Up here in Portland we may not know much about New Zealand, but we do know they have pools. So it should come as no surprise that there are skate parks too. These pics are of a spot called Chafers Skate Park in Wellington, New Zealand. The top shot is from Wellington Daily Photo and the bottom two are from Zoom In which is the best way to explore New Zealand, right? It’s funny how you can look at a skate park just as you can look at a general view of any city and get a vague sense of where it is based on the architecture. It’s like when you are watching a movie or TV and you think “This looks like it was shot in Canada.” I don’t know where on the map I would have put these shots, but they don’t look like anything I’ve seen in North America, they are just a little peculiar. Remember, I’m strictly talking about the skate park architecture. In any case, it looks fun. Certainly a lot more fun than the old one. (Although the banks look promising from afar, via the Interwebâ„¢ ) Check out these two pages for links…

Someone requested more pictures of old dudes splashin’ in bowls. So here is Grover inverted while Gordo carves under him. Not the best of timing but better than nothing.

Continuing the theme of commercializing existing practices, Didi over at Modern Convenience makes a lot of objects, mostly upholstered, that appeal to the whimsical side of people who have too much money. Two items of interest to us are the Inside Skate and the Indoor Longboard. Didi’s are prettier, but Egbert’s version is guaranteed to be cheaper. And speaking of people who have too much money, that’s Bam in in the picture above. More pics, including a Gratuitous Tony Hawk appearance after the jump.

That’s right, and her name is Mz. Exclusive – WELCOME TO HOLLYWOODâ„¢ or possibly Bunny. Congratulations! Awesome! We’ve been waiting for you. Welcome to the world of skateboarding and good luck in college. I hear they have spelling and grammar checking on those computers. You might want to look into that. sooo i basically went skateboardin today even tho its like 30 degrees outside nd i LOVED IT!!so therefore i went out n got some DC shoes dats raw as hell just cuz dey on me lol.but chea i realize that i dont need to be hood to get ma muffuckin respect cuaz i already got enough rank in dese streets ya dig. Fuck da jordans nd da ones dat shit aint meant for everybody black person like me.i been in da hood fa 16 years of my life until i moved to lake county nd i know what bein hood is nd muffackus out here just aint it so y front when i can just be a prep like i SHOULD be. Dont get me wrong im STILL hood n i will still cut a bitch but there is no need to worry about wat da typical chi town…

Last week we had something new, so for this week lets go with something old. Streets on Fire from Santa Cruz Skateboards was a pivotal skate video to say the least. Natas Kaupas’ part pushed the boundaries of what could be done on a skateboard. I’m sure if you ask anyone what they thought of this video when it came out they will mention Natas’ part. There’s some good backyard ramp action, and with one of the best soundtracks ever, this video is in my Top Ten. Featured Skaters: Steve Alba, Claus Grabke, Jeff Grosso, Jeff Hedges, Jason Jessee, Natas Kaupas, Jeff Kendall, Corey O’Brien, Rob Roskopp, Neil Blender, and Christian Hosoi. run time: 40 min 46 sec – Check it Out

Snoopy has been known to ride a skateboard or two, at least on shirts and toys. This may be the first time he’s ever appeared in animated form on skateboard. He’s A Bully, Charlie Brown aired over the Thanksgiving weekend to little fanfare. The copyright is 2006 and though already deceased, Charles Schultz is listed as a producer. It must have been in the works before he passed on. Video link and more captures after the jump.

There are some days you really, really, wish you were at the session. Fortunately, MC was. You must go here to get the story.

Making furniture out of skateboards is nothing new. These guys are trying to capitalize on the art-chic trend in skateboarding culture. The company is called Skurniture and right now they have a very simple bench available. It has a lot fewer parts than an actual skateboard, but at $129 it costs a bit more. You can even by the (overpriced) pieces separately.

Or purses, as we like to call them. The Holidays are approaching, so it’s time to get your girlfriend a present. Or if you are a female reader uh, buy one for yourself of a cross dressing male friend. I don’t know if we have many female readers. I know Alexis Schemp isn’t one of them because we haven’t heard from her yet. So, Sophie Mason makes bags out of used skateboards. Cool. In the past there seemed to be something negative about skating, almost artless. Whether this was due to the media, society or generally bad experiences is irrelevant as we have the freedom to make our own judgements based on our own reasoning. At Focused we have come to realise that skating provides vivid examples of excellence and skill. Why does every arts & crafts practitioner need an artist’s statement? If you are going to quote John Cage, at least get rid of the free image hosting watermark on your front page. Oh wait, maybe it’s part of the statement. You can buy the bags and even sell her your broken decks, if you live in the U.K.. Check out Focused Bags.

Well here is the third installment of the Grovers Video Korner completed on T-givingday so eat your turkey and enjoy “Danimals Greatest Hits”. Dan seems like he is our age (old) but he is not. He looks old but he is not. As a matter of fact the only time he acts his age is when he is shredding on his skateboard, see video for proof. (Kids at his local park call him Honest Abe cause he’s from Illinois and they think he looks like Lincoln – k.ed)