I spent too much of this week working and getting inappropriately drunk, so I have no clue what was going on in the blading world. Well, less than usual. So, I rant…

“The Ten: The Rise of the Rollerblader”

There’s a lot of talk that 2010 — which I call “The Ten” — will be the year rollerblading will make its much-anticipated comeback.

While it’d be nice if we could all just sit on our asses and wait for something to come along, each one of us has to put work in to see that which we love so dearly move forward.

We need to be zealous about this.

Here’s a non-comprehensive list of what each blader should be doing:

• “Support.” It’s a word used a lot but its meaning can be damn elusive. Maybe it’s taking care of your fellow rollerblader. I’m not sure. But, rollerblading needs its love and support.

• Be seen. If you take public transportation, keep your blades in your hand, not your bag. Almost every time I’m on a bus or train here holding my skates, someone always asks about them because they like the way they look. The more people see rollerbladers, the more new skaters we’ll get. Wear blading shirts daily. Make sure everyone at school and work know you blade.

• Web it. Every skating scene should have a Web site, or at least a blog. Scenes like New York (www.irollny.com), Wisconsin (wisconsinblading.blogspot.com) and Iowa (www.iowa-connection.com) are great examples of places cranking out fresh content on a regular basis.

• Give. Piece together your old skates and give them to someone who wants to blade. Having a stockpile of old parts is cool, but having more people skating is even better. Loan out videos and magazines. The blading population is getting older. All the fresh blood is needed.

• Travel. Go to Winterclash if you can. Go to Bitter Cold. When people — if that’s okay to call advertisers and marketers actual people — see huge events like that it gets them riled up for how much money they could be making. That’s when they start thinking of using blading in mainstream media.

• Spend. Recession or not, blading needs money and it doesn’t look like Gatorade or Nike are going to be pumping money into the sport for shits and giggles. That means its up to us. If you haven’t made your resolution yet, make it one to spend more money on skating stuff than you ever have. Since I’m often accused of doing nothing but talking shit all day, I’ll start:

I really don’t need those parts. My skates are fine without them, but shit, why not? At $116, I have to work about 12 hours to pay that off, so consider that as a statement of passion.

To Honor Those We Lost

Unfortunately, 2009 saw the death of too many rollerbladers. James Short, Bryan Scott, Jason McFadden and most recently, a friend of mine, Michael Garcia.

Roll in peace brothers. You will be missed but never forgotten.

Jogging suits give you sweaty balls

It would be foolish for us to venture into the future without being cognizant of our past, so here’s a look at the “good old days”:

Marc Andre Pellan edited this pretty baby of nylon-infused bladery. It’s the trick names that get my blading boner pointing north.

And some other people too…

Comment of the Week

I agree that some people take blading too seriously with the image they’re trying to put out. It’s blading. It kicks ass. Enough said.

Ubiquitous Item of the Week

Fucking drunk chicks. They’re everywhere, but too often they’re dressed like zebras and want to eat your face.

And not in the fun way.

Fail of the Week

This one from Hoax II never gets old, even when they used it in a Slim Jim commercial a while back.

— Brian Krans

P.S. — Pre-order Shred Til You’re Dead or Ivan will kick me out of the house.