Here's what people are watching, reading, listening to, and learning about...
Top Five Movies
1. Wall-E (PG-13)
2. Wanted (R)
3. Get Smart (PG-13)
4. Kung Fu Panda (PG)
5. The Incredible Hulk (PG-13)
Notables: Many have waited for Pixar to deliver their first box office bomb. They're still waiting. Wall-E opened to huge numbers. A lot of critics are calling it the best movie of 2008 (so far). Some are going so far as to say it's the favorite to win the "Best Picture" Oscar. Don't forget to check out the interview that the folks at ChristianityTodayMovies.com did with Wall-E's director. The only other newbie to the list is the Angelina Jolie-vehicle Wanted. It did really well for what appears to be an extremely bloody, violent film. In related news, it seems the official countdown has begun for the birth of Jolie's twins. I don't know about you, but this celebrity baby watch is getting really old—and really, really creepy.
Top Five Books
1. Fearless Fourteen, by Janet Evanovich
2. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
3. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
4. Someday Soon, by Debbie Macomber
5. The Shack, by William P. Young
Notables: Fearless Fourteen is still king of the hill this week. Stephenie Meyer continues to solidify her status as the next J. K. Rowling. Someday Soon is a new to the list. It's a love story. And that brings us to The Shack, the little Christian fiction book that could. I'm sure most of you have heard about this one. It's about a man who reconnects with God after the tragic death of his child. Our good friend Url wrote about the book in June (see the June 16 entry in the Out of Ur archives). It's stirred quite a bit of controversy—specifically over its depiction of the Trinity. Al Mohler says, "This book includes undiluted heresy…It is a deeply troubling book…It is intended, undoubtedly, as a way of trying to bring about some kind of redefinition or new understanding of the Christian faith…The main character says at one point that he now understands that everything he learned at seminary was basically all wrong." On the other hand, Eugene Peterson says, " When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!" It doesn't get much different than that, perspective-wise, eh? Folks around you are probably reading it, so you might want to grab a copy of the book and see what all the buzz is about—and determine whether you need to address it from the pulpit to some degree.
Top Five Albums
1. Viva La Vida, Coldplay
2. Tha Carter III, Lil' Wayne
3. Camp Rock, Camp Rock
4. Saints of Los Angeles, Motley Crue
5. Last 2 Walk, Three 6 Mafia
Not much to note here. The top three albums are exactly the same as last week. Coldplay moved another 250,000 copies. They've basically sold over a million albums now (by way of CD and digital sales. That's impressive. I'm sure it thrills you to know that Motley Crue is back. It obviously thrilled someone. As for Three Six Mafia, they're the guys who won an Oscar for their song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp." I remember seeing a list of past "Best Song" winners after Three 6 Mafia pulled the upset in 2005. I also remember thinking that we had come a long way from Disney songs winning the Oscar:
Top Five Digital Downloads
1. "I Kissed a Girl," by Katy Perry
2. "Burnin' Up," by Jonas Brothers
3. "This Is Me," by Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas
4. "Viva La Vida," by Coldplay
5. "Disturbia," by Rihanna
Notables: Not much to report here. "I Kissed a Girl" is tops again. A magazine recently proclaimed it the bisexual anthem of the summer. I've avoided sending you off to the lyrics—they're "suggestive" to say the least—but you might want to check them out to know what people are hearing again and again and again on the radio. This one is getting a lot of airtime. One sample lyric: "No, I don't even know your name; It doesn't matter; Your my experimental game; Just human nature." Spots 2 and 3 are held by the Jonas Brothers. This is simplifying things a bit, but I would peg them as the boy version of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus.
Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1. cynthia rodriguez
2. joslyn morse
3. jungle malady leishmaniasis
4. cynthia scurtis
5. alex rodriguez wife
Notables: I checked Google Trends the morning of Thursday, July 3. It appears I checked it right around the moment it was announced that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his wife are getting a divorce. Items 1, 2, 4, and 5, are related to the issue. And I'll say it again: our obsession with the lives of celebrities is getting really, really creepy. It's especially creepy when we're getting giddy over their downfall, be it marriage, career, or personal addictions. As for the lone item not related to A-Rod and his wife—jungle malady leishmaniasis—check out this story about the rescue of kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors after six years in captivity. All were in good health except two of the contractors. They had jungle malady leishmaniasis. Jungle malady leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of infected sand flies. It usually just causes sores, but it can also attach internal organs. I would guess that when thousands of people read this story, their OCD kicked in, and they wanted to determine where or not they had jungle malady leishmaniasis. Rest easy. I'm pretty sure you don't have it. With that assurance in mind, concentrate on one pretty great story: after six years these people were set free by a peaceful rescue operation. It's really pretty amazing.
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Posted by Brian Lowery at 10:36 AM on July 4, 2008
Comments
Thanks, Brian! This kind of article seems to me to be very helpful in keeping track of where people are at and provides references that can prove helpful in communicating the gospel to them. Would be great to have it as a fairly regular item...perhaps biweekly or monthly?
John
Posted by: John Huebner on July 7, 2008
Glad to help out, John! Thanks for stopping by. A quick note: I post this roundup every Friday. From time to time - due to vacation or something work-related - I might post it a little late (usually on a Monday), but it's up every week. We think it's a really important resource in our rotation, so it's going to be around for a good long while.
Posted by: Brian on July 8, 2008