Earlier this year Leia Bell hosted ”This Aggression will not Stand Man“  a Big Lebowksi themed print exchange show at her Signed and Numbered gallery  in Salt Lake.  Matt Lloyd’s take on Jesus Quintana aka “the Purple Jesus” was one of the standouts of the show and help earn him a one man show at Signed and Numbered this month.  The main theme of the show is HBO’s “the Wire” series with each print highlighting a character from the show and a related quote. There’s also a sampling from his blues inspired pieces including Professor Longhair and Muddy Waters – you can also check out the Quintana piece, Obama/Lincoln mixandmashed and a few others.  Lloyd made it over to the States from his hometown in Brighton, UK and talked about the insperado and a few of his favorite characters.

Not quite sure how long the show runs but go check out the gallery before they head to their new digs in Sugarhouse and Kilby around the end of next month.

221 EAST BROADWAY (300 SOUTH – under Slowtrain Music)
Salt Lake City, Utah
801-596-2093

Je cherchais des nouvelles du “dude” alias Jeff bridges vous l’avez reconnu , immense acteur charismatique à la voix absolument magique quand je suis tombé sur le site cinema teaser …
des chroniques critiques , des potins people pour les plus feignants d’entre nous mais attiré par le clinquant , des sorties prévues, et un esprit geek complétement assumé…
Dans un style beaucoup plus “critiques cinés” mais bien écrit et sans concession ( pas de druckerisation ou de michel denisot ici ) ; Le blog de rob Gordon qui a , selon lui “toujours raison”….

Tava vendo The Big Lebowski e lembrei como esse drink é sensacional. Bem fácil de fazer, é uma variação do Black Russian, mas o creme de leite dá um sabor e consistencia interessantes. Apesar do nome, o drink foi criado nos EUA, e agora no dia 21 faz 44 anos. Como todo drink, existem várias formas de se preparar, algumas receitas levam leite e nata, outras creme de leite, algumas mandam bater, eu prefiro misturar. Gosto muito de vodka, acho perfeito pra drinks e alguns pratos. Tenho uma receita de penne com vodka que fica bem interessante, depois deixo aqui. Segue a forma como preparo:

• 1 dose de vodka
• 3/4 de licor de café (Kahlúa ou Tia Maria)
• Creme de leite fresco
• Gelo

Deite a vodka e o licor no fundo do copo, bata o creme de leite com gelo e deite por cima. Acrescente mais uma pedra de gelo e sirva.

Sigh. Decency FAIL.

So it’s official… my last day for FYE is on Tuesday! I still tend to lose my shit around Jimmy because of all the COMPLETE AND UTTER BULLSHIT. Had a few customers tell me how helpful I was and ask why I wasn’t in management. I just smiled and said, I will be…but not at for this company. It’s always nice to feel appreciated by customers even when the higher-ups around you are laying everyone to waste.

Dana…where are the rest of the pics from your trip? Kudos for cleaning out your plumbing (though it will never be a cobwebbed hot-mess like mine was) I added Amanda too on facebook. Just sayin’.

Wordup DS, hope the new j-o-b is still going smoothly and I will be by sometime to give you stuff to procure some pizza.

Everyone else, hope you had a helluva Halloween.

Now, I will play Katamari Forever. Explained:

“Katamari Forever, staying true to the eccentric Katamari universe and its unique gameplay, will use the Princes’ Katamari to roll up everyday objects. The more objects the Prince rolls up, the larger his Katamari becomes, allowing him to roll up even bigger items. “

YOU CAN ROLL UP PEOPLE AND HOUSES AND CATS. OH BOY. I know it sounds simple and stupid…but oh man…like Tetris, you fall deep into a Katamari hole…….

hahaha. K-Hole. Well. It’s infectious, Japanese, and has a metric shit-ton of bright colors!

Going to post some pictures of a boat ride with a few Dingles (it never gets old) on Hillsborough River as soon as I have in my possession a new memory card reader.

Don’t ask me what I’m doing for my birthday. I have no idea yet. Except for this:

The Big Lebowski” on 11/13! @ Beach Theatre! On Friday, November 13, join us for a repeat showing of “The Big Lebowski!” White Russians will be served. For more information, please see our Friday Night Cult Flicks page!

Hopefully there will be a showing after 9:30PM…just in case I’m working that night.

