Just finished watching Dogtown and Z-Boys, a documentary about the invention of modern skateboarding in Santa Monica in the 1970s. I didn’t grow up in LA, but did surf and skate the 70s away, worked in a surf shop throughout my teens, and spent a lot of time reading Surfer and Skateboarder magazines (and later Thrasher). The scene was so different than it is now, and that’s a hard thing to communicate – the zen and the style and the pure inventiveness of everything that was going on in the skate world at that time. Skating is more radical today, but the pioneering part of it is mostly gone. This movie communicates the vibe of the time period so well, it’s eerie. It’s a look at a part of the 70s that never really gets talked about, but that pretty much was my life. Amy didn’t skate a lick, but totally loved it. You just want to grow your hair out, cut an oak deck out of a desk drawer, glom on some urethane Cadillac wheels, and drain a pool. The soundtrack is absolutely righteous.
Dogtown and Z-Boys
Music: Gong :: Flying teapot
That movie was a blast… I was barely alive during most of it and I still felt the urge to get another board and get out..
I still have my 1990 Hawk board, should replace the wheels if I plan on getting my butt back on it.
In an off topic question, how did you get your uptime to display in movable type?
The early years of anything are the best. Just look at personal computing for another example.