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.

Well everyone I am at about one a week who knows how long I can keep this up. I melted down some of my Trifecta footage and here is what was left at the bottom of the pot. Poke smot – one of my new favorite slogans. – Peace  off, Grover.

That’s right. If you can’t make it out to one of his skatepark opening appearances you can still get his chicken scratch on a 8×10″ photo from Target.com. If you have even more money burning a hole in your pocket you can get a 16×20″ version too.

“Pull off a radical half pipe move from the comfort of your living room couch.” Actually, I think you need to get off the couch and stand on this thing to play the game.

I am not making this up. A new study by the nonprofit Rand Corporation finds that girls who live near parks with active facilities like jogging paths, basketball courts, and playgrounds are more likely to be physically active. (Duh!) Sounds good right? Except, Skateboard areas and special-use parks were negatively associated with physical activity in adolescent girls.

A secret alarm just went off at the offices of Skate and Annoy. Somewhere in the world a skateboarder is becoming disillusioned:

You know, I’ve been skateboarding for a long time, and i’ve gotten to a point where the way I skate is fairly unique. However, it’s gotten to a point where I don’t have the desire to increase my ability anymore. I’ve tried the biggest stuff I wanna try. I do all the tricks I’ve ever dreamed of. Some of the tricks I do I didn’t even dream I would ever be capable of doing. I guess what I’m saying is that I am in a slump in my skateboarding insperation. Videos don’t cut it for me anymore either. I used to aspire to be pro and to be cutting edge and stupid childish things like that. Now I don’t care. To be honest I just go skate to make up for having no life, lol. I’ve been told I’m good, but I just don’t feel it anymore, can anyone give me some advice, please?

Dark Mystic aka Asylum_reject aka Jordan needs your help everyone. Be nice, he’s in a fragile place. Here’s my advice: Shut up and skate! It could be worse, you could be this guy. We may need to start a MySpace Skater of the Week.

We can debate the merits of culture if we want, but would this still be art if it was on a new school popsicle stick or a Chinese blank? No nosebone, no art? Would a lapper have made this a more complete piece? I don’t know. What is perfectly clear however, is that there is a designer named Hervé Matejewski who made this Toile de Jouy (Work of Joy?) skateboard and another gal named D, or Kristina or Lena who likes Hervé’s work. I can’t tell who the author is, the InterWebâ„¢ is so confusing.

This started out as a quick post about this guy who has been floating around the news wires as the Sole Man. He entered a Red Bull soap box derby dressed as a classic Vans checkered slip-on on top of a homemade oversized skateboard. But like all things concerned with the Interwebâ„¢, it’s not always that easy. There’s the obvious comparison to Tod Swank and Foundation’s super-sized Ripley’s Believe It or Not appearance, and at least two others. Pictures and videos after the jump.

I’ve seen pics of this park in a newspaper article that I thought we posted but I can’t find it now. These pics of the recently opened Granite Park in Sacramento CA come through the unknown courtesy of Thrasher Magazine and photog Schmitty. Definitely worth checking out the larger versions and additional pics. The park appears to be spread out all over the place with street track like elements as well. The most notable feature is the not quite full pipe. It’s not even a 3/4 pipe. The design is a good one, it has the over-vert elements of a full pipe while still being open air, and interesting to look at. I’m leaning towards a grade C execution of a grade A idea though. It looks like you can grind the top of over-vert sections, but the true feeling of riding a full pipe requires a higher wall. I think they should have made the side walls higher, or at least a section of them. What say you? Regardless, it looks like a heck of a park. Thanks to Troy Sliter for the link.

$1,092,000,(!) to be exact, and we need to thank them. The point is to make a few calls thanking the right people. Word is that a phone call carries more weight than an email. All you need to do is call and let the office know that you appreciate the money and effort being directed towards public skateparks in Portland, and they are doing a good job. The end result is that they will be more inclined to follow through with money for the rest of the system. Phone numbers, links and more after the jump.