So we got mentioned on the SkateDaily Top 3. This time the list is for the top three web sites dedicated to old school. It’s a mixed blessing, because the publicity is great, but I hate being pigeonholed. I’ve been trying to expand our appeal since forever. Trouble is, old guys write about what they know, I guess. Check out who submitted it though, could that really be the Lonnie Toft? Speaking of old school, does the name Buddy Carr ring a bell? It’s a name that has been pretty much synonymous with Tracker Trucks since… yes, forever. Well Buddy has decided to join up with Bennett Truks in a move that would be earthshaking if it were say, 1979. I always wanted to try some Bennet Truks, but guys seriously, this brings up one of my pet peeves in the skateboarding industry: The logo should add “with a decade or two of abstinence” next to the “Established in 1975” tagline. I’m thinking of you too, Shut Skates. Regardless, you can read the press release on Silverfish or watch a somewhat recent video interview with Buddy Carr giving a tour of the Tracker factory, made by the (old school) German…

Here’s a cool advertising gimmick for skateboard lessons. It’s a sticker that when placed in a sink makes an optical illusion of a tiny guy skating. Come on, you’ve all done it before, either with a fingerboard or in your imagination. This sink would be rad if I was only 3 inches tall. Very cool idea, but probably more of a proof of concept. The original source received it blindly, and you have to think they wouldn’t last very long in a public bathroom. Maybe a little longer if they were stuck in a toilet bowl instead. [Source: AdGoodness via Motivators.com]

This is a couple of weeks old. I had decided to ignore it, but I was exploring the French-Canadian Versus Skatezine which has a heavy Don’t Do It Army presence. I decided to see what Birdo was up to, and it turns out the Don’t Do It campaign has branched out into the whole action sports industry. One of the first things I clicked on ended up targeting Nike’s entry into the snowboarding boot market, which in turn reminded me of the Winter Dew Tour commercials on TV that have an action sequence of Shaun White skateboarding and morphing into snowboarding. The Dew Tour has a new logo, perhaps coinciding with the creation of the Action Sports Alliance. Make no mistake about it, despite a name that sounds like an operation for activism, outreach, or a rider’s union, it’s a company jointly owned by NBC Sports and MTV. Alli is a global business that joins the former Action Sports Tour properties (AST) with Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross Championship and King of Wake series to create the most diverse and robust action-sports offering in the world. The new umbrella brand, which will continue to be co-owned by NBC Sports and…

Michael Goetz of The Skateboard Archives shot Chris Nukala at a renegade project and it showed up as Thrasher stoke of the day.

Of course we’re recycling it at as well, but the

It’s already been established that Jack in the Box usually has crappy kids meal prizes. This time the bag the meal came in had a skateboarder on it, as well as a few fun facts and a jumble. The other half of the bag had nothing to do with skateboards, and the toy was a small flying disk made to look like the old electronic Simon game. What, is it 2008 or 1978 again?

The New York Times web site has a feature about skateboarders capitalizing on the mortgage crisis by finding, draining, and skating pools of houses that are in foreclosure. Skate and Annoy even gets mentioned due to our heads up on Billy Runaway’s photos of said pools. It seems like whenever we get quoted by the legitimate press, (Hard to believe, but it happens) they provide a link to web site, but never the article in question, so here is the original post for all our newfound friends from the New York Times. I wasn’t aware that we were a site “where skaters trade tips about how to find and drain abandoned pools.” Maybe they are rerring to Kent’s old article on how to drain a pool using existing plumbing in the DIY section. Aside from SnA being highlighted, it’s also intersting that the mainstream press picked up on this. There has to be a skateboarder on staff. -Thanks to Maureen, Pribble and Hass for tip.

A couple of recent news items. this Gloucester, England news item about someone burning a skatepark. Was it the kids, or something more sinister? How about this editorial from the Alamagordo Daily News about skateboarders desecrating a war memorial. I want my tombstone to have transition and coping. (Remember the Tony Hawk Vietnam Vet memorial fiasco? – k.ed)

Post-holiday depression? Here’s a video of Santa bombing some hills. I know it’s a day late, but it’s still funny that it comes from CNN via their iReport site. I like the concept for getting eyewitness news up faster, but lately CNN is getting more and more like AM talk radio. Seriously, who cares what some hothead in Iowa thinks about the mortgage crisis. If I wanted to watch amateur news I’d turn on Fox.

Not only are many big name skateboards manufactured in China, now they are going to start making our extreme sports genre films there too. CounterCulture Independent Filmmakers’ Resource, has the following oportunity listed: Wanted Screenplays with a Skateboard Theme to shoot in China Budget is 1.5 million. Investor is a skateboard champion and wants to produce a feature in Shanghai with a skateboard theme. Big question, who is the “skateboard champion?” I accidentally caught a Chinese action film on cable that has big chase scene that takes place on mountain boards. I forget the name of it, but it’s probably at least three years old. – Thanks to Tito Porrata for the tip.