Fakie U

The day is pregnant with that delicious feeling of insipid autumn. The sun has lost something of its summer edge, and the breeze is cooler. The cicada are singing, and the rustling leaves are making preparations in the secret language of trees. September: the best of all months, the month I was born.

Today, kids are returning to school, waiting by the curbside for yellow buses, or deciphering timetables and room locations at the higher institutes of learning. I must say, I was happily keeping warm in bed this morning, celebrating the fact that I have no teachers to meet, books to buy or facts to memorize.

And yet, the ritual of returning to school is deeply imprinted on my psyche, and I feel that there are likely other souls out there who, without having the desire--or, perhaps, the wherewithal--to pursue a course of study, yet feel a slight longing for new pencils, erasers, notebooks, and the lovely smell of fresh textbooks.

So, this morning, thanks to a sizable grant from the Skaterblog's Union, I am opening the cyber doors of Fakiegrind U, inviting students young and old, genius and fool, dilettantes and dilly-dalliers to participate in this online investigation into the issues that truly affect our lives.

Questions such as the difference between Fakie and Switch on a skateboard, the history of ramp construction, gravity vectors and sneaker design, mosh pit etiquette, and the philosophical implications of the "no-handed air" or ollie, will be touched upon by our panel of experts, including the ever-sagacious Dr. Flavour, the nirvana-steeped Em, and the hard rockin' Rock-Steady.

So, sharpen your pencils and wit, set your thinking caps to a stylish B-boy slant upon your cranimum, send us your questions and comments on these and other issues, and let's get this institute of lower learning off to an erudite start!