fickle punk point

 

This morning started off on the wrong foot.  Yep.  That is my rear view mirror taped up.  

There is a pot hole in the middle of our street.  The city has put what looks like a plastic saw horse over it, making my street divided and, because of this, very narrow.  It is doable, until of course, somebody parks a car just in front of it.  So, the street is now too narrow in that spot.  So, as I left for the skatepark, I had to drive on the wrong side of the street to get around the car and divider.

What happens next?  Just as I make the decision to drive on the wrong side of the street, a car pulls onto the street from the opposite direction...I panic a bit and try to deep as close to the divider as possible (which would have been fine had my rear view mirror not suck out further than the body of my car).

 So, I went and rode this new fickle punk point (with Mariachi graphics) at the park until my hands hurt from the cold.  Stress relief thy name is fickle.  Notice the stocking cap on the nose of the board.

Hand prints on the top of the deck signify the hand made love that went into the deck.

sans cap.

cap where it belongs

stoke.  8.5 inch punk point. fickle skateboards.

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography

>Thanks to a very kind person, I received a gift certificate to the newest skateshop in Memphis, Midtown Skateshop.  I went in knowing I needed griptape for the new fickle punk point I have on the way, but not sure what else I would buy.  I have a million skate shirts so I knew I didn't need one.  I have two sets of brand new bearings (one I bought and one via Wrex Cook...look for a review in the next issue of Luchaskate).  Hmmmm...what would I get?

I gave a hard thought to getting the Creature video.  Those guys always make me want to skate, but really I knew I wanted the new Bones Brigade documentary.

Now, I was not a Powell Peralta fan back in the day.  I always liked Lance Mountain (who didn't), and Rodney Mullen was so shockingly brilliant (and so odd) that he was fascinating, but I was more into Skull Skates, Santa Cruz and Alva.  In retrospect, the Powell guys were a little too smiley, polite and clean cut. I wanted my skateboarding to be more punk rock than that.  Hey, I was a rebellious teen looking for more rebellion.  I didn't care about contest results.  I cared about Danforth's shaved head and dirty t-shirts, Salba's weird leopard print pads and Tod Swanks lo-fi graphics.  I am not and will never be a technical skater.  Style was everything to me, even back then.

However, this DVD is fantastic.  Rodney Mullen is the true star for me.  His brilliance and oddness shines through.  When he speaks it is full of imagery, metaphor and thought.  Lance Mountain expressing his worry about not being "good enough" touches home as well (although he had style for days).  It has its downsides as well, of course.  Stacy Peralta's interview parts show him as trying too hard to show emotion.  And it would have been nice to see more skating or nice to have some bonus footage of skating.  I will say, this thing is worth every penny I didn't have to spend on it.  This will be rewatched again and again.

Get it at your local shop, or you can get it here:
Bones Brigade: An Autobiography

Wet outside. Injured again. Read. Write.

Well, this winter officially hates my body. After falling on my butt and bruising my tailbone a month ago, I hung up on the coping yesterday and jacked my knee up. So, I'm almost glad it is rainy today...it takes away the temptation to skate on an injury.

So...I'm gonna chill and read the new Sharkbait 'Zine.

Get that shiz.

If you're similarly injured or held back by the rain you can always kick back with a new book by little 'ol moi.  My new book is now available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle.  Other than one poem called "Skateboarder," it isn't a skate related book, but hey, sometimes you have to venture out a little bit from your comfort zone. Choosing an Afterlife.

The poems I thought were the best over the last five years.

I'm happy to say that there are actually people buying it!  Stoked! So, what am I doing writing poetry, anyway?  Most people that know me don't know that I went to college on a creative writing scholarship.  Later, after my freshman year, I got a performance scholarship in theatre and declared that as my major, but I kept writing.  I quit writing after I became a chef, and other than writing some articles and recipes for Memphis Health and Fitness, I didn't write for years.  Until 2008 that is...well, here is the book that I made from those poems from 2008 until now.

Don't forget the other book project next year!  Write your skate essay! Get on it while the weather is bad!

Your story?

I was going to publish an old school style photocopied 'zine at the end of the year, but after thinking long and hard about it, I just don't want to do that. With over 4,000 people being exposed to the digital 'zine (issue 2 alone) that can be downloaded and printed by anyone who might want it, it seems counterproductive.

But, I do want to do another project.

I was going to write a book about skateboarding...well, in fact, I started a book a year or so ago. But that isn't exactly what I wanted to do either. I wanted more people to be involved. So, here is what I need:

Essays. The skateboard story that you need to tell. No fiction. 1st person personal essays only. This is the skate story that exemplifies the feeling you get from our sport/activity/culture.

Length: Between 1,000 and 4,000 words.
18 or older to enter.
Deadline: March 1st.
Publication date: TBD (likely in May but could be before)
Payment: Contributor copy to authors with an essay included in the book.

Legal stuff: We get all publication rights to this essay. This will be created via a p.o.d. (print on demand publisher) and available via ebook. It will not "go out of print" as it will be printed when copies are ordered. If we don't publish your essay, rights return to you. You will be informed via email whether we will use your essay. Some essays not used in the book will be published in luchaskate magazine in part or whole. You will be informed if any part of your essay will be used in luchaskate ahead of publication time. You will not get any money for your essay. This is a chance to be a part of something very cool. Skateboarders telling the world why they love skateboarding. Do it for the love of the art of skating.

More details to come.

email submissions (in ms word format) to luchamag@yahoo.com

Tips: Keep it timeless. Don't rail on the current state of skateboarding or praise the now. In ten years the now will be the past, and your piece will seem dated.

Only the best will make it to print, so write, rewrite and rewrite and rewrite again.

Issue 1.3 ya jerks!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the new issue of Luchaskate:

Open publication - Free publishing - More d.i.y.