It’s funny how this column comes together. It’s different every month. Last month for example it took me about 3 weeks to put it all together. I’d do one section, wait to get motivated for a week, force myself to do a few decks, then come back a few days later and do some more. But some months like this one everything just flows and I crank out the whole thing in a couple of days. It feels much better this way; you get in a flow and just ride it out. Hours go by without noticing it. It’s good. Hopefully you guys enjoy them all, but this one feels extra special somehow. Of course the decks that get featured have a lot to do with that too. It’s tough to find new stuff to say when you’re featuring a Hawk birdclaw for the 50th time. So you might notice that there are no Hawks, no Natas and no McGill decks featured this month. That was half by chance and half by choice. I hope you don’t miss them! Check Out eBay Watch: January 2010.

Skateboard as fashion accessory. This time from Vogue Pelle, which I thought was Italian Vogue, were it not for the existence of Vogue Italia. And there you have it. I guess this is a step above Teen Vogue.

In Tony Hawk’s book Occupation: Skateboarder he mentions that when his very first pro model was released in 1982 it wasn’t exactly a top seller. Hell, if anything, it was a bottom dweller. To add insult to injury the market for skateboards back then was nonexistent at best, so to not have a remotely popular model translated to mere pennies on the royalty dollar—more precisely, 85 cents, the whopping sum total of which Tony claimed to represent one of his earliest royalty check payments as a paid professional skateboarder.

A while back we had a Shot of the Week taken in a living room bowl known as the Blue Tile Lounge. It’s located in Charleston South Carolina, which is my new favorite part o f the country, even though I haven’t been there in about 20 years. I dunno, it seems like something is brewing down there. If you’re not moving to Oregon to skate, consider South Carolina. Steve Aycock, the photographer, put together a short interview with the proprietors, which I’m liberally sprinkling with his photos.

This spread is from the 1977 Theodor Seuss Geisel book titled Please Try to Remember the First of Octember, written under the pen name of Theo LeSeig, as in the case of all the children’s books he wrote but others illustrated. It seems he saved the Dr Seuss name for books that he both wrote and illustrated. Notice that LeSieg spelled backwards is… Geisel. What a clever man, if I do say so, er, uhmmm, myself. Enlarge-o-rama.

Slovenian reader Urban Kravos sent in a link to his web site where among other things like stencil art, he’s got a gallery of his apartment that is a work in progress making sure his girlfriend never asks to move in with him. (Sorry, Urban, couldn’t resist!) Kravos is an architect by trade but has been skating since age 7, and decided to surround himself with what he loves. I’ve been also making skateboards for my hobby since 1999, first from birch plywood and about two years ago I started with vacuum technic. I’ve seen that you already found two of my friends from Slovenia, Ali Jusovic and Konan. The skateboard scene here is really small compared to the states, and everybody knows each other, and of course we all skate together when we find time…For us it is the best scene in the world, but I guess everybody thinks so about their skate surroundings. The best thing is, that we don’t actually have any good public skateparks, except that shity modular wood year 1995 type, but some riders are really good and creative, just look at Almir…And I actually don’t know anybody, that would like to be a professional…

Well that’s what I get for sitting on my hands. I had planned a little photo feature of the D.I.Y. project known as Wasteland, courtesy of Steve Aycock, but before I got around to it, the property owners demolished the spot. The Charleston City Paper has an article on how it all went down. Check out Steve’s (AKA SCphotog) Wasteland flickr stream for a wide range of shots including construction in progress. Don’t forget to check out the full frame shot of Corey Dowds as Shot of the Week.

The Dept. will be hosting the ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE Contest Sunday Feb. 14th. Mike and Justin over at Shrunken Head Skateboards are the masterminds behind this unique event that promises to be a departure from any contest you’ve experienced in the past. All your favorites in LOCAL PORTLAND SKATEBOARDING will be representing. Face it, you more than likely don’t have a valentine so there should be no good reason you don’t check this out. For more info hit up those guys at shrunkenheadskateboards.com. Well shave our heads bald and put on a yellow t-shirt with a crooked black stripe. We feel like Charlie Brown becasue we weren’t even invited.