This past week I was on a cruise to Canada (Saint John and Halifax, woohoo!) As it turns out, I missed an awesome skateboarding event right in my neighborhood when I was busy preparing for my trip. Last Saturday, June 27, Stoked Mentoring (remember them from our Just 1 Click in June?) held the Stoked Skate Jam under the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown. The event was the meeting spot for skateboarders to take the streets to celebrate Go Skateboarding Day (which was June 21, but this event was postponed because of the weather*). From the pictures and videos I’ve seen, this event looked like a lot of fun, and many youth turned out to support Stoked Mentoring. Once again, the mission of Stoked Mentoring is to help at-risk and disadvantaged teens hone their skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing skills with the support of an encouraging mentor. Stoked's mission statement says it all: "And one teen at a time, counterculture WILL change the world." Check out the pictures and video footage!
source: Bowery Boogie, Flickr
While in Canada, I did get to see some skateboarding as well. Saint John celebrated Canada Day (July 1) with a skateboarding competition at its brand new skate park. Here’s some video of young Canadians warming up.
How do they hold up against New York? How about LA?
Posted on: 02/02/09(1 ratings) Author: jameshodges
Today is Groundhog day-- a day when groundhogs around the country are harrassed by humans until they come outside of their homes in the ground. The idea is that if a groundhog stays outside, it will signal the beginning of spring. If the burrowing critter gets scared and retreats back into its hole, winter continues for six more weeks. Check this video of America's most famous weather-predicting mammal getting screamed at by a vicious mob-- it's no wonder that most Groundhog Days end with six more weeks of winter.
It reminds me of the feeling I get when someone is telling me I need to get up before I'm ready. If ten men were screaming at me to make a weather prediction at 5am, I would retreat back into bed as well. I think that Groundhog day is cruel, just as cruel as expecting school-age kids to wake up at 6am and make it to class by 7:15, the way my peers and I were back in High School.
For the record, although Pennsylvania's Punxsatawney Phil predicted more winter while NYC's own Staten Island Chuck declared it springtime-- does that mean that cold weather is over for us New Yorkers?
