Well, kind of.  The article is about the Dudespaper where I’ve been moonlighting as a writer of sorts.  It’s Oliver’s Dudeism online publication.  It’s a pretty great site if you haven’t been there already. 

Anyways, today over lunch I was checking out some Google news and happened upon this article in The Quietus.  They talk about pop culture and whathaveyou.  The article is about Dudespaper, but they mention a couple examples of what you can find there - one of them being She’s Gotta Feed the Monkey. 
http://thequietus.com/articles/00935-lebowski-religion-starts-its-own-newspaper-man

Happy New Year to all of you.  We hoped you were able to party hard and make it home safely.  I don’t know about you guys, but I hate going back to work after a break.  I always feel severely under-motivated and I’m just not into it.  The sad part is a couple hours later when I feel like I never left.  Such is life I guess.

I’ve been kinda behind on the daily links.  It’s sometimes hard to find something new or cool everyday and then sometimes I go for a week or two forgetting to post what I’ve found.  So here’s a few to get you going…

Empire Magazine named The Dude as the 7th greatest movie character of all time.  I’m sure some of you will argue that he should be #1.  I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that or not, but I was reading someone’s thoughts on Best Actor Oscar winners this morning.  They were saying a Best Actor/Actress is one who disappears into their role.  They do such a good job at it that you can’t really imagine anyone else playing the character.  That’s something I’d have to say about Bridges playing The Dude.  In fact, I see other films he’s acted in and I can’t help but see the "dudeisms."
http://www.empireonline.com/100-greatest-movie-characters/default.asp?c=7

Speaking of Jeff Bridges, I know there are some Iron Man fans out there.  Here’s a cool tidbit about a guy whose photo was used as a background in the film.  I’ve never been much of a picture taker, but I can image the awesomeness of having one of your photos used in a major motion picture - especially one that was in the top 10 grossing films of the year.  So keep on snapping those pictures and posting them to Flickr or whathaveyou.  You never know who might notice them.
http://www.filmgecko.com/how-one-guys-flickr-photo-ended-up-in-iron-man/

Here’s a blog post linking to some Lebowski fan art.  I’m constantly impressed with what people come up with.  I’m not much of an artist myself so I’ve always appreciated what other people create.  It’s interesting to see the out of ordinary things that are created.  One thing I really appreciated about the film Supersize Me was all the counter-culture McDonalds art.  There’s actually a documentary about that artist out there, but I’m having trouble remembering it at the moment.  Anyways, I think it’d be really cool to see a last supper painting/drawing with Lebowski characters.
http://homiebear.blogspot.com/2008/12/fanart-friday-big-lebowski-couple-of.html

I’m pretty sure we’ve mentioned this before, but the film Cutter’s Way is strikingly Lebowski-themed.  It stars Jeff Bridges who is a bit of a deadbeat, he has a buddy who just got back from Vietnam, there’s a car bashing scene, etc, etc.  Jebidiah Ayers has some good notes about some of the similarities between the two films.  It’s interesting that this isn’t something the Coens have talked about before.  Many films are like this though.  Even if a film isn’t re-made/copied, they usually borrow bits and pieces from other examples of pop culture. 
http://spaceythompson.blogspot.com/2008/12/lebowski-bone.html

Liz and I have been out and about the past week or so with holiday activities and a wedding.  We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hannukah, New Year or whatever you celebrate.

We haven’t  had much action on the t-shirt contest so if you bought a shirt, please email us, otherwise we have no idea who you are.

In other news, we’re going to be starting a new thing with the podcast.  We used to read off every email that we received when we first started, but after a while we started getting so many emails there was no way we could read them all on the episodes.  Instead of just picking a few good ones or just reading a line or two, I foolishly decided to just stop recognizing our listeners who were contacting us.  I appologize.  To kick off the new year, we’re going to start highlighting one listener a month.  I sent out an email to those of you who have contacted us in the past.  Liz and I already have a few ideas on some we would like to recognize at first, but if you would like to take part in this, just let us know.  There are a lot of you who have been supporting us from the start and we feel your time is due.

In other news, we were watching Knocked Up for the umpteenth time today and it just dawned on us that Seth Rogen’s character could very well be The Dude in his early days.  You know, back when he might have been a roadie for Metallica.  We have a running list of movies to talk about/have episodes about and this one is on there.  So you might hear us talking about it in the near future.

By Chalupa
Lebowski Podcast

I wouldn’t say the title has great meaning to it, however it just happens to be my favorite line as of late. It can be applied to oh so many things. You might remember it from the second limo scene in The Big Lebowski. Mr. Lebowski’s limo driver has just thrown the Dude into the back of the car to talk with Mr. Lebowski and Brandt.

