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53000 miles power everything,ac cold, am,fm radio, Cd player everything works 4 door 2.4 leter get about 26-30 MPG Automatic Red G6 Pontiac 2006, black intieror,seats up to 5 people. if you would like to know anything else please write me asap and i will get back to you. lil_babe_04_7@hotmail.com



Published On: 5/4/2008
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Dogtown Longboard, Complete! Bought new for $400+ mid-way through summer of 07. Great Condition, selling for $250-$300 OBO! Siiiick bargain brah!! Holla at me, photos of the set-up commin soon.

The only times I'v ever used the thing was for: http://www.grindtv.com/video/skate/Mostly_longboarding/
It's the black deck, black griptape black dogtown graphic with red, none of those arbor boards!

Adam

Published On: 3/6/2008
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....FOR FREEDOM!!!

 

 “In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. –George Orwell

 

The year is 1913, Woodrow Wilson is president, and powerful banking interests, who have been trying for year, finally achieved their long term goal, of silently taking control of the American government.

     The first thing the did to accomplish their take over was convince secretary of state, Flan Denox, to lie to the American people, and tell them that the 16th amendment [Income Tax Amendment] had been legally ratified by the states when it was not. The bankers knew that this tax would ultimately end up in their pockets.

     Because of this fraud the American people were led to believe there was a tax on their labor. Congress and the President ARE completely aware of this fraud and it was cited in a recent court case:

 

“If you… examined [the 16th amendment] carefully, you would find that a sufficient number of states ratified that amendment.” -U.S. District Court Judge, James C. Fox, 2003

 

That very same year [1913] the bankers committed their second, and by far most diabolical fraud ever perpetrated on the American people, by bribing senators to pass the Federal Reserve Act, without the required Constitutional amendment. They did this during Christmas vacation, when many senators where home celebrating Christmas with their families.

     And that is how the unconstitutional Federal Reserve Act came into being. They were very clever, and understood that who ever issued the money for America controlled the government.

 

“Give me control of a nations money supply, and I care not who makes its laws.” -Mayer Rothschild, Private Banker

 

President Wilson, who signed the Federal Reserve Act later said in regret:

“I’m a most unhappy man; I have unwittingly ruined my country a great industrial nation is now controlled by a system of credit. We are no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinions and duress of a small group of dominant men.” -Woodrow Wilson, 1919

 

How did America transform from being a truly free country with a servant government where our individual rights are protected by our Constitution, to being a country that talked about being free but really wasn’t?

     The change started when the Federal Reserve came into existence, and America adopted one of the major planks of the Communist Manifesto by creating for America this central bank.

     The very same people that back the Federal Reserve System also back the graduated income tax, a second plank from the Communist Manifesto.

     And now our Congress so dominated by the banks, is helping them entrap people even further by passing new Bankruptcy Laws making it more difficult for the people to declare bankruptcy and get a fresh start.

 

“Who controls money controls the world.” -Henry Kissinger, Council of Foreign Relations

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

*President Bush has signed executive orders give him sole authority to impose martial law and suspending Habeas Corpus. This gives him dictatorial power over the people without any checks or balances.

 

*The government can jail you for life without charges, without trial, and without a lawyer.

 

*Because of globalization the U.S. must accept other nations’ laws. Under the CAFTA treaty the sale of vitamins and supplements will be illegal.

 

*Executive Order# 10999: Allows the government to take over all modes of transportation.

 

*Executive Order# 11000: Allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.

 

* Executive Order# 11921: Provides that the president can declare a state of emergency that is not defined and Congress cannot review the action for six months.

 

*Senate Bill# 1873: Allows the government to vaccinate you with untested vaccines against your will.

 

*The FDA says: Americans do not have a right to know which foods are genetically modified.

 

*Congressman Sensenbrenner’s Bill (HR1528): Requires you to spy on you neighbors including wearing a wire. Refusal would be punishable by a mandatory prison sentence of at least two years.

 

*The government claims the power to seize all financial interments: gold, silver, and everything else if they deem an emergence exists. –treasury department letter, Aug. 12, 2005

 

*There are 190 countries in the world; American has bases in 130 them.

 

The Patriot Act permits:

*Secret FBI and police searches of your home and office.

*Secret government wiretaps on you phone, computer and/or internet activity.

*Secret investigations of your bank record, credit cards and other financial records.

*Secret investigations of your library and book activities.

*Secret examinations of your metical, travel and business records.

*The freezing of funds and assets without prior notice or appeal.

*The creation of secret watch lists that ban those named from air and other travel.

 

“The Constitution is just a goddamn piece of paper.” -George W. Bush, Nov. 2005, Capitol Hill Blue

 

During the 1990’s President Clinton monitored millions of private phone calls placed by U.S. citizens. He did this under a secret program code named: Echelon. The wide spread use of wire tapping Americans during the Clinton administration proves that this practice was not started because of 9/11 but is standard procedure.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The new legislation for the national ID card is in and takes three to for pages to describe. It will be connected to our driver’s licenses and Social security numbers. A physical ID such as finger prints or retinal print will be on it.

This law known as the Real ID Act takes effect in May 2008. Anyone with out a card will not be permitted to board an air plain, Amtrak train, open a bank account, or enter a federal building.

The bill mandates that all drivers’ licenses contain “common readable technology. A radio frequency identification (RFID) chip will be used.

