The Oregon Zoo has been doing some architectural landscaping and exhibit re-design. I’m pretty sure this is a bust, even if you pay your $12 to get in.

Way back in 2010 my post about the Trampskate was met with with universal derision. Since then, Facebook has sucked away all my web traffic and Trampskate is still in business. So the jokes on me! – Thanks to Adlan Farazi for the tip via (duh, duh duh…) FACEBOOK

Presented without commentary: In a quest to build a longboard based off the look of cars with big rims, we created the best riding and best built longboard; the DonkBoard™. Compare our DonkBoard™ to any other longboard at any Authorized Retailer and you will see the benefits immediately: Improved & Faster Acceleration: Due to larger surface to grip area.Nearly frictionless wheel and bearing outfit.Less energy needed per push to cover the same distance than smaller wheels.Better Board Control & Response: Yielding consistent handling.No Wheel Bite (No Scrub, No Rub).Enhanced Sportier, Upscale Look.Unique 6 Inch (150mm) Aluminum, Deep Dish, Five Star, Wheel / Tire Combo: Essentially, Custom Rims for your Skateboard.

I was checking out the Movi camera, which a smart little system that uses a single 4k camera to capture video, combined with an app that lets you zoom and pan through the 4k image in real time, while saving or streaming the final footage. The end result lets you simulate multiple camera angles for live events with only one physical camera. I got to thinking that it would be fun to use at a skateboarding event, but probably not actually very useful due to the unique demands of shooting compelling skateboarding footage. Just as I was writing it off as interesting but not practical for a skateboarding application, I found this image on their web site.

Rich Burton’s significant other acquired this Taco Cabana cup in Texas way back in 1995, some 10 years before before getting together with Rich, and another 10 before Rich noticed it and sent a picture to me. If the hippies had their way, this invaluable piece of cultural history would have bio-degraded and been lost for all eternity. Now it’s up on the Interwebs, where it will last for all eternity, or until I let the domain name lapse, or the zombie apocalypse, or Sky Net becomes self aware. Enjoy this jalapeño pepper frontside 5-0 grind while you can.

Brad Pitt reacts to skatepark fails with scenes from the movie Seven. The irony is that this video comes to us from a rollerblading shop called ROEX Roller Outlet.

Madrid Skateboards has some new and some not-so new limited release reissues out. According to the distributing arm of Madrid,  these 40th anniversary edition decks will only be produced this year, yet the Explosion model and Beau Brown model have already been available for some time. Not mentioned in the release is their most infamous model, the X-Team Rider, which has also been available for a while. Although simple, I’ve always liked the explosion model, even before I knew it was Bernie Tostenson behind the squeegee and Rubylith. Some of these aren’t up on either website yet, so check them out after the jump.

About this time last year I put up a 70’s era advert for a skateboard made by the Hooker Headers company at the behest of the Salba’s father who was working there at the time. Mark Bernard of Detroit actually ordered one of these boards via the mail-order add in Hot Rod magazine. (If you look at the order form, they ask for the weight of the rider.) After recently finding my original post, he sent in some pictures of the very same board which is still in his possession. He bought it in 1976 as a 14 year old at a cost of $80.

As part of QuikSilver’s bankruptcy restructuring, DC shoes is dropping Rob Dyrdek as well as it’s entire BMX team. For the longest time Dyrdek’s name has almost been synonymous with DC. Is it like Nike declining to deal with Michael Jordan? Is it interesting? What does that mean for skateboarding? Absolutely nothing. [Source: Ride via Shop Eat Surf]

These ladies are more core than I am lately. This is a still from an AARP (American Association of Retired People) marketing video featuring ladies of a certain age who skateboard. The leader of The Sisters of Shred is non other than the skateboard mom/cow, Barbara Odanaka. – Thanks to Charles Glover for the tip.