The Weekly Skate Wrap: A Work in Progress

Skaters going pro, products dropping like there's no tomorrow and of course more random You Tube video. Hot dam, it must be Friday. Time for another long winded entry about what is going down in skating, media and consumer America. Lets get into it before I start making like Led Zepplin and "Ramble On". Yes, I just went in that general god awful joke direction. see, all work and no skate make Southofthenorth.com that much tastier. OK, Here we go...

Guess Who is Down With Black Box?
Pete Eldridge is, that's who. Looks like Jamie Thomas decided to kick it down for P.E. with a spot on the Mystery team. Nice going Pete, moving up from flow to team status is usually reserved for the most deserving and we love to see East Coast skaters get their often long over due respect and attention.

















The info might be a little outdated but SPoT has a little profile in case you might have missed Pete in the Past. Also, peep the interview with Pistol Pete from Focus Magazine some time back .

Where Did the $20,610 Go?
I always get a kick out of how crooked the local goverment in washington D.C. I mean, it's bad enough the city re-elected Marion Berry after he got busted in a hotel room with a hooker smoking crack but taking money from a skate park fund is some stright up bullshit. As the Washington Post reports on 11/9:

Science teacher Terry Nostrand raised $20,610 from the Tony Hawk Foundation and Project Learning Tree in 2003 to build a skateboarding park at the high school. She deposited the money into the student activity fund. When she tried to retrieve the money the following year, she "kept getting one story after another," Nostrand recalled. "Runaround, runaround, runaround." Nostrand never did get answers about whether the money was stolen or lost to bad accounting. Auditors attempted to trace the money within the student account but declared the records "unauditable." The city had to repay the donors, and the skatepark eventually was built elsewhere.

That skatepark built elsewhere was labor of love by Washington D.C. skaters and it's called Green Skate Lab.

SMP Does Not Mean "Smoke More Pot"
OK, who knows what it measn and moreover...who really cares? Actually it appears TK cares. He's definitely down for Super Mind Power, that's right SMP. While SMP sounds vaguely lik straight edge I'm definitely down with having a moment of clarity. I don't care what you call it but elevate how you gotta elevate. Check the video courtesy of Thrasher Magazine and the heads up from Skatedaily.net





Rowley And Indy
Everybodies favorite vegan, Geoff Rowley, who skates less and actually provides more of wooden and urethane assault on urban environments has got his own signature Independent Truck hittin' shelves. You can watch the intro video and get some solid footage of Geoff killing it. More importantly you can go here and enter to win a set of the trucks.






















Are You Watching the Grill Session?
There are so many things happening in the world of skating you have to be on your toes to catch them all. Particularly when it comes to video. I've been watching Vital Skate since it launched. Recently, Shad Lambert and the crew over at Vital have been putting together the grill session and you know what? it's pretty entertaining. Check out the Grill Session with Matt Ball and bookmark vital. The videos are well worth it.


Or you could just get freaky tattoos like Sammy Baca. Yup, no regretting that King Cobra piece of ink ever. I swear some pros are heading straight to the Scott Bourne School of cover ups in a few years.





















Random Links and Assorted Nuggets
Now you can relive TNT's bomb drop at the 1999 Vans Triple Crown. Looks Like Tigard removed rule number 3. The Dew Tour's sugary beverages will not be accompanied by a small chili, a frosty and a 1/4 pound single. Thanks Wendy's!