 

 

“It is time to wake up America. Those ID cards are NOT about defeating terrorism, they are all about controlling the American people.” -Aaron Russo

 

The latest technology for identifying people when they make purchases is the implantable chip that can be directly imbedded into human flesh. Its tiny glass capsule is about the size if a grain if rice. It contains an RFID computer chip with a coiled antenna.

Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and others have expressed great interest in being able to more closely monitor the American people. And one way to do that would be to determine who buys what and where they take these things.

     Radio frequency can travel through walls, wood, the things we normally rely on to protect our privacy. For example your backpack, your pocket, anything you’re wearing or carrying.

     They were talking about having reader devices in every airport, on every bus, every train, on every port and every dock.

     One of the most worrisome applications of RFID is proposals to put in cash. Meaning that you’d be able to track every bank note, where it has been, who it has been issued to, and create an essence an audit trail that would essentially take away the anonymity of cash, that we enjoy today.

     The ATM machine itself, as the money came through the roller device, would be reading each number. And it would know who you are; of course you identify yourself at banks or ATMs. And the ATM would tag the number, and transfer the possession name from, say Bank of America to Joe Jones.

     Once every thing you do is tied down to a single number, and there is no longer the option to pay with cash, then all it takes to render you a non citizen is to simply turn you chip off. Then you won’t be able to participate in ant function in society, including buy food.  

     Through the implementation of the Federal Reserve System, the American citizen has gone from being a private individual who had real money, and gold in possession that was private, to a citizen who has no privacy because all money is now being digitized. They can deduct however amount of money they want out of your digits when ever they want, and they can trace you when ever they want. You’ll be at there mercy. God forbid we allow this to happen in America

    

“This is outrageous! I mean your talking about the government looking over your shoulder at absolutely everything you do, every purchase you make, every place you go, every company you interact with, would be recorded back to potentially the government.” -Katherine Albrecht, author of “Spy Chips”

 

Have we become so controlled and ignorant about our rights, that big institution and big governments can do whatever they want with us even with out our approval?

I know for certain that our founding fathers would resist to the death what is happening in America today. And I for one will not accept a national ID card. And if nobody accepts a national ID card, and nobody can board a plain without one, then let the airlines go bankrupt. And if you can’t open an account in a big national bank, then open one in a small local bank. And if we can’t walk into a federal building, I’d personally consider that a blessing.

Don’t allow these institutions to dictate to us how we conduct our lives. This is America, and we have free choice! We the people have the power not the government. The government gets its power from us, not the other way around.

Think of all the men and women that died in all our wars fighting for freedom, not Federal Reserve bankers. Do you think they sacrificed their lives so America could get chipped like a dog, so we can all have homing devices inside us? NO! This ID card is the last step before they implant us, and that is precisely the reason no one should accept one.

And you know what they’re going to do? They’re going to call in the propaganda machine, the media, and try to sell this RFID chip as if it was in everybody’s best interest.

 

“We shall have a world government whether or not we like it. The only question is whether the world government will be achieved by conquest or consent.” -Paul Warburg, architect of the Federal Reserve System, 1950

 

The central bankers of the world are working together to create a one world government. A global police sinister was the only thing George Orwell ever wrote about. Where every person on the planet Earth will have an RFID chip implant, where the bankers and the governments have access to every transaction you make.

A chip in every in everybody would be the universal monitory system, because there would be no escape from it.

Most people don’t have a clue that these unelected private bankers, actually control the governments of the world. They have actually financed and profited from ever war since World War I, without concern for humanity. The war in Iraq is an attempt by the Federal Reserve and their partner the Bank of England to control the middle east, and make it part of the new world order.

 

“Military men are just dumb stupid animals, to be used as pawn in foreign policies.” -Henry Kissinger

 

     The war on terrorism is the war on your freedom.

 

“The bankers own take it away from them but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough money to buy it back again. However, take away the power to create money, and all great fortunes like mine will disappear and ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in.

But if you wish to remain slaves of the bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money.” - Sir Josiah Stamp, former director of the Bank of England

 

“We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine, and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost 40 years.

     It would have been impossible for us to develop our plans for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But now the world is more sophisticated and prepared to march toward a world government. The supra national sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto determination, practiced in past centuries.” 

-David Rockefeller, private banker, council on foreign relations, June 1991

 

“The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise power from behind the scenes.” -Felix Frankfuter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

 

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” -Henry Ford

 

     Now that you do understand what happened in 1913, and how it is leading to world government, the future depends on you. Will you choose freedom or slavery? Stop living in fear of your government. Government is the servant. We are the masters.

So what are you going to do about it? Join together in civil disobedience. Be willing to take part in nationwide strikes, boycotts, and marches on Washington. Force Congress to use their power to shut down the Federal Reserve. Government has authority to issue money, without paying interest to the bankers. This will take away the power to control our government from the bankers. Only vote for candidates who have signed an affidavit to shut down the Federal Reserve System and stop world government.

If you are in the military or law enforcement, remember you swore an oath to defend the American Constitution. You didn’t swear an oath to promote world government. Honor your Oath.

DONOT accept the national ID card, even if it’s your drivers’ license. We must demand that the American peoples gold be audited, and make certain that it has not been stolen. This asset must be returned to the American people.

Abolish computer voting in the state where you live. Stop being a good Democrat, stop being a good Republican, start being good Americans.

