ollie-guard

“To elongate the endurance of a skate shoe”

Before you get your panties in a bunch, this is just a concept for a removable ollie guard for your shoes, kind of like those old Totes™ brand rubbers my dad made me put on my dress shoes as a kid when it was raining. Unlike a lot of the other concepts in Benjamin Beck’s, it looks like he might have actually made at least one of them. I say “might” because he might be as skilled with Photoshop as he is with whatever 3D modeling package he uses.

– Thanks to Boy Ipoh for the tip.

coyote-glass

Coyote Windsaling Glass

It’s Wile. E Coyote on a Pepsi promotional drinking glass from 1976. He’s got a sail and an electric fan on his skateboard, but that rascally Road Runner has pulled the electric chord on him mid-canyon. This seems like exactly the sort of thing that would have been in one of these cartoons, but I can’t recall seeing it animated. Maybe that’s because I aways rooted for the Coyote to catch Road Runner.

glow

The Skate World Turned Day Glo

Located in Everton Park in Liverpool, England (insert gratuitous Men in Blazers reference), this is second glow in the dark skatepark in existence. Korean artist Koo Jeong A, who came up with the concept had some pretty lofty goals:

“I devised extremely steep, sharp angles, which would be a challenge to the most courageous and skilled skaters,” Jeong A told The Guardian. “It was as if they would be the great mountaineers that the rest of us would admire. And with its glow-in-the-dark surface, I hoped the Wheels Park would offer an experience of contemplation.”

Maybe a glow in the dark skatepark that looks like a stealth battleship will inspire contemplation that will hopefully result in kids picking up their energy drink cans, cigarette butts and Big Gulp cups. It’s not clear how much she actually has to do with the main skate terrain aspect of the skatepark. It would be incredible if a non-skating artist had free reign in skatepark design and somehow managed to design a park that wasn’t a disaster, twice.

[ Source: The Guardian ] – Thanks to Boy Ipoh for the tip.

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readers-digest

Your Mother Reads Reader’s Digest

Reader’s Digest is traditionally found next to the davenports belonging to grandparents across North America, – light reading while you enjoy a highball on the lanai. America. This is Moraga Commons Skate Park photographed by Paul Rickman from Oakland, California. Paul is only 18 years old, what’s he doing reading Reader’s Digest – besides winning photo contests? My mother, a woman of a certain age, sent me these pages out of Reader’s Digest and then quickly became sheepish when I pointed out to her that she had turned into her own mother.

tate

Skatemaster Tate Fund

UPDATE: Sad news, in the few short days since this was posted, Gerry has passed away.

Gerry Hurtado AKA “SkateMaster Tate” was Diagnosed with Inoperable Liver Cancer, and is being cared for at home by his elderly mother in her 80’s. Gerry’s friends are trying to raise money for hospice care, something his mother in her advanced age just can’t do for him. You can donate on GoFundMe. All this after a recent resurgence for Skatemaster Tate, who has a model on Flood Control and a flexi-disc release in the new issue of Pure Fun.

mutt

Rodney Mullen from Sebring Revolution

There’s a giant cloud of pompousness eminating from Sebring Revolution, starting with the name of a company whose mission is to “revolutionize the way consumers see, study, purchase, and interact with art, products and media.” Sure… I guess it sounds better than “We make cool stuff.” However, they’ve put together some interesting footage and interactive widgets featuring Rodney Mullen. Be thankful that it looks like NIN video and it didn’t go another route with Dave Grohl and a really earnest interview about how revolutionary Rodney is. Why so bitter, Kilwag, are you jealous of Steven Sebring much? Those who can’t do, teach. Those who can’t teach write snarky blogs.

– Via Betsy Binckley Gordon on Facebook, who is probably un-friending me right now.

17-monstergirls

Monster Energy Supports Women’s Pro Street League

Seen above, the top three places in the first ever Street League Women’s Pro Division… What’s that? Oh, right. I guess those would more likely be some Monster Girls. I guess they don’t sponsor anyone in the women’s circuit, but hey, Nyjah Huston got 2nd. Photo from Monster’s press release regarding 2015 SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship, in Chicago, Illinois.

90s-ads-lastday

More 90’s ads with loose ends

There are 19 new (old) 90’s ads posted from the January 1998 issue of Thrasher. There’s a couple doozies in there, including a weird one with Tas Pappas, Z-Roller Trucks still going, recycled 70’s safety advice from Goodtimes, a classic Dwarves album art, plastic launch ramps, and some total crap art from Think. In the loose ends department there are two that I can’t figure out what they are advertising because I have no recollection of these companies – Solar and Amp.