Skatopia's dictator and chief, Brewce Martin has been seriously injured "with major head trauma in a freak accident at a tire shop near Skatopia. Apparently, he was standing next to the tire mounting machine and it exploded. All we know at the present time is that he's in surgery to relieve pressure on his brain." (Taken from the Slap message boards.)
TeamJaded wishes Brewce well, and hopes for his speedy recovery.
I did a three day shoot at Skatopia when I worked for Current. The shoot took place during Skatopia's annual "bowl bash" when hundreds of hillbilly punks and skaters descend on Skatopia for a few days of complete mayhem. It was one of the most intense field production experiences of my life. I often liken it to shooting video in a combat zone.
During my short encounter with Brewce at his "anarchist resort," he came off like a compete lunatic, but a lunatic who was somehow in control of what looked to me like utter chaos. He gave my co-producer Allison Muir and I the standard Skatopia hard time. He even went so far as to tell us that we could film, but we couldn't keep the footage. In the end he not only let us keep the footage, he even granted us a short interview, AND signed a release granting us permission to use the footage on Current TV ...thus proving that he was a stern, but fair dictator. (Most of the footage never actually made it to air, but that's a whole other story.)
...Seriously Brewce, get well man.
In other Skatopia news, the documentary "Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy" is finally set to premier on July 11 at Acefest 2009 in NYC. The trailer looks amazing. Allison and I had the pleasure of working along side the film crew for the three days we spent at Skatopia. They told us they had been there for months, and were staying for a few more after we left. I couldn't understand how any human would volunteer for that, but I knew it was going to make a great documentary. If you get the opportunity to see it, don't pass it up.
Below is an old trailer. There is a new one here. I highly recommend watching it.
Photo taken from Skatopia's myspace.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Skatopians at the Gate
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Free Laura Ling and Euna Lee Video Petition
This week our friends and Current TV journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were sentenced to 12 years in North Korean labor camps. On March 17, 2009, they were captured by North Korean border guards in the Yalu River region that loosely defines North Korea's border with China. We believe that their capture was unjust, and that their harsh sentence is an outrage.
Please join our video petition to set them free.
It's easy just click PLAY, then click REPLY in the top right corner, and then record a response.
All you have to do is say your name, say where you live, and hold up a sign that says "Free Laura Ling and Euna Lee".
If you don't have a Seesmic account, just sign up it's easy! If you need help, then CLICK HERE, and we'll walk you through the whole process.
You will be able to review your video before posting. If you don't like the first take please try again. It will only post publicly when you give it permission to.
If enough people participate we can create a powerful visual representation of global support for our friends.
Please take a moment and speak out for Euna Lee and Laura Ling.
Laura and Euna Video Petition (Instructions)
Please join our Video Petition to free Laura Ling and Euna Lee from imprisonment in North Korea.
It's easy just click PLAY, then click REPLY in the top right corner, and then record a response.
All you have to do is say your name, say where you live, and hold up a sign that says "Free Laura Ling and Euna Lee".
If you don't have a Seesmic account, just sign up it's easy!
When you hit reply you'll see this:
Create a user name, put in your email address, and click JOIN.
You'll get an activation email. Open it and click the link. The link will take you to Seesmic.com, but don't log in there. Nothing bad will happen if you do, it's just easier to come back here and log in to the player. (If the player is giving you error messages, then try going directly to the Seesmic thread.)
Don't worry that all the registration info you typed is still there on the left side. Just type in your newly registered user name and password, then click LOG IN. 
Now wasn't that easy? You should be either looking at yourself in the video player right now, or being asked for permission to access your webcam. In the case of the latter, click ALLOW. Now you should finally be seeing yourself through the eyes of your webcam. When you're ready just click the big red record button and join in.
You will be able to review your video before posting. If you don't like the first take please try again. It will only post publicly when you give it permission to.
If enough people participate we can create a powerful visual representation of global support for our friends.
Please take a moment and lend your voice to the cause.
Free Laura and Euna Video Player is now working
Apologies to everyone that has come to our blog to participate in the Free Laura Ling and Euna Lee Video Petition. The Seesmic player gave almost everyone who tried to register an error message.
The good news is that Loic (the founder of Seesmic) put his staff on it yesterday, and they fixed the problem. I ran some tests last night, and the registration feature on the player seems to be working now.
Lets kick this thing off again. Free Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Free Laura and Euna Video Project
On March 17, 2009, our friends Laura Ling and Euna Lee were captured by North Korean border guards in the Yalu River region that loosely defines North Korea's border with China. They were arrested while shooting a story for Current TV about North Korean refugees.
