Looks like they are building a new skatepark down in Central Texas that will actually have a section composed mostly of large banked walls — perhaps kind of flat banks — my preferred terrain. It looks like a skatepark version of a drainage ditch. I’m very hopeful that it will be a great place to ride.

In 1979, Skateboarder Magazine put out this article, Freestyle In Transition, which dealt with the application of freestyle moves to banked walls. The article apparently struck home with me, because I think it affected my skateboarding forever. I’ve always been able to ride pretty much any kind of terrain, but banks are really my favorite. On banks you can really blend together styles from other skating areas – vert, flatland freestyle, longboarding, and of course, moves that were originally created on banks. It’s fun.

This is an slightly older video that Mike Vallely put up a while back for his Mondays with Mike series. He’s riding a reissue of his original Powell-Peralta pro model, complete with Rat Bones wheels. I think he flows really nicely on the old setup, and this is some nice bank skating. Really cool.

I am very happy about this picture my friend Mike took of me this weekend, so at the risk be being too self-indulgent on my blog, I’m going to post it here.

For my non-skating friends, this is a G-Turn, which is a carving turn done while doing a wheelie on the front wheels. Usually at the end the skater swings the board all the way around and comes down the wall backwards, but in this case I just carved a nice, wide turn. It really isn’t a very hard trick, but it is fun, and is also photogenic, so what the hell…here it is. I learned these when I was 14, and I’ve been doing them ever since.

I have noticed that around 2pm and extending to 4pm, after a productive day of librarianship and listening to the punk rock, I have an overwhelming desire to go skateboarding. However, it is never really possible, as I must continue my work. Biorhythms can be a problem.

Day 1 got off to a good start with a keynote speech by John Seely Brown, author of the book “the Social Life of Information”, and other works. Really smart guy. He has some interesting ideas about where technology is taking us, the pace of that change and how we can flow and adapt to it, and how libraries and librarians might fit into the future. Pretty solid reasoning, emphasizing the need for constant, lifelong skill acquisition and learning due to the very very short half-life of skill sets these days.

There were some other really good sessions today. I took some notes, but I have to say that I while I enjoyed Day 1 I wasn’t blown away by it. That being said, this conference is so good that even when it is only so-so, it’s still better than pretty much any other library conference, so I have no complaints. I guess I’m just waiting for that session that blows my mind. Looking forward to Day 2. Feeling re-energized professionally.

I ate some pasta at the reception and opening of the vendor exhibits, and then went skateboarding. At the risk of posting this video way too many times in too many places, I’m going to go ahead and post it here, since it is now my personal tradition to produce a sidewalk-terrorization-skateboarding video with punk rock soundtrack when I come here every year. I’m planning to attend a dine-around tomorrow evening, and forcing myself to be social. I don’t know why I am so loner-ish when I’m here. People are really nice and very cool at this conference.

I’m in Monterey this fine Sunday evening, enjoying a really cool room at the Hotel Pacific. Very happy with this cool little suite. It even has a fireplace. I kind of wish it were cold so I could start a raging but controlled fire.

The weekend up in Mill Valley with my friend Dale was excellent as always. We hit some skateparks yesterday, including a really fun and quirky little park in Napa. All rounded tops to the walls — no coping — like a 70s skatepark only much smaller. It was fun and chill. My front riding knee began to ache after a couple of hours of transition skating, which is not a surprise. My days of transition skating are over. Glad I have downhill. I could also do some street skating no problem. It’s the extra g-forces of skating walls that stress out the knee. Anyway, it was fun. Thanks to Dale for driving around.

Got to Monterey this afternoon after a long drive down from Marin County. Took well over an hour to get through San Francisco. Traffic and traffic lights were murder. Once on the highway all went well though.

Took a little rest, then went out for a first dose of Fish ‘n’ Chips on the pier. Twas good. Going to catch up on some reading and communicating tonight, and try to get some rest and be up early. This is always hard for me, as my body takes a while to adjust to California time. I wake up really early, and then don’t get enough sleep. We’ll see how it goes.

A big thanks to the Friends of the Plano Public Library System for making this conference trip possible. I will make sure you get your money’s worth.

In transit to northern California for the Internet Librarian 2011 conference this coming week. Currently sitting in the small plane terminal at LAX, along with a couple hundred other humans and a similar number of flies. Must be a farm nearby.

The Internet Librarian is frankly the only conference I enjoy attending. It is always loaded with useful information I can take home to our library system. Worth every penny. Since it isn’t associated with any professional organization, it isn’t encumbered by a gazillion committee meetings and organizational business. You just go, learn, and enjoy the setting in Monterey, California. There’s never a time of the day when a good session isn’t happening. Good stuff all the time.

So on the flight to LAX I read a few chapters of Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy. A friend of mine recommended it highly, and I have to say that thus far it is pretty good. I think it may require a second reading, as McCarthy’s language takes some getting used to. I was going to bring and finish Get in the Van, by Henry Rollins, but it’s a big heavy book and I didn’t want to lug it around for a week. Already got enough stuff with me. Besides, sitting around reading the young Henry’s journal probably isn’t the best mental input for the week unless I want to be completely antisocial.

It has been several years now since I’ve skating the little skatepark in Monterey, which is about a mile or so from the conference hotels. Last year it was closed for repair. The year before that I skipped the conference due to family illness, and the year before that I believe it rained/drizzled every evening. So I’m hoping that maybe Sunday or Monday night the park will be open and ridable.

More later.

My wife spotted the “Halloween Village” display at a Michael’s store this weekend. It was a perfect opportunity to use the point ‘n’ shoot camera from some macro shots, which makes everything look much more creepy.

click for full size

click for full size

It’s always interesting to hear an interview with Ian MacKaye, of Minor Threat, Fugazi, Dischord Records, etc. One of my favorites of his work is the little EP “Egg Hunt“. Ian has for many years done the seemingly impossible by running a small record lable, Dischord Records. And he’s done it right.

Anyway, here’s a little bit of an interview with him (and here’s a little more info).

Just got word that I get a stipend to attend the Internet Librarian 2011 conference, which is great! Really enjoy that conference every years, and come home energized!

That is all.