Between breaks for holidays and vacations, a brief return with notes on Patton Oswalt in ‘Big Fan’, ‘The State’ on DVD, Chan-wook Park’s ‘Thirst’, New Flaming Lips, and ‘Modern Warfare 2′ (with goggles?).

Even if you missed the LA Film Fest, both of these clever little films are worth tracking down when they arrive in a theater near you.

In our launch episode, we discuss new albums from The Thermals and Ihsahn, Observe & Report, the “Mockbusters” phenomenon, and disappointing new shows from talented people (e.g. Sit Down, Shut Up and Kings).

A post-mortem on the three biggest ways this year’s election went from political pageant to pop culture moment.

“Masters of Horror Taking on Comedy” betrays its embarrassing boardroom creativity. Here are three ways Microsoft could better serve their audience and build their service.

A top five from the Pineapple Express star, Mr. Oswalt addresses his alma mater, and Baby’s First Internet.