Hello Giant Bomb. Wow, do I have a fantastic blog for you.



Within the last week I re-socketed my shoulder, which has been a pain in the ass to both sleep and skate. I was strongly advised not to skate with the shoulder injury, but I've never followed rules or advice very well. After being in tremendous amounts of pain, I decided to heed the advice that was given to me and lay off the skating for a while. Now, that the muscles are more relaxed and the bone has been reset ( if pain is your thing, I would suggest this) I can now give my shoulder some well-deserved rehabilitation and rest. My method has been sitting at home playing Smash Bros. Brawl and Halo 3 online while I let the healing process commence.


Also, yesterday was Tuesday, and honestly, I'm not quite sure what to think of it. Bittersweet has been a reoccurring theme in my life, maybe everyone's life. Good things are balanced by bad things and those are balanced by good again; the cycle never ends. Nobody can live a life filled with nothing but good. Because of this, I have come to accept, nay, welcome the bad things that happen in life. Anyways, yesterday was a great day. I woke up, had a Pop Tart and oatmeal for breakfast like I always do and skated off to work on a fantastically beautiful morning. The sun was shining on my lunch break and the slight breeze was welcome addition to the downtown food court where hundreds of gorgeous business women walked confidently in their billowing skirt-suits.



So on this most fantastic of days, I thought that nothing could possibly go wrong...and of course, it did. Now, where I live, there are some streets that you simply cannot ride a skateboard on (it has to be the stupidest fucking thing ever) and if you are caught, you are cited $60 and have your board confiscated. I'm speaking specifically about the Denver 16th St mall, which is built on a hill, paved in smooth granite and begs to be skated. Now, I must have used up all of my luck throughout the day because I actually was caught. The officer took my board and gave me the run-down, his "You can't skate here" speech was tired but well rehearsed, it wasn't the first time I heard this speech from an officer of the law.

Now, most people label skaters as inconsiderate, rude and immature. This is true for the most part. However when in a situation where my only mode of transportation, and my very purpose for existence is being threatened, I have the unique ability to sugar coat a log of shit and serve it with sprinkles. A silver tongue is a valuable tool in getting what you want, even if you are in the wrong. Rather than arguing with the officer, I decided to play the civility card. Originally I would have had my board confiscated, and would be given a citation to appear in court, in addition to paying a ticket. Because I didn't "jump the gun" or "fly off the handle" , I was given a warning, a ticket and, most importantly, I got my board back. I still have to pay the ticket, but at least I won't be losing my sweet setup. This was my second time being busted for the same thing, though it won't be the last.

Finally, as the day winded down, I printed my tickets for the concert I was about to attend. The bands playing were Trivium, Coheed & Cambria and Slipknot. I have seen Coheed & Cambria 3 times before and always see them play when they come to town. The show was lackluster by Coheed's standards. I have seen them rock a crowd when they were headlining at the Fillmore, when they  played center stage at Warped tour and again when they opened for Avenged Sevenfold. I still can't quite put my finger on it, but something about the show last night was missing. Of course, when Slipknot came on stage, they sure made up for it. If you have never seen a Slipknot performance, than I strongly suggest that you do. Now, the tickets that I bought from Ticket Master was not the ones that I had originally wanted. I got boned on this one. Instead of floor tickets, they gave me a seat ticket and instead of sending the ticket through the mail (like I requested), I had to print my ticket only moments before the show. Because of this, I was not allowed floor access...at first.

I've been inside the Denver Colosseum many times, in fact, I plan on going again later this month for the Denver March Pow Wow. Being a veteran to the venue, I understand that hosting an event of this magnitude with only so many security workers, someone with a good head on their shoulders could exploit this to their advantage, and I did. I got in line for floor-access wristbands and explained that my ticket allowed me access (even though it didn't). Rather than arguing with me, the overwhelmed venue worker handed me a wristband without question, granting me access to the sweet mosh below.

The night ended with me talking my way out of a fight with a drunk die-hard Slayer fan and his homely girlfriend.

Hi all, it has been a pretty busy week so let me give you the run down on what's new on my side of the fence.

First and foremost, the week started out with a bang. Since I ride for Muerto Skateboards and the weather has been favorable where I live,  I thought I would treat myself to a new skateboard setup. I'm now riding my signature model (Ben Vigil Chief) with Geoff Rowley signature Rictas, Bones Red Bearings and Independent Trucks. Let's just say that this setup is probably the most legit I have skated in a long time. After reading up on Ricta Wheels, it turns out that they use a certain polyuerathane formula which makes Ricta Wheels resistant to flat spots, which is great because the last thing I want to hear when bombing down a gnarly hill is the tromolo of my jankety-ass wheels.

Second, I am yet again, a member of Myspace. I originally had an account and deleted it, then created another account a year later, only to delete it again. Now for the third (though I doubt final) time, I have create a page on the site to boast my antics and personality. In all honesty, I'm realizing it's potential as a networking tool, particularly since I will be running my own skateboard company in the near future. Creating a new account made me realize that many of my friends haven't really made too much personal progress in their lives as their profile pics depict them in better days. Many of them have not aged well . Maybe I've grown out of my friends, maybe I need to make new friends that are more abitious. Realizing this made me ponder our place in existance, are we designed to strive or simply expire? Are some people comfortable with their bland and repetitive lives or are they stuck in a position they cannot help? So many questions I don't have time to answer. Either way, I now have somewhere to link my photos from. If you are feeling curious, you can check out my skateboarding photos and videos on myspace, I will be adding more content when I have time.

Third, and this is the one I'm most proud of. I am finally on Xbox Live!

I was against the whole paying for online thing but I got a free trial for a month and I have to say, I'm quite impressed. I consider myself a force to be reconed with online and even after only two days, I have already risen a few ranks in both Halo3 and Skate 2. I plan on playing some Turok online this weekend. If any of you giant bombers are feeling like getting a  beat-down on Live, my user name is Old Skool Ben. Now, I'm still new to both Live and the new 360 interface but I love some good competition, especially on line.  Be sure to look me up :)

This week started off pretty good. The weekend seems as though it will repeat the good vibrations. I'll definately be enjoying the sunshine, the gaming, and the skateboarding. Catch you crazy cats layta.