The album may be from 1997, but that board is pure 1988. I’ve never heard the Dwarves, but they have quite a reputation. You can see the album cover for The Dwarves are Young & Good Looking wherever the CD is sold, or visit the official Dwarves web site. Nash pasties added to keep us work/school safe.

If they are going to build skateparks in Iran, have outreaches in Afghanistan, what’s next, Guantanamo Bay? YES! I don’t know if the presidential shaka is responsible or not, but Sphon Ranch is going to build a bowl and a wedge bank (like the one seen above) in Guantanamo Bay. The “Morale Office” is bringing in some pro skaters for a demo, and they want them to have concrete to skate on. Spohn has been given exactly one week to get the whole thing finished, so there’s really no other way to do it. Pre-fab concrete can’t be beat in a situation like this. No word on who the pro team is, but let’s hope they bring some extra boards for the Subvert Cuba project. While we’re talking about Spohn Ranch, let’s revisit the LA Street Plaza and check out a new Brownsville, Tx skatepark that just opened. I have to warn you, there’s a video after the jump that may start playing automatically. I’m warning you because it’s NSFA, or “Not safe for agnostics,” as in it’s from an organization called SkateBible and as such features some bad Christian folk music and a little gratuitous use of the G-word. Also, after reloading the page a couple times, an advert started playing as well, without allowing me to turn down the volume. Come on Transworld, get your Netiquette act together.

I swear there are less than five pictures of the Long Rider skateboard on the internet. Thanks to a tip from House of Neil I found this one tucked away on page 471 of the 1984 Montgomery Wards Christmas Catalog. It wasn’t as easy as doing a search in Google Images. You know how I’m going through the tedious process of scanning old skate zines page by page? Well, someone else over at Wishbookweb.com with a less narrow obsessive compulsive disorder is scanning and posting entire Christmas catalogs. So far there are about 20 catalogs up there, with dates ranging from 1933 to 1988. I’ve gone through a bunch of likely suspects, and there are a few skateboards in there.

The diffusion of skateboarding into the popular culture as a fashion trend always tweaked me but blue jeans and t-shirts were popularized by poseurs trying to look proletarian. Any thoughtless aping of an idea is to be despised. That said, I will admit to fascination with all aspects of the history of skateboarding. This looks like a well designed book about skate shoes. Great photographs of the shoes are juxtaposed with magazine layouts and ads. Based on the collection of the Museum of Skateboard History in Stuttgart, Germany which we posted about before. I found the book here but you can also find it at Amazon

I don’t know what you call this kind of riding, half-ditch? Who cares, it’s rad. This is a closeup of a shot of John John Aguilar skating a ditch type situation in Mexico City, circa 1989. See that concrete halfpipe in the background? John said this was an old closed up skatepark called Dogtown. They had to hop a fence and barge it. The caretaker kept a small amount a sheep on the lot and occasionally skaters would have to dodge the males with horns who were intent on ramming intruders. John lives in Bellingham, Washington now, so the only thing he has to dodge is little kids. See the whole thing after the jump.

Bryce kind of looks like a thug in this still from Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground. I snagged this image from Bordistan. This is just a reminder about his show at DOS on Friday the 30th, from 7-10pm. See you there!

On Tuesday we got a nice covering of fat, white snow here in Portland. It came down pretty good for a couple hours in the middle of the day. It even stayed solid on the streets, which usually doesn’t happen here. But, by the end of the daylight it had pretty much been replaced by rain, and it melted away. I looked outside at about 5:00 and it all seemed like a pleasant dream. Over the weekend I went to a kids birthday party (with my kids, not to abduct toddlers…) that was at an ice rink. It was the firsttime I’d had on ice skates since grade school. I go to thinking about those old ice board kits that were for sale in the back of Thrasher.

I always thought Xeni Jardin seemed cool with that spiky while hair. Turns out she’s actually a punk rock survivor. She does an interview with Glen Friedman on Boing Boing TV. Looks like Glen Friedman had a show at Shepard Fairey’s gallery in LA. Fairey’s interview last week was pretty great too. I was wondering about the skate photos in the background.

You tube version embedded after the jump.

This week’s Shot of the Week is Adam Hopkins skating in Burnaby, British Columbia. This is the teaser shot designed to disorient the viewr, the full frame shot will give you a totally different perspective. Dylan Davies took this shot in the fall of 2008. After you check outhte full frame Shot of the Week, (No peeking!) come back here to finish the conversation.

There’s no relation whatsoever. I got a press release from DC Jams records letting me know that JFA is going to release a live album called “To All Our Friends” in April. It’s been 10 years since a full length release from JFA. I’ve never been a super huge JFA fan, I always like the concept better than most of the actual music, but I did wear out the groove replaying the Peanuts theme on my copy of the Mad Garden EP. Need some JFA to tide you over? Heres the official band site, and an interview from Maximum Rock and Roll, circa 1983. I hate to keep bringing up Juice Magazine, but the last issue (#65) also has a really good interview with Tim Kerr of the legendary Big Boys conducted by Steve Olson. Kerr talks about the infamous open letter in Thrasher from JFA challenging all so-called skate rock bands to put up or shut up. Basically a skate challenge. Kerr recalls JFA coming to Texas and bringing them to the Pflugerville ditch for what he thought was just a friendly session, but in retrospect turned out to be JFA assessing whether or not the Big Boys qualified as Skate Rock. Amusing stuff. (Bonus link with the same story, Tim Kerr interviewed in August 2001 Thrasher.)

Why am I dragging the Lurkers into this? Because it’s the only way I could think to justify posting the album cover for 1979’s God’s Lonely Men. That looks like a fun skate spot in the background there.