I Love Peregrination

Peregrination means to travel about by foot, my favorite form of travel (backpacking). I found the word when  I was searching for an alternate word for travel because I wanted to spice up my heading. I traveled this past weekend to Jackson, Mississippi so the Rufus skate bandits could get their skate on and I could film them doing it. I loved meeting the people of Jackson and how well received we were to the locals. I have had this feeling a bunch on my travels of late while jaunting with the Bandits. 

Self Portrait just before we left for Jackson. We got a late start that day because these Cackalackas' got detained by the cops just a block from my house for looking like thugs. 

A Regal Self Portrait in the McDonalds on the road somewhere to jackson. I love the self timer function on the lil point and shoot.

Gnar Star's ass is a growing theme every where we go, it has its own personality. You either love it or hate it.

I like to rock out to Stoner Metal and take self portraits while driving. Look at Treydawg's expression in the back seat, he is saying SHIT CHRIS because we almost side swiped a big ass truck while I was getting the photo.

We made it to Jackson, Rampage Indoor Park. We caught Baby Skyler playing pocket pool when we arrived.

Early Picture of Rampage Park in Fall 2012 when I was stopping through, I forgot to take any stills on this trip here because I was filming 1080i video the whole time, wait for the video one day.

When Cackalackas' start drinking they like to take their shirts off and show people their tats. Look at Trey's under wear, looks like someone gave him a wedgy.

Breakfast and the Dirtbowl, backyard DIY.

DIY Street Spot.

Thanks to all the Homies in Jackson.

Joker Skate Shop got Robbed, Kick Balls, Shark Bait and Mark Gonzales

First of all, the local skate shops here in Memphis have been robbed three times I know about. The first one was Cheap Skates. Some African American dude walked in the shop, picked up a bunch of boards and some other stuff and just ran out of the shop. I think you call it Dine and Dash if you are at a eating establishment. The Second robbing happened with MidTown Skate Shop opening its doors as a new shop. Hunter, the owner, had not installed bars on the big store front windows when he opened. In the first week some body smashed the glass and stole a bunch of stuff. So he boarded the window up and a week later the other window got smashed with it more merchandise stolen. Brand new shop gets robbed twice with in its two week opening. Good job you deviants who think that stealing is a solution to a means when you don't have enough money to buy something you want. Go get a job you worthless pieces of shit and quit taking somebody else's hard earned cash. But this shit has been going on for years. The end looks bleak. I mean, Mark Gonzales, my favorite skater ever bought his first complete board from some guy in a parking lot. He said he strolled into the park, after his purchase, and one of the guys in the park yelled at him and said give me my board back, or something like that. Mark bought a stolen board basically.

Ok, so last night I was working on my skateboards. I get an Instagram, I have been tagged in some photo taken with a security camera. Its a picture of one of the dudes that robbed Joker Skate Shop this week. Apparently Gnarman tagged Hornlaker in the picture and accused the Hornlaker of robbing the joint even though, as Hornlaker pointed out, "I live in Hornlake God Dammit its just not possible, unless I could teleport, quit heckling me!!" Though it was to late by then, Ryan Sheckler had posted the same picture and BabySkylurker also posted that the person in the photograph was the Hornlaker several thousand miles away. By that time Ryan Sheckler had tried to friend the Hornlaker on FartBook while the Hornlaker was receiving droves and droves of new follows on Instagram. That's how I found out about the thieves in California.

Kick Balls!!

