Telephone or text

We were greeted by an automated voice on the other end of the telephone this morning/afternoon. Graham had texted the shop about saving him Thrasher and Sidewalk from this month and next month. The new Thrasher dvd is sick! I really like it..



By the time you read this they may have all gone but I'm going to pick some more up from Jerome hopefully next week if you're keen to get your hands on one

"A picture tells a thousand words"

These give you a good idea of the world outside our window. For the real Jake's Alley experience go and stick your head in the freezer for a minute and take a second look

"All art is quite useless"

Art heavy posts of late. I searched for a good quote to head up this post and came up with that one from Oscar Wilde. I wanted an art based quote to lead me in to telling you about Nick Jensen's show next Friday. I wouldn't leave that quote alone that way .It isn't my belief and I wouldn't have thought it his. I'll counter balance it with another one from Wilde..."all art is immortal" This still doesn't lead me straight into the Jensen show. Try this one out..
"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures"-Henry Ward Beecher
Nick has been dipping his brush in his own soul for the last year to bring you this show entitled "A years work" Here's the front of the flyer..



and these are the details..



Come by to pick up a flyer and be sure to bookmark Nick's site..

http://nickjensen.co.uk

Mad product has shown up for you this weekend. I'm going to scratch the surface and show you some hot picks, Jackson has been updating the site with the freshest stuff today and yesterday. We have the new Thrasher DVD..



The board wall looks good..





I'm backing this next Mike Carrol and so is Peter Lee..



.."Dial the seven digits,call up bridget,Her mans a midget" We have mad Spitty's for you, all the regular white ones and these colourful Christmas pieces..



We sold four Zig Zaggers today.!! Chrimbo cruisers, we have this Krooked Chris Miller guest board with a proper Chris Miller nose this picture does no justice..



There is a great selection of Alien and Habitat boards and these two Black Label boards also..



The Hensley board was drawn by Fos and I thought I'd grab a couple of the Cardiel "snuff" guest boards as there were already a fair few Anti-Hero boards in the pile. Here is a special gift from Cardiel to Slam City Skates from his short stay here..



Nexr a picture I saved for you from last Sunday. Rob with his favourite grip assistant..



If you're in and you want some fireworks check out the Rob Grip technique with the Girl tape..



See you in the midst of the Christmas rush

The Benji Show

Roll up, roll up. The Benji show blasts off next week. Get yourself down to The Macbeth where the Slam nights are housed and take in an eyeful of Liebenhals. Good name for an artist that. "Darling I simply adore that canvas above the fireplace, that one man vomiting on the other is divine" "Yes many people comment on it, it's a Liebenhals" Make sure you go and have a look and are in time for the free booze scoop..

"Behold the turtle..

..He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out"
Sounds like Luigi using the computer to check the weather/bbc sport. The turtle reference is because of a gift Will Harmon dropped in. This was the gift he picked us up..



Yes Dick turtle! Here's what the lucky bag contained..



..A jigsaw you cut out yourself, a lollipop, a milk chew, a Mr Miyagi toy which was my favourite piece and some plastic shapes you make different animals with. Rob managed to make them resemble Luigi when he's on the computer. Luigi made quick work of the two items of confectionery while I banged around rythmically with the Miyagi bat. Will dropped these in along with the wheels offered up as a reward for the lost issue of Sidewalk. Attention Lec! There are some 52 mm wheels here with your name on them. They don't actually have your name on them they say Chocolate but they're safe and sound until you next drop by. Next week should see the arrival of the mega Fully Flared and also the Stereo box set. This has Tincan folklore and a Visual sound in one box..



This is good news indeed for you Christmas gift buyers.I have a little footage in the Alley cam waiting to be edited but I'm waiting for a little more so hopefully I'll get some tomorrow. The edit will contain a Guy Rza disclaimer.It promises to be hot so keep them peeled!

The silver screen..

..is looking to be blessed in the coming months..



Dan gave me the heads up on this trailer a week ago and I slept on it, now I've seen it I can't wait, it looks amazing. Nice Springsteen track on this next one too. Make sure you visit his site and download the new single...



Next up and finally, one I've been waiting for..



Cinema visits are shaping up thankfully, the only thing I've been watching of late is the Big Bang Theory. I just ordered new stuff for the weekend so if you're in need of a board this is going to be the place to come.

"We eat fish..

..tossed salads and make rap ballads" Enjoyed last night's video premiere.I have no pictures for you apart from these two. The two heaviest hitters were in attendance. Good seeing Pizzoid back behind the counter with some new media to peruse..



