Lebowski Fest Tampa Bowling Party with Jeff "The Dude" Dowd is Tonight at University Lanes from 6pm to 10pm. Tickets available at the door!

Doors at 7, Music at 8:30, Movie at 10pm tonight @TheRitz in Ybor City.

I've got to uh-- tender my resignation or whatever

costar in the beaver picture

Like a toe (with nailpoish!), LEBLOGSKI is getting cut off.
When asked about the idea of shutting it down, I told the Founding Dudes that its absence will most likely go universally unnoticed.  LF's social media integration (Facebook / Twitter) is strong enough to get it into the next round robin (#amiwrong).  It is a much smoother way for them to connect with Achievers.  But just in case people see this, thank you very much for reading.  There have been a couple instances when people have mentioned to me at a Lebowski Fest that they've read it, which is always surprising and flattering.

Favorite posts from my tenure as the Lebowski Fest Blogger:

• Jury Duty, which I used to convince the Founding Dudes to let me write.
• My open letter to John Goodman (but I did really love my "Stranger" open letter too!)
• The photos I took at the 9th Annual
• Chicago's Jesus Duel (with special mention to any post involving Vaudezilla)
• A small "Behind The Music" on the Nightline story.

For those looking to feed their Lebowski fix by way of a blog, I can't recommend lebowskipodcast.com strongly enough.  In addition to the podcast maintained by Fest-regular Chalupa, the blog on the podcast's website is consistently updated with Achiever-minded stories grabbed from the fringes of the Internet.

Thank you to Will & Scott (the Founding Dudes) for allowing me the privilege of sharing my like love of Lebowski on their website, and in turn with all of you.  This news won't stop me from writing about Lebowski Fests in the future (they just won't be here, but on my personal blog instead).  More importantly, I can't wait to catch ya later on down the trail at an upcoming Lebowski Fest.

Goodnight, sweet prince.[TQ]

It's video, Dude.

Oh my, what a beautiful web address it is:
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/dude--12311896
Go watch that video.
Go watch that video. (Mr. Lebowski asked me to repeat that)

I knew they were coming.
If you read* my posts, you knew it too.
You'd think I had one leg longer than the other - the amount of circles I walked around that Nightline camera crew for I attempted to get into the background of more shots that I could count... I succeeded twice.

Paused DVR glory! You're allowed to blink once as long as you don't blink the second time I appear in the background.

It was great to see friends like the entire "Chinamen with Lebowski's Legs" Philly foursome get a moment in front of the camera. However, it was an utter shame the famous Mrs. Jamtoss fell victim to the red pen of Nightline's editor.

The highlight of the overall strike of a piece was it's conclusion. I was on the lane with the eventual "Best Walter" (and Trivia 2nd place winner I might add!) and pictured the before and after of the most clutch roll in Lebowski Fest history!

Dios mio, Bob.
*If you haven't read my posts... I guess you just weren't listening... but I do recommend at least two of my posts from this past July:
My Favorite Picture From the 9th Annual
My Top 5 Garden Party Pictures[TQ]

Lebowski Fest on Nightline - MUST RECORD!

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/slideshow/big-lebowski-lives-12304530

"Walter, if you're there, pick up the fucking phone man. C'mon Walter pick up the fucking phone man. C'mon Walter, pick it up, man, this is an emergency..."

Achievers, you need to set your DVR / TiVo / VCR / Betamax / Hired hobo with video camera to record tonight's Nightline on ABC!

Late word came out today (click here for the article: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/slideshow/big-lebowski-lives-12304530) about when the feature many of us saw filmed this past July in Louisville during the 9th Annual Lebowski Fest.

I'm sorry I have been as blogging as heavily as I have in the past - they got us working in shifts.[TQ]

NY photos from Gothamist http://ping.fm/J4wAK

Lebowski Fest NY photos from Gothamist http://ping.fm/Vcg4L

Just in: Standby Tickets for Lebowski Fest NY @BrooklynBowl may be available at 6 tonight!

Lebowski Fest NY @BrooklynBowl starts at 6 tonight. Movie at 7, Costume Contest at 9:30 Diamondsnake at 10. Event is Sold Out!

@ZomBcon Seattle appearing with Lebowski Zombies Friday @TheShowbox: Donnie of The Dead, Dude of the Dead, etc.

@ZomBcon Seattle appearing with Lebowski Zombies Friday @TheShowbox: Donnie of The Dead, Dude of the Dead, etc.

@ZomBcon Seattle appearing with Lebowski Zombies Friday @TheShowbox: Donnie of The Dead, Dude of the Dead, etc.

