Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament fully funded a small skatepark in his childhood home town of Big Sandy, Montana. His heart’s even bigger than his wallet. 40k is a lot to spend just to have a place to skate when you visit your p’s. Check out the Great Falls Tribune for the details, and then head on over to Earth Patrol Media to check out some photos of Jeff enjoying some Canadian maple mid-air.

– Thanks to Ashley Mott for the tip.

As you can tell, my commitment to the Shot of the Week has wavered over time, but it’s good to get back in the ring again. This week’s shot of the week comes all the way from the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Republic of Cyprus. This actually a detail of a shot of Raphael Akerstrom taken by Rob Mynard at the “King of Skate” competition during the Ayia Napa Youth Festival. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week..

Mischo Erban achieved 80.83 mph on hill somewhere in Colorado on September 30, 2010, shattering his old record of 70.23 mph. This record was sanctioned by the International Gravity Sports Association. I don’t know how they get along with Guiness, who is strangely silent on the subject. At least in as much as their web site makes it impossible to find that information. The only other thing I could find online was a Gary Hardwick speed of 62.55 mph set back in 1998. Video after the jump, but it’s pretty much just a guy flying by at an insane speed.

[Source: Push Culture, via Skateboarder’s Journal]

If the current crop of serious artists who also happen to be skaters continues grow, the art historians are going to have to invent a new term for this type of art. Is there a term for postmodern examination of a specific act and the related, revered artifact, shared by one large tribe? (Feel free to call it Kilwagism, if you need to.) Cynthia Connolly is curating a show called Skateboard Side Effects at a place called Artisphere in Alringtopn Virginia. The image above is Richard Vosseller’s ‘Physical Manipulations of Structural Surfaces – A Homage to Skating.’ A videotape of a closed session is on display in the gallery. No word on what else is there, but admission is free. If any of our East Coast readers attend, give us an update.

UPDATE: Pictures up on Born Ugly. Art by Tim Bearse, Rick Charnoski and Coan Buddy Nichols, Sean Greene, Richard Vossler, Lia Halloran, Ben Ashworth, and Mickael B. And yes, that ramp structure is actually skateable.

UPDATE 2: Added video of the art being (gasp!) skated.

[Photo: Jay Westcott]

– Thanks to Kelly Robertson for the tip.

Die Skateboard-Welle war schon eine Weile in Deutschland angekommen, als man dem Thema einen deutschen Song gab.

In the 70’s there was a German teeny bopper who had some sort of hit song called Skateboard, Uh ah ah. At some point recently he tried to mount a comeback which involved rereleasing the song with new, updated mixes. There’s not much info out there that’s easy to find on this Benny character. For example, iTunes seems to have him confused with a Mexican perfomer of the same name.

– Thanks to Spencer Montgomery for the tip.

[Source: Skate in the Ramp]

I swear Salba must have joined a union or something. It’s like you can’t film a music video with skateboarding unless it features Steve Alba in a pool. Jackass 3 opens today I think.

– Thanks to Matt Beasley for the tip.

Shrunken Head presents the Oregon premiere of the new Habitat video Origin at the Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton Street Portland, OR 97202. That’s slightly over a mile away from the Brooklyn Street Skate SPot Benefit. If you’re going to the premier, consider making a donation at the BSSS benefit. Who knows, maybe they’ll pass the plate the Clinton St.

Thursday October 14th. Admission $2.
7:30 pm (all ages)
9 pm (21 and over)