And when the media starts telling you that the country will fall apart if this is done, don’t be fooled. This is just the Federal Reserve trying to save itself. Squash it!

 

“I like the old idea, where you could do what you thought you could do and what you wanted to do as long as you didn’t hurt anyone.”

 -Ron Paul

 

If you believe in civil disobedience and wish to organize with millions of Americans in this battle for liberty, please sign up at freedomtofascism.com, and if you choose not to help, report to Central Services immediately and we will have you fitted for an RFID chip… for you own safety, of course.

 

”We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
-Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of
Independence, July 4, 1776

 Uninted we stand, Divided we fall.

www.ronpaul2008.com

 

www.wethepeoplefoundation.org

 Source:

America: from freedom to fascism (DVD)
 
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173

 



Published On: 11/10/2007
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SALES REPS WANTED FOR GROWING SKATEBOARD BRAND

Want to work for a cool, new company and make extra money in your spare time? Want to get in on the ground floor with a emerging East Coast skateboard brand?

Lost Soul Skateboards is looking for hard working sales reps to help us gain new accounts for our growing skateboard company. Prior sales experience preferred. Knowledge of skateboarding a must. Knowledge of the skateboarding industry is a plus! Must have own computer and internet access.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

Gaining new accounts from retailers in the USA via phone and/or e-mail.

Sending e-mails and product catalogs/ updates to retailers.

Commission sales and free product. The more you sell the more you earn. If you are interested please e-mail us a brief history about yourself, resume and experience to sales@lostsoulskateboards.com
Thank you!



Published On: 11/10/2007
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The countdown is on as ZooYork presents Vancouver’s rowdiest Halloween partyon the block @ TONIC NIGHTCLUB 919 Granville Street October 30th

 

With Cyrus on the Mic & Dj KutCorners kicking it off

  • -Crazy Crump Dance off contest $$$ in Cash Money to be won  
  • -Sexy ass costumes and contest giveaways, also tons of prizes to be given away
  • -Cheap drink specials and Coors light on special
  • -ONLY $5 @ the door so arrive there early to get in......


Published On: 10/30/2007
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Published On: 10/26/2007
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My Blog: ????
By: fuzzybear33




My favorite skater of all time.

 

 




 My favorite skater right now.

Gun That Killed Goldsboro Boy Was Stolen Posted:
 
Jul. 24, 2007
 
 Goldsboro — Police on Tuesday said the handgun involved in the accidental shooting death of an 8-year-old boy last week was reported stolen a year ago. Andre Wilder and his 12-year-old brother found the .45-caliber gun in the woods near their home, police said. Andre was playing with it at the family's home on July 17, and the gun went off as his brother tried to take it away from him for his own protection, police said. Andre died later at Wayne Memorial Hospital from a single gunshot to his face. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traced the gun to its former owner, who had reported last year that it was stolen from a vehicle parked outside a Wal-Mart in Goldsboro. Police said they haven't matched the gun to any crimes. Shenita Wilder-Dancy, the boys' mother, said people have been using the area around her rural home as a dumping ground. She said she believes Andre found the gun and thought it was a toy. No charges are expected to be filed in the case, police said.
 
This was my friends lil bro.... please pay some respect.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RIP KURT!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Published On: 9/8/2007
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We're currently taking applications for Part Time postions (possible full time).
 
Wages starting at $9/hr.  General retail sales of clothing, footwear, hardgoods, accessories as well as basic shop duties including cleaning, merchandising and basic maintenance.
 
Email resumes to brad@surfaceboardshop.com or by mail:
 
Surface Boardshop
Unit #129-735 Goldstream Ave
Langford, BC V9B 2X4
 


Published On: 6/11/2007
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The International Association Of Skateboard Companies
, Skaters For Public Skateparks and the Tony Hawk Foundation have worked together to bring you the ultimate Public Skatepark Guide.

My bet is it is a great tool for any individual or organizations to get some more information on how to get skateparks built.

For more info on the guide and your free copy go to http://publicskateparkguide.org/


The Tony Hawk Foundation
recently awarded their Spring 2007 skatepark grant awards.

Tony Hawk Foundation Spring 2007 Grant Awards Announced
23 communities receive financial assistance for skatepark construction.

The Tony Hawk Foundation has announced its Spring 2007 skatepark grant awards. Collectively worth $210,000, the 23 grants were awarded by the Foundation's Board of Directors to help build free, quality public skateparks. Grant recipients were selected based on a number of criteria set out by the Tony Hawk Foundation, including the local median income and demonstrated need of the community where the skatepark will be located, the scope and quality of the skatepark design, the degree to which skaters themselves are involved in all aspects of the project (including planning, fundraising, and design), and other factors.

