Skateboard Shannon is for sale on the mean streets of Used Calgary. That’s right, she’s used and cheap, but she can still show you some fun. She knows all the tricks and will do whatever you tell her. When your time is up you’d better pay her or else Skateboard Johnny will mess you up, bad.

I came across this web site (get your mind out of the gutter) while doing some, errrr, research. Gaybar Zine is a German web site that handles all your skate, BMX, graffiti and even struller needs. Kind of like a modern Action Now I guess. I’m not sure what the connection is with the Gaybar title. Maybe it’s one of those things where it means something different in German, Kind of like the time I was in Polland and saw an amusement park ride called the “Super Fahrt.” Anyway, I can’t hear the words “gay bar” without thinking of the Electric Six.

A concerned citizen at the Ed Benedict meeting last night busted the chops of Kyle from NewLine Skateparks about the fact that none of the skaters in his presentation were wearing helmets or safety equipment. I wanted to pipe up that I just think of it as evolution in action. It was too much to go into the helmets are aesthetically unappealing in photos and footage and since many skaters are all about the coverage… discussion.

Head injuries are no joke, I have been getting a lot of google alerts about skaters dying all over the country because they fell on their heads while skating. A skater died from head trauma wilsoning a transfer over a four foot spine at the Pt. Angeles skatepark. Your choice dude, we’ll miss you.

Here’s a story about skateboarding injuries including head trauma from a Connecticut hospital’s website.

More than 50,000 emergency department visits a year are related to skateboarding injuries. Most of the 1,500 people who are hospitalized have head injuries. Dr. William Horgan, a specialist board certified in both adult and pediatric emergency medicine, works in the Backus Hospital Emergency Department.

“Skateboarding injuries are very common and typically include wrist fractures and elbow dislocations,” Horgan said.

From CEO Health Line.

Listen to the podcast.

image – Bandeck – from thinkmo’s photos

I actually named my cat “Rerun” after the character in this show. At the time, 10 years ago, my girlfriend and I thought it was hilarious – the cat’s name, not the TV show. Now I’m married to that girl (Not That Girl) and our cat pees on my pads. The complete season two of What’s Happening is available on Amazon. Does anyone know if there is there any skateboarding these episodes? If you need audio to get in the What’s Happening!! mood, click here and scroll down.

[Source: Bobcat via Sleestak.net]

Dave Adams sent in this picture of the newest Team Pain skatepark in Dunedin, Florida, which is celebrating its grand opening Saturday September 15th.

I personally have been working on getting this park built for nine years, so it’s a very big deal for me and the skate commuity here in Pinellas County. The Team Pain concrete crew did some amazing work to fit what they built in a relatively small area of 10K sq ft., and they had to build it all above ground by building retaining walls and placing a lot of fill to get it done.

There are a lot more pictures on the Team Pain news site. If I’m not mistaken, I think the Englewood park the Team Pain recently finished is in or near Pinellas County as well. (Update: No, it’s not. Englewood is about 100 miles south of Dunedin.) Dunedin looks like it’s a fun spot. Congrats to Dave and the Dunedin locals, as well as Team Pain. Now send us some action photos! Update: The Groms are barging!

Skateboarding messaged novelty undershirts at CafePress. They have these on dark shirts too but the white ones were easier to read.

thanks to Dan Hughes for sharing this.

Holly Farm Park Grand Opening. Saturday, September 15, 3:00pm. In case you are a community-oriented type. Portland Parks Foundation funded the park privately and included the skatepark as part of the park concept. Thank you Portland Parks Foundation.

A high school in North East Portland had to be closed down due to asbestos or black mold, or so the rumors go. It was too expensive to rehab it and they apparently didn’t need the space so they decided to tear the whole thing down. It was where Gus Van Sant filmed the 2003 movie Elephant that Grover mentions in his GVK episode titled Paranoid Park Tryouts. It was already vacant when they filmed the movie, and for the past few years or two it was home to a DIY street plaza that the locals had built in the semi-secluded parking lot. There were a bunch of grind rails and artificial ledges set up on the island curbs, as well as a couple crazy ramps of various size and design. It was all very sketchy, but admirable. Every once in a while I would spy a few kids dinking around on their boards. Whenever I drove by, which was a couple times a week, I made a mental note that I should photograph it. Well, needless to say, I waited too long. This Spring they finally demolished the school to make way for some real estate development because the Portland school district needs the money. Before the demolition started they removed all the street obstacles and fenced in the parking lot for the workers and support equipment. By the time I got there with a camera, the only skating obstacle left had been moved upstairs into a courtyard balcony. I can’t even remember the name of the school since they tore down the sign. It’s now a big empty field on the corner of NE 42nd and Killingsworth. The athletic fields and expansive adjacent park footage are not included in the redevelopment plans, and will remain in place. The park has ironically been chosen as an eventual location for one of Portland’s 19 skatepark sites.

Skateboards: Your child may not want to cruise the neighborhood on his skateboard, but he’ll probably think it looks cool in his room – you can easily turn this into a rad shelf that holds his important stuff. Purchase a pair of L-brackets that are a little more than half as long as the skateboard’s width. Screw the brackets into studs in the wall and set the board on top. You can remove the wheels if you choose.

Hey kids, you know what really looks cool? A skateboard smashing a television set and a kid going out to skate!

Other helpful hints from Real Simple magazine via CBS News Parenting

I just stacked all my skateboarding books on a skateboard and took a picture.