Then I got the new Shark Bait zine in the mail yesterday (its a first read for me but this is issue 47 for them). As I read it the theme the writer is conveying is about how he loves his surroundings, that he is never jaded. The writer is originally from somewhere in Oklahoma. Oklahoma is not known to be a desirable place to move. Nobody says "Yeah, lets move there!!" The writer is living and skating in Albuquerque, New Mexico presently. Have you ever been to New Mexico?? I drove to Santa Fe once and then up to Colorado after a sleep over just so I could see Santa Fe, it was great. Really laid back. I also had this friend once from Albuquerque, he always said it was the best place to grow up, even though he lives in California now. So back to Shark Bait, the writer expresses how he can't get mad or angry at anything in Albuquerque, everything is so positive and forgiving. The people, the environment, the skating (tons of ditches and parks), everything is at peace. Then he compares growing up in Oklahoma compared to growing up in Albuquerque. In Albuquerque, "You want to skate and start a punk band in the garage? People's parents here would probably not only condone it, they would encourage it and try to make you listen to the Melvins or some other 90's nightmare." And that is what I am talking about parents, no, don't move to Albuquerque because I am. Seriously, here in Memphis, the heart of the Bible belt, God's Country, if it ain't in the bible you can't do it. If you don't go to church you are a Heathen. The South is known for poor people, dumb bastards and Preachers. I am not hating, I love the South because I know what is good about it, you should know if you have ever read this blog. But it is true, because of the poverty and because of the narrow minded brain washing there are a lot of bad parents. But that shit is everywhere you know every where. Encourage and support, I love it. Albuquerque is living proof. Maybe less people would steal if they were from Albuquerque, maybe....

And back to Videos, did you think I would forget, I love You Tube. I am addicted to it, I need help.....?

maybe not.... I encourage it and support it, hah.. And here is one for Gonz, thought I had seen this but I have not. I watch like a dozen other videos of skaters that rip so hard then I watch Gonz and my thoughts are saying "The Gonz invented most of what they are doing". Which I could be very wrong about since I do not claim to know anything. This guy has such grace on and off the board, its like watching ballet but gnar. I mean there are a couple of tricks that no one has done or I have seen. Late.

Al Town Vids, Kids may be getting Dummer and a Gonz Stunner

Have you thought about what the future is going to be like on the web and as well other standards of media like television and print?? I mean, what are web sites in 20 years going to look like and what will the content be like? We have already moved further and further away from actually having anything much to read on some sites. Do you go to YouTube to read?? I can also say the same thing about Thrasher's web site, Transworld's sites and a slews of other sites strewn across the web that are catering to our youngsters. I am just saying we are turning into a visual/ video culture. I can't say I have done the research, I don't know enough about the target demographics of video on the web but its every where, video video video. I don't necessarily think that kids will stop reading but it will drop off further than it already has. It  will be even more shocking when they add those stats to their studies, just wait and see because its coming.  Is it a bad thing?? I don't think it is a good thing but its where we are at and where we are going it seems. What is the point you are making?? I don't know, I was looking for something to read on Thrasher's web site and didn't find anything. Even the magazine does not have a whole lot of reading. Good content does not include well written articles anymore, face it. At least not for the target demographic that Thrasher is gearing their sales at. Pictures and Video, that's all the kids want to see and that is how you sell add space to big companies that pay the bills. Its a vicious cycle that does nothing for the intellectual development of kids these days. So come on, in 20 years what are these kids going to grow up like?? Could be scary, I mean some of these kids can hardly read now LOL. Who knows.....

Then I have been working tirelessly on new graphics for the skate decks. I have posted some pictures below of what I have been doing. I have retired the one Rufus graphic and have moved onto another graphic that has bears, arrow heads and goolish lettering....

Then of course there is the Black Label team of skaters. The more I watch different street footage the more I like certain styles of skating. I guess I have been in the dark to have a huge opinion on it. Any way:
Black Label Footy


Then you got the guys from Gnarkansas. They visited AL Town and other memphis spots, its rad, they rip. And guess what, Cole is in it.
Gnarkansas Comes to Memphis


And then there is Gonz doing shit you never thought was possible. This clip is short but so rad you will watch at least five times.
Late.

Skyler Lost the Charger!!! H-Street and More...

