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Notables: Some heavy hitters were cleared out this week. We said goodbye to Indy, the Sex and the City gals, and Adam Sandler. Some heavy hitters stuck around: the Hulk and the Panda. The TV-classic-made-into-a-movie Get Smart made a big splash. Maybe it was due to nostalgia, or maybe it was due to Steve Carell’s popularity. Maybe it was both. The Love Guru bombed. Poor reviews probably didn’t help, but perhaps the jokes were just too sophomoric and lame. The nation-wide release of Pixar’s Wall-E is today. I actually don’t use too many movies in my own preaching—mainly because I think we often stretch the director’s intent to make it “Christian”—but Wall-E seems to genuinely tackle some major themes of humanity. Check out this interview that the folks at ChristianityTodayMovies.com did with the director of Wall-E.

Top Five Books
1. Fearless Fourteen, by Janet Evanovich
2. Sail, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan
3. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
4. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
5. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow

Notables: Fearless Fourteen is a mystery/crime thriller. In other words: more summer reading. The other books have been in regular rotation on this list. No big surprises here.

Top Five Albums
1. Viva La Vida, Coldplay
2. Tha Carter III, Lil' Wayne
3. Camp Rock, Soundtrack
4. NOW 28, Various Artists
5. Definition of Real, Plies

As expected, Coldplay’s new album was huge. It sold 721,000 copies in its first week out (biggest debut of the year). Interestingly, 40 percent of the album’s sales—288,000 copies—were digital downloads, making it “the biggest sales frame ever registered for a digital album” (from Billboard). Coldplay always tackles spiritual themes. The lyrics are worth a look. Also worth a look is this Rolling Stone interview with Coldplay front man Chris Martin. In the middle of the interview, Martin shares about his leaving the Christian faith behind because of what he felt was an all-too-oppressive church that used Hell to drive fear into the hearts of people. One note of warning: the language is salty and some material is sexually charged.

Top Five Digital Downloads
1. "I Kissed a Girl," by Katy Perry
2. "This Is Me," by Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas
3. "Viva La Vida," by Coldplay
4. "7 Things," by Miley Cryus
5. "When I Grow Up," by The Pussycat Dolls

Notables: We’ve got a lot of new songs this week. I’ll let you track down anything of interest to you. I wasn’t enamored with much at all. The one thing I just can’t get around is how huge this “I Kissed a Girl” song is. It managed to topple the number one single from the number one album. As I’ve noted in the past, Perry’s song is basically about sexual experimentation.

Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1. Sam Zell
2. Wendi Nix
3. NBA draft
4. QDOS
5. Jobbie Nooner

Notables: Sam Zell led an $8.2 billion buyout of the Tribune Company, and it appears he’s cleaning house—even firing everyone and their mother. It’s particularly interesting news for us in the Chicagoland area. Wendy Nix is a sports reporter, mainly for the NFL. I’m not sure why she’s in the news, but I have a few guesses. I would steer clear of this one. The NBA draft was last night. Derrick Rose was selected number one by the Chicago Bulls. Again, this is particularly interesting news for us in the Chicagoland area. The folks at QDOS have created a new audio dock for iPods. It’s called the SoundFrame. It's been designed “for horizontal and vertical use, interchangeable with one quick 90° turn.” It’s apparently “very lightweight, easy-to-use, and completely portable.” And finally, Jobbie Nooner is “a daylong, booze-fueled bash on Lake St. Clair known as the Mardi Gras of the Midwest.” Don’t spend too much time poking around for more information on this one. I’ll sum it up: it seems it earns every inch of its “Mardis Gras of the Midwest” title.

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