This commercial for Babybel Cheese has a lot of incidental skating in the background, designed to make you think the location is a skatepark. In the enlarged stills it’s very apparent that it’s just a public plaza with a few ramps thrown in to enhance the illusion. The dead giveaway is the full loop track at the top of the steps.

Thrasher Magazine was hacked this weekend by a group or individual called Indonesian Hacker, who first apologized and then really gave those right wing imperialistic fascist heathens at Thrasher a piece of his mind. Yeah, makes no sense to me either. Anyway, the site is back up. Antigravity Press got hacked last week. I’m going to back up Skate and Annoy tonight. – Thanks to Rayn Hass for the tip.

If you are in Portland, the show is on a Thursday night. You’ll be able to contribute to Howard’s campaign for city council. Howard will be speaking and collecting qualifying contributions. Click here to see the flyer larger, or here to see why you should care.

Really, this still image of Mr Orange (?) is about all you need to see from the M&M’s commercial that is still airing, unless you are wondering what Paul Weller would look like if he was a candy coated chocolate that came to life. And it’s vintage The The in the soundtrack. Speaking of the Jam, did you know Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler are touring without Weller as the appropriately titled From the Jam? Now that’s brutal honesty for you! I don’t know where/what/when Weller replacement Russell Hastings is from, but he looks the part and the reviews are good. Coming to North America and Japan in 2008.

I found this magazine online a year or so ago and tried to get them to send me a copy but never heard back from them. The whole thing had a sort of fishy, half baked feeling to it, as if they maybe made one issue as a test and were trying to see if it was a viable money making concept. The Pastor Tom cover made me chuckle because of the 8-wheeler on the cover and the tag line “Why every community could use a Tom Fain.” Really? Every community could use a guy who is seemingly completely out of touch with skateboarding culture?

I forgot to post a couple of comics. Here’s Tuesday and here’s Wednesday. I back-dated them.

Howard Weiner intends to run for the Portland city council seat that will be vacated when Sam Adams runs for mayor. He needs 1000 registered Portland voters to make $5 contributions by January 31, 2008 to qualify him for the ballot. Howard owns Cal Skate and has has been a longtime advocate for skateparks in Portland in addition to other services to the community. The Portland skateboarding community has benefitted from support of the mayor and the city commissioners. With skateboarding supporter Mayor Potter leaving and Sam Adams running for Mayor, it would be a good idea to support a pro-skateboarding candidate. We still have a lot of work to do on the skatepark system and we don’t want the issue to be pushed to the back burner by regime change. You can sign up and donate at Cal Skate. Check the Howard for Portland website for more about Howard’s council bid.

Latest trailer for a proposed Portland skateboarding documentary series by Rick Coyle and Milan Spasic. That’s Jay Smay as the Feral Kid and me in the red shirt.