ABC News has a crush on Vans Shoes. They have a two page spread on the 40th anniversary of Vans Shoes titled Skateboard Style Hits Middle Age. It’s a fluff piece obviously, but it’s got a brief history of the shoe and a gallery of some old ads that are worth checking out for comedy nostalgia, plus they have a Jeff Spicoli reference in the first paragraph. I’ve pulled out the highlights after the jump.

Originally this was to be titled Which one is the idiot?: The girl bombing mountain hills at night, dressed in black, or the person believing angels kept that girl safe? Last night I was driving on the winding mountain road by my house and a girl/young woman came sailing down the middle of the road – dressed all in dark colors – on a skateboard. She had no lights or reflectors. I could so easily have hit her. It was only by her angels watching over her that I didn’t. I thought, what an idiot. Please, please. Let’s not get into a religion debate here. Instead let’s band together to to make fun of Tara Taylor Quinn because she writes Harlequin Romances and had the poor fortune to write about skateboarding on a blog titled Story Broads (get it?).

This is not about whether or not you should wear a helmet. Even skateboarders who wear helmets are not under the illusion that they look cool. In an article titled A Bike Helmet With Skateboard Cool, the New York Times mentions that skateboard helmets exude a certain renegade cool and have panache. Aside from these attributes being at odds with each other, skateboard helmets just aren’t that cool. The article talks about Bell’s quest to design a cool helmet for mountain bikers who didn’t want to look like Lance Armstrong (which wouldn’t be that bad if you factor in Sheryl Crow). Highlights and the improbable conclusion after the jump.

Even if you don’t live in our neck of the woods, this interview with the board of Skaters For Portland Skateparks could be of interest to you. Sonny Robertson and Tom Miller founded the organization and are pretty much the reason the Pier Park rebuild is actually skateable today. Highly recommended if you wnat to know how it happened, and especially if you want to get the wheels spinning in your town.

I’ll try it on the streets sometime soon… and hopefully not end up embarrassing myself in the process. Yeah, except you bought it in the first place, so you’ve kind of blown it already. This thing even turns into a rolling bag carrier! More extreme pictures, including what looks like photoshopped skatepark action shots, plus links after the jump.

Even though that hotel sign doesn’t say “pool,” there’s still good skating to be had. We decided to check out the new Woodland Washington skatepark on Saturday because we hadn’t been there, and we thought it was such a nice day that Pier PArk would have been crowded. We weren’t the only ones with that idea. MC has a comic about it and I only got one decent pic, after the jump.

Paul Smith is a UK designer. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t skate. His web site offers a really expensive limited edition skateboard that seems to be identical in every way to the non limited edition model except it costs an extra $300. Paul Smith isn’t the first designer, or the first Paul to get into limited edition skateboards.

Don’t let the huge boards, small wheels, and big pants fool you. This is some sick skating at some pretty normal spots that you’d find anywhere. Ollie Norths and late Shuvs, need I say more? Blockhead Skateboards was started out of the garage of Dave Bergthold in 1984. The company lasted about 10 years but went under after launching many a career. Blockhead Skateboards is up and running again out of Dave’s garage, so if you want any of the rereleased videos or decks head on over to their homepage. Featured Skaters: Jason Dill, Rick Jaramillo, Laban Pheidias, Dan Rogers, Jeremy Wray, and Mark Wyndham. run time: 45 min 14 sec – Check it Out

I contacted a skateboard expert. He said this is a good quality used skateboard good for a kid. He can not tell me the brand name of it. It does have some cartoon characters on the bottom of it. He guessed it is the sort sold in a toy store. I asked him if guys who do tricks (I seem them in the park blocks in Portland) would use one like this. He said some do, but most would choose a longer board. This is for a kid to start learning to skate board! It is in excellent shape. The skate board expert I spoke to said the board would sell for around 80 in a shop. I do not know if he is right or not! That is why I say 15 and also say to make an offer. I am not skating on it (most women around 50 don’t skateboard much!) and some kid should enjoy it! Sweet. Now we are going to have to start a Craig’s list column too. She contacted a skateboard expert… Hmmm, I didn’t get that call. I need to have a word with my answering service. If you want to get started…

Anybody that knows me knows that I’m a total wrestling mark. Actually, I’m a smart mark, so that makes me a smark. Anyway, you’re probably reading this wondering why is he writing about wrestling on a skateboard site? Well why not? I started this zine with Randy 20 years ago, and what made S&A unique was that we wrote about whatever we wanted, not worrying about what was “cool” in the skateboard world. Anyway, back to wrestling. Here’s a list of wrestlers from the last 20 years who are dead now. It’s actually pretty amazing that a “fake” sport has so many dead stars, most of whom were younger than me. Owen Hart (the Blue Blazer), Chris Candido, Eddie Guerrero, Davie Boy Smith (the British Bulldog), Crash Holly, John “Earthquake” Tenta, Miss Elizabeth, Curt “Mr Perfect” Hennig, David Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich (the texas tornado), Michael von Erich, Chris Von Erich, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy, Chris Adams, “Flyin” Brian Pillman, Joey Maggs, Hercules Hernandez, Big Boss Man, Classy Freddy Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, Big John Studd, Yokozuna, Gorilla Monsoon, Junkyard Dog, Dino Bravo. All dead. Pretty sad.