Strange sights at Glenhaven.

Mount Tabor in Portland Oregon is a popular spot for casual downhill and the occasional slalom race. It’s paved asphalt road is smooth and closed to automobile traffic. The incline and turns never get too hairy, but you can still get going at a decent clip. Mt. Tabor also has an open (drinking) water reservoir with visible banked walls. If you’ve ever wondered if that spot was skateable underneath, wonder no more. [Photo: Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian]

Polygon is a Swedish company (since 1996) that makes hardware and clothing or something, including funny videos like this one for Future Pads. The web site is mostly in Swedish but for some reason all the video trailers have English voiceovers. To help foreign visitors get the full experience, they have included this helpful bit: We understand the fact that you can’t read our singing language, therefore: if you have any questions or just want to get in touch with our headquarters, maybe you are a fellow skateboard blogger havin’ some kind of link-exchange monkey business knockin’ about or, well ehhh anyway…. No matter, the pictures are in the international language of skateboarding, and these guys (what is Swedish for “dude?”) seem to have a good sense of humor and some good sound equipment. Jerry Svensson skate photo by Jocke Boberg. Check out the vid after the jump. [Update: I forgot to add the link to Polygon. Now I have. Twice. Duh.]

Because I waste my time not skateboarding by writing about skateboarding instead of playing video games, I was unaware of this 2004(!) game called TrackMania that lets players create and race on their own Extreme™! tracks. Not all of them are skateboard inspired, but this one sure is. Watch the video after the jump.

Circle is a pretty good online ‘zine from Europe. Great wrestling photos from issue three. I know we have a wrestling SIG here at Skate and Annoy.

You can’t skate in the Aurora Illinois grade school unless you are a Guinea pig, and I don’t mean the figurative kind. Hall Elementary School has a class pet that is a Guinea pig, and for some reason the teachers allow an d encourage children to drag the Guinea pig through the halls on a skateboard. Yes, they used the “teacher’s pet” joke. Yes, Aurora is a neighboring suburb to Naperville. Yes, this is a weak post. Yes, you can read more at theBeacon News.

An ad agency called EyeWonder has created some crazy banner ads for web pages that unfold and let interested parties fool around and learn about Tony Hawk’s Project 8 game without having to leave the page. You can do things like use your cursor to scrub through the super slow motion “Nail the Trick” sequences and view trailers and screen captures. It’s very well thought out use of web technology to draw in the viewer. The average game console graphics engine must not be up to snuff when it comes to skinning the character’s shoes, otherwise I can’t believe they would pass up the extra product tie-in opportunity with the accompanying kick-back. Check out a demo of the ad here, and no, they didn’t pay to be included here, It just happens that it’s interesting enough to warrant a post here. Free advertising… Bastards! [Source: Eywonder]

This guy is a type designer as well as a skater. Looks nice but what happens if you use it? Do the little squares come off? Our friend Chuck Ellis does equally intricate but less regular pattern with his grip tape – I’ll try to find a photo.