For years now I've seen re-done movie trailers where films are made to look nothing like what they actually are.  Some of you might argue this happens already with the way some Hollywood production companies give away all the good parts to sucker you in.  I haven't seen too many examples of "new" movie posters being made with different people acting the parts though.  Here's a great article showing posters for a variety of films from the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/martin-newman/peter-stults-retro-reimaginings-of-classic-movie-posters_b_1217257.html?ref=uk

Here are a couple I'm partial to...

For those of you who stopped by yesterday and noticed the site was down, I hope you're aware of the circumstances.  The United States House of Representatives and Senate were considering a vote on two bills - SOPA and PIPA.  SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act and PIPA stands for Protect IP (Internet Protocol) Act.  These two bills were aimed at making a stand in the long war against pirating copyrighted material.  This all really became apparent to me back in the day when Metallica brought down Napster.  Since then there was been a battle raging between studios and records labels against their customers.  I'd bet money these two bills were largely established by those wanting to profit from them whether anyone would admit it or not.  In the spirit of The Dude, we decided to lock arms with our compeers across the internet and take a stand.  It's not exactly the Seatle Seven, and we didn't smoke any thai stick or occupy various administration buildings...but I like to think we did our part.

If you'd like to tell the US government you think these two bills are a bunch of malarky, feel free to check out the link below.  Fortunately it appears both sides of Congress have decided to back down...for now.

http://google.com/takeaction

SOPA - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act

PIPA -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_Act

Big Lebowski: The Musical
On Saturday February 11th, 2012 you'll have a chance to watch a live rock opera based on The Big Lebowski.  The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $10/$12 at the door.  I wish I was closer to the Motorco Music Hall in Durham, NC.

http://motorcomusic.com/big-lebowski-the-musical

I've recently started watching Portlandia, Fred Armisen's show poking fun at Portland, OR, so I'm feeling very up to date on the hipster culture of the Northwest.  I'm sure most of you are aware Pendleton recently created a new "dude" sweater loosely based off the original design.  Many Achievers are split on whether or not to embrace the product.  I think the sweater looks nice, it's in now way a "Dude Sweater," and if it was priced for $50 I'd instantly purchase one...but that's just like, my opinion, man.

So here's a story about a wedding where the grooms all wore these new Pendletons.  Of course Pendleton loves it for their PR stuff, and it just so happens to come from Portland, OR.  Sounds like the basis for a Portlandia episode if you ask me.

http://blog.pendleton-usa.com/2011/12/22/a-very-lebowski-wedding/

I dug this old story from September up today.  Mitt Romney, in an effort to align himself with more "common folk," has talked about eating at Carl's Jr (aka Hardees) and enjoying $5 Footlongs from Subway.  Apparently at one point he talked about sharing his love of Coen Brother films including The Big Lebowski.  It was reported his favorite film is O, Brother Where Art Thou?  Is this what everyday Americans do?  This really reminds me of Barton Fink ranting about the common man, am I wrong?  Am I wrong?

I don't really know what to think of Romney.  It's hard to relate to a guy worth $200 million who, I heard this today, has a $100 million trust set up for his kids.  I don't know about you, but I've never offered a $10,000 bet to prove a line wasn't in a book.  I'm more of a $1 - $10 betting kind of man.  Do I have it all wrong?  Should Achievers and Lebowski fans vote this man into office?  Give the dudes some advice here, man.

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/144213/mitt-romney-wants-you-to-know-that-he-likes-the-coen-brothers/

I saw Amazon now offers a replica Quintana bowling bag.  It looks pretty decent, but I'm guessing this is mostly a Halloween prop, not something you'd actually use long term as a serious bowler.

Here's some video from the LA Fest last year.  I was there, so I'm finding it interesting remembering faces and people, etc.  Check it out.

Living Lebowski, Dude from KPCC on Vimeo.

I know some of you probably have both Fargo and The Big Lebowski at home on your film shelves, but here's a chance to see them both as a double feature in Alabama.

Tomorrow night (Jan 12, 2004) doors will open at 6:30pm and the fun will kick off at 7:00pm at the Alabama Theater in Birmingham, AL.  Caucasians will be sold for $6 and they'd love it if you came in costume.  Check out the link below for more information and the theater's schedule for upcoming film series.

http://magiccitypost.com/2012/01/10/black-and-whites-thursday-cinema-club-is-back/

What's Inside Llewyn Davis?  That'd be the Coen Brothers' next film, Donny.  The casting call has been made and you have a chance to be in the film. 

Let me repeat that - THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO ACT IN A COEN FILM.

Shooting will start Feb 4, 2012 and last through April 4, 2012.  The first chance was last week, and your next opportunity is Jan 14th and 15th 2012 in New York City.  Check the link below and let us know how it goes.

http://thunderdome-.tumblr.com/post/15460677881

When I was in 2nd grade I got the chicken pox and stayed home for a week.  During that time I took up cross stitching.  It's really a shame I didn't have cool patterns like this to try.

Check out Jessica Lea's post and images here - http://weirdontheavenue.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/lebowskmas/

Inspiration for the image came from Andy Rash - http://iotacons.blogspot.com/2011/12/big-lebowski-cross-stitch.html