Apps for the ’Pod people
Tech heads will need these essential software tweaks for their iPods
Anthony Augustine


Tony Hawk at The Forks —tinyurl.com/2bbb4t, tinyurl.com/2ey7ue — Since his days a lanky 14-year-old kid with the Bones Brigade crew, Tony Hawk has been at the forefront of skateboard culture. Part of the second wave of skating that emanated from Southern California in the ’80s, Hawk has managed to build himself an impressive empire that includes skateboard companies, high-profile endorsements and a massively successful video-game series that has made him the most recognizable skater in the world. While it would be easy for Hawk to sit back and collect his royalties, he still has a contagious love and passion for the sport. This past September, Hawk and a hand-picked team of skaters and BMXers descended on the newly built skate park at The Forks for an unannounced session that was filmed for his Secret Skatepark video series. On the park’s opening weekend nearly every skater in the city was trying to get some ramp time, but Hawk and his buddies almost had the place to themselves during their shoot. In these two clips, Hawk, Bam Margera, Alex Chalmers, Mike Escamilla, Adam Hopkins, Brandon Nairn and David Loy shred the best thing to happen to Winnipeg’s downtown in a long time. Even if you aren’t a skate fan, it’s still impressive to see Hawk’s skills as he effortlessly flies around the around the park with the grace of Gretzky in his prime.

Gimmie20—www.gimme20.com — Considering it’s been three long months since you made that resolution to work out more in the new year, Gimme20 might be just what you need to get your lazy ass off the couch and back into the gym. Sure, way too much good TV lately has made it tough to actually go to the gym every day, but with most shows winding down for the season you won’t have any excuses other than the NHL and NBA playoffs and work. To help you get some sort of action plan, Gimme20 is a social-networking exercise portal that lets users create, share, track and build custom workouts.

Naughty Curry— naughtycurry.com — One thing you notice immediately when you travel is just how good Winnipeg’s Indian restaurants are. Even in some large cities it can be difficult to find decent curry. If you’re a serious fan of the complex flavour profile you find in curry-based dishes, this food blog will probably become regular reading. It’s filled with easy-to-make curry dishes, so you’ll be throwing together gajar korma, marsala scrambled eggs or peppy green patty cakes in no time.

Propagandhi Live— tinyurl.com/25sb9d — Poised to release its first official live concert on DVD on April 24, veteran Winnipeg punk band Propagandhi doesn’t tour as extensively as most groups but is still one of North America’s premier live acts. While this footage from a People Acting for Animal Liberation benefit from the mid-’90s may not be of the best quality, it captures the band at the crossroads between the melodic skate-rock of How to Clean Everything and the aggressively PC punk sound of its later recordings.

Anthony Augustine is a freelance music, technology and pop culture writer. He can be heard every Tuesday morning at 9:00am on Hot 103 discussing the web. Got a site you think he should see? E-mail him at anthony.alloneword@gmail.com.