It looks like Jim Phiilips’ second book of skateboard related art is finally out. The first one was a very good collection, but had more than I cared to see of his early non-skateboard related pieces. I understand it’s good to get a larger sense of history and the context of his style, but I could have done with a little bit less of the overtly hippy stuff and other works with a religious overtone. This new one focuses on skateboard art only, and covers recent work with Pocket Pistols, so The Skateboard Art of Jim Phillips looks to be more than just a rehash of the skate section of the previous book. His publisher must really like him to put this out when his previous book already does a fine job of documenting the skate art. Phillips’ style is such a a standout. While I’m not a fan of most of the monster stuff, I love his style and I’m drawn to his logo design. Even the stuff I don’t like, I still can’t help but stare at and study. I’m looking forward to this one. [Source: Juxtapoz]

I’ve mentioned the old Flyaway helmets once or twice before, mostly in the context of the re-issues, but without a lot of actual information. Concrete Disciples has a nice piece on the new Kanoa Flyaway helmets that is no so much product review as an endorsement. It does go in to some detail about the history of Flyaway which is interesting, including some good sized scans of original advertisements. They are the best looking helmet out there, but the new ones have no safety rating so I’m hesitant to shell out the extra cash (and it’s a lot) just to look marginally cooler if I am wearing a helmet, regardless of the amount of work that goes into making one. I know there is a lot of work required to make these. Grover made several prototypes a few years back, and it was quite involved. You can see the results of his efforts after the jump, or go onto the Concrete Disciples piece, which is where the photos above came from. Thanks to Rich for the tip.

I got an email from CSS titled “Ryan Sheckler’s Must-Haves.” First I was grossed out, and then I got curious. Man they are really giving it the hard sell. Buy his crap and you can live just like him kids! Ryan Sheckler signature jeans? FREAKING AWESOME!

You can buy fake fire hydrants for your dog to pee on, why not for a skatepark as well? Skatewave, the modular skatepark company you love to hate, has a line of skate obstacles called the Urban Series for simulating objects that you can, well, already buy. I’m sure they’ll argue that their knockoffs are more durable, although that fire hydrant looks weak compared to some of the heavy duty ones in the dog link above. At first I only noticed the tables. I thought it was funny that they made real fake (or fake real) tables for skateboarding, especially the one that is closed off to protect beginners. The simulated construction barrier with a metal top may actually be an improvement on those orange plastic ones. If only they sold a simulated Natas to do that fire hydrant ollie spin move. Watch it after the jump.

When I first got a copy of Wire’s Pink Flag album I was hypnotized. The music was unlike any of their punk contemporaries, but it still made perfect sense to a kid in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-80’s. It was kind of like the missing link for me. Minimal, but incredibly rich at the same time. Catchy but abrupt and confrontational. Discovering music used to be a much more sensual experience. It required considerably more effort than it does today. After buying a record I would usually pour over every minute detail of the artwork while listening to the turntable. It was an experience that deserved my full attention. When you were in a cultural desert like the suburban Midwest was, you savored every morsel you got. The back cover of Pink Flag has fake biological data about the band, and one of the things I couldn’t get past was the drummer’s name, Robert Gotobed. Everyone else had regular enough sounding names, so was Gotobed a goof or what? Anyway, it fascinated me. I desperately wanted to meet him – remember, cultural desert… Others have waxed on about Wire much more articulately than I am apparently capable of,…

If you have an extra $1500 laying around, (and who doesn’t?) you can pick up Skateboard Joe for your kids to hang their clothes on. Seriously. That’s what it’s for, and that’s what it costs. Available from Boot Kidz. You can see it larger after the jump.

Hey guys here is the Cold War video for 07 shot in one day edited in 7 hours by Kilwag. If you get Concrete Wave it is on their DVD they put out 1x a year, so get your board orders in early if you see something you like. I am going to be so rich when this hits subscriber’s mail box, I will be able to make new friends so easy. So please get your orders in early so we can still be friends. I also want to welcome Shane Bell to the team. Peace Off.

Skateboarding messaged novelty undershirts at CafePress. They have these on dark shirts too but the white ones were easier to read. thanks to Dan Hughes for sharing this.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? What if there is a better way to do something? The now ubiquitous Independent Trucks were an innovation – the result of two different explorations of the idea of independent suspension in a skateboard truck. So good for slalom that some considered it cheating to use them – but not what most skaters wanted. Somehow they managed to straighten out the axle and improve the turning and the rest is history, or is it mathematics? Metallurgy?