November 2008. The economy is even worse if that’s possible, but by the look of eBay in November there are still collectors with deep pockets out there. These shitty economic times have dropped some prices, but the truly rare and desirable decks are still going for big money. Where do some of these guys get their cash? Good question. Another good question is why do so many big money collectors come from Australia and New Zealand? Maybe the recession hasn’t hit down there yet. Maybe in 6 months time there’ll be a massive sell of from down there. Who knows? So to underline the trying times I have a new section this month: Bargains of the Month. Take a look and kick yourself. Maybe I’ll do it again, maybe not.

Check out eBay Watch: November 2008

This game intro out does the one from the original SKATE game. The all star cast on SKATE 2 looks awesome. Noticeably missing is the Gonz.

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Quim Cardona is hosting a premiere of Zach and Walker's Concrete Jungle tonight (December 16) at Four Ls in Hoboken, NJ.

All the Final Flare orders shipped yesterday, so the box set should be at your local skate shop real soon if it isn't there already. Peep the Out Now video at the top of the Lakai website.

Matt Mumford, Lipslide, Late 90s, San Diego.Photo: Brittain

Strange Notes is at Battle of the Shops in this week's video clip.

Only a skater can wander around in southeast Portland, and understand the significance of a Sharpie marker- drawn little bird with “Luda Crooks” written underneath.  The graffiti art of Chet Childress shows up in the places where one would expect it to show up the most: dive bar bathrooms, bus stops, skate-spots, etc.  The above picture is an example taken from his myspace page.  Oh, did I mention that Chet Childress rips?

Childress will have a showing of his art from 7-10 pm on Thursday, December 18th at the Department of Skateboarding, located at 15 NE Hancock Portland, OR 97212.