(Click on the headline to view the entire post.)

Here is the twelfth edition of  Tom Nob’s Thursday Notes.  TN2 serves as a brief summary of what good humor we have found during the past week plus some suggestions for the upcoming weekend.

“ALL THINGS PATTON OSWALT”

New Films in Theaters

This week Patton Oswalt gets to display his acting chops by starring in Big Fan, a dramatic comedy written/directed by the man who wrote The Wrestler.  Word on the street is that PO may be rearranging the bric-a-brac on his fireplace mantle just in case some statues start coming his way.  Really, you ask?  Just remember two words…Marisa Tomei.

New on DVD

Patton Oswalt:  My Weakness Is My Strength.  Of couse PO is just being modest because everyone knows that he really has no weakness.  His latest stand-up special for Comedy Central is the latest proof.  Other options this week include Adventureland, Rudo y Cursi, Sushine Cleaning, and Goodbye Solo.

New Audio Recordings

Don’t know how to operate a DVD player, then go straight to audio and listen to the whole album of Patton Oswalt:  My Weakness Is My Strength.  Just imagine PO as a tall, handome black man and it will all make sense.  If it doesn’t then it probably means that you are listening to Kevin Hart:  Live at the Laff House, Vol. 1.

New Books

Raising Jake by Charlie Carillo.  No, Charlie Carillo is not the nom de plume of PO, at least not that we know of, but regardless this book is getting some good reviews.  If you are a Kindle user, Amazon is currently offering the electronic version for the low-low price of $0.00.

Flashback

Moonlighting – watch full episodes of a pioneer in the dramatic comedy sub-genre.  We bet that PO was a fan of the show.

And Finally…

All this talk about weakness, strength and tall, handsome black men has got us thinking about track and field.  (You too?)  Based on outward appearances, we have serious doubts that Patton Oswalt was much of a track star in high school or college.  The physique is definitely better suited for some of the field events but statemets like “my weakness is my strength” seems to poke holes in this theory as well.  All of this leads naturally, or maybe not so naturally, to Caster Semenya, the 18-year old South African track star who has had her gender questioned after she crushed the competition in the 800 meter at the recent World Athletics Championships in Berlin.  The International Assocation of Athletics Federation is suggesting that the gender test is necessary to determine whether Ms. Caster has a “rare medical condition that would give her a unfair advantage.”  In other words, they will need to decide if she is “enough” of a woman to compete as a woman.  Our bet is that she will retain her medal and acquire yet another title:  King of Queens.  We are sure that Oscar-winner Patton Oswalt would endorse the decision.

(Click on the headline to view the entire post.)

Here is the eleventh edition of  Tom Nob’s Thursday Notes.  TN2 serves as a brief summary of what good humor we have found during the past week plus some suggestions for the upcoming weekend.

New Films in Theaters

The small films continue to be the best bets during the month of August.  This week you have the choice of My One and Only, a period piece loosely based on a childhood story George Hamilton told Merv Griffin once-upon-a-time, and World’s Greatest Dad, a very dark comedy written/directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams.

Expand Your Horizons

Three interesting films that you probably missed that are worth seeking out:

Sita Sings the Blues – watch the entire film online

Big Man Japan – download available via Amazon

The Sinking of Santa Isabel

New Books

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, author of How to Talk to a Widower and Everything Changes.

New Audio Recordings

John Heffron:  Middle Class Funny – listen to the entire album

Doug Benson:  Unbalanced Load – listen to the entire album

Flashback

Hollywood Squares – watch full episodes of this classic American game show

Broken Lizard On Tour

After a few warm-up dates over the past several months, the Broken Lizard boys are kicking off their fall tour this weekend.   Visit the Broken Lizard web site to see when they come to a town near you.

And Finally…

During the past week we found ourselves in need of a beach ball.  While blowing up the ball, we noticed a legal disclaimer near the valve and assumed it warned against over-inflating.  But no.  The warning read, and we quote, “Use only under competent supervision.”   That made us wonder 1) what horrifying scenarios the legal eagles who worked on this project were able to conjecture, and 2) how low do you have to set the bar to be deemed incompetent to supervise the use of a beach ball.  After all, we are talking about a recreational device that has successfully provided hours of entertainment to seals and wasted Parrotheads alike without, to our knowledge, maiming or injuring.  Does this represent the most worthless billable hour in the history of mankind?  Then it dawned on us:  the root cause of this situation is that lawyers don’t blow….they suck.

(Click on the headline to view the entire post.)

Here is the tenth edition of  Tom Nob’s Thursday Notes.  TN2 serves as a brief summary of what good humor we have found during the past week plus some suggestions for the upcoming weekend.

New Films in Theaters

Oh, the irony.  After weeks of fairly slim pickings in the film category, this weekend three films open that seem worthy of a look:  Cold Souls stars Paul Giamatti as himself in a metaphysical comedy about the human soul;  I Sell the Dead stars Ron Perelman in a dark comedy about 18th century grave robbers; and Paper Heart, a documentary about the definition of love starring Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera.

New Books

Two books are released this week by authors who have been linked by some reviewers.

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon – no decoder ring required

Big Machine:  A Novel by Victor LaVelle, an “important” novel by an author who has been compared to Pynchon.

New TV Seasons

Monk, watch entire episodes from the final season

Psych, watch entire episodes from season four

And Finally…

If Barack Obama really wanted to mend race relations by drinking beer, wouldn’t he have been better by serving black-and-tans.