The Spring 2007 Tony Hawk Foundation Grant Recipients include the following communities:

 • Nederland, Colorado    $25,000
 • New Braunfels, Texas    $25,000
 • Fowler, California    $15,000
 • Cedaredge, Colorado    $15,000
 • Coos Bay, Oregon    $15,000
 • Barstow, California    $10,000
 • Spirit Lake, Iowa    $10,000
 • Duluth, Minnesota    $10,000
 • Poteet, Texas    $10,000
 • Clifton Forge, Virginia    $10,000
 • Redlands, California    $5,000
 • Hart, Michigan    $5,000
 • Keewatin, Minnesota    $5,000
 • Crookston, Minnesota    $5,000
 • New Madrid, Missouri    $5,000
 • Newport, New Hampshire    $5,000
 • Hugo, Oklahoma    $5,000
 • Echo, Oregon    $5,000
 • Pendleton, Oregon    $5,000
 • Spearman, Texas    $5,000
 • Almira, Washington    $5,000
 • Durbin, West Virginia    $5,000
 • Viola, Wisconsin    $5,000

The Tony Hawk Foundation also welcomes two new members to its staff. Scott Taylor joins the Foundation as Programs Manager and is the primary contact for the Foundation's Grant and Technical Assistance Programs. Scott spent the past decade working in the skateboarding industry, most recently as Web Editor for Skateboarder Magazine. C.C. Flashman is the Foundation's new Development Associate, and will be working with our team to further develop sponsorship and fundraising programs. C.C. has extensive experience in sales, marketing, and event planning.

Applications for the next round of Tony Hawk Foundation grants are due October 1, 2007. For more information on the Spring 2007 Tony Hawk Foundation grant awards, click here.
 
And in other  Tony Hawk news:

Athletes For Hope Links Top Athletes' Charities
Tony Hawk, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Andre Agassi, and other top athletes launch new nonprofit organization.

4/25/07 (New York) Tony Hawk joined some of the world's most famous athletes to help launch Athletes For Hope, a nonprofit organization that will help link and strengthen his and other athletes' charity groups. Under the banner of "Pass The Passion," Athletes For Hope will be a resource for athletes to grow their existing charity organizations, to launch foundations of their own, or to work with other athlete's foundation to get involved in charity work. It will also be a resource for anyone who would like to contribute or volunteer to help work for a particular cause to connect with charities that focus on that cause.   Founded by Hawk, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Mia Hamm, Andre Agassi, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning and Cal Ripken, Jr., Athletes For Hope launched Wednesday, April 25 in New York with many of the Founding Athletes appearing on Good Morning America. The media blitz continued as individual members made additional appearances on other talk shows, news, and sports broadcasts.    Click here for more information about the Athletes For Hope launch.   To visit the Athletes For Hope Web site, go to www.athletesforhope.org.





Published On: 5/29/2007
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Skate and Snow news: May Long Sale!
By: goodwood


This weekend May 19- 21 is the goodwood May Long Sale!

No Tax on sales over $50!
15% off purchases over $100!
Snowboard gear now 40% instead of 35%!
T's are buy one, second one half price!
All jeans are $15 off!
Wake Boards still at COST! Free Hoodie too!

Come on in for the sales!

goodwood.


Published On: 5/18/2007
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That's right Expression Skateboard Distribution's catalog launches this winter 07'. Bringing you the best of Texas. A 3rd of the nation's skateboard sales comes from Texas. Yet there are many great Texas companies not getting the recognition they deserve. Expression is here to fill that void. Bringing you great companies from boards, clothing, shoes, energy drinks. With brand like Makeshift, Brown, Deadwood, North, Mentality, Inland Allstar Clothing, Therapy Apparel, Sykum Footwear, XO Energy Drinks. A true Expression of one love. With more companies jumping on board, look out for the Expression this winter. Available to dealers only.


Published On: 3/29/2007
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What's New @ The Store?: Split- Europe Sample Sale
By: TheStore.WestbeachUK


 
 
SPLIT SAMPLE SALE. SAVE UP TO 80% OFF
 
IN STORE ONLY


Published On: 3/23/2007
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[Akon:] Convict...Music...and you know we up front.

[Chorus: Akon]
I see you windin’ and grindin’ up on the floor
I know you see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna love you, you already know
I wanna love you, you already know

[Snoop Dogg]
Money in the air as mo’ fell
Grab you by your coattail, take you to the motel, ho sale
Don’t tell, wont tell, baby say “I don’t talk, Dogg unless you told on me” - oh well
Take a picture wit me, what the flick gon’ do
Baby stick to me and I’ma stick on you
If you pick me then I’ma pick on you
d-o-double g and I’m here to put this d*** on you
I'm stuck on p**** and your’s is right
Rip ridin’ the poles and them doors is tight
And I’ma get me a shot ‘fo the end of the night
Cause p**** is p**** and baby you’re p**** for life

[Chorus: Akon]
I see you windin’ and grindin’ up on the floor
I know you see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna love you, you already know
I wanna love you, you already know

[Akon]
Shorty I can see you ain’t lonely
Handful of n***** and they all got cheese
See you lookin’ at me now what its gon’ be
Just another tease far as I can see
Tryna get you up out this club if it means spendin' a couple dubs
Throwin’ bout 30 stacks in the back make it rain like that cause I'm far from a scrub
And you know my pedigree, ex-deala use to move phetamines
Girl I spend money like it don’t mean nothing and besides I got a thing for you.

