GODSTUFF TED KENNEDY: SO MUCH MORE THAN HIS MISTAKES “I recognize my own shortcomings — the faults in the conduct of my private life. I realize that I alone am responsible for them, and I am the one who must confront them. I believe that each of us as individuals must not only struggle to make a better world, but to make ourselves better, too.” — Sen. Edward Kennedy, in a speech at the John F. Kennedy School of Government... Read more

Yep. “The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you.” — Frederick Buechner Read more

In a recent episode of the superb TNT series “Saving Grace,” the character Father Johnny Hanadarko (played by Steppenwolf Theatre’s Tom Irwin), the brother of anti-heroine Grace Hanadarko (Oscar-winner Holly Hunter), makes a revealing confession about his faith: “When I was a kid, I tried to figure out how God could be everywhere at once. I’d think of the most unlikely places — in my father’s Scotch, in my sister’s bra. God was this fun, fun mystery. I think I’ve... Read more

The first and perhaps most influential review of The Dude is out from Publisher’s Weekly. They had t his to say: The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers Cathleen Falsani. Zondervan, $14.99 paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-310-29246-3 It must be true that God can be found even in the quirkiest of places. Chicago Sun-Times religion journalist Falsani mined the 14 films (since 1984) of Joel and Ethan Coen to find God and to articulate their spiritual and religious... Read more

GODSTUFF SOUL SURFING IN CHICAGO (THANKS TO THE FOLKS IN LAGUNA BEACH) LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — When Chicago lifted its decades-old ban on surfing the city’s beaches late last month, a cyber-roar went up throughout the surfing world, no more loudly than in Laguna Beach, Calif., my new hometown. We moved to this seaside artist’s enclave that Timothy Leary once called home last month after living for more than a decade in Oak Park, the artsy village where Frank Lloyd... Read more

The Dude cometh! While we’re still a month or so away from the official book release, you can now check out a sneak preview of The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers (including the foreword by Rabbi Allen Secher, the introduction and the “Blood Simple” chapter) by clicking HERE And you can pre-order your very own copy of The Dude HERE Also, word is out that the Coens will debut their latest, A Serious Man, at the... Read more

AT LAST, “A SERIOUS MAN” TRAILER!!! Joel and Ethan Coen’s 14th film, “A Serious Man,” opens October 2. It’s brilliant (well, at least the screenplay is brilliant and our hopes for the film are epic, as always.) Mark your calendars! Read more

GODSTUFF BEER DIPLOMACY: WHAT WOULD JESUS BREW? “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”— Jesus in the Gospel of St. Matthew “From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.”— St. Arnold of Metz, patron saint of brewers When President Obama popped the top on three cold beers with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge, Mass., police sergeant James Crowley at the White House Thursday night, his efforts toward brokering peace between the... Read more

GODSTUFF TWEETS OF THE PEOPLE: ONLINE PRAYER God has heard it all before. You can’t afford to take a pilgrimage to one of the world’s sacred spots. It’s too hard to find a church, mosque or temple while you’re on vacation. You just can’t find the time to pray. Thanks to new technological advances, you really have no excuses left for avoiding communing with the divine, even during the dog days of summer. Earlier this month, a clever fellow in... Read more

Oprah, moving and the radio silence…first sunset in laguna beach, from our living room patio Hi gang.Sorry for the radio silence. I’ve been without my laptop and access to the Interweb for more than two weeks. In fact, I’m writing this from a coffee house in downtown Laguna Beach, California – where we moved last week and where our house is (still) a mountain of boxes. Anyhoodle, wanted to say hey and to catch up on a few things. First... Read more