I want to go to Legoland in California And did you know the plural of Lego is Lego, not Legos or Legoes? Patrick let me in on that hint. Whatever. I’m still calling them Legos. In fact if I ever get to Legoland, I’m going to use “Legos” as much as possible.

dunnnnunununuh.

Jake Karlsruher

“The outer defenses are wea—

“The outer defenses will hold!  You need to start planning the counter offensive and stop worrying about the integrity of the base”

“Yes, sir, on it sir.  The enemy approaches!  Prepare for defensive measures?”

“Yes lieutenant, ready the archers.”

“Archers Ready!”

“…Brace yourself….”

WHO WANTS MILK AND COOKIES?

Andrew the Conqueror, my older brother, poked his head out of our blanket and cushion fort; he was mortified. “MOMMM!  NOT NOW!”

Andrew and I never played cops and robbers.  We played Fort.  I loved Fort; it got me through 11^th grade.  Kidding.  But seriously, Andrew and I defended that Fort with our lives. Were we participating in a game, or was this simply play?  Or was it a desperate attempt to fill our heads with illusions of grandeur because we were too afraid to talk to girls?  It was probably the latter, but we’ll focus on the first question: Game or Play?

For something to be a game, it must only follow one rule: there are rules.  All parties involved in playing the game must agree on these rules.  Once these rules are broken, the game collapses, and the activity is now play.  If the America is a Gamespace, then play would be chaos.  Forget that entire chart we saw in class.  The only true indication of a game is whether there are rules.   Fort is game: Andrew and I knew we had to be in the Fort at certain hours of the day, the Fort must be defended at all costs, and leaving the Fort would result in certain death.  There was no quantifiable outcome but there were two parties agreeing on a rule set.   A kid jumping on a trampoline is play, but it is not a game.  There are no rules governing how the kid must jump.

I can hear Thumser complaining about it now.  “But the trampoline could be game where your knees are one person and the trampoline is the other and you all agree on gravity and pain.”  My brilliant opinions only work if you use true definitions and don’t stretch the truth.  By stretching definitions I could prove Winston Churchill was a carrot (http://www.koschei.net/blog/archives/000695.html) or that girls are truly the Root of all Evil. As the real Homer once said “Facts are meaningless.  You could use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true. ”

Instead, defining a game requires reason.  I think of it as my Big Lebowski Theorem (“This isn’t Nam, Donnie.  There are rules”).  Are there truly rules on which all people agree?  If yes, you’re in a game.  If not, then it is just play…or Nam.

Ah Mike Litoris, how your name doth make me laugh when I say it super fast. Anyway, this post has nothing to do with Mike Litoris or York Litoris for that matter, so get those dirty thoughts out of your mind at once.

It’s 2:46 in the afternoon and I’m still sitting in my boxers and a tshirt; ahhh the student life! I hope my future job involves still being in my jammies at this hour, or even better, to be dressed like The Dude from the Big Lebowski.

Hell's yeah! Tshirt and dressing gown ftw!

Abide.

Oh yeah, I watched part of Saw 3 last night. Thankfully I reminded myself that I do in fact enjoy good films and left the room immediately. I can’t believe they’ve strung this series of movies out to 6 films. That’s 6 films of people being horribly killed in all sorts of twisted manky ways that just make your skin crawl. The bit I saw was the black guy having his arms, legs and head twisted until he died. Mmmm, delicious! In short, watch the first Saw film, if you fancy a bit of a thrill, but other than that avoid it like the plague, or risk your face looking like this from now on:

FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU-

In other news, I’ve been given a pretty awesome first assignment for one of my game design modules. The first question asks us to give our opinion on one of three issues regarding the videogames industry, and the second is to create a game proposal document on any game we can come up with. We were told that we can include artwork too, although no extra marks were given for it. All I heard was ‘You can include artwork’ and ‘extra marks’ so instead of coming up with a solid idea I wrote a title for the first idea that came into my head. My game is to be called ‘The Adventures of a Cuboid Monkey, and here’s a doodle of the title:

yay and it only took me 40 minutes to draw...

Now all I have to do is come up with the actual gameplay mechanics for it and cross my fingers in the hope that I get the cuteness vote. It’s going to be a bestseller!

Coloured it in Photoshop

Sophie is coming over to visit me on Sunday, and is staying for 8 whole days! YAY! I can’t wait for snuggles and huggles and kisses and all the other things that are awesome about our relationship!