[Chorus: Akon]
I see you windin’ and grindin’ up on the floor,
I know you see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna love you, you already know
I wanna love you, you already know girl

[Snoop Dogg]
Mobbin' through the club and I’m low pressin’
I’m sittin’ in the back in the smoker’s section (just smokin’)
Birds eye, I got a clear view
You can’t see me, but I can see you (baby I see you) -mm
It’s cool, we jet, the mood is set, your p* is wet
You’re rubbin’ your back and touchin’ your neck
Your body is movin', you humpin' and jumpin'
Your t****** is bouncin', you smilin' and grinnin' and lookin’ at me

[Akon]
Girl and while your looking at me I’m ready to hit the caddy
Right up on the patio move the patty to the caddy
Baby you got a phatty, the type I like to marry
Wantin’ to just give you everything and that’s kinda scary
Cause I'm loving the way you shake your ass
Bouncin', got me tippin' my glass
normally don’t get caught up too fast
But I got a thing for you

[Chorus: Akon]
I see you windin’ and grindin’ up on the floor,
I know you see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna love you, you already know
I wanna love you, you already know

[Chorus: Akon]
I see you windin’ and grindin’ up on the floor,
I know you see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna love you, you already know
I wanna love you, you already know

girl...



Published On: 3/9/2007
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My Journal: DEAR MAYOR,
By: Taiwan_Vaughan


 

Dear Mayor,

 

I’m one of those people that say they’ve been “saved”. There are a lot of us now, 32 million worldwide and the numbers are climbing rapidly. Although still relatively small in comparison with other clans, our institution has been the driving force behind popular fashions, cutting-edge music, film, and most modern art since the day our culture spawned 60 years ago. Whether alone, or in large groups, our place of worship is never limited to a church, temple or mosque, as we’re free to practice anywhere we like. Though seen in some ways as a cult, what binds us as a whole is not Jesus Christ, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha or even Hello Kitty. In fact our “fundamentalists” are no more than professional athletes, and our scholars produce what become our “bibles” in the form of magazines and DVD’s.

 

Never sure of whether to call itself a sport, an art, or even a new religion; skateboarding has always been in a league of its own. Together we skateboarders are a secure and unified nation. We share the same joy, the same pain, the same culture, all without needing a single leader to lead us, or boarders to fence us in. We are multinational, and within each of the countless counties we occupy we have no trouble being multicultural. All ages included, our way of life is physically and mentally healthy. A vast majority of us are staying out of trouble and away from a life of videogames while our games are often seen as a vast improvement over others. In the past decade, according to the American NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association) our relatively young sport has been replacing older sports such as Badminton, Billiards, Golf, Soccer, Baseball and Softball, Tennis and Table Tennis, Mountain Biking, and even Basketball, both on the Play Station and in the real world.

 

It was 17 years ago I started skateboarding. Since then it’s been without a doubt the most positive element in my life, and like so many guilt-ridden Catholics I feel indebt to its existence. Though great for everyone, skateboarding is a perfect outlet for “at risk” kids especially. Personally, any time my life started to go downhill, or if I got into trouble, it was always skateboarding that brought me back to life. Skateboarding’s secret societal healing power is in how it naturally fosters a need to be different and allows those who do it to progress and develop a healthy sense of independence, giving them improved confidence in all walks of life. It provides kids one more opportunity to get outside and actually do something instead of get bored and into trouble. Skateboarding continues to support life long after childhood as well. Being closely connected with the skateboard industry grants an array of highly satisfying job opportunities. I myself make a harmonious living instructing skateboarding, shooting photography and video of professionals, writing stories for skateboard magazines and even designing parks and plazas to skate in.

 

As one of many grateful skateboarders in existence, I sense a strong need to introduce skateboarding to others, protect what has made it great and keep alive the things that attracted me to it in the first place. It’s my desire to “keep it real", to keep the roots or fundamental characteristics functioning and in intact. Like a farmer I make sure it has plenty of regular waterings, enough fertile soil to root in, and as much light as it can get. Being from the west I’ve witnessed skateboarding in its mature form and feasted on its much larger fruit. Taiwan planted the seed just 10 years ago and it, like many of Taiwan’s borrowed culture or sports, is still a slow growing, vulnerable seedling, in need of special care and nurturing, and must first be grown tall and strong before any type of fruit can be had.    

 

 

 

 

 

CURRENT ISSUES

 

In a land lacking translated magazines and subtitled DVDs from the western world, and no strong local history, the skateboard scene here is like an empty shell. Without a clear idea of specific origins, skateboarding and its surrounding economy suffers from the same thing the “Hip Hop”, “Punk” or other borrowed western “youth cultures” suffer from in Taiwan. It quickly becomes a short lived fashion show if not enough new fans know what makes those western scenes shine so bright to begin with, what spawned them, or how they grew so big as to notice them halfway around the world.     

 

In what looks like proof of this theory, over the few years I’ve been in the Taiwanese skateboarding scene, the Taiwanese participation in skateboarding seems as though it has stalled at a modest midway point, odd for a sport that’s #2 next to Snowboarding in a list of the fastest growing sports on the planet. “Faddism” has indeed set in as too many have treated it as meaningless fashion, doing little or nothing to sustain a push forward or to help Taiwan’s skateboarding evolve and grow into the kind of scene one would and should have seen by now.

