There’s an article being recycled by different newspapers about how a rap act know as The Pack is helping the worlds of skateboarding and hip hop come together, as if that is something new. The research department only went back a couple of years because completely absent from the article are such bands as the Beastie Boys, Urban Dance Squad and oh, I don’t know, who else but Skatemaster Tate, a guy who based his whole schtick on it back in the late 80’s. That’s Tate above hosting Nickelodeon’s SK8 TV with Mathew Lillard. Bottom right is a shot from a video shoot for The Pack’s new EP Skateboards 2 Scrapers. Early skate-rap connections, video links, a Skatemaster Tate roundup and more after the jump.

If you are tired of discussing the merits of found pools versus skatepark replicas, you can move on to arguing about when is a grind a grind? Enter this so-called World’s Longest Grind video. Watch the video and we’ll break it down for you after the jump.

Blazing Wheels and Barking Trucks was my introduction to so-called Skate Rock. I say so-called because it’s not a very cohesive term, more of what can’t be defined as opposed to a specific genre. At the time it came out, it wasn’t important that the musical styles weren’t conventional matches. It was as if having the nerve to listen to such a mess of disparate tunes was enough declare yourself a weirdo, well that and your skateboard. Seems unfathomable now though. Why must I babble on when Last Days of Man on Earth is much more succinct. You used to be able to buy a shoebox full of old Skate Rock cassettes from Thrasher. They should do a proper rerelease of the early stuff on CD. Until then you have get yours from Last Days of Man on Earth. Anyone heard the most recent Skate Rock?

Thankfully, there are nerds out there who troll patent news sites, freeing such nerds as myself to troll the sites that summarize them. Sony has patented a Segway without a handle, resulting in a motorized skateboard comparison. I don’t know about you, but the few times I’ve driven by someone on a Segway, I’ve had to try hard to suppress a giggle. Personally, I can’t wait to see people falling off these things as soon as possible. Links and more after the jump.

Some day a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets. Sent in from EPM – How to clean a turd out of your skatepark: 1. Wall anomaly detected 2. Recon of bogey and turd confirmed 3. Tactical unit activated 4. Precision targeting 5. Enemy neutralized 6. Extraction unit mobilized Your full pipe is now turd free! MC, the Turd Commando also has pics on his site. Me? I would have left it up until Grover showed up with a video camera.

Before I could congratulate MC on his 100th comic, he up and posted number 101. Who wants to see a hundred H.O.M.O.S.? Come on, it’s OK. You can admit it. We won’t judge you. What started out as a mere whim has become an obsession. Looking back at some of the early comics is like looking at the old Peanuts cartoons where all the characters are distorted looking. Oh wait, that’s because he has on occasion taken artistic liberties with a certain Charles E. Brown. Check it out.

Cheese and Crackers from Almost Skateboards, circa 2006. Its a new year, so we can break out the videos from last year right? This is one of the better skate videos to come out of 2006. In my opinion Daewon Song and Chris Haslam are two of the most creative skaters out there, and it definitely shows in this video. Flip tricks off of blunts and into noseslides and everything in between. They even incorporate tires and suspended flat bars for a little extra flavor. The video may be short, but I usually end up watching each part multiple times just to catch what is going on. Featured Skaters: Daewon Song and Chris Haslam run time: 14 min 56 sec – Check it Out

Underground skate locations are popping up everywhere right now. I found this gem recently and it usually works me like a rat on a training wheel. Its fun though. Check out Graham’s Bowl here in Hood River, OR.

Ok, so living in the Columbia River Gorge town of Hood River, Oregon isn’t exactly the best weather I’ve experienced so far for skateboarding. So yesterday I had a nice break from my office duties and decided to go skate the park.

Yeah, I’m from Klamath Falls. I know it is hard to believe that a man of my magnitude and exception hails from such a small podunk town. But that isn’t the subject of this article. The subject of this article are these irrigation ditches that lay in the ground some 10, or so, miles outside of town