            DUDE

“Well sure man, look at it! Ya know. A young trophy wife, in the parlance of our times, ya know. She uh, uh, owes money all over town, including to known pornographers–ha,and that’s cool, that’s that’s cool–I-I’m saying, she needs money man, and uh, you know, of course they’re gonna say they didn’t get it, uh uh, because she wants more, man, she’s gotta feed the monkey, I I mean–uh, hasn’t that ever occurred to you man? Sir?”

The Dude is informing his new employer of sorts that Bunny, Mr. Lebowski’s wife, may not be completely on the up and up. Is this really our concern? Is Mr. Lebowski as shocked as he appears? In all honestly this probably doesn’t concern us too much in our daily lives, but with the economies of the world taking a turn for the worst, I think there’s some wisdom imbedded here.

In this movie I see two types of characters who deal with money in different ways: some who are influenced by it and some who are affected by it. Some of the characters are clearly driven by money and the pursuit of possessions: just look at Mr. Lebowski. Here’s a man working so hard to keep up the facade of wealth and prosperity he sinks to embezzling money from a fund for the underprivileged youth in his community. Jackie Treehorn is a pornography baron, masquerading as a publisher, who employs foreigners and runaways, sucking them into a spiral of unrecoverable debt. You also have Walter who, even though he means well, tends to mess everything up by trying to help out and make a few bucks while he’s at it.

Then there are those affected by the the actions of those people. Bunny has gotten herself into pornography and has married an older “rich” man (not too unlike Anna Nicole Smith…except The Big Lebowski wasn’t really rich). I’m sure Fawn – Bunny’s real name – just wanted to get out of Minnesota and become an actress; it’s a dream that won’t be realized any time soon. Marty the landlord will soon have to deal with the repair of the Dude’s bungalow. I sincerely hope Larry Seller’s neighbor got full coverage on that red Corvette. And then there’s Donny…poor Donny. All Donny ever wanted to do was fit in. He had found his niche, his pals, and a place to call his own. Then it all came crashing down in the form of a heart attack brought on by a couple of self-proclaimed nihilists demanding every last cent from his pockets.

Lastly, I come to the Dude. The Dude abides, right? He doesn’t let all of this nonsense get to him. He also has the inner fortitude to stand up to his bullies and do what’s right no matter what the cost, am I wrong? The closer I look, I’m not so sure. The Dude pays for his half-n-half and coffee at the diner, but steals a rug from Mr. Lebowski. The Dude seems concerned for Bunny’s well being yet accepts offers of $20,000, $50,000 and $100,000 to participate in the three-ring circus of delivering the stolen money (for Mr. Lebowski), retrieving the stolen money (for Maude Lebowski), and helping to settle Bunny’s tab with Treehorn’s production company. He also immediately rolls over on Larry Sellers, a 15 yr-old delinquent struggling in school with a rocky future and a father confined to an iron lung. Knowing first-hand what Treehorn’s thugs are capable of, is the Dude so noble to rat out this unlucky teenager for a 10% finder’s fee? You might also accuse the Dude of tax evasion for trying to accept payment from Mr. Lebowski in the form of cash to prevent being bumped into a higher tax bracket.

Am I stepping on toes here? Is the Dude not as Dude-like as we think him to be? Don’t worry; I haven’t gone off the deep end. There are just a lot of strands in old Chalupa’s head and the Dude’s finances are not the issue. What we really need to be looking at is the money. Money is a deep-rooted theme in the film, but when do we actually see it? Other than the Dude writing a check at his local Ralph’s, we see actual cash only two other times in the film. The first would be old Duder rustling some change out of his pocket to pay for his coffee and the second would be when Dude and Donny are emptying their wallets to appease the nihilists. So what about all the other money? What about the million dollars and the other thousands offered to the Dude in rewards? Did any of it really exist?

While Walter views most of the shenanigans as a “series of victimless crimes,” I see the current state of the economy victimizing many. Some may be victims of poor financial choices and planning, but many others are just victims at no fault of their own. Most of the banking and financial system seems to work with the same kind of “imaginary” money that’s thrown around so easily in The Big Lebowski. So what can we do to weather through these times of uncertainty? I think the Dude might have a few tips to give…

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Yeah, yeah, I know this is a worn-out motto, but it’s true. The Dude was a bit of a minimalist. He didn’t wash his clothes everyday or have a big house full of fancy stuff. It’s very easy to get caught up in the commercialism of life. Sometimes there are alternatives to going out and getting something new.

• Take advantage of the freebies – How many times did the Dude drink a caucasian? How many times did we see him pay for one? We also see the Dude taking full advantage of snack trays everywhere he went. Free things are out there, you just have to look for them.

• Old technology still gets the job done – The Dude enjoyed listening to his tapes on the walkman and in the car. CDs were definitely available at that time, but the Dude was perfectly content at continuing to listen to his tunes on what he had. He didn’t need a discman, and he probably wouldn’t have an iPod if the movie took place today. Just because something isn’t trendy doesn’t mean it’s not useful.