So we went to Oxford Mississippi this past Sunday to hook up with Austin and Andrew to name a few.  We got to try the new camera out which works spectacularly. We even got to eat some kickass Mexican food just down the street from the park. But the thing that stands out in my mind the most, as I sit here and ponder my words, was the H-Street board that some kid was riding at the park. I had actually seen the kid riding this board before but this time I asked Garner if he had ever seen a H-Street video from the late 80's called Hokus Pokus?? He had not heard of H-Street to much and had never seen the video. I had not seen it in a very long while my self, I just remember being blown away back in the day. I mean you got all these young kids doing the same tricks as Barbee and Gonzales except with a different twist. As I watch the film today I see the future of skateboarding happening around one video. Its like they took all these tricks and made them more technical. Then when the 90's hit, vert dies, Rodney Mullen skates street and we have the birth of the main stream Popsicle. I guess the question is whether we are seeing were the skating was going within the movie  that shaped modern skateboarding..........or, is it because of the movie ??  I can't speak for everyone but this film blew my mind at one point in life, I mean blew it. Freaked me out:



So the whole thing is on You Tube broken into seven glorious parts. It would not be much longer after this video was made that you would stop seeing vert in films. Even today a lot of these modern skate vids only have stair set after stair set and no Transition skating. I mean, some do.


But that was Creature, they are Gnarly. That is all I am saying, I get sick of watching tech trick after tech trick, it gets boring as hell. Variety and interesting camera shots. I mean look at this Gonz video, he is so Gnarly the VHS player can't handle it. Late.

They Know About Al Town

Who knows about Al Town?? Well, Leo Romero knows about it if you have forgotten. I remember a couple of weeks back, somebody posted a Ad from Thrasher Magazine that had some Pro climbing out of Al Town, it was the buzz for the day but I forget who it was or which company. Maybe it was the same one that posted this Video at Transworld that has quite a lot of Al Town with in its compilations.



Pretty snazzy little film didn't you think. Well played and professionally done. Best yet, it had many Memphis street locations. To bad no one hit the wall ride Cheezburger, well, at least no footage we saw. I want to know when somebody is going to put Kanis in their film.

Then there is Dustin Dollin and the first Epicly Later'd. Not a whole lot of skating in this video but I was captivated from beginning to end never the less, it was mostly about the videographers fascination with Dustin's ability to skate Drunk.  Interesting guy that Dustin and he likes regular libations a lot.



And actually my journey was backwards. I started with this rather lengthy, crapply shot video of Dustin meeting up with the Gonz in Paris. They just skate around to a few spots and go have a drink. Then I started finding other videos, anyway, there you go. Just fun Stuff.


Well I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. All this makes me wish I could just travel around and film skating and write about it. Dam, wouldn't it be nice waking up in Barcelona, having some fresh coffee, some top-pas and then go skate. Yep, dream big!!

You Hate Lil Wayne

I was perusing the Interwebs the other day and checked in on the Team Pain web site. If you do not know who Team Pain is, well they arguably build the best skate parks in the United States and a few in Europe. Team Pain's attention to detail, quality, gnar factor and over all flow goes with out saying.   The site contains a News section and had a interview from MTV with Lil Wayne this last Tuesday. The interview takes place in New Orleans inside Lil Wayne's private indoor skate park that Team Pain built. So I thought it would be funny to post it on one of my friends (he lives in the swamp down there) time lines on that blue white colored site and ask if he ever skated that junt.



Well, you might have watched the whole thing, maybe you need to go back, but there is a little discussion on the Hating of Lil Wayne. Then on top of that my friend who lives in the swamp down in Orleans tells me he hates that @%& and that he shot himself in the chest to get street cred!!  When Wayne was asked (@4:54) what he thought about the haters, FWC (Fuk Wheezy Campaign) his response was he did not care, he gunna keep doing what he is doing.  Then I found this skate video with the guy with kookey ass eyes. I mean the eyes!! WTF

