The mainstream music industry has finally picked up on the fixie trend. To be honest though, my money would've been on some hipster Hype Machine indietronica band rather than Jared Leto's slightly emo-ish alternative rockers to make the run for it. But whatever, the video is nicely shot and the song ain't too bad either :)

Yesterday morning Martin, Alex and I packed our 7 irons and drove down to the Regnitzwiesen for a nice little two hour round of cross golf. Martin and me had bought the clubs and 40 golf balls over two months ago but so far never found the time for a joint session. The spot was perfect with it's wide open spaces, relatively short grass and almost no people around. And despite our time mostly being spent by searching for our golf balls – and thereby constantly stumbling into dog shit and the occasional rabbit carcass – it was one hell of a blast. The date of the 'Christmas Sluggers Invitational' will be announced shortly :D

For the moment my happiness about finally being able to sketch has given away to frustration about not being able to find good motifs. But I had a good talk with my prof, took a break, went home and decided to stop drawing for a bit until I've found a solid / more subtle / more simple concept to visualize my thesis. Still confident it's gonna work out somehow. I'll still have time to panic one month prior to the exams :D. Until then, here's a closeup of one of the better sketches.

...bastard child, monster truck, big foot. Those were just a couple of the insults I had to put up with when people saw my little interim board solution for the first time. I have to admit, it's not the prettiest thing ever built and does look a little awkward at first glance – like a pumped up toy board or something – but, it's so much f***ing fun to ride! Something all haters – mostly spoiled-by-perfectionism product designers – had to agree with in the end :)

I mean this is how a skateboard should be – smooth and fast on long straight flats (thanks to the big trucks and wheels) and with superfast response in tight turns (thanks to nose, tail and concave shape). Only problem is that due to the weight of the trucks/wheels and the resulting bulky overall shape, pulling tricks is almost impossible – at least for me. But hey, I intended this 'fun thing' for cruising the inner city and for that it works perfectly. Not counting the four or five heavy crashes I've had in the three days I've ridden it that is...

:)