No matter how much you think your town sucks to skate in, someone somewhere has it worse. Like… Afghanistan. Time magazine has a video featuring of all things skateboarding Afghans, who are skating the burliest pool I’ve ever seen ridden. Image courtesy of Time Update: Skateistan’s website has more photos and information. 

I came across a cool t-shirt on the internet of the drawing on the left. (reacharound to Monoscope) which led me to a short piece by the artist. Oh yeah, and Huck magazine, which seems to be one of those all action sports mags from the U.K. has the shirt in their store.

In case you didn’t read the comments on the previous custom board graphics post, JF pointed out the Board Pusher website. They have a much better range of sizes and shapes and are skate-centric. I wonder how the quality compares.

Came across this in the Concrete Disciples forums where a heated discussion was underway about silkscreened skateboard graphics vs. heat transfers. Some member calling himself 5CU111 ALX posted the link. Zazzle’s website offers to put your custom graphics on a skate deck. I didn’t see any dimensions but they do offer three sizes.

There’s still time to bid on some art boards over at the Ism SK8OLOGY charity auction. Most boards are still at pre-ridiculous eBay levels, so if you want to class up your apartment for a hot date, or you know, buy some art and help a good cause, get on over there.

I missed this on Skate Daily, but it looks like John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin is a fervent skateboard harasser. She supported penalties for using skateboards on public or private property as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. “ — after the expected opening of the $233,000 Wasilla Skate Park — skaters will be breaking the law if they use their skateboards, in-line skates, bicycles, scooters (or any other recreational, non-motorized wheeled device) on public or private property where signs are posted forbidding their use.” OK, fines for skating on public property where a sign is posted seems like something that falls within the realm of the law, whether you agree with the inherent justness of the law or not. Penalties start with a written warning and escalate to fines and eventual permanent confiscation. However, skateboard specific fines and the permanent forfeiture of your property for skateboarding on private property where a sign forbids it seems like an entirely different matter. I wonder if she’d support forfeiture of personal firearms in cases of trespassing that didn’t involve assault or some other violent crime. It’s doubtful. In any case, it’s a great excuse to post the SNL video with Tina Fey as…

I haven’t made any invert attempts since Saturday, but this video trick tip from Bacon’s Tim Johnson makes me think that eggplants shouldn’t be too hard. Yeah, right. Everyone except Conahan can check it out after the jump.

Sure, we’re all about Japan here, but when are we going to cover something that often gets overlooked, like, oh, i don’t know. Say for instance, the Northwest bowl scene? Bailgun is a video put together by Steve Reeves. So this was submitted (Not by Steve) as a potential palate cleanser after watching the Overground Broadcasting clip. I’ve often wished cheap video cameras were available when I was a wild impetuous youth, but then after watching some of the scenes in Bailgun, I’m kind of glad I didn’t film all my, errr… escapades. Bailgun is not without charm, but it’s a bit long. Did you know the U.S. Army had a weapons program where gun howitzers were tested for firing nuclear bombs in artillery shells? You can see one in action, mushroom cloud included, in the opening credits of Bailgun. Awesome, and very disturbiing. Watch it after the jump. Completely unrelated Bailgun news: Bailgun Magazine #7 is now available for viewing and download. Bailgun is based in Germany, and #7 is the Swedish issue. – Thanks to Daniel Evans for the tip.

Actiga is a company with it’s finger on the pulse of… No. let’s see… Carpal Tunnel syndrome was never this Extreme!™ Oh never mind. These guys have a couple of products aimed at enhancing your sports gaming experience. First up is Big Vert, a skateboard that you stand on an use as a controller to play skateboarding video games, kind of like the Wii Balance Board, huh? They also appear to have a series of games with little controllers that look like the sport you are supposed to be playing. [Source: Gizmodo. – Thanks to Dave Arpin for the tip.]

The Illuminati were a secret society of “enlightened” individuals whose cryptic ongoings were often assumed to aim at world domination through government and corporate manipulation.  The conspiracy theories behind this group often suggest a creepy group that worked outside the realms of common people with the goal of a New World Order.  Their meetings were held in utmost secrecy for fear of religious and legal persecution. Skateboarders, also, are an “enlightened” class of people through their vision and practice.  Essentially, a commoner may see a place to walk up or down a set of stairs while grasping a handrail to arrive at a destination of higher or lower altitude, while a skateboarder sees a unique challenge representative of his/her specific styles and abilities.