 

Not helping the situation also, is the fact that in Taiwan, and in much of the surrounding countries in Asia, skateboarding and its appeal to young people have been used by official “outside” organizations and their corporate associates mainly as a way to help promote the next cell phone, or products that have very little, if anything, to do with actual skateboarding. At the same time, skateboarding and its high potential for boosting tourism and its many profound social health benefits are being ignored and thus not cared for or utilized to the full extent they could be. Official decisions and planning that are said to aid in the promotion of the sport of skateboarding in Taiwan are currently being made by those who would not dare step on a skateboard themselves, and since they don’t skate they naturally know very little about skateboarding. Unfortunately for the Taiwanese tax payers, these “outsider associations” and there confused ideas on skateboarding have been approved by the Taiwan government to promote skateboarding since it first appeared in Taiwan barley 10 years ago. The Chinese Extreme Sports Association (CXA), to name a major example, is officially approved by the federal government to build “skateparks” and put on promotional events in name of something called the “X-Games”. It is quite apparent to whom the facilitation is supposedly for, that these planners and organizers lack the essential skills, experience, and cultural knowledge needed to help produce a strong, long-lasting skateboard scene in Taiwan. In fact, most of the local skaters I’ve talked to believe very strongly that in the C.X.A.’s “misdeeds”, they and their fantasies about us, our scene and industry, may actually be doing more harm than good. It is becoming ever more obvious that what they lack is the involvement of proper expert talent, and in this case they need not search any further than the skaters themselves.

 

Taiwanese skaters have had next to zero say and with the experts shut out, the parks they steam ahead to build for us, using strange partnerships and at costs that are strangely much too high, lack the necessary user-input and are inappropriately designed. To this day there are over 20 caged-in “X-Games” parks in Taiwan (about one in every major town), all cookie-cutter in nature, and not a single one made with expert skateboarder input. Instead they merely copy what they’ve seen on ESPN (another “outsider institution” wanting in). Up until recently, Taiwanese skateboarders (most of them merely high school aged) were not able, and in some cases too lazy or even unwilling to organize to attain official status and proper government support. But now with worse and worse parks going up, and more and more corporations taking us for granted in these contests, and with less and less respect to our culture, we’ve had no choice but to take matters into our own hands. Even skaters as young as 13 are slowly starting to realize a few things, things that have led to something called the Taichung Skateboarders Association. To become a recognizable and respected group in our community, autonomous in our direction, less vulnerable to exploitation and in charge of what we need to sustain natural growth; we needed to form the TSA. With careful long-term planning, we believe Taiwan’s skateboard scene and its surrounding industry can attain the kind of greatness and exposure it normally attains in every other country it exists in once skaters themselves are in the driver’s seat.

 

 

 

WHY THE OUTSIDERS WANT IN…

The Big Money in Skateboarding

l          There are an estimated 32 million skateboarders in the world, 12 million of whom are in the U.S.

 

l           Skateboards and skateboard-related products, from about 300 manufacturers of professional-level equipment, generate approximately $5.2 billion in annual retail sales around the world.

 

l          “Tony Hawk Pro Skater” video game captured the #1 ranking in both sales and revenue for video game sales in 2000, and has continued to achieve top spot each year since.

 

l           The 2001 Nickelodeon TV Kid’s Choice Awards placed Tony Hawk as “Favorite Male Athlete” in front of Tiger Woods, KobeBryant, and Shaqille O’Neal.

 

l           Tony Hawk is the 9th most searched for Athlete on yahoo.

 

l           Skateboarding is growing faster than mountain biking, golfing and 50 other sports tracked by the National Sporting Goods Association.

 

l          “More Americans rode skateboards last year than played Baseball, according to the Sporting Goods Association.” –USA Today, Aug. 17, 2001

 

l           Since 1987 the growth rate for skateboarding has been 7.2 percent per year, while baseball declined 27.9 percent and basketball grew only 5.1 percent in that same period. (From the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association’s January 2001 "Sports Participation Topline Report")





PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING

Visions for the future:

        Taiwan’s first real skater-designed skate parks and multi-use plazas

 

Skateparks should be much more than just a place to skate; they should be powerful generators. They should generate more skateboarders and keep them skateboarding forever after they start.

 

Involving the youth and those with greater experience has been proven to work in Canada, the United States, Australia, and all over Europe. In Canada I was one of the founding members of the Vancouver Skate Park Coalition (VSPC), a coalition of skateboarders and BMX riders fighting for a place of our own, something our government had refused to grant us for well over 20 years.

 

We first sought a single indoor facility for the long Canadian winters 9 years ago., When we finally got approval to build a, “for skateboarders - by skateboarders” park, it was a huge success. Since then we’ve managed to help construct over 50 (cost-effective) other ones, each better than the last. They’ve been labeled the best in the world by professionals and skateboard magazines for being the most “modern”, “creative” and “technically advanced” concrete skate parks in North America for years and years. They have been hailed by parents, teachers, the police and the government for providing a sustained positive outlet to practice challenging skills and spend one’s time in a safe, social environment.

 

Because of an organized and highly passionate, self-motivated group like the VSPC, Vancouver is now discovering the benefits of some of the first “multi-use parks and plazas” in the world. The parks are a place where the skaters and the public co-exist comfortably in the same area, livening up parts of the city in the process.




 

 

“X”tremely Misunderstood

 

Last but not least, we as a skateboarding society want to inform the rest of society (especially the one that watches far too much TV), that skateboarding is not all about rings of fire or daredevil freak shows. What we do is about personal growth and our own individual successes. To 99% of us, skateboarding is not “X-treme”. In fact most of us are offended by mere use of it. Some even detest the word extreme or any cute use of the letter “X” in relation to us, since it has literally come to symbolize the corporate exploits of our talent, image and positive energy. At the very least, the word “X”-treme“ reminds us of the overly used marketing propaganda that all too often bears a dorky picture of a phony skateboarder, serving only to further confuse the public.

