Lebowski Fest Chicago is Growing

I just found out, thanks to the Lebowski Podcast's Chalupa, the latest example of how Chicago is embracing the soon to arrive Speed of Sound Tour.

-It starts with a screening of The Achievers: The Story of Lebowski Fans on Thursday September 10.


-Don't forget out about Rolling Outta Here Naked: A Big Lebowski Burlesque every Saturday in September.



-Obviously, the official Lebowski Fest Movie Party is Sunday September 13.


Check out what's happening just before the first Bowling Party starts!



Here's my official recommendation for how you should RSVP:

[TQ]

Very free-spirited

Lebowski Fest Chicago officially takes place Sunday September 13 - Tuesday September 15.
However, there's much more to do in the area if you are an Achiever in Chicago that weekend.
The Thursday prior to LF-Chicago, September 10, a special screening of The Achievers will play at the Portage Theater.

The Portage Theater, located on Milwaukee Ave in the great city of Chicago, is also the location of the official Lebowski Fest Chicago Movie Party on Sunday September 13.
However, something a lot more... revealing... is occurring just down the street from the Portage at Gorilla Tango Theater.


"Rolling Outta Here Naked: A Big Lebowski Burlesque" by the Achievers at Vaudezilla is the perfect pre-party for Lebowski Fest Chicago.

I am very excited to report that this crew is scheduled to appear before the movie is screened at the Movie Party. I asked one of the organizers, Red Hot Annie for some more info and she told me that they are doing a "handful of acts" from their show. Don't be fatuous, I don't think she was being literal with her word choice. But here are five reasons why you shouldn't settle for just their appearance during the Movie Party.

5: I'm not the only one with this opinion. They have recently received mentions from NBC Chicago and Centerstage along with their peers at Burlesque Baby and Candy Pitch. This review from Chicago Reader is hot off the figurative press!



4: There is just one Movie Party and two Bowling Parties with the Founding Dudes, but four chances to see "Rolling Out of Here Naked: A Big Lebowski Burlesque." You can catch it every Saturday in September at Gorilla Tango Theater. The opening show of Saturday September 3 is nearly sold out! Yours truly will be in attendance at the September 10th performance and I highly suspect their Portage Theater appearance will make the last two shows a sought after scene.

3: You are not dealing with a bunch of fucking amateurs here. Check out vaudezilla.com to see what else they have done. Now it's tough for me to attribute any level of legitimate opinion to a burlesque show. With the exception of a 15 minute underwhelming performance at the now defunct Tangerine Nightclub (which was located inside Treasure Island, Las Vegas), I haven't had any exposure to the artform. That being said, these people have made a believer out of me. Here's a picture of Wham Bam Pam and Red Hot Annie showing off their costume prep progress:



2: Their level of dedication is beyond your average Achiever. At my last Lebowski Fest in Louisville there were a couple people dressed up as Marty the Landlord. But did any of them make the follicle commitment of a Mr. Dick Dijon?



1: Maria May I.
Jesus.



The first I heard of these performances was when Dick Dijon posted that above poster on the Achiever Forum. He was smart to mention that The Woman Behind the Ball was Maria May I, and that she was in fact performing in the show. Without the help of a Brother Shamus, relying on my powers of logic and deduction (not to mention a junior high quality crush) I was able to find Maria May I's blog, and thankfully received permission to use the above purple jumpsuited picture.

On a personal level, I hope to see a lot of Achievers alongside me at Gorilla Tango Theater as we help make September official Lebowski Month in Chicago.

The G*ddamn Plane Has Crashed Into the Amazon

Anytime I mention Eddie Chung's documentary The Achievers, I love to use this photo I took in July 2008:


Today, it came to light.
The last time I saw it, during the 8th Annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville, Eddie mentioned that it would be available on Amazon.com.

I can't find it anywhere on that site.
Chalupa, of the Lebowski Podcast fame (happy birthday to him by the way), reported that Amazon had sold out of it.

"Nothing is fucked here, Dude. Nothing is fucked. They're a bunch of fucking amateurs--"

The limber minds at lebowskifest.com have you covered.
Since Amazon.com failed to achieve, even in the modest task that was their charge, since they have drastically underestimated Achiever Demand, you have no choice but to buy here: It's over in the Pro Shop.
[TQ]

The Midwest really ties the Nation together

Before you go rolling into the semis, make sure you get tickets to the next leg of the Speed of Sound tour.

More info here, man.

On a personal level, the Chicago Movie Party is 9.9 miles away from my private residence. Probably bikeable... That is if I had a bike... or the motivation...

Next you can throw Rocks in Denver September 8 & 9,


Then think of Robin Jones and her sister in the Twin Cities September 11 & 12,


And finally have the Windy City blow your toes off September 13-15


(All before the Tour heads east for the second half of September)[TQ]

I left my Toe in San Francisco

I was in San Francisco last week:



The area is known for many things, for example food:



I was about two weeks too late, check out an awesome photo gallery by Greg The Mayor on Facebook, from the recent Speed of Sound tour stop in the Bay Area.



Is Tour coming to a town near you? Go find out! [TQ]

CORRECTION: This photo gallery is actually from the 2008 San Fran Fest that took place last September.... What year is this?

Lebowski, eh?

