Video footage courtesy of Dan Bourqui. “This year’s Vans AM Pool Party had a lot of talent and too many good skaters to fit into this short video clip.”

Several stills from Skate and Annoy made it into Jeff Grosso’s Love Letters to Skateboarding. I thought I had happened before in another episode but I couldn’t be sure. The footage looked similar to something I shot for Cold War in Hippie Jason’s living room ramp, but it wasn’t the same. A lot of things I post here obviously come from other (credited) places on the Interwebs, but They often get uniquely composited for S&A, with the 1 pixel white border separating different photos. I thought I recognized a few in this episode, but it was hard to tell for sure until I saw part of the Skate and Annoy logo and my floor! It’s great to know that someone in the Nichols and Charnoski camp occasionally trolls Skate and Annoy, and it would be even greater if they weren’t afraid to thank us in the credits with the rest of their sources. Show us some love! As usual, this episode of Love Letters (Rant and Rave) is highly entertaining. I love Grosso’s take on longboarding. He’s all for you riding whatever kind of board however you want, on whatever terrain you choose… unless you’re not tucking your knee.

If you’re not in Riccione, Italy, you can watch it here on S&A on Saturday, May 29th and Sunday May, 30th. Skateboarding, live bands, etc. I believe it is being co-hosted by Jim Gray and Jeff Grosso… Click through for the live stream and a preview.

The first time I mentioned Phineas & Ferb here on S&A, I wasn’t much of a fan, but since then, (possibly due to countless episodes watched with my kids) I came around to like it. Mrs. Kilwag came back from the Vans outlet with a pair of these for one of my offspring. Character shoes.. I’m not too crazy about them, although I dug the Yo Gabba Gabba ones, but the fact that they were actually riding skateboards on skateboard shoes made it a no-brainer.

Remember when copy machine art was de rigueur on the skate zine scene? Remember those Yo Gabba Gabba Vans? The Vans outlets seem to have stopped carrying anything in my size, but thankfully the kids shoes are available at generic shoe prices. Two box scans after the jump.

Dan Bourqui put up a gallery of shots from last weekend’s Vans Protec Pool Party, check them out at 50-50.com. I watched about a half hour of it on Saturday, the whole thing kind of snuck up on me. I didn’t realize it was happening until Grover called me asking what time it started. The biggest noteworthy event has to be Tony Hawks return to competition. He placed 4th in the Masters. The webcast announcers definitely recognized his skills but pointed out his tendency to “halfpipe It” instead of scoping out pool-ish lines. Also of interest, Amelia Brodka noticed that last year’s female winner Lizzie Armanto (see photo by JCB) was inexplicably left off the hanging banner, even though they had been included in previous years. – Thanks to Concretins Nik for the tip.

Yo Gabba Gabba heads have a fondness for skateboarding, and now they have Vans shoes too. They are expensive, but cool. Too bad they don’t make them in adult sizes. ANohter thing sorely missing, the Gabbas all have models, but there’s no DJ Lance Rock shoes! Killer video after the jump.

…to vote for his entry in this Vans logo contest. If he wins, he promises to donate his $5000 prize to a children’s orphanage in Ghanna, Africa. Hang on, aren’t all orphanages for children? I can’t verify that he actually sent me the email, so maybe I’m the victim of an Internet hoax… In any case, here’s the link, click in the little box next to Steve’s name to vote for him.