United States. Well, how could I refuse this, even if it did come from an eBay auction put up by a member with the dubious name of “boneite?” Best part was, he turned out to be an S&A reader by the name of Tom, who also lives in Portland. Concretin Nik, this one is for you. 10 pictures of the Revell Models Pepsi Skateboard Van from 1979.

Goofy has a history of appearing on skateboards. In Extremely Goofy Movie, Goofy’s son goes to college and enters the “College X Games.” It doesn’t seem that absurd now, actually. Goofy misses his son so much that he goes to college too, and ends up skating for the evil frat boy team against his son. There’s also a toy Goofy figure on a skateboard that was made a few years ago. The shot above is a toy that may date as far back as 1977. It’s from an expired eBay auction, but becasue I love you, and have a problem, you can look at more shots after the jump.

Microsoft demoed a motion capture camera controller today at E3. Basically a camera that sits under your tv and watches how you are moving. It’s up to the XBox to turn that movement into meaningful game play. Included in the demo was a skateboarding game “replete with a young man ‘air’ ollie-ing,” which I am interpreting to mean that it kind of negates the the need for the expensive board controller used in Tony Hawk Ride, the theory (and marketing slogan) being that you can “use your own gear.” Still, that’s going to have to be some sophisticated hardware to be able to deal with the subtleties of a skateboarding footwork and hand grab variations. What if you could combine the two? Well , then you’d just have, you know, actual skateboarding. In any case, Microsoft’s Project Natal won’t be shipping in 2009, so Tony’s crew still has a good year or so head start, more so if you take into account Microsoft’s infamous sliding launch dates. This will go over well with parents, I ‘m sure. I’m already yelling at my kids for all the time for skateboarding in the house, and they aren’t even hooked up to a…

There had been rumors a year or so back that the next Tony Hawk game was being developed with a prosthetic skateboard device a la Guitar Hero, but it’s finally been confirmed. The game trailer is up on the official site – THRide.com, after the game’s official name, Tony Hawk Ride. There aren’t any details on pricing, or anything else, really. Game Trailers TV has has the, uh, game trailer and a super short interview with Tony and the new developer, but the trouble is it’s split into two chapters with some unrelated stuff in between. Chapter one is where you watch Tony sidestep the popularity of the competitor “Skate.” Chapter three is where you watch the developer sidestep the popularity of Skate. Whatever, unless they kooked the game play completely, this thing has the makings of being a huge, huge hit. The board senses motion, whether or not you have a hand over it, etc… It’s free standing and not connected to anything. Pop a wheelie or a 180 and it’s reflected on screen. I’m just wondering what the aftermarket options will be for peripheral add-ons, like, say, trucks and wheels? Oh wait… The game comes out June 2,…

OK, definitely lamer than the title these guys came up with. Illusion Labs, The company that developed the Touch Grind game for the iPhone has demoed their touch screen games on one of those massive table top touch screens, and it looks pretty damn fun. The tiny size of the iPhone screen is the main criticism of this game, but hte table top display brings it to a whole new level, provided you can shell out 10k for the display. The game would also work on a laptop or notepad computer with a multitouch display. Watch the video after the jump.

This is another great find from WeirdoToys.com. The The Ertl brand released a series of toys called Socket Poppers in 1991. Socket Poppers are little action figures with completely interchangeable body parts. They were packaged with multiple figures in one pack, already partially mixed up. In our case, The Skateboarder came with Pterodactyl, as shown above.

I found this a site that sold scale model electric railroads and slot cars. I subscribed to their print catalog in hopes that they would feature it with more pictures, but they haven’t yet, and it’s been a couple years. I was hoping to be able to read the descriptions under the inset photos on the top of the box. It’s supposed to be HO scale, but I think that would make those skateboarders something 12 feet tall in real life. The product name is a throwback to the time when skateboarding still was inextricable from the state of California. Slot car racing still appeals to me, but somehow I don’t think It would be as fun with goofy looking tiny skateboarders instead of little muscle cars. Yours for anywhere from $96 to $26.