• Stick to a budget – After Dude, Donny, and Walter tried to rough up Larry, they stopped at the In N Out before going home. You might have noticed the Dude wasn’t partaking of a delicious double double. Some say the Dude was too worked up over the recent damage to his car, but I think it just wasn’t in the budget and once again, Duder was a conscientious objector.

• Cell phone? - I know bag phones were about as close as you could get to a modern cell, but the Dude didn’t really need one in his daily life. He just let everyone know he’d be at the bowling alley so they could call him there. If you’re looking for one utility bill to cut, you can always find a new hangout and let it be known where you’ll be every night.

Well these are just a few tips, and i’m sure you can come up with some more. You might also be interested in checking out the most recent Lebowski Podcast episode on the same topic. As always, we appreciate your notes.

The Dude Abides.

In the holiday season, I thought it would be appropriate to bring up Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the temple.  Why? you might ask?  Well I’ll tell you why.  It’s because of 3,000 years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax - that’s why.  I don’t really know much about Hanukkah, other than it’s alternate spelling Chanukah, it’s sometimes called The Festival of Lights, lasts 8 nights and Adam Sandler likes to sing about it.

So I looked up a few things and here’s what I found.  Any other insights would be greatly appreciated since we’re a bunch of amateurs on the subject.

What is Hanukkah?
Going Green for Hanukkah
Thousands gather for menorah lighting
Stars of David: A-listers do Chanukah

We’re not completely snowed in, but we’re definitely getting snow.  I think somebody put in a favor for a white Christmas.  So what kind of things are there to do in a time like this?  Liz "gets" to go to work cause she is employed at the mall…they’re a bunch of facsists there when it comes to weather.  They kind of set the precedent though of when the weather is bad you can come to the mall.  Then there’s also the people that show up perpetuating the cycle…so it’s most likely a chicken-egg thing.

I’ve asked myself what the Dude would do.  I’m not sure he would know what to do living in the sunny land of California.  He would probably call Walter for help on something.  Right now I’ve been re-watching Battlestar Galactica episodes while waiting to see the next installment of season 4.  I’ve also been focusing on making tasty snacks to keep my strength up.  Lately I’ve been making loaded hotdogs.

Other than the takin it easy factor, I think it’s important to be a good friend and neighbor in times like these.  Make sure your neighbors are ok.  Help a stranger shovel their driveway.  Hold the door open for people.  Stay alert when you’re driving around for those people who forget to look when crossing the street.  I think that’s what the Dude would do.  Have any other Dude winter weather tips?  We’d love to hear em.

These links are a little old, but I still wanted to share them.  The first is a movie trailer mashup of The Big Lebowski and Bladerunner.  Two classic films meshed together better than any mashup I’ve seen in ages.  The second is Day 2 from The 25 Days of Newman.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

Trailer mashup

25 Days of Newman

Just came across the link to a great article on Dudespaper.  Clark Collis, from Entertainment Weekly, chimes in with life lessons learned from The Big Lebowski. 
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20184264,00.html

There has been a lot of presidential talk with Obama being elected, Oliver Stone’s W coming out and Frost/Nixon being recently released.  Many people bring up Jeff Bridges’ performance in The Contender, which we reviewed in an episode a while back.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2620&u_sid=10501232

For those of you who have heard my thoughts on Terry Gilliam’s Tideland, you most likely know my dislike for that film.  I got suckered in by somebody telling me Jeff Bridges played "the dude" in it.  Well, I didn’t exactly agree with that synopsis and had to force myself to finish watching the thing.    I found a blog with some thoughts on the movie, in defense of Gilliam’s project.  I can’t say I’ve changed my mind, but some things make more sense now.
http://spanghew.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-defense-of-terry-gilliams-tideland.html

As mentioned at the end of Tom’s NYC Fest review, there is a contest happening as of today.  If you buy a t-shirt from our Store section, send us an email telling us your order number and what you bought.  The tenth person to do so wins an autographed copy (by Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt) of I'’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski.  This offer lasts until our anniversary episode is posted in January 2009.

Carter Burwell’s new album came out yesterday.  "Who’s he?" you ask?  Well dude, he just so happens to be the composer on many a Coen film.  He also does occassionally compose for other filmmakers as well.  This latest happens to be the score for Twilight - that new vampire movie the pre-teens are all excited about.

Scheduled to be released in the spring, we’re all looking forward to Cathleen Falsani’s new book, The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers.  Dan from A Payne Hollow Visit has a few thoughts on the book as well as some comments.

A couple of fellow dudes properly celebrated with a "Dude Day."

According to Clint, the new Screen Gems senior VP, Nick Phillips, is a Lebowski fan.  And yes, proud we are of all of them.