The Dude Abides

 "The Dude abides.  I don't know about you but I take comfort in that.  It's good knowin' he's out there.  The Dude.  Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners.  I sure hope he makes the finals."

 "This aggression will not stand, man!"

You had to know this was coming if you've taken a look at my blog roll and seen the link to Lebowski Fest, a celebration of all things Lebowski, more properly known as The Big Lebowski, the Coen brothers 1998 movie and my favorite of their films. This summer Lebowski Fest will be coming to bowling alleys in Milwaukee (June) and Louisville (July). 

Set in Los Angeles in 1990 during the run up to the First Gulf War (and yes, there is a reason for it plotwise though the plot is secondary in this movie, maybe even tertiary or tangential) it features the adventures of Jeffrey Lebowski, aka The Dude (Jeff Bridges), Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) and Donnie (Steve Buscemi) as they bowl, look for missing persons, encounter nihilists ("I mean say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos"), have strange dream sequences (featuring bowling, of course) and celebrate the bonds that hold us all together ("three thousand years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax").  And, if you hate The Eagles, it's definitely the movie for you.

Here's a little taste (WARNING: probably not appropriate for work or, for that matter, children and small animals):

The movie has spawned hundreds of websites and YouTube video tributes ranging from Two Gentleman of Lebowski, which presents The Bard's take on The Dude, to the Big Lebowski Random Quote Generator and a ton of videos with favorite quotes like this one.

Let's go bowling.

Oh, and never take a bath with a marmot.  Just take my word on this one.