Since then we have been anxiously consuming every bit of news we could get while feeling scared for our friends and also frustrated with our inability to help them.
Today we found out they were sentenced to 12 years in a dismal North Korean labor camp. This simply cannot stand.
This is our call to action:
IMPORTANT If you get an error message at registry try going straight to Seesmic.
Join us. Reply to the video thread above (it will take 2 seconds to sign up for a Seesmic account). Tell us your name, where you live, and hold up a sign demanding the freedom of Euna Lee and Laura Ling.
(edit 6/9/09)
Some people are having trouble signing up to Seesmic. If you can't get on Seesmic, try Youtube and leave a video response to this video:
Embed these videos, tweet them, and post them on your Facebook. It's time for everyone around the world to stand up and show support for Euna and Laura. Let's bring them home.
LEARN MORE
OTHER WAYS TO HELP via freeroxana.net
FOLLOW ON TWITTER
http://twitter.com/liberatelaura
JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60755553149
SIGN THE PETITION FOR THEIR RELEASE
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-euna-and-laura
WRITE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
WRITE YOUR SENATOR
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
WRITE YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
READ AND SUBSCRIBE TO
http://liberatelaura.wordpress.com
Friday, June 5, 2009
Screens from Tim Brauch Open
I just wrapped up the open for Supercharged, Pete Koff's documentary about the life and times of Tim Brauch. So in the spirit of keeping TeamJaded.com up to date with what Abby and I are working on, here's some screens. 
Check Pete's blog often for updates about the film.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Ty Evans talk at Walker Art Center
Another snag from Skatedaily. This is an interesting talk with skate filmer legend Ty Evans. It's a bit long, but worth watching just for the Fully Flared open.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Who needs reform?
Is this the Kitchen Confidential of skateboarding?
Expect a full review of "Reforming a Counterculture" at some point. My initial thoughts somewhat echo skatedaily's "skateboarding is NOT a mainstream sport …it’s a life choice." (Fully admitting how cliche that is.)
However, this book appears to be marketed to people outside of the skateboarding industry with the purpose of bringing them in. Since my connection to the skate industry is peripheral, all I can say is that skateboarding is a complicated thing.
From the trailer, it looks like Mr. Davidson is making the argument that skateboarding needs to shed its counterculture image to make itself more attractive to mainstream media. If that really is the central thesis of his book, he's simply making a capitalist argument for growing the skate "market," which makes some sense from a purely business perspective. Unfortunately it sounds like he wants to do so at the expense of what makes skateboarding truly great, and also what actually makes it so attractive to the mainstream media now... (for good or bad)
When I was a kid, what attracted me to skating was a sense of belonging to something that felt both genuine and creative when compared to team sports and the social cliques of my small town. Beyond the physical joy of skateboarding, what has kept me interested as an adult are the friendships I developed over a lifetime of skateboarding. In fact, my best friends are the skaters I grew up.
Even now, when I meet new people I tend to bond more quickly with those who are, or were skateboarders. There is a level of mutual understanding that comes from years of scouring landscapes for spots, building skateparks, watching hours of skate videos, getting harassed by citizens and cops, and every other skate cliche that is completely true. Some of those shared experiences are illegal activities, others are simply frowned upon. So part of what makes my bonds with fellow skaters so strong is not only our love of skateboarding, but also our shared experiences of tension with mainstream culture.
To put it another way, the strength of skate culture is that it has existed mostly outside of the mainstream. Even when skateboarding has moonlit as a mainstream spectacle, skateboard culture has stayed firmly rooted in rebelliousness with skaters (even industry people) publicly denouncing the mainstream elements. Even, mainstream marketers understand that. It's the reason why they send cool hunters after street skaters, hoping to capitalize on what is perceived as "alternative." Skateboarding's counterculture image is what makes it attractive to both the mainstream media and the skaters on the street. Creativity within skate culture might even pull energy from that tension.
...So maybe it's not the best element to lop off.
On a side note...
A couple of years ago when I was working for a hip international media company, I found myself producing content about skateboarding.
My philosophy for that content was firmly rooted in telling what I believed to be the true story of skateboarding. A story that was dirty, DIY, and underground, but also community centered and creative. I tried my best to pick subjects that illustrated those themes.
Because of that, I sometimes found myself arguing with higher ups who were more interested in broadcasting a cartoonish image of skateboarding that involved lots of televised competitions and SoCal caricatures. At best I found that image hilarious... and I never slanted that way when I was in control of the final product.
I wonder what Mr. Davidson would have to say about that. I'm looking forward to reading "Reforming a Counterculture" to find out.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Tales of Wonder
~Abby
You can read more about him in this great Newsweek Article.
