Snakes and Sparklers

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The Special Meter 5: No Going Back
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 sucked. Plain and simple. It was an attempt to recreate the original magic, but just fell flat. But it wasn't the end.
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Brendan Menapace
The Special Meter Proving Ground: Unrequited Hustle Media (Or 'Choose Your Character Syndrome'
We answered the slacker generation by creating one that thinks your pursuit of happiness needs to be miserable
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Brendan Menapace
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The Special Meter Project 8: The Ridiculousness Of It All
For the first time, the THPS franchise had real competition, and a theory as to why Rob Dyrdek is on tv for 12 hours a day.
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Brendan Menapace

June 2024

The Special Meter American Wasteland: History Repeating
Just as the "American Wasteland" game and soundtrack payed homage to the past, I am doing the same, almost 20 years later. It's a cover compilation…
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Brendan Menapace
The Special Meter Underground 2: Chair Hops and Sit Flips
Special guest Jake Walker and I discuss Paulie 'Wheels of Fury' Ryan, never truly being an 'outsider' in skateboarding, and how making a little shit of…
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Brendan Menapace
The Special Meter Underground: You Don't Pay to Get In, But You Pay to Get Out
You miss your ollie and we'll be sending you back to Jersey in a coffee can
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Brendan Menapace
The Special Meter 4: Last Shot at the Jocks
A look at how we define skateboarding/skateboarders’ most historic enemy
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Brendan Menapace

May 2024

The Special Meter 3: Tony Hawk Made Skateboarding So Big that Even 9/11 Couldn't Take It Away
The man and the franchise had done enough for skateboarding to prevent its death alongside other "fads" like rollerblading following a shift in…
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Brendan Menapace
The Special Meter 2: 'Ollie the Magic Bum' and Skateboarding's Portrayal Problem
Skate videos have a history of featuring people experiencing homelessness, mental illness, substance abuse or all of the above, often as comic relief …
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Brendan Menapace
Introducing The Special Meter: A Series on 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'
Introducing a new series where I'll write about the greatest video game series of all time and everything related to it. This week, the one that started…
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Brendan Menapace

April 2024

Pitch Emails: Let’s Enjoy Wrexham While It’s Still Fun
Charming rich guys eventually just become rich guys, and success becomes harder to buy
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Brendan Menapace
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Cat Person 2: Adventures in Feline Romance
Analyzing societal history of projecting romance onto our children, and humanity onto our pets
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Brendan Menapace
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© 2024 Brendan Menapace
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