 

Style or technique, it doesn’t matter, skateboarding is completely free and self-paced. To the average skater a televised corporate contest seems a lot like a cheap corny circus act, devoid of meaning or soul. The corporate sponsored contests in Taiwan are rarely judged by skaters and the courses that we are enticed to perform on are made even worse than the “X” parks. Attendance by skaters in the televised “X-Games” have gone down over the years as they begin to see the events are mere jokes. Skaters in Taiwan’s young emerging skateboard scene are now finally old enough, or awake enough to suspect a certain form of meddling and many are becoming increasingly disappointed or annoyed with them generally.

 

A park of our very own making (events included)… can change all that and do a much better job of promoting skateboarding and the positive roll it naturally plays in any modern society.

 

Our plan is to eventually build (and take care of) a skater-designed, multi-use plaza and park, as well as an indoor facility for skateboarding, art and music. I like to think of the idea as a “Stock 20” for skateboarders.

 

Your campaigns have always caught my attention as they often emphasize support for the youth and nurturing the diverse cultures that come to Taichung, as well as the quintessential importance of tourism. It seems you have a clear vision of what it will take to make Taichung a truly modern and international city, especially as it relates to your young people, the ones bringing new life and culture to the city.

 

The TSA would like to pull you away from your busy schedule and invite you to one of our monthly meetings to show you what we’re currently working on and discuss these issues in more detail.

 

As everyone knows, your young people truly are the future of Taiwan! ….Let’s help make it both a healthy and thriving one.

 

In sincere respect to you, your island, and all your people,

 

Vaughan Neville

 

TSA Interim Coordinator /

VSPC Foreign Affairs

 

 

 



Published On: 2/28/2007
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Welcome Home News: Welcome Home (ON SALE)
By: Welcome_Home


Hey Guys sorry for the Late Post but we have been busy.Welcome Home will be on sale on skateboard village shortly so hang tight. Also if you want to get a copy NOW you can buy the movie at the following stores now, Anti Social,Coastalriders, Underworld. And soon to be in many more. Thanks guys for all the support if you got any questions please leave a message on here.

Published On: 2/12/2007
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The New spring line is about to arrive. The park is going to start softening up, we'll all be slashing the spring slushies on the ride out! Beers on the sunny patios. Absolutley love'n it.
 
On feb 23rd  TheStore.WestbeachUK will be clearing out the winter 06/07 Westbeach line. Call the store to see what's available, While supplies last.


Published On: 2/10/2007
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She don't know why
But all she knows
is that her youngest child
is a real gangsta now
you see...

He was a good kid all through elementary
A's and B's and had no enemies
But he saw all the G's as he walked home
he couldn't read all the words on the walls though
So many letters crossed out with X's
He wondered but knew not to ask those questions
No pops, and his mom worked through the nail
She managed to buy him some shoes on sale
She didn't know, she bought the wrong color
And they stayed in the closet all summer
Even though the kid wasn't affiliated
He knew what they loved,and knew what they hated
Now he's in Middle School, same individual
But this is where things seem to get a bit difficult
This is the life of a young Mexican
First verse done take me to the second one

She don't know why
But all she knows
is that her youngest child
is a real gangsta now
you see...

She don't know why
But all she knows
is that her youngest child
is a real gangsta now
you see...

6th grade, why so much homework
Got a pot pie sitting in the stove burnt
Momma still ain't back from her job yet
So he eats it cause that's all he got left
Then he plays with his little puppy Cinnamon
His last dog was a victim of a hit n run
There's a knock on his door it's his homeboy
Your mom's gone? He pulls out a chrome toy
Where'd you get that from? The kid asked
We broke into a house we got a bunch of shi*t stashed
It was the first time he ever held a real gun
To get one of these you gotta steal one
We too young they won't let us buy a gat
Now if they shoot at us we can fiya back
Who is they and why would they blast at me?
Cause you from the hood fool, this is family

She don't know why
But all she knows
is that her youngest child
is a real gangsta now
you see...

She don't know why
But all she knows
is that her youngest child
is a real gangsta now
you see...

A year passes now the kids Dickies sag
In his pocket got a knife and a nickel bag
And the homeboy that showed him his first gun
Got killed last week in a burban
Putting work in 45 jerkin'
Lucky shot hit, popped like a virgin
Closed casket touched as he strolled past it
Got his name tattooed into a hoes asses
So he'll still be remembered often while
His little bitch gettin' hit doggy style
It ain't stoppin' now while his moms' on the ground
On her knees yelling "Please Lord not my child
I want to watch him smile
He can turn his Pac up loud
He can sleep with his pitbull on the couch"
And while the kid is listening to her words
All he can think about is bloody, bloody murders

She don't know why
But all she knows
is that her youngest child
is a real gangsta now
you see...

She don't know why
But all she knows
is that her youngest child
is a real gangsta now
you see...