Video Powered by ClipCartel.com

So that got me to thinking that I did not know enough about the fella and whether he deserved all the hate that all these pranksters have been throwing around. This last guy, Hopsin, seems like a decent guy who hates on LW because he is a famous rapper (He passed Elvis Presley as the male with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with 109 songs as of September 27, 2012), lets say so famous that his casual hobbies get lime light in the media. So he is not the greatest skater in the world although is one of the most popular Billboard Pop Icons since Elvis.  Then you read his history, the where he came from and what he did. Its impressive and unimpressive at times but over all impressive. I can 't say that I am a huge fan but I find no reason to not go skate his Team Pain skate park. I am sure wikipedia does not tell all of the story. And he did not shoot himself for street cred, no, he accidently shot himself in the chest when he was 12.  People just want to hate and he makes it easy sometimes but he does not seem to care. The guy sounds like he smokes to much weed, he donates huge money to charities, he gets skate parks built and wants to help progress the sport of skateboarding. Yeah, real bad guy. An ass sometimes like in the next clip, but what ever haters. Here is thread that explains it well in my opinion. 

Music News

Enough of that, all I can think about is making this at some point over the weekend. Its either this garbage or Nachos. This is a Belgium style treat with sausages, broiled potato, chili, onions  ketchup and mayonnaise all mixed together for a agonizing night of heart burn because you washed it all down with horrible tasting American BUSCH Beer. A don't know, all depends but if you plan on coming to my house this weekend make sure you bring a bag of potatoes, stock up on Bratwurst and steal your parents condiments (ketchup/Mayonnaise).

Oh wait, I almost for got to leave you with my November signature, Can you guess what it is with out spoiling my fun?? yep, videos for days...Oh wait, sorry this may take a while, I mean look for Gonz and all but I decided what the hell, its the whole Krood3D vid. Remember to applaud after its over, its that good.  - Hollar!! 

LunchTIME!!

Nomadic Chowder Eater!!

I love chowder, how can you not like a milk base soup that contains what ever you can throw at it, usually seafood and vegetables. Serve it with thick slices of bread and probably some brandy. Afterward I sit in my big warm chair and sip Hamms from a can while watching reruns of Chips. Hmmm..... Then there is a Nomad. I talked about people who leave the glorious south and go up to the "Northwest" to live, skate and act weird. Sometimes they don't make it and find them selves living out of a box because Denver caught their fancy. But these are transplants not necessarily nomads, unless you are really living out of a box then you got props. The true nomad is sort of homeless, or suppose to be. Anyway, I watched this yesterday and my mind was blown. I mean what in the hell, I have seen extreme wing suiting before by Dean Potter but this is taking it to a new level.

Speaking of the true nomad, this next film puts it perfectly. Your a Nomad when all you got is your skateboard, a six pack and your weed. Don't forget you will need a driver's license, a vehicle and probably gas money, other than that.....

Where is part One you ask?? Its right here butt diggers!

Another day, another dollar. Another Gonzales video, he just never gets old to me.

Catch and Release with rare Gonz footage

I got this new Camera, the Canon Vixia HFS100. I really wanted its younger brother, the HF G10, but a shortage of funds made me go with the other. We will see how she performs in the coming weeks. The Canon line of camcorders get rave reviews and special operating points in low light conditions. Good operation in low light, high to medium quality optics and we should be good. This camera has no hard drive, SD cards only, no big deal. Its really amazing when you put a 32g hard drive on a camera how the price jumps up. So I have to keep up with SD storage, cool with me. Better than MiniDV tapes since I can hold 60 Gigs in the palm of my hand.

So speaking of Cameras and Filming, I can't stand it... So I found another film of Kevin Kolwaski shot up in that place they keep calling the Northwest, like its special or something. I am not bagging on them up there, apparently they have tons more shit to skate and that's all on them. That's why people move out of the South, because the skating is not as good. Not enough parks or DIY, pfff!! Its understandable but stuff is happening here in the South, we just tend to move at a slower pace when it comes to getting things done. The cost of living is cheap, so we save our money and spend it on gas to get to stuff to skate. Just wait, we gunna have to film some southern style trip that will surprise you at what we have found in our backyard here in some of the rebel states. Its what defines the South geographically. We don't carry around rebel flags, drive pick up trucks and stare down minorities. Hell no, we are a minority that gets the stare downs. Anyway, there is some sick ass shit around here but you have to drive to get to it.

