Spohn Ranch has begun building a new skatepark in the Dalles, OR. It’s a small 7,500 square foot street spot type park that will be 100% poured in place concrete. I don’t know how this one got past all the Northwest companies, but you know what they say about spilt milk. Catch some renders of the park after the jump.

UPDATE: I forgot to include the renders, but I’ve added them..

– Thanks to VInce Onel for the tip.

Spike TV airs a show called 1000 Ways to Die. Episode #309 aired on December 10th, 2010. It features a supposed former pro skateboarder who met his death when he wiped out and landed face first in wet cement, passed out and suffocated. These deaths are supposed to based on real occurrences, with the names changed to protect the identity of the deceased. I don’t recall hearing anything about a skater dying this way, despite the fact that they Brought in Kristian Svitak as an expert witness. Listen closely, because he never cops to actually knowing the guy in question. My guess is somebody suffocated in concrete but they dramatized it as a skateboarding accident with a tragic figure to make it more interesting. You can watch it on Spike, but that’s an exercise in annoyance due to the fact that you have to watch the commercials (I’m not opposed to that, actually, they got make money) but the episodes aren’t indexed very well, so you end up watching more commercials than necessary. Fortunately, a good samaritan posted a slightly less annoying version. For some reason this video is flipped horizontally. I don’t know, maybe that helps trip up the copyright policing program.

– Thanks to Jake and Annoy for the tip.

Loaded up the Family for a 2hour plane ride to the land of the sun. Saw some fish some sun and some skateparks. Overall the california skaters were a lot nicer than I thought they were going to be. Thanks guys. It was nice to see the sun. Gloomy Grover out.

Bryce Kanights is releasing book in collaboration with his father Daniel, titled Moments through the Viewfnder. There’s an opening party at 220 Salon in Portland on Thursday. April 14th from 6:30pm – 10pm. Prints and books will be for sale. DJ MyG will be spinning tunes. father and son eh? That sounds pretty interesting, actually. I resisted the temptation to call this post The courtship of Bryce’s father.

Rio is the name of an animated movie that, near as I can tell from the previews they are showing on TV, has no plot other than the fact that a bunch of cheeky animals are hanging out together in Brazil. The movie doesn’t open until this weekend, but that hasn’t stopped 20th Century Fox from hooking up with McDonalds for a Happy Meal Promo. Finding out when the movie opens led me to another trailer where I learned the bird can’t fly, and he rides a skateboard in the movie.

Carhartt Europe converted a small ship in Hossegor, France to a bowl, or they made a bowl look like a ship, I’m not exactly sure. Old Man Army threw a BBQ and Confusion Magazine was there document it. Confused about about Confusion? Confusion has risen from the ashes Concussion:

Confusion is an underground skateboarding magazine with a primary interest in DIY skate spots and skater built concrete parks in local scenes all over the world. The magazine also covers sub-genres of these underground scenes with a partial focus on somewhat undiscovered music, art and hardcore surfing.

An issue recently showed up in my mailbox, and although it’s only #2, Jonathan Hay hasn’t forgotten everything he learned from Concussion. Check it out. Video after the jump.

– Thanks to Jeff Roenning for the tip. And possibly someone else that I forgot.

A posers day? I see some vaguely 80-ish fashion in this vid, but otherwise I don’t get it. What I do get is some massive expanses of roly poly concrete that looks ancient and awesome. So much wide open unprogrammed space… That looks like fun.

– Thanks to Sam for the tip.

The Skateboard Mag has footage of Shane Cox whom, among other things, rides for… thank you, you’re Welcome.