Here's what people are watching, reading, listening to, and learning about...
Top Five Movies (according to box office returns)
1. Iron Man (Rated PG-13)
2. Made of Honor (Rated PG-13)
3. Baby Mama (Rated PG-13)
4. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guatanamo Bay (Rated R)
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Rated R)
Notables: Iron Man did huge business this last weekend (it topped $100 million). Robert Downey, Jr. plays the title role of Tony Stark/Iron Man. His character is one of many in movies and television who serve as heroes riddled by character flaws (see the show House for another good example). It's interesting that we want our heroes to have a dark side to them - some character trait or nasty habit that handicaps them emotionally or psychologically or spiritually while they remain dominant physically or intellectually.
Top Five Books (according to Amazon.com)
1. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
2. Sunday's at Tiffany's, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
3. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, by Eckhart Tolle
4. The Good Guy, by Dean Koontz
5. The Whole Truth, by David Baldacci
Notables: Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth has slipped another spot. I believe Oprah's ten-week webinar about the book is coming to an end. Perhaps interest is waning. For now, The Last Lecture is king of the hill. See last week's entry for more information (and links).
Top Five Albums (according to Billboard 200)
1. Hard Candy, by Madonna
2. E=MC2, by Mariah Carey
3. Spirit, by Leona Lewis
4. Lyfe Change, by Lyfe Jennings
5. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, by Def Leopard
Notables: Albums 1 and 5 blow my mind. Madonna has been around forever, and yet she still manages to top the charts whenever a new album is released. I suppose her fans will simply say the music continues to be great, but I think it doesn't hurt that she continues to change her image (from pop start to sex star to spiritual guru to club-hopping mom) and continues to court controversy (remember how her last tour featured her singing a song from a disco ball-like cross). As for Def Leopard, I seriously did not know they were still together - nor did I ever think they had it in them to break the top ten again, let alone the top five. Parts of this chart resemble charts from the eighties.
Top Five Digital Downloads (according to Billboard Digital Singles)
1. "Bleeding Love," by Leona Lewis
2. "4 Minutes," by Madonna (featuring Justin Timberlake)
3. "Lollipop," by Lil Wayne (featuring Static Major)
4. "No Air," by Jordin Sparks (with Chris Brown)
5. "Sexy Can I," by Ray J & Yung Berg
Notables: This is the exact same lineup as last week. I've noticed that all five songs have been around, switching places from time to time. It's safe to assume that the younger generations in your audience are familiar with the lyrics by now. In fact, every last one of the tunes was probably played at the high school prom - and you don't want to know how they were dancing to them, either. I've chaperoned prom with my wife before. I'm no prude - and I certainly don't want to be like the preacher in Footloose - but it's getting bad out there on the dance floor, folks.
Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
1. hydro 4000
2. millionaire by 30
3. david einhorn
4. kantri review
5. monkeys with guns
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
Notables: The top three searches are financial in nature. The Hydro 4000 is a device that runs on water that you can attach to your car. You can read all about how it works if you like. Bottom line: in the long run, it might save you money on gas (up to 60 percent savings). But if you read Douglas Andrew's Millionaire by Thirty, you won't need the Hydro. Andrew charts how younger people can make a million dollars by the time they hit 30 (hence the title). I turned 30 in April. I am sad to report that I missed my chance. The third item on our list is David Einhorn, a man who wrote a book about an investment plan gone wrong. It sounds like a sad tale of banking on something that just doesn't deliver in the end. Kantri is a movie, and I have no earthly idea why anyone out there is looking for monkeys with guns, but they are.
Posted by Brian Lowery at 7:54 AM on May 9, 2008
