California Community Colleges Satellite Network (CCCSAT ) has some sort of series called Grant Britain Skateboarding Photographer that you can watch on satellite TV or view via webcast for free, provided you are a student of California Community Colleges. Education without boundaries, my ass! It aired already, but it airs again on 1/29 at 10:29am, 1/31 at 8:30pm, on 2/2 at 4:30pm, and on 2/3 at 8:32pm. See if you can figure it out. The CCCSAT web site is confusing as all heck. Supposedly this is Episode #124 – Typography. I find it hard to believe that Grant’s had 123 other episodes. Someone figure out how to watch this, then record it and post it on YouTube for the rest of us. Maybe Grant has more info in his blog over at the Skateboard Mag, which is where I poached that picture from, and where you’ll find recurring great shots he pulls from his extensive body of work.

Jürgen Horrwarth won the vert and was winning the mini-ramp-bowl portion of the European Skateboard Championships in Basle, Switzerland when it was rained out. There’s an interview with Jürgen on the Red Bull site. It’s supposed to be a direct link, but it’s wacky. Once the page loads you have to click on the “Visit Red Bull International” option and click the “interview” button. Another case of superfluous Flash Development gone awry…  The interview is really dry. Your time is better spent blowing it off and reading this excerpted  Claus  Grabke  interview from Juice Magazine. If you’re a die hard Jürgen Horrwarth fan, we’ve poached the whole thing after the link.

Australian man named Grant Hicks is challenging Tod Swank’s world’s largest skateboard record. Sure, there have been other contenders, and it’s not official yet, but Hick’s board is supposed to be 9 feet longer, and he’s documented the hell out of it with five of his own videos as well as an appearance on an Australian TV news program. If you’re only going to watch one of them, the TV one is your best bet. You’ll do a double-take when you hear how the anchorwoman’s thick Australian accent makes the word “deck” sound like a part of the male anatomy, leading to lots of juvenile fun with sentences like: “The father of three hopes the giant deck will help raise money for his local (unintelligible) saving club.” and “Seven month’s of hard work and Grant’s monster deck is around 9 feet longer than the current world record holders.” Wow! Dirk Diggler is rolling over in his grave. Catch all six videos after the jump.

I have a son who is nearing two years old. I hope that I will be the kind of dad who, like this one, decided that if he was going to go through the trouble of risking a divorce by making a rocket powered skateboard for his son, he would at least pad him up in a crash suit and a full face motorcycle helmet. I also hope my son won’t disappoint me like the kid in this video did. Check it out after the jump. That rocket packs more power than it looks like. Lighting it with a blow torch is a nice effect.

Coming in Spring of 2007 and promising an “instant change in skateboarding” the Port-a-Board skateboard not only breaks the deck down into three pieces, but the trucks are also on some sort of binding system that allows them to pop off for easy storage and transport. With a name like “Port-A-Board” you leave yourself open to the inevitable potty joke. I know I couldn’t resist, or maybe I’m just lazy. Portable skateboards are nothing new, but this one might have more of a chance than the Stowboard. At least the basic mechanics operate like a regular skateboard, rendering null and voiding any arguement against bringing a skateboard to school. Performance-wise, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if this thing can actually stand up to some serious action, although that shouldn’t be a problem for most kids who usually just stand around at a skate park. Watch the video complete with dramatic soundtrack and more after the jump UPDATE: Fixed the link to the Port-a-board web site. Sorry.

Yeah, we cover the local beats just on the off chance that someone official in Bonner Springs Kansas might read this. Hey, it’s happened before! Mayor Clausie Smith is running for reelection. One of his past term accomplishments was the construction of a skatepark. I couldn’t turn up a picture of the park anywhere on the web. The parks web site describes it as “Skate Park – 90′ x 60′ pad with speed ramp, quarter pipe, Euro-gap, and grind rail.” Hmm. Speed ramp? OK. Sounds fun, but not according to Escapist Skateboarding: DESCRIPTION: Pretty much identical to Rosedale Skatepark, same playground equipment “skatepark” company. Although miraculously this one manages to be even worse due to the asphalt surface so you don’t even get the flatground blissfulness of Rosedale. PROS: Uhhh…it’s free? CONS: Artists. PADS: None. COSTS: They should pay us to ride it Skaters of Bonner Springs! Arise and join the revolution by voting out Clausie Smith. Suggested chant: “Ditch Bossy Clausie!” Slow news day.

Andrew’s Custom Skateboarders Rule Designs. Damn, I may have to buy all four. CafePress will put anything you want on a tshirt.

As reported in the Evening Courier with the succinct title of Back my bid for new skate park, Daniel Murch is 10 years old and TCB! The rest of you, get on it! I wonder if any of your readers like me think a skate park should be built in Halifax. I’m 10 years old and I think skateboarding is good fun and exercise. Calderdale Council has provided a number of skate parks in the area but none in Halifax, where I live. This doesn’t make any sense because Halifax is bigger than any other town in Calderdale. I have written to the council and also to a number of local firms asking for sponsorship to help meet some of the cost, which is £70,000. I am starting a petition to present to the council. If any of your readers would like to help by signing it or collecting signatures they can contact me by e-mail at Dan@frizinghall.cix.co.uk. Daniel Murch

And I’m sure that’s not the last time you’ll see that title. Professional skateboarder Steve Berra has a movie that he wrote (and directed?) called The Good Life. It’s premiering at Sundance, so he’s starting to pop up in the entertainment news, like over at indieWIRE and the LA Times (See photo above. Site requires free registration). The movie is supposed to be about a disaffected young man, and is loosely based on some of his own experiences. It’s not clear whether skateboarding plays a part in the movie, but all the interviews talk about it. Lastly, here’s an in interview from the Active Mail Order site, one of his current sponsors. Is that weird, having a mail order place be your sponsor? I wonder how much money he gets from them.