In this episode of I Can’t Make This Stuff Up, author Tyler Stallings reviews a photography show titled “Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982;” Two Los Angeles-based photographers captured the action: the beefcake photography of Bob Mizer and his peers from the 1940s-1960s published in his Physique Pictorial magazine, and Craig Stecyk’s photo documentation of the DogTown Z-Boy skateboard team for SkateBoarder magazine in the 1970s. Each focuses on a redefinition of masculinity in relationship to the swimming pool towards a new vision embracing hedonism. This shift in values associated with the masculine–from a man as hardworking breadwinner for his family to the single, unattached, self-obsessed, and leisure-seeking man–accompanies a cultural shift from the early 1950s to the late 1970s from an economy based on production to one based on consumption.

Do you remember the catalogues that came with the old JFA records? Most of them also offered JFA skateboards in various sick shapes. I always wanted one of those, but they don´t pop up that often nowadays and I am pretty sure that I don´t want / can´t afford an original one.

LaSalle Park, currently under construction by Evergreen Skateparks. I want one of those things in my town.

Hey kids, the weekend’s almost here, so I want all you S&A readers to stay safe. We all know that wiping out is no fun, so you have to be prepared just in case. To that end, please watch this Aetna Insurance TV commercial on safety that dates back to 1978. A good helmet and a snazzy set of gloves and pads never goes out of style. Video courtesy of the miraculously-still-allowed-on-youtube Scott Starr. Remember, there’s a key to staying safe and having fun: Never ride in the street, and always whistle a catchy tune.

One more in our series of indoor commercial architecture waiting to be barged. This one from Addicted to Retail shows the Ayres store by Dieguez Fridman in Buenos Aires. Free t-shirt skateboard (deck) to the first photo (or video) of this place being skated. That’s legal in Argentina, right? No Photoshopping please. My apologies if you sent me this tip, It’s lost in my email.

Skaters in London are fighting to save the legendary and historical spot known as Southbank. The Southbank Centre wants to build retail shops to help fund some other renovations and redevelopment. The plan calls for building a nearby skate spot that would actually be 10% larger than the existing floor plan, but the community of skateboarders aren’t having it. Ironically, Southbank Centre management and supporters of the new development are accusing the skateboard community of bullying the public image of Southbank Centre through manipulation of the press and PR. There are some great quotes an article in Metro. – Photo credits, the senior Mrs Kilwag. Yes, my mom is in London. She even signed the petition.

Man, I just hate those popsicle stick shaped boards, they’ve got no shape and no style. Mumble, grumble. Nothing you can do will make your popsicle skateboard worth remembering. Unless… This is an old photo from an Element Eden art board show in Toronto called Smile on Your Brother. Amber B’s “Neo Popsicle” is a triple entendre – popsicles, popsicle stick shaped skateboards, and Neapolitan ice cream. I’m smiling even though I’d much prefer the traditional bomb pop. 2009???? Can you tell that I’m clicking “publish” on some old drafts? [Source: Swellblog]

Everyone in the Phillipines, at least. It’s the Mountain Dew skate bomb.

So yeah, the auction says “vintage 80’s” but then it also says “Vision Brigade skateboard santa cruz deck” so obviously, the truth is not super important to the seller. It’s… mildly amusing. – Thanks to Tim Romans for the tip.