Sixty flying grannies, I’m hungry. Time fo’ lunch.

Later.

In case you hadn’t noticed from some of my recent posts, the falling leaves have put me in a Halloween sort of mood. Here’s another one for you.

The Pumpkin Gutter is one fun artist.

His creations cover everything from movie characters

such as The Dude

or

the Terminator

to just creepy stuff like

an eyeball

Here it is lit up.

He even creates your not-so-basic creepy faces.

There are tons more cool jackolanterns of animals, historical and political figures and just the unusual weirdness in the galleries on his site.

For more creepy pumpkin links, here’s a pumpkin carving post from last year.

So our drummer left, we thought Apocalypse  was happening Now

We searched everywhere, from the sticks to Chinatown

In fact we were Raging like a  Bull in the Heat of the Night

felt surreal like Blue Velvet caught ourselves a fright

But we kept on til we found one, then down to business

connected thru our Network now we’re all pistons

we move together like Clockwork, Orange

We move Back to the Future cuz looking back is too boring

We went from Men in Tight spots like Robin Hood

To trying to find our way out of The Wood

We were Hunter’s of Deer  Crouching like Tiger

Keeping our Dragon Hidden til our eyes got wider

Now we Terminator the show

Full Metal Jacket the flow, Tap Spinals

Bring Heat whether on record or Vinyl

We came from an Animal House to become Godfather’s

Worry bout ex band members why bother?

We don’t let it slide, we just know the Dude Abides

This life wasn’t mean to be an Easy Ride

So as we pass the piece, we say, “Peace, until next time”

Halloween is right around the corner.  I have a couple of parties in which to attend…but, what should I do for a costume?!  Should I go topical or traditional? The last successful costume I attempted was about 3 years ago.  Alan and I had a party and dressed as old people.  Gray hair, canes, saggy boobs, and attitudes.  The year before, we went to a party as a murder-suicide couple with bullet wounds in our heads.  It was really creepy but the concept was probably the easiest thing we’ve ever done.  This year, Alan is considering either God (long white hair and a bath robe) or John Goodman’s character from The Big Lebowski.  So I’m left to my own devices.

I Googled it. As usual, traditional costumes for females mostly revolve around seductive kitties or leggy Bo Peeps.  Topical costumes are so much easier for guys–I’ve seen several “balloon boy” options, Billy Mays, Michael Jackson, etc.  Nothing for the ladies, however, unless you think people still care about Sarah Palin or Kate from Jon & Kate plus 8.  I know I don’t. Octomom would be fun and easy. I just want  something that people will naturally want to laugh at.

Topical unisex options include:  teabagger, the swine flu, or the dreadful “public option” healthcare zombie. I have less than two weeks to prepare!!  Frightening!

Images courtesy of the Huffington Post.

Swine Flu--get it? lolz

Octomom

The Public Option

Teabagger

Wow, what an absolutely tough question.  If you had to pick one Coen Bros. movie and call it their best, or your favorite, which would you choose?  That’s what Salon asked of directors, critics, and other insiders recently.  Here’s the article.

The submitters all make good explanations for their ultimate choices, but it’s apparent that they arrived at those choices after a lot of excruciating deliberation.

I myself am torn in 4 different directions, and I haven’t even seen A Serious Man, which looks delicious.  But.  Although each and every one of their films wins thoroughly in the acting, writing, and art direction departments, one stands just a couple of inches above the rest.  So while my heart will always leap with joy whenever I catch Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, or Raising Arizona (or any others, for that matter) playing somewhere, my brain just can’t get enough of No Country For Old Men.

I absolutely love the static, dialog-free segments, the weight of the darkness, the endless progression of motels and hotels.  Even though they snubbed the hitchhiker part from the excellent book by Cormac McCarthy, they also added their own cinemagic that towers over the whole story.  Absolutely brilliant casting in every role, and although I initially frowned on the strange way it ended, I read the book and decided it was always going to end that way.  Kudos.

Allow me to wax politically correct for a moment…

In a post in which he compares Western and Chinese philosophy, Globe blogger Anson Burlingame uses the term “Chinaman” to describe a Chinese person.

I’m sure no offense was meant by Anson. But it should be pointed out that many people of Asian descent have taken offense to the term over the years as it has often been used in a derogatory way.

I’ll give the last word to Walter Sobchak:

“Dude, ‘Chinaman’ is not the preferred nomenclature.”