"Two strange things have happened this morning, the moon's out and Tamsin's wearing glasses!" This was an exclamation from Pin the day after Chris was married. Nothing is stranger than seeing Pin with his new acquisition. It wasn't long ago that Pin didn't have a bank account. Now he's running an iphone! He's checking the weather here..



If it told him good news ahead it was lying.The premiere was rammed. If you happened to miss it and can't wait till it comes out in two weeks do not fear. Alley cam caught the whole thing...



That pesky Dr Thermos must have been drinking in the same spots as me last night, he'd caught some reaches..



Seth and Bev-Congratulations! Luigi with the gammy stomach-Get well soon!

Yes Shier!

This guy..



plays out his game of skate on the world stage here...

http://theberrics.com/dailyops.php

and introduces America to the word stinkos. I'd tell you what happens but that would spoil your link clicking

"Each success..

..only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem.”-Henry Kissinger
Hopefully you've bought your admission ticket to tonight's Landscape premiere and the only difficult problem you encounter today is deciding wether to take in the 6.45 or 7.45 showing. Many new faces have come through the door today which is always nice to see. Get a ticket here or on the door..



New hoods came through the door last thing yesterday. The summer of 88 print on our newly re-vamped heavyweight sweats with the good cuffs. They come in two colours, for a day or so this is a Jakes Alley exclusive-instore only item. They'll hit the site on Monday. There's a purple..



and a black..



There's the heads up on new product, what's new in Fred Bennet's world? He has a bike now so once sporadic visits are a little more regular. He brought it in yesterday and he had a new disc in the back wheel. Apparently it's much more aerodynamic. "I made it myself" he was quick to let us know. "What's it made out of?" I asked. " You know that stuff real estate signs are made of? It's kind of like that" Translated this means that it's made out of a real estate sign Fred acquired on his travels. Here's a preview so you can keep on the lookout for the Bennet-mobile on road. Here's the Pacman piece..



and the teen angst flip-side..



Yes Fred! He keeps it pretty real but needs to work on quotes under pressure. For the select few of you in the loop as to who Vinny is this will make some sense. Tickler knows what's up in this regard. He told us he'd seen Ironman recently. This is basically like Charlie going to the chocolate factory. I could tell by the excitement in his voice this has broadened his technological horizons somewhat. Keep those eyes peeled for a Pacman disc and a flying man suit. Luigi just brought Rob back a can of coke he'd dropped quite hard. Usually you'd expect a fizz but tap it a few times before opening it. Rob's can was actually bubbling and leaking. Good luck today Shier, see the rest of you at Leicester Square

Syndicate session

You got some images on the news yesterday of the after party Vans, Document and ourselves threw for you. Today as promised I'll bring you some pictures of what it was all in aid of. Our window invites you in..



The exhibition runs up until the start of January so you have time to come in for a look. I'll give you a little look though. Here's the main wall downstairs..



The counter has had the Vans treatment..



As has the rest of the shop..



This all coincides with the launch of the new Syndicate range which is now here and ready for you to purchase..



Here are some pictures from the night. I gave up taking them fairly early on because there was a lot happening. These are the images I was faced with when I looked back at the photos. Here's one of Seth and Seb..



Contrasting colourways going on there. There were a lot of bikes locked up in here that night. Here's a picture of Tom and Andy who is one of London's leading bike suppliers and has made a bike for Vans of late..



Maybe Fergus should go and see him, look what happens when you lock your bike outside the London Graphic Centre..



Ray and Rob were holding it down..



Toddy came along despite having to ride the wagon which he did all night...admirable..



It looks like Seth's getting a foot massage in that one. Hops and Hoppy share a bench..



Finally as I have said once before the Litmus test of any good event...Ash. Does this look like the face of somebody whose place of employment has recently shut down?..



The answer is yes. Ash is having a whale of a time.The smallest Baron was here in spirit. Here's a picture of Ruby steady repping Slam..



The Macbeth party was packed, they were turning people away. The exhibition and night got some good press in the London Lite..



I was called out on a recent post. Sanna asked where all the girls were. I apologise for the lack of documentation but it's not always the easiest thing to do. You'll have to take my word for it...there were girls here and John Cardiel was here too. Phew that felt like a lot of photos this end. We have good hardware for you this weekend. Amongst it are a full clip of Landscape wheels..



and all the newest boards..



Our favourite dog owner will be on the big screen tomorrow..



