Every Friday, the Preaching Today Blog takes a look at the week that was—what people are watching, reading, listening to, and learning about…
Top Five Movies
1. Tropic Thunder (R)
2. Babylon A.D. (PG-13)
3. The Dark Knight (PG-13)
4. The House Bunny (PG-13)
5. Traitor (PG-13)
Notables: The blockbusters have come and gone with summer. Studios now look to shower us with "castoff" movies (read: "movies that probably should have gone straight to DVD"). Last week's offerings: Babylon A.D. (which was awarded a zero-star review from CTMovies.com) and Traitor (which did slightly better with a two-star review. Be prepared—even lamer stuff is coming (along with the usual string of horror movies around Halloween). This will continue until Thanksgiving, when the big Oscar push begins. In the meantime, maybe you should read up on an indie film that's getting quite a bit of buzz: Save Me. *Update: CTMovies.com has just posted a review of the film.
Top Five Books (according to USA Today research)
1. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
2. Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
3. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
4. The Shack, by William P. Young
5. Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer
Notables: This list is virtually the same as last week's except that #4 and #5 swapped places, along with #1 and #2. I think more and more people are going to read Meyer's series now that it is complete. That's probably why the first book in the series is #1. We tend to operate that way in America: "Wake me up when I can see the finished product." We also tend to say: "I'll wait for the movie version, thank you very much." Which, by the way, is coming out in November (around Thanksgiving—i.e. around the time we stop getting castoffs shoved down our throats). And while we're on the topic of vampires, did you notice that one new television show this fall is tackling vampire-related themes? It's called True Blood. I would link to information on it, but it's pretty graphic stuff. As I've been noting in many of the roundups, we are obsessed with vampires right now. Feel free to think out loud in this entry's comments section about why…
Top Five Albums
1. All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot
2. LAX, The Game
3. Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
4. A Little Bit Longer, Jonas Brothers
5. Mama Mia!, Soundtrack
Last week saw the debut of Staind's The Illusion of Progress, an album that—by the look of things—is utterly depressing. Remember all the sunny song titles I listed? This week's top spot goes to Slipknot's not-at-all-subtle All Hope Is Gone. Listen to these cheery titles: "execute," "Gematria (The Killing Name)," "Sulfur," "Psychosocial," "Dead Memories," "Vendetta," "Butcher's Hook," "Gehenna," "This Cold Black," "Wherein Lies Continue," "Snuff," and "All Hope Is Gone." If you like, you can buy a special bonus addition that offers extra songs like "Child of Burning Time" and "'Til We Die."
Ouch.
All kidding aside, I was intrigued by this quote from the drummer (about that last song and the album as a whole): "The song, music, and theme speak for itself. It's a song about the world at stake: all the situations at hand, be it personal or worldly, and trying to turn things into a positive. Sometimes you have to face the grotesque to bring about something amazing." For two weeks in a row, some of our top albums have been awfully dark. But even the artists seem to dislike having to sing about such things. They even go so far as to say they're just looking for the light switch like everyone else.
Top Five Digital Downloads
1. “Whatever You Like,” T.I.
2. "So What," Pink
3. "Disturbia," Rihanna
4. "Paper Airplanes," M.I.A.
5. "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz
Notables: Not much change here. I'm still intrigued by similar themes developed in songs like "Disturbia" and "So What" (i.e. girls gone wild, girls gone mad—also covered to a sexual degree by Katy Perry). Pink's song is especially strong in its celebration of girl-driven destruction and I'm-not-going-to-take-it-anymore behavior. Check out the lyrics (warning: a little explicit in places). Downloaders probably love the sound more than anything else, but they are probably resonating with the messages to some degree, too. Is it vicarious living? An outlet of pent-up rage? Is it a newer, darker kind of feminism?
Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1. navistar
2. banana spider
3. roberta mccain
4. slacker uprising
5. pork barrel spending
Notables: A lot of auto companies have hit hard times. High gas prices will do that. But one company stands tall in their continued success: Navistar. The reason? The war. This article sums it up nicely: "With help from its business with the U.S. military, the truck and engine maker's shares have been revving up while its competitors continue to stall." It's always awkward to hear how certain companies benefit from bloody battles. I know it's not their fault, it's just always so troubling.
As for #2, I have to confess that I felt lightheaded when I read about it. The banana spider is a particularly deadly spider from South America. Why is it in the news? A store clerk recently found one resting on a bunch of bananas in a co-op store. Listen to her describe the scene as a pest control agent dealt with the little beast: "He lifted the separate bunch off with leather gloves and put it in a box which had a separate container. He asked to borrow a pen and as he nudged it to try to move it into the container, the spider reared up, hissing, and put its fangs out." Seriously—that's almost too much for me. I have a deep fear of spiders—specifically ones that can kill you. Despite the cold sweat I broke out in as I read the article, I did chuckle at the last line: "The spider was eventually taken away to be put down." I did not know we had such a process for spiders. Dogs and cats, yes. Spiders? Really? Nonetheless, quite a story about unexpected dangers in unexpected places.
Roberta McCain is the 96-year-old mother of Republican presidential candidate John McCain. She's getting quite a bit of press. The Republicans probably like that, too. Many have expressed concern over the age of McCain (72). He would be the oldest person ever elected president. However, they have quite an apologetic in Roberta. He has good genes! Overall, the use and abuse of family in this election has been an interesting matter, hasn't it?
Slacker Uprising is a new documentary by the controversial Michael Moore. It documents Moore's 62-city tour during the 2004 U.S. presidential election (Bush vs. Kerry). Moore is doing something unprecedented in its release. He's allowing viewers to see it for free. I'm pretty sure he's doing that to influence this year's election.
There are few things John McCain hates more than pork barrel spending. He pledges to fight it with all he has in him if elected president.
Posted by Brian Lowery at 8:00 AM on September 5, 2008
