I was reading an article in the Lower Hudson Online about Pioneering Rockland skateboarders still at it in their 40s and I had to chuckle when they got to the part explaining the team’s name.

The Wizards came up with their team’s name to reflect the creative inspiration that came with each move, said Jamaal Bey, the team’s leader. The skateboard was the magic wand, and the skateboarder was the wizard who would perform each new trick.

Now the 70’s sure were a groovy time. Wizards, dragons and unicorns were all very heavy and hip back then. Nowadays the idea of a private skateboard team with a ridiculous name seems laughable, except for the err, uh, Scrotes. I had to laugh again when the article mentioned the team would sneak into empty pools to practice. Practice what? Sneaking into pools? The act of skating the pool is the end reward, not something you practice in anticipation of something else. One of the Wizards has a truly wacky but passionate side business called Bey Boards that err, focuses on things like skate brakes, weird downhill bikes (that I swear I’ve seen before) Nascar-themed downhill boards, lace savers (that take a truly unique approach) and other skateboard related paraphernalia, most of which falls under the conflicting name of Black Sheep Golden Child. Which brings to mind one of my favorite scenes in Repo Man – Did you do a lot of acid back in the 60’s Miller? Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.

Update: The owner of the copyright on the pictures above wanted to get paid, or couldn’t have a chuckle at himself. He wants to bill us for unauthorized use of his photos, even though we were using them to promote the article about him and his friend’s company. So now it’s gone. This marks the second recent occasion where someone has gone out of their way to take themselves too seriously. Sad thing is, this guy actually skates, or used to at least. Must be kind of hard to skate with that pole lodged up his backside.

Here’s the info in case you can’t read the graphic. Battle Ground Skate Park Grand Opening. Saturday June 2. Noon-5 p.m. Skate Demos by Manik Skateboards, Vox Shoes, Rebel Skates, Bacon Skateboards and the Mulkiteo YMCA Skate Team. Music by the Fakies. BMX demo by Northwest Crew at 4 p.m. Prizes and Giveaways

To make up for our overall snotty temperament, we sometimes are sentenced like to do a little bit of public service. In that spirit we bring you this story about Nathan Curry, an American working in Nicaragua who is building a skatepark there in his spare time. I first found out about Nathan’s project in the Bowling Green Daily News. After tracking him down, he agreed to answer a few questions and send in some progress reports. Be the first person to correctly identify the reference in the title of this post and win…

Let’s see, directional surfboard shape and no kicktail or upturned nose. Looks like that skateboard is stuck in 60’s. At least it’s 10 years ahead of the general feel of the comic strip. Did you know that daddy once had a drinking problem?

Larry Pescatore sent in another batch of construction pics from the Wormhoudt project in San Jose. The monolith is very… monolithic in nature. 2007, a Skate Odyssey. Check out larger picture after the jump, and since I haven’t had this much fun Photoshopping Sci-fi skateboard graphic crossovers since Blade Runner, take a look at the other teasers I had to choose from.

Word travelled fast, but in case you haven’t heard, Battleground Washington opened this weekend a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. Not surprisingly, there was a major rumble between a clan of BMX riders and an irate posse of… Not really. Everyone got along fine. Photo of Mark Conahan from Earth Patrol Media.

It’s true, the helmet saved his life. Of course the article doesn’t get into why the kid was laying on his skateboard, rolling head first into the street.

Jace was playing at the friend’s house a week ago, riding a skateboard “skeleton” – lying on his stomach and going headfirst down the friend’s driveway and into the street. The “daredevil,” as his mother Julie Muir calls him, didn’t see the car coming.

I’m not sure if “daredevil” is what I would call this kid, but I’m glad he’s alive. I can only hope my kids don’t do something that stupid when they grow up.

That’s right. variety is the spice of life. We’re looking to add another point of view to Skate and Annoy, something we’ve heard is called street skating, as implausible as that sounds, which is not to be confused with street-style, which is being, er, uh, practiced in the shot above that I got from the Chitown Shred archives. But seriously folks. We need to cover the grittier side of skating. I love skate parks, but there’s a different vibe with skating something found as opposed to something made for skating. Help us out, and get in contact if you think you can be our man on the street. Or woman. Geographic locale is not an issue.