A horrid excuse to post Minka Kelly pictures

Minka Kelly, who I have been "a fan" (to use the parlance of our times) since she was on NBC's Friday Night Lights has just been named Esquire Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive. Here are a couple of quotes from her interview in which she is sharing a story of what it was like to have a mother 'dance' for a living:

"Sometimes she would have a really great night, and so she would wake me up in the middle of the night and we'd go to Ralphs and go grocery shopping..."

Did they have a value club card?

"...And that was so much fun. We'd have the whole grocery store to ourselves, and we would have a blast and buy a hundred dollars in groceries. And it was just the best day ever. The best day."

I wonder if they ever bought half and half there.[TQ]

Lebowski Fest Regret

In nearly every single possible way my Lebowski Fest Chicago 2010 experience was an awesome success.

• Bringing in a friend to the Movie Party that had never been to a Lebowski Fest
• Seeing an 80s Movie Villian rock a keytar
  
• Allotting the appropriate time for a pre-Bowling Party burger at Kuma's (avoiding the Metallica burger 'cause it probably tastes like a bunch of assholes)
• Winning my second Trivia competition
• Loving that Chicago stepped up and debuted new costume ideas never before seen

But there is one regret.
There was a man I saw at the Bowling Party.
I don't have a picture of him in my files.
Maybe he's captured on one of the many Achiever photo submissions (check it out on Facebook if you haven't), but I haven't seen it yet.
My regret is not saying something* to him.

And now I'm going to live until the next time there's a Lebowski Fest in Chicago with a regret I have... hoping that this same man will be at the next one...

Which reminds me - don't regret missing out on the next Lebowski Fest Seattle next weekend if you can:

What a great poster by Bill Green. Guess he was enjoying his coffee when designing it.

*Oh yeah, my regret from Chicago? It was because that aforementioned man had an artificial leg. I really wish I would've asked him if some Chinaman took it in Korea.[TQ]

Don't say peep while I'm doing business here.

Free Lebowski Roast from Highland Coffee and Free Speed of Sound Tour Poster just for showing up! 414 Baxter Ave: Louisville, KY!

Original Pin Suits with Bowling Ball Sold to the Dudes at Maximum ASP!

Lebowski Fest yard sale has begun!

My favorite 10 pictures from Lebowski Fest Chicago 2010

Honestly, I think I set a record low as far as how many pictures I took the past Friday & Saturday during Lebowski Fest Chicago. Part of it is because many more people take better pictures and it's increasingly easier to find other people's albums on Facebook.

With that disclaimer, like Lebowski Fest Chicago, now behind us here are my top ten favorite pictures (in no particular order) from my own personal camera:


Over the line!


This Walter didn't win "Best Walter" but I appreciated the effort in detail with show dog picture.


One of the first top tier costumes I saw during the Bowling Party. Admittedly, the fact that this is a couple dressing up together touched a soft spot (Well yes, what did you think this was all about? Fun and games?)


The Golfer has been done before, and by many people (yours truly included). However, this costume was by far the best executed. She had it won for me at the Argyle socks - but the golf bag to boot was icing on the visor topped cake.


Those that attended the 9th Annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville were introduced to the unveiling of "Hot Ass Maggie" as a method to showcase a blanket toss. I have the feeling this group costume idea will become a Lebowski Fest mainstay.


I think I heard the Founding Dudes say that this past weekend was the 40th or so Fest. Which means anytime you hear them say, "Lebowski Fest First" when it comes to a costume it's quite extraordinary. It's also a great costume because you'd only know this was a costume once inside a Lebowski Fest. (And for those of you wanting to be a Trivia champion - don't forget the name Irene Olga López.)


In what the Founding Dudes called another LF-First, what you have here is the Corvette of Larry Sellers' neighbor. Oh, and that's a giant crowbar. Bonus points for the "Do you see what happens, Larry" sticker on the car. (They also won brownie points for giving me my personal Fest highlight: they said they've actually read these posts to me!)


Lebowski Fest Chicago 2010 set itself apart from the others in how the Best Costume Finalists SOLD their characters. Each were given the microphone and nearly all of them exponentially added to their costume with brilliant performance. Knox Harrington, the video artist, has been done before (yes yes) and even by people who look more like David Thewlis, but none of them got out a phone to talk to Sandra and laugh like this character!


I urge everyone to find better angles of this, Best Costume winning, costume. See if you can figure it out by from the clues such as "tripped on a cloud" and "tore my mind on a jagged sky." Some of the best, next level, costumes cause everyone to pause to think through the process. The one aspect of this costume that pictures won't be able to translate is how this man took the microphone and led the entire Bowling Party in a sing-a-long to his costume. After that, he walked off the stage the winner.


Finally, one gratuitous picture of myself.[TQ]

Chicago is in full swing!