So apparently Transworld had (has?) some sort of Pin Up of the Month. My subscription lapsed… some years ago, so I don’t know if it’s ongoing. As part of their business model, the idea of a Transworld Skateboarding Pin Up Girl is pretty ironic, considering Transworld was supposedly started as a backlash to some of the more racy content and adverts that were appearing in Thrasher in the early 80’s. Well that, and to make money of course. Here’s a behind the scenes video of one of the photo shots. Classy. I mean, I know we’re posting it here on Skate and Annoy, but it seems so out of place in Transworld. Think of the lost shoe advertisement revenue!

We did wacky Japanese skateparks today, so next up is wacky French three wheeled electric skateboards from the same people who brought you the Girls Allowed Here photo set. It’s called GroundSurf, and of course there are Chinese and Taiwanese knockoffs.

I guess this is old, but it was new to me, so here we are. It’s a pretty funny video spoof on corporate orientation videos done by Girl Skateboards. It gets a bit slow and sometimes they get off theme, but overall it’s pretty well done. The “orientation” takes you through a bunch of differnt aspects of the operation. Noticeably absent is the wood shop, so draw your own conclusions. The host is reminiscent of Chris Farley at times. [Source: Dept of Skateboarding]

Today is the day I retread all of yesterday’s posts. This is Concrete Surf at a place called Villa Spica in Japan. 1000 Yen will get you a full day of skating. As of Today that was about $9.56. There aren’t many photos on the official web site. I got these from Black Flys Japan, where you can find more. Looks like there’s a sort of combi bowl in the raised platform and left handed kidney at ground level, and of course the crazy amorphous snake run oozing off the platform. It has “Wooden Toy” embedded a few times in the coping. Anyone know what that’s about, besides the whole Useless Wooden Toys reference? There are three more (blah) pics on Volcom Japan, but it’s worth checking out becasue one of the shots shows the scale and is from a different angle than all the overviews. I have to say, from halfway across the globe, and without ever riding it, I’m a fan. Wacky snake run and all. I like the fact that the lip is raised and spills over onto the flat. I think it needs a bank around the whole perimeter though. japanese readers, send in some pics!…

The minor crisis in journalistic integrity is over. The person who sent me the photos had not meant to imply that they were his own, which was why he couldn’t provide any additional information. I did find the original source, which was a link on NCDSA.com from a Swede named Toby: It’s an old timber trench/ditch that isn’t used today. All you need is a broom to clean it out in the spring and you’re good to go. It’s about 450 yards long and made out of metal. If you ever are in Umeå, Sweden, mail me and we’ll take you there! Toby has two photos and videos of the ditch/pipe mixed in amongst three pages in an incredibly slow gallery. They are more atmosphere shots than gnarly skateboard action. Same goes for the video. Looks like a really fun spot. Photos 1 – Photos 2 – Videos.

UPDATE: We originally erroneously reported this as the St. Lucie skatepark. While it is close to St. Lucie County, it’s actually located in Fort Pierce, making it the Fort Pierce skatepark. Tito from Team Pain sent in some construction pics of the Fort Pierce skatepark several weeks ago, so it’s likely much different looking by now. Sorry for the delay. I believe this park first came to our attention during the discussion on modern snake runs, which is a good excuse to link to this crazy new snake run/bomb shelter bunker that just opened in Japan. (From Skate Daily) More St. Lucie pics after the jump.

Skull Skates, Klutch.org and Diesel Fuel present … GREED CLOWN by artist: Pierre Dacruoix. This Saturday in Portland there is an art show by PD, the PD behind Skull Skates. It’s happening at Diesel Fuel Prints (which is where we get our stickers, btw.) and everything is around $10. It’s a one night only show on Saturday April 26th, from 6-10pm. Diesel Fuel Prints is located at 726 South East 10th Avenue Portland, OR UPDATE: “PD got shut down at customs and they wouldn’t let him bring the shirts. Sucks but we will reschedule.”

CNN has a video piece on helmet safety and skateboarding. It’s the usual not very-in-depth filler complete with a couple who lost their son to a head injury to pull on your heartstrings. What’s not clear is what the kid was doing, from the limited amount of information they give. I think he was possibly just traveling from point A to B as his family walked behind him, but speculation is pointless and the tragedy is not diminished. However, the couple and CNN’s tone seem to be implying that video game characters and magazine pictures should all be wearing helmets too. I mean really? Is that how much baby sitting we need now as a society? Are seatbelts going to be mandatory in driving video games as well? What about games where you battle the undead or perform similar unrealistic maneuvers? It’s the same kind of asinine mentality that places those disclaimers on the bottom of TV commercials that say “Professional drivers on a closed circuit, do not attempt” or “Exaggerated driving conditions. Not a performance claim.” Really? I can’t drive up the side of building in my Geo Metro? I shouldn’t base jump off the Sears Tower in search…