Crazy4Cult abides…

Hinweis: Dieser Artikel wurde in der Schublade „Mottenkiste“ abgelegt, es handelt sich daher um einen Archivbeitrag, Zeitangaben und aktueller Bezug sind mit Vorsicht zu genießen.

„The Big Lebowski“ von Ethan & Joel Coen.
Bild: Universal Pictures

Jeffrey Lebowski: ein Mann wie ein Sitzsack. Zehn Jahre sind vergangen, seit die Brüder Ethan und Joel Coen ihren Film um die Erlebnisse des Berufsfaulenzers mit dem Spitznamen “The Dude” heraus brachten. Kasse und Kritik waren nicht begeistert, die spätere Fangemeinschaft dagegen umso mehr.

Der Dude lebt ein einfaches Leben. Zwischen Bowling, Entspannungskassetten, Alkohol und gelegentlich einem kleinen Joint genießt er sein ereignisloses Dasein, in einer Gelassenheit die über simple Coolness weit hinaus geht. Die Probleme fangen damit an, dass sich eine Frau namens Lebowski finanziellen Ärger einhandelt. Obwohl es sich dabei natürlich nicht um die Gattin unseres versifften, ledigen Helden handelt, führt die Verwechslung mit seinem Namensvetter zu einem unerfreulichen Ereignis, das das Interieur des Dudes entscheidend verändert. Man mag es als persönlichen Fehler des Dudes ansehen, dass er nun mit seiner Trägheit bricht und aktiv wird. Aber sind wir doch ehrlich: niemand lässt sich gerne auf den Teppich pissen.

Was den Film schon auf den ersten Blick besonders macht, ist seine scheinbare Sinnfreiheit. Namhafte Schauspieler wie Jeff Bridges als Dude oder Julian Moore als Maude Lebowski spielen sich mit professionellem Ernst durch eine Reihe von absurden Situationen und psychedelischen Traumsequenzen. Der Film ist handwerklich wunderbar gestaltet. Bild, Ton und Schnitt sind auf dem üblichen, sehr hohen, Niveau der Coen Brüder. Dennoch macht dies für mich nicht den eigentlichen Charme des Filmes aus. Über den ganzen Film hinweg kann man sich an Details festhalten, die sich durch die Story ziehen. An ihnen lässt sich festmachen, ob und weshalb man den Film mag oder nicht.

Am Filmende jedoch vermittelt uns die interne Erzählinstanz, verkörpert durch einen Cowboy mit eindringlicher Stimme, die eigentliche Botschaft des Filmes: es gibt keine. Es ist eine Geschichte, die aus Freude am Erzählen erzählt wird. Unserem Mann mit Hut, Schnurrbart und dem angenehmen Kratzen in der Stimme ist es selbst vielleicht gar nicht bewusst, aber der Stil seiner Erzählungen strotzt nur so vor Kitsch. «Die Wagen ziehen nach Westen, sie fahren über den Sand der Zeit»: Ja, das ist wirklich Geschwafel. Aber auch darin steckt ein Motiv des Films. Trash, und zwar White Trash.

Wenn der Dude von einem schwarzen Taxifahrer aus dessen Wagen geworfen wird, nur weil er die Eagles nicht mag, dann müsste diese Szene eigentlich überflüssig sein, wenn es dem Film um mehr ginge als nur um das bloße Erzählen. Für jemanden wie mich, der sonst immer sehr gerne hinter die Kulissen schaut, nachforscht und interpretiert, ist dieser Film eine echte Erholung. Denn ‘The Big Lebwoski’ zelebriert die reine Freude am Erzählen, ohne dass eine Notwendigkeit bestünde, das Gesehene aufwendig zu interpretieren.

Den Gebrüdern Coen kann ohnehin egal sein, dass der Film weder die Kritiker noch die Kinogänger beeindruckt hat. Stephen King soll einmal gesagt haben: «Ich bin ein Big Mäc – wie ich schmecke ist egal.» Genau darauf läuft es letztlich hinaus. Die Coen-Brüder haben inzwischen einen Status erreicht, der dem von Quentin Tarantino nahe kommt. Egal was sie drehen, es sind sofort namhafte Schauspieler dabei, und eine treue Fangemeinde wird den Film letztlich profitabel werden lassen. Ist dieser Zustand erstrebenswert?