Published On: 2/5/2007
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If you haven't heard, recently there has been a big debate about blank decks "ruining the industry" and the big companies are feeling threatened... So they decided to run ads appealing to you the customer, and to shops to stop buying/selling blank and shop decks, and claiming that if this trend continues, there will be fewer pro skateboarders, fewer videos, less team tours, demos, competitions, etc...  The following letter is one that I sent to several people in the industry (Blitz Distribution, the IASC, and a couple other big wigs...) in response.  I've posted it here as well, just to let you know my standpoint as well as hopefully to further get the word out to these companies that they've taken the wrong approach to this problem, and yes it actually is a problem.  Skateboarding has died before for similar reasons, and something definitely needs to be done to fix it.  Spread the word...

This is in response to your recent advertising campaign against blank and shop decks.  I agree that it is a problem and I also agree that it needs to be rectified in order to ensure that we all have jobs in the skateboard industry.  However, you are overlooking one major point, and that is where did the blank/shop deck market come from?  I believe that there are two main reasons that prompted the rise in blank board sales.

First being the move to manufacturing boards in China by most of the big brands.  As soon as everyone found out that boards were being manufactured for lower prices (and a lot of the time lower quality) with no drop in the price on the retailer and consumer level, you lost our support.  With such a large drop in production costs, there should have been even a slight drop in the wholesale and retail prices, but there wasn't.  Not to mention that these boards became readily available to shops for shop decks.

Secondly, the shops that helped to build your brands in the first place, independent shops, owned and operated by and for skateboarders, the blood and life line of every skate community around the world, were not given any kind of exclusivity on product from any distributor or company.  Again, you're losing us further.  Mall shops carry the exact same product as the indy shops, but sell at lower prices....  Sure we offer more product knowledge, and better customer service, better atmosphere, etc...  But when it comes down to it, when West 49 has a sale on backpacks, or half price boards, the kids and parents flock to the mall.  They have the buying power, and the advertising dollars that no indy shop can compete with.

These two things together have left indy shops with no realistic alternative to keeping our doors open then to try to find better means to pay the bills.  Shop boards appeal to kids because they see they're support going to something real, and tangible, and saving them money.  I don't care how you cut it up with actual dollar numbers....  If I only have to put out $1000 to make $1000, as opposed to having to put out $1500 to make $1000, which one do you think I'm going to go for?  Especially seeing the lack of support from the pro companies.  For example, you could have sold the mall shops team boards, and kept pro boards exclusive to indy shops, but you were greedy.  Mall shops waive a big order in front of your face, and you bend over backwards.

To put out an ad like this trying to appeal to kids to support the pros, isn't going to work.  The response I've gotten from most people is "f*ck them, what have they done for us? Gouge our pockets?"  They see ads of pros rolling in Mercedes and BMW's and waiving money around... the average skateboarder is typically broke so your pleas are falling on deaf ears.   I hope you're reading all the message boards to see what people have to say about it, because it's not looking so good for you.  They want to see you thrive, but at the same time, they don't see why they should pay double the price of a blank deck for it, when they know what boards cost to make.  Work with us to fix skateboarding, don't just put the onus on customers and shops.  You have to show that you are doing something to fix it too aside from asking them to spend more money, because whether you want to admit it or not, you're just as much a part of the problem.

That being said, I hope that things change soon, I closed down my indoor park and shop about 6 months ago, because I lost so much money, and I've been hesitant to re-open a shop because of the current state of the industry.  I still operate my online shop, and I'm still very much actively involved in my local skateboard community, and I will never stop skating (20 + years and still going strong), but if things don't change, I'm going to seek another career.  Good luck, and I hope things go well.

Glen Field   
Common Ground Skateboard Shop   
glen@commongroundshop.com




Published On: 2/3/2007
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my blog: ...
By: black_voodoo


1. What is the color of life? light blue
2. What is the color of death? blood red
3. Have you ever been seriously ill? yep
4. Do you have any scars you are proud of? no
5. Do you like traditional weddings or off the wall ones? traditional weddings
6. Do you part your hair in the middle? yeah
7. Have you ever observed Buddhist monks making mandalas out of sand? nah
8. If you had wings, where would you fly to? i'd fly around the world
9. Did you know that when women wear the color turquoise, men think they are easy, and other women are attracted to them? well, now i do know that, thank you
10. Cloth or disposable diapers? if i had a kid, i'd use disposable diapers
11. Do you live from paycheck to paycheck? nah
12. Do you own at least one pair of black boots? i wish so!
13. Do you keep in contact with friends who have moved far away from you? sort of .. we just kept in touch at the beginning of this year
14. Would you rather be a taxidermist or a sword swallower? sword swallower
15. Were you breast or bottle fed? breast
16. Top or bottom? top
17. Do you like eggplant? havent tried it
18. Were you an insect in a past life? i dont think so
19. Have you ever scanned a dead animal? sort of
20. Have you ever sat on a rotten owl? (a five year old came up with this question)
nah
21. Do you have any fake teeth? nope
22. Have you ever thrown up on someone in a public place? nah
23. Are you connected to the natural world? not really
24. Have you ever ridden a horse bareback? i dont think so?
25. Have you ever stepped on a jellyfish? i think so
26. Do you read encylopedias for entertainment? i did once
27. Are your closets organized? yeah
28. Do you dream of people you have never met in person? yeah sometimes
29. Do you stand out in a crowd? not really, i guess, idk
30. Have you ever been mistaken for a sales clerk when shopping at a store? yeah



Published On: 1/28/2007
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My Blog: why?
By: sufer_billy


Why, Why, Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
And my FAVORITE......

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.


Published On: 1/26/2007
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