Barbeque on the Half Pipe!
This weekend I had the chance to help out with a local skate jam. I showed up early to sweep the park, then hung out to skate with the kids. We old men gave lessons, parents barbequed veggie burgers and hotdogs, and a good time was had by all. I’ve got a bit of a limp from trying to land a gap between two half pipes, but that’s what you get for showing off for photographers.

It is always good to be reminded of how much I take walking for granted. Seriously.

Harley: Danger Mouse

A couple of years ago, my friends and I found a recipe for Hollywood stunt glass. You can find the recipe in issue #4 of TIN, a zine I used to help out with.

But I digress ... stunt glass.

Being boys, we needed to put this knowledge to use. We destroyed a countertop in the process but after an afternoon of cooking we had a small, 2 foot by 2 foot pane.

We had the glass. All we needed was a reason to break it.

Unable to craft a stunt glass windshield, we quickly realized that skateboarding through the glass was the obvious next best option.

The glass project became the impetus behind an amateur skate video. Emphasis on amateur. This isn’t going to get anyone sponsored, and that was never the intent. The video was made for fun, between friends, and by that standard it was successful several times over.

Plus, it has Harley falling through a pane of glass.

Here is a brief excerpt of our movie: Old Men Falling Down. (Give her a minute or two to load. You might even want to save it to your hard drive so you can enlarge the picture)

Be warned: there is profanity in the last 5 seconds, and there is a lot of Harley falling down without a helmet. My skating has improved dramatically since we shot this footage, but the most dramatic change is that now I always wear a helmet.

Always.

If I’m going to try to make a living as a writer, my brain is my biggest asset.

(Funny how my biggest asset has such a knack of getting me into trouble.)

Regardless: Don’t be dumb like Harley. Protect that noggin’ kids!

This movie is in QuickTime format. Click here if you need the QuickTime plugin.


Special Thanks to: Spackle, Phlegm and Noise for patiently filming the movie, and for their help in the digital conversion. Couldn't have done it without them!