by The Editors on February 24, 2008
Though we’ve seen reviews of his book Corpus Christi: Stories we don’t remember reading Bret Anthony Johnston’s work in any of the skateboard magazines. Maybe that’s because he is a good writer.
The skateboarding novelist is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and is now the director of creative writing at Harvard University.
Johnston says: “The skills required to be a successful writer or a successful artist of any kind are the same skills that are required for being a successful skateboarder. You really see the world differently than everybody else does and you have a patience and a perseverance and maybe a penchant for masochism in ways that most other people don’t.” . . . “You have to be able to stay there, hour after hour, and hurt yourself, do splits on the banister, whack your shins and stay there bleeding and sweating until you can make the trick that you want to make. It’s the same thing for writers. You have to log the hours. You have to look at the world in a different way and be prepared to sit in a chair as long as it takes to render that world and the characters in your imagination truthfully.”
Indeed.
[Link: Radio Iowa]
by The Editors on February 19, 2008
It appears that roughing up skateboarders isn’t Baltimore Police officer Salvatore Rivieri’s only pleasure. An artist from Washington DC who was video taping people’s reactions to a moving box (on top of a remote control car) caused the same officer to lose his shit. When the artist heard the story about the skateboarder, he knew it was the same officer and he shared his video footage with ABC 2.
Follow the link for the video.
[Link: Skate and Annoy]
by The Editors on February 18, 2008
When a man tried to rob a Daytona Beach, Florida convenience store he got a skateboard beating thanks to store clerk Frank Howard and three of his friends.
Investigators said a suspicious man walked into the store and stood near the entrance for several minutes. Store clerk Frank Howard said the man then approached the register and reached across the counter to grab the money.
Howard said he fought back, and he and three friends hit the man with a skateboard and took him outside. Other customers also assisted.
Nice to see a skateboard being used as a weapon for good every once in a while.
[Link: WESH.com]
by The Editors on February 17, 2008
Camas, Washington:
A young man skateboarding behind a friend’s car was run over in Camas Friday, police said.
The 19-year-old grabbed onto his friend’s car as it started to move, near the intersection of 3rd and Lon. But then, the young man lost his grip, fell and was run over by the car, according to Sgt. Doug Morcross with the Camas Police Department.
If John Cardiel can’t do it, then nobody can.
[Link: KGW.com]
by The Editors on February 17, 2008
Sheridan, Arkansas:
Arkansas State Police say a Sheridan teen was killed Wednesday while riding a skateboard.
Troopers say a 14-year-old was skateboarding with a friend on Highway 46, when he was hit by a Jeep. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Jeep’s driver says as he rounded a curve, he saw the two teens on skateboards in his lane. The driver swerved, but the teen apparently also swerved into his path.
[Link: Todaysthv.com]
by The Editors on February 17, 2008
If you were the most recognizable skateboarder in the world where would you have Valentines Day dinner? A quiet, out-of-the-way restaurant? Nope. Maybe a romantic dinner at home? Wrong again. If you’re Tony Hawk you’d choose to have dinner at the most paparazzi stalked steak house in all of LA: STK. You know, because that’s where all the stars are having dinner.
[Link: Hollyscoop]
by The Editors on February 14, 2008
Pop will definitely eat itself. Eric Bush, the kid who was shown on Youtube being thrown around by Baltimore police officer Salvatore Rivieri is now getting all kinds of media attention. Maybe he can turn it into a career in reality television.
[Link: Baltimore Sun]
by The Editors on February 14, 2008
The San Francisco Chronicle profiled Ian Johnson today mentioning that art school dropout has work being “featured right now at San Francisco’s White Walls Gallery, another show is coming up in Tokyo in May and a book on his art is due in August.” And Ian says he owes it all to skateboarding.
“Skateboarding is entirely responsible for where I am right now with my art career,” says Johnson, who is known for his detailed portraits of authors and jazz music icons from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. “I’ve always been into art but never really considered it as a career until Western Edition launched.”
Click the link for the rest of the story.
[Link: San Francisco Chronicle]
by The Editors on February 14, 2008
Sole Tech’s Bill Conrad, who builds window displays for Emerica and sets up their tradeshow booths was in Las Vegas on his birthday and won $1.7 million at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Congratulations, Bill! Spend it all in one place! Just kidding. Don’t do that. And you better not quit your job here, cuz we love ya.
Let’s see, $600,000 will go to taxes, another chunk to paying bills, we’d say maybe you should keep your day job, Bill.
[Link: Emerica Skate]
by The Editors on February 12, 2008
Robust Flavor spy cam operators grabbed some shots of Shaun White’s new ride. It’s a Lamborghini Murcielago and here are the it’s stats:
It sports a 6.2 Liter version of the legendary Lamborghini V12 engine, a six-speed manual or six-speed sequential automatic transmission, and four-wheel drive. It also has a rear spoiler that can be raised to an angle of 70 degrees, side mirrors that fold in to improve aerodynamics, and side scoops that automatically open to the needed size to let in just the right amount of air needed to cool its engine.
Kinda reminds us of something our favorite former NFL playing rap artist F-a-m to the o-u-z said: “just look at me now, I’m gettin’ it . . . on the Lambdy Lambo, as many bad bitches as a nigga can handle. . . ”
[Link: Robust Flavor]
Though we’ve seen reviews of his book Corpus Christi: Stories we don’t remember reading Bret Anthony Johnston’s work in any of the skateboard magazines. Maybe that’s because he is a good writer.
