Last week Youtube.com began testing some live broadcasts with several different partners. In one of their tests they featured a live interview with Tony Hawk in conjunction with YoungHollywood.com and according to Techcrunch.com no one showed up.
Well, Tony Hawk just finished an appearance on Young Hollywood right now, and the number of viewers never went above 500, according to the view counter at the bottom of the player. For most of the segment, it was much less—at one point I saw 9 viewers, then 81. As a point of reference, when we livestream TechCrunch events, we often get 2,000 to 3,000 concurrent viewers, and that is without being promoted on YouTube’s homepage. So 500 viewers for Tony Hawk is really nothing.
Then again, we didn’t know Tony was going to be on. If he’d told us we could have rounded up a couple dozen more people, no problem.
When a group in Amarillo, Texas tried to burn a Quran on Saturday, September 11, 2010 a local skateboarder ran through and grabbed the kerosene-soaked book and escaped, according to a story on Amarillo.com.
Jacob Isom, 23, grabbed David Grisham’s Quran when he became distracted while arguing with several residents at Sam Houston Park about the merits of burning the Islamic holy book. . . “You’re just trying to start Holy Wars,” Isom said of Grisham after he gave the book to a religious leader from the Islamic Center of Amarillo.
Isom was reportedly carrying a skateboard at the time of the action. We’re guessing it was a longboard. . .
Tony Hawk gets Chaz Ortiz and Dancing With the Stars Louie Vito to demonstrate the new skate-snow crossover video game Tony Hawk Shred, the Swiss Army knife of video games. . . looks kind of confusing.
Robin Leach has obviously traded his “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” in for something little more downscale as he uses his column in Las Vegas Weekly to discuss the million dollar “battle” between the Maloof Money Cup and Rob Dyrdek’s Street League.
At the center of the battle is skate sensation Chris Cole. He’s been the $100,000 winner at the Maloof events for the past three consecutive contests, but he’s signed on exclusively with Rob for the pro tour that hits our Thomas & Mack Arena on Sept. 25. Rob promises the world’s best skateboarders competing for the most prize money in history, with a real-time scoring format in which every trick counts. . . . However, Joe Maloof, who with brother Gavin runs the Sacramento Kings, and George Maloof, who runs the Palms, are now offering a $1 million cash bounty. Fans say it’s aimed at keeping Chris on their team. The first skateboarder to win four consecutive $100,000 Maloof Money Cup events gets the $1 million payday.
Never really thought we’d see the day that skateboarding would make the Lifestyles of the Rich and Vegased.
Giovanni Reda has a new book out with Oh Wow Press titled Demigods & Cosmic Children featuring portraits of his friends and acquaintances including people like Spike Jones (above), Mark Gonzalez, and other famous and not so famous peoples.
[Reda] captures each subject sincerely, candidly portrayed and free to be vulnerable. As Reda relates to each individual, he also removes himself as a director. Without staging, he implies connectivity–his personal relationships are exposed, but ultimately the message underlines our connection to one another.
It’s all a network, right? The book is 8.75 x 12.25, 200 pages long, and costs $45.00. Buy one before they are gone.
Machotaildrop, the film directed by Corey Adams and Alex Craig after they won a Fuel.TV filmmakers contest has won the title of Best Independent Film in the LA Skate Film Festival. Flip’s Extremely Sorry won for best US film and PLANK won Best International Film.
As you well know we hate reading stories like this one from The Herald-Mail:
An 8-year-old boy was in critical condition Wednesday night at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., after a skateboard accident at 440 N. Prospect St. earlier in the day, according to a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman. . . The accident occurred at about 5:45 p.m., when three juveniles were hanging onto a Jeep while riding skateboards, Sgt. Chad Woodring said late Wednesday. . . The 8-year-old boy lost his balance, and it is believed he was struck by the Jeep, Woodring said.
We also flinch every time we see pros towing into stuff while skateboarding in movies like Emerica’s Stay Gold and Nike Skateboarding’s Debacle. Sure, skateboarding is dangerous, but still . . .
Not really sure what’s been going on at the Surf Industry Manufacturers’ Association lately, but it seems their Boot Camps have been oddly relevant. On September 22, 2010 SIMA will tackle “New Media.”
The first panel discussion of the morning, Media vs. New Media: Tracking the Transition, will showcase a discussion with the surf industry’s leading media experts on the transition to new media, its benefits and advantages, and specific learnings from the interactive endeavors of these media outlets. Moderated by Doug Palladini, the panelists will include: Rob Campbell / Editorial Director, TransWorld Media; Norb Garrett / Senior Vice President, Group Publisher, ASG; Ross Garrett / Director of Operations and Development, The Surfer’s Journal; Gene Pao / Vice President of New Media and International Development, FUEL TV; and Jonno Wells / CEO, Surfline.
It’s always entertaining to see what corporate executives from the established action media have to say about “new” media, isn’t it?
Ryan Kingman and the crew at Stance have announced their Artists Series of foot covering the work of skate artists like Russ Pope, Andy Howell, Steven Harrington, and Don Pendleton. As if any of us needed an excuse to buy new socks.
Baltimore, Maryland Police Officer Salvatore Rivieri who was caught on tape at least two timesbeing a complete asshole way overstepping the bounds of his badge (click here for all the coverage) has finally (and thankfully) been fired by Baltimore City Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld, according to a story on ABC 2 News.
Not so suprisingly, the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 3 thinks the firing was was wrong, according to the story. In their statement they said:
For the PC to increase the punishment to termination is an abuse of his discretion and not only does it end the career of a 19 year veteran who was out there doing his job, the PC’s decision sends the wrong message to all our police officers who are expected to aggressively keep our streets safe but cannot expect to be treated fairly and not discriminated against in any disciplinary proceedings.
Oddly, we believe this firing is one of the first times the right message is being sent to other police officers regarding how they handle skateboarders in general and children specifically. If not for Youtube.com this man would still be harassing people with his badge like a school yard bully and the sooner other officers realize that this is not proper police behavior the better.
Last week Youtube.com began testing some live broadcasts with several different partners. In one of their tests they featured a live interview with Tony Hawk in conjunction with YoungHollywood.com and according to Techcrunch.com no one showed up.
