Luka Karlin is a 15 year old skater from Slovenia whose crew put together a video called Phobia that you can watch on Vimeo. I always like to see skate spots in different parts of the country or world. There’s some cool stuff in Phobia, for example, the ramp in the top two pics has avery nice covered structure on tracks that slides off for skating. I think Phobia is broken into different parts, just click on the related videos that have Phobia in the title. In case you are wondering, Luka is one of the crazy Slovenians.

Not only are many big name skateboards manufactured in China, now they are going to start making our extreme sports genre films there too. CounterCulture Independent Filmmakers’ Resource, has the following oportunity listed: Wanted Screenplays with a Skateboard Theme to shoot in China Budget is 1.5 million. Investor is a skateboard champion and wants to produce a feature in Shanghai with a skateboard theme. Big question, who is the “skateboard champion?” I accidentally caught a Chinese action film on cable that has big chase scene that takes place on mountain boards. I forget the name of it, but it’s probably at least three years old. – Thanks to Tito Porrata for the tip.

A crooked cop asked me to mention Tr3spass.com, new San Francisco area site focusing mostly on ditches, banks and any other skateable cement. It’s in the beginning stages right now, so now’s your chance to get in on the ground floor. Check it out.

Lat year we highlighted the Built to Skate video, and now it’s time for another look. 2008’s version is available in two sizes 320×240 and 640×480. In case you don’t remember, the Built to Skate crew in Austria (who are they? I mean, where’s the link?) spends some time pouring guerilla concrete to make found obstacles more skateable, then they go out and document the session. Sounds great, right? It is pretty great. I liked last year’s video better, but maybe that’s because it was the first time I was introduced to the concept. In any case, it’s still a great concept. Check it out. – Thanks to Roman Astleitner for the tip.

So Rich of E.P.M. and myself managed a couple press passes out of the A.S.T. crew. As it turns out, video was not allowed, that only slowed me down a couple of times. They threatened to kick me out. I shouted “Do you know who I am?” Apparently they had not heard of G.V.K.. Talk about living under a rock, or not really being involved in skateboarding. (the riding side). You may notice a difference in video quality. That is because I checked out a Get HI Def video camera from the E.P.M. library. Wow, what a difference. Watch out Mack Dawg productions. Well this video made me want a vert ramp so bad. How about you? P.S. I went to San Diego and skated the ramp at the Y.M.C.A that where 80 percent of these guys ride. Vert is dying and becoming incestuous. Lets build some f-king ramps and take it back bizzellitch.. – Poser off.

Yakima, Washington has new skatepark built by Grindline, and a problem with the locals getting stuck in the bowls during the winter. There’s video over at KEPRTV.com. Yakima, Washington folks should be used to snow, right? We rarely get snow in Portland, yet we never get stuck in the bowls when they are full of snow. To be fair, kids sometimes get stuck in Pier Park’s deep bowl even when it’s dry. Somewhere MC has a comic or two about that. That rope isn’t for hanging rollerbladers, it’s to help kids crawl out of the bowls. The fire department has been called out three times in 24 hours to rescue trapped kids. – Thanks to Tito for the tip.

I’m beginning to feel like there might be enough to make a skateboard-only Christmas tree. One time the missus and I decorated a tree entirely with plastic bugs and rubber snakes that we bought in bulk and used a fishing line and a sewing needle to make the loops. You have to heat the needle tip over a lighter to make it go through the bugs without destroying your thumb. It occurred to me that I’m always making these type of posts too close to the actual date that they pertain to. Believe me when I tell you that someone will contact me in six months, asking where they can buy one of these things. Listen up. We don’t sell them, and if they don’t show up on the links I’ve provided, then I can’t help you out any further. Bah, Humbug! – Thanks to Daddy Yo for the tip.

First up, Mark Gonzales in a Nissan commercial. Funny thing is, when I saw this commercial the very first time I kept expecting a skateboard, but it never materialized. Something about the commercial exuded a skateboarding vibe, or a similar sense of fun. I didn’t recognize the Gonz the first time because he was completely out of context, and quite frankly I didn’t pay attention to it after the first viewing. That thirty second commercial skip button is great. Watch the spot after the jump. – Thanks to Seth Berg for the tip. Next up, not one, but two Stacy Peralta items. Did you know he was the one who made the Burger King commercial titled “Whopper Virgins?” Well, neither did I, but Fuel TV did. They implied that the skateboarding community might have something to say about it, Im not sure why though, because he was a filmmaker hired to do a job, not a guy appearing as a skateboarder in a commercial for say… a video game.

Digital print on demand services don’t really count as mass produced items, but there are a bunch of skateboard Christmas ornaments available at Cafe Press that like most of the fare found there, ranges from well done illustrations (in rare cases) to what is essentially clip art, with a catch phrase if you are lucky! There should be some sort of fine for any meathead who uploads clip art to Cafe Press. I’m going to strike it rich honey! They’re just giving away these drawings! I know, add a “No Fear” to it! As Dr Brad is fond of saying lately, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. Even the nice illustrations look cheesy on the mockups. maybe they are better looking in real life. – Thanks to… (Drumroll please) Daddy Yo for the tip! Part two coming later.

Jeff Greenwood is the guy who started Concrete Disciples as a print zine from the Northwest, no less, and brought it online way back in 1997. Concrete Disciples is one of the biggest independent forums in the online skateboarding world. Sure, the big forums have a rep as a haven for bunch of whiny babies and armchair skateboarders, but as long time SnA readers can recently attest, you can’t control who decides to visit your site. I met Jeff a few years back and he was a very down to earth guy. He was enjoying the hell out of some Oregon skateparks at the time. I think it’s been a while since he’s been out here. Running one of these sites can be a thankless job. Jeff had some serious health issues for a while, and he’s got some partners now, but he’s always been the driving force behind Concrete Disciples. Blah blah blah. Go read the interview over at Europe Skate. – Thanks to Rene Morales for the tip.