So I was watching this Kolwaski vid.... Notice that while it is a decent film the camera quality stands out for me on this one. That is not to say that they were not doing the best with what they had at the time. Believe me, you have to know the limitations of your equipment to get the most of it. All the skating is very good in this vid, the shots, the editing and choreography. Look:


Then fast forward two years and I think the Camera Quality improves. Here is a film shot by the same guy, Nomadic Story Teller, which has elemental similarities of the previous film but the picture quality improves his shooting style immensely.



Of course I am not going to leave you just hanging like that. No really, this is not some skateboard video review site, I am just amusing my self and trying to learn how to shoot good video. Decent equipment, clean lenses, good camera work and and then I have a ton of good guys ready to skate. Can't wait to shoot some more footage that I want to post. We will have something soon. But until then always enjoy a little Gonz on me. But this is a special treat, I found a video of Gonz at his own art opening. The Video work is horrid, I mean its a mockery of photography but what you catch is amazing. What does Mark Gonzales do in is art opening, well look for your self, its freaking amazing.

Emericans and Memphis Threat

Ok Emericans, I was doodling on around the Interwebs while I was peeling my tangerine but only after I had finished by Sunday Report Card. There was this little video that was delightful yet inspiring. I was not even looking for this young guy but the old guy Tom Knox. What do you know, there is a young version of Tom Knox ripping the streets of London by way of Tube. It reeks of the elements a solid skate video has with in its dark and stinky under tones. From beginning to ending the short video was indicative of what short people in my organization are trying to capture.



From the start, they cleverly introduce where the chappy is from with suttle visual hints of this and that to set the stage for the London based shredder.  The shots are dived into 3 to 5 second clips, he might do a half dozen of these and then they switch to a 15 second run where good old Tom does a speedy run of different objects only ending in some dramatic stair set or something interesting. They use a wide angle lenses on some shots and then the fish-eye in others. They had the fish-eye partially framing the shots although I like to see the framing less. Maybe they could not get the shot if they zoomed out partially to eliminate the circular hue at the edges of the picture. The camera angles were spot on, the saturation from shot to shot was crisp, the white balance of each shot was warm and even. I really like how they filmed him jumping a stair set as they followed but then they also filmed the opposite angle from the bottom of the stairs. It makes for a nice shot. So you see a formula through out the short film of 4 second clip after four second clip then onto a 25 to 35 second clip of something longer. You could see how they panned some of their shots down into the ground or away from the skater which makes for a nice transition into the next clip. They were also very cognizant of how interesting the surrounding architecture or landscaping was with in the longer shots to round it out. Finally credits roll. The credits were as good as each of its parts. So I was not looking for this at all but I always love to get some good education. I mean, its  Team Emerica with Blueprint, would you expect any less?? Just check out Blueprint's list of achievements.

Then I wanted to give a big shout out to Memphis Threat and Ian Lemmonds. This past weekend I had the chance to catch up with Ian while he attacked the wall at the Midtown Skateboard Shop  with wheat paste and posters. It was violent at first but ended up looking as professional as it gets.

Ian makes some fantastic shirts. Great gift ideas for Christmas, Hanukkah, Birthdays or just any old occasion. What?? You were gunna go tot he Gap and spend $25 on a new shirt, stop yourself and go here and order something worthwhile.

WAIT!!!!!!!! Back to what I was orginally talking about, the Real Tom Knox. Just so you know he skates a 9.75 wide board and yes, he is doing those tricks.




Did you enjoy that?? I did, not sure about you. Then there is the always the parting shot of you know who by now, or if you don't, you will in just a few.

