Sometimes I Prefer 1000 Words, or The Art of a Good Dialogue

To start, it is an unfortunate duty of mine to have to pass along the news of the recent passing both of Thrasher Magazine and Independent Trucks co-founder Eric Swenson, and Jackass alum Ryan Dunn. Both of these men's lives were cut short by truly tragic means, and my thoughts and sympathies go out to grieving friends and family.

On a slightly happier note, today marks the day I get my cast off. It's been a surprisingly fast-moving seven weeks, and I had considered writing a sort of survival guide for anyone laid up with a bad break, except that there is little to know, except for the fact that you will do little more than watch web shows and gain a few extra pounds, so good luck to anyone in a similar situation. I know I'm still a ways off from actually skating again, much less at the level I was before my break, but I will toss out the occasional update as per my status.

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea when I started this post what exactly I planned on writing about. Typically, ideas for this blog come from my glancing a handful of skate news websites, maybe watching something that catches my eye, or a discussion with someone, with any of the three somehow going through a series of filters in my head, eventually leading me to some kind of conclusion I wish to ramble about that Monday or Thursday. This week, there was little to work with, or at least, little that my mind was able to form any kind of thoughts about that would carry for longer than maybe a paragraph. For instance, Go Skateboarding Day came and went on Tuesday... most skated, I didn't (for obvious reasons), end of story. As far as skate news, there didn't seem to be much to go on; perhaps it was the two months of not buying either Thrasher or Transworld, or the fact that there were no recent videos that really caught my eye...

...Alright, so the part about the videos isn't exactly true. In fact, in the last week I came across two videos that very much piqued my interest. So why then, you are likely asking, am I not blogging about said videos? Well, for one, I haven't given myself the time to watch them both in their entirety, and two, they are both interview-heavy skate documentaries.

As I find myself growing older, I can't help but note that creeping sense of disconnect between myself and the pulse of popular skating. Yes, I do make an effort to try and buy skate magazines every month, and yes I do peruse my handful of skate news sites daily, but the reality of the situation is that while, yes, the act of skateboarding may be the closest thing to the fountain of youth, even skateboarders mature to some degree. That being said, while I do still enjoy reading skate magazines and watching skate videos, it has gotten substantially harder to relate to the up-and-coming new-jacks of the industry; sixteen year old handrail hellions who, when interviewed, seem to have trouble using multisyllabic words, much less saying anything meaningful or engaging.

I can't be too hard on these kids, though. They're young, they lack life experience, and while it pains me to say it, most of them care little for being educated. The truth is, as a university alum and an older skater in general, I require substance in my reading and viewing material, and flipping through a series of six page interviews with maybe five hundred words of text simply feels sub-par.

Maybe it's my age, or maybe it's the fact that you can only read the same interviews and watch the same video parts so many times in one decade, but the important thing is that I, we,  live in a day and age with choices. For so many years skateboard media was run by skaters, and skaters were kids; no one over twenty-five skated, because skating hadn't been around long enough. These days, the kids who ran the skate media of yesteryear have grown up enough to provide content for the grown-up skater, and thank god for that.

In terms of text media, a cornucopia of books lay at the disposal of the eager skater who craves some meatier writing over the best-selling mags; you all may remember the review I wrote of Stalefish, and thankfully Sean Mortimer is but one of many skate-centric authors. For those of us, however, who can only budget so many books a year, there is always Juice Magazine, where the interviews are long, the stories are rich, and Steve Olson is, as always, a joy.

Thanks in no small part to Stacy Peralta, the skate world is also growing increasingly more rich in documentary videos. While this may invoke immediate imagery of Dogtown and Z-Boys, Rising Son, and Stoked, rest assured for all you skaters less than enthralled by the prospect of history that this bandwagon has been jumped on by contemporary companies as a welcome breath of fresh air to the typical relatively dialogue-free skate video, notably in Tent City, Drive, and The Final Flare. Regardless, though, the upcoming Bones Brigade documentary has most skaters probably about half as excited as I am about it, and when it does finally come out, I suggest you watch it immediately.

All told, I know that I've spent much of this blog pointing out what I consider to be some noticeable problems with the current state of skating, but I am proud that we have finally reached a point where there is a choice in the type of skate-related media we consume. at least, a better choice than "Thrasher or Transworld".

By the way, sorry there are no pictures in this post. Here's a picture of my surgical scar - hope that makes up for it...