Somebody hacked a Wii controller and grafted it on a skateboarder so they could use the skateboard as a controller for skateboard games, in this case, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. I’m assuming the process was more involved than just, you know, duct taping it to the bottom of the skateboard. There’s a really dull video of the controller in action. The best part is that the guy has a conference room full of people and a video projector for the demonstration, and he makes them all sit there while he makes his character look like himself. The thing to do would be to make it so you have to skateboard to play Madden’s NFL Football (or whatever the heck the franchise is called, I obviously don’t have a console.) call me slow on the uptake, but I didn’t get the punch line in the Engadget post title until just now. “Wiimote and skateboard hacked into a controller, Gator not impressed.” Ouch! – Thanks to Seth Levy for the tip.

Want to take your fingerboarding sessions to the next level? (Did I actually just type that?) There’s an IPhone app called Touch Grind that is basically a slightly different interpretation than the original concept-only Vans Finger Fracture. One big difference, Touch Grind is something you can actually purchase and play. And, it’s supposed to be pretty good. I’m one of those poor peasants who can’t afford an iPhone, so I don’t know how this game plays. It looks fun, but it also looks like it needs to be played with some extra screen real estate, say on a 17″ monitor. Yes, I know this game is not news anymore. I’m only mentioning it because I never got around to it originally, and if I don’t write about it on Skate and Annoy, it doesn’t exist. Errr… Yeah right. Concrete Wave had some sort of marketing partnership for inline advertising with the Swedish developers of Touch Grind, but the partnership went sour, just in time for a new ad that Concrete Wave took out in Transworld, of all places. I guess if I wanted to help them out I should have posted this earlier. What else? How about video captures of…

Ars Technica reports that the developer of the THPS series of video games has decided to bail on the franchise, even though it was the their main source of bread and butter for a long time. Strange, considering Tony seemed so stoked on the next version. Must have been sales talk. I wonder how he’s taking the breakup. Is thi s the beginning of the end? Will he be back to parking lot demos in spandex at Six Flags? I doubt it. Does anyone remember the old Thrasher video game Skate and Destroy? It was pretty fun, but apparently never really took off. – Thanks to Steve B for the tip.

I’m struggling for references here. Everyone knows Petty’s Free Fallin’ video features a girl skateboarding. Well, he also has a song called American Girl, and this is, uh, an

Purchase this baby through Amazon toys. The only sports craft kit on the market. Our kit combines sports and crafts into one package. Everything you need is included – a 24″ solid wood skateboard, black grip tape, specialized non-toxic paints and instructions. The skateboard comes fully assembled with wheels and metal trucks. I don’t know why they don’t have a decorate your own football helmet kit. Sounds like an amazing business opportunity for someone.

Jack in the Box always has the lamest toys in their kid’s meals. Case in point, this Cartoon Network cross promotion for the show Chop Socky Chooks.I had no idea what Chop Socky meant, so I googled it. Crappy martial arts bar fights was the result. I think these are supposed to be Kung Fu Chickens. They battle the evil Dr Wasabi. I’ve never seen it, but these toys are weak. They are actually a step up for Jack in the Box kids meal toys, which are ore apt to be a plastic display stand for some nature facts collecting cards, or something equally as uninteresting to a kid. I saw them earlier this summer on the way to the Oregon Trifecta in Lincoln City. That’s KO Joe on the skateboard. I don’t know if he rides one on the show or not.

It was nominated last year and didn’t get in, but this year the skateboard made it into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Joining it this year were the baby doll and the “stick.” Proponents of the booger and the “doodle” (As in “They can see my doodle!”) were upset, as can be imagined. Tony Hawk appeared in a prerecorded video at the induction ceremony. In his words skateboarding “promotes individualism … artistic expression and it’s also very athletic.” Also, it doesn’t make you go blind if you do it too much. – Thanks to Livmo and Sorenee for the tip. [Source: CNN]

Actiga is a company with it’s finger on the pulse of… No. let’s see… Carpal Tunnel syndrome was never this Extreme!™ Oh never mind. These guys have a couple of products aimed at enhancing your sports gaming experience. First up is Big Vert, a skateboard that you stand on an use as a controller to play skateboarding video games, kind of like the Wii Balance Board, huh? They also appear to have a series of games with little controllers that look like the sport you are supposed to be playing. [Source: Gizmodo. – Thanks to Dave Arpin for the tip.]

I went to McDonalds with the kids while trying to wait out the rain at a skatepark. They had these little Ronald McDonald figures in the corner of a glass case as part of another display. I told them I needed one, and they finally relented and gave it to me. I was prepared to buy it, but they weren’t for sale. The next time someone says “It’s not for sale,” just say “That’s OK. It must mean I can have it for free, right?” Right. It’s not a Happy Meal toy, rather part of the birthday party package that they have there. I think there were some with Ronald on blades too. It says copyright 2004 on the bottom. Made in china, of course. Group II Communications. More pictures than warranted after the jump.

This is exactly the kind of thing that I don’t want diluted by the mere presence of a bunch of skateboard comics. It’s a Beetlejuice Magic Slate with a picture of Beeltejuice on a skateboard. What, no coffin shape? Looks like he’s riding switch. It can be yours for a mere $58 ?!?! You can see the whole thing after the jump, but it’s actually smaller than the shot above.