Sagen wir es so: wenn der Dude von einer Limousine in die nächste gezerrt wird, ohne dabei seinen White Russian zu verschütten, kann man nicht nur auf meinem Gesicht ein Lächeln sehen. Unterhaltsam sind solche Filme also allemal, und vielleicht führt nur eine Einstellung wie die der Coen-Brüder zu dieser Art von Film. Wenn mich jemand verzweifelt fragt, ob ich ihm den Sinn von ‘The Big Lebowski’ erklären könne, verwandelt sich dieses Lächeln in ein Grinsen.

Denn wer weiß: vielleicht lügt uns der Cowboy ja an und es gibt doch eine Botschaft des Films? Also entwerfe ich meinen zehnten oder zwanzigsten Erklärungsentwurf und habe dabei ein diebisches Vergnügen – denn letztlich bietet der Film Ansätze für unzählbare Erklärungsversuche. Mal sehen, vielleicht versuche ich es nächstes Mal mit dem amerikanischen Mythos der Grenze.

The Big Lebowski (USA) von Joel Coen, Drehbuch von Ethan & Joel Coen, lief 1998 in den deutschen Kinos.

„Der Teppich hat das Zimmer erst richtig gemütlich gemacht.“ wurde ursprünglich für schilfgewaechs.de verfasst und dort veröffentlicht.

Who said bowling had rolled a gutter ball in the big city?  Perhaps it’s been a few decades since you wore a pair of those fashionable fungus-breeding petri dishes they call bowling shoes, but the sport is thriving in Chicago.   There are approximately a dozen bowling alleys within the city limits, and several are like time capsules from a long-forgotten era.  One bowling alley–Southport Lanes–boasts  real live breathing pin-setters.   I recently went to the Fireside Lanes on west Fullerton, and it brought back memories from my youth at the Old Orchard Lanes in Skokie.  Sure, the price is no longer 35 cents per game, it’s closer to $25 per hour, but the nostalgia is priceless and The Dude would approve.  And let’s not dwell on the fact that I would prefer to interchange my bowling and golf scores, nevertheless, it was reassuring to discover that some aspects of life are slow to change.

Welcome to the first ActorScope where I examine an actor. ActorScope will be looking at their past, present and future film projects. We’ll also cover trivia, rumours and any cool connections they may have. Our first actor in the spotlight is none other than Jeff Bridges. Scientists have often wondered how someone as cool as Jeff Bridges came into being. I imagine it was a magazine editor who entered a bowling tournament when, suddenly, he was sucked into a computer and was forced to steal his business partners high tech armour to escape.

Jeff Bridges has been in a lot of movies. Born into an acting family, Bridges was raised on the set. I’ll be looking at his more modern films today. I’m sure there are many great films I’ve missed off but I wasn’t alive at the time to watch them. What I have watched is the Big Lebowski. This is a brilliant film. It’s by the Coen brothers so you can expect all the quirky dialogue and vivid visuals that goes with that. The Big Lebowski has a massive cult following, in one day I saw three people wearing different slogans from the film on their t-shirts. The Dude abides, The Dude and Little Lebowski Urban Achievers. For indie film makers the Coen brothers sure know how to merchandise.

I watched Iron Man again the other day. What a fun film. Whilst Robert Downey Jr steals the show, Jeff does a great turn as Obadiah Stane. It is very strange seeing Bridges yelling at scientists when they can’t recreate the Iron Man armour. When the slackers finally do piece it together, Iron Monger’s voice is great. Hearing a guy as cool as Bridges saying “collateral damage” really chills me. I’m sad he won’t be back in the next one.

A Bridges film I’m very keen to see would be Fisher King. Not only does it star the focus of this ActorScope, it’s also directed by Terry Gilliam. We all know I love him. Terry Gilliam is clocking up quite a few tags on this blog now. Wait till the Imagianarium comes out. A film I don’t really want to see is Seabiscuit. Now admittedly seeing Spider-Man and the Iron Monger in one film would be good, I doubt it would live up to the awesome Batman/Wolverine picture (The Prestige).

K-Pax. That was an odd one. It starred the ever watchable Kevin Spacey alongside Bridges. The only thing was that Spacey is sure he is an alien from the planet K-Pax. Bridges plays the psychiatrist trying to inform Spacey that he is human. It is an enjoyable film, but not one of my favourites. I felt frustrated that Bridges never accepted the idea that Spacey could be an alien, because if he had the film may have been more fun. It was a psychologically interesting film though.

