I couldn't have said it better myself.  Here's a great article by Sarah Adams on how to treat pizza delivery people.  If there's one thing I learned in high school about pizza, it was all the stories my friends gave me about working at a local pizza place and making deliveries.  All you have to do is make one of them mad and you're pretty much screwed until you move out of their delivery range.  I think this article could extend to many other professions, but today we honor the Pizza Dude.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4651531

If you're like me, you're always waiting for a good deal on those DVDs or Blu-rays that need to be in your collection.  At the end of the month, August 30, a Blu-ray collection of Coen Brother films will be released.  In the set are:

• Blood Simple
• Miller's Crossing
• Raising Arizona
• Fargo

It's really too bad this set will not include The Big Lebowski, but for the modest price of $47.99 at Amazon it's hard to argue.

My buddy B-Styx at work sent me this link the other day.  Someone wrote a program in Python to create poetry from the script for The Big Lebowski.  This is pretty interesting, man.  I've seen a Lebowski Haiku generator.  This one's a bit different, but just as darned interesting.

http://aaronuhrmacher.com/python/lebowski-poetics-with-python/

If you've been following Lebowski Fest's Facebook page, you most likely were on the edge of your seat for about a week.  I think everyone was surprised to learn Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and Julianne Moore are reuniting for a New york City Lebowski Fest in mid August.  Unfortunately we cannot attend due to several reasons.  We're looking forward to hearing how it goes.  If you're interested in going, check out the link for more information.

http://www.lebowskifest.com/UpcomingFests/LebowskiFestNewYorkBluRayCastReunion/tabid/233/Default.aspx

As we mentioned earlier, there's a lot going on next month with Jeff Bridges' album coming out and the Blu-ray release.  August 15-16 is the Fest and both the Blu-ray and album come out on the 16th.  You can pre-order your copy of both at Amazon.

The Big Lebowski (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray Book + Digital Copy]

Jeff Bridges by Jeff Bridges

John Goodman (aka Walter Sobchak) will be joining the cast of Community for their 3rd season.  He'll be playing the Dean of the School of Air Conditioning Repair.  If this doesn't sound ridiculous enough only to be at Greendale Community College, I'm not sure what would be.

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a331637/john-goodman-joins-season-three-of-community.html

Looking for a new place to live?  Do you have a couple million dollars and want to live in Venice, CA?  Perfect!  You can buy the six, one-apartment group of buildings where The Dude and Marty (landlord) lived.  All you need to do is contact Bulldog Realtors (http://www.bulldogrealtors.com/pages/property_detail/venezia-606.html) and put in a bid.

(See where the sidewalk curves?  That's where The Dude walked around on his way in.)

http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/2011/07/big_lebowski_realty.php

Unfortunately it's not exactly in the same condition as when the Coens and Roger Deakins shot scenes from The Big Lebowski there.  Whomever bought/owned the property after the film was created made some major upgrade to the premesis.  I think it's fair to say The Dude's bungalow is worth more than his sweater.

Edit: I forgot to mention the scenes inside The Dude's home were not actually shot here.  They just used the exterior and the front door, the inside of the bungalow was all shot on a set/sound stage, man.

Remember what I said last night about celebrities doing a round of shows while in town?  This morning I read that el Duderino will be playing on the Colbert Report on August 17th.  Be sure to tune in.  I'll keep reporting other appearances as I find them.  If you're curious about his new album coming out, here's a short article and track listing from Ultimate Guitar.com.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/jeff_bridges_to_release_self-titled_major-label_debut_album.html

Bridges to play on the Colbert Report - http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/116295/jeff-bridges-to-perform-on-stephen-colbert/

Came across this link today and I'm going to be completely up front - I don't get it.

http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/2011/07/22/demotivational-posters-big-lebowskis-walter-lego/

Part of it probably has to do with the title "Walter Lego" instead of Lego Walter, am I wrong?  Am I wrong?

Next month The Big Lebowski will be released on Blu-ray August 16, 2011.  If you go to Jeff Bridges' website you'll notice he's making an appearance at a Barnes N Noble in New York City.  I'm sure there will be other things happening with the Blu-ray release.  I wonder if they might get more of the cast lined up for an appearance in NYC.  The Dude will most likely be on some TV talk shows as well.  They usually try to schedule that stuff all at the same time when a big name is in a city.  Keep your eyes peeled and your ears tuned for more news.  We'll post anything else we find out.

Jeff Bridges' website - http://www.jeffbridges.com/appearances.html

Pre-order the Blu Ray at Amazon - The Big Lebowski (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray Book + Digital Copy]

Edit: I forgot to mention Jeff Bridges also has a new music album coming out on the same date as the Blu-ray release

Believe it or not, there are academics out there just as excited about your favorite film as you are.  A friend of mine, Professor Tim, is even writing a doctoral dissertation based on the film.  Sound crazy?  You should go check out a book co-edited by a couple of English profs called The Year's Work in Lebowski Studies.  Last year Prof. Tim and I sat down to briefly discuss his dissertation and just talk pop-culture surrounding the film.  We apologize for bringing it to you a year late, but we assure you it's still quite interesting.  Stay tuned in the next couple weeks for our review of the 10th Annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville, KY that occurred earlier this month.

Click here to listen to Episode 54 - Prof Tim's Dissertation