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Here is the fifty-fifth 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

Two great options hit the theaters this weekend.  The first is Dinner for Schmucks.  Don’t let the title throw you off, this is a very funny remake of the great French satire, The Dinner Game, starring Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd.  The second is Get Low, a character drama rife with sly humor starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Bill Murray.

New TV Season

Being Human – season 2 finally reaches BBC America

New Books

Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

New Audio

Kevin Hart:  Seriously Funny

And Finally

Have you ever noticed that you never see LeBron James and Bill Murray in the same room?  Separated at birth or really the same person?  Something to ponder….

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Here is the fifty-fourth 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 TV Season

White Collar – season 2

Warehouse 13 – season 2

Psych – season 5

New Books

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran by Rob Sheffield

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

And Finally

One of the more interesting developments of the past couple of years has been the role played by China, a Communist country, as the perceived savior of developed, capitalistic economies.  Every report of the growth rate in China takes on great significance.  This, of course, has caused a great deal of hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth that the balance of power is shifting from the West to the East.  After reading a recent article, however, all our fears are allayed.  It seems that China has collectively (pun intended) has decided that to be a first-rate power you need to speak English, sorry France.  And who better to lead the Chinese to their shiny, happy future than the premier merchants of fantasy:  Disney.  That’s right, the progeny of Uncle Walt are in process of establishing a chain of schools in China that will teach English to children aged one to eleven with a curriculum that features characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the Little Mermaid.  All this for a low low price of $2,200 per year.  Keep in mind that the per capita income for China is $6,600.  Instead of providing the underpinnings for a cadre of world-beating leaders, the role of Disney is bound to create a horde of consumption-driven lemmings.  What’s worse is that we will have a generation of Chinese children with names like Ebeneezer, Mickey, Ariel, Mulan, Phineas, and Goofy.  It really is a small world after all, comrade.

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Here is the fifty-third 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

Despicable Me

The Kids Are All Right

Winnebago Man

And Finally

Spoiler Alert:   Tonight finally ends the latest episode in LeBron-A-Thon which has been ongoing more less since King James was in 5th grade.   His announcement as to where he will be lacing his shoes for the next phase of his basketball career is scheduled to be broadcast LIVE during an hour-long ESPN special.  Everyone who has watched the documentary More Than a Game knows that LeBron was taught long ago that basketball is really a means to an end and the end that LeBron has in mind is his personal brand.   Which leads us to the spoiler alert.  Tom Nob has exclusive information that LeBron will not be staying in Cleveland, nor joining the Knicks, nor the Clippers, nor the Bulls, nor even the front-running Miami Heat.  Why?  Because he realizes that the basketball “arena” is just too small for his considerable talents and personal attributes.  As a result, LeBron James will announce that his new team will be……

Team Jacob.  Go ‘wolves.

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Here is the fifty-second 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 Television Show

Louie – comedian Louis C.K. takes another stab at a sitcom

New Television Season

Rescue Me – season 6, watch full episodes

Entourage – season 7

And Finally

Anyone who has followed world stock markets during the past couple of months, or the past of years for that matter, knows that they have experienced a great deal of volatility.  There have been many theories put forth to explain some unexplained price movements but even this one caught us off-guard.  The United Kingdom’s financial services authority has fined a former crude oil broker for placing very significant bets while drunk.  Apparently the broker spent a weekend last June drinking heavily and then, while still inebriated, logged on to an internet-based trading platform and bet more than $500 million in Brent crude oil.  He then continued to drink before falling into an alcohol-induced blackout.  Proof, once again, that oil and booze just don’t mix.