..as will the rest of the boys. I'm pretty sure everyone on the team will be in attendance with the exception of Snowy who is travelling the world. Make sure you get yourselves here to buy your Landscape Horizons tickets. I expect to see some Alan Glass Kicks Ass shirts...



See you then. I have some preview flicks of Fred Bennet's aerodynamic designs for you tomorrow.

"As you make your way through this hectic world of ours..

.. set aside a few minutes each day. At the end of the year, you'll have a couple of days saved up." That's a quote from a child aged seven. That kid knows what's up. There's been little time for any setting aside of late. Yesterday was busy from the start. The finished article made everyone's hard work worthwhile. I have no photographic evidence of what went down here as the Alley cam has accompanied Rob to West London. Fingers crossed I'll be fiddling around with imovie again in no time. I'll bring you some pictures tomorrow. The event at the shop ran smoothly apart from a red coat jobsworth interfering with the tidy up. It's encouraging to see the scene growing with each event that's put on.
The party at the Macbeth was heaving too, from sauna to sauna. I enjoyed The Penetrators as always but had to leave shortly afterwards as I had skip filling duty in the a.m. As skip filling drew to a close this afternoon Jonny L rang me while I was in the toilet. Being unaccustomed to wearing tracky b's on the regular I grabbed for my phone with the vigor of a jean wearer. The phone flew in the air and in true comic book slow motion style I grabbed and grabbed but to no avail. The comedy plop, the face slap, obscenities. I grappled it out of the bowl but it was soaked through. It's just started working again but it lights up at will. Looks like I'm in the market for a new hand set. The good news is I managed to get a skate in so fun was had. If anyone wants a Commodore Amiga 500 there's one in the skip outside. It served me well that machine. Speedball 2, Rick Dangerous 2, Kid gloves, Toki. Games not included.
Two of my friends have been busy battling away at the web. The Wilson 2000 or as Seth would know him "my mate Matt" has been pimping out a site for Linguaphone. If you fancy taking up a new language that's the place to go. Have a look for yourselves here...

http://www.linguaphone-ishop.com

Also Brabs has a web space where you can see all the projects he's recently been involved in. For Brabenec activity visit..

http://www.letscontinue.net

Tamsin sent me this picture the other day which made me laugh..



Sounds like the worst petting zoo ever, imagine paying it a visit and being unable to nettle the goats. It's event after event here in London town. Here's your Saturday evening planned out for you..



There'll be some tickets available on the door on the night but there's no way of insuring this. Your best bet is to come and see us in Slam and pick one up. They're £4 each and you have the choice of a 6.45 or 7.45 showing. I don't expect to see any tantalising or ruffling.

"Life is like video footage..

..hard to edit" How true the words of the Wu often are. I got to grips with imovie last night. I'd never used any type of editing program. I know everything is self explanatory but I ran into more than a couple of problems. In the end I splashed out on Quicktime player pro just to get it done, some problem with AVI files....I know, who cares? Why am I still talking about it? To cut a long story short, shorter than it would have been if I'd carried on about the AVI's. Charlie, Seth and Olly went skating yesterday. They took the Alley cam along and I put this together. If you notice a slight shudder at the start of some clips it's just the "Fulfill the Dream" influence shining through not my obvious incompetence...



Hope you enjoyed that tour of Cantelowes. Olly is threatening another tour of a London park in the next few weeks. I'll get reading up on how to use imovie before then. See you tonight..



It's shaping up for you as I type this.

"I'm working on a dream..

..Though sometimes it feels so far away
I'm working on a dream
And I know it will be mine someday"



I heard really good news this morning. The hardest working man in Rock and Roll has penned a new album. It's his 24th. My fingers are crossed that even though his epic world tour has just ended a new tour will ensue to let the new album work it's magic. See what I did there. The album came about whilst Bruce and the E street band were still on tour.
Bruce Springsteen said, "Towards the end of recording 'Magic,' excited by the return to pop production sounds, I continued writing. When my friend producer Brendan O'Brien heard the new songs, he said, 'Let's keep going.' Over the course of the next year, that's just what we did, recording with the E Street Band during the breaks on last year's tour. I hope 'Working on a Dream' has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done. All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes, and we all had a blast making this one from beginning to end."
I can't wait but I guess I'm going to have to and I'll keep those ticket buying fingers at the ready. Make sure you have tomorrow night free. This is happening downstairs with a party for you afterwards..



Next stop start trouble inside the waffle house