Just another skate church, so I wouldn’t normally feature it were it not for the fact that this one is youth led, and well, this horribly awkward photo they used to illustrate it. Actually, as far as skate photos go, it blows. But if you look at the enlargement, something about the guy in the background watching this kid flail is appealing. Read about it in the Seattle Times. – Thanks to Heidi Randall for the tip.

Today’s comic brought to you by the art of Bill Reid.

I spent the day at Glacier National Park with the family and made a detour on the way home to stop at Whitefish. I remembered seeing pictures of the park, and it looked kind of desolate. The main thing I recalled was some grousing about the area that has coping below another transition and some steps. It was a controversial decision, but I’ve seen it work before in Tigard. It was getting dark, and I had to choose between Kalispell and Whitefish. Not remembering a damn thing about Kalispell, I chose to check out Whitefish, and to my surprise, it might be my favorite of all the Montana skateparks I visited.

Not entirely true. There’s supposed to be a street plaza and (shudder to think) vert ramp too, but it looks like the only part that isn’t just a CAD file at this point in time is this bowl complex. Germany’s MBA/S Associates designed this park that resides in Stuttgart. They even feature it on the front page of their web site. [Source: Freshness] – Thanks to Ryan for the tip

Sorry for the late notice, this slipped by me while I was on the road. Hurry up and bid, there’s only a few days (?) left. Board Rescue is holding an art auction to benefit its organization. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this artwork go to Board Rescue. Board Rescue provides skateboards and safety equipment to organizations that work with underprivileged and or at-risk youth. Board Rescue is a 501(c)(3) not for profit Corporation. There are artwork/decks from Cab, Jason Adams, Jimbo, Bryce Kanights and many more. See that birdhouse made out of skateboards that aren’t from Birdhouse? It was made by Judi Oyama’s husband. Aside from being bowlrider and past and present contender in Women’s slalom, Judi is on the board of Board Rescue. Check out the birdhouse after the jump.

Lake Oswego Parks and Rec is having a youth skate competition at the Lake Oswego Skate Park next weekend August 7th. Their website is lakeoswegosports.org. They are also looking for donations Colin. If you are interested in supporting the youth competition contact the Lake Oswego Parks and Rec skatepark coordinator. Any type of donation is appreciated!

Missoula Montana has a 16,000 square foot skatepark completed by Grindline in 2006. I saw video of this either on Fuel TV or Tony Hawk’s Skatepark Tour. I thought it was going to be huge. It’s pretty good sized, but not nearly as mammoth as it looked on TV. I think it’s pretty safe to say that any skatepark is going to appear smaller in real life, but I haven’t been to Lake Cunningham yet.)

The real burn is that this short movie is just an extrapolated version of a dandruff commercial circa 2001 or so. I thoght I posted it already but I don’t think I have. Basically, it’s a skateboarder with a flaming head raging through the streets. Pretty much the same thing, though years earlier and not as well shot or polished in post production. I’ll have to dig through my tapes when I get home and put it up. Once the visual effects turn on, all reality is thrown out the window, so even on some of the more believable sequences it’s impossible to tell what is real. What’s it for? A new product from Coca Cola called Burn Energy Drink. According to Creative Review: “The crux of our approach was to involve pre-existing communities in the creation and distribution of the key campaign assets Those sequences that are real and establishing shots were filmed in Mexico City. Watch it after the jump. [Source: Nerdcore] – Thanks to MC for the tip.