Here's a nice picture from someone looking ahead in Toronto.

Signs are appearing again...
People are getting anxious...
Next month...
Can't come quick enough...

AM I WRONG?



[TQ]

Quick Strikes!

There have been a lotta strands in my mind in the last month.
Although I've had the time to have these thoughts congeal, I'm making the rash decision to just throw a bunch of them at you at once - with the hopes that some of them stick:

Jim Hoosier ("Liam") found me on facebook and asked me to be his friend?!
How cool is that?



At a housewarming party for a friend two weekends ago, their neighbor came over with a dog.
I said, "I think it's a Pomeranian" and promptly began laughing hysterically at my own joke.
Another party goer looked at me and said, "Got a thing for dogs?"
That pretty much knocked me out of my jovial mood, until I replied...
"Obviously, you're not a golfer (long pause) uh, it's a Lebowski reference"



PREDICTION: The "Marty" on the left of the above picture will win first place at the 9th Annual Trivia Contest.
Also, in a reincarnation of the 7th Annual's "Sex Offender with a Record" he should win the unofficial "Spirit of the Fest" award... In more ways than one, he was able to convey his joy that Lebowski Fest truly was the venue he wanted.



Cody and Holly, please find me on facebook! I need to know if Cody reciprocates and flys out to Denver to go to the Lebowski Fest out there. On a personal level, I was touched by your story - and hope you heard the latest episode of the Lebowski Podcast to hear your story. (bonus tidbit: did I sound like a drunken Christopher Walken or what?)



When I first walked up to Bob ("Walter") during the Garden Party to take his picture, he put down his dog carrier, and took a toy gun out of his bowling ball bag (which was in a cloth!). I was instantly impressed... And after he tagged himself in the above picture, I realized that the prevoius twenty some pictures he was tagged in were at his recent wedding. The dichotomy was marvelous.



In a story almost too wonderful to believe - the above two are engaged.
The story is that they met for the first time at a Lebowski Fest.
One lives in Nashville, the other in Birmingham, and they travel a long distance to see each other - and to bowl.



People think I will go to any lenghts to get a laugh.
Thankfully, they haven't realized that I have limits.
Limits, which Scoop of the 7:11 crew don't seem to have.
Capturing his own interpration of Marty's cycle at the Movie Party is one of my personal favorite Lebowski Fest accomplishments.


September 13 and the Portage Theatre, can't arrive soon enough for me!


This week I leave for San Francisco - cousin's wedding.
Just when I thought the days of the ol' Family Vacation days were in my past.
All four of us (the nuclear family) are now over 30 and "grown-ups."
We each were given one "touristy" location to pick.
Obviously, I used my choice to ensure that we plan on having burgers at In-N-Out!

See ya on the other end of my vacation![TQ]

Lebowski Fest Photo Debrief: To be or not to be?

Since July 20 I have been clicking back to LEBLOGSKI to see the steady flow of pictures and general what-have-you from the West Coast leg of the Speed of Sound tour. Before I get into the heart of the topic I want to chronicle, achiever photo posturing, I just want to mention how much I appreciated the steady and constant updates. People were really putting their mobile uploading prowess to work on the Left Coast (not some sort of Eastern thing?).

I must have looked at close to 300 unique pictures over the last month. There is an important question that pops into a lot of minds shortly before their picture is taken at a Lebowski Fest – especially if in a specific costume: Do I smile or should I remain in character?

This question is especially challenging for all the Walters of Lebowski Fests.
Although he may be calmer than you are, we don’t see Walter smile much.
(With the exception of his sarcastic smile when he states that he wouldn’t dream of taking bullshit money)

Time for a quick couple examples:


It has to be a very difficult decision for these Achievers.
People want to take a picture of these great Walters.
If you are one of these about-t0-be-photographed Walters - do you smile as you would for nearly every other photo op? Smile to convey the amount of fun you are currently experiencing at a Lebowski Fest?

...Or do you remain locked in character?... Thinking that is exactly what your fellow Achiever wants to capture?


Since I wasn't at any of the West Coast locations, it is impossible for me to know which one the more recent Walters could have been as intimidatingly accurate as the above "Best Walter" from the 8th Annual in Louisville.

There were more than a few that obviously involved method acting to their costume:


(I regret not starting a conversation with the above stranger... To make him less of one to me... Even with a candid photo like this he was still in character - just soaking it in)


(Very self explanatory... I heard stories of a few Achievers freakin' out thinking he was a legit authoritative presence.... Little did they know he in many ways is)

On the other side of the coin, here's one of my more favorite examples of someone abandoning the spirit of their costume to illustrate the bliss of Lebowski Fest:



This was a quick, "Hey can I take your picture!?" from me as I walked past him in the bowling alley. It's important to note this happens a lot: complete strangers stopping costumed others in their tracks asking for a quick picture. Amazingly, everyone almost always complies. And I think I took the above picture too quick for him to get a "I f*ck you in the ass!" face, but thankfully not too quick so he didn't draw his sword.

But there are plenty of pictures of Nihilists to go around:

(His girlfriend has every right to look upset, she thought she would get a million dollars)

Please forward your pictures to Lebowskifest.com, all of us not able to make it out there appreciate attending vicariously through the pictures.[TQ]