Latest Update: May 18, 2001

Swell and Primedia Tighten The Knot
Swell and Primedia have gone past the foreplay stage. With a new strategic alliance in place Evan Slater, Larry Moore and Matt Walker will work for both Surfing Magazine and Swell out of the Surfing offices. Steve Hawk is back on the editorial program and Swell's magazine section will be called "Surfing Magazine." They will also share ad sales people like Swell's John Cecil. God knows Surfing needed a website. But who knew they would get one so cheap?

Another Memoir Worth Reading
If you're looking for a great book to read this summer, check out Dave Eggers A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius because, well, that's what it is. It's random, funny, engaging, and yes, even heartbreaking. Check out a review (and several more) on the Sacklunch.com Reading List.

Filmed in Jaymovision?
Kris Jamieson was a pro snowboarder, is an ESPN announcer, and may soon be a film star. He and the guys from Board Wild have made a film. The film as Powell-Peraltaish name. It's called Have You Seen Clem. Writer Billy Miller explains it all.

Billabong For Life?
Rumors are circulating that Billabong, the company who bailed out Von Zipper for an undisclosed amount, has now acquired Element Skateboards. If anyone has info, please kick it down. Where does growth in the surf industry come from? That's right, skateboarding.

Onboard Launches Surf Europe
The guys behind Onboard one of the coolest snowboard magazines in the world have just launched a new site for SurfEurope, their surf magazine. Which reminds me, Flash sure does suck.

Pacific Sunwear See Saw
Last week teen clothing retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., reported disappointing results for April. Now they're saying that sales are up and they're looking for a great summer and fall. Based on what exactly? Denim and some clever pull-it-out-yer-assonomics.

Es Team Featured On Apple iBook Promo
When Apple rolled out their new iBook guess what they included in the promo video? Yep, it's Eric Koston and the es team's Brazilian vacation from 411. Check it out.

Primedia Enforcing Non-Compete?
According to Inside.com, William Reilly and his new allies at the Texas Pacific Group are among the suitors keenly interested in EMAP PLC's American properties (including Surfer, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike), unfortunately Reilly signed a non-compete agreement when he was booted by the Primedia board in 1999, and is bound by that agreement until September 2003.

Tweens Next For Market Exploitation
There are approximately 28 million Americans ages 8 to 14 whom marketers have singled out as "tweens", They are the largest such group in two decades, and the wealthiest ever. Oh boy, time to hone those candy stealing skills.

THPS On a Mac?
Every pro's favorite computer company recently added a preview of THPS for the Mac OS to their site with a small side bar that speaks to Tony Hawk's Macintosh fetish.

Twenty Foot Waves? Nope.
Last week everyone was talking about the swell what would hit SoCal on Sunday. There was even talk of 20 foot waves. Unfortunately, that was not the case according to the OC Register's Eric Carpenter.

Bluetorch Launches New Website
While we're sure fans of the Bluetorch TV show can tell the difference between the "old" show and the new "Strange is Good" program. We can't really tell the difference. The website, however, is completely different. It's clean, smooth, and appears to be quite functional. After crusing the site we know one thing: we want to get Rock Hard with Leann.

Captain Zero Reviews Everywhere
We told you about Alan Weisbecker's great book The Search For Captain Zero in the Sacklunch Reading List. Now, it seems like everyone is reviewing the book and guess what? They love it. If you'd like to buy a copy of the book yourself just click here.
-The OC Register didn't even read the book themselves. They used a review from Meg Jones of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

AOL/TW and Sony Team Up on PS2
TransWorld's parent AOL/TW just announced a team effort with Sony to provide Internet access to Sony PS2 users. Lets see AOL has 30 million subscribers and Sony has an installed base of 25 million Playstation owners. Not bad, huh?

Santa Cruz Holds Hemp Festival
The fourth annual Industrial Hemp Expo in Santa Cruz will feature clothing, furniture, candles, candies, lip balm, diesel fuel, building insulation, art, carpets, bags and packs, hemp-flavored chocolates and edible seeds, construction materials -- even boats and skateboards, that is organizers don't smoke all the exhibits before the Expo begins.

Betterton Maryland Outlaws Skateboarding
When the Betterton town council met to vote on a bill that would outlaw skateboarding they didn't expect 22-year old Billy Bontrager to show up. After repeatedly being asked to be quiet and leave, Bontrager, who opposed the new law was finally removed from the building by the local sheriff. Yeah, Billy.

Lugers Go Fast and Get No Respect
John Fryer, 34, and Eli Smouse, 22, don't stand up on their skateboards. They laydown and go fast, fast enough to win silver medals in the Downhill Xtreme game in South Africa. But here in their homeland they just can't find a place to work their craft.

Skateboarding Thieves Rob Churches
Several churches in northeast Albuquerque, New Mexico have been burglarized and vandalized in recent weeks and police say their prime suspects are a pair of boys --one 16 and the other 11-who use skateboards as getaway vehicles. Seems like it would be kind of hard getting away with $10,000 worth of equipment on a skateboard.

Surfing Lake Superior
Greg Isaacson, 46, knows what to do when the wind starts blowing in off Lake Superior: he grabs he board and hits the surf. He and a dozen of his friends from the the Great Lakes Surfing Association got together in Duluth last weekend to surf and chat. One topic they failed to discuss, "Why don't we move to the coast."

Secret Service Uses Skateboarding in Sting
US Secret Service agents used the AOL screenname Skaterboard88 to entice accused pedophile John Weisser into making a date with a 12-year-old boy. Weisser took the bait and is now in prison.

Sunset Beach Watertower House
We've driven by it thousands of times and everytime we wonder who lives there. How cool would it be to live in a 90 foot-tall water tower. Well, according to the LA Times we now know it's Jerry Wallace and yes, he loves it.

Newport Harbor High Cleans Up the Beach
Harbor High senior John Moore was tired of walking through trash to get into the water for a surf at Newport, so he did what all teens should do: he sat in on a press conference. He cares a lot. Along with Earth Resource Foundation Moore and crew are going to try to get more than 400 of Newport's restaurant to use corn based Styrofoam because it breaks down faster and can be eaten by homeless people.

Living It Up At the Hotel California
Todos Santos, Mexico doesn't have much, but great seafood and the world famous Hotel California. The hotel is where the Eagles' Don Henley is said to have stopped while touring in the late 1960s. It also inspired him to write the line "On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair" you know the rest.

Swell Registers 100,000th "User"
Ex-Primedia Chief Bids for Emap
Don Craig Take Geezer Class At Sano
Velzyland Development Troubles Surfers

Previous Bags o' Crapola:-
-May 9, 2001
-April 27, 2001
-March 30, 2001
-February 23, 2001

Special thanks: to Jim Romenesko's MediaGossip.com