Surf’s Up is skewed much more towards fun and away from psychological intensity. Bridges plays a hippy surfer penguin called Big Z. If you thought that premise was funny, you’ll probably like this movie. It has a lot of heart and as I remember it was very funny. The Beef (Shia LeBeouf) stars and he is a lot less irritating when you don’t see his smug little face. All I can say is that I hated Happy Feet with a fiery passion, so Surf’s Up went a part of the way towards redeeming the penguin genre.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People saw Bridges as a magazine editor who had lost his edge. Before he had always been about serious journalism and bringing to light what the government wanted hidden, now he did cover stories on little starlets. Bridges does a great job of showing someone who as forgotten why they do their job. Simon Pegg stars as the bumbling young journalist out to show Bridges how to get it back. An entertaining film that lampoons modern celebrity culture. The love story between Pegg and Kirsten Dunst feels tacked on but doesn’t destract greatly from a fun film.

TRON. No look at Jeff Bridges’ career would be complete without mentioning the 1982 geek bonanza. I am ashamed to admit I have not seen it. But I will before the sequel, TRON Legacy, hits cinemas. I’m sure it will be all over our television sets in the run up to the new film. We’ve all been touched by the vast cultural impact of TRON. Whether it is TRON guy on youtube or the light-bike race on Family Guy. Check out the exciting teaser trailer below. Bridges looks a little bit evil in this one, which is great fun.

The most exciting upcoming project, for me, of Jeff Bridges has to be The Men Who Stare at Goats. It looks incredible. A journalist (Bridges has a thing for those) discovers that America has been secretly training psychic super troops for thirty years. Or Jedis as they call themselves. It stars George Clooney, who starred in another Coen brothers’ classic – O Brother, Where art thou?, and Ewan McGregor. Bridges stars as the psychic instructor. A true hippy who looks like the dude on anti-depressants.

“I often feel that the actual movie is like the skin sloughed off the snake; it’s the by-product of the real valuable stuff, which is the real-life experience of doing it.” Jeff Bridges

AntBuoy

REMAKE ALERT: The Coen Brothers are doing a remake of True Grit.

The Dude: Walter, ya know, it’s Smokey, so his toe slipped over the line a little, big deal. It’s just a game, man.
Walter Sobchak: Dude, this is a league game, this determines who enters the next round robin. Am I wrong? Am I wrong?
Smokey: Yeah, but I wasn’t over. Gimme the marker Dude, I’m marking it 8.
Walter Sobchak: [pulls out a gun] Smokey, my friend, you are entering a world of pain.
The Dude: Walter…
Walter Sobchak: You mark that frame an 8, and you’re entering a world of pain.
Smokey: I’m not…
Walter Sobchak: A world of pain.

Walter Sobchak: a world of pain

For all you little Lebowski Urban Achievers out there: remember your roots. And if you need a refresher, or an acid flashback or what have you, take a look at NYTimes’ A. O. Scott’s Critic’s Pick of the week: The Big Lebowski, you know… The Dude! There’s a great little teaser-style video montage of scenes from the film interspersed with Scott’s commentary. Far out, man!

“For all the trumped-up mystery and drama,” Mr. Scott says, “the movie offers some tantalizing and simple clues as to what, in the end, it’s all about.”

Review from the original release in 1998:

The film, which begins with a tumbleweed rolling from desert to Malibu, is narrated a bit needlessly by a mythic cowboy type (Sam Elliott) whose final assessment of the Dude’s tale goes like this: ”It was a purty good story, don’t you think? Made me laugh to beat the band. Parts, anyway.” Exactly right.

A sister blog was born tonight. Dunno how often I’ll update it, but you can check it out here: Tonight We Roll.

Excerpt:

I’m no great shakes when it comes to bowling. Competent among civilians, too wildly inconsistent for league play. On average, I throw down maybe once or twice a year. The last time was around, I believe, the 2007 Christmas season, when an old friend and her husband drove down from Portland to visit relatives. I should add that the bowling was their idea; they were deadly serious about it. If I’m not mistaken, they came with their own shoes. He brought his own ball. These two urbane professionals, weaned on haute cuisine and the finest grape, gleefully digested grease-laden troublemakers and chased them with gulps of what usually comes in cans.

Come check out how I did in my first pine-hug since 2007!

So exciting!