San Antonio, an After Rant or My Verbal Vomit

San Antonio is very hot temperature wise, hotter than Memphis my place of homeliness. Will you go back to San Antonio (SA)?? Not sure, it has the River Walk, Sea World, The Alamo and a bunch of old Spanish Mission buildings along with staggering heat. I think if I was visiting Austin and took a side trip it has possibilities, that is if I ever make it back to Austin for anything other than business. There are no beaches, mountains or mild weather in SA, so the draw becomes less and lesser. SA is a place you take your kids to visit on Thanks Giving, very much a family place,  not sure what else other than for business. I saw a lot of European's walking the streets, so maybe it is like visiting Oxford England for a yank like me. I hear that if you go to Oxford on the weekend of graduation that you will have the opportunity to have splendid conversation with overly educated drunk people. SA River Walk (RW)  is a tourist trap, kind of a one sided Epcot Center with a real world scenario, people don't ask you for spare change at Epcot. The neatly dressed  Mariachis  lined the droves of mediocre Tex Mex food establishments as boats of eager tourists passed by listening to stories of how Davy Crockett  fended off the Mexicans just beyond that wall,  all  this very marvelous after the the first hour or two. Then after that you are left flat, what else, go into another place that has Texas in the name?? The best places were not even remotely Texan, they were Irish. I found two bars on the RW, one called Waxy Oconnor's and one named Durty Nelly's Irish Pubs. I went to Waxy's two nights in a row. Really nothing special other than it was like you had escaped the RW. That was what I thought was nice about it, you walk into Waxy's and there are no Mariachis waiting to serenade you, just the smell of stale beer along with Bangers and Mash. Waxy's has a guy play guitar Sunday through Thursday which is fairly entertaining where as Nelly's has a guy playing piano. I think that Nelly's smells worse which is great. I ended up at Nelly's for just a minute on my last night, just to check out the Mayhem. This guy was centered in the middle of the packed bar sitting in front of a wide angled mirror allowing the whole bar to view the maestro's melodious anthem. There was not a seat to be had so I wondered off back into the wilderness of La Cucarachas and Steak Fajitas. O yeah, I also remember going into a Coyote Ugly's the night before, for about three minutes, for that is all  it took. I mean, come on, you got some scantly clad bar tender walking around on top of the bar with a  micro phone insulting guys sitting at the bar while pouring drinks on their heads. Fun, just not my style. I told my date she could stay if she enjoyed getting hit on by chicks with short hair that wanted her to sit down with them. No probs. Then there was Mad Dogs British Pub which reminds me of Hooters hyped up on the Beatles and Union Jacks. All the waitress's wore short short kilts, black stockings and tight British flag Tops. I thought Austin Powers was going to jump up around the corner at any minute and ask my friendly date for a shag.   I take Waxy's as a regular hang out in the end where my Scot/Irish blood feels as it belongs the most, some place cheap.

Did you learn anything about San Anotonio? Yes.... It smells just as bad in the summer as Memphis.

Do you have any advice for could be travelers to the area? Yes.... Stay in doors,  don't drink the water and don't let your kids swim in the river..

Was there a favorite attraction in down town San Antonio? Yes...Public restrooms.

What would be your favorite moment while staying there? I can't remember her name...


Don't get me wrong, San Antonio was a great city to do business in while then staying at a super nice hotel located on the River Walk. There was lots of great architecture and interesting things to do.  Its just not my kind of city, kind of like the city I live in now but ten times the Hispanic population. It is funny how you go on a trip to a place that you would never seek out and figure out more about yourself. I will never waste my time in Texas again unless I have to drive through it like I did last summer (Feel Free to Read). Working in Texas is fine but living and visiting there does not interest me in the least, not anymore. I am ready to go back to Colorado, visit Salt Lake City and visit my friend who is a dog sledding guide in Bozemon,  Montana. What I learned on this trip for some weird reason is to never just settle for things, to keep pushing and the right things will come along. I know what I want now and this trip opened my eyes. Time to